Between house guests and getting past first trimester nausea, there hasn’t been much interwebbing for me (aside from Pinterest) this month. Despite the brevity of my list, I hope you find something enjoyable.
Happy Summer!
Read
One benefit of feeling less than perky is that I’ve had tons of time to read. I decided to reread the Harry Potter series and am now on book 6. One of my favorite bloggers (Katie from Cardigan Way) shares my affinity for Harry Potter and created one of her Lovely Lines with a quote from HP and the Order Of the Phoenix which I just finished.
I also read all three of Tessa Afshar’s novels. So good. I explain why here.
Watch
Tim (my youth pastor hubs) preached in main service a couple weeks ago on Psalm 13. He weaves much of our personal journey into David’s own lament. I may be biased, but it’s well worth a listen. You can also watch it on CDA Bible Church’s Vimeo account.
Strawberries
Berry picking is one of my favorite summer activities. A couple weeks ago I got to add strawberries to my list of berries picked. Some wonderful friends took me to Carver Farms and we picked over 60 pounds of strawberries. We made several batches of freezer jam (with the trusty recipe found inside boxes of Sure Jell pectin).
Three delicious ways to use extra strawberries:
- Fresh Strawberry Bars I clipped this recipe from Better Homes and Gardens a few years ago. The base is a dense peanut buttery bar topped with strawberry jam and fresh strawberries.
- You can’t go wrong with classic Strawberry Shortcake. My mom’s a wizard with biscuits and generally whips up a batch of lightly sweetened cream biscuits for the shortcake part. Martha Stewart has a good video tutorial on sweet biscuits. When I studied abroad in Italy, my host mom served strawberries macerated in both sugar AND a bit of lemon juice. Heavenly. The crowning glory of any strawberry shortcake is the whipped cream. Clouds of REAL whipped cream – heavy cream whipped with a tablespoon or two of powdered sugar.
- Strawberry Shortcake Cake Yes, I’ve mentioned this Pioneer Woman recipe before. It’s that good.
For Fun
This could be the burrito I ate for dinner, but I’d like to think Baby Gardner is beginning to make an appearance.
Emily C Gardner 
CONGRATULATIONS! So excited for you and your upcoming bundle of joy! What a wonderful way to share such lovely news with the online world! (I also love the Harry Potter books, and Katie is one of my favorite bloggers too! :) Blessings to you!
Thanks Sarah!
I have yet to read the HP books, although it’s not for lack of want! I was planning on reading them this summer, but then thought, eh …I might as well wait a little longer, until I can read them to my son (in like, five years). So that’s the current plan. Congrats on the baby bump!
Reading the HP series aloud with your son is a great plan :)
I really want to try your strawberry recipes! Love your baby bump :)
It is always good reads to reread Harry Potter.
Congratulations on Baby Gardner. Your comments about the bump vs. burrito made me smile :)
Thanks Shana! Sometimes I really wonder whether the bump is food or baby…
I’m looking through the Lovely Lines project now. Thanks for linking to it! And those strawberry recipes look TOO good. Just adding more ideas to my summer menu list.
Most of all, congrats on Baby Gardner! What an exciting time. :)
Thanks Laura! The Strawberry Shortcake Cake is truly divine.
Congratulations! What a cute bump it is. I should really reread Harry Potter one of these days. Loving the sound of all of those strawberry recipes!
Thanks for linking up with What I’m Into!