Garden State

Our garden has been going absolutely crazy. I had a lot of help this year from Kyle's grandpa and this was our first attempt at a garden. I haven't really kept up on weeding and I had to get rid of the cilantro (it went to seed), but it's mostly been a success. We are growing peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes, and a few herbs. Our garden also has beautiful wild flowers that just keep growing.

Our zucchini has been growing the last few weeks, which I've already discussed. Finally, this week, we have tomatoes, lots of tomatoes:

Kyle said they were delicious and I actually ate cooked ones on Tuesday. They were ok. I haven't tried a raw one yet; I've just never liked them.

We also have banana peppers, Anaheim peppers (mildly hot), and bell peppers. I have no idea what to do with banana peppers, any ideas?

I wasn't sure our bell peppers were going to actually come in. But, today I found this:

It's not very big, but it's a start. Bell peppers are one of my fav foods, so I sure hope they grow.

I also found a few mysteries today. I have no idea what this thing is. It was growing on one of the zucchini plants. Weird, huh?

I also found this squash-looking thing growing on one of the cucumber plants. It was green on one side and white on the other. I really have no idea about this one either...

We've loved growing (some) of our own food and we hope to have a garden in our next home, too!

Peaches 'N' Cream Ice Pops

I had to buy the new special summer issue of Everyday Food (it's my fav magazine, anyway).

There's a whole section in there about making your own ice cream and popsicles. I was even inspired to consider purchasing an ice cream maker for next summer.

I had to give these "Peaches 'N' Cream Ice Pops" a try. They looked delicious and easy! The recipe isn't up online yet, so here it is:

1 1/4 C vanilla ice cream (I used vanilla frozen yogurt)
1 pound frozen peaches, thawed
1/2 C sugar
1/4 C 100% white grape juice

You'll also need 6 of each: 3 oz disposable cups and 6 oz cups (I could only find 5 oz) and popsicle sticks.

First, put three tablespoons of ice cream/yogurt into the 3 oz cup and put a popsicle stick in each. Freeze this for 1 hour. Meanwhile, mix peaches, sugar, and juice in a blender.

Pour 1 tablespoon of puree in each 6 oz cup and freeze for one hour.
Then, unmold the ice cream/yogurt and place in larger (6 oz cup):

Pour puree over top. My puree didn't really pour, I had to spoon/force it around the ice cream.

Freeze for at least 4 hours. Peel off paper cup and enjoy!

Everyday Food's picture looks a little more icy than mine. My puree turned out pretty creamy. But, it tasted great. Kyle said it was his favorite food.

And the best part? It only has 159 calories! Since I used frozen yogurt, mine should have had a little less.

Homemade laundry detergent

I spent most of the day organizing the office, cleaning out old papers, and doing several chores around the house. I found this "recipe" a few years ago (I don't remember where, sorry!). To save a little money each month, I make my own laundry detergent. It's really easy and involves just three ingredients, ivory soap, borax, and baking soda. I double the original recipe so I don't have to make it as often.

Here's my recipe:

1 C baking soda
1 C Borax
2 bars Ivory soap, grated

I just grate the soap bars on the old cheese grater. It should look something like this:

Then, I mix all three ingredients together, usually by hand, until it looks like this:

Looks like what you buy in the store, doesn't it? I store my detergent in an old plastic container. Best of all, you only need 1 tsp. for a load of laundry.

The only trouble I've had with it is that it sometimes doesn't dissolve well when the water is really cold in the winter. I have to dissolve it in water before putting it in the washer. Or, you could just use warm water to wash your clothes!

Pinterest

Since it's been so incredibly hot the last week, we've both found ourselves dreaming of fall. I was starting to look for craft ideas for Halloween and fall and was having trouble keeping track of it all (I've found some great ideas on several blogs).

I had heard about Pinterest (mainly from Brittany) and I thought that I should check it out. Turns out it's a great solution to my problem. I can "pin" pictures of things I like to different boards. It's so easy! I just started a Halloween idea board to keep track of things I plan to buy, things I might create/craft myself, and just things that I like. And it saves links to the original articles, blogs, or websites.

I hope to use Pinterest in the future to keep track of decorating ideas, furniture, and crafts in our future house.

Here's a link to my first board: Halloween Decorating Ideas. How do you use Pinterest?

Kyle's New Year's Resolution Update

This year, I had a New Year's resolution epiphany:  I needed to make a resolution that I wanted to keep (instead of, like, run 5 miles a day, or don't eat desserts).  Therefore, I resolved that, in 2011, I would watch 100 movies that I had never seen before.  I absolutely love movies, and I was pretty embarrassed that there was some absolutely essential stuff that I missed during my first 26 1/2 years on earth.  So in 2011, my goal was to patch some of the holes in my film knowledge.

