October Pears

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. 

xo

From the Earth

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...

Lavender Dreams

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

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.