a walk with kati

now that kati is somewhat trained, she likes to take walks around the block with me and john. there are many stops for sniffing, stalking and resting. this time she also hid under a parked car for about ten minutes because she spotted a dog. smart kitty. i love the pics of her little cat shadow.

(i've had a few people ask - we pronounce her name like katie. her former owner named her kati, which is thai for coconut, and pronounced it kah-tee. she answers to neither.=)

smithville + video links

my mom and i had our annual fall meet-up in smithville yesterday. we got lunch, lattes, sweet treats and cozy knitted wears. this was the only (extra rosy) shot i took of the day (i've been using a fall color enhancer on my cell phone camera). those roosters kept squawking past the store - i thought they were going to come in! i love smithville, and i love mommy-daughter time even more!

totally unrelated, but john has been showing me some entertaining videos that i thought i'd share:

coffee jerks - make your own cup o' joe you ungrateful little...
snl spoofs wes anderson movies. "you had me at wes anderson".
russel brand on voting, revolution and beards. finally, a celeb who shares my sentiments on voting, and appreciation for beards.=)

i hope you're having a great weekend! xoxoxo

cat tattoos

am i "too old" for temporary tattoos? probably. but i adore these cat tattoos that i found via the beautiful mermaidens blog, and i posted them just in case you love them too. meow.=)

romanesco cauliflower

this week is the last for the csa. the most notable vegetable was the romanesco cauliflower. it's so pretty with the tiny florets and the little purple leaves. i chopped the cauliflower with bell pepper and tossed it with feta cheese, lemon juice, olive oil and garden thyme for a quick and tasty salad.

we're harvesting peas, a little at a time. i collected them in a big coffee mug and shelled them on the garden bench with kati underneath. she follows me around the garden until i stop and gave her rubbins, and then she follows me around for some more. relentless little fur-muffin.=)

autumn snapshots

walks are extra special in october when the sun is shining bright, casting its warm autumn glow. i make sure to take a camera to document and share this time of year in southern new jersey.

leaves crunching underfoot, we collect pine cones, acorns and the prettiest of the fall leaves. i'd love to make some simple leaf garlands to bring the fall color inside.

i hope you are having a beautiful autumn.

xoxoxo

lemon queens

the weather was so beautiful tuesday and the skies so blue. i'm glad i spent some time in our garden, savoring the last of our blooms. it's almost time to put the garden to bed until spring.

i planted three varieties of sunflower this year : mammoth, autumn beauty and lemon queens. instead of planting them all one day like i usually do, i spaced out the plantings from april til july. the goal was to have sunflowers blooming all summer long, and it worked!

these lemon queens are the last of them. john and i guess that there were over 20 sunflower plants in our garden this year. pretty to look at, but not so fun to dispose of! that's the glamorous part of gardening the books always leave out. but i'll be sure to include it in my book. chapter 12 : what to do with your 10 foot sunflower carcasses.=)

after the squirrels were fed, i collected some seeds for next year's garden. just lopped off some dead sunflower heads and dried them in the basement. with luck those seeds will grow and i'll save myself a few dollars on seed packets.

pink cosmos

the bees were out today collecting the last of the nectar. we have a couple more weeks until our average first frost and the cosmos are still in full bloom, though most have toppled over from wind and neglect. next year i'd like to remember to stake my plants before they get all huge and heavy.

music monday : utopia

this song is one of my favorites. miss morissette's nirvana sounds pretty sweet, eh?

have a blissful monday!=)

currently crocheting

here's the blanket i've been working on for a baby girl. the pattern is nice and easy and works up pretty quickly. my mom-mom used to make these ripple afghans and i remember mine was baby blue, pink and white. i've gotten two yays and one nay on these colors. personally they're not my favorites but they seem to work together. now i'm over-analyzing. what do you think?

finding love

i'm so inspired by this video and its message from the talented hailey bartholomew.

