A Country Farmhouse

Chocolate

2012-02-10T07:54:00.000-08:00

In the spirit of Valentine's Day (but mostly due to my enduring fondness for baked goods), I made chocolate muffins. These are gluten free and although we are not a gluten free household, we do enjoy varying our diet as often as possible.

The recipe comes from the book,"Gluten Free Baking Classics" by Annalise Roberts, which I've posted about before.

Chocolate Ricotta Muffins

1 1/4 cups Brown Rice Flour Mix

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum

1/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 large egg

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

2/3 cup milk

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farhenheit.

Whisk flour through salt in large mixing bowl.

Whisk egg through vanilla in smaller mixing bowl.

Pour egg mixture into flour mixture and combine until well blended. Don't over beat.

Spoon batter into greased muffin pan and place in center of oven.

Bake 18 - 20 minutes.

Or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Cool on wire rack.

The only unique ingredients for this recipe are the brown rice flour mix (which you can find in the gluten free section of your grocery store) and the xanthan gum. All the rest of the ingredients are pretty standard.

Happy Valentine's Day

A Taste of Summer

2012-02-06T08:13:00.000-08:00

A bouquet of fresh basil has an especially summery fragrance during the winter months.

We bought this bouquet, which was grown in a hothouse on an organic farm here in the Pacific Northwest, to enjoy as a mid-winter treat.

And a jar of garden tomatoes (our last jar canned from this past summer's crop!) possesses an especially sweet summer taste as the cold outdoors whisper nothing but quiet in the still sleep of winter dormancy.

One of our favorite meals to make with fresh basil and summer tomatoes is Pizza Margherita.

For the sauce, we simmer tomatoes down to preferred thickness.

As the tomatoes are simmering, we add salt and pepper and Italian seasonings.

Pizza dough recipe (makes two crusts):

1 package yeast

1 tablespoon honey

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 cup wrist temperature water

2 1/2 cups or so of flour (we use a combination of all-purpose and spelt)

olive oil to drizzle on top

Combine yeast, honey, and water in a large bowl. Once the yeast has activated, add salt. Then add flour in 1/2 cup increments and knead until dough is very slightly moist on the surface. Place dough in large bowl, drizzle with oil, and place in warm spot to rise for an hour or more.

Roll out the crust onto floured pizza pan and bake at 425 until just slightly golden.

Remove from oven and drizzle olive oil over crust and top with fresh tomato sauce.

Add fresh basil.

Top with shredded Italian cheeses.

Bake at 425 until done.

After reading recent articles such as this one in the Huffington Post, we've held off on buying food packaged in cans. I stopped buying tomato products packaged in cans several months ago but just recently learned that all canned goods may be in danger of absorbing the BPA lining.

See New York Times article here.

I thought I'd pass the information along to anyone who may be interested.

Cooking with Cast Iron

2012-01-29T20:50:00.000-08:00

We have been cooking with a cast iron for over a year now. Our reasons for switching from standard non-stick cookware were based primarily on health considerations and the confusing information we had read on the chemicals used in the non-stick coating.

Before switching to cast iron, we had been using a 'green' non-stick version that had eliminated the controversial PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene) and PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid) coatings. But we didn't think it held up very well and just started worrying all over again about the various other chemicals used to create this new form of non-stick.

So we made it very simple for ourselves and went back to the 'original non stick' - cast iron.

Cast iron possesses no potential dangerous coatings, will not chip or scratch and is also a great way to introduce trace amounts of iron into your diet.And if that wasn't enough incentive, cast iron is also very affordable. A twelve inch skillet for example is less than $30 (here) and it will last forever.

Cast iron is also great to cook with as it distributes heat evenly. We primarily use a pair of large and small skillets for everyday cooking. We also use a cast iron dutch oven in place of a crock pot for stews, slow roasts and soups. Our remaining cookware consists of copper-bottomed stainless steel sauce pans.

We purchased our Lodge cast iron skillets pre-seasoned. Every several months, we re-season them by coating with oil and baking in the oven at 350 for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, we turn the oven off and let them cool on the oven racks.

For daily maintenance, we soak the pans in warm water after each use. We then scrub with a scouring sponge, rinse with hot water, and pat dry. Occasionally, we also rub a light coating of oil into the skillets while they are still warm from rinsing. We follow the same care with our Dutch Oven. With cast iron it is recommended to not use soap and to not soak in water for long periods of time as this promotes rust and deteriorates the seasoned condition of the cookware (which makes the cast iron non-stick). In the worst-case scenario, you just have to re-season the cookware as described above.

