Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Food Photography

I love food. I love to eat it, make it, smell it, read about - you name it. I have also learned that I love to take pictures of food. It makes me happy when something yummy comes right to me and looks so beautiful. Some people laugh. Some people roll their eyes. Guess what? I keep snapping away! I love to try regional food and photograph that.

When I was in San Antonio, the guac they made at the table was fantastic!
I was just in DC last week. I had some more great guac - this time on my friend's roof. She made it along with some Cosmos and we watched the sunset from there. Perfect!


This is probably one of my favorite food pictures. I have some problems when I travel - I have been stuck in Chicago more than once. This photo was taken at almost 1 am, after I had been in an airport or on an airplane for 10 hours. I finally made it to my hotel and was starving. I asked at the desk if there was any place I could eat and they told me that the bar was still open. I didn't want anything fried or heavy, so I chose the cheese plate. I tell you what - I almost cried when they brought it over to me. I think that was the best cheese and vodka I ever had.


Remember that sunset? Here it is - and it was beautiful. Thanks, Suz!


"Big Girl" Dates

First of all, my apologies for taking so long to post. I can get my Facebook status updated in 15 words or less, but actually writing takes more time and effort. However, Kelsey and I had one of our "big girl" dates the other day and I wanted to write about it.

Since her sister came along, I have done my best to make time for just she and I. Since Kaitlyn is younger, she and I are naturally together more when her sister is off doing older sister things. When Kaitlyn was a baby, toddler, and even a preschooler, these dates were easy - when Kelsey had a day off school, I would take off work and we would hang out. Most times, she would want to sleep in, watch TV and then head to Tuscola for the Pizza Hut buffet and the outlet mall. Now that Kaitlyn and Kelsey have the same school schedule, making time for each of them is a bit more challenging. Luckily, Kaitlyn is a social butterfly and gets many invitations. The last two birthday parties she has been to provided a time for Kels and I to hang out. This summer, she chose for us to get our nails done while Kaitlyn was at her party. Fine with me - my feet were a mess!



This past weekend, Kaitlyn had another party (same venue - the bowling alley). The party started at 1 so Kels and I decided that we would stay at the bowling alley and eat pizza and cheesy fries. Mmmmm - so tasty! Kelsey also had a chocolate shake, which was a treat for her. We had a great time together and I am so glad we could do this.


This morning, Kaitlyn and I went to the bank together. Almost as fun :)



Sunday, September 14, 2008

Adventures with Notebooks

When I was in high school, it wasn't cool to just pass notes. Instead, we passed notebooks. Keep in mind this was before the time of text messaging :)

I spent hours every night putting entries into my notebook to pass on to my friends the next day. I think there was more collage work than writing but those notebooks were works of art. All of my Glamour and Teen Beat magazines were fair game. And when I needed something more, I would sometimes even use my mom's Better Homes and Gardens! I think the last notebook I have was from a boy who loved me my first year of college. Ahh, memories.

I recently purged my pantry. It was truly an example of the snowball effect. I bought some new Pampered Chef things from a girl at work. I brought them home and was going to put them away. I decided that I didn't like the way my Tupperware and things were organized. So, I emptied out that cabinet. I thought that the pantry would be a better place for them. So I emptied out the pantry. I could only get so much done before the girls went to bed and that was noisy work! That night, I decided that the pantry was not the place for all of that, so the next night, I emptied out the Lazy Susan. Well, four days later I finally had it all organized and put away the way I wanted it to be. All of this led to yet another project, one I started tackling tonight. I love to cook and bake and I love collecting recipes. Organizing cookbooks is one thing, but what about all of those things I print out or cut out of magazines? I found a notebook at the store the other day that seemed perfect - 5 subjects with dividers. I spent time tonight with a pile of recipes, some scissors and tape and a Bloody Mary. What fun! My girls joined in several times and did some cutting and helped me sort. I have much work to do but I tickled to see my work thus far.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

A Web Site to Share

I like to cook and bake. I don't think that's a secