We spend a lot of time in our backyard either tending to the garden or relaxing on the porch.  And most nights, when it's cool enough, we eat dinner out there.  I particularly love the warm, sticky summers we have here, with lightening bugs, honeysuckle, and magnolias everywhere.  But warm and sticky means tons of mosquitos.

Badger is our go-to bug spray, and simply enough the main ingredients are essential oils.  So I'm reading the ingredient list and thinking, if they work in a spray why wouldn't they work in candles?  Thankfully, other people on the internet have already thought of this and worked it all out, so I took what sounded good from different places and came up with these candles.  They seem to work pretty well so far, and they don't leave you stinky like the spray.

DIY Citronella Candles

You will need:

Essential Oils (Citronella, Lemongrass, and Rosemary)

Glass Jars (canning jars work great)

Coated Candle Wicks

Natural Soy Wax 444

Clothespins to clip the wicks in place

Food Thermometer

1. Melt the wax to about 150° in a double boiler (or in a pyrex measuring cup inside of a pot of hot water).

2. Dip the wicks in the hot wax and then affix them to the center of the bottom of each jar.  Use the clothespins to keep the wicks centered to the top.

Step 3. Mix in your essential oils.  Most recipes call for about 1/2 tsp of oil per pound of wax.  I used about that for the citronella, but then added in rosemary and lemongrass oils.  We like the way these smell, so the stronger the better?

Step 4. Once your oils are mixed in, and your wax has cooled to 135° (+/- 5°), you're ready to pour.  After pouring, the wax will cool pretty quickly and may sink a little.  You can top them off as you go.

5. After the wax has cooled, trim the wicks, cover the jars with their lids, and set the candles aside to cure for 24-48 hours before burning.  

 Mosquito-free dinner time!  Plus some extra romantic ambiance ;)

In between multiple bouts of pink eye, stomach viruses, and colds, life lately has been a fun beginning of summer with Elodie.  She's pretty easy to keep entertained since she's literally never experienced summer before.  Everything is new and exciting, which makes it new and exciting for us, too.

Eric has a new study site in the works, so we've spent a lot of time working on logistics for it like buying a boat and getting gear ordered.  We also had the "chore" of going down to the Northern Neck to check out the area and the crew housing for when they're in the field.    Can you really call something this nice a field site?

^ ^Eric watching the osprey nest while Elodie naps^^

^^ Out on a friend's boat scouting for dolphins^^

Our friends Kevin and Lo came for a Memorial Day visit.  It was probably one of the most patriotic Memorial Day weekends I've ever had - we went to both the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum and Arlington Cemetery.  Neither of us had ever been to the cemetery even though we drive past it almost every day.  I was most surprised at how big it is, there are so so many graves.

Otherwise, we've been out and about enjoying the weather with friends, and trying to get Elodie used to playing in water.  She's not so sure about it, especially when it's too cold!

 ^^first ride on an electric horse^^

 ^^making out at the splash pad, she's delicious^^

 ^^"Oh, we're all getting in the pool? Ok I'll get in, too"^^

Cara's neighborhood had a block party and thanks to Anthony we have a family picture!

i celebrated turning thirty-one over the weekend with some quality garden time, farmers markets, good food, friends, and crafting.  and as a special gift, the pools closing coincided with my birthday weekend, meaning that saturday was dog days of summer!  (we go every year, here are last year and the year before)

the markets are vibrant and lively - you can feel summer coming to an end.

 bella helps with the harvests and then the sowing of cool weather veggies.  it looks like we're going to be eating a lot of pesto this winter.

^^a cross stitch i made for our new nephew, emil.^^  we got out to colorado for a couple of days to meet the adorable new addition to the family, and this project was so perfect for relieving flight anxiety.  i think i'll do one on every trip from now on.

 dog days was a blast, as usual, though belle didn't do a lot of leaping into the water like she normally does.  it's hard to believe she's almost ten.

 ^^my pick for best in show this year^^  must. eat. all of the water!

 we even managed to get some swim time in, ourselves!

 a few nights ago we were lucky enough to spot this cicada molting in our back yard.  its wings came out in ridiculously vibrant colors.  i've always loves collecting their shed exoskeletons, but have never been able to see it happening.  really cool.  a few days later a praying mantis kept following me and trying to land on me.  i'm taking both of these encounters as signs of positive transformation, rebirth, and inner calmness/inner strength.  all things that will be very helpful in the coming months ;)

while 30 was a fantastic year, 31 is shaping up to be miraculous!

giardiniera: italian for gardener

somehow lately i've turned into a crazy garden lady.  every day after work i go out to pick ripened tomatoes, peppers, and carrots, and check on the progress of the other veggies.  i also pull weeds, trim off dead branches, and de-flower the basil (ha).

it's become a labor of love as everyday i learn more about normal growth, the proper ways to harvest, and how to manage garden insects (my answer so far is spiders - they're the best).  the ever growing stalks keep me creative as i continuously have to invent new ways to prop them up.

^^this is an onion flower.  did you know onions made flowers?!  it is so pretty that i left it when i harvested all of the others, and it's still blooming.^^

the onions were all ready at once a few weeks ago, but everything else is just starting to be ripe here and there.  on friday, when i came home, i found belle in the garden (i know chicken wire isn't that much of a deterrent, but it's kept them out so far) helping herself to anything and everything!  our biggest loss was the broccoli, which she had completely pulled out of the ground and devoured.  she also helped herself to a couple of tomatoes, but we have lots to spare, so not as big of a deal.

it seems that when she got to the peppers she would pull one off, realize it was hot, and continue on just pulling them off and dropping them.  we had jalapeños and anaheim peppers lying all over the garden bed.  i love to cook some spicy food, but what was i going to do with 14 peppers??

and then it came to me.  spicy pepper relish (aka giardiniera).  like the kind you get on your sandwiches at potbelly or snarfs.   i crave these spicy pepper mixes and would eat them on everything if i could.  and thanks to belle it was looking like there was a good chance i'd be able to do just that.  between the garden and our fridge we had hot peppers, bell peppers, carrots, and celery, so i picked up some green olives and cauliflower and we were set!

full confession, i have never canned or pickled anything before... and after chopping up all the veggies, i googled how to do so and got a bit of a surprise.  it is much more complicated than i imagined.  thankfully, canning has become more popular lately so there are many resources out there.  i mean, i bought a canner at bed, bath, and beyond, and had multiple options to choose from.  thank you, hipsters.

^^this is a canner with my jars in it.  i had no idea.^^

i will say, it was adorable that i was approached by two separate older ladies who asked if i needed any help or advice.  they said they were happy to see someone still out there doing it besides themselves.  i talked to each of them for about 20 minutes and even got one of their phone numbers.  never thought i'd have a contact called Joan the Canning Lady.

overall it went pretty well.  the peppers are very tasty and i didn't even have to call joan :)

i'm so happy we planted the garden.  when we started i was a little skeptical that anything would actually grow, especially from seed.  but it has!  so now i've bought seed for our winter vegetables and am ready to plant as soon as there is space.

here's a before of the garden.  it looks vastly different now that the tomatoes and corn are both taller than the fence.