come for an autumnal visit to shady cottage

hello, lovely reader.

welcome to a little glimpse into our home as we have just finished decorating for autumn...

well, we're almost done. a few more bits and pieces to put out in their special places.

i hope you enjoy this peek into our beloved shady cottage...

(before the tour begins, please excuse the darker lighting in these photos. our home tends to be a bit darker as we are quite literally nestled in the trees, hence our home's name, shady cottage. for years, this lack of lighting bothered me, for no reason other than i had it in my head that it needed to bother me. dumb, right? well, i have actually always loved the lighting in our home, and have decided to just embrace it in the photos i take...so i hope you like them, too. just real life, unfiltered, unedited photos. ♥)

one of my favorite things is decorating our mantel for each season/holiday.

we pretty much use the same decorations every year, with the exception of maybe purchasing one or two new things every year or two for fun. most of our decorations have been part of our traditions for years and years. even though we use the same things year after year, we switch up how we use lots of pieces...sometimes on the mantel, sometimes on bookshelves, sometimes on our kitchen shelves, etc., so it always feels like a new creative process when we decorate our home for the seasons and holidays. the same is true for our winter and christmas decorations. it's such a fun, creative process...this year we celebrated with pizza take-away from one of our favorite pizzerias in town. 

our kitchen is feeling very festive with leaf cutouts and bows on all our cupboard doors. 

for our first day of autumn celebration meal, a tradition i began when we moved into shady cottage 8 years ago, we had grilled cheese sandwiches with apple, bacon, and smoked cheddar on sourdough. 

oh my goodness, was it delicious. we paired it with soup and pie for the perfect autumnal feast.

this corner of the kitchen is by far the most used corner when i cook. 

it's on the right-hand side of the stove, and i do a lot of chopping on the cutting board here,

mixing in bowls, measuring seasonings and herbs, and so on.

i also love having a couple lamps tucked in on the counters...

it makes cooking feel even more comforting and cozy.

broccoli cheddar soup...a real fave this time of year, especially when paired with crusty bread, or the sandwich we had this time. so comforting.

more leaves and bows on cupboard doors...and do you see that little black cat on the kitchen door?

my sister found that last year at the dollar store, and it makes me so happy every time i look at it.

one of the best purchases for $1.25 ever!

homemade pumpkin pie...seriously the best recipe that we got from a neighbor last Thanksgiving. absolutely never going to try another recipe. this one is sheer perfection. a bit more whipped cream plopped out of the bowl then i had intended, but i'm not complaining...i added a blip of maple syrup and a good drizzle of vanilla extract, so it tasted heavenly with the pie. {{smiles}}

more leaves and bows on cupboard doors.

a bit of magical whimsy in the window over our sink.

our tea kettle sits on a stand right below this sign that i wrote out...

this corner gets a lot of use, especially as the weather gets cooler.

every nook and cranny gets a touch of cozy...

even above the fridge. 

one of the coziest corners in our house...

our eating area in the kitchen.

perhaps i'll share a photo of the entire eating area later in the season,

but for this post, i wanted to highlight these shelves that i love decorating for each season/holiday.

our tea corner...yes, we like trying new teas and finding new favorites. 

we do drink a lot of tea in our home. {{smiles}} 

our front door and front steps have a variety of pumpkins on and around them, but we also enjoy putting a few decorative touches in our yard. we got this scarecrow our first autumn at shady cottage, and the mushroom is from last year...a random find that delighted us at dollar general.

even though we have real pumpkins by our front door, a few metal pumpkin decorations in front of one of our (many!) trees makes us smile when we pull in the driveway. can you see the leaves starting to fall? {[squeal}}

and, finally, this little tucked-away-corner gets a festive touch...this is where we grew some of our herbs over the summer...the pots are now empty until next spring. i love this little corner, nestled in the ivy.

i hope you enjoyed this little home and garden tour of some of our autumn decorations. i didn't share the little knick-knacks we have on our bookshelves, because my sister is doing a major reorganization project with those shelves, but i may share some peeks once she gets done. and i hope to share a tour of my room later in the season.

 i hope you enjoy these last few days of september...

may they be magical, cozy, and gentle.

see you next time!

come on a summertime garden ramble

Come join me for a little late summer ramble through our garden...

