turning 30

i haven't been able to blog much lately because the hard drive on my laptop went out. i'm pretty certain it has something to do with the boys playing minecraft non-stop on it. for a few weeks, i went back and forth in deciding between getting it fixed or just getting something new. in honor of mother's day, the mister finally bit the bullet and bought me an amazing new all-in-one desktop. i haven't had a full-sized computer for a quite a while now so this is just wonderful. the screen is 23" and blogging (and pinterest-ing and facebook-ing) is a dream. the best part is there's no tower and it's all wireless! the only wire plugs into the power outlet. my new little workspace is the best and i just may start to enjoy paying bills online. not.

anyway, i turned 30 last month. i like to celebrate things by relaxing somewhere (like my backyard) with a glass of wine and something delicious to eat. so i guess that means we celebrate something every single night...hmmm. ok.

to make my 30th birthday a little more special, the grandparentals stayed with the rugrats while the mister whisked me away so that we could drink and eat our way through the beautiful, wine country town of sonoma. 

we arrived into town a little before check-in time so we stopped at a little spot called the sunflower caffe. the garden seating area was gorgeous and i was thankful my allergies didn't flare up. flowers everywhere! have i mentioned that the mister is the sweetest? i randomly told him weeks before that all i wanted for my birthday was to go to a coffee shop, not take my coffee in a to-go cup, and be able to enjoy a cute, foamy design in my mug. and that he made sure of. i love him.

we checked into the sonoma creek inn and this bottle of wine and birthday card were there to greet us. they were from shawn's aunt and uncle in portland. such a sweet surprise.

the inn was adorable and just my style.

our first dining stop was at the girl and the fig.  

delicious.

we explored a little bit and there was lots to see, eat and drink in this small, beautiful town. 

later that evening, we went to the hopmunk tavern for drinks and i was surprised by my dad and siblings. it was the best and we definitely celebrated, as evidenced by the following before and after photo.

surprise!

the next morning, we stumbled over to the little cafe attached to the inn for breakfast.

carbs. i needed carbs. and i happened to have the best french toast i've ever had. 

i'm lucky like that when i'm hungover.

took a short walk and saw the creek. so pretty.

after checking out, we stopped a nearby thrift shop called the church mouse. 

it was the best thrifting experience i've had in a while. 

the mister even found some vintage pyrex and milk glass for my collection.

he's awesome. 

our last dining stop was centre du vin at the ledson hotel for brunch.

 this place was just stunning. even the bathrooms were so gorgeous that i felt compelled to take a selfie in there, but i won't share that one....unless you really want me to.

the food was amazing. 

i ordered the croque madame. 

which then reminded me of where i celebrated my 29th birthday.

le sigh.

our final, obligatory stop on the way out of wine country was the beautiful domaine carneros.

it was a great weekend spent with my favorite person. he definitely made my 30th birthday one that i won't forget. obviously. i'm finally blogging about it a month later and i still remember all the details. 

he's awesome. i'm lucky. and 30. 

the end.

i heart craigslist

today's awesome craigslist find - an old school desk with lift top for $20. the best part was that it was in the next neighborhood from my own, so i didn't even have to go very far to get it. this is going to be perfect for the boys' study/play room. i'm thinking I will paint the lift top in chalkboard paint and the rest of it in distressed white. can't wait!

thift store find

I paid a visit to my favorite thrift store last weekend and scored these adorable end tables. They are a matching set with so much character - I couldn't resist them. The best part is their price: $7.96 for both! With just a little paint and tlc, these will be a lovely addition to our home.

free is my favorite

ok, peeps. it's no secret - i'm pretty cheap. but, let me tell you, i haven't always been this way. once we went from dual-income to single-income and my husband threatened to divorce me if i didn't change my spending ways {just kidding...but kinda not}, i realized i had to shape up or ship out. 

anyway, i've since joined the local freecycle group, which is just a group of people that offer up anything that they want to get rid of - always for free - and anyone in the group can pick up any items that could be valuable to them for free. it's just a way of reducing the amount of "trash" that goes to the landfills because, you know, one person's trash is another person's treasure. 

i've been part of this group for a long while now and never picked anything up. i've given up a ton of stuff, though, because i'm constantly in purge mode around our house. i think the circle of giving and receiving has finally come back to me within the last few weeks. 

