One of the wonderful things about having a garden is the ability to gift friends and family from your abundance.  It doesn't matter if you are a vegetable or flower gardener or if like me, you have a bit of a potager going on in the backyard, giving to others is such a great way to spread the joy being in the garden brings to you.


Living in Southern California (zone 10a) the winter months are prime cool season vegetable weather and that means an abundance of leafy greens, brassicas and root veggies.  This year I am having wonderful success with cabbage and finding ways to use it has become a bit of a challenge.  So, I thought it would be the perfect time to put together a little (large) gift basket for my sweet niece who loves juicing and feeding her family healthy meals.


After picking and washing the greens and herbs, I separated them and tied them up with simple twine.  Next I needed a vessel to deliver them in and found the perfect one in an old basket I had in storage.  I added a white bar towel and started layering from the largest bunch to the smallest.


Once I had it all tucked in I added a jar of my pretty handmade soap and a bit of my sourdough starter, which I knew she would appreciate and use regularly.

Such a simple idea, and it cost me nothing but the time to gather together and make it special.


What a perfect way to bless someone in your life, sharing what you have in abundance.  So now it's your turn.  What is it that you have in excess either collected, grown or hand made, that you can gift and encourage another with?  Let's make the year of 2019 a giving one.

Trust me, you will be just as blessed as they are.

xo, Patty

If you'd like to see the video of the basket coming together, I've provide the link the below.  I'd love to have you subscribe to my YouTube channel while you're there.

As I reflect on all that happened in 2018 both successes and failures, I can't help but focus on one word...growth.  I learned so much about myself, what makes me tick, what ignites my passions and what I don't want to repeat.


I floundered in finding my voice, trying different things that just didn't seem to ring true to my authentic self, I am casting aside what I thought I wanted to share with the world.  Those things, that while they are good and necessary things, they aren't who I truly am. 

The amazing thing is that even in the failures, maybe mostly in the failures, I found myself. 



Honing in on what brings me joy while encouraging others, is definitely where I see myself going in 2019.  Things like gardening, baking from scratch, sewing and learning old skills like soap making and herbal medicines are where my focus will be. 


Of course there will still be glimpses of work inside the cottage and plenty of friends and family because I don't ever want to lose sight of just how important those closest to us are in keeping us grounded and healthy.  Relationships will still be front and center as will you my online family.


Without your encouragement I would most likely have thrown in the towel when I stumbled but now looking back, I am so thankful I kept pressing on.  What is it that you feel discouraged about today?  May I be the encouragement to you to just keep at the thing...yes step back, reassess your destination but don't give up.   Just keep putting one foot in front of the other, often times the most important thing is that we keep growing even if we don't end up where we thought we would.

Happy New Year!  Now let's get out there and just do the thing!

xo, Patty

I know it might seem strange that we would be harvesting lemons in December but we are.  In spite of the dipping temperatures (and by dipping I mean 50 degrees here in Southern California) my first year lemon tree is filled with bright yellow fruit ready to be made in to all things lemony.


Although my harvest was only a meager 15 lemons this year, it didn't stop me from creating four different yummy treats to share with you.  After a quick search of pinterest I settled on a lemon meringue pie, lemon scones, lemon extract and limoncello.  I would say I squeezed out (pun intended) every ounce of lemony goodness from every part of my small yield.

I decided to try my hand at a lemon meringue pie because it was my husbands childhood favorite and I wanted to surprise him with a homemade pie for his birthday.  This was my first attempt at this particular pie and although it wasn't a complete success, it wasn't a complete failure either.  Let's say it was a good learning experience in all things meringue!

This is the recipe I used and it tasted great but I probably should have researched how to have a successful meringue experience before attempting the pie and not after.  But then, that's generally how I roll.


These lemon scones were ah-mazing!  The picture doesn't do them justice but this basic recipe has been moved up to my go to for scones.  I can already see myself varying the flavors and adding a powder sugar glaze in the future.  Definitely one for you to try.


Who knew making extracts was so simple.  A little vodka, a few lemon peels and a little patience and you've got yourself a dash of natural lemon flavor whenever you need it.  This recipe was pretty straight forward and I imagine you could use it for just about any flavor extract you have a hankering for.  And transfer them to an amber glass jar, add a cute label and they would make adorable gifts.


Lastly I made Giada DeLaurentis Limoncello recipe.  Here again I rushed in without reading the recipe to the end but it still turned out delicious.  I failed to see the part about letting the lemon peels sit in the vodka for a couple of days before adding the simple syrup so I am sure it would have been even more amazing if I had.


So there you have it, Four Ways to Use Fresh Lemons.  I can't wait to add to my list next year when our little lemon tree produces its next crop but with lemons available in abundance very soon, who needs to wait?

Head to your local produce market, grab a dozen or two and let me know what you come up with.

xo, Patty

Just in case you want to check out the video version of all this lemon yumminess plus a little coffee chat, here's the link to my YouTube channel.