A month in pictures; June 2013.

Like, woah, that was fast!

1. Graduate. 2. Last month. 3. Sheets. 4. Aero-plane. 5. The shore! 6. The sand! 7. Candy bar. 8. Wedding. 9. Rest-stop. 10. Rodent control. 11. Veggies #1. 12. On the couch. 13. Clouds in the sky. 14. Flag Day. 15. Dollar. 16. Me and my Dad. 17. Window. 18. Rainbow chard. 19. Oysters. 20. Swaddled. 21. Fence. 22. Steps. 23. Ice-cold. 24. Meridian Hill. 25. Dress. 26. Lunch. 27. Dollar in bed. 28. Rain. 29. Carry-out. 30. Away we go!
xoxo, natty ♥

Sun.

Another warm day; yippee! I attempted a pool trip but was thwarted and then we enjoyed some Chinese carry-out - a good day!
xoxo, natty ♥

Steam.

It was a toasty day here that came to a head with several hours of storming; typical DC summer weather maybe? It's certainly not what we're used to in the Bay Area.

Onward to the weekend!!

Summer CSA #3.

The most recent collection; next week is on hiatus since we're going to be out of the country.

xoxo, natty ♥

Hotdog.

xoxo, natty ♥

To-do.

This third week of just hanging out in DC is shaping up to be steamy {our first heat-wave of the year} and full of laundry and getting ready for next week's excursion {Iceland}.

I did myself a solid, though, and actually got in my run pretty early this morning. Though it was already sultry, the sun wasn't that strong so I won't spend the rest of the day feeling as though I've been sideswiped by a hot rag.

Now, onto folding and outfit planning for the 50-degree and rainy weather ahead of us next week! {It's kind of weird to go weeding through my winter weather during the hottest week we've had this year}.
 
Gott Þriðjudagur til Þú! Good Tuesday to you! {Though the syntax might be off?}
xoxo, natty ♥

Meridian Hill Park.

I had a bit of trouble waking up this morning but once I was coherent, things started to look up. How so? Read on!

1} I included Meridian Hill Park in my run today.

I love this park because it's tucked away in an urban neighborhood and it has the most beautiful fountains. Even at 10:30 AM on a Monday there is a good mix of people there; mummies/nannies with babies, preschool groups of little ones each holding onto those large plastic donuts that are on a rope to keep them connected, those folks who ALWAYS seem to be at parks, runners...

2} I actually decided to run in the swampy heat this morning, which, despite being corporeally unpleasant, has its upside {endorphins}.

3} Speaking of running, there's a slight chance of a marathon on the horizon and I'm pretty excited about it {kind of a weird thing to be excited about, I recognize that}!

4} We're going to Iceland next week.

5} It may have been mentioned but it bears repeating; our washer/dryer are up and running. This isn't super happy fun times because laundry-doing isn't exactly a great time but it is a Good Thing considering the piles we've grown and the upcoming travel.

What's good in your neck o' the woods this week folks? Are you moving? Traveling? Sweating? All good things I hope! 

xoxo, natty ♥ 

Seven.

It's been a good weekend for us after yesterday's arboretum jaunt and some hours spent lazing around.

And then, today, Mike and I got in a seven mile run together.

In the mid-afternoon heat and humidity {we had planned to go this morning but it was pouring} we toiled but then rewarded ourselves at the end with strawberry/lemonade spritzers {just add club soda and it becomes a spritzer}.

Nothing had ever tasted so good.

In other news, yesterday morning we put our dear heart Fence into her car and bid her adieu. She spent a wonderful and rejuvenating two days with us and I'm so thrilled she did; thanks for making it down here!!!

Here comes another week, this one replete with a projected heat wave, hopefully a trip to our CSA's farm, some running, and preparation for the following week's trip to Iceland.

I hope that you've had an enjoyable and summery {and Super Moon-ful} weekend and that you're feeling ready to tackle the next five days.

xoxo, natty ♥

Summer CSA #2.

This past week's haul...yippee!

xoxo, natty ♥

Weekend update.

It's Friday!!!
Here's some stuff to do, if you're us.

- Jazz in the Sculpture Garden, though we might not make it tonight.

- A return to the National Arboretum, this time for a picnic and because I'm craving another visit to those Bonsai.

- Menu planning and gearing up for the week.

- Unpacking, packing, and organizing after our apartment was a HOT MESS while we awaited washer/dryer repair {we store a lot on top of our fridge and a bit on the washer/dryer, both of which had to be moved extensively so all that junk was on our table...paired with leftover luggage from two weeks' worth of travel...} - we still haven't done our due diligence and gotten stuff put away after our California/East Coast/beach/wedding extravaganza but we're also gearing up to go to Iceland for a week at the end of the month so...

What are YOU up to dear Reader? Fun and relaxing things I hope!
xoxo, natty ♥

Book review; Devil in the White City.

I finished the book I showed in yesterday's post, Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, last month. I had heard about this book from Becs a while back and my brother-in-law lent it to me when he finished.

