Happy Fourth of July! Today is our first holiday in the new house, and we put the flag out front to celebrate. After a June filled with moving in to the new house--our lease ended and we turned in keys to the old house on Sunday--in addition to move-in for M-Bio at work, I'm looking forward to a relaxing day at home.

Even with the dry state of affairs, our yard continues to surprise and amaze me. Our roses and hollyhocks are still in their full glory, and finally our lilies are starting to peek out. 

One of our favorite things about Ann Arbor is the farmer's market, which is wildly popular here. Loren and I try to make it to the farmer's market every Saturday morning--and walk when it's not too hot--to buy fresh flowers for the dining room table. 

We've been eating outside on our screened in porch. My mom has made a couple beautiful things for us, including the window seat cushion in our living room and the table runner below, which was our first year anniversary present last week. Lindsey, a good friend and neighbor from our previous house, gave us the jars as a housewarming gift.

Below are a few more shots from the house.

Our garden is coming along, although our tomatoes took a turn for the worse during the hot spell we've been having. I've been watering every evening, and I'm hoping that the fertilizer capsules I put down will help out. Eating tomatoes is an important part of my summer!

Today I discovered that my front porch fern swill soon be home to baby birds. Since I  go out every morning and pour a large glass of water into the fern (which until today was just above eye level), I'm glad I finally thought about the bird that flaps out of it every time I come near. I'm hoping the momma bird chooses to move her babies soon after they're born so no one gets over protective during my early morning watering routine!