I've got a mason jar of iced herbal tea in hand, a wide brimmed sunhat on, and my old worn-in sandals that feel as comfy as a dream on. It's stifling hot and the humidity is so thick you could cut it with a knife. However, thankfully, our many, many, many trees are providing lots of much-appreciated shade as we mosey along and poke around to see what's going on in the garden these late summer days. Fortunately, we've had lots of rain, so we haven't needed to water the plants hardly at all this season. They love the rainwater! And I love the rain, too. {{smiles}}

The monkey grass is beginning to showcase these gorgeous purple flowers. I've noticed each year that these purple beauties come up in late summer, and it's a sure sign that the season is s l o w l y starting to wind down. I absolutely love the soft violet color popping up among all the green.

Purple has come to be the color of summer's end for me. I wrote a post sharing some of my thoughts on that here a few years back...you'd be most welcome to read it.

As I was crouched down to get these photos, a little buzzing sound surrounded me. I looked around and there it was...this little friendly bumblebee friend. It buzzed around and visited many of the blooms. We have always believed in and strived to keep a natural yard...no poisonous sprays or chemicals, pesticides or fertilizers or weed killers. We very much believe in letting nature be nature and that nature is perfect as it is...and that weeds are simply flowers that someone decides are in the wrong place, to quote Sister Monica Joan from Call the Midwife.

After we moved into Shady Cottage, we had no idea what the previous owners did to the yard in terms of chemicals and such. It's been eight years now, and they say it takes five years for a yard to detox from those poisons, so if they did abuse the yard and garden (as most everyone around us loves to do), it should be well cleared out now. Over the last few years, we've noticed more and more bees, butterflies, moths, squirrels, birds, and lightning bugs in our yard. And hardly any anywhere else in our neighborhood. Just goes to show that nature really is just fine as it is...a perfectly manicured yard is doing absolutely nothing for the environment and pollinators, which we all depend on for our food.

Each spring, we fill two big planters with impatiens...in a variety of colors. They last all season long and sometimes, well into the autumn. The bright bursts of color really make a cheerful entrance to our home.

Rewild your yard.

Bee happy.

Be pesticide free.

Leave the leaves.

Restore the balance.

Lose the lawn.

Bee the change.

Slow the mow. 

Grow natives.

Weeds are just unloved flowers.

Let it grow.

Leave the trees.

Be pollinator friendly.

Build a butterfly haven.

(I saw a garden flag with those sayings all over it, and I absolutely loved it. I want one for our yard! They perfectly say what I feel and believe!)

Our basil is growing and flourishing beautifully. We use it regularly to cook dinner and I've also already made one big batch of pesto...some for dinner one night and two more containers for our freezer. I'd like to make another batch or two to freeze for the autumn and winter before the season ends.

And our sage is doing well, too...the rosemary is just okay. I've used both to make roasted chicken and bone broth, and oh my, did they make the flavor pop!

Our corner of the world is still quite lush and vibrant green. Soon, though, as with every year before, some mid-to-late August, the trees and plants will begin to have that worn out, weary sort of look...green fading to yellow as the leaves begin their change to autumnal tones. It happens every year like clockwork. Sure signs of the seasonal change. The grass begins to grow slower and for that, I am always grateful. Ever since my dad passed away, I've done most of the mowing, and with the intense sun and heat, it really drags me down. So I'm always glad to see mowing season end until the next year.

What are your gardens looking like these late summer days? I'd love to know if you're doing any preserving for the autumn/winter months. Do share!

a daybook for july

Over the many years I've been blogging, I've done variations of this daybook sort of post, sometimes monthly, other times seasonally. It is one of my favorite posts to read from others and a very enjoyable one to write as well. So, alas, here I am, bringing it back to my little cozy corner. I hope you enjoy! ♥

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outside my window

Deep summertime is well and truly here. Lush, rich, vibrant, deep green is literally everywhere I look outside. The grass, the trees. the bushes and shrubs, the herbs in our garden. Green and more green...I'm not complaining, though, as deep summer green is one of my favorite colors. And one of the only things I actually like about summer. Ha! Pops of pink peek through in our garden thanks to my mom's Mother's Day hydrangea, along with hues of bright orange coming from our daylilies, which are both thriving. Oh, and the basil! It's growing like crazy! Needless to say, we're enjoying lots of basil in our meals...my goodness, the scent. Blissful! Lightning bugs in the evenings and squirrels running in the trees in the morning and lots of rain, which makes me so happy, and weather so hot and humid you feel incredibly gross and sticky just going to get the mail. Ah, summertime.

