My guy’s birthday was on Tuesday so I had a lot of fun planning a relaxing day and quiet dinner at home. The big surprise was a trip to New Mexico in the fall, so of course I had to theme it out with a gourmet taco night at home. We had so much fun, and since the weather has been really hot (by our standards) we enjoyed laying low and staying cool with ice cream sandwiches and iced tea.
Hope you’re staying cool wherever you are. Kiss!
Birthday supplies. (Sombreros not pictured.) I’ve always liked decorating for lazy at home birthdays. When I was a kid my brother and I would decorate the bathroom knowing that mom would be up early to get ready for work. Seriously. It was great!
With more poms, of course.
And lots of goodies. Homemade escabeche is so easy! Equal parts vinegar to water, small spoon of honey, sliced onion, jalapeno, carrots. Bring to a boil. Set aside to cool.
Filed under: Travel
A mill in the French countryside. I want to be here. Right now.
[ A tribute from Twin Cities Public Television for her 100th birthday today.]
Karaköy Rooms
Again, here I go yearning from the depths of my soul for history and charm. On a short walk last week we must have counted at least a handful of beautiful 100-year-old Victorian homes with Proposed Land Use signs planning to demolish the home and replace it with a series of townhomes; like build ’em fast and cheap and shove as many onto one lot as we can kind of townhomes. For me it’s heart-breaking. Seattle is changing and its new identity seems to lack character and soul. I heard someone refer to Capitol Hill as a Monopoly board the other day and really I think that says it all.
In order to combat the edges of depression that follow from overexposure to those dismal land use proposals, I find myself escaping online where I can find soul-stirring treasures like this: the Karaköy Rooms, overlooking the Bosphorous in Istanbul, Turkey. Are you seeing this?! The architectural details, the herringbone wood floors, the exposed copper pipes! And, oh my god, the mosaic tiling in the bathroom is unbelievable. It’s all the result of a renovation to a building over 100 years old.
Hmm, what a concept, a renovation.
Quick and easy berry soda
I’ve been going berry crazy at the farmer’s market the past few weekends, but with our extra warm weather they barely last the ride home. I needed a quick and dirty way to enjoy them after they were slightly past their prime– and by that I mean the very next day. You could boil them down, make a syrup, strain it, blah, blah, but I like the big bits of fresh berries and seeds. If you’re really not into the seeds you could strain them I suppose, but this really is a one jar kinda deal.
The touch of rose water adds a lightly fragrant note to the berries, but be careful not to add too much! Just a few drops is perfect. It’s worth having as a pantry staple, but if you don’t have it don’t worry, it’s not necessary.
1. All you’ll need: ice, berries, honey, rose water, soda water
2. Add the berries, spoonful of honey, and a few drops of rose water to a mason jar
3. Muddle, add the ice and soda water. Sip.
Hooray for summer! And hooray for getaways, holidays, and vacations! Obviously still riding high from my week away, and another little getaway this week up to Port Townsend and Lummi Island, I was feeling so good I barely even blinked when dealing with an irrational customer the other day. A true testament to the power of holidays. But also perhaps a sign that I’m starting to accept that people are crazy…and those are the ones that are predisposed to having Yelp accounts. Seriously.
Regardless though, life is good. Like, really, really good. Happy weekend to you my friends. Kiss!
Our cucumber, tomato salad. We’ve been living off this salad, and as long as we can keep getting the Japanese cucumbers (hidden in the bottom) we’ll continue to make it. Another no-recipe, recipe: sliced cucumbers, halved cherry tomatoes, sliced spring onion, minced parsley and mint. Drizzle olive oil, red wine vinegar. Salt, pepper to taste. Crumbled Israeli feta. Toss. Eat. (The feta mixes into the dressing in the best possible way to make it oh so creamy. You’ve got to try it!)
A ginger fizz with pineapple weed. Not a gin girl in the least, but a sip from my guy’s cocktail at The Willows restaurant this week might have converted me. Frothy and smooth with a light herbal punch from the gin, and a hint of citrus/pineapple aroma from the weed.
