Emily Winfield Martin

One of the discoveries that I made at Pickle Papers was Emily Winfield Martin.  My niece loves things that she calls "whimsy," and Emily Winfield Martin seems to be an expert.  She is a lovely illustrator.  You can find her prints and postcards in her Etsy shop: The Black Apple.  And you can read her blog here.  (I really love this print - it makes me miss my Illinois bunnies and squirrels!)

Pickle Papers

I've been venturing out a bit in my new town and found a really lovely shop in the historic downtown called Pickle Papers.  They have all sorts of cards and journals and wrapping paper and everything paper-related.  You can see some of their goodies on their blog here (like this gift wrap from Rifle).

Breadline Cafe

The college where my husband is working has a little satellite campus in Omak, WA.  It's a tiny town, but it has a fabulous restaurant: the Breadline Cafe.  I snapped this photo when we were there for lunch one day.  They bake all of their own breads and have delicious sandwiches and potato salad, etc.  And it's such a cute place.

Queen Bee Blouse

My new town has a Target, thank goodness.  When I was there the other day I noticed this lovely green blouse with a queen bee print.  How fun!  The fabric and neckline made it a little too pajama-ish for my taste, but I love the fabric design and color.

Pybus Public Market

I'm back!  We've been busy over the past month or so with a 2000-mile move, and we now reside in Wenatchee, Washington.  One of the great things about our new town is the Pybus Public Market.  It's modeled on Seattle's Pike Place Market (on a much smaller scale).  There are fantastic restaurants and shops and fresh produce.  I took this picture in July when we were looking for a place to live out here, but we have been back many times!

English Fields Quilt

I finally finished a quilt that I dreamed up in 2009 when we first visited England.  I wanted to make a patchwork quilt that would look like the farms and fields of the English countryside.  It took me a while to figure out how to incorporate some diagonal pieces along with the rectangles (and to gather all of the green fabric).  I sewed straight rows through the quilt to look like furrows.  Last year when we visited England, I bought a ball of yarn made from the wool of the sheep at Blenheim Palace.  I used it to tie the quilt randomly so that it would look like lambs in pairs or threes.  I like the effect that it created on the back.

 

Parks Canada

Last year Parks Canada, which administers the national parks of Canada, launched a line of clothing and gifts that helps to raise money for the parks.  What a great idea!  I saw some of their gear while we were in Ontario.  I like their beaver logo.

Choolaah

We recently returned from a short trip up to Canada.  On the drive home, we passed through Cleveland and discovered a great restaurant called Choolaah.  It's like Naf Naf but Indian!  (Or, like Chipotle but Indian...)  I had paneer tikka masala, and it was really good - not too spicy.

Ogut Nature's Turkish Delight

We recently found some Ogut Nature's Turkish Delight at our (sort-of) local Mediterranean grocer.  We got the pistachio and pomegranate kind, and I loved it because it was more similar to the really good Turkish delight that we had in Istanbul.  It is in round strips that are cut, like the ones in this picture.  They were delicious, but they are impossible to find online.

Cherry Pitter

Do you like cherries?  They are so good right now!  We have especially enjoyed the Rainier cherries that have popped up at our local stores.  But we decided that cherries needed to be easier to eat - so we got this handy cherry pitter from Williams-Sonoma.  It's amazing.  I don't know why no one thought of this before!