boy chef girl wonder

Moved!

2011-10-31T11:09:00.002-04:00

girl has moved, sans boy. come check me out! :)

http://daily-relish.blogspot.com

thank you all!

Life.

2010-10-12T23:33:00.008-04:00

Hi all, sorry to be away so much but I warned ya! ;]

Life is equaling out now though and doing well, in the meantime, I am going to be reviewing a great product from Cookware, can't wait to take a look at their beautiful dining room chairs.

Stay tuned!

thankyou.

2010-10-12T17:35:00.002-04:00

undergoing construction....again.

Difference.

2010-09-26T22:17:00.002-04:00

(both taken tonight while doing my Gma's most favorite activity = dining out! ;)

While Boy is living & working in Georgia, I am wrapping up things in Florida and staying with my Grandparents. My Grandparents are very special to me.. they aren't just distance relatives, I have lived with them many years of my life and they have always treated me like their daughter, nothing less. They always graciously open their home to me on the occasion I have needed it for a night or a week in my adult life and not only do they allow me to stay but they treat me like a real guest.. always asking if I am hungry or need something, making sure my bed is made should I happen to rush out and not do it, do my laundry instead of letting me, let my dog out and watch over her while I am at work and so, so much more.

I won't lie, living here is different and at times hinges on "not easy" mostly in part because of the huge generational gap and the fact that religion is what makes up a vast majority of their world and none of mine but alas we are able to see thru the fine lines that have been quietly drawn in the sand and we laugh together, work together, eat together and live together as if we are old friends.

I enjoy the fact that I get this time with them now as they are getting older as most Grandparents do and once I have moved to GA, depending on my remote work situation, I am not sure the frequency in which I will be in FL.. in an ideal world I will be coming down either quarterly or something similar to "check in" with my office and I will of course stay with them and enjoy their true hospitality and love.

I love them dearly and could not think of any 2 better people to spend my time with, esp when I am sorely missing my Boy.

Love you always and always, G&G.

Witness.

2010-09-23T21:13:00.004-04:00

I've been completely swooned by raindrops.. I've never really thought of shooting them specifically but after a caught a few beauties in a spider web in GA, I have been chasing them around like crazy.

They truly teach you something.. something so little, so fleeting... is achingly beautiful and so true.

They teach me to keep my head up and always remember the little things long before it's "too late"..

Life has been especially stressful for me as of late, some self induced, some completely unwarranted. Boy is officially in GA, working at his new restaurant, which I will offer up soon.. he is staying with wonderful people and truly enjoying himself and pursuing his dream.. what could be better? I am astounding proud and in awe of the amazing person he is.. more than lucky to come home to him every night!

Which leads me to my woe and misery... ok, not really either but I am definitely missing my honey a lot more than expected and dont take that the wrong way, its not that I didnt think I would miss him OR that I dont care but I was trying to think of this as all business, he going up to solidify things for us to live there permanently, him pursuing his career, me spending some time with family, working away at my job and hopefully securing a remote position. Welllllll.....it hasnt all gone quite that flawlessly, now for him, yes.. everything did go flawlessly and I couldnt be more happy but for me, it's been a tougher than expected adjustment which frustrates me all by itself because I wagered on the fact I'd be JUST fine.

Fact of the matter is in one week, I've managed to throw a good size tantrum, cry twice, get pissed off to the point of blurry eyesight, threaten drastic measures, huff, sniff, curse and spit.. although somehow managing to not emotionally binge on food <---- not sure how but I'm going with it.

Here's to NEXT week and the next 3 months.. I think I need to go buy a six pack, oh wait... I reside in the house of god.. ;/

Keep It Moving.

2010-09-14T19:33:00.005-04:00

Spackle, take down, throw away, donate, garage sale, pack, organize, take down, spackle, garage sale, throw away, organize, throw away, REPEAT.

That's what we've been up to for the last week! Boy leaves this week for his new job and our new destination while I man the helm here.. garage this weekend, me moving to family's house annnnnd I've been offered to keep my job and work out of my house (ok well, waiting on final approval) but it's pretty solid.

Wooooooo Hooooo...

:)

Heads Up.

2010-09-04T10:56:00.002-04:00

Hello all.. just wanted to give you all a heads up & forecast. My husband accepted a job offer out of state at a truly beautiful farm-to-table style eatery and we are SO excited for the new changes... and of course with change comes a fair amount of chaos.. due to that the next few months will be a little wild and it's more than likely I won't be as consistent as usual (prior to vaca anyhow! ;)

He is leaving in a couple short weeks and I will be following first of the year ~ can't tell you how excited and ready we are for this kind of change!

Vaca Recap Part 1.

2010-08-29T21:11:00.005-04:00

We are officially back home and I have some 680 photos to edit but I have made it thru quite a few...and we have a possible big surprise to share, stay tuned!

This was at Amicalola Falls. We visited the little welcome center, got candy, swung on the swings and walked up to the falls.

These are some of the photos from hanging out at the cabin, one of our favorite things to do:

this is now one of my favorite photos of all time.. this is what the puppy did after the 9 hour drive up.

aaaahhh......

everyone needs a little champagne.. thank you to mother in law ;]

Day 4.

2010-08-25T10:18:00.002-04:00

Hello all, hope your week is treating you well! We are having an absolute blast in the mountains! We found a couple of amazing country stores (felt like a homemade version of Fresh Market or Cracker Barrel). A store just filled with homemade jams & butters, breads, cakes, pies, produce, glazes, candies...oh my! I could live there........really.

We also visited the Toccoa River and Amicalola Falls (minus the 425 step climb this time!)

I have a LOT more to post and I've taken well over 300 pictures so far but want to get back to the fun for now! ;]

Day 2.

2010-08-23T10:25:00.003-04:00

Day 2 in vacationland is here and we have enjoyed country road walks, the hot tub, more hot tub...naps, talking, eating, more hot tub.. see a trend here? Today we're going to go out and adventure.. maybe ;]

On another note, check out yesterday's breakfast (eaten at 2 in the afternoon, accompanied by beer for one and champagne for another).

We absolutely in NO way skimp or even attempt to eat healthy on vacation. We eat candy, ice cream, full fat everything and we could care less, our motto for vacation is CAREFREE and we do well at defining it ;]

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Official.

2010-08-22T11:16:00.001-04:00

Yes, officially on vacation.......Here are a couple of the beautiful things I've been looking at this morning. Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend ;)

Run Honey Run.

2010-08-15T18:38:00.008-04:00

the pooch waiting on me to get ready, every weekend on Saturday her & I going to my grandparents for me to do laundry, hang out and chase lizards (strictly her). She loves going there and normally hangs out by the front door all Saturday morning waiting to go because she knows she can run freely (not so here at the apartment).

Even though we are coming to an end on this weekend, I look back on another wonderful one.. I have definitely learned to make the most out of every moment to maximize my weekend goodness! :]

as previously mentioned, I do the laundry and I utilize the line to hang my laundry whenever possible. There is something so warm and reminiscent about hanging laundry out to dry and shoving your face in freshly folded sun breeze dried towels is the best...is it not?

filled up the bird bath.

Today we went to the mall (somewhere we haven't been in a considered amount of time) to pick up a new hat for Boy (he's pretty particular about his baseball hats so...) anyway, found some awesome deals on a couple things for him and ended up at TooJays Deli for lunch.

We also had latkes but they were downright sinful so I opt not to show :P

After that, Mr. Chef went off to work and I went to the grocery store.. and I was SO so so incredibly thirsty (it's ridiculously hot out these days) so when I got to the grocery store my very first mission was seeking out cold beverage... didn't want soda, already had way too much water, didn't want a smoothie or anything thick tasting.. spotted THIS and mm....mm....mm. Just the right amount of sweet and icey cold. Perfect! I think I'll be putting more of this in my fridge!

Cold.

2010-08-11T22:17:00.004-04:00

This is of course what is needed on hot summer days.. espescially after a couple hours at the pool.. you want to come home and whip something together that is fresh and satisfying. Boy is an expert at chicken salad.. it's never quite the same recipe but always outstanding. I love it!

This time it was a cilantro & dill chicken salad with onion, tomato & cucumber..little bit of sour cream, dijon mustard and other spices which we then piled into a toasted piece of flatbread. Divine I tell you...

Random Beauty.

2010-08-10T21:42:00.005-04:00

dontcha just love the ear?

I've been trying to carry my camera with me everywhere I go.. mostly because half of the time I'm out and by out I don't mean anywhere necessarily specific... and I will see something I want to photograph and of course my camera is at the house which is not much help to me. So the other day I managed to remember (can barely remember to remember these days) to put it in my bag before I left.

So... here is some of what I captured. Mind you I was driving most of this so a lot of it is stoplight captures but reminds me of that day none the less.. and that was a good day so NO loss there! :)

When I got home I made this.. I ended up watching a movie called The Ramen Girl starring Brittany Murphy (rip lady ;/)..anyway I didn't think it would actually be very good, never heard of it or seen it in theaters and the plot description wasn't stunning but it ended up being a fantastic movie! (imo) Made me laugh, cry and make ramen! Which was all good because I have had a couple rough weeks and I needed ALL of that..

No Assumption.

2010-08-04T23:27:00.008-04:00

Hello all... hope your mid week is treating you well, mine going very good on most levels.. pretty much just counting the days til vaca at this point (keeps me going, ya know?).

Tonight's dinner was one of those nights were I wasn't exactly inspired to make anything for dinner and started out to make a very simple, usual dish and ended up with something completely different and honestly better than I could have imagined.

I wanted to go italian but without pasta (it gets kinda boring) and for a moment I thought rice but that didn't exactly match my idea so I peered into the pantry and pulled out a couple cans of canelli beans... from there, the idea was lit and I made dinner!

also roasted up a little chicken...put over top the beans w/ spicy marinara and topped with my previously sauteed veggies.

I assumed/hoped it would be good and it was way.....way better than that, I was actually a little surprised at how good. It was actually fairly light and had mild spicy flavor throughout. Will definitely make this again sometime..

Couple things to remember when cooking:

when sauteing veggies, put different vegetables in at different times, depending on their cook length and lightly season for each vegetable put in, seasoning at the beginning won't carry thru properly a whole pan of veggies. (and by season, I mean s&p because there are some spices that will absolutely carry thru and then some.. also some that wont and it depends on your tastes as well)
cook elements of a dish separately to lock in individual flavor/spices. ie: I cooked veggies & garlic together then put in a bowl to the side, then I cooked beans and put in a bowl to the side, then I cooked chicken and added spicy marinara and then plated one on top of each other.. making everything in one pot all at one time (unless it's soup, stew, etc..and even then this technique can be implied until the final stages) can tend to extract flavor and mesh the spices/herbs all together and can really turn out bland (imo).

*I apologize for the not so great photos, working with kitchen light again at night ;/

Chord.

2010-08-02T20:12:00.005-04:00

Grocery shopping.. each trip it's own little adventure. (ok, well for me?) For whatever I am very contemplative when grocery shopping.. contemplative about what I'm buying, how much I'm spending on it, how much I'm getting of it.. contemplative of the people I'm shopping next to..what their buying and why.. contemplative of the brands, ingredients, advertising.. pretty much everything.

Perhaps over analyzing? Perhaps..

Anyway I thought of a couple things yesterday.. random facts about my usual grocery store experience.

I normally experience mild nerves just before walking in. (inexplicable..)
I love how the fresh bread smell hits you first thing thru the door, yes..it's luring.
I'm always uncomfortable waiting at the deli counter a long time.
My least favorite part of the store is the frozen food section.. just, literally.. it's the ugliest in my opinion and sort of complacently trapping.
My favorite part is the fruit/vegetable area.. not just for the goods but you can always find fun stuff here.. like fancy dips, delicious smoothie drinks, tofu goods, higher end dressings..etc.
My favorite part of the fruit/vegetable area is the apple display.. always so beautifully colorful and perfectly aligned.. I always dive towards the stunningly green granny apples!
Finds its annoying that clerks make it seem like a task bagging your re-usable bags..

