It’s been quite a while since we’ve been in my kitchen (or that I’ve posted). With the wedding planning and the wedding itself, I needed some time to rest up from the weekend of festivities. We’ve also been busy catching up on all the projects around the house that I let slide for the past few months…ok, possibly I’ve let a lot of things slide for the past year. There’s plenty that I’ve got to do both inside and outside the house. Unfortunately, we’ve had a lot of wood rot on the trim as well as an infestation of carpenter bees who decided to drill nests inside our trim board. Once the bees moved in, a very determined woodpecker started hammering away at the bee larvae so that made for quite a mess.
I’ll ease back into posting now that the wedding is over, our heat wave is finished, and we’re heading into more comfortable cooking weather. I will be posting a photo blog of the wedding and reception – it was absolutely the best day. I’ve been waiting to post the official wedding photos though since I consider them to be Niki and Tim’s story to tell and share first and I didn’t want to jump the gun – so those will be coming up in the next blog.
For now though I do have a few things to share in my kitchen.
My favorite – a beautiful tablecloth and napkins that Niki and Tim bought for us in Greece on their honeymoon. I love the linen fabric and the design.
I’m sure any of you who follow our IMK Hostess, Celia at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial have noticed how much she loves her Romertopf cookware. Looking at prices starting at $50 and going up from there, I’ve been debating on whether or not I’d use one enough to invest in one. My decision was made for me when I found this at the church fair. Are you ready for how much I spent on this (Celia?)?
$1.00 – yes, ONE DOLLAR! I figure even if I never use it during the coming year I can always donate it back to the church next year.
My final In My Kitchen (actually it’s more of a ‘Wherever Diane Goes’) are these…again, sigh…
They’re still nice and shiny from my hip surgery and came in handy when I slipped on an oil spill in the garage and sprained my ankle. At least they were in the basement where I could easily grab them and get myself upstairs to wait for my husband to come home for a ride to the emergency room. It’s not a bad sprain though and is already feeling pretty good – not ready for dancing yet, but soon.
As always, thank you to Celia for hosting the IMK monthly blogs. She does a fantastic job keeping us all connected. Be sure to stop by and say hi to her at http://figjamandlimecordial.com/2015/10/01/in-my-kitchen-october-2015/
Photographs and recipes 
Well, the first part of your post was good. So sorry you sprained your ankle. Praying that you’re back to dancing really soon.
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Sprained ankles aren’t a whole lot of fun but at least I didn’t do it just before the wedding!
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Ohhh Diane you poor thing! My goodness, you are not having good luck with all of your bones, joints and ligaments. Dang Girl, how much longer on crutches? I hope have it on ice and sitting feet up with a glass of your favorite wine. You sure need it. Virtual hug my friend!
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Thank you my dear & yes, the foot’s being elevated. If I use the ankle wrap I’m already doing without the crutches. Now that ice – it goes in the wine right?
Unfortunately all my parts are getting old. My daughter and I were laughing about how it wouldn’t be worthwhile for me to be an organ donor – nobody wants parts that are THAT used!
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Ice is for your wine, most definitely…where else would you put it??? I always say, ” Its not the age, its the mileage.” LOL take care of yourself…
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Beautiful table linen. Not so beautiful crutches (even if they are shiny!). I hope you’ll soon be dancing.
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Thanks Anne. I really want to use the table linen but we are such slobs that it’s going to take me a while to work up the nerve to use it. At least I’m getting good use out of the crutches.
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I absolutely adore your tablecloth and napkins and I am wondering if you should have negotiated that $1 for your Romertopf – 😀
I am so very sorry to hear about your ankle. I do hope you are off the crutches soon.
Have a wonderful and happy day and I cannot wait to see all the wedding photos.
🙂 Mandy xo
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Thanks Mandy – I really wasn’t expecting any gifts from Greece so it was a nice surprise that they were thinking of me.
Can you believe that I actually debating buying that Romertopf? My husband finally said – it’s a dollar! Bring it back next year if you don’t use it.
Wedding photos coming up soon!
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Beautiful napery!
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Thank you – the thing that I love about linen is how it softens after washing and just keeps getting better & better.
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Diane! Ouch, I feel your pain. Glad to hear it is not too bad. You should use your Romertopf, I do and can vouch for it. They are fab.
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Wait, do I remember this happening to you not that long ago Glenda? The nice thing about the crutches is that you really work up some nice arm muscles.
I’ve got to give that Romertopf a test drive soon. It’s getting to be that kind of weather for a nice savory roast.
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So sad to hear about your ankle. Take care!
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Thank you so much & I’m on the mend already. I was lucky that this really wasn’t such a bad sprain & it’s a lot better than having the hip replaced, that’s for sure!
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Hip replace… That sounds horrible😳We all need to be more careful! Take care, Diane! Hugs!
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I think you will find that the $1 was very well spent! Looking forward to reading what you cook in it (and wedding pictures). Hope you are healing rapidly, sometimes I bemoan that it seems like one thing after another. I see Drs far too often as I get older.
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I’m debating whether to do a chicken or a pork roast for the inaugural cookouts. From listening to Celia & Glenda, I don’t think I can go wrong with either.
