Fresh Fridays, August 11

Hello friends! I hope whenever you are reading this, you are doing well!

It’s been a pleasant week here in Colorado, days in the mid-70’s with a smattering of 80’s, nights cooling off enough we can open windows. Ahhh, I’ve almost made it through the summer!

Today I’ve got a hodgepodge of recipes for you, an exciting remodel update, dinner inspiration, how to make Greek yogurt, hummingbirds, and of course, our favorite finds and sales ~ and yours too!

What I’m Makin’ | Stuff

In the here and now | Real-life stories

Another quieter week in our home — well not too quiet (read below about the remodel), it was so much cooler this week, highs in the high 70’s and low 80’s — giving us a taste of fall! I am kinda ready for fall?

Since our family room has been under construction, we’ve relaxed by sitting on our front porch or in our bedroom — everything else is torn up. Early mornings it was low-mid 50’s, so I snuggled up on our porch “couch” with a blanket and soaked in the beautiful sunrises. And enjoyed my quiet time before everyone woke up. Below is a page from the Breath as Prayer book (soo good!)

I hung a hummingbird feeder this week and thought maybe I had missed them all, but sure enough, tentatively, one sweet little female found it and has come to visit every day. I’ve named her Dawn (as that is usually when she visits) and it’s my BFF’s name ;-).

Make your own hummingbird nectar by boiling 4 cups water, remove from heat, add 1 cup sugar, stir to dissolve and cool.

Make your own Greek Yogurt

We go through quite a bit of plain Greek Yogurt, whether I use it in my cooking or enjoy it with berries and granola — when I see organic milk on sale, I grab it, and make it! I have a stovetop recipe for it — but I’ll be honest, I usually l make it in the Instant Pot (check out this recipe).

If you have never made your own Greek yogurt, it’s much less tangy than store bought and you kinda feel like a homesteader!

Main Floor Remodel Update | Week 5

It’s been a full and busy week in the remodel world! Our contractor painted most of the walls, wanting to spray the ceilings and walls before the floor guys arrived. He still needs to finish cutting in, but it’s taking shape.

We chose the same color for our kitchen walls, “biscuit,” but that brand is no longer around, so we went with Benjamin Moore Sugar Cookie (appropriate for a food blogger, no?!)

And our floors are in (almost)! We were nervous, trying to match the floors we put into the kitchen 12 years ago! Yikes, it took us 6 weeks to find the right wood, finish, plank widths, and color. It’s a variable-width plank that is no longer as popular (though we love it!).

After many failed attempts, I finally discovered something we thought might work online.

After finding a local dealer, Alex at Affordable Flooring (highly recommend if you are local) dug out a couple of samples for us; we brought them home and were almost brought to tears, as both color samples he gave us worked!

The finish is slightly different, but most people won’t notice. The installers (shout out to Hussein – a true craftsman) are doing an amazing job, especially tying in the old floors. They are working on the family room as I write this and will hopefully finish today. This means we can start moving a few things back in – yay!