Sunday Morning

Sunday mornings are for slowing down, for reflection, and for connecting.  Sunday mornings are also for my one cup of coffee of the week.  I've (mostly) given up coffee for the time being so I make that one cup really count.  This morning it was a cup of espresso in one of my grandmother's antique cups.  I drink my espresso dark, rich and slightly sweetened with demerara sugar.  This morning I got up early and made some pastries with the last of tangerine curd I made last week.  Baking relaxes me.  I stood in the quiet of the kitchen and listened to the birds outside the window.  It's the first time we've seen the sun this week.

It's going to be a good day.

February 2, 2014

February 2, 2014, a photo by Emily {Living a Beautiful Life} on Flickr.

February 1, 2014

February 1, 2014, a photo by Emily {Living a Beautiful Life} on Flickr.

February Photos Revisited

It's time to dust off the February Photos project!  Stay tuned for what I hope will be some fun and interesting photos this month.  I am looking forward to new inspiration!

Farm Season

If you've been here before, then you know of my love affair with fresh local produce and farmers markets (and farmers!).  I look forward to this time of year when the market season starts back up again!  And this time every year I look for a local CSA to join with high hopes.  I love the idea of being having a share in a farm and I especially love the idea of a surprise box of local goodness every week! But every year it's the same - nothing less than a 40 minute drive and pick up is always during the week when I am working.  Until this year!  I found a farm that has partnered with Artizone.  This is perfect for me - I can have my local fresh produce delivered to me.  They will bring it right to my house (or work) on Friday and I can pick a time frame. I'm also not tied to a long commitment.  I can order on a week by week basis so if I don't need a box, I can skip that week and not worry about it.  This week was my first delivery. I'm excited at the possibilities!

My box included:
~ rainbow chard
~ sorrel
~ leaf lettuce
~ spring onions
~ parsnips
~ carrots
~ strawberries
~ grapefruit

If any one has any suggestions for sorrel, please let me know!

Here and Now

 Right now I am...

Listening: to Preservation Hall Jazz Band the Marching Down Bourbon Street album. My parents recently took a trip to New Orleans and hearing about their adventure inspired me to pull this one out. 

Tasting: Maple Bourbon Lemonade - a wonderfully refreshing cocktail that is perfect for warm nights on the patio. I have to make plenty because the boys love it almost as much as I do (sans bourbon, of course!)

 Watching: old episodes of King of the Hill. It's a guilty pleasure but it sure does make me laugh!

 Smelling: the warm sweet scent of the jasmine that is blooming along some of the fences we pass on our daily walk. It comes and goes and always catches me by surprise.

 Feeling: content. I am pretty happy with where and who I am right now.

Anticipating: a new and exciting season of Red Sox baseball!

Enjoying: my standing date on Thursday nights with a sweet friend. Her three kids are quite a bit younger than my 3 but they all truly love being together. It's a joy to see!

 ************

  Maple Bourbon Lemonade

1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 8 lemons)
2 1/2 cups cold water
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
mint leaves
good bourbon
ice

 Mix the lemon juice, water, and maple syrup in a 1 quart container. Fill a glass with ice and add a shot of bourbon. Gently bruise a mint leaf or 2 between your fingers and add to the ice and bourbon and swirl. Fill the rest of the glass with maple lemonade.

Cheers!

Double Dog Dare

Recently, my sister mentioned that she missed reading the blog. For awhile, I was happy not to blog. I was happy not to record my days in a permanent way. Facebook became my outlet. The connection to others was immediate and conversations were fleeting - what is said is there, and then it's gone (or at least it used to be that way.) At the same time that I stopped blogging, I stooped taking photos. I still snapped pictures but it's not the same.

That conversation with my sister made me think not about what I didn't want to remember but rather about the things I wish I had recorded over the past few years. So having been issued a challenge (a dare, perhaps !?) I'm going to dust things off and see what happens. I'm not sure what direction this will go but I am excited to find out!