lobsta daily

We had a wonderful last week. My brother got married and then Aaron and I had a quick trip to Maine. Unfortunately, I didn't get my camera out once at the wedding. Not sure what I was thinking. I will say that Aaron and I did love the photo booth that they had. That was the only photo that I brought home! I can't wait to see their pictures.
Maine was absolutely amazing. It has been a dream to go there in the summer, and we did it! We stayed in Freeport, ME just 30 minutes outside of Portland. We drove to different towns on the coast, and every single one of them was beautiful! A little preview...

 View from our backyard in Freeport, ME.

 Nubble Lighthouse

 About to see some whales off of Baybooth Harbor!

 Minke Whales- we saw several of them within 30 minutes.

 Then we got to the Fin Whales. They came right next to our boat. They are the 2nd largest whales, 60-70ft long!

 Windjammers were everywhere.

 Best popcorn ever...seriously.

 Aaron's Lobster Roll. He was super excited about. This was our night at 5 Islands Lobster.

 So I ate the same meal a lot...it was awesome.

 We found this awesome beach, thanks to this sweet old lady that liked our bikes. In Winslow Park.

 The rocks were perfectly smooth to layout on.

 Our cute cottage. Looks can be deceiving, we could have had 4 other people stay with us.

 Aaron's Idea

 Hiking in Bradbury State Park

 McDonald's... Seriously nice.

 Portland Head Light Lighthouse in Cape Elizabeth.

Such an awesome trip! Maybe one day we'll get to go back. See you soon Maine!

i grew a pizza

This was one of those moments that I really wished that I could have eaten what I was cooking. Last night I made Aaron a Garden Grilled Pizza for dinner. I made this last summer, but this year everything was from our garden! I basically made an almost free pizza (minus making my own whole wheat crust and store bought cheese). If you have a surplus of veggies that you don’t know what to do with, try this recipe.

Summer Squash Pizza
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 medium zucchini, cut lengthwise into (1/4-inch-thick) slices
1 medium yellow squash, cut lengthwise into (1/4-inch-thick) slices
Cooking spray
1 (12-inch) packaged pizza crust (I personally, like to make my own)
2 plum tomatoes, cut into (1/8-inch-thick) slices
1/4 cup (1 ounce) finely grated pecorino Romano cheese
2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh oregano


1. Prepare grill.
2. Combine oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, zucchini slices, and yellow squash slices in a large bowl, tossing gently to coat. Place squash mixture on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 2 minutes on each side or until tender.
3. Reduce grill temperature to medium.
4. Lightly coat pizza crust with cooking spray; grill 1 minute on each side or until lightly toasted. Arrange zucchini and squash over crust. Arrange tomatoes over squash; sprinkle with pecorino Romano cheese. Grill 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Remove from grill; sprinkle with basil and oregano.

may it all begin

May the countdown begin.

My brother gets married this weekend and we leave for our trip to Maine. We are so excited about both that we can barely stand it! It should be interesting packing for 2 different places with temperatures in the 90s and another in the 70s. Sounds like outdoor heaven will quickly be approaching.

Some things that are must do’s on our list in Maine are: Relax, Eat lots of Lobster, Whale Watching, Hiking, Kayak or Paddle Board, Learn to Fly Fish, See Light Houses, Get a picture of a Puffin, Bike Rides, and Have Amazing Runs. Looking forward to all of the fun festivities!

Missing Steph, but we're all about to be sisters!

I hope this happens next to our boat!

sometimes its easier to buy than make

I saw something like this at Anthropologie.

So, I thought, ‘please, I can make those garden markers’, remember this thought. After I drove around to different antique and thrift stores I finally found some spoons. Who knew it would be such a challenge. The good thing was they were old Army spoons that were used in the military. (Free added character.) Well, that was only the beginning.

I hammered the mess out of these guys for two days; someone should have mentioned in a tutorial that you need silver spoons! Then I purchased 2 different metal stamps and had no luck, because the spoons weren’t real silver. (ugh) So, then I got clever with what I had. I stamped each halfway flatten spoon with the plant/veggie/herb’s name on it, and then sealed them.

I think they came out ok, and Aaron loved them. That was all that really mattered. They weren’t spot on fruit or flowers marking 4 years, but it was for your fruit and flowers. Kind of a stretch, but it worked!

Here is to the many years ahead!

4 and counting

I'm happy to say that Aaron and I are 4 years and counting today! Aaron and I aren't very traditional people, but when it comes to anniversary presents we are. We do the whole traditional gifts that match the year. For year 4, it's fruit and flowers. I can't really share what Aaron is getting from me yet, but I will say I had a fun Edible Arrangement that looked like this at the office today! I had to move the shelfs in the fridge to make it fit, but I have never been more excited about seeing a delivery man! I can't believe how lucky I am to be married to someone like Aaron. I thank the Lord for him everyday (ok, i'll save the mushy stuff for him).

how many ways can you cook a zucchini?

As many of you know. I have become Gluten Free. Not by choice...trust me. I can very easily sit and mourn over the things I love that I will no longer be able to eat, or I can rejoice in how well I feel. I think I’ll go with the second one! I have had to use some creativity in the kitchen; while at the same time try not to deprive Aaron from things.

Now that we have this huge garden, I have a major surplus of veggies exceeding what two people can eat. I have had to get creative in making squash and zucchini more than 5 ways! Last night I came across this recipe for Zucchini Patties. At first I thought, “terrible name and sounds gross “, but good thing I pushed those thoughts aside. They were delicious! Try them out and let me know what you think. ( I paired mine with grilled chicken and salad.)

Zucchini Patties

Ingredients

• 2 cups grated zucchini

• 2 eggs, beaten (You could use 1 egg & 1 egg white)

• 1/4 cup chopped onion

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (GF- I used a crumbled up slice of brown rice bread.)

• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

• salt & pepper to taste

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

(Adding fresh basil & sundried tomatoes...would be delish to this too.)

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, combine the zucchini, eggs, onion, flour, Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, and salt. Stir well enough to distribute ingredients evenly.
2. Heat a small amount of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Drop zucchini mixture by heaping tablespoonfuls, and cook for a few minutes on each side until golden.

we ended may well

Oh how I have lost track of time! We had a great Memorial Day weekend with the Carters.  This has been a really funny and special tradition for us for the past 3 years. Luckily, they don’t mind making the drive to see us. We had so much fun, but I didn’t take as many pictures as I had planned! That is ok though, because some of these are pretty priceless.

 

Our First stop...picking over 4lbs. of Blueberries!

 We had to raech a little high for the big ones.

 And you should all buy the Stitch App...

...serious entertainment.

We have so much to look forward to this month: our 4 year anniversary, my brother’s wedding, and our trip to Maine! Oh, I can’t wait for each of these things. I love June!