I scream, you scream, we ALL scream for homemade ice cream!

Okay, I am very late to the trend of making ice cream at home- so perhaps my joy and enthusiasm over homemade ice cream is a little overblown. However, I'm addicted to this thing. My husband and I started by making vanilla with the vanilla extract I made last year, then progressed to chocolate. I eventually got ambitious and have made cookies and cream, strawberry with fresh strawberries pureed first, peaches and cream from last years canning crop of peaches, chocolate sorbet, and my newest experiment.... to recreate the tangy delight of Pinkberry Frozen yogurt. I ADORE Pinkberry, and the only one in Utah just so happens to be at the airport. Since I can't jetset just to get some froyo, I figure this recipe is in dire need in my house.. plus I am running out of things to do.. while overdue. ( I was due June 10th... that has yet to happen!). I'm still working on the recipe and process, and will post the results once I've perfected the closest I can get to the true thing. I also LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the idea of knowing exactly what goes into what my family is eating... in fact, I think I'm getting a little obsessed about it now....

Homemade knock-off Jello Pudding pops!

Maybe it's just me, but I could sum up my childhood memories with the voice of Bill Cosby saying "Jell-o pudding pops!". Those delicious vanilla and chocolate pops were blended, swirled, amazing goodness on a wooden stick. They were the highlight to the end of a long summers day, a treat when I'd completed my chores, and just about all the motivation I ever needed to get anything my grandparents wanted done. And now, like so many other things from my childhood.. they don't exist anymore. Here's the closest I could find and create for the knock-off- The consistency is the same as the original if you let them freeze overnight instead of just a few hours. I found that my Popsicle maker from Tupperware just didn't quite seem to mold the right way, so I used Dixie cups and Popsicle sticks.

 I really hope one day my children don't look at me when I speak about Jell-o pudding pops the same way I do when my Grandparents reminisce about lavender candy and black licorice *(yuck!)*.....

1 package JELL-O chocolate pudding mix
2 Cups milk
1 cup cool whip

Cups & Sticks

-Blend the pudding mix and milk with a whisk for 2-3 minutes until smooth
-Stir in the cool whip
-Put mixture into each small cup and add a wooden stick to the middle.
-Freeze overnight
-To remove, squeeze the sides of the cup, or run quickly under warm water to loosen.

You could also layer chocolate and vanilla (my favorite), by following the recipe above, but create layers when spooning into the cups.

Relax, enjoy the nostalgia.. :)

Garden IN, Gardenin'.

I have to say, few things in life make me as happy as my garden in full bloom. However, this has been one of my most challenging years, as it's proved challenging to till, prep, and plant the garden with a big old belly. It normally takes me about two weekends to fully prep and plant my garden, whereas this year it took close to four. I move at the speed of molasses these days, but my determination to get this garden in has helped push me through. I've also had to ask for more help than I ever normally would in order to get it all done. Thankfully, the garden is IN, planted, fertilized, and ready to go for summer.
I've spruced up a few things this year, as we removed the grape vine and added a real fence (my husband didn't think it was the safest idea for me to be stepping over chicken wire every day!). My eventual goal is to fully plant out the entire left side boxes of the garden with perennials like salvia and sage, so there is bright color that also attracts the honey bees for pollination. I made some fun signs with saucy titles to label my garden, and got a couple of cool decorative pieces. We also had part of our fence blow down during the winter, which was what prompted the grape vine removal, and we plan on slowly replacing the entire back fence over the next few years.

 This is the time of year that I look at my garden and say "it's so little!".. but in a few short months will be enjoying a glass of wine at the outdoor table lit by our cafe string lights or candles in big blue mason jars, eating a healthy meal from the garden in full harvest.. thinking to myself: "Life cannot get any better than this".

The difference this year is that there will be three of us at that table enjoying and appreciating our little life :)

Blackboard MDF cut to size at Home Depot, then glued using Liquid Nails to left over pieces from our fence project. I sauced things up a bit with "Hey Mickey you're so fine BASIL", "Identity crisis cucumber: Am I a lemon? Am I a cucumber?". "Tomatoes: killer and attack of...", "Peter Rabbit's Carrots", "Who you callin' yellow?! Squash", "Vampire Deterrent", "Heart break onions", "Mini Jack Skeletons: Pumpkin Kings", and "Turning Japanese Eggplant". 

