the giraffe life

So, we're home from all our travels this month. Dottie is so excited that she's helping us unpack: The garden really took off (or maybe it's more noticeable since I haven't seen it for a week). I was eager to get the weeds under control and a weird one caught my eye in the middle of the Sweet William. Look what I found when I pulled it up: A potato! (And yeah, I have pink alien hands.) I planted potatoes last spring but nothing ever grew, so I dug them all up last fall - or at least I thought I got them all. It's our first "harvest" of the 2013 garden, and I am pumped! Maybe I should just leave potatoes in the ground every year . .  I'm off to get caught up on cleaning and laundry (wheee!), but I hope you have a fabulous weekend! :)

Spotted in a Daytona Beach Arcade . . going for only 30,000 tickets . linking up here

One of my most endearing qualities is that I wake up hungry every morning. (On the rare occasions that I don't, my stomach changes its mind after about 2 minutes.) That's part of the reason  I eat cold cereal every day .  So a breakfast I can make during daylight hours and refrigerate/freeze until the morning? Very appealing. :) The beauty of these burritos is that you can add anything you want - this particular one was for my husband, so it has cheddar cheese, egg, and sausage. If I'm making it for myself, I use tomato sauce, egg, mozzarella cheese, and spinach, or egg, Spanish rice, corn, and salsa.  Breakfast Burritos • 2 tortillas •  2 eggs (I suggest scrambling or frying them) • 1/2 cup shredded cheese • any toppings (like ham, peppers, onions, corn, salsa, hot sauce) Instructions Prep the eggs and shred the cheese. Layer egg and cheese on each tortilla. Add toppings if desired. Wrap tortilla and store in freezer-safe container. When yo...

We traveled for a wedding last week in Johnson City, New York. The trip started with stormy weather like this (eek!): And then turned into this during the drive: A little creepy, right? Thankfully the weather improved after that!  We enjoyed lunch at Ground Round - a new restaurant for us - broccoli and cheese soup with salad for me, and chicken fingers with coleslaw for hubby. I googled it later and found out it's a chain, mostly found in the Midwest and eastern parts of the US.  That night was the rehearsal dinner, which meant more yummy food (cupcakes!) and good company. The wedding was held at a hotel, which boasted hiking trails connected to a nearby nature preserve. So the next day we drove over early to check out the trails. I was super excited to see the waterfall. Here's the view from the front of the hotel: I'll be the first to tell you that I'm not the best map reader. But even with both of us consulting the trail map, we s...

I recently discovered that Whole Foods recycles number 5 plastic containers, so we're saving up. It's not perfect (I can't bring myself to make homemade yogurt) but this is better than throwing away all those cups!

My husband and I are celebrating our anniversary in Daytona Beach this year (yay!) and we're flying there. In an effort to keep our costs down, we're only bringing carry-on luggage - but that can be a challenge for a week-long trip. Here's a few ideas to help you save some space if you're hoping to do the same. Wear something twice : I can get away with wearing the same bottoms for several days without needing to wash them. Pick something that matches all your tops, like a pair of jeans or a black skirt. Skip pajamas : Sleep naked, sleep in your underwear, wear the same pajamas the whole week of vacation, whatever. There's a lot of flexibility here and you'll save a decent amount of space.  Wear your bulky items : You might need something like a winter coat or hiking boots for your trip. If you don't have room for them in your bag, consider wearing them. Fill your shoes : When I pack sneakers or closed-toe shoes, I fill them with socks to make the ...

I remember being handed homework on the last day of 8th grade (and thinking my teacher must be crazy if she thought we would be coming back to school the following day to turn it in). But this wasn't regular homework, this was summer reading . Ugh. I've always loved to read, but what drove me bonkers about reading for school was the teacher choosing the books. I was always biased against them right from the start because I didn't want to be told what to read. Thankfully, no one is telling me what books to read now so I'm enjoying my summer reading ;) Dead End in Norvelt : Really enjoyed this one! Jessica wrote about planning to read it this summer and I took the idea from her. :) It's about Jack's summer - he's grounded after accidentally firing his dad's gun and mowing down the corn his mother is growing for the needy. The only time he can leave the house is when Ms. Volker needs a scribe for her obituary column, and there are quite a few old ladi...

Although the lion does appear to flatten his box first . . linking up here

It's time again for the once a month garden update. I'm happy to report that everything is still alive :) Just to refresh your memory, here's my main garden bed on May 10th: And the garden bed on June 9th: Birds love to perch on the tomato cage and cucumber trellis, which I appreciate because it buys me a solid 15-20 minutes of good behavior from my cats ;) And everything labeled: My zinnias are finally getting tall . . they have been slow growers so far and it had me a little worried at first. While taking this picture, I noticed that they appear to be getting nibbled by something (see those leaves on the far right side?). I'll keep a closer eye on them this week and see if I can find a culprit.  And the regular tomato plant: There are already a few tomatoes growing! Some of the leaves look a little yellow, but after 5 days of 90 degree weather, we had 3 nights of lows in the 40s, followed by 3 days of pouring rain. Whew. I'm hoping it w...

I'm a huge fan of snail mail. Actual, paper-in-my-hands, mail. While my husband was deployed, I aimed to send him something (card, letter, and/or package) at least once a week (and it ended up being 2-3 times in reality). So I thought I'd share some of our favorites with you. For his birthday: card purchased  here We enjoy stargazing, so this one was a no-brainer (you pick the constellation): card purchased  here I watch very little TV, but I make an exception for Big Bang Theory, and this is their version of Rock, Paper, Scissors: card purchased here For a good laugh: card purchased here Because I definitely missed him: card purchased here For Valentine's Day: card purchased here Do you get excited about mail? 

I really love info graphics. They make facts fun and comprehensible. This one really surprised me - especially the milk section. If I'm reading this correctly, the average person eats 31 pounds of cheese + 601 pounds of other dairy products AND drinks 181 pounds of milk?! Whoa. What surprises you the most? Do you think your eating habits match the average American diet?

Drink a milkshake - We have a local ice cream place that's so dear to our hearts that we bought and hung a painting of it in our dining room. Yet it's been open for a month, and I haven't visited. That needs to change. Plan a flower bed - Behind our sunroom, we have a little piece of yard that's awkwardly edged by the patio and encroached on by a downspout and basement window drain. I'd like to plan something to at least make this space pretty. (I welcome suggestions - I'm hoping for low-maintenance perennials that are native to the East Coast.) Enjoy the beach - We're going to Daytona Beach for our anniversary and I don't want to plan this trip within an inch of its life like I usually do. I want a leisurely (maybe even downright lazy) vacation. Make a photo book - Of the aforementioned beach trip ;) You can read more about how I document here . What are your plans for June?