Dream Deck

Ahhhhh .... doesn't this look wonderfully relaxing? All this photo needs is me (!!) in one of the chairs with something to drink and a stack of magazines.

We are in the beginning stages of planning a backyard remodel and this is one of our inspiration photos. Sadly, we do not live on a lake. But hopefully by next summer we'll be sitting on our little piece of paradise without fear of falling through our current deck!

Here is the deck now:

Sunday Treat

Monday was going to be rough day for me this week. So to comfort myself on Sunday night I made a root beer float. Like the rest of the country, the Northwest weather is upside down! So it didn't seem odd at all to enjoy this treat at the end of September with all the doors and windows open.

So glad Monday is over!

Split Pea Soup

Clearly, I am on a soup kick ... even though I am still wearing shorts ... welcome to living in the Pacific Northwest!

Mexican Soup

There are several Mexican soup recipes around and I've tweaked a few over the years to suit my taste and save on calories. As a bonus, I make this dish in my crockpot and readily have all the ingredients on hand.

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I use whole breasts and shred after cooking)
2 cans drained beans (any variety) or make your own
1 14oz can of diced tomatos and juice
1 cup sliced peppers (green, yellow, red)
1/2 chopped onion
1 cup salsa
4-6 cups chicken broth (enough to cover all ingredients)
Seasonings: salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin, chile powder, oregano (adjust to your taste). Cook on low for 8-10 hrs. Top with low-fat sour creme and cheddar cheese.

Chowder

I love soups and stews of all kinds. I didn't include chowder in that sentence because to me, chowder is in a category all alone ...



To accommodate for the ingredients I have on hand, I typically follow 3 or 4 different recipes when I make chowder. This version included wild salmon, wild mahi-mahi, corn, potatoes and a bit of half & half ... I would have loved to add a pat of butter right before serving ... but a glass of wine won out as the more "needed" calories that night!

Petroglyphs

The Columbia River Gorge is cool. We stopped at Columbia Hills State Park to check out the petroglyphs that were moved to this site in 2004.





It's memorizing to wonder what these images meant and how long they have endured the harsh elements in the Pacific Northwest.

Cabin Fever

As much as I love day trips to wineries, I don't much like the drive home. It always seems twice as long as the drive out. We were lucky to receive an overnight invite to our friends cabin on Saturday. So pretty and restful ... and their many decks provided the perfect spot to open a few of our newly acquired bottles.







Falling asleep to the sound of this river was the ending to a perfect day ...

Wine Tasting

One of my favorite activities is to go wine tasting. I challenge you to meet anyone crabby at a winery ... it's just not possible ... at least not in our many experiences. On Saturday, we finally had the opportunity to check out Maryhill Winery. The grounds are as beautiful as the views of the Columbia River Gorge.





Wine tasting at a new winery always provides us the opportunity to bust out our favorite comment, "Does anyone else taste fried chicken?" The reactions are so worth it.

Addicted to Boots

Even though I'm not quite ready to say goodbye to summer, Fall is my favorite time of year. Pulling on my boots with dresses, skirts and leggings is the perfect combination of effortless and comfortable dressing. My newest pair has me eagerly awaiting the crisp weather ...



Next month, we'll be going on a mini getaway and these will be perfect boot for walking around wineries and keeping me warm on chilly evenings.

College Football

I've come to love college football due in part to my husband closely watching the race to the Bowls. I consider it an even trade ... I watch college ball and he can tell you what is happening on Project Runway (I'm sure this has nothing to do with Heidi Klum) ...

We invited friends over on Saturday to watch our team's season opener. Since the game didn't start until noon, it was a little early for most of our favorite cocktails ... Bloody Mary's made with this awesome mixer fit the bill. Along with jalapeno stuffed olives, it's my secret weapon to the perfect Bloody Mary.

Split Dish

I really have no idea why we call this a "split dish" ... I think there must have been a Mexican restaurant that had something similar on the menu. We both love this meal and it's one of our ultimate comfort foods. I make my beans in the crock-pot and it's a snap. For this bean recipe I used fresh (jalapenos) and dried chilies (Anaheim), salt, pepper, garlic & onion. Served with rice and plenty of garnishes. So easy.

Aloha!

Summer is not officially over and yet I can't stop dreaming of our next Maui trip ... the warm trade winds blowing, sleeping in late, eating fresh fish and drinking plenty of mai tais.

We just celebrated our birthday's so it only seems right to congratulate ourselves by booking our next get-away ... in my opinion, life is great ... and life is SO much better when you have a vacation to look forward to.

Exactly!

I just celebrated my birthday (August 27) and can't quite believe I am 44. I received this card and it does a nice job of summing it up!



Thanks for the card Ms. Con Carne!

Cookies

I managed to whip up a batch of these cookies to thank our friends for a great day on the river. My good friend Isha (who doesn't even like cookies) could not keep herself from nibbling on them throughout the day. I've had this recipe for quite some time and tend to use it frequently. A nice way to use up those aging bananas we always seem to have.