Chelsea

July Garden

This time of year is exciting in the garden – the tilling, weeding, watering, and waiting has paid off and we are harvesting now. While my tomatoes are all duds, the plants have wilted and died, I do have some successes this year. The okra is flourishing – I planted Hill Country Red from SeedContinue reading “July Garden”

Iowa Skies + Batman Piñata

My most recent finished watercolor, started just before our trip to Alexandria, MN – based on an Instagram photo I took a few years ago of baby blankets drying on the clothesline. This summer has been flying by – we have all been making time for creating which leaves me happier than anything else atContinue reading “Iowa Skies + Batman Piñata”

Lake Week

A couple of weeks ago, we headed North to Alexandria, Minnesota, with my hubby’s family. We rented a wonderful lake house with a boat, playground, and killer lakefront view porch. We spent our time boating, fishing, eating, playing games after the kids were in bed, swimming, and site-seeing. It was a lovely way to spendContinue reading “Lake Week”

Balsamic Beet Pizza

This past week I got inspired by a beet recipe, Balsamic-Glazed Beets with Pecans, from Eating Well magazine. We have been receiving lots of beets from our weekly produce box and I get tired of making things over and over again the exact same way. I decided that this beet recipe would be the bestContinue reading “Balsamic Beet Pizza”

Chore Chart

Summer break started off with a bang and a sprint out of the school gates. Then, we had a few trips, routine shaken up a little, naps were skipped, and meals not fully eaten…you get the picture. Things weren’t like they were when everyone was in school still. Before I knew it, I had anContinue reading “Chore Chart”

Greensboro Weekend

A couple of weekends ago I went on a whirlwind, three-day trip to Greensboro, NC. I went completely solo – this was the first time I have traveled alone since before my eldest was born – more than five years! I was so excited to have plenty of time for friends, and let’s be honest,Continue reading “Greensboro Weekend”

New Artwork

I finally finished an artwork that I made for a coworker’s nursery. She sent me some color requests – pinks and grays, 2 quotes she liked and a general idea for the artworks. I got to work, slowly, much more slowly than normal. But, hey, it was a busy spring for me. The quotes areContinue reading “New Artwork”

Easy Stuffed Peppers

Our weekly produce box has been so good for rounding out our meals – veggies galore! I decided to make stuffed peppers last week, something I have not made in ages. As almost always, I winged it. I made a big pot of rice, with the intent of the leftovers being turned into fried riceContinue reading “Easy Stuffed Peppers”

Rhubarb Raspberry Crisp

One of the things I missed most about the Midwest was its unique plants – moving to North Carolina made me realize that I couldn’t smell lilacs every spring, watch the corn grow into tall tasseled plants, and wouldn’t be enjoying freshly cut rhubarb desserts. Of course, moving back to the Midwest has made meContinue reading “Rhubarb Raspberry Crisp”

Spring Gardening

We tore out a section of our railing in April. We left the section around the door, but the resulting space is along the walk to the house is quite wonderful – no more walking all the way around a paint flaking, rusty, shaky railing to get to the yard. After removing the railing, weContinue reading “Spring Gardening”