Vegetable Soup In The Vegetable Garden:

      As the Summer just begins to show whispering hints of chilled crisp Fall air, I try to cherish meals in my garden as often as possible. While I really love spending time in my kitchen cooking (as seen here), after spending the day tending to my garden I sometimes want to skip standing over a hot stove. This dish of artichoke soup is from Gayle's Bakery, one of my favorite local places to pick up an easy meal. With each warming spoonful, I watch as my own vegetables ripen on their vines. The tomatoes will be used for caprese, jalapenos for spicy salsa, and finally, the lemon cucumbers will make an appearance in fresh end of summer salads. Simple living is what I most enjoy about the last bits of Summer. I relish taking a walk thru a favorite local natural wonder, maybe letting the breeze fly past my face on a lazy tree swing, or just having a slow meal in my backyard vegetable garden. 

Yours,
Nico

Painting The Roses Red:

      I've always had an affinity towards the book, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. There are so many fantasy filled moments to savor, one of my favorite scenes would be when a trio of cards are feverishly painting white roses to red, in order to please their queen and avoid having their heads guillotined! That particular encounter on Alice's colorful journey happens to be the inspiration for this floral arrangement. I repurposed an empty diptyque votive candle holder (get yours here) for a vase and filled it to the brim with white roses plus one solitary red beauty. I love when something as simple as fresh flowers can evoke memories from a beloved book. 

Yours,
Nico

The Dirty Grapefruit:

"The Dirty Grapefruit"

      Over the weekend, my friend Tony and I got creative in the kitchen mixing cool and refreshing cocktails. I mentioned to him that I had an abundance of fresh mint in my backyard garden as well as a handful of rosy pink grapefruits and told him we both should brainstorm on what to use them for. Tony came up with the genius idea of adding tart balsamic vinegar to a cocktail recipe and the end result was nothing less than utterly delicious! Since the gorgeous ruby grapefruit color became a bit muddy with the addition of balsamic vinegar, we decided to affectionately call this recipe, "the dirty grapefruit." What I love most about this cocktail is that the flavor balances between sugary sweet coupled with dark and mysterious notes. Truly a drink that will please any crowd no matter their taste buds! 

I've been obsessed with the bright shade of pink found on the inside of these grapefruits that I purchased from Walmart, who says you can't get beautiful produce on a budget?

Magic Ingredients:
-Juice of 4 grapefruits
-1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
-2 tablespoons sugar
-12 mint leaves
-2 tablespoons water
-2 shots of vodka
(serves two)

Just some of the mint trimmings from my garden, I have so much
I don't know what to do with it all.

Getting Started:

1: In a small sauce pan, mix 1 tablespoon of sugar, balsamic vinegar, and 1/3 of the grapefruit juice. Simmer the syrup mixture over low heat until the sugar has dissolved and allow to cool.

2: While the syrup is on the stove, muddle the remaining sugar, mint leaves, and a splash of water in a small dish and set aside until you are ready to mix your drinks.

3: Fill two serving cups to the brim with ice and divide the grapefruit balsamic syrup between the two, top each glass with a serving of the remaining grapefruit juice, and finish with the muddled mint water.

4: Garnish your cocktail with a straw and all the trimmings and you are ready to serve!

      Settling down in my small but quaint garden underneath the Santa Cruz sun has got to be one of the best ways to enjoy a cold beverage and soak up the heat. How do you enjoy summer cocktails?



Yours,
Nico

Garden Bouquets:

Trimmings from my garden including some freshly ripened peppers and green zebra tomatoes. 

      With summer in full swing I love taking advantage of all the fresh seasonal blooms sprouting in my garden. Creating arrangements with whatever is overgrown in my yard is a simple task that brings me a lot of joy and also a bit of bright foliage into my home. For these rustic centerpieces I plucked a few stems of calendula, pink and apricot carnations, echinacea, pink daisies, and royal purple heliotrope. Calendulas are one of my favorite flowers to grow because the plants produce lots of blooms which are great for cutting and displaying in vases and the petals are also edible and look lovely on salads and wedges of goat cheese. Another favorite flower would be heliotrope from my newly aquired plant, the purple cloud like flowers evoke the subtle fragrance of vanilla and licorice which perfume my entire home! 

Carnations make for an excellent cutting flower, lots of blooms to enjoy!

Daisies look even more adorable in a soft shade of girlish pink.

Repurposing an old pasta jar as a vase.

A small collection of vases, two are vintage and the skull is an old vodka bottle.

Yours,
Nico

Living Room Essentials:

Living Room Essentials by nsaich on Polyvore

       I adore the eclectic comfy vibe this curated living room creates. If I had my way, my own living room would look strikingly similar to this image! I already possess a few of the essentials that I listed, including a  chocolate brown leather couch that is perfect for sinking into with a good book and reading with a scented candle near by. I also display my growing collection of rocks and geodes (via Gem Show) on my bookcase and coffee table for visual effect. Fresh picked florals from my garden make things feel more inviting and a deck of cards adds an element of fun! For me, the holy grail would be to own the striped rug (one day right?!). Until then, I will bask in the virtual idea of interior design bliss. What are some things that you consider living room essentials?

Yours,

Nico