look!

My kitchen is being featured on Small Place Style! Right now!  Y'all are probably used to seeing your lovely homes all over the blog world, but this is my first time.  So, go look!
www.smallplacestyle.blogspot.com

and I'm back...

Wow.  Wild couple of weeks I've had.  After all that rain we had recently we woke up to find two feet of water in the basement.  We have our gas water heater in the basement, so that meant no hot water.  For eight days.  EIGHT days y'all.  Good thing I go to the Y pretty much every day anyway.  I got hot showers.  Not so the bf.  He had cold showers.  For eight days. It took eight days because, as so often happens in this old house, the water heater had to be replaced (couldn't be fixed - no, that would be too simple), and it is a special size.  We first tried to replace it with a tankless water heater, but - surprise! - our vents are a special size as well, and it would have ended up costing several hundred dollars more to replace those, on top of the cost for the water heater.  So we ended up ordering a new special-sized water heater. It took some time to get here, but only about 30 minutes to install it, thanks to the never-ending skills of the bf.  Yes, I am lucky.

So we got the new water heater installed just in time for the big party.  The party was a lot of fun.  Really.  It was the first time I'd met most of the family members, and the first time many of them had met each other, but everyone was so gracious, and so happy about the wedding that it was one big love fest.  The bride was radiant and relaxed and the groom couldn't stop smiling.  The bride wanted Mexican food and simple, so the menu  was ceviche, guacamole, and salsa with chips.  First time I'd ever made ceviche.  Surprisingly easy and it was a big hit!  Cheese enchiladas, chicken enchiladas, black beans, pinto beans and a fruit salad for the entree, and home-made mini flans for dessert.  Again, it was the first time I'd ever attempted flan, but it was so easy and SO good, I'll definitely be making it again.  Top that off with Margaritas and it was definitely an easy and fun evening!

oops - sorry for blurry pic!

Really Easy Flan
2/3 C white sugar
1 (14 oz) can Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 C heavy cream
1 C milk (I used 2%, not that it would make a difference with all the other calories!)
5 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla (use the real stuff, preferably Mexican)

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.  In a small non-stick saucepan, heat sugar over medium heat.  Shake and swirl occasionally until sugar is    dissolved and begins to turn brown.  I found out it's important NOT to stir the sugar - that will cause it to harden, and you don't want that! Lower the heat and continue until sugar turns a light golden brown, but is still liquid-y.  Pour caramelized sugar into a 1 1/2 quart casserole (or, to make mini flans like I did, use a muffin pan made for extra large muffins - I got about 18 mini flans from this recipe), and swirl in pan to cover bottom of pan.
3.  In a blender, combine all other ingredients and blend on high for one minute.  Pour into pan over the caramelized sugar.
4.  Put 1 inch of HOT water into a pan large enough for the flan pan to fit inside of.  Add flan pan and bake in preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes for the casserole sized pan, and about 35 minutes for the muffin pan, or until set.


And on another note, the newest addition to the backyard - just before the party started:

There will be a beautiful new gate here one day...it was supposed to be here in time for the party, but the water heater fiasco kinda took priority.  Sad.

be careful what you wish for...

So, as of last Sunday, we here in the southeastern coastal area of North Carolina were 16 inches behind in our rainfall for the year.  That's roughly 25% of our usual 60 inches per year.  Water is expensive around here, so I was trying not to do too much watering, other than the potted plants, and I was lamenting the fact that my garden was really starting to show the effects of 90 degree temps and no rain.  Not bitching or complaining, mind you, just sort of lamenting.  Anywayyyyy...

Early Sunday evening it started to rain.  A little.  Then a lot.  Now it's Thursday, and it hasn't stopped yet.  We've received 20 (yes, that says TWENTY) inches of rain in just over three days.  And now, to add to that, today is windy as well.  Know what happens when there is a little bit of wind after 20 inches of rain?  Trees blow over easily, for one thing.  I have three ginormus 80 year old oaks and a handful of other big trees in my yard.  So I've been awake since 4am - watching.  So far so good, I'm happy to say.  But when I went outside this morning to look at things, I noticed something weird in the pond - several big, huge "bubbles" under the pond liner!  After the bf got into the pond, we figured out it is...water.  Under the pond.  The water table is so close to ground level around here that water is now seeping UP out of the ground! Yikes!  The wonders of Mother Nature!

This is a little league ballpark, not too far from my house.

One of the main highways going in and out of town. 

You might call this taking life's lemons and making lemonade.  This street was closed to traffic, so hopefully these kids were safe.

All of the above photos are from the local TV station (WECT).  I haven't been out taking any pictures!  So... the good news is - NO MORE DROUGHT!

what I did this weekend...

It started raining last night and hasn't stopped.  That's a good thing, as we were 15 inches (maybe more) below normal and going into drought conditions around here.  But before the rain started it was a beautiful weekend.

Friday night started with 108 Sun Salutations on the beach, followed by watching the moon rise, wine and some tasty snacks, all with half a dozen lovely friends. For those who don't practice, a sun Salutation is a series of yoga poses done in a particular order.  Doing 108 is an ancient tradition, usually done at New Years, the change of seasons, or some other special occasion, such as a birthday.  Why 108?  Seems to be a lot of different answers to that, but the one I kinda like is that in sanskrit there are 108 names for God.  Anyway...it was nice.

