As you probably know, I love a good mail day. And yesterday, the mail gods smiled on me. My September Yes-Press postcard arrived (bottom right), as well as the All This Is Mine Zine that I ordered. Both were packaged so sweetly, that I ran for the camera so that I could untie and flip through the zine. (The postcard will end up stored in its linen pouch. Wow. The paper is so nice and thick, I can’t let go of them just yet.) I bought the Zine for its Pod Post interview, but I’m loving the penmanship article as well. It’s the letter writing issue, so there’s also some nifty letter folding tricks! And this is all from the initial five-minute flip through ….In more paper news, I’ve been sitting on this for a while, because it’s too early to think Halloween, unless you’re buying m&m’s. But this postcard, from Ink and Wit, would be so cute to send. Or frame. I love it, and I’m not a Halloween decorations girl. Give me a couple of pumpkins (one Jarrahdale gray/green) and I’m good to go ….Speaking of framing, I finally dropped off two pieces of art to be framed yesterday. One was Maria’s lovely “The Space In Between” house print, and the other an egg print from last year’s Country Living Fair. The new plan is to have artwork, framed in black, going up the staircase ….. can’t wait to show you the progress ….. shouldn’t be too much longer …..Until tomorrow, then. Have a good day!
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We got so much done this weekend, that I am feeling energized this morning, thinking about “what’s next.” To quickly recap:
Friday night – We shopped the new Whole Foods Market. It is huuuuuge. The produce section was gorgeous, with fruit and vegetables perfectly stacked. We strolled, and shopped, and managed to find quite a few treats, and groceries, too.
Saturday – We took a field trip to Geneva to look at kitchen cabinets (trying to plan a kitchen remodel for the nearish future), and then stopped for some scrumptious food at Moveable Feast. This took a lot of time, between the hour plus drive each way, and lots of contemplation about cabinet doors. (We learned a lot about cabinetry!) At home, we cleared out the kiddie table from the kitchen, and the space looks so different now. Larger. Cleaner. Adult.
Sunday – We went to the Chicago Botanic Garden, and walked to the Fruit & Vegetable section first. That worked out well, because we got to see a crab cakes demo by a chef at one of our favorite restaurants, Cafe Central. (The crab cakes were excellent!) In the education area, we got a seedling of deer tongue lettuce to take home. It’s kind of late to plant, but I’m willing to try. In the water garden, I was captivated by the seed pods in the water lilies/lotuses, as pictured above. After our garden visit, to cool down, we stopped at Northbrook Court to check out Neiman’s new store, Cusp. It’s a younger, hipper Neiman’s. Interesting. I may be pushing the demographic, yet again.
Monday – Still motivated, we went to Home Depot to pick out a paint color for our son’s bedroom. The winning color? Ralph Lauren’s Spring Rain. Bought a quart to test, and painted the entry area. Love it! Going back for the full gallon. Next weekend? Finished up the day with grocery shopping at Target (we had a 10% off shopping coupon to use). The boys went to the pool (closing day), and we ate Culver’s for dinner on the patio. So, how will I channel this motivation? Today, Spring Fashion Week starts in New York, which means that I will be busy checking out New York magazine’s web site starting tomorrow.
It’s going to be 90 today, and I haven’t even begun to think about wearing fall clothes, so why not move ahead to spring? In the meanwhile, they have a nifty new model feature (The Model Manual) that’s fun to click through. And in further fashion, today at Kohl’s, Vera Wang’s Simply Vera line should launch. I haven’t been inside a Kohl’s in ages, but I like what I’ve seen of Simply Vera in magazines, so it’s worth a field trip. Oh, and I’ll be running/cleaning house/doing laundry, too. Wish me luck. Have a great Tuesday that feels like Monday.
Can you believe it? Summer is (officially) over on Monday night. September starts tomorrow, too. I am ready for some cooler temperatures – and my eyes and nose are ready for less mold in the air. (See what you can do about that) Just one week into the school year, and I’m starting to feel more organized and in control. That is the power of fall!But before we go forward into the new season, let’s look back at summer with the Five:
- last of the summer strawberries
- DSC02671
- Lilla snigel akta dig
- first signs of fall
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Have a great holiday weekend! Get outside, and enjoy! I’ll see you again on Tuesday.
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I have a terrible sweet tooth. (and I’ve been thinking about it this week because I’m going to the dentist this morning) Cookies, scones, muffins, chocolate …. it’s all good. See photo above – which is my current chocolate of choice.I also tend to favor “cute” snacks, which is why I found myself doing internet research on a product from yesterday’s NYTimes. They featured Two by Two Animal Biscuits, made by Artisan Biscuits of Derbyshire, England. I would get the Owl & the Pussycat vanilla flavor (available per the Times at Gourmet Garage or Blue Apron in NYC), but then I found a cuter (elegant?) and more appropriate choice: the Elegant & English biscuit, in vanilla and cream. (There are five other flavors in case you are not a vanilla cookie fan.)
Aren’t they cute? (elegant?) They would be so fun to serve to friends while drinking coffee or tea. I wonder if there is a shop in Chicago that stocks these. I’ll have to do some more research …. after my dentist visit.
Oops! I forgot to remind you that artist Jennifer Murphy is updating her site at noon cst today with a limited edition of 35 bunny …. and there will be some other items for auction at eBay. Check it out.
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Does anything represent late August better than tomatoes? We didn’t grow them this year, but my parents did, which means I have enough to start thinking about how to use them before they spoil (the tomatoes, that is). I decided to try to improve on the Real Simple “pasta with marinated tomatoes and mozzarella” that I tried earlier this month. Instead of onion, I used garlic. Step one: Marinate the olive oil, garlic, and basil for a few hours. Longer would be better, but I started right after returning from my grocery store run. Sometimes, you have to make do. Then, two hours before dinner, add the tomatoes. I used four, good-sized tomatoes. See above.
Step two: Cook your pasta. Real Simple used fettucine. I used rigatoni. (Confession: I am following a New York Times recipe for my second attempt. It’s “Pamela Sherrid’s Summer Pasta”, and it was in the 7/29 magazine.) Put the pasta and the mozzarella on top of the marinated mixture, and let the cheese melt and coat the pasta. Toss the pasta and cheese to help it along. If you are me, you will still get big globs of mozzarella, even though you are using pearl mozzarella. Move on.
Step three: Combine pasta/cheese with tomato marinade, and serve. (Check for seasoning first – I had to add salt, and a little more olive oil.) Enjoy. Your son will tell you that he’s not too fond of tomatoes. Eat his leftover tomatoes. Package up leftovers – which fill three single-serve containers. Guess what we’re having tomorrow?
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