Like all choices we make in life, we strive to find ways in which we can live by the healthiest means possible. Some choices are easy to make, some take effort. But we are passionate about creating the healthiest life for ourselves and our babies, so the transition to cast iron does not feel like extra work. In fact, it offers quite the opposite for nothing outweighs peace of mind.

Ice Storm

2012-01-22T21:27:00.000-08:00

Our fireplace has been burning at all hours of the day and night these past several days. Following the abundant snowfall we received last week, we received an even greater abundance of freezing rain. Many power outages followed, making the fireplace our main source of heat for a few days.

With the ice and cold, the blooming forsythia provided all the more

warmth with its bright smiling flowers.

Mike worked overtime splitting kindling and firewood.

I stepped out onto the porch to snap this picture of our frozen landscape and the trees weighed down with heavy snow and ice. The oak and aspen trees fared the worst, with many broken limbs and downed trees. The sound of the limbs snapping and crashing to the ground was sad to hear. I wished there was something we could have done for them.

The boxwood were completely coated with ice.
Many of the other plants and trees looked the same.

Indoors, our summer lanterns were helpful in the evening

and early morning hours during the outages.

The first morning light was always a welcome sight.

When the power was on, we raided the freezer for warm meals that we could make quickly. One really appreciates a hot cup of tea or a warm dinner after being without for several hours. One delicious freezer treat all four of us enjoyed (babies loved it) was this cauliflower and kale soup Mike made a while back.

The recipe is from Martha Stewart, which you can find here. Mike used twice the amount of kale that the recipe called for. It's very savory and delicious. It reminds me of cream of artichoke soup.

Winter

2012-01-20T10:51:00.000-08:00

After several months of a mild green Winter, the snow has come. Over two feet of snow fell over

the course of one cozy winter day. It is knee deep, and as high as the porch floor.

The landscape is quiet under a blanket of white.

The berry garden (blackberries and blueberries) will be sleepy for some time.

The soft twinkle from the holiday lights still strung along the fence whisper a soft warmth.

The dining patio stands still. I was out to sweep the boxwood

hedge, something I do after each big snowstorm.

The dining room is very quiet early on this snowy winter morning.

The babies are playing in the warm coziness of the living room with 'DaDa.'

First Tracks

2012-01-17T12:03:00.000-08:00

The snow has arrived.

Old and New

2012-01-10T09:49:00.000-08:00

Our home is filled with a mixed collection of old and new. Perhaps one

of the most frequent reminders of this is found in our kitchen drawers.

Our everyday cutlery consists of two mismatched but complimentary sets found several years ago

at Home Goods. They reside in front of my Grandmother's every day silver plate cutlery that is

kept in the wicker basket at the back of the drawer. Next to the collection of antique bottle openers

I've collected are hardware store clothespins used to fasten bags.

The wood cutlery box was my Grandmothers.

This old wicker paper basket holds our knives and some of our serving utensils.

The other kitchen drawer holds mostly new utensils with a few old things mixed in.

This twenty-piece set of cutlery is from Martha Stewart's old line

at K-Mart, which I found on sale for $9.99. The wire basket that holds this set

was found at an antique store.

My Grandmother's old ice cream scoops co-habitate with the modern metal can opener, scissors

and peeler. I love the mix between the cool metals and the warmth of the wood and wicker.

It's amazing to think of the different time periods in which these items were made and originally

used, yet how compatible they are today.

Here are the latest additions to our drawers. My mom sent my old baby spoons to us when

Graham and Margaret started eating solid foods. Each has its own subtle design. These are the

only baby spoons we use so they're used several times a day.

Winter's Nest

2012-01-05T01:19:00.000-08:00

Shortly after Country Living was here for the photo shoot, I told Mike that I'd like to dismantle our antique four poster bed and put the mattress on the floor. Never did he think I would utter such words, but I explained to him that it was a precaution because I was worried about the babies tumbling off the bed now that they were becoming much more mobile.

With the stark room that was left after removing the bed frame, the side tables and the bedside lamps, it wasn't long before I started to think of ways to spruce the space up a bit. At first I asked Mike to 'whip up' a headboard that we could upholster, but that involved more spare time than we had.

Then I remembered reading a post on Little Green Notebook about pelmet boxes that Jenny had made to go over her girls' bedroom windows. They were so beautiful and added such lovely detail to the room. Plus, it only took her two hours, and the materials were so simple...foam core, fabric, duct tape!

