Busy Bee

It has almost been a week since my family members bought me some amazing KitchenAid appliances. Today my little sister presented me with her Christmas present to me a KitchenAid Dish Drying Rack. That box went directly with the other boxes and it sat there all afternoon until my friend came into the house and told me that I needed to get myself together and start cooking things.

Jerk.

My kitchen needs to be more than clean. It needs to be organized and decluttered. But who has time for that?

The dish drying rack is now assembled and I threw away my old nasty one. My KitchenAid Stand Mixer is now on my counter and it looks completely glorious. I just need to figure out where I am going to store the food processor. I am currently waiting for The Pioneer Woman's second cookbook to arrive so I can make her Tequila Lime Chicken and Virgin Mango Margaritas (I don't drink). That is the recipe that I am going to use in order to break in my food processor. But I've been cooking up a storm this week and even tried my hand at homemade Vanilla Almond Milk. It needs more vanilla!

I will be taking some cookbooks to bed with me tonight and thinking of recipes I want to try out because I have a few gentleman that I need to cook dinner for seeing as they have spoiled me by cooking me dinner. You've gotta love a man that can cook though; it's a great look on them.

It has been a busy week but I love stealing moments on the couch with my baby girl Kaja. I miss sleeping in with her and cuddling while watching King of the Hill or Family Fued; she's more of a King of the Hill fan.

Kitchen Aid Queen

Last Friday my brother wanted to go on a Costco run and we went after we got off of work. I found it slightly odd that we weren't going his usual route to pick up his standard items and somehow I realized we were in the section with all the kitchen appliances.

Initially he was looking for a certain version of a Vitamix (the one we saw an amazing demonstration on a couple of weeks prior) and he split the beans: He did not need to go grocery shopping at all. He knew how much I loved the Vitamix and everybody chipped in to buy me one for Christmas but they no longer had it and now our only option was going to be ordering it online for a much more expensive price.

Being the frugal brat that I am I asked him if he would be entirely upset and offended if I got something else, which would be much cheaper than the Vitamix blender. He asked me what I was thinking and I walked up to the KitchenAid Stand Mixer and hugged it. He wanted to make sure that it was what I absolutely wanted and my sister called his name and just nodded her head. In fact, she said that she knew for a fact that I would use the KitchenAid more than the Vitamix. He grabbed the box, put it in the cart, and I started crying. *Clean up on aisle 35!*

He asked if I wanted to walk up and down the aisle to make sure there wasn't anything else that I wanted more than the mixer which I just laughed at but I took a little stroll. Then I saw a food processor and I was like, "Balls." Now I was torn because I "need" one of those. A friend that is currently staying with us knows how much I want one and he tells me all the time, "Julie, I've been keeping an eye out for a food processor but I can't find any." Of course, I tell him he doesn't need to buy me one but he chipped in and bought the food processor for me. More tears and hugs. It is my Christmas gift but the gratitude and meaning behind it means a lot to me. Of course baked goods and home cooked meals are now expected from these folks but it's okay because I love family time.

When the cashier began to ring us up the bagger asked, "Wow, who is this for?" With slightly teary eyes I meekly pointed to myself. He was pretty impressed and said, "That's so awesome. I never realized how valuable these were until recently, I hope you enjoy it." There may or may have not been some flirting but I blame it on being shocked and wanting to get my appliances home! Hahaha.

We got home and my boxes were placed in the kitchen, every one went their separate ways except for my brother and he asked me, "So...are you going to cook anything?" I looked at him and laughed because he thought I was going to go Betty Crocker and make dinner. Silly brother, IOU.

Everett Family Farm Stand

Kirsten and I.

This past July I did a little house and pet sitting and the owner's home was absolutely beautiful. It was the highlight of my entire summer and I still have tan lines to prove how many hours were spent in the sun since they had a swimming pool. *sigh* It was magnificent but enough with the nostalgia. Whenever I would head back into town from said house I kept seeing a sign for a family farm stand and decided that I wanted to check it out. Displayed in this charming and rustic barn are flowers and organic/seasonal produce that is local; in fact you can see what is growing in their fields as you drive up. I had to go back the next day because I didn't have cash but I brought a friend with me and she fell in love with it too. It is all done on the honor system. You write down what you took, how much, add up the cost, and drop the money in a box. 

Last Day of Summer Vacation

I have been back a few times and I always buy a few things just because I want to support this family and love this idea. It's a beautiful drive and the produce and set up are extremely picturesque.

For my last day of Summer Vacation I went with a friend and I bought a ton of dahlia's and strawberries which I made strawberry jam out of. It was my first time and I did it by myself while I flirted with a handsome man via texting. I was not paying attention but it still tasted good despite the complete mess I made. Whoops. *blush*

Pumpkin Picking

As I mentioned before this farm stand is seasonal so in the next month or so they will be slowing down and then closing up until probably March or April. Just in case I can't make it up there anytime soon I decided to go back one last time with my mom (who loves to take photographs) and my sister because she had no choice in the matter but she thought it was pretty cool.

I picked my pumpkin, took some pictures, and will look forward to going back to see what delicious things they have in store for us next Spring.

Life is meant to be enjoyed. Seek out the light and make memories. There are many good ones for me here.

Beth and Clyde's Kitchen - Blog Name Change

I finally found a way to honor both of my grandparents and so naturally there is now a blog name change. Beth and Clyde are the middle names of my grandparents and it kind of reminds me of "Bonnie and Clyde", hahaha. Okay, that is all. Please go about your business now.

Xoxo,
Julia