Grape Did It

Creamy, dreamy coconut popsicles

The other day we were hanging out at our friend's new house when she pulled out...coconut popsicles! I'll admit to not loving popsicles in general - I mean, why have frozen sugar water when I could eat ice cream? But these were SO GOOD. The coconut gave them a little more heft, and they were still cool, refreshing & portable.

So. I decided to try making a batch at home, and you would not believe how simple they are to make. 

I used:

1 can of coconut milk (Goya is a good go-to brand for canned goods & it's easy to find)

1/2 cup of half and half (if you're going for dairy-free, you could just omit, but I find it smoothes out the somewhat chunky coconut milk)

1/4 cup of sugar

Pour all ingredients into a small pot & heat over a medium low flame until the sugar has dissolved completely. Cool, pour into popsicle molds and pop in the freezer for a few hours.

June and I love them! The boys do not, and my theory is that you either love the flavor of coconut or you highly dislike it. I could eat five of these babies a day :)

And so could she.

PS - chocolate espresso popsicles for grown ups. 

Friday tidbits

"The pleasure of the table - that lovely old-fashioned phrase - depict food as an art form, as a delightful part of cilivized life. In spite of fad foods, fitness programs, and health concerns, we must never lose sight of a beautifully conceived meal." - Julia Child

That quote just thrills me - happy weekend! What are you up to? We'll be attending two birthday parties - one Saturday, one Sunday - and I'm hoping to make the perfect frosty gin & tonic one evening this weekend.

Let's do some links!

Earth shatteringly amazing speech. It reminds me of a quote about doing one thing at a time, and doing that one thing well. 

The 23 most perfect foods in the universe. Oof. Kind of gross in a wonderful sort of way. (And the bourbon cream popsicles? Whoa.)

Study reveals people are happiest early in the morning (according to twitter language).

An apartment in Paris that had been untouched for 70 years. This kind of discovery is one of my honest-to-goodness daydreams. Or a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. Look at those pictures!

An obese dachshund named Obie who recently lost 40 pounds. Yep, 40. (He'd had too much of those bourbon cream popsicles).

Interesting. Sun is good for you? I have been waiting for this article.

Two DIY iPhone cases. Cute.

Giraffes diving. Do yourself a big favor and watch this short film.

I can't resist. Two men having labor contractions.

That's it! Have a wonderful weekend & see you back here Monday :)

A simple kitchen re-do, some ideas

We're slowly trying to transform our small kitchen - on a budget. Bud is repainting the cabinets white, I'd love to do butcher block or painted concrete for the counter tops, & I'd also love to put down a rug + add knobs to the cabinet doors.

If we can make the kitchen sparkle, without spending a ton of money, I think we'd love it and add considerable value to our home.

Here are some ideas I like:

These simple Ikea knobs for the cabinets. 

Look at these beautiful white cabinets.

A chevron rug, like Georgia just put down (in her new kitchen addition!).

Here is a pretty combination of grey countertop + white cabinets. 

What are some other easy ways to re-do a kitchen? 

(Top image via thekitchn, second image via Georgia's instagram)

A simple way to do creative projects

I love making things, but it's got to be simple. I stumbled on an eight page recipe for a cake the other day and just thought, why? 

Which is why when I sew or paint or come up with an artsy idea I do one of two things: 1. do it, if it's super simple 2. conceptualize it and hand it over to Bud, who can handle details. I think you either fall into the detail category or you don't.

Which is also why, when my girlfriend lent me this book - Craft a Day, by Sarah Goldschadt - I was thrilled. Everything in it is...genuinely easy. She suggests a craft a week, broken down into 7 sub-crafts. For instance she'll have a page full of fox stencils (you use parchment paper to trace) and then 7 small projects that use the stencils: a plush hand puppet, a birthday card etc.

This weekend we have two birthday parties to attend (yay!) and so this morning Truett and I made a whale tag for one of the birthday gifts. Super simple, check it:

We traced the whale onto parchment paper.

Traced it onto cardstock, cut it out and added a To: From:

Punched a hole & added string & voila!

Cute & personalized. And Truett just spent ten minutes paging through the book saying, "and that one, and that one, and that one..." 

I also love this idea for a heart garland on a simple white cake. Now I'm dying to bake a cake just because :)

And two other simple craft ideas: a polka dotted pillow & a pinwheel.

Where will you go this summer?

I adore travel. I adore the planning, the daydreaming, the actual trip itself & then returning home to our heavenly king size bed, our friends, routines and kid friendly house. It's just wonderful all-around. (Plus sometimes you can score the coolest home-design additions).

This spring & summer so far we've been to Florida (my sunburn is finally healed, but I'm missing the chats my mom and I would have after I put the kids down). In early June we'll travel to Texas to see grandparents (including Bud's mother's new house - they built!) & then in late June I'll take the kids up to Washington, DC for a short vacation and to throw Georgia a baby shower (cannot wait).

I'm also hoping we can throw together a little beachy trip for just our family where we can eat chocolate and splash in the waves all day long.

What are you up to this summer? I'd love to hear. 

