7 QT 51: Basil harvests, relics, and haircuts
It's Friday! It's been a full, fun week here at the Langrs - here's a look back on our latest adventures:
1. Good food, good friends
Joseph threw a beautiful surprise party for my 23rd birthday last weekend. He cooked three dishes and guests brought drink pairings to try out! Here's a quick look at the menu:
- Artichoke heart and goat cheese bruschetta paired with a sauvignon blanc wine
- BBQ chicken and smoked Gouda cheese paired with a hazelnut brown ale
- The best crème brûlée I've ever had paired with prosecco
It was a night of laughter, catching up with old friends (some of whom I hadn't seen in a year!) and community.
2. Catholic finds in the West Bottoms
This weekend we took a trip down to the Kansas City first weekend in the West Bottoms district. Each month, old buildings are opened up and antique vendors set up shop. Last winter, we'd found a great vendor that had a lot of vintage Catholic finds. We've been trying to find them for the past year, and last weekend we found their spot again! They'd moved up a few floors of a building, but they still had some interesting things to look through.
One thing we noticed was a lot of relics - which I'd snatch up if the reliquaries weren't priced at upwards of $300 a piece. Here's a peek at one of them:
We also ran across a nativity baby Jesus without his manger or his fingers. Or his mom. Or the shepherds, for that matter.
Some wander through the West Bottoms looking for that perfect basket or couch. Joseph and I wander around and wish we had hundreds to spend on these interesting Catholic finds.
3. First swim of the summer
Sunday we spent time with my side of the family. I share a birthday with my little sister Reagan (we're four years apart, but born on the same day!), and we celebrated together a day late. The afternoon was full of go-karts, cheesecake, and swimming.
Even though Joseph and I have a neighborhood pool, it's always full and the hours are kind of funky. So it was great to hang out with the littles and jump off the diving board at the pool my parents go to. We left feeling like prunes - but with no sunburn! Win!
4. Snip, clip, pixie
Joseph and I went on a practice hike last weekend to try out our hiking gear. Halfway through the hike, I realized that my hair was all over the place and just a little too short to put into a ponytail.
So I cut it all off.
Well, I didn't cut it all off. Someone at Great Clips did. But I'm back to the classic pixie with no regrets. It's crazy how much less shampoo I'm using!
5. The 2018 basil harvest
Joseph and I grew some herbs this year on our kitchen window sill. We harvested the basil harvest and wanted to show off the 2018 crop:
12 little basil leaves! Not too shabby for first time herb farmers. Here's a look at what they looked like post-pizza cooking:
We're really proud of how they turned out! I also realized while chowing down on the pizza that fresh herbs make a world of difference in the quality of taste of our dishes!
6. Who can say no to free Dunkin'?
Thanks to the Dunkin' Donuts app, I was gifted a free drink on my birthday. I finally got around to using it yesterday night while running errands with Joseph. Normally I'm a iced coffee girl (french vanilla flavor swirl, cream, no sugar), but I made full use of my coupon and got a large iced caramel macchiato. It was delicious.
Even though I shared with Joseph, I was still up 'til the wee hours of the night with a caffeine rush, and up again before 6:00 am with enough energy to fuel a small country.
In other news, I convinced a co-worker to download the Dunkin' Donuts app and he's happily using it to keep updated on the latest happy hours. I need to find out if it's possible to become a Dunkin' Donut affiliate and receive free coffee in exchange for all the times I've mentioned their business to friends and blog-readers.
7. Grow, puppy, grow!
I've been dog-sitting Gemma for over a month now - she's growing up so fast! I snapped a quick picture of her when we hung out on Monday. Look at this girl grow! Her new favorite thing to do is flop across the front lawn and roll in the grass. I call it "grass swimming". She'll doggy paddle her way around the yard on her back and side, enjoying that summer sun.
Have a great weekend everyone!