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.
[print_this]
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.
[/print_this]
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.
Is that cilantro next to your parsley? This is the 2nd yr mine has died. All my other herbs do fine and cilantro just dies at the first sign of heat. It’s killing me!
Your garden looks great and so does the deck!
Loving the bistro table top! You have such a great yard for summer parties and fun!
Last year was the first year that I grew kale and some of the lower leaves on my plants yellowed too. It didn’t seem to affect the growth though. We ended up having a great crop of kale. (It could be due to a lot of moisture, as we seemed to have nothing but rain last summer–not much we could do about that!)
Your garden and your deck are looking great! It’s so much fun to see progress on something you do yourself! (My hubby and I re-did our deck a couple of years ago and are totally loving it!)
man oh man those blueberry banana pie overnight oats look GOOOOOOD! Like a tall glass of… almond milk? :-)
The weather does look a lot better for tomorrow…I was camping with my family in Elora and we got rained out today…hoping for lots of sunny rays for tomorrow!
I just want to thank you so much for the beautiful blog. I recently discovered your blog and I’ve been reading a lot of your older entries. Your posts on positive body image are so amazing. While I’ve never suffered from an actual ED, I have definitely suffered from negative body image my entire life. This past year was by far the worst for me. I had gained some weight from being away at school. While it hasn’t affected me in past years, I think that I just overdid it this year and I barely ever exercised. Although I didn’t gain too much, its enough so that some of my old summer clothes no longer fit me=/
Anyway, I am trying my best to overcome all this negativity and really appreciate my body. I learned that I have to do what’s going to make my body happy. This means not filling it with tons of junk and processed food. But this also means not starving it. This also means giving my body the exercise it needs but also the rest if I just can’t handle it. And no more negative thoughts either! My body is doing its absolute best with what I give it. I’ve really been trying hard to keep up with my exercise since I’ve been home and eat almost only whole foods and lots and lots of veggies! And I love GMs. I haven’t missed a day in a few weeks! And although I’ve been vegetarian for 4 years now, I’m about 80% vegan now. I also love how you don’t look down on readers who aren’t vegan. It’s all about progress! So thank you so much for this amazing blog. You are truly an inspiration =]
Thank you so much for your kindness! That makes me so happy. Congrats on all the great changes you are making for your health and happiness. I always say a few small changes really add up to something great overtime. One day it just hits you how well you are feeling. :)
Skylar currently has pink ones and before her current pair she had purple ones. They are the best for kids, easy on/easy off, no velcro or laces, waterproof and lightweight. No shame in Eric sportin some Crocs :)
I love the old school drawing of your gardening plot and plan. By hand with markers and highlighters for colors. That alone just makes me want to garden so I can make a legend for where I am planting things.
The oats look and sounds awesome…mmm, I’m hungry now.
Happy Weekend, Angela!
The boyfriend is not a fan of the texture of vegan overnight oats either, but I think he’d willing to give this blueberry banana pie version a try. It looks SO delicious!
We got fresh kale at the farmer’s market today- I can’t wait to make some kale chips and potato kale enchiladas! Your kale is coming along great!
your garden looks legit!!!! btw, i made the overnight oats with soft serve bnna ice cream the other day…layered them and everything..wowwww!! i’m in love. thanks!
can I confess that when I was at your house a couple weeks ago I was staring longingly at your desk … I want a deck! Heck I would just settle for my landlord taking the pile of broken bricks and tree branches away from our driveway :P
Your garden looks amazing and you guys are doing a great job on that deck!!! :-D
Of course those blueberry banana overnight oats is to die for!!
What a great idea to have a bistro setup looking out into your beautiful yard. I see a great party or two in your future!
The deck is looking great! I bet you’re really looking forward to being able to have a BBQ on it. :)
What crazy weather we had today, eh? I heard a funnel cloud touched down at the Burlington farmer’s market! I can’t wait for sunshine tomorrow.
You’re right haha every time Kevin wears crocks I giggle a bit.
I have to tell you, I made your fruity baked oatmeal with almond topping last weekend for my in-laws and we all loved it to pieces! Thank you so much. Holy heck that stuff is GOOD!
Haha love the Crocs! And your garden is coming along SO well! The breakfast looks beautiful and so summery :)
Off topic, sorry, but is Eric vegan/vegetarian?
Nope, but he only eats meat a couple times a week and he also doesn’t consume much dairy. basically a flexitarian I guess you could say!
I am jealous it is SO warm on the other side of Canada- it’s been chilly here :(
Loving these overnight oats!
I so loooove this site! Any suggestions for those of us who are gluten-free, too? I am at a loss for some of these recipes and the substitution of oats… especially the “raw chocolate chip cookies”!
I would love any feedback you have.
Thanks!
Eva
Hmmm the only one I could think of is buckwheat groats. You can soak it overnight in almond milk and it gets softer I think…but I dont think it absorbs as much liquid so you might have to add more chia seeds and or less milk. I would try a small batch first to test it out.
I’m sure the herbs are very happy in their new homes! They look great! I too love Basil and it grows very well for me from seed. I gave plants to my family members as gifts and they all did very well for them too!
Are you going to grow any strawberries?