Weekend Basics

1. We finally decided on the perfect shade of gray for our kitchen — so we stocked up on paint, I pulled out "the visor," and we got to it. We can't wait to share results as things take shape.

2. Our hand-crank ice cream maker came out from hiding just in time for the 4th of July. We whipped up a fresh batch of blackberry ice cream, which we'll share the recipe for later this week.

3. The yellow pansies we planted in our front walk urn planters back in March stayed strong until the wrath of this VA heat wave proved to be their ultimate demise. Prepared to replace them at some point, we have a fun update to share on these that we tackled over the weekend.

4. Yep, that's a beer and yep that's a beer batter! You won't want to miss this.

5. Zucchini was the vegetable of the weekend. With this fresh vegetable being in the height of its season, we had plenty on hand and had fun experimenting with different recipes — including zucchini fries and baked zucchini chips. All the details to come soon.

6. That's my Mary! She made a big mess as you can see, but it was all for the sake of organization in the end — look for all the details right here on the blog tomorrow.

P.S. There's still time to enter our stainless steel compost bin giveaway — details here.