How do they do this without smiling?

Three.

We planted three tomato plants this year in our first (experimental) garden. Two of them were regular size tomatoes: beefsteak and Cherokee. They weren't spectacular producers, but considering that they don't really get enough sun and we didn't have a hot summer, we weren't disappointed.

The cherry tomato plant, however, even though it grew to a normal height, produced what you see above. Three cherry tomatoes. Pitiful.

Colin said the other day "do you think we can eat them all before they go bad?"

Upcycled Ornaments

The past few nights, it's been cooler. I stepped out on our little porch the other night where Colin had turned on our strings of globe lights and I felt two steps closer to being in the Christmas spirit already. Inspired, I decided to slightly expand my repertoire of things in my shop. I started experimenting with paper ornaments and added this little family to the online offerings yesterday.

Morning Glory & Fairy Tale Vine

This morning glory just planted itself in our little garden. It got big really quickly, and since our garden struggles with sunlight issues, I didn't want this guy making any shade, so I moved it over to trellis up the porch swing. It surprises us almost every morning with new blooms!

This crazy squash vine keeps growing and growing. We kinda hoped to get some squash from it, but instead, it seems to want to impress us with its crazy length. It grows a few inches every day!

My Little Factory

Keeping myself busy the past week making things for my etsy shop and to build things up for the (probably two) holiday craft fairs. After doing this all day, any change of scenery (making dinner, a walk around the block or to get a few things at the grocery store) is a welcome break.

Fairy Tale Window

We rode our bikes to the gym this morning. It was a cool, misty morning and when we got back, Colin put on his cap to go outside for his morning alone time. He looked so cute with his cap, framed by our fairy tale squash vine that keeps growing and growing from our garden around the window.

Chiles en Nogada: Success!

The Homesick Texan blog has inspired me since I found it (I think while searching for a good homemade flour tortilla recipe) while living in China. (She has an excellent flour tortilla recipe, by the way.)

I made this recipe Friday night, a few days late for Mexican Independence Day. Colin and I agreed: it was amazing. It required a little more trouble than I generally put into dinner, but I think it's fun to make new things every once in a while.

I used beef instead of pork, didn't add any lard, and topped with a little sliced tomato since our grocery store didn't have pomegranates. It was beautiful, and the sauce, which I thought tasted funny on its own, turned out to be super yummy when paired with the stuffed pepper.

The filling calls for interesting spices and chopped fruit, which is genius. Colin doesn't like raisins, but I chopped them up like the recipe said, and he didn't seem to notice. They just added a bit of yummy sweetness that is really unique.

I won't make this recipe often, but will come back to it occasionally for something special because, really, it is super yummy!