There’s nothing more entertaining than a grown man wearing a pair of Crocs,
a coordinating Mastercraft tool belt,
while using power tools.
He’s a keeper, for sure. :) heh
We’ve been plugging away at the deck each night this week. By the time I pick up Eric from the train station and we have dinner it’s already 7:30-8pm, so we don’t have much time to work during the week. Thank goodness for the long daylight hours in the summer though!
We can work til just past 9pm right now which is great. After we finish up, we often go for a nightly walk around the neighbourhood. I love spending so much time outdoors.
Eric built this ‘bistro’ table-top that overlooks one side of the yard. We want to find some outdoor bistro chairs for this spot, but we’re having a hard time finding any in our price range. It may have to be a stand-up bistro for now!
The table top overlooks our future volleyball/badminton net!
We bought a volleyball set back in May, but we haven’t had a chance to set it up yet. It’s going to be fun for get togethers this summer. Friends can watch the game with their beer and food on the bistro table!
We also decided not to put glass in the two sections of the deck for three reasons:
- Expense- It was going to be about 10 times the price of the regular black rods!
- 2.5 weeks wait time for delivery
- Lots of upkeep/cleaning
It was a nice idea, but not very practical for us. This weekend we’re going to continue with the black rods and finish it up. Finally, the 3 sets of stairs are left! Eric says the stairs are going to be the biggest learning curve of the entire deck.
My veggies continue to thrive despite my best efforts to sabotage them… ;)
I’m not sure what’s going on with the yellowish leaves at the bottom of my kale and spinach…?
I feel like a new mother of sextuplets worrying about her newborn babies! Ok, ok not even close but you know what I mean. Eric always laughs because I check on the plants all the time to look for new growth or ‘danger signs’.
Our conversation goes a little something like this:
Me: ‘WHOA! Look how much the kale/spinach/pepper plants have grown! They are so much bigger today.’
Eric: ‘I don’t think they are any different than yesterday…’
Men!
By the way, here is my rough garden plan if anyone is interested (click to enlarge)
I’ll let you know how it goes at the end of the summer… ;)
Dill, anyone?
Wussy dill plant can’t handle my wrath!
The rest of the herbs are doing well in their new spacious pots. I also planted some basil seeds in the 5th pot. Nothing beats fresh basil!
Oh and the squirrels continue to break into my compost bin! I’m going to have to put some chicken wire around it this weekend I think…
For breakfast this morning, Eric and I enjoyed Blueberry Banana Pie Vegan Overnight Oats! I made a big batch last night, mixed it together, and breakfast was waiting for us when we came downstairs. Eric is hooked on vegan overnight oats lately. It took him a while to get over the strange texture, but now he’s cool with it. Adding crunchy granola and nuts really helps with the texture for him.
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Blueberry Banana Pie Vegan Overnight Oats
Inspired by Super Natural Every Day’s Baked Oatmeal.
Yield: 4-6 servings
Ingredients:
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 2 cups non-dairy milk
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 3 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 small bananas, peeled & chopped
- 1-1.5 cups fresh blueberries
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Homemade Granola sprinkled on top before serving
Directions: Mix in a casserole dish and place in fridge overnight. In the morning, give it a stir and enjoy cold with a sprinkle of granola on top. Keeps in the fridge for 2-3 days.
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This is so insanely delicious! It reminded me a bit like Blueberry Pie. Eric demolished about half of this casserole dish. :)
I have a lot of bakery orders to catch up on today, so I best get cracking. Canada Post also went on strike this week so I have a few shipping issues to sort out. Doh! The weather is cloudy and cool today (clearing in the late afternoon), so best to spend it inside getting things done.
Thankfully we have a fun BBQ gathering to look forward to tonight, so the day isn’t a complete wash.
As for Sunday, I’ll be waiting for the sun and 25C weather forecast.
My hat is ready.
So this is super off topic but I just wanted to say that I’ve been reading your blog for over a year now and I deeply admire your marriage. The love between the two of you is so apparent and you seem to enjoy one another as friends too. I hope to have that someday.
I love the deck…it’s so fantastic that you two are able to build it yourselves and put your own personal touches on it…wow! I love summer BBQ’s and the late daylight hours…have fun!
Those overnight oats look sooo good. I’m definitely going to have to try them, I love blueberry and banana together! Great idea to make a few days worth of them!
So many those oats tonight…after I buy some blueberries, of course!!! I didn’t know Canada Post was on strike…that might make it a little hard for my hubby’s birthday present being delivered (so I’ll d’oh to that one)! I hope the rain holds off for your BBQ. I thought we were done with the rain here :( I hope so by tomorrow because I have a hike planned in Hockley!
I think they are striking in ‘waves’ or something? A couple of my shipments are running late…boo!
Hahah at least Eric’s belt and shoes match! And whatever it takes for him to complete the deck seems to be working so far!
I’m definitely making this blueberry overnight oats recipe tonight :)
It’s awesome that Eric is so crafty! I remember when you guys were doing work on the inside of the house, and now you are on your way to a beautiful deck.
I also like the black rods better, and I’m sure you’ll appreciate not having glass panels in the winter or when there are teeny hands that press up against them and make hand prints :)
aha yea exactly! We have enough glass in the doors inside the house…
Wow the deck looks great so far! What progress!!! And I just planted my garden today too….I am hoping everything goes well….I am in the mood for some fresh veggies!
Yikes – they did go on strike didn’t they?! Hmm, they presents some serious problems.
Great job with the deck!
Ahhh, loving the deck!!! We’re about to head to Home Depot to get some things to build a little fire pit. I found a super cheap DIY fire pit on Young House Love. The VOO looks YUM!
Your deck looks so nice!!
Your deck is looking great – I think the black rods look really sharp!! I’m loving the overnight oats combo — breakfast that tastes like pie? Yes please!!
The deck is looking good! Way to go guys! As for your garden, you naturally have a green thumb :) Men, they can be such downers sometimes!
I made overnight oats last night too :)
Have a great weekend!
Haha ohhhh crocs ;) I need to switch up my cookie dough bowls — I love having something cold to eat first thang in the morning!
Totally off topic, but have you seen The Voice? Cee-Lo wears red shorts, a red t-shirt and man-sized red Crocs and every week, Lulu points at him and laughs hysterically. Grown men in Crocs are a riot.
Definitely a keeper he is :D
The deck looks amazing so far! And so do those oats!! :P
at least he’s wearing men’s crocs! my husband wears my hot pink ones outside all the time, but says he “doesn’t like crocs”! :)
Hah! It takes a confident man to wear pink…I like it.
Those oats look super yummy!
Your garden and deck are coming along really well. Gardening is so soothing to me. We have issues with animals in our compost too, though mostly just ants here in florida and I dont want to put any icky pesticides down to get rid of them.
OH MAN! Tis the season for VOO and I have a costco sized bag of blueberries with this recipe’s name on them ;) Thanks for the lovely breakkie inspiration, Angela!
haha Love it! The deck and garden are looking great!
Seriously Angela, you both should be so proud of your hard work with the garden and the deck, it looks SUPER! Yes, your hat is ready for you. :)
Now to this Blueberry Banana Overnight Pie Awesomeness! Yum. What a great recipe to have.