summer, unfolding

With the cooler, less humid weather we've been having lately, a lot of our time has been spent outdoors. The patio is the perfect summer spot for morning coffee, sitting and chatting with family and friends, and dinners el fresco. Flowers are lush this time of year, with phlox, lamb's ear and hydrangea now blooming, and purple coneflower, black-eyed susan and joe pye weed all about to burst into bloom. We had a two-day visit with Tim and that was filled with local dining on the river, movies, card games and errands. Hard to believe he'll be moving back home in under four weeks!

Brian painted our front door a cheery yellow and the side panel a crisp white. I did my part by picking out the paint colors, scraping the stray paint off the glass, and doing the touch-up paint work. We're a pretty good team. It's amazing how a little paint can transform a space. The brighter colors go well with the light gray siding and brighten up the entire front of the house. The door and side panel were originally a dark stain. I remember when we first had this door installed and the contractor asked what color I had in mind. I told him I really liked painted doors instead of stained, and that front doors looked best with colors that added a punch of color. He looked at me like I was crazy and said that a dark stain would look best against the light gray siding. I thought that because he was a contractor he knew best, so I let him go ahead and stain the door and side panel. I did like it at first, but eventually I realized it was too dark and formal-looking for our house. Goes to show it's best to trust your gut. Go with what you think is best.

This weekend was also a good time for a relaxing day trip, slow-walking up and down the flower-laden streets, popping into interesting shops, and more outdoor dining. 

Not all was fun and games this weekend though ~ on Sunday, we worked for five hours straight in the basement, cleaning out a huge space and reorganizing the things we kept. We bagged up all the unneeded and unwanted stuff, packed the back seat and trunk of our car to the hilt, drove to the Goodwill donation center, and dropped it all off. Now this cleared-out space is ready for Tim to drag all his stuff home in a few weeks. 

Life is busy ~ and good.

spring weekends

 Spring weekends can't be all yard work, right? Time for another day trip! At first, we considered going to an antique and garden show in Wisconsin, but good thing I looked on Facebook beforehand: There were many posts about how crowded the place was. The police even shut down the main intersection near the farm and were turning people away. So, we chose to go to Evanston - one of our favorite day trip towns. 

We started out with a stop at Hewn. I got a strawberry muffin and Brian got a walnut scone. We sat outside in the sunshine and enjoyed our goodies while people-watching. We also bought a loaf of their homemade bread to bring home. I think it's a good thing we don't live close to this place. We could really get into trouble! 

From their web site..."Everything at Hewn is made in-house, from scratch daily. We source local and seasonal ingredients from small, local farmers when their flavors are at their peak. All of our breads are hand-mixed, hand-shaped and naturally fermented without commercial yeast. Allowing bread to ferment with wild yeast allows a richer, more complex flavor to develop. It also allows the gluten proteins to slowly and naturally break down over time. The starter (levain/sourdough) was initially created by Ellen (owner) several years ago. Our bakers all work to feed and maintain the starter every day.

Each day our bakers mix the dough by hand, turning it every 30 minutes over a four hour period. The dough is then shaped and placed into bannetons, where it rests overnight to rise naturally. In the morning, the bakers fire up the oven and bake the bread. From the start of the mix to the bake, the bread is fermented approximately 20 hours."

We walked around the neighborhood, popping into different shops and stopping to listen to a street band. I loved this planter I saw in front of one of the stores.

Cool street art...

We also visited a farmer's market. Not much going on just yet at farmer's markets here...mostly a lot of plants and spring veggies such as rhubarb and kale. At one booth, I pointed to the rhubarb and mentioned to Brian that "my rhubarb isn't this big and beautiful." The lady in the booth overheard me and remarked, "That's because you don't know what you're doing, my dear." Quite presumptuous, don't you think? Needless to say, I didn't buy anything from Rude Rhubarb Lady. ;-) I did buy a pound of fingerling potatoes from another vendor, which I roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper last night. Then I tossed them with some of my fresh herbs. We agreed that they were the best potatoes we'd ever had. Garden-fresh makes all the difference. I also bought beef bones from another organic farmer so that I can make bone broth. 

We saw this sign on the side of the library and loved it. We talked about how kids merely go through Google and click on links to do research nowadays. And how we used to have to go to the library, use the card catalog (remember those?) to look for appropriate books and periodicals, then look through and read said material. This banner is part of a project from Libraries Transform if you're interested in reading more about the Libraries Transform campaign.

I've mentioned before about Evanston that one of the many things I love about this town is the gorgeous houses. This one is the Oscar Mayer mansion - currently undergoing renovation.

Our last stop of the day was the lakefront. This has always been one of my favorite views looking toward Chicago. See the tiny building on the far right? That's the John Hancock Center. 

