Summer summer summer time...(Do you remember that Will Smith song???)

It is SUMMER!  My favorite.  All around the best season for me; it means fresh food from the farmer's market, looooong days, good sunshine (I even like the heat, don't judge or wrinkle your nose, I'm allowed to like the heat), LOTS of birthdays...including mine, and a bustling social calender!  The hubs and I have been packing every week/day/month with lots of food, friends and activities, which is why I haven't explained yet why dads are just as great as moms, what our meal plans have been, or shared any marriage anecdotes. 

Summer activity=Chicago Contemporary Art Museum

Good food a good husband makes before a good outdoor date....SUMMER.

Cute summer Hubby...it's blurry, but so what? It's summer.

But the past two weeks of meals have been too good NOT to share :)  Thank you Ferguson Farmer's Market!  We love you...like, truly.

Look at the bounty!!  For only $20!!

July 11th-15th (a true feat of brain power as I recall the last weeks food. Go me.)
All veggies and some fruits from the F.M.

Monday:  Delish grilled turkey burgers on toasted bread with fruit salad and chips.  Made even better by the company of Foleys.

Tuesday:  Scrambled egg hash that included potatoes, kale, and cheese with whole wheat toast

Wednesday:  Birthday dinner surprise for Mrs. Dukes; crispy chicken, with sour cream mashed potatoes, and green and white string beans.  Dirt Cake for dessert :)

Thursday:  OH YUM!  Grilled pork and hot pepper enchiladas that Hubs baked on the grill...We heart our Weber.  


Friday:  Vegan coconut curried kidney beans, mustard greens and carrots over rice.  We so healthy.


July 18th-22nd

Monday:  Margarita Pizza; fresh basil, mozz, and tomato on home made pizza dough; and a blue cheese dressing, bacon, squash and red onion pizza.  It was worth turning the oven on....

Tuesday:  Another egg scrambled/hash thing with potatoes, mustard greens, bacon and red onion with toast.  It's our new favorite meal.  Really.

Wednesday:  Hubs made the most amazing pesto he's ever made, and we ate that on a grilled chicken sandwiches that I can't even talk about because you won't understand how great they were.  Along with grilled squash and chips.

Thursday:  Grilled ham steak, potato pancakes (from last weeks leftover mashed potatoes), green beans

Friday:  FOOD TRUCK FRIDAY in Tower Grove!!!!  The possibilities are endless...

~The Wifey 

 

Side by Side

Hubs

Wifey

Amusing myself while the hubby is making dinner.  YAY!  I like it when he does that for us.  So sweet.  I think I'll keep keeping him; he's super handy.

Bathroom update for those who knew about our BR woes.  It's Fixed!!  We're back in business!  (TMI?  Maybe.)

 Meal Plan 5/2-5/8
Monday:  Tilapia-Oros Style (this just means we saute it then add garlic, capers, and lemon juice...sooo good), kale, and creamy barley

Tuesday:  Picnic fare, spinach artichoke dip, leftover Mexi-style pork, hummus, and "fancy" Triscuits

Wednesday:  Tomato soup and grilled cheese

Thursday:  Happy Cinco!!  Mexican inspired pesto, chicken fajitas, couscous, avocados, sombreros, Jarritos etc. etc. etc.

Friday:  Cherokee Street Tacos with the Foleys : )

Saturday:  Dinner with the Waites : )

Sunday:  Mother's day!  So whatever the moms want, it shall be done!

 

Shark Attack!!!!!

SHARK ATTACK.  Pow.  (I am a nerd...self professed.)

Sometimes a Hubs will take a half-day off work; telling his boss, "I'll be leaving early today to go spend time with my wife."  

Then, on this beautiful spring-like Friday, sometimes a Hubs will take you to lunch at Osage Cafe. 

THEN, sometimes a Hubs will take you to the Zoo, because its fun and its fresh outside and smells like spring for the first time in a LOONG LOOOOOONG time.

We saw this ape.

Steve took this picture while he was walking...very talented.

We are happy and at the zoo. 

This is a big, slobbery camel....

Steve and this camel are not friends....ask him why, maybe he'll tell you the story.

~The Wifey 

Fun Things a Hubs Does

• Calls you cute when you wear pigtails in your hair
• Buys you cupcakes : )
• Plays nonsense games with your nephew
• Dances in the living room
• Tucks his sleep pants into his socks (yeah, I don't know why either...)

I love hubs!

~The Wifey


Ok, I need to play a little defense here:
A) 'Dances in the living room' may be taken the wrong way. Don't picture little girls dancing at a slumber party...rather, picture those huge rugby players in New Zealand doing their war dance (the Haka) to signify how manly they are. It's like that.

