a fall bounty

a couple weeks ago, my sister molly and i met our friend rebecca at the farmers market near our office at about 8 am. it was so beautiful to be there first thing in the morning on a cool, crisp fall day, and the morning sunlight streaming in created a totally different feel than i've felt at the farmers market before. it was like an otherwordly light filtering through all the layers of beautiful greens and colorful shapes.




as we perused, we talked about the ways we shop for produce and how to minimize waste and maximize the use of seasonal produce when it's at its best. just a few days before that, rebecca had emailed me to pose this question for discussion:

do you have a game plan when you go to the farmer's market? like, do you go there looking for particular things or with a recipe in mind? or do you just go and see what's there and figure out what you will make with it as you go along? it's just so hard to resist the beautiful things that they have there, especially when you don't know if it will still be available the following week.

so we walked and talked about this conundrum that i think a lot of people feel in some form. my personal thought is that it's a great idea to have a plan B for everything you buy at the farmers market. for example, you might see some beautiful squashes and peppers you want to try - interesting colors and shapes, and you have lofty goals of sauteeing or grilling them, drizzling with some herb-infused olive oil, blah blah blah. and that would be lovely. but if it doesn't happen, for whatever variety of reasons make things like that not happen, then you can have a plan in the back of your mind to make a big pot of chili on sunday to use up the things that never made it to their culinary promised land.

and about the idea of not knowing what will be available next week making it hard to pass over something particularly interesting, i say ask the sellers. one of the best things about farmers market shopping is that you're buying directly from the source (which is so nice in so many ways). they've known that huge eggplant since it was this big. so they'll gladly tell you when things will be available and when they won't, even when they're at their peak. and they can also give you ideas of how to prepare each specimen if you're not sure.


one of my favorite things at the farmers market is seeing vegetables in their full, uncut form. it totally makes them more exciting to use, though it can sometimes be a little intimidating. seeing them (and buying them) that way makes me feel even more connected to the true source of this goodness, and that's really something to feel good about it, especially in a food world that we know is over-processed and so very disconnected from its source and its intended form.

i was happy to see all the gnarly and huge heirloom tomatoes (the uglier the better, right?) after last year's tomato issues. these are the kind of tomatoes that just sliced on a plate are a showstopper.


what have you been buying at the farmers market? and do you have a system or strategy to share?






some more honey living farmers market posts:

fresh ideas
local harvest
on the grid
good and green

hot under the collar

aren't heavy winter coats the bane of your existence while commuting, traveling or shopping? UGH! they're great when you're outside freezing, but it seems like the nanosecond you get inside, the heat is blasting like it's trying to bake you, and all the people create a level of body heat that makes you want to strip down and scream. my solution is usually to skip the coat if at all possible, figuring i'll be cold while outside but that i'll warm up quickly inside. then i stand there shivering waiting for the bus cursing my stupid, stupid idea.

enter the abrigo bag...love love love! have you seen it? it's a pretty tapestry-style carpetbag (comes in cognac or verde) which holds any size coat (and a pocketbook as well!) and is easily slung over your shoulder or strapped onto a piece of rolling luggage. and when you're not using it, it folds flat and stows anywhere you want. this is so perfect for someone who travels a lot, carries an abundance of stuff everywhere they go (hello, have we met??), really this is just pretty awesome.

LOVE. especially in cognac.

images from abrigo bag

a tree grows

on one of my very slow, very calm post-surgical walks around my neighborhood, i noticed this little house with the most charming tree on the front lawn. i pictured kids sitting under it playing, and a little girl peering out over the tree from her bedroom window above. for all i know, an 80 year old man lives in that room, but this is my fantasy, so it was a little girl who reminded me of me. obviously.

i couldn't figure out why i felt so drawn to it, and then i realized that growing up, there was a big old tree on my lawn, and i remember looking down over it from my bedroom window, jumping in leaf piles and building snowmen under it, even sitting under it trying to smoke a cigarette without applying pressure to my cheeks after my wisdom teeth came out. ah, memories.

that tree was removed a few years ago because it had died and had started to pose a threat to the house itself, and the cars in the driveway. though they left it bare at first, my parents filled the space with a pretty little cherry tree.

though it doesn't tower over the lawn the way the other one did, and it never will just based on its type, it will grow bigger and fuller, and i like thinking about a little girl peering out that second floor window, my old bedroom window, one day.

