I purchased these vintage Kromex spun aluminum salt and pepper shakers a few weeks ago off of Etsy. Shawn has broken not one, but two, sets of my shakers in the past year, so I decided that I needed to get something a little bit sturdier than ceramic. These should live up to to the task. They are made in the 50’s and are similar to the Kromex canisters I have. I’d love to find an exact match, but thought that these were close. Aren’t they cute?
Blue Sky Days
We’ve been having some great summer weather lately. Hot and sunny with the occasional thunderstorm to clear the air, but mostly it’s been blue skies. I hope it continues!
Getting excited that my good friend is making the trek out here from CMH to visit this weekend! She hasn’t been out here yet, so I can’t wait to show her around and pamper her. She has two kids, ages 3 and 10 months, that will be staying at home with her husband, so I think she deserves some rest and relaxation.
itunes shuffle
1.The Hives-Introduce the Metric System In Time, The Hives
1. Broken Drum (Remixed By DNTL), Beck
2. Ordinary World – Above and Beyond Remix, Aurora Feat Naimee Coleman
3. No Me Vayas A Enganar, Omara Portuondo
4. Agua De Beber, Astrud Gilberto w/ Antonio Carlos Jobim
5. Stay Together, N*E*R*D
6. Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, Elton John & Kiki Dee
7. Three Cigarettes In An Ashtray, Patsy Cline
8. You Surround Me, Erasure
9. Elektrobank, Bachman-Turner Overdrive
10. Just Like California, Old 97’s
11. Life Goes To A Party/ Jumpin’ At The Woodside, James Horner
12. Get It Together, The Beastie Boys
13. Billie Jean, Michael Jackson
14. 5 Months, 2 Weeks, 2 Days, Louis Prima
15. E-Pro, Beck
16. Welcome To The Jungle, Guns’N’Roses
17. Hold Up, The Raconteurs
18. The Most Wonderful Girl, Lords of Acid
19. B.O.B, Outkast
20. I Will Survive, Cake
21. Black Betty, Ram Jam
22. Sandwhiches, Detroit Grand Pubahs
23. Go Square Go, Glasvegas
24. Hypnotize, The Notorious, B.I.G.
Hello,Yellow!
Ooh, I just love this yellow leather handbag! The color and shape are amazing. I think it would be a great addition to my collection. I mean how cute would it look with a little sundress, khakis and a navy cardigan, with jeans and a white button down, a little black dress, my black winter coat. . . . sigh!
Back from Club Ponderosa
Well, I’m finally back home from my extended stay down at Club Ponderosa. I had a great time while I was there. The 4th of July weekend was a good time: seeing my cousins and their sweet little babies, swimming in the pool, hanging out with the extended Torto family, and of course watching Shawn in all of his pyrotechnic glory.
I took Mom and Dad to the airport EARLY on Tuesday morning to catch their flight to Hawaii, then spent the week hanging out at the house with Roz and Luke watching movies and more swimming. I also got a good chunk of knitting done. So relaxing! Shawn drove back down on Friday afternoon and we went to Pepe’s that night. They have amazing Mexican food and the margaritas are only second to the ones that Dad makes at home. Saturday, the four of us went to Raging Waves Water Park for the day. So much fun!! I haven’t been to a water park since I don’t know when, so it was a great time. We rode everything and laughed a ton. I would totally do it again. We came home and realized we locked ourselves out of the house, so I had to get on the roof and break in through an unlocked window. (I still have my cat burglar skills!) Yesterday was just a lazy day with more swimming and grilling out before we drove back home last night.
I really enjoyed the time down there, especially being able to hang out with Roz and Luke, but I am glad to be back in the Land O’Cheese once again. I missed the house and everyday life with the hubby. There’s no place like home.
It’ll be a real blowout
I’ll be spending the week down at Club Ponderosa to house sit while my parents go on vacation, so it will be a little quiet around here for a bit. I need to pack and figure out what knitting/sewing projects I am going to bring with me, but I wanted to first wish everyone an early “Happy Independence Da!” I’m really looking forward to some QT with family and friends, but I think that the hubby is just in it for the fireworks. Yes, Shawn will be in his pyromaniacal glory on Sunday. He’s already got that glazed look over his eyes and is muttering about mortars and 200 repeaters . . . Lord help me.
I promise to post a recap of the firework extravaganza when I return. Hope that everyone has a happy and safe Fourth!!
