Silo Sessions...

When I used to spend a lot of the summer back east for a few years, I would dream about the day we lived here... where I could walk in the woods everyday, go to concerts all summer long, ride my bike, lay in the grass and play in the snow... I never considered that my real life chores would not stay in Arizona and let me move to vacation land all by myself!

The fact is...

laundry followed

grocery shopping followed

a dirty house followed

homework followed

dinner making followed

the dog came 

the kids came

the work came.

I don't mind the work.  It is living. 

However...

Sometimes you have to go to the concert and leave the paint cans, flooring project, proper bedtime, math flashcards, dirty bathtub behind and do what is right.

So we had the pleasure of arriving to a farm dinner...

to eat with these fine folks...

and then hit the farm bakery for an intmate night of music... check out that awesome apron hanging up!!  I wonder who makes those??

and last but not least, the man of the hour, Mister Chris Dorman.  Delightful storyteller, singer songwriter, kind friend...

He put these silo sessions on all winter.  You can read about them HERE.  Sadly they are over for the winter but will pick back up when the summer air starts to chill.  They are oh so special so I recommend you join in!  For now, summer time is around the corner and Burger Night starts again!  Hope to see all you beautiful people there!!

PS: We traded with Chris and Corie, our couch for some kale!  And now we have our very own CSA card!  Their kale and other amazing products are fantastic so if you are in the area I suggest you join, you won't be sorry!  The info on that is HERE!

And if you don't live here but are dying to buy some beautiful kale I totally accept donations ;-)

Favorite winter dinner 2012

Homemade carrot ginger soup, roasted potato squares, local bread, and a side salad. 


This was made for us by some local friends and I have made this meal 20 times since! 

You can find the soup recipe HERE on my foodie board!  I substitute chicken stock with no chicken chicken stock.  And yes, there is such a thing.  I also add tons more ginger, YUM!  I garnish with fresh arugula, my fave!!

Now, this year I was let in on a little cooking secret (thank you Corie!) that I had not been privy to before!  Apparently, if you preheat your pan with some oil in the oven your potatoes WON'T STICK!!  What What!! I have successfully made oven baked potato fries at least twice a week all winter long!  Served with Annie's Organic Ketchup and super amazing black truffle salt courtesy of Chelsea Market Awesomeness and you have a winner!

So here is to a mildly cold snow(less) winter and its fantastic root vegetables!

To celebrate...

a New Year and Ten Years passing.

Once upon a time I married a boy.  Today he is the man of my dreams.  

How does one celebrate such an monumental occasion? 

Luckily there are lots of options when you share an anniversary with the last night of the year.  People tend to gather together with light hearts and warm spirits.  So we just get to fit our celebration right in.

But ten years is a big one and I had to really think about what I was up for.  Did I want to share this night with anyone besides my Mister?  How did I see this night ahead of me?  What were my expectations...

I decided what I wanted was a night of intention.

So... this is how it went down.

Favorite flowers from my favorite shop.  A beautiful winter bouquet made by a beautiful flower connoisseur. Upon the pick up of our exquisite arrangement, flowers are not our only treat.  Chris is so engaging that you feel like you should pull up a chair and stay for the day.  She wished us a Happy Anniversary and a wonderful New Year and it was so lovely to see her.

I was thrilled to be invited to a most engaging dinner with our close friends Chris and Corie.  The food was nothing short of amazing, for many of the ingredients come right there from their farm.  Chris is a pizza maker extraordinaire and we all got to partake in the making of our very own.  

The bakery oven kept us toasty and the conversation kept us lively.  I made up some 2011/2012 questions for the table and we spent our chewing moments getting to know a bit more about each other and the year we had/hope for...  It was lovely.  We were thrilled to see Henry and Samantha there with their parents as well as Max, a dear friend of Noah's whom we thought was a perfect addition.  Thank you friends, for sharing in this special night...

Then to make our night, well... awesome, we sent a drift some Chinese lanterns, making wishes and marking this night in history.  It was nothing short of perfect.

and then I received my gift...and it was just lovely.

Our present to each other is a beautiful life in Vermont.  No diamonds, no gifts, no overnight stays... just the life we have always wanted to live.

Flash invite. Accepted.

6:30pm. Last night.

We are scarfing down dinner.

Phone rings in the other room, we ignore b/c there is too much to do and we need to keep scarfing.

The Mister and I are making the list...

pack for a cross country trip

don't forget to charge electronics

don't forget underwear

get the laundry out of the dryer

check the weather

do the dishes

finish MAKING xmas gifts

and on, and on, and on...

I grab the phone to check the weather and see a msg.  We all listen and it went like this (word for word):

Okay you guys, this is a flash invite.  Kinda like a flash dance, you know? Where everyone starts dancing. We are inviting you over RIGHT NOW, RIGHT HERE AND NOW when we are making t-shirts, b&b farm t-shirts, we are inviting you over for ice cream.  Boom bam boom everyone gets ice cream and everyone goes home with a t-shirt. BAM. boom. done. like that. boom. Alright bye. 

