What To Do With Tomatillos

If you happen to come across a big bag of tomatillos at your local farmer's market, I would highly recommend making this most delicious Tomato and Tomatillo Gazpacho.



We were almost immediately in need of a second batch after tasting the first one. Super tasty and refreshing.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

My dad is the best dad. No really, he is.



Love you, Dad! Happy birthday!

Thrift Store Treasure

A few weeks ago I received a lucky treasure in the mail from my mom. She found two of these at the thrift store:



Unopened argyle sock kit, copyright 1950 from Patons and Baldwin.



Check out the chart!



Don't worry, there were two, so she was able to keep one for herself. :)

Rain Drops and Polka Dots

Over the weekend I took advantage of being at my parents to use my mom's sewing machine for a tote bag I had been wanting to make to test out my sewing skills after my Sewing 101 class at the end of March.



It's definitely not perfect, but I love the prints and it will make a great project bag.



...and it's reversible!

Birthday Surprise

I hope you all had a nice Memorial day weekend! I sure did. On Saturday I flew home to Appleton, WI to surprise my mom for her birthday. My dad was in on the surprise, and told my mom he was off to the grocery store when really he was off to the airport to pick me up. When we got back to the house, he went in first and told my mom to come see what he got on special at the store. Surprise! We've never pulled something like that on her before, and it was a lot of fun.

I had a great weekend relaxing with my parents. Lots-of-pictures-alert:


* Who knew Paris was right in the backyard?*



* the little old lady who rules the roost *


* Little Lake Butte des Morts *



* old railroad bridge *


*Mom and Dad crossing the Friendship Trail, Menasha, WI *


* warehouse on the trail *


* plenty of irises ready for their close-up *


* "Treasure" found in the backyard (it's a deer skull) *


* chairs always getting a new paint makeover *


*homemade strawberry-rhubarb ice cream with the last of the garden rhubarb crop *


*snapdragons *


* half shade/half sun combo is the best for a snooze *


* Testing out Dad's Christmas present on the creek *



* Dad was in on the plan*



* the birthday girl *

Temescal Canyon

Over the weekend one of my BFFs Allie came to visit, and we set out on a gorgeous Saturday to Temescal Canyon. During the climb up and up and up, I was wondering how I had ever happily made it through a 12 day backpacking trip back in high school...

I actually haven't done any hiking since moving to LA, and I think Temescal was a great place to start.

Views of Malibu...



Views of the Santa Monica...



And of course, the hike always goes a little easier when you know you have something sweet in the future.



*Princess Cake from Sweet Lady Jane on Melrose...YUM*

What are your favorite trails?

Citron for Mom

Hi friends!

I finally have some knitting to share. It has felt like awhile, huh? I started making the Citron shawl back in early April, with plans to give it to my mom for Mother's day. I was pretty pleased with myself, thinking I would get things done far in advance.



Boy was I wrong. This thing seemed to go on f-o-r-e-v-e-r. I ended up getting done just in the nick of time, but all these teeny tiny stitches took a lot of time.



It's a gorgeous color (of malabrigo lace), and lovely pattern. Nothing says I love you, Mom, like knitting rows and rows of 540 stitches!