first, i scored ceramic dishes with service for eight. i haven't taken a picture yet, but the set was in impeccable condition and didn't even look used. they were all plain white and go so well with the milk glass pyrex that i've been collecting from thrift stores. and it came at such a perfect time because many of our current mostly-matching-but-some-not-matching dishes were chipping left and right. they've now been tossed and replaced - for free.

today, i picked up this art easel. perfectly good condition, but it just wasn't getting any more love in the home that it was in. heaven knows it will get lots of love from this casa of boys - especially from liam. he busted out his dry erase markers and even pulled up his little chair in front of it. i couldn't peel him away all morning.  free.

last saturday's score - a retro radio flyer trike!!!! i've been dyyyying for one of these for my kids, but it was just never high enough on the "need" list. nothing ever really is, so i guess i meant the "really want" list. now we have one and it was free!

this cute little peanut wasn't really free but he was yearning to be free when he saw his brothers playing outside this afternoon.

please, mom. if i flash my multiple chins and neck rolls at you, will you please let me play outside?

ok, ok, neck roll baby. you can play outside, too.  

see wyatt's sweet ride? shawn was testing driving his car around the block after a repair he did and this was sitting at the curb outside someone's house with a sign that said, "FREE". in a heartbeat, the mister jammed it into the passenger seat of his mustang {i still don't know how he made it fit} and away he drove into the the sunset...errrr, back home to his kids.

another item getting little to no love in one home to lots of love in our home.

wait. what? you can ride on the bed of the truck? what about seatbelts?

i'm all about risk. i need to feel the air in my hair when i whoride down the block in this g-ride.

it really is true - some of the best things in life are free. or maybe they just become the best things because they are free. :)

from their garden

i don't have my own garden, though i wish i did. i also wish i could have my own chickens so i don't have to buy eggs again. i dream about one day making our home self-sufficient in as many ways as possible - a garden and trees for produce, chickens for eggs, solar power. i'll do anything besides farming animals for meat because i just don't see myself slaughtering a cow for dinner. one day, friends. one day. 

but, for now, we know plenty of people who have gardens and they are always happy to share their produce. the mister's co-workers always ask him if he wants some lemons, tomatoes, zucchini, etc, and he always says, "yes! my wife will turn it into something." it's true and it goes hand-in-hand with my previous post about ways we save money. i take whatever produce is offered to us and i will make it into something that my family will eat. the following are just a few examples of where i did just that.

tomatoes. we were given tomatoes from multiple gardens - my dad, stepmom and mother-in-law. it was a tomato influx from every which parental direction. 

the first thing i did was make a confit of tomatoes a la david lebovitz. 

i poured enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish, threw in about 1 tablespoon each of chopped garlic, black pepper, salt, herbs de provence, and sugar. i cut the tomatoes in half and placed them open face down into the oil, sprinkled a little more salt and pepper on top, threw in a few bay leaves, then baked it at 325* for about 45 minutes. i store it in a large glass jar in the refrigerator and it lasts for about a week.

i love this recipe because it is extremely versatile. i've found that it's the best way to preserve a ton of tomatoes that would otherwise go bad and still be able to use it in a variety of ways. one way is for bruschetta. who doesn't love bruschetta? give the tomatoes a rough chop and serve with sliced baguette. yum.

another use is to chop the tomatoes and toss them with pasta. the tomatoes are cooked in a tasty oil, so that's all the sauce you need. it makes for a quick and light meal.

we then took what was left of the confit after a few days and turned it into spaghetti sauce, which we canned and will place in the freezer. it keeps forever.

lemons. the mister's co-workers sent him home with this humongous bag of lemons. it had to be at least 25 pounds worth. and these were not ordinary little lemons - they were the size of softballs!

after using 5-6 of them for margaritas over the weekend {if only i had some fresh mint, we would have made some mojitos, too}, i made some lemon bars. these are sooo good and sooo easy. i shared some with a preggo friend of mine and, after eating her first ten pieces, she had to make her husband hide them and ration two pieces for her each day. hysterical.   

zucchini. we also were given zucchini from a few different gardens. and i'm not sure what was up with the zucchini this year, but they were gigantic!!!! here's one pictured with a large steak knife for size reference.  it could double as a baseball bat.

one can only eat so much stir-fried zucchini, so i made a ton of zucchini bread which was a huge hit in this house. wyatt tore this stuff up. i think that boy ate a whole loaf by himself in a day. 

on another note, did you notice my sweet, new button action to the right? the lovely ladies at j&m's eye candy featured my post about ways we save money. they made my week. :) thanks, kristine and britney!