i am thinking

Of autumn and cooler weather and crisp temps and cozy clothing...am I ashamed to admit this? Absolutely not! {{winks}} Seriously, though, my "autumn fever" has set in and I am looking forward to being able to go outside without getting attacked by countless mosquitoes and dripping with sweat after just five minutes.

i am thankful for

My mom, sister, and our fur babies. Our home and little corner of the world. Home cooking and getting to make meals for my dear family. Rain and cloudy days and air conditioning. Iced tea and berry bread pudding and music that makes me feel alive.

from the kitchen

My mom recently made Susan Branch's bread pudding from her Summer Book. She exchanged the sugar (1 cup, I think) to just 1/4 cup honey...all that sugar honestly gets ridiculous. It was beyond delicious, especially with whipped cream. Bread pudding and fruity desserts have never been something I crave or would choose when given a choice. Until now. This recipe is addictive! I also made, for the first time ever, a tomato pie. This is an old, traditional Southern dish that I've never made before. A few years ago, my sister mentioned it and then we forgot about it again...this past week, we remembered, I made it, we ate it, and we loved it. So summery and once again, I got to use my garden-fresh basil. {{smiles}}

i am creating

Still crocheting granny squares, sewing quilt blocks, started a new book journal. Little, ordinary things that aren't so little or ordinary.

i am wearing

Black-ish/dark navy-ish legging-capris with a colorful floral print, a black cami under a hot pink tank with lace details, hair up in a clip (too dang hot to wear it down), and my favorite pair of sandals.

in my cup

A new-to-us herbal tea flavor from Yogi Tea called "berry cherry". Make it iced and add a splash (or two!) of half and half, and take a sip...ah, perfection.

i am reading

I've been really struggling with reading lately, but I just finished Gladys Taber's Stillmeadow Album this week. It's a photo album of sorts showcasing Taber's home, Stillmeadow, along with some of her reflection on her home and life there. It was absolutely delightful, as is everything I've read from her so far. She's a true favorite of mine, a kindred spirit sort of writer. I'm so thankful for her words.

i am listening to

Lots of Celtic/Irish music and 90s-2000s country favorites (I have a playlist that I like as I'm quite picky) and other songs that were the soundtrack of my childhood and teen years. My most played songs right now are: Irresistible (One Direction); Beautiful Soul (Jesse McCartney); That's the Way (Jo Dee Messina); Will Ye Go, Lassie, Go (Celtic Thunder); Sunday in the South (Shenandoah with Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan); and Hometown Girl (Josh Turner).

i am watching

I recently purchased a boxed set of the first 10 seasons of Vera. So I'm slowly making my way through them for a rewatch. I haven't watched the first few seasons in probably 3 years or so, so I forget lots of the storylines. Fun!

i am hoping

That the second half of summer isn't too hot. To return to my crocheting and quilting projects, as well as to get back into reading...I miss all of these things.

i am hearing

The sound of the air conditioner kicking on, cats running and playing with each other, crickets outside (even though the windows, their song is quite loud), my playlist in the background.

around the house

Organizing bookshelves and our pantry; tidying up craft supplies, watering plants each evening when it's hasn't rained.

one of my favorite things

At the moment, my favorite thing is iced creamy tea...which I mentioned above. So many flavor options and oh so refreshing!

word collecting

A beautiful thing is never perfect. (Unknown)

How many things does this apply to? I can't begin to number them, but how true it is.

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What's happening in your corner of the world? 

some crochet & scrappy fun

Well, it seems as though spring is springing around my corner of the world. Just in the last handful of days, I've noticed several types of trees blooming already...even though it seems quite early to me. The sunsets have taken on their warmer weather look, at least to me. And the temps are certainly leaning towards a warm (and early) spring. Even though we still have 20 days left of winter, I find myself leaning into a spring direction...it's hard not to when nature is showing signs of buds, blooms, and birds singing in the morn. Before winter officially makes an exit until later this year, I wanted to share two of my most recent crafty projects that I got up to this winter.

Right before Christmas, I taught myself how to crochet a traditional Granny Square. I found myself catching on quite fast, as I had practiced different crochet techniques earlier in the autumn, which helped me a ton. I have since become Granny Square obsessed! I absolutely love the look of the traditional square and especially mixing different colors in for each round. I am working on a bigger project of a blanket, and right now I'm about one-fifth of the way done with the first part. However, when our winter storm came in late January, I was inspired to make a Granny Square headband using some random yarn I had in my stash from previous knitting projects. I chose a lovely lilac, blush rose, and a happy daffodil yellow. This was a quick project and an incredibly easy one...but let me tell you, I used that headband so many times during our cold spell. I have a collection of winter beanie-type hats, which I love wearing when my hair is down, but if I'm wearing my hair up, I prefer a hand band. I knitted myself one a few years back, and this crochet one really sparked joy for me. 

