Herb Harvest

Hi everyone! It's still warm and sunny here at the beach. One dry day last week my friend and I harvested herbs in her garden. [My friends with tropical garden and sunflowers.] She mostly grows her herbs in pots, but she had a nicely producing lavender patch also this year.
We cut lavender, mint, and citronella.

We decided to transplant the rosemary and try to winter it over indoors; we did not cut any of it.

Citronella is a new idea. I am thinking to mix it with rosemary for closet sachets, to repel any creepies that might wish to sneak in this winter. I'll have to do some research to see if it repels moths too.

I also cut the pods off the canna plants for my dried arrangements . I love their purple-red woolly look.

Back home I made bunches of the scented herbs and hung them to dry.

They'll be ready to use soon,

in sachets like these toile hearts, for my etsy shop.

This batch of hearts is a French text toile, linen and cotton. Not scented so far. They can be used on a little tree, or in a bowl with pine branches, or folks can add their own perfume and use them as sachets. I also offer the option of having the hearts scented by me with essential oils, in bergamot or lavender.

Target had very cute trims! The hearts will get a tape bow, and a fleur de lys charm or an antique button. Their cellophane gift bags will be tied with the sweet little green paper Trees, if purchased for the winter holiday season.

I'm planning other sweet little things, including sachets made from this gorgeous vintage purple toile.

And sewing emeries, and a doll quilt!

I

love

lizzy

gone to the beach...

Pretty Things

Hi! So tell me, how do you feel about elephant gray? Monkey brown? A few years ago I was reading a ''mommy blog'' [I have NO clue why!] and the young woman blogger described her future baby's ''perfect layette'': cashmere hand knits! The colors she loved were Elephant grey and monkey brown! LOL?

Tres chic? So cool? But kinda takes the fun out of it all.
However I do keep an eye on trends, a leftover habit from my designing days. I noted that my friends are redoing their cottage here---all in shades of gray. My kids wear almost only grey [''or black, or dark wash denim, mom!", my last four cars have been grey...you get the picture. Gray / grey is the new black.

gray boardwalk, blue stucco wall

For my etsy shop for spring and summer, I have made quite a few ocean / coastal/ sea shore grey items.

 I do love gray and white polka dots! And these new paper roses.

Starfish and dandelion puffs! Very cute!

 

 

 I am also doing square and rectangular sachets, in lemon verbena/ lemon balm, as well as lavender. For people who find my hearts too frilly. And/ or do not care for the scent of lavender.

"chic gifts for the modern woman" I laugh but these do make wonderful hostess gifts, teacher gifts, party favors...and so on.

Squares are modern, chic.

I also made neutral muslin sachets, very natural and organic. Handstamped.

 

If you love my white hearts, no worries! I'll be doing a group of them before I skeeve off to the beach  for the summer.

 

 

I also am adding some beachy items, including my special beach gatherings and treasures, below.

What's your favorite summer color? (mine is maybe white....)

 Gray, white, blue (lemon yellow, tangerine!) but ...no monkey brown. Ever.

love

lizzy

gone to the beach




\wet sand = gray



 

mother of pearl grey sunset, from M

all photos are by me except the beautiful sunset, which is from my friend M, thanks, M!

 

PS I looked it up! Grey is UK English, Gray is US English, though either is correct. Grey with an e looks right to me, I must be reading too many English mysteries....

Lavender - Farmer's Market

Hi! May is fickle here at the beach---and probably by you too, though I remember many long hot sunny Mays in southern Ohio while we waited for school to finally end. Sunday at the flea market the temps were in the 80s! Delightfully soft spring breeze but hot.
Today the sky just heaved a big sigh and whimpered "November, right? It IS November?"  Beyond ''mackeral sky", instead pewter grey doldrum overcast, looked like it was gonna pour all day. And cold. brrrr.

My farmers market however was fun! Spring flowers and produce actually prefer a cool wet day.
The herb vendor was back...

How could I resist! I got one  of each in honor of today's Flower Full Moon.*

Spanish lavender in two shades, like fat purple bumble bees. I'll try them in my deck planters, though I don't think they will re-bloom this year.

 

 

My friend got one of these darling topiaries. Greek basil. It might not survive on my deck, but her house is more sheltered.

This week I focused on the cheese vendors.

I chose multi-seed little breads from Bread Alone. I slice them for my cheese platters; rolls like these are more economical than a big loaf of bread.
The cheeses: an alpine cows' milk cheese, on the left. Aged mozzarella, sciamorza, on the right. I can't wait to try the new cheese seller's other cheeses! He was very friendly and proud of his selection, which included both sheeps' milk cheese and cows' milk cheese. The aged mozzarella is from my Brooklyn guy who brings delicacies from my old neighborhood in Brooklyn.

I love cheese, especially handmade artisan cheeses, though I admit I shopped with this deluded fantasy of sitting out with a glass of wine and today's finds, with friends, watching the spring full moon, the Flower Moon!--- rise over the water. [only if we wore our winter parkas,lol.]

I also love the Brooklyn pasta-n-cheese guy's handmade noodles. I chose perciatelli this week. They are like fat spaghetti with a hole in the middle, or long slender tubes. I plan to use them  for a pasta primavera later in the week: pancetta, spring peas, asparagus, shaved asiago and parm. A little lemon or white wine, a splash of cream... Mmmm!

*Flower Full Moon: May full moon. Also indicates last late frost date in most of the US. I always thought this was the Herring Moon, as it is when the herring return to spawn in the creeks of Cape Cod. Maybe it's a local tradition.....Paine's Creek Brewster MA herring run



love
 
lizzy
 
...............................................gone to the beach