lessons learned {3}

For the third week in a row, I'm linking up with Karen for the last week re-visited.

{1} Roasting a pepper on the gas stop top isn't that difficult.
[I really need to get over my dislike for flames].

{2} Weekly dates are a blessing and should be guarded
...even when your destination isn't what you expect.

{3} Tiling in a home requires a lot of work [I suspected as much].

{4} My husband is still surprised by the songs I pick when I play DJ
[I'm relieved I'm not too predictable after 14 mos. of marriage].
...I'm guilty of playing Vanilla Ice and Foo Fighters in the same playlist.

{5} Milton [our pooch] really loves his walk, despite the heat
and I need to get up early so I don't pay the penalty during the walk.

What have you learned lately?

InstaFriday {3}

 {1} student building managers explain our options for furniture upholstery

[it was their last week working with us]

{2} my reading current list: Pray Big for Your Marriage,
Crazy Love and Devotions for a Sacred Marriage
{3} one of my new favorite beet recipes
{4} any day I can rock my Chucks is a good day
...and I wore them twice this week.
{5} Museum of Fine Arts on a summer day [even though I didn't go in, I smiled walking by]
{6} "Fundatory" staff meeting at Skinner's
{7} I spotted a rainbow while driving to pick up the mister from work
{8} I'm going to my first Unconference today in Boston
[follow #satechBOS on Twitter]

{9} we picked out tile for our laundry room and 1st floor bathroom

I'm linking up...

thankful {2}

156. Friends to hang out with while the mister is in class [two weeks in a tow].

157.  A trip to Trader Joe's
[since we moved, I'm so much further away and rarely make it there].

158. Going into Boston three days this week.

159. Free prints from Snapfish that made me look through engagement,
wedding and other photos I neglected to print for over a year.
I am so grateful for the many friends and family members who love and support us.

160. A rainbow on a cool summer evening...so pretty!

161. My husband's ever gracious attitude when I am not on time to pick him up.
I've been trying so hard to be more timely, but have been foiled by road construction, etc.
and he's just so patient and understanding about it.
[oh, the challenges of being a one car couple]

162. A 'fundatory' staff ice cream outing at work.

What are you grateful for this week?

P.S. I'm guest posting for TWO awesome bloggers today:
Caroline at Good Times Never Seem Sew Good and Maggy at Living Tall.
Stop by and say 'hi.'

just {beet} it

A few weeks ago, my husband came home from the grocery store with beets. 

I was skeptical thinking, I've never had them and managed to avoid them for the past 30 years,

why the heck is he bringing the purple magenta plants home? Are they like a blue potato?

And then the kicker came...he planned to grill them. 

I was convinced they'd taste terrible with a bit of char-grilled flavor to them.

Well, as much as part of me hates to admit I was wrong, the beets tasted great!

We were both surprised their flavor was mild, yet tasty...and so our foray into beet recipes began.

This week, I made this recipe [though omitted the parsley, shallots and 

red wine vinegar because I didn't have them on hand]. 

They were salty & sweet.  

I really liked this method of roasting them; the skin peels right off.

Have you ever had beets?

Is there a veggie or other food you were afraid to try and surprised to like it?

tickle me tuesday

So many things to love this week!

{1}

a great deal from Snapfish good thru today

July200Prints gets you 200 FREE ones!

{2}

vintage pin tutorial

via

{3}

chalkboard spray paint

via

{4}

beautiful print from SharpGraphicArt

via

{5}

pretty mason jars with chalkboard paint...what's not to love?

via

I'm linking up with Sarah!

lessons learned {beach edition}

Have you heard about this new series from Karen?  I'm loving it!

On average, I make it to the beach about once or twice a year, so I'm often re-learning/remembering what I would do differently next time.  Though I will say, last week's beach experience was far superior to others I've had. 

{1} Always bring a small shovel or trowel with you to the beach.  I forget it's a lot easier to get the umbrella into place if you have the proper tools.

