CSA Week 8!

Here's what we got:

Tuesday, June 28 - Half Share

1 Bag Spinach - Certified Organic - Organic Willow Acres

1 Bunch Fresh Sweet Red Onions - Certified Organic - Eagle View Organics

1 Bunch Cilantro - Certified Organic - Noble Herbs

1 Bunch Red Cylindra Beets - Certified Organic - Rolling Ridge Farm

1 Head Green Butterhead Lettuce - Certified Organic - Echo Valley Organics

1 Bag Pickling Cucumbers - Certified Organic - Elm Tree Organics

1 Pint Mixed Cherry Tomatoes - Certified Organic - Farmdale Organics

Tuesday, June 28 - Fruit Share

1 Half Pint Blueberries - Certified Organic - Little Buck Organics (Sourced from Hammonton, NJ) 

1 lb. Sour Cherries - IPM - Cherry Hill Orchards  

1 Half Pint Black Raspberries - Certified Organic - Millwood Springs Organics  

Ain't it lovely?

 

The tomatoes are too stinking delicious. Even Riley tried to get in on the action (a la counter surfing- bad puppy!)

Shortie (lame) post today. I'm farmers market bound!

Oh, Monday.

Good morning lovelies!

Mondays can be rough, and this Monday decided to come at me swinging. I woke to a barking puppy (the usual) to find my downstairs destroyed. The Sunday paper scattered across the house, a chewed redbox movie, and my favorite Guinness coasters laying in a mangled pile of cardboard shreds amongst other things. Luckily, Miss Riley got it all out of her system early today, so she's passed out in a corner now and I was able to clean up the mess pretty quickly.

So what's a girl to do? I decided to decompress by doing some early morning blog reading- and oh there are some LOVELY things out there today. I saw over at J Crew Aficionada that there is a 20% off and free shipping promo going on today on knits and tees. Not that I didn't just buy things there (twice) this weekend, but my new favorite racerback tanks were on sale for $19.50 (review soon!). I lived in the navy version of this all weekend.

Source: jcrew.com via Devon on Pinterest

Next up on the blog roll- Dilly Dallas. I adore Dallas Shaw's style, but can never afford the pretty things she displays on her blog. Today, an early preview of a desk styling post came up and a picture caught my eye- mercury glass! My bridal brain is in love with all things sparkly and "vintage" and I've been lusting over the idea of finding some treasures at a flea market. Well- Dallas made it easy. These votives are from West Elm, and only $5 a piece! Free shipping sweetened the deal- so my little fingers clicked on the shopping cart. A little cluster of 3 will look so pretty on my mantle or corner of my desk (once I clean the darned thing up).

Source: westelm.com via Devon on Pinterest

Now that I've had my coffee and my credit card is safely tucked away, I should probably get onto the important things of the day (like tending to my sunburn. more on that later). Have a happy Monday!

Wedding Wednesday- We go "shopping"!

I have a confession. I have not dreamed of my wedding since I was a little girl. I didn't dress up in my mom's dress and walk down the aisle with our neighbor (Steven "broccoli head"). Instead, we played house- and pretended to blow up the occasional Barbie.

No, the dress, the flowers, the venue were not on my mind. But one thing was...

The Registry.

How freaking awesome is it that you get to pick out all the super cute kitchen stuff you have always wanted and then have people buy you that exact same stuff!? Phenomenal I tell you. So you can imagine my excitement when the boy said to me last night, "want to go to the mall and register for some stuff?"

That my friends- was HALF the excitement I felt last night haha

Sadly, we realized today that registering isn't all scanner guns and daisies. It's hard! Mostly, because you are SO ready to go, and then a really nice lady makes you fill out paper work and gives you a 20 minute schpeal about what the program is all about. It's a bit of a buzz kill. But once we got through that (smiling and holding hands like good engaged couples should do!), we were lost. Where to start? What do we really need? And then the boy found out that a high end down comforter costs $700 and nearly chucked the scanner down the aisle of neatly folded color coordinated Idon'tknowwhatthreadcountmeans luxury towels.

