Pickling Cucumbers.

 Well, my kitchen experiments continue with a chapter on dill pickles. During our dating relationship, my husband introduced me to a very special sort of sandwich—one to which, apparently, every Reavely is particularly partial. As an aspiring Reavely, I was quick to join the pickle-mayo & peanut-butter sandwich enthusiasts. That is, after I overcame my natural skepticism of the Reavely tradition. 

I have come to crave these strange sandwiches, typically between the hours of 3am and 6am. Ever since my sister-in-law gave me the book, Food In Jars,  I have been eager to test these pickles on our special sandwich! Our late night snacking just got more epic. 

If you would like to try your hand at home-made pickles, here is the recipe I used! 

Adventure with my Honey. Continuation of our 8-month honeymoon.

This weekend, my husband and I had an adventure up in Trout Lake, Washington to celebrate one-year since we got engaged! We aren't crazy campers, so we didn't take a tent, sleeping bags or anything like that... just some down comforters, some folding chairs, some bread, brie cheese, strawberry jam (homemade, of course!) and chardonnay. Simplicity is our favorite.

Why struggle to set up and sleep in a tent on the ground when you could throw a futon mattress in the truck bed and bring comfy blankets? (make sure to check the forcast!) We like to call it "tramping".....truck-camping. 

We had a marvelous time talking over the past year, and talking about the next year. My husband is a fantastic listener. He listens to my heart, not just my words. He listens to my feelings, as well as my thoughts. And it gets even better than that; I trust him with everything I have and am.

Strawberry Vanilla Jam

Taylor and I decided, on a whim, to go berry picking with two of our dear friends. Without thinking through what we would do with the berries once we got them home, we picked as many big, beautiful, red strawberries as we pleased! Before we knew what happened, we were holding several overflowing boxes, amounting to thirty-pounds of perfectly ripe happiness.

Thankfully, my sister-in-law came to my rescue! We spent the next day washing, slicing and cooking down every pound of berries that we had gathered.

After the ensuing rushed mayhem of pots boiling over, lava berry burns and pinging jar lids, we ended up with quite a few beautiful jars of strawberry-vanilla jam and strawberry syrup (for italian sodas!).

 My, what a whirlwind. 

ipad studies. 10:42am

​My husband, Taylor, is in the midst of his studies at Western Seminary in Portland and I have grown accustom to seeing his brow furrowed at his iPad as he plows through his many reading assignments.

I love watching him as he sits deep in his studies and thoughts.