HouseBlogging

Have you all heard about HouseBlogging.com? 

I kept noticing link referrals from this site and I finally got around to checking it out.

It’s pretty snazzy.  (I like that word.)

It’s a community site for blogs that are house focused.  Their home page is kind of like a Google Reader that is strictly home blogs.  (Not that I don’t love you crafty/sewing/life bloggers!)

Their current blog directory includes some of my home blogging favorites…

Do you have a home blog that you’d like added to the list?  If so, head on over!  And leave me a comment here and I’ll be sure to check it out!

**I am in no way affiliated with this site.  I just thought it was fun and I only wish I was creative enough to think of these things.**

Hope you all have a fantastic week-end!

It Mooves Me

I have a problem.  I get an idea in my head and I obsess over it.  It usually involves home decor or clothing.  I find something that I just have to have and it consumes my thoughts.  I also have this pesky thing called “a budget”.  Sometimes the two of these “issues” butt heads.

My latest obsession….cow paintings.  I really want a large cow painting to hang in our mudroom. (Yeah, the mudroom that we started working on back in May.)  Cows are so cute.  And paintings of them are expensive…

I’ve had a few suggestions to just blow up a picture but I want a quirky cow painting. Final story. Unfortunately quirky cows aren’t cheap.  Why do I do this to myself? 

Luckily my brother is pretty artistic.  I sent him a link to the last photo and asked if he could paint me one like it.  He texted me this sketch that he drew in 5 minutes along with this message….”possibly i have never painted but shouldn't be too hard ......ppl have been doing it for thousands of yrs. :)- “. 

I’m headed home in a month and I’m going to set him down with a canvas, some paint, and beer and not let him leave until I have me a pretty little cow.  I’m an amazing big sister.

Nate totally doesn’t understand this cow obsession but he is happy that I may have found an inexpensive solution to my cow painting conundrum.

Do you currently have any quirky obsessions?  What do you do when your wants and budget collide?  Who’s with me on the cows?  Or are they a little too midwest-quirky for you? 

Sweet Corn and…

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear “Iowa”?  (Besides the quirky blog girl with the cute dog…)

Most people think corn, fields, or potatoes.  (FYI: potatoes = Idaho. Close. Not really.)

Corn.  Dirt. Fields.  Every time I get off an airplane in the Quad Cities, I take in a deep breath of that fresh farm air.  Love it.  Smells like home.  And sometimes manure.  Eh.

The above field is next to our walking trail.  We tried to get Ike to take a cute picture next to the corn.  He told me he needs to talk to his agent if he’s going to keep modeling for this blog…so I got this….

One of the benefits of these lovely fields, besides their pretty looks, is sweet corn.  Starting at the end of July, almost all of our meals include sweet corn.  I have named this ~3 week period “Sweet Corn and” because all meals involve sweet corn and something else.

It’s the one time of year that I actually eat vegetables all week.  Who cares that it’s a nice starchy vegetable covered in butter and salt?

How do we cook it?  We shuck the corn.  (The dog is no longer allowed to be on the deck when we do this because he steals the corn and eats it.)  Next we bring a big ol’ pot of water to a boil.  Once it’s boiling we cook the corn for about 3-4 minutes.  (Is it sad that I had to ask Nate how “we” did this because I don’t cook?  I do, sometimes, help with the shucking.  Girl power.)

Sweet corn is best eaten on the cob with butter and salt.  Delicious.  It’s pretty decent frozen but there is nothing better than eating it straight off of the cob.

Any local foods that you enjoy in your area for a short period of time?  Do people in other parts of the country eat sweet corn for every meal during the end of the summer?