Know Your Food...

"Know your food, know your farmers and know your kitchen."-Joel Salatin

I truly LOVE the farmers market and the fall is the best time to go. Veggies are fresh and the stands are positively teeming with ripe apples, peaches and plums. Roadside stands are full of variety and if you live anywhere with a decent farming industry, fresh and delicious produce is often just a few steps from your door. This time of year I go to the market weekly, whether it is the little stand on the bottom of my street, the Halifax Seaport market or any of the ones in the Valley. Plus, nothing beats a beer steamed sausage when you are hung over and can smell the wine from the night before seeping out of your pores. At least that is what I am told....

Last weekend I made hot pepper jelly. I refrained from setting my stove on fire this year (yay!) and managed to produce about fifty jars without any serious injury (apart from one burning eye, damn jalapenos!). I picked up the peppers for a song in the valley the day before and the entire process (minus the cost of the jars) cost about $20 and five hours of my Sunday. There is something fantastic about the "pop" the lids make as they seal. Yes, I sounds like a little old lady but canning is a dying art form and somebody has to carry the torch (honestly how many 20-somethings do you know making pickles, jams and jellies on their weekends?). Plus hot pepper jelly is the very best with a little goats cheese.

Want to make hot pepper jelly too? Find my recipe here. Happy marketing all and happy fall!
-m

I Believe In Love At First Sight For Houses..

"I believe in love at first sight for houses, not for people."- Danielle Steel

I do not believe in love at first sight, at least when it comes to houses. I saw about fifty. One of the fifty I maybe kind of loved but being out of my price range it was more like lust than love. My little house had a lot of "potential" when I bought it. It was filthy, unloved and beige. The entirety of the house was beige/yellow with the exception of a superbly bland, white and black exterior. My 80+ year old grandmother, who is wise, stylish and full of good taste told me it was a mistake. That it was a "money pit". She couldn't see the potential. I must admit, I have questioned the "potential" a lot myself, including on the day I took possession. Good things take time and luckily time is something I have a lot of.

In today's modern world, a world where most house hunting happens on line, curb appeal is important. With over saturated housing markets, any future home owner scans dozens of listings before they narrow down their few favourites that they may want to see in person. Without curb appeal, a house can quickly be overlooked. I am convinced that is one of the main reasons I was able to land my house. The poor beast was overlooked. Curb appeal can not only increase the value of your home, but it can increase the value of your neighbour's homes. Happy neighbours are wonderful things!

To increase my curb appeal I did four very inexpensive things. They included painting my door a punchy colour and tearing off the horrible storm door (the one that kept catching my heels!). I put up shutters, window boxes and did a teensy, tiny bit of gardening (which includes flower pots).  I figure everything cost less than $200 total and the change is dramatic. It amazes me how the little things make a huge difference!

This is my little house on the day I bought her, look at how naked and sad she looks!

Adding shutters reminded me of the change you see in a persons face when they go from having no eyebrows to painting them on. They frame your face and make your eyes "pop". Only problem was that shutters wouldn't fit on my lower windows, they were too close together...sigh.. The six shutters on the top cost $66.00. Thankfully my dad was around to help me put them up! Painting the door cost as much as a gallon of paint!

This is where the window boxes came in. They balanced the black on the top and evened everything out! Plus they will be so fun to decorate with evergreen boughs and Christmas garb in December! These were a gift from my dad (he is the best!) but I am certain they cost no more than $100 to have made. 

Tahhhh-dahh! Xo

So Long Summer..

"So long summer, hello fall!"-Everyone on the East Coast

Even though it is still technically summer by dates, the weather is quickly changing and it feels like fall. Starbucks is advertising pumpkin spiced lattes, university students are already a little homesick and all of my flower pots have abruptly gone to seed. I am certain many people are beginning to mourn the loss of summer and how abruptly she came to an end. I am a little bummed but I love fall and feel like there is so much to look forward to. Dark lipsticks, tights, scarves and boots. Pumpkins, jellies and kitchens slightly nutty with the warm aroma of cinnamon (honestly, I can't get enough cinnamon). The leaves change and the air is crisp. I really can't see what there isn't to love about fall.

Summer did fly by and here in Nova Scotia the weather was uncharacteristically humid and cool. Beach days were few and far between but I made the best of it with a trip home to the beautiful Prince Edward Island (where you honestly can't drive straight in one direction for more than 20 minutes without reaching the ocean). I antiqued, went to the beach and spent lots of time with family and good friends. Some pictures from my summer adventures are below! Happy fall everyone!

              Halifax Public Gardens

                Dee Dee's icecream 

                 Chester Nova Scotia

              Greenwhich beach, PEI

                    Sun dried laundry 

        Raspberries from my garden 

              A red dirt road on PEI

           Yellow canola field on PEI

                     East Point, PEI

         Province House, Charlottetown

        Nanny and Papa in the gardens 

            East Point lighthouse 

          Inside of a little lighthouse