DitWC Is historical fiction, which I adore, and kept me very engaged, intrigued, and satisfied the whole way through. The book juxtaposes the two stories of the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago and of a serial killer taking advantage of the influx of young women into Chicago at that time, as well as a bit more relevant history and a few other story lines woven in.

The two main story lines, however, never make direct contact, though they play around each other quite nicely and in a way that just almost makes you think the killer and the fair planners might end up meeting each other in some quirky story line. But they don't.

The book was published 10 years ago so it's by no means a newbie but in a completely unscientific manner I feel as though I've recently heard about it/seen it mentioned so perhaps it's enjoying a bit of a renaissance. 

With long days ahead of me as well as some air travel time I look forward to getting in a few more novels this summer; any suggestions??
xoxo, natty ♥

Last read.

 xoxo, natty ♥

Bells will be ringing.

This month's neighborhood window display: wedding bells because it's June.

 

Last's month's display: flowery circular things.

And because I love this stuff, here are: April, March, February, January, December/November.

I'm looking forward to getting shots of the remaining months to round out an entire year!

xoxo, natty ♥

Puttering about.

I'm denying myself coffee #2 since that iced coffee batch I put together last week is exceptionally strong {I think I used an espresso mix?} and I haven't slept well when I have more than one cup. In other news.

1} An electrician just left our place after fixing the outlet for our washer/dryer {step #2 getting back on track with laundry}...yippee! We still need to get a new dryer hose and install it which we're going to do ourselves since it's apparently easy. I'm supposed to go to the hardware store later today.

2} We can almost do laundry in our place again.

3} It's not officially summer yet BUT IT'S SUMMER. And yesterday we heralded that with our first east coast crab boil. This bushel costs a bit over $100 and there was about half left after a crowd of 12 or so descended upon it.

Ignore the sock-feet.

Blue crab that's been boiled in Old Bay Seasoning is a delicious, time-intensive, rewarding, salty, and fun thing to do on a Sunday afternoon. I had only known Dungeness crab from my Bay Area life and I was thrilled to experience this Maryland staple.

And, yes, that is an Instagram photo...I've been making the most of my summer days and can be found at sracalifornia.

4} I love hot weather but running in it can be really challenging. At the end of last summer I got into a good rhythm {I never realized how weird that word is until I just had to look it up} of getting in my miles in the morning before it gets too warm. "Morning" needs to be before 9 AM at least, though, and I seem to had forgotten that.

The good thing about today's run? I think it may have made me fully remember the importance of getting out early and not laying around enjoying the quiet and hopefully that memory will get me out the door earlier in the days to come.

5} I outlined a loose schedule for my days this summer. This is something that is so important for me because I love structure and thrive with it. What I can't so easily write out is motivation to complete the not-so-fun tasks in that schedule {dishes, cleaning, getting new dryer hoses...}.

How YOU doin' today Reader?
xoxo, natty ♥

Great dad.

I love this guy.

 

And I'm a lucky daughter to have him.

And this dad too!

Mike and I are very fortunate kiddos to have these wonderful dads.

We love you both ♥ and thank you for all you've done for us and continue to do.

And a Happy Father's Day to all of those other papas out there!

xoxo, natty ♥

Flashes of light!

Last night I saw my first lightening bug of 2013 and tonight I saw many more.
I hadn't known these things happen around here!!!
What a lovely realization.
It's also been a really lazy Saturday and that's totally alright.
xoxo, natty ♥

Packaging.

Just a bit more vegetable related things so that I can remember for now and then I'll back off.

When I unloaded the stuff Tuesday night, there were a couple of things I had to do.

Since these guys come directly from a farm and it's a farm that doesn't use pesticides/herbicides/fertilizers {they're pretty crunchy over there!}, there's dirt and there are hanger-ons {see Wednesday's photo}. I'm OK with all of this and kind of like it : I've been to the farm and seen where the stuff comes from and the messiness is pretty indicative of how produce is grown - in dirt and bugs. I still buy bags of pre-washed lettuce from the grocery store, don't get me wrong, but I'm appreciating this reminder.

So, everything got a good washing and drying {the eggs too, they still had some "farm" on them} and then I packaged it all. Because of the waste I feel kind of "meh" about using plastic baggies for the stuff but for now they work best for me and we use our Pyrex containers pretty regularly for prepared food and don't have enough to dedicate just to this. I add in a paper towel to the bags of greens so that it can absorb excess moisture and prevent the leaves from getting soggy/gross. I put my mint in a cup of water {on the counter} to inject some life back into it.

That's it! Have a lovely Friday and weekend!

xoxo, natty ♥

Summer CSA #1.

Here's the haul from this week.

This was our first time with this farm and I'm happy with this spread. The plants we get might be an issue because we have nowhere to put them but I'm thinking about "plant-bombing" the landscaping of our building and just putting them in the ground during the middle of the day when no-one's looking.

And for my own sake of remembering what I do and being accountable : so far we've used lettuce in a salad {boring but good}, chives and eggs in a quiche, garlic scapes {which are just the young garlic plant minus the actual garlic and they can be used in lieu of regular garlic} in black beans and salsa, dried the oregano, and are planning to make mojitos tonight.

