Weekly Random Photo

This was taken in early spring, just outside of Bodega and Sovereign Collective, in the Short North. This old sign stands almost a story tall...

I love it!!

Weekly Random Photo I caught Ben sniffing this flower at Schoelpfle Garden this past weekend near Sandusky, OH.

Welcome to Willie Nelsonville

The kids had so much fun together......and so did their mommies!!!We all went to the 5th annual Nelsonville Music Festival where Willie Nelson headlined and we spent the weekend in the foothills of Appalachia.She takes after her aunt with the hair twirling! Geeeeze...would it kill you guys to smile?? Willie rocked!!! If you'd like to read more about the show, check out my review here.

Latest Concoction... I'm calling it a Citrus-Gingertini and I created it on the fly with leftover ingredients in the fridge. This could easily be a summertime staple!! The ginger balances out the sweet and sour flavors nicely and adds a subtle "spice" to it.

Cheers!!!

2-3 oz Citrus Vodka
2 oz Triple Sec
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Juice of 1/2 an orange
1/4 tsp. peeled/grated fresh ginger (or to taste)

Combine ingredients into a shaker filled with ice, SHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE and pour into a sugar-rimmed martini glass. You could get fancy and garnish it with a lemon or orange twist, but that would only make it prettier has no affect on the actual deliciousness!!

WEEKLY RANDOM PHOTO I was thrilled to find an old box of photos on Friday that I feared may have been lost somehow along the way! Oh, the days of 35MM cameras where you smiled for pictures and hoped for the best...

One of the Greatest Places on Earth...Nelson Ledges Quarry ParkThere are few better things to do on a hot summer day than carelessly float on a raft while listening to your favorite bands play on stage, just yards away. The kind vibe emitted from the crowd of transient hippies and travelers who live there for the summer, or just for the weekend, dances into your soul and the tune stays with you for a lifetime. My first festival ever was at the Hookah Spring Blossom Bash at NLPQ in 2002 and I haven't been the same since!! A "spiritual" part of me was awakened by the beauty of this place and the blend of characters that create its story keep it ever interesting! There are so many people I've met over the years at NLPQ (and other shows) and it's so great to see them again each summer, a year older and sometimes a year wiser! ;) Some lose or gain tons of weight, some grow beards or shave off their dreads and some look exactly the same. I can't wait for Gratefulfest this summer and possibly a few other shows at The Ledges. I love the fact that we can bring Ben and we are all fully entertained the entire weekend!!

"Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right." -Grateful DeadAll pics (except this last one) can be found at Nelson Ledge's.

HOPE TO SEE YOU AT THE LEDGES!!!

Can't wait... ...to flip through this stack of old Cooking Light magazines my mom gave me. I'll be clipping out recipes and experimenting on my family asap! I could care less that some of them date back to Summer 2007...

the recipes will taste just as divine this summer!!

Weekly Random Photo(s) HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

My mom and I had a great time celebrating motherhood together!! The food and champagne were awesome and we had fun on our rather vigorous, "accidental" hike, searching for the city skyline! Afterwards, we went and picked out lots of flowers...can't wait to get planting tomorrow!!!

p.s. This is what the park, Chestnut Ridge, boasted to be a stunning view of the Columbus skyline! If you squint your eyes just right, you can almost see it!!! ;) To say the least, we were sweaty and a bit disappointed!

...Continued From Last NightTwo recipes you must try...

Sweet potato salad with orange-maple dressing, a delicious and healthier alternative that is perfect for a picnic or potluck! Check out the recipe here. Per some of the other reader's comments, I cut the salad recipe in 1/2 and still made the full amount of dressing, plus added a little more ginger, lemon and orange zest. This was a hit!!

I could eat this chicken, walnut and red grape salad with curry every day of the week!! My entire (adult) life, I've been striving to make chicken salad that somewhat resembles Lola's, my mom's old friend, who owns a restaurant downtown called Cafe Lola. This wasn't it exactly, but I'm getting much warmer!! My mom just told me that she marinates the chicken overnight in milk...good trick to know!! Coconut milk would maybe be even better?? Check out the recipe here.

Sneak Peak...I offered to make a picnic lunch for my mom tomorrow and both recipes I've never actually made before! Here's how it's going so far...
...and it will still be going on tomorrow morning because I thought I had ginger in my cabinet, but it turns out, I don't :(

Stay tuned to find out what it is and how it turns out!!

Gathering Ideas...Creative Container Gardening

I have spent the last two days outdoors, preparing my flower beds and vegetable garden, weeding, sowing seeds and planning for the "planting" weekend!

I could sit here all afternoon...

Since it's Mother's Day this weekend, I'm preparing a picnic lunch (mom's bringing the wine ;) and we are going to a nearby park to celebrate! Afterwards, we are going to a nursery to pick out lots of flowers and plants. On more than one occasion last spring and summer, we had a great time shopping for flowers, so we decided to make a day of it! Love the mix of potted plants and fresh-cut flowers at Outdoorubanite.com

I'm hoping I will be able to twist her arm into a little flea market/garage sale shopping as well! I have a bunch of terra cotta pots in various sizes, but I am currently obsessed with finding interesting pots and containers to plant in.

I think I like something like this???

No matter what I come up with, I promise it won't look like this... ;)

REMINISCING ABOUT OLD TIMES...

...the ending of an era

THE SHANTEE played their final show at The Newport on 12/17/2004

Pre-party with the girls!

Their happy, feel-good tunes always kept you on your feet dancing and smiling! We found amazing seats, our own private little balcony, and proceeded to have one of the best nights ever! Although it was bittersweet, the evening brought us all together and I will remember and cherish it always!

...every single time you're gonna spill your wine ;)
Hope you enjoyed this little step back in time...

WEEKLY RANDOM PHOTO
My sweet little country boy loves to pick his mama flowers!