• I have been hitting the ‘ol Instagram app pretty hard, you guys. The iPhone is a fantastic time waster, is it not? If you want to see pictures of blurry, moving children and my lunch and dinosaur staring contests and other little snippets around the Oven Love household, follow me on Instagram (and Twitter, too!) @natalieherr. Let’s be pals.

• I just purchased this print above (like 20 minutes ago, seriously) and I’m in love! Reasons why- it’s an excellent verse, you can print it at home and your purchase of just one little print provides 83 MEALS for families in need in the Sudan. How cool is that? Visit Joy’s Hope to see all of her designs.

• The Great Sugar Reduction Project (worst made-up project name ever) is continuing along. We’ve gotten most of the processed “health” foods out of the house- I was fooled into thinking some of it was good for us just because it was organic or whatever. False! As an ex-PR person, I should know that it’s all smoke and mirrors. So now I’m re-learning how to be patient in preparing food. Slow food is good food. Unless you’re hungry.. then slow food is irritating/why-won’t-you-cook-faster food. Working on it.

• Speaking of the sugar thing, Heather from Southern Pink Lemonade and I are hatching up a plan for a great blog event centered around eating real food. I think it will be great for people who are looking to get into it but don’t know where to start. Look for more info soon!

• Did I tell you we lost a few chickens to that nasty heat wave a few weeks back? Our flock is down to 7 ladies. We are hoping to add some more soon.. mama needs some eggs!

• Baby girl just turned six months and we’ve started solid foods. I forgot how messy/gross/seriously messy the whole process is.. but she’s my child, so naturally I think she is too cute with all that mess on her face (somehow this does not apply with other people’s children). We’ve been going heavy on the bananas, avocado and egg yolks. And by heavy, I mean her bib after she’s done spitting out all her food.

• How yummy does that sandwich look? I just finished working on a fun little sandwich post for MPMK and that’s just a preview. Hungry yet? That’s a whole wheat english muffin with spinach, sliced ham, avocado, a squeeze of lemon juice and salt/pepper. Can’t wait to show you the rest on Tuesday.

• I just got an iPhone! (I am SO not an early adopter. haha) The whole thing is pretty cool, but I think the thing I’m most excited about is using Instagram (you can follow me @natalieherr). Can’t wait to share some Instas with you.. once I figure out how to do that. Ha! Anyone have an iPhone tips to share or favorite apps to recommend? I’m all ears.

• I’m loving this geometric necklace (above) on Etsy. I have lots of jewelry wishes but I never pull the trigger. This one is very affordable so maybe I will!

• Does anyone else hoard ripped-out recipes from magazines? I am in the process of going through my stash and pinning dishes I actually like. I found this recipe of Dorie’s in Food & Wine for Chocolate Cayenne Cocktail Cookies (below). I love the cocktail cookie concept- we should really start adding cookies to everything.

• Also- a momentary ‘boo hoo’ that I’m not at BlogHerFood this year. Hope everyone is having fun out there in Seattle! I’ll be here trying not to mope.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend! 
 Hope you’re enjoying the extra time with your family. Here’s what’s new around here.

• As an Air Force family, this holiday is always a good one for us (four day weekend, baby!), but this year is extra cool because it includes a promotion. The hubs is being promoted to Captain! This is cool for many reasons, my favorites being the extra money in the budget and the excuse to call him Captain-related nicknames whenever I please. Congratulations, honey! We appreciate all your hard work and I know the AF does, too.

• We had a pickling marathon here a few nights ago. We’ve had a major cucumber crop and decided to get ahead of it before we’re up to our eyeballs in cukes. We made bread & butter pickles (pictured above) and dill pickles from an excellent canning book called Put ‘Em Up!– it’s divided by specific fruits and veggies so you can just grab the book when you have a big pile of (insert fruit/veggie here) and go to town. I previously thought canning was too hard and not to be messed with, but it’s not as bad as it seems. It was a fun little bonding activity. Nothing brings people together like hot brine and mason jars, am I right?

 

• Did you guys catch that I am now contributing to an excellent blog called Modern Parents Messy Kids? I am super-pumped about it and swimming in new ideas to share. I feel like Oven Love is all about the recipes, so it’s going to be fun for me to talk more about how I spend the days with the kids, doing silly stuff in the kitchen and making little bellies happy.

• I just read that I have 1200 pins on Pinterest. How is that possible?? I have always used Pinterest as a mental bulletin board of things I want to do/recipes I want to make.. like a really, big to-do list. I guess that means I have 1200 things to do. Better get crackin’.

