Memorial Day weekend 2011

("vintage" Gourtmet reading on the porch and a mix of blood orange and grapefruit juice)

(finally getting around to making my Wiksten Tova top)

(Jackie's helping)

(Receiving lots of guests-- one of the best parts of his day)

look at this dog

....have you ever seen a happier One?

The Grand Canyon of the South

For R's birthday I took the day off work and we went hiking at Providence Canyon. The weather here has been strangely cool (usually we're exercising extreme will power not to turn the air conditioner on in May) and I just couldn't resist playing hooky and getting out into the gorgeousness.

purple canyon sand

Jackie is a natural climber

It was a long drive home-- we unintentionally took the scenic route-- so we stopped in Thomasville for some supper. Since we had Jackie with us we ate at the only outdoor cafe we could find, which turned out to be some kind of religious joint that didn't even serve beer. Ouch. Was really looking forward to that beer. But we were consoled by delicious chocolate cake when we got home. Happy Birthday-- it's gonna be a great year!

bits and pieces of spring

Amazingly, we're still having some spring weather. In the garden, early tomatoes are ready (we had the first ones on our pizza last night) and the pepper plants are slowly getting bigger. We just had some much-needed rain and the beloved herbs are looking vibrant.

I've been listening to this awesome album.

Enjoying poking around on this site.

New neighbors like to set off fireworks (like, serious fireworks) at around 10:30 PM, which just thrills our dog.

Planning a fall wedding, and feeling totally refreshed by this book.

Happy spring out there!

what's up

went to Suwanee Springfest, had fun in the sun (and moon)

the roses are blooming!

we've taken some naps in the sun

my fat, happy chickens are doing some chicken yoga

made these yummy waffles from Good to the Grain.

that is all.

where i use the word fancy possibly too much

I've had an inexplicably rough few weeks, and now I'm finally making my way back to my studio. It feels so good to make things.

R & I had a date night last night and I stayed up wayyyyy too late and it was totally worth it. I was ready to get in my pajamas at about 6 pm and almost cancelled the evening, but then decided to go put on my fancy underthings-- and I'm so glad I did. That almost never fails. We laughed with a very nice runner from England at our favorite fancy bar and danced to a friend's reggae band in a total dive. Today I'm making chai, picking out paint colors for the bedroom (so hard!!), making cookies for a potluck, and driving to Sopchoppy to meet a new babe.

I really enjoyed watching this beautiful thing, which reminded me to be happy. Always a good thing.

2011: the year of the oyster

I have no idea where the past few months have gone.

For the record, though....2010 highlights:

- Remodeled our storage room (cedar walls! pine floors!) and now it's a real part of the house, instead of a wreck that we hurried through on the way to the laundry room

- Got engaged

- Got an awesome new job

- Finally finished that quilt (my dad loves it)

- Traveled in California, North Carolina and the Virgin Islands

- Joined a wonderful women's circle

- Spent a lot of time with the special people in my life

What I hope for 2011:

- Learn to enjoy a raw oyster

- Practice NVC
- Have a blast at our wedding (and keep my sense of humor while planning it with my family)

- Make cream cheese

- Do my Sugar Loom project

- Be joyful, creative and accepting

Happy New Year.

let the holiday crafting begin!

Tote for KATE, from Simple Sewing With a French Twist

Origami bag for MANDY, from this tutorial, via Maggie Makes.

My go-to clutch bag, from Bend The Rules Sewing.

aji dulce

This is the aji dulce pepper. It's also known as the sweet habanero, and it's delicious! It's not at all hot, and it's very crispy, sweet and firm. It's my current favorite pepper, and next year I am going to plant at least 10! Here in Florida, they are still growing and ripening for us.

My favorite way to enjoy these peppers is sauteed with shiitake mushrooms. I cook the mushrooms down a lot before adding the peppers, because I like my mushrooms crispy, and the peppers are best when they are mostly still raw, just scorched in a few places. Tonight we're having them on a pizza, which is in the oven right now! We have pizza night once a week, on our busiest night, and it's something I look forward to on the other six days.

We are just settling back in after a long weekend of camping at MagFest. Ruben's band played twice, and the rest of the time we walked and biked and heard tons of good music and hung out around the camp fire eating chili and brownies. Even though I should be doing loads of laundry and unpacking, I wanted to show off the sparkling new greenhouse, complete with ledges for my vintage planter collection. Just as I'm sitting down to type this we are getting our first drops of rain this month!

Also, please notice the photo of my gorgeous grandma in that first photo-- she was sixteen and soooo lovely.