Hello there...

Just popping in to say hello and give you a little peek into what I've been up to recently. I seem to be documenting my life with Instagram these days so all of these pics were taken with my phone. I've been keeping pretty busy and am pretty happy for the most part! I'm just doin my thing and learning how to settle in to this new life I've built for myself.

I've really been enjoying just staying home when I can so I can do some of the things I've always wanted but never had time to do. I'm happy as a clam at home by myself tonight, it's Friday, does that make me a little loserish? I am mildly worried that I enjoy my time at home by myself a little too much, like I'm going to become a lonely hermit and one day realize that I'm fifty years old and I'm surrounded by the things I love but with no mans and no family of my own. I'm sort of operating on the premise that it'll happen when it's supposed to and in the meantime I'm going to enjoy myself.

I spent a fair bit of time in the kitchen today. I got it into my head that I was going to make this homemade granola bar recipe. I haven't gotten to taste any yet, they are in the fridge hardening up right now. They have to be good though, I mean the ingredients list seems yummy. I'd never heard of using coconut oil before, there's a first time for everything!

My family will be in town this weekend for Easter. My sister is hosting Easter Sunday and I'm having them over for dinner tomorrow night. I don't often have the opportunity to cook a nice meal for people other than myself so I got out the Barefoot Contessa  Back to Basics cookbook and picked a few of the recipes in it I've been wanting to try. I decided on a pork tenderloin with this amazing marinade. It smelled so very good! It's in the fridge overnight so hopefully it'll turn out super yummy!

The library where I live never ceases to amaze me. I don't take advantage of it as much as I should. I went a liiiitle overboard the other day with the cookbooks, and there are so many more I want to look through!

One of my recent projects was a gift for one of the most awesome families I know. My friend has knitted me the most beautiful scarf and the most awesome legwarmers and I've been wanting to make something in return. This is their adorable little family with the two sweetest most adorable kiddos ever!

Went to Santa Cruz with my mommy last week.  Love this photo of the deserted boardwalk.

For quite a while now I've been wanting to eat at this little place called the Picnic Basket. It was amazing. It's right across the street from the volleyball courts and the pier in Santa Cruz. I had a beet panini, I forget what kind of cheese it had but it had this walnut spread on it that made it so good!

My most recent accomplishment was my first quilt just for me. I always make things for other people and this time I made something for myself. I love it. It was a lot of work but it came out so well!  I plan on taking better pics of it but I haven't had the time to find the right location.

I'm really looking forward to this weekend, the weather should be great! I think I'm going to get up tomorrow and go for a nice long walk or a bike ride. I've got a lot of spring cleaning to do and more cooking before the fam gets here. That's the news from Lake Wobegon!