triptych 2

triptych 1

making the most of my meyer lemons

One of the best things that came out of our long, cold winter here in central Vermont? Three beautiful, brave Meyer lemons, grown on the south facing windowsill in our bedroom. I finally had the courage to pick them, and then hunted around the internet to find the best things to do with them. I even consulted the inspiring Marie Viljoen. Her gracious response inspired me to consider salt-preserving. (Have you seen her gorgeous book?)

Because the lemons are so special, I tried to use them in ways that will last way past their harvest. I actually came up with three uses for the lemons, and ended up putting only the pith and membrane in the compost bucket...

• Meyer lemon infused vodka (to drizzle into Prosecco?).
• A modest batch of lemonade, for supper tonight.
• Meyer lemon finishing salt.

The recipes for the infused vodka and finishing salt can be found here.

The recipe for lemonade is here.

How about you? Have you cooked with Meyer lemons? Do you have a favorite way to use them?

Maybe now I need a fig tree?

such beauty in the old and new.

we are held in between them.

grace.

fabric adventure

On the design wall at 

Gudrun Sjoden

in SoHo, NYC.

Trimmings at Mood Designer Fabrics

in the garment district, NYC.

Bolts of lovely cottons at Mood.

The happy bride to be, after we found just the

right pattern and fabric for her wedding dress.

Oh what a wonderful long weekend, when I packed more into four days than I thought humanly possible. The main mission was to meet our Gretta in the garment district in New York City on Saturday, and to find the ingredients for the PERFECT wedding dress. Mission accomplished!

My dear friend Liz and I met Gretta at Grand Central Station on Saturday morning. Liz has been an "other mother" to Gretta since she was in the second grade, and we required her impeccable taste on this quest! Gretta was our "cruise director" and had our day mapped out for us. We spent time at iconic Purl  SoHo and gorgeous Gudrun Sjoden , then had lunch with the groom.  Then we ladies found our way to famous Mood Designer Fabrics, host to many a frenzied episode of Project Runway. Merciful heavens...that place is huge! So many floors and bolts and bolts of fabric, trim, ribbon, sequins...you name it, it's there! The store was filled with a Saturday's supply of interesting shoppers, from many walks of life.

We looked and looked for just the right fabric and as the store warmed up and got more crowded our optimism began to fade. Just then, Liz looked up and noticed a possibility. As Gretta and I lifted the pile of bolts and Liz dragged it our into view, all three of us "ooooooohed" and we knew we had found the magical fabric.

With the 4 yards tucked safely in a bag, we found our way to some refreshment and a spot to rest our weary legs. That's when I snapped the picture of Gretta, relaxed and happy to know that her vision of a casual, magical dress is closer to becoming a reality. 

Sorry friends, you will have to wait until August to see the dress. In the meantime, I must make a version in affordable cotton muslin, find my way back to Gretta for fittings, sew up the final version and cross our fingers for a sunny, breezy summer day!

gratitude

stewart, about 2 years old, 

just outside our front door in san juan, puerto rico.

1984.

Thank you, Stewart, for bringing us into the wonderful world of parenting 33 years ago today. 

Thank you for helping us to raise your three little sisters.

Thank you for growing into a fine adult, helping the young people in your classroom learn about history, economics, and justice. 

Thank you for coaching them, mentoring them and encouraging them to grow into thinking citizens of the world.

xoxo

another scout tee

scout tee #2

fabric design by the multi-talented artist geninne 

read about cloud nine's 100% organic fabric here.

read about the pattern here.

this weekend i'm going on a fabric adventure.

i invite you to check back next week.

:-)