Garden Bike!

I love this bike.  Not only because it's brand is the Lotus, but because it helps transport all of my goodies.  I've carried toilet paper to booze in that basket and it felt wonderful cruising through the streets of Minneapolis with my potting soil and plants. 




Note the chickens under the table. 

Hello Summer!

Well, it looks like I let May go by without a single word.  To be honest, I don't even remember what I did during the month...all of a sudden it was gone!

So far June has started off to a great start!  Ross and I got out the canoe for the first of the season and floated in our local swimming hole, Lake Nokomis.  Then we headed down to Lanesboro, MN for the Rhubarb Festival and camped out that evening.  All signs point to it being a good summer!

Besides little adventures, I've been working on re-upholstering a chair and baking, baking, baking!  Last week I made these:

They're cream puffs with chocolate porter mousse and a chocolate porter ganache!  What?!  I know, before giving some away we ate them for each meal.  I combined a few different recipes.

The cream puff recipe I got from here and the beer mousse and beer ganache recipe here.  The ganache wasn't as smooth as I had hoped.  Perhaps it was because there was beer in it or because I didn't melt the chocolate properly, but it still tasted great!

Then I made a cake for my neighbor's son who just graduated from high school. 

Here's the kitchen amidst the chaos of cake making:

I layered vanilla and chocolate cake and the frosting was a vanilla buttercream.  Holy powdered sugar and butter.
 

I am not a perfectionist when it comes to baking or decorating and I figure that there are people who look for the same in baked goods.  I just have never been drawn to the perfectly smooth baked goods that look more like art than food.  Don't get me wrong...I will eat them, but they don't seem to be my style.  However, it would be nice to be able to have that skill if ever needed.  It's definitely a learning process and it's one that I love.  

A weekend with Jess + Moss

It seems our apartment has been the center for inspiration these days.  And a lot of the inspiration comes from movies we've been watching.  Our local video store features a wall of indie films mixed right in with the latest Hollywood blockbusters.  It's the perfect mix.  Films by up and coming filmmakers and artists on a minimal budget straddled between Sherlock Holmes and The Muppets on gargantuan budgets.  It's a nice balance.

So, we got sucked in this last weekend.  We've started Game of Thrones...which is amazing!  It's like Lord of the Rings meets Braveheart.  Yes, please.  Anyway, we also picked up a little film entitled Jess + Moss and it was beautiful.  It felt like it was filmed entirely at sunset and was full of scenes that encapsulated the feeling of nostalgia.  The movie was simple but with scenes filled with artful and magical cinematography.  I think you get the picture, I liked it.

If you're feeling like venturing into the indie film world, I'd highly recommend this one.  And would you look at that...I've even posted the trailer:)


 

JESS+MOSS Official Trailer from Brian Harstine on Vimeo.

Brew ha-ha!

It was around 10:30 PM the other night that Ross and I decided it was time to bottle our beer that had been sitting in my cabin (my craft room) for three weeks. We bought a kit called 'Speckled Heifer' that is suppose to be similar to the infamous brew in Wisconsin called 'Spotted Cow'. Haha, get it? Anywho, we'll let you know in 2 weeks how it tastes!

Let's have an adventure

This past weekend was me and Ross' 6th anniversary! It's absolutely nuts thinking how fast time has gone. We were such babies when we met and now here we are...in our late 20s together and happy.

Some of you may know that Ross and I are lovers of travel. You may also know that in 2010 we set off for a 'round the world trip. We were to be gone for a year, but had to come back 7 1/2 months in because it was discovered our then 4 month old nephew had a brain tumor. During those travels we did an alright job keeping up with our blog Devonitely Rossome.

Anywho, we realized that it was 2 years ago, on that trip, that we celebrated our anniversary in New Zealand. It hit me square in the chest. This feeling of longing to be on the road again. A deep sense of nostalgia that brings me to the brink of tears each time I think about that trip. It's a subject with never ending depths and I'm sure it will be a consistent feature here at the Flea.

I remember that day being one of our first Devon/Ross adventures. Sure, the trip itself was an adventure, but that day commenced something different. Mini adventures...ones where you just go with a packed lunch and follow the clues.

Among many things, during that day we rambled along the coast of the sea looking for shells, analyzing the washed up remains of a whale and playing pretend on a deserted beach...our private cove. That's the cove we were told was a great location for skinny dipping. So we did. Let's be serious...you would too.

The locale of our anniversary in NZ

As we were swimming, my eye caught the image of something dark in the water. Jude, the woman we were WWoofing for, told us about the infamous sting ray that roamed the coastline. A giant. Minimum, 6 feet across. And that's what my eye saw when I looked over. Needless to say, I scrambled to get out of that water fast. As my feet met the rocky shore and I did the hobble run trying to save my pink feet, complete hysteric laughter came over Ross and me as we watched this prehistoric creature glide through the water with ease. It was a magical day.

Back in Minnesota, March 17th, 2012, we thought an adventure was due. And I decided that it should start with a drink we were so fond of in Thailand. No, we didn't have it during our anniversary that year in NZ, but it hits that same part in my chest.

A Thai coffee.

Here's how to make it and let's be serious, I never have the patience to measure much, so do as you feel:

• Brew some coffee

• Heat up some whole milk

• Fill half your mug with coffee, add some milk

• Here's the secret ingredient you must not miss: add sweetened condensed milk...as much as you'd like:)

• Enjoy!!!

At the Foshay Tower for our anniversary adventure

The adventure continues!

So, take yourself on a mini adventure this weekend. It doesn't matter how long you've lived in a place...explore it with new eyes.

Ms. Honey Oatmeal Bread:

I wish I could save you and eat a little at a time...but that never happens. You taste way too good.

My Assistants

These little ladies were found at one of my favorite flea markets. There's nothing antique about them. Good 'ole plastic...but they're measuring cups!!! I just fill up their little backs with goodies and dump it into my bowls. Sometimes I just like to set them out for a little company.

Well, with their help I made this lovely loaf of honey oatmeal bread.

I'm about to embark on a bread baking venture. Possible business? I'll let you know! Needless to say, I will be showing what I make as I go...both successes and failures.