An Eggcellent Little Trick

It wouldn't surprise me

if I were the last person on earth to know this little trick!

We were able to get our grubby little mitts on some farm-fresh eggs from chickens who fill up on creepy-crawlies and whatever else they can find in the grass around their property.

Here's the little tid-bit my husband showed me. 

Next time you need to peel a hard-boiled egg, crack it up like usual.

But then instead of picking at it with your fingers, 

grab a spoon and slide it between the shell and the egg.

You'll be able to peel off bigger, smoother sections of the shell. 

And faster too!

Bigger... smoother... faster... Isn't that the American way?

Be sure to rinse your big-smooth-fast egg under cool water to make sure no tiny pieces of shell remain. Then enjoy those farm fresh eggs!

I'm making egg salad sandwiches.

Yes, Mom, you read that right.

Flowers at Prairie Meadow

This is not our house!

It's a chicken house turned shed. But it's kinda cute, isn't it?

The above is the second picture I took of the shed. The first one looked like this:

Ha! My camera lens fogged up due to the humidity. Gotta love summer in the midwest! 

[Sidenote: When I was moving to Las Vegas everyone warned me about how hot it was there. They invariably followed it up by saying, "But it's a dry heat." Every. Single. Time. It does make a big difference, though. I'd rather be in 100 degrees dry heat than 80 with humidity. Maybe not 110 or 115 like a regular Vegas summer day. My garden would have a hard time growing. Cuz it's a dry heat.]

Day lillies

This park is actually our backyard. The house has yet to be landscaped (long story), but the yard is lovely.

Lavender (of some sort)

Last summer we planted flowers for my husband's bees.

Cat mint

Echinacea

Bee balm. I think. Don't quote me. :)

Yes, that plant is trying desperately to hide one of the access covers to our septic system. Some day, my friends, this area will be half hidden by a new front porch, wood chips, decorative grasses, flowers and herbs. 

Some day.

This is one of three rose bushes--it's a start!

Painted at Last!

It's painted!

This little chubster was two months old yesterday!

His nursery is finally ready to decorate.

There are lots of projects still to do to make the room complete, but I love how the walls turned out. More pictures to come soon!

New Chairs

I'm a stocker.

Of craigslist. What were you thinking?

I've been searching for "new" chairs for awhile. This week I found a set!

They were only $30 for both!





They're clean and in good shape.





But mauve? No thanks!


I plan on making slip covers from canvas drop clothes, a la Miss Mustard Seed. Ok, and the rest of the blogosphere...


Here are some of my inspiration pictures:

I like how this one looks a grain sack.

Love the ruffle, grain sack look & monogram

Perfect example of what mine could look like.

My sewing skills are at the beginner level, so I hope I'm not biting off more than I can chew! I know I'll be spending lots of time watching Miss Mustard Seed's how-to videos.

Rockabye Baby

One of my favorite things around the house is this beautiful cradle.

It was handmade by my father-in-law!

This is the third cradle my father-in-law has made--one for each of his children's families when they are expecting their first baby.

Our third baby is currently using this cradle in our room. Like, right now. As I type this. And maybe as you read this!

I love looking at all of the details and thinking about how much Grandpa loves his grandkids!

I bought the bedding from Babies R Us almost 5 years ago.

I love all of the colors in the bedding. Very gender-neutral.

This cradle will be an heirloom to give to our son when he has a family.

Recommendation

Here's a piece of advice.

Go here.

Make these:

Or don't. It's your loss.

Our Garden

Time for a stroll through our garden!

My husband bought a yard sweep and dumped grass clippings in the garden so I could use them for mulch. I'm hoping this eliminates the weeds!

Our tomatoes are doing well. There are a few small green ones! I can't wait for that first fresh-from-the-garden tomato sandwich!

I added grass clippings to this raised bed, and straw on the outside. It's a full-on war on weeds!!! 

Here's another raised bed with lettuce, kale and onions.

I plant organic heirloom lettuce and let it go to seed so it replants itself. 

This red lettuce is so pretty in salads!

Time to pick another salad.

Our barn presides over the garden. I like that from this distance you can't tell what's a weed and what is supposed to be there!

This bed has carrots, cauliflower and cilantro. Aren't the cilantro flowers pretty? All of the cilantro plants were volunteers from last year's crop.

Baby parsley plants!

And baby basil, my favorite! Yes, I know it's late in the season to just be starting these herbs, but I had a little excuse this year, remember? (He's about 10 days old in this picture.)

May babies really put a damper in gardening for awhile!

These squash plants are volunteers from last year's crop. For that reason, I really like buying heirloom seeds. Last year's tomatoes--not heirloom--have given us a few volunteer plants too. I'm letting them grow, just to see what happens!

Strawberries! If the dog lets us have any... 

Our corn is about 3 feet tall. 

Under this tree is where you'll find my boys while I weed and plant and mulch. Why?

Here's a closer look:

Mulberries! 

Hope you enjoyed the tour.