7 Quick Takes (vol. 20)

A quick catch-up, since summer awesomeness has happened around here. Here's a compact list from my little corner of the world.

~~ 1 ~~

It's been wedding central for me. His great pic is from a reception of one of my best friends. It was such a great weekend, spent some time with my parents, had awesome fresh veggies and enjoyed country life for a weekend.

~~ 2 ~~

 Got to see all these awesome college friends at another friend's wedding. We even got to celebrate and engagement :) So blessed to know these awesome people!

~~ 3 ~~

 

I made it to a baseball game the other week. I helped chaperone some of our kids from church and it was a great evening. I think I like the smaller scale games (we watched the Madison Mallards, which apparently are a "collegiate summer baseball team") verses major league games...although those are pretty darn fun too.

~~ 4 ~~

 So I got this pineapple corer/slicer for my birthday (it was on my wedding registry :) and I love love love it! seriously! So easy and fresh pineapple is sooooo much better than the canned stuff. If you like pineapple you should definitely consider getting one, or talking someone into getting it for you ;)

~~ 5 ~~

I've been reading and listening to audio books, which means sometimes I'm not getting a lot accomplished at home. I love books you can't put down! Anyways, I finished listening to 

Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson and the Opening of the American West by Stephen E. Ambrose

picture from here

 This was so fascinating! This was a great compilation of Lewis and Clark's writings, letters from and to them and just a great over all biography of Meriwether Lewis.

Currently I'm listening to The sweetness at the bottom of the pie by Alan Bradley.

 picture from here

 I'm still not sure what I think of this one, but I'm only about 1/4 of the way through, so we'll see.

I just finished reading Halos by Kristen Heitzmann

 Image from Here

I love Kristen's books. There's always a love story, always a little faith (but not over the top unbelievable stuff) and always a good plot that pulls you along. Definitely not anything deep, but good inbetween books when you don't want to really think too much. This one I didn't like quite as much, the guy was a jerk in the beginning and there were some disturbing parts, so yeah, wouldn't buy it, but it was good.

~~ 6 ~~

I've been going to Concerts on the Square every Wednesday since they started this summer(which has been 2 so far) and absolutely love them! Random fact: apparently there are over 20,000 people that come every week! Crazy awesome! Last night it was "American Fanfare" themed, so they played patriotic pieces like Stars and Stripes Forever, 1812 Overture, Fanfare for the Common Man and did a great Armed Forces Salute (which recognized each branch individually). On top of those they played great pieces like All I Ask of You from Phantom of the Opera, and Trouble from Music Man.

~~ 7 ~~

I'm excited for the long weekend, and I'm excited because I'm going to attempt to make these:

Image from Here

So we'll see how they turn out. Hopefully they're awesome!

hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July weekend!

For more Quick Takes, head on over to Conversion Diary.

7 Quick Takes (vol. 19)

Another week come and gone, and Lent is here to stay for a while. Here's some randomness from my week.

~~ 1 ~~

So I started Reading this book

 image from here

And it's great. Even though I'm not married yet it's has some great exercises to do with your significant other and I love that it's based on years and years and years of research. It's fascinating!

~~ 2 ~~

Did anyone else read hardcore depressing books in middle school and Jr. High? I was all about Lurlene McDaniel. This article is spot on and cracked me up.

~~ 3 ~~

Super exciting news! So Venerable Fulton Sheen is one step closer to becoming a Blessed and then a Saint (God willing)! 

James' alleged "miracle" is one step closer to being recognized as a miracle by the church!

Head over to Bonnie's Blog for the full story and press release from the Archbishop Sheen Foundation.

~~ 4 ~~

So it feels like Spring! I don't want to jinx it but I am all for it and can't wait for this again

fresh flowers sound amazing!

~~ 5 ~~

Speaking of spring...I love the idea of growing a garden with a them. For example: a pizza garden or salsa garden. I'm great with herbs so maybe I should add tomatoes this year. The promise of Spring is exciting :)

~~ 6 ~~

One of the things I'm doing for Lent this year is being more present in my prayers. I found myself "multitasking" while saying some of my prayers throughout the day, so this Lent I'm sitting still, often closing my eyes and actually focusing on the words I'm saying. I should probably apply this to other aspects of my life as well. Being present is important and whomever I am talking to, whether it's God, a friend or my fiance, they deserve my attention. They are worth it.

~~ 7 ~~

My brother is throwing a Mad Hatter party tonight. So I'm off to that.

hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

For more Quick Takes, head on over to Conversion Diary.

7 Quick Takes (vol. 17) Awesome Recipe Edition

I have been loving all the fabulous end of summer/beginning of fall produce and (finally!) the awesome fall weather! Here are a few of the recipes I've made lately and loved (7 Quick Takes Style ;)

 

 ~~ 1 ~~ 

Peach Cobbler Bars

 So I canned peaches with a friend and this recipe was the perfect use for some of them.

