the end of the meal at kurtwood farms
i'm hoping for a lot of these warm scenes this weekend. it's my birthday on sunday!

this weekend i will:
make a list of important things i've done in my life
go out to a birthday brunch with my parents
bake and cook and clean
make cocktails
give and receive gifts
listen to a lot of good music
play pictionary
eat a big bowl of pho
sleep in
find some new boots
be with people i love

happy friday!

july

happy july! maybe i say this every month, but july sure came quick. i'm a little nervous to run head on into summer (could be because summer weather is slow coming this year), but i'm also excited for all our summer plans that seem to be coming together nicely.

instead of a july list this month, i am going to write a summer list. of course, later in the summer i'll have to update the list because there is always more to fit in.

this summer i want to...
harvest and eat everything i grow (well, i got a little lazy on the harvest in the end. brocolli went too long in the sun and came out bitter. there are still more potatoes in the ground)
sleep in a tent
go on a long car ride
swim (does going on a boat and putting my feet in water count?)
lay in a grassy field (greenlake, i love you)
picnic
read on my porch
have cocktails in our backyard
barbecue
try new recipes
cook seasonal food simply
freeze surplus produce (blueberries, apricots, strawberries. check.)
bake strawberries, bake peaches, bake blackberries
can and pickle
pick huckleberries
go on bike rides
frequent the farmer's market
make ice cream and sorbet
tomatoes! (keep 'em coming!)

eat outside
enjoy friends
enjoy family
commute by bus, foot or bike more often
wear shorts and skirts and sandals
wear sunscreen
see the ocean
watch august sunsets

...wow, that could go on forever.
any plans for you this summer? leave them in the comments or leave a link to your post about it.
enjoy!

**
p.s. picture is of our edible flowers, i threw them in a delicious salad!

june 1

june is...

barbeques
anticipation of the summer solstice
celebrating
the ice cream machine in constant rotation
flip flops and dirty feet
sunglasses
cool evenings
harvest of spring crops
creative salads (more on that soon)
a short trip to minneapolis
new skirts
late nights

tell me what june is for you in the comments, or leave a link to your blog post about it.
happy june!

may

it's already may 6, and i haven't even done my list for the month. may, you rolled in so quick i hardly had time to think about you. here we go:

may is...
fun fun fun
hands in the dirt, gardens growing
vegetable based meals
long weekends
the first thoughts of camping
peonies, my favorite
sun sun sun
unexpected rain
late dusk
bicycles
sandals and skirts and spring coats


okay, that's my list--what's yours? share what may is to you in the comments, or post on your blog and leave a link in the comments.

spring gardening

the garden is in! we dug up three beds in our grassy front yard, tilled in some good soil and compost and, finally, this past week we put in our seeds and starts.

what we are planting this spring, and how

~one of our housemates put russet potatoes that sat too long in our pantry right into the ground. i have never planted a sprouting crop, so we'll see how that goes...
~green and red lettuce from starts (we are getting our fill of tending to lettuce now because in the summer our csa gives us so much, that it is not worth planting it)
~chives from starts (my favorite!)
~beets from starts
~sweet peas from seed
~arugula from seed

*we went with more starts this year because the weather has been so finicky, it was hard to know when to start.
*i missed the boat on planting my favorite flowers, which i was able to do at our other house last year. if i had planned ahead, i would have put in: dahlia bulbs for late summer, a peony plant, poppy seeds, and cosmos.

what i am looking forward to planting come hot weather

~heirloom varieties of peppers, hot and sweet
~heirloom varieties of tomatoes
~italian basil, thai basil
~mint galore! (that can probably start now)
~eggplant

*all of these, except for the mint, will have to be starts and i am going to experiment with working with a cloche until high summer heats.


what are you planting this year?

monday morning

shots from last weekend's coffee break with jeremiah.

right now, i can't get enough of the last shot in this post by threading in the chorus (found via the blue hour).
yesterday i sat on the couch all day and read the book of night women. it's so haunting and i can't put it down.
i've been eyeing these shoes by miz mooz to go with a fun new summer dress.
and this basic recipe is going to be my spring stand-by. how else am i going to get my fill of asparagus?

hope your week is off to a good start!

april 1

 

i'm having a hard time convincing myself it is already april. time to let go of the winter tendencies and dive into spring. without further ado:

april is...

tulips, daffodils, lilacs, bluebells

fresh smelling air

rainbows, wet concrete shining in the sun

spring bouquets on the dining room table

my best friend coming to visit

a huge fundraiser i've been working on for months

national poetry month

digging in the garden

asparagus, rhubarb, snap peas

color

passover

as always, it makes me happy read your lists. please share what april is to you in the comments, or post on your blog and leave a link in the comments.

housekeeping

hi! i've been a little silent this week. sorry about that. i will say, though, that my spring post was very refreshing. i love making wishes from time to time.

