Growing, growing, growing..

It's amazing how quickly things change in this little garden of mine.

Berry season is here!

There are pods in this tangle of leaves and vines.

There is a bush full of tiny beans.

And baskets of bright red berries.

Tiny cukes are beginning to grow.

The tomatoes are flowering.

I'm dreaming of summer salads.

The delphiniums are finishing and the Phlox and lilies are out.

Does anyone else have a pup in their veggie patch? No amount of fencing seems to keep her out of there. She loves to eat those zucchinis straight off the vine!

I cannot wait for more to grow. I'm not a fan of the hot weather, but summer gardens are just so much fun.



Berry Picking & Exploring

This morning my Janney picked me up and we drove out to one of my favourite areas to visit a little family run farm. It's the very end of strawberry season, and with the town's Strawberry Festival coming up we decided we better get out there before it was too late.

We grow our own strawberries at home, both in baskets and in the ground, but there are really only enough for snacking. Going berry picking gives us enough to re-build our freezer stash (for smoothies, recipes where frozen berries work, and late night snacks), make a couple treats (I'm thinking jam, ice cream, and strawberry lemonade this year), and share with friends. Of course there is some snacking too.

This was the first time we visited this farm, but I think we will be returning next year. The berries are small, but sweet!

It wasn't too busy, so we were able to fill our baskets fairly quickly. We really enjoyed being there, but the 32 degree celcius heat (that's 90 fahrenheit) was a little overwhelming.

Yum!

After stopping for iced coffees, we made our way across the city to one of Janet's favourite places. This was my very first time visiting. I've lived in this city all my life, but there are always new places to explore. We've made it a summer goal of ours to explore more areas of this city.

This amazing view belongs to the Scarborough Bluffs.

There is a beautiful garden to explore, so we took the opportunity to look around and snap some photos.

After returning home I divided up the strawberries and put a few bags into the freezer. I know they will be much appreciated in those winter months when local produce isn't available and the imported stuff is pricey.

Do you have any favourite strawberry recipes to share?

Home

Coming home after a 12 day trip can be oh, so nice. I do miss spending all that alone time in Florida with my new hubby, and experiencing all those new places and things, but I missed our life here. I must admit I'm a bit of a homebody.

First thing this morning I was out picking those bright red raspberries. I missed this garden.

Along with all the changes happening in the garden - which I will post more about another time - there are now little baby robins in the nest in our grape arbor. Maybe not so little - there are feathers growing on this little one.

Of course I missed our little ladies too.

I missed pulling out the many projects I've been working on (yes, I am back to the 'fertility quilt' - the quilt I hand sew while going through fertility treatment cycles).

It's kind of a funny thing to miss, but I missed cooking our meals.

This evening had me out in the garden again, this time with a smoothie. I missed these. I like mine with greek yogurt, banana, a tiny squeeze of honey, and any berries I can find. I normally throw in a handful of spinach or kale, but we were out.

I'm glad to be home, but now I'm missing our trip. Funny how that works!

Weekly Favourites

1. pretty yellow floral dresses..so summery

2. darling vintage children's books

3. glorious yellow flats...I think I have a thing for yellow right now.

4. cozy crocheted afghans for cool summer nights

5. beautiful sunsets on the beach

6. snorkelling adventures

7. quiet evening walks with my hunny

8. big dreams in a not so big size.

9. fun fun vintage viewmasters!

 

10. berry season. YUM!

 

sources: 1. mod-cloth; 2. My Book House; 3. Miz Moos; 4. kays crochet patterns; 5. Tonya Williams; 6. Katherine Domsky; 7. Emily Robinson; 8. unknown; 9. etsy; 10. ceres secrets

Pyrex Giveaway!

In honour of our honeymoon coming to close, I have decided to do a little giveaway. I've been wanting to do a Pyrex giveaway for a long while and thought what better pattern than Yellow Daisy for a sunny (sort of) Florida honeymoon? I plan to swap for a better picture when I get home tomorrow. But here's what you'll get..

A vintage Pyrex Yellow Daisy divided casserole dish. You will not be getting the Butterfly Gold bowl sitting on top, just the casserole dish . It has an opaque white lid with a super cute daisy pattern on top. The bottom is sunny yellow. Since it's vintage it does have some wear due to use, so keep that in mind. It is in great useable condition though! I will provide shipping to anywhere in North America. I would love to ship anywhere in the world, but the cost of shipping just becomes too much with a heavy Pyrex dish. 

Just leave a comment (with your e-mail address) and I will use a random number generator to choose a winner. The winner will be chosen on Tuesday July 3rd, just one week from today. If you do not claim your prize by the 10th (one week later) I will choose another number. Good luck!

Refresh

Yesterday afternoon, with what felt like bricks in my stomach, I climbed aboard a boat headed 8 miles from shore. There it would drop 30 of us into the ocean to swim amongst all sorts of sea creatures, including an assortment of reef dwelling sharks. I'm not sure why, but all my life I have been afraid of fish. As a child I had pet goldfish (named after Polka Dot Door characters), and while I did my best to care for them, I would prefer not to be in the room with them; going fishing at my uncle's cottage was a terrifying experience; and swimming in a lake was something that didn't happen often..I outright refused the swim test at camp because I knew there were catfish in the lake. The last time we were in Florida I refused to venture past my knees. Yet here I was on this boat. Jumping into that cool water was a freeing experience. I won't lie and say my stomach didn't jump each time I saw a fish, and I won't pretend I didn't scream into my snorkel the first time I saw that 4 foot long barracuda, but being there was amazing. Here I was in the middle of the ocean, with my new husband by my side, swimming with sharks. I could have never imagined this.

This past year has been a struggle, so much so that it has been easy to forget how lucky we really are. We weren't going to go on this trip because of this, and the ones to come - especially our upcoming IVF treatment that requires so much financially - but I'm so glad we did. Being outside all day, each day, surrounded by life has been so refreshing. We have seen and experienced so much and it has reminded me how much I have been neglecting that need to step away and refresh. So when we get back it has become a goal of mine to do just that. At least once a month we are going to get out of the city, don our hikers and just walk. Anywhere. Everywhere.

For now, I am going to enjoy the last few days we have before jumping back into 'real life'.

I hope you are all allowing yourself that time to breathe.

Weekly Favourites

1. a teepee in the house or backyard! the perfect little hide-out for those quiet moments.

2. this darling little bird

3. I would just love this stripey hammock in my backyard.

4. lace tape! Who would have thought of such a thing? 

5. while we're there, check out these sweet floral tapes. LOVE.

6. all the yummy summer produce people are beginning to can for the fall and winter ahead. I definitely think I need to branch out from the freezer and can a few things this year. Yum!

7. this dreamy bedroom

8. these funny creatures that I'm hoping to encounter later this week.

9. gardens, gardens, and more gardens!

10. this incredible garden lane.

sources: 1. house in habit; 2. SeaPinks; 3. veronicacolindres; 4. mooseart; 5. mooseart; 6. Rachel Gagliano; 7. dear baby; 8. fact zoo; 9. cluttered gypsy; 10. houzz