Favorite Things {Welcoming Autumn Edition}

• {Tea} Good Earth Organic Sweet & Spicy Tea.  This is utterly delightful.  With cinnamon, ginger, anise seed and hints of orange, it has unabashedly blocked all other tea bags from my view.  It's warmth and hit of spice with the perfect amount of sweetness is downright perfect for Fall.  It literally doesn't need anything but hot water.  (And that's coming from a girl who typically favors a spoonful of sugar, splash of cream, and extra dash or two of cinnamon!)  Try it.  I guarantee obsession.  You're welcome.
• {Recipe} Speaking of obsession, have you tried these Pinterest popular Raw Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites? Listen, people.  They have 5 ingredients.  FIVE.  You blend it up in a food processor or blender, toss in chocolate chips, roll them into balls and refrigerate.  I can't even begin to tell you how dangerously delicious they are.  I was skeptical they'd actually be that great.  I envisioned other Pinterest FAILS, like the time I tried the lay-your-toaster-on-its-side-to-make-cheese-toast-trick and ended up screaming and dodging flaming, fiery toast flying across my kitchen.  Yeah.  These cookie dough bites totally redeemed any Pinterest fail in history. They're phenomenal.  Thanks to these we've already gone thru an entire gallon of raw milk we picked up on Saturday.  That's like, not very long.  Just so you know.  (I did add a pinch of sea salt and maybe a little extra vanilla because, well, it's a compulsion.)  But seriously, go buy raw cashews.  Have cookie dough bites for dinner.  I'm serious. 
• {Book} The Artist's Daughter.  I'm forever on the lookout for a good memoir.  Add in exotic locations and culture, a side of faith and sprinkling of motherhood and I'm totally enraptured.  It's the perfect read to curl up with under a cozy blanket, mug of sweet and spicy tea in hand.  Hello, Autumn.  I will manifest your presence despite your stubborn dragging of the feet this year.

Happy Fall, friends!  Bring on the pumpkins and cozy sweatshirts...

Meet Our Girls

Nothing much cuter than a fuzzy baby chick!  We've been planning to get chickens since moving into the cottage last summer.  Our original plan was to adopt a few grown hens from my parents, but recently someone (ahem, my mother) suggested we really needed baby chicks for Everyn.  She pointed out how they'd become more like pets if they grew up being handled a lot.  Of course there's no way around endless cuddling with a curious, animal-loving toddler who already happens to be a pro at the sport of chicken-watching. The biggest selling point was when I realized how many hours of indoor entertainment they'd provide.  Sold!  Off to the hardware store we went.

Meet Pepper!  

Pepper is a breed called Dominique.  She'll grow into a stunning black and white stripped hen in a few months.

And here's Ruby.

How cute is she??  Ruby is a Rhode Island Red.  Think classic little red hen.  She tends to be the favorite so far thanks to her friendly nature.

This is Ginger.

Ginger is a Gold Sexlink.  She'll be a lovely golden hen when she's all grown up. 

And here's Suzie.   

She's an Americana.  A real looker with her natural eyeliner and fluffy cheeks!  Americanas can turn out lots of different ways, but we think she'll be a lovely silvery grey.  She's also what they call an 'easter egger' because she'll lay beautiful light blue or green eggs.

And finally, Agnes.

Agnes is a Gold Laced Wyandotte.  All grown up she'll be a gorgeous black and orange-y gold color, with a stunning scalloped pattern all over.    

They're living in a bin in our kitchen right now, until they're old enough to fend for themselves outside.  (and the construction of their new coop is completed--it's so darling)  I grew up with chickens all my life, but I forgot how fun they can be when you humanize them and make them pets.  Great example: They'll actually start 'screaming' when too much time passes and they haven't heard our voices.  It's an incredibly loud, frantic peeping we can hear all the way upstairs that would make you think something was trying to eat them!  So funny.  Every once in a while we actually have to go down and calm them.  But my favorite is when they go to sleep.  They don't roost yet the way you imagine chickens sleeping, the just sort of melt into fuzzy feathery little puddles scattered around their bin. Sometimes they use each other as pillows.  It's hilarious.  Just not they way you imagine chickens behaving.  

So that's our little flock!  We're happy to have them.  And now my husband has moved on to discussing our dire need for honey bees.  Of course...

Misc. & Etc.

Summer.  Slow, lazy, beautiful summer.   

Yes, I said beautiful.  In Texas.  In July.  I would never usually go so far as to put those words together, but this particular summer has been incredibly mild compared to recent years.  We've had days of rain and random pop up showers far more often than usual, even a 'cold front' this past week, and it's made all the difference.  Being outside has actually been bearable for the most part.  Evenings have been breezy and cool, we've even eaten dinner or brunch on our front porch a number of times.  

We've been savoring the long hours of sunlight with lots of trips to the lake to watch the sailboats and feed the ducks, occasionally stopping in for the gluten free cupcake-of-the-week at Unrefined Bakery.  (this past week was sea salted caramel pistachio--yum!)  We've also been considering joining the sailing club (yes, this involves a sail boat, more on that later!) so we've been picnicking at the boat house as often as possible.  It has to be the most beautiful place in the city to watch the sunset.  Truly breathtaking.

When we aren't at the lake we're filling our days with summer festivals, flea markets, trips to the blueberry farm, lots of dinners with friends and drives to the country to see the goats.  And reading, Josh and I are both doing tons of reading.  It's a very necessary element of this season for us, has been for years. The stack of books piled beside my bed make me giddy. 