I’m really surprised at how fast I’m bouncing back from this sprain – it’s not my first but I think it’s probably the least of them. Still, it’s no fun hauling yourself around on crutches. I know what you mean about seeing Drs too often. If I were a car, I think I would have received a recall notice.
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Diane, I know you needed a lil’ “down time” to recuperate from the wedding festivities, but… 🙂 SO sorry to hear about your sprain, but glad to hear you’re on the mend, xo. How did you fare with the hurricane out there? (Like you needed one more thing to contend with…) Your table cloth and napkins are DIVINE. Olives? Swoon. Be brave, girl — USE them! Loved your “wedding vase” on the table, too. Looking forward to your photos!
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Kim, you win the comment of the day, that’s a good one! We got very lucky with the hurricane and it blew out to sea without hitting us. Just some crummy weather for a while but now it’s beautiful.
And that was a great catch on picking up on the wedding vase. You’ve got good eyes.
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Wow, two of us on crutches for the month’s IMK post, and both Diane (ok, my nickname is Dee). Here’s wishing you a quick return to full mobility and a season of fun adventures and plenty of dancing in the kitchen. The Greek olive linens are beautiful, all the more so for the story that accompanies.
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That is quite a coincidence but I do have to admit that I end up on crutches a lot lately. Looks like you’re getting around your kitchen now from what I read & I’m motoring in mine now too.
I just love the linens from Greece, especially since they’ll always remind me of such a fantastic wedding day.
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Lovely table linens. What a lovely way to celebrate Greece.
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Thank you Jennifer, I do love them too and will have to think of a nice Greek dinner to make for my daughter & son-in-law. Time to start looking through everyone’s blogs for something interesting.
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that is a great price for the romertop! i must say i haven’t used mine in years. sorry to hear about your ankle!
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I certainly can’t complain about the price on that Romertopf and it’s the perfect season now for us to start cooking up some roasts. I’ll need to go through all of Celia’s ideas for what to put in mine.
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Great to ‘hear from you’ again. I, too, hadn’t posted in a while & just starting posting (and checking up on blogs I follow) the other day. I’m looking forward to photos of the wedding and I hope your ankle is well again. (I keep meaning to to an ‘In My Kitchen’ post… I’ll have to write myself a reminder note..)
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Sometimes you need to take a break from the blogging. I know I just couldn’t focus enough attention on mine with the wedding plans to make it my best effort and try to post when I feel I’ve got something to say. It’s funny how time slips away though.
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I hear ya!! Planning a wedding now-a-days is like a job!! I’m sure it was a fabulous wedding!!!!
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What a beautiful tablecloth!
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I’ve been looking at a Romertopf every since Celia brought the qualities of the dish to my knowledge…Yes, someday! Sorry to hear you are back on crutches. Hope it won’t be a long stretch with them!
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Believe me, I debated since I saw Celia’s first post but then I took a look at the prices. When I saw this for a dollar though, how could I not grab it. The only thing holding me back was that I’m trying very hard to get rid of things so I’ve tried to make a rule that for every new thing I bring in the house, I have to bring something down to the shed at our landfill – it’s great because you just leave good, slightly used things for people to take rather than just throw them away.
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Sure have missed you!! Glad you are OK from the “oil spill”….hope the healing is going well. It’s been a while since I’ve blogged, or for that matter even checked on other’s blogs…hoping the cool weather now will get us back in the kitchen to actually “cook”! Imagine that, right?!?!
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sUsan, we had just a hot sticky spell here that I just couldn’t stand the thought of cooking anything. A few easy things on the BBQ but that was it. Now with the fall weather I’m getting more of an appetite and feel like cooking again…yes, that’s the plan.
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Crazy that there was snow in the NE this past weekend…way toooo early for that nonsense!
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Good to have you back, even if it was with crutches in hand. Hope your ankle is healed now and that perhaps you have even had a chance to use your lovely table linens.
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Karen, you won’t believe this but yes, I’m off the crutches which is a good thing because yesterday I was trying to get a package from Crate and Barrel open with scissors yesterday and slashed TOWARD myself. Ended up stabbing myself in the web of my hand and cutting across the bottom knuckle on my thumb. Back to the ER for stitches so it really wouldn’t have worked out trying to do crutches with your hand stitched up (and yes, that’s happened to me before after foot surgery when I slashed my thumb on the top of a can).
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I hope you’re well and truly mended now, Diane! And as you pointed out, my friend Mary had the exact same tablecloth on her table when we went to dinner at her house. It’s stunning! Great bargain on the Romertopf! I noticed the ones they sell in the US aren’t (or weren’t, I think they are now) glazed, so you might find cleaning up a bit trickier. Still at that price, it’s hard to argue! 🙂
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Hmm, I didn’t realize that about the glazing. It’s hard for me to tell but it looks like it might be on the inside. I wonder if spraying something like Pam would do the trick. I thought you’d like my bargain on it Celia!
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Di, you can line it with paper and bake bread in it, it results in a lovely soft sandwich loaf. Remember to soak it first and put it into a cold oven!
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Oh Celia, that’s a great idea & boy! Thank you for reminding me about putting it in a cold oven – that might have been a problem…good catch.
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