All Around the House

Something I look forward to doing every day this time of year is going out in the morning to check out how everything is growing....

As you can see our cucumbers are doing quite well! We've already picked four and are expecting a bumper crop this year - I've already wanted to be able to use that phrase!

Hello Romaine lettuce - thank you for giving us such lovely salads.

Tomatoes! Tomatoes? Oops, forgot to upload a picture of our tomatoes, but we have a ton of green cherry tomatoes and I am looking forward to the morning when I first see the color starting to change to red. We also have a few regular tomato plants, a ton of zucchini and some green beans over at a little garden plot on our church property. We've picked a few zucchini and
while I typically don't like zucchini apart from baked goods, I am excited to try this recipe from my favorite food blog.

All that is well and good, but you can't forget about the color! I planted these pettunias a month ago and I just love the colors of the dark purple and striped pink...
with a little splash of yellow thrown in as well!

Currently these beautiful blooms are making me the happiest....

Here's a closeup of one that is almost completely bloomed.

I have three bushes filled with various shades of pink, purple and blue hydrangeas and it makes me so happy. Ten years ago (verging on eleven) I so wanted these colors of hydrangeas in wedding party bouquets but September is not the time to get a good price on hydrangeas! I'm convinced that these flowers are just a teensy tiny blessing from God - just a reminder that He is good and He knows my heart and loves that it puts a smile on my face each morning. I'm not too crazy for thinking that, right? :)

What is growing around your house this summer? What are you excited about?!

Summer Stuff

We just got back from a relatively spur of the moment trip to the beach and I hope to be sharing some pictures and stories late on this week. I have to sort through the 50+ I took of Ella and her cousins trying to balance on a surfboard and see if there are any worth sharing!

In the meantime I figure it's been awhile since I shared a recipe and this is one that is so simple and yummy. It's my favorite summer salad dressing. I just happen to have some now and it makes me actually want to make a salad so I can use this dressing!

Sugar and Vinegar Dressing

1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove (minced)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Combine the first six ingredients in a blender or just one of those nice little salad dressing jars. Shake or blend it up. Add the oil and combine. Stir in the basil.

Enjoy. I promise you will. You might just make it your new ketchup and dip everything in it! :)