Friday to-do...

It's been a long week getting back in the groove after vacation, so I'm looking forward to a nice weekend!  We don't have much on the agenda, so there should be plenty of time for productivity and relaxation, always a good combination!

this weekend i hope to:

• deep clean the upstairs {I did the downstairs last weekend}
• make a cleaning schedule to keep up with everything going forward
• barbeque with our good neighbor friends
• decide when to begin boot camp classes with said neighbor
• meal plan for next week, and include lots of veggies!
• get in at least one run
• get some more pictures ready to share with you all!

I think that's it!  Should be a nice and simple weekend!  It's rainy today, but looks like Saturday and Sunday will be sunny and in the upper 60's....perfect!  

What's on your list for this weekend?

Whatever it is, I hope is relaxing and filled with people you love!  Happy Friday everyone! 

{photo credit:  doe-c-doe}

Texas de Brazil...

Amanda and Bo took us to the most amazing restaurant, Texas de Brazil.  For those of you who aren't lucky enough to have been to one, it's a brazilian steakhouse with a killer salad bar, and all the meat you can eat.  I suppose if you're vegetarian, the salad bar would be quite satisfying alone, but the meat is really where it's at!  The Gauchos bring it freshly grilled on skewers to your table and load up your plate.  We feasted until we could not eat another bite!  My favorite was the filet mignon.  So tender and delicious, melt in your mouth...oh I want some more right now!

{click to enlarge!}

Amanda and I enjoyed dessert while the boys were in their meat comas.  Bananas foster for her, key lime pie for me.  mmmmm.

I highly, highly recommend this to all my meat eating friends out there!  Seriously folks, d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s.

Jon and I think we might just have to check out Fogo de Chao in Kansas City now.  I'm not sure anything can possible hold a candle to Texas de Brazil, but it's all we have!  {really, I've heard it's excellent as well}

Thanks so much again, Amanda and Bo!  We had such a great time, and the food was delicious!
p.s. according to Texas de Brazil's website, there is now a Texas de Brazil Express in Dallas...you guys should really check that out!  ;)

I am grateful for...

fresh berries and how delicious they make my morning yogurt.

{photo credit:  the cheshire smile}

Fort Worth...

Our destination was Fort Worth, Texas!  We went to visit some of our favorite people!  Amanda and I have been the best of friends for about 24 years.  She and her wonderful husband have the two cutest kids on earth and we were long overdue for a visit.  {almost 3 years!}  We finally got to meet sweet little Hollis, and Ava has gone from a tiny baby to an all out kid since we last saw her!  They are both absolutely darling and made us anxious for the day that we will become parents ourselves!  ;)

Our first outing was to the Fort Worth Zoo.  It was awesome!  I really haven't been to a zoo in a very long time, so I don't have a lot to compare it to, but I thought it was really fantastic.  It didn't hurt that it was the perfect weather that day.  Not hot, not cold, just right!

...more vacation fun to come! {also, if you click on the collages, they'll get bigger!}

Do you like zoos?  What's your favorite zoo animal?

My favorites are always the big cats.  It's amazing to me how similar their mannerisms are to my kitties!  I just want to snuggle them!

What we've really been up to...

Well, good morning everyone!  I have a confession to make...I was up to something last week....

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N! 

Yes, it's true, I did not tell you...I'm sneaky like that.  {call me paranoid, but I wasn't up for broadcasting our absence to the world} Some of you may remember me being a little stressed week before last and feeling like I had too much to do ...well, now you know why.  I was getting ready for a trip!  Make sense?  

Today it's back to work, and back to reality.  Vacations certainly make you appreciate your "norm" though, don't you think?  I mean, don't get me wrong, I LOVE  vacations, and I enjoyed every second, but I am all refreshed and ready to go back to my life with a new zest!

Saturday before last, we set out on a little road trip, armed with 88 ounces of iced coffee goodness...

We enjoyed that "we're on vacation" feeling.  You know, the one when you're just starting off, and you have a whole week to look forward to.  Ahhhh, so wonderful.

We passed through the Flint Hills.  Such beautiful country.  It seems to stretch on forever!

They were burning the fields, and it was awesome to see.

{Don't anybody get your green panties in a bunch, this is an essential, and controlled process in this land's ecosystem.}

{if you enlarge this picture^ you can see the flames!}

Any guesses where we were headed?

beach dreams...

Happy Friday everyone! 
Hope your weekend has the promise of some excitement and some relaxation!  I'm confident that mine does.  I'll have some travel posts coming up next week! 
Doesn't the photo above make you yearn for the beach?  It does me.  I haven't seen a beach in 3 years! 

When's the last time you layed eyes on the ocean?  Do you live close enough to the beach to visit easily?

