5 thing Friday - comforter, dinner, sunflowers, plant babies, breakfast

A few weeks ago I bought a comforter and shams from Pottery Barn on a great sale:

Its called Medallion, I think.  Reversible, with shades of dark grey on creamy white which is perfect for our bedroom.

I don't know why exactly, but coming home to the bedroom all neat and pretty helps me relax in the evenings.  Its a cozy and comforting space to me. I spritz it with some lavendar room spray and close the doors every day before I leave.

I've been cooking or prepping dinner first thing in the mornings and leaving it in a specific place for Hubby and Bubbie to find and either cook or heat up.  Saves us from using the oven most nights and ensures that all of us get a good meal, even in the summer.

 I dug around in my stash and found some sunflowers from a summer past.  It was just the thing for the basket tray on the back patio.  Add some citronella incense or votives and we are all set to play cards and enjoy a glass of wine out there.  

 My cute little button fern decided to die for no good reason.  So I bought this replacement and went on living my life.  I love the plants in terra cotta pots!

 

The ones I grouped out back are doing very well.  Its shady here, but they do get a bit of sun daily, and they are getting watered plenty.

That little cage thingy is a pricey photoelectric landscape light.  The top of it never worked, so I unscrewed it, bought a cheapie one at HEB, and placed its top on this one.  Works great now and is very pretty in this little nook at night.

No more hot oatmeal for me in the mornings - I just can't do it in the summer.  I've been enjoying granola with a banana, a few nuts, maybe some dates or raisins, and low fat milk twice a week.  If I have a cheese snack at work it helps me stay out of the candy jar until lunchtime around 2:30!

Gina

Mealplan Monday #238

Its Summer!

Monday - Indian Chicken Cubes, steamed carrots, creamed corn
Tuesday - Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps, sliced fruit, healthy(ish) chips
Wednesday - Seasoned Pork Chop, Superfood Salad
Thursday - Salmon Patties, sauteed squash and onions
Friday - Quinoa Skillet with beef, taco style (never made this a couple weeks ago)
Saturday - YOYO
Sunday - probably take out

Gina

5 thing Friday - photo gifts, donuts, tarantula, beer, Father's Day

I pilfered some photos off of Dutch's Facebook page to make some freebies from a certain photo gift company.  Basically all I pay for is the shipping, and it worked out to about $9 a gift.  She took these in South Padre, Texas:

I used these and a couple more to make her a tote bag, plus I ordered some playing cards with a pretty pic from Highlands, and I made The Girl a photo ornament with pictures of Teddy.  All going into my Christmas gifts stash.

Before we finished up on mowing at Highlands last weekend we stopped at a favorite donut place in Bertram for sausage kolaches and apple fritters.  Weekend treats!  During the week we are eating much healthier, I promise!

One of our beer glasses got broken at STW, so I ordered a new decal for its replacement.  We stopped by and had a beer with our take-out lunch.  We have renewed our membership, but we are not hanging out there as much as we did last summer - we've been finding new places to go.  Once I get my new playing cards, I will leave them at a brewery on the games shelf for everyone to play with!

A Texas Brown Tarantula at Highlands.  We think it may have gotten accidentally poisoned when we bug-bombed the barn.  That, or it just molted and was resting.  It is a non-aggressive spider, but having it so close to living quarters is a no-go.  We moved it over to the gravel so it could make its escape, but it hung out there until we left.  Hopefully it survived.

On Father's Day, we found a new-to-us BBQ restaurant in Austin, suggested by my sister and brother-in-law.   It was delish (jalapeno coleslaw, pork ribs, brisket, pulled pork) and we will definitely be back.  They had a cooler at the front door offering complimentary cans of Lone Star while you waited in line.  And right as Hubby made it to the counter and placed his order, they placed a sign on the door that they were running out of BBQ! 

We went home briefly so I could prep Sunday family dinner, then headed over to Flying Man Brewing Co. We had a couple of cold beers under the most gigantic ceiling fan we have ever seen!  Several people were ordering from their food menu and it all looked amazing -we will definitely go back.

Beer in the summer is a good thing.

The Girl bought Hubby some new Hawaiian shirts for Father's Day - now if I could only get him to part with some of the old ones he doesn't wear anymore!

Gina

Mealplan Monday #237

 

Monday - Buttermilk Herb Chicken - leftover green beans, mashed reds
Tuesday - Crockpot beans with ham, cheesy olive french bread*
Wednesday - Skillet Salmon, yellow squash and onions
Thursday - Crockpot Pulled Pork on buns, coleslaw
Friday - Beef Fajita Salads
Saturday - Mom and Dad out
Sunday - Shredded Korean Beef tacos, Asian Slaw

Gina

Weekend re-cap: trying to keep it cool in crazy weather

On Saturday we headed to Highlands bright and early to enjoy some downtime.  We stopped at a favorite Mexican restaurant for lunch, met my sister and her hubby at a winery, then enjoyed fondue at our firepit until bedtime.  It was lovely.

