here's to you weekend of june 28.

i frequently look at the calendar and am reminded of what i was doing one year ago today. i don't know if this is the best habit; however, i guess you could say i enjoy seeing how much has changed in 365 days. sometimes a lot. sometimes not much at all. lately, it has tended to be a lot. i think it's something about your twenties. whether it's graduating, new zip codes, jobs, spouses, iphones... the list could go on. 

one year ago today, my sister, hanna & i, were taking a road trip to my new zip code of 22304. we had a packed suv and were ready to move me into my new home with my almost-husband. it was a surreal weekend. full of power outages, the fear of a tornado, extreme heat && an apartment filled with boxes. roaming around this strange city, shopping in georgetown, dining at serendipity, and waiting in line for the famous eastern market pancakes. the metro seemed foreign to me as well as the winding roads & highways. wondering if this would ever all feel familiar.

thankfully, now, all of which i am quite acquainted with.  i can't tell you how many times i have roamed the stores of georgetown or ate buckwheat pancakes at the market. i now even ask friends if they want to catch, brunch (a midwest term we refer to as- breakfast) 

what seemed like a strange city, now has become home. 

in one year, three hundred sixty five days, too may minutes and seconds to count- it is amazing what can change. i am thankful the boxes are put away && for my wonderful hubby for making this feel like home. so until my next trip down memory lane. here's to the weekend of june 28. (i can't wait to see what next year's june 28 looks like.)

p.s. i think i may need one of these 5 year memory book <-- click to see.

^^^^ thank you hannie for moving me in :)

let me buy you a cupcake.

^^^ i was sooo excited to call him my hubby.

^^^ i think we ate pizza once a day that weekend.

strawberry jam

i went strawberry picking and wasn't quite sure to do with all the strawberries. (to be honest, strawberries are not my favorite fruit)

my friend kate, suggested jam. 
jam? well, i have never done that before. i know smucker's does a great jam that i have been accustomed to about... my whole life. 

then she went on to tell me that you can make jam without canning. hmm??...i think i can do that. 
(canning does seem very-martha-stewart and something i would love to try one day- however, right now i thought i should try simple)

so freezer jam it is. and, thank you kate, you were right. simple. 
i smashed the strawberries, added sugar, and powdered  pectin. stir, stir, stir.
delicious. 

currently, caleb && i are eating jam. on just about everything :)

a table around the blanket.

i am a fan of shauna niequist. 
i remember reading her bittersweet and feeling encouraged &&
i remember having a book discussion on a porch in holland, mi with her cold tangerines. 
when her bread and wine became released, i knew i had to get my hands on it. 
for the past week, i cannot put it down. it is her memoirs of life around the table. something i yearn to have one day (maybe today). 

i love the idea of having people around your table. for our wedding, my registry was filled with entertaining dishes. i now own everything from colorful tortilla dishes, reindeer cocktail plates to a turkey shaped platter. i am ready for any holiday and any setting. however, most of my entertaining menus have yet to be planned, cooked, or baked. the dishes, unfortunately, sit on a shelf yet to be used. 

bread & wine has given me a new hope that i can have people at our table, or for now, around our coffee table. 

currently, i am trying the recipes shauna has suggested. this weekend, i tried her feta watermelon salad and brought it to a table around a blanket at the navy yard. (it was delicious- however, the man in my life might have liked a little more... meat, i suppose) anyhow, i loved it, so enjoy!

happy official first day of summer.

summer. 

it's about cook outs, shrimp cocktail, laying by the pool, going on hikes, enjoying a lazy morning, strawberry picking, roller coasters, staying up late, smores (&& more smores.) 

and of course... flying a flag.  

trying to soak it up. 

it goes by too quick every year. 

