Summer Love 02: Barbecue

Being that it rains almost the whole year any time it doesn't means it's a good time to barbecue. I like barbecue for many reasons: Ali is usually in charge of cooking (yay!), its mess free (less dishes to wash) and you can pretty much throw anything on there and it comes out tasting delicious.

 

For us, there's three parts to a perfect barbecue.

One. Marinade. Lately I've been into making marinades at home.  I'm not one for recipes - my current method is throw ingredients (srirachi chili, garlic, ginger, oil and then a mix of things - soy sauce, ketchup, honey, mustard, paprika, cumin, lime juice) into the hand blender and blend until its smooth. So far so good, it's always been better than something from a bottle.  

Two. Mojitos. There isn't enough I can say about them.  Fresh squeezed lime. Fresh mint picked from the yard...A whole Summer Love post will be dedicated to this delicious beverage.  

Three. Corn on the cob.  Left in the husk and put on the grill just like that.  Sometimes we put them on the grill after there done for a quick minute, sometimes we just peel and eat.  I like mine with a bit of salty butter and Ali opts for plain hot corn. 

Backyard barbecues are becoming one of my most favourite parts of summer.  In part because of all the delicious food but also the magic of making food.  I love seeing it all come together and sit out beautifully on the table in front of you. Oh summer is magical.  

Summer Love

Summer in the city is probably my most favourite as a season and there are so many reasons why.  I've commited myself to documenting them, mainly in iphone photos because its always with me and I'm going to share them until summer is done!

First up is the garden.  Now I love to garden and play with plants any time really, but summer is when they actually grow and I feel like I can better see the results of all the work. 

This summer we are growing all sorts of things.  There were some ranunculus that sadly didn't fair too well, poppies which are growing like wildfire and a mix of other flowers.  We also decided to take a chance with some produce. We've got a big tub of strawberries and three tomato plants.  I'm hoping that by the end of summer there will be a bit of fruit for all the love and care put into these guys! 

my rock garden

pretty purple verbena

Thankfully summer has actually started (fingers crossed) and the garden will keep growing. I'm excited for my poppies to bloom and to see some flowers in a few other pots. I'm hoping to have a group of photos that show the growth of summer when its all said and done.

I am so glad summer is here.

Weekend in Photos

For our anniversary weekend, we decided to head across the border for a bit of shopping.  Because of my new-ish job I'm not allowed any time off work at this point so we decided an overnight would have to do. We got up early on Saturday morning and headed south. It was the first time using the GPS in the US and the first time where we really needed it.  It may have been smart to update the thing before we left but we somehow managed to skip that.  After a few mishaps with the GPS we made it to Denny's for breakfast. And then it was off for shopping. 

We went down to the Premium Outlets in Tulalip and back up to Burlington. There wasn't any amazing purchases though there was a really cute clutch wallet at Fossil that I wish I had grabbed.  We spent the night at the Hampton Inn & Suites (our room was the one right below the writing!) and it was great.  I'm a little picky when it comes to hotels but I'd stay there again! It was clean, comfortable and perfect for the night.

For eats we went to the Olive Garden, which I'll admit sounds a little cheesy. We don't really have any up here that are nearby.  It was delicious.  Maybe because we didn't have any great food all day but it was fantastic. I am in LOVE with their raspberry lemonade!!  Sunday came way too soon.  We decided to take the scenic route in hopes of good photos and swoon-worthy houses.  Chuckanut Drive runs up the Washington Coast between Burlington and Bellingham. It was just beautiful.

The drive was dreamy. I love rural areas and quiet roads. There were plenty of cute farms and old mailboxes to keep me happy for a little while.  Coming home was bittersweet. It was nice to get away and reflect on life but it felt not long enough when we got home.  Needless to say we are both looking forward to a vacation in the future.

Dance Around the House

Awhile ago, I decided that 2011 would be the year of fun and year of party.  Today that was a dance in your pajamas morning. Here's a few from my playlist (forgive my taste in music):

Tenderness - General Public

The Impression That I Get - Mighty Mighty Bosstones

I Melt For You - Modern English

happy friday.

Making Home.

It's almost been two weeks since we moved.  Aside from the physical relocation and cleaning that comes with moving, there's a whole world of 'making home'. To us, that's a world of systems and organization all complied together that makes home work for us.  After spending almost two years in our last place and moving furniture around (a lot!) we figured out a pretty good system.  This time around, I didn't want it to take quite as long for us to figure out what works and doesn't work for us.  I forgot to mention that in this move we downsized from an over sized two bedroom to a fairly small (maybe 600sq ft) one bedroom.

It's been awkward. I think that is the best word to use.  Some spaces are set up and we've assigned general "zones" for things but everything is still in transition.  At times it's been challenging but it's nice to take a moment and appreciate that it won't be new forever and things will settle.  

Some good things that came with the move include a large yard and garden space. We spent a few days in the warm weather planting seeds in buckets, mainly herbs for the season but we're going to try our hand at strawberries, peppers and a few other veggies I think.  That has been keeping us sane and is a good reward (or escape!) when things get a little overwhelming. 

Though the move wasn't planned on at first, its turning into a pleasant surprise.