Friday Favorites - Buzz Cuts, Deck Days, and a Tiny (possibly dead) Turtle.

So apparently there's a lot of people interested in my lady bits.

Or their lady bits. Or just lady bits in general.

And with good reason, I might add (well, not for those interested in my lady bits. That's troubling and we need to have a talk). 

But Wednesday the little blurb I wrote directing people to my In The Powder Room post  where I was asking the honest question of how you ladies keep your cookie clean quickly became my third most hit post — in about 12 hours. 

That tells me something. 

We all need to meet up for a little show & tell. 

Nah, that might be extreme, but what it did definitely did tell me is that we're all curious as to what's going on with each down under. I mean, we're girls, we totally wannna compare notes! It's really no different than sharing lipgloss tips (Boots No. 7 from Target - love) or what the best method is for cleaning your granite countertops (water, some rubbing alcohol and a few drops of dish detergent in a spray bottle). 

And I'll be honest, I was not expecting the flood of comments describing in great detail how you ladies actually trim the hedges (or your husband's), but I have to admit it helped make my results graph much more accurate. So thank you. 

And FYI — the military cut was the winner. 

Moving on. 

Spring has finally sprung here in Minneapolis, and while that is favorite enough for me, I've got a few more things to add to today's list. And they all have to do with one thing —

1. My deck.

If you're ever looking for me during the month of May and until about mid-June (when either too many bugs like to join me or I've escaped to the lake), it's a good bet I'm out on my deck.

Our backyard is totally wooded, with a wetland at the far back, and in the early spring it's not only a lime green vision with hundreds of trees budding, but an absolutely gorgeous (and loud) symphony of birds, frogs, ducks and geese who provide lovely background atmosphere throughout the day....and night. (I'm not going to mention the truck noise from the street abut 1/4 mile away because I try to ignore it, and because it's not my favorite.) 

I start my days with coffee and my laptop in my favorite wicker chair -

Eat my lunch and (more often than I admit to anyone) take a mid-day nap in the very same chair, and end every day chatting with husband for a few hours while grilling dinner and enjoying a glass of wine. 

Or three. 

Flowers getting placed for planting this weekend.
Leaves starting to bud on the trees (a month late).
We earned this. 

It's not a fancy deck by any stretch of the imagination, but by the end of May when all the leaves are fully in we are completely secluded back here and feel like we're in the middle of the woods. Which okay, I guess we kind of are, but all the houses that surround us completely disappear and other than the occasional splash from the neighbor's pool or the bass thumping from their teenage boy's poolside speaker (the one I keep threatening to go over and throw into the pool), the only music is made by the feathered residents. And the frogs. Who aren't feathered. I don't think. 

When I'm home, it's my favorite place to be, no question. 

2. Time to plant the flowers!

Definitely a favorite springtime activity...until mid-August when I'm totally sick of watering them and they're all overgrown and I pretty much let them die.

(Sounds like one more thing I'm OVER, doesn't it?)

But yesterday? Yesterday was flower buying day....

A small sampling

And tomorrow is flower planting day! (Favorite 2a.) 

Just one more reason I love spending time on my deck. 

2. Archer Farms frozen edamame -

Okay, I know I'm late to the edamame craze, but my sister-in-law introduced me to the little green pockets of soy goodness over spring break and I.Am.Addicted. Seriously, we eat a bag about 5 nights a week. Is there such a thing as a soy addiction? Soy overdose? SA meetings? 

Target (of course) sells this frozen bag that you can toss right in the microwave -

$1.99 - can't beat it. 

I toss with just enough sea-salt to make my lips swell and then we gnaw away like little rabbits.  

Don't worry...the salad is coming up next...

What does edamame have to do with my deck, you ask? 

Keep reading...

3. Grilled chicken salads (see above) - 

One of our favorite and frequent dinners to make when we're out on the deck is a variation on the grilled chicken salad.

Basically, we grill a couple of chicken breasts and then have the option of:

• Asian Sesame - w/ Sesame dressing, red peppers, green onions, dried cranberries, sesame seeds and wonton strips.

• Caesar - w/ Caesar dressing, parmesan and giant croutons.

• Buffalo - w/ lettuce tossed in Ranch, chicken tossed in Buffalo sauce and celery. 

• Mexican - w/ salsa/ranch dressing, black beans, avocados, tomatoes, green peppers, cheese and tortilla strips (my FAVE). 

• Chef - w/ dressing of your choice, and a ton of other crap that is in danger of rotting in the veggie drawer. 

This week I found Panera dressings at (where else) Target, and may have freaked out. 

Do you have Panera where you live? If not, it's like Paradise Bakery (for you AZ folk). 

Love.Their.Salads.

Last night we had Asian Sesame Salad (pictured above w/ the edamame):

Grill chicken breasts. Slice. 

Toss lettuce, thinly sliced red peppers, dried cranberries or cherries and a small amount of sliced green onions with dressing.

Arrange sliced chicken on top.

Drizzle with a little more dressing.

Add more green onions on top (which is why you want to go easy on them in the "toss" stage).

Add sesame seeds.

Top with crispy wonton strips &/or slivered almonds. 

*Serve with edamame (obviously). 

If you want some more easy summer dinner ideas, check out my summer dinners Pinterest board. 

It's a work in progress, so I'd love to hear some of your easy summer dinner ideas in the comments section below! 

4. Tiny Turtles!

Making a last minute addition to the list this week doesn't have anything to do with my deck.

But would you look at this teeny tiny turtle I almost ran over (literally - with my feet) yesterday when I was out — you guessed it — running (or attempting to in between taking pictures of tiny turtles)? 

Could you die? 

It's possible it actually had as it wasn't moving at all, but it was still super cute.

So that's gonna be a wrap today, my lovely ones.

It's raining worms and frogs outside and so I think I'm gonna pour a cup of coffee, sit on the couch with the windows open and two unfolded loads of laundry by my side...and read a magazine. Duh. 

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