weekend instagrams

This is what we wake up to every morning.. Reagan jumps up on 

our bed and strategically steps on my stomach or Chris's face, putting

all of her weight on us. We try, but its hard to stay mad at that little

mongrel's face for long.

I finally decided and bought myself a new retro swimsuit! It was

the last one in my size in that color so it was kind of a must. It is 

swimsuit #3 from this post and its from J.Crew. LOVE!

These lovely ladies are, from right to left, Grace, InStyle (like the magazine),

and JWoww. Yes, those are their legitimate names.. We've got the papers

to prove it. One of my fave pass times is giving new heifers fun and strange

names.

As I've mentioned before, we have been having quite the dry spell in

our area. Its been really, really bad.. It seems like every rainstorm that

heads our way ends up scattering right above us or veering just to the

north or south of us, giving us no benefit. The other night we ended

up lucking out and we measured that it rained 8/10th of an inch on our

farm and that's so great! Our crops and yard already look SO much better.

We like to travel. And more often than not, we end up planning trips

only a couple of weeks ahead of time. Its just always been our style. 

Maybe its spontaneity or maybe its procrastination.. I like the sound of

spontaneity better ;) Anyways, Chris and his best friend Devin decided

to take a last minute fishing trip to Canada, before July gets here and

stuff starts to get really crazy busy for us. They decided this at the end

of last week and left early this morning. Chris will be gone until Friday.

So.. this photo, we made a last minute trip to Gander Mountain to stock

up on a few odds and ends of fishing tackle. I saw these gorgeous lures

and had to snap a photos.. I just loved how bright and uniquely colored 

these were.

Father's day dinner took place at Garzanelli's supper club in Oglesby, IL.

Its been a favorite of my family's since I was a kid and dad never

turns down a chance to go to dinner there. Its been around forever.. 

When you walk inside its just like walking back in time to the '30's or '40's.

My peach rose bush finally put on a pretty blossom the other evening.

By the next morning, it and all of the other buds had been taken out by

the hoards of Japanese beetles that have taken over our area. Its nuts how

many are flying around, eating my tree leaves and roses and garden! Lets just

say I'm thinking about taking up stock in Seven sprinkle-on pesticide powder..

This was taken this afternoon. My 16 year old brother in law, Michael,

asked me a day or two ago if I would go with him to a political rally in 

Davenport, Iowa for Mitt Romney. Mike has such a deep interest in the 

workings of politics. I've never seen such an interest in a kid his age before. 

I mean, this is the guy who sat around watching the primaries for hours on end

and never missed a beat when it comes to news hot off the campaign trail of

most any candidate for our state or for president. So I agreed to drive him out there.

I do not consider myself to be democratic or republican and I will not discuss

politics on this blog, as most discussions just leave me stressed out, but I tried to enjoy

the day. It really wasn't all that bad if you don't count the 95 degree temp, the time-consuming

security, or some very loudly opinionated individuals. I tried to sit back and take it all in with

a grain of salt. I ended up leaving there feeling more educated on that candidate and their 

views, so all in all, a success.

 Oh, and then I got a speeding ticket on the way home.. 

Ah, such is life.. Sometimes you just have to have a good laugh over it :)

weekend instagrams

This was the the first time the old girl had seen daylight since last July and she still

had the markings on her back window to prove it. I was so sad when I had to scrub those
 letters off for the car show the next day :(

At the car show, hiding inside the cab of the truck from the sun that had already
wreaked havoc all over my shoulders. 

Lunch at an old ice cream parlor that's over 100 years old a couple small towns over.

The original mural from the '20's still proudly displays .25 cent hamburgers, .30 cent pork chops,

and a drawing of whatever a "cantaloupe surprise" is.

Relaxing while enjoying fresh strawberries & ice cream and a little light reading.

More strawberries being used up. I made 2 strawberry pies, that were quite delish, 

I might add, in addition to some strawberry pretzel salad and some muffins.

A trip to the Spring Valley Tastee Freeze.. first time there for me and

I wasn't disappointed. Gotta love those old ice cream places that have
been around forever.

I tried to think "out of the box" again this weekend with our dinner plans.

We ended up going to the Peru Pizza House, an old favorite of mine from my childhood,

and it was even better than I remembered. I have a feeling we will be going back 

more frequently in the near future.

I ordered a "dusty rose" sundae... Vanilla ice cream with raspberries, 

hot fudge, and a little bit of malt powder sprinkled on top. 

Surprisingly amazing.

Do you have any idea how old this makes me feel?

Our guilty-pleasure Sunday-night television favorite has returned.

The first episode was chuck full of vampire kidnappings, 

werewolf drama, and beautiful, beautiful people. I'm just as surprised as

you are that I love this show as much as I do ;)

the week in instagrams

 There's something a tad bit depressing about passing an exit you turned on to everyday
for 3 years. Its not that I long to go back to my college days at Illinois State..
I love where I am in life and wouldn't trade it for anything, but reminiscing
about days gone by, mourning time lost, is not a fun process.
Maybe its just me getting older. No matter, every time we head south
on I-39 I feel the same way.

