good breakfast.

so, i made another batch of this granola over the weekend -- when added to greek yogurt and blueberries (first good ones of the season i've found!) & a little bit of honey, it's dreamy. recipe:

5 cups old fashioned rolled oats

2 cups wheat germ

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup coconut

1 cup sliced almonds

4T vanilla

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup honey 

1/2 cup oil (olive oil or another!)

mix dry ingredients; mix wet ingredients; combine two mixtures well; bake at 250 degrees for 1-2 hours (until dry and light brown), stirring every 30ish minutes; enjoy! xo 

two fun rooms.

happy monday! (here and here)

happy weekend!

alas, the weekend is here! what are you up to? we have no big plans (shhh don't tell anyone, especially mary & ryan or they will plan something!). i'm excited to sleep in, get some solid time with my husband, cook some good food, go to church, finally try out my christmas present and have at least one or two popsicles. i love this photo and this is my favorite popsicle ever.

so, so grateful to all of you who took the t&f survey, if you haven't yet, i would be so appreciative of five minutes of your day, just click here!

two practical tidbits.

above photo is so simple and so brilliant!! it has been rightfully getting a lot of blog love.

secondly, if you love etsy like i do, you will be as grateful as i was that good measure pointed this out: if you have clicked some shops as favorites, there is now a tab that will give you "suggested shops" yipee! that's how i found this amazing feel good list:

the funniest thing.

i loved this post on inchmark a few months ago about keeping a jar with the funny things your kids say, so you don't forget them. it crossed my mind again and i was thinking what a WONDERFUL thing it would be to keep and then send to a deployed parent. what a wonderful way to make sure they don't miss all those small moments and unforgettable lines that can be repeated at that toddler's rehearsal dinner in twenty years :)

sown pillows.

i fell in love with these pillows on etsy made from vintage feed bags. i'm a big fan of big, white bedding and these would make such great throw pillows. (don't tell my husband, he already finds the number of pillows on our bed mind boggling :)

introducing samantha cameron.

i am planning on reading much more on politics of the U.K. elections in the coming days, but in the meantime, i stumbled on this TIME photo series on david cameron. i love seeing public figures and their families and just loved this photo of the prime minister and his wife samantha (who happens to be the creative director of smythson!) perhaps a mrs. o-esque blog will come about for samantha cameron!

cup of water in the middle of the night.

as i mentioned yesterday, i've been pouring over your responses to the t&f survey (if you haven't taken it, please do, it's completely anonymous and i'd be so so grateful!!) many of you mentioned that you love that t&f has gone beyond our wedding to talk about married life. i'm new at this too, but since it sounds like a bunch of us are/will be newlyweds, definitely happy to keep the conversation going!

and you have perfect timing because i've been hugely honored to be featured as a guest blogger on two blogs in the past few weeks. first up, i was a part of the where we blog from series on ill seen, ill said, thank you so much jane! you can see the rest of our house here, here and here!

today, i'm so honored to be a part of the real people in love series on adventures in love & happiness. thank you so much nicole!

one thing i mention in that post, is that i love the quote "marriage is a cup of water in the middle of the night." it's such a beautiful, simple picture of what i've found marriage is really all about. and, funny enough, last night our marriage was about a cup of water (and, roast beef sandwich) in the middle of the night. ryan flies at odd and really long hours. he hadn't been that hungry at dinner, but as we were trying to fall asleep, he figured out he was hungry and thirsty. it's those little things that end up counting so much.

Update on Thu, May 13, 2010 at 8:02 AM by tulips & flight suits

last night we grabbed pad thai with one of our dear friends here in p'cola. he swings by t&f from time to time (i think ryan is paying him under the table :) and mentioned that i left you all hanging in suspense. in case it wasn't clear, i did go get the water and roast beef sandwich. i'm far from perfect, but for that night, i remembered the adage.

five simple ingredients.

i keep running across this new haagen dazs concept of ice cream from five simple ingredients and am so excited to try it. summer is on the way, which officially kicks off ice cream season -- especially in florida, where it's really a matter of survival! have you tried this? any good?

bright, simple kitchen tables.

i've been looking at your amazing responses to the t&f survey (if you haven't taken it yet, PLEASE DO! click right here, it's only 10 questions, super easy) and one thing i noticed is you'd like some more "house dreaming" -- well, twist my arm :) here are some bright kitchen spaces. i love a kitchen as a place you spend a ton of time. good food and conversation go hand in hand.

photos found here, here, and here.