{2} Not all parking lots are labeled...and I so wish I took a photo for you.  When we arrived at the beach on Friday, there was an empty dirt lot where a woman was sitting under a large umbrella...no sign about parking or signs the beach was nearby [except for the salty ocean air I smelled when the car window came down to ask about parking].

{3} Pasta salad [in individual containers] with lots of veggies is the perfect beach lunch.  Cherries, however are not the perfect beach food...unless you have a plastic bag to deposit the stem & pits into.

{4} Baby wipes are better than hand sanitizer and quite necessary to happiness at the beach.  Not being a mom, I don't buy them often, but read they're great for the beach [getting the saltiness of your skin and all].

{5} Bring your AAA card with you no matter what.  I had pared down my wallet since I didn't want to have much with me for the beach.  On the way to the beach, we noticed the air was getting low in one of the tires and stopped at a gas station to fill it [insert shout-out to the nice guy at the Shell in Marshfield here]. Thankdfully, I didn't have to use my AAA card, but I was sure glad I brought it in case the leaky tire returned while the car was parked in the sun for five hours.

P.S. Don't forget to linkup your 
Summer Vacation/Staycation posts here!

Summer Vacation {LinkUp Party}

Our summer vacation/staycation...

we went on a boat...

we celebrated a special birthday...

we even made it to the beach...

...and summer's not over, so who knows what else we'll do!

Link up your post showing off your summer fun
...be it a vacation away from home or a stay-cation doing all the fun things nearby.

InstaFriday {2}

Better late than never, right?

1 - work...part of my job involves creating diagrams of meeting rooms and event spaces
the software is really outdated and this room looks like a boot!
2 - a yummy salad my husband brought me for lunch while I was at work one day
3 - I've been drinking so much water and thanks to Ashley got the idea to add limes
4 - flounder anyone? My husband filleted a flounder...I had no idea they were so flat!
5 - our poor doggie [Milton] has been such a trooper in the heat [no central a/c for us]
6 - I hit up the sale on ice cream at the grocery store, so we're well-stocked
...does this make me an ice cream-aholic?
7 - our beach day began with a nearly flat tire, thankfully it was easily refilled
8 - at the beach: lots of rocks [this is Massachusetts after all] and it was a pretty great day
minus the black flies that bite [ouch]
9 - driving home from the beach, I didn't believe our thermometer would go above 99
since it didn't ever go below 0 in the winter


I'm linking up!

PS - Don't forget to get your SUMMER VACATION post ready
the linky will go live tomorrow!

thankful on a Thursday

When I started to blog last summer, I did a weekly post I called grateful girl

inspired by The Outdoor Wife's Thankful on a Thursday linkup.

It was my attempt to focus on the many things in my life I am thankful for. 

My last grateful girl post was almost two months ago...I really need to get back into the swing of things.

And I have to say, now is a good time because I've caught myself feeling ungrateful lately...eek!

150. We are, albeit slowly, meeting people at the church we're attending...

and that means we're both trying so hard to be patient about making friends...but it's just.so.hard.

151. Time with a dear friend earlier this week

[there was also ice cream at my favorite place involved --double grateful].

152.  Fridays off from work during the summer...six.more.weeks.

 153.  The ability to host people in our home to say thanks for helping us move

[we're long overdue, but the kitchen is somewhat presentable now].

154.  Our living room looks lived in...I mean boxes are unpacked

and we even put a few things on the walls which is so refreshing.

155. A fantastic trip to see both of our families.

 What are you grateful for this week?

summer vacation {link up} announced

Summer is the perfect time to get all those projects done you've been putting off, right?

Or is it time to play...go to the beach or the zoo to see and do the things you've wanted to?

{via}

Summer officially started just one month ago, 

but many of you have been having fun for two months or more.

So...what have you done?

I want to read about it and check out all your fun photos!

Join me to link up your summer vacation blog post

Sunday, July 24th 

grab a button from the side bar---->
and spread the word!


the details...
1- blog about your summer staycation OR vacation
2- be sure to include some photos
3- come back next week [July 24-30] to link up

The link up party is new for me to host, but I'm really looking forward to it.

tickle me tuesday {coral}

I'm usually not much for pink...or anything in its color family.
But this summer, I have started to really like coral (a lot)...
I'm sure it's from seeing it all over Pinterest and Etsy!

