blue sky

photograph by rinne allen

flower wedding garland

a few weeks ago, our good friends kat and susan got married and had one of those weddings that you will always remember. the morning of, our friend mandy from moonflower floral design brought a van full of mind blowing flowers. we all spent the morning arranging and playing with the flowers. i love to make garlands so i took some floral wire and flowers and started stringing. enjoy!

words and photos by kristen bach

old brick

photograph by rebecca wood

william harris homestead

i heard about this old homestead recently. it is off hiway 11 near monroe, georgia. this homestead has been in the same family since it was built in 1825. there were originally 500 acres, of which 300 acres were farmed for cotton. the old home is still mostly original. as usual, once the people quit living there, it all went to hay and farm storage. now it is restored and even has the original kitchen table.

 originally it was two rooms with a sleeping loft above. william and his wife had 12 children, so things were pretty cozy. they spun their cotton into thread and made cloth to make their own clothing. it took about 3 months from cotton plant to shirt! otherwise, they were busy growing and putting up food. there's a smoke house, a salt house, and a large root cellar.

the homestead is open to the public 1st and 3rd saturdays in warmer months. loads of outbuildings that i will shoe next week!

photographs and words be rebecca wood

queen anne's lace

photograph by kristin karch

the brick house

probably the brick house is the most blogged about place in the history of beauty everyday, and there's a reason. it has such a gentle, mysterious, peaceful vibe to it. the side porch is a visually lush retreat from the glare of summer sun. the inside is cheery and timeless. lamar always has plenty of vignettes going, just for beauty, as we say.

photographs and words by rebecca wood

side of weathered church

photograph by rinne allen

this time, last year

the good thing about having a blog for so long is that is acts like a time capsule...i often go back and look at last year to the year before to see where we were or what we were doing...i look back at the seasonal blooms too, to see what was blooming when in our yard. this time it was interesting to peek at last year's arrangements, because we are about two weeks ahead of last year now...things that normally bloom in early july are already open. here are some pics from last year that show what was blooming and what i was arranging with.

words & photographs by rinne allen

pokeberry

photo by kristen bach

summer squash bread

when i was an organic farmer, there was a time of year when you had an over abundance of summer squash. there was an ongoing joke to leave summer squash at another farmer's door step...i'm sure that joke still exists.
i know everyone has their own recipe for a good zucchini bread, but here is a simple one that i love to whip up:

1 1/2 cup shredded zucchini
2/3 sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
a pinch of salt
1/3 cup coconut oil
1 1/2 cup AP flour
1 tsp cinnamon
a dash of salt

-pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
-mix all wet ingredients together
-add dry ingredients
-grease a bread pan
-pour baking mixture and bake for 50 minutes, test with a toothpick
-enjoy!

 

photos and recipe by kristen bach

passion flower

photograph by kristin karch

berry picking time!

it is berry time around here! we recently went to one of our local u-pick farms, buffalo creek, and picked blueberries & blackberries...look out for a recipe using them soon! and, wherever you are, try to find someone growing berries and go pick them with friends or family...it will make you appreciate the time it takes to harvest them and help you enjoy them even more!

photograph by rinne allen

queen anne's lace

photograph by rebecca wood

stone remains

i've passed by this building for 30 years or more. it has always looked the same, and i always wonder "why doesn't somebody do something with that?" it probably was a mill. still has some good bones to it. near the intersection in arnoldsville, where mostly everything's closed up and quiet. well, maybe someday someone will buy it and make a cool house out of it.

photographs and words by rebecca wood

blue sky

photograph by rinne allen

college of charleston

it's hard not to be inspired on a walk through charleston. every building, shop, restaurant seems to be equally as charming as the next. i always love to walk through the college of charleston.  every time the patinas on the old buildings alongside the contrasting trim get me.  enjoy!

photographs and words by kristen bach

green canopy

photograph by kristen bach

purple dragon flowers & lichen

photographs by rinne allen

dark woods shower

photo by kristen bach

summer solstice slaw

every year, rinne and her family throw a big solstice party in our neighborhood.  it is always a sweet gathering of friends, neighbors, artists, musicians, and anyone else who wanders upon it.  

i made a big slaw for this year's party to accompany the bbq that was being served.  sadly, i missed the party due to a sick child but my slaw made it. i heard it was just as magical as previous years, if not more sparkly.  

happy solstice, everyone!  

summer solstice slaw
1/2 red cabbage
1/2 green cabbage
3 tomatillos
juice of 4 limes
2 cloves of garlic
1 bumch of cilantro
1 jalapeno, remove seeds if you want a mild slaw
S & P

instructions
-thinly slice the cabbages
-in a blender add tomatillos, lime juice, garlic, cilantro, jalapeno, S & P
-blend until mixed
-pour over cabbage and toss, store in fridge until ready to serve

photo and recipe by kristen bach