Also - an interesting article on how vacations affect your happiness and some good host/ess gifts if you're traveling to meet friends. Plus, one day I WILL visit a dude ranch :)

A garden office or backyard studio

One of my dream purchases is a cute little European car (see here & here), but another one is...a garden office! Wouldn't it be so much fun to have a spot where you could put a desk, art supplies, a sewing machine...even just a cozy chair with shelves full of good books. Rather than a bigger house, I'd love to someday put a little garden studio in our backyard. And, if you have one with a lot of head space, you could build a play-loft for your kids (kind of like this amazing project :)

Here are some of my favorites online, but it would be fun to try & make one with all salvage or reclaimed materials, wouldn't it? Partly for the challenge, partly for the budget. Who's with me?

This one is stunning. Holy cow.

Also, I've pinned some to my Home Design board on pinterest, if you'd like to see)

(Top image from apartmenttherapy, next one from dwell, next one apartmenttherapy, last one from flor)

Friday tidbits

What are you doing this weekend? We leave tomorrow early (I'm getting this ready today, Thursday, for posting tomorrow) & I'm just hoping for an okay drive. Not spectacular - trying to stay realistic - but decent :) I'll pack snacks, a few new toys and we'll have several pit stops for leg stretching. We have had the most wonderful visit (not without crankiness, of course) here with my parents but I am also so looking forward to being home, sleeping in my bed and spending the weekend together as our little family.

Here are some great posts & links, and have a weekend spent doing your favorite things :)

A cool goldfish cake recipe my mom sent me.

And...some other beautiful cakes.

Georgia put a chevron rug in her kitchen and then instagramed it the other day. I was instantly jealous. She got it at Home Goods, but here's another pretty one on Overstock.

I loved this interview on co-sleeping.

10 Things to do if you're in Chicago. I adore travel-dreaming.  

A yummy omelette to begin your weekend.

Decorating with portrait painting. Two things: 1. I've recently fallen in love with portraits and 2. I believe everyone in the world is going through a bit of a Downton Abbey copycat phase - yes?

Lastly, doesn't this look like a sweet summer picnic?

See you next week and think: sleep, coffee, chocolate, gardening, vacation planning & smooching a loved one until he/she laughs.

PS - a few other Friday tidbits here, here & here.

Splishy splashy pool, breakfast at the park

This morning we grabbed a quick breakfast and brought it to a pretty, nearby park. This particular playground is famous because it is home to the relatively rare Yellow-crowned Night-Heron. When I followed June up to the top of the playset, I saw a nest and one of the birds! So cool. 

The kids ran around and ended up on a push merry-go-round that my dad happily played motor for. I was on the phone with Summer, but when I got off, I hopped on the merry-go-round so I could hold June and he could push faster. Which turned out to be a total mistake since June started screaming. I figured she was upset the ride was going too fast but no, my dad's hypothesis was the correct one - as soon as I got off and left her alone she was perfectly happy again. Thanks, dad.

Later, after lunch, Truett and I got into the pool again where he's mostly splashing around, but learning to swim in there somewhere.

This afternoon my dad & I took the kids to a thrift store - to generally poke around, but also scope out a few more kids toys for the ride home - and then to the beach for another quick trip. We got home at 6:30, exhausted, windblown and salty. We ate a big carbonara supper and the kids fell into bed.

(Look who also loves the Florida sunshine)

Tomorrow I'll work on organizing and getting us ready for our looong trip home (and ooh, our favorite bakery for breakfast!).

An hour at the beach

We snuck in a quick trip to the beach yesterday - amidst naps, lunch & swimming - so the kids could run around and we could enjoy the sunshine. Truett loves the beach, primarily, I think, because it's like one giant work site. He lamented the fact that we'd forgotten his big dump truck but we had buckets and shovels so it worked out.

Today I'm hoping to get to a consignment shop where I can pick up a grab-bag of inexpensive toys for the kids for the ride home (urg) and if Truett has anything to do with it, we'll do some more swimming (the pool is heated but the outside air is still a little brisk for me, at least ;)

Here are a few pictures from yesterday and I hope you're enjoying a little mini-vacation from our pictures. I love it when bloggers share vacation photos because I'm momentarily transported. 

(Look at that belly!)

(We could not keep this hat on her head)

And look who's back for breakfast.

Also, I'd love to turn that first picture into wall art by printing it on a big canvas. Have you ever done something like that? This looks like it might be a good website - do you have any recommendations?

Hello from Florida

I made the somewhat impromptu decision to pack up the car yesterday morning and hit the road to visit my parents here in Florida. They live in the St. Petersburg area and it'd been forever since we'd been able to visit. In fact, my memories from last time include a giant belly full of a baby about to be named June :)

After a hellacious drive down yesterday (it took us almost 11 hours), we relaxed last night, let the kids run around, play and explore, and then had a simple dinner. This morning, excited, both kids woke up around 5:30 and so we had coffee and breakfast on my parent's front patio and fed the wood stork my mother has affectionately dubbed "Woody". (Pictured below).

Late this morning Truett and I jumped into the pool and did a little swimming (we're sitting outide now munching spicy pistachios).

Our plans for later today include the beach and, at some point in the visit (of course), a trip to this french bakery. I'll be posting to instagram and keeping you guys updated. 

PS - two bakeries in Columbia to try.