I'm also super excited because our local farmer's market starts back up this weekend!  Yay!  Fresh salsa, here I come!

{photo credit:  jena ardell}

Old Photos, Go sit by the car...

This is, from left to right, Uncle Albert {that handsome soldier from the last photo}, Aunt Marie holding Aunt Georgia, My grandmother, Janie, holding Aunt Mary, and my Uncle Marion {a.k.a. Buzz}

*****I do ask that you keep in mind that these are my family photos.  Please do not use them without my written permission.  Thank you.*****

I am grateful for...

kitty kisses in the morning.

{photo credit: jasoncfelper }

older than i was...

Today is also my little sister's birthday.  She's 15 today, and officially older than I was when she was born.  Unbelievable.  I was telling her about the day she was born the other day.  I remember what I was wearing {a henly-type shirt with hunter green and maroon stripes} and that I heard Lightning Crashes by Live when I was getting ready that morning.  {which I thought was totally weird}  She of course has no idea what that song is. 
I asked her how she would feel about having a new baby sister right now.  Her eyes got real big, and she shook her head violently.  Not something she cares to imagine. 

Lydia, you've grown into such a beautiful young woman, and athough it makes me feel really old that you're celebrating 15 years, it's been really great having you around for the last half of my life.  Can't wait to celebrate with you and have another girls night!  Love you bunches!  jen

I still do...

Three years ago today, I married my best friend.

Every day since then, I've fallen a little more in love.  I didn't know that was really possibe.  But it is!

I can't wait to see what our fourth year brings...

I love you Jon Jon!  Thanks for being my hubby!

Old Photos, Albert's in the Army...

My great-uncle Albert Weaver in his Army uniform, 1946.

*****I do ask that you keep in mind that these are my family photos.  Please do not use them without my written permission.  Thank you.*****

ABC's of Paris...

The ever-inspiring Design Sponge did a post about Marc Oliver's ABC Paris photo collection a while back.  I love how the architectural elements turn into letters of the alphabet.  You can purchase prints of Marc's photos via his website starting at just $10 each.  I just whipped together a little sample of our name above!

Wouldn't this make a great wedding gift!?  

Old Photos, Wagon...

My great, great-grandfather, Marion Weaver and his team of horses.  1925.

*****I do ask that you keep in mind that these are my family photos.  Please do not use them without my written permission.  Thank you.*****

I am grateful for...

the sound of soft raindrops on the window in the morning.

{photo credit:  Eterni}

Friday at last...

Wow, this week has been a crazy one!  After a whole lot of stress, a spat with my husband and some heart palpitations last night, I came to terms with the fact that I just might have to let some things go from my never ending to-do list.  Not that they'll never get done, just that it just might not be in the timeframe I was hoping.  On that note, I'm not even going to post a list this week, because quite frankly, my head might explode.  Let's just say I have lots and lots to do.  Some things are tedious, some things are so exciting I can't hardly stand it!

I hope you all have a beautiful weekend, and I'll see you next week!

{photo credit:  unknown}

Tonight...

I will conquer the sink full of dishes and the laundry.  Oh, yes, I will!

Sorry for the short posts.  Life is very full right now!  

{photo credit:  paperspoons}

{Dessert} Recipes I'd like to try...

Blackberry Cake 

Dark Chocolate Pudding 

Triple Layer Coconut Cake with Lemon Curd

busy, busy...

This week is proving to be quite jam-packed full of things to do.  My list is quite long, and the week is already half over!

I am trying to find time in the day to marvel in the beauty of spring.  Just this morning the trees along our street have burst forth with tiny leaves!  My seedlings are sprouting, my hostas are peeking their little purple sprouts up through the soil, and the leaves are starting to form.  The weather has been absolutely divine!  For some reason I'm more aware of the beauty of spring this year.  {Maybe it was the long, harsh winter that we thought would never end!}  I've always thought of fall as my favorite season, but I think spring may be taking that spot!  

This evening I plan to have dinner with a great old friend of mine.  We try and get together once a month to catch up.  We agreed that we must go somewhere with a patio so we can enjoy the weather, it won't be long til the heat of summer takes over!



{photo credit: the cheshire smile}

dessert table...

I was introduced to Amy Atlas via this post on Made By Girl the other day, and I instantly fell in love!  How awesome are these table settings!?  Makes me want to throw a party.  After all, they incorporate some of my very favorite things:  sweets, buntings, feminine details, and great design!  These are just a few of my favorites, you should definitely go check out the rest of her work!

found here .

Old Photos...Meet the Weavers...

Remember this post?  WEll, some of you did show interest in seeing the content of the album.  One problem...I have yet to locate the disc!  eeek!  I'm sure I have it around here somewhere.  ;)  I may have to ask my mom to borrow her's and re-burn it for myself.  Anyhow, I did find another disc with some old family photos, and thought I'd start sharing those.

