good therapy...

ceej is whisking me off to the desert for a quick weekend trip.

i've been needing empty spaces full of silence.

hoping it doesn't go by too quickly.

be safe this weekend, dear readers.

grief...

i am feeling that i want silence forever more...

over the weekend we lost a dear friend,

a woman that i adored and was getting to know

as she started the search for her voice with the rest

of us women in our little writing group.

but we all knew that she had already found her voice,

she was so articulate and beautiful as she spoke.

i will forever remember her sitting on my couch

in the lamplight opening up her heart and her mind.

i dearly love this woman, midwife, friend.

Briana Blackwelder (at my son's birth) from David Perry on Vimeo.

Second video from Kate & Neil

pretty dresses, hip spectacles, and real-live bunnies

these are lovely photos from the family archives...
my sweet mom and her family from the 1950s-1960s.
this is nostalgia at it's best, yes?
i certainly love seeing my cute little mom with her dimples
and sparkling eyes {which, of course, are still my favorite features of hers}.

i am wondering about that bunny...
celia jane tells the story often of when she was a little girl
and her family had a couple of bunnies : one particularly hot day
her and her sister became quite in a panic as they worried
their little bunnies were over-heating in all of that fur
on the hottest day of the year...
they proceeded to poor buckets and buckets of cold water
on those bunnies...i won't tell you how it ended.
i only hope that the bunny pictured here had a better life.
{hoping you're not planning on getting yourself a bunny,
unless, that is, you happen to be a bunny-raising-extraordinaire}.

today also happens to be earth day...
i love that this weekend is full of ways to celebrate life
and all that this earth and beyond have to offer us.
life is sweet, isn't dear readers?

happy weekend!

how the weather brings me outside to sit with blossoms while also avoiding hungry little bees

i'll tell you that writing outside is pretty much as lovely as it gets.

i'll also tell you that i will be sad to see my wild dandelion lawn

get mowed over this weekend...seems the landlords don't appreciate "wild."

a wild atmosphere is just what i needed for my writing...not that i got much done.

but i did write. which is progress for this perfectionist-on-the-mend.

i also have been getting to know my tudor and stuart britain (in prep for oxford this summer)...

lots about gentry, nobleman, fights over scotland, but not over ireland;

and i'm just now getting into the good stuff: women, childbirth, life and death.

to top it all off, i get to listen to a wonderful british accent read the "faerie queen"

as i read along (thank goodness, because i get tripped up when i have to mentally

switch u's with v's and i's with j's...oi). thank. goodness. for. audio. books.

i must admit that taking breaks from the ol' intertube (aka: internet)

is a breath of fresh air this wonderful spring season.

i may or may not be back tomorrow...depends on the weather.

note to self: blossoms sure are pretty, but they attract huge-mongous bees looking to feed their queen

keeping myself entertained {updated}

while ceej has been away i've spent my evenings
turning pretty pages in the lamp light.
this weekend ceej returns...hip, hip hooray!

happy weekend. i'm going outside.

oh yes, and do check out a "behind-the-scenes"

blog post at le voyage creatif about our little macaron photo shoot.

where i've been : enjoying my new work space and writing to my heart's content

hello there. i've been away taking a little vacation from blogging.
i've been enjoying writing in this workspace that ceej helped me put together...
he built the table, made the pin board and the chalk board...
and there's more furniture he built to show, and there's more on the list to build.

i've been writing and working with photographs.
our writing group's first meeting was this last sunday,
and it's exactly what i needed : inspiration and motivation and support.
i've been going through old polaroids...seriously, remind me why they stopped making this film again?

we go back and forth between winter and spring here.
at the moment winter is sending us her lightest snowy flakes.
hope your week is going well.

pink tile & spring flowers

it's almost been three months since we moved here and into our little home...
i guess this snow-storm we're currently having makes it feel like it's still january.
but i am happy for snow...happy that summer isn't quite here yet.
i am quite in love with our home.
the pink tile in the bathroom is one of my favorite things about it.

i'm off for a date with my mom...watching movies and sipping soup.
happy weekend!

food for vegetarians : desert sage flatbread and how i got locked out delivering these goodies to neighbors

this recipe comes from a beautiful cookbook, "with a measure of grace."
i received mine as a gift from my favorite couple ever for a graduation present.
love.this.book.

yesterday, when i decided to give this bread a try, i was determined
to bake the bread, do the laundry, practice the violin, and take photographs
all at the same time. so you know what happened, i'm sure...

i forgot to add a couple of ingredients at the right time,
and in my hurry to drop hot rolls off at the neighbors
i locked myself out, in a snow/thunder storm...
and, of course, ceej is out of town and we don't have
a spare key anywhere, and i was late to teach a yoga class.
funny, but i was rather calm and amused mostly.
i spent a few more minutes at another neighbor's house
as my in-laws came to the rescue and i flew to class
just in time...and i finally got back into my house safe and sound.

it's good to have family and friends so willing to help, yes?

anyway, despite my mistakes in the recipe they still turned out deliciously...
warm rolls with butter/ghee & honey was just what i needed last night
after all the craziness. here's the recipe:

ingredients:

3 cups warm water
1 Tbsp yeast
1 Tbsp sugar
6 cups flour
1 1/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup bran
1/4 cup olive oil plus more for drizzling
1 Tbsp salt plus coarse salt for sprinkling
2 Tbsp chopped fresh sage

