la la lemonade

As an intermittent but long-time Del's Lemonade employee I have a deep love for lemonade and all things lemon-y.  I start driving a lemonade truck next week and before I'm tempted by the sugary, frozen goodness that is a Del's, I wanted to make my own lemonade.  My search at tastespotting turned up this yummy sounding drink - Lavender Lemonade. 

 I began by gathering my materials - cutting board, santoku knife, hand juicer, measuring cups, small saucepan, wooden spoon, and um, anything else I needed.  I set the water to boil with the sugar and lavender and then I got to work cutting and juicing lemons.  It was quick work and in fact the longest wait time was while the syrup was steeping.  

After 45 minutes of lavender and sugar happily mingling in hot water I combined the syrup with the lemon juice and then added a little water to dilute the mixture.  Voilà!  Lavender lemonade.  It was a nice surprise to see that the syrup took on a pink hue as the lavender steeped and, happily, I ended up with pink lemonade!  Lastly, I made a quick trip out the side door and into the front flower bed to pick some more lavender as a garnish and I had a wonderfully refreshing first-day-of-summer-vacation drink. 

As you can see, my first glass didn't last long.  Luckily the recipe makes a decent amount so I can enjoy this tasty treat all weekend! 

on the Cape

Last month Matt and I took off for Cape Cod over Memorial Day weekend to celebrate my birthday and our second anniversary.  I told Matt that being able to combine both events was a rare occasion and that he should enjoy it this year.  We stayed at a bed and breakfast called An English Garden and thoroughly enjoyed our stay.  Our hosts Anita and Joe were very warm and welcoming throughout our visit to their inn.  They also cooked up two delicious breakfasts that we enjoyed on Saturday and Sunday morning - vanilla bean French toast and a seasonal vegetable strata.  After breakfast we drove about an hour to Provincetown.  Unfortunately only one bicycle will fit in a Corolla so we had to find a place to get a bike for Matt so we could ride the Province Lands Bike Trail.  Our first order of business was finding a bike rental shop.  Mission accomplished!       

After a few hours of riding through salt marsh, past sand dunes, and along the coast we ended up back in the center of P-Town and brought Matt's bike back.  Earlier in the day we had a spied a tower that looked climbable so we set off in search of it by walking around town and continually looking up so we could keep it in sight.  We eventually ended up at the base of the Pilgrim Monument, a structure that was built in the early 1900s to honor the Pilgrims' first landing in Provincetown.  The tower is 252 feet tall and in order to climb it you have to scale 116 steps and 60 ramps.  The view is definitely worth the ten minutes and labored breathing it takes to get to the top.  

Matt took this photo as we were walking back down - 

And finally one of the tower...

After all of that exercise I was in serious need of some nourishment.  Next stop?  Candy store!  We were able to watch salt water taffy being pulled and wrapped and even got a free sample!  I filled up a bag with lots of different flavors and snacked on them for the rest of the weekend.  My favorites were chocolate peanut butter and peach... mmm... 

Fistfuls of taffy were enough to keep me walking through town so for the next couple of hours we continued to explore.  Here are some of our finds...

brightly colored buoys.

Ben Pegg.  Ben made his own double-necked guitar and he can play like nobody's business.  Check him out here.   

a sunset.

snails, some of them smushed.

The next day we hopped in the car and began our drive out of Cape Cod but not without stopping along the way to continue our adventures.  Matt loves blown glass and the Cape is home to many studios.  We stopped at the first one we saw, Fritz Glass.  The oven was fired up but wouldn't be ready for another 45 to 60 minutes so we opted to leave rather than hang around to watch.

We stopped at the Scargo Tower.  This is me doing my impression of Rapunzel minus the long hair.

We discovered a historical society that maintained some walking trails and along one of them was this 100 year old Weeping Beech.  I would love have a dinner party under its limbs, wouldn't you?

There were old railroad tracks off of one of the trails and while Matt took some shots of the tracks going off into the distance I played gymnast.

Our last stop before home was a state fish hatchery, which stocks Massachusetts rivers and lakes with different breeds of trout twice a year.      

There was so much to do and see on the Cape that I really would have liked to spend more time there.  I guess that just means we'll have to go back!

La Antigua or Bust

 

Last summer Matt and I and four of our friends flew to Guatemala for a week's worth of adventures in and around La Antigua, the old capital of the country, so I was excited to see that J.Crew held their last photo shoot there (I know, I'm a little behind as the catalog came out in late May... oops).  J.Crew's model and I are both set against Lake Atitlán.  Please don't compare us as I look as though I've been in a van for three hours (I have) and she looks like she's been lounging on a rowboat wearing a caftan all afternoon.      