These are great for a little handheld snack for football parties or other fall get togethers. Simple to make too.

~~ 2 ~~

Zucchini Nutella Swirl Muffins

Oh my goodness I absolutely loved this recipe!! The flavor was amazing and because the only chocolate is the little bit of Nutella on top it wasn't over powering. A must try if you're looking for a good use of your zucchini.

 

~~ 3 ~~

One-Pan Pasta

 

image from marthastewart.com

I made a smaller version of this for supper the other night, added some zucchini and black olives to the finished pasta and it was pretty amazing. (I used this awesome Italian pasta that I got at Pike's Market when I was in Washington, which just made the recipe even better.)

 

~~ 4 ~~

Fruit Crumble

So I am absolutely loving Daphne Oz's cookbook "Relish", that's where you can find this recipe. I am really into coconut oil at the moment (I found a bottle at Marshalls, who knew?!). This is a simple crisp recipe that you bake in single serving ramekins. Top with vanilla ice cream and they are awesome! I made it the first time with strawberries and rhubarb and the second with peaches and strawberries. Both were great.

~~ 5 ~~

No Bake Energy Balls

 

These were a great pick-me-up snack that I didn't feel quite as guilty eating. They kept great in the fridge for a week or two. I left out the pumpkin seeds and flax seed and they were still yummy.

~~ 6 ~~

My Mom's Potato Salad

There are a ridiculous amount of varieties of potato salad. I grew up on this one and so I'm a bit biased, but I like it because it's simple, you can actually taste the potatoes and it's an easy base recipe if you want to add anything (plus it uses celery salt instead of celery, which is fabulous for those of us that aren't too fond of celery).

 

 

~~ 7 ~~

I don't have another new recipe that I've made lately (that I liked enough to share), so I suppose you get 6 instead of 7.

I'm off to Nebraska this weekend for some awesome family time. I get to see my awesome sister sister at her convent :)

I hope you all enjoy the weekend!

For more Quick Takes, head on over to Conversion Diary.

7 Quick Takes (vol. 16) or What I Learned Traveling Cross Country with my Boyfriend...

So August 5-13 my boyfriend and I road tripped from Wisconsin to Seattle, Washington. It was awesome, I loved it. Here are a few things I learned along the way.

 

 ~~ 1 ~~

Long trips are more fun if your travel-mate is willing to pose for random pictures

pictures taken at the Frontier Village in Jamestown, ND

 At Salem Sue, New Salem, ND

 

and take them!

~~ 2 ~~

At the Crab Pot in Bellevue, WA

"When in Rome do as the Romans do" or in our case, when on the coast eat lots of seafood. Oh and don't be afraid to try something new.

 

~~ 3 ~~

If something sounds cool, stop.

 

Jeremiah saw a sign for the Theodore Roosevelt National Park so we stopped.

The view was gorgeous!

~~ 4 ~~

Take time to have fun.

 Jeremiah skipping rocks at Glacier National Park, evidently he's an excellent rock skippper.

~~ 5 ~~

It's ok to be touristy

 At Pike Place Market in Seattle, WA

At the Space Needle (their cheesy pictures they take of everyone then you choose the background)

~~ 6 ~~

Just do it, don't ask questions don't think about it just do it

Do the fun random things that the locals do, or the fun and random things that the tourists do, either way, just do it.

~~ 7 ~~

Eat good food (preferably local food)

 Evening snack of brie+local fudge+local wine = awesome!

 Eating Huckleberry Ice Cream.

That's the very condensed version of my trip. I hope you are all enjoying your August!

For more Quick Takes, head on over to Conversion Diary.

7 Quick Takes (Vol. 15)

It's summer! I am supper excited :) Excited for longer days, warm weather, plants on the patio, flowers blooming, fresh fruits and veggies. I love it! Alright on to a quick list of my recent crazy life.

 

 ~~ 1 ~~

We had a siblings day a couple weeks ago because my younger brother was up for a wedding so we had some awesome hangout time and went to the great Wollersheim Winery (which I love). We're quite the stair-steps in the above picture.

This is what happens when Kevin chooses the pose. I can say that I think we entertained the lovely lady that took our picture, we were quite the group ;)

~~ 2 ~~

Did you know that they call Rockford, IL the Home of the Sock Monkey? Yeah, me neither. But it's true, I was there.

 

~~ 3 ~~

Over Memorial Day Weekend (I'm telling you, this is a hardcore catch-up post) my parents were up and we spent Saturday hanging out with my Dad's family and visiting the graves of my grandparents, great-grandparents and even great-great grandparents. The rain held off and it was a beautiful day.

We said a rosary at each of the cemeteries. It was a nice day of reminiscing about the past.

