Checking In

Just a little "Hello" to check in and say that things are going well here. :)  I had an unintentional blog break this week, and it has been just what I needed.

"So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it. 

Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ--the Message--have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct each other using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives--words, actions, whatever--be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way." 

 Colossians 3:12-17 (emphasis my own)

I'll be back tomorrow with my Friday Favorites!!

Father's Day Weekend

 Another wonderful thing about June? Father's Day. We are crazy about Daddy around here, and it was so fun to have a day to celebrate him! He takes care of us so well, and all three of us are much happier when he is in the room.

 

Our home projects have been on-hold for quite a while, but we went ahead and ordered the sink we've been thinking about for months. Our first floor bathroom is the smallest I've ever seen, and the sink takes up almost all of the room needed for a person to actually fit inside and still be able to shut the door. This white, corner sink will be perfect! It is a tiny sink for a tiny room!

 

Saturday was a rainy day, so Steve and I tossed around the idea of making a trek to the bigger city. We started out at Target, and the boys were excited about the toy section! Since Steve was with us, I got to try on clothes in the dressing room for the first time in many, many months. ;)

And then we checked out the grocery store with the fun car carts and the train! Nolan shouted "Beep Beep" through the entire store :)

Before we headed home, we stopped at Chick-Fil-A for dinner. Ephraim smiles and makes faces for the camera, while Nolan tries to avoid it at all costs :)

CFA is the best kid-friendly restaurant!

After church and lunch with my in-laws yesterday, we had a low-key afternoon while E napped. Our friends, Ashley and Andrew, invited us out on a double date, so we eagerly agreed! We tried out a new restaurant in town, and had a lot of fun before it was time to go home and put the boys to bed.

Happy Monday, everyone!! I hope it's a sunny day where you are!

Friday Favorites

F R I D A Y   F A V O R I T E S

It's so much fun to come to this little space on the internet and piece together some of the highlights of our week. It helps me to be aware of the time passing, and it lets me be reflective on my time with the boys :)

On Wednesday, I bought Nolan some watercolor paints, and he wanted to paint all of the letters of the alphabet. He's known the letters since he turned two, but he somehow decided that now is the time to write them himself :) Yesterday, he called me into the dining room to proudly show me that he wrote his name on the chalkboard. The L is backwards, and the AN are up above, but I couldn't believe how good his letters look! And he wrote them in rainbow color order :)

The boys and I stopped by JoAnn Fabrics the other day to look for Fourth of July decor for the house. Last month, JoAnn's had a really pretty, wooden, red-white-and-blue map of the U.S. that I was hoping to buy, but it was unfortunately gone. They had a lot of Americana fabrics, but what really caught my eye was this printed burlap! I'm hoping to make some bunting with it :)

My friend Elisabeth posted this photo on Instagram, and I fell in love with both the handlettering (by Ali Makes Things) and the quote by Louisa May Alcott! I find it so encouraging. God has a lot to teach us about living well, especially when we're in "storms".

On Tuesday, I shared about how our 2015 Garden is doing after about a month of growth. We are hoping for another good harvest this year, and I'm sure all this rain is helping!

 

Yesterday, if you missed it, I posted this crunchy Asian Ramen Noodle Salad. I have to admit, I'm a pretty picky salad eater, and I think this one is delicious! Edamame, almonds, crunchy noodles, and a tangy homemade vinaigrette dressing--yum!

Speaking of recipes, I've had this Raspberry Custard Kuchen recipe on my blog for nearly three years, but I updated it with some new photos. It's the perfect fruity summer dessert, especially with a scoop of ice cream on the side!

Have a great weekend, you guys!!

See you back here next week :)

Follow along with me on Instagram @floralandfudge

Linking up with Andrea, Erika, and Narci.

Asian Ramen Noodle Salad

At our church, potlucks are a very regular occurrence. I always find myself searching last-minute for ideas on what to bring. I mostly gravitate towards making a dessert, but on Sunday, we were having an outdoor potluck, and so I thought of a summery salad. I tweaked and simplified this recipe, which takes the classic crunchy Asian salad and makes it a little fresher and healthier. It is delicious and easy! And I quizzed a few other church friends who agreed that it had an amazing variety of flavors and textures.

Ingredients:

Two (3 ounce) packages Ramen noodles (you won't use the seasoning packets, so they can be any flavor)
14-ounce bag coleslaw mix
10-ounce bag of frozen edamame--cooked and shelled
1/2 cup thinly sliced almonds
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions (scallions)

For the Asian Honey Vinaigrette Dressing:

2/3 cup vegetable oil (or any cooking oil)
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 teaspoons soy sauce
pinches of salt and pepper

To make the Asian Honey Vinaigrette, simply whisk together the vegetable oil, honey, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and salt and pepper in a bowl.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  In a gallon-size Ziploc bag, smash the Ramen noodles until they are crumbled. (I had to enlist the help of one of Nolan's toy hammers.) Spread the crumbled Ramen noodles and the almonds on a baking sheet, and toast them in the oven for 3-5 minutes, until they're golden brown.

