The Monthly Bloom

September

pretty persimmons

lots of cherry tomatoes still blooming

last of the peppers

aster taking over the bed

the sweet smell of fall sunshine

lavender blooming again!

Laurence's handy work

I'm getting pretty bad about posting these "monthly blooms" well into the next month, but all of the photos were taken in September. It's really a good way for me to try to keep track of what's happening in our yard throughout the year, so I'm making sure to document a little bit each month, even though we're not actually out working in the yard that much these days. I'm still hoping to get a little bit of planting in this fall, just not sure when yet.

lulu gets a bath

Please don't make me...

This is so humiliating.

Oh, wow! I get to play with that towel!!!

What? I know I look good. 

Pumpkin Muffins

Recipe card status!!! That's right, the recipe for these yummy muffins is now written by hand on a recipe card that fits in my permanent recipe notebook. The difficult decision was whether it should be filed under desserts or breads. It ended up in the bread section, next to the apple loaf and zucchini bread recipes, which both make equally as good desserts.  

We had 4 cups of frozen pumpkin left in the freezer from last year's annual heirloom pumpkin, which is enough to make these once more! I ended up using half the batter for a loaf and the rest for around 24 muffins! I added some ground clove when I ran out of cinnamon. Clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin, and some semi-sweet chocolate chips- the sweet taste of fall is here!

Recipe from literally, a spoonful. 

snippets of summer

beets from our garden, baked in foil with honey and olive oil-

homemade rosemary focaccia bread-

our finished kitchen nook! (sans some cushions and the perfect farm table... suggestions?)

nursery renovation underway, Lulu's still not sure what to think about all this- 

long work weekend ahead calls for some Red Hen cinnamon rolls from the farmers market-

making progress :) before and after photos of the nursery coming soon! (hopefully very soon)

popcorn snack, every afternoon for these two-

summer meal: chard with peaches, tomatoes, and ham and cheese pie-

It's a Bluegrass Banjo!!

      

It's really that simple! My new cut paper banjo is a bluegrass banjo as opposed to an old time banjo, like my original one. The bluegrass banjo (the one on your left) has a steel resonator behind the head, but I can't tell you much more than that. I would love to be able to pick away, but for now Laurence has convinced me I need to learn how to play the mountain dulcimer. I think it must be pretty simple.

Don't you love how these look together? I tried to use some of the same peppered paper for the new one to keep the colors similar. Maybe we'll hang both in the nursery when it's finished. I had one customer from Australia purchase a print of the old time banjo through my Etsy shop. He wrote and told me how excited he was to have it hanging in his baby boy's room, whose name is Banjo! It does have a nice ring to it, don't you think? ;)

Thanks so much to Patti who did some research and won this print in my first giveaway! Hurray! Both banjos are now listed in my Etsy shop.

Happy Banjo Giveaway!!!

Introducing my newest peppered paper instrument- another banjo! This was a commissioned piece by someone who saw a print of my first banjo, but had to have an original. I LOVE people who appreciate and purchase original art- LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!! I know original art can be expensive, which is why I offer high-quality prints, for people on a budget like me:) But, I am slowly trying to fill our little house with original works of art that make me happy and inspire me, and by doing so support a hard working artist.

However, for you, faithful readers, I'm having my first GIVEAWAY here on Peppered Paper! Let's say the first person to leave a comment saying what type of banjo this is, compared to my first banjo, gets a free 8x10 print of my newest piece- this banjo! It's very simple, so don't over think it, really just one word will describe it.

For those of you who have never ventured out of your email to comment, or who don't have a google reader, I've removed the login requirement. And, don't be shy, no one's reading the comments but me:)


Happy September, and happy giveaway day!!