Carrot Pickles

I have always loved the hue of purple carrots. They are so pretty with their contrasting purple skin and orange flesh. I thought they would make some really pretty carrot pickles.


I love to pickle foods. Almost any fresh food can be pickled. I have a couple of brine recipes I like to use. This one is nice and spicy with the addition of the red pepper flakes.

Pickled Carrots 

 
3-4 fat carrots
Slice the carrots into slim stick, thin rounds or any desired shape

1 1/2 cups white vinegar
1 1/2 cups filtered water
3 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 teaspoons black mustard seeds
2 tablespoons pickling salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3/4 cup sugar
1 bay leaf per jar

Combine the brine ingredients in a medium-sized, non-reactive pot. Bring to a boil. Taste and adjust spices to please your palate. Add the sliced vegetables. Stir to combine and remove from the heat.

Fill prepared jars. Wipe rims and apply lids. Process in a boiling water bath for ten minutes (starting time after the pot has returned to a boil).

These should rest for a few weeks or months before opening to let them infuse with the flavors of the spices. 

Makes three pints.

Valentine's Day

My first job at 16 was at a Hallmark store. I am pretty sure this is why I love Valentine's Day so much. Also I had an amazing mom that would celebrate this holiday with cute little gifts like tiny heart shaped erasers, handmade doily cards and sweet treats.

This year with our wedding just wrapped I missed the boat on handmade anything. But I could not let the holiday escape me and sent Mr. Ramon flowers from Seattle favorite Fiori. They always do such a stunning job.

So I want to send a Happy Valentine's Day to my guy - Mr. Ramon will you be my valentine?



Hope you all had a sweet day with your loves!

Wedding Crafts

Mr. Ramon and I had a blast collecting for about a year all sorts of knick-knacks, antiques and junk to use for our wedding props. Our overall theme was sort of rustic glamour. Think old brick and glitter, vintage props and twinkle lights.

I love old typewriters. I thought what a fun idea to use an old typewriter as our guest book. We came up with about 10 different questions for our guests such as "What is your best marriage advice?", "If Ramon and Nicole were super heroes, who would they be?", "When should we consider becoming parents?" etc. We printed them on card stock and created a guest book area with the amazing old typewriter we had found. It was a really nice interactive way for people to share their thoughts and love with us.

We had decided to not use a lot of flowers for our wedding - instead using props for the tables. I would carry a bouquet and he would of course need a boutonniere. I had seen some very cool hand made boutonnieres on Etsy and thought I would try my hand at creating one.

I had been stashing away feathers, netting, botanical pieces etc for hats, headbands and to make my veil. So I had a lot of materials to choose from. Ramon had brought me back an acorn from his trip to Nebraska and I thought that would be my focal point. I added in some feathers and used a varnished orange leaf as the base. I glue gunned it all together, wrapped the base in ribbon and added a pin on the back for easy application. I think it turned out really nice.

 We were visiting my mom in Bend, Oregon and spent a sunny day treasure hunting. I found this antique shop with bowls and bowls of vintage baby blocks. Mr. Ramon and I love lettering so thought this could be fun for something. I chose letters to spell Ramon + Nicole = Love. We could not figure out what to do with them or how to insert them into wedding appropriate props - so I came up with gluing them onto a small chalkboard. Not my favorite application - but it works and I can always pull them off at a later date.

 We were excited so many people decided to travel to Seattle for our wedding. We thought it would be nice to put together bags of snacks and drinks for the hotel rooms of our guests. We kept them Washington themed by adding in Washington apples, local chocolates, hand made granola, Dry Soda, spicy nuts and local chips. We found bank recycled totes and screen printed tags for them. We hope everyone enjoyed the treats!

The Big Day

Mr Ramon proposed in Paris in February and we tied the knot January 28, 2011. It was a whirlwind year of planning, fun, stress and learning about one another.

I am a planner - organized and armed with timelines, calendars and lists of things to check off. Mr Ramon is an artist - and way more fun to be around when planning an event. That said, he also likes to save as much as possible to the last minute. He is not really sure why my timelines are important. Of course these two ideals collided and left us a mess at times and more aware of what we are both really good at. And it took the both of us and a whole army of loving friends to pull this off.

I loved it - every minute, even the tough ones. From planning day one through the entire weekend wedding whirlwind. It left me knowing I love planning events and want to plan special days for and with others.

Here are a few pics from our big day - mostly of us. I love looking at them.












Our day was totally magical. We had an amazing photographer. A friend of ours that normally shoots rock bands and events. So he had a very different approach from a traditional wedding photographer. We really loved the results.

More to come - I will take my time and break it all down for you!