Dana Burland

Wahoo! Our deck is refinished and all outfitted for summer fun! We started this project at the beginning of April when a break in cold weather pointed out just how terrible the orange painted deck floor had deteriorated. With a ton, I repeat, TON, of man-hours from my father-in-law, lots of hard work from B and some assisting hours from my dad, the deck is done. The pergola and railings were sanded and solid stained white, the floor was power sanded (please, a moment of pause for the hours and hours of work in 90 degree heat that portion alone took), and stained dark. Ben and I gifted ourselves the new outdoor dining set for our anniversary, and I re-oiled the existing lounge set we've had for a few years now. Man does it feel good to have a safe outdoor space for our boys to play, and, cough, for us to enjoy at sunset while they're asleep. :)

Another year, another garden. Here’s my set up this year: Prep I yanked out some perennials for more real estate to plant. This almost doubled my garden area! Plant From seed I planted: Sugar snap peas Green beans Strawberries  Dahlias From starter plant: Rosemary Basil Parsley Two varieties of cherry tomato We have a bushel of chives that pops up every year as well. Snap Pea A/B Test I recall from growing snap peas at our old house they like to climb. I added a trellis to support the majority of my snap peas and left another patch untrellised as an A/B test on yield output. So far the trellised plants are almost triple the height of non-trellised, but no fruit is present yet. Nothing Burgers My dahlias and strawberries are doing nothing about 30 days post planting. I suspect my strawberries might be too shaded by my tall snap peas but who knows what I did wrong with the dahlias. Gardening With Kids Growing and cooking from this garden is a creative project of mine, but I’ve tried...

Oy, I just casually blog-overlooked our five year wedding anniversary , didn’t I? At the end of May our anniversary came and went.  It came in the form of an extra busy Saturday that we spent quarantined and potty training a certain toddler while wrangling a sweet go-with-the-flow baby. We gifted ourselves a new outdoor dining set which we make use of almost daily, even with the deck project in motion .  It went in that we did not get a date night or a dinner out or more than an hour of quiet one-on-one time. We had a normal COVID-safe day that felt like the day before and the week before that and the month before that.  And before you read that lack-of-grand-celebration as sadness, you should know that at five years into married life we have everything we could have dreamed of--and more.  We have two healthy, beautiful, thriving boys. A lovely home we worked hard for. The partnership of each other that has weathered the last five years of storms including the last ...

At night I sing Cam bedtime songs I make up. Right now he’s on a “Cameron & Adrian” kick. To the tune of “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”, it goes like this: Here’s a little song I wrote You might want to sing it note for note Cameron, hoo hoo, hoo hoo, loves Adrian When life brings you trouble Call your brother on the double Adrian, hoo hoo, hoo hoo, loves Cameron This must be what it means for your heart to expand from loving one kid to two. I love them both, all the way, even when I’m pouring my cup directly into one. I’ve been a mom for almost three years. A mom of two for almost a half a year. A mom with both my kids at home in stay-at-home-mandated quarantine for almost a quarter of a year. Love and balance are understandably, wildly out of proportion around here. This time of ultimate togetherness is not permanent, though it’s much longer than a moment, so I’m thinking about love and balance and endurance . Sometimes when I mom for two I end up pouring milk with my left foot while sh...

Look, sheet pan dinners are hardly a revelation, BUT, I have a new trick up my sleeve that helps really amplify them from oh that’s a nice and easy dinner to whoa, that’s really good.   Here’s the secret: spice prep & finishing sauce. Spice prep : When you have all your veggies / meat laid out on the sheet pan, great creative and liberal with seasonings. I like spice blends a lot here, like Montreal chicken seasoning.    Finishing sauce : When my sheet pan meal is done roasting, I’ll take it out of the oven, drizzle a sauce over it, and broil for a minute or two. I try to include something in my sauce that will caramelize or thicken a bit honey, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar or mustard. Often my sauce is oil, lemon juice, garlic, more spices, a drizzle of honey and a drizzle of mustard. I’ll shake it up in a mason jar and drizzle it over everything to broil. Another magic tip (from my mom! Hi mom!) dressed up microwave rice packets. Dump the cooked microwaved rice pack...