In other news, Everyn began gymnastics classes.  I can barely handle it.  Tiny people hanging from bars and tumbling--it's killer.  She absolutely loves it.  We have to drag her away.  Total bonus that it's also serving to tide me over until she's old enough for dance.  Oh man, tiny girls in tutus??  Stop it.  I get so excited just thinking about it that I forget to breathe.  I've been planning towards her first day of dance class since I knew we were having a girl. Cannot. Wait.  

I'm also personally in the middle of a thousand projects--tons to share in the weeks to come.  But in the meantime, I'm savoring this summer of toddlerhood and dimples.  There will never be another quite like this... 

Just wanted to check in!  Hope summer is treating you well <3

Reflections of a Beautiful Week

Still missing our buddies who visited last week.

Chasing ducks at Sunset Cove with Daddy.

Making the best kind of memories with my girl.

Curtains.  Hmm.  Thinking it thru...

I'm trying to burn images into my brain of the toddler years.  I never want to forget.

We're also a bit obsessed with gluten free wraps right now.  All kinds!

Marveling at my dad's handmade cutting boards.

Summer strawberries are a theme at the cottage right now.

Twirling in the curtains.  Every little girl should.

"Beauty spins and the mind moves. To catch beauty would be to understand how that impertinent stability in vertigo is possible. But no, delight need not reach so far. To be running breathlessly, but not yet arrived, is itself delightful, a suspended moment of living hope." -Anne Carson

Wishing you a truly lovely weekend, friends.

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Misc. & Etc.

A few bits and pieces of things happening around here this week, totally candid and unedited.  I've decided I need more candid and unedited in my life.

• my sweet friend Stefanie and her UH-dorable little guy Charlie visited this week from Virginia.  Everyn was in heaven.  She barely slept she was so happily wound up.  It's always so bittersweet saying goodbye to friends who live far away, but it definitely makes every visit that much more treasured.  And tomorrow I'm headed to meet the fam at a new flea market nearby.  Stoked to check it out.  And is it seriously Friday already?!
• I've been giving a ton of thought to the necessity of planning lately.  Meals, trips, afternoons, grocery shopping, blogging.  I'm so free spirited planning is simply not my strength, but I'm finding it makes life more pleasant during these sacred 'little' years of raising a family.  Not that I'm a stick-to-the-plan-no-matter-what type at all, but a rough outline is so helpful.  I can't quietly wander and gaze and dream with a toddler endlessly hanging on my leg.  She's a bit distracting (albeit in the most amazing way).  The grand revelation hit me after I made a trip to the grocery store a few days ago after meal planning and actually organizing my list, and it pretty much rocked my world.  There's a place for wandering and dreaming certainly, but my family also has to eat.  Balance is good.  ;-)
• speaking of rocking my world, I also started reading Captivating over the weekend.  I know, I know, I'm like 8 years late to the party.  I mean there's late, and then there's late.  Yikes.  I never wanted any part of reading it (long story-I'm a rebel like that) but I randomly picked it up at a thrift store with a pile of vintage books recently just, well, I'm not sure why.  A couple weeks later I came across this quote on Pinterest or somewhere I thought was so beautiful.  Made me want to read the book.  I went online to order it and thought wait... is that the random book I picked up last week??  Walked downstairs to check and yep!  There it was.  Weird, huh? Nah.  Not at all.  But anyway, what an amazing read!!  I'm loving every single paragraph.  It's so beautiful it leaves me speechless.
• it's also insanely hot in Texas at the moment.  All of you complain-y complainersons who whined back in the Spring because you were under a thousand feet of snow while we frolicked in 70 degree weather, live it up! It's now 4 million degrees here.  (that's what happens when you start at 70 degrees in JANUARY) We essentially hibernate this time of year.  Between the heat and hoards of mosquitoes there's no way I'm going outside more than once a week unless we're playing in the water hose or sprinkler.  I took Ev out for 10 minutes this afternoon and no joke, at least a dozen bites.  :-/
• intense planning is under way for a long delayed escape!  (it's distracting us from the heat)  We've done minimal traveling since Ev was born.  Colorado, Texas Hill Country, Gulf Shores, several trips to Nashville.  But nothing overseas.  Generally we try to go international 2-3 times a year, but with a baby and getting settled at the cottage we just haven't been able to wrap our brains around it.  Now, we're ready.  There's still plenty to do here but we need a break and fresh inspiration.  Cue, the Amalfi Coast.  Our first trip abroad as a couple was a whirl-wind tour of Italy, so it seems fitting our first trip as a family be there as well.  It will not however, be the insane itinerary that exhausted us last time: Rome, Sorrento, Pompeii, Capri, Florence, Venice, Murano, Rome again and dozens of small towns and villages along the way.  We don't have the energy.  And now we're old.  Ish.  But a little b&b in Positano and slow exploration of villages along the coast like Ravello and Amalfi will do just fine.  Ev will love all the lemons.  And we have cookies to eat.  It's important people. I'm trying to tell you.
• in other news, I have such a fun project coming up!  I cannot wait to share it with you.  I've been dreaming it up for months now.  It involves pretty things.  And treasure hunting.  And responding to a question I'm asked a hundred times a day.  I think you'll love it ;-)  Consider this my first official teaser.
• And lastly, I hope your weekend is rich and restful!  Steeped in rest and play and as much delicious food as you can manage.  I'm signing off to dig into a pan of gooey flourless brownies courtesy of Shauna Niequist's latest book.  And seriously, I've yet to find a recipe in there that isn't both easy breezy and insanely delicious. It's a must read if only for the recipes.

Reflections of a Beautiful Week

​"God made a world of extraordinary beauty, and sometimes the most productive, most important thing we can do is slow ourselves down enough to see it, hear it, smell it, taste it, enter into it." -Shauna Niequist

Have a lovely weekend, friends.  I'll see ya next in Nashville!​

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