Pool Photography

I cannot believe today the last day of August! To soak in the last few weeks of Summer - isn't this bicycle pool shots by Nate Bolt great?

(via mustard & sage)

Home Canning Supplies

I had 'good intentions' to do some canning this season, but I am not sure if I will be able to get around to it with the baby coming and all. I tried it for the very first time last year -- canning some various jams and it has been delightful to pull some fresh and delicious jam off of our shelves all year long. Although I know people have been doing it for ages, have you noticed the growing trend and increased canning exposure all around the last few years? It is popping up all over the place and there are lots of lovely things to make your canned goods look pretty along with great new resources too. Here are a few that caught my eye.

1: Canning for a New Generation : This book by Liana Krissoff came out this month, and I received a nice copy in the mail, it a most excellent canning resource and even has labels in the back of the book you can use.
2: Although a bit on the spendy side, these Weck jars are stunning.
3: Pretty Fabric Jar Covers -- which you can also DIY if you are more crafty.
4: Canning & Preserving with Ashley English - I haven't seen this book in person, but it looks wonderful.



5: Chalkboard Labels : Cool for not only canning, but other projects too.
6: Stainless Steel Funnel : Simply beautiful.
7: Retro Canning Set : Looks like a great packaged set.
8: Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It : I checked this out at the library and it has some fantastic looking recipes.

Other Ideas:
I love the idea of making labels inspired by these, or these.
Here is a great idea if you have leftover canning jars and kids -- clever!

Inspiring posts about Canning & Labels :
This Strawberry Lemon-Grass Jam looks delicious.
If you are reluctant to can -- you can make yummy freezer jam.
Ez did a beautiful tutorial and free printable tags for your jars here.
Jessica did a very informative post for Canning for beginners .

What about you? Have you tried canning before? Are you a preserving expert? Share with us your favorite things to preserve and successful recipes you've tried. If you have seen other great posts and canning tips-- hit up the comments section with your links and share your finds.

The weekend, briefly

Lunch at The Golden State with D, with gelato for dessert (dulce de leche made with porter stout for me, apple pie with actual pie crust bits for him), followed by a walk around the Griffith Park observatory.

{the golden state, lunch}

{gelato}

{observatory}

Brunch with my girls - huevos rancheros + excellent coffee + mimosas.

{brunch, eggs}

Packaging up some orders.

{tags}

sugar beach looks delicious!

Does everyone know about Sugar Beach in Toronto?? Because it is news to me...just learned about it on CP24 and it looks adorable! They took a yucky parking lot next to the Redpath Sugar Factory and decided to transform it into a beach! The parking lot is now filled with white sand, adorable pink umbrellies and white muskoka chairs. They even brought in giant stones from Quebec and painted them with candy stripes! And there is a little splash park for some sweet relief from the heat. Oh my goodness this is fabulous!

The Brutal 20 Mile Training Run

This past Saturday I had to run 20 miles, as I train for the Columbus Marathon.

Hey everyone. Rob here.

I wasn't looking forward to it. Not at all.

This isn't my first marathon, so I know how the 20 mile training run can punish you.

It's physical and mental torture, and no crowds to help you along.

My training partner who I will refer to as 2:39 Boston, decided we should with a group.

So 7 Saturday morning, we met dozens of runners at a local church. They were with Bob Roncker's Running Spot.

It's really Cincinnati best source when it comes to running shoes and marathon advice.

It was a beautiful slightly chilly morning. After July and August, the weather was like seeing an old classmate again after summer break. Actually had a smile on my face as I started tackling the miles. A nervous smile, but a smile nonetheless.

Like the weather, running with the group was a welcome change. The extra company and conversation made time and the miles fly by.

Honestly during the run, I kept expecting the bottom to fall out. It really didn't. It did get tough at mile 15. That's when the group runners ended their run. 2:39 Boston and I had another 5 miles.

