Spring, please.

My heart is aching for Spring and Summer.

Sunshine.  Lots of fresh fruits and veggies. Gardens growing. Running outside. Toms, flip flops, tanks, cardigans and dresses.

I'm done with wearing six thousand layers, and my jeans have not appreciated me sticking two pairs of leggings underneath them....not sure they'll ever fit again without some extra padding. Done with constantly freezing and eating root vegetables. Done with snow. Done with being too cold to do anything. Completely, utterly over winter.

We ordered a truckload of dirt. No lie. A commercial sized dump truck showed up.  And prepped the yard for planting. Good-bye grass. Hello veggies. This only gets me even more ready for Spring. Ughhhh come on!

Basically, I want to be here:

Not here:

Pretty obvious who has the real talent in our household. Me, duh.

I'll admit the snow was a nice touch. Mike worked from home. We played in the snow, drank hot chocolate and snuggling by the fireplace was a must.  But winter, feel free to go on your merry way. We're done now. Thanks!

eggs are for...

decorating! Yes, I still color eggs every year with my family - no shame. But ever since I spotted this amazing floral arrangement using eggshells by Fleuretica, my mind has all new expectations. These decorated eggs make a great centerpiece. Plus, if you are having family over or hosting a dinner party, what a sweet parting gift for your guests.

 arrangement by fleuretica

My first thought was to leave this to the professionals but even with just a simple coat of spray paint or left natural white, they are still gorgeous. And, of course Martha has a bit more detailed information on how to make these pretties. I can't wait to try these out.

How will you be decorating this spring? Do you color eggs?

Hello, Spring.

Yee haw! Today is the first day of spring! Luckily for us down south, it has felt like spring for awhile. But to know that it is officially spring makes me want to run, skip and be real hippie-child like. To be honest, I never knew how much I loved Spring. I feel giddy and super excited.. like its Christmas morn or something. I think it's all the planting, weekly trips to the local farmers market and being able to walk to our favorite spots that's got me all woop-dee-do-da-ing.

Speaking of planting, last weekend we harvested a TON of lettuce and bok choy.

looks like we will be eating a lot of salads this spring. here's a tasty salad recipe:

apples, celery, tomato, goat cheese, walnuts, spinach, romaine, radishes and balsamic dressing

Not interested in growing your own stuff -- don't worry! There are plenty of awesome opportunities in most areas to take advantage of local, delicious fresh fruits and veggies.

We LOVE our farmers market -- some of them even know our names... makes us feel special :)!

We just purchased a memebership to NC Green Market, which provides you with a weekly produce box from a local farm. All you have to do is pick up your goodie-filled-box at your chosen location. Maybe something like this is offered in your town?

And, another cool thing is coming to town - Raleigh City Farm, a big ol' downtown veggie garden. It will be used mostly to supply local restaurants with veggies but the extras, us regular people can buy.
Yummy, yummy, yummy.

oh, spring. how I love thee and all the deliciousness you bring.