Ok, that's all.. fairly random, eh? And yes, I'm aware I'm abnormal when it comes to the gro sto. ;]

Always gets: Doesn't matter what happened to you on the way to grocery, at the grocery or coming home, these items best be in your (re-useable) bag.

Le Damage

Give.

2010-07-31T21:24:00.005-04:00

Hello all, hope everyone has had a wonderful week! Mine was all over the place.. plenty of ups, plenty of downs and busy as all hell. Did have one very nice, unexpected surprise that made our week for sure and can't thank the person enough that made it come to light.. love ya.

I don't know about everyone else, but we are cooking down here in Florida.. you take a shower, get ready, grab your bag, walk to your car and you need another shower! It has been SO hot down here the thought of anything besides shorts, tank top and flip flops makes me shutter.

In light of all the HEAT, I've made a couple of very summery, cool treats.

Thankfully.. with a lot of these hot summer days, we get plenty of afternoon thunderstorms.. here is one I caught in the works.

"I am so happy to be alive.. there is no stopping me tonight" - Bad Boy Bill - Ishy.

Heureux.

2010-07-25T20:24:00.004-04:00

beautiful post rain sunset

Wow, can't believe it's been since Wednesday since I last posted something. Last week flew by and this weekend kind of has too but it's been a really good one! Especially today! Sunday's are really the only that Boy & I have an extended amount of time with each other. Today we got up early, went to Starbucks and had some good conversation and then headed to the Lucky Dill Deli (a place I've been wanting to try for a while). We went to the one in downtown St. Pete which sort of stuck something in us.. we parked a couple blocks away and walked up to the deli, a sorta kinda NY style deli.. black & white inside, walk up to counter to order, get a number, etc. Boy had a "Jewish Cuban"...a bohemith of a sandwich that was oozing with deli mustard and cheese, god it was GOOD. I had a turkey reuben and oh man their sauerkraut was delicious.

After that we walked around the city and down to the pier..kinda. By then we were sweating our asses off, so we schleped it back to the car BUT we've decided that perhaps we would like to live down town..we have always gone back & forth about country living vs. the city but haven't ever really immersed ourselves in either so we are going to choose the city partly because it would be so nice to be able to walk to dinner, or go grab a coffee without taking the car, not mention just being to take scenic walks as opposed to walking along the freeway (where we are now..) Our lease at our current place is up next February.. so we will see.

In the meantime, I made a wonderful I'm sorry meal for the boy last night (he's put up with my recent crankyness quite well...I appreciate that!) So I made my polenta, roasted chicken & vegetables, roasted garlic mushrooms & homemade mini sweet potato corn muffins. I didn't catch a picture of the meal itself because it was dark by then and my lightbox is still in my car :)

Smile.

2010-07-21T21:04:00.003-04:00

I did a bit of this today... for the little things. I smiled because I loved the color shirt I was wearing.. smiled at my iced coffee, smiled when I talked with my husband, smiled at the baby snails outside my office door, smiled at my accomplishments today, smiled after I cleaned the office, smiled at the beautiful raspberries I bought, smiled at my puppy when she snuggled up to me on the couch, smiled at the thought of dinner, smiled because my babe should be home in about an hour or less.. there's a lot more I smiled about today and I am going to keep smiling because it is almost certainly better than the alternative..

I'm learning to really be a positive person.. not some of the time, not when things are going well, not when it suits me but as much as I possibly can and in the face of embarrassment, sadness, anger,disappointment... doesn't mean I don't experience or won't accept and embrace those emotions, just making a point to be an uplifting and optimistic individual.

I also smiled when I made these...

I apologize for the not so great photo but it was after dark and I was just working with kitchen lighting. (...been too lazy to put my light box back up after the shoot)

This is me trying my hand at homemade veggie burgers and I learned something huge: they are STUPIDLY easy to make at home. Not that we have ever really bought tons of packaged veggie burgers but this........ this was good. The perfect crunch texture in the middle... Mmm...Mmm.......Mmmmmm. I liked them if you couldn't tell.

IMO.

2010-07-20T19:45:00.002-04:00

I really dig that it is raining everyday when I get home.. Mother Nature: I approve.

I also approve of this.. a blatantly simple snack that is SO good...

So, as I am in a kind of fired up mood.. (not for any reason?) I feel the need to pass out some praise and question a many things.

Firstly, I just want to say you need to check out these blogs.. Stay with me now.

Leftovers for Lunch - I dig this blog, a lot.. it's really a glimpse into their life, their yummy food creations and an overload of pictures to boot which lets face it, that's why we LOOK at blogs, now isn't it? (touching on this later) Anyhow, I feel like I know these people without ever meeting them and genuinely enjoy scanning thru their blog every day or so. Thanks LFL!

Never HomeMaker - The best of all worlds here, great food, great photography and great personalities that keep this blog going.. Again, these folks seem truly genuine and offer up a lot of fantastic information & tips.

Use Real Butter - I think at this point, URB might be a household name along with a few other choice blogs out there BUT the striking difference here is the straightforwardness, the simplistic perfection of the art and again, genuine behavior. Everything about this blog is beautiful and a joy to read.

I read PLENTY of other blogs but those are the ones I specifically seek out.. ok, I lie.. there's one other which I consider a guilty pleasure and I'm fairly sure she's at the top of the blogging world currently but I have conflicting issues with everything that surrounds her and the blog itself... I'll leave that... there.

On another note.. what is up with people with FOOD BLOGS and no photos? Are you kidding? I've got the attention span of a 3 year old.. if you aren't luring me in with luscious photos.. then you aren't luring. Granted you may not give flip what I think but I just find it a little silly.......just sayin'.

The Queens Head.

2010-07-19T20:23:00.006-04:00

That's the location of my first professional food photo shoot. I cannot tell you what a wonderful experience it was.. I shot the very talented, Chris Greer's food and let me tell you, he did not make my job a hard one because his food is truly beautiful. The Queen's Head is a eurobar style eatery in downtown St. Petersburg, FL.. it's an easy going place during the day and they turn the dial up at night with live DJ's. It has been expertly designed, a chic funk that is inviting and whimsical.. not to mention the people that keep this place going are as friendly as they are fun.. makes for a great all around experience.

I was definitely nervous going into this for obvious reasons but found my groove fairly quickly and with some narrative from the owner, was quickly snapping away and wow.. not sure what happened other than lights going off in my head over and over...and right there, right then..I knew this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.

I cannot thank Chris & The Queens Head enough for allowing me the opportunity to get my feet wet with them and I am beyond humble to be a part of their establishment in this way... to the future!

Now for the goods... here is some of what I shot.

stilton & pickled cherry salad

pan charred tofu, horseradish mash, pickled cherries, onion caramel

apple cured salmon, fennel papaya salsa, toasted ciabatta

roasted beet and yellow pepper hummus with toasted ciabatta

fish and chips..sea salt and malt vinegar fries, minted peas, malt vinegar reduction.

bouillabaisse. mussels, haddock, shrimp, tomato, fennel, chablis cream broth. toasted ciabatta.

roasted beet & radish salad with baby spinach, marinated barley, goat cheese, champagne truffle vinaigrette.

SunDAY.

2010-07-18T22:18:00.004-04:00

Aaaah.. what a great day.. well, a great weekend really. My news that I couldn't tell you about yesterday is that I did my first professional photo shoot yesterday.. I was asked by a local restaurant to shoot the photos for their website.

It...was...such...an...amazing...experience. This is definitely what I want to do as my career..

Once they have posted the photos, I will post them here and give you all the details!

As far as today goes, had a wonderfully easy day with my babe... we hung out at Starbucks for a while and had some great conversation and in the the spirit of trying to be a little more frugal we did groceries instead of doing lunch out.

When we got home, for whatever reason we decided to reorganize the house a little and clean out a couple of the closets.. by the time we were done we were famished and Boy didn't have a ton of time left before he had to go to work so we threw together a cold pasta salad and a couple sandwiches.. it was perfect.

before: kitchen while madly throwing lunch together.
after: kitchen all clean and tidy.

All......I want to do.

2010-07-17T11:49:00.001-04:00

I've got something really exciting going on today but I cannot divulge until a little later today....after said activities have taken place and all I can say is wish me LUCK! ;]

In the meantime enjoy one of our favorite vacation songs.. yes, we have a couple handful of songs that are perfect for feet up on the porch, driving those winding, tree lined roads and dancing slow, bare feet shuffling on a wood floor.. yea, I have vacation on the mind... not too much longer now! :)

Satellite.

2010-07-12T19:29:00.006-04:00

Happy Monday folks.. hope all of your days went well, mine was every bit of crazy but hey I am here aren't I?

I was reading thru some of the blogs I follow and came across this from Fashion Meets Food.... seems fairly on point right..plus some of those lovely ice cold drinks look fantastic? I think pretty much no matter where you live right now, you are being cooked. At least down here in Florida is it firing up from 8 in the morning til it gets dark and even then it stays pretty humid..which leaves you reaching for the ice water or in a lot of other instances milk shakes, iced coffee and frozen drinks of any flavor.

I have pined after Dairy Queen, Starbucks and the like most days but in an attempt to keep things simple, inexpensive and health driven (sorta?) I try to make most of it at home.. after an especially sweaty climb up three flights of stairs with the weeks clean laundry in tow, the dog and a bag onTOP of said laundry... I was looking for iced and energy giving.

Ended up on iced sweet raspberry coffee..

organic Arabic coffee
fresh raspberries
almond milk
ice
agave

It......was......perfect. Sweet, creamy, roasty & a partly sweet, partly tart finish to each sip.

On another note, a recent picture of our furbaby.. regal, dominating, demanding, sweet girl. (hah...)

Perfectly Quick.

2010-07-11T15:20:00.003-04:00

I use to work for a lawyer and her office was across the street from a fantastic pizza place and they of course had little lunch combos for the working folk that surrounded the area.. one of my favorite things to get was a pita pizza & mini salad.. I normally got fresh tomato & garlic and when I was feeling really crazy (or having a crap day)...pepperoni!

So.. yes, I know... pizza on a pita is a fairly simple idea and I could have easily thrown it together AT work minus the fantastic wood oven crunch (minor detail).

But oddly enough, as simple as this concept is I hadn't ever made it at home and to have the ability to whip a pizza together and actually be EATING it in less than 10 minutes is a beautiful thing..

We threw.. I mean BOY threw a couple of these together today and they were absolutely delicious..

This Sunny Day.

2010-07-10T21:09:00.009-04:00

gingerale is one of my favorite sodas.. it is packed with bubbles & fizz and is such a refreshing, sharp taste

Today was a weird day.. it was quiet and sunny and still for the most part.. it gave me a chance to do a little extra work on my photography.. and to eat & sip on some good eats.

chicken, green pepper & onions.. sprinkled with cumin, cayenne, s&p..then drizzled with hot sauce, olive oil and liquid smoke

cooked campfire style wrapped in foil and the top unwrapped for about the last 10 and broiled for a few.

mmmmmmmm!

rice
tomatoes
green peppers
onions
chicken
sour cream
taco sauce
russian dressing
cilantro

...then after that I contemplated a Dairy Queen trip.. like I said, strange day so I felt the need to find comfort, in food.. of course? I really try not to but sometimes it's just hard you know? There are plenty of logical explanations between the brain, stress and reaching for food.. oddly enough I started watching a documentary on obesity and between my own mind rattling away and wanting to "do good" and the movie I found myself watching, I gladly ended up at the vegetable market instead of the Dairy Queen drive thru.. and here's what I came up with.

raspberries, strawberries, a little chocolate and some cinnamon honey...it was perfect and much better for me...

