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Halfway Through Summer… and Life Had Other Plans

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When summer break began on June 15, I had all these grand ideas of what I was going to accomplish.

I pictured spending my days exploring small towns around Maryland, relaxing at the beach, discovering new gluten-free restaurants, and writing plenty of new blog posts. I even imagined tackling a few projects around the house while enjoying a slower pace before the school year started again.

Instead… life had other plans.

Most of my summer has been filled with doctor appointments, dentist appointments, and making sure my kids got to all of theirs as well. Between scheduling, driving, waiting rooms, and follow-up visits, the weeks have flown by much faster than I expected.

On top of that, I’ve been staying busy with my Master’s program classes. As many of you know, I’m currently working toward my Master of Education in Elementary and Special Education. The coursework has definitely kept me on my toes! While I absolutely love learning and know this degree will help me become a better educator, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous about balancing graduate school once I’m back working full-time as a paraprofessional come August.

Some days, I find myself wondering how I’m going to fit everything in.

Then there are the days where I simply have no energy.

Have you ever looked at your calendar and realized you finally have a free day, but instead of wanting to go out and do something fun, all you want to do is stay home and recharge? That’s pretty much where I’ve been this summer. I keep telling myself I want to explore more of Maryland and Delaware, spend a day at the beach, and discover hidden gems to share with all of you but lately, my body has been telling me to slow down.

Maybe that’s exactly what I needed.

Sometimes we put so much pressure on ourselves to make every moment productive that we forget rest is productive too.

The good news is summer isn’t over just yet.

Tomorrow, I’m hoping to head over to Chesapeake City for the delayed Fourth of July fireworks. The original fireworks were canceled because of the rain, so I’m excited that we’ll still have a chance to enjoy the celebration. It’s one of those simple summer traditions that I’m looking forward to sharing with my kids.

At the end of the month, family will be flying into Washington, D.C., and we’ll be spending a few days together exploring our nation’s capital. I’m really looking forward to playing tourist, making memories, and hopefully sharing some fun places to visit—along with any gluten-free finds we discover along the way.

I’m also hoping we can make it to the Cecil County Fair this year. Last summer, we had just moved to Maryland, and our days were spent unpacking boxes, settling into our new home, and learning our way around a brand-new state. This year feels different. We’re starting to feel like locals, and I’m excited to experience more of the traditions that make Cecil County such a special place to live.

And yes… I’m still determined to squeeze in at least one beach day before the school year begins. Living this close to the Delaware & Maryland beaches is still something I’m getting used to, and it feels like a summer tradition I can’t let slip away.

So while this summer may not have looked the way I imagined, I’m reminding myself that life doesn’t always have to be packed with adventures to be meaningful. Sometimes growth happens quietly in online-classrooms, in waiting rooms, in family conversations, and in the moments when we simply take time to breathe.

Thank you for sticking around, even during my quieter season of blogging. I appreciate every one of you who continues to read, follow along, and support Small Town Living in Maryland.

Here’s to making the most of the second half of summer. I can’t wait to share more adventures with you soon!

My End-of-Summer Bucket List

  • Spend a day at a Delaware beach.
  • Watch the Chesapeake City fireworks.
  • Explore Washington, D.C. with family.
  • Visit the Cecil County Fair.
  • Find a few more amazing gluten-free restaurants.
  • Take a spontaneous road trip to a Maryland small town.

What about you? Has your summer gone as planned, or has life taken you in a different direction? I’d love to hear what you’ve been up to in the comments!

Happy 4th of July!

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Today marks 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, a milestone often called America’s semiquincentennial. It’s a day to reflect on freedom, history, and the ongoing story of this country, while also enjoying time with family, friends, and community.

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One year ago yesterday….

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One year ago yesterday, the kids and I arrived in Maryland with a lot of hope, a little uncertainty, and a whole new chapter ahead of us.

It’s hard to believe an entire year has already flown by. They say time flies when you’re having fun and apparently when you’re busy building a new life, too!

