100th Post

As a naurally creative and self driven person, this blog has been an amazing classroom.  With the last 100 posts I feel I have learned so much.  I’ve learned about web design and Photoshop.  I’ve learned how to better use my DSRL camera.  I’ve become more and more familiar with WordPress (I’m currently working on building a WordPress.org site for the future!).  I have loved learning how to use art programs on my iPad, and I love the personal touch they add to my blog.  It has been an adventure learning all the ins and outs of a technical world I knew nothing about when I started.  Learning how to translate my skills and aesthetic, into a space that I am proud to say represents me, has been a struggle and a gift.  A perfectionist, I often beat myself up over the quality of photos I am producing each week, or because I want more from my blog than I am able to immediately produce (web design & I still have a lot of learning to do). Slowly but surely this blog will one day be a full vision of what I’d like, but along the way I have learned am learning to be patient with myself, as I learn. (so much learning!)  And, I can honestly say I am proud when I look back at my posts, knowing how far my work on this blog has come since day one, when I used my phone camera to snap pictures for His & Her Whole Wheat Pizzas. I was clueless about so much, I was just jumping in head first for the experience.  This blog has become so much more to me then I could have realized 99 post ago.  It has brought me so much pleasure and happiness.  It has also challenged me. Changed me.  It has brought me to tears(what’s the point of doing this?!), and frustrated anger (that sick feeling in your stomach when everything you’ve worked so hard on has been erased…we’ve all been there).  It has taught me to have more faith in myself, and that I don’t give up, even when I want to, even on the days the work I did feel pointless. It has served as a tool in finding a genuine, and strong, sense of self.  What I have learned about myself is not seen so much in the content I share, but through the process it took to get it there.  If each post could be viewed as a lesson, as I learned something new with each one, than I can’t wait to see what the next 100 have to teach me, or what I might find out about myself.   Thank-you thank-you thank-you to my readers and everyone who has shown me so much support! It is so appreciated and necessary.  xo

“Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous.”

Confucius

Zen Dressing

{Banana Republic shirt (old), Cira skirt, Aldo shoes, B Makowsky bag, thrifted scarf & sunglasses, earrings gift from mom}

Life has been pretty casual around here lately.  We have been spending a lot of time at home, which is always wonderful and cozy. This outfit was a brief departure from the yoga pants I’d been wearing most of the day, and much more appropriate for running errands (oh so glamorous).  I am looking forward to the holiday season, and the excuse it gives me to add glitz to any outfit. With more reasons to get out of jeans and t-shirts (or yoga pants) this coming month, I’ll have to snap out of homebody mode just a tad.    However, there will still be plenty of time spent at home during the holidays.  Because, while I love a good holiday party, cooking (& eating), decorating, and just simply sitting in the living room, enjoying the magical light of  our tree, are still what makes this season so wonderful.  That, and being with family. Hope everyone is as ready for holiday cheer as I am.

Our Visitor

Our recent visitor is fat, furry, and has a torn ear.  He also loves eating our pumpkins. And taunting the pets.  I know I should probably shoo him away, but I find him pretty cute.  Plus, he provides entertainment for the pets.  Poor Scout really wishes she could go outside and chase him, however, she is strictly an indoor kitty (unless she sneaks out).   This not so little guy has returned daily to greedily grab handfuls of pumpkin and seeds. I think I like knowing he’s being well fed before the true cold comes. I do not like the mess he has made on our porch.  And he hasn’t brought any friends, so it’s been a private feast, minus the watching eyes from behind the glass door.  Oh well, pumpkins season is almost over, it’s time for tinsel and a tree.  I’m happy my pumpkins haven’t gone to waste, and I hope Mr. Squirrel has fattened up plenty for the winter.

In Our Kitchen

1. potstickers & edamame for dinner at a friend’s (she made quinua stir fry…delicious)
2. coucous (the dish so nice they named it twice) salad topped with sautéed chicken breast 
3. pre-roasted yellow tomatoes, garlic, onion & jalapeños with parsley & olive oil,
finished veggies were served over wild rice
4. veggie sautée
5. steak & bacon
6. finished steak & bacon + mashed sweet potatoes
7. pizza & wine…because somedays you just want to chill
8. roasted spaghetti squash + butter & bacon
9. spicy tomato & bell pepper shrimp over roasted garlic risotto + roasted cauliflower

I believe I have mentioned before the lack a light in our place (only a few dozen times).  Trying to take quality pictures with the Nikon in the kitchen often proves very frustrating.  The task of getting pictures of the food we cooked, became more consuming than the cooking itself (turns out having a tripod set up in the kitchen while your multitasking a meal can be stressful).  Needless to say it took some of the enjoyment out of cooking.  Because of this, I have been unable to share the amount of food I would like to, despite many efforts.   I really wanted to be able to share the wonderful foods, and recipes, we make and experiment with, however I don’t want to sacrifice the pleasure I get from cooking.  I have come up with a solution until we get a space with more natural light.  With the use of my iPad I will be documenting our weekly kitchen endeavors through a simple shots.  It will be fun for us to see our eating habits change with the seasons, or the contents of our fridge.  We are big on using what we have on hand, making a meal up as we go, so don’t be surprised if you see a few dishes that seem discombobulated.  I’ll still be doing more recipe specific blogs, but this will save me from feeling I have let too many wonderful meals go unacknowledged, and I can share even more food here.  Yay more food! Plus who doesn’t like food collages.

