Turn CB Pink

Tonight is the Kick Off Event at T’z in Council Bluffs to sale the above t-shirts. The goal is for everyone to wear the shirts in Council Bluffs on October 29th in an effort to “Turn CB Pink”. The Fire Department is putting on this event and are wearing pink shirts the entire month of October. Very exciting! The shirts are only $10 so if anyone would like a shirt (From CB or not!) let me know and I will deliver. For more information read this article.



*Photos from Turn CB Pink Kickoff party at T’z

This house is taunting me

Do you have a house that has always pulled at you? The house you can picture yourself living in? This house does that to me and has just been listed for sale.

I have no idea what makes this house stand out. I even blogged last fall about how much I love it. It’s not super fancy, big, or flashy. It’s just a quaint home in my historical neighborhood. It has been for sale approximately four times in the last fifteen years and every time I look at it. The current owners have done a LOT of work (Removing layer upon layer of floral wallpaper for one) and it looks great.





I can envision the changes I would make to transform it to my home. It’s very affordable, but it only has one bathroom (shower – no tub which is huge to me) and a VERY small yard.

I am pretty sure I would miss my large private yard and I know I would miss having a bathtub. It’s actually much smaller than my home but that is part of the appeal. So many days I feel overwhelmed by the massive size of my home and I rarely use most rooms. This home would be cozy. But at the same time my home holds so much history, so many memories, and it is finally looking the way I desire. Decisions!

My dream home is a farmhouse or Tudor in the country on an acreage with a garden, chickens, cows, etc…

*Photos from Heartland Properties Website

Omaha Half Marathon Success

Not only did I sign up on a whim (with my longest “training” run being only 10 miles) the week of the race. I also decided it would be a great idea to indulge in several cocktails the day prior (pre race carb loading right?) and stay up past 1 am…. Despite these negatives I managed to get up and complete the Omaha Half on Sunday. Not only did I complete the Half, I also beat my last two times….I finished with a 2.10 time (which I realize is VERY slow for most of you but for me its slightly speedy). A bit concerned that the least prepared race of my “racing” career was one of my better performances. Could have been the cool temps, could have been the nice looking marines standing guard throughout the race and handing out medals, or maybe I am finally getting the hang of this running thing, most likely it was just a lucky day. Now if only I could gain some speed and actually run with my partners instead of behind them.

*Last minute race equals non matching outfits - sorry Cathi!

Pike Place Market

A trip to Seattle is not complete unless you visit Pike’s Market. Unfortunately both visits were on rainy days (shocking I know) so I didn’t snap a lot of photos (rows upon rows of fresh veggies and fruits!). The fish market was exactly what I expected, loud, boisterous, full of tourists, smelly, and fun. They threw fish, yelled at onlookers, and chanted songs


And of course had many tempting choices


I decided on Alaskan King Salmon (and scallops) as a local favorite.

Thankfully they deboned and filed it up for me before packaging it to go


During this process the staff decided my cousin Cassie and I could entertain the crowds by proudly displaying the fish available for purchase

Poor Cassie is a vegan and as you can tell by her face wanted to die instead of holding that poor dead fish


But she was a sport and we had a blast – and most importantly walked away with yummy fresh fish for a family dinner al fresco.

Salmon, scallops, spinach, and hush puppies (not pictured as a bit of a timing issue)



Great food, great wine, and most importantly great company - my mom, dad, brother Erik, and grandpa – make for a wonderful evening. Oh yeah and the flowers my grandpa brought me (he always brings flowers to dinner such a true gentleman!)

Spur of the Moment Half Marathon

I was scheduled to be out of town for the Omaha Half Marathon, that fell through so yesterday I made a rash decision and signed up for the Half! I had to pay $75 (as final week) but figured worth it to get another half under my belt. The downside is I have only been training for the Army Ten Miler so the longest run since the CB Half is 10 miles. I am VERY nervous that I will die. I think my goal is just to finish without walking. My usual running peeps Christine and Cathi are running so at least I have company. Anyone else ever sign up for a long race on a whim?

Dreaming of Wine Parties in my Cellar….

I have always contemplated a wine cellar in my basement. But never realized how pretty and practical this option was until stumbling upon this amazing basement/wine cellar/dining room via Blueprint Bliss and Shelter. I want this to be my basement right now!!

Turns out this home was featured in the October Country Living Magazine and is amazing. There is even a bedroom turned closet like I have been planning for over a year. Hers is simple but glamorous (reminding me that I don’t need a complete overhaul to make it work).

Love the colors, love the design, love everything about this home. I need several spare weekends to transform my dingy basement into a wine cellar/dining room and to finally paint and spruce up my spare bedroom (aka future closet). Sometimes a little inspiration is needed to motivate me to tackle those projects on my to do list, these photos are major inspiration.

Image Credits: Scanned by Shelter from Country Living Magazine, October 2010. Photographer: Bjorn Wallander

Embracing Fall

Summer is more or less a distant memory and fall is quickly becoming reality. So in preparation I spent several hours in the yard Saturday/Sunday cleaning up, fertilizing, etc… As a reward for my hard work I planted mums, fall grasses, and peonies.




All in an effort to drag out the prettiness of the outdoors for as long as possible, now just need to get my hands on some fun pumpkins and gourds to finish the fall decorating.

Butterflies

It seems to be the time for Butterflies and I am loving it.

(Iron butterfly purchased at the Monroe Myer Garden Walk)
They are so pretty (and Aeisha loves chasing after them). this spring planted a “Butterfly Bush” and was promised it would grow quite large and attract butterflies. I was doubtful as the plant was seriously the size of a small Styrofoam coffee cup. But sure enough it grew into a large pretty bush.

(sorry not the best photo of this bush - I need to work on lightening it seems)
And has been attracting loads of butterflies.


So fun to watch things grow and to see the pretty butterflies. Especially since we had a gorgeous weather weekend.

Dragging out Summer’s Bounty

Summer is quickly ending…Sadness. In an effort to drag it out as long as possible I decided to harvest carrots from my garden. Turns out they are a heirloom variety and a gorgeous mixture of colors.

Some were monsters not suitable for eating. Even Aeisha was interested.

I whipped up this very tasty farmhouse carrot dish courtesy of Sprouted Kitchen.

Delicious. Turkey, cranberry, and brie burgers also via a recipe from the Sprouted Kitchen blog.

Also quite tasty.


The meal was a complete success (as was the wine). It was fun to have my family over and experiment with new recipes to step outside my cooking comfort level (baby steps right?).

Cattails

Cattails are abundant in the Niobrara area due to all the water. I have vivid memories of collecting Cattails (Typha) for use as decorations years ago at the old cabin. Odd the things you remember! So last weekend I set out to collect Cattails to use as fall decorations.