Al Fresco Summer Dinner

I love dining outside in the summer.  This past Sunday I decided to make Andy and I an early Sunday dinner using some of my Farm Fresh to You goodies.  On the menu: Herbed Roasted Fish, Celery Parmesan Salad and a Pluot & Blueberry Crumble.

Farm Fresh to You

Usually an early evening ring of the doorbell means some sort of annoying and way too aggressive solicitor selling something useless that serves no purpose in life (obviously with exception to the adorable cookie selling Girl Scouts... mmmmm Thin Mints).  I'm not quite sure what came over me the other day but I actually answered the door and listened to what the nice, earthy-crunchy type guy had to offer - organic produce from local farms delivered directly to my doorstep!

And since I suck at farming.... Exhibit A

and Exhibit B,  I think it's safe to say that hitting up the local Farmer's Market or even better, having fresh organic produce delivered straight to my front door is a novel idea that will be quite use-FULL in my life.  Enter Farm Fresh To You.

There were no upfront commitments like handing over my credit card # and first born child - just an email address so he could send info on how to sign up for an account.  When I closed the door, I immediately logged on to their website to do some research.  And I liked what I saw!  Each delivery includes the freshest organic produce harvested that week from local farms.  You can choose from a variety of services like delivery frequency, customize which fruits and veggies to exclude from your order and how large or small a delivery you want.  I chose a monthly delivery of their standard fruits and veggie mix.

I kind of feel like I'm on an episode of Chopped!  This is what was delivered right to my doorstep for $31.50.  I think my Whole Foods bill would be at least $50 for all of this good stuff.  A large head of Celery, Cucumber, Romain Lettuce, a bag of Green Beans, a bunch of Grapes, 4 gorgeous Heirloom Tomatoes, 3 Pears, 4 Peppers, 3 Nectarines and 4 of something called a Dapple Dandy Pluot.  I can't wait to make something with those Pluots!

I'll be sure to share the meals and recipes I make using ingredients from this box (this would make a great monthly series for the blog!)

It looks like Farm Fresh To You is offered in Northern and Southern Cali.  I was surprised to see some pretty harsh reviews on Yelp because everything I received was in perfect condition.  Only time will tell if they can deliver the goods (literally).  Do any of you have a similar service like this near you?  Do you think it's worth it?

Come and Knock on our door

We've been waiting for youuuuuuuu....

Slowly but surely (probably more slowly) we keep chipping away at our Summer project list.  Sprucing up the front porch was at the top of the list this season.

I've had my eye on this Pottery Barn envelope mailbox for what seems like foreverrrr and it finally went on sale last month.  And I used a $10 PB gift card they sent because apparently I spend way too much money at their store am such a valued customer.  So my finally tally (including shipping) was $25.  I'm glad I pulled the trigger when I did because this week it's listed back to it's original price.  Strange...

When the new mailbox was delivered, they gave me ANOTHER $10 gift card.  Hey, VP of Marketing, great tactic to drive more sales!  I totally fell for it hook line and sinker and ordered this new welcome mat.

The front door was in some serious need of some lovin'.  Eventually, I'd like to paint it red like the kitchen back door but for now it got a good lemon pledge dusting and a cute boxwood wreath that I hung with some burlap ribbon.

I'm not quite sure what the name of this flowering plant is but I love the pop of red and it's handling the afternoon sun quite well... when I remember to water it!

Linking up with these fab blogs...
The Shabby Creek Cottage * The 36th Avenue * House of Hepworths