Three Things 6.27.15: Marionberries {&worms!}, Dinner Out, & Lemon/Lime Juicer

Happy Saturday! Welcome to our weekly ‘Three Things” post where you’ll find a peek into my week and some things that are making me happy.
I’ll start with three things, however, I don’t want to be limited by that, so don’t be surprised if there are often ‘bonuses’ at the end – just to keep you on your toes! (Note: the links I provide are often affiliate links, though not always.)

 

 

I was completely surprised to see that the Marionberries were ripe this week – and not just a few, I picked two huge bowls full! They are my favorite in the blackberry family with their complex sweet-sour flavor and I have two rows of them in addition to a couple rows of Boysenberries (smaller and not as flavorful) which I’ve been picking for a couple weeks.

On a yucky note, my daughter discovered the little white larva from the spotted wing fruit fly in some of the first Boysenberries we picked. I didn’t know what they were, since we’ve never had that before, so imagine my disgust when I went online and found this and this (and many, many more…). Arrrggg – not our organic, backyard berries! Berry sadness. BUT, I’ve since been soaking and refrigerating everything we pick now and there have been NO signs of them again. Isn’t that weird? Where did they go? I’m just glad they’re gone! Have you found these maggots in your fruit (all berries, cherries, and some stone fruits…)?

I was treated to a fun dinner out by some of the girls in my family. We started this little tradition for our birthdays a few years ago when we all realized it was hard to get everyone together for traditional family parties (precedence goes to the kids) and I have to say I love it! It’s different than our normal thing and we get some great time together. (Wanna know what I ordered? Salmon! If it’s on the menu, that’s usually my restaurant staple – I love it.)

Two more books finished for my 2015 goal! I’m definitely going to need to upgrade the goal for next year, right? I have been meaning to ready my friend Angi’s book, Hope: Thriving While Unemployed, for months, and as it’s pretty timely for us right now (we’re having a time of underemployment…), I moved it to the top of the list. I appreciated that it’s not a long, overwhelming book and it’s full of practical things you can do right now. It’s also full of wisdom and encouragement that this is a season that we will get through. I am thankful I read this!

And I finished the other book I told you about, Dear Mr. Knightly. I’m happy to report the end is just as good as the rest of the book – I really thought this was such a fun read! Clean, full of wonderful insights and emotions, and just the lightest touch of romance. I’m going to be reading anything else Katherine Reay puts out, I’m sure. (And how fun is that to say after the dud fiction books I’ve been reading lately!)

I’m using my lemon/lime squeezer a LOT lately for guacamole, salad dressings, marinades, and to add to water or iced tea. I resisted getting one of these hand squeezers for years because they seemed expensive and I had my glass juicer (the kind that sits on the counter as you push/twist). But this is SO much easier – really. I got the bigger yellow one that they market for lemons because it’s easy to use it for smaller limes – no need to buy the smaller green one, too, in my opinion. How do you juice lemons when you only need one or two?

 

Bonus Follow Up: Thank you SO much to everyone who received my email asking for feedback on the Ultimate Digital Photography Bundle – I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know your thoughts! I received so many emails that I can’t respond back to each of you, but know that I read them all, and will take to heart your comments.

Based on your comments I know I need to tailor what I promote more to the topic of the blog (though AOC is full of photos, so I didn’t think it was that far off, ha!), and be sensitive to pricing. Also, many of you mentioned the timing might not be good with all the summer activities and a number of people moving. So, with that in mind, I will mention here for the last time for any of you who are thinking about the bundle that you’ve only got until Monday before the offer is gone – so the 2 or 3 of you wanting it should get on that, ha!

Oh, and I decided to throw in three great links I found this week that you might like, too:

1. Tiffany’s got a fun summer slow cooker series going on that included this frittata. I had no idea you could cook a frittata in a slow cooker – what a great way to keep the kitchen cool.

2. I loved these tips on how to plan for a remodel or refresh of a space – simple and easy!

3. 10 Vegetables it’s not too late to plant.

 

Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links and by clicking on them you help support AOC at no extra cost to you – thanks so much! Plus you can trust I’ll only share what I love. (You can always read our entire disclosure page here.)