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eating / homemade raw applesauce! did you even know raw applesauce was a thing? we didn’t until last week, but turns out it’s as simple as throwing some (unpeeled) apples, a little cider vinegar or lemon juice, and some cinnamon into the food processor for a couple minutes. we’ve been enjoying it on peanut butter toast and in our oatmeal all week – so good and can’t believe how easy it is!

reading / my copy of the kinfolk table: recipes for small gatherings arrived yesterday, and just like all their magazine volumes, it’s gorgeous. i love the simple, unassuming approach they have to food and cooking. i can’t wait for k and i to start cooking our way through it – i definitely foresee it becoming a staple cookbook around here.

making / art for our bedroom. inspired by this giant white canvas over the headboard with a simple quote, i’m working on a similar one. just needs a second coat of paint and then it’s getting hung up!

home improving / with the addition of our new coffee table last weekend, our living room is coming along quite nicely. for the last couple months, we’ve been buying a frame every time we go to target, so this weekend i’m planning to finally start framing art and photos and get to work on a gallery wall. (which could be a struggle, or a month-long task, or both…because i am phenomenally indecisive when it comes to choosing photos to frame and determining placement for said framed photos on the wall).

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and of course, a few links from around the web:

miso seems to be quite the food trend right now. the miso sweet potato and broccoli bowl from smitten kitchen looks especially delicious!

a color-blocked mood board would make a great addition to any home office.

in another life, i plan dinner parties for a living, and they look exactly like this.

i’m obsessed with the “small batch” column over at food52, and i want to make all the things. first on the list: homemade naan. nomnomnaannaan.

what are you all up to this fall weekend? we’re doing a quick 5k on saturday morning, but other than that, don’t have any other plans that can’t be completed in pajamas and with coffee in hand. i’m in the mood to make a big brunch for two, which will likely minimally consist of whole wheat cinnamon rolls (a favorite but it’s been awhile since we’ve had them), goat cheese scrambled eggs, and dark moon cocktails a la stumptown’s duane sorenson (rum for breakfast? count me in). slightly less exciting, yet still very important, we’ll be figuring out how to “winterize” our lawn and sprinkler system (no, i don’t like being a grown-up, and yes, it is getting that cold already). have a great weekend, everyone!

reading / the athlete’s palate cookbook – we just started training this past week for our second half-marathon, and are enjoying reading through this cookbook for some good, runner-friendly recipes!

learning / we’re taking the designing for web 101 course through nicole’s classes this month, and loving it so far.  if you’re interested in learning any illustrator, photoshop, photography, web design, etc. skills, i highly recommend checking out nicole’s classes. they have excellent instructors and a really great teaching format. i also love that all their classes are project-based; this month, i’m working on designing a website & blog for a business of a friend from high school!

eating / if you’re continuing your fourth of july celebrations throughout the weekend and are looking for a good summer recipe, i highly recommend the taco recipe that we tried yesterday with cabbage slaw and avocado crema. it calls for white fish, but we subbed shrimp and it worked just fine. and for dessert, try these hand pies with your favorite summer berry (we made them with strawberry).

making / our very first batch of beer! my anniversary gift to k this year was a beer brewing kit – we chose a hefeweizen – it just arrived in the mail a couple days ago, and we’re looking forward to breaking it open this weekend and getting started. we even have a name planned for our imaginary brewery…stay tuned for the results.

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a few fun links & posts from around the web…

loving this market cart DIY from you are my fave. would be so perfect for the farmer’s market and summer picnics.

the perfect dress for summer date nights and weddings. this marks my 100 millionth not-so-subtle hint to k for birthday gift ideas.