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
in a large mixing bowl combine the water, yeast, and sugar and let bubble for 10 minutes
add flour, cornmeal, bran, oil, salt, and sage to yeast mixture.
mix slowly, as it can get messy.
machine-knead for 5 minutes, or knead by hand until dough is smooth and easy to handle.
place dough in large, oiled bowl.
turn dough ball to coat with oil and cover with plastic wrap.
let rise 30 minutes
re-knead for a minute, adding additional flour if necessary to make the dough easier to handle.
pull dough out onto floured table and form into 6-ounce balls (tennis-ball sized) for sandwiches, or 3-ounce balls (golf-ball sized) for dinner rolls.
place balls on lined baking sheet and flatten a bit.
let rise 10 minutes, then flatten again, spreading dough with fingertips and poking small holes into surface.
bread should be flat and round, like a hamburger bun.
drizzle more olive oil over tops of formed flatbread and sprinkle them with coarse salt.
for an extra zing add chile flakes or grated Parmesan.
the poked holes will collect the sprinkled goodies for a lovely pocket of flavor.
bake flatbread 25-35 minutes until golden and fragrant.

food for vegetarians : lentil salad {more veganomicon deliciousness}

this one was super easy, and, of course, yum-yum-yummy. here's the recipe:

4 cups vegetable broth
2 or 3 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp dried tarragon
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup uncooked French lentils
1 small red onion {only used 1/4 of an onion}
1 small tomato diced
2 radishes, grated
1 small carrot grated

dressing:

2-4 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced

bring the broth, thyme, bay leaves, garlic cloves, tarragon, and salt to a boil in a medium-size sauce-pan.
add the lentils and bring again to a low boil.
cover the pot with the lid tilted, allowing a little room for steam to escape.
let cook for 20-25 minutes. the lentils should be soft enought to eat but still firm enought to not lose their shape.
while the lentils are cooking, stir together all the dressing ingredients in a mixing bowl.
drain the lentils in a mesh colander. let cool, giving the colander a few shakes every couple of minutes so that they drain and cool faster.
once lentils are lukewarm (about 15 min), remove the bay leaves, chunks of garlic, and thyme sprigs.
add the lentils to the dressing along with onions, tomato, and radishes, and toss to combine.
season with salt and pepper to taste, cover, and chill for at least half an hour.

food for vegetarians : portobello salad with spicy mustard dressing {from the yummy pages of "veganomicon"}

lately i have been craving a salad that is both delicious and filling...
this, dear readers, is it. anything with mushrooms and avocados will fill my belly quite pleasantly. found this recipe in one of my favorite recipe books, veganomicon.


dressing:

1/4 cup prepared spicy, smooth mustard
3 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

whisk ingredients together.

salad:

8 cups mixed greens
1 avocado, peeled, halved, pitted, and sliced thinly
1 small red onion, sliced into very thin half-moons {i only used 1/4 of the onion, and i cooked it with the mushrooms}
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed {turns out i forgot this one...i'll add it today for lunch}
1 recipe Roasted Portobellos {2 mushrooms}

roasted portobellos:

1/2 cup cooking wine
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large portobello mushrooms

i deviated from the cookbooks directions here: i simply sauteed everything together for about 20-30 minutes.

now, put it all together, and enjoy some veggie goodness that fills the belly and the soul!

food for vegetarians : the indulgent sunday brunch...a tradition we started in january and plan never to quit

i like the idea of resting on sundays...
which is why our brunch is so easy-peasy
{especially since ceej does the cooking and cleaning...ok, i help out a bit}.
here's the routine:

ceej mixes up the batter: eggs, milk, and a bit of vanilla while the griddle heats up.
in the mean time i am setting the table and getting out all of the toppings:
ghee, maple syrup (grade "b" because i hear it's darker), powdered sugar, creme fraiche, berries.
the creme fraiche is what puts this over the top and into the "indulgent" category.
as soon as the first pieces of french toast are ready we put it all together
and look at each other with each bite nodding our deepest approval, and congratulating ourselves
once again on the perfect sunday brunch.



{more recipes coming...with more veggies and grains and all that fiber goodness}

there will be lots of cooking going on for the next two weeks while i expiriment as ceej travels for business

ceej will be gone for the next two weeks...

this time is harder for so many reasons.

i usually have no time keeping myself busy

as it definitely makes the time fly.

this time around i'm getting myself out of

my cooking rut. i haven't cooked a good meal

in months, and we've been going out to eat

way more than usual.

so while cj's gone i'm going to fill my body

with veggie and fruit goodness...and i'll show

you all what yummy recipes i find.

desktop quote & manifesto monday : safe to go outside

yes, i too enjoyed my conversation with this optimistic wonder-woman over the weekend.
it certainly helps to surround yourself with loving people who are so willing to cheer you on
and listen as you ramble on about dreams and frustrations and how you're going to change the world...even if it's just your own little world.

today i am thinking about taking care of ourselves, being gentle and kind.
i hope this blog is a place where you can feel safe,
where you can escape feeling like you have to have the latest fashions or designs,
where you can find joy in the little ordinary things that are full of wonder.
i hope it is a place where you come to remind yourself to
be gentle and kind to yourself and to those all around you.

i hope you feel, today, and all of your days, that it is safe
to step outside into a world of dreams, and it is safe to try,
to fall, and to pick yourself and your friends up when all seems too hard.

here's to a new week.



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