Merry Autumn Days

{F21 dress, hat, & jacket, Hue tights, vintage necklace & pin, thrifted sunglasses & clutch, boots from Cira}

Merry Autumn Days
By Charles Dickens

‘Tis pleasant on a fine spring morn
To see the buds expand,.
‘Tis pleasant in the summer time
To see the fruitful land;
‘Tis pleasant on a winter’s night
To sit around the blaze,
But what are joys like these, my boys,
To merry autumn days!

We hail the merry Autumn days,
When leaves are turning red;
Because they’re far more beautiful
Than anyone has said,
We hail the merry harvest time,
The gayest of the year;
The time of rich and bounteous crops,
Rejoicing and good cheer.

Wish List

{1:2:3:4:5}

Isn’t this all adorable!  I have a soft spot for the fox fingerless gloves, and don’t they look soft! And I would love to have a tiny totable planter! So simple and so genius, plus it would make a cute gift for a friend with a green thumb.  I wouldn’t like real taxidermy in my home, but this paper maché deer bust would look great over my fire place.  The boots I can rationalize buying because I live in Colorado (this happens often when it comes to boots), and the kitty ring is just plain precious.  Christmas is on it’s way, so here’s to wishful thinking!

Caught in Bed

My pets mean the world to me.  I’ve had Scout for seven years.  Bill has had Rocky for almost six years, and I have been with them for the past 5.  They are a big part of our little family.  When we first moved in together there was a big question mark surrounding how our 91lb boy would get along with our 11lb girly.  Rocky had never been around kitties before so I was a little anxious, but I knew she would fend for herself and hide if he saw her as a snack.  To our relief it was disinterest at first sight.  A curiosity grew in both of them as they learned to share a small space, and our attention.  It’s been wonderful to watch their relationship change and even grow.  Scout has pretty much established herself as the tiny boss of the house.  She likes to jump out of closets, or from behind furniture, at Rocky.  He now hesitates every time he enters our bedroom in the evenings (when she’s rowdiest) knowing she’s crouched, waiting to pounce.  It is really cute, and kind of embarrassing for Rocky.  We have also seen many sweet moments between them.  When one of them doesn’t feel well the other knows.  After a bad slip on ice last winter, Rocky was left with a sore paw.  Once we got him home and settled down on his bed, Scout approached him.  He was very still and quiet as she smelled both of his front paws, before giving his injured paw tiny kitty kisses.  It was a brief and simple moment, but it made me so happy to see this closeness between them.  While they have not gotten cuddly yet, I see them getting more comfortable and loving towards each other.   It is special and wonderful catching them together in bed like this.  It’s amazing how much joy these two give me.

Some Old & Some New

 It’s my favorite finding thrifted/vintage pieces for a steal.  It’s even more exciting when they go perfectly with a new dress you’ve been looking to accessorize.  I got this dress while in Seattle, and though it came with a cute, simple belt, this one I found at the Goodwill is much more unique, and more me.  I wore it backwards because I love the beaded pattern, and it had to be shown off.  I’m pretty sure I had the some belt when I was a kid!  The necklace I found while exploring a new flea market we spotted on the way out to Bill’s dad’s house in Loveland.  We only had 10 minutes to look around because they were closing, but we are quick shoppers.  We also left with a new cast iron pan and strainer for the kitchen.  We’ll have to go back when we have more time.  I love the hunt, especially with so much success.

ps Everyone get out and vote! Today is an important day!

{F21 dress, Kut jacket (similar), Target socks, Thrifted bracelets and belt, F21 earrings and rings, Frye boots, necklace was a new flea market find}

Something In the Morning Air

Crisp, chilly air brings me to life in the mornings, invigorating the senses and awakening the body.  We have been gifted with many of these type of mornings the past week.  The moon has even remained visible most mornings, as if it too wants to stick around to enjoy the magnificence of our day’s earlier hours.  So, again I’m expressing how much I love fall.  I cherish that here in Colorado you can watch, and feel, the earth change with the seasons.  I find myself more creatively and spiritually inspired during the fall than during other times of the year.  Maybe it can be attributed to  the sense of calm, peace, and stillness which settles over me after busy summer months.  Carrying this inner quiet, and motivated inspiration, into the holiday season is always the challenge.   As they (the holidays) quickly approach, I will use my early morning walks with Rock to jump-start each day, reminding myself to slow down, and not to cram my mind, or my schedule, with unnecessary stress.