August Book Club

No joke, when I went to write the title for this post, I started to type "July" instead of "August."  How has the summer gone by so quickly?!?  Before I know it, I will be in my new classroom and we will be moved into our new house.  So many changes are coming up!

Last month, I read Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir, by Jenny Lawson.  It was hilarious.  I highly recommend it to people who appreciate a little dark humor...

This month, I'm working on reading or rereading all of the books that are on the 10th and 11th grade reading lists.  One of these is Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya.  I'm really looking forward to this - have any of you read it?

What are you reading this month?

Saturday Snapshot: Orchids

There were so many amazing orchids at the Como Conservatory!  Have you ever seen one with wavy petals?  Or a beard?  How cool is that?!?  I love orchids and if I could, I would have dozens of them everywhere :)

Life Lately

We went strawberry picking!  These were the sweetest, most delicious strawberries I have ever had!

Last month, I shared with you all that John and I were house hunting.  This month, I'm excited to share that we have found our home!  We still need to go through the final steps of closing, but I'm really happy with the place that we found, and I can't wait to share all the projects, decorating, and home owning adventures with you!

1) John and I dominating the wedding photo booth. Nailed it!
2) Packing... SO MANY BOOKS
3) Enjoying the summer weather with patio drinks

Fourth of July was a blast out on the lake!

I hope your July was wonderful!  Follow me on Instagram @GoesLightly for more pictures like these :)

60th Birthday Gift

We celebrated my dad's 60th birthday this weekend, and it was a great time!  I wanted to share with you all the gift I put together for him.  It's such a fun way to celebrate a milestone birthday or anniversary!

I did some research online and found events that happened in the year he was born.  Then, I came up with gifts that coordinated with the events.  I tied everything together by using package tags leftover from my Christmas gift tag craft.  The big gift was a Roku, so I listed the movies that were released that year.  I also got him a book published in 1954.

Some of the more creative gifts included artisan soap to go with the first year of the soap opera, "Secret Storm," and a jellyfish paperweight because 1954 was the first year Jacques Cousteau appeared on television (it was for an episode of "Omnibus").

It was a lot of fun putting this gift together, and it was really interesting to learn about the things- both trivial and major- that were happening that year.

Happy birthday, Dad! :)

Saturday Snapshot: Water Drop

Oatmeal Cookies

What can I say?  I'm on a cookie kick lately!  Here's another Granny recipe (I love how worn this recipe card is!) for you all- her oatmeal cookies.  These are dangerous because they're not overly sweet... it's easy to eat too many!

You will need:

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup shortening
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups flour
• 3 cups oatmeal
• 1 cup coconut
• 1 cup nuts
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

One thing I have really enjoyed about working through Granny's recipe box is that sometimes the recipes need a little decoding.  Usually, this is because her handwriting is hard to read in some spot.  But with this recipe, there is no bake time or temperature!  So, I guessed.  And it worked out fine!  If you ever find yourself in a similar spot, 350 or 325 are typically good temperatures for cookies.  Another tip: bake with the oven light on, that way you can see your cookies at all times to gauge how it's going.

Preheat your oven to 350.  Combine the sugars and shortening in a mixer and cream them.

Add the rest of your ingredients and mix until well combined.

Form the dough into golf ball sized balls and place on a baking sheet.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the bottoms and tops of the cookies start to turn golden.  Let them cool on a wire rack and enjoy!

Pepper and Goat Cheese Quesadillas

This is such an easy meal to make, and I personally believe that anything with goat cheese is going to be delicious.  Quesadillas in general are a favorite for me because it's such a simple dinner that you can remix in tons of different ways- you can even use it for breakfast!

For four quesadillas, you will need:

• 3 sweet peppers (I went with red, orange, and yellow)
• 1/2 sweet yellow onion
• Oil for cooking
• 4 ounces of goat cheese
• 8, 8 inch flour tortillas
• Small amount of olive oil, butter, or margarine to coat the tortillas

Slice up your peppers and onions while a teaspoon of oil heats over medium.  When the oil is hot, add the onions and cook until browned.  Then, add the peppers and cook until tender.

On a nonstick cooking pan, heat a small amount of oil over medium-low heat.  Lay your tortilla onto the oil, rubbing it around to distribute the oil evenly.  Top with peppers, goat cheese, and a second tortilla.  Flip when the first side is golden brown, adding a touch more oil to the pan as you turn the quesadilla over.  Cook the second side until golden brown.  Slice and serve.  Enjoy!

Yum :)