vintage HL: scent of a season

next up on my fall already-have list is my cooler weather fragrance wardrobe, with one great new addition. over the summer, i love to use light fragrances, most specifically coconut, as you might remember. but as cooler temps prevail, i prefer something a little heavier, with musky and spicy flavors. throw in a dash of sweetness and i'm happy.

i love having different scents that i wear in different seasons, but also different scents within the same season - i used to be of the idea that a signature scent was essential to one's personal style, but i fully reject that notion now. i think it's the same as with clothes, jewelry, makeup and any other style detail - should be easy to change and adjust based on mood, event, and any other number of factors that dictate our style choices.

some of my favorite fall and winter standbys are straight patchouli oil, which i get at jean tourmo in woodstock, valentino, which i wore on my wedding day, and bulgari notte which i got on my honeymoon in the bahamas. in addition to loving the scents, i love the memories they evoke for me and the way they transport me in time for just a split second, as only true sensory experiences can.
my favorite new cool weather fragrance is neroli from l'occitane. over the summer, i wandered in there and was very pleasantly reminded of the loveliness of that store - delicate, feminine and of course, tres provencale.





i also fell in love with one of their rose scents (they have two - the one i loved was the nuit de mai) but i figured when i need a new spring fragrance, i could explore that one. but i digress....neroli is an oil used in many, many fragrances, and is often compared to bergamot, and in this perfume is also mixed with orange blossoms. the scent is deep and spicy and sweet.to be sure, i purchased a gift set which was on sale for $20 - it's a very gold, very 90's looking "compass" purse atomizer with three small vials that slide right in. not only do i seriously adore the smell, but apparently, everyone adores it on me. you know when that happens, a scent just really works on you? i have never gotten so many compliments and have never enjoyed deeply inhaling more, with my nose to my wrist, my hair, my clothes...it gets everywhere and it lasts forever. LOVE.

i'm actually thinking about, later in the season maybe, experimenting with mixing the neroli and patchouli. the patchouli is SO strong - i love it, but people smell me from a few blocks away and it gets on everything - like, as in, baby gifts i give smell like patchouli. and kelly and cory's cat smelled like patchouli for a month after sitting on the same chair as my bag. yeah.

other items on the fall already-have list:

darkness falls

all wrapped up

originally posted 9/16/09

bulgari notte photo from http://www.mega-shops.com/; neroli photo from http://www.loccitane.com/; valentino photo from http://www.fragrancescompared.co.uk/

vintage HL: keep it green

one thing i learned from my wedding florist is that mums require a HUGE amount of water. so it's not surprising to see that many of the most beautiful displays of mums are starting to look dried out and tired. as a result, i've been feeling a special appreciation for the businesses and homes which passed on the colorful yet short-lived temptation of fall mums and have instead maintained a consistent green look since summer. one such business is the cinema cafe which i pass on my way to work which has several moveable "window boxes" full of a really pretty mix. i suspect they bring them in over night so that these plants, mostly considered "tender perrenials" (otherwise known as "annuals" in my world) are not subject to frost.

by making use of hardier plants like sweet potato vines (love love love) and different types of coleus and ivy, the mix stays vibrant and fresh looking even in late fall, a welcome respite in a landscape of shedding or soon-to-be-bare plants. i especially love that at closer inspection, i noticed some lavender in there too, a fragrant and unexpected addition to the mix.

what's especially nice about the coleus here is that it introduces some autumnal color in with the green. i think a similar impact could be achieved by having some spots within the boxes for potted mums when the season is perfect, and then replacing those holes as the mums dry up with a hardier specimen like the ones already used here. to me, that would be be the best of both worlds.

i think it's so important to take the time and notice these kinds of details as a source of ideas, inspiration and joy. also, because people spend a lot of time (and often money) to make their homes and storefronts attractive and seasonal, and i appreciate that. nothing turns me off more than a place that doesn't take any care to be pleasing. the converse is that it's such a pleasure to walk through a neighborhood or down a street where people have clearly taken pleasure in their own surroundings, because it's something one does not just for themselves, but for everyone. i find it to be one of those "we're all in this together" moments, and i find it touching. to me, it also speaks to the taste and goodness of what's inside the doors.

originally posted 11/12/09

vintage HL: mum's the word

well, i guess it doesn't surprise you that i'm the crazy lady who drives around taking pictures of lawns and gated entrances. but really, can you blame me? some of them are so beautiful, especially in the fall! the one above, from a gated community in my area is my absolute favorite of all time. the amazing contrast between the purple cabbages (my new favorite fall plant) and the orange mums is just spectacular.

