The "Ber" Months Have Arrived!

I'm so happy that summer is close to being in my rear view window! Still hot as hades outside though. This whole week we have been in the 100's, but hey the lighting is beautiful, because fall is trying to peek through the wall of summer heat.  
Last weekend we went to Oaktown Spice shop and we added to our collection for our cute little spice cabinet. Every time I open the door it smells like spice heaven. I love to replenish and purge my spices in the fall and spring. If you are ever in Oakland, you must go to this shop, click the name above for the link to their website, it has everything you would be looking for to make those exotic and not so exotic dishes.
Sundays I have been sending Dave to the farmers market to fetch pastries from a baker that makes the best croissants and danishes this side of the bay! We are thankful that he sells in our farmers market and if we are lazy, we can go there and not have to drive all the way to Berkeley to Fournee, which by the way I found out that the farmers market baker and the Fournee baker are friends and trained in the same school.
Boxes and boxes keep arriving everyday for the happy couple! It's exciting to see all the showering of gifts and how lovely their home is going to be set up with such pretty and thoughtful gifts. I'm really excited for them. I can't believe that in just a few weeks the big day will be here. Lots and lots of little details still need to be done, but I think we are finally in a good place that we can see it all coming together. It has been a delight planning the wedding with Caitlin and working with such wonderful vendors. I'm so excited to see the flowers. We went to the venue last week and did a walk through with the florist, and had a great time with him talking over the details and how it will be coming all together. It's great to work with someone that can see what you are trying to achieve.

I finally got some curtains up in a couple of the rooms that have been blasted by the sun. I love all the windows in this house and I don't plan on putting up anymore curtains but the ones shown above. The dinning room would get so much sun that you can see that the hardwood floors getting slightly bleached by the sun. I was concerned with putting some of my darker table cloths out because of it too. So we went to good old Ikea and got some simple curtain hardware, and I repurposed the curtains that we had at our old place. I left all the hardware at the old house because the paint job was so horribly done, that when we started to take them down it was pulling chunks of paint and plaster off the wall. Since they were cheap Ikea polls we gifted them to the house.
I used our white organdy curtains that were in our last bedroom, and put them in the studio. I love how the light filters through them and cuts some of the harsh sun that can be quite blinding when I'm cutting fabric.
Speaking of fabric, I bought 4 yards of this darling Spoonflower fabric for a limited amount of capes. I'm running out of the cute Little Red Riding Hood toile fabric. I have combed the internet for more, but haven't found anymore sadly, so I have to start looking for something different. Since I can get this spoon flower fabric anytime, it might just have to be this and some other linings that I can find with this theme.  I have made a total of 8 this summer. I usually make about 8 during Halloween and Christmas. I'm happy that customers are thinking ahead this year, and also reading my announcement that I plan to put the shop on vacation mode soon, so that I can concentrate on Caitlin's wedding.
Speaking of which, I need to get ready for the day, as my cousin is coming over so I can measure up her daughters for flower girl dresses. They are so pretty that will will be fun to see them all dolled up on the day.

Happy weekend!

Christmas Sweet Christmas

Funny how when you are a kid it's all about Santa and presents. As you age it's more about the little things during the holidays that make you happy. For me it's cooking for loved ones, going to midnight mass, and just spending time with the family. We had such a nice and laid back Christmas eve and Christmas day. We cooked and baked a lot on Christmas eve, then had a simple dinner of Italian Wedding soup, before we jumped in the car on a frosty night to midnight mass. We were all so tired on Christmas morning, that we slept in till close to 10 am! It's funny to look at Instagram during the day, and  see other families that are far into the day's celebration, and we were just eating brunch and opening gifts! We always eat Christmas dinner much later too, so the day seems slower paced and goes later into the evening for us.
For dinner this year we had confit de canard, with French green beans and cast iron roasted potatoes. I loved making those potatoes! The pinterest recipe was a Martha one, and it had bacon. I left out the bacon because of the duck. I made a nice little salad with striped beets, arugula, fennel, and hazelnuts. I have made confit de canard before, but this year I opted to buy some that were already done, to make my life more easy. I got them from here.  For dessert, I strayed away from the Buche de Noel that I usually get from Whole Foods. It tends to be a bit too big for our family, and lingers around for too long. This year I made a gingerbread cake instead. We really liked it for its peppery, spicy flavors. It had half a cup of fresh minced ginger!  I topped it with fresh whipped cream.
Usually around this time, I get a bit sad that it's all over, but this year I didn't. It isn't because I wanted it all to end, but more so that it was a nice time and it felt complete. I'm looking forward to the new year.  Planning a wedding, and I just found out my niece is having her first baby, along with her sister welcoming her second in the spring. Lots of beautiful moments to look forward to.  
I've got some cleaning up to do, as we will have some friends coming over for New Year's Eve.
Hope everyone had a beautiful Christmas and a wonderful new year ahead!!!

