bliss bloom {blog} ~ a craft and lifestyle journal

Showing posts with label season: summer. Show all posts

Monday, April 14, 2014

Eat // Our Favorite Salsa

My kids are on Spring Break this week, but with weather in the high-80's, it feels like summer! We've been enjoying a lot of time in the backyard, swimming and playing basketball. By afternoon, we're usually parched and in need of a quick pick-me-up. One of our favorite afternoon treats is freshly made salsa and chips. This is a really simple recipe that packs in a lot flavor with just a few wholesome ingredients. And you should be warned… Once your family has salsa fresca, it's hard to go back to the store-bought variety.

Click "Read more" for the recipe

Eat // Heirloom Tomatoes

Have you been enjoying Summer's bounty? I'm digging these miniature heirloom tomatoes that are out right now. Look at those beautiful colors. Not to mention they taste so much better than the regular stuff. I'm partial to roma tomatoes for cooking, but these are great for topping a salad or for just popping in your mouth for a quick snack.

My favorites are the dark green tomatoes. I call them "watermelon" tomatoes because of their dark green striped skin and red flesh, but I think they're actually called Zebra Tomatoes.

Happy Wednesday!

Friday, August 24, 2012

[Travel] Kauai, Part II

Another post about Kauai... But this time I thought I'd share some of our personal photos. I have family there and have visited over 40 times, but Kauai is a place that I never tire of. The mix of gorgeous scenery, balmy weather, pristine natural resources and the Hawaiian lifestyle makes it a real-life utopia.

I'm so happy that my kids can experience some of the same "magic" that I enjoyed when I spent my childhood summer vacations there-- fishing; crabbing; playing with cousins; eating yummy food; being spoiled by aunties; going on excursions to pick lilikoi, mountain apple, guava and other exotic fruits; swimming in unpolluted waters; going on adventures to find a secret waterhole, or catch mountain shrimp, or find some exotic mushroom; spending time in a large extended family... basically having a free, unrestricted and unscheduled summer!

However, I'm also a little sad that some of our family traditions are disappearing as the older generation passes on. I guess that is just the way life goes, but I hope that by bringing them "home" they will make impressionable memories, find a connection to their heritage and carry that on into their own lives.

[Travel] Kauai

We did a little traveling and are back! I wish I could say that I'm refreshed and ready for Fall, but I'm actually feeling under-the-weather and achy. Boo! So while I take a little vacation from our vacation, here are a few scenic photos of our visit to Kauai--

[Weekly Inspiration] 8.18.2012

this diy shrink film geometric pendant via ambrosia girl

this water bottle poinsettia garland (never too early for the holidays, right??) via fancy house road

these simple lemon parsley noodles via the pioneer woman

this ticket memory jar via she's crafty

this painted pillow via matsutake

this sticky toffee pudding recipe. mmmm. be still my... thighs ;) via la fuji mama

Have an awesome weekend!

Monday, July 2, 2012

[Eat] Baby Heirloom Tomatoes

Sweet and tasty. A great addition to a salad or just on their own.

Are you enjoying the summer harvest?

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

[Travel] Portland, Sunriver and Spelunking

Last night we returned from a weeklong vacation in Oregon. We had a fantastic time visiting friends and enjoyed our stay in Portland and Central Oregon. Our trip to Oregon is becoming an annual event and is something that our family looks forward to. Warning... lots of photos ahead. I had to power through this post or it would never get done!

Here are some of the trip highlights...

The Portland Children's Museum

a giant lite brite

great idea to pair translucent lego and magnatiles with a light table.

Date Night in North West Portland

The adults had "date night". Yahoo! We had dinner at Serrato Restaurant, then headed over to Salt & Straw for some gourmet ice cream.

Apparently, we weren't the only ones with that brilliant idea...

Look at that line! We were literally standing in the street. Worth the 40 minute wait though.

Although I tasted the Arbequina Olive Oil flavor (Oprah's favorite), I went with the Almond Brittle with Salted Ganache and The Mister enjoyed his Honey Balsamic Strawberry with Cracked Pepper. Sounds weird, but it was good!

Central Oregon

We had never been to Central Oregon before and it was a wonderful experience. We drove from Portland through the Cascade Mountains into Central Oregon. Rain or no, it's a beautiful drive!

We rented a home with two other families at the Sunriver Resort outside of Bend, Oregon. Interesting fact... 5 of us went to high school together! Aaah... Nothing better than 8 kids and 6 adults in one house. My kids loved the chaos!

Sunriver is a huge resort community with a ton of family friendly outdoor activities-- biking, swimming, fishing, hiking, rock climbing, sledding... spelunking.

game room = kid central
This photo doesn't even capture half the room... but you get the idea :)

Swimming at the SHARQ, the new indoor/outdoor water park

1st annual ping-pong tournament. The professionals amongst us had to hold a baby while playing. It's only fair! ;)

For me, the highlight of our trip within a trip was hiking through Lava River Cave...

Armed with propane lanterns, we made our descent into the cave...

At the mouth of the cave...

A lot larger than I had imagined.

Slippery, muddy and dark... I guess Tom's aren't really meant for spelunking?? ;)
Next time I'll know better!

Frozen breath

The ceiling of the lava tube. Bats hibernate in this cave during the winter. Neat but... Ew!
Every now and then I'd step in some sludgy stuff and think "bat poop?"

Some areas had really low ceilings... Although the little ones couldn't tell.

We made it to the end! Only to have to turn around and head back...

Light! A nice sight after 1.5 hours of cold & dark.
I'm happy to report that Happy Vee made the entire trip (2 miles roundtrip in the pitch dark and 40 degree temp) without being carried. What a trooper!

And, if you made it to the end of this post, that was our trip!

So right now I'm making my way through a mountain of laundry. I actually don't mind. I'm feeling refreshed after our little trip and am hoping I can direct my newly refreshed self into tackling a project or two this week. We shall see! Have a nice rest of the week!

Monday, June 18, 2012

[Oh Martha Monday] Fourth of July

Since July 4th will be upon us in no time, I thought I'd seek out some patriotic inspiration from the folks at Martha Stewart. Of course they did not disappoint!