Friday, September 19, 2014

around my home ~ indoors and out

Hello, friends ~ how's your week been? I was actually sick most of the week; but 
nothing major. Just a raw, sore throat, headache and tiredness. Just enough to make
me feel yucky and not have a lot of energy. I doubled my vitamin D and took a
tried-and-true supplement, Allibiotic. I swear by this stuff. If you take it at the first sign 
of a cold or scratchy throat, you can pretty much avoid a full-blown cold. At least that's
how it's worked for me, Brian, and Tim. (My mom swears by it, too.)

Do you remember the round, wooden mirror I bought a couple of months ago
and couldn't decide where to put it in my living room? I had thought it would look good
on the fireplace wall ~ here's Brian holding it up for me. Nope, too small. And I wasn't 
keen on hanging sconces or anything else beside it to balance it out and fill in the
 white space. 
 

Turns out, I found a better spot for it: on the wall right inside our front entrance. I hung two
 San Francisco prints on the smaller wall to the side. The larger one is a vintage painting
that we picked up in an antique shop last year and the small print is just a page from
a calendar that I framed. The city of SF holds a special place in our hearts, as that's
where we spent our 25th anniversary five years ago.



I think the new mirror looks a lot better than the gold, oval mirror that was there before.
 I was getting tired of the plates, too. The gold mirror is now in the master bedroom.

 

The past two weekends, I've frequented a farm in our area to buy a ton of tomatoes
and some other veggies, as this is pretty much it until next summer. (Waah!) 


We enjoyed one last batch of fresh gazpacho ~ so easy to make in a food processor.
 

Topped with cucumber and avocado, it made a delicious and healthy lunch.


And then with the rest of the crop, I put tomatoes, garlic, and rosemary in a big
roasting pan and tossed all with olive oil and salt. I slow-roasted in the oven for a 
couple of hours until the tomatoes were saucy. The house smelled so good! Then I
packed the sauce into freezer bags. I have five bags in my freezer right now. It'll be
so awesome to use these summer tomatoes in spaghetti sauce, chili and soups 
this winter.


And then going on around my yard...Brian planted these fountain grasses in the little
ditch area in front of our house beside the driveway. We don't have sidewalks in our
neighborhood. The other side of our driveway has a larger ditch and that's filled with 
tiger lilies. I'm happy to see that these grasses are doing well and have grown a lot in 
the past month that they were planted. I can't wait until a few years down the  road when
 they're really tall and they sway in the breeze. Fountain grasses have always been one
 of my favorite plants, especially in the fall.


All my potted flowers are still going strong.
 
 

In my butterfly garden, the sedum is in full bloom. I never used it as a cutting flower until
I saw a few bouquets on blogs. I now have a bunch in a Mason jar on my kitchen table
and I'm happy to report that this is a great cutting flower ~ they still are colorful and sturdy
even after a week on my table.
 

Looks like my cherry tomatoes are pretty much done for. All the leaves are
drying up. Makes me sad. I love being able to step outside my door and pick 
fresh tomatoes off the vine. And cut flowers for the table and pick herbs to use
in my cooking. Can you tell I'm a warm weather person?


Farewell to the Black-Eyed Susans, too.
 

Have a wonderful weekend!


33 comments:

  1. Yep, you found a great spot for the mirror. Makes a nice display. I'm a warm weather person, too, being from the South, but our temps are still just way too hot around here at the moment. Mornings and nights are cooling off a little more but mid-day is still scorching, especially when we get in the car at 3 pm after school. It is nice to get produce from your own backyard. Great idea for the tomatoes. Hopefully your cold weather will hold for a bit. Have a great weekend. Tammy

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    1. Even though I say I'm a warm weather person, I wouldn't want scorching temps, that's for sure! Temps in the 90's and 100's are too much. Especially if there's high humidity to go with it. Thanks for stopping by, Tammy.

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  2. Hi Melanie,

    What a pretty vignette you've created with the mirror! The aqua in the mirror's stripes, which is picked up in the SF artwork, the little bird, the books, and the pillow make for a very charming and welcoming scene! I enjoyed reading about the special significance re: the SF display and every time you see it, it must remind you of your time there. In the end, the mirror is perfect in its new location; just goes to show you, good things are worth waiting for!

    Your flowers are doing really well; must be all that TLC they get! It's still very hot here in the Med, and we're expecting yet another heatwave this Sunday when temps are supposed to reach 88°F on Tuesday!! At least it's cooler at night (on average, 73°F), and I actually took out my comforter - crazy weather, kinda like my own mid-life thermometer!

    Your tomato sauce looks scrumptious and will be a real treat cooked up in a smooth ragout or pasta sauce, great comfort food for those cooler temps.