Now these are going to be in completely random order.  I have very short descriptions that are many times not complete, so it would be very difficult to put them in chronological order.

{Please excuse the poor quality of the photo.}

I thought I would start off with this one, as it shows most of the family who's photographs I'll be sharing at this time.  This one is of my great-grandparents {the Weavers} and 9 of their 12 children.  My grandmother, Jane, is on the far left.  According to the caption, this photo was taken in 1943, just before my great-grandfather, Samuel,  left on a trip, during which he would be killed in a car accident.

*****I do ask that you keep in mind that these are my family photos.  Please do not use them without my written permission.  Thank you.*****

Weekend re-cap...

Good morning!  Hope you all had a great weekend!  Ours was busy!  {sorry I never got back on friday with my to-do list!  It wouldn't have mattered much, as I didn't get to most of it anyway.} Saturday was spent running errands and Sunday was packed with yard work.

We started with planting a new tree.  Late last summer we had a storm that wiped out one of our trees.  {we've since learned that there is a problem with ash borers in our neighborhood, so they were the real culprit, and we've treated our other ashes so they don't meet the same fate}  

our poor little stump

I could not get over how much dirt came out of that hole!  I thought it might be a couple of buckets, but I think by the time it was all said and done, there were 6 buckets of soil and mulch!  Good thing I have a strong, hard working husband, because there is no way I could have done that myself in less than a week.  I also kept thinking about our grandparents who used to farm their land without all the modern machinery, and what hard work that must have been.

we finally go the stump loose...

and in went the new little tree!

He's an Adam's Crabapple, and we can't wait for him to grow big and strong and bring beautiful flowers to our yard every spring!  ;)

{he's a little pathetic looking right now, as he's quite tiny compared to the other trees on the block, but we love him anyway.}

We also de-thatched our yard yesterday....by hand.  It was serious work, and I am sore today!  We spent at least 6 hours working on the yard yesterday.  Hard, hard work, but so satisfying at the same time!  We slept well last night!

What did you guys do?

klutz....

I missed you all yesterday! 

 {I was on an outing with my work peeps all day, and didn't get a chance to post!}  

I spent the day on the Country Club Plaza , and it could not have been a more beautiful day!  It was sunny and the perfect temp, not too hot, not too cold...just right!  

It's always fun to get out and about on a beautiful day!  

I scored these cute shoes at Urban Outfitters for just $9.99:

so exciting right?

then...{here comes the tragic part}...I wore them to work today, and fell up the stairs coming in from the parking lot!  I am such a klutz!  

and now look at them:

:(  i'm so sad!

anyone have any suggestions on how to repair this, 

or at least make it to where it won't get any worse?

i'll be back later with a friday to-do.

thirsty plants...

Mother Nature took care of the watering last night with a great thunderstorm, but I can't always count on her to do all the work.  I'm in need of a watering can, and while I'm sure I'll end up buying a cheap plastic one from Wal-mart, I thought I'd see what kind of cuteness I could find!

1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 

Do you like gardening?

I'm hoping to grow some herbs and possibly a couple veggies this year.  Sadly, I did not inherit my mom's green thumb, but I'm hoping to learn!

Recipes I'd like to try...

I find so many recipes on the blogosphere that I'm dying to try.  I thought I would start sharing them here.  

{this way you can try them too!  Also, this way I'll have a record of them for when the cooking/baking bug bites!}

Cranberry-Orange Granola Bars 

Apple Dumplings 

Vegan Banana Cake 

confession...I'm a home haircutter...

That's right, I said it.  I cut my own hair.  You see, when you have naturally curly hair, you just never know what might happen.  If the stylist doesn't understand curly hair, it can turn out much shorter than anticipated and you can end up looking like a chia pet very easily.  I mean, remember Felicity's famous haircut?  Plus, I'm totally cheap, and if I can do something myself instead of paying someone else to do it, I usually do.

Now, that being said, I've found myself somewhat obsessed over the bride's hair in this inspiration shoot by photographer Sara Grey.

I am by no means talented enough to pull off layers in my home salon, but I'm contemplating going to get my hair cut like a normal person.  I've thought about this before, but have never found a look that I loved enough to give it a try.

What do you all think?  Should I go get my locks cut like this beautiful lady?

p.s. this model's name is Jennifer too.  I feel kinda like a creepy stalker!  eek!

animals on the farm...

just a few of our animal friends on the farm.  

That's Baa Baa the sheep up top...poor little fellow lost one of his horns. :(

Solomon the Cat. 

McCain and Palin the goats and Angel the Donkey.

Cindy lets me give them graham crackers as a treat.  It makes me laugh how they suck them down like a shredder!  And all those farm kitties, oh how I love them!

father/son frisbee time...

