best recipe.

i realized that i've made this probably 10 times since i got this recipe from my mom in law and that i should post it here for you all to make. it's amazing, easy and amazingly easy.

orzo salad

1 box orzo
6 cups chicken broth
2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
7 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
1 cup chopped fresh basil
1 cup chopped green onions (optional...i've never done it with onions)

dressing
1/2 cup olive oil
1 T. honey
2 T. lemon juice
1/4 cup red wine vinegar

cook orzo in chicken broth. drain and rinse. Toss all ingredients and serve immediately. If I am taking this out to dinner, I put pasta and basil in a large bowl and take the other ingredients in baggies. I add to bowl just before serving.

we sometimes just eat this for dinner. it's also good to pair with some sort of sandwich. and i think it would be a great thing to take to a shower or bbq. i have gotten many compliments on it the few places i've taken it. try it.

thank you to traci for sending me this, this morning.



she said it reminded her of me. yes. love it.

amy butler.

you may have already seen these around the blogging world, but i just love them so much, i had to show them here. amy butler rugs. absolutely gorgeous.

i would really like this one for my family room.

and i really admire this one as well.

heidi wants this one for her (hopefully) new dining room.
i like it too.

i think i may need to save up for one.

in other news, it's another rainy day here. tomorrow (our last day) is looking good. tonight is the big steelers game and shrimp! and here's two favorite photos from this week of the little one and her momma.

the (almost) fire.

last night, we had a fire. mom was getting ready to make some popcorn, so she put the oil in the popcorn maker so it would heat up on the stove. in the meantime, lucy was starting to get a little fussy, so mom went over to help traci try and calm her down. about 3 minutes later, the smoke detector went off and we look over and there is flames coming out of the popcorn maker. mom's fire safety skills came into practice and she took the flaming popcorn maker out on the porch to die down.' unfortunately, mom's popcorn maker didn't survive. but don't worry, it's not her nice one...that one's at home. rip, mom's traveling popcorn maker.

p.s. dad just went out to get a (sheet) cake. we are celebrating lucy's 2 month birthday!

book reviews.

like i said a few posts ago, heidi told me i needed to read this book called 'love walked in' by maria delos santos. she absolutely loved it and so did i. her writing reminds me a little of gilmore girls talk. it's so clever and cute. as heidi said, 'it's like the way i want to talk in everyday life.' well, read it. and then read the sequel 'belong to me.'


i actually think i liked this one more. i'm not sure exactly why. i kept wanting to read and read so i could find out what happened next. i finished it in two days while here in the obx. traci is now reading 'love walked in.' so you should too.

p.s. another rainy day here :(
p.p.s. fire just averted at the house :)

rain, rain...

go away, come another labor day.
yes, it is only our second full day here and the remnants of some tropical storm are making us stay inside today. but, we have big plans for our family fantasy football draft, which always takes about 2 or so hours long. and then we are having ma's spaghetti tonight!! and i'm sure some euchre, settlers, and madden (for some people).

it has been a memorable vacation so far. on our ride down, we almost lost the surfboards off of dad's jeep. seriously, they were at like a 60 degree angle on top off the roof. matt and i were right behind it. we saw our lives flash before our eyes.

most of our time is spent ooohing over lucy.


she is smiling a lot. and she really likes the ceiling fans here. yesterday i spent some quality one on one time with her while everyone else was out. we entertained ourselves.

she punched me.

all in all, we love family vacation and i'm already sad about going home.

wake me up.

it is september. which means we are almost to fall. and this unusually cool weather we've had the last few days has made many antsy for fall, me included. i am very much looking forward to it cause life will slow down dramatically. wedding season will be over at the end of this month, which i'm looking forward to. i've started a list of things i really want to do this fall. we'll see how much i get to.

-learn how to sew...like on a sewing machine...with the help of my mom.
-make my dining room curtains with the help of my mom in law.
-take lots of photos for fun. this is something i've missed since being so busy this summer. i like taking photos of fun people, so if you are fun, let me know.
-go to the orchard with vicky and the boys and sarah and aaron. for lots of reasons. but, i am envisioning a very cute photo shoot.
-help mich find wedding shoes.
-go to lots of jenny's games.
-saturday mornings getting pumpkin spice latte's and going to the growers market with sharpie.
-spending lots of time with lucy.
-euchre tournament.

i hope i can enjoy at least some of these!