10 tips for decorating a rental. definitely will be referencing this as we decorate and get settled into our new apartment.

a good reminder and a book recommendation.

what are you all up to this weekend? this week felt a little disjointed, with a day off in the middle, then back to work for a day. we don’t have too many set plans this weekend, other than first fridays tonight in the old market, and starting our beer brewing, of course. i think we’ll have our first harvest at our garden plot this weekend, too! have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

reading / love the one you’re with by emily giffin. i almost always gravitate toward reading either nonfiction books or trashy magazines, but lately i’ve been reading more novels. i read a couple of emily giffin’s other novels back in the beginning of college, and recently came across a few of her new ones at the library and picked those up. nice, easy reads for summer. i have a feeling i’m going to be reading a lot more novels this summer after looking at research-y things all day at work!

eating / all things rhubarb. i’m trying to soak up as much rhubarb in these next few weeks because it doesn’t seem to stay around for long in omaha. i picked some up at the grocery store earlier this week, and we made our own strawberry-rhubarb sorbet, and last night i whipped up some quick individual strawberry-rhubarb crisps. hoping i can find more this weekend so i can make them again and share the recipe on the blog next week!

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a few fun links, if you’re interested…

we made the pioneer woman’s risotto primavera this week, and it was amazeballs. i don’t usually cook directly from recipes, but i followed this one pretty much exactly (except subbing in sugar snap peas for frozen peas). it’s full of springy vegetables, and i’m always amazed by how creamy risotto is without adding any dairy (the recipe has you add feta and parmesan at the end, but it would still be fantastic without).

a new-to-me blog i’ve been loving lately: enjoy it by elise blaha cripe. she has amazing home decor / DIY art tutorials, and documents her day-to-day life in such a beautiful way.

love this excerpt from michael pollan’s new book on the dinner: a love story blog (which, if you aren’t yet reading, you should be). i’ve been reading soo many good things about this newest release, and reading a lot of interviews he’s done about it, and can’t wait to go pick it up this weekend at barnes & noble while it’s 35% off.

OMG IT’S MY TWO FAVORITE FOOD GROUPS: grilled cheese tacos. these will be made asap.

a great slideshow featuring “25 cocktails everyone should know.” i was actually surprised how many of these i didn’t know / didn’t realize were “classics.” summer to-do list: master all of these.

are you all up to anything fun this weekend? today is my last weekday of freedom before i start work on monday! i keep thinking i should do something exciting, but i really just want to make sure all the laundry’s done and get my planner ready…typical. we don’t have much planned for the weekend, except for hitting up the farmer’s market on sunday (!!!!) and maybe planting a few things. hoping to just take it easy and get everything ready for this new schedule of ours…like packing lunches, better meal planning for dinners, etc. have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

eating // you guys already know how we feel about tacos around here, but this week i had a eureka moment and decided we NEEDED some masa flour and a tortilla press. a few hours later we had our very first batch of homemade corn tortillas, and i can confidently say we’re never going back to store-bought. tutorial & recipe coming soon!

learning // we took a short little online course about imovie for bloggers last night, and we’re excited to hopefully start incorporating more video into our blog. we’re hoping to update to a dslr camera that has video sometime soon, but for now, we’ll be giving it our best shot via iphone!

listening // this week was “coffee week” on npr; if you have some time this weekend, some of these segments are worth a listen. i really liked “journey of a specialty coffee bean, from cherry to cup.”

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a few fun links…

some yummy recipes for a cinco de mayo party, featuring mangos (which are on sale for $1/each at whole foods right now!)

loved this serious eats interview with chris bianco, chef and owner of the famous pizzeria bianco in phoenix. his quest for simplicity in his food without sacrificing quality is seriously inspiring. feeling a little bummed that we never made it here during our time in arizona!

how bing is working with bloggers & other creatives to make image sourcing & pinning much simpler. i have to admit, i’m a total google and chrome addict, but this idea makes so much sense. just might have to make the switch.

locally grown clothing company makes the cutest state t-shirts. i’m not so secretly obsessing over the california one!

this shop has the coolest storage options for your bike and keys.

do you all have any fun plans for the weekend? we just scored some free baseball tickets to the creighton/nebraska game tonight, and it’s a perfect night to be outside, so i’m looking forward to that and happy hour beforehand.  we’re also going to finish up a DIY bar stool project we’ve been working on, but other than that, i’m just looking forward to some perfect 75 degree sunshine – it’s about time! have a lovely weekend, everyone!