And a bit unmotivated

But I miss you guys! And wanted to do a post for everyone. Usually I feel really great after writing a post so I’m hoping this activity does the trick

All is fine here…Just a bit of Monday tiredness…not the blues, just tired.

I thought I’d share a couple update pictures of our new rental house. We are slowly but surely getting the house organized (after many trips to Lowes and Walmart!). Remember the ugly couches?

Now they are pretty Not gorgeous but pretty on a budget!

And that empty master bedroom?

A new bed, mattress, duvet cover, and throw pillows! Nathan and I had a really old bedroom set that was bought cheap and had done it’s duty and then some. We sold it before we left for the Peace Corps and needed to buy new furniture. Never fun to spend lots of money but I think we did pretty well and only bought a bed. We’ll use a dresser from my parent’s home and have an old table to use as a beside table. Making do! As for the duvet cover, I registered for a very pretty floral one before our wedding. Needless to say, Nathan was never a big fan. So I caved this weekend at Target…We now have a boring brown But I got girly pillows!

We had a fun weekend setting up house. I fixed some edamame (baby soy beans in the pod) as a snack and want to share the pictures with you. I had only ever bought edamame frozen and had never seen fresh pods. But we received some in our CSA box. They were really furry!

I washed them well and decided to steam them. Again, it was fun to unpack boxes and find my kitchen goodies. Here is one of my beautiful copper pots (a wedding gift from my in-laws!):

And a handy steamer:

You just place a small amount of water in the pan and place the steamer inside, making sure the water doesn’t rise above the steamer. And you steam away until the veggies are done!

I had several beans in the process to make sure they were coming along well I also added a little salt for flavor…The perfect snack to keep us going…Now only if we were done with the unpacking

Did you know “parfait” means “perfect” in French??

I think those French are on to something!

I received raspberries in my latest CSA box, and my grandmother generously shared a few of her fresh peaches from South Carolina.  So what did I have for breakfast?  Perfection

Greek yogurt layered with berries and peaches…topped with cinnamon honey.  Yummy!

What did you have for breakfast?

While home this last weekend, I not only enjoyed a wonderful home-cooked meal, but I also was able to attend a great fundraiser. My dad’s best friend from childhood, Rick, lives near my parents with his wife Jean. She is an avid cook and gardener, and I’ve been lucky enough to indulge in several of her food creations. Jean started growing wild flowers in her backyard a few years ago and has been selling them at the local farmers market. I hear her flowers are inexpensive and sell quickly! Every year Jean also holds a fundraiser for a local animal rescue named Friends in Need Animal Rescue. Seeing how I love dogs and local goodies, this was the perfect activity for me. Asher came along, we donated money to a great cause, and we went home with lovely flowers.

Here’s my dad posing with Asher by the event sign…

Truthfully Asher barely behaved himself…He was trying to pee on all the flowers Not cool when people want to cut them and take them home! Good thing I have unconditional love and patience for my boy

Here are a couple of pictures of the gorgeous gardens:

And my mom busy cutting…

Aren’t this two girls adorable? I love the red boots!

Jean had several art objects throughout the garden. I love these teacups.

And here are the flowers we went home with.

It seriously was such a fun activity and much more gratifying than buying flowers in a grocery store. Maybe I should starting growing flowers now too in addition to vegetables?!