The weather was absolutely perfect yesterday.  The boys spent some time playing catch and throwing the frisbee.  It was quite entertaining!

Easter on the Farm...

How was everyone's Easter?  Ours was completely unexpected and wonderful!

We had a busy day of yard work, errands and birthday parties on Saturday, so we decided to sleep in, do some things around the house and then go to the 5pm service at church.  Well, at about 1:00, Jon's dad called to remind him to bring his baseball glove....say what!?

Needless to say, Jon had a lapse of brain power which caused him to completely space off the fact that we were supposed to go to his dad's for dinner at 3:00.  This was the first I had heard of it.  So, we got ready, and headed to the farm!  We got there early, so we thought we might still make it to church, but we were just having too much fun, so we stayed.  It was a wonderful Easter!

We had the most delicious dinner.  On the menu:  grilled pork chops, baked potatoes, green beans with bacon and warm garlic herb bread.  Oh, and of course my usual gimlet!  ;)  Now, I'm not really the biggest fan of pork chops, but oh my, were they delicious!  I didn't know a pork chop could taste that good!  As George kept saying, "you can't go wrong with an Iowa Chop".  Agreed!

I, of course, did not take a picture of the food, because I was too intent on stuffing my face.  I did get a picture of the dessert, however.  Look at this decadent chocolate cake!    Paired with a scoop of ice cream, it was too die for!  {please note the darling little dessert fork...love!}

Jon couldn't help himself and busted into a rendition of Bill Cosby's Chocolate Cake bit.  

I might have joined in.  ;)

{If you don't know what I'm talking about you can go here to watch it.  About the 7 minute mark is what we were doing.  ha!} 

What a lovely Easter!  I'll share more pictures from our day on the farm later.

Happy Monday!

Happy Easter Weekend, and friday to-dos...

{I knew you all would remember that!}

found here.

Wishing you all a Happy Easter!  I wish you a beautiful spring weekend filled with sunny skies, pretty flowers and lots of chocolate!  

This weekend's plans include:

1. starting some herb seedlings for the patio
2. getting Jon to put some freon in my car.  the air is not working and I'm going to need it soon!
3. taking down the lingering winter decorations in the house {like my snowman cake plate...hey, don't judge, we had snow on the ground two weeks ago!}
4. going to church on Sunday, and celebrating the Resurrection!
5. getting started on a couple of projects....I'll share more about them later...promise!
6. getting in some walks, and maybe even some runs!
7. sleeping.  this is my homework for our small group this week.  it says so in this book.  Now, that's a homework assignment I can handle!
8. snuggling with my sweet husband and our sweet kitties.  {p.s. Miles is doing great!  we are so very grateful!}

wishing you a beautiful weekend!  what are you plans?

clearly canadian...

We were just watching an episode of Seinfeld, and Jerry busted out a couple of these from his fridge...

image from here.

O.M.G. 

{That's right, I just threw out an OMG.}

I had completely forgotten about Clearly Canadian!  It was only the most awesome drink ever when I was a kid/young teen!  Raspberry was definitely my favorite.  

Apparently it's poised to make a comeback.  Now in plastic bottles, and with only 25 calories per serving.  {I'm sure the plastic is more readily recycled, but the glass bottle was part of the charm!  And, unfortunately it's made with sucralose.  i steer clear of artificial sweeteners, but might have to make an exception for one of these!}

You can check out their website here and see if there's a retailer near you here.

The closest to us is in North Kansas City.  So close, yet just far enough to keep me from getting my hands on it easily.

Do you guys remember Clearly Canadian?  If so, did you love it as much as I did?

open windows...

source.

It's open window weather!  

I cannot get over how gorgeous it has been this week!  As soon as I get home, I throw open the windows and soak in the fresh air!  {Friday they're even calling for thunderstorms!  squeal!}

The kitties have enjoyed sitting in the windows, smelling the smells, and feeling the breeze on their faces as well.  I don't think there's quite anything as relaxing as sleeping with the windows open in spring, and the way you wake up all refreshed.  Love it!

I spent some time sitting on my back patio yesterday evening with a glass of wine and a book our small group from church is reading {is that bad?} After I finished my studies, I sat and soaked in the neighborhood.  The way the light bounces off the houses as the sun sets.  The sounds of children playing.  I got a little choked up thinking about how one year ago, we were still in our old house, wanting to move so badly, and seeing no change in sight.  Little did we know that on Easter Sunday we'd be accepting an offer and that our lives would begin to change.  This last year has brought so many blessings.  I love my home, and I love our neighborhood, and the friends that have come along with it.  I'm truly blessed.

I hope you are all enjoying spring as much as I am.

Do you enjoy thunderstorms, or am I crazy?

p.s. any more feedback from my last post?