B) As far as tucking my sleep pants into my socks. I did that, but I don't do it every night. I was doing it to show how I would look in knickers. So there.

- the Hubs

This Just In: Poodles Make Better Husbands...

I was getting ready for work this morning, watching the morning news as I normally do, when a story came on regarding wives and their pets. According to a recent AP Poll - 1 out of every 3 wives say their pets are better listeners than their husbands (go here for the complete story).

Ummmm...this is dumb, and now I am sad. There are two things wrong with this:

    

     A) Pets are taking our place?? According to the wives that were polled, they were more likely to share with their pets because, I quote, "Pets look you in the eye and they don't talk back." True...but pets also sniff each other's butts and poo on carpets. Point being, pets are not a substitute for a husband. Husbands, listen to this...some of our wives are saying that animals otherwise proned to leg humping and drinking out of toilets are doing a better job than us in some areas of our marriage. They aren't just doing better in small areas either, they are doing better in one of the largest areas there is...communication. When Puggy Pajamas can communicate with our wives better than we can, a human being, than there's a problem. The quote above should tell us something about what our wives want...they want to be heard. Take some notes from Little Miss Raindrop Kitty Face and be a better listener. Lord knows I'm working on this.

    
     B) We can do more than pets. So, some wives are telling their pets more than they are telling their husbands, but why? I think it's because their pets are not judgemental. The wives said it themselves, 'Pets don't talk back.' I think what is really being said here is, 'Pets don't act like they know everything or try to force some crazy opinions on me...they don't try to fix me.' Oh my cuss (see: the Fantastic Mr. Fox)...I am a chronic 'fixer.' I think a lot of us husbands are...it's just what we do. It's the 'carpenter' inside of all of us. Ummmm, but wives hate that...not all the time, but most of the time. Wives don't want to be fixed, they just want to be heard. So here's the thing with this...and here's why we're different than pets. Are you ready? We're different because...we're HUMAN!! Whoa!! Shut your face...what's going on here?? What are you getting at Steve??! I'm getting at this, Mr. Questions...we can listen, but THEN we can also do human things. Like give our wives a hug (hard for a dog), make them dinner (also hard for animals with paws), show them more love than just a lick on the face (which we should ONLY reserve for pets, by the way). Crazy thing is, that when we act like our pets and do a good job of listening, we may actually be able to figure out what our wives need through said listening, than trump those snotty pets by acting on those needs...something no pet can do. Take that, Mr. Cuddles!! I just schooled your stupid dog face! This is something that I'm not good at all the time. I'm working on it...and probably will be for the rest of my life.

I'm no expert...and I'm not even close to giving advice here. Actually, I think it is more a reminder to myself...and if it happens to speak to other husbands out there than that's great. Let's do this guys...remember, we're better husbands than our iguanas.

Until next time.

- the Hubs

Hubs Can Cook

Look what he made!

That, my dear reader, is made from scratch gnocchi with an also made from scratch saucy thing that Hubs created on the fly.  And THAT is/was delicious and great.  

I married a man who isn't afraid to step in the kitchen, get it really dirty, and turn out a scrumptious meal.  I'm so blessed!  He's a wealth of talent!  We eat great food at home!  

Hooray marriage!

For tips and tricks of making gnocchi, I refer you to him. 

~the wifey


Ahem...my follow up:

YES. I DID IT! I was so scared about making this...so many websites I found about gnocchi said how hard it was, how patient you have to be, how 'sensitive' you had to be with the dough (what??). Anyhoo, it WAS all of these things, but it was also an enjoyable process and I did enjoy it. I will also say that I DID make a giant mess (as the wifey subliminaly added) but let me add that I also cleaned up this mess. So there. :)

The 'saucey thing' in question was (to clarify because I'm proud) a red wine sauce with fresh grape tomatoes, fresh basil, capers, olives, and garlic. YES. I'm gloating. Just give me this.

I love cooking for my wife...it's probably one of my favorite things to do, and she is such a great and gracious consumer!!

I will also say that while cooking said meal, I thought again as I often do about how I could so not work in a restaurant...that one hour was enough for me.

- the Hubs

Fun things a husband does, list format

-chases you through the house for various reasons to make you giggle really hard

-hides an Easter basket with all the favorite candy from your childhood...just like the parents used to!

-talks in a fun voice about dumb things (this gets me every time)

-makes dinner without being asked : )

-wears pink pants, refer to blog post below

This is a fun post for me.  I think I'll do that again, because 'hubs,' as he is referring to himself, does many fun things.  He makes me smile and laugh.  I like it.

~The Wifey