So I basically used her tutorial, except I made one large pelmet box on the wall at the head of the bed.

The upholstered foam core was attached to a large metal curtain bracket mounted on the wall. The linen drapes hang behind the pelmet box, suspended from a piece of surplus wood trim also mounted to the wall. Behind the linen drapes, we also tacked up quilted padding as another baby precaution.

In the spirit of the season, we hung the boxwood wreath in place of the heavier artwork that hung in the space previously.

I really enjoy the effect that this small change had on the room, as it adds a few crisp lines around the casual mattress placement, yet with a supple texture.

I love that it's baby friendly, and that it was an

affordable solution to dressing up our placement of the mattress on the floor.

This man helped me a lot! We often laugh about the Country Living article which stated, "Mike can build or fix anything." He thought that was ridiculous but I think it's really very true! For this project, he did all the math and measurements necessary to make the pattern for the cutout. Then, after we "upholstered" the foam core (with duct tape of course), he made sure the installation was centered, straight and level on the wall.

He was also in charge of the exacto knife (with a steady hand) to cut the pattern from the foam core.

It was a team effort which we were able to work on in spurts (often when my mom was visiting) over the course of TWO MONTHS! I often muttered, "I can't believe Jenny did all this in two hours...she's amazing...I can't even sketch out a pattern...how do you upholster this?...I can't cut a straight line..."

But I assure you - it could be accomplished in several hours if you have the spare time.

Our materials list:

Thick foam core

Duct tape (white of course!)

Metal curtain bracket

Linen fabric (50% off from Joann's)

Wood trim (or you could use a smaller metal curtain bracket)

Quilting to pad wall (optional)

I washed the linen, sewed six foot-long drapes, and then pressed them before hanging.

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T11:13:00.000-08:00

As I bid farewell to 2011, I am filled with gratitude - gratitude for my son and daughter,

for my husband, for our families and for many great friends.

When I reflect on our friendships, I am incredibly grateful for the blogging community that I have been introduced to over the last several years. The sentiments from readers near and far have been wonderfully and completely embracing, and your presence in our life is felt and cherished very much. Because of your warmth, kindness, and kindred spirits, I feel as if we could meet anywhere, anytime, and I would know you as a familiar friend.

So thank you dear friends for a beautiful year!

May you be blessed with health and happiness, and with the love of your family and friends in the coming New Year.

A Surprise Gift

2011-12-30T21:42:00.000-08:00

Photograph by Eddie Ross

I received a wonderful note from Eddie Ross telling me that we will be the lucky recipients

of these lovely mercury glass Christmas trees, shown above on his elegant holiday table.

Ever since Country Living used mercury glass in their styling for the Christmas

shoot in our home, I've been meaning to add a few pieces to our Christmas decor collection.
These trees will receive a very warm welcome when they arrive!

Thank you Eddie and Jaithan!

The trees can be purchased here.

Christmas Post Scripts

2011-12-28T20:03:00.000-08:00

I hope that everyone had the most joyful Christmas! I have to say that sharing this

Christmas with our sweet son and daughter made it one of our most memorable ever.

Here are a few snapshots from our holiday week. We moved our couch to the south side of the room (facing the tree) because we wanted to open up as much floor space for playing as possible.

We usually have a very large play yard set up in the living room, so large that it takes up half the room. It's been the best purchase we've made as it provides for wonderful safe play time (no base board heaters, cupboards or other hazards to get into), especially when Mike's at work and I'm alone with the babies. With both of us home to watch over the babies, we were able to fold it up for the holidays.

Graham moves fast and kept us on our toes! Margaret likes to take in smaller portions of the room for the most part. They both love looking out the picture window and french door, which are at just their level.

They were much more interested in playing with the boxes and the wrapping paper than with

the gifts inside. It was so adorable. Margaret is also grasping one of her favorite objects (the round, bulb-shaped top of a stacker toy). It made us laugh because it looked like she had found

Rudolph's red nose!

This photo also explains why you should decorate all sides of your tree.

We set up our traditional cardinal Christmas tree in the dining room. This tree is especially

meaningful to us as Mike's Mom (who passed away shortly after we were married) loved cardinals.

I can tell you that this is the cleaned up version of this room. Usually, the high chairs are there, as well as lots and lots of books (for story time after meals and snacks), and other various and sundry items distributed about the floor - toys, sippy cups, finger snacks...

Next to the tree, we placed my Grandmother's old settee under the mirror at the east end of the room. I just love putting it in this room at Christmas time as its warm tones are so suggestive of the season.

