Author: Cara St.Hilaire

out with the old and in with the new

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I’ve missed this blog so much and I apologize for not saying hi.  There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think to myself, “I have to write about that,” or “That would make a great blog post.”  However, the last few months really put me in a state of survival.  When life is like that, for me, the things that bring joy tend to get buried under an oppressive pile of things that need happen just to stay afloat. When life gets THAT crazy, I forget to be thankful and I instead start to feel really bitter.  I don’t sleep enough.  I snap at my poor husband.  I don’t free up any time for joy. Until something happens–or a series of things happen–that turns it all around and reminds me just how much I have to be thankful for. Like Anderson randomly blurting out the word “happy” for the first time really loudly at Thanksgiving dinner, nearly making me cry.  My husband reminding me that he gets frustrated, too, with various life …

Get Your Rear In Gear 5K!

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Hello.  I haven’t been able to post in a while.  I can’t even express the intensity of this past month.  I was sick twice with a throat infection and mono, though I didn’t know I had mono until the infection showed up on a test as “past.”  My child was sick.  Worst of all, my sweet mom just landed herself a spot in the ICU last week, though she’s now much improved.  There are no words. In all of the craziness, I realized that the 5K I signed up for months ago to benefit Colon Cancer is NEXT WEEK!  I haven’t been for a run in ages, so I’m not as prepped as I’d like to be, but I’ll run it, darnit!  I will! I need your help!  Colon cancer doesn’t have the funding that many other illnesses and cancers have.  I’d really like to raise a nice chunk of change to help with research, prevention, and care for patients.  Even if you have $5, will you sponsor my run?  It is for such a …

small batch refrigerator pickles

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Cucumber season is coming to an end but I’m still getting one every few days.  I used my last batch a few weeks ago to make  jars of refrigerator pickles.  Refrigerator pickles are regular pickles, only they aren’t processed in a water bath.  The difference is that the shelf life is 3 months instead of 12 months. I really wanted to create pickles like my favorite brand – Woodstock.  They are garlicky and zippy.  My recipe isn’t exactly like Woodstock farms, but they had a nice bite to them! Refrigerator pickles 3 pint mason jars 6 minced garlic cloves 5-7 pickling cucumbers 2 1/2  tablespoons of pickling salt* 1/2 cup white vinegar 1 tsp peppercorns 6 dill heads 3 tsp dill seed 3 1/2 cups of filtered or bottled water **I couldn’t find “pickling salt” so I found really fine sea salt without anti-caking ingredients. Divide the minced garlic, sliced cucumbers, dill seed, and peppercorns up evenly and place in each clean mason jar. Boil the water, salt, and vinegar until all of the salt …

Ten on Ten September 2013

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September is so beautiful.  Between the garden, Anderson, and Grammy C being at our house, finding photo inspiration for Ten on Ten was really easy this month.  For more information on Ten on Ten, visit: a bit of sunshine. Speaking of photo-related things, I’m extremely excited to be starting Picture Everyday with Tracey Clark at Big Picture Classes.  There is still time to register!  The first prompt isn’t until Monday.  I’ll share a bit about it after the class ends in 8 weeks. Also, if you are feeling crafty, stop by photography.com to read a recent post I wrote on making sunprints.  Trust me, they are an inexpensive, quick, and rewarding project.  Plus they look darn cool on your wall.  These are made from herbs in my herb garden (dill, rosemary, thyme, and chives). On to Ten on Ten!  I wasn’t able to perfectly time these to take a picture each hour for ten hours because of that whole “job” thing, but they are scattered throughout the day. Happy September!  September, to me, means harvest. …

backyard grape jelly

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About four years ago, a friend gave me a grapevine.  It didn’t even sprout a grape for years, but it kept sprawling down the fence along our driveway.  Last year, we finally had grapes and I was so excited! They were beautiful!  I kept waiting for them to ripen just enough to pick.  One day, I went outside and noticed that every last grape was gone.  Someone had a feast. This year, I beat out whatever furry or feathery animal got them all last year.  I went out with the biggest metal bowl I could find and started harvesting the grapes during Anderson’s nap time.  The bowl quickly filled.  I grabbed my largest colander and filled that.  Then, I yelled to Chris to grab me another bowl and filled that too.  I couldn’t believe how many grapes came from one plant. Hello, jelly. It took hours to sort through all of the grapes, ditching the completely green ones and the ones that were already dried up and shriveled as well as pulling every single grape …

blackberry lemon coffee cake (and my first ferry ride)