Saturday morning I was too sore for my usual yoga class, but I did go downtown for the Farmer's Market.  I ended up walking around a little bit, and had my camera with me, sooo...

One of the vendors at the Farmers Market.  It was crowded, so I didn't get any close ups of the beautiful veggies they had to offer.  I ended up taking home some tomatoes (mine have all died off from the heat), some zucchini, some fresh, homemade mozzarella, and some blueberry bread.  Most of the time I make my own blueberry bread, but I was HUNGRY!

When I get to the end of the market, here I am.  There are several street musicians around here all the time, not just during the market.  I work around the corner from here and see this guy every day.  He comes up with some hysterically funny songs that he makes up as he goes along.

The downtown area is on the riverfront.  The Cape Fear riverfront.  So as you walk along, the market is on one side of the street and the river is on the other.

This is one of my favorite houses downtown.  Yep, this is someone's house.  I've never seen it, but I hear it's just as beautiful on the inside.

Home again.  It was another gorgeous night, so we sat outside, under the new string lights we put up for the upcoming party.

Sunday morning brunch.  Cinnamon french toast with toasted walnuts in a cinnamon and brown sugar glaze, with bananas.  Yum.  My plate on the left, bf's plate on the right!

We worked in the yard and on projects all day, then just as it was starting to rain we got this done.  This is two slices of a cypress tree, brought home by the bf and put together with those little "butterfly" things you see, then installed on three poured concrete legs.  It is a piece of art and is so beautiful I had to lay down on it in the rain.

 

So pretty!  The "butterflys" are ipe (type of wood).

Then we went inside, had some beans and rice for dinner, watched a girl we know who was competing on one of the Food Network cake shows, and then went to sleep with the windows open and the rain coming down.

oh happy day...

I'll be busy this weekend, trying to get some things done in the yard, as we get ready to host a wedding rehearsal dinner for 25, in just two weeks!  Still so much left to do, but my main focus right now is keeping everything green until then.  Not an easy task, as we are currently experiencing a 15 inch deficit in rainfall (to those of you in western states, that's about your average yearly rainfall - our yearly average here is about 60 inches) and still having 90 degree daytime highs.  And I still have cooking to do for this little shindig, too!  I'm cooking (vegetarian) Mexican, and will be trying to make flan for the first time!  I'll post more about that in the coming weeks.  In the meantime, here are a few things that made me happy today...

Always loved this photo - just a cool little getaway spot to sit and read, or maybe just to sit and think.  Don't remember where this is from - maybe Cottage Living?

My little Jack.  Although I didn't take this photo this morning, this is how he looked when I left the house - sleeping on the couch with his head on a pillow.  He "arranges" the pillow just the way he wants it, before he lays his head down.  Yes, he's fat (or as his vet says, "happy").  Don't judge.

An idea I'd like to modify for one of our existing patios...someday.  Wouldn't this be a great place for a nap?  Not that I nap...I have a really hard time falling asleep in the day time.  But the cat would love to nap here, I'm sure.

Hang in there Hydrangeas!  They looked pretty sad and droopy yesterday, but after a quick watering, this is how they looked this morning.  Pretty soon they will turn green (pretty!) and then beige, and then they'll dry up for the winter.  Sad.  But they'll be back next year.

Artwork from Etsy.  Unfortunately I didn't note the name of the artist, and it's no longer on the site.  Beautiful, right?

My new shoes!  They're from American Eagle (not a place I normally shop!) - VERY comfortable and only $19.99.  And no animals were harmed in the making of these shoes!  Since I wear jeans to work most of the time, I think I will get a lot of use from these.

So there you have it.  I am wishing y'all a VERY happy weekend!

it's sinking in...

We have a loooong list of things we'd like to do around our little cottage..."someday".  Some of them will never happen.  But adding a half bath to this one bathroom house is one that will.  Someday.  We have a small laundry room/pantry off the kitchen, and with a little planning (well, actually the planning is already done!) and a lot of work, it will be easy (yep, easy!  Easy for me to say, anyway!)  to add a 4x9 foot half bath right off it.  Weird size, I know.  But the only way we can do it would be to put the pocket door in the middle of one long wall, with the sink on one side and the toilet on the other.  This is the only way it will fit here, and here is the best and least expensive option for us.

I've been thinking about this little bathroom for a while now and this is what I'm thinking:

Obviously mine wouldn't be this wide and wouldn't have counter top space on the sides - but I love this look.  And...I'm thinking the bf could make this out of concrete.  That man is a concrete genius.

via The Inspired Room - Also love the idea of using a big, deep, old style laundry sink, set on top of a concrete counter top.  And since it's right off the laundry room it might come in handy for that as well - I know it would come in handy for washing the dog!

 

 

Anybody got any other ideas?

back to earth...



Joshua Tree National Park
Not one of my photos - I'll post some of mine when I get home.



Our yoga retreat is over.  For this year, anyway.  Four days of hard work and bliss with three of the most amazing women on earth (and maybe a thousand other amazing people).  I learned a lot, mostly I learned how much I have to learn.  About life, as well as about yoga.  I was so inspired by what I saw and heard.  I'm encouraged by the thought that each one of us can do something to improve the world. And I loved learning about the different types of yoga around the world, some of which I'd never seen before.  And Joshua Tree! Beautiful. Would love to have tried some hiking out there, but no time and it was hot.  For the next two days I'll be visiting family, but I'll be back when I get home.