Quick Delicious.

2010-07-06T20:37:00.003-04:00

From a couple days ago as we were out of commission yesterday.. nothing better to me than a crunchy, cheesy quesadilla topped with a fresh, homemade salsa.. your quesadilla filling can be so simple as long as cheese and cilantro is involved. Ok ok, well just in my opinion.. speaking of which, cilantro is one of my most favorite herbs, I use to hate it actually...just the smell of it made me squiggle my nose and raise an eyebrow but now I shove my face into it and take a breath...at my home of course.. usually. Hey.. I always buy the bunch I sniff.

Today.

2010-07-05T15:23:00.004-04:00

Happy 4th All. Hope everyone had a great & fun one.. Is it August yet? I am so ready for a relaxing vacation with boy & dog. ;]

It has been raining here.. every, single,day.. and night! I am in absolute heaven..and it presented the perfect type of atmosphere for a good soup or stew, I made this a couple of nights go and it was paired with garlic cheese bread (amazing..) but today we had just enough for two small bowls and it seemed like a perfect vehicle for a soft poached egg.. and it was, buttery creamy goodness amongst sweet tomato broth and hints of cinnamon. Delightful, really.

Rainy Times.

2010-06-30T20:55:00.002-04:00

Everyday, just about the time I get home from work... it has started to pour. Some days it is just a steady rain for hours and some days its cracking lightning and booming thunder.. either way it's perfect for relaxing, candles and good, easy music.. summer afternoon storms are here and I am so grateful for them.. they make everything so beautiful and new again, they are intensely soothing to me.. (even if Im pumping gas in pouring rain and 30 mph winds).. I love it no matter what..

Country Living.

2010-06-27T19:06:00.006-04:00

I love nature's affect's on things.. true beauty.

Cant really tell you why but I truly love this shot... I just love misc earth that this shed is holding up.

there is a dog toy in every room in my house...

my Mom used to have a really pretty leaf drive way but hasn't had much time or energy with her current job so as this isn't as pretty as hers use to be, I tried to make a more uniform drive and I thought it pretty cool & green of myself to "make" it out of yard leaves.. heh ;]

peering out the cattle gate.. (no cattle, just the gate)

I hijacked this little beauty and it's now happily sunning on my porch.. (thanks, Mom..)

My Mom lives in the sticks so it's always a pleasure to go see her.. for the obvious reasons and then for a chance to drive awaaaay from the city into the country. I desperately want to reside in the country so any chance I get to go up, I take it.. natural beauty can be found out there and there is truly nothing better for a photographer.. well, unless you like photographing modern structure I guess?

I had a really good time.. I helped her plant a small garden, gave her puppies a bath, re-did her driveway and raked up some of her yard... haven't raked in a while (haven't had a yard in a while, dumb apartments...grr), my thumbs aren't so happy with me!

Going up there makes me even more excited for our vacation.. (to the country..hehe) I can't wait to click away up there!

This is Izzy.. possibly the cutest and loveable little creature EVER.. (boxer/bulldog mix) I love her ALMOST as much as my furbaby.. she is so timid yet so silly and gentle, my Mom rescued her a couple months ago after her furbaby passed on and what a little blessing this dog is.. I'd dognap her any day if she wasn't my Mom's.. no, seriously.

This is Sarge.. my Mom's other dog, a deaf, quirky, Australian Shepherd...he is fairly crazy and likes to run speed laps around the house but is equally gentle and sweet.

From.

2010-06-20T21:52:00.004-04:00

this dog is an expert napper and boy do I love to cuddle with her.. ;]

Hello all.. hope you all truly had a wonderful weekend, I am actually looking forward getting the week started tomorrow. I know, I must be coming down with something? No.. actually just can't wait for vacation and I guess the sooner we get the next week started, the sooner vacation is upon us!

This was a fairly good weekend for us.. a bit of lounging, bit of working, bit of loving, and a lot of laughing! We've also come to a crossroads in our ideas about food.. we are joining the flexitarian movement with heavy vegetarian influence.. just really trying to do our best to eat healthy, thoughtful and yet still satisfying those cravings.. it's a work in progress really.

mmm.. I really do love tofu.. esp when it's marinated in mae ploy, liquid smoke & soy sauce and then crisped up with panko and paired with a wonderfully cold, spicy noodle salad! really loving baby cucumbers and cilantro these days....so fresh, so summer..!

if you havent tried WASA, do yourself a favor and grab a box.. it is such a good, crunchy treat paired with ANY number of toppings. it was especially good with natural peanut butter and banana and a tall glass of ice cold almond milk.

A good food weekend I'd say! (some misc bbq, mac and cheese and chocolate stuff unpictured)

Pace.

2010-06-16T19:50:00.003-04:00

The world is moving at a rapid pace around me and yet at times feels so painfully still. Work has been crazier than usual.. feels a little strange as of late, I feel like I'm doing more and feeling like I have at least 16 plates in the air all at once..I do feel more confident than usual but something odd is lurking.. haven't pinpointed whether it's my mind wandering or something a little more concrete..

In more exciting news, we've officially booked our vacation for this year, we hadn't really even planned out taking one and it just kind of happened... we are going back to the same cabin in the woods we stayed at last year. We were extremely fond of it and it's surroundings so it seemed rather fitting to trek back up there again... except this year we are bringing along the furbaby and this year we ARE NOT loosing all of our photos. Somehow... we misplaced the s card we had ALL of the photos on....downright painful for a photographer!

Vegetarian lifestyle is going wonderful... I got to tell you, I truly don't know why but this time around, it's so much simpler...so much more welcomed and we are both at total ease with meal preparations..

bean tostadas w/ chili con queso

open face garden patch sandwich

simple pasta w/ vegetable & shrimp

Fresh-er.

2010-06-06T12:01:00.004-04:00

Hello all,

I won't lie, I've been busy, bogged down, mentally and virtually but I've been lazy and just downright not in the mood to blog.... but we have been sticking to our vegetarian ways and I have some beautiful food to show!

This time around it's been easier.. almost haven't even thought about it and have only really been in one dilemma so far which resulted in eating a salad and modifying a restaurants dish thanks to the very accommodating owner ;]

I'm enjoying it more this time around, feeling very solid about my choices and enjoying eating foods that are essentially much healthier as a whole.

I'm feeling pretty homey today and have lots of pictures to edit so I think I'll be around later to share..

Tango 2.5

2010-05-16T20:48:00.002-04:00

So, in light of a recent grasp for more meaning and more depth in life, we are entertaining the idea of going vegetarian again, well.. I suppose I should say pescetarian with vegan influence and a limit to seafood consumption, based solely on animal welfare concerns and the demand to make a change, one starting with us.

Tonight I made one of the first vegetarian (could be vegan with slight deduction) meal that I've made in a while, well, ok.. I mean completely vegetarian. We drink soy & almond milk, we eat tofu, we eat other vegetable "meat" products, we love minus meat dishes but haven't really tried to focus on making just vegetarian or vegan fare in some time. Tonight I made vegetarian sloppy joe and put it over homemade corn cakes. It... was inspiring, it was healthy, it was filling, it was FULFILLING, it was creative and I'll be damned if it wasn't fantastic!

I used Fantastic Nature Burger as the "sloppy joe" and added your basic sloppy joe ingredients ~ ketchup, mustard (depending on the kind, may need to take this out for vegan), honey, molasses, cumin, liquid smoke, worcestershire (take this out for vegan)...I also cut up some tomatoes, onions and green chilis. I cooked the nature burger as directed and then crumbled over the sauteed veggies and added the rest of the spices and liquids. Topped it off with sour cream and green onions, obviously no sour cream for vegans.

It-was-so-good.

I'm feeling positive about tonight and the future.

It's Wednesday Night.

2010-05-05T21:37:00.003-04:00

...and we decided to stay in on our date night. Mostly in part because of an already tiring week and the need to just sit back and relax, while Buble filters through the speakers, something fiercely Italian is cooking away in the kitchen.. since Boy is at work pretty much every night, it's so comforting and nice to have him cooking for us, there's something special about the food he creates, it's home to me.

We already managed to bust out some rice krispie treats for later and there is booze in our fridge, thank the heavens. It may not be Friday yet, but it's going to be a good night.

I also managed to get a few of my photos from my Selby Gardens experience edited, although I have quite a few more to go and coverage from a Dog Rescue I visited to come.

8:12AM.

2010-05-01T13:16:00.004-04:00

That's the time I was up this morning, and 20 short minutes after that heading to the pool with Boy.. got in a little sun, some laps and some hot tub time before he had to leave for work...I almost went back to bed and most likely would have stayed for who knows how long, something about an almost dry bathing suit, being wrapped up tight in your towel and lots of pillows and blankets to snuggle in... aaah it could have been good. But alas, Saturday is MY cleaning day, sure I clean pretty much daily throughout the week but Saturday is my git down to it day...I wipe the cabinets, the baseboards and I even scrub the front porch. It only feels right to "start" the weekend with a fresh, clean slate.

After all of that, with laundry to go still, I was starting to hear a rumble in my stomach...I decided to make a grilled veggie wrap and it ended up tasting very similar to the awesome vegetable sandwich at Mimi's, win! ;]

mexican squash, cherry tomatoes & red onions meet salt & pep, olive oil, a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and a quarter teaspoon of mashed garlic

everybody on the grill

place all on wrap, I added jalapeno jack and russian dressing. (sorry for the bad photos;/)

brown on the grill, you can leave out any kind of oil to brown a wrap up as long as you have grill pan screaming hot, you will only need to set the wrap in for a few seconds on each side. enjoy.

Wow & Bad.

2010-04-28T20:33:00.002-04:00

Ok, first.. I JUST realized this is my 100th post... wooooop ;]

Ok, secondly, I've been a very bad blogger and I am sorry but it's been work, and work, and fun times with family, and work, and photography and gardens, and dog rescue visiting (insert many hours of back and forth driving) and work, and computer/internet issues and some rough times (minor) and work and trying to cram the gym in there somewhere and I am sometimes just lazy and unmotivated and I am sorry...

Wow... 100 posts... Kinda sad THIS is my 100th but hey, it sums me up.. scatterbrained and happily ALL over the place minorly lazy go getter crazy mess of a girl.

I think I'll celebrate like so..

Downpour <3

Obsession.

2010-04-20T21:48:00.003-04:00

I've spent my days abandoning thought and claiming I am a non-addictive person.. I don't get "that way" about things, which I will continue to stick with, well...the addictive part. I've never had some lure towards the damaging addictions such as drinking or smoking... and I've had both, much more alcohol and while I still enjoy it VERY much, could go without and be fine... now, there's plenty of foods I could eat on a daily basis but again, if I had to go without I'd be cool..

So I started thinking on this, I realize I am none of the above but there are a handful of things I have this association with, this need, if you must.. I'm going with obsession.. not full blown obsession but somewhere about's there...