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I’m writing this recipe out for you while aboard a ferry, which is a first for me (though I won’t actually be able to publish until later because I have no wifi).  I’ve never actually driven my car onto a ferry before and I must say, this is the way to travel.    It is beautiful and really calm, plus you don’t have to sit by sweaty people, snoring people, or loud cell phone people.   Here’s an “I’m on my first ferry ride” shot. Also, a few snaps during the ride.  By the way, I used my dear friend’s camera (thanks, Marisa!) which happens to be a Canon.  My camera is a Nikon.  Read below to see why I might have felt a little weird carrying a Nikon camera around.  Anyway, it is always fun trying a new camera out. I’m headed to Long Island from Connecticut for my first trip at my not-so-new-anymore job as an invited media guest at Canon HQ.  I’m quite excited, I must say.  I’d be more excited if …

Ten on Ten August 2013

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The 10th of the month hasn’t been cooperative the last few months, so what a joy when the 10th of August happened to fall on a day when Anderson and I decided to hop in the car to meet Grammy and Papa in Ogunquit, ME.  Ogunquit has so many good memories for us.  The first real “weekend away” for Chris and I happened to be in Ogunquit eight years ago.  It is a beautiful place with the Marginal Way walk and Perkins Cove and the BEST coffee shop on the planet.  Where else on earth can you have a really great cup of coffee while sitting on the beach? So, here is our little day in Ogunquit on the 10th of August. For more information about Ten on Ten, visit my inaugural Ten on Ten post or the creator of Ten on Ten, Rebekah Gough. It was a good day. Related articles Traveling to Ogunquit, Maine (livinglifejoyfully.wordpress.com) The Leaning Tree in Ogunquit, Maine (iseebeautyallaround.com)

words

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How is it possible that this little being… now says stuff?  Like, real words?  When did he go from baby to little boy? I’m siiicckkk.  Bleh.  I have a terrible summer cold and battled a wretched fever last night that had me wishing for death.  I’ve been cranky and unbearable.  My poor husband hid from me yesterday.  I couldn’t even stand myself.  Then, today, my baby boy kept yelling for bubbles, which pulled me out of my misery.  Not just bubbo.  He accentuated the s at the end.  Let me tell you, I blew as many bubbleS as I could. Here is a self-indulgent post for you:  a list of the words that are coming out of his little teething mouth everyday–because I don’t want to forget this stage of complete wonder.  We can see his wheels turning constantly as he tries something new and as he figures things out.  He is a daring one, this child, and oh so curious.  He doesn’t understand what embarrassment is yet.  He shamelessly gets excited when he is …

how does our garden grow?

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There are spots of our little yard that are totally overgrown.  I have a forsythia and a blackberry bush ready to take over one side of my house and a grapevine that blows my mind whenever I pull in my driveway.  How can one vine coming up out of the ground take up 15-20 feet of fence?   I love looking at it!  There are also spots that are loaded with weeds that I just can’t get to right now and I’ve found peace with it for now.  That said, I’m pretty proud of what we do have growing and that things are in relatively decent shape.  I’ll never know how Chris and I fit so much into one little yard. I had the opportunity to borrow a lens (Nikon 50mm f/1.8 prime) and play with it a bit.  It isn’t a macro lens, but I couldn’t resist running around my yard to capture botanical details and the beautiful bokeh (blurred background) that happens with an aperture of 1.8.  All photos in this post were …

Real Simple epiphany

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Oh Facebook.  I love you and I hate you. I love you because you allow me to see pictures of my friends and their kids and their goofy pet snapshots.  I love you because I am able to keep in touch with cousins that I don’t often see.  I love you because I get to see photos of my adorable nephews that live far away.  I love you because I get to share photos of my child, who in my eyes is the most beautiful child that ever was, with family and friends that aren’t able to see him grow up in real life.  I love you because I get to find out about events that I otherwise wouldn’t have known about or even learn about interesting current events. But, I dislike you more than I like you.  I don’t like that I have to see upsetting pictures and posts from people that have no filter.  I don’t like that general etiquette has flown the coop.  I don’t like how it has changed how we …