Jackie's Bridal Shower

We were in Altoona this weekend for my soon-to-be sister-in-law's bridal shower!  Man, thats a lot of hyphens.  

The shower turned out lovely.  I didn't take many pictures, but here's a few shots from the shower.  

Kind of dark, but Jackie's arrival:

The delicious and beautiful cupcakes that Jackie's sister made.  She's a great baker! 

The food being set up.  Everything was deeeeelicious!

There were a LOT of presents.  A few carloads, I believe.  

Mark and Christian showed up at the end and I ran to get my camera, but this was the only shot I got, haha.

All in all it was a very successful shower.  Lots of good food and fun times.  Just over a month until the BIG day for them!  

Triple Baby Shower

Tonight we had a triple baby shower for the gals in our bible study who are having their second babies.  There's 3 of them!  Erin and Jen as well as Christon, a new addition to the group, are all pregnant and due in the next 2 months or so.  We started with pedicures at the nail salon in the Pittsburgh Mills Mall followed by something to eat at Houlihan's afterwards.  It was fun to celebrate all of the second time mommies.  :)















Yesterday Becky and I made 3 diaper cakes - one for each mom.  They turned out great and was a fun gift to give each mom.

Harvesting Basil

Got basil?

Tonight Peter and I harvested most of our basil and made pesto. We froze it all so that we can have some yummy homemade pesto sauce in the colder months when basil doesn't survive here. I wish I had a place we could even grow some on the windowsill, but the only one that would work is above the kitchen sink. Cadi would knock it down/eat it anywhere else. Unfortunately, the kitchen doesn't get enough sun. A greenhouse window is on my "future home" wish list. Along with a pantry, walk-in closet, and many other frivolous items, haha.

Our rosemary plant is huge as well. I recently found a recipe for a rosemary walnut pesto so I may try that and then make a bunch to freeze if it's any good. We'll have to wait and see.

Balloon Quest

Yesterday we headed to New Castle for their annual Balloon Quest festival. It was super hot, but so much fun!

We even met a presidential candidate. He was super weird, swore, and had a big wrench. That's all I really remember from our 1 minute encounter. That, and that I'll never vote for him haha.

Jeff wanted his picture with the guy and his bus:

Peter climbed the walk climbing wall they had :)

Look at him go!

They had all kinds of little games, food booths, and other festival fun. We even played bingo, but never won. Jeff did many times, though!

We had the best popcorn from the Washington Union Alliance Church (the church the Schindels attend). It was so super delicious! And free!

They launched a ton of hot air balloons. We were front row and it was cool to see all the work that goes into getting the balloon off of the ground.

Peter and Jeff :)

So typical...

This is why it's such an ordeal to get a nice picture of the two of us...

Good grief.

There we go. That'll have to do ;)

Steph and me :)

Watching more balloons getting blown up...

There goes another one!

So bright and colorful.

This is the balloon that Jeff and Steph's church sponsors. The people who run the balloon just sold it so it was their last launch. It was fun, but obviously emotional for them.

Every time that I thought all the balloons were launched, I'd see more getting blown up.

This was a strawberry :)

All of the little dots are balloons.

It was so pretty with the balloons filling the sky as the sunset was starting...

A cool shot from directly under one of the balloons as it floated overhead:

Beautiful open land and skies filled with bright balloons. So fun!

I snapped this picture from across the field as we headed to the car. Such a fun summer night!

We stopped at Pizza Joe's and I had some BBQ pizza for dinner. It's my favorite and I miss Pizza Joe's being closer!

Good weather, good friends, good food. Great day!

Tomato & Mozzarella Pasta al Forno

When I stumbled upon this recipe, I didn't even know what it actually meant, but it looked and sounded like it'd be good. Apparently "al forno" means the pasta is cooked twice - once boiled by itself and once baked in the oven. Peter and I both like our pasta to be al dente so we undercooked it in the water so that after baking in the oven it wouldn't be soggy and overcooked.

This dish was easy and delicious! It's definitely being added to our frequent "go-to" recipes!

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 garlic cloves
2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 pound penne pasta
8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese
2/3 cup parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in pan.
2. Mince garlic and add to oil. Cook for about 1 minute.
3. Add tomatoes and oregano. Simmer rapidly, stirring occasionally until thickened (about 15 minutes).
4. Toss pasta with sauce.
5. Place half of the pasta in a greased 9“ x 13” baking dish. Cover with half of the parmesan and mozzarella cheeses.
6. Top with remaining pasta then remaining parmesan and mozzarella cheeses.
7. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Homemade Rosalind's Chocolate Covered Strawberries

My sister and I made chocolate covered strawberries with Rosalind's chocolate chunks. Yum-o! And way cheaper than buying them from Rosalind's! Happy 4th of July! I'm off to eat these and other delicious picnic food. :)