I experienced such an act just this last week. Lulu and I were out for our morning walk in our lovely hometown of Old Town, Alexandria, and it was an absolutely beautiful morning. We were strolling one of our favorite streets in town, basking in the cooler summer temperatures not often enjoyed in Northern Virginia amidst the often sweltering and sticky late July days. As we made our way down a city block I paused to admire a home's beautiful front flower garden. While enjoying the beautiful colors and various textures something caught my eye, and I was completely taken aback by this simple message.

In case you can't read the sign in the photo, the words "Pick a bouquet for you and a friend" were etched on a casual slate sign. Conveniently placed next to the message hung a pair or scissors to complete the suggested act.

Maybe it's my too many years in the city where I've witnessed my own or a neighbor's flower garden being ransacked by thieves or flattened into pancake status by an inconsiderate garbage truck, or the threat of surveillance monitoring and legal action against "bloom cutters" I've seen posted near some gardens (no joke), but never have I seen a beautiful cutting garden being willingly (and generously) offered up in such a thoughtful and touching manner.

I stood, feet firmly planted to the ground, for what felt like minutes, and pondering the internal debate of whether or not I should follow the instructions printed in front of me. Was it genuine kindness, or would I touch the scissors and be snapped up in a capture net as part of a horticulture sting operation meant to apprehend the Old Town Bloom Thief of 2013? After a few moments of indecision, I decided that I would take the kindness at face value and help myself to a small bouquet.

Lulu's huge smile is an indication of a fraction of the happiness this experience brought me. It sounds clichéd, but it truly made my day...and then some. I was so happy that I literally bounced home with flowers in hand, and i couldn't wait to share my find with Alex. Just add this little gesture as one more of the already lengthly list of reasons why I think Old Town Alexandria is one of the best places on earth.

To the owner of this garden, I thank you from the bottom of my swelled heart. Your thoughtfulness, generosity, and kindness is noted and appreciated.

Do you have any place or people near your home where their generosity brings a smile to your face. Have you ever experienced a time when you've been caught a little off guard by someone's willingness to give a little something extra, even if not prompted? As you can probably see, this person's garden generosity had its intended effect on me.

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One such building is the small ice house located on the corners of Payne St. and Commerce St. As the name indicates and the brick lettering on the building's facade reinforces, this small structure was built in 1931 acted as one of the neighborhood ice houses for Old Town before in-home ice makers and freezers became commonplace. 

We've been keeping our eye on this neighborhood diamond in the rough for some time, just waiting for something to happen. Years ago it had fallen into disrepair, as seen in this photo from 2006.

Photo Credit: MarieMcC of Alexandria Daily Photo

Shortly after that photo was taken we heard that someone purchased the lot and ice house building, but shortly after beginning his renovations, he was shut down when he began work on exterior alterations before obtaining the necessary Board of Architectural Review approval.

Photo Credit: MarieMcC of Alexandria Daily Photo

After the owner ran afoul of the various permit/approval laws, the building sat vacant for some time. But a few weeks ago, after this long period of dormancy, we read that the ice house is planning to open soon as a neighborhood gelato bar and cafe.

It may be hard to dream about gelato in mid February (ok, maybe not that hard), but we did some anticipatory research. The plans call for limited indoor seating for around 12 with the option for up to 30 outdoor patrons arranged at dining tables in the "front yard" of the building.

We've long thought this would be a perfect neighborhood gathering spot for a relaxing night out, and we're thrilled that it seems like plans are underway to make this a reality. In my opinion, you really can't go wrong with gelato. I may not be a coffee drinker, but you'd better believe I'll make up for it with my gelato consumption.

We'll keep you updated with periodic progress details and photos as we approach the grand opening later this year (hopefully).

Do you have a neighborhood hot spot or hangout that you'd be lost without? Or maybe a location just begging for a little TLC and the right shop or eatery to open. Share your hood's favorites, we'd love to hear about it.

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The final "thing" we want to mention that helps to make us feel so comfortable in Old Town, what make us enjoy and appreciate living here, and that reminds us of the atmosphere that we love so much in Napa Valley isn't a new store, restaurant, or event in Old Town at all. Actually, it is one of the oldest happenings Old Town has to offer, and is actually considered the oldest in the entire country. I'm talking about Old Town's weekly Saturday farmers' market, situated in front of City Hall on Alexandria's Market Square.

In operation since 1753, Market Square is recognized as the oldest continually run marketplace in the United States. Each week it is packed with locals and some tourists who are out shopping or just out for a relaxing Saturday morning stroll. You can find fresh produce, flowers, plants, baked goods, handmade crafts, paintings and portraits, fresh soft cheese, pasta, and on and on. Every week you see the regular merchants as well as new arrivals or seasonal participants. And best of all, it's all about a five minute walk from our house!

For me, one of my favorite aspects of summer is enjoying the fresh produce the season brings, but my enjoyment of the farmer's market isn't limited to the summer. In the fall, the pumpkins arrive, the spring brings plants, and you can always count on seasonal fruits and vegetables from local farmers any time of the year. During the winter, the crowds and vendors do thin out a bit, but the market goes on almost every weekend of the year.

