say goodbye to yester-year

Happy New Year's Eve, my friends!

We'll have a houseful of teenagers tonight, so my hubby and I are going to ring in the New Year by eating pizza, (hopefully there will be some left after the youngsters have at it), watching The Help, and desperately trying to stay awake until midnight so we (my hubby, actually) can chauffeur the gang home. Most of them have their driver's licenses, but the last thing I feel comfortable doing is sending them out on the crazy, drunken New Year's Eve roads.

The girls want to make a wish on the dock at midnight, and I can't wait to see how many boys end up participating in that. Apparently, there's also been talk of sprinkling glitter as they make their wishes.

I love it!

My son is not as enthused, but the sooner the better to learn that when your girlfriend wants to sprinkle glitter.....you'd best sprinkle you some glitter.

So, how about you all?

Champagne and fancy dresses?

Or maybe p.j.s and hot chocolate are more your style.

I'd love to hear what you're doing to welcome 2012.

Cheers to the year ahead!

groundhog day

If you find yourself scratching your head and wondering why this post seems oddly familiar, it's because it is basically the same post I wrote last week, with a few minor updates.

Whoever said that bloggers should keep their content fresh and new obviously has more happening in their life than I do.


First up, the Dave's Killer bread update.

Y'all are the best carbohydrate induced coma enablers on the planet. You've offered to go to Costco and mail me some Dave's. You've offered to cross state lines so we can do a clandestine cash for Dave's deal at a secluded highway rest stop. In the case of my friend Valley Girl, you've given me two more types of Dave's (Peace Bomb and raisin) that I need to hunt down and subsequently add to my addiction.

You understand the pain of being hooked on something, and then having it snatched away with no warning.

As my son said, "Mom, you have found your people".

Why yes, son...yes I have.

I'm happy to tell you that I'm going on a little road trip tomorrow and that road trip will take me past at least five different Costcos, so I will be able to stock up on enough Dave's to get me through the winter. If, by chance, I run out before the spring thaw, I now have a list of awesome internet friends that I can count on for re-supply.


That same road trip will take me past at least as many Macy's, so I'm taking my Marthas with me. I'm still not totally sure what my game plan is though. If I can get a full value credit for my pots, I think I could trade them for a Le Creuset without laying out any cash. My plan B is to keep my aqua blue chipped up Martha, which resides full time on my stove top because it looks so cute there, and just use it for a cookie jar or breadbox or something. Then, I'd get the Costco enameled cast iron for actual cooking.

I know you'll be beside yourselves with anticipation, waiting for me to return from my road trip so you can see how this story ends.

You're on the edge of your seat.

I can tell.


As of last night, Once Upon A Time is on my television must watch list, right alongside Revenge.

I'm intrigued. I'm confused. I had to watch it twice, and actually pay attention the second time. I think I'm hooked.


To keep up with the "update you on every tiny detail of my last post" theme, I will tell you that my soldier made it back from his field trip with out mishap, and my back-up Harvest Yankee Candle has been burned down approximately three more inches.


Or maybe it's more like four.

I'll double check and let you know next time.

Have a wonderful Monday!

fall has fallen

Has fall arrived at your house? It is definitely fall around here, that's for sure. Pretty colors, crisp temperatures and cozy fires burning. The furnace came out of hibernation just this very morning.


Speaking of burning, I've already burned through my very favorite Yankee candle (Harvest - it's the best!), and have had to dip into my emergency, back-up Harvest candle. I always stock up because I don't think I could live if they ever discontinue it. Now I'm running without a spare, and that makes me a bit nervous.


While we're on the subject of discontinued items, my Costco no longer carries Dave's Killer Good Seed bread. They carried it for a short time - long enough to get me hooked - and then Poof! Gone.

Other Costcos in the more civilized parts of the world still carry it though, and anyone who comes to stay at my house has to bring at least four loaves as their entry fee.

I need my Dave's Killer. Every day.

It makes the best toast. It makes the best grilled cheese. If you are a seedy, nutty, substantial slice of bread lover, give Dave a try.

The loaves come in a two pack at Costco, so feel free to keep one for yourself and send the other to me.


In other news, Blogger is eating my comments. Every time I hit preview, my comment disappears. If I skip preview (and we all know the typographical dangers that lurk when you skip preview) and go straight to publish, my comments still disappear.

Anyone else out there not feeling the Blogger love? I guess I'll find out if there are no comments on this post. At least I'll hope that's the reason if there are no comments on this post.


At this point, can I just continue changing subjects, but discontinue the "on a totally different subject" and "speaking of" nonsense?

I can? Good.

My favorite show of the new TV season is "Revenge". I started watching because it's set in The Hamptons, and I thought maybe I could get a few tips on how to fit in during my visit there last month. I was disappointed to see that no one on the show was wearing black Converse Chucks or a blue Gap hoodie, my official daily uniform. Regardless of my Hamptons dress code issues, I immediately got hooked on Revenge. It's not my normal kind of show, but now Wednesday is my very favorite television night. I can't wait to see who Emily wreaks her havoc on next.