Oh, forgot to mention, that in the second to the last picture, you can see the new picture ledges that we put up this past Sunday. That wall has been blank far too long! It feels so much more cozy in this room now. My little birdie Riki, isn't so sure he likes that clock above his cage though hahaha!

Baking, Cleaning, and Waiting for Thanksgiving

I'm really loving watching the back yard evolve in color and appearance. We have been enjoying all the fruits that the yard is giving us, and have played around with a couple of persimmon recipes to attempt to use the gargantuan amount that is out there. I think I'll leave the rest of them for the animals. I saw those ravens snacking down on them the other day when I snapped those photos.  Lucky for me, the gardeners have been picking up the dropped over ripe ones, so it doesn't become too messy out there! I have a question for you gardeners. Why are some of the citrus trees and bushes blooming right now in November? Are they confused with all the warmer weather we have had, or do they bloom more than once in the year? The plus side to all these blooms, are all the cute little humming birds enjoying the nectar out of them. I love seeing them buzzing around the lemon tree by my window.
The house is all spit shined and ready for our guests tomorrow. I feel like I have everything done and now all I need to finish up are the desserts, and my floral arrangement. I'm excited to play florist today, because I found some really beautiful flowers and I have some fun ideas.
I took out the new toy yesterday to make some pastry and it was a joy to use! It will be in heavy use, later today as I prep for tomorrows feast. I feel the splurge on this food processor was totally worth it.
 
I wish everyone a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving! Enjoy your day and live in the moment, try and put down all those devices, and enjoy your guests.  Ok, maybe one or two IG pictures, but seriously, please try and detox from the devices on such a wonderful holiday!

Corners of My Home

Remember when "corners of my home," was so common in blogland? I don't see it as much, but I really never did a lot of those posts, so I'm making up for lost time.  At the other house, our antique secretary was in our hallway and you never really got to see it fully, unless you walked out of the bathroom.  This always made me kinda sad that it wasn't highlighted, and my collection of tea cups could not be seen easily. This house has a nice spot for this piece of furniture, that was a hand me down from my in-laws. I'm not sure of the date of it, but if I were to guess, it would be maybe from the 1800's?? I do know that it is from England. I Usually don't like to buy prints of famous paintings, but when we were in the Netherlands and I laid eyes on this Vermeer painting, I just had to have this as a reminder of how beautiful this painting is! Also, when we toured this one particular museum in Haarlem, they paired a lot of furniture similar to this secretary with all the beautiful Dutch paintings and Delft ceramics. I fell in love with this combination, and so we bought a piece of Delft also. This is my little homage to my love of Dutch art.  Tulips should actually be in that vase! Hahaha.

David hung the mirror and our Paris etching, but we still have quite a bit more to hang, but I thought I'd show you how nice the mirror, that use to be in our dining room in the other house, looks in the entryway.

I promised a few posts back, that I would show you the back yard. I haven't been in the mood to go back there since the promised fence, to separate the cottage, has not been put up yet and the "tenant" seems to still have free reign over it with her dogs and cats. I'm trying to be patient with the whole thing and hoping that it will get resolved soon. Here are a few shots leading to the back from our patio. The little gazebo was going to be torn down originally, but the owners contractor came up with a solution to save the grape vines as well as the gazebo. It was falling down in the center, and now it has a brand new top. I wish we could enjoy this, but usually on the weekend the neighbor has her friends over, and I just don't feel comfortable being watched, so we wait I guess..... The yard has, a pomegranate tree, as well as a fig and quince tree. The figs aren't ready yet, but as soon as they are, I'm going out there to round them up. The photo of the fruit above are quince. I love all the roses too, and I swiped some today as seen above.

Today I took a trip into Berkeley, because I just needed to get out of the house, and poor Quincy bird needed some food.  I buy his special seed combination where I bought him in Berkeley. I love Berkeley! Whenever I'm feeling stuck creatively, I take a trip there for inspiration. I go window shopping and check out what is new in all the little shops that I love, and before I know it, I have a million new ideas. Today I left with some great ideas for some pieces for my Etsy shop, and also a lot of fun summer food ideas. No other place does this for me. I'm now renewed and ready to start creating again.  I have no more excuses to get to work, since the studio is fully unpacked and ready to go!!!
Hopefully next post will be what I have been working on. Hope you aren't bored with my house shots!