a few more things!

I forgot to post this little card drawing I did for my sister's b-day! She is a big tennis player, so I went with that theme. Some of you thought it was a little rude to actually mention her age! I guess so, but you know what she looks like...

Jane doesn't look much older than 30, so I think she should brag about her age!!!

 
I was also so encouraged by all of your comments and interests in my last post! I love that each of you are addressing it in your own way based on your circumstances. If you haven't read through the comments lately, please read it! There were lots of really good points. 

I do need to clarify about the list of 5 ingredients or less: that meant on a box of prepared food, not in a recipe!! I would be in trouble if the recipes had to be 5 or less ingredients! Especially because I love fresh herbs. The Sarah Foster cookbooks I've been using are pretty healthy and gave me the initial push to strive for more variety and fresh food in our meals. Willow suggested the cookbook More For Less which I was surprised to find out is a Mennonite cookbook! I don't know if you know that the Amish tend to grow organically and eat very healthy food. Some of our small health food stores are run by them here. 

Another thing I want to say is that we haven't given up dessert!! I think life should include that. We just choose rGBH free ice cream and homemade cookies, pies or cakes. My children love my chocolate chip cookies because they taste better than any store bought cookie and honestly, it is so quick and easy to bake them. I feel sad when moms tell me they never bake cookies because I just don't think they realize that it's not that big of deal! We have tried to limit desserts to the weekend (I got that idea from my friend Shelly) and that has helped the sweet tooths around here! But I do think if you feel deprived of something, then that's what you'll crave and then eat too much of later! I always weigh less when I'm not thinking about all the calories or fat grams, etc. Worry causes stressful eating!  Real food with great flavor and sometimes richer calories, will satisfy you quicker and you will eat less.

If anyone has any more cookbook suggestions, please share them! 

Here's a good summertime recipe I just made up myself:

Tomato & Cucumber Salad

Tomatoes (any kind you have available)

Cucumber

Red onion

Feta Cheese

Basil leaf

Lemon Olive Oil

White Wine Vinegar

Cut up the tomatoes into small chunks or halve cherry/grape tomatoes. Thickly slice cucumbers and then quarter them. Dice half of a red onion. Combine in a bowl. Add a couple Tablespoons of Lemon Olive Oil or to taste. Add half that amount of White Wine Vinegar. (Actually I just pour a little over of both like salad dressing!). Take your Basil leaf and roll it up. With scissors chiffonade the leaf (cut it in tiny strips). Add to the bowl. Sprinkle crumbled feta cheese in too and it's done! It tastes so fresh and is great with grilled meat or something spicy.

Another good book to read if you are considering gardening is Square Foot Gardening. Becky mentioned that her soil is full of clay so it would be hard to raise any plants. We have soil full of rock! Raised bed gardening allows you to control the quality of your soil just like container gardening. Craig has been digging big holes and filling them with his own soil mix before he plants seeds. He has watermelon, cantalope and pumpkins growing right now on a rocky hill beside our house!

Jojo-Caramel mentioned the art I posted by Carl Larsson. I just wanted to share about him, if you are not familiar with his work. He is a famous painter/illustrator from Sweden at the turn of the century (1800-1900's). He is credited with bringing about the Swedish Style of decorating. His works usually included pictures of his family and his home. What really interested me was that his wife Karin was just as creative, having stitched and painted many of the things in their home. It is just beautiful! You can see the bright colors in their kitchen in the photo below:

They are such an inspiration to me for creating a "family-focused" home which celebrates art and craft. Kari & Kisja suggested to me last spring that I decorate my own home as an artist's house, with bold colors and handmade floor cloths and curtains. I loved the idea of making our home something unique by creating things myself. And using my children's art work too!

I am really missing my drawing right now. I will be more focused on that in a month when the kids go back to school!

Have a great weekend!