After 20 more minutes, we had under 20 items on our list. We looked at each other and realized- we are SO much better at buying things online. Why? There are reviews! And comparable price lists! And I could Google what made one towel better than another! I should have known- I am a researcher when it comes to buying things. I browse the J Crew site before stepping into the store and know all the dresses carried at the LOFT by style name. Why would it be any different when trying to pick out knives, plates, and other lovely home things?

So here is where I need your help. I have come to the conclusion that I need to pick my "kitchen style" before setting forth. Right now, we have gorgeous cherry stained wood, dark granite counter tops, stainless hardware, and bright white walls. The main accent color is a apple to sage-y green, mostly because all my fabulous Marshall's finds come in that shade (you know how that goes!)

I think the shining star of every little girl's registry is the KitchenAid Mixer (even if she can't bake). And thus, I need your help picking out the color! {all photos courtesy of Macy's and KitchenAid}

Blue Willow (navy?)

Cobalt - has almost a purple hue?

Ice - paler in real life

Pistachio - a bit more green in person

Apple Green- a bit brighter in person

What do you think?? Right now, I'm leaning towards the blues- I just don't know which one! The idea of the Blue Willow is lovely, but will I EVER get it to look clean again?? Experienced ladies (and gents), chime in!

CSA Week 7

Check me out- picking up my CSA share AND writing about it all in one day! Summer break day 2 has been good to me haha.

This week, the folks over at Lancaster Farm Fresh started to mix it up a bit! Kale- you are lovely, but I am NOT sad to see you go for a week or 2.

In this week's share:

Tuesday, June 21 - Half Share

1 Quart New Red Potatoes - Certified Organic - Green Valley Organics

1 Head Flashy Troutsback Romaine Lettuce - Certified Organic - Life Enhancing Acres

1 Head Broccoli - Certified Organic - Organic Willow Acres

1 Bag Green Beans - Certified Organic - Plum Hill Organics

1 Bunch Fresh Yellow Onions - Certified Organic - Sunrise Ridge Organics

1 Bunch Red Beets - Certified Organic - Farmdale Organics

Tuesday, June 21 - Fruit Share

1 Pint Blueberries - Certified Organic - Little Buck Organics (Sourced from Hammonton, NJ) 

1 Jar Strawberry Jam - Certified Organic - Oak View Acres

I swapped out the lettuce for the pretty cucumber you see below (my favorite!)

I am already planning on making a potato salad tonight and maybe some sauteed green beans. BBQ chicken as a main perhaps??

Whew- it's humid and hot here. Time to grab a big glass of agua and sit in the shade! Have a lovely first day of summer :)

Summer Solstice Salad

Happy first day of summer everyone! It's a rainy one here today, but the boy and I celebrated the end of spring last night with a fantastic dinner out on the little red deck. After a week full of parties and celebratory dinners (yay Daddy day!), we had a fridge full of leftovers and felt pretty blah. I decided we need to eat better (and smarter!) so I pulled together a lovely little meal- without a trip to the grocery store!

Along with some leftover corn on the cob and a bag of frozen shrimp, I adapted this panzanella off of 2 recipes- one by my fave Ina Garten and the other from the lovely Giada De Laurentis.

"Summer Solstice" Panzanella

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 large loaf french bread other country-style white bread, 2 to 3 days old
• 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil plus reserve for grilling
• 2 cans diced tomatoes {you really should use fresh, but it was a pantry night!
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Salt and fresh black pepper
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
• 1 hot house cucumber unpeeled, seeded and diced
• 4 scallions, finely diced

Directions

Cut french bread into thick slices and grill, drizzling olive oil on both sides of the bread. Once grilled, let cool and cut or tear bread into 1 inch cubes and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk 2/3 cup of the olive oil, 1/4 cup of vinegar, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. 