As of July 23, I have watched 55 movies in 2011 that I had never seen prior to this year.  I think I'm a couple of movies off the pace, but I'm pretty confident I can pull it off.  I won't bore you with the entire list (I only bore Erin with the entire list--she keeps it on her computer for me) but I thought I would give you a top ten list.  Let me know what you think.

1.  The Third Man (1949)

Directed by Carol Reed and starring Orson Welles and Joseph Cotten.  Really an incredible movie (check out Roger Ebert's Great Movies essay on it; he can explain why it's so great much better than I ever could).  The Blu-Ray/DVD is really expensive, but it's streaming on Netflix.  Check it out.

Orson Welles being awesome.

 2.  Casablanca (1942)

Yes, prior to 2011 I had never seen Casablanca.  Thus the New Year's resolution.

3.  The Red Shoes (1948)

It's about ballet, so it makes a great companion piece to Black Swan (which I also loved).  Not as creepy as Black Swan, but an amazing-looking movie.  Also streaming on Netflix.

4.  A Serious Man (2009)

A fantastic Coen brothers film.  I'm going to have to watch it about five more times to really wrap my head around it, but I totally plan on doing that.

5.  Winter's Bone (2010)

Reminds me of the television show Justified (which is pretty easily my favorite currently-airing television show).  John Hawkes (a/k/a Kenny Powers' brother, a/k/a Deadwood's Sol Star) gives a chilling performance.

Teardrop is a scary dude.

6.  Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) / Escape From New York (1981)

Both are awesome John Carpenter films, so I'm counting them as one.  Assault is pretty bloody, but check it out if you're into that sort of thing.  Escape is a total blast.  Carpenter directed Halloween, my all-time favorite film.  These two aren't on the same level, but they're close.  (I also watched Carpenter's They Live, which is a fun movie and pretty interesting, but not one of my favorites.)

Don't mess with Snake Plissken.

7.  Super 8 (2011)

Directed by J.J. Abrams.  Not on the same level as the movies it's emulating (E.T., Close Encounters, etc.), but it's a lot of fun, and it's so, so much better than almost everything that makes it into mainstream theaters these days.  I wish ten movies like this came out every year.

8.  Horrible Bosses (2011)

The funniest movie I've seen in a long time.  I liked Bridesmaids and Bad Teacher, but Horrible Bosses topped them both pretty easily for me.  If you like R-rated comedies, see this one.

9.  True Grit (2010)

Probably my fifth or sixth favorite Coen brothers movie, but the films above it (No Country For Old Men, Fargo, etc.) are hard to top.

10.  Adventureland (2009)

A great little movie starring Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart.  About college-age kids that, unlike most movie characters, actually seem like real college-age kids.

(As a side-note, if Erin's New Year's resolution had been to watch the entire series of The Hills in 2011, she would've accomplished it with about eight months to go.)


 

Four Year Anniversary

It's hard to believe that this was four whole years ago:

Yes, today is our four year anniversary! I can't believe how much has changed. So here's a little recap of our last four years of marriage.

Our extended family continues to grow. First, in August 2007, Kyle's dad adopted two more boys. We can't imagine our life without Derek and Will! Here's an adorable picture of them, although it's out of date now.

Both of our siblings have gotten married, too. Evan (my brother) married Patricia in July 2008 and Brittany (Kyle's sister) married Darrin in October 2009. So, we've gained a sister-in-law and a brother-in-law.

Evan, Patricia, Me, and Kyle

Brittany and Kyle (I can't find a picture of Darrin!)

And we've gained two nephews. We love baby-sitting them and spending time with them. First, Zayden came in March 2009 and Sawyer followed in 2011. Aren't they cute?

And (who could forget) Kyle started and finished law school, passed the bar, and got a job! He's been at his current job for a year next week. I started and finished grad school, wrote a thesis, and (finally) got a museum job.

Kyle's graduation ceremony

Our graduation party

Kyle's Bar ceremony

We've also moved twice and survived a flood!

Greenwood, June 2009

Hopefully the next year is big for us, too. We're hoping to buy a house soon. We're excited and ready to start looking!

Here's to the next year of marriage!