We spread out a blanket in the grass area of the park in front of the lake. We brought our books with us, too ~ after all, our intention was to relax and read. Well, intentions are just that. I think my body wanted to nap off the Indian cuisine we had for lunch. ;-)

It was back to the yard work and gardening on Sunday and most of the day today, too. We've been blessed with beautiful weather, but looks like rain is moving in for the rest of the week. Catch you later with some garden updates! 

travel the world over to find the beautiful

 Happy July! Couldn't ask for better weather here in northern Illinois these past

few days ~ sunny, temps in the 70's, and low humidity. And what a bonus: both Brian

and Tim were off work today. I had written in my June 7th post that Tim was moving out

in 3-1/2 weeks. That moving day was supposed to be today. Long story short, 

Tim is taking one last math class here at the community college that he's been attending,

 so now he's not moving out until mid-August. He'll only have one week to get settled

 into his new place before he starts school at the university, but I'm sure he'll be fine.

Seeing we don't have much time left for the three of us to all be together, we

took a day trip to Cedarburg, Wisconsin. It's one of those charming Midwest towns

with specialty stores, wineries, beautiful inns, and wonderful restaurants and 

coffee shops. We stopped at Water Street Brewery for lunch.

Belgian Wit, Pale Ale, and...what's this odd beverage out in a brewery?!

Yep, yours truly doesn't like beer, so I went with the wine. Cheers.

The food was delicious and more-than-plentiful. I had fish tacos and cilantro-lime rice.

 Mr. Garbage Disposal Brian had to finish my food for me.

Brian had the portabello mushroom pizza.
 

And, Tim had a huge, honkin' burger and fries.
 

 We strolled off our lunch up and down the main street of downtown Cedarburg.

Tim got a little bored, so he went off on his own photography adventure...did I ever

mention that he's a fantastic photographer? I know he's my son and we all tend to

brag about our kids, but seriously - he's amazingly talented. In high school, he won

first place in the Visual Communication Contest and then went on to State, where he

won third place in Photoshop Design. One of his photos is the cover for the book,

The Length of Light. And he did his first wedding shoot this past winter in Gatlinburg,

TN. If you have a chance, check out some of his photos at Mr. Tim Photography.

I digress! Back to strolling and admiring the buildings and flowers...

This adorable pup was tied up in front of a coffee shop. I just had to sit and pet her

and talk to her while her human was in the coffee shop.
 

 Loved this collage of vintage pictures on the wall of the coffee shop.

What a perfect day to just relax and truly enjoy the beautiful weather, each

other's company, and some good coffee. Iced tea for Brian though. He's not

a coffee drinker.

Last stop - a chocolate shop. Look at all that temptation!
 

I didn't get anything, but Tim wanted to try the Belgian chocolate-covered bacon.

I think it sounds rather gross, but Tim really liked it! 
 

 You don't have to travel far to find the beautiful. Sometimes even just

a day trip is good for the soul.

midwest pleasures ~ nellie's barn sale

Brian and I took a day trip yesterday to a small town right outside Rockford, IL.

 The drive was peaceful and beautiful. Nothing but farm fields as far as the eye could see.

 We stopped for lunch at  Mary's Market, which serves fantastic "real" food.

I had the grilled avocado and chicken tacos with black beans, mango, corn,

pico de gallo, lettuce, and sriracha vinaigrette...

and Brian had seared ahi tuna with mixed greens, avocado, tomatoes,

and green onions, with wasabi aioli ~ and a roasted beet salad.

 

With our bellies sufficiently full, we went on to Nellie's Barn Sale.

What could be more welcoming than an old screen door with a cute,

little pup waiting for customers?

This semi-annual sale held on the expansive, beautifully landscaped grounds of

 a house in Roscoe, is filled with all kinds of vintage goodies.

Tents were set up for all the different vendors.

 

 There was a lot of vintage kitchen tools, collectibles, painted furniture, tools,

handmade birdhouses, jewelry, and tags...

Old pictures and baskets...

 

Doris the little camper {these are known as "glampers" nowadays, right?}

 held some cool stuff, too - including a couple of vintage typewriters.

 

A little barn filled with all kinds of treasures...

 

And then there were the gardens. I probably spent more time looking around,

oohing and aahing over the gardens than I did all the antiques!

I love how the homeowner incorporated this old gate into the landscaping.

And take a look at this twig bench amongst the ferns and flowers.

 

 There was a small pond surrounded by hostas, bushes, ferns, and tall

 grasses ~ and check out the vine-covered arbor in the background, too.

Lovely how the stone bird bath is set in the middle of the day lilies. 

 

I think one of these wooden pyramid trellises is going on my garden wish list.

 

I love how this perennial garden is backed by an chippy, white fence

 with beautiful spindles. 

 

I only bought a few small things at the barn sale, which I will show you later. :-)