Another snowbound evening, I found myself rummaging through my stash of fabric scraps. There is quite a lot of fabric that I've had for years, and for one reason or another, much of it just isn't my taste anymore...but no need to waste it. I pulled out a bunch of bits of this and that if I loved the colors, and cut many, many, many strips. I found a wreath frame in my craft cupboard that I've also had for a long time...and so one frigid evening, with a good movie on in the warmth of my cozy living room, I set out attaching all those many fabric strips to the wreath frame. And the result was a very colorful, very scrappy rag wreath. It brings me so much joy every time I look at it.

Those two projects were the perfect one-night crafts for a couple cozy evenings. They were fun and relaxing and enjoyable in every way, cost me zero dollars as I already had the supplies in my stash (and they'd been sitting there for some time already), and I'm still enjoying them. Though the head band is probably tucked away until next winter, unless we get another cold spell. Which I would not be sad about. {{smiles}}

What have you created lately? What are your favorite sorts of creative projects? I've learned over the last while that I always gravitate towards craft projects involving yarn or fabric or embroidery floss or felt...and then my scrappy journaling, too, with lots of stickers and washi tape...what about you?

our whimsical winter kitchen

Some people dread being cooped up in winter. 

Me? I'm happiest tucked right in.

(Unknown)

Welcome to our whimsical winter kitchen, reader friends! 

Our kitchen is one of the most important rooms in our home...along with our living room. Our kitchen is also one of our most used rooms. It is not a room that is meant to just sit there and look pretty. We have a thoroughly working kitchen. It gets used for three meals a day, along with other baking and cooking, food prep, non-food-related projects, among other things. It's also one of our most favorite rooms in our home, and we do, indeed, spend a lot of time in here. As soon as winter arrived in December, we set to making it a whimsical place to be during the winter months. 

In the dining area of our kitchen, we have a shelf that hangs on the wall, and each season, I enjoy decorating it with some of our collected pieces to fit that particular season. We've collected these decorations over a long time, and it's fun to pull them out each year and remember what all we have. The winter shelves look very cozy and seasonal, if I do say so myself. I went with lots of snowmen and a few other bits here and there. And, of course, you simply must have twinkly fairy lights!

And for an extra whimsical touch, we spent one December afternoon...and evening...and into the night after dinner cutting out lots and lots of paper snowflakes. Some were out of paper doilies from the Dollar Store and others were out of brown paper bags. We added crepe paper strung from the ceiling in wintry colors of dark blue, icy blue, and light purple. Those colors just seem to say snow to us.

Lots of snowflakes went on our window as well...I will not deny that I am obsessed with just staring at this view. Especially when there's snow outside...it just adds to the whole ambiance.

Winter is the time for home...♥

And not only do we enjoy our kitchen view from inside with the hanging snowflakes and crepe paper and fairy lights and decorated shelves, but the view from outside is quite lovely as well...there's nothing like the soft glow of light peeping through windows on a cold winter night. There's something so inviting, so welcoming, so homely, so warm and comforting, so "this is my favorite place in the whole wide world" about it.

Ah, yes, there's no place like home.

Thank you so much for visiting our whimsical winter kitchen. And yes, we have plans and ideas for a spring/summer vibe that we want to go for. When you have a kitchen and you're in it all the time, you might as well make it a fun, whimsical, wonderful place, don't you think?

some delightful things & hints of springtime

♥ reading some really great books...especially out in the fresh air and sunshine

One of the ways I've been nurturing myself is by reading really good books. I've been fortunate that all the books I've been picking up lately have all been so enjoyable. My March has been spent mostly reading middle grade stories as well as beginning a brick of a book, coming in at 977 pages. I've decided that instead of being overwhelmed by the length of the book and having it sit on my shelf forever, I would just read a few pages here and there and make bits of progress on it each day. I've especially been enjoying sitting outside in the shady goodness of our trees and reading some of my book. And another *huge* way I've been nurturing myself this month is by reading some lovely picture books. I'll be sharing more about my newfound favorites soon!