See below for obsessions.....

ok.. this represents Mexican food as a whole, I am totally obsessed with burritos, spanish rice, mojitos, tacos, tex-mex, chimmichangas, queso, nachos, taco sauce, salsa, cilantro... you get it, these photos explain my must have's when it comes to this obsession. My all time favorite is just a simple taco.. including greasy ground beef (I also love Fantastic brand veggie meat), shredded lettuce, tomatoes, do NOT skimp me on the sour cream, a nice allowance of cilantro and taco "sauce" - no clue, just love it, now put it on my taco, damnit.

k, next.. and maybe overall obsession here.. things that smell good, things that make my couch, my carpet, my car, my bed, my clothes, my bedroom, my kitchen smell good... this could really go on ya know. here you witness some of whats in my house, everything from room sprays to incense to oil burners. I didn't photograph carpet powder, fabric spray, car jars, reed diffusers and other brand plug ins. I don't know how this obsession come about but it's the ONLY thing I can't NOT buy when out shopping... if I go shopping for anything...groceries to gas, I'm probably coming home with a new or different one of the aforementioned...

k...don't get this one wrong, Im NOT obsessed with myself or my image... I love myself at times and utterly displeased at others.. but I am pretty obsessed with checking myself instead of relying on the mirror, for whatever reason I feel like a photo shows me the real deal versus a mirror, as I have definitely had self image issues over the years... because I tend to check myself with a photo (camera phone) I end up with 300 plus photos in my phone.. if anything, fun to look back at laugh at myself.

There you have it.... some of the silliness that makes up GIRL.

Swear.

2010-04-19T21:48:00.003-04:00

I was going to do a post.....a good one, a funny one...I swear I was...but I've got a case of the nogoodverybad day's... ok, my day wasn't awful by a long shot but it was tiring mentally...and I did dumb things which...I don't care for...so, at 9:49pm on this Monday night....I'm going to this place:

g'night.

Way Home.

2010-04-13T21:54:00.015-04:00

I walked out the door of work with a plan in mind... lasagna! I normally try to come up with ideas for dinner either while at the gym or on my way home from, I feel so uncomfortable not having an idea, at the least.. and I know this may sound weird, but because my husband is a chef, I feel the need for my meals to reach a certain bracket, and am always crushed on the inside when they don't...thankfully most do! ;]

On other weird compulsions... do you have traditions or certain things that must occur or be present while cooking? For me, it's definitely starting out with a de-cluttered, clean kitchen.. I'll spend a half hour cleaning to dirty it again.. yea, I know. My other must have whilst cooking is music... it's usually Ottmar Liebert & Dave Koz or Sinatra & Buble...although I do love to sing while bustling around the kitchen so at times it's KT Tunstall and the like..... I find something oddly feminine and nurturing about slicing, cutting, sauteing and gently placing while belting out your favorite song..?No?

Last night there was plenty of Buble and this..:

My Day.

2010-04-11T20:42:00.005-04:00

Today was such a nice day...we started off at Starbucks as our Sunday morning tradition continues, we nosh, drink & read the paper.. then we headed over to Michael's in search of a frame for Boy's tattoo artwork and anything we might spot to spruce up the house..here's how it went:

iced, soy caramel macchiato & artisan ham breakfast sandwich ;]

trying on hats at Michael's..I had on a bee hat and elected not to photo, he...not so lucky.

the start of the ocean theme..also bought some tall birch reeds for our tall floor vase, not pictured.

(humanely so, not alive at time of said picking)

(same here, no sea life harmed during seashell acquiring)

Surrounded.

2010-04-10T21:20:00.006-04:00

I'm sorry I've been distant this week, it's been another very hectic one, one of my goals is to set aside a little more time for my bloggy, I know it's not a "must" but I feel committed to it and really do enjoy it..

Ever since Spring has really shown it's face here, I have been pining to get out there and shoot some of it's offerings, of course I always notice the prettiest fields or trees as I'm driving to work or on an errand, without camera!

Today though... I took some time for me and my camera, took a trip down to Sunken Gardens in St. Petersburg... I've always wanted to go there, even tolerated the idea of having my wedding there when that idea was on the brain (we didn't have a wedding, and thank goodness, weddings look way to stressful, way way to expensive to achieve the same goal, imo). Anywho, it really is a very beautiful place situated in an arts/historic district of St. Pete, it's a great strip of new shops and eateries meet old world, nice little piece of road I must say.

Here's what I found inside the gardens, I should have written down what each flower/plant was but I cant juggle that many things at once when Im trying to relax ;]

this guy actually scared the hell out of me, I was kneeling down next to this pond shooting a waterfall and didnt even notice the fish and he just popped right up and he was huge! anyway, love this photo as he kind of looks like hes swimming in the sky...

this gorgeous leaf was part of a pretty plain looking plant situated to a trellis type underpass on one of the paths, I happen to notice it and was taken by it's breathtaking natural beauty..I did get a weird look for petting this leaf...

loved this little frilly flower, she danced in the wind.

i literally wanted to dig up this little tree and stick it in my trunk, it was only about as tall as me and mildly bushy with these cute little yellow buds on it... loved it.

dessert flowers <3

Wow. (Long)

2010-04-03T22:06:00.004-04:00

my sprucing of our entry way ;]

cute little guy

Wow, what a week...and I mean that in the best possible way!

Boy totally dived head first into his new job which he doing absolutely amazing at and seemingly climbing the ladder at a neck breaking speed, he is so talented and I am so happy to finally see his creative flow running and him being respected mentally, financially and personally as the great chef that he is, it truly warms my heart.

My work week was a bit of a bender - not only did it seem like 3 weeks wrapped into one but it was my week to make mistakes apparently, seemed like every time I turned around I came across some silly error I shouldn't be making anymore, made for an unnecessarily stressful week but I was able to keep a smile on and learn from my mistakes all the way to the end.

We bought a second car! This is the first time we have both had cars at the same time, wow...not sure how we made it work before now (but we sure as hell did!). I don't think we will ever downsize to just one car ever again, unless we live in some ridiculous metro. It's an older, little two door puddle jumper and shes all mine! The lady we bought it from took ridiculous care of it and so far it's been an absolute fantastic car for me until we have leveled off financially to buy a newer car for me, and the best part? She's ALL paid for!

As you can see, I had quite the week and am grateful for every single moment of it.... good, bad or otherwise! ;]

totally stocked for $112.00

On another note, I had a fantastic day today, got some much done, so so much.. Some of this included going to the grocery store and the vegetable market. I am in between happiness with my grocery locale, stores like Whole Foods are out of the question because of outrageous prices and snobby atmospheres, stores like Sav-A-Lot are out of question because of the total lack of natural and organic foods... we've tried Publix, we've tried Target Superstore, we've tried Walmart Superstore (at the minimum, always entertaining folks there)... there never seems to be a middle between good quality choice products, clean stores, no attitude and not bottom of the barrel, until TODAY! I shopped at SweetBay market today with no real idea in mind of what to expect.. I shopped at SweetBay a few years back and wasn't so impressed but it was young on the market at that point and everyone needs time to work out the kinks and work them out they did...so far, a perfect grocery store in my mind.. not to far from home, extremely clean store, not overly sprawling, huge choice of organic, natural and otherwise snobbish food (hah..) not to mention, organic choices on each individual aisle.. I bought a cart full of groceries ranging from beer to salsa to eggs to organic chicken to tortillas and I cleared with only spending $75.00! That's right.. essentially the weeks groceries for 75 bucks! I couldn't believe it... every time we use to walk into Target (our old standby) I use to mentally sigh because I automatically knew it would be at a minimum 100.00 off the bat... (I was never wrong...) I also hit up a new vegetable market which equally blew my socks off, huge cheese/meat choices, huge ethnic choices, huge fruit vegetable choices...so I cleared the whole day $112.00......that's what I'm talking about!

Thisa Way.

2010-03-27T23:05:00.005-04:00

not taken today, but not something I had shared yet, I remember sitting on the beach near the coast that day, I was in my pajamas actually having a pretty rotten day and yet managed to capture beauty.

also not taken today, I captured this while at Serenbe a few years back and for whatever silly reason hadnt even edited it until a few weeks ago, loving it so much now, reminds me of summer..

todays random find, home.

todays random find, home.

todays random and currently one of my favorite photos of her ever.

A day of mild boredom lends to random photography which can turn out so good, I just love those unintended moments, the effortless tries... ;]

Mmmk, now off to make bbq'd wings and my feta potato salad.

"...keep me where the light is" :john mayer

Birthday.

2010-03-26T20:08:00.004-04:00

I didn't really have anything to "write" Happy Bday with so I wrote his initial in sparkling sprinkles ;]

Sorry I haven't been around much this week.. Boy started a new job and we have had to make some different arrangements for our one car situation (working on car 2..) not to mention work has been extra hectic and chaotic and by the time I'm home, have figured out a dinner idea, started making it and take a shower, I'm pooped! Boy's birthday was also this week so we took some time to celebrate!

I decided to make him a cake, which I am very amateur at, mostly because I try to use soy milk, soy butter, egg substitutes, god knows what else, my cakes never seem up to par... This time, I said screw it for the most part and went whole fat ;] well, except for some of the gluten free icing I mixed in with cream cheese..

I made a chocolate espresso rum cake with cream cheese heath bar icing...mmmm...mmm..mmmmmmmm... did I mention mmm? Not to mention, it turned out fantastic! It's a little cake but I made it in one of my tall pans and was so worried it might get too dry on the outside and raw in the middle but no, it turned out so airy and beautiful! Proud of my lil' self!

Amusing.

2010-03-21T18:52:00.004-04:00

So, the puppy and I spent the afternoon alone while Boy tried out his flare at a new job opportunity... I haven't spent more than an hour alone in quite some time, wasn't really sure what to do with myself...so I cleaned, ate chocolate, gave the dog a bath, took a nap, cleaned some more...oy, am I not predictable? ha...........ha. ;]

We live on the 3rd floor and have ceiling to floor windows, therefore the 2nd floor is a foot beneath our windows and these lovely little squirrels taunt my dog thru the screen, this one decide to flash it's rump at us..

watching said squirrel...

bath time... torture really.. look at that poor dog, so mistreated..gets bathed inside, in a warm bath with doggy soap then rubbed dry with a towel...poor thing...

bath time is tiring...

Dinner Collage.

2010-03-21T13:09:00.003-04:00

Aaah, dinner around here has been so good lately, I think I will share ;] Well.. the photos, atleast!

Thursday night, this was actually our "app" but damn was it good...

Saturday night...Boy's amazing cappeletti pasta, I could eat this everyday and twice on Tuesday

Friday nights Charcuterie... the essence of our home.

Saturday Love

2010-03-20T23:24:00.004-04:00

What is it about Saturdays? Actually, what isn't it about Saturdays? They are your first relief from a busy week, they can be a slow or a productive day, or a bit of both, they can be an indulgent day, they are a day to either sleep in til noon or get up bright and early and make the day as long as possible.. to me, there is such a good feeling in the air when I wake up on
Saturdays..

Here's how the day went..

Got up at my normal 8:30ish and started cleaning then settled in with my iced coffee, read a few of my favorite blogs, took the dog for her walk, re-did the blog banner with the help of the very talented Boy, had great conversation, had a wonderful lunch, again thanks to Boy, took a fantastic and I mean fantastic nap..danced in the shower with Boy to Michael Buble & Sinatra (sometimes I think we really are city folk at heart), started watching Shutter Island which we stopped half way thru to make one of my absolute favorite dishes of Boys'... his Cappelletti pasta... *quiver* - it's not for the faint of heart and dieters beware, this ain't your dish. Ok, back to the movie and the divine food that awaits me!

I cut all my hair off, aaah that feels better...

Cream.

2010-03-15T22:30:00.003-04:00

I love a good Monday.. I mean that in various ways.. I love a productive Monday, not one you're so swamped you can't remember what color your desk was, but a full day of objectives that you can actually complete and move to the next project completely, it doesn't hurt when it's sunny out and everyone is in a good mood, it makes for such a nice start for the week, and when it goes smoothly, you don't notice the time going by and all of a sudden it's Tuesday! Woo!

Stopped by my favorite Greek market on my way home today, picked up some of the best sesame cookies ever and my normal vegetable and fruit run.