The settee had originally belonged to her grandparents. She upholstered it with this toile pattern

years ago, before I was born. It is a piece I grew up with as it was in her entry way - I'd toss my

coat on it each time I ran through her front door.

My gift to Mike was this L.L. Bean sled for the babies to ride in on their first winter wonderland adventures. It's a tandem sled that we've only played with indoors so far, as the few inches of snow we've had this winter melted before Christmas.

Best wishes to you and your families for a joyous New Year!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T22:46:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas Dear Friends.

Holiday Jam

2011-12-23T19:59:00.000-08:00

This is the first season that we made jam from our concord grapes. I have to say that it was exciting to think of eating jam from fruit that grew on our land. I am also quite a connoisseur of jam (meaning I eat an awful lot of it!). Oh, how I looked forward to opening the refrigerator and grabbing a jar of our homemade jam, grown right outside the kitchen door.

Well, we'll just say that we'll have to work out a few kinks and consider this year's batch to be a test run. In the end we didn't end up with so many jars. So we've reserved them for a small handful of family members (people who will think it tastes good based on the pure effort alone).

Here are a few of the jars (there were a total of eight in all).

Here are the grapes ready for cooking.

Taking the grapes off the stems was by far the most arduous part of the process. And when I say 'arduous' I mean that it looked like Mike was doing it for quite some time... I'm admitting here nearly at the end of this post that I hardly helped make the jam.

Mike was the master canner and he did a wonderful job. Making jam takes patience and the

wisdom to stick to the recipe. He possesses these qualities in abundance!

Well, our stockings are hung, the tree is trimmed and I've officially consumed at least an entire loaf of pumpkin bread over the last several weeks.

'Tis the season...

Christmas Kitchen

2011-12-18T22:37:00.000-08:00

I love bringing out my Grandmother's old red transfer ware this time of year. These were her

everyday dishes so many family meals were shared using them. When I left Los Angeles and moved to Maine to go to college, I was able to enjoy those meals much less frequently.

But when my Grandmother was alive, I never once missed a Christmas Eve dinner at her house. My father was my Grandmother's only child, so my brother and I were her only grandchildren.

We felt very, very loved.

Her name was Margaret. xo

Yes, more pomegranates.

Pomegranates never stay in the fruit bowl for very long.

These evergreen cuttings look like holly but are actually a Northwest native plant called Oregon grape. Lili used a few clippings for the photo shoot (it's visible in the magazine), and I thought it was such a wonderful idea that I've been using it all over the house lately.

Due to my complete and utter weakness for pomegranates, we have been consuming them

non-stop. I love them on pancakes or french toast on the weekends, but

also crave them on my weekday morning oatmeal as well.

This sort of consumption, as you can imagine, is logistically challenging. I am rarely

without a baby in my arms (they too are too delicious to not want to hold them all the time), so seeding

messy pomegranates takes some orchestration.

But wonderful news - I've found a miracle process by which to extricate the juicy seeds - saving

a lot of time and mess! And just who on earth could know such a secret?

Yes, that's right, it's Martha Stewart.

Watch her tutorial here.

It does work but I would recommend doing it in the sink as

this process, although very time-saving, is not splatter proof.

Here is one of my quarters after using a wooden spoon.

Here is what the work area (inside my sink) looked like afterwards. All of the

splatters stayed in the sink basin due to hitting the pomegranate face down.

For once, I had not one tiny splatter on my clothes!

December Grace

2011-12-15T22:48:00.000-08:00

The door is dressed in garland and holly.

The amaryllis are growing like graceful winter swans...

that flourish into bright trumpet blossoms.

The hint of sweet citrus from the paper whites...

melds perfectly with the fragrance of the evergreen garland.

Holly wreaths adorn the doors and mirrors.

The holly is prickly to the touch, but so beautiful once it's in place.

But by far, the most exciting and gracious part of our December

has been celebrating the babies' birthdays.

Our beautiful son and daughter turned one this past weekend. I took in an emotional breath as we celebrated our first year with the loveliest gifts we've ever known. They are perfect little miracles, and I still revel in being so blessed to be their mother.

To celebrate, we made them a birthday pie from their

pumpkin (pumpkin birthday cake will have to wait until next year).

Although hesitant at first, they liked their birthday pie very much!

The more I try to get Graham and Margaret to look at the camera, the more serious their expressions become. My mom often sings itsy bitsy spider behind me, so we also have a lot of pictures with their eyes following itsy bitsy spider up the water spout (like Margaret in this one).