{one}

coral pink mustache from Paint Me a Picture

{two}

women's coral stamp tee from TOMS

{three}

Poppies from Aisle to Aloha

{four}

Coraline Coral Flower and Lace Headband from Rouge and Wimsy

{five}

Love birds from Sunshine and Carousels

I'm linking up with Sarah for Tickle Me Tuesday today!

(..or maybe it was Sarah's Tickle Me Tuesday banner that started me liking coral?!)

lessons learned {1}

I'm excited to join Karen in documenting the things I've learned in the past week. She's learning to be a mother and while I haven't had the privilege of learning the many skills that requires, I have learned a few things lately.

{source}

Lessons learned:

{1} The farmer's market begins at 9:30am, rather than 9 o'clock...and it's in a different part of town than it was last summer (oh, and there is another farmer's market practically across the street from your house). Really, Beth, read the signs and pay attention to your surroundings.

{2} Making a paper pinwheel can be harder than it looks, but practice makes perfect.

{3} The master bedroom looks really great when it's organized and clothes are put away [yes, I finally unpacked every bit of our bedroom and got things into place...after three months of living in this house].  Even better, it makes me happy to walk into the room now; the boxes and piles are no longer there to stress me out.

{4} I don't always go with my original plan. I was just sure I would get a certain bridesmaid dress [I had to pick an apple red cocktail-length one from David's], but when I returned to try on dresses and actually place the order, I totally changed my mind, but I'm pretty happy with the one I chose.

{5} Our new location [a desk] versus the sitting on the couch while using the laptop isn't perfect...it keeps you cooler not to have the computer on your lap, but the chair is really uncomfortable...my buns are killing me after a few hours!

{6} Photobucket is very user friendly...yes, I've been blogging for almost a year and I just learned this!  I signed up for my account yesterday and love it [though I know it's had its ups and downs].  I really shouldn't be intimidated by learning new programs.  Thanks to Sarah and Mandy's posts and encouragement that I could make a few changes on the blog by myself.

{7} I love re-reading old letters and notes from family.  I always knew I had quite a stash of old letters, but I came across a bunch from 12 years ago when I spent a month at Young Life's Saranac Village.  I get my love for writing letters from my mom...it seems to be a dying art and I want to keep it alive!

farmer's market recipe {open face grilled cheese}

This morning, I went to the Farmer's Market.  Ahh, how I love the colorful fruits and veggies!

One of my favorite summer lunches when I was growing up was an open-face grilled cheese with tomato.  [My mom totally influenced this one...it was actually her favorite!]
So, when I got home from the farmer's market, I made myself one with the fresh tomatoes.

toast the bread, layer sliced cheddar [I use extra sharp] & broil until cheese melts

secret ingredient: Jane's Krazy Mixed-Up Salt

add sliced tomato on top of the cheese and sprinkle with Jane's

a close-up of the goodness!

I'm linking up with this recipe exchange!

you are what you tweet

Do you have a love for Infographics?  Being a visual person, I do!  There are certain Twitter users I follow purely for the infographics they share.  So it go me thinking, if only I could create one to share my own life...
Good news, you can!  Recently, I came across visual.ly which allows you to create an infographic using one's Twitter handle.  How fun is that?!

Generally, I try not to compare myself to others, but I compared both of my Twitter accounts [owned and managed by me].

[keep in mind, @bbgoad has been tweeting since July 2009, while @dotinthecity was created just months ago]


...and there you have it...proof [as if you needed it] that I am obsessed. with. Twitter.

a look inside

I know I've been traveling when I open my purse and cannot find what I'm looking for...I mean I have to rummage through napkins, granola bars, multiple packs of gum/mints, two pairs of sunglasses and so many other items that don't normally live there. It takes me twice as long to find what I opened the purse for originally. As I pulled out the many things that reminded me of our trip, the people I'd seen and places we went, I decided to take some photos to share...because it was actually quite pretty!

my new magenta ray-bans from my MIL (I would never buy these, but they're f-u-n)

snacks! we really like the granola thins

lots of lip stuff + other essentials (camera, wallet, ear buds, shopping bag) 

map, 2 packs of gum, notebooks, coffee cuffs + article on Dublin I wanted to keep

the purse itself, love the fossil key-per!

