Farmer's Market Love

Mountlake Terrace has a community-sized (read small) Farmer's Market that is open from 3-7pm on Thursdays. Doug and I checked it out last Thursday and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

There were lots of veggie vendors. We picked up an organic cabbage for coleslaw that night along with some cucumbers and garlic. 

A delicious berry vendor, Hayton Farms from the Skagit Valley, was there with flats of organic berries. We picked up some blackberries and raspberries to add to our blueberries at home. For dessert, I mixed together some marscapone cheese with half and half and added some vanilla and sweetener to drizzle (OK, pour!) over the berries. Oh my!

And flowers galore...along with a vendor selling plants. I refrained from picking out any plants, believe it or not.

And last but not least, The Red Onion was there with a grill ready to cook up some food. Doug and I shared a brat from Double D Meats, a local institution in the Mountlake Terrace area.
So I wanted to give you a heads up about our local Farmer's Market and encourage you to visit the one in your neighborhood. These folks work really hard to bring us the freshest food possible.

Bling!

Let's get some bling on this blog! Doug and I met our friend Colleen (she created the fabulous painted furniture at the Studio) for breakfast and guess what she just 'happened' to have in her car? This shoe! I know! While at the July 2nd Saturdayz Sale she found a vintage pair of lucite shoes. She removed the heel and buckles and added them to this vintage wooden shoe form she had. A few wraps of rayon seam binding later and look at this darling object d'art. We thought it looked very Marie Antoinette-ish.

Eat Your Veggies

My haul from today...as summer advances the bags get REALLY full.

Corn and squash and onions, oh my!

We are long-time members of The Root Connection in Woodinville. The RC is celebrating it's 25th year as a Community Supported Agriculture Farm (CSA). If I remember correctly, I think we have been members for a least 15 of those years. The produce is picked that morning, organically grown and the Farm prides itself on its sustainability. Sustainable to the Earth and the employees.
I love my Farm days because of U-pick herbs (basil!!!!) and flowers (sunflowers!!!!). There are chickens and wild blackberry patches and birds and sunshine and Mt. Rainier in the distance. It is like a mini-vacation each week.

Great Weekend

It has been awhile since Doug and I took a Saturday drive. He wanted to check out Skagit River Ranch in Sedro Wooley; well-known for their grass-fed beef. But first we had to stop in Mount Vernon to have lunch at the Skagit Valley Co-op, based on our friend Richard's recommendation. Delicious curried tofu, salad bar, ratatouille and teriyaki chicken breast along with super-nice employees.

We even bumped into a former collegue from Doug's employer at the microwave! I love our small world.

After lunch and checking out the Ranch, we headed to Conway for an immodest (that's what the sign says) ice cream cone at Snow Goose Produce. I had Peach Cobbler ice cream in a homemade waffle cone.

It was really this big! And that was the single!

That's a quarter for comparison.

I remember this produce stand from the olden days when it was a quarter of the size it is now. So glad it is doing well.

The Skagit Valley is very aware of the impact of humans on the land...loved this section of the store.

It was a great weekend. We ate some terrific food, connected with local small businesses and enjoyed the bounty this part of the world has to offer...It really doesn't get much better than that. Hope your weekend was terrific!

Ta Da!

Hi there and welcome. My name is Lisa and some of us have already met.

For those of you I am just getting to know, here is a little something about me. I am one of the founding members of The Salvage Studio. We had a shop in Edmonds, Washington and wrote a book, by the same title. So much fun!

I love to work on my nest, especially on the cheap! That started my love of salvaging in the first place. I am also an avid gardener and I love to cook. I am a willing slave to my many cats and have a long-suffering and patient husband, Doug, who hardly rolls his eyes anymore when I bring home a new pile (or truckload) of 'potential'.

Anyway, I have decided to start my own blog.

It will be a mix of:

personal observations and professional opportunities
cats and cooking
project ideas and inspiration
gardening and Goodwill shopping trips
and hopefully, fun times and friendship

because there is always a lot of that stuff going on around here!

Thanks for dropping by my Little House.