"if we choose to look for something beautiful in our lives and the people around us, we will find it."

have a wonderful weekend everyone, and a very happy thanksgiving to my canadian friends! 

xoxoxo

kelli likes : diys

textured planter project : just cover a pot with clay, stamp in shapes with the bottom of a marker, and paint! i was just looking at my old terracotta pots, wondering how i could make them prettier...

pom-pom pumpkins : with a name like that, how could they not be cute?

rainbow cake slice : who wouldn't want a crocheted piece of cake for their bday?

cat toy jar : we are in need of a toy storage solution and this is perfect! methinks i'll try this in gold.

can you tell i miss pinterest? i had to close my account. boring story. thank you for letting me use this space for a pinboard. i'm challenging myself to make three out of four of these. we shall see.=)

still growing

the 2013 garden wasn't as well-planned as in previous years. the carrots were pulled late and there was a big old space to fill mid-june. the edamame didn't come up and time was a-ticking. (not one edamame plant came up out of dozens of seeds. maybe a sign for me to avoid soybeans too?)

i knew it was late to plant watermelon but saw no harm in trying. john was so excited we were growing watermelon and checked on only those plants all summer. i had no hope for them when there wasn't a sign of fruit until august. but they kept growing, and the weather stayed pretty warm. we picked two delicious mature melons the first week of fall and have three more still on the vine!

last fall i propagated an echinacea plant all over the garden. i've been happy to notice more and more looking strong and healthy, some even pushing out late blooms. me and the bees love it!

so here is my happy place. squatting in the garden, rubbing the kakers. it's extra special when john comes out to watch and makes cat noises while i rub. she loves the attention, but only in the garden. try to pet her like that in the house and she'll bite. don't be fooled by the sweet demeanor!

enjoy your day!
xoxoxo

golden flax crackers

finally, a flavorful flax cracker that i'm proud to share! but i can't take even half the credit for these. thank you carmella and doctor in the kitchen for your delicious cracker inspiration!

the ingredients on doctor in the kitchen's flax cracker box told me to add bragg's liquid aminos and raw apple cider vinegar to my cracker batter. carmi's blog inspired me to add vegetables to make the crackers colorful and even more nutritious. good thing i had enough sense to measure and write the recipe down, because this one is definitely a keeper.

golden flax crackers

2 C golden flax seeds
2 C water
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 yellow bell pepper
3-4 leaves purple cabbage  
1 carrot or 1/2 orange bell pepper
2 celery stalks
2-3 garlic cloves 
2 T apple cider vinegar
2 T bragg's liquid amino acid
3/4 tsp onion powder
3/4 tsp salt
few sprigs rosemary and thyme

in a large mixing bowl, combine flax seeds and water. allow the mixture to sit for about an hour or so. the batter will be nice and gooey when it's ready.

in the meantime, chop vegetables or pulse them in the food processor, making sure not to puree them. you can really use any kind of vegetable, or none at all if you want to make these quick. if you want to add veggies, three cups of chopped vegetables makes a nice ratio to the flax seeds.

mix all ingredients until well combined. spread onto two and a half teflex sheets and dehydrate at 110 degrees for a few hours. when the top layer is dry and cracker batter corners start to pull away from the sheets, flip onto trays and dehydrate until fully dry. if you want your crackers chewier, take them out sooner. to make sure they're extra crispy, i leave mine in the dehydrator overnight.

break them into pieces and you've got yourself a yummy gluten-free cracker. oh, i almost forgot to warn you - have a toothpick ready - the flax seeds will cling to your chompers for dear life! i hope you have a very happy monday and a wonderful week! xoxoxo

recently enjoyed things

sweet dumpling squash // almost as good as kabocha squash! we had it for the first time with this honey-jalapeno roasted squash recipe and wished we had more. such a nice texture and flavor!

taco salad // sauteed peppers, mushrooms, chick peas, hemp seeds and leftover nacho cheese sauce from our cheesy kale chips. could have used a tortilla-type crouton. (in my mind i always say kraut-in. anyone else remember that cosby episode when he takes the kids to the restaurant?)

smoothie ingredients in the blender // i like how the parsley stem sticking out of the blueberries make it look like a bunch of concord grapes, with a little spirulina sprinkled on top.=)

kati napping on the couch // john and i find every place and position she sleeps in adorable and will call each other to come see where she is now. lately she's been spending the night on our bureau, nestled in john's clothes. we've been finding her asleep in the hamper and this morning i found her in my room, head propped up on a scrapbook. i think i need to make her a little cat pillow!=)