best visit. best friend.

This weekend was the best. With my best friend. You know the kind of friend you can't believe actually exists because you have THAT much fun together and connect in a really mysterious and wonderful way? We used to often refer to ourselves as kindred spirits. And really, that's about the only way to describe it.

Food was naturally the main focus of our time together. Naturally. The first day we made our way to this pretty rad raw food restaurant. yuuummm... I'm still dreaming about the tofu-spin roll we shared, among a few other delicious samplings.





This was the Olamexi III. YUM.

We also did a little antiquing - found some incredible yellow shutters for Lizard's home and a tiny oval serving plate for mine.

We made roasted red pepper pesto for our grilled mahi mahi and grilled green tomatoes.

We attempted basil sorbet.

We dehydrated about a million apples.

We drank delicious wine and french-pressed coffee.

We really did, made, ate, and visited about 102 really fantastic things this weekend, but the best part, by far, was just chatting together. I'm so thankful for my kindred spirit.

things made

One of my favorite parts of the changing of seasons is the changing of daily activities. Fall means more stew and home-baked bread, more foods that include pumpkin!, warm beverages instead of iced, sweaters in the morning in place of sweat, evenings spent stitching versus summer evenings spent weeding.

Needless to say, we remain busy. Working, playing, making. Kissing our chicks and bunz.

Here are a few of our most recent projects:


House shoes to keep my toesies warm.



Quilted rug that bunz HATES.



Kitchen island made by my dear.






Two painfully cute cross-stitches made for me by my dear.

Nap Time

I looked out the window this afternoon and caught my little pretties getting into some trouble... as usual. After they scratched up all the mulch out of my side garden, they were completely exhausted and had to take a rest. Best place? In the sunshine, in my potato bag!

Our Grand-Egg!

I would like to introduce the world to our first grand-egg! We're so proud!!

My girls

My little family has a routine. Every morning mumsie rises between 6 and 6:30 - very active internal clock/very sunny bedroom. I am hurried downstairs by Violet - noisily doing laps in her cage... I let her out and we sit on the rug in front of the kitchen sink together - scratching here and there, and if I quit, she bites me. Grab a quick bite to eat and kick V back in her cage.



She does like to kiss me!




I head outside to a begging choir of peeps. Let us out! Let us out!!!! The girls all scurry out in single file, India is always the last. They begin their morning bug patrol and weed taming while I start my coffee. Usually by the time I get back out with my book and coffee, they are all lined up beneath the grill, where it's shady, taking their morning break. Here we sit, reading and resting, until the sun gets too warm to stand - which is quick these days.

And since dad works nights, he joins us in the late afternoon for musical chickens and playing in the sprinkler.

City Chicks!

Living in a two bedroom apartment, in sweltering west Texas, all I could dream about was farming - stretching my legs out between the rows of tomatoes in the garden as I weeded, dirt under my fingernails, sun burning through the t-shirt on my back. I knew the next place we lived I had to have a garden! As we neared our moving time, I became acquainted with a new friend and love - Urban Farm Magazine!

http://www.hobbyfarms.com/urban-farm/urban-farm.aspx

This fantastic magazine helped to expand my little dream of a simple garden into something...well, larger.

I started to imagine having a miniature version of a farm - a farming system, a huge compost pile, tons and tons of food to enjoy and to preserve, and a flock of hens. Well, I'm here tonight to announce that my dream has been realized! A few days ago my husband completed our top secret, undercover chicken coop and a day later we brought home four bouncing bundles of feathers and joy!

a day at the gardens