 My brother-in-law and I made a trip down to Bloomington for the first monthly 

antiques/flea market of the year. I ended up coming home with some vintage 

prints for the kitchen that I intend on framing and a gorgeous polka dotted scarf. I love

 vintage baby shoes, especially if they are saddle shoes and these babies were so cute!

As I've mentioned before, we've been having a bit of a dry spell in our area. 

We need rain so badly and there hasn't been much in the forecast as of late. 

The other day, we had 40+ mile per hour winds whip through our neck of the

 woods and the "dust storms" that resulted were pretty crappy. This photo is what it

looked like pulling out of my driveway that afternoon. My bro-in-law & I hopped in 

the truck and went exploring because hoeing corn that Chris mis-planted in all that dust

and heat was getting pretty old. If thatday wasn't the poster child for why 

more farmers should be implementing conservation methods of tillage, I don't

 know what is. I could see dust flying off of certain fields all 

day long, while the fields next to these ones weren't losing much at all. It pays to 

leave crop residue on top of the soil surface on dry years like this. Top soil is

 just too precious. Plus the left over residue keeps moisture in the ground longer.

More of that dust.

We went to the wedding of my sister-in-law's life long best friend on Saturday. Everything
 was so perfect and beautiful :) The entire Happ clan was there and you'd better
 believe that we took full advantage of the amazingly fun photo booth that
 was provided. The left photo strip is Chris & myself, along with my 

mother-in-law, Karen. The center is of us and our great friends, Katie & Devin. 

The strip on the right is my sis-in-law, my bro-in-law and myself, hamming it up, 

of course. Photo booths never get old.. I get so excited when we walk into

 a reception that has one :)

Queso fundito on Memorial Day. We had lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant that we

have been missing out on a lot lately. It was as fantastic as I remembered.

 We finished up our Memorial Day festivities by grilling out steaks & chops with Chris's 

sister, Emily, and her boyfriend from Fort Worth, TX, Billy. She brought over a bottle

of rhubarb wine for me, as she knows my obsession with anything rhubarb. Isn't that 

label easy on the eyes? I love it. 

I hope that everyone enjoyed their long weekend. Besides the high temps & winds, 

ours was pretty great, if I do say so myself. 

hard work & instagrams

I've been busy weeding flower beds, transplanting peonies, mowing, and weed whacking over the past few days and our yard is looking like a million bucks. Aside from using muscles that have been dormant for awhile and feeling the repercussions for a few days after, its really been great. Maybe its all the extra sunshine I've been getting, or maybe its the flood of endorphins a little hard work & elbow grease ensues, but I've just been so giddy-happy and motivated lately. There's just something great about the moment you step back a few feet from the product of your hard work and see a definite change for the better. I am so thankful for the beautiful, sprawling lawn that came with our lovely home. Somewhere around 7:30 in the evening, when the wind dies down and the constant rustle of the trees quiets and the world gets still, I find myself looking around in awe at our picturesque yard, basked in the golden glow of the descending afternoon sun. Its moments like that that make me ask myself how I got so lucky.

Here are some of my most recent instagrams for your viewing pleasure.

Our farm work shop is like a time capsule. Chris's great-uncles used
old dressers as tool boxes, built a grand expanse of shelving,
pinned Norman Rockwell prints and farm equipment magazine
cut-outs to the walls. I found this cardboard medallion pinned up
in a corner. Fell in love.

Sally Hansen Mint Sorbet nail polish.. obsessed doesn't
even begin to describe my feelings for it.

The prints on my new "high/low" maxi dress. Can't wait to
throw it on this summer on a breezy afternoon

breakfast for dinner, complete with pork chops and
Cracker Barrel copycat pancakes. Heaven.

I rediscovered one of my all time favorite songs on XM
radio driving home from spin class. I used to play this song on
repeat when I first moved away for junior college. Its a
great song to wake up to in the morning.

Raking hay on Mother's Day. Yes, that rhymed. No, I didn't
intend for it to. There's nothing quite like the smell of fresh hay. When I was
in high school, I used to wish that someone would come out
with a fragrance that smelled just like it. That and also fresh cut grass,
or the smell of a barn in summertime (sans manure, of course)

After, 3 months of waiting patiently, the beautiful tan leather
loafers I ordered from Madewell arrived. Much to my disapointment
they didn't fit... and they are now currently sold out of the next size up.
Sigh... 

We planted another tree!! And I'm starting to consider myself
a "tree hoarder", if there is such a thing to be. This new
addition is a sycamore tree. I have many favorite trees, but
sycamores are my ALL TIME favorite. So finally finding one and
putting it in the ground felt amazing.

