Weekend of Relaxation (and getting things done)

This weekend has been so wonderfully restorative. I took Friday off from work to make it a four day weekend–for no other reason than to get those lingering projects and tasks done. Here's what I've been up to so far this weekend:

• Gardening: Our monstrous tomato plant needed some serious reinforcements. It is now around 7 feet tall and just about as wide! I also collected marigold seeds for use next year.
• Canning: I've been a little bit scared to try my hand at canning. I definitely see the benefits of being able to take this season's harvests into the next season – but the thought of bacteria and botulism have really scared me off. I made a batch of plum jam and a batch of basic tomato sauce to give it a try. It looks like everything worked out as it should, but I'll have to see if they were all sealed properly tomorrow. I'm going to make two more batches of plum jam and some fig jam, so I may even try it again.
• Freezing: At the farmer's market we bought twelve ears of corn to blanch and freeze for use over the winter.
• Knitting: I've knitted five beanies so far to sell at the Folsom Arts & Crafts Fair in December and plan on making around 20. I'm getting quite good at them and secretly want to keep each and every one for myself.
• Eating: The first heirloom purple cherokee tomato was ready from the plant I started from seed, so for lunch J and I made the most delicious caprese salad. It was worth the four month wait!

It seems I've been quite domestic this weekend, but it feels good to concentrate on things that are simple and put me in touch with this summer season before it's gone. I just finished reading The Good Life and it has definitely inspired me to do more things from scratch and end my reliance on grocery stores and our out-of-whack industrial food supply chain.

A Quilt in 6 days!

I am quite proud of myself, I can't believe I finished a quilt in only 6 days. The fabrics and colors just fell together and I made a little schedule of when things would have to be done by. I used my bias tape maker, which definitely sped up the binding process and tied it instead of machine quilting.

The quilt was a big hit at the birthday party and I hope J's niece enjoys it for many years to come.

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Spontaneous Quilting

I decided last night (a bit spur of the moment) that I am going to make a little baby quilt for J's neice for her first birthday next Wednesday. I didn't get her anything a year ago when she was first born, as J and I had just started dating, but now that I've been around for a while I really wanted to make her a little gift. 

I dug around in the fabrics I already have and found a set of corals and browns that seem to go together pretty well. I think the browns and yellows tone down the girliness a bit, without taking it away. I'm off to the store today to find one or two more patterns to add to the mix, hopefully in a stripe or polka dot. 

I'll show you the final quilt once it's finished, but here's a sneak peek!

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Birthday Fun

Last Saturday was J's birthday so I tried to plan a few simple things that would make him feel special. I think once we get older we start to lose that giddy feeling that used to accompany our childhood birthdays, and I think that's a shame. Our dining room may have looked like there was a four-year-old celebrating his birthday that day, but J felt important and like it was his day and that was the goal.

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On Being Excited About Halloween

I haven't really gotten excited about Halloween since the days of orange plastic pumpkins (or pillowcases!) and Trick-or-Treating. I'd have to say it ranks pretty low on my list of favorite holidays, but this year I'm actually getting into it.

I went to the pumpkin patch with J a few weeks ago and got a few awesome looking pumpkins. We went to a small local organic farm and were the first pumpkin customers of the season, meaning we got first dibs on the best pumpkins. We're going to carve them later this week and bake the pumpkin seeds using a few different seasonings for some yummy snacks.

I also made a batch of Halloween cards. I cut out squares of orange paper using pinking shears, then cut out pumpkin outlines using an exacto knife. The best part was coming up with different faces for each pumpkin. Sorry if you get one in the mail and this post ruined the surprise!

And the thing I'm really getting excited about are J and my costumes! Not going to say what they are, but I think they're going to turn out really spectacular. And they shouldn't require that much time to make, which makes them even better. I'll post some pictures when they're done!