    Have a wonderful weekend!

    Poppy

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    1. Glad you like all the blue in my vignette, Poppy! Though it's already changed out (what a surprise, I know) because I'm starting to add touches of fall decor. We're actually experiencing some warm temps today near 80F, but storms are coming in.

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  3. Hi Melanie, just catching up now I am back, I have been reading, just not commenting! Congratulations on your anniversary!! I hope that you have many more happy years of marriage to come. Your mirror looks great in your entryway, it is nice to change things up a bit isn't it and it is good that you found a home for the mirror too. I hope that you avoided the cold and are feeling better now. Take care. xx

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    1. Thanks for the well wishes on our anniversary. Totally avoided a cold and am now feeling 100% fine. :-)

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  4. I can't tell you how much I envy your garden. With the drought, my garden is looking so bad. And now with wildfires, I really can't justify turning on the hose.

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    1. You know how much I love California, but that's my idealized version of it. I know the reality is sometimes extremely high temps, droughts, and wildfires. I feel really bad for you guys.

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  5. That mirror looks great there! My garden is pretty much done, the zinnias are dead and I'm just getting a few tomatoes and peppers now. Your garden is still looking good!

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    1. I don't think we'll have enough heat for those tomatoes to ripen any further. This is about it until next summer.

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  6. I just cut some Autumn Joy sedum the other day to put in a white pitcher on the counter. I love it the shape and texture of the blossoms.

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    1. I do, too! I'm glad I discovered this as a fall cutting flower.

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  7. The new mirror looks perfect above that table. Just the right size and I love the colours.

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  8. The new mirror looks terrific over the table. I too have a lot of Autumn Joy but have never put it in a vase.

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    1. Glad you like the mirror, Olive. I had never put the sedum in a vase either. Go for it!

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  9. So glad you are back , and well! We here in eastern Canada have already had a frost - ice on the birdbath. not a killing frost, but leaves are fluttering down more and more and maple trees are becoming glorious in colour. Looking forward to warm visits to Comfy House this winter!

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    1. Ugh on the frost. I'm not ready for that. I be the color change is gorgeous up there.

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  10. dear Mel, you summer girl. Loved seeing all the garden photos. I don't think we are through with warm weather quite yet. Glad you're feeling better. Have a great weekend my friend! Love, Penny

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    1. The warm weather can stay around as long as it wants. :-)

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  11. I like where you've hung your mirror, Melanie. It adds a nice pop of color to your entrance! I've quit watering plants after two heavy frosts have nipped the more delicate flowers, but I've got to get out and cut hydrangeas before they turn brown. I love the way your fountain grass looks. I forgot all about planting some this year and I'm missing it this fall. I'm glad you're feeling better and I hope you're enjoying the weekend!

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    1. I can't believe you've already had two heavy frosts. It's been warm here during the days (70's) but down to the high 40's at night. The fountain grasses are looking better every few days. Guess they really like the cool weather.

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  12. I like the updated entry. Very fresh and modern looking.

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  13. Your mirror is great! Not much going on here as I am still sore from the crash. Thanks for the tip on the allibiotic stuff. I had way too many colds last year.

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    1. Glad you like the mirror, Rhonda. So sorry that you're sill sore from your accident. Hope you get a chance to try the Allibiotic.

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  14. I too like where you hung your mirror, looks good in the entrance. Your garden is looking about the same as mine! Hate to see the season leave, I've enjoyed the summer so. Happy anniversary, and it was Mr. C's and I 16 anniversary on the 12th. The sweet potatoes will NOT be any where as good as the vegetable varieties . But we enjoyed it and a great way of up-cycling, the vine leaves were pretty good too. But each persons taste is different.

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    1. I might pass on eating those sweet potatoes if they're not very good. Maybe I'll leave them out for the squirrels. Happy anniversary to you and Mr C!

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  15. Love your mirror. Its fun to find just the right place for something. I often start off in one room and end up with it in another.
    So many colds being reported on blogs today

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    1. Funny how when September comes, people start getting sick. I'm sure one of the reasons is all the kids going back to school and spreading germs among each other and then bringing them home.

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  16. It's all looking good around your place, Melanie. I like the display near the front door, the colors work well together. Your plants outside are really nice. I hope you're feeling better soon.

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    1. Thanks so much, Jennifer. I feel perfectly fine now.

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  17. First of all...I LOVE the mirror with the wooden frame! And you found the Perfect spot for it!!! I'm a lover of tall grasses too. I'm sure yours will grow quickly so they sway in the wind. :-)
    Mary Alice

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    1. I'm glad you love my mirror and where I placed it - thank you.

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