I'm a little bit ashamed.


My middle son has asked me to send him some "non-American" looking civilian clothes as there is a possibility that he may or may not be going on a field trip of some sort, sometime in the near or not so near future and he and his companions need to be as inconspicuous as possible if they do indeed end up going wherever it is they may or may not be going.

Now that's my kind of planning.

Dear Junior Number Two,
I've got news for you. You are a pale white boy with a military buzz cut. I have a feeling that you're probably not going to blend in, no matter what you are wearing.
However, as requested, I have sent you two shirts. One is pale blue, in the hopes that in comparison to the pale blue, your skin will look a bit less white.
I have also sent you a brown shirt, thinking that perhaps the brown will help you to blend into your sandy surroundings and disappear from view altogether.
Have fun on your field trip.
Love,
Mom


Okay, last but not least, I need your input.

Apparently, Macy's has recalled my Martha Stewart enameled cast iron Le Creuset wanna be soup pots.

This is the wording on the recall.

"The enamel coating on the cast iron casseroles can crack or break during use. This can cause the enamel to crack and fly off as a projectile, posing a risk of laceration or burn hazard to the user or bystanders."

Now, I'm not so concerned for myself, but I'd truly hate for any of my bystanders to be lacerated by hot, flying porcelain projectiles. That's just the kind of girl I am. Always looking out for my bystander's best interest.

And now that I've made fun on the internet, I'm sure to get a porcelain projectile to the eye the very next time I use my pot.

So....I went the Martha route instead of the Le Creuset route simply because of the cost difference. Le Creuset is very expensive. Martha via Macy's was not. Back then, I had no clue just how madly in love I would fall with my enameled cast iron soup pot, and I don't think I can survive a winter without one.

So here's my question. Is Le Creuset worth the price? Has your Le Creuset ever chipped? My Martha chipped on it's first use, which was very disappointing. Even if I trade in all three of my Martha pots, I'll still have to fork over some dollars to get the 7.25 qt Le Creuset.

Do I take my flying projectile chances and ignore the government's mandate to "immediately stop using the casserole"? Or do I pony up the bucks in order to instantly become as cool as Giada and Ina and The Pioneer Woman?


Please tell me what to do.


If Blogger lets you leave a comment, that is.

the immaculate misconception

A conversation came to my attention the other day.


A conversation between two of my new and somewhat casual friends.


They were talking about how immaculate my house and garden are.

That was the word they used.

Immaculate.

(That noise you hear is the hysterical laughter of every single person who knows me in real life.)


They were wondering how I do it all.


In the end, one of the friends said, "I am such a failure!"


The person telling me about this conversation was very sweetly complimenting me and my house and my garden, and believe you me, I'll take compliments any day of the week.


But. The conversation made me sad. Sad that a friend could think they are even in the failure neighborhood because they can't live up to an illusion.


I am a lot of things, but immaculate is most definitely not one of them. My house never has been and never will be immaculate. Yes, I'll pick up the house when I know someone's stopping by, but drop in unexpectedly, and you're likely to see a different picture.


I am not ever going to win an award for housekeeper of the year. On any given day, you can write your name in the dust on my furniture, and my broom doesn't get used nearly as often as it should. We won't even talk about my bathrooms.


As far as the garden goes, it's full of weeds. Weeds that are ready to go to seed.


I am easily distracted. Right now? Right this very moment? I should be making cookies to send in a care package to my overseas soldier. Homeboy needs some cookies, but instead I'm writing a blog post and that means that I'll be in a huge rush later today to get the package to the post office in time.


I should be editing senior pictures that are due this evening. I should be packing for a trip I'm taking. But instead, I'm blogging.


I should also be doing laundry.

My hubby gets irritated with me on a fairly regular basis, (rightly so), because he has no socks or underwear in his drawers.


I am unorganized. I love to write lists, but more often than not, I lose the list.

I'm a procrastinator. Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow.


Don't get me wrong. I've got plenty of strengths, too. I work very, very well under pressure. I can get so much done when I've got an important deadline on the horizon, it would make your head spin. I'm like a Tasmanian Devil on steroids when push comes to shove. When company is coming, I can get my A-game on with the best of them. A wedding in my back yard? Do. Not. Get. In. My. Way.


But in the day to day, more often than not, I am a hot mess of good intentions, craft project carnage, and empty underwear drawers.


Now, if you find yourself telling me in the comments not to be so hard on myself, you've totally missed the point of this post. I'm not dissing myself in any way, shape or form.

I just wanted to tell you that immaculate perfection isn't real.

But I'm pretty sure you already knew that anyway.

I don't do it all, and I sincerely hope I've never led you to believe that I do. Of course, I have creative control with my blog. I only show pretty pictures of pretty flowers and a neat house. I'm fairly sure you don't want to see pictures of my laundry pile, but rest assured, it exists and it's a big one.