Frozen Zucchini

It's too hot to do anything here in Indiana. So, I spent the morning (inside) shredding and storing zucchini so we'll have it throughout the fall. I shredded five pretty large zucchini in the food processor:

I just put two cups of shredded zucchini in ziploc freezer bags. Most zucchini bread recipes call for that amount. I bought the gallon size, which was WAY to big, but it's all I had. I went ahead and made two bags with four cups in case I ever want to make a huge batch of zucchini bread (like for the Christmas Bazaar). When I'm ready to make some bread, I'll just thaw the bag and drain out the extra water. Pretty easy, right? Then, I just labeled the bags so I'll know which is which:

I ended up with three bags of two cups and two bags of four cups. Not too bad for 20 minutes worth of work. Plus, I think it's worth it to save the bounty from the garden. Now, I'll just dream about crisp fall days and warm zucchini bread. I can't wait!

Zucchini Everywhere

We have TONS of zucchini. See?

I gave some to my mother-in-law and my sister-in-law and Kyle even took some to work. I made chocolate zucchini bread (I'm looking for a better recipe before I share). It's almost getting out of control.

I want to use it all (since it's free) and I love this recipe from Everyday Foods: Zucchini Pasta with Ricotta. It's so easy and delicious. I thinly sliced one zucchini and put on a foil covered baking sheet like this:

I baked it for 20 minutes on 450. I just tossed with olive oil, linguine, lemon zest, salt, and pepper and topped with ricotta. Kyle isn't a big fan of ricotta, so he put parmesan on his. Here's what dinner looked like:

Look for more zucchini ideas in the coming days!

Putt Putt with the Family

Our huge (2000+ site) campground had its own putt putt course, so one night all the Gobels and Whites went golfing together. We split up into three teams and Shari, Jim, and Chase came out the big winners. Kyle, Dion, Derek, and I came in second. Chase and AJ have been taking golf lessons, so they were really into it.

I was able to get a few action shots of some of the kids (and Kyle):

Kyle, golfing in style

Derek's wild shot

AJ's putt

Chase teeing off

We had a blast and almost everyone (except me) scored a hole-in-one at some point.

Surf's Up

Hey everyone, Kyle here. As you know, Erin and I just got back from our vacation in Myrtle Beach. Inspired by the criminally underappreciated John From Cincinnati (seriously, check it out), I tried surfing for the first time.  The place we stayed offered lessons, and I decided to sign up. Going into the lessons, I was not optimistic that I had any chance of surfing success, but I knew I should give it a shot.

That's me in the middle.

So there I was, on the beach bright and early, with three high school-age girls and a thirteen year old boy.  Our instructor gave us a couple of safety tips, had us practice hopping up on the board on dry land, and then sent us out into the waves. For the first few tries, the instructor (who called me "Karl" for two days - but I just went with it) held on to our board and gave us a push when a wave came by.  On the first day, I actually caught a few waves and stood up on the board a few times.  A couple of times I actually stood on the board and rode a wave for four or five seconds, which was more than I ever expected to accomplish.

I'm pretty sure I'm holding the board upside down.

The second day, we were basically on our own.  I wiped out several times, but I caught two or three waves all by myself and again stayed on the board for four or five seconds each time.  It is a pretty cool feeling.  Surfing is great exercise (there is a lot of paddling involved - I definitely felt it for the next couple of days) and I had an absolute blast.  Any time we're near some more waves, I definitely plan on trying it out again.

Southern Folk Art at the Art Museum of Myrtle Beach

With the heat index of 110 and the boardwalk not really being our scene, Kyle and I found out that there was an art museum near us. We didn't know anything about it, but I was desperate for air conditioning. Since we couldn't take pictures (and I forgot my camera again), here's a link to their website: http://www.myrtlebeachartmuseum.org/. 

The first floor was a Babar exhibit for kids. Since we weren't with any kids, we went through it pretty quickly. On the second floor, the museum is exhibiting a private collection of Southern Folk Art. It was absolutely fascinating.

Part of the exhibit included several Howard Finster pieces, including this Coke bottle:

We both love the movie Junebug and didn't realize that the artist portrayed in that movie is loosely based on Finster. Apparently Finster's children are both artists as well and the exhibit included some of their work, too.

Surprisingly, we both chose the same piece as our favorite. It's called "Two Brothers" by an Alabama artist Michael Banks. I can't find a picture of it online, or I would post it. Here's a link to Michael's website: http://www.jtfolkart.com/artist/michael-banks/.

If you're ever in Myrtle Beach (and find it a little too touristy), check out the Art Museum!

Po'Boys, Pastries, and Peaches

While we were in Myrtle Beach, I was on the hunt for good seafood, or basically just good food period. I kept searching for places to eat before we went and found out some useful information. First, everything on Myrtle Beach is "calabash" style. Translation: buffet. Definitely not my cup of tea. And second, apparently most seafood is fried. So, it took a little digging, but we managed to find some pretty good eating.