As we headed out, I did start feeling a little sorry for myself. However once we got going, I found my groove. This is until mile 18. I started feeling weak and a little dizzy. At this point I started trailing Boston 2:39 by a few steps. I needed a sports drink. Unfortunately, I forgot to carry money. I ducked into a gas station and told the cashier my predicament. She was sympathetic and gave me a Gatorade. I immediately felt better, and the last 2 miles were relatively easy.

The brutal 20 mile training run is critical when I train for a marathon. This past Saturday I learned its not always brutal. I will try to remember that Sunday Oct. 17. Now the last 6.2 miles. That could be a different story.

Music Monday: Shout Out Louds

Hello... I hope you had a great weekend! I had technical computer and internet difficulties over the weekend, so I didn't get to share some posts on Friday, but I think we've got it all squared away now. Did you do anything fun for the weekend? We have been prepping a bit for our baby that will be arriving dun dun duh... this week! It is going to be a super busy week and month for us with lots of life-changing moments ahead. In the next little while I am excited to have some guest blogging friends fill in when I am unavailable, but I also hope to have a few posts for you too. So stay tuned!





Well... on to Music Monday. I am a fan of the Shout Out Louds and thought this was appropriate for this week, the song is called "Show Me Something New". I enjoy the upbeat lyrics and the cool underwater nature of the music video. What do you think? Also, the Shout Out Louds did a sweet cover of the Band of Horses that you can watch here. Speaking of cover songs, what are your favorite covers? I'd love to hear about them.

(Since readers have asked and told me that you have purchased Music Monday music I've shared in the past -- support Black Eiffel by getting the newest Shout Out Louds MP3 Album for $5.00 or single songs here or also on itunes here. Thank you for your support!)

jenna's pinkmitzvah

On Saturday, the Bloomers decorated our cute cousin Jenna's bat mitzvah at the Four Seasons Hotel in Yorkville. Jenna loves pink. Pink pink pink everywhere. So...pink and black and silver it was, with polka dots, crystals, giant candy bar and giant balloons...it was a grand success! Congratulations Jenna :)

{our decor photography was done by Craig Morrison...thanks Craig}

Extending the weekend ...

Back tomorrow.

The Last Week Of Summer

Say it ain't so? We are going into the last "unofficial" week of summer as Labor Day Weekend is quickly approaching. Frank here everyone, and mother nature is heating it up as temperatures will stay in the low to mid 90's through Thursday of this week. However, after a storm threat Thursday night get ready for a dry, sunny, and less humid weekend. Your can track your 7-Day forecast here www.fox19.com/weather . With a great weekend forecast on tap, we have to start planning for your Labor Day weekend, and we hope FOX19 is part of your plans. It's almost a unofficial holiday around the Tri-State, with the Cincinnati Bell WEBN Fireworks during Riverfest on Sunday night. Over a half million of your friends and neighbors line both shores of the Ohio Rive to say goodbye to summer. This year the television home of the fireworks comes back to where it all began, Your Home For News...FOX19. Our coverage begins at 8pm with FOX19 Last Blast of Summer. It's a hour long LIVE show from locations up and down the river, hosted by Tricia Macke and Sheila Gray the Last Blast of Summer will feature LIVE reports and a look at what makes the Cincinnati Bell WEBN Fireworks so memorable and successful after all these years. Then it's the big show, at 9:05pm the first shell of over 12,000 shells will launch and you can see the show in HD right here on FOX19. We will wrap it all up with our FOX19 10pm News. So plan on spending Sunday night with FOX19 after you have your hamburgers, hotdogs, ice cream, and of course maybe a game or two of corn hole.

Friday flowers

Textured yellow flowers, from a sweet friend. Perfect for the sunny week.

{yellow}

They are sort of velvety to the touch.

{yellow + raffia}

In completely unrelated news, I have not yet gotten salmonella, despite eating many, many poached eggs over the last few months, some of which were part of the recall.

