Off The Counter: A Summer Salad

I have this reputation as "the salad queen" that I haven't been living up to lately.  My obsession with kale (which I only like sautéed) may just be the reason.  While visiting family and friends back East, I was reminded of my once salad greatness.  When the first few people we visited asked if we were going to have one of "Debra's salads", I realized I needed to begin preparing them again.

Here's one that combines all my favorite summertime ingredients:  figs, tomatoes, peaches and fresh mozzarella.  Drizzled with honey and chives the salad takes on the fresh, sweet flavor of the season.  Ingredients and instructions below.

Ingredients:

Figs, peaches, tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, honey, chives, olive oil,  rice vinegar and sea salt.

Instructions:  

This salad holds its pretty appearance best if prepared in individual bowls.

Cut the figs, peaches and tomatoes into generous slices.  Lightly salt the tomatoes prior to adding them to the rest of the fruit in the bowls.  Using your hands tear chunks of mozzarella into each bowl.  Drizzle all the ingredients with honey and lightly dress with olive oil and rice vinegar.  Top it off with chopped chives.

Enjoy!

Do YOU have a favorite salad?  If so, do share.

Many, many thanks to LB for her Cambridge hives honey!

The Creative Residency & Room Forty

Over the weekend I flew to LA to work on my Social Media skills with Justina Blakeney and Dabito of the The Creative Residency.   This Social Media Practicum was held at Room Forty,  where 13 other creatives and I shared professional goals, critiqued each other's web presence,  advanced our camera skills and learned of ways to hone our brands and maximize our social media platforms.

I left feeling totally inspired!  With both short and long term goals in place, be ready for some changes around here (all good).    Take a look at a few images from the day:

Being a part of The Creative Residency was an invigorating experience and one that I highly recommend.  Be sure to check out all of their offered seminars here.

Many thanks to Justina and Dabito for lending themselves full heartedly to us, the folks at Room Forty for feeding us so well and to Kelly Cuadra of Brown Paper Designs for providing the beautiful botanical arrangements.

Loving The Familiar: A Maine Cottage

Arriving at the Maine cottage we've stayed in for the past three summers felt like seeing an old friend again.  There is a comforting ease in visiting a place you're familiar with and I like that.  What I noticed this time, more than during previous stays, is how we always manage to make it our own.  Sheer necessities, like a favorite pillow, a brand of coffee, sea salt flakes and even a sharp knife now travel with us.  Certain things are moved around to our liking and others stay put to remind us of just why we love this space as much as we do. As the beds get slept on and the morning and evening rituals are established, the rented cottage suddenly feels like a second home.

Even the familiarity of the landscape surrounding the cottage lends itself to exploration, whether one goes at it alone or with others.  Many thanks to JG for yet another unforgettable Maine adventure.

Today we leave Boston and head back home to the Bay Area.  We've had an amazing month visiting friends and family.  I'm very grateful for the opportunity to stay connected and remain part of so many people's lives regardless of the distance between us.

The Gropius House

Sometimes it takes becoming a visitor to a familiar place to do and see things you never had the chance to do before.  The Gropius House in Lincoln, Massachusetts, was a place I always wanted to tour while living in New England.  Often times, on my trips to Walden Pond or the deCordova Museum with my children (toddlers at that time) I would slow down to check it out.  On one occasion, I actually stopped only to find it closed, which by the way, didn't stop me from walking its grounds.  Now, years later, I enjoyed an afternoon tour of the home of Walter Gropius:  architect, art educator and founder of the Bauhaus School of Design.

Having founded the Bauhaus School of Design and appointed to Harvard University's Graduate School of Design in 1937, Walter Groupius and his wife Ise were friends to many celebrated artists and craftsmen.  Most of them were frequent guests at their Lincoln, Ma. home.  Besides the amazing architectural features of this house, hearing about the people who visited it was one of my favorite segments of the tour.  I saw the room where Frank Lloyd Wright spent the night, gifts given to the Gropiuses by Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, and museum quality art and textiles created by other notable artists adorning the walls of the historic residence.

Unable to take photos on the inside I managed to snap a few from the outside.  Take a look:

Another favorite part of the tour was the roof deck off the Gropiuses' daughter's bedroom, which is stunning both by its color and its design (which casts the most perfect shadows on the privacy wall).

'Til Monday: Happy Summer

For the past 2+ weeks, we've been visiting family and friends on the East coast, some of whom we haven't seen for an entire year.  Regardless of how much time goes by, reconnecting with them is always easy, a true testament to good and lasting friendships.  Today we're off to Maine for a few days, where we'll spend time with two dear friends:  JG and Henry (our bestie canine friend).  I can't wait to share images of the things we've been up to, like touring the Gropious House, swimming in Walden Pond and working (yes, working!) on a CHD project.

I hope everyone is enjoying a "Happy Summer".  Do share your escapades with me!

Follow along here to view daily snapshots of our summer adventures in the making.