The Domestic Nest Blog

Neither Matt nor I grew up in a place with much Latino influence. As transplants here in San Diego, we are exposed to many Latin-American traditions. Dia de los Muertos is the Latin equivalent of All Souls’ Day, when the souls of the dead get their annual opportunity to walk the Earth and visit the living. Maybe morbid, definitely compelling.

On Sunday, we attended a ‘Dia’ festival at the Oceanside Mission. Wow. The energy was intense. We experienced an intoxicating melange of melancholy, joy, reflection, and celebration. The vibrant colors along with the smells of incense, marigolds, and tamales conjoined to create a somewhat surreal, memorable event that I predict will become a tradition for us too.

The Mission lent it’s revert atmosphere and seemed an appropriate place to memorialize and celebrate loved ones passed. The above courtyard was lined with ofrendas, or altars in honor of the dead. Each altar was filled with sugar skulls, special bread, marigolds, and the favorite hobbies, foods and beverages of those honored.

Here’s the offering we made to our loved ones. We sat with friends and told stories about our amigos and relatives. If their souls passed through for the day, I hope they enjoyed the company as we celebrated the memories and love they’ve left with us.

What joy to receive a surprise in the snail mail box! The excitement of opening an unexpected present is like winning a little jackpot. No matter what’s inside, you know someone has thought of you & gone out of their way to make sure you know you’re loved.

We got a box from Mrs. B this week (she was the winner of our August banner giveaway.) Apparently, she’d noticed our post regarding cherry pitting and thought we could use something more advanced than a paper clip to pit our cherries.

Well, the pitters she sent us are AWESOME! Thanks Mrs. B!!!

I was so inspired by her thoughtfulness & generosity, that I decided to send out a few care packages to pay it forward this weekend.

My sister is in the process of nesting in New York City and is
experiencing her first fall in the big city. So, I thought I’d send her some of my favorite things.

Everyone needs a Klean Kanteen. It reigns supreme over all the other water bottles. Never leaks. Perfect size. No dangerous chemicals.

I made a recycled cashmere cozy for my sister’s kanteen. (How-to coming soon) These little cozies are perfect for keeping your bottle from sweating all over the things in your bag.

I also filled her care package with some things to keep her warm on chilly north-east days and of course, something yummy to eat.

Hopefully she enjoys opening the package! Putting it to together was just as exciting as receiving one. The convenience of on-line communication makes it easy to forget just how meaningful a tangible token of affection can be.

Ash, there’s a box full of love and cheer headed your way!

Sorry, Harley. You’re staying home with us.

I wish this was a scratch and sniff blog!

If you’ve ever been to Julian, then you’ve experienced the smell of warm apple pie filling the car as soon as you pass the welcome sign. We spent the day in Julian today and immediately ate the piece of pie we had planned to be our reward at the end of the hike. Well, from now on, I will anticipate the pre-hike piece of pie, because the smell is just too enticing. No amount of self control can hold you back.

It’s not been the best year for apples, so we joined Matt’s parents for pear picking  at O’Dell’s Organic Orchard.

bosc

matt's mom

For only $10 a bag, you can pick your own pears and eat as many as you like while you’re there. I about ate my weight in delicious, perfectly ripe pears. The whole ride home, I brainstormed what to do with our big ol’ bags of yummy fruit. Pear crisp? Pear preserves? I’m leaning towards poaching.

Harley’s eye is all better (he says “thanks,” to those who asked for an update), so he joined us for pear picking and hiking. I think he’s a city dog, he seemed to only tolerate the outdoor activities.

After we left O’Dell’s, we headed to a tiny market to pick up local produce. The smells and colors of Fall were so vibrant. Despite our heat spell, we got a taste of Autumn.

Hiking at the source of the San Diego river valley was gorgeous! We started at the Inaja Memorial and found many trails of various lengths and difficulty levels. It’s a recommended spot if you’re in San Diego & looking for a unique hike.

welcome fall time!

And the winner is…

Result: 1 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

I know random.org is truly random. I still think, for some reason, that number 1 is somehow always less likely to be chosen. That doesn’t make any sense, of course. Because #1 (Nancy Baloglu) is the winner today!

Thanks to everyone who commented and to those of you who have read our blog or contributed. Our September giveaway is coming up soon!

Peace & Hope,

summer & matt

snap, pop, glug, ahh.

It’s been hot as the dickens here in San Diego (even for a VA girl.) Luckily, we have these Cokes and plenty of ice cream left over from our neighborhood shindig.

Drinking Coke from glass bottles makes me feel really American and kind of old fashioned hep. It also makes me feel a little jittery from the caffeine. And a little guilty for all the sugar & sodium. But on a smokin’ hot afternoon, golly jeepers, ice cold soda just hits the spot.

When these are gone (that won’t be long from now at the rate we’re going) I’m gonna find this picture and imagine my core temperature decreasing. Or maybe my cool cat, Matt, will burn rubber to get his dolly some needed refreshment. Aw, shucks.

Coming Soon!

We are thrilled to be getting our latest endeavor off the ground. The Domestic Nest is coming soon!