For whatever reason I had cauliflower casserole on the mind, Ive never had it and Ive never made it but it just seemed like a great thing to make, so I bought cauliflower and the rest is history. It turned out really, really yummy and was a nice, healthy replacement for macaroni and cheese ;]

pre-oven

post oven

sandwiched two cookies with jam & eurocrem for a late snack ;]

a must with any cookie..

Sunday Bliss - Late.

2010-03-11T21:06:00.005-05:00

I meant to post this on Sunday....and that got away from me, and then I meant to post it sometime this week, and that got away from me...so, here, almost into another weekend - let me post last weekend's glorious Sunday..

I've always been a nature trail seeker, whether it be the local exotic garden, an actual mountain with trails, a beach trail, you name it.. I like to walk it, alone usually... and hopefully with not so many other people with my same idea. Once I started testing the waters of photography, I loved it even more... I would find the most out of the way little treasures to photograph.. a real stress relieving, relaxing time for me...Boy was not so much into as I and found me even more annoying to flit along paths with my camera, snapping away, stopping, going, stopping...commenting on the silliest stuff..that has all changed and somewhere Boy found his love for getting lost on secluded paths and now even points out things I don't see to take photos of...

...last Sunday was one of those times, we go to all the local beaches here, esp Honeymoon Island... it's just different, it's a little more rugged than your average beach and offers different areas to be.. the doggy beach, the nature trails and rugged coastline, the actual beach with sugar sand and then the very rocky beach where you can find the best of shells! We attempted the actual beach first and since it was one of the warmest days here in a long while, every flippin' Floridian and their momma was laying out on the beach, it was swamped! Much to my dismay....and the wind blowing in on the beach was actually very chilly... I was instantly over it and trotted back to the car.. we then took one of the nature trails, found it to be much quieter, quite a bit warmed and only passed the occasional photographer every so often..which, might I add, some were toting some of the biggest lenses I've ever seen... easily $4&5,000 lenses!....One day....

All in all, a perfect day ;]

Then we made these........

he liked 'em! ;]

Lunch.

2010-03-07T10:01:00.004-05:00

Went to lunch with my family yesterday to one of my favorite places that I don't go nearly as much as I would if I lived a little closer..it's called Maggie Mae's and it's a small cafe full of Florida nostalgia on your way to the beach... their food is simple, honest and straight forward, you know exactly what to expect.

I am all about a soup and sandwich for lunch, only about the soup for the last couple of years as for whatever reason I had always had a soup aversion... not sure what that was about but anyway to me soup & sandwich is a quintessential lunch, it's got everything you would want, unless your dying for a salad? Their chili is perfect... not too tomatoey - you know what I mean, so thick its like tomato paste? Not too spicy..cause I want to be able to swallow my other food...Just the right amount of beans to meat and a touch of sweetness, they of course offer chopped onion and cheddar for the top which you must elect... mmmmmm it was so good. Plus a turkey reuben, should round your day out nicely.

Honey.

2010-03-06T09:59:00.003-05:00

I love Saturday mornings... I definitely have a welcomed routine for Saturdays... I usually get up early (anywhere from 7-8:30am..) I have truly learned to appreciate getting up early on the weekends... I use to scoff in the face of the very notion when I was 20 or younger, but as I have grown I have learned it is SO much more rewarding to get up and enjoy an entire day of fun, laughs, family, home, etc then sleep in til 1 and have practically no day left... Plus taking afternoon cat naps is way better than sleeping in until you cant stand the sun in your eyes...

I start my coffee and get to cleaning, I love to start my weekends on a fresh note and to me, that's a clean house..thankfully I have a pretty small house and can wrap things up quite fast. I always make sure to open the blinds so my puppy can sunbathe and then I sit down with my laptop to scan my favorite food blogs or read the news, catch up with friends, whatever it may be... its a time I look forward to all week and one I really cherish, Boy sleeps much later than I do so its a nice, quiet time all to myself.. ;]

While doing all this, you must accompany yourself with a warm, sweet, frothy drink....

Take 2.

2010-03-04T22:48:00.004-05:00

Hello all... doing more work with my light box...we're improving..and this is all without actually reading into things or really getting into my camera manual.. I did however look up a few hints and tips so I am hopefully on my way to white, clear and beautiful BUT... one thing I have realized it I will most definitely not stick to just light box photography...it's almost SO professional that it lacks some sense of character and home to it, now don't get me wrong...for certain things, I adore it but I am all about adding a little bit of my life, my experience and my home to my photos and it definitely takes away in that department...

It has been a great week with rewarding high's and workable lows.. I've been sticking to my going to the gym rules, eating as right as possible and lord have mercy it is going to be mildly warm this weekend! Life is good people.... peace out.

I will be the first to gripe when someone posts an unsavory food photo on their blog but cut me a little slack, I am new at the light box technique and wanting to try it on in all ways.. thanx ;]

Shot.

2010-03-03T20:24:00.003-05:00

My few first attempts with my new light box... I have high hopes ;]

It's Boy's amaaaaaaaazing panko tofu lasagna, btw.

Dormit.

2010-03-01T21:05:00.002-05:00

So this weekend was somewhat of a blur.. yes, there were fireworks, amazing polenta, damn good bbq and even a quick walk on the beach but this weekend also consisted of staying up until 6AM both mornings and sleeping on and off in between there... no, we didnt stay up partying it hard both nights, just hung out really, spent time together, and the hours melted away..

It really was a slow, slow weekend that seem to blur in Monday, it was good but not sure Id do it quite that way again...today was the longest day Ive had in a while, felt like a drunk zombie until about two this afternoon.

We caught this fireworks out of our living room window Friday night from a game that was going on at the stadium across the way.

Made this amazing polenta on Saturday and paired it with grilled chicken, oh...how...I...adore...polenta ;]

Will.

2010-02-23T19:16:00.000-05:00

I will continue programming, just bought a new fangled light box as I refuse to keep ending up with yellow shots and its still getting dark here at friggin' 6:00 so, give me a few more days and hopefully beautiful new photos will emerge...

Love you all ;]

Tombé.

2010-02-14T11:33:00.003-05:00

Happy Valentines Day to my sweetheart..

We spent another chilly day at the beach yesterday looking for seashells (for a new project) and just being in love ~ we had lots of laughs, hugs and just good times, we like to implement those practices as much as possible.

Love is always in the air, here.

Feature - Bella Bijou Jewelry.

2010-02-13T02:06:00.010-05:00

Jewelry... funky, cute, friendly jewelry. This describes Bella Bijou on a whole. While on a northwest stint, the creator of Bella Bijou found herself jobless with plenty of free time on her hands. Being the smart, creative girl that she is, she cooked up the idea to put used goods to work. To quote her "I especially like the idea of making something special out of something that would be thrown away or cast aside and never appreciated. It's amazing what beauty you can make out of a piece of trash!"

I couldn't agree more! I also must say she has created a fantastic piece of jewelry that can literally suit any mood, any style and ANY outfit, you could really make these earrings work with heels or sneakers, they are fantastic!

As well as using otherwise discarded bottle caps for her jewelry, most of the designs come from old magazines left to collect dust or some which have already hit the garbage, while the Bella Bijou's creator admits to dumpster diving on occasion...it's ok, it's for the greater good!

Here are a couple of her favorite designs:

In the future, Bella Bijou plans to expand to bracelets, magnets & necklaces....I cannot wait!

Please go and check her out, she's a cool chick with a wonderful idea to make beauty post trash.

*photos by Bella Bijou.

Lovebirds.

2010-02-08T18:53:00.005-05:00

Yes, that's what me and my husband are..after a brief pause in our world a few months back to assess the situation, we continue to walk forward, hand in hand, happy..and lucky to be together.

Yesterday afternoon, even though it was quite chilly outside we decided to take a sunset walk at the beach, we went to a beach we had never been and what a wonderful surprise.. there weren't many people out there but we walked far enough that we were completely alone.. the sand was soft underneath our feet, the waves crashed in their normal calming way and the beach sprawled... we came across a few unique and beautiful finds...

This weekend ended up being a wonderful time together, the beach being one of the best parts of it... we really feel so incredibly lucky to have each other and all of the fun,silly,sincere,daring,sweet, sexy,cute, childish,understanding,hard-working,caring, genuine moments together...

We Go Back.

2010-02-06T13:15:00.003-05:00

Having a particulary wonderful day, the sun it out, there is a chill in the air and it feels good to be alive. Got up early this morning, cleaned my little house top to bottom, stopped to feel thankful for my little house and what perfection it provides for me and my family. Started the laundry, brewed some coffee. What better to accompany such a great day? Blueberry meringue pancakes.. it's a recipe we came across a couple years back, well...it's really just as simple as adding meringue as the final stage to your batter.

It is just....so, so good, every bite is a cloud of yum...no, really.

Now off to the beach, it's great to live in Florida..

our baby looking extra cute napping...

isn't she precious...?

Definition of My Smile.

2010-02-02T19:16:00.006-05:00

In a continuation of things that truly make me smile, food related of course...let me share a little more. It is SO, SO true that the simplest...or most complicated of foods can instantaneously bring that warm curve to your mouth and that warm dip in your heart. Of course in tonight's journey for comfort, a heineken and Dropkick Murphys push us on to happiness.

if you even half know me, you know Im a Starbucks fool.. and theres nothing better than an iced cold sweet latte on a hot Florida day..

a somewhat new find, Talenti Sorbetto & Gelato, for me..in Hill Country Peach Champagne.. I literally tried to put this back in the freezer several times and ended up finishing off in one day, without regret! Another yummy flavor, Boy's favorite Cappuccino Gelato..

I am an admitted soda addict, but have cut waaaay back in recent years due to...well, the shit's just not good for ya! But I occasionally grab one and I figure I might as well grab my favorite, crush is one of my all time favorite soda's....ridiculously sweet and tangy..

This is a simple one... cream cheese & balsamic dressing is such a good combo...

You know you LOVE it.

Made this last night actually, turned out excellent and quite easy to make!

Memoire et Hasard.

2010-01-31T15:13:00.006-05:00

One of my favorite things to do on a slow Sunday afternoon is to look thru all of my digital photo albums, all of the memories complied into one streaming beautiful set, I feel VERY lucky to have some of the best moments, favorite foods, flowers, paths, waterfalls,etc,etc...... time captured for me to see..I inevitably find photos I have never got around to editing which is also fun... enjoy a piece of my existence...

one of my favorite pics of Boy..

obviously.

me about 4 years ago..

some of my favorite people...

two incredibly beautiful people, in and out.

he needs a nap, I think..

home...

me being artsy..

home..

a magical place..and all below..

Drive By Posting.

2010-01-26T21:48:00.004-05:00

Hello all! Last week, last weekend and this weekend all seem like one big hour! Although at the time some of it was quite the drag....but hey! We got thru it and here we are on our way to another weekend, hopefully somewhat more calming than the last ;]

To continue the theme of my hectic world, this post will be short and varied.

Tonight's dinner... Pork Tonkatsu.. So simple, so, so lovely.. I always do a variation on the actual tonkatsu sauce (in part because I find it bland and boring..) so I guess it really isn't traditional but all the same in deliciousness... I served with roasted veggie, asparagus and grilled tortillas...usually add a heap of steaming jasmine rice but we had enough starch last night to last a while!

Speaking of last night... both of us kind of had a rough day, in our own separate ways and whats the best cure for a case of the Monday's? No frills, no calorie counting breakfast for dinner!
Mine featured thin, crispy pancakes, bacon and roasted potatoes. Boy is usually the potato roasting king around here but I gave a stab at it last night and might I say, was impressed with myself (so was he..)

Until next time!

Little.

2010-01-21T22:40:00.003-05:00

I love whipping desserts up... for me, usually, desserts happen on a whim, some turn out fantastic and some, due to lack of such preparation, fail miserably but for the times they really turn out well, it's all worth the trial and error...