i have a lot of housekeeping notes that i want to catch up on. scissors fit well with housekeeping, right? either way i love this photo. i love these scissors that hang for sale in lucca great finds. i think i have to get myself a pair.

okay, here we go:

i added my cafe project as a tab in the sidebar, so they can all collect there together. also, i'd love it if you joined my cafe flickr group. there are some great images up already.
**
i got a new lens! it's been really great to play with. it is a 28-80, so i have a nice comfortable range of wide and zoom. also, it has a macro setting which is fun to play with. photos from those experiments soon.
**
i wanted to give a special mention to two links in my 'current inspiration' list. one is jen of sophik's post from jan 28th. go look at it, the images and the words all paired together--oh! i can't get enough of it. the other is read roll show, a new venture by the former marketing director of powell's books, dave weich. dave is a smart, creative guy with an amazing interview style. he interviewed over 200 authors at powell's and now he is melding his video inclinations with his interview skills in read roll show. this site is just starting up and i can't wait to see how it develops.
**
also, about my current inspiration links: i am trying to change and rearrange these frequently. i felt like a huge long list of my friends and favorite bloggers was overwhelming, but i also don't want to put up a few links and never change them. so i hope to give special mention to things that touch me and continue to look for things that touch me. thanks for understanding that i can't keep every link on here.
**
i am gathering my photos to hang at the fremont book co. for the month of april. woot! more on that, i hope...
**
there are a few new prints in my shop. sorry for the lack of change recently. suggestions always welcome.

okay! housekeeping over. thanks for sitting through that.

tag

good morning! today is not a rainy day (phew), even though i'm showing a photo of very rainy day a few weeks back. i had intended to take a picture of the bright orange dress in the window, but i realized that i was more clear than the dress was. i think i even said right after i snapped this photo "that photo was definitely more me than the dress." but i like it. i'm always happy to have some photos of myself, even if you can't see anythng but my raincoat and pentax.

caroline hancox tagged me with a fun blogging award and a challenge to share 7 things about myself. have you seen caroline's photography? she's good.

seven things about me:
1. i live a few blocks away from a man-made lake (oops! i guess greenlake is not a man made lake. who knew?) with a path circling it. i just got back from a nice walk around it.
2. i have a weakness for toasted bagels and cream cheese. i have always loved that combination and always will.
3. i once lived in paris, on a street called mouffetard.
4. my paternal grandfather immigrated to america from belarus (ussr) when he was 6. i wish i knew more about his experience.
5. there was a period of time in my life where my best friend and i would watch austin powers the movie over and over. we would pause the vcr when dr. evil said "liquid hot magma" to watch him say it in slow motion.
6. i really love having friends over for dinner.
7. on sunday i got a new lens!

march 1

 

march is...

bursts of sun

bursts of new buds

color

smiles

drizzles

hoods and rainboots

lightweight coats

more light in the day

my dad's birthday

lots of reading and thinking

jam filled cookies

the giddy anticipation of spring

and for you?

blog it forward: what inspires me

good morning! today i'm participating in the blog it forward mashup, put on by victoria of sfgirlbybay. thanks to ashley of that is all for passing the baton to me. and make sure to check out tomorow's post by shayna of the lovely the cabin house.  

alright. without further ado, here is what inspires me:

color

books, literature

paper

art

fresh and simple food

people, honesty

thanks victoria for organizing blog it forward!
don't forget to check out shayna's post tomorrow at the cabin house.

february

*this image inspired by andrea's search for color in the winter months*

february is...

black history month

hearts

donations to women's shelters

warmer air

sudden bursts of snow

roses and chocolate

laughs

thinking about the garden

a sneak peak of light at the end of the winter tunnel

and you?

the year in reflection september-december

looking back at 2009, in pictures.

fall to winter:

a photo show at blue saucer cafe, a trip to the boistfort valley farm, meeting new friends and sharing an amazing meal at delancey, many walks through the fall leaves, a pentax k1000, the first frost, gingerbread, apples and winter celebrations.

happy new year to you. may this year (and decade!) be filled with much joy, health, laughter, peace, and inspiration. and, always, thank you for visiting me in this space. your sweet comments bring me little bursts of joy everyday.

the year in reflection june-august

looking back at 2009, in pictures.

summer:

using the holga, expired film, summer solstice party, flowers in full bloom, walking across the brooklyn bridge, montreal, french, quebec city, 107 degrees, the ocean, farmer's markets.

*it's really overwhelming to look through all my pictures of the last year, but i think it is a good thing to narrow down one or two that sum up a moment or a time. it is also really nice to post pictures that never made it online. here they are now.

the year in reflection january-june

 

 

looking back at 2009, in pictures.

january through june:

a visit to new york, making new friends, visiting frog hill farm, seattle loses a newspaper, buds sprout at first sight of sun, picking the first crop of chives from the soil, getting a new film camera, the seattle tilth edible plant sale.