♥ the tiny buds poking through on our red bud tree and seeing daffodils beginning to bloom in our yard

I peeked out my window one afternoon, and there they were. Tiny violet-colored buds just beginning to poke through the tree branches. It's a yearly tradition for me to take my camera outside and have some picture-taking-fun once its fully in bloom, which shouldn't be too long now. We've also spotted tiny buttery daffodils in our yard as well as some random grape hyacinths. I'm also eagerly anticipating the periwinkle that grows in our ivy patches. 

♥ the gentle return of sandal-wearing season

We're having more days that call for sandal wearing, and that makes me so happy. There's nothing quite like a pair of six-year-old sandals that are so worn-in in all the right places that makes them feel like slippers. I am one person who wears my shoes out until they literally fall off my feet...I love that comfortable, worn in, familiar feel.

♥ making book lists

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been finding tremendous delight in making book lists. For so long, I had a tendency to see a book that sounded interesting to me and I'd either write down the title in a random notebook or on a scrap of paper or even take a screenshot of the cover with my phone. Then the titles would get lost in my phone photo album or in random notebooks and whatnot. Last spring, I made a little journal from a spiral notebook I got from Dollar Tree. In it I wrote out lists of all the books written by authors that I've either enjoyed or want to try out sometime. I then went through and added a little dot next to each title I owned, in order to make sure I didn't purchase it twice. And I went through a second time highlighting all the titles I've already read. This has been hugely helpful in organizing my many book lists.

A couple weeks ago, as I was watching a bookish video on YouTube, and was writing down a few titles that were recommended, it occurred to me that it would be awfully handy to have book lists of recommendations from bookish YouTubers that I enjoy watching. I only watch a couple channels regularly, with a few more as random watches here and there. I have been so enjoying spending some time in my evenings going through a few YouTube channels' backlog of videos and making some lovely book lists. I've already reserved a handful (or two!) of titles from my library from these recommendations. My lists include some wonderful recommendations from Amy of Hearth Ridge, Miranda Mills' List of Ultimate Comfort Reads (even though I really don't watch her channel anymore), and Kate Howe's 100 Life-Softening Books. So, needless to say, I've got a long list of recommendations to refer to, and best of all, they're all in one place and in some order, too.

♥ natural sunlight coming through the windows

I don't care what the weather is, I just love having natural light come through my windows. Open the curtains and let nature show her beauty, I say! But, I'll admit that the evening golden sunlight streaming in through the kitchen windows whilst I'm cooking dinner or washing dishes has been awfully wonderful. It just feeds my soul! It's not too bright and certainly not hot yet, but the golden hues are so lifegiving. It also doesn't hurt that I've been playing my favorite film scores nonstop in the kitchen, so it creates a mood and vibe that is perfection.

my quiet life at home . . . the comforts of wintering

a celebration of all the comforts of wintering 

before springtime begins . . .

{{ dark chocolate chip scones }}

All i really want this winter is to be a hobbit. 

I want to stay home, eat lots of comfort food, 

and read lots of books in my cozy library.

~ Unknown ~

{{ Valentine's Day chicken pot pie }}

In winter, I often spend all day in the kitchen, it is in winter that I love it best, and it is then that I most enjoy my own particular sort of cooking best, too, for one of the richest pleasures of domestic life is and has always been, filling the house with the smells of food, or baking bread and cakes, bubbling casseroles and simmering soups, of vegetables fresh from the garden and quickly steamed, of the roasting of meat, of new-ground coffee and pounded spices and chopped herbs, or hot marmalade and jam and jelly.

~ Susan Hill ~

{{ Valentine's Day chocolate strawberry cheesecake with dark chocolate covered strawberries }}

All the kitchens along Brambly edge were warm and busy. Hot soups, punches and puddings bubbled and in the ovens pies browned and sizzled. Clover and Catkin helped Mrs. Apple string crabapples to roast over the fire. 

~ Jill Barklem ~

{{ a cheesecake close-up ~ a little plus is that each of the desserts I shared here today are sweetened with either coconut sugar or maple syrup }}

It's winter. Slow down and embrace the quiet. Wrap yourself in a cozy blanket.

Enjoy a cup of chai as the snow falls. Light a candle and let warmth fill the room.

~ The Motherhouse ~

{{ a chocolate fudge caramel cake to celebrate a snow day...because, why not?!?! }}

{{ poetry that just gets me }}

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What home comforts are you savouring these last weeks of winter?

my home diary ♥ july 2024 edition

Happy Sunday, reader friends! And welcome to my home diary from July. This is a little monthly/seasonal series that I want to start here. In these posts, I thought it would be fun to invite you into the happenings of my home from the previous month/season and share some of what I've been up to. Perhaps I'll share meals I've cooked, healthier treats I've baked, projects I've been working on, and any other homey sorts of bits and bobs. So, this is the perfect time to grab a cup of something delicious and settle in for a little look back at July in our home...