May the spirit of the holiday season fill your homes with love, laughter

and the blessings of your wonderful families.

Beautiful Pomegranate

2011-11-30T20:26:00.000-08:00

'Tis the season for the beautiful pomegranate.

I remember eating pomegranates as a child. My mom would break one open, pull out the bread board under the counter (remember those) and my brother and I would stand there and gobble up all of the juicy seeds.

Perhaps because they're a fruit from my childhood, they are a favorite fruit of the season.

I like to seed the fruit all at once so that there's a lovely bowl from which to scoop up big bites. The seeds are a wonderful topping on just about everything from savory cheese and crackers to...

...delicious sweet pancakes.

We eat a lot of pancakes in our household, but I have an extra spring in my step when we have pomegranates to enjoy with them. It's such a special treat.

I've posted about Hubby's spelt pancakes before and just have to reiterate how delicious and fluffy they are (the trick is whipping the egg whites).

Hubby's Spelt Pancakes

2/3 cup stone ground corn flour

1 cup spelt flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp raw sugar

1 tsp salt

2 eggs - separated

1 1/2 cup milk

2 TB melted butter

Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. Whisk wet ingredients in a small bowl. Whisk egg whites separately in another small bowl until frothy. Combine together with dry ingredients in large bowl.

Sage, Rosemary and Thyme

2011-11-28T06:49:00.000-08:00

I hope that everyone had a beautiful Thanksgiving. Many of our holiday favorites were enjoyed over the course of the weekend. It was a bit of a drawn out affair around here, as we didn't get to roasting the turkey until Friday! Even though Graham and Margaret were still too young to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving meal, I loved filing the house with that wonderful smell of roasting, baking and simmering. The house always feels coziest when there's a wonderful meal being prepared.

We picked the last few bunches of herbs from the garden before the snow blankets the ground for the winter. I couldn't resist adorning a few pieces of brown transfer ware with them before they went into our Thanksgiving feast.

Rosemary is one of my favorite herbs. We used it in everything from the turkey brine, to the stuffing.

The sage accompanied the roasted brussel sprouts.

Country Living Christmas

2011-11-20T21:13:00.000-08:00

Image from Worldmags.net

Country Living's December/January 2012 issue is out! We'd been waiting for our copy to arrive when Mike found the issue online, with our living room on the cover. When he showed me, I said, "How did you do that? Did you make that on your computer?" It turns out Country Living did two different covers that are in circulation for this issue, with the other version being a

decorated Christmas tree.

Here are a couple of photos I took during the shoot. I had a baby in my arms most of the time, so I don't actually have very many photos to share.

Lili sent these gorgeous white amaryllis from New York. I really loved the gracefulness of the amaryllis and will soon start forcing some bulbs for the holidays.

Here are Lili and Mike setting up the tree before she and I trimmed it.

We had our first snowfall this week so things are already beginning to feel very Christmas-like here. I'm looking forward to decorating early this year as I cannot wait to share twinkling lights, the fragrance of the tree, our favorite holiday music and general festive holiday giddiness

with Graham and Margaret.

We are very excited.

Autumn Fires

2011-11-14T06:23:00.000-08:00

The cozy feelings that Autumn evokes are what I love so much about the season, with the warm hues of yellow, orange and red leaves on the trees and the glow of a toasty fire offering respite from the crispness of the air and the darker nights. And, it's hard to not get excited about all that is ahead...favorite fall recipes, the holidays, and wool sweaters to keep us warm.

We've been storing our pumpkins on the mantle. We'll use them one by one in the coziest of recipes.

Here's our favorite pumpkin. After carving Graham's and Margaret's names on it we've watched it grow through summer into fall. We'll bake a pumpkin birthday cake for their one-year birthdays next month.

Our other favorite pumpkin recipes are pumpkin soup, pumpkin bread and pumpkin pie.

Even a wooden giraffe enjoys a nice fall fire.

My favorite three pumpkins of them all. xo

Our Annual Grape Harvest

2011-11-09T20:35:00.000-08:00

Last year I remember waddling out to the vines to harvest a few bunches of grapes, pregnant with our son and daughter. Today they watched, eleven months old. It was very emotional for me.

It was a good crop this year. We picked about 20 pounds of grapes, but there are at least five times that amount left unharvested. We hope to make our first batch of concord grape jam with them.

I ordered several preserve books last month and we've been pouring over various recipes to choose from. I really am quite excited to try the jam. Homemade grape jam is described as quite delicious - not at all like the grape jelly one remembers from childhood.

