Yesterday was a lot of work…and little play!
But it was productive in every sense of the word and left us feeling very accomplished by the time we crashed on the couch at 9pm.
My original plan was to go through the office and purge/donate unnecessary items. And boy, did I ever! We parted with probably 75-80% of our books and DVDs that have just been collecting dust. The library is going to be happy to see me today!
Bye, bye psychology, statistics, and computer science books. We won’t miss you at all!
I also came across my WEDDING binder! This was the binder that held all of my wedding ideas, clippings, wedding dress pics, and collages. Too funny!
Oddly enough, our wedding ended up looking NOTHING like the clippings I pulled out. Originally, I wanted to go with a soft pink theme, but in the end we went for classic red, ivory, and black.
Clippings:
Actual:
Once I get on a organizing and purging spree, I can’t stop. It’s like some kind of high! After the office I did our bathroom and the bedrooms upstairs. There were a lot of things left in the house when we moved in, so it was great to get rid of unused furniture and odd items that were weighing us down.
Mid-afternoon, I stole Eric away from the deck work to replenish our energy stores!
Eric has been gushing about this smoothie that he had at Fresh restaurant the other week (he works near one of their locations and pops in sometimes for take out), so I took matters into my own hands and made my own version to surprise him. :)
The seasonal smoothie at Fresh is called a ‘Pink Flamingo’ and it’s made up of Watermelon, Banana, and Strawberries!
My Pink Flamingo Smoothie:
- 3 cups watermelon
- 1/2 cup frozen strawberries (or fresh)
- 1 large frozen banana (not the one in the picture)
Oh man, this was good!! There was also leftover smoothie after filling the glasses and I quickly chugged it before Eric saw!
I don’t like to point fingers, but the messy smoothie leads to Eric. ;)
We worked late and opted to skip our planned picnic for a less busy night. I whipped up a maple cinnamon split pea and spelt berry salad. It was delish, but I’d like to make a few tweaks to this next time!
Served it with fresh garden kale, sautéed in extra virgin olive oil and Herbamare.
I can’t get over how quickly the kale replenishes itself. I’ve been picking a big bunch each day and it just grows back overnight. If any of you new gardeners are looking for a fool-proof veggie to grow, kale is it. Actually, I’ve heard that most garden greens grow very easily!
Enjoyed with more beer. :)
Sunset is our favourite time to be in the backyard because everything just glows as the sunlight beams through the forest.
For dessert, we shared a bowl of organic cherries. Nothing better.
It’s back to the grind for us Canucks today, but it’s a holiday for our friends South of us. Have a safe and happy Fourth of July if you are celebrating today!
I LOVE YOUR SMOOTHIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love to go through the house and get rid of things that are just collecting dust. I do this throughout the year, but especially when family and friends have garage sales–another man’s/woman’s junk is another person’s treasure :) It is always fun to get some money back from unwanted items at a garage sale, but is more rewarding to donate it to a good cause.
That smoothie sounds fan-tabulous :)
http://faithfulsolutions.blogspot.com/
If that was my picture above, my glass would be the one with the drips next to it! I am such a messy eater sometimes. I like to think its because I enjoy my food thoroughly.
I had red roses for my wedding bouquet too! I chose it because I knew it would pop in the pictures, and it did.
Wow, that’s one thirst quenching smoothie! Love:) I’m very curious to you berry salad. You make food look so good!
It always feels good to make some room by clearing out junk!
That salad looks yummy, really summery :)
I just so happen to have all the ingredients I need to make The Pink Flamingo…
;)oh is this going on the menu for tomorrow morning!!
I love the glasses you serve them in! I’m planning on a smoothie for breakfast in a bit :)
Hi Angela! I LOVE your blog and I am so glad I found it. What my question was is what kind of kale do you use for your smoothies? Also do you ever sautee it? And do you remove the stalks before eating? Sorry so many questions! :) I am about to make my version of a green smoothie for breakfast with pea protein in the mix!
I recently did the same thing with books/DVDs/CDs! It’s the best feeling to just get rid of some clutter. I have to admit, I do feel like I need to take a day or two off to really dig in deep and get rid of a bunch of stuff. I guess I’ll leave that for the next holiday.
Oh man my pepper plant isn’t doing well at all :( I just can’t seem to grow much of anything. I like to think that it’s because I live in NY and we have tons of polution. Yes. I know. I probably over water then leave it too dry but it is what it is. I’m praying that my tomatoes make it!
my family lives on watermelon, strawberry, and banana smoothies—we also throw in some vanilla soy milk for a more creamy taste…in fact, since childhood i never really cared for watermelon, so i missed out for a long time on the wonderful nutrition benefits…but putting watermelon in a smoothie was like the rebirth of watermelon to me…and now i love it
I went on an organizing spree this weekend too and it felt great!! I finally re-did our kitchen storage and everything. Whew. I’m glad it’s over.
Seeing all those psychology books reminded me of what my bookshelves look like! I would say about 70 percent of the books on my shelves would fit that category!!
That’s so funny- we did the EXACT same thing on the 4th. We somehow ended up purging all of our book shelves (and man it felt good) and we both spent time in our offices making huge piles for Goodwill. I don’t know how everything piles up, but man it feels good to dig in and scrape away the crap!
that smoothie sounds delish! i love organizing and cleaning too…once i start, i can’t stop!! it’s madness. I think i just love the feeling i get once everything is orderly and organized
aw, the binder is lovely! That’s so cute and a good idea. My friend Lindsay is getting married soon and bridal magazines are all she looks at.
I see your Nicholas Sparks in there! I read those as well.
I am always in awe of the recipes you come up with. I have printed out several I am anxious to try. (Though I really don’t cook too much) I like Kale and want to try simply sauteing it like you did. I usually end up sauteing kale with onions and canned beans and eat it with a bit of sale & pepper. Really want to try something different. The split pea and spelt berry salad looks awesome. Would love if you would post the recipe for the Salad above. Really enjoy your site. I keep coming back to see what all new you have here. Keep up the awesome job!!
Hey Kathy, the recipe is on my recipe pages. You can search salads on this page www.ohsheglows.com/recipage and all my salads will come up. :)
http://ohsheglows.com/recipage/?search_term=salad
Ok so I’m late catching up on your blog I’m a few days behind.. but when you get tired of cleaning out your closet feel free to come help with ours (and bring some smoothies for the kids)
i just made these and they were delicious! so nice and refreshing on a hot day!
So glad you enjoyed them….mmm I need to make more!
Great looking summer smoothie!
And if you could come over and clean out my junk, that would be awesome! I need to do a serious purge of my belongings, but just can’t get myself started on it.
Mmmm… sounds delicious! Can’t wait to try it!!!
We’ve always had really good luck growing chard in our garden. We usually have to give some away because we can’t eat it fast enough! Another good green to grow :)