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Summer is about being outdoors. We spent this past weekend camping at Rocky Gap State Park with some friends. We went to Rocky Gap last summer for Andrew's birthday. It is one of the most dog friendly state parks we have camped at, so when our friends recently adopted a dog, it was the first that came to mind.

Lilah was born a water dog, and at her first smell and sight of the water, she was ready to plunge in. Her new friend, Colton, was timid at first, but as he watched Lilah from the shore, he finally followed her lead. Suffice it to say, the weekend was a dog party.

The weather was gorgeous. After a morning swim, we hiked up a new trail amongst lush greenery and rocky paths. Our canine friends moved quickly ahead of us with agility in their steps. As we descended, a clearing gave way with an open creek bed.

And of course, the weekend was not complete without a few good campfires and meals. I even experimented with our Dutch oven, baking this scrumptious coffeecake over the fire. We ate eggs, baked penne, s'mores, garlic bread, roasted veggies, and delectable French toast with nutella, bananas, and coconut. We certainly did not go hungry.

And as we prepared to tear down camp, Lilah and Colton were certainly tired pups. Their weekend, as well as ours, was complete.

Have you been on any camping adventures this summer?

Some days in Baltimore are hotter than others in June, and this week has certainly been a testament to that. It's only a tip of the iceberg reminder of what July and August will bring. On days like this, I'd love nothing more than to be transported back to a moment of dipping my skin and hair into the salty South Pacific in Byron Bay, Australia.

In all of my travels, some places leave a mark on my heart more than others. These are the sorts of places that literally make me cry, because of their beauty and because I know I'll eventually have to leave, not knowing when or if I'll ever return. Byron is one of those places.

On my last visit back in September, we watched humpback whales spout and cruise around the point below the lighthouse, made friends with two water dragons, enjoyed sunsets, celebrated my 30th birthday with mud cake and champaign, woke up to views of ocean waves carving out the rocky coast, drank beer with the locals, and daydreamed about what it would be like to live there.

On days that I wish to go back, I let the photos take me there just for a while. And I remember Andrew's words as we took off from Sydney to head home to the States. "When we come back... not if, but when."

When we first moved into the row house, we had what was called a parking pad at the rear of our house. I say "what was called" because the space was advertised as such, but in the real estate flyer, a Mini Cooper was pictured out back. While we both drive compact cars, there was certainly no way that we'd be fitting either of our cars in that tiny space, nor was it ever our intention.

Let's take a look back to what things were like on the day that our initial patio renovations began.

We battled designer concrete with a jackhammer, erected a cedar pergola and fence, and finished the space with new pavers. For the past two years, we have been enjoying our patio and deck as shown below, but we were craving a more open and contiguous space.

Our original plan was to lower the existing deck and build a stair that ran the width of our yard. In addition, the air conditioning unit, that was precariously positioned on a steel platform attached to the deck, needed to be moved. Ultimately, we decided to remove the entire first floor deck and use the existing concrete pad below it.

Over the course of two weekends, we removed the entire deck, had a new air conditioning unit installed, and gave away most of the deck boards and beams to others via Craigslist. We did, however, save some of the wood to patch our roof deck and to build our new stairs.

Aside from the new air conditioning unit, this project has cost us only around $100, which was spent on wood for new stair stringers, screws, and many brackets to help construct the stairs.

Generally, the space now looks much like it does in the last photo, but the pile of wood is significantly smaller, the concrete pad is much cleaner, and the stairs have been finished and closed on the front. Our next steps will be a trip to the dump with the remaining debris and painting the concrete pad.

Already, it feels much bigger than it was, and we're excited to make this renovated space our outdoor oasis.

It's no secret that I love tacos. After a meat heavy week of grilling, I wanted an alternative to anything but meat. For me, it's all about bold flavors for any taco recipe-- and lots and lots of cilantro! This recipe fit the bill perfectly and will definitely be back on the menu in the near future.

After a few requests to pass this recipe on, I'll gladly share it with you all. Its flavors are fantastic and the sweet potatoes could easily be roasted over a grill on those hot summer days that you'd prefer not to turn on the oven. While we served our with a healthy does of cilantro, you could easily top these with sliced avocado or some mixed greens for an extra pop of green

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos

What you'll need

• About 3 small sweet potatoes, peeled, and cubed
• 4 Tbsp of olive oil, divided
• 2 tsp cumin, divided
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/4 cayenne pepper
• 1/4 ground coriander
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 small onion, diced
• 3 garlic gloves, minced
• 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup of corn
• 3 Tbsp honey
• 2 limes, juiced
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• corn tortillas
• Monterey Jack cheese

Directions

Preheat the oven to 390 degrees. Placed the cubed pieces of sweet potato in a bowl, add 1 tsp cumin, paprika, cayenne, coriander, and salt and papeer with 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Mix well. Spread the sweet potato evenly on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Stir the sweet potato and bake for another 10-15 minutes.

While the sweet potato is baking, saute the onion and garlic over medium heat in a skillet. Add the remaining cumin and chili powder. Add the black beans, corn, honey, and lime juice and heat thoroughly. At the very end, stir in the cilantro.

To assemble the tacos, use two corn tortillas, heated and warmed on a skillet. Scoop the black bean mixture onto the tortillas, place the roasted sweet potatoes over the beans, and top with the shredded cheese.

Today marks an important milestone for me in this business venture of mine. A year ago today, I was officially no longer a teacher and had taken on day one of running this paper goods business full time. Looking back on this past year is a bit surreal. While it has had its many challenges, it has also had many more successes, thanks in part to so many amazing people that have supported me through it all.

One of my big goals during this past year was to launch my own website. As the one year anniversary of my leap of faith neared, it seemed completely appropriate to launch the new site on that day. In addition to hosting my blog here, you may notice that the most exciting aspect of it all is that my shop is now in the same place! I will still have my shop open on Etsy, for those of you that may want to do your one stop handmade shopping there, but I am truly looking forward to growing my business in this new home.

Now that I am spending less time working on the website, I hope to soon be back to blogging with some recipes, small business tips, photography, new products, and perhaps some home DIY here and there. I encourage you to follow along as I would love to continue to build and engage with my handmade and blog community! You can follow along on Bloglovin' with the button below.

As a celebration for the launch of this website, as well as my one year anniversary, I invite you all to use the code CELEBRATE20 here on the website shop to receive 20% off any purchase. The offer will be good for the next week, so be sure to take advantage of it if you've been wanting to stock up on cards or pencils!

Thank you to all of you for making this past year a memorable experience, and inspiring and motivating me to continue to create!

xo Heidi