friday

There's an apple pie fresh out of the oven, I can smell it. It's a good night already. My idea of a perfect Friday is just this, a quiet night, dessert and a glass of red wine. I've been stuck for these past two days updating my shop and working on new listings, I feel like I'm developing couch sores from all this sitting around, staring at my computer screen. But, it had to be done and now I can enjoy my weekend and come Monday I'll have a clean slate to start on some new items, and then the cycle continues. I feel like I'm finally getting better at running my shop so hopefully my positive attitude towards business will reflect in my work. I basically just started around January of last year so I'm now starting on my second year. I learned so much in one year, now it's time to take everything I know and put twice as much effort into making my dreams come true. I know I have the talent, all I need now is my own studio so I can continue to spend my days filling orders and making products that people love. <3 Is that selfish or is it possible for life to be so great?

the blank page

I'll keep searching and I'll keep dreaming

I'll keep loving and I'll keep leaving

I'll fly high and I'll swing low 

I'll live fast but I'll take things slow.

I just want a world of my own.

Hello, Autumn.
I'm glad you're finally here.
Summer made me miss you even more.

Because there is always room for improvement,

l. Keep everything clean & organized

ll. Take more pictures

lll. Make things that I am proud of

lV. Keep an open mind

V. Live by my schedule

I'm ready for the harvest

Oh, luminous moon,

black nights alone

it's for you that I swoon.

Bold, aglow

it's all too soon

I'm shot back down

to wait again, 'til high noon.

with love, neena noel

the tale of one avocado

Avocados will always be one of my favorite fruits. I could cut one open and eat it right out of the peel with a spoon, and I could also put it on almost any other food. Yum. I've heard you can even make brownies with avocados!? As much as I love eating them a la carte, they are even better made into guacamole. I've been getting used to making guac without the dairy added, (sour cream, mayonnaise, whatever else people in that stuff to make it creamier) and it is definitely just as good. All you need is a little salt and pepper and maybe some other veggies and you're good to go. Thankfully I have a beautiful garden in my backyard with tons of fresh produce, so I picked out some spicy Serrano peppers and some green onion, sliced it up and threw it in there for a little extra kick.

All mashed up with green onion, spicy peppers, salt and pepper. Leave the seeds in to keep it fresh.

 A very green sandwich with my guac, spinach and cucumbers on multigrain bread. Perfect on a hot day.

Satisfied :)

with love,

neena noel

from the seeds planted

My mother has been slaving over this beautiful garden for weeks. Though she's had gopher problems, she has been persistent and it's beginning to show its fruitfulness. It's tough being completely organic sometimes, but I feel like it will pay off. (Though I should probably be helping with the garden if I'm going to claim that it will pay off, haha.) This is the second year in row of my mothers summer gardens, though there were plenty of fruit trees already blooming when we moved into our home - oranges (valencia and naval), grapefruits, lemons, apricots, pomegranates, apples, plums pineapple-guavas and blackberries. I can't express how grateful I am for our bounty of fruit and vegetables, and let me tell you, non-genetically modified foods do taste so much better. Here's just a small sample of what's blooming in our backyard right now.

Mama even made some homemade apricot jam

Tomatoes

Baby Pumpkin

Rows of Sunflowers

Mint Field

Baby Blackberries

Oranges are not quite in season

with love,

neena noel