friday faves, vol. 4

TGIF!!! it's been quite the week, spending time with friends who are back in Pittsburgh for a much-anticipated visit, attending a phenomenal organ recital, getting our hummus on at Aladdin's, trying to tame the wild beast that is our yard in summertime, and a little more time spent in the kitchen since our dishwasher is on the fritz. i think washing dishes may actually be one of my favourite household tasks. something about the warm water and physically scrubbing away the ick. back in the day, i'd crack open one of mom's red hymnals, slide it into her clear plastic cookbook holder behind the sink so it would be safe from any splashes, and sing and sing and sing. sadly, i have neither the red hymnal nor the cookbook holder, so Kaiser and the cats will be spared my lusty rendition of "And Can It Be." (my chains fell off, myyyy heart was free-ee-ee, I ro-o-ose, went fo-o-orth, and fo-o-ol-lowed Thee!)

ANYWAY. 

-- my all-time favourite thing about this week was that Blair's mom mailed me my very own Strawberry Stem Gem! i'm kind of a sucker for kitchen gadgets, but i get leery of any one item with a large kitchen footprint. and this? this actually works, plus it's the size of a (very hefty) pair of tweezers, plus it makes hulling strawberries kind of addicting. and it makes eating said strawberries even more fun. 

voila!


-- we had crazy storms at the beginning of last week, and now there have been brown-outs around the city since people are using their air conditioners so much. (guilty as charged.) after a semi-scary afternoon where the winds kicked up and there was a bona fide tornado warning for an area about 15 miles south of our house, we had the rare pleasure of seeing a DOUBLE RAINBOW, FULL RAINBOW ALL THE WAY. 

the photo just barely picked up the double rainbow (outside the clearly visible one), 
but IT WAS THERE! 

-- this blueberry sauce from the amazing Annie that can be served over ice cream, waffles, in a pie, or, you know, right out of a jar. or the pot that you make it in. if i made this stuff, i don't think any of it would end up being preserved. 

photo from taste of home


-- after living in our house for two years, Nick and I finally tried out the tiny Mexican restaurant a mile down the road, Mendoza's, and it did not disappoint! we were the only patrons there for lunch on Saturday, so i hope their business is doing okay. we'll certainly be doing our part to keep them afloat, i think. here is my ginormous taco salad in a fiery red taco bowl! 





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