Saturday Meanderings

Hello and Happy Saturday! I have so much to share this week and so glad you are here today. As you know, Saturday Meanderings is an opportunity to look at the week and hopefully all good things. I just returned from 6 days in Chicago moving my son and his girlfriend into their new apartment. He will be starting graduate school at the University of Chicago next month. An exciting time for them to explore a new city for the next two years.

My Trip to Chicago

Many years ago, I spent a great deal of time in Chicago for business, but haven’t been back in a long time. I forgot how beautiful the weather can be during the summer ~blue skies, puffy white clouds, no humidity and temperatures in the low to mid 70s. That is exactly the weather I experienced along with cool breezes off of Lake Michigan.

It’s unfortunate that most people think of the Chicago we hear on the news~murders, poverty and chaos. The area near Millennium Park and Michigan Avenue is filled with lush landscaping, beautiful parks, and clean, walkable streets. At no time did I ever feel unsafe, even during the late evening hours.

Lots of unpacking, moving furniture and picture hanging for the first few days. But everything is in its place and now it’s time for them to enjoy their new life in this beautiful city.

I will write a separate post about Chicago as I hope to spend more time there.

It’s Tomato Sauce Season

Back in Phoenix, we pick up 100 lbs. of Roma tomatoes from a local farmer, McClendon Select. Thirty pounds go to my friend, Rick for his own sauce. Our neighbor and dear friend, Tevia, came over last Sunday and we processed 24 lbs. worth of sauce for her pantry.

Now I need to get busy and make the rest into sauce for our winter supply. To see this easy, 4 ingredient tomato sauce recipe, click here. If you want to learn about canning and processing tomatoes, see this post here.

I use every part of the tomato and the skins and seeds go to the chickens~they just love it. Anything else leftover goes to the composter.

New James Farmer Book

Love a gorgeous book? This one is filled with lush tabletops, glorious garden bouquets, fabulous invitations and entertaining tips. James Farmer’s new book, Celebrating Home, is a winner. I love and admire his Southern style and am reading this book cover to cover. If you are not familiar with James Farmer, he is designer and author, known for his classic style with a twist.

This book would make a great gift for you or someone who loves this elegant, yet cozy style. I recommend getting it in hardcover because the photos are fabulous. You can find it here. Now I want to buy all his other books (hint to any family member reading this~!)

Impromptu Lunch with a Friend

After traveling for a week, it felt like ages since I played catch up with my friend, Christine. And after a good amount of restaurant food, I am longing for a healthy meal at home. The kitchen is a mess with all the tomatoes. So I pretty up a table in the corner of the living room for just us.

A vintage tablecloth look so sweet on a table for two. Keeping it more casual, I use the melamine plates and chargers I purchased in the spring from The Enchanted Home.

Grocery store flowers of white daisies and red carnations, plus a few faux blue hyacinths, adds a punch of color.

A hearty salad of mixed greens, grilled chicken, veggies and a homemade lemon dressing is the main course. Air fryer blueberry crisp and ice cream is the perfect dessert. I swear I could eat this type of meal every day.

A Very Good Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

With an evening meeting to attend this week, I decide to bring some sustenance and bake chocolate chip cookies. This recipe from Tara O’Brady is quite good and relatively easy to make. She uses chocolate chunks in the recipe but being in a hurry, I use a combination of dark chocolate and extra dark chocolate chips from Guittard.

I am actually glad they are all gone, but not before I ate 3 in one afternoon. That bit of sea salt on the top is addicting. They are very good and I bet the dough would freeze well! You can find Tara O’Brady’s recipe here.

My Next Creative Project

Did you get the Halloween issue, Halloween Haven from Grandin Road this week? I love Halloween and am always looking for new ways to decorate for our Halloween-themed dinner party. Well, in the catalog on page 37 there is a Haunted Figure Window, however, it is pricey at $1,399.

So I am going to attempt to make one myself. After a quick Google search for old windows, I find The Art of Rust, a vintage shop with many treasures.

Here is the old window frame I bought (at 60% off) and hope to use for this project. More to come on this!

If you missed any posts this week, I share how I organize a space in our master bath (here). Plus I gather ideas from the Internet for fabric in lieu of cabinet doors (here).

Have a wonderful Saturday. I am heading up to our cabin for a quick trip. We are rebuilding a deck and need to check on the progress. Enjoy your weekend. May it be filled with rest and relaxation.