We went to Mr. Fish (closer to North Myrtle Beach) on Saturday for lunch. I had read that it can get busy, but it definitely wasn't at 11:15 am. I ordered a shrimp po'boy and Kyle ordered 1 lb (yes a whole pound) of boiled shrimp.

My po'boy (the bread is hiding under all those shrimp)

1 lb. of shrimp (I think it was more than that!)

Anyways, I was highly impressed with Mr. Fish. Affordable, quick, and fresh seafood, what could be better? I mentioned to my father-in-law that they served shrimp and grits (which I considered getting) and I thought he was going to ralph. Needless to say, the fam didn't come with us.

We wanted to go out to a nice anniversary dinner, too. I had a hard time picking a place (I think because after awhile they all look the same). We drove south about 15 miles to Murrell's Inlet and found a place to eat called Nance's. It was decent, but definitely not as nice (more home cooking) than I would have preferred. We each got seafood platters, broiled. I thought it could use a little more seasoning, but it was pretty decent. Here's a picture of Kyle's plate:

Fish, deviled crab, 1/2 lobster tail, shrimp, scallops, oysters, baked potato, and slaw

Kyle's platter also included shrimp cocktail and chowder. I sampled both. Both were very, very good. Deviled crab was a pleasant surprise to both of us. It's some kind of crab salad stuffed back into the shell and then broiled. It tasted like stuffing- delicious. Also, Murrell's Inlet was beautiful and a little less touristy than MB. If we'd had more time I would have loved to check out Pawley's Island (a little further south, still).

Though not in the seafood world, we discovered a little treasure called Toffino's. I had found it online before we went and we just happened upon it one morning on our way for coffee. We stopped and shared a bearclaw. It was AMAZING. They also had awesome looking cannolis and all sorts of Italian desserts and cookies and Italian sandwiches. If we had had more time, I'm sure we would have eaten a full meal there. Anyways, I forgot the camera that morning, so here's a link to their website: http://www.toffinos.com/. If you're ever in the area, GO!!

One more thing, fresh peaches from the south can't be beat. There was a little fruit and veggie stand in our campground and I kept going back to buy more peaches. They were so ripe and so amazing. I think I ate at least 10. I have plans for a peach pie in the future.

Carolina on My Mind

After four years of marriage (well, three years and 51 weeks) and three years of law school and three years of graduate school, we finally went on our first (long overdue) vacation! We just got home from Myrtle Beach tonight after 800+ miles in the car today.

We planned on blogging during vacation and even took the laptop along, but we didn't have internet (at least we didn't think we had internet). We'll update about vacation tomorrow and I think I can even convince Kyle to post about surfing (since the blog was his idea, after all). Here's one picture, more to come tomorrow!

Little Farm on the Prairie

Here 's a quick tour of our farm. We already talked about the corn a few days ago. We also have chickens. If Kyle's grandpa is out of town, I get to collect and clean the eggs, which is something I never (like never in a million years) thought I would ever do. It's not too bad, actually. The chickens stay away from people, for the most part, so I just have to get into the coop and get the eggs. The first time we did it, Kyle told me it was the weirdest thing he'd ever done. I couldn't agree more.

We had a chicken disaster a few weeks ago. We left them out too long at night and coyotes got away with a few. We both felt pretty bad about it, but I guess that's just part of nature. We also have some baby chicks that should be laying by September. They don't really look like babies anymore, but here's a picture anyway.

We also have 4-H rabbits; here's a picture of a few of the little ones.

And finally, we have two horses. Pete is being boarded so Kyle's cousin can ride/practice for 4-H. But Fancypants "Fancy" is here with us. She's pretty, but I try to stay away because I'm pretty terrified of horses. So here's a picture of Fancy, from a safe distance. I'll get a picture of her outside soon.

So that's the farm in a nutshell. After living in downtown Indy for 2 years, we moved here in February. It's definitely been an adjustment. I think my heart will always be in the city, but the farm, the animals, and the country are certainly growing on me. It's a beautiful place to live, see?

Softball, Anyone?

This spring/summer, Kyle starting playing softball. He plays two days a week. I think he's really enjoying it; it's good exercise. He plays with our brother-in-law, Darrin, so as an added bonus, we get to see the Miller gang. Zayden, our nephew, has really gotten into softball. He loves watching his dad and uncle play. He always has a bat and ball in hand to play along from the bleachers. He gets really upset if someone walks instead of hitting the ball. He's hilarious!

Here's a pic of Kyle batting last night (I'm not too good at action shots, sorry!).

Here's another shot of Kyle getting ready to run home:

Last night was big win for Wolf's Residential Maintenance/Mike's Tire/Perry's Alignment Plus: 18-4! (I think they need a better name!)