Yarn Along: The Dive Lily

I'm linking up with Ginny for this week's Yarn Along.

Knitting: Lily Cardigan

I haven't made much progress on this cardigan since I last posted of picture of it which was in late February. Yikes! To be honest, I haven't been doing much knitting at all but hopefully I'm ready to get back into it. I have the bottom of the left panel, right panel, back panel and part of one sleeve done. 

Yarn: Cascade 220 Heathers in Colorway 2425 (love this color!) 

Pattern: Lily by by Lene Holme Samsøe

Reading: The Dive from Clausen's Pier by Ann Packer

Carrie's fiancé dives into shallow water and ends up a quadriplegic. Their relationship was struggling before the accident but now Carrie feels obligated to stay with Mike. The first half of the book is about her mental battle with what to do, what is right to do, and what she really wants to do. The second half begins with what Carrie decides. I won't tell you because I don't want to ruin it. While the topic of the book is somewhat gruesome, the writing is delicious and like nothing I have ever read before. I find myself staying up far too late at night just to devour a few more pages.

What are you knitting and reading these days?

On Our Menu: June 17 - 23

Last week I only saw Christian for a total of a few hours because he was working so much. He was gone before I got up in the morning and didn't get home until I was in bed. When I finally got to spend some time with him on Sunday afternoon, I actually teared up because I missed him so much. Even though we don't spend a lot of time doing things together during the week, just having him near is enough. Funny how I need to be reminded of that every now and then.

Because Christian wasn't home for dinner I didn't cook as much as I had planned. Instead, I ate a lot of salads. What is your go-to quick meal when you're all alone? I did try 2 new recipes, though. I made a Carrot-Ricotta Quiche. Easy to put together but the shredded carrots didn't cook through so the texture was weird. Also, the flavor was bland. Not recommended. 

And now onto the good stuff: Frozen Peanut Butter-Pretzel Pie - a must make! Frozen vanilla yogurt mixed with peanut butter and chopped pretzels and served in a chocolate cookie pie crust - you can't beat that! I added a drizzle of chocolate on top of the pie for a little extra fanciness. The peanut butter kind of hardens when you ad it to the frozen yogurt so you end up with yummy chunks of peanut butter. I have a few ideas for making this even better... and a little healthier too. I'll let you know what I come up with.

Here's what I'm cooking this week:

Garden Update: June 15, 2013

This year's garden is off to a rocky start. I always plant Memorial Day weekend (and did so again this year) but the next week we were hit with very low nighttime temps. Corn and onions were the only things that popped up. So, I planted the whole garden again. Talk about discouraging! Here's a pic of the garden today:

The foreground looks pretty good but those are the perennial herbs, rhubarb and strawberries. I actually lost 4 of my herbs to the long winter and had to replant those. Way in the back of the garden you can see a few rows of peas. The rabbits still haven't found those so hopefully we get some this year. And that's it for now!

Thrifty Thursday: Headboard Turned Trellis

Every year I plant morning glories alongside our house and every year I try to cobble together some type of trellis for them to climb on. Christian said he would weld an obelisk for me but he's just so busy. A few weekends ago I spotted an old wood and iron headboard and footboard at a rummage sale for just $4. Hmmm.... Looks like a trellis to me! 

Christian drilled some holes into the legs and stuck some rebar rods into them. This allowed us to anchor the headboard into the ground quite easily. I'm not sure if it will stay upright under the weight of the flowers but I can always stake it. I haven't decided yet where I'm going to stick the footboard. It's the same style as the headboard, just a little shorter.

I can't wait for my flowers to start crawling up my fancy new trellis!

On Our Menu: June 10 - 16

Do you ever have one of those weeks where it seems like everything goes wrong and the weight of the world is on your shoulders? That was last week for me. Rough. I think I'm slowly healing but it's still going to take some more time. 

Enough of that. Let's talk about food! Last week I made a Spinach Salad with Avocado-Ranch Dressing. The actual salad was kind of bland but the dressing was great - a creamy healthy dressing that you don't feel guilty about eating! The creaminess comes from blended avocado. Don't like avocados? I promise you that you can't taste it. 

Photo from vegetariantimes.com

I also made Roasted Vegetable Linguine with Torn Fresh Basil. Doesn't it look delicious? Of course, my dish looked nothing like that! In glancing at the recipe again I realize that I used over twice as much pasta. Hmmm. Could be the reason why it was so bland! We have wild asparagus growing in our ditches so it was fun to go out and pick some to use for this dish. 

Here's a slow-cooker recipe that I tried: Chicken Pho. The broth has a strong black licorice flavor which turned both Christian and I off. The recipe also has a lot of strange ingredients which called for a trip to the Asian Market. Unless you love black licorice, I would skip this one.

Photo from cleangreensimple.com

This next recipe was suggested to me in the comment section of my Jackfruit Gyros post. Jackfruit really is fun to use as a meat substitute and it's WAY cheaper. The Carolina Pulled "Pork" Sandwiches were so spicy, though, that I'm still not sure if I liked them! I think I'll give them another try but cut the paprika back to 1/2 tsp. and the cayenne to 1/4 tsp. 

And since it's rhubarb season here in Wisconsin (the strawberries are lagging behind) I had to try this healthier version of Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp. Instead of sugar, the fruit mix uses honey. I made mine with 1/3 C. honey which left the crisp pretty tart. But, really, that means it's even more perfect with ice cream! I will definitely make this recipe again.

Here's what I'm cooking this week:

On Our Menu: June 3 - 9

Christian's family was visiting us over the weekend and I tried out a new desert that was a big hit: Mini Frozen Baklava. 

Photo from eatingwell.com

They look fancy but are super easy to make. Everyone was asking for the recipe. They are a perfect summer treat.

Here's what I'm cooking this week:

Hair Model for a Day

I tried out a new hair stylist in May. While Patty was cutting my hair she asked if I ever had highlights. When I told her that I've never dyed my hair Patty exclaimed, "You have virgin hair?!!" LOL. Well, I guess so... Patty was very excited because she was going to be testing a new line of dyes and needed a hair model. After some convincing, I agreed to do it. 

Here's the before picture (aka: the world's most unflattering picture of me that could double as a mug shot):

Horrible lighting, early Monday morning, a little bit nervous....

And here's after!

I just love my new color! The under-color (is that a word?) is a deep violet which adds nice depth.

The highlights are both blond and bright red.

Everyone says that once you start dying your hair you won't go back. We'll see... In the meantime, I sure am loving my new hair!