This is my great friend, Samantha. We've been friends our
entire lives. She's still in college, about an hour and a half
away from home so I make it a point to visit her as much as
my schedule will allow. It also doesn't hurt that she works at the
tastiest gyro joint I've ever been to that we frequent often on
my trips down . Also, they make a mean batch of onion rings :)

We ventured out to our favorite fried chicken joint over the weekend
with a few friends we don't often see. This scene never changes no
matter how much time passes. Our friend, Jesse, telling stories, as he does
best, and our friend Matt chiming in with sarcasm :)

I detailed my sister-in-law's convertible so my bro-in-law
could take it to prom. I was sitting in the passenger seat cleaning
 the dash when Dottie hopped right over me and took her rightful
place in the drivers seat. She was having a diva moment, so I
let it slide ;)

4 hydrangeas, my gladiolus bulbs dug up from another flower bed,
and two Siberian irises, so far. I still have a bit of work left to do
but its a start, right?

Have a lovely weekend!

snipits via instagram

I had high hopes of posting a lovely post on my freshly planted garden, complete with photos, diagrams, ya know, the whole kit and kaboodle.. BUT its simply been to chilly outside for me to spend prolonged amounts of time gardening.. So without further adieu, I offer, for your viewing pleasure, odds and ends that have recently accumulated on my Instagram profile.

Top row: 
left: the beautiful sheet music I bought for a quarter at a used books sale last Friday.. Its new home will be a frame in our master bedroom. I've been loving 1920's era art lately
right: the new calf we came home to the other day, already cleaned off and romping around the pasture

2nd Row:
left: the new polka dot dress I got on sale from Shabby Apple. LOVE. here's the link. And this is another one I was eyeing up. Lovely :)
right: the darling box I found on our porch full of my rose plants

3rd Row:
left: Coconut water. I enjoyed this a few trips to California ago and hadn't seen it anywhere here in the midwest until last week at the grocery store. This is a MUST try. You'll be a believer, too.
right: Even if I couldn't get any chicks this spring, at least my friend Meg was able to! So I've vowed to be their "God-mother" and help out with caring for them to learn a thing or two.

4th Row: 
left: Colored pencils make everything better, in my opinion. Instead of graphing my garden plan out on the computer, I sat down and did it old school.. literally. Oh, how I still love coloring...
right: Speaking of the garden, I'd been on the look out for the perfecto gardening hat to help keep the "crows feet" away, and was dead set against the large floppy-brimmed ones (lovely, but they scream "beach"to me). I found this gem at Target for $12 and I adore it. It just screams "Fried Green Tomatoes", doesn't it?

5th Row:
left: I usually get strange looks from my husband if I so much as touch a tube of lipstick. He's just not much of a fan.. But sometimes I just feel like picking up at tube when I'm browsing the makeup section at the drug store. This one is a reddish-coral from Revlon. Fun :)
right: The view out of the back window of our tractor. Planting season has been awfully dry around these parts. And to top it off, every storm/rain cloud that comes our way, dissipates right before it reaches us. We're praying for rain so we can get the crops to poke their little heads out of the ground

donut try this at home, kids

        Today started out pretty dreary. Then it morphed into the most depressing form of weather, freezing rain. One second I'm glancing out the window at big fat rain drops coming down in slanted sheets and the next I'm staring, in disbelief, at golf-ball-sized snow flakes coming down with consistency. Geesh! Pick a season already, Mother Nature!
        So, needless to say, it felt like a perfect day for baking at our house. The other day I was in Target picking up cleaning supplies from my painstakingly-made list when, out of nowhere, an Easter-inspired end cap caught my attention with all of its glaring pastels and I spotted a Wilton donut pan. I have been seeing donut recipes everywhere, but especially on Pinterest. I've heard that "the donut is the new cupcake", whatever that means. All I know is that this girl loves her some donuts. So I didn't hesitate buying the pan, even though I know my donut making will just be a short-lived phase.
        I whipped up the recipe, according to the directions on the back of the pan packaging. I new I was in for trouble when it called for nutmeg. I'm not a big fan. I don't even include it in my apple pie. But I added it in anyway. Then it called for 3/4 cup of granulated sugar. This girl only had about a 1/4 cup in her pantry (I still have no idea how I've run so low on sugar). So I added a little brown sugar. The first 6 donuts came out looking great and I quickly threw a couple of them in a bag of powdered sugar (for myself) and made a chocolate glaze for the rest of them (for Chris). Of course, the nutmeg ruined it for me. Dang nutmeg! But Chris poked his head in the kitchen while he was putting on his muck boots, ready to go out and do afternoon cattle chores. He snatched up a chocolate glazed one and gave me a look of approval. At least they won't go to waste.
         This weekend, we are slated for a lot of bumming. Tomorrow night we are taking my brother out for chicken george (one of the most de-lish uses of chicken I've encountered; battered morsels of chicken with this fabulous sweet/tangy/sour white sauce). He's been working most every weekend night bagging groceries at our local grocery store and finally has a Saturday off. So we are taking him out for his favorite meal. I'm pretty excited for some quality time with him. Next year he will be a senior in high school and after that, who knows where he will be so we are going to make the most of our time with him while he's still a local.  Let's hope for some spring-like weather for next week. Enjoy your weekend!