garden goat yoga

last saturday, jana and i went to the myriad gardens for a little yoga flow with billy goats. you heard me right! us + goats + yoga = the happiest gals ever. billy goat ice cream co. wanted to celebrate/promote their stillwater-based ice cream becoming available in sprouts throughout the state. so, what better way to do that than to offer free ice cream while we get our flow on with sweet goats. pretty much the single best way to make ice cream better!

[decisions, decisions]

[bourbon vanilla...so good!]

[mike stopped by to say hello]

while we waited for our class time to come around, jana and i snacked on their ice cream (her strawberry balsamic was delicious), and marveled at the adorable goats. our two favorites were the salt 'n pepper shaker goat, and the snow white goat. my nicknames for them were danny gloatver (he was the epitome of the infamous line from lethal weapon since he was a very sweet curmudgeon, but liked to be left alone), and billy idol (he was quite the rebel) respectively.  

[half flow, half excitement at the cute goats roaming around]

[danny gloatver helping jana with balancing table pose]

we had such a fun time during our class, although we didn't get much exercise in since we were so focused on our furry friends. so, we walked over to a shady spot at the park to get a full yoga routine in before grabbing lunch. 

thanks again billy goat for hosting such a great event - we had a blast!

cositas

[she & him]

oh summertime, won't you stay a little longer? with your sweet, balmy air, and stretched out sun-filled days, how i wish you could last forever. even a summer night has a certain kind of freeing feeling to it where you feel most alive and in the moment. with the pause in any of our major summer plans this year, it felt like we really got to take advantage of its pace. and its been such a pleasure to revel in it. 

[yakisoba time]

[watching T set up a snapshot]

[cast-iron pizzas]

[breaking the rules]

[quesadilla time!]

kindness

this past week has been such a mind-warp hasn't it? without going into specifics on my feelings or thoughts on it, i'd rather keep it simple. choose kindness. i may not be in a position to make a massive impact, or change hateful rhetoric, or provide the comfort so many desperately need to feel safe and supported - but, what i can do is this, be kind. kindness is such a underrated quality, and an attribute i have always held in great reverence.

it is the one thing that can change someone's discouraging day into a moment that gave them hope that they can keep going. it can be in the simplest of gestures which is why kindness has the impact it does. a friendly smile to a passerby, helping someone when they've dropped their things, lending an ear to someone who needs to talk, offering a word of encouragement unprovoked, or even the pay-it-forward at the grocery store or coffee shop...the list is endless. let's choose kindness. not only to our fellow neighbors, or strangers we may meet, but to ourselves too. it's easy to forget to be kinder to ourselves and no one is exempt. so, let's also choose kindness internally. 

happy weekend, and be sure to be kind. 

[my best rosie the riveter]

[T: "you look like you're going to a '50s sock hop"]

also, for those who are interested, this wonderful tee hails from created and found's embroidered tees she makes herself. 

life, according to my iphone

[cocktail hour; sprucing up a old planter]

a few months back, i'd noticed the planter in the photo above was looking considerably worse for wear. all but one succulent died, and while it may not seem like much to some, it was particularly sad to me. you see, this planter was gifted to me by my mom after T and i returned from our honeymoon. in her thoughtfulness, she kept my bridal bouquet and planted several greens from it in the planter. it was the first plant to truly grace our new home, and was a kind of symbol for the new step we'd embarked on. 

so, when i began to notice the plants become weaker, i got sad. no matter how hard i tried to revive them, or keep them flourishing, i couldn't save them. minus one. one lone succulent which had far out grown the others and became the lone survivor. after bringing in two new plants to fill the planter, it dawned on me. it wasn't a loss that the old plants died off, it was a gain. in that time, that lone plant grew and developed more, growing stronger roots. not everything gets to survive, and not everything gets to thrive. as T and i get closer to our third anniversary, i can't help but relate. our marriage, and ourselves as individuals, of course won't be the same as it was three years ago. but, that's for good reason. as we learn, develop, change, and weather what comes our way, we too break away from the 'old plants' that can't grow with us. however, the core and heart of our marriage, and ourselves, grows truer. and as time passes, 'new plants' (or attributes) are added to that planter to compliment the heart of us. 

just a little (plant) food for thought. 

happy hump day!

[sweet treats]

[local eats; sake that looks like milk]

[coffee house vibes]

[brazilian birthday eats for my brother]

[early morning lounging]

[mini snack time; summer harvest]

[lake hangs; backyard gardening]

[sir drools a lot; berry-themed ice cream]

[sunset views]

[taco time]

[such a great exhibit]

[food truths; a pouty pup]

[tasty shortbread cookies; coffee and tea time]

[stocking up on my favorite juices; a solid explanation]

[technicolor; new favorite bike rack]

pasta making

for the latest in my pasta making adventures, we are starting off with my beloved pasta shape, the pappardelle noodle. i thought i'd switch it up this time by serving it tossed up with a fresh basil pesto. i'm still learning which noodles pair with which sauces, but i have to say, the pesto-pappardelle combo was dynamite!  

to toast to our latest pairing, we initially planned to have alex and larry over to catch up with them post-wedding celebrations. sadly, larry wasn't able to make it, but alex was all too happy to snack on the extra pasta :)

when serving, we paired it with an impromptu chicken masala, and a thirst-quenching white wine. it was lovely.

after our past lessons learned from making ravioli, T and i were ready to give it another go. we still had some snafus here and there, but overall, it went much smoother than the last time. i just have to remember to flour all the things, including the ravioli trays. 

we revisited the cheese filling used in our previous attempt...i mean, don't fix what ain't broke, right? then, it was tossed with T's infamous bolognese sauce and served with a bold, and jammy red wine. the perfect way to usher in a fun weekend, and treat T's 'rents to dinner. 

then, a couple of weekends ago, T and i tackled a new (to me) pasta shape, angolotti (pronounced an-yo-lo-ti). if you haven't heard of this noodle, it is somewhat like ravioli, but made in a pillow-like shape. think your basic rectangular or throw pillow shape, with only three folds. it is equal parts delicious and adorable, if that is even possible for pasta. 

traditionally, angolotti is filled with meat or pureed veggies. i thought i'd try a different angle, so i filled it with a goat cheese, pepper, and chile flake mixture. then, to keep on the adventurous angle, i made a saffron-vermouth tomato sauce. truth be told, i was very nervous that the filling and sauce wouldn't pair up, but it was oh.my.goodness SO good. cat came over for another one of our wine dinners and it matched perfectly with the varietals she'd brought.

progress!

in between

[backyard am yoga sesh]

sorry for the break in posts guys. the workweek has been pretty intense as it typically is this time of year which means T and i have been playing catch-up on the weekends/gearing up for the next wave of hustle coming the next week. thankfully, we are now cracking into our second week of it, and we are slowly getting into a new routine to adjust with this extra busy period. so, i thought it was high time to do an in between post!

[can you throw the ball to me while its still in my mouth?]

[friyay ramen night]

[summertime in my hometown]

[freshly grown goods]

[solo hanging with my cousin's pups]

[salad prepping]

[relieved wives club post-cornhole tourney]

[vanilla custard of my dreams]

[found the cutest balloon for an employee's last day]

[pre-sauced buffalo wings]

[mango-coconut baked concoctions]

[hunky date]

[delicious nibbles]

[family birthday party]

[the birthday boy himself!]

[sunday harvest]