Early in the month, I was craving a batch of these no-bake turtle brownies. I am no doubt obsessed with this recipe and it was the second time I've made them. Not only are they delicious, but they are also sweetened with dates and honey or maple syrup and seeing at it is summer, having a no-bake recipe is perfect because I don't have to heat the oven up. The recipe originally says to make these into cups by using a muffin tin, which is what I did the first time. However, this second time, I opted for a 7x11 pan lined with parchment paper and just made little brownie squares. Either way, they taste divine!

I shared about this recipe back in March here.

No summer is complete for me without a few foods...watermelon, peaches, strawberries, and bruschetta. I made a bowl of the tomato, basil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar mix to go with our July 4th meal. And as a special treat, I used some wonderfully deliciously fresh heirloom tomatoes from the farmers' market that our neighbor gave to us. They added a bit of a different color scheme to my mix and tasted so incredibly yummy...summertime on a piece of a crusty bread. Yes, please.

Our July 4th meal consisted of oven-baked seasoned chicken (it was WAY TOO HOT for a cookout), bruschetta, roasted asparagus and corn straight off the cob (that's how I like it best). It was such a scrumptious meal and felt so summery, too.

We spent several hours on the night before July 4th going to watch fireworks. It had rained all day and stopped early in the evening, which made for perfect firework weather...hot, humid, sticky, and just that real July feel. A plus, though, was that none of us got a single mosquito bite, even though they were everywhere, seeing as how we were sitting in a grassy field. That was thanks to my new homemade, all natural, essential oil-based mosquito spray. It was put to the test and passed with flying colors. 

As much fun as we had watching the incredible fireworks show with patriotic music in the background, complete with homemade snacks and watermelon to munch on along with mason jars filled with water and lots of ice, I got an insane headache from the heat, which is the norm for me. Have I mentioned how I'm so not a summer girl? Anyway, we decided to postpone our homemade patriotic dessert until I felt better, so we opted for these all-natural fruity popsicles we picked up at the market. No complaints from us...they were yum!

So, a couple days later, when I felt better, we finally got to enjoy a patriotic dessert...strawberry tiramisu. I found this recipe on the Half Baked Harvest website which you can find here if you're interested. I've got to say, this recipe is absolutely, hands-down superb. The ginger chamomile syrup you dip the lady fingers in really made it extra special, and different. We left out the Aperol, simply because we don't use any alcoholic ingredients, and I found the strawberry jam to be totally unnecessary. Next time, we all agreed, it would be better to simply leave that out. Other than those minor changes, this recipe was a huge hit! 

Look at the gorgeous layers! I can hear Mary Berry saying that. {{winks}} Kudos to my sister for making this super yummy and beautiful dessert.

Another fun meal we had, which was a super special treat since we only have deli meats a few times a year, was making homemade adult Lunchables. Hee! We had been out all day running around and such and this was the perfect easy, lighter dinner...whole grain crackers and cheese slices, uncured salami and pepperoni, organic turkey slices, pickles, carrots and veggie dip...with a little piece of dark chocolate for dessert. So. Much. Fun.

And finally, one of our most favorite (and delicious) meals of the month were these lemon and garlic butter pork chops. I served them with brown rice seasoned with an herb mixture and some green beans. Pork isn't a meat that we eat very often, but I was beyond pleased with how this recipe turned out. Now, whenever we see pork chops on sale, we can get a pack and have a new way to enjoy them. I thought they also looked really pretty in the baking dish with the lemons on top. I think this recipe could also easily work great with chicken. Hmmm...I may have to make that soon.

And to end this post, here are couple photos of the flowers I received for my 30th (ah!) birthday. My mom and sister really made my day special and perfect. And you cannot imagine the absolute sheer excitement when I woke up to R A I N on my birthday. It rained nearly all day, and it was pure bliss. The last time I remember it raining on my birthday, I was turning six. Usually, my birthday is hot and sunny and to have a rainy birthday was just the cherry on top. {{smiles}}

So...now it's your turn...

what new recipes did you try in July? Did you make anything super yummy? 

Let me know!

Thank you so much for joining my for July's Home Diary. I hope you enjoy these homey sorts of posts, as I know I love reading this sort of thing on other blogs.

May your day be an absolute beauty!