Transfer the cubed bread to a 13 by 9 by 2-inch dish.

Mix the diced tomatoes, cucumbers, scallions and basil into the bread. Pour the dressing over top, and combine well. Cover the salad and let stand at room temperature for flavors to blend, at least 1 hour.

Source: womansday.com via Megan on Pinterest

I wish I had the forethought to take a picture last night (everything looked so yummy!), but you get the idea :)

The best part about Panzanella- you get to use the stale bread you forgot about from Saturday's party. And there are no real rules! Don't have cucumbers? Really like olives? Throw in whatever fresh veggies you want and see what happens.

I hope your first day of summer is a bit sunnier than mine. Have a great week!

bike crush

Meet Lexa S.

Isn't she pretty?

I saw her today after riding 12 miles on my 6th grade mountain bike, and I have a girl- errr- bike crush now. Of course, with a wedding to plan and some summer adventures around the corner, dropping a grand on a road bike isn't really in my budget.

So in the meantime, I'll just visit her online after spin class. *sigh*

-Tri update is coming! I have to get the pictures from Momma bear!

CSA Week 6 and Race Preview!

Whew- what a week! I feel like I've just caught up after a whirlwind weekend and the final week of school (YAY summer break!)

First up- the CSA! I'm getting bad at taking pictures, but really, how many times do you all want to see a bunch of kale?

Here's what came in this week's haul:

Tuesday, June 14 - Half Share

1 Bunch Green Kale - Certified Organic - Autumn Blend Organics

1 Bunch Collard Greens - Certified Organic - Sunrise Ridge Organics

1 Bunch Garlic Scapes - Certified Organic - Liberty Branch Farm

1 Head Flashy Troutsback Romaine Lettuce - Certified Organic - Riverview Organics

1 Bunch Scallions - Certified Organic - Sunrise Ridge Organics

2 Yellow Straightneck Squash - Certified Organic - Echo Valley Organics

I traded out the collard greens for extra scapes- they're so delish! Not to mention kinda crazy looking...

Even better- our Fruit Share started this week! Since it is early in the season, a large jar of organic apple sauce paired with a pound of rainier cherries made up our share.

Don't they look delicious?

This weekend, the boy and I did our second Tri together. I want to do a "race recap" like Caitlin does over at Healthy Tipping Point, but I am so glad I signed up this year! I wanted to bail back in March and I'm glad I didn't. Just for giggles- here's how stinking cute I look when I'm running (which is to say, not at all ha)

Have a wonderful rest of the week!

JCrew round 2- Rumi and Shoreline Stripe Dresses

Good morning!

Two more JCrew reviews for you- because you know I can't walk into a dressing room empty handed. Even at a way to high for me price point ($118), I snagged the Rumi dress on my way towards the back. Why? Because of this gorgeous in store only violet color!

I grabbed a size 4. It looks good in the pictures, but I remember wanting to size down at the time. This is a definite sale watch item. It's a tad low cut and high hemmed for the work place, but I could see myself walking around the city in this with a cute pair of brown leather sandals all summer! The tie waist hits just under the rib cage, making your legs look just a little longer (and leaner!) than they really are.

I wish the pictures did the color justice. It's such a vibrant purple. LOVE.

Next up was the Shoreline Stripe Dress. Adorable, but again- not for $78.

I grabbed an xsmall here due to the sizing (xxsmall-xlarge), and could definitely go up to the small since the dress fit very close (the top should blouson- and well. It simply didn't). The adjustable straps are great, but you're stuck going strapless here since it's essentially a long tank top. With no lining, I'm going to wait until this hits the $40 mark.

The heat is supposed to be more bearable today, but it's already steamy! I need to find some summer dresses stat!

JCrew review! Stowaway Dress

Good morning, Heatwave! It's a steamy 85 degrees this morning on the little red deck, and the forecast reads 97 by mid day. Whew! So what's better on a day like today than throwing on a cute sundress to beat the heat?

