Simple Decor

Simple flower arrangement made from flowers in my yard.  Perfect decor for a summer BBQ.

Fava Beans on the Way

My fava beans are finally starting to grow. Only a few more weeks, I can't wait.  

Fava plants in my garden

Beautiful flowers from the fava plant

The fava bean pod starting to grow

Mini Bread Bowl

Good idea, not much more I can say about this one.  How we came up with it?   A couple of months ago we were on a road trip up the Northern California coast on the hunt for the best clam chowder in a bread bowl.  My boyfriend D refuses to eat a bowl of clam chowder if it's not served in a sourdough bread bowl (the way they serve it in San Francisco).  If you've never had it, you've got to try it.  It truly enhances the soup eating experience with a great bonus in the end...delicious bread pre-soaked with rich clam chowder, it's amazing.  We were way north of San Francisco and assumed the bread bowl would be easy to find.  Not so much, restaurants either didn't serve bread bowls or were sold out.


Desperate times call for desperate measures and often spur the birth of genius ideas.  I consider this one of those ideas.  D decided to convert his sourdough dinner roll into a mini bread bowl.  Ridiculously adorable, tasty, and not too shabby on the calorie count either.  Thanks D for your genius idea.

My Edible Garden Day 1

Lately I've had the urge to grow a garden. It was one of the main reasons I wanted a home with a yard, to  grow my own food.  The slow food movement is a big deal here in the Bay Area, everyone is always talking about from farm to table and growing your own organic produce.  I'm tired of talking about it, I'm ready to do it...

I have no idea what I'm doing. My boyfriend was kind enough to build me a garden box filled with soil he got from a friend, apparently he thinks I'm capable of growing a garden.  I think I am too, I just don't know much about it yet.  I was falsely encouraged by our odd warm winter weather this year and headed to the garden store.  I plopped some seeds in the ground, literally plopped them in.  I wanted to plan out my garden, I really did.  I was just so excited, I couldn't wait. I dug little holes with a spoon in slightly straight rows, plopped in some seeds and watered them.  The seeds included organic Red Russian Kale, spinach, chives and sage.

So the seeds are in the ground.  Now it's time to wait....and wait...and wait.  I'm checking every day, no signs of life yet.  I've been having dreams about a little green leaf popping through the dirt, so I know it's on the way.  I'm excited, I think I'm a little inspired by the magic of it all.

Sunset

Sunset while driving home from Yosemite National Park. Gorgeous.

Please Don't Go Fall

This morning I woke up to ice on my window for the first time this fall…winter is on the way. I’m not sure if I’m ready for it, I really want to hang on to fall. I love everything about it, it's my favorite time of year (specifically the first two weeks of October in Northern California, perhaps I should do a write up on that another time). In brief, I love the weather, the food and the gorgeous leaves in orange, red and yellow hues.

This fall I moved into a new place and started a routine, heading into my backyard first thing in the morning with a cup of coffee and a camera. The goal is to enjoy nature and some silence before the hustle bustle of the day begins. I discovered very quickly that when you calm down, relax and pay attention, there is a lot happening.

I hung a hummingbird feeder and within 45 minutes the birds started to swoop in for food…amazing. Next the resident squirrel scurried across my back fence in a frenzy collecting acorns, back and forth. I now know that he comes during specific times of the day like clockwork. I was able to snap this photo and capture this simple fall moment. I love it. Cheers to holding on to fall.

Hummingbirds, How Did I Miss You?

I never noticed birds before, they were always something that boring people noticed. Or so I thought...I was wrong. On my journey to simplify and slow down one of the first steps was to sit quiet, notice and enjoy the simple things in life. The easiest way for me to sit quiet and do nothing was in nature. Yes I said do nothing. It's so peaceful and you will start to notice amazing things all around you. This is when I began to notice hummingbirds. The distinct buzz of their wings flapping and clicking noises to communicate, it was fascinating. An entire world started to unfold before me and I was intrigued enough to pull out my camera (after I did nothing of course) and get a better appreciation for these birds.  

If you are interested in attracting hummingbirds to your yard I recommend getting a feeder. I have an inexpensive, simple plastic feeder, they love it. You can even make hummingbird food at home, it's cost effective and better for the birds.

Homemade Hummingbird Food

4 cups of water

1 cup of sugar

Put the sugar and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil on medium heat. Boil for two minutes and remove from heat, set aside to cool. When mixture is cool, add it to your hummingbird feeder. Put remaining food in a covered container and store in the refrigerator. I like to use glass jars or bottles I've saved and cleaned.  

Tips

• Do not add food coloring to the mix, some say it's harmful to the birds.  
• Be sure to check the feeder and change the mixture often (every 2-5 days depending on outside temperature) to avoid harmful bacteria growing in the feeder.