• Speaking of the big P– my favorite pin lately is this recipe for Banana Split Pancake Stackers. I wish I had thought of this!! It’s the happiest little breakfast.

• Lastly, I added a few new blogs to my reader this week. Maybe you’ve heard of them, maybe not. They are full of happy inspiration. Here, here, here, here.

• We’re throwing a Cinco de Mayo party this weekend! I can’t wait to cook up a Mexican feast and enjoy it with friends. Smoky pork tacos, guacamole, Mexican brownies, and make-ahead frozen margaritas are on the menu. YUM. (Check out my other Mexican recipes if you’re looking for some inspiration.)

•  Potty training has begun! As you can see, we’re doing much better with #1. haha! Anyone have any tips to share? He is doing great when I take him to the potty, but he isn’t telling me on his own too often. It’s a start, though- a few steps closer to only having one baby in diapers!

• We bought a backyard pool this weekend because it’s been crazy hot! Maybe the little guy will learn how to swim this summer, maybe not.. but at least we have a way to stay cool during the long, hot summer.

•  This little food market is my favorite recent Pin. Isn’t it the cutest?? It inspired me to get rid of all the hand-me-down plastic junk food we got with our play kitchen and upgrade to more real looking fruits and veggies. Wouldn’t it be great if the kids kept their playthings this organized?

• I did some experimenting with the spent grain from Nick’s latest homebrew this weekend. I created some spent grain pancakes and made some bread, too. The pancakes were yummy, but the bread left something to be desired- it was pretty heavy. I waited almost all day for it to rise and finally just threw it in the oven! I’m hoping to try these spent grain chocolate chip cookies next time.

• This is a picture of baby girl sleeping on the Strasburg Railroad. We took the kids to ride the train (complete with lunch at the Red Caboose) and they loved it! If you are ever in the Lancaster County, PA area and your kids (or you) love trains, you should really check it out. It makes for a fun day. And stop at The Creamery, too.

• During Easter weekend, my family and I celebrated a little differently this year with a Christian version of the traditional Jewish Seder meal (the Seder plate is pictured above). It was a beautiful reminder of God’s promises and how He has fulfilled them in Christ. (It also reminded me of the wonderful Seder hosted a few years ago by my dear friend Andria, whom I love and miss so very much.) My sister-in-law went above and beyond with the meal and the preparations.. it was a very memorable meal.

• Remember in my last Inside the Oven post where I mentioned my running program? Well, I fell off the wagon on our trip. What do you do to stay motivated to do your workouts (especially when you’re a tired mama)?

• Favorite recent pin? Roasted Peach Lemonade. Sounds amazing! Better believe I will be roasting something soon and turning it into lemonade.

• I just started reading My Life in France by the one-and-only Julia Child. I forgot how much I like reading! Anyone having any good book recommendations? (I have not read The Hunger Games yet. For some reason, I feel that is mandatory to tell people now. Like when you meet people, you should say, “Hi. This is my name. I have/have not read The Hunger Games.“)

•  A few women and I shared our testimonies at our MOPS group yesterday and I loved the quote that one of them mentioned. It went something like this- “When you hit rock bottom, it’s because God wants you to know that He is the Rock at the bottom.” I hope that is an encouragement to you today!

• Hubby and I went blues dancing for the first time this weekend. My brother-in-law and his sweet girlfriend are into the dancing scene (swing, blues, etc) and took us along. It was fun and brought back some good memories for us (we had our wedding reception at the venue), but it was also similar to couples therapy at times- some activities are not quite the same after you get married, you know?

• This week, I’m starting Week 6 of the Couch-2-5k Program. Anyone out there do the C25K? I like it because it gets you back into running without burning you out right away. I am getting dangerously close to the part where there is no more walking in the workouts.. time to put my big girl pants on!

• I really enjoyed this article recently- 10 Ways for Moms to Respect Their Boys. I spend a lot of time thinking about discipline, but respect is just as important. A good read for moms of boys!

•  Favorite recent Pin: This painted wooden bead necklace. I love the look and I really want to try this soon. I need some kid-friendly jewelry!

• Are there any gardeners, homebrewers or homesteaders out there? I’m looking forward to sharing some of business that’s going on in our backyard and in our closet (gotta keep that brew in the dark!) if you guys are interested. Maybe you’ll get to hear from the hubs, too- he’s the green thumb and the master brewer, after all.