 

a pretend southern date

                       

^^^ this is poogan's porch @ charleston, sc. (the place we fell in love with low country cuisine) 

when caleb and i visited charleston in the spring. i fell in love. the charm of the open porches, carriage rides, southern accents && especially, the food. i now get cravings for shrimp and grits as well as wearing an oversized straw hat.

knowing that we were not making a trip back to charleston for a while, i searched for any restaurant in the dc, maryland, virginia area that served shrimp & grits for me and chicken & waffles for him. alas i found one, founding farmers. we even told our waiter, we were playing pretend and asked if he could have a southern accent. he played along nicely. caleb & i dined pretending we were in the low country. we even made candied pecans in the morning. 

as you can tell, i think we had an ache to go back, but made do with our surroundings. until next time, charleston, we will do our best to create you at home. 

             

^^^^ our pretend southern date in maryland

^^^ caleb surprised me with these for our "southern" day. boy, are they good!

^^^ i guess you can say i was excited for our southern date :)

^^^ canned food. seems like i should learn. one day. 

freedom cake.

 freedom cake = summertime. 

freedom to sleep in. go to the beach. drink coffee until the late morning hours. 

watch the today show (all of it). cook out && strawberry shortcake. blueberries on everything. 

country music. hair tied into a bun on the top of your head. flea markets. painted toes. sunglasses. 

sun tans. late nights. drive in movies. 

last year, britt && i made our first freedom cake. it was a delicious almond martha stewart cake. double layered with lots of frosting. it took us the whole night to make. 

this year, i had to keep the tradition alive, but instead made cupcakes (same recipe).
only took me half the night. but totally worth it! 

so after year 2 of teaching, summer never felt so good. 

^^^ my kind of happy hour. 

^^ first day of summer dinner. 

risotto with corn && italian sausage. 

 ^^^looking forward to more of this- yay summertime. 

^^ cajun shrimp pedicures with kate :)

^^^ last year with britt. keeping the tradition alive, dear. 

a social event?!

 i started running in college. i remember my junior year roommate, brittany, asked if i wanted to go on a jog, like it was some kind of social event. 

i thought to myself- a jog? what does that mean?

do you talk? is it like speed walking? hmm. this could be interesting.

as many of my friends & family know, i can't say no. so i went for a "jog"- which consisted of breathing hard, aching legs, and wondering if i could make it. 

2 miles later- i realized i survived & actually didn't hate it && the best part- i felt amazing after it was done. 

four years later. i have clocked several jogs with several different friends in various  locations. (i guess i now kind of get that part about the social event.) it's funny how you can become almost addicted to something like running. it's that hate-love relationship. muscles hurting, legs screaming- yet you wake up day after day to hit the pavement and clock extra miles. because... in the end, you love it. 

the best part of running, besides the fact i don't feel guilty for eating ice cream afterwards, is the community it creates. the runners && fans.

 it's like your all working together with one goal in mind.

 accomplishing that dream of finishing.

and boy, does that feel good :)

 so go ahead. try a jog. 2 miles - it's all it may take. 

^^^ williamsburg half with kate

 ^^^ yes, we did the color run. caleb's first marathon (don't tell him a marathon is 26.2 not 3.1 miles)

^^^ first half @ notre dame with cathryn

^^ running for boston in dc

^^^ and when you add color, what's better? definitely, caleb's kind of run.

williamsburg, va.

currently, i am obsessed with patriotism. 

how i would summarize this: anything red, white or blue- i can't get enough of it. 

including the most adorable sweater sported below

 (don't worry- i didn't buy it, but was extremely tempted). 

we entered into patriotic triangle last weekend, or as some like to call 

williamsburg, virginia. 

of course, as you can imagine i loved it. 

everything from virginia peanuts to the oldest college, william & mary, 

to cape cod houses EVERYWHERE. 

a dream. literally. 

williamsburg is a history book coming to life. a little corny at times, yet a true honor to what colonial america once looked like (or at least what my mental picture tells me it would have looked like)

i am thankful to be an american. && all the historical patterns that lies in our own backyard. 

^^ every flavor of peanut imaginable.

let's go garden. 

okay, here it is. my dream home. 

can you smell the apple pie baking?