summer

Summer Shelves

Why do the weekends go by so fast? Andrew had Army this weekend, and I ran my first 5k! It feels pretty awesome to finally be able to say that! I started running again (for the first time since before I got pregnant) in February but only made it 3 weeks before I hurt my back. So last week I started back, and then ran my first 5k! I wasn’t able to run the entire thing yet, but I finished and I wasn’t last (or 2nd last) so I am happy! I took yesterday off and ran another 2 miles tonight! Progress for sure!

I finished my Summer Shelves, too! I’ll probably continue to tweak them, but for now this is what they look like.

Sorry these are always so fuzzy, it is REALLY hard to get a good clear picture because of the lighting and angle.

I kept the heart display of our favorite places up. Added a piece from one of my favorite set of dishes and the little bird (that I’m thinking about painting – it came from $1 store).

I made the Shine art, and added a little tiny creamer cup of my Mom’s that I LOVE (I love hob-nail and I love turquois and I love it double because it was hers).

Then I added split peas to the yellow flower pieces and kept the house rules and votive holder. They give off the perfect twinkle at night and I added a small votive to the creamer cup too.

I cannot tell you how much I love these shelves! They are in my open dining room/kitchen which is the first room you enter in my house. They are such a focal point. And I love that I was able to purge most of my seasonal decorations for the other rooms and just use what will fit here as my center piece!

And because I love you all so much, you can snag your own free Let it Shine printable here!!!

You can see the tutorial on how to make them here.

Check out the ones in my family room here.

Fall here. Valentines here.

Do you have a seasonal focal point in your home?

summer {pasta} salad

Ahh, Spring Ahead!

I love the time change. Longer, brighter days make me so happy! A fresh start as everything is coming back to life!

The birds are chirping. The grass is turning greener. All of our Bradford Pear trees and other gorgeous spring blooms are out.

And one of my other favorite parts: summer food! We had our first picnic/bbq last night with our Small Group from church and I made a quick easy summer pasta salad.

I wanted to share it with you today. It’s quick, easy, and light for this week while we’re spring cleaning!

My Maw-Maw (that’s southern for grandmother if you didn’t already know) use to make this and I always loved it! You can throw whatever you want in it, but this is our basis:

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I use gluten free spirals because I can’t find gf bowties.
I usually use 1.5 chicken breasts (or Trader Joe’s frozen grilled chicken strips)
You can also use evoo if you don’t want to use Italian dressing. I use about 1/2-3/4 of the bottle. I don’t want it drenched, but flavorful.
And you can substitute or add in other veges you’d like.
I forgot in the recipe card, but I usually shave a li’l fresh parmesan on top.

Please tell me I’m not the only one ready for Spring and Summer.

ps. I am planning part 3 of freezer cooking, but it will probably be next before they get posted due to spring cleaning week and a whole lot of other stuff