When I was little, my dad informed me that I would eventually get salmonella if I kept ordering eggs benedict every chance I got. I considered this, seriously. I decided that a lifetime of lightly cooked eggs and hollandaise sauce was worth just about anything. I'm taking my chances. But also buying more small farm eggs.

Eat For A Cause!

We all love a good meal, right?

Good Friday morning, Sara Celi here.

I know I love food, especially good food, and on Sunday there is a chance to try some of Cincinnati's best while helping out the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. A few folks are hosting an Up and Coming Cincinnati Chefs Dinner in Indian Hill, with all the money raised going to this worthy cause. It's a four course meal with beer and wine pairings. And don't let me forget the canapes to start the evening!

You can't beat that, right?

Right now, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is in the middle of it's Finest Young Professionals fundraising push. Basically, a number of nominees are raising money for the foundation and vying for the title of Finest Young Professional. They only have two weeks left for this campaign, which has been going on since June. Each nominee must raise a minimum of $2500 for the foundation. Sunday's event helps out the fundraising of some of the nominees.

Personally, I think this is a great place to throw some support. Cystic Fibrosis is a chronic disease that affects about 30 thousand people in the US. Doctors normally diagnose about 1 thousand new cases each year. Unfortunately, there is no cure and most people live to be about 30 before the illness takes their life.

Tickets for Sunday's dinner are $65, and can be purchased here: http://cfspotlightdinner.eventbrite.com/

Hope to see you there!

Curious Chocolate

This Curious Chocolate packaging by Nineteen Seventy-Three looks rather fun, don't you think?

(via stickers & stuff)

Farmhouse Style Architecture

Today I am inspired by farmhouse style modern houses. I've often loved the idea of restoring or living in a farmhouse or barn that has been modernized. All of these are designed by Vermont based architectural firm Birdseye Design.

gray stained furniture?

I've decided to start with decorating our bedroom! I think it's an important space that goes neglected too long. Right now, our bedroom feels very big and white, so much that I can't really sleep. I might be like my little neice, Sage, who needs to be swaddled in order to sleep. So, I will swaddle myself in colour and decor. We've decided to go with gray walls, a bit darker than normal, to make the room feel a bit smaller. And maybe refinish our furniture in lighter or darker shades of gray for a monochromatic feeling. I've been wondering about staining my bedside tables gray, but there's not much out there on the net that shows me whether this will look good or not. Guess I'll just have to pioneer it and try it out! Here's some inspiration I did find though for gray furniture...

i love the look these wicker chairs from Crate and Barrel. That's the colour I was thinking of for our bedside tables.

wow, gray door. looks neat. maybe I should paint all the doors upstairs grey! {pic from remodelista}

a gray bedside table from cb2...a bit more metallic than I had in mind but we get the idea.

staining our chest of drawers gray might look like this {pic from kioskdesign}...

beautiful gray table {via remodelista}!!

Summer

Yesterday evening the air was warm. The sky was pink. We walked to the store, bare arms dangling.  Home,  we watched the light fade through the jalousie windows.

{jalousies}

We harvested tomatoes flushed from the sun and sliced, ate them on toasted sandwiches, seeds dripping from our fingers, ate them plain with salt. Drank cold beer.

{tomatoes, sliced}

We went to bed early, the fan humming, passing voices drifting in from the street below. Falling asleep slowly, feeling comforted, like tired children with limbs sprawled, listening to the party wind down in the other room.

This is my favorite part of summer.

Local Art 4-Sale in Cool Place

What are you doing Friday night? Hi, it's Meghan:)

Some of you may have heard of ‘Final Friday’ in Over-the-Rhine. As part of the event, this Friday August 27, 2010 from 7-10 p.m there will be a unique artistic experience at Venue 222.

The urban event space will have local art for sale. It'll feature works by some of the artists who work at the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC).

Some might be surprised to learn that the people responsible for putting those CAC shows together are artists in their own right. You'll get to see and buy art from a diverse group of people who work in different media.

This picture is of the show being set up and two of the paintings for sale.