TYM: fence progress ~ phase 3

Our new fence is actually a 4 phase project. 

Since it borders 4 different properties each section was completed at a different time. The project started last fall and the hubs has now almost completed phase 3. He was short a few boards so has a small section left to finish however I snapped a quick photo of his progress. Next up, the fire pit retaining wall. Hopefully the retaining wall will go as fast as the fence.

Also,

here are some of my doodles and lettering from this week.

I really should get some nice paper to doodle on but this works too. 

Happy Wednesday!

Almond Cake with raspberry sauce

A quick and easy dessert to go with our Sunday Supper Summer BBQ.

This simple Almond Cake was made even better when served with raspberry sauce made with fresh raspberries.

Have a great day!

TYM 2017 ~ fence and retaining wall removal

Another day another project.

Just when things were cleaned up and beginning to look somewhat finished around the yard it was time to start in on the next phase of the Total Backyard Makeover.

Over the weekend the hubs removed the last section of retaining wall around the fire pit and the last section of fence. He saved the strawberry plants and will replant those once he's finished with the retaining wall and seating area. 

Old fence gone, new fence coming soon!

LAWN UPDATE: 

After several weeks of heavy watering and no mowing the lawn began to look like a hay field. In fact, it was so long it showed all of our foot prints

&

you could practically hide in it!

{ Can you guess who is hiding? }

When it was finally time to cut the grass it had to be mowed 3 times and even then it was still uneven.

It took several straight days of mowing to eventually get a clean cut but it is looking great now. I will be posting more TYM updates soon. 

Happy Monday!

Smoked Swineapple

This was a fun and unique Sunday Supper. For those who have not heard of a Swineapple it is a pineapple hollowed out and filled with pork, wrapped in bacon and smoked to perfection. The name alone grabbed our attention and the whole idea seemed easy and delicious so we decided to give it a try. 

We figured it would take 3 pineapples to feed our crowd.

The "weave" took a lot of bacon so we used strips of bacon instead on the remaining two pineapples since we had under estimated the amount we would need. 

The leftover pineapple was a great addition to our skewers.

Caribbean coconut rice and beans seemed like a good side dish & for dessert it was apple dumplings.

After 6 hours of smoking the Swineapple is ready to cut into slices.

Apple dumplings are finished and cooling. 

TA~DA

Dinner is served!

The jury is out on whether or not we would make a Swineapple again. It definitely looks amazing and generally speaking it is easy to prepare and tastes good however we were not so fond of the texture around the outside of the pork which was a bit mushy. We would have to figure out what adjustments needed to be made to alleviate that issue before we tried it again. 

I did think it was worth sharing though

&

 if we figure out a solution to the texture I will be sure to let you know!

Have a super duper Saturday!!

{ go Beavers!}

Taco Bar

Last Sunday I set up a Taco Bar for Sunday Supper which included:

• taco shells ~ corn, flour, soft and hard shells 
• 3 types of meat  ~ shredded pork carnitas, shredded chicken AKA Pollo and spicy ground beef 
• cilantro lime rice 
• avocados
• sautéed assorted peppers and red onions
• shredded cheddar and pepper jack cheese 
• refried beans
• black bean and corn salad
• tortilla chips, salsa, sour cream, lettuce, black olives, green chile peppers & a variety of taco sauce

The chicken and pork I made in my two slow cookers. I set them each on low for 6 hours. I made my spicy ground beef along with the salad ahead of time and also prepared all the toppings earlier in the day as well. Once everyone arrived and we were ready to eat it was quick and easy to set everything out.

Several of us made Taco Bowls starting with cilantro lime rice and then topped with the works. The others made traditional tacos and some made both.

For dessert Miss E made everyone her Chocolate Molten Lava Cakes which were,

once again,

delicious. 

PS....the new grass was finally mowed on Wednesday!

I will be posting more about that soon. 

Happy Saturday!

DIY fire pit & Girls Night In

The lazy days of summer are here. 

There has been a break in the DIY Total Yard Makeover while the grass takes root however we did manage to build our DIY fire pit a couple weekends ago.

Unfortunately the weather here has been way too hot to actually have a fire or even work on outside projects. However, the grass is scheduled to be mowed in 3 days { finally } and then work can resume on the other projects including the retaining wall and seating around the fire pit. By then our weather is supposed to be back to normal August temperatures which means warm days and cooler nights. 

Since Miss E and I were the only ones home today we decided it would be fun to cook a simple dinner for 2 and eat on the patio. I offered to make our favorite chicken salad and Miss E volunteered to make a dessert. We made a quick run to the store and picked up some olive bread and found a big wonderful apple to share.

It was very bright and sunny when we sat down to eat so my picture of the salad didn't turn out so well but it sure tasted good.

We used homegrown tomatoes from our garden in the salad. They are just coming on so these were the first ones we've picked. Warm, fresh picked tomatoes, it doesn't get better than that!

Once we were finished with our salads it was time to make dessert. Miss E made the most wonderful

CHOCOLATE MOLTEN LAVA CAKES!

These were so quick, easy and absolutely divine. So good in fact, she is going to make them again for Sunday Supper tomorrow.

Once we were finished with dinner it was beginning to cool down which was the first time in almost 2 weeks. In fact, the clouds moved in and the forecast was calling for rain. Well, we decided it was perfect weather to try out our new Fire Pit so we gathered some wood and tried it out. 

It was amazing! However, after about an hour it started to rain on us, just as they predicted, so we put out the fire and called it a night. It was a perfect

Girls Night In!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Monster Cookies

These are definitely one of our favorite cookies.

{ YUM! }

Have a Fabulous Friday!

more Berry Picking

This is the third time this season I have been out to the farm to pick berries. This time I took Miss E and we brought home buckets of berries. In fact, we filled up our little red wagon.

We started with blackberries and then headed over to the blueberries.

After an hour we decided we had plenty and called it good. 

Of course you must test the berries to be sure they're just right.

{ And they were! }

I couldn't resist making a batch of jam before bed and 

fresh Blackberry Cobbler for Sunday Supper. 

A very productive weekend.

Happy Thursday!