In this case, a mini yogurt cake... and a mini yogurt cake because the boy ate the other yogurt loaves that were made in no time flat!

This was an extremely recipe to put together, I used Cabot Greek style vanilla bean yogurt, orange peel and almond, it turned out exquisitely good. I also made a homemade syrup of Rainier cherries, maple, cinnamon, almond and orange juice. The cake turned out very light and moist so I let part of my syrup soak into the cake and WHOA, such a yummy turn out.

Culinary Blog Meme.

2010-01-19T12:23:00.007-05:00

Ran across this the other day and thought it was pretty cool. Enjoy? ;]

Boy Chef:

Girl Wonder:

Meme Us:

1. On your blog, are you the chef?the writer?the photographer or all of the above?

Boy: I am Chef. MY wonderful wife S. does the rest.

Girl: Mostly photographer, write, editor, etc but I do contribute my own culinary creations as well.

2. How did you come up with the name for your blog?

Boy: I did no such thing, all S's idea.

Girl: Because it really represents who we are, Boy is a phenomenal aspiring chef, professionally and in home, and me well, just ask Boy..I am full of wonder, I am like a child with the small, silly, beautiful things in life.

3. What's your favorite post to date?

Boy: I have many, but definitely chill would have to be one of those that strikes at the right spot.

Girl: Bleu Sky, for a few reasons, I love the photos from that day, I remember that morning, how it felt, it was so calm, so fun, so perfect...we were in love with the blueberry pancake recipe we found, the pancakes turned out expertly fluffy and tasty and we were vacation planning, what else could be better?

4. You knew we'd ask - What's your favorite food?

Boy: A nice loaf of French crusty bread, great cheeses and charcuterie. done deal.

Girl: ANYTHING Mexican...again, ask Boy, I attempt to coherse him to make some sort of enchilada or taco or chimmichanga or tostada or burrito every night..Im in love with Mexican food.

5. What's your least favorite food?

Boy: Something I don’t eat. fast food.

Girl: Hmm... I really detest lentils and usually turn my nose up at the dishes where they can be found, it's really one of the only things I really shutter at the thought of...that and flan, eek.

6. Chocolate is best in: Mousse?Coffee?Cake?Mole?

Boy: Never had the experience of a true 'mole' sauce, therefore I wouldn't know. Have you had "Chocolat Fondant" that is my answer.

Girl: A perfectly executed over the top chocolate cake is up my alley all day.

7. Favorite vegetable to cook with?

Boy: Onion. Lost without it.

Girl: Tomato, I really love adding roasted tomatoes to sooo many dishes.

8. Favorite vegetable to eat raw?

Boy: Peppers.

Girl: Cucumber

9. Finish this sentence..."I should eat more of______and less of_____".

Boy: you serious? I love to eat....screw it.

Girl: ...more of fruit and less of carbs.

10. New favorite food product find.

Boy: Ajvar.... don’t ask! Just go and buy it.

Girl: Ditto on the Ajvar!!

11. Finish this sentence...."I wish I had a________ in my kitchen".

Boy: 8 Burner Gas Stove / + new 300x300 space!

Girl: Integrated flat top grill.

12. Cheese is best in: Sandwich? Pasta dish? Dessert?

Boy: just as. <--- cheese aholic. but don’t serve me 'store brands' I prefer Cabot, home-made, farmers, feta [made in shop]

Girl: Love love love sandwiches sooo......

13. Favorite milk based product?

Boy: Butter.

Girl: Tie between sour cream and ranch dressing.

14. What do you post more of on your blog? (i.e. sweets?indian dishes?sandwiches?local restaurant reviews?)

Boy: home-made / in-house / with-love food.

Girl: Actually a nice mix of all including my own non-food photography and life's events.

15. What is something you'd like to do more of with your blog?

Boy: CA$H, so we could start campfire kitchen caters.
Girl: More traffic, for now.

Treasure.

2010-01-17T12:35:00.003-05:00

old stone drinking fountain..I found it to be incredibly beautiful with leaves floating at it's surface, with the color of the stone, the silver bowl and water it looked like it could be a portal into another world, another time.. it was just that beautiful...for that moment.

the leaves and moss bathe.

if you crank the lever, the water spills graciously out over the stones

a gorgeous fallen leaf in the lake

nature.. as is.

So far, it's been a slow, relaxing weekend.. the way it should be right? Yesterday I woke up pretty early and was determined to go snap a few photos. I love taking nature photos almost as much or dare I say more than food... it's just SO fresh, so real and well damn, the lighting is perfection. I have to say, I do mope a bit when it comes to taking nature pics in Florida, it's just not as photogenic as a lush forest, a winter snow, a stunning mountain or any waterscapes that can be found in any of the previously mentioned settings. Although, here I am... back in FL and must make the most of it which made me realize something yesterday. Agreed I DO LOVE taking photos of amazing landscape.. the little finds, the little gems you find along the way to photograph is the most rewarding... something you didn't have to arrange or set up, nature as your backdrop..nature as is. Those pictures really stand out for me, they really mean something...they make me smile without warning...

Whim.

2010-01-14T21:15:00.004-05:00

Ah... glorious Thursday, only one more day and we are officially on weekend time boys and girls. This has been a wild week in terms of work load but it has gone pretty quickly and even more importantly, smoothly.

On another note, as I prepared dinner tonight, I had an idea in mind, I want a wrap, a chicken burrito style (not pictured), fresh ingredients ya know? Bean salsa, grilled onions, rice, fresh tomatoes...yes, and I got that down to a T....but what to have with it? I paced back and forth between the pantry and fridge...what to have....what to have? Green beans? Eh.. Broccoli?Nah.. More rice? Nooo.. Hmm...sweet potatoes.. yes, spicy, hot sweet potatoes. With that I grabbed the cayenne pepper, tequila, cinnamon, maple syrup, bread crumbs, s&p and tossed all ingredients in a bowl a turn or two. Less than a teaspoon on the tequila. I also fried up a half piece of bacon and tossed it in, baked at 350 about 15 minutes then broiled for about 5, it was divine... a nice heat with a bit of sweetness and matched the fresh burrito perfectly! Wasn't too bad with the margaritas we whipped up either ;]

On a quick annoyed note, as my chef husband was flipping thru our newest Jan/Feb Food Network magazine, I was in the bedroom folding laundry and heard many a loud explicits and repetitive hand to table banging.. He says "Look at this, I mean, REALLY look at this! WTF!" and shoves the magazine in my face. Please turn to page 48 class and read "Fast Food Fix"....be prepared to pick up your jaw from the floor. I had flipped thru the magazine prior to my husband in the night and saw this but thought it was more of a "Instead of eating fast food garbage, make this and it will be just as good and pertain some of the elements you might seek from fast food."No...no folks, this piece, by Elle Kreiger (wow, Elle, really?) shows you how concoct recipes OUT OF FAST FOOD...yes, literally, go buy a big mac, scrap some of it into a bowl, add additional ingredients and voila, your fast food craving has been quenched. WHAT?!?!?! I have to say.. I am literally shocked to read this... I thought more of you Food Network, I really did.

Completely.

2010-01-13T22:23:00.003-05:00

Nothing better after a long day than homemade chimmichurri atop a beautiful tostada... it's the perfect creation, crunchy, tangy, spicy, creamy...mmmm mmmness! I actually faked this chimmichurri quite a bit due to a few missing ingredients and a couple kitchen glitches but it still turned out quite nice and very enjoyable.

Red, White & Yellow.

2010-01-10T19:25:00.001-05:00

Cold weather and hot soup fit together like any perfect equation.. two lovers hands intertwined, a flower and it's roots, coffee and cream, you know... it feels good and it feels perfect. One of my favorite soups of all time and quite possibly one of the best things Boy makes in house and in restaurant is French Onion Soup... the perfect blend of velvety beef broth collides with red wine, onions, shallots which is then settled into a bowl and tied together with a beautiful bow of crusty french bread and Jarlsberg cheese is then melted away beneath the broiler as cold hands clench a spoon, ready to devour... ready to indulge.

It may be a romantic spell to a simple soup but it sure is worth every moment it takes to make for each spoonful you get to enjoy.

Thanks to the Arctic wind we have been experiencing in Florida, this soup felt extra special...

Chill.

2010-01-09T16:59:00.005-05:00

Bundled up to go out ;]

Well, I must say... for FL, it's damn cold! It certainly feels like the north here today, which I am not at all against, it's just all about digging into the back of the closet to get out out the big coat and the boots, the wind chill here today is between 25-15...that's mighty cold for us southern folk, well atleast it is when you have been out of the cold for some time, I sure wish there were a little snow to come along with all of this chill, would make it feel a little more worth it, ya know?

We did brave it today though, for errands sake. We went to our favorite little Greek market to pick up some fruits and veggies and other yummy Greek specialties. Mmmmm..mmm!

amazing homemade sweet sesame roll with feta inside....oh...oh my.

homemade crusty roll with farmers cheese, ajvar and olive oil drizzle. sensory kaplow!

aforementioned farmers cheese.

glorious and i mean glorious sweet whipped butter, ingredients: cream.

pretty trees on our short and i mean short walk! brrr...

gorgeous fallen leaf on a basketball court...i love the tiny wake in the water from the frigid wind that was blowing, beautiful!

Above.

2009-12-27T13:07:00.008-05:00

Hello folks.. hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! It was a quiet one here, was happy to spend it with my husband and family. We didn't even cook! It was such a perfect, relaxing day.. the week before though we traveled up to my Mom's home, with my older brother in tow.. we sat around the fire, roasted marshmallows, had amazing burgundy beef per Boy Chef..I've been lucky to have a couple of really nice, relaxing weekends full of fun and laughs.. Life is good...

On another yummy note, Boy Chef has been improving his pizza making technique... the below amazingness is sausage, apples, ny sharp white cheddar and a roasted pepper spread as the "sauce"... it was absolutely....delish.

Slow.

2009-12-05T19:51:00.000-05:00

Hi All! Wow... it really has been a long time since a post, I'm so sorry... Life has been a bit of a challenge as of lately but I am still trying to enjoy the holiday spirit and all it has to offer. Trying :)

Path.

2009-10-07T16:36:00.001-04:00

Hello all, I will begin to start to reposting on a regular basis here shortly.. I apologize for just dissapearing, my life took a violent swing towards growing up and learning and finding my way, etc, etc... Not to mention I have really sunk my hands, brain, time into my job, family family family and a bunch of other excuses.

I will be back, with a big of a new look I think. See you soon.

Again, didn't mean to wander off....

Lucky Me.

2009-06-06T21:54:00.003-04:00

I'm lucky in a lot of ways... one imparticular is having Boy in my life, we have been thru a lot of very tough issues but I could not be more in love with the man I married.. and he proves why every day. One day last week was an especially sucky day.. last week as a whole wasn't super but I kinda had the funk all week, one particular day I came home early from work.. horrible headache, bit of a fever.. all over crappy.

I slept from about noon to 4, got up for a shower and went back to bed.. finally got up again at 7 and actually felt partly normal.. Boy knew I was having a rough one so he made me one of my favorite kind of dinners, whipped up a frozen raspberry slurpee for me and turned on a Seinfeld episode... I mean seriously... does it get better?

all wonton cups, filled with spicy chicken salad, dill chicken salad and monterey jack cheese & raspberry jam.

mmmmm...mmmmmmm...

previously mentioned yummy drink.

My Saturday.

2009-05-23T20:25:00.005-04:00

...and my type of taco.

one of my favorite things to add to tacos is cabbage, I just buy the bags of slaw mix at the store and then add it to whatever I want. In this case, cilantro & a touch of ranch dressing with the cabbage adds a wonderful cooling crunch to a spicy taco.

my local grocery NOW sells gelato!!! it is so, so good and comes in a great reuseable container.

one of the many rain storms this week....

because, you just HAVE to get that crumb!

