mahvelous mahket day

Finally...a weekend that felt like summer here in the Pacific Northwest! I love nothing more on a sunny Saturday than to browse my local farmer's market. I find that more and more recently, I am appreciating the beauty in things as simple as fresh green asparagus, or dazzling-ly red strawberries. It is artwork more complex and beautiful - not to mention functional - than I could ever create.

We call it "Gus" around our house. We adore it. A little olive oil, salt and pepper, grill it for just a few minutes. I'm getting hungry!

And if you weren't hungry before, surely you are now. Look at this red delicious-ness!

and peonies...you know I love peonies. I bought a couple more bunches of them Saturday...some for me, some for my mom (who's recovering from surgery for colon cancer).

yum...cherries!

...and when peonies are only $5 for a large, glorious bunch - why wouldn't you indulge?

sooo purty

But, as always, I find myself drawn to truly artistic and creative vendors. This is one of my favorites.

Little Brown House Herbary sells...you guessed it...herbs! On Saturday the herbs were buy one plant, get one free. Woohoo!

 Above are sweet little bath salts that seller Linda Taylor made herself from her own herbs.

But what I liked more than the great herb deals, was the way that seller Linda Taylor used her artistic talents in creating a charming little space in which to sell her herbs. Above, my favorite thing at the whole farmer's market - which, sadly, was not for sale - was this table cloth she made for her space using burlap bags. I'll admit, I was swooning over it a bit. I told her she should sell them at the farmer's market too - she'd make a killing!

You can see Linda's artistic talent on this great chalkboard she made out of an old frame. I love it when people don't just use chalkboards to communicate information, but they do it in a way that's beautiful, too. Look at all the flowers she drew on the sign! I love to see people who care about making things not only funtional, but aesthetically pleasing, too. It makes a big difference to me.

And here's Linda herself...isn't she cute? She and her husband Jim are two of the nicest people, and she was very sweet to let a perfect stranger take her picture. I kinda felt like I wanted to come back every week just to visit with them! That's one of the cool things about the Farmer's Market. Somehow I just don't feel the same about going to the grocery store.

Can you say "YUMMY"?!

mmmmm......

And ya know, only at the farmer's market are you invited to sample the cherries before you buy them! Love it.

What about you? Do you shop at farmers' markets?

five bucks at the farmer's market

Look what I got for five bucks at my farmers' market last weekend! I cannot begin to tell you how much joy these six peonies have brought me this week. And the silverplate pitcher they have been living in...two bucks at a garage sale. It says "Kent Silversmiths" on the bottom.

I mean, really...if you can't have summer-like weather (ours is downright depressing and resembles November more than it does June)...than luscious, early-summer blossoms in your living room are the next best thing.

And for five bucks? The cost of a Starbucks stop...only this find stays with you (in a good way) for days. And did I mention they smell lovely too? For several days I commented on them every time I entered the room.

My week's been a little topsy-turvy with the discovery that my mom has colon cancer. She will go in for surgery on Tuesday morning. I am praying the surgery totally takes care of it.

There are times where a tiny spot of beauty in your home really means a lot. This is one of them. I plan to bring more peonies like this to my mom as she's recuperating in the hospital, and then again when she's at home. I think it's so important to have beauty around you when your body and your heart are weak, sick, and tired. I'm praying that her recovery will go smoothly and she'll be cancer-free. And my flowers will get to hang out with her even when I can't be there.

Welcome to my front porch!

Someone in blogland hosted a Front Porch Party last week (although I've already forgotten who...do you know who it was?). Well, I showed up too late to even go to the party or participate! Total social faux-paux. However, I liked the idea so much I figured I'd participate anyway (please tell me it's not lame to have a party all by yourself?!) I thought I could at least invite each of you to visit my front porch. Sit down and have a sip of lemonade with me. Or if you're a fellow Oregonian I'll give you some hot tea - and we can at least pretend it's sunny and warm. Because that's the closest we're going to get to summer at the moment, apparently. In our dreams.


Anyway - my recently planted annuals on my front porch. I LOVE sweet potato vine! I'm usually pretty thrifty when it comes to buying annual flowers, but I'll pay a little extra for this beauty. It's large, chartreuse leaves are just so dramatic.


Have a seat - well, only if you're pint-sized. This little set is the perfect size for my three-year-old. Looks and feels just like the real thing (it's painted metal) but is tiny. Too cute. :-)


I'll let you sit here - these chairs are grown-up size. Bought them at a garage sale a few years back for $5 each. They were already painted this fabulous blue color. They've weathered quite a bit (it's funny - leaving them in the rain for like two years will do that!) and I think they're just perfect now. My little plant stand/table was a recent purchase from TJ Maxx for $12.

It's hard to tell, but this is actually a huge terra cotta planter in my front yard, with a baby hydrangea in it. Which goes to show how absolutely enormous those irises are in the background. They weren't blooming yet when I took this photo, but I think one or two are finally starting to open up now. It's a shady area so they have to s-t-r-e-t-c-h for sunlight, which apparently makes them huge.

And the Englishy-cottagey jumble that is part of my perennial garden. This is blooming a little more now (I took these pics last week) but you get the idea. See the huge plant with the little pale pink/lavendar blossoms? It's a perennial geranium and is on a secret mission to take over the world. I have no doubts it will be successful very soon, too. It is SO prolific and keeps sending volunteers all over the place.

I took these photos during a random sunbreak one afternoon last week. Who knew it would be the LAST sunbreak for quite some time? I am really living vicariously through all my blog friends who live in warmer parts of the country. Baby steps to summer, baby steps to summer... :-)