Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Tomato Jam

The weather is still all over the place and my tomato crop is still the bomb. Luckily Pinterest came into my life a few months ago, because I would have never thought to look up a recipe for tomato jam.  The pin was a recipe from Bliss (please check out her blog).  I had a little less than 4 pounds of tomatoes, so I adjusted the other ingredients accordingly.  Actually I guessed. 


It looks pretty good in the glass.  It tastes so much better.  This afternoon I had a smear on my ham and sourdough bread sandwich.  Tomorrow I am trying it on grilled cheese.

Now my tomatoes aren't ripening fast enough.



Monday, August 22, 2011

Open Garden

Last year a friend and I visited several gardens in my area that were participating in an open garden day or Die Offene Gartenpforte for Hessen (the German state or Bundesland that I live in).  We decided to start at the one located in a small town near us.  Thinking back about it, we should have never left and here is why.








This private garden also has a wonderful store attached to it, Feldmann Haus und Garten (unfortunately they do not have a website), that sells garden/ home accessories and furniture from companies like Lambert and Gervasoni.  They are open every week on Thursday and Friday. The best part is that garden is also open to the public on the days the store is.  Needless to say that I have spent a few hours there since my first visit. 

Address:

Bergstr. 70
64319 Pfungstadt.

Both the store and the garden are so worth a visit.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Friday Flowers

Friday is always the day for fresh flowers in our house.  It was a tradition that I started while living in Brooklyn.  There I would go to a flower shop in Grand Central during lunch or stop by the Union Square Farmers Market on my way home.   I still get flowers on Friday, but now I can do it country style. :) During the summer months I pick them myself at one of the many pick your own fields nearby.  I was going to bring my camera and take pictures of the field, but I forgot it in my usual morning rush.  So, you will have to make do with pictures of my harvest, pickings, or whatever.



Snapdragons


Sword Lilies

Looking at the last picture reminds me that I still have some unfinished business with the Thonet stool.   I did buy a tub of wood filler and I am now pretty sure that it will end of being painted yellow. In my book that counts as progress.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Confetti

A while back I found a cool idea for gift wrapping via one of Juliette's pins.  When I saw all that confetti I knew I had found the perfect wrapping idea for my best friend's birthday present (we use to hide confetti in each others gifts).  This was the year to reinstate the tradition or at least allude to it.

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Packing paper, double sided tape, hole-punch art paper, sprinkle confetti.  Done.  Wait, forgot one thing.  Vacuum. :)


Wednesday, August 10, 2011

2 days down

And about 2,398 to go.  School days that is.  We made it through the first two and I am okay. :) Last week I posted about the German (& Austrian) tradition of giving each 1st grader a Schultüte and wanted to follow up with some pictures of how Sam's turned out.




Mission accomplished.

Time flies


 And suddenly my little baby, my little boy is starting school.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Schultüte

One more week and Sam will be starting school.  It is all new to us, since neither Milt nor I ever attended a German school.  One of the most important things about starting school here is the Schultüte that every child entering the 1st grade receives.  It is a large decorated cardboard cone that is filled with small toys, school supplies, and sweets.  The idea being that this gift will make the start of school a bit sweeter.  A nice tradition, I think.

There are plenty of pre-made ones that can be purchased, but I thought it would be nicer to come up with my own design.  My little guy is totally into dinosaurs at the moment, so I wasn't surprised that he choose them as a motive when I asked him.  I am still working on it, but this is how my project is doing at the moment.