This past weekend, Mason and I attended our local Urban Farm Tour. Together with some good friends, we visited about a half-dozen backyard gardens. Some were located at private homes, while others were at schools and community centers. It was such an inspiring day.

Mason and I are attempting garden wholeheartedly this year – with a raised bed for veggies and potted herbs – and this weekend’s tour was so encouraging!

I think events like these are really important. I got to see what strategies others are using and believe that it is possible for Mason and me to actually be gardeners. There is something vital about growing our own food and sharing our experience with others, and it’s nice to know that we don’t have to have a massive farming operation to make a difference in what we eat.

Here’s to health and fresh, homegrown summer produce!

Last Sunday evening, Mason and I had the opportunity to see Les Miserables on its off-Broadway tour. What a show it was! Though familiar with the songs, I had never seen this musical live. From the first downbeat to the final triumphant chord, I was completely mesmerized. Les Mis is such a beautiful story of humanity and grace, and the musical adheres pretty closely to the book. Between the gorgeous music, amazing performers, and intricate sets, it thoroughly did the story justice.

On Saturday, Mason and I took a little drive to the country to visit Happy Cow Creamery, the local dairy from which we buy most of our milk. We took a wonderfully informative tour of the farm, and we met several of these lovely creatures.

It was so interesting and encouraging to hear the passion that the farmer there has for his cows. He makes sure that they are healthy and content, and he rotates the grass in his pasture with great precision so that the cows produce milk with optimum nutrition year-round. After the cows are milked, they “low-temp” pasteurize the milk, which allows the milk to be sold at grocery stores that won’t sell raw milk. However, this gentle process preserves the enzymes and proteins in the milk, making it healthier and easier to digest. (Most commercial milk is ultra-pasteurized, which kills off much of the good stuff found in cows’ milk.) I knew beforehand that I liked the milk produced by Happy Cow. Now I’m even more convinced.

After the tour, we and shopped for some local produce and, of course, dairy products. Thanks to delicious buttermilk, cheese, and ice cream, we were a couple of happy people. We had a total blast!

This past weekend, I enjoyed the most amazing, restful weekend with my BFF Sarah. Quite conveniently, she lives in Florida, so I can combine a girls’ weekend with a beach weekend. Sheer perfection. Also, we are crazy:

We enjoyed so much amazing food! The deliciousness included sushi, fish & chips, orange juice, and ice cream. Oh, the ice cream. Del’s Freez is pretty much the best ice cream on the Atlantic coast. It’s so rich and custard-y.

Speaking of orange juice and ice cream, we stopped by a Hale Groves roadside market, where we bought a bunch of fresh-squeezed, unpasteurized orange juice. It is basically the best thing ever. And they had orange ice cream made with fresh orange juice! I’m not big on orange-flavored anything, because usually the taste is so artificial, but this was absolutely incredible.

All in all, it was a great time. I got to hang out with Sarah and many other dear friends, soak up the sun, and enjoy some restful time away. Glorious.

Thanks to the magic of Zaarly, we got a load of bricks delivered right to our front yard! (Along with a quarter cord of firewood to help our un-used fireplace look less dismal. Pics of that later on.)

This area of the yard had previously been a section of rock-hard clay, covered with cedar mulch and infested with tons of disorganized monkey grass. Not my favorite.  So we got to work digging, adding in organic garden soil, and creating a border using the bricks.

I planted some flowering groundcover, perennials, and other bulbs as well. Now we’re just waiting for it to grow. Here’s hoping!

After much perusal online, we set off to Atlanta and CB2 to see if the one we thought we liked would work. I had never been to a CB2 store, and boy was it fun. We also got to eat lunch with my parents, who just happened to be in ATL over the weekend. Such a nice surprise!

And we brought the coffee table home that day. The longer it’s here, the more I love it.

Sadie was very curious about what we had done to her rug, but by now she seems to have gotten used to it.

Finally, the living room feels tied together and comfortable. It’s the perfect place to relax and read the Sunday Times.

2011 was a year of change. Major, massive change. I think about where I was and who I was a year ago and it feels so foreign to me now. I’ve learned some serious lessons about forgiveness and perseverance and rejection and adjusting. Big stuff.

2011 was a year of motion. New city, new house, new jobs for Mason and me. We’ve had to figure out who we are in a new context, all the while learning to love each other as our lives change around us, and as we change inside and out.

2011 was a year of adjusted expectations. A year ago I had it all figured out. Or so I erroneously thought. After most of my plans fell through, I’ve finally begun to embrace whatever is next. And this is a big deal, since I pretty much can’t stand not having a plan. But sometimes planning doesn’t matter and you have to wait.

2011 was a year of renewal. We were tired and lost in a lot of ways a year ago, but in 2011 we experienced the relief and kindness of God and of community in a different way than we’d planned. It’s not like we know our way better now–who knows the future?–but we know better who is with us. He’s been there all along.

Happy New Year! It’s that time of year . . . that time of joining the gym and paying for our December diets. But I want to give lovely holiday food one last hurrah. We surely ate well this holiday season. I paid homage to the traditional holiday meals with the recipes I chose, but most of them are versatile enough to make great options all year long.

For your recipe collection, here’s the dishes we ate and where to find them.

Sweet Potato & Sausage Soup from Smitten Kitchen. This was amazing! I’m making it again soon.

Whole Wheat Apple Muffins, also from Smitten Kitchen. Such a yummy Christmas morning treat.

Baked Mashed Potatoes from AllRecipes. Simple and delicious.

Spiced Apple Cider with Rum Whipped Cream from Bon Appetit. So good.

In addition to all this, we also ate roasted chicken, cranberry sauce, sauteed asparagus, green salad, chicken soup, toffee and an amazing cake (which I plan to share later on).

Now, on to healthy living in the New Year!

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Happy Boxing Day, friends! Christmas has come and gone, but it was thoroughly magical for us. We enjoyed an amazing Christmas Eve dinner with our dear friends Erin and Matt–recipes to come!–and spent Christmas day opening gifts, calling our families, and eating leftovers.

“Santa” got me the most amazing present ever! It’s a 1960s-era bike with the original paint job, vinyl seat, and handlebars. I’m so stoked.

Mason and I took it for a spin on Christmas afternoon, and my legs now feel like jello. But I’m really excited about getting used to it and biking all over town.

Santa brought Mason a record player and the She & Him Christmas album. It made the perfect sound track for the day.

And of course, what Christmas would be complete without Legos?

I think we can safely say that we had ourselves a Merry Little Christmas. How was your holiday?