making

we have been enjoying summer's fresh produce as much as we can. getting fruits and veggies from my mom, a local produce stand or farmers market. most recently we have enjoyed making our own lemonade. it seems to be my year to have inherited quite a few old treasures. my current favorite being this old juicer. it was passed down to me from a family friend of jason's. the lemonade turned out great. fresh and tart. not too sweet.

i also made eggplant parmesan this week. minus the cheese the dish was all homemade and homegrown. i've been enjoying making things entirely from scratch, when i have the time. its so satisfying, like finishing a project you've been working on for a while, only its takes less time and fills your belly with it's yummy goodness. i hope to be making some more sauce soon. to put some up for the winter.

the small stuff

i'm not going to lie... our living space is being turned upside down right now. i knew this was going to happen. it was inevitable, we knew this as soon as we bought the beautiful wreck. some days i'm ok with ignoring the piles of stuff and debris everywhere. some days i'm not. the wonderful thing is that it is summertime. i can flee the mess. go outside, find some beauty and some order elsewhere. the beauty above is a handmade quilt from my grammy. she recently passed away. sometimes that fact doesn't even register in my heart. for her memories are still very much living in me. her beautiful treasures surround me in my home. i loved her so.

our front porch is a magical place for me. i am surrounded by flowers, trees, the chatter of birds and the subtle voice and footsteps of neighbors walking along the gravel trail, alongside our house. i think i will be hanging out here even when winter comes.

here is the void where the stove pipe use to run into our kitchen. sorry to say, but we have no future plans to cook over a wood stove in our kitchen. progress is being made, in our topsy turvy house.

tales from my week

we are in project mode around here. we've finished tidying up the flower beds as best as we can this year. we have begun working on our kitchen. not a total rehab, just a little face lift until we have have the resources to go all out on it. i'm very excited to see how far some drywall, paint and a new floor will go. i've been sowing more. i made some presents for my niece's birthday,recently.also i have had some pillows sitting in my sowing area for some time. so with a new burst of creative energy, i worked up a pattern on my own for some slipcover pillow cases. pillows for out swing and new outdoor chairs. light yellow, the kind that bounce a little!

i also got spend an afternoon with my girls ( sister and nieces) at saint peter's village. a quaint town not to far from either of us. we enjoyed an exploration of the surrounding forest and a little bolder picnic.

cake chaos

i'm back. i know i took a very long break from this space. life has been chaotic, to say the least. amongst the chaos i've had some cake projects to work on. the first is a graduation cake for my dear friends sister. she is an awesome artist, so i tried to capture some of her current interest all into cake form!

this was a cake for a murder mystery party. it was apparently high school themed. geared for a younger crowd. hence the pom poms.

summer wedding and a vacation too!

my dear friend, got married across from one of the best waterfalls i've seen here on the east coast! the day was a beautiful one. the weather turned out lovely, the couple looked radiant and had the most beautiful vows.

this was my contribution to the day. my mom grew the flowers, i made the cake. together they both traveled very well.

afterwards we went camping at buttermilk falls state park. it was a great vacation. we visited many of the waterfall and gorges in the surrounding parks. went swimming in the waterfalls, took a few hikes and a drive around lake senenca. cooked many meals on the fire, finished a book, had cross-w0rd wars, and many games of rumi
back to work, back to baking.
hopefully i'll post more pictures of both the wedding and camping on flickr soon.

good monday morning

yes it is! i have this next week off. getting ready to go the finger lakes in new york, for my dear friends wedding. we decided to make a vacation out of it, so afterwords we're going camping!

its hot here. 90's for days and days. there are a few things that are getting me by in my air condition free environment...

currently i can't get enough of :

1. tank tops and cut offs
2. popsicles and water ice
3. berries
4. making things outside on the grill
5. eggs in a basket
6. fresh flowers inside and out
7. cold showers

so, we're off on another adventure. be back in a week, with travel tales!

last week...

i made some major decisions about my future. decisions that will hopefully aid in my goal of opening my own cafe and allow me to work on more baking side jobs! speaking of which. this is a cake for a co-worker of mine. her daughter is getting married, so she asked me to do the bridal shower cake!

it was also our third anniversary last week. i came home from work, walked up the stairs to this amazing banner that my husband made and put in my little craft studio. here's to three years darling. i love you more today than yesterday, but not as much as tomorrow <3 data-blogger-escaped-br="">

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.

bears, blackberries and bubble photos

weekend recap:

i saw my first bear at my in-laws. 5 years of visiting before i see a bear.

got to spend some campfire/ bubble blowing time with this little man. he's the best bubble blower i know.

which got my attention when i saw the sunset and landscape reflecting in the bubble. that would be an awesome picture, if only i could capture it. many bubbles later, it worked

we finished our weekend out with some homemade blackberry lemon ice cream. we are on a mission to think of amazing ice cream combinations. let me know if you have any?

and cake

the cake did indeed turn out very well. lemon pound cake with raspberry filling and butter cream icing! the oven worked well. the butter cream icing recipe is a new favorite. pictures to come of the real cake in a few weeks. we are soaking up our leisurely time. have a lovely weekend, all.