thursday. mellow monkey & 5K.

It's gearing up to the end of summer ... *tear. But, with the end of summer comes some fun things going on in our neck of the woods!

Millwood's 2nd Annual 5K Run is August 21st. And what's even cooler? For all entrants, Mellow Monkey Yoga (if you haven't been to a class with them, GO!) will be offering free yoga for runners after the race to stretch out those muscles at their studio (the race is only a block away from the studio). There will be drawings with prizes, including a GRAND PRIZE drawing of a 1-year membership at BOTH The Mellow Monkey Yoga Studio AND Anytime Fitness!

Count me in! And you should go, too!

tuesday. sunshine & summertime.

aside from living in the garden and the kitchen, here's what we've been up to ... with more camping and fun-times ahead!

boating ... lounging ... oooh-ing & awe-ing ... snorkeling ... ninja-ing ... wandering ... hiking ... watching ... smiling ... huckleberry picking ... swimming ... pondering ... pointing ... sharing ... cuddling ...

monday. garden markers.

other than fall, late summer is my most favoritest time of year. the garden's ready for harvest, pumpkins are getting big and fat and ready for the taking, the husband and i spend evenings canning, freezing, and bathing kiddos after spending the day playing in the dirt.

aside from what looks to be a short growing season, the garden this year is exceeding my expectations—if anyone needs zucchini, CALL. and last time we were over in seattle visiting the fam, my wonderful step-mom had a great project for the kids—garden markers! nothing like fun stuff to beautify the garden even more!

karlene bought a bunch of butter knives (spoons would work, too!) from goodwill, stickers, sharpies, ribbon, etc. and let them go crazy—just spray with polyurethane spray after the creating is done and plug em' into the dirt! Super cute!


my favorite ... and most useful ...

tuesday. the kitchen engine.

awww ... date night!
having never taken a cooking class, last night's Gnocchi from Scratch class at, The Kitchen Engine, was a whole new experience ... and SO. MUCH. FUN! (it's at the flour mill downtown!)

not only do you get to learn a ton of new tips and tricks to make life easier in the kitchen ... it's like watching the food network for an hour and a half, and then getting to eat the food! they have a pretty sweet set-up where they walk you through making everything (the lady wasn't standing there the whole time ... just every time i tried to take a picture! then again, when you're the manager, you can do whatever you want!):


and on the other side of the store is an actual kitchen appliance store with all kinds of fun stuff to look through—complete with 20-ish different kinds of salt you can purchase ... who knew there were that many kinds to begin with?!

the husband and i learned how to make a bunch of new stuff ... AND got to hang out together! what could be better?!

here's what we made:
• bruschetta
• gnocchi ... bathed in butter and garlic
• pesto alfredo sauce (from scratch!) of which we topped the gnocchi with, then added tomatoes, basalmic reduction, and pancetta!

and the visual ...
something new and fun to try ... and they have TONS of class options every week. i will most definitely be returning!

monday. summer has arrived.

some of my favorites from the beginnings of summer.

... summer mornings before we head outside.

... my budding little hoopstar.
... crazy dancer.
... daddy and the kiddos.

... apple-mania!

... pumpkins!

... more zucchini than i'll even know what to do with. really, it's like land of the giants out there!
... back porch dinners.


... cold (but fun!) 4th of july.

... not too sure about that whole "fireworks" thing.

... not too sure about that whole "face" thing.

... little better.

... awww, marissa. you should know better than to hide from my camera by now.

... whoa, fireworks!

monday. balance.

stress, emotional roller coasters, on top of the every day, doesn't make for a balanced jen. and an unbalanced jen isn't good for anyone ... might make for a clean house, but that's about it.

body and brain sometimes get a little off-track. but i think the two have finally met somewhere in the middle. here's to day one of getting it back together.

monday. honeysuckle syrup.

i know it's not thursday, so it's not food-day, but i had so much fun making this yesterday that i can't help but share! my grandma used to have two honeysuckle bushes in her backyard, and as kids we used to pull out the stems on the blossoms to get the tiniest drop of nectar—so worth it! i can't even begin to explain the amazing smell and taste of these little guys!


well, just another reason to love my yard—i have thousands of honeysuckle blossoms vining their way up the side of my house this time of year. so taylor and i decided to do something productive with them.


i showed her the ways of 'stem-pulling' ...


... and then we gathered enough to make honeysuckle syrup (they hold the most nectar at night and early in the morning!)
ingredients.
4 C. loosely-packed honeysuckle blossoms (no stems or leaves!)
4 C. granulated sugar
juice from one lemon
water

how to.

1. cover the blossoms in a bowl with cool water and let stand at room temp overnight.
2. strain blossom-water into a saucepan and add sugar and lemon juice.
3. boil for 1-2 minutes, lower to a simmer for 15-20 minutes—or until syrupy.
4. let cool for 10-15 minutes and pour into glass jars. keeps in the fridge forever!

how to use syrup.

1. mix 1-1/4 C. of honeysuckle syrup with 12 lemons and 3 quarts of water. mix well and add sugar as needed.
   
2. mint leaves would be great with this, too!