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{moms favorite zebra cake}
Thanks for joining me for another Nine Favorite Things post!
And Happy Motherโs Day! Hope you guys are all spending the day either enjoying your own kids, spoiling your mom, or just relaxing away!
Iโm spending the day with my mom in San Diego along with all my brothers, Asher, my dad, and my cousins. Hoping to make a small brunch spread later this morning or at the least take mom out for brunchโฆjust waiting for everyone to wake up to see what the game plan is. What are you guys up today?
I have been loving my time here in San Diego with my family. Weโve been all over the place, but the highlight for me so far was definitelyย the Little Italy farmers market my cousin took me to yesterday morning. I so wish we had a market even half as large up in Summit County, COโฆthinking itโs really time to get started on the garden for the summer! <โgoals.
Hope you all have a great day today. Iโll see ya tomorrow for a new recipe thatโs perfect for BBQ season! Here are nine things Iโm loving this week.
1.ย Speaking of gardens, Iโm findingย these two guides on how to plan a vegetable garden and ย how to produce a lush garden on a budgetย really helpful. I would love to have a herb and edible flower garden this summer, but because of where I live in the mountains, it can be really hard to keep things from freezing overnight. Does anyone else have this problem? Do you have any tips for me? I spend so much money on produce, but especially on herbs and edible flowers (you guys know how much I love my edible flowers), so growing some of my own has been something I have really been wanting to do! <โtips and tricks are greatly appreciated! PS. this is my favorite โgarden bagโ that I would carry with me everywhere if I actually had a legit garden. Instead Iโll probably just be taking it to Whole Foods and the Farmers Market and pretending all that produce loaded in it actually came from my own gardenโฆ
2. I have never been much into reading booksโฆwell, unless itโs the Harry Potter series, in which case I will sit down and read each book cover to coverโฆnever enough Harry Potter if you ask me. Somewhat oddly, I also listened to the Twilight series on tape (yep, Iโm not even embarrassed to admit that I also loved the teen drama). ANYWAY, other than those two sets of books, Iโve really never been one to read books for enjoyment. Myย mom keeps telling me itโs such a great way to escape from life and remove yourself from the world that is social media. But up until now I have listened. BUT, I am loving this list of 16 great summer reads. Maybe whenever that day comes that I finally hit the beach in Hawaii I will follow my momโs advice and pull some books from this list?ย The Rules Do Not Apply by Ariel Levy sounds super interesting to me. What are you guys reading?
3. Any of you guys doing some Sunday meal prep for the week? I was really intrigued by this article on how to meal prep in 90 minutes.
4.ย Speaking of that Hawaii tripโฆhere are the best โundergroundโ spots in Hawaii that you need to know about. Clearly Hawaii needs to be on my list as a potential destination for my next tropical vacation, the one that I really need to get lined up for this summer! OK, and speaking of summer, Memorial Day is right around the corner, and that means cocktails are going to be on the menu. Here are some of my favorites right nowโฆ
Tropical Strawberry Hibiscus Rum Smash
Lemony Lime Island Mango Mezcal Breeze
5. New videos: my favorite (and reader favorite)ย blueberry vanilla greek yogurt granola bars.
6.ย For those of us not fortunate enough to live in Nashville, and for all those who probably didnโt get a chance to watch me live on Thursday, here is the video clipย of me making some of this yummy french toastย on Today in Nashville. I am totally awkward, but I had so much fun, and I cannot wait to travel back to Nashville, itโs such a fun and beautiful city. I loved that if you made one wrong turn you couldย easily come across farm land and horses, but yet still be close to a major (cool) city. I also loved seeing all the blooming flowers everywhere I turned. So pretty!
7. I will be in LA tomorrow and Tuesday for some meetings. Iโm staying with my brother, and the days are a little jam-packed, but does anyone have recommendations for a fun hike? I still have yet to make it out to Malibu, and Iโm thinking I need to make a stop at Malibu Farm and maybe do a fun hike there? I just need to find the time to fit it in! Hoping for some sunny skies!