Thought.

2009-05-17T16:33:00.002-04:00

...and this is what my doggy thinks is a good sunday afternoon.

Improvise.

2009-05-17T16:05:00.003-04:00

You know how I feel about the weekends... you must enjoy them, no matter what.. because if you don't, who will?

Anywho, if your plans go sour, if things don't work out how you thought they would, enjoy it anyway!

Today I took a long nap on the couch with my doggy, sat out in the sun with a homemade root beer popsicle and munched on a strawberry crepe while watching a Law & Order SVU marathon.

homemade crepe, fresh strawberries, sweet sour cinnamon cream. yummm.

Outback Ya'll.

2009-05-12T20:49:00.004-04:00

patio slabs waiting.. ground being cleared, don't worry - there was no grass..

new flowers on our front walk.

Some new changes to our yard.... starbucks, sweat and smiles! We worked in our yard both days for quite a few hours. We added some new herbs, took a couple lost ones out. We put in a very, very simple new dog fence. We weeded all of our planters. We replaced our pansies with new flowers, we planted new flowers in our walkway. We also installed a trellis for our new jasmine plant...and we started clearing a spot for a new patio.

It's so nice to have a yard! It may not be a huge one but it's so nice....

that's right, you can no longer tear up my herb garden.

one of OUR tomatoes. the difference from the store to a tomato out of your own garden, cliche but true, the difference is AMAZING.

Change.

2009-05-10T10:08:00.003-04:00

I take back my original idea of making this a food only blog.. that's just silly. This isn't food.com - this is BCGW! ...and I am a wonder'er. With that being said, here a few shots I started off with over at the other blog no longer.

(p.s. - i also realized i don't update this blog as much as i'd like, i don't think i could handle 2)

these photos make me think of lyrics from a song i adore by the incredible sarah mclachlan.

The calm inside me
In the space where I can breathe
I believe there is a
Distance I have wandered
To touch upon the years of
Reaching out and reaching in
Holding out holding in

I believe
This is heaven to no one else but me
And I'll defend it as long as I can be
Left here to linger in silence
If I choose to
Would you try to understand

Nap Snack.

2009-05-03T19:56:00.005-04:00

Our weekends here, for the most part are all about relax. During the week, we stay pretty busy - busy enough that when the weekends arrive, we look forward to movies on the couch, long breakfasts and naps, yes.. the weekend and naps, are they not synonymous? Today as we snuggled into our bed for an afternoon nap in the sun, Boy said "Wow, I'm hungry, you? - yesss, I need a snack!"

Boy decided on a Klondike bar and settled back into bed. I sat, rather laid there and thought and thought. Should I just go for a nap and forget the hunger? Should I have a klondike bar? I want one but I really want one later tonight... hm, really shouldn't have two today. Hmm... I am hungry though, haven't had anything since this morning's breakfast. I then sprung out of bed, off for the kitchen, boy hollering "I want one too!"

This is what I came up with:

Behold, pita pizza.. last night we had chicken parmesan for dinner, I had a chicken breast and the homemade sauce with vegetables left over. I topped a piece of flat bread with sauce, popped it in the oven to initially heat the sauce then split the breast between the two mini pizza's - topped with provolone and stuck it back into the oven. Baked for about 4-5 minutes at 400 then broiled for two minutes. Boy was surprised by my quick creation and it was quite fulfilling!

Oh right, also - we ate this in bed and then curled up to nap. Because THATS what you do on the weekends.

Boursin Burger.

2009-05-02T18:21:00.004-04:00

Quite a few years ago, I started working at a bistro - I actually worked for their sister restaurant for a year or so as a bar back/cashier and then went over to the bistro to be a server. I was still pretty young at that point (17-18ish) and still pretty american fed (and minded for that matter..lol) anyhow, they had a boursin burger on the menu and the idea of it kinda of perplexed me as I was used to cheeseburgers, you know with.. cheddar. Anyhow, one day while setting up I decided to give one a test drive and I haven't looked back since. If you like burgers, and you like boursin then you know how good of a combination this is.

We made our own today at home, of course my boursin was pretty simple but hey.. that's how we like it around here.

Today was and still is a beautifully sunny, wonderful day.

fresh basil from the garden.

basil, 1 tsp of olive oil, garlic s&p

give a quick mash.

add cream cheese, I prefer whipped.

stir. incorporate.combine, etc.

quick relish of red onion and cherry tomatoes.

enjoy!

2009-05-01T07:41:00.002-04:00

What is it about coffee? It's so funny that when your little; your views on coffee are so skewed (much like everything else) and when you finally make it to the years of long hours at the office, high heels and car insurance that you have a totally new relationship with coffee. For me, it's so much fun actually - coffee is such a great conversation starter and YOU know that even the toughest, sensitive conversations are somehow smoothed over and more comfortable in the presence of a piping hot latte or an icy machiato.

I also know that there are plenty of people not quite amused by Starbucks and their mass stabilization (perhaps slightly less stable right now, but thats not the point) - but you can walk into any Starbucks, anywhere, and find that comfort - in your cup, and in your chair. Trust me, I've explored many a tricky conversation at Starbucks all over this county, and the next, and the next and somehow, they work out.

Is that to say say coffee and it's ambiance is magic? Perhaps. But whether you're sipping it on your way to work or snuggling up with it in a SB's orrr a nice cafe.. it's soothing, one way.. or another.

Planning.

2009-04-26T11:16:00.002-04:00

That's what we've been doing! Planning, planning, planning!
We are deciding on things we want to see, places we want to go, where we want to dine of course! Which brings me to something specific - we found the coolest cafe in Bozeman. I think it may be our one stop eatery, everything is organic, fresh, and fun. Gotta love fun when it comes to food. Check out our find, here's hoping it's as good as it looks!

...and what better to fuel your planning than cinnamon sugar crepes? My husband is a crepe genius.

My Ami.

2009-04-19T22:07:00.003-04:00

they had great garlic bread..

Last Wednesday I went out with one of the best people in the world.. my best friend, Dyne. She originally wasn't going to take me out with her because I didn't know the band that sang Man Eater.. well! She decided I was obviously best possible option.. at 6 am that morning.. haha.

So we met after work at this little greek restaurant I have been pining to try for some time! Then we made our way to the HALL & OATES concert people. Wow, what an experience. Firstly, never surrounded by that many 40 and 50 year olds at a time.. now, I don't have any issue with this, it was just.. wow, a lot. I was envisioning all these people in their twenties..going to the same concert, just looking slightly less loafers and suits. There sure were a lot of mini skirts though.. tehehe.

it was hard to get a still shot of them, esp because camera's were not allowed. oops.

Glad we did try the greek restaurant, Dyne had the sampler and I had the chicken souvlaki platter... I was in love with it, the tzatziki was incredible, heavy on the dill and just perfect. Their feta was also lovely, very creamy... I had a glass of Ruffino pinot noir for 4 bucks! Service was a little bit slow and inattentive but for me, the food well made up for it.

ok, odd moment.. they have some italian fare as well and so they have a caesar salad on the menu, apparently I ordered a caesar and asked for a dollop of potato salad on it as I THOUGHT I had ordered a greek.. when it came to the table I just looked at it.. though for a minute.. it was actually superb!....very odd moment though!...hah

I don't think Dyne was as happy about her plate as I was mine.. oh well, next time she chooses then! Overall experience was great!

Flying.

2009-04-13T19:31:00.005-04:00

Hello all!

I don't normally wish time away, but I am now.. we made our reservations for MT today! I am so, so excited for this, I really cannot describe to you!

Thankfully for me, time seems to be flying by - between cooking dinner for family, cleaning the house, playing with the dog, doing immigration stuff, going on mini road trips to the country, work, more work, bringing work home, a little more work.. time is on my side.

My Grandma broke her arm a few weeks ago and since then has been managing pretty well, Grandpa has really stepped up to the plate and helped out quite a bit but seems to be lacking in the cooking department. Last Friday I cordially invited myself over for dinner to be not only guest, but chef.. Grandma said the menu has pretty much been sandwiches and soup so I was inteNt on making something warm and cozy.

I made roasted garlic sage chicken, buttery oh so buttery mashed potatoes, homemade stuffin' and homemade from the heart gravy. Now, let me confess.. that was my first go at gravy.. that's right, I've never made gravy...ever. I had Boy give me a quick how to run down on the way out the door and let me TELL YOU church, even Boy complimented me on my gravy makin' skills! I also could not believe myself, it was buttery, rich but not overpowering.. airy, sort of marsala-y.. it was just damn good and felt so good to eat. My Gma thanked me over and over for the wonderful meal, it was a nice way to start my weekend.

Oh, I finished her off with roasted peaches, streusel topping and butter peekin' ice cream.

In other news, apparently I am on a good note when it comes to cooking, as this weekend I whipped up homemade chimichurri for our tostadas.. let's just say we've eaten it two nights in a row and it would so not kill me to go for a third, except Boy is bringing home his amazing pate from work tonight.

Also, I have started another blog.. it's pretty much all photography outside of food. I take so MANY pictures besides my food photos and sometimes its just weird to put up an old rusty barn, or the dog on here. I think from now on I will stick to just food, etc here and my other blog everything else. Which reminds me, how do I list my other blog next to my current one on my dashboard? Anyone know?

Thanks!

la vie,etc.

Dare I say.. Better?

2009-04-05T18:58:00.003-04:00

Well our old espresso machine finally bit it and we had to break down and fork over the cash.. ok, no one really had to twist our arms because not only do we looove our coffee, but spending 5.00 bucks a day at Starbucks doesn't exactly work out either.

We decided to spend a bit more on this one than the last, and wow.. what a cup of coffee! Well, more than that.. a wonderful cup of espresso or a cappuccino..

On another wonderful note, look what Heather over at girlichef gave me! I'm so flattered! =)

Bleu Sky.

2009-04-04T21:46:00.006-04:00

For whatever reason I have been CRAVING blueberries lately, which is odd because blueberries really aren't one of my favorite fruits at all...? Last night I made blueberry streusel muffins, but Boy and I scarfed those babies down in a hurry! What? They were little!

Anyhow, this morning we sat curled up on the floor in front of the computer eating blueberry pancakes and looking at all of the Montana cabins, ooohing and awing over the 500 a night ones.. I must say, wow.. there are some incredible looking homes and spaces out there, I particularly love the ranch style entrances...

I really cannot wait for this trip, Boy and I always have incredible, funny, amazing road trips and then we get to vacation on top of it! I am really brimming with joy about photo opportunities out there.. the fields, the skies, the lakes, the mountains, the people, the food.. j'ai hâte a ça!

Now onto the pancakes!

mix a little meringue into your pancakes, hello fluffy!

New News.

2009-04-02T12:39:00.003-04:00

Hello all you wonderful people.

We have a couple of updates for you and a request for advice.

First great happening is that Boy F-I-N-A-L-L-Y got his "Permanent Status of Residence" approved and should be receiving his Green Card here shortly. It's only taken 6 years...
You best believe I'll be plastering good photos of that once received..

Moving on, we are going on vacation, hootie! We are going in August and plan on venturing out to the west, Montana to be specific. We are thinking Bozeman almost for sure. Any ideas? Advice? Warnings? hehe..

I can't wait to see BIG LAND...big..big...land. I just want to roll around in a field, Dorothy style.

Anyhow, let us know what you think.

Oh, and I wanted to let everyone know that we are still loving Stub Hub, we got in the game without a hitch, sat next to a few awesome strangers, only foul was the lightning loosing!

Oh well? Next time..

Drive By Blogging.