Grow little guys, grow!! I'm so excited for this years crop: Herbs: Rosemary, basil, mint, cilantro, garlic. Green, red, and yellow bell peppers Japanese eggplant, lemon cucumber, Armenian cucumber, onions, potatoes, crookneck squash, zucchini, mini pumpkins, carrots, and tomatoes. MMMmmm. I can taste the pico de gallo, grilled squash, pickled carrots, and mojitos now!!

Finished nursery

The nursery is finished!! My awesome husband had a lot to do on this project: rip up baseboard and replace with new ones, rip out old blinds, install chair railing, and tons and tons of painting, not to mention some serious safety upgrades on our electrical. Obviously, I wasn't really allowed in during any of these phases.. which will probably be the one and only time I escape a home remodel project! I couldn't be happier with how the whole thing turned out, and am so thankful to my hubby for all he did. Now, we just play the waiting game until our little bean arrives....

 

Nursery BEFORE

Nasty baseboards ripped up... see ya!

"Some assembly required"

Looks like he's enjoying this whole thing, right?

I re-purposed the table numbers from our wedding, using the frames I painted and sanded last year. I found the Beatrix Potter prints I wanted from online, printed them on cardstock, and trimmed to fit. My favorite story growing up was "The Tale of Two Bad Mice", so I made sure I got a few prints of those in there as well. 

Found this guy from Pottery Barn and had to have it!

Grandma Rose made us this beautiful quilt for the baby

I had to do some major restoration and clean up on this little guy, but it was worth it. My father made this, and my mother painted it. It literally is priceless to me :)

My DIY ruffled curtains. LOVE them!!

I'm apparently SO confident this baby is a girl, that I made the burlap "G"... If I'm wrong, I'll be making a "C"!

All finished!

We'll see in just a few weeks......SO EXCITED!

Whirlwinds and Headspins...

Everything is done in preparation for the baby's arrival, and we are 17 days away from my estimated due date. I've been in a whirlwind trying to wrap everything up at work, life, and home, so that I can truly take the 12 weeks off to spend with the baby. I have great photos of the completed nursery, my garden, and a few other side projects that I just need to sit down and commit to this blog (that'll happen this weekend!). But other than that, I've been in a bit of a headspin.

Wow. In 17 days (or less.. or more... better not be more), I'm going to have one of those little things I see being pushed around and carried everyday at my workplace. They seem so tiny. So helpless. Their little cries make you just want to cry. I'm pretty certain every cereal bowl in my house has a chip in it from me accidentally dropping it on the counter. I'm really hoping that doesn't happen with my little one. I am equal parts excited and terrified. And I need to be honest in that. Everyone has done a great job telling me how it will be so different when it's my own child, how I'll look at them from the moment they're born and just *boom* become a mother. Apparently mothers are born and not made. That works for me, as I've received no training for this. I think as I get closer and closer to finding out what this child is.. Are you Grace or are you Connor? And who this child is... Do you look like Daddy? Mommy? Both?.... I become happier and more excited... but still equal parts terrified.

So anyways, on my agenda this Memorial Day weekend: Spend some time doing things I want to do that I know I won't have time or energy for in a few weeks:
1. SLC Prenatal Massage this AM (Have I mentioned how this was the best investment I have made during my pregnancy??? (http://www.slcprenatalmassage.com/    Tessa is AMAZING).
2. Thrift store shopping for little golden books and a bookcase. Let's Macklemore it up peeps!!
3. Gardening: now that my garden is planted (see post this weekend!), it'll be needing compost, weeding, and some TLC before the heat sets in. I also need to plant salvia and lavender in the garden to encourage the bees to come in do their thang... pollinate those cucumbers please bees! I love you, I promise! It's only the wasps I'm trying to murder.. I swear!!
4. Finish the front yard landscaping.... holy crap, we need MORE bark mulch. It's like it EATS that stuff.
5. TENT SALE at TAI PAN!!!! Can you sense my excitement?! They only do these a few times a year, and this is my absolute favorite home store. I am SO excited to find some goodies and hopefully some great deals (50-70% off! If you live in Utah and love Tai Pan, it runs through June 8th... but I'm sure the good stuff will go FAST!).
6. Party like a pregnant rockstar. Um. Yeah. This means BBQ-ing and watching the ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT season on Netflix that premieres this weekend. Maybe while having a sassy little mocktail :)

Have a great Memorial Day weekend everyone!