Signs of Spring

For a couple weeks now, Luke and I have anxiously awaited the blooming of our bradford pear tree in our front yard. Unfortunately, in the fall, the tree suffered some damage due to a wind/rain storm and a huge section of branches broke off. This was really upsetting to us, and it made us question the livelihood of the tree come Spring. Lucky for us, the tree has survived and looks beautiful! It is the biggest and best on our street, and we were dorks yesterday and took pictures of it. :-)

Additionally, we are waiting on the blooming of our weeping cherry blossom tree in our side yard. Of course this tree has special significance as it represents the child we lost in our miscarriage about 6 months ago. The tree has looked pretty puny throughout the winter and has worried us a lot, but we see signs of budding and we are very excited for it to bloom. The due date is approaching, April 13...and I hope we see blooms by then. 

Luke and I have had quite the wonderful weekend. Friday night we enjoyed some Puccini's, which is a local Italian restaurant with a few locations in the surrounding area. We ate it a few times last year on the northwest side, and we discovered a location right off 116th street so we dined there on Friday. Yummy! Luke then got the awesome idea to rent "The Brave Little Toaster," the 1987 classic tale of discarded electric appliances who go looking for their master. We absolutely loved watching the 22 year old movie and laughed the whole night. 

Saturday we spent a good 20 minutes laying in our driveway in the sun, and I think we both fell asleep! We also did a lot of productive things around the house like laundry and cleaning and putting the trim up in the bathrooms and entryway. YES we are STILL finishing up the tile job! It has taken forever! But I see the end...it is near!

I made some absolutely STELLAR crockpot ribs for dinner and really want to share the recipe with you.

Use anywhere from 2-3.5 lbs of pork back ribs. Do not use spare ribs as they are not as tender and don't do a nice job with this recipe. I made that mistake a few months ago.

Cut off any excess fat you see (I don't like doing this as I don't care for handling bloody animal parts, so I leave the fat on usually...)

Spray a crockpot with nonstick spray and turn it on low. Cut the ribs into 3 sections (about 4-6 inches long.

Mix 1/4 cup of brown sugar with 3 tablespoon of liquid smoke and some garlic (how every much you like, chopped up), as well as salt and pepper to taste. Rub this mix into the ribs and then layer the ribs with sliced onion. Red onion works nicely.

Pour a can of coke, diet coke, Dr. Pepper, pepsi, diet pepsi...any dark cola....into the crockpot with the ribs. 

Cover and cook on low for about 8 hours. The smell in your house will be amazing!

After 8 hours, take the ribs out carefully, probably with tongs or a slotted spoon because they will literally be falling off the bones at this point. Dump out the liquid from the crockpot, then put the ribs back in the crockpot. Dump in BBQ sauce (I like the Jack Daniels brand) in the crockpot over the ribs. Cook for about another hour.

Take the ribs out and ENJOY! They are so amazing. They fall off the bones and would make excellent pork BBQ sandwiches, too. This is Luke's favorite thing I make, and he even compares them to Loon Lake Lodge ribs, which is a high compliment! 

I just wanted to include a couple pictures I found of Edna on my camera. Look how pretty she is!