Do you accumulate more than usual in your purse when you travel?

((Do you take the time to clean it out?))

tickle me tuesday {mint}

every now and then, a color will become an obsession....does that ever happen to you?

it all started last week, when i decided to go for it and get my finger nails painted in a color i didn't have at home...just to be sure i liked it ((before i bought my own bottle)).

via Pinterest

if only we had a garden, i could grow it!

via Pinterest

i ended up with a stash of andes in my purse after our trip to the olive garden...a fun surprise days later!

...and then my husband came home from the grocery store with ice cream ((he never bought this flavor before but knows how i love it))

i'm linking up with tickle me tuesday today...are you?! i can't wait to see what's tickling your fancy.

Happy Birthday, Grannybel!

My paternal grandmother, Annabel, was born 90 years ago today to Ben and Mary Frances of York, PA.  She was raised Pennsylvania and married Ted in 1943.

Besides the fact that her birthday is on 7/11 (a.k.a. free Slurpy day), Annabel has was fortunate have two children and travel with Ted's career in the Air Force, living in Maryland, Washington, DC, Nebraska, California, New York, Japan, and Virginia before returning to their hometown in Pennsylvania in 1989.

Annabel came to be known as 'Granny' in 1975, when her first of five grandchildren were born (they were twins).  We also affectionately call her 'Grannybel' (combining her first name with Granny). She loved to cook (but rarely does anymore) and I have a great stash of recipes from her. When I was first living away from home I frequently called her to ask how she made things like chicken or potato salad, crab cakes and vegetable soup...she'd often tell me to add a hunk of any given ingredient...I guess her cooking wasn't all the exact, but it sure was tasty!

We enjoyed a fantastic celebration over the weekend for her birthday, having her two children, five grandchildren and four great grandchildren in attendance. We are so blessed to have her influence on our lives!

Granny with her kids, Marcia & Harry (my dad)

great grandchildren ages 18 mos. to 4 years old

Happy 90th Birthday, Grannybel!

summertime in the South

You may have noticed my posts have been less frequent and it's a result of our traveling over the past week (as you probably caught on to if you follow me on Twitter). We spent time in the South with both of our families. It was a fun-filled week of sun/humidity and good company/food!  I felt spoiled at times.

The trip started out with a lot of travel delays, but we were so happy to make it to Tennessee Sunday night.  We were fortunate enough to spend the fourth of July on a lake and the weather was splendid!

We enjoyed a low-key few days with my husband's family (including a trip to Hobby Lobby, a must when I'm outside of New England), though I failed to get any photos of them!  I learned my mother-in-law is great about taking photos with my camera (and then she's not in any). Sneaky!

We also got our doggy-fix from Charlie. Check out this fun video of his soccer/dribbling skills!  My husband can barely keep up.

We drove to North Carolina on Thursday to spend time with my side of the family, who gathered for Granny's 90th Birthday Celebration.  We decided seven hours in the car from Nashville to Charlotte is much more pleasant than seven hours driving from Boston to Baltimore...thanks to the beautiful Smokey Mountains and way fewer cities!

Granny's 90th Birthday Party brought family and friends from across the miles.  We ate Carolina bar-b-que, baked macaroni and cheese, a delicious salad and banana pudding at her party (another photo fail on my part).  Tomorrow is her actual birthday and I will share a bit more about my spunky grandmother.

everyone loves cake!

I'm happy to be home...mostly to be reunited with our pup, Milton.  It was his first time boarding and we were relieved to hear them say "everyone loves Milton" when we picked him up today.  

How will/did you spend your summer vacation?