Garden Goodies

It was harvest time this weekend!  We've had an odd growing year in MN.  We got a lot of rain in June, and then a blast of 90 degree days through July, but all in all a decent year. 

Our sweet corn was fabulous.  It's all tapped out now.  Raccoons got a little of it toward the end, but we were really pleased with the size, color, and taste of the corn this year.  Our tomatoes and onions are a little on the small side, our peppers are coming in fast now, and the potatoes are looking pretty good too.

I picked a bunch of stuff from the garden and spent most of Saturday in the kitchen making good use of all the fresh veggies.  I made tomato basil bisque, a recipe that takes forever, but is quite good.  I also took a crack at making homemade tomato sauce.  I think it turned out pretty good.  I let it simmer in the crockpot most of the day.

I even attempted to make my own salad dressing, since we have an herb forest!  Look at this basil, it's a two foot tall bush.  I'm going to have to dry them, I'll never use them all.

One year of blogging

I just realized that today marks one year that we've been blogging!  It's been a busy year!  We're glad we can share some pieces of our life with family and friends whom we don't get to see nearly enough.

I found a few comics about blogs and thought they were appropriate for this occassion....

Emmy nominations

12 News was recently nominated for five Emmy's.  For a small station like ours, that is pretty rare.  We are nominated in several different categories, including two special newscasts, best cable newscast, best feature story, and best series.  One of the special newscasts nominated was the Cold Case series I worked on.  Also up for an award is a special about social media, a story about a high school student that dyed his hair to raise money for Haiti, and a series on how to save money.

We'll find out who the winners are in late September.    

'Mazel Tov'

This past weekend it was Kerry and Mike's turn to walk down the aisle.  The two have been together for about seven years and celebrated their big day at a synagogue in St. Louis Park.  I haven't been to many Jewish weddings, and enjoyed taking in the different rituals that come with it.  The bride and groom get married under a 'chupah', or a canopy, that symbolizes the new home the couple will build together.  Adding to their ceremony was a harpist, and a singer with an amazing deep voice. 

At the end of the ceremony the groom breaks glass, everyone yells 'Mazel Tov' (good luck) and then my favorite tradition  happens at the reception.  The bride and groom are lifted in chairs across the dance floor, bobbing up and down with the music. 

After that it was time for their first dance to, "How Sweet it is to be loved by you."

Congrats to Mike and Kerry!

Under Construction

We're swinging into full construction mode at the house.  Jason and I are 'attempting' to redo the basement.  We get motivated like this every six months or so, we'll put a good dent in a project and then our enthusiasm and patience runs out and we take a break.  We're hoping this burst of energy will at least get us through a good chunk of the basement. 

This past weekend we ripped wall paper off, filled holes, sanded walls, and started painting.  This hideous 'wood lodge' paneling is next to go.  I've never liked it, it looks like giant antlers should be hanging in the room.

The good news is Gracie Lou was the guardian of the paint supplies, she just sat in the basement watching us spin circles around each other.

 

Remodeling progress

Ah, progress.  For the past year we've held off on remodeling projects as we saved up for the wedding, but now we're back to it.  The garage has become our staining station once again.  We're staining the pieces for a new railing, to replace one we ripped out months ago.  It's exciting to see progress again! 

Wedded bliss in Upstate NY

Just over three weeks ago I had the pleasure of being in my friends wedding near Rochester NY.  Erica, who was in our wedding in June, got married at the end of July.  They had a beautiful day for an outdoor ceremony at Steamboat Landing, a waterfront restaurant in Canandaigua.

Erica and I met about three years ago, both of us were transplants to Minnesota and hit it off immediately.  I was with her the night she met her future husband, Joe.  We were out and about in Uptown, when she started chatting with a guy in a restaurant.  From there, you guessed it, the rest is history. 

It was a great day.  The bride and groom were truly happy, which set the tone for a great night.  And the snazzy looking wedding party helped keep the party going into the wee hours.

A lot of people from Minnesota made the trip to New York to be part of their big day.  And if there is one thing I can say about Minnesotans it's - they LOVE to dance.  The dance floor filled up faster than I have ever seen at any wedding!  I captured quite a bit of the day on video.


Congrats Joe and Erica!