(image via the future does not compute)

The photo above features one of J.Crew's models leaning against a wall that Matt loved (he has a slight obsession with walls)... here's me in front of the same wall - 

Each one of the images in the catalog transported me back to last summer.  It was fun to see models decked out in J.Crew apparel and accessories strolling the same cobblestone streets that we walked last summer.  If the shoot has inspired any of you to board the next available plane to Central America I highly recommend it!  Some things to do - 
1. Hike Pacaya.  I booked a guided hike with Old Town Outfitters for a very reasonable rate.  The photo below features a swarm of children that flocked to our van offering to sell us walking sticks, which came in very handy when we were hiking through jagged rocks, slipping down unstable ash, and precariously hopping over lava flows.  Unfortunately, due to the torrential downpours that pelted us throughout our hike I don't have any photos of the actual climb.  Our friend Matt recorded a video of me poking at the lava with my walking stick but he has yet to post it or else I would include it here.  Even if it's raining on your hike I wouldn't opt out!  Walking directly over lava is an incredible experience that you'll never forget.  You may even be able to take home a chunk of the volcano as I did!  

2. Visit Chichicastenango, Guatemala's most colorful outdoor market.  There we saw tons of gorgeous textiles, detailed woodcarvings, ceremonial masks, gigantic machetes, raw meat and sausauge swarming with flies, and assorted farm animals.    

3. Tour a coffee plantation.  We toured a plantation that supplies Starbucks with its Antigua beans.  Not only did we enjoy a tour of at least an hour in length, but while we were waiting for it to begin my friend Allyssa and I rode donkeys, and then afterwards we were all treated to a delicious lunch on the patio.  Not a bad way to spend an afternoon!

Stop making fun of our helmets, they were mandatory.

4. Reserve a ride on the Cables X-Tremos (also knows as the ziptrek or a zipline) in the San Buenaventura valley on the shores of Lake Atitlán.  We went through Atitlán Nature Reserve and arranged for a shuttle to pick us up at our hotel (Soleil La Antigua).  The van ride was looooong and torturous but worth it.  Upon arrival we all signed waivers (they said something along the lines of if our cables were to come undone and we plummeted to the earth or water below we wouldn't hold the Reserve responsible) and then began the process of being harnessed and donning helmets (for the second time this vacation).  We rode a total of eight ziplines that ranged from 295 feet to 1050 feet across canyons, over valleys, by waterfalls, and through a coffee grove.     

After our trek through the sky we walked through the Natural Reserve and there were monkeys!  They were separated from us by metal fences and also smaller wooden beam fences, but you could feed them bananas and mangoes by tossing the fruit over the top.  I even climbed over the wooden fence to hand feed this menacing looking creature a hunk of banana.  Our fingertips touched!  I shuddered when it happened but it was very cool.  In fact, I can feel his leathery little fingers and scratchy little nails right now just thinking about it.   

In conclusion, I highly recommend La Antigua and the surrounding areas to any adventurous travelers out there.  There was so much to do and see and eat that we didn't even get to everything on my list of must-visit locations in and around the city.  Now if only some traveling plans would come together for this summer!  Any early August recommendations?   

all photos by blueflash unless otherwise noted

quilt pattern generator

Have you seen this quilt pattern generator from the Victoria and Albert Museum?  The possibilities are endless... a wedding photo, favorite vacation spot, maybe a photo of a special announcement.  I can't wait to play around with it and see if inspiration strikes.  Until then, I'll continue to work on my layer cake quilt.  So far I'm loving it!   

Via How about orange...

hope floats

(image via Denyse Schmidt Quilts)

I have been using the same handbag since August of 2008 because I love love love it and every time I empty it of its contents to transfer them to another bag the switch lasts less than two days and then I'm back to my one true pocketbook love.  Because of my fierce loyalty, it's not often that I'm interested in making bags.  This one, however, caught my eye because 1. the pattern was free, and 2. it says 'hope' which is the perfect word for my dear friend Jaclyn.  After choosing my fabrics (a selection of prints from the gray combo Poppy Collection by Laura Gunn for Michael Miller - dogwood stripe, scattered lantern pods, climbing vine, and poppy bouquet) I set to work cutting, sewing, quilting, and assembling.  I'm quite pleased with the result and hope (haha...) Jaclyn likes her new bag as much as I do!