When they're cooled, toss them in a bowl with the vinaigrette dressing, green onions, edamame, and coleslaw cabbage.

It's ready to serve! It will be good up to three days (but it will probably only be crunchy the first day).

Your potluck friends will enjoy it!! 

See you tomorrow for Friday Favorites :)

Our Yard & Garden 2015

In the summer of 2013, we moved into our house, and inherited some large raised garden beds. The previous owner had already planted some tomatoes and peppers, and we enjoyed the harvest. Last summer, the garden beds were out-of-control with weeds, and I decided to plant a garden for the first time. I had no idea what to expect, and as time went on, I was amazed! And it was so much fun to teach Nolan how vegetables grow!

Our harvest at the end of the summer was:

2581 raspberries!

5 pumpkins (including one large, 22 pounder)
950 green beans
9 spaghetti squash
66 tomatoes (although most had been affected by blight)
27 zucchini
47 cucumbers
11 carrots

This year, I planted the garden the last week of April, because we had a little heat wave. (Last year I don't believe I planted until the beginning of June.) 

Before I took these photos yesterday, I weeded through the sunshine and rain, and broke a major sweat! #gardeningismycardio  We have had so much rain that the beds were covered in a layer of green clovers. There are tons of ivy and morning glory to battle because a previous owner once wanted the fence to be covered in ivy. Hopefully once the vegetables start to get big and strong, I won't have to spend so much time weeding!

I planted: 

Several organic GREEN BEANS (Bush Blue Lake 47). Last year, I unknowingly bought pole beans, which ended up being fun, but they were out-of-control tall! This year, I went for the bush variety to keep it simple.

Three ZUCCHINI plants (Burpee's Best Hybrid). I have a feeling we are going to get another amazing crop, and I'll be baking zucchini bread for weeks.

SWEET CORN! (Chubby Checkers Hybrid). I've never grown corn before, but as a Midwest girl, I am super excited to watch every stage of its growth up close! If all goes well, I can't wait to butter and salt an ear of corn that I grew myself!

TOMATOES (Red Cherry, Large Fruited) We were disappointed last year in our tomato crop (blight), but didn't want to miss out on having some delicious cherry tomatoes in our salads this summer! The first seeds that I planted didn't grow, so I hurried up and planted from a new seed packet a couple of weeks ago. They have started growing, and hopefully they won't produce too late!

Meanwhile, the tomatoes that composted last year started growing a new crop next to the zucchini and corn! I'm hoping there is enough space for them to all grow together in the same bed (below photo).

Speaking of composting, the 22-pound PUMPKIN that I grew last year created a new pumpkin patch this year! It is so much fun to watch how one little seed turns into huge leaves, thick vines, and ultimately, beautiful orange pumpkins :)  

Our five RASPBERRY bushes bloom every year, and we get a huge crop in July, and then again in September! We harvest basically until it snows.

Because the raspberries do so well in this climate, we bought two blueberry bushes from Lowe's. One has been doing really well, but the other no longer has any flowers or berries on it. They are two different varieties so they can cross-pollinate. It has been fun to watch blueberries grow for the first time!

Steve found this bush in our side yard, and I've never noticed it before. I think it might be a wild blackberry bush? Does anyone know? It's different than the raspberry bush because the fruit are all facing up, and the branches are a light green color with thorns.

 Autumn Joy Sedum planted in a pot.

 The sunflowers (Fantasia Mix Hybrid) that Nolan planted.

Tiger lilies growing near the front porch.

And my indoor garden--including the calla lily that my mother-in-law gave me for Easter. I was worried that it wasn't going to get a flower, but I just noticed one open up! (It's still green, but should turn yellow.)

I'm linking up with Andrea today to "Show and Tell" our yard, but there isn't much else to show beyond the garden. We have quite a bit of space for the boys to run and play, we have a classic turtle sandbox, a blow-up pool, and lots of overgrown bushes that we can't find time to keep up with! ;)

 Since we enjoyed watching our robin's nest so much, I started a birdfeeder so that we could watch birds from the window. We mostly get small brown birds, but every so often, I see the cutest cardinal couple, who fly everywhere together and sometimes feed each other.

Our little wooden stairs that lead up to the back door were looking very shabby, so Steve sanded and painted them on Saturday. They look so much better, and now I can feel good about Ephraim climbing all over them with his hands and bare knees :)

Our wraparound front porch is next to be updated! We haven't used it yet this year because it's dirty from the winter, but here are a few throwback photos from a year ago!

And here was Nolan as the best garden helper in 2014! :)

Thanks for visiting today!  I love sharing pieces of our life with you :)