~~ 4 ~~

Last weekend I spent in the Wisconsin Dells with my boyfriend. It was a wonderful mini-vacation. The above picture was taken on the Original Wisconsin Ducks. I had never been and loved it. Wisconsin is such a gorgeous state. The tour was of course filled with all kinds of corny jokes that you had to laugh at, it's a very family friendly little tour.

~~ 5 ~~

 These Kangaroos were in the "nursery" the grown ones were outside in a larger area.

While in the Dells we also went to The Timbavati Wildlife Park. It was neat to see the variety of animals they had, but I didn't like the lack of space the animals had. They are doing a lot of remodeling,  so it may be better in a year or two.

 Can you tell he's an animal person?

~~ 6 ~~

 I was given a bunch of rhubarb and have enjoyed finding awesome stuff to do with it. I found this recipe that where you cook down the rhubarb and add some sugar and water to make a concentrate for drinks (bottle on the right). Add it to some sparkling water and you have a rhubarb Italian soda. The jar on the left is the cooked chunks of rhubarb that you can eat over ice cream or whatever.

~~ 7 ~~

I am in love with this sandwich! I made 1 big sandwich (using a hamburger bun) and cut the sauce recipe in half and it was awesome. It's a super quick and easy meal.

I hope you all had a wonderful week month, enjoy the weekend! 

For more Quick Takes, head on over to Conversion Diary.

7 Quick Takes (vol. 14)

So it's February, not exactly sure how that happened, but I'm ok with it. There is snow all over the ground and the sun is out, so I am hoping for a beautiful weekend. Here's a quick update on me.

 

 ~~ 1 ~~

I forgot how much I missed crafting/sewing. I know that may seem odd since Christmas wasn't that long ago, but that's different, there's a deadline there (that I often miss, but it's still there). I've been on a tote bag kick lately, random I know, but they're fun and fairly quick (depending on how you do them). 

  I made this for a friend, no I am not quite that vain.

I also have piles of stuff I need to scrapbook. Maybe I'll do that this weekend.

 

~~ 2 ~~

So I had this lovely cold for about 2 weeks, bad enough to stay home from work, but thankfully I didn't have to deal with the Norovirus (which sounded awful!) and I figure it's winter, everyone is bound to get sick sometime, right? Anyways, I found an awesome comfort food that was perfect when I was home (I'd made it a few days before and had frozen the leftovers so the timing was great).

 

Cheesy Chicken and Rice

 picture from here

When I had it at first I thought it was a bit bland (not really any seasonings in the original recipe), so I add a bunch that first night. When I was sick I was glad I hadn't add the seasonings to all of it. It's good and simple. You should try it.

 

~~ 3 ~~

I've been on a red velvet kick, which is handy with Valentine's day coming up and all :) I made red velvet brownies using a cake mix and they turned out great. This recipe is good (I left out the nuts and chocolate chips and didn't frost them) if you want quick brownies and happen to have a cake mix on hand (or made your own mix). Maybe this weekend I'll make these cuties 

 

 picture from here

 

with this awesome Nutella Cream Cheese Frosting (although the original frosting sounds pretty temping as well). Sounds like a plan to me :)

~~ 4 ~~

I am currently reading The Breath of Dawn by Kristen Heitzmann (thanks Katie for the recommendation :) and it's great, although I think I may need to read parts of it during the day, I get freaked out by mental and supernatural stuff. It's a Christian romance, which means it's got a great lovely story and lots of strong Christian characters and usually a happy ending (that's what I'm banking on. I hate books and movies that don't have happy endings). I was in between books for a while, which kind of drove me crazy, but in that time I picked up Zen and the Art of Needlecraft: Exploring the Links Between Needlecraft, Spirituality, and Creativity by Sandra Detrixhe (my aunt) again and read a few more chapters. I love it because it has so may stories about my parents and other relatives, some I've heard and some that are new to me. It makes me miss family, but I love that there is a print copy of our stories.

~~ 5 ~~

Speaking of family, my younger brother was in "Dancing with the Local Stars" a fundraiser for Cornerstone in Quincy. Rumor has it they put all the dances on YouTu.be but right now here's a link to a sneak peak. Danny's at the 2:38-3:00 section.

 Picture from Table Sixteen Productions

 

~~ 6 ~~

I am so ready for the weekend, not sure what all I'm going to be doing, hopefully some baking, reading and scrapbooking, some time with friends and the boyfriend. I don't really have much planned, which means it will be wonderful :)

~~ 7 ~~

  I haven't really done any winter sporty stuff this winter season. No skiing or snowshoeing, skating or even good snowball fights or snowman/angel building. I need to rectify that in the coming week. After all, what's the point of living in Wisconsin if you're not going to enjoy the snow?

 

I hope you all had a wonderful week, enjoy the weekend! 

For more Quick Takes, head on over to Conversion Diary.