.diy.

for our anniversary i made kevin one of those "100 things i love about you" books that are ever so popular on pinterest. good thing he never goes on pinterest otherwise he would know about my completely unoriginal idea. there are also many "52 things i love about you" that people paste onto playing cards. i initially set out to do this, but when i sat down to make the list of 52, it so happens that i ended up with over a hundred. ooops. i guess i just love kevin too much?

anyways, here is a look at the little book. he put it on his bedside table, either to make me smile or because he actually wants to fall asleep reading the book. i don't really care either way.

pretty cute.


also! this week i made probably the best soup in the world. it was just so fresh and delicious, and felt like summer to eat.

here is a recipe if you find that we have another snowy or rainy day and you want something warm, but something to remind you of the summer that is bound to come, even if just for a few months!

enjoy!

 *french vegetable soup with basil pesto

ingredients:
4 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp herbes de provence
1 pkg leek soup mix
1 cup navy or kidney beans, drained and rinsed
8 cups vegetable or chicken broth
2 cups whole wheat pasta (i used a mismatched bunch of pasta)
1/2 cup basil pesto (you can make your own, or just buy the jar... i usually just buy the classico brand)
1 cup frozen sweet peas
1 cup chopped fresh asparagus
1 cup thinly sliced radishes
1 cup diced red bell pepper
fresh ground pepper

directions:
1. in large saucepan heat oil. add herbes de provence and dry soup mix. stir together for one minute. 2. stir in beans and broth. increase heat to high and boil. reduce heat to medium and simmer 15 minutes stirring occasionally. 3. while soup is simmering cook pasta, drain- and set aside. 4. add pasta, asparagus, peas, radishes, and red pepper to soup. cook for about 5-10 minutes till asparagus is tender.

ladle into bowls, and then garnish each bowl with 1 1/2 tbsp of pesto. stir together and enjoy!