I originally posted this video six months ago, and somehow we’ve already reached the one-year mark. Along the way, we’ve made memories, found new favorite places, and grown in ways I never imagined.

My heart is full of gratitude for this journey and all the blessings this past year has brought. Here’s to one year in Maryland and many more adventures still to come. 💜

– M

Starting My Summer Garden in Maryland (Inside My Garage with a Greenhouse)

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After nine months of living in Elkton, I’m starting to settle in. One of the things I was most excited about this year was starting a garden.

For my birthday, my dad and brother gave me a small portable greenhouse. I set it up in the garage with a heater and grow lights so I could get a head start on my seedlings while the weather is still unpredictable outside.

Right now, my little greenhouse is full of tiny sprouts and seed trays. It’s still early in the season, but something is exciting about watching the first green shoots appear and knowing they’ll eventually make their way into the garden this summer.

A Budget-Friendly Seed Starting Hack

When I started prepping seeds for my summer garden here in Elkton, I quickly realized how expensive all the seed-starting supplies can get, especially since I left all of my gardening supplies and original greenhouse back in Lake Tahoe. And starting over, all my supplies costs have been adding up, so those plastic seedling trays with humidity domes add up fast!

Instead of buying the traditional trays, I found a much cheaper solution hack. I bought disposable aluminum baking sheet pans with lids from Walmart instead. They work surprisingly well as mini greenhouses and cost only a fraction of what the plastic seed trays do.

Inside the pans, I’m using a soil blocker tool that creates four 2-inch soil cubes at a time. It’s actually a really cool little tool. Instead of plastic cells, the seedlings grow directly in the compact soil cubes, which makes transplanting much easier later.

The aluminum pans hold the cubes perfectly, and the clear lids help keep moisture in while the seedlings are getting started. It’s a simple setup, but it’s working great so far in my small garage greenhouse.

My Small Garage Greenhouse Setup

The little greenhouse itself is set up right in the garage with a heater and grow lights to keep everything warm and give the seedlings the light they need.

Even though it’s a small setup, it’s working surprisingly well. The grow lights keep the seedlings from getting leggy, and the heater helps maintain a steady temperature during the colder nights.

It’s not fancy, but sometimes the simplest setups work just fine.

Looking Ahead to Summer

If all goes well, these tiny seedlings will eventually be transplanted out into the garden once the warmer weather finally settles in here in Maryland.

Right now, they may only be little green sprouts, but with a bit of patience, they’ll hopefully turn into a full summer garden.

For now, I’ll just keep checking on them each day and watching them grow. Living here in Elkton has been a bit of an adjustment after spending so many years out west in the Sierra Mountains. The climate is VERY different, the growing season is longer, and I’m still learning what grows best here in Maryland.

Starting seeds this year feels a little like starting over in more ways than one. I’m rebuilding my gardening supplies, figuring out the local seasons, and slowly learning how gardening works in this part of the country.

For now, my small garage greenhouse is a good place to begin. Watching these tiny seedlings grow is a reminder that new beginnings often start small.

Support the Journey – If this post resonated with you or made you feel a little less alone on your own path, you’re always welcome to support my writing with a cup of coffee. Your kindness helps me keep sharing real stories and new chapters, one step at a time go to: coff.ee/smalltownmichele

Review: The Salt House – New Hope, PA

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Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆

I went to New Hope, PA, for my cousin’s birthday, and we decided to dine at the Salt House, a charming, historic restaurant nestled in the heart of the town. Built in 1751, this stone landmark exudes old-world character with its cozy, intimate interior that feels like stepping back in time.

The Salt House offers seasonal dishes crafted from local ingredients, described on their website as “creative and elevated pub fare served in a 1751 stone building that feels straight out of a fairytale.” My cousin and I are both Celiac, so we asked plenty of questions and appreciated how patient and accommodating the staff were. We both ordered the Maine Salmon with Mango, Bell Pepper, and Haricot Verts green beans, but requested it without the Mango/Bell Pepper chutney since it contained bell peppers, which I have a major sensitivity to.

