It's Springtime!!

Here's what's going on in my neighborhood!

Crocus blooming in my front yard.

Mini-daffodils braving the cold.

Here's a Magnolia  Tree near our Junior High School.

Look at my tulips!

Healthy Smoothies

I've been drinking smoothies for years, mostly because I like the combination of healthy and milkshake.  I started out drinking fruit and milk mixed with my immersion blender.  It is still a treat for me to drink a real fruit smoothie, like the ones I remember from my teen years at "Orange Julius."

Then one day I watched an ad for Nutribullet and saw them mix vegetables with fruit into a smoothie that didn't look bad. The thing that sealed the deal was how easily the blade and cup can be cleaned up.  It takes less than 30 seconds to rinse them and leave them ready for the next morning!

I've been using my Nutribullet now for almost a year.  I like the idea of drinking vegetables and fruit for breakfast. I sip my smoothie throughout the morning and have found that it's very satisfying.  My "go-to" recipe includes blueberries, kale, apple, carrots, cucumber, and spinach.  Occasionally I add strawberries, mango, banana, zucchini, or sweet potato. In the summer I add herbs from my garden like mint and basil.  They recommend adding some healthy seeds, so I have a jar of flax, chia, and sunflower seeds that I add to the mix. Why not, right?

  Here's what my breakfast looks like:

Yes, it's dark green when I mix it up!  I was encouraged to carry it to work with me when I saw several other teachers with dark green smoothies in the hallway.  

Sometimes when my schedule gets hectic I prepare "baggies" with all the smoothie ingredients ready to go, then freeze them.  It streamlines my busy mornings and makes it easier to drink healthy fruit/vegetable smoothies for breakfast.  Here's  a sample bag:

My daughter-in-law uses her Ninja blender all the time and accomplishes the same thing, sneaking vegetables into her diet and my son's!  She makes sure he's getting good nutrition.  It makes me smile:)

If you've been thinking about trying this, I highly recommend healthy smoothies.  It's part of my routine now.  With garden season upon us, why not try to get more fresh veggies into your family this way?

Wonderful Good Market at Stoudt's Antique Mall

We travel to Lancaster County often for our antique business.  One of our favorite spots is the Wonderful Good Market at Stoudt's Antique Mall in Adamstown.  

Here's some of their cheese curing in a refrigerator.  When we eat at Stoudt's Black Angus Pub, we like to order the cheese board appetizer served in there and have tried to replicate it in our home.

There is a wonderful barista there who serves nice strong Americanos!

I love to get some fresh bread or a breakfast sandwich at the bakery!

I'm always struck by the juxtaposition of serious antiques with strange items, all for sale in this interesting market!

Welcome Spring!

How do you welcome Spring?  There are lots of ways!

These are the things I do when the weather finally stops threatening me with ice and snowstorms.

1.  Hang a Flowered Wreath on the front door.

2.  Dry clean Wool Sweaters and Coats, then put them away.

3.  Walk around the house and inspect the landscaping.  Pick up any garbage that Old Man Winter brought into the yard.

4.  Wash the winter salt off the car, if you haven't already done that!

5.  Watch for a good day to turn over the garden dirt and add compost.

6.  Plant lettuce seeds!  I just sprinkle them around the edge of our raised bed vegetable garden and rake them in lightly. The rain and sun do the rest of the work.

7.  Take a moment to admire anything green that is popping up through the ground!!  
Here are my tulips!

8.  It's been a long cold winter.  Thank God for Spring:)

Kitchen Renovation Part 4 - DONE!!

Here are the Before and After photos!

View from the doorway

View to the right

Door View

View to the left

We are very happy with all the changes.  I have so much storage now! I still have empty spaces to fill!  Drawers are the best thing to have under the counter - completely efficient!  I had to buy a small step stool to reach the top shelves.  But I don't need to access those shelves often.

Here are some drawer photos:

All our pots and lids are right under the cooktop!

No more messy pile of bags and wraps under the sink:)

This is called my "Baking Station" because ALL my stuff is right where I need it for any baking project!

The Versaces are cookin'!