Porch Snacks!

...and prioritizing time outdoors to maximize creativity

our old cabin deck in the redwoods, where all my books were created

Hi, friends—

Lately, perhaps because I know cold weather is around the corner, I’ve been trying to spend as much time outdoors as possible. I feel pulled to the lake and the park… and at home, the porch. As a child on the orchard I spent so much time outside. I think the proximity to trees and plants really had an impact— not only on my well being, but on my creativity.

When we left New York City, the contrast of suddenly living in California at the cabin was profound. Our living room shifted outside to the deck. I began cooking and photographing everything outside, surrounded by trees and birds. Even indoors you almost felt like you were outdoors because of all the windows (my favorite kind of homes). I truly think those redwood trees had a significant part to play in the creative reawakening that helped me dream up The Forest Feast. Nature continues to be my muse.

This week I am working on a new pattern to print on fabric and upholster my dining room chairs in. All of these items were picked in our little city yard and garden, and topped with watercolor. Can’t you see this printed on a seat?

Now in a new city, I keep trying to get back to that. Madison has amazing access to nature but it’s also important for me to bring that feeling home. In the past year we have done two DIY projects that have really increased the amount of time our family spends outdoors while at home: building a lot of comfortable seating on the front porch, and putting in two garden beds.

This week I finished the new book by Frieda Gormley, In the Company of Nature, and I loved it. Memoirs are always my favorite and I can’t enough of founder stories (especially from creative businesses) so this book really hit a sweet spot for me. Frieda created a design brand I have long admired, House of Hackney. I dream of adding some of their wall paper to bring more nature into our home (can’t decide between this one and this one!). It’s an extraordinary story about what business could look like if we prioritized Mother Nature and the Future Generation — and she’s doing it in the boldest, most successful way, with the deepest of compassion for both people and planet. So inspiring!

How gorgeous is this Foris Magna wallpaper (in Tourmaline) by House of Hackney?!

Frieda builds time in Nature into the work week of all her employees and talks about how she actually spends much of her own workday sitting outdoors, even bundling up when necessary. What if we all did this?

We planted 2 seeds in June and at this point it just feels like magic! Sidewalk pumpkins gone wild :)

Back in our little front yard garden, our first pumpkin turned orange this week. But school doesn’t start until September here, so I’m holding on tight to these final weeks of summer. I want to squeeze in as many front porch hangs as possible from now until Halloween—so if you feel the same, I have some easy snacks for you to serve below.

A little color goes a long way. Most of my pillows are from H&M Home (and I did make a couple custom watercolor ones). And here’s a similar tablecloth.

Happy Hour Snacks

This week I made a couple easy apps that took less than 10 minutes:

• Endive cups with a dollop of store-bought onion dip, topped with a few pomegranate seeds

• Deviled eggs (bought them hard-boiled) - yolks mixed with just mayo + dijon, topped with chili crunch, salt and pepper.

  • Cucumbers (from our garden) in the middle of each plate for something fresh and crunchy! Served alongside cheese and crackers and I used my appetizer-sized Forest Feast party plates

A few more ideas from my cookbooks:

Stuffed Dates—>

p. 207 in The Forest Feast

Peanut Butter Coconut Balls—>

p. 207 in The Forest Feast

Cucumber Caprese Bites—>

p. 125 in The Forest Feast Gatherings

Cheers to outdoor dining and beyond,

xx

Erin

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