clearly, i wasn't kidding about snapping pictures while driving. AT RED LIGHTS! don't worry - no motion photography.

my favorite mums i've seen this season are the ones right outside my parents' front door! i love how each bud is a combination of the classic red mum color and the orange. it's like a mix and match score all in one plant!

hopefully our unpacking and settling will wind down this weekend or next so i can take myself on a fall artist's date, and maybe take mitchell too - driving with a pumpkin latte and siriusly sinatra and snapping some shots of the other beautiful fall displays i've been eyeing.

originally posted 11/4/09

a cup half full

last night i had my first-ever experience formal meditation. i went to a wonderful studio called om sweet om (obsessed with that name) where i plan on starting yoga as well.

overall, it was a great experience - it was a reiki healing circle, and not knowing much about reiki at all, i definitely got a taste of what it's about. i have to say the reiki part didn't speak to me as much as the meditation we started and ended with, but i was happy to have the experience and feel good that i'm opening up to new things. and i think like anything in the spiritual realm, it must take time, practice and patience, so i would be open to trying the reiki again.

then this morning i read this in a meditation book my father bought me:

in buddhism the ideal new student is likened to a tea-cup half full. the full tea-cup can contain no more and the cracked tea-cup will simply lose all that has been poured into it.

it brings to mind something my new friend rachel once said: "remain teachable." so important, so totally crucial, don't you think?

i love that. and it's exactly how i feel right now...open to new possibilities, but not without my own wisdom and spirituality at this moment in time. half full. i feel ready to embrace new beginnings and hope and grounded in who i am today and yesterday, eagerly awaiting who i'll be tomorrow.

in the interest of having my outside match my inside, something i've been working towards for some time, i want to share that i will be having surgery next week - gastric bypass - and will have much to share on my thoughts and feelings someday. while i'm gone, some new posts will go up, and some vintage honey living that i think you might enjoy.

but for now, and as they say in reiki, "just for today," i will leave you with these quotes which have been inspiring me for a while, and especially right now. i hope they're meaningful to you as well.

and the day came when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. - anais nin

when you walk to the edge of all the light you have and take that first step into the darkness of the unknown, you must believe that one of two things will happen: there will be something solid for you to stand upon, or, you will be taught how to fly. - patrick overton

may the sun bring you new energy by day, may the moon softly restore you by night, may the rain wash away your worries, may the breeze blow new strength into your being. may you walk through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life. – apache blessing

image from feel karma

woodn't you rather?

in our technologically advanced world, things can be so cold, you know? not only in the spiritual sense, but in the very real tactile sense, especially as the weather cools...everything is metal and glass and cold and hard-edged, so i was instantly charmed when i came upon these real wood skins for apple products from karvt (unfortunately these are not available to the PC world, but there is a basic version available through schtickers).






i just love that these are sustainable and responsible, totally unique as no two pieces of wood are alike, and also totally affordable (nothing over $35!). i think my favorite colors are the chocolate walnut and the natural cedar. the iPhone covers are $15 for the 3G (note: front cover only) and $25 for the iPhone 4...holiday gifts, anyone?
and i love the idea of warming up and office space with these enzo star boxes made of sustainable sheesham wood, don't you? something like these on a desk or work surface would just warm it up instantly, as opposed to the cold, utilitarian black and metal versions we're used to, and they're so much more whimsical than the buttoned-up wood options out there.

i love that beautiful wood can be enjoyed in so many ways...we don't have to be in the market for a big piece of furniture to enjoy it.

images from linked sites

happy weekend!

OMG. good morning on this exceedingly wet morning. it's biblical out there. like, truly ridiculous, right? i hope you have a dry weekend planned.

tomorrow, mitchell and i going to two great towns on long island to have a special anniversary day - cold spring harbor and huntington. i might buy a couple potted mums or cattails to put on our balcony at one of the many nurseries we'll pass on our way.

bethenny and jason's wedding song always makes me feel warm and fuzzy...is that weird? give it a listen and see if you agree. love those two.

this is how i feel today.

my new favorite reality obsession. these women are so likeable and just so normal. aside from the fact that there are four of them, of course. that's a little different.

MAJOR halloween costume. i die.

check out my would you rather post from earlier this week on SHEfinds.

and have a good weekend. that's the most important thing of all. '

see you back here next week.

top image from storm effects.