No matter what anyone's life looks like from the outside, no matter how pretty, peaceful or dazzling the photos you see here or anywhere else, real life has always got at least a few bumps and blemishes.


The gauge of life's success or failure is in how you live it, not how it looks.

Happy Monday!

yippee!

Well, what a great way to start the weekend.

Meadowbrook Farm won Country Living's Blue Ribbon Blogger Awards Reader's Choice in the gardening category!

A huge thank you to all of you who voted for me.

HUGE THANK YOU!

I heard from many of you throughout the voting process, and that in itself was such a treat.

You are truly the best readers a girl could ever hope for. Ever.

I know of readers who wrote whole blog posts encouraging their readers to vote for my blog.

I know of readers who facebooked.

I have readers who tweeted.

I even have readers who did all of the above! (Yes, I'm talking to you, Sally!)

You all are truly amazing, and I'm just tickled pink that you take the time out of your busy lives to pay my little corner of the internet a visit now and then.

You. Are. Awesome.

I hereby wish you all a weekend that is practically perfect in every way!

outside my window

A couple months ago, Amber did a 'finish the sentence' post on her blog, and I've been waiting for the perfect day to borrow the the idea.

Today just happens to be the perfect day.


Outside my window.....One of my very favorite summertime sounds is the clickity swish of our front wheel line. It spends the summer making a journey, (with my husband's help), back and forth across the front field, and on this particular day, it is as close to our house as it can get.


(I didn't like the reflection on the window in the first shot, so I went outside and took another shot, but by the time I got around to it, the sun had disappeared. Since beggars can't be choosers, I'm just going to pretend this shot is also taken through the window and has beautiful golden light. Please feel free to pretend right along with me.)

(Okay, since the light was gone last night, I felt the need to take just one more shot in today's early morning light. I think I'm a bit obsessed with my wheel line and am feeling a desperate need to accurately convey it in all its rolling water pipe beauty.)


I'm a white noise girl, and always have a fan on at night. But when the wheel line is this close, the fan stays off and I fall asleep to what I consider to be the Sound of Summer. With the fan off the last couple nights, I've discovered we have an owl in one of our trees. His "whoo whoo-who" was kinda cute until about midnight on the first night. After that....not so cute.

He whoots all. night. long.




I am thinking....I'm thinking that I wish summer could last forever. It has been beyond gorgeous here. Sunny, warm days, and cool nights. Our Augusts can be really smoky from forest fires, but so far, we've dodged that bullet and every day has been absolutely beautiful.


From the kitchen.....Oh dear. I refuse to answer this question on the grounds that it may let you all know just what a slacker I've been on the cooking front...all summer long. My hubby has been grilling quite a bit, and if it weren't for that and the Costco frozen buffalo wings my youngest is currently obsessed with, we'd have all wasted away to nothing. Good thing we have ice cream to keep some meat on our bones.

The last couple days I've actually had a hankering for chili. Can you make chili in the summertime? Is it allowed? I need to know.


I am wearing.....Shorts and a tank top.

Every day.

Shorts and a tank top.

Shorts.

And.

A.

Tank.

Top.

Pretty exciting, eh?

No?

Oh, and flip flops if by chance the day calls for some sort of footwear.


I am reading.....Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman. My sister gave it to me right after the wedding, and it's been the perfect summer read. It kind of reminds me of The Secret Life of Bees and it's been extra fun for me to read because it is set in Savannah, where my sister, my nieces and I visited last spring.

Good book.


I am hoping....That summer lasts forever.

I love summer.

I know I already used this one, but it bears repeating.


I am hearing....the aforementioned clickity swish of the wheel line, kamikaze bugs flying against my window, and the well kicking on and off with what was an alarming frequency until I realized I left a sprinkler on full blast all night long.


Some of my favorite things.....Fireworks. Did I tell you we had fireworks at the wedding? Actually, after the rehearsal dinner. It was awesome and I sat through the whole show with a big, goofy grin on my face.

Fireflies. I've only ever seen one firefly in my whole life and it was here in Montana of all places. My hubby found it and put it in a jar and brought it to me while I was in bed sleeping. It was just about the coolest thing ever and well worth waking up for.

Ice cream. Every night. Tillamook Peanut Butter and Chocolate, vanilla with a broken up Reese's mixed in, and Dreyer's Chocolate Fudge Brownie with coconut and slivered almonds added are a few of my favorites.
I love ice cream!

My Princess Diana clematis.


She just keeps on growing and blooming. I love her. I'm so glad I planted her by my birdhouse...they're a match made in gardening heaven.


A few plans for the rest of the week.....Clean my house - whoo-hoo! Go to Costco and stock up on all the things I didn't know I needed until the Costco coupon book convinced me otherwise. Fold and put away the laundry that's been sitting on my couch for the last five days. Not cook dinner.

Don't hate. It's not as glamorous as it sounds.


Have a wonderful Monday!

the week in pictures