Dinette’s awesome ice cream cookie sandwiches. Housemade cookies and ice cream in combinations like gingersnap with earl grey, or chocolate with salted peanut butter. The best I’ve ever had. (Their summer sandwich menu is also to die for!)
I used to pride myself on an unread-e-mail-free-Inbox, but I’ve given up lately. There’s just too much crap to sift through and it’s become easier to just let it go. There is, however, one mail that I look forward to receiving every day and that would be Dave Pell’s daily news round-up NextDraft: a perfectly curated newsletter featuring the ten best items the Net has to offer (along with a kick-ass dose of wit and humor). I can only imagine what he has to sift through to get each beautifully, shiny draft and that is why I love him. Thank you Dave, for doing all of the hard work for me, and for making me appear smarter and more with it than I actually am.
Subscribe to NextDraft!
My honey inventory (for now at least)
If you’re getting your honey out of a container that resembles a bear you’re missing out on what honey really and truly is. After a brief stint experimenting with the god-awful Tasmanian honey I vowed to support my local apiary’s raw organic honey.
Honey is all the best parts of the season in a jar: whatever pollens the bee’s have collected are what is going to flavor the honey. It’s miraculous, natural process that we’ve completely lost touch with. If you’re fortunate enough to find an apiarist that pulls honey from the hives in the spring you’ll find the only pollens that bees have collected are from spring’s first flowers. It’s the most soft, silky, and fragrant honey you’ll ever have. And if you buy this past spring’s honey and save it for next year you can take a spoonful each day to work as a natural anti-histamine. Awesome, right?!
As the season progresses the honey flavors and consistency change. From the first spring honey we moved into apple blossoms, and soon to come are raspberry, then blackberry. We have our weekly trips to the honey stand planned for the next few weeks to add to our collection so far this year.
Aside from allergy relief, honey is pretty much the only sweetener I use. Try switching and you’ll taste and feel the difference, as you’re literally eating from the flowers of the land around you. Truly a small but important way to feel “connected”.
Colony Collapse Disorder is still a threat for bee colonies, so be sure to talk to your apiarist about where the bees are collecting. If you’re curious to learn more about colony collapse disorder read about how genetically modified corn (containing pesticides from Bayer) are contributing to the decline of the bees.
(Posting from my phone on the road/ferry today. Pardon the errors…more errors than usual at least.)
I just love little ideas like this. I think of how happy I’d be to stumble upon a tiny bronze hand holding a little note or even a piece of cloth. Such a great idea.
“In upcoming weeks a series of little bronze hands will be installed in central Wellington. In walkways, shortcuts and places people pass on their paths to work or school. Their purpose is to hold offerings. Anonymous tokens of generosity or thoughtfulness. My intention is that others will use the little hands too, for leaving small items.
You noticed, thank you.”
Lots more images and a video via Ornamental thoughtfulness.
I’m back from the most perfect summer holiday. My first time in the “middle” I fell in love with everything about the countrysides of the Michigan. It was an Americana getaway to a place with stronger history than we have here in the West; everything from the historic Victorian homes with gorgeous porches (similar ones we’re tearing down in place of cheap condos here in Seattle), to the epic late night thunderstorm, the nightly symphony from the crickets, and friendly greetings from the Amish riding past in their horse and carriage. I hadn’t had such true feelings of summer since my last stint at summer camp in the Rocky Mountains when I was 8. It had been far too long.
More than anything I’m so excited that I have my guy’s lovely family there waiting for our return next year. The anticipation is already here. Here’s hoping you’ve got the chance to reconnect with the summer’s of your youth. Kiss!
Dirt roads lined with farms and perfectly weathered barns.
Summer watermelon.
Evening walks by the Hersey river.
After dinner bike rides dodging grasshoppers and butterflies.
Amish country.
A roadside Amish stand. Honor system, of course.
Workin’ the clothes line.
Hangman in the sand at Ludington beach on Lake Michigan.
Ooh, my favorite! 