Southern flair in the Midwest

If you're ever in Minnesota, it won't take long for someone to offer you "hotdish."  It's the Midwest version of a casserole, but called hotdish.  Well, this weekend we strayed away from that traditional staple and replaced it with a Southern one: a shrimp boil.

Our friends Dave and Shannon have spent plenty of time down south.  Shannon grew up in Arkansas and Dave worked in Louisiana for several years, needless to say, they know they're stuff when it comes to boiling shrimp.

Basically you toss everything into a pot and boil it.  Of course certain things have to go in at certain times, but we left that to the experts.  You toss in corn, potatoes, shrimp, crawfish and when it's done you dump it on the table covered in newspaper, and eat with your hands.

It was very tasty!

Even the crawfish, which Jason and I had never had, were good.  To wash it all down we had hurricanes, another southern staple popular on Bourbon Street.  And to top it off, it was hot and steamy outside...a perfect southern day!

Friday night fights

This time, we watched Friday night fights in person.  As part of a birthday present, Jason and I went to Hinckley MN to watch boxing.  It was about an hour and half drive up to the casino where the fights were happening.  I'm not sure which entertained us more - the boxers or the people watching lol.  Let's just say boxing attracts some interesting characters.

The best fight was between Lateef Kayode (13-0) and Alfredo Escalera Jr. (18-2-2) - pictured above.  The fight went eight rounds before Kayode knocked out Escalera and the ref called the fight.

Several of the fights were broadcast on Showtime.  Jason and I spent equal time talking about boxers and all the tv equipment that was there.   We felt a little bad for the camera guy who seemed to be in everyone's way as he stood on the side of the ring, but I'm sure he gets that every time. 

It was a pretty good turn out.  If I had to guess, I would say around 500 people were there. 

It really was quite a production.  Camera crews, announcers, makeup people...you name it.  Jason recognized the announcers, I on the other hand was clueless.  I did find it funny that they had to be escorted to the bathroom by a casino police officer that was about 17 years old lol.     

It was a good night!  Definitely something different. 

Happy Birthday Jason!

It's official. Jason is another year older, and I'd like to think, another year wiser lol.  It was a relaxing night.  To celebrate his 31st birthday I made a quiet dinner at the house: steak, potatoes, and sweet corn.  I usually don't take pictures of food, but I couldn't resist this time.

And for dessert - peanut butter cake! What birthday would be complete without peanut butter cake?

Yes there is a special cake recipe that I got from Jason's mom and have made a couple of times.  I thought I was doing pretty good with this whole cake recipe until I saw a picture of Jason and Josh on their birthday as kids - each standing next to their own round, two tiered, frosted cake lol.

Jason's mom had brought the picture to our house when we were creating picture boards for the wedding. 
When I saw it I started laughing.  All this time I've been making an 8x8 cake, frosting it and calling it good.  So this year...I did it right...This picture is for you GayAnn...    

Aside from peanut butter cake, we're going to see a boxing match Friday.  And it's the first time I got to buy a birthday card that said 'To my Husband'!

Green giants

No photoshopping here folks!  Our corn really is taller than me.  Yes, I know I'm only five feet tall lol...but seriously look at this corn.  It's been quite a project this year.  We've had several bad storms that have come through and knocked it all over.  The last time Jason and I tried to prop it up we didn't think it would make it.  It was twisted and mangled...but with a little sunshine they stood right back up.  Quite a resilient plant!  It was worth the work...the corn is fabulous. We've had it for dinner a few times and there is a lot more in the garden.  I'd say we have about 50 plants, each with two ears give or take.  Yea, we've got a lot of corn...

Wedding in the park

The summer of weddings continues...

Our friends Sarah and Chuck recently got married at a park in Minnesota.  They had a beautiful summer day to walk down the isle and say I do.  It's the first 'green' wedding we've been too.  The bride and groom did away with a few of your conventional 'wedding must-haves' in the name of the environment.  For example, they didn't print programs to save paper, instead they wrote out the ceremony on this cute chalkboard.  The wedding favor was a small clay pot of basil and they recycled everything they could after the ceremony. 

The one thing I've noticed by going to muliple weddings this year, is that no two weddings are alike.  From food to family members, every occassion seems to have its own attitude.  Plus, everyone is happy at weddings!  How can you go wrong with food, friends, and an open bar?