2009-03-27T18:43:00.003-04:00

As you can see, it's been quite busy in my world and I haven't even stopped by to look at my blog.. or the rest of you wonderful people, much less actually do some posting!

So I will give you a bit of an overview of the week..

Boy's roasted quesadillas.. wow,what a perfect lunch!

why only have one birthday cake? Boy's birthday cakes for his birthday on this passed Wednesday.. toasted banana,coconut, rum cake.. a chocolate pyramid with caramel cake..and a almond cheese cake with a raspberry pastry baked on top.. <--- by far the best!!!

my homemade tomato soup and sour cream/provolone with fresh basil grilled cheeses on dark german wheat

aww... our lemon tree and tomato plant.

So, as I said.. hectic week.. boy's birthday was on Wednesday and we went to one of our favorite restaurants in town.. Guppy's.. and I had all the intentions of fabulous photos to come but we ended up sitting inside and it's a very dimly restaurant and boy scowls when I use the flash sooo.. next time right?

I got boy hockey tickets as one of his gifts, this Sunday... 3....rows....off....the...ice!!!

Which by the way, I must recommend Stub Hub as that's where I got a KILLER deal on the tickets and even though we haven't gone to the game yet I want to report what a smooth transaction.. will report to you post game to make sure that follows thru!

Sunny.

2009-03-19T20:19:00.004-04:00

I use to not be so keen about the sun, and it's not like I soak up hours in it right now either but one of my favorite moments, whether on the weekend or weekdays is opening the blinds up in the morning on our sliding glass doors and letting the sun pour into the house and fill the room, then stepping outside onto the porch, concrete warm and inviting beneath my feet.. aaaaah..

I love to take food out there and lounge in the warmth.. now, what would be a good idea to take out in the sun and munch on? A wonderfully spicy, cold pasta salad..and when made correctly - one of my favorite things to eat.

roasted chicken, corn, carrotts, onions, spicy cream dressing, including siracha topped with a squeeze of lemon juice

jumbo bumble bee approaching it's dinner

pink snap dragons also enjoying the sun

puppy girl enjoying the sun

Faux Works.

2009-03-17T20:49:00.003-04:00

I needed something creamy, something cozy, warm and full of yum. I knew we had pork chops thawing in the fridge, so I quick started marinading them in a simple roasted red pepper, chopped tomatoes and shaved parmesan, s&p of course.. let that marinate for a few hours, meanwhile contemplating what creamy, cozy, cheesy..yes, cheesy vehicle I wanted to put my chops on.

I was thinking risotto.. but not only did I not have the proper ingredients, I've never attempted risotto, I've only had it once and was quickly transported to creamy, lofty heaven..

So I marched into my kitchen, determined to pull off a damn near risotto like pot with only jasmine rice in hand... well, my friends I'll never give my secrets away for this but with a little chicken stock, garlic, parmesan, soy milk and a few other ingredients later I pulled off what I ALMOST fooled my chef of a husband as risotto!

I will say no more, just feast your eyes....

grilled pork, fresh sage, rosemary and basil

prickly pinks from a local botanical garden.

wouldnt this be a beautiful entrance to a house?

Wrap Love.

2009-03-11T21:00:00.003-04:00

As you know I do make my way home from work to have lunch, at least usually.. anyhow, I normally make time to actually make a decent sandwich.. like picking fresh basil, cooking asparagus, firing up the grill.. you know, anything I can accomplish in less than 20 minutes.

So, let me show you what I've been whipping up as of late.

raw red and green pepper, swiss cheese, smoked turkey, dijion dressing.

homemade salsa, provolone, roasted chicken.

grilled onions, fresh basil, grilled tomatoes, ham, roasted red pepper dressing, ranch dressing, pepper jack cheese

asparagus, ham, swiss, miracle whip, fresh ground pepper

Move.

2009-03-09T20:17:00.005-04:00

gorgeous antique shelby.. pristine interior. where's my scarf clark?

Our day out at the tracks.. it was the NMRA Nitto Spring Break Shoot Out in Bradenton.. now, as many of you probably do not know, I'm obsessed, head over heels, in.. love with Mustangs, not just any ole' girl, but the beautiful, sleek stangs that command your eyes and ears, so where to be more at home than at the mustang races.

Boy's never been and I was so excited to take him, you could hear them dueling as we pulled into the parking lot.. I was literally jumping up and down like a 5 year old and he was perking up, as if to say "Hmm... I just might like this."

After 4 or so hours of pounding sun, rip racing engines, a jet dragster, mingling thru show cars, people, and enough exhaust fumes to get to high for days we headed home, pictures and appetites on board. Oh btw, Boy loved it!

We stopped for what seemed like a natural choice, BBQ =)

Boy tried corn nuggets for the first time.. yes, I understand, it sounds without doubt the most redneck thing you could ever pop into your mouth, and it quite possibly is..but c'mon now.. fried cream corn.. ? It's just ONE of those things.. you just have to go on and commit food fraud every once in a while.

the awesome elaine larsen, jet engine racer.

ms. larsen, and her jet engine dragster. first time i've actually met her, she was so incredibly nice.

i think this is a steeda, can't remember. but gorgeous, yes?

03/04 pulling up to race.

now thats my girl, a beautiful roush.

pulling out of the water box.

Boy's Food.

2009-03-07T09:52:00.000-05:00

I don't give Boy enough credit here for all of the goodies that comes out of our kitchen, so today I am showing you some of the things he creates without any assistance from me, which he normally doesn't need anyway.. being a chef, and all. I'm better hanging onto the camera..

I am so happy the weekend is here, the forecast is projected at upper 70's both days.. so it's perfect for doing work in the garden and for the races on Sunday.. my adrenaline is pumping just thinking about it. Wooo!

it may be simple, but Boy's chicken salad is phenomenal, just the right amount of creamy plus spicy, he normally pairs it with fresh veggies and grilled tortillas.. one of my all time favorite mid week meals.

Boy's roasted potatoes..with bacon, fresh picked rosemary, sage, basil, coarse salt, fresh ground peppercorns, olive oil, .. that's normally how it comes together at home, he is also pretty popular at his restaurant for them too, but there they are made with duck fat..

This is one of Boy's most recent, and absolutely delicious on-the-fly meals I think he's ever made.. he shucked a cob of corn, threw them in a sautee pan with soy milk, s&p for a homemade cream corn.. he grilled chorizo and red pepper, also an onion I think... that all came together on brunoise potatoes, he topped it off with a poached egg and a cilantro aioli..for the "toast" he made Parmesan won tons... it was his version of sausage, eggs and toast, and way better than ANY version I've ever had...

a bowl of potato and leek soup from his restaurant.. red onion jam crostini

thinly sliced grapes, peccorino, pepper, tarragon.. equals explosion in yo' mouth!
______________________________________________________________

Chef's Caption & Anecdote's.

Ground peppercorn mix are a substantial blend variety of pink, grey, green and black; I am able to utilize both the oils and the berries using a traditional french method, of laying down a few 20 or so on a wooden plank and crushing them with a heavy bottom saucepan in a rocking motion. This allows for direct flavor from the source, as well as keeping both the oils intact and the wonderful texture that is a coarser pepper, rather than the usual finely ground by machine mess from god knows where.

Brunoise a finely diced chop, using agility, skill, and know how. must cut lengthwise starting at the very tip, then proceeding with exact measurements for all slices, place them on the cutting board, rotate, and do the same on the width. assuming all is done with precision, you should end up with an absolute perfect square. Smaller the size, less cooking time right? Pair with Olive oil on med high, sautee, add fresh garlic towards the end and voila! it Works great when your kitchen is all cluttered from all your other prep, mise, or maybe cause you had too much to drink, still drinking but shouldn't be, or it just looks like warfare a la Friday night, after work and carelessness of empty bottles, and dishes in the sink.

... Wednesday, after having some VIPs at the bistro, and some curious onlookers, which lead to a pretty heavy load of people by the end, we enjoyed our revenues with more glasses of wine than i could count for, and at the end, with a cigarette in hand, crossing traffic, by feet mind you, i stumbled my way in the door. As i woke up, groggy yet satisfied, there i was late at night, clusterkitchenchaos hungry, no wanting to wait...the concoction was manifested, and now, well it's a new staple, as so many have become.

"Si ton couteau n'est pas aiguisee, que fait tu dans ma cuisine?"

chef D.

Campfire Kitchen.

2009-03-01T21:34:00.000-05:00

As the weekend approaches for me, I start to think up ways to have fun, enjoy my time, really love my days off... and most of my ideas of fun are simple, because what else is there really?

Every weekend we have soul food sundays.. what that means is we spend a lot of sunday marinading, preparing, thinking, lingering over food.. whether we are snacking, marinading a piece of meat, looking thru a new cook book, concocting new ideas, etc..etc..etc.. by the end of the day we have a glorious meal that we don't think about twice about the fat content, or other ultra conscious thought processes that you need to apply on a daily basis.

Today we did a take on a picnic and it turned out to be a perfect day as it was cold and windy as all hell outside, sooo.. a wonderfully cozy picnic INSIDE was perfect! We actually did quite a bit today so I didn't get a chance to get a shoot a lot of the picnic foods itself.. but I did shoot something very, very special..

S'mores, my friends.. s'mores... and a fire toasted marshmallow.. D-r-o-o-l..ok? drool.

Among wonderfully yummy treats throughout the weekend I did pop over to a local park to catch a few shots, talk to a few strangers.. you know, normal day in me town.

Lively.

2009-02-27T20:05:00.001-05:00

me.. as a lime. m...hm.

Well, this week has been filed, finally. This has been a long one, with hi's and low's... Carla didn't win TC but she does have a sweet new ride! Work has been.. well, it's been. My brain sort of twitches to think about this week..

Anyhow, as usual we have been running around like mad people.. I mean look at the time right now, it's 8:06 and I haven't made my way to the gym quite yet.. Thank goodness Friday's around here is take out night..

In all the week's normal craziness I haven't had much time to snap away any shots and the few shots I did take I wasn't wild about. I did get a chance to sift thru my albums..my hundreds, and thousands of photos.. which always makes me smile because of the story it takes you on.. makes you remember a laugh, or argument.. a smell, a sense of comfort.. a certain sound, a particular day.. it's one of the most mentally stimulating things for me.. and since this week has been somewhat of a downer I decided to pick a few photos of days, times, smells, sounds.. whatever it may be and express to you how that picture came about or the joy that moment brought me..then.. and now.

serenbe.
love.
yes....

standing in the river in asheville, nc.
it was so cold, and so beautiful there..
long trails to get lost on..

two years ago - serenbe in georgia.. seriously, this stupid trampoline was our favorite thing.. best.vacation.ever.
it always smelled like pancakes and lavender there.
got to go back soon

Top Chef Finale.

2009-02-25T17:08:00.000-05:00

GO CARLA GO!

Fresh.

2009-02-23T19:09:00.000-05:00

I love lunch! No, really.. I do.. lunch food is my all time favorite.. sandwiches, soups, chips, pickles, pretzels, fruit.. I don't know, I just DO know that I could eat lunch 3 times a day.. and sometimes kind of do.

Today when I dropped by my house for lunch I wanted something slightly different from the turkey, swiss, l & t .. so I grabbed the whole grain bread, smoked chicken slices, red onion, granny smith apple, mayo and dijionaise.

I've had apple onion combinations on sandwiches before just never made it at home.. mmmm it was perfect. Just the perfect amount of tang from the dijionaise meets the peppery sweetness of the onion and the crisp, sourness of the apple along with the chicken and a slice of sharp white cheddar. It was more than perfect..

We did a lot of work out in our yard this weekend and I will share more details on that later, but for now, my yummy sandwich and a shot of my pup trying out the new walk way.