Last week, I saw the 10 day forecast and decided it was time to preemptively prepare my closet for the heat to come. Remember this pretty dress from JCrew?

Source: jcrew.com via Devon on Pinterest

It's the ultra light and comfy looking Stowaway dress in tropical turquoise. I grabbed an xsmall based on the sizing (xxsmall-xlarge) and headed into the fitting rooms...

So cute!

I could wear this all summer! Right?

WRONG.

Uggggh the dreaded front view. If ONLY the drawstring didn't exist or was a few inches higher :( Maybe if I could hike the skirt up without my booty hanging out even! Sadly, this went back on the rack. (note- I did try on the small, and it was way too baggy. The arm holes were indecent to say the least)

Do drop waist dresses work for ANYONE?

For now, it's back to the iced coffee! Have a lovely morning :)

CSA- weeks 4 and 5

Good morning!

Our 5th CSA share came in yesterday and it. is. gorgeous. So much so, that it made up for a disappointing week 4. Here's what came in the box:

Tuesday, June 7  - Half Share

1 Pint Strawberries  - Certified Organic - Healthy Harvest Organics

1 Head Green Endive - Certified Organic - Meadow Valley Organics

1 Bunch Sweet Onions - Certified Organic - Liberty Branch Farm

1 Bunch Garlic Scapes - Certified Organic - Sunny Crest Organics

1 Bunch Green Kale - Certified Organic - Eagle View Organics

1 Head Red Romaine Lettuce - Certified Organic - Riverview Organics*

1 Head Butterhead Lettuce - Certified Organic - Echo Valley Organics

*swapped out for ANOTHER pint of glorious strawberries!

Here's the haul:

berries berries berrrrrries! Yes- they are all gone already (minus a handful waiting for my momma!). I made strawberry shortcake biscuits last night and may have eaten another for breakfast this morning. shhhh ;)

Another exciting addition to the bunch- garlic scapes! I am going to try sauteing these in a pasta dish this week. Oh- and the lovely spring onions already met their fate with the grill last night. Phenom.

So why was I bummed last week with our CSA? It looks pretty good, right?

And here's what was included:

Tuesday, May 31 - Half Share

1 Head Green Romaine Lettuce - Certified Organic - Riverview Organics

1 Bunch Asparagus - Certified Organic - Maple Lawn Organics, Meadow Valley Organics, or Plum Hill Organics

1 Bunch White Scallions - Certified Organic - Railroad Organics

1 Bunch Red Chard - Certified Organic - Maple Lawn Organics

1 Bunch Baby Scarlet Turnips - Certified Organic - Outback Farm

1 Bunch Oregano - Certified Organic - Noble Herbs

1 Bunch Green Kale - Certified Organic - Eagle View Organics

Well, the romaine lettuce was up first for storage. I noticed there was a little black slime on the tips, so I trimmed it off and broke the head of lettuce in half....to find MORE BLACK SLIME. eww eww eww eww ewwwwwww. Yes, I know this is a risk of organic veggies. BUT GROSS.

The scarlet turnips were a bit tough- I need to come up with a better way of preparing them. And I managed to destroy the red chard using a recipe found on epicurious. I really should have gone with my gut on that one.

So, all in all- we got some good stuff last week. It was just a let down in comparison to the others. The good news? I am back to LOVING my CSA and can't wait to make more delicious meals this week!

ps- do you like the redesign? I'm hoping the new layout will allow for bigger pictures!

Just in time for the heat wave...

I would like to be 5...

and wear this every day.

Source: stylemepretty.com via Devon on Pinterest

I have so many ideas and half written posts going on right now. Things will get prettier around here again soon- promise!

for my man

Tropical Weave Tic Suit-Jos A Bank

he would look like a total stud in this ;) for pinterest!

Dear J Crew....

Please put these on sale ASAP. Thanks!

Source: jcrew.com via Devon on Pinterest

Source: jcrew.com via Devon on Pinterest

Love,

Devon