I have to say, kudos to the chef since I’ve never had restaurant salmon cooked so perfectly before. Crispy edges, tender center, and incredible flavor. The portion was generous, and I left completely satisfied.

I gave The Salt House 4 out of 5 stars because the gluten-free menu options were limited, but what they do offer for those with dietary restrictions delivers big, bold flavors that make it worth the visit. It was a lunch to remember, and if I ever find myself back in New Hope, the Salt House will absolutely be on my list again.

📍 Location:
Salt House
7 East Ferry Street, New Hope, PA 18938
📞 (267) 740-7908
📧 info@thesalthouse.com

Gluten Free Yellow Layer Cake with Brownie middle and Buttercream Frosting

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My mom’s birthday was coming up and as always I make her, her birthday cake. This year I went the easy route and used boxed cake mix and a boxed brownie mix.

The brownie layers perfectly complimented the yellow cake. The cake truly turned out pretty and very tasty!

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I am sharing this semi-homemade version of the recipe here. That is one box of gluten free yellow cake and one box of gluten free brownie mix. You can even use canned frosting if you didn’t even want to make that. Regardless, you can most definitely make this from scratch! AND – You can always use my favorite From-Scratch Gluten Free Brownie Recipe.

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Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Pie

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On National Pi day I decided to make a Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Pie for the family. Well the pie came out delicious and the kids demanded the leftover pie be their dessert in their school lunches!! So yeah, I think I did well! Deliciously well!

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Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Pie

INGREDIENTS

2 unbaked gluten free 9-inch pie shells*
3 large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose gluten free flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup (6 oz.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

Directions:

  1. PREHEAT oven to 325° F.
  2. BEAT eggs in large mixer bowl on high speed until foamy. Beat in flour, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Beat in butter. Stir in morsels and nuts. Spoon 1/2 of mixture into first pie shell and then remainder of mixture into the second pie shell.
  3. BAKE both pies for 55 to 60 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between edge and center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

* If using frozen pie shell, thaw completely.

 

Adapted from NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Chocolate Chip Pie

 

Life certainly has been busy, as always!

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I know my life has always been busy. And certainly Scouting is a big part of that craziness! AND January through March is insane because of Girl Scout Cookie Season! And then we are doing everything else in between the cookie madness!

As of February, birthday season is officially over until November! My two son’s birthdays are 5 days apart followed by mine a week later! Yeah, this is the time of year that I am sick of cake…

Aden turned 8 and Arik turned 6…. and well lets just say I am now in my mid-40s! Ack, how did that one happen!?

But before all the birthdays happened Alex had a Girl Scout event at the Discovery Museum. To clarify, Alex and I attended a Girl Scouts overnight event at the Discovery Museum.

It was a very fun event and so glad as a Co-leader I was able to be there for the Girls and have some fun time with my number one girl! Oh did I mention that I built a fort for Addy (Alex’s BFF), Alex and I to sleep in, LOL!

While Alex and her friends had a blast — I was so tired. I woke up with a stiff neck and headache from sleeping on the floor and I ended up being so tired when I got home that I ate lunch and took a 3-hour nap!!!

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Life took over.

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So life can throw you a bowl of cherries and it can throw you lemons and sometimes you can get both!

Since the kids started school in August my life has been super crazy! And then a week after school started the family and I decided to go to Wild Island Water Park. We had never been before so it was a lot of fun to experience something new and exciting.

 

Back in September I even went as far as becoming a substitute teacher as well as a substitute teachers aide for my kid’s school district. It is part-time, but it keeps my pocket book a tad bit happier since I became a stay-at-home mom three years ago.

Unfortunately in the middle of all my craziness in September, my mother-in-law passed away unexpectedly. She was only 61 and extremely active so it was a shock to say the least. But life is a gift and you never know when you’ll be called back no matter how old you are.

The day after my mother-in-law passed away my husband, kids and I attended the Hot Air Balloon Races the next morning. We got up at 3am and drove to Reno to be at the Races opening at 4:30am. We were totally crazy, but had this planned for a long while and wanted to give the kids a bit of normalcy especially since their grandmother passed away the day before. While watching the Hot Air Balloons I saw a white owl fly over us… it made me think that my mother-in-law was with us in that brief moment.

