spring broke through.

Ah, spring break. It's really a taste of summer, no? Last week was a string of things such as going out of town, reading, getting together with family, laying out in the sun, painting nails on the porch, getting things done, shopping, a break from school, snapping photos, throwing schedules to the wind, and not doing much on the internet (aka, procrastinating posting on my blog, ahem). 

sidewalk chalk whale by little sis

The first part of the week was spent at a camp with some families from our church, helping clean up and fix things around the camp. Then we did a little shopping and went to the movies to see "The Lorax" with mom's side of the family. We saw it in 3D, as you can tell from the picture above...oh dear. Moving on.

Addy and I built our second annuals spring break fort -- because why not? (And yes I do feel eleven years old again, thankyouverymuch.) My mattress, a couple chairs, a vacuum cleaner, a fan, heaps of blankets, and scads of clothespins to hold everything together, made our up our fort. 

And to end the week, we had a little picnic by the campfire. How was your spring break?

of kites, milkshakes, and more.

The last few days I've been thinking, what to post? What to post? What to post? There's lots of things to write about, but each subject with a whole post of its own seems kind of...boring. So I'm not sure how this is going to turn out, but here's a collaboration of life lately.

We flew kites last weekend. I couldn't remember the last time I flew a kite. The sky was a sea of blue with fluffy clouds stacked across it and the wind was just right. Addy laid down in the field for awhile and and flew her kite.

We had the first s'mores around the campfire of the year. Our family sat on the picnic table and lawn chairs while the fire blazed and we ate the sticky marshmallows layered between a slab of chocolate and graham cracker. I curled up in a blanket and warmed my feet by the fire.

Journaling. You should try it. It's worth it. I came across an older journal the other day. It started on spring break of two thousand ten and ended right before we left for Virginia. One of my recent journals is kept in a little brown, leather bound book. Everyday happenings and such are recorded inside. 

Today I wore shorts for the first time since last year's warm weather. Yes, it's only March. Yes, it wasn't all that warm out today. But I wore a flannel shirt on top...so that kind of balances it out, right? ;)

And last but not least -- Addy can make crazy good milkshakes. The perfect treat on a semi-spring day. 

Happy Friday, everyone! 

let's take a walk.

Spring is near its breaking point, building up suspense. It gives us just a glimpse of warm weather and then slips back into the unconsciousness of winter. Blooms are small, new grass is peeking out from brown remains, and some snow that has overstayed its welcome still lingers in a few cracks.

Yesterday the weather was nice, so Addy and I walked through our field to a place we call "The Rocks". I hadn't been there since last summer and forgot how fun it is to hop from rock to rock. 

We meandered beside the shallow creek while stiff, prickly grass bit at our ankles and twigs pulled at our hair. We found a little hollow, moss covered rocks, and soft lighting. We dodged the spiny branches of trees. We jumped up on stones when the way was blocked and chattered all along. 

homemade granola

Yesterday evening, while golden light trickled through the windows and an eventide breeze blew through the screen door, crystallized honey melted on the stove and I scattered ingredients about our wooden table.

Granola. It's my main food group. I wanted to make my own, so I searched high and low all over the internet and skimmed through some cookbooks. Most recipes have heaps of sugar and make very big batches. Eventually, this recipe was found and I decided to go off of it mostly. Want to try it? Here's how to...

What you'll need: old fashioned oatmeal, salt, cinnamon, olive oil, honey, and brown sugar.

(Not pictured, chocolate chunks, optional.)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees farenheit and grease a baking sheet.

In large bowl add 2 cups of oatmeal, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and a pinch of salt.

Whisk the ingredients together, breaking apart any clumps of brown sugar as needed.

Stir together 1/4 cup warmed honey and 1/4 cup olive oil.

Drizzle the honey and oil mixture over the dry ingredients and mix together.

Spread the uncooked granola on the grease baking sheet.

Bake in the oven for 15-25 minutes (mine took about 18 minutes), stirring once or twice.

When cooked, spread the granola on a sheet of waxed paper and let it cool.

After the granola is cooled completely, add dried fruit, nuts, chocolate, or just leave it plain.

Homemade Granola

ingredients

2 cups old fashioned oatmeal (uncooked)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

A pinch of salt

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup olive oil

directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease a baking sheet. In large bowl combine the oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Warm honey. Add olive oil to the honey and stir. Drizzle the honey and oil mixture over the dry ingredients and mix them together. Spread granola on the greased baking sheet. Bake 15-25 minutes, or until granola is crunchy and golden, stirring once or twice. Pour cooked granola on a sheet of waxed paper and let it cool. Once the granola is completely cooled, add dried fruit, nuts, chocolate, or just leave it plain. Enjoy!

p.s. i did my first guest post over on francesca's blog today -- come take a look!