On Sunday we headed down 290 to explore and stopped along the way at this place for burgers:

It felt like already 100 degrees out so we stopped at Hye Cider Co.  for a cold cider. 

 It was like a junk gypsy hideaway complete with  a couple of old guys playing guitar.

There were chicken running around, a giant friendly dog ambling about, and picnic tables for us to enjoy our cider along with a game of cards. We decided we would rather seek out some A/C.  I mean shady oaks are great and all, but its full on summer in Central Texas!

 So we headed to Real Ale in Blanco, on the advice of my brother in law.  That beautiful sky belies the storms that were supposedly coming our way.

I really enjoyed the Skullberry {strawberry milkshake IPA}, and Hubby sampled a coffee porter and a Russian Imperial Stout. 

 Their main taproom was full of happy people, a dog or two, and nice cold air!

  

 

 We may have piddled around a little longer than we should have - multiple alerts on our phones and an ominous looking radar on several TV screens told us that we should head back home asap.  Severe thunderstorms rolled through the area and we carefully but quickly made our way towards North Austin.

We got home safely and the sky virtually opened above us the minute we pulled into the driveway - a little too close to all of the lightening and high winds for me!  Thankfully we did not lose power and within an hour or two of arriving home, it had settled down in our area, but other people lost trees and such.  Scary!  Crazy Texas weather - if you don't like it, wait a few minutes, and it will change!

Gina

Mealplan Monday #249

Monday - Mole Chicken, Spanish rice, zucchini
Tuesday - (freezer) Spaghetti, chopped salad
Wednesday - Tuna Sammies on Toast, veggie chips
Thursday - BBQ Seasoned Pork Chops, broccoli, mashed reds
Friday - Quinoa Skillet (with beef, spinach, onion, tomato, corn)
Saturday - YOYO
Sunday - Father's Day meal TBD
 

Gina

Weekend re-cap: yardwork time and down time, Burnet and Austin

I think that the tall grass and wildflowers at Highlands are attracting more of our little "friends" to live there:

Why hello Mr. Gigantic Wolf Spider.  I'm not really a fan...I wouldn't want a bite from this guy.  Its definitely time to mow, and seal cracks in the barn as well.

 We got started early Saturday morning - the future backyard of Highlands before a haircut.

 Just imagine how many rattlers, scorpions, and wolf spiders are calling this their home!

On second thought, I don't want that much nature up close and personal to where I hang out on the weekends, and I'm pretty sure we will find mice living in those BBQ grills!

It was cloudy when Hubby finished mowing.  And at 85 degrees and high humidity we were done. We probably should make a rule that says no strenuous outdoor activity past noon until Fall arrives.  The rest of that day was a blur but involved visiting one of our favorite wineries for a delightful pick-up party with tacos and live music.  Then home to Rustown!

 The next morning, Hubby and I had lunch at a new to us Mexican restaurant in Austin.  Homemade corn tortillas, the best barbacoa, fiery hot sauce, nopalitos salad - everything was so good!

We stopped at Drought House which was a couple blocks away for a friendly game of Jenga.

Which reminds me - we haven't played our giant Jenga much.  Its under a table in a big box surrounded by super tall grass.  After a beer, we headed over to a winery in East Austin that we used to be members of.

I always really liked them - Hubby not so much.  And it didn't help matters that their new location features zero air conditioning, unless you count open doors and fans. We felt bad for the poor lady behind the wine bar.  We had one frozen rose (actually pretty good) and hit the trail.

Landing at this winery and enjoying this award-winning red blend called Workhorse.  The wine was good, but their computer system was down and they could only accept cash and they were closing an hour early for a private event. We went home to enjoy spaghetti and salad with Firstborn and Bubbie, still sore from all the yardwork.  And hopefully this coming weekend won't see more of the same!

Gina

Mealplan Monday #248

seeds for next year's bluebonnets have already started to scatter...

Monday - Crockpot Chicken Posole
Tuesday - BBQ Bean and Turkey Pot, sauteed squash and onions
Wednesday - Pesto Salmon, honey carrots, corn
Thursday - Taco Salads with jalapeno ranch dressing, fritos
Friday - Shrimp Tacos with chopped cabbage salad, grated cheese
Saturday - YOYO
Sunday - Mom and Dad pick up take out

Gina