Cucumber Water
Welcome to my latest summertime obsession: cucumber-infused water. Every sip is like an instant trip to a day spa. Cool, refreshing, delicious. . . and so easy to make!
1. Peel and dice one cucumber
2. Dump cucumber bits into pitcher. I use a two quart size, but whatever you have on hand will work just fine.
3. Fill up pitcher with water. Tap, bottled, or spring water if you feel fancy.
4. Chill pitcher in fridge for about four hours. The longer you let it sit, the more flavorful it becomes.
5. Pour over ice and chill out!
Oh Jeni, I miss you so.
Summer is here and in full effect. Sunny warm days, flowers in bloom, swimming, cookouts, fun with family and friends. Sounds perfect, doesn’t it? Well, it’s NOT! There is something that is sadly missing in our summertime routine: a nice after dinner stroll up to Jeni’s for some creamy, luscious, delicious ice cream.
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams is a sweet little ice cream shop that was just a block away from our house in Columbus. (She has since expanded to five locations in CMH!) This is no Baskin Robbins people! She makes artisan ice cream with fresh ingredients found in the Ohio countryside as well as responsibly-raised exotics from around the world. She also hand-crafts all of the wonderful sauces, pralines, marshmallows, and other glorious tidbits that she adds to her ice cream confections. My favorite is her signature flavor, Salty Caramel, is something that haunts my dreams. She also does seasonal flavors that you wait all year for: Strawberry Buttermilk, Roxbury Road, and Backyard Mint are some of my faves.
I know that Jeni’s would be such a hit here in Madison. There is nothing like it here (sigh) and it would fit so well into the locavore/sustainable food movement that is so important to the city. If she ever decides to franchise, I am ALL OVER IT!!! Unfortunately, until then I’ll have to get my fix whenever I’m in good ol’ Columbustown.
UPDATE: Oh lord help me, she now ships across the US!!
***Image from Jeni’s blog Salty Caramel***
Perfect Peonies
Just thought that I’d share a photo of some of the most perfect peonies I’ve seen in a while. Picked them up at the good ol’ Dane County Farmers Market this morning. Aren’t they the gorgeous?
In addition to picking up some good looking herbs for my planter out on the back deck, we also got our customary chocolate long john for breakfast. Shawn was so happy because we stopped at Fraboni’s, an Italian grocery, for some cheeses, pepperoni, and such. We’re going to be making pizzas for some friends tonight, along with some homemade strawberry icecream for dessert!
Jam on it
Yesterday my sister, nephew, and I visited the Berry Hill Farm in nearby Verona to do some strawberry picking. We picked for about an hour and a half, leaving with just over 21lbs of berries. That is about 14 quarts! Now I know you are thinking, “What in the world are you going to DO with all of them?” Well, we started out with making a big ol’ batch of strawberry jam. This is something that our mother used to make every summer when we were little. It puts Smuckers to shame. So, we decided to conquer our fears and jam on it!
It was definitely a two man operation, but we overcame our fear of the strawberry napalm and came through unscathed. Something that really helped us was that we sterilized the canning jars and then kept them in the oven at 200⁰F. This allowed us to take them out as needed while keeping them warm, while not having to have another enormous pot of water boiling on the stove. We also made an investment in a couple of key pieces of equipment that made our job WAY easier: canning tongs and a canning funnel. I have canned tomatoes in the past and it was not fun juggling superheated glass jars of tomatoes over a boiling pot. The tongs made it easy peasy to transfer the jars in and out of the water bath, making us breathe a sigh of relief. The canning funnel fits in the mouths of the jars perfectly, eliminating the messy strawberry lava getting all over the rims and threads of the jars. (Something you have to wipe down to make sure you get a clean seal.) We filled all the jars and every one of them sealed properly!
And did it ever turn out great! It is sweet, but not too sugary, and the strawberries really stand out. We crushed them pretty good, so there are no major chunks in there. We wanted it to be easily spreadable while still having bits of berries in the mix. I think we hit the nail on the head. And the color! It is a glorious scarlet red. Beautiful!
Now we have a ton of delicious, ruby red strawberry jam to enjoy and share with our family and friends. I’m excited to see what mom’s verdict will be. She was the inspiration for this, so I hope that she likes it.
We’ll be doing some more strawberry experiments in the kitchen, so stay tuned.
Widdershins 