The Mister took the phone.

Dialed.

Proceeded to say:

This makes absolutely no sense for us this evening.  We will be right over.

and that is the good stuff in life...

Noah has never heard of a better invite, and frankly neither have I.

Um, yes... Gabi likes her ice cream. 

HELPFUL assistants to the right -->

 HOPELESS assistants in the back please!!

Ok, you redeemed yourself... you can help!

 The kids were beaming about their shirts! Gabi put her pre picked outfit on and the red T right over top!  It looks great.  No picture though... can you guess what I was doing until 11:30 last night and then in the wee hours this morning?  Can you say SCRAMBLE??

I highly recommend accepting flash invites if they ever come your way...

Linked here...

When you give up a certain life to live another certain life...in the fine state of Vermont... you get to say things like:
"kids, get your coat on, we are going to a farm for dinner"
And it rocks.
Thank you c & c, for having us.  We heart you like crazy...

and the pizza was fantastic. 
---
After the nice distraction of a lovely friday night, the rest of the weekend was spent in frantic scramble to get ready for the holiday that looms around a two week arrival time.  I am living up to my word and hand making ALL of our Christmas gifts for extended family... it rocks, but is also VERY hard.  I am only two, I repeat, 2 gifts down and many more to go.... but I can do it, I know I can!

New Project....

I am refusing to let the 3:30 sundown deter me from posting pics of my new evening projects!  How sad that I leave for work in the dark and come home in the dark (well almost dark)...  Thank you instagram for kinda sorta spiffing up a grainy night time pic of these super cute ... not really sure what they are ... kinda bags!

Hope to see them in a farm store soon ;-)

A visit for Raw Milk...

It's Monday folks and I am so looking forward to a week of thankfulness, family visits, and some delicious Thanksgiving dining!

  Today I am so very thankful for the two-in-a-row visits with Grandpa Jay and the Lovely Sue.  As if seeing them for a long weekend in Montreal wasn't enough we get to have them here in Vermont for a Village stay!

Before moving here I knew that I wanted to have an active part in the local community and explore everything that these great people have to offer.  The main form of this being food of course.  I am in awe by the farms that surround and overjoyed at the prospects of eating Farm to Table.  When my familial guests inquired about raw milk I knew just the place to take them...

200 Leduc Farm Drive  Shelburne, VT 05482 

 

 

Upon arrival we had a peak around to see what was available...

 3 seed bread baked fresh

A welcome board....







and Ta-Da...

Vermont's finest raw produced milk.  Problem was, the container seemed slightly large for the short weekend stay.  While in debate on whether or not to purchase such an amount a kind farm hand appeared and offered a taste...

 We asked several times if he was sure that he should open this for just a small taste and he assured us that it was (another reason I heart this place).  He poured a glass for the long distance travelers who have been waiting a long time for this.  He poured himself a taste as well and they cheers(ed).  Matt and I refrained due to our attempting vegan ways....   I must say though, if I were to drink milk it would absolutely, hands down, be from this place!

After one sip they say...

We'll take it!

 I think they liked it.

Then they paid on the honor system which I love.






Then we headed to the Farmhouse for a magnificent lunch.  Matt and I shared the squash and apple sandwich and a to die for salad...

And that was just the beginning...

August is for lovers...

Mr. Witt and I are on the final countdown to our beloved children's return.  This month has had its ups and its downs and I am continually thankful for the experience.  It was lovely to have some time alone with my hubby but was excruciatingly painful at times to be so far from my littles....

This weekend was our last full Friday, Saturday, Sunday alone...all to ourselves.  I think despite the lack of 'making plans' we used it to its fullest.

Beginning with... 

because burgers are not, but farms are for lovers...

 ...burger night at bread and butter farm in our very own home town.  I had been looking forward to enjoying the festivities provided by the fine folks of this farm for a while...I will be even more excited to share it with our youngsters...

This is a groovy kind of place...

 That knows how to throw a Friday evening  
shin dig...

 Amongst the most enchanting Vermont views...

 The live music was delightful and the artists kind and engaging.

Here is a picture of me doing the unthinkable... on the smartphone playing a game... 

WHaaaaaaT?

Super uncool yo!  

 Listen, when my nine year old asks me to engage in a friendly game of Words With Friends, and this nine year old is 3000 miles away, and the two of us are missing each other, and he needs a connection with his mama... well, frankly, I don't care if I were dining with the Queen of England... I will shamelessly tap tap tap on that phone and be quite happy to do so... so there Mr. Witt...

Here are a few pics of Mr. Witt and I having fun on a beautiful farm post silly smartphone game...

Sadly, this Witt family does not partake in the eating of burgers...though, if I were going to, this would definitely be the place for it!!  After we enjoyed the most lovely vibe of this fine event, we headed to get some veggie pizza to enjoy while doing our very favorite Shelbure thing...

Dinner and sunset at the lake and this time over a game of Scrabble!  

Because Scrabble is for lovers too.

weekend to be con't...