8. Favorite pin/style finds of theย week: loving this fun dress and this knottedย hair style.
9. This weekโs dinners:ย
Charred Tomato and Corn Pesto Pasta
Baja Fish Tacos with Chipotle Mango Salsa
8 Ingredient Cheesy Green Chile Chicken
Easiest Lemon Ricotta Asparagus Ravioli
Bonus:ย Blackberry Swirl Muffins with Honey Butter
Check out all the past Favorites postsย here.
This post was originally published on May 14, 2017
Hey! You must read Sarah J Maas books! Her Throne of Glass series and A Court of Thornes and Roses! So so good!
Thanks so much for the suggestions! I will look into those!
You might like Cassandra Clareโs books. She has several series with the same general theme and characters al involving both vampires and warlocks! I listen to the audiobook versions while I work and in the car.
Ooo thank you! Iโll have to check those out!
Hiya!
Love your work! About your freezing problem, I agree with Shannen and would also recommend the use of a glass cloche to protect small tender plants until the night-time temps begin to warm. It works as a tiny greenhouse, very cute, very old school. You can as achieve the same effect with halved milk jugs or any other clear plastic bottle. A variation on this method (winter-sowing) is how I sow my summer vegetable and flower seeds in February.
Alternatively, many vegetables enjoy a bit of a chill, especially greens. I bet you could grow some fabulous lupines where you live. Good luck!
Cheers!!
Thank you so much Annie! I will really have to try out the glass cloche!
Hey, I live in Northern BC (13 hours north of Vancouver) on the pacific coast so I totally here you on the whole โgrowing things is tough because of the weatherโ. For any plants that might not be able to brave the colder nights, I use gallon โ 2 gallon sized buckets (or whatever size you need to fit your plants) and put them upside down over the plant to act as a small personal greenhouse for cold days and at nightโฆ.this also keeps the monsoon rainforest rains that we get here away from the stalk and surface roots of delicate plants like tomatoes that will rot if too wet, but the deeper roots still get the water that hits the rest of the garden soil and seeps down. This is a centuries old Mennonite trick and they always have the nicest tomatoes.
Wow thank you so much for this! I will look into this and try it out!
Have a great time in San Diego/LA!!! Lots to see and do!!
So much to see and do its awesome! Thank you Deborah!
Hi Tieghan, I made your Zebra cake yesterday for Mothers Day weekend. We had some last night . It is soooo good! Canโt wait for your cookbook!!!!!
Thank you Kim! I am so glad you liked it! (:
Hi Tieghan,
Iโve been following your blog for a few years now! Really enjoying styling and photographyโฆ and of course the food..?
I live in Ireland(originally from Seattle, I have been in Ireland for 17 yrs) and the weather here can be a bit of an issue in terms of temp.(not hot enough) and wind(I live close to the coast). So I can feel your gardening pain! A lot of people here invest in polytunnles. They are way less than a green house! But you can grow year round in them! Check it outโฆ and keep up the good work ??
.
SHANNEN..i WILL CHECK THIS OUT. WE ARE 4000โฒ IN OREGON AND TWO SEASONS HOT AND VERY C.O.L.D. .. THANKS MUCH.
Thank you so much Shannen! I will totally look into those!
Try growing herbs in pots. Then if it freezes you can move the pots or cover them. I use old pillow cases to cover them; they are the perfect size
Thank you so much that is super helpful!
I made your Zebra cake yesterday for Mothers Day weekend and we had some last night. It is soooo good! Canโt wait for your cookbook!
That is amazing! I am so glad you liked it + everything went well! Thank you Kim!
I think you would like the Sara J Maas trilogy, โA Court of Thorns and Rosesโ โ the first book is kind of standard YA fare, but the SECOND book is amazing and so worth it and NOT for young adults. I re-read it constantly. Highly recommend for โescapistโ reading.
Thanks so much Rachel! I will have to check those out!