Yard sweet yard

To say that we love our yard would be an understatement! It really is like having our own little vacation spot May through mid September. We are so fortunate to have the space that we do living in a neighborhood with houses close together and are able to create a few different areas to enjoy. Come along, I'll show you what I mean.

Ahh, The Lounge. In the late afternoon it's a great place for an outdoor nap amidst the lush green plants, a shady tree up above just listening to the birds. After dinner it's a cozy place to enjoy the fire.

Last post you met our kegerator which is on this patio. This is the work area, my outdoor kitchen with a fridge and sink (not pictured)

The deck is the busy spot, it's the center of everything! Pool, dining and lots of potted plants.

And this gorgeous view!

Last but not least is the back, back yard that is still in progress but coming along nicely. It can be overflow for big parties or just nice to sit and look at the birds and perennial gardens. 

Thanks for visiting!

Baking season, the best season

I am part of a rare group in New England that loves for summer to end. Summer is great for a while but I enjoy fall so much more, mostly because I love to bake and cook (indoors). In the oven today...

Apple Blueberry Cake

This is a super easy cake that I make quite a bit, changing the topping and the additional fruit other than apple.

You'll need:

4-5 apples peeled and rough chopped

1 cup blueberries (I only had half cup)

3 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups flour

1 1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp vanilla (I made that vanilla, more on that later)

oat topping:

3 tbs butter cut up

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup old fashioned oats

Pre heat oven to 375. Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl. In another bowl, beat eggs, add vanilla, vegetable oil and  chopped apples and whole blueberries. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients with a spoon until just combined, don't over mix. Make topping by cutting butter into sugar and oats.

Pour batter into an ungreased 9x13 pan and drop crumbled topping over the top.

Bake at 375 for 50 minutes, let cool 30 minutes before serving.

Today's tip:

Do you compost? I do. I am a way better composter than a gardener... in my defense, it's so much easier to decompose veggies than grow them. Anyway, it can be a hassle trying to deal with the scraps if you do a lot of cooking and cant keep running out to the compost bin. I keep a plastic pitcher on the counter and line it with whatever plastic bag I have. I usually try to use a bag that veggies came in (celery, carrots, etc) so I feel less guilty about all the plastic.

 I keep that on the counter while I cook and when I am done I just twist it up and throw it in the freezer. Freezing does a couple of things; it saves you from having to run to your compost bin all the time, it keeps gnats from swarming in your kitchen and I think the frozen scraps breakdown much faster in the bin than fresh scraps. I have no scientific evidence to prove this theory, but I believe it.

Crafty preview:

Besides trying to fill up my etsy shop, I have a bunch of baby gifts to make. That pile of yarn will hopefully be a newborn hat this week.