Eggplant and flowers

But not at the same time!

I tried an amazingly good recipe the other day that I wanted to share with you. It's an eggplant parm recipe from Martha Stewart

I think it came out really well!



It's also relatively healthy since it's baked and not fried but still tastes just as yummy. "
I only used one eggplant instead of 2 and had MORE than enough to fill a 9x13" pan.

I couldn't resist taking some pics of my flowers too. They are all bursting at the moment!






Have a great week!!

6 years!

I survived 6 years of being married today :)

I came home from work to the scent of flowers...









Happy Anniversary to me!

Need a little sunshine...

I'm sitting in the Birmingham airport... waiting for my plane which is an hour delayed. I originally had a 1 and half hour layover - and now it's 2 and half hours! I spent the last few days in New Orleans for work. It rained or drizzled or fogged the entire time I was there. And now a huge storm is delaying me more! Ack!

I could definitely go for a little sunshine. - So I thought I'd share some of the Spring that has been popping up around my house... before all this rain of course!

My neighborhood cherry trees are blooming!



The hyacinths are popping out...



And the daffodils are blooming...





And another little piece of sunshine... I bought these daffodils from Trader Joes to brighten up my table... aren't they gorgeous!

A burst of color

I forced some tulip bulbs this winter. It's been so nice to have a burst of some friendly yellow flowers in the middle of the winter!



Check out the roots...



Beautiful!



Don't let the freezing ice and snow get you down!

More Smithsonian!

After taking in the Smithsonian Folklife Festival - we walked by the Smithsonian's rose gardens...


And then stopped in for a stroll through the gorgeous wildflower gardens. Based on the number of pictures that follow I think you can guess my favorite!





Their collection of Passion flowers were amazingly beautiful. I had never seen these in person before! I was love-struck :)

















Here we are in the middle of the garden.



After our stroll through the garden - we checked the National Museum of the American Indian. I had never been to this museum and the building itself was definitely the highlight. What an awesome shape!

A request...

Please pray for my good friend Brie. I have mentioned her here before and she means a great deal to me.

She has severe aplastic anemia and recently received a white blood cell transplant. She is not responding well to her treatment and has been in the PICU since Friday.

It doesn't matter to me what your religious beliefs are, but please pray or send healing thoughts or just think about my dear friend. She needs all the help she can get right now. So does her mom and brother.

And because Brie loves flowers - I leave with you some of my favorites in her honor...












Thanks everyone!

Happy Memorial Day!

Enjoy the beauty of the season!!!

















PS - Thanks for all the sweet comments - I love you guys!

A walk in the garden

I took a walk through my garden today. There is so much in bloom! I love this time of year!

Petunias...


Peonies....





I call this one the Dr Seuss flower! Aren't they weird! Anyone know what they are called? I think they may be related to Alliums...













Even dandelions can be beautiful - just so they aren't in my lawn!

Spring has popped!

Beauty is in the air. Spring is definitely my favorite time of year. This weekend it was spectacular!

My pride and joy of my garden is my magnolia tree and she bloomed this weekend!




Just look at those blossoms!



The magnolia wasn't the only one popping open - take a look at these beauties!



The plum tree popped open...




And my parents brought me down some forsythia bushes from their yard. Can't you just imagine a whole row of these yellow flowers?



It was definitely a great welcome home view for John and I. John had surgery on Thursday to reverse his ileostomy and came home on Friday! We were both surprised and excited that he only had to spend one night in the hospital. Thanks for all the prayer and good thoughts!

Please send out some more good thoughts to my my friend Brie. She is in the hospital right now and could use some love and prayer herself. She has severe aplastic anemia. She has a new blog that she is using to keep her friends and family updated - go give her a shout!

Images of Spring

Spring is here! I can feel it! I can smell it in the air! I love this time of year most of all. Everything dead is coming back to life! Here are few signs of spring I've been seeing ...










Enjoy it while you can!