Saving seeds and growing pumpkins.

Last fall we got some great pumpkins at a local farm! We love getting heirloom varieties because of their fun shapes, textures and colors. Since pumpkins can actually add up to one pretty penny and because I've always wanted to trying saving my own seeds, that's what we did one late fall day when the pumpkins had started to decompose.
We cut them open, scooped out the seeds and tried the best we could to get all the flesh off of the seeds. Once that was done we layed them out flat on cardboard lids lined with news paper. Set them in a moderately sunny spot. For us, that was our dining room table. There they sat for a week or two. I tossed them every couple of days to make sure each side of the seed was dry before placing them in envelopes.
So when summer rolled around, my parents had a spare patch in their garden where we planted our pumpkins and gourds! As you can see they came up! They are actually producing almost ready looking pumpkins. I joke that I'll be the first in my neighborhood to decorate for fall with pumpkins out in the end of August. I actually can't wait. Fall is definitely my favorite season! With all this fall- like weather we've been having lately, I'm definitely in the mood for sweaters, pumpkins and campfires!

herb bouquet

nothing makes me happier than flowers in my garden and bouquets all over my house in the summer!

i didn't plant a ton of flowers this year so i'm sorta stuck with whatever was already here! enter herb garden! 

mint flowers, chive flowers, sage and lambs ears are quite a complimentary bunch if you ask me! so here's to mixing it up with flowers, herbs and foliage.

finished projects + bits and pieces of summer here!

 here we go! finished baby quilt! with the help of a dear friend and sowing mentor i was able finish it up in time! what a fun first experience at quilting!

 really loving the fact that my herbs are thriving, besides some pesky snails eating my basil. i think i  have that more under control. if not i planted some in a pot on the porch. got to have basil. it's a summer necessity!

 finished roadtrip photo book. jason and i have been enjoying the journey for a "second" time!

enjoying the beautiful summer so far.

in our yard this summer...

PEACHES! while these are not the prettiest peaches i've ever laid my eyes on, they are, however the most magnificent! you see, they are the first edible peaches we've been able to pick from our peach tree out back. this is only our second summer at this home and we have not been taking preventative measures to ensure some rot free fruit. so imagine my delight at finding a few golden fruits that were ripe and ready.

my small herb patch, right outside the back door

our compost bin! jason built it from pallet wood! we are so excited to get it going.

this beautiful and simple swing from terrain, is my inspiration for a swing out back. good thing i have a carpenter in the family!

summer's best

 a couple of years ago, in Holland, we made it to the tulip festival. it was one of my fondest memories, being a lover of tulips. these cute little bud vases were hanging up around all the shops at the festival and i just loved the idea. so this the first time i've brought them outside here at our new house. i think i would have like to hang them horizontally but this is what i had to work with on short notice. plus it brings me cheer each time i come in the front door!

raspberry fair

the raspberries are here! months of staring at the mess that was left us in the garden, is finally paying off with some pleasant sights. so i donned my long sleeves and galoshes, jason his machete. together we waded through the weeds and brambles to have a most marvelous time picking and eating the delicious little fruits from our backyard. one dream of many coming true this summer.

strawberry pie

who put miracle grow on this little flower patch? yes, that picture up there is queen ann's lace. the biggest stuff i've ever seen. ever. we must live in an enchanted wood after all.

june is for strawberries!

blossoms

i've been planting flowers. hoping to see this fill out in a month or two.

its been a treat to see all the different flowers and greens that have been popping their heads up around here, with each season.

i am eagerly awaiting the raspberries and peaches. they are starting to bud with fruit.

craft bazaars, donut dates and more

so my sister and i went to art star again this year! possibly the best craft fair in pa! its held at penn's landing in philly! we go mostly to get inspiration and enjoy what our local folk are making. a few purchases were made. hard to resist those homemade candles, endless colors of felt and reusable snack pouches.


a new donut/ coffee shop opened up a few months back. donuts on main, which is only a couple minutes away from our house. so one morning last week jason took an early break from work, and we met for donuts and coffee. they make cake donuts and sell my favorite local coffee. we were surprised to find we knew one of the employees, a young girl from our church. it was a lovely overall. so glad to squeeze little moments like this into our day!
there has been a lot of hard work going on around the house. lots of generous people, helping us work on our project home. scraping paint, digging holes, smashing plaster, wiring electric.... the list goes on. in all of that mess, i like to go out doors. i've planted herbs, and hope to plant some flowers shortly. a garden will have to wait for another year i'm afraid. when we have more time to dig it up and plan it out.

a tote & goodies

here we have a few late stragglers from the garden! the carrots, short and stubby may they be came in quite handy for my beef stew last week. beef stew and peach pie. a meal we got to share with some friends. quite a cozy meal. i love this stew/ pie season we're in! next up are the apples. i had hoped to get peaches a bit earlier than september, but indeed i did get to make a peach pie. after all, it is my favorite.


... and lastly. this tote ( pattern found here ) has been in my lap for the last week. working on it moments at a time. it came together in no time. it was shown in linen, but i just had cotton. i think it turned out quite well. i think they also have a similar pattern for knitters. i'm glad to have run out of yarn, at the top. i think it makes for a nice contrast. the light and dark.

happy weekend!

CSA's and breadmaking

look at all this beauty! tiffany from my church belongs to blooming glenn CSA and too me along for her share pick up yesterday. i was very impressed. i was interested in doing this back in the spring. the cost of it is what stopped me. if you can split it between two people, then i think it would totally be worth it. they get a hearty abundance of the weeks seasonal vegetables, plus pick your own, which happened to be green beans this week. in addition you also get to pick your own flowers and herbs. they also have free classes on the farm to educate you. how amazing is that!
i've been wanting to make my own bread again. its been so long. this italian loaf turned out great, and went great with the stuffed peppers and corn on the cob we had for dinner.
tiff was so sweet. she let me have a bunch of stuff, because she was going on vacation. i wound up with a lot of flowers, basil, lavender, swiss chard, tomatoes, garlic scapes, summer squash, garlic and grean beans. and that was probably about half of what she got.
check out those purple striped beans. they are so oddly pretty. i'm wondering if they taste the same as the green ones.

bits and pieces of the last week

one of the friday cakes i did this week. this one was to cheer up a very pregnant lady for her birthday.
sunday for lunch i often make breakfast, because we don't always have time to make something fancy at breakfast time. i was just going to make pancakes, but as i starred at the recipe, the recipe next to it caught my eye... oven puffed pancake! why not. sounds good.
so i quick whipped up a little banana nut sauce to go over top.
oven puffed pancake was a hit. a little more eggy than a typical pancake, but still just as delicious

this is simply a unique house, in which i opportunely had a camera to capture their amazing garden. it takes up the better half of their front yard!! talk about show case garden!

flowers are better late than never

i'll admit, i thought i wasn't going to plant any flowers this year. we were looking at houses, and i thought, whats the point of making my existing home temporarily pretty if we move in a couple of months. well, we haven't found anything, so i'm pretty sure we'll be here through the summer. hence my itching to brighten up our living space.
my own version of a hanging basket. more flowers were planted out front!
a peek through the fence into the garden and the beautiful summer day.

garden party

things are growing and flourishing post rain and then more rain. green tomatoes are hanging so proud, peppers are blooming, soon to be budding with little peppers. tomatillos are growing their papery skin of protection for the little green tomato goodness to burst forth. we harvested some lettuce last week, and are continuing to enjoy the herbs from the garden. hot peppers and carrots are growing at a steady rate as well!
the weeds are out of control. i need to get out there very soon!
thats the little garden update.
its been a little too long since i've posted.
more of what i've been up to soon.