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Magical Samhain Night

We made these enchanted candles to give a magical touch to our festivities.

One of our favorite holidays to celebrate is Halloween or Samhain. Sometimes we get a little carried away with decorations and treats, but it sure is fun! More is more! We had fun making some crafts, spooky flying fairy skeletons, enchanted candles like in Harry Potter and ribbon garlands to hang over doorways in Halloween colors and patterns. Food. We also made lots of tasty food. Spooky food. Ok, maybe not so spooky, but creative and festive for the occasion. I got lots of ideas from magazines and pinterest. Check out my Halloween board to see some of the inspiration. I discovered ways to take the inspiration and make it my own, and in some cases improving on the ideas. (read more)

8 Symbols of Happiness

My good friend Arianna has recently launched her blog, seekingabetterlife.com, that explores her journey in uncovering the truth about nutrition and health. She recently shared her 8 symbols of happiness and challenged her readers to come up with theirs. The concept is based on her favorite writer, blogger and podcaster, Gretchen Rubin’s The 8 symbols of happiness which was inspired by the 8 Auspicious Symbols of Buddhism.

My 8 symbols of happiness are…

Heart. I think without love there would be little that would make me happy. Romantic love, parental love, love for kindred souls, friends and my family… (read more)

Kale and Zucchini Torte

Gluten Free Kale Zucchini Torte with a Potato Crust

Kale and Zucchini Torte with fresh garden herbs and a potato crust.

We recently had a lovely brunch in my dear friend Rosie’s garden to show our support for the elimination of the pesticides that have been linked to the decline in bees. This fabulous Torte included ingredients that were pollinated by bees and grown in our garden. We grew the kale, zucchini, dill, thyme, and chives. There is just something about making food from what is readily available in the garden that feels so satisfying. This dish is a looker with it’s potato crust around the rim too. I did take mine out of the springform pan and then decided to reheat it, putting it back in, which in turn made the sides not stay in place as well. Don’t be like me, just serve it room temp if you take it to a potluck, it is just as tasty. I made this the night before our brunch. The flavors of the herbs and cheese was so fresh, light, and yet just a tad rich too. Mix it up, add different herbs, or cheeses, or veggies, add meat for your carnivores if you like. In true bohemian style, make it your own and get creative with it. Here is how I made it… (read more)

Brunch for the Bees

Ted built this beautiful pond himself.

My friends Rosie and Cat and I hosted a Brunch for Bees in Rosie’s lovely garden last Sunday. The Brunch for Bees is a way to take action to help retailers stop selling the pesticides that kill bees. Friends of the Earth has a brunch hosting kit and guide to hosting one of your own, including recipes, signs and messages to post on your social media sites. Bees pollinate one in three bites of the food that we eat and are declining at alarming rates, with pesticides being one of the leading causes of their decline. The brunch is helping to urge TrueValue Hardware and Ace Hardware stores to stop selling these pesticides called neonicotinoids. And, it is an excuse to get together with friends and family and have brunch! Click on the links to learn more or visit www.foe.org (read more)

Candy Sushi!

Candy Sushi made with Rice Crispy Treats, Fruit Roll Ups and other candy.

I have a friend I work with who is leaving for greener pastures, and I wanted to make her something special as a goodbye gift. She loves candy and sushi, so I thought the perfect thing would be Candy Sushi! I saw various versions of it on Pinterest, and it looked easy and adorable. It is a sweet treat and a crafty no bake one at that. They would be really fun for a Japanese themed party or even as dessert for a real sushi dinner.

They are easy to make with some assembly. There is a lot of candy involved and it made my grocery cart look like I had a serious sugar addiction! It turned out to be fun for Coda and I as an after school activity to do together. We did end up eating way more candy than is usual in our house for sure. (read more)

Our Garden 2015

I have started a shade garden this year in the back.

Hey guys! I wanted to post the latest on our garden from this year. Some of the new plants include this pink astilbe, and a white one. For some reason I didn’t get a picture of the white one. I started a shade garden in the back by the fence, which is the only shady area in our garden. I also added Creeping Jenny and Anemone Sylvestris. It didn’t bloom this year, hopefully next year!

Red Dinner Plate Dahlia.

I also planted Dahlias! This red one and a yellow one that has been growing in a pot. I am thinking of transplanting it into the ground as soon as I do some gardening chores and clear a nice spot for it where it is hopelessly overgrown. They seem to be happy, and they really make me happy with their nice big blooms. (read more)