Autumn Color Week :: Orange

I love the color orange. Next to green, brown and white, I may say it's even a favorite color of mine. But I'm learning through photography that I like it much better as an accent color rather than the main even. Each time I look at a picture of our living room, which walls are a naturally orange toned knotted wood, it just feels like too much orange for my taste.

I've been thinking a lot about this lately as winter approaches. I'm anticipating the amount of time I'll be spending indoors with Burl and I'm really feeling like I need a brighter change in our home before the start of winter. There's been a lot of discussion between me and Alex as to whitewash over the wood walls or not. He thinks it'd be a shame to strip them of their natural color, and in some respects I do as well. But one has to feel comfortable in their own home, right? And a brighter, more neutral palate would make me feel so much more comfortable. Would it make Alex feel less comfortable though? I really don't think so. He's a stubborn one, that husband of mine, and has a hard time seeing my vision. But as hard as it is for him, he always, always admits to me when I'm right. And I think with this one I'm right.

Here are some examples of the look I'm after. Of course my home is much, much smaller, but you get the idea. Much better than all orange, don't you think?

Autumn Color Week :: Green

Here's a recipe and a little green for you on this rainy (at least here in Seattle) Tuesday.

Jalapeno Pesto:

2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons pine nuts
2 cups cilantro
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup olive oil
2 chopped green onions
1 jalapenos
2 cups parsley
the juice from 1 lemon

Puree all together. I originally used this as a dipping sauce for crab cakes back in the when I still ate fish. Now I use it on rice, pasta, or as a dip for a variety of dishes.

Enjoy!

Autumn Color Week :: Yellow

These are two slightly-varying varieties of Asian pears from the trees in my parent's yard. My mom and I are planning on canning them later this week or next. I've been doing a lot of food preservation this year, but until now have been avoiding doing any canning. My freezer is full and I've done dehydrating, so it's time now for some canning.

With many of my Flickr friends, I'm playing along with Poppytalk's Autumn Colour Week. Play along with us! Or at least visit the Flickr pool for some beautiful fall inspiration.

My Birthday Hat

My friend Georgia gave me some beautiful handspun yarn for my birthday back in July. Here's what I created with it. I originally made this hat, but it was way too big on my head . So I re-knitted this simple little hat. This may just be one of my favorite knitted projects yet. It was super simple, I didn't really follow a pattern, and I was able to customize it to my small head. And the chunky yarn with big fat needles made the project go so fast. I finished this hat in only an hour or two, and I only used half of the skein. You gotta love bulky yarn just for that reason, such quick and satisfying results.