There's also a garlic scape/white bean spread I've been eying but I didn't love the recipe so I might make up my own.

This is a weekly CSA and it's full of greens {which don't last long} so we need to be pretty deliberate about making sure we get this all in.

Are you CSA-ing it up this season? Any tips/suggestions on some of this stuff {kohlrabi}?
xoxo, natty ♥

An interloper.

 xoxo, natty ♥

Iced coffee days are here again.

Ooh it's warming up and time for not-hot morning drinks.

Yippee!

But these temperatures paired with the rain we've been getting seem to drive many gross bugs into our home; please say that's normal? And that there's something not-drastic that can be done?

Even so, I'm grateful for the roof over our head and my yummy caffeinated beverages.

Directions HERE & HERE.

xoxo, natty ♥

Settling in for a slow down.

It has been a whirlwind two weeks and it is NICE to be back in the district and getting back to life.
In other good news.

1} Right before I left for California we had a bit of a washer/dryer issue. Mike came back to DC a day before I did and pulled it out to turn off the water, thus discovering a ripped and torn dryer duct.

We only had a day between returning from California and heading up the coast for our adventure so nothing happened and that picture above is what we came home to last night.
The good part is that I scheduled a Kenmore repair man to come in this Thursday.
No laundry an a mixed-up feng shui ain't too much to deal with and for that I'm grateful.

2} I also replaced our air duct/filter/thing today. I hadn't been aware that this is a thing home/apartment dwellers need to do {?}.
No matter, it felt good to get this done.

3} It's still June!

4} A new Runner's World and a complimentary Women's Health were waiting for me in our mailbox this morning.

I'm eager to read their take on what happened at Boston this year.

5} I ♥ friends.

I hope that you're all doing well wherever you are {Albany...California...Minnesota...Hershey...Chicago...here...everywhere else}!

xoxo, natty ♥ 

Thanks!

We're home!
Thanks, sweetie, and our car {who's check engine light went on somewhere in Connecticut [we pretended it didn't happen]} for getting us here safely over many miles.
I remembered all of those hours in the car last summer and how even though it was tough {no one needs to drive 13 hours in one day. Twice in a row.} it is so pleasant to be with my hubby and enjoy the scenery. Plus the mid-Atlantic region and Pennsylvania Dutch country is much more scenic than North Dakota {no offense meant}.

Here's to a good week for you all!
xoxo, natty ♥

Publick House.

A wonderful wedding in an historical town; plus the rain stopped - what a wonderful thing!

We're so happy for our newly married friends and for those who have their turn coming up!

xoxo, natty ♥

We drove.

After leaving the beach in New Jersey this morning we enjoyed a wonderful day in nowhere else than Hershey, Pennsylvania.

What else could I ask for?
Another safe drive tomorrow as we head up to a wedding in Massachusetts.
xoxo, natty ♥

Cape May.

Today was a lovely day on the southern shore of New Jersey.
We explored the little Victorian town of Cape May, lunched, enjoyed some beach time, learned about the flora and fauna a bit {so many crabs and turtles!}, ran, got frozen custard {yuuuuuuuum!}, and are gearing up for dinner. It's been wonderful.

Happy weekend!
xoxo, natty ♥

The shore.

xoxo, natty ♥

Good month.

"And since all this loveliness cannot be Heaven, I know in my heart it is June." - Abba Goold Woolson.

When this posts I'll be hopefully safely ensconced many thousands of feet in the air en route back to my sweetheart in DC.

Aaaaaaaand have you ever had a Guayaba popsicle? 

I have!

And I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

A good Tuesday to You!
xoxo, natty ♥

So nice.

It's been so nice to be in San Jose for a spell.

What else?

1} Another high school graduate; woot!

2} I'm heading back to DC tomorrow; home sweet my own bed.

3} This thing made it safely here and will hopefully travel similarly to Dulles International in the next day.

4} I'm so lucky to have a place and people that and whom I.know.SO.well.

5} It's JUNE.

6} BONUS...I got to see some beloved and missed students today...they are all such good girls.

 

In all, I am so grateful for Family and Home and I hope that y'all get those same two things, even if they aren't related by blood or where you technically came from; we all deserve a bit of familiarity and comfort in any whatever way it comes to us.

xoxo, natty ♥   

A month in pictures; May 2013.

1.  Meds. 2. Coffee! 3. Ferreted. 4. Bonsai. 5. Guac. 6. Quinoa cups. 7. Chesney. 8. Sky. 9. Gar-bahj. 10. Owney. 11. Play ball. 12. Owney again? 13. Mu-zak. 14. Windows. 15. Nanners. 16. 'zine. 17. Fringe. 18. Starbucks. 19. 13.1. 20. Kitty Kat. 21. Limones. 22. Cloudy. 23. Mojito. 24. Sun. 25. Boys. 26. More boys. 27. Remember. 28. Ethiopian. 29. Travel day. 30. Chokes. 31. Grecian.

xoxo, natty ♥  

Bravo!

My brother graduated high school today; way to go!!!

We've celebrated and eaten and had an over all great day.

I am so happy to be with all this family.
xoxo, natty ♥