Alex likes to go just to stroll around and "see what he sees." It's one of his many "middle aged grandpa" traits. Lulu likes to go because dogs aren't allowed up on the square around all of the food, so all of the dogs hang out on the perimeter. She takes this opportunity to meet up with her various old and new friends. There are usually at least two dozen dogs around every weekend.

And if I strike out on produce for any given week, there is always some great looking baked goods I can pick up.

And if baked goods fail, I always fall back on my absolute favorite, fresh flowers for the house.

As I mentioned, if you're looking for art, there are usually a few of Old Town's various local artists at a few stations on the square.

And Alex's favorite place is the dairy booth where he can get some fresh ricotta that he's been known to use when making his from-scratch ricotta gnocchi.

It may not be bursting at the seams with the most delicious heirloom tomatoes you've ever laid your eyes on like the market's we've seen in the California wine country, but that's a tall order to live up to. I'd say our little farmers' market does quite well, and gives us that taste of Napa Valley that we love so much.

If you are in or around the D.C. or Alexandria area on any given Saturday, and especially on a Saturday with good weather in the spring, summer, or fall, you should try to swing by the Old Town Farmers' Market. It runs from 5:30am-10:30am ish every week. We hope we'll run into you there.

Do you have any great farmer's markets around your neighborhood? Maybe you have a couple of good ones? If so, and especially if you have some that you think we should absolutely check out, let us know.

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Update: Now that the episode has aired, here's the video proof of our horrible television personas. Enjoy and be kind.

Well, maybe I should back up for a second because I say the crew "popped over," as if their visit was unannounced. It was a little more formal than that. Last month I received an email from Amy Rutherford, owner of Old Town's Red Barn Mercantile, with information on a local casting call for DIYers. When reading it, she thought Alex and I would be perfect for it, and was kind enough to send it my way. We quickly jumped at the chance and sent in an application, which included a short write up on our projects and mad skeells, as well as several before, during and after photos of our home. Well, wouldn't you know it, but a mere two days later we heard back from the show only to learn that they loved our house and were interested in featuring us. Woo hoo!

If you're not familiar with the show, I Want That is a show that used to air on HGTV, and was recently picked up by the DIY Network. Each episode features several new/innovative home products, and features homeowners and DIYers installing them, trying them out, and providing an on camera review. 

Unfortunately we can't discuss the products reviewed at our house until the show airs in late fall (November/December), but they were indoor and outdoor items, and had a good broad appeal to just about anyone.

After two nights of manic cleaning, frantic grocery shopping, and the obligatory "stash-n-hide" technique of throwing all of our excess clutter and dog paraphernalia in the basement, we had whipped our house into shape and finished up all of the cleaning before anyone arrived.

A crew of four arrived bright and early yesterday morning to start identifying locations in the house to shoot. They settled on the backyard (looking at the house) for the first segment, the office and guest bedroom for the second segment, and finally the backyard (looking away from the house) for the third party segment.

Since this show is very much about the home tech and cool/new products that will be featured on the show, and the fact that the products are often great for the DIYer of any level, the house becomes a backdrop to the products. Our house fit the bill as one worthy of these home tech items, so the interesting "behind the scenes" technique the crew employed is that they shot our house and the various segments to look like it was filmed in three separate houses, populating each segment with a different portion of the house and different people in it. So, even though all of it was filmed in our house, it won't look that way on TV, and may even be spread across a couple episodes of the show. The house nerd in me is excited at the far-fetched prospect of turning on the tube, flipping through the channels (yes, in this day and age of technology I still turn on the tube and flip channels), and coming across one of the shows that featured today's footage. I picture myself squealing with delight at catching glimpses of my dining room table or the desk in our office, that we spent countless hours building and staining, on national TV.

The day kicked off with getting the two of us mic'd up and rearranging the backyard a bit for the shoot. 

I had to perform mundane tasks such as "gardening" (a.k.a. me cutting some of the plants around our pond) and sitting in a chair, flipping through a magazine. Alex also did an on camera shot of the product install as well as walking out into the backyard with the product and using it. The purpose of this segment is to show how we'll use the product and how our home can benefit from it. We were also interviewed about how we use our outdoor space, and what we thought of the product (have I said "the product" enough?).

I vaguely recall stumbling over my words, and trying not to sweat profusely in the 95 degree heat. Oh brother. The product itself is super cool, not only in looks but also in ease of installation. Did I mention one really awesome perk of doing the show? We get to keep the stuff we demoed. Suh-weet!

Next up, Alex, Lulu and I, along with the crew, headed out front so we could shoot some footage of us coming in and out of our house, as well as strolling up and down the street. Since I didn't have to actually say anything here, it seemed like a piece of cake in comparison. Unbelievably, all of this took up the entire morning. After a bite to eat gathered around our dining room table, the crew moved onto the next product.

Our friend Aileen, also a DIYer and into home tech, graciously offered her time for the next segment on product two. After some rearranging of the office bookshelf to make it more feminine (there went Alex's prized baseballs), they got to filming her in our guest bedroom and office. She went through the whole easy install and demo process, and spent much of the afternoon working with them on this element. And oh boy can I tell you, I'm more happy than ever that we finally got our butts in gear and did a quick update of the guest bedroom because it had a staring role. 