Margaret (pictured above) and Graham were very content watching us harvest the grapes. We've been talking to them about the grapes since the first green cluster appeared on the vines months ago, so it's been wonderful to finally show them the bright purple fruit.

You can read the story of our grapes here.

November Roses

2011-11-06T20:42:00.000-08:00

There's something breathtaking about roses in late autumn.

Perhaps it's a last exhalation of summer or perhaps it's the beautiful contrast of pink against the fading green landscape. I breathe them in deeply as I want to remember them after the cool dark skies settle in for the season.

October Pears

2011-10-23T21:41:00.000-07:00

Last spring I decided to go all white with the items on our kitchen shelves. Over the years, I've seen many images of open shelves similarly adorned and have always thought it looked so crisp and clean.

So we've enjoyed the all-white look through the summer and into autumn. As we are nearly into November, I just pulled out my brown transfer ware to freshen up the shelves for the Thanksgiving season. But before I do, I thought I'd do a quick post on the shelves as they've been for

the last few months.

The pear harvest is well underway in our valley, with thousands of trees heavy with sweet fruit dangling from their limbs.

On the first day of Christmas,

my true love sent to me

A partridge in a pear tree...

What? I guess a vision of sugarplums dancing snuck in there...

Sweet pears.

Mike walked into the kitchen this afternoon and knew that a post was in development - our toaster, baby bottles, and other miscellaneous counter fixtures had found their way to the other

side of the room.

From the Earth

2011-10-16T22:02:00.000-07:00

We pulled a few bunches of carrots this evening. Enough to make some nice meals... in a soup, sliced in salad, sauteed, roasted, or boiled and pureed into baby food. Besides the pumpkins and herbs, the carrots are the last of the garden.

Until next year...

And of course, nothing goes better with carrots than two sweet peas.

I love this photo because it tells so much of our life these days. The babies are freshly bathed with fresh clean clothes on...Mike and I, hmmm, well we're happy. Scruffy but happily so.

Lavender Dreams

2011-10-08T21:28:00.000-07:00

I love lavender. I put sachets of it in our dresser drawers and in the nursery armoire to keep clothes smelling clean and freshly laundered. I've also enjoyed its aromatherapy benefits as a nighttime sleep aid - lavender is known for its ability to help with a deep, calming sleep.

As I watched our lavender grow this summer, I dreamed of how wonderful it would be to make a special pillow case to hold lavender every night. The drawer sachets I was using often migrate to spots that can be uncomfortable to sleep on.

To obtain this special pillow case, I knew just the person to call. I had read about her on Heather Bullard's blog, who had some custom sewing done for her laundry room.

After several e-mails back and forth, Trish Banner of Cottage by Design sent me this wonderful package. The pillowcase is made with beautiful white linen, trimmed with gorgeous antique lace. I can't say enough good things about Trish. I was so pleased that I immediately requested another custom order! I'll post on that soon.

Here's a picture of the sachet Trish made to button inside the pillowcase. As someone who cannot sew, I have great respect and admiration for people who can - her work is impeccable!

Sweet Dreams...

Tomatoes and Pumpkins

2011-10-02T19:37:00.000-07:00

We've been eating a lot of caprese salad lately. The tomatoes have been coming in strong for weeks now, after being delayed due to our cool June and July temperatures.

Thankfully, the tomatoes are nice and sweet despite their slow start.

It's funny because we dream about tomatoes from the beginning of summer until that first wonderful tomato you pull from the vine. But now that the days are shorter, the leaves are turning and the sunlight shines a little crisper, I can't help but eye the pumpkins out of the corner of my eye and dream everything pumpkin...pumpkin pie, pumpkin soup, pumpkin bread...

We've even begun thinking of the pumpkin birthday cake we plan to make for the babies' first birthday in December. In the image above, you can see me carve their names in our favorite pumpkin using a carving tool. This is something we look forward to doing with Graham and Margaret when they're older.

Their names are barely visible right after my not-so-artistic marking.

But as the pumpkin grows (this picture was taken several weeks after), their names are becoming more visible.

We thought this would be a fun way to watch their birthday cake grow through the summer.

Recipe for caprese salad:

fresh picked tomatoes (we use whatever is ripe - cherry or heirloom)

fresh picked basil

fresh mozzarella

olive oil and balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

As I write this post, Mike is walking back and forth on the porch with the babies in the stroller. It's a beautiful evening, the sky is clear and the sun is casting that special fall hue. Off I go to do a few house chores before they come inside.