Tag: crabtreecottagebreakfasts

Summer Happenings at the Cottage

[text_box class=”green”] Let the beauty of what you love be what you do. Rumi [/text_box]

I am lucky that I really get to do what I love. I love keeping house! I also love setting the stage for my guests’ arrival, especially repeat guests. I anticipate catching up with them and sharing time together. Planning breakfast menus, tending to my garden and decorating my house fill me with enormous amounts of joy.

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Very special guests! Ken, Sue,David, Stephen, Joan & Alice

One recent group of guests have been coming for 10 years. They have been friends for years and travel together to the Berkshires every June. They are the nicest people you will ever meet. They arrive anticipating catching up with their friends and seeing performances at Jacob’s Pillow and local theatre. They also love to go to tag-sales and thrift/antique shops. By starting their Saturday morning on the tag-sale mission they get to know a lot of back roads and unique areas of the Berkshires. One is a jewelry designer and she crafts beautiful pieces out of reused mechanical parts, odds and ends and creates the most artful pieces I have ever seen. Another couple loves the idea of reusable objects also because of the environmental impact . The other couple goes along for the ride and the company. They love learning about our town and The Berkshires.

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We share our family news and stories. This group even visited our daughter Julia’s show at the Former Gallery in West Stockbridge the day it was ending. Their support of her budding career as an artist touches us deeply.

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This group is very inspiring to me. Authors, Doctors of Philosophy, Professors, Social Workers, a Hospital Administrator and an artist/author. All of these friends are leaders and members of the Ethical Humanist Society of Long Island. I respect and admire each one of them and now I feel I am one of their friends! I feel very fortunate that year after year they choose my little cottage as their home base. Did I mention they all love my dogs? Yes, all of them are animal lovers too! What is not to love ~ fun-loving people who I look forward to as a group and then individually on other occasions.

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[text_box class=”green”] Sing like the birds sing not worryng about who hears or what they think. Rumi [/text_box]

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Alice, another favorite guest, having fun at SPARROW SINGING VINTAGE SHOP, in downtown Lee. — Alice, another favorite guest, having fun trying on hats! SPARROW SINGING VINTAGE SHOP, in downtown Lee. Notice the necklace she designed. This past spring her jewelry was featured in ELLE magazine!

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[text_box class=”green”] Set your life on fire ~ seek those who fan your flames. Rumi [/text_box]

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Sue, another favorite guest picking some flowers from the garden! — Joan and Stephen more of our favorites!

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Kenny another favorite guest of ours! — Kenny another favorite guest sharing a story.

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~ Here are some of the breakfast courses we have been serving lately ~

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orange-scented almond & olive oil muffins #giada de laurentiis

Jeff's famous home-fries — Jeff’s famous home-fries!

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~ Last but not least are some shots of The Crabtree Cottage Garden! (courtesy of Julia Keenan) ~

[text_box class=”green”] Beauty surrounds us, but usually we need to be walking a garden to know it . Rumi [/text_box]

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Alvin the chipmonk wants to be in the blog! — Alvin the chipmunk wants to be in the blog!

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[text_box class=”green”] Why should I be unhappy? Every parcel of my being is in full bloom. Rumi [/text_box]

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I have been enjoying Rumi this summer and wanted to share the wisdom of this 13th-century Persian master with as much relevance today as then. Thank you for coming by my blog today.

#crabtreecottagegarden #janismonachinagardens' #juliakeenandesigns #windowboxes@crabtreecottage crabtreecottagebreakfasts janismonachinadesigns

Food, Flowers & Festivities at Crabtree Cottage

“Summer’s lease hath all to short a date.” William Shakespeare

You know the saying, “August is the Sunday of Summer,” well at Crabtree Cottage we are packing every last minute into this “day” that is for sure. Our guests have been seeing plays, concerts at Tanglewood, and world class dance, at Jacob’s Pillow. In between they tour museums, shops & galleries. Sometimes they leave after breakfast and pack in so much sightseeing that they don’t come back here until after an evening performance. They eat in great restaurants & cafe’s, and take in all the summer Berkshire activities. Some stay for the just the weekend, others for almost a week. We have been trying to keep up with them too! Although we are not on vacation, we often feel like we are as soon as we sit on that Tanglewood lawn, go the Pillow for an Inside Out performance, or eat in one of favorite restaurants that line our Main Street. Come along, I’ll show you what we have been up to here at our summer cottage!

First, we make an amazing breakfast for our guests. We love to add a twist to some of the traditional breakfast favorites.

avocado omelette — mini avocado pesto omelettes with summer squash pancakes (all veggies from our garden)

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caprese scrambled eggs, a side dish with our homegrown tomotoes

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our signature popover ~ a guest favorite. #susanbranch

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summer squash, tomato & cheese frittata, all from our garden!

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One of my very favorite things to do when setting the stage for my guests arrival is to make a floral arrangement from my garden. I think innkeepers / decorators get the most pleasure from setting the stage for their customers & loved ones. This is one simple activity that fills my heart with enormous amounts of joy! From a simple little vase to a grand arrangement for my friends & family.

crocosmia 'lucifer' — crocosmia ‘lucifer’

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We also love to entertain on our back deck on summer nights. Alfresco dining is our very favorite summer experience!

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cold corn soup & quinoa wraps — cold corn soup & quinoa/avocado radicchio wraps served during the heat wave

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My sister eloped in Nantucket! When she came home we had a festive little dinner date here.

we started the night with a toast….simple perfection ~ champagne & tapenade on polenta rounds

The beautiful newlyweds!

A lot of my repeat guests have been asking about our dear, elderly, cat Beau. Beau is an indoor cat now, and spends her days lounging around, taking cat naps. No more front porch greetings for our guests , but you will usually get a glimpse of her if you are here long enough. Especially in the morning before her midday nap. She has taken a liking to my office chair, strange but true. Here is a little snippet of my dear girl purring ~ she doesn’t go out to the garden much anymore, so I bring it to her. She loves catmint & lavender.

Check out this little video of our beautiful Beau.

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Whenever we get the chance we pack a picnic and zoom over to Tanglewood.

avocado & basil pesto is Julia’s favorite so we always take that!

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Lastly, what would a summer post be without a few shots from the garden? Here are some views from the inside looking out.

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No more garden tours are on the calendar but that doesn’t mean summer is officially over. We will still be out and about visiting gardens. The Berkshire Botanical Garden is a must see in all the phases of summer.

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Thank you for coming by my blog today. I hope you had a great summer too.

#crabtreecottagegarden #crabtreecottagewindowboxes crabtreecottagebreakfasts

Janis Monachina

Tag: crabtreecottagebreakfasts

Summer Happenings at the Cottage

Food, Flowers & Festivities at Crabtree Cottage

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