Note: That's actually not Alex in the photo above with his back to the camera, but it's Eric, the Production Assistant. He looked a lot like a young version of Alex. Even Sara, the producer of the show, commented on how much they looked alike.

We didn't want to be the cheese balls blatantly talking about our new baby (this blog of course!), but if you look carefully in the shot when the episode airs, you may be able to see oldtownhome.com pulled up on the computer monitor in the background of the office scene. We'll see if it makes the final cut, and I'm sure, being the nerds we are, we'll blog about it if it does.

While this filming was going on upstairs, a monster summer storm rolled in, complete with torrential rain, thunder and lightening. It messed a bit with the sound on the shoot upstairs, but also soaked the backyard.

Which, devastatingly enough, meant that the party scene was a washout and no one had an opportunity to try out product number three. We tried to wait it out so the party scene could still happen, but once the rain passed the sky was too gray and cloudy to look like a fun and bright summer party scene. Sadly, this meant party product three went back home with the crew.

Party Product #3 is in the Product Protection Program and has been blurred to mask its identity.

We're going to try to reschedule a time in the near future to shoot the outdoor scene with friends all getting their party/drink on. We're really hopeful we can reschedule, not even as much for the free product as much as it was just a lot of fun and we really won't mind if the crew to comes back and hangs out with us. Fingers crossed.

All in all, it was a really tiring but exciting day, and one waaaay outside of my normal comfort zone. The crew of Sara, Tomas, Joe, and Eric were all so friendly, respectful of our home, kind to Lulu and Mel (our four-legged crew members) and made the process so much fun, though I'm quite certain that I'll cringe watching myself when the episode airs this November. My one and only previous on camera experience was on a local news station talking about area flooding. Alex said I made a weird "horse face"  that time, and unfortunately I had to agree. Oh good grief. Let's hope for Tivo outages that day.

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One element of this initiative (and benefit to many living and employed in the D.C. Metro area) is a weekly farmers' market in the courtyard entrance of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in downtown D.C. at 1900 E St. NW. OPM invites local vendors in to set up booths and sell their various goods to area employees, George Washington University students, and passers by, not just people who work at the Office of Personnel Management. Each Wednesday during the spring and summer months, farmers, bakeries, florists, and many other local businesses show up to sell their fresh quality items at very good prices.

This past Wednesday I decided to drop by to see what was being offered. The following photos show some of the vendors that you would typically see at this market.

   

As usual, I ended up walking away with something. This time it was a container of frozen but freshly made pumpkin ravioli from Richmond, Virginia's Cavanna Pasta. I'm a sucker for pumpkin, and this pasta shop makes some pretty good stuff.

Thanks to my small farmers' market bounty of ravioli, I had a jump start to having dinner ready when Wendy got home from work late last night. I also figured it was a good opportunity to make some use of our garden's herbs, and to score some major husband points. I jumped on the Internet and found a good recipe for sage butter sauce that would go perfectly with our ravioli, so I decided to give it a shot.

First, I paid our backyard grocer a visit and clipped the sage leaves I would need for the recipe. The sage has really gotten huge, so it was good to finally be putting it to use. (Check out this post for an update on our organic vegetable garden for more details on what we have growing in our urban space.)

We had pretty much everything that I would need for the relatively simple recipe, except for the amaretti cookies. I pulled out all of the ingredients and placed them on the counter so I could start cooking. As you can see from the photo, it was a super simple recipe.

Note: The recipe called for one full stick of butter, but I decided to only use 1/2. This was still too much. The next time I make this I'll cut it back to 1/4 stick.

This recipe took about 15 minutes to pull together, and the longest step was probably grating the cheese while waiting for the water to boil.

After I was done with the sauce I tossed it and the ravioli together in a large bowl and sprinkled it with the parmigiano reggiano (picture me making wild hang gestures and saying that in a bad Italian accent) just as Wendy walked in the door.

Wendy said the house smelled like a good Italian restaurant when she walked in. And once we plated it up, we both thought it also tasted like a good Italian restaurant. The best part though? Being able to use some of our home grown sage as part of this tasty meal. There's nothing more gratifying than cooking with, and eating, something you've grown yourself.

All in all, I'd say both the farmer's market and the dinner I prepared were a success. If you find yourself in the area of 1900 E. St. NW in Washington, D.C. on a Wednesday this summer, be sure to drop by their market. It's pretty modest in size and offerings, but it is usually worth a look when in the vicinity. If for nothing else, I'm usually able to pick up some flowers for Wendy. That always bring a smile to her face. (Am I on a roll in the husband points department today, or what?)

What are you using your garden bounty for so far this summer? Any great recipes or marinades that feature your homegrown herbs? Is anyone grilling veggies from their garden? In future posts, we'll continue to share new ways that we incorporate our garden's offerings into quick, simple and delicious cuisine.

And for more details on our organic vegetable garden, check out these posts:

• Part One: Prepping the Area
• Part Two: Building the Bed
• Part Three: Planting the Veggies

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