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School Activities, PTO, Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts, Volunteering and now work has been consuming my life to where I have been neglecting my blog, terribly and I so apologize.

October was fun for the kids since they LOVE Halloween. They decided it was a Star Wars dress up year, again! And awesomely so… I didn’t have to make a costume this year to my surprise!!

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Also, my husband decided to help carve pumpkins this year. This is Josh’s first EVER pumpkin that he has carved for Halloween. It only took him 41 years! My husband grew up  Jehovah’s Witness and never participated in Holidays like Halloween or Christmas until he met me almost 19 years ago. Surprisingly in 10 years of having children this was the first time my husband has ever  carved a pumpkin and I have to say it was pretty dang impressive!

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November was busy with Girl Scout and Cub Scout stuff of course, but my daughter had to start going through allergy testing and that was awful to watch her go through that.

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She ended up being VERY allergic to Horses. My poor mother-in-law is probably rolling over in her grave over that one since her life revolved around her 3 horses. Anyhow, Alex came up sensitive to cats as well (oh yay, we have 2) and is allergic to trees, grass, sagebrush and a bunch of different fishes. My poor girl now has to take allergy medicine to get her through the day.

A week later my daughter,Alex, turned double digits, the big 10! I threw her a birthday party on the Friday before her birthday since it was Veteran’s Day and there wasn’t school that day. I can’t believe my baby us 10!!

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My parents decided that because turning 10 is a HUGE milestone, that they were taking the family and I to Disneyland on Alex’s birthday!! It was crazy fun! My husband had to rent a scooter to get around the parks because he needs back surgery again and his back was killing him the whole time there. But the scooter was a God send and he was able to enjoy himself while in the Happiest Place on Earth, regardless.

We took my daughter to Goofy’s Kitchen for her birthday dinner and I was able to order her a Gluten Free Birthday Cake to keep the celebration going.

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We had a ton of fun at Disneyland, but this will probably be our last trip there for a couple of years, unfortunately.

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And then of course you have Thanksgiving at the end of our extremely already busy November. Over the last year I had saved over 2 loaves of gluten free bread heals and stuck them in the freezer! When it came time, I cubed them up and toasted them in the oven with some olive oil so I could make my  late Grandma Josie’s turkey stuffing gluten free that Turkey Day. And yes the stuffing came out very tasty!

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A couple of days after Thanksgiving we were graced with our first snow of the season.

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But of course in a couple of days the snow melted and we haven’t seen any snow since, sadly.

Then December finally sneaked up on us and we are still riding the crazy train, LOL. My parents came up so we can celebrate my Father’s birthday come Monday. But needless to say tonight I walked our town’s Parade of Lights with my Daughter’s Girl Scout Troop. I trekked 1.9 miles and was glad I had on a good pair of tennis shoes. My older son also participated in the parade with his Cub Scouts tonight as well. This was my 3rd year participating in the Parade of Lights – I love it and hope I can participate for many years to come. I had to make my daughter a tutu and dress her up as a Reindeer for the parade. I hope I got it right!

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Aden’s Cub Scouts built a Pine Wood Derby Car as their float and he road with them for the Parade.

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My December will be consumed by Caroling, 3 Birthdays, Subbing, Winter School Concerts, Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, Christmas, Winter School Break, my 19th anniversary of when I first started dating my husband and New Years Eve.

Yeah… 186 days til summer break and counting, LOL!!

Fresh Basil Pesto

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My husband grew an abundance of basil (in our greenhouse) this year. I had to harvest the last of the basil before it turned to seed. Not wanting to waste the beautiful basil leaves, I made Pesto of course!!

Now I am being on the cheap because Olive Oil and Pine Nuts are ridiculously expensive, and even at Costco. So I bought almonds and a Kirkland brand Mediterranean Blend Oil (a blend of Canola, Olive and Grape Seed Oil).

It tasted wonderful with the modifications and would so use them again!

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