Cucumber Melon Agua Fresca

Inspired by chef Mike Arnold at Viking Cooking School with my own twist :) Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 melon such as crenshaw or honeydew (peeled and cored)
2 cucumbers (peeled and cored)
1/4 cup sugar
1 lime
2-3 sprigs of fresh mint

Peel, core and slice into chunks 1 melon and 2 large cucumbers. I used a crenshaw melon because it came in my CSA box from Avalon Acres. If you have a juicer, run cucumbers and melon through juicer and collect juice in pitcher. If not, run melon and cucumbers through a blender and strain out the juice leaving behind the pulp of the fruit.

Fill the rest of the pitcher with cold water and ice. Add in about 1/4 cup of sugar. Squeeze in juice of 1 lime. Finally, tear up several fresh mint leaves and stir into agua fresca. Let it chill for a little bit then serve!

Move Over Martha- shower decor

...Ok, well not really. I am NO Martha Stewart, by any stretch of the imagination! But, I did study her crafty ways when I was took on the challenge of throwing a baby shower for my best friend who is having twins! Since the momma-to-be is having a boy and a girl, I needed to throw a fun and unisex shower, so I hit up Michaels to get some inspiration and supplies. Here are some of the decorations I came up with and it was actually fun to do!

Hanging Tissue Pom-Poms

These were just so fun to make and really added a lot to the vibe of the shower. I made a few big ones and several smaller ones and hung them at different levels. Of course, I was too busy running around at the shower to actually take pictures when they were hung (Doh!), but I snapped a few after I made them for you to check out. Check out Martha's How-To for these poms to make them yourself.

1. Pick out what colors of tissue you want. I chose yellow, gray and white for the shower.
2. Stack 8 pieces of 20''x20'' tissue and fold into 1-inch accordion folds.
3. Wrap an 18-inch floral wire (cloth covered wire) around center and twist off.
4. Cut ends off of tissue either rounded off or pointy.
5. Separate each layer of tissue carefully so it doesn't tear.
6. Attached clear fishing line to end of floral wire and hang!

Here is Martha's pic of the actual making of (which I forgot to take) and my finished product below:

Owl Shaped Cut-Outs

Of course Martha has a whole section at Michaels of different shaped craft punches. Once I laid my eyes on the embossed owl punch it was over. Plus, I believe the upcoming kiddos will have an owl on a wall mural in their nursery, so it was meant to be.

Here is a pic of the adorable punch I bought, and a link to where you can get one.

Polka Dots on Twine

I found a delicious color palette of card stock that fit the shower perfectly, so after making the owls, I decided to try making a long strand of twine with different colors of polka dots on it to string up around the room. It was a little time consuming, but fun and turned out really great! I just drank a bottle of wine, grabbed the Elmers glue and scissors and went to town. My sweet friend Kat also helped with these! Thanks Kat, don't think I could have done these without you!

1. Fold paper in half.

2. Find a bottle or something to trace circles to make uniform shapes and cut out.

3. Separate stacks of different colors so you can alternate on strand.

4. Glue one side with Elmers, then place both sides around twine and press til dry.

5. Keep going and alternate colors!

Mary, Mary quite contrary. How does your garden grow?

This year, I decided to exercise my Martha Stewart muscle and try my hand at gardening. Note, I am a VERY amateur gardener, but I am excited with the progress and how fun it has been to learn the ways of the soil! I've been documenting this experience with my trusty iphone and well, I guess it's time to put it out there for the world to see. Or well, maybe just the 3 people that read this :)

Gardening Patch: 8' x 10' area with plenty of sunlight (which I am learning is WAY too small, but I didn't want to bite off more than I could chew)

Best gardening tip received: WeedBlocker! This amazing black, permeable tarp has saved me from doing any and ALL weeding while my plants grow. Thank you Mandy Mann!!!

Veggies planted: romaine lettuce, zucchini squash, yellow squash, cucumber, broccoli, strawberries and 4 types of tomatoes ( Celebrity, Cherry, Roma, and San Marzano)

Herbs planted: parsley, dill, basil, oregano, sage and rosemary

So, here is my journey from day 1 and hopefully I'll have a blog soon of the delicious things I've been able to harvest!

Step 1: Hire strapping, young lad otherwise known as my little brother to dig up a garden patch and sift out the sod.

Step 2: Apply layers of compost and something called "moo-nuer" (clever huh?) and wonder product, aka WeedBlocker and arrange plants.

Step 3: WATER!

Step 4: wait

Step 5: take cheesy pictures on your iphone to post on blog later

Step 6: Start to enjoy delicious romaine!

Broccoli & San Marzano Tomatoes

Herbs & Cherry Tomatoes

More to come!

4 Years Strong

Yesterday I celebrated 4 years being married to the amazing, talented, handsome Jeremy Lutito. Words can't describe how blessed I feel to be in this marriage. To quote my husband.....

"The always expanding highs and lows bring a quicker hindsight and a deeper joy"

I couldn't have said it better. These years have brought good times and bad, exciting and boring, understanding and yet sheer confusion all at the same time. In all of this, I know the Lord is present and working in us everyday. I hate the phrase "falling in love" as if it were this unintentional, accidental freak thing that just happens. We have to choose to be intentional with each other every day of our lives and actively pursue one another. That is what keeps us strong and loving each other more and more each day. Looking forward to many more years with this man.

Beauty Takes Pain

So, this is my first blog post ever. I am not a writer, but I often find myself wanting a place to put thoughts down, log the crazy dreams I have, talk about recipes I like, or post pictures of my broccoli sprouting up! So, here it is. My first blog and its about weeds.

Today I noticed possibly for the first time ever, beauty in our nasty, concrete parking lot at my office. This is the place I park my car everyday. And there before me, was a weed that had sprouted into a beautiful flower. Thistles can grow in the most harsh conditions, like in the cracks of concrete. I decided to cut a few of the lovely flowers and put them on display at my desk to bring some life into the office.

OUCH! Bad idea to do without the protection of gardening gloves. They have terribly prickly thorns on the stems that make them difficult to harvest. I somehow managed and boy was it worth it. They are a beautiful site to look at and a good reminder to me today that sometimes beauty takes pain. Now, ladies, I'm not talking about the pain you experience when you go to get your eye brows waxed. I'm talking about the kind of pain that happens when life happens. When the cracks seem to make their way into our seemingly perfect and privileged lives. I've seen a lot of this in the past couple of years. Maybe not always myself personally, but also to the people I love. All I can say is that somehow in all of that, something beautiful happens and I am thankful.

Speaking of thistles, this lovely flower also reminded me of the amazing work of the women at Magdalene, a residential community for women in Nashville with a history of drug abuse and prostitution. These incredible ladies started a line of natural bath and body products called Thistle Farms. The proceeds of these items go back into the program and provide opportunities to learn job skills, facilitate community, cooperation and responsibility. I love this example of how pain has brought these women together and they are creating with their own hands and the grace of the Lord, something beautiful.