Friday Favorites

Welcome to Friday Favorites: a series of posts to share my favorite recipe, blog, design items,and general stuff I love from the week.

I'm working on making some changes to my blog. Thank you for your patience.

Have you ever been intimidated by making your own Roast Chicken?  I have.  I always just buy the pre-made chicken at the grocery store.  But My Main Man had a big accomplishment at work yesterday, so I thought I would try something special.  This is yet another recipe from Ina Garten, but really, you can never go wrong with her.  As you can see, I am no food stylist, but the picture above is how Ina's Perfect Roast Chicken looked when I was done.  There are quite a few ingredients, but it was not expensive to make, and there is very little work. For example, you just chop a whole garlic clove in half, and stuff it into the bird along with lemon halves, and a bunch of fresh thyme.  I bought two heads of garlic, and left one in the roasting pan.  I could just eat the picture below!

My friend Kristen sent me this blog post she found, from memories on clover lane, titled why I stay home.  It is fabulously written.  She is spot on, and she echos my thoughts on why I stay home with my kiddos.  Her main point is that she does not do it for the milestones, or the beautiful moments, but that the difficult times make "staying home" worth it.

 Since it is Friday, and you are getting ready for a long Holiday weekend, it is time to get your creative juices flowing!  Have you ever considered creating your own lamp shade?  Younghouselove was talking about Lamps Plus this week, and I was pulled in.  But if lamps don't suit your fancy, how about a new purse?  Design a new bag at LILL Studio!  Here is a picture of one I created this morning.  I love the Drea purse because it is reversible, so you can get more use out of it. 

And while we are on the topic of accessories and design, look at this lovely summer clutch that Susannah shared with me:

You can find them at Emersonmade. Or how do you like these?

Finally, don't you just love their floral chain necklaces?

I am trying to make a habit of frequenting our local Farmer's Market this summer.  If you are also attempting to eat more local, seasonal foods, then you may find this map helpful.  Use the Interactive Seasonal Map from Epicurious to discover the best food for your area.

I hope you have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!!  Ours will be full of food, dog-sitting, and a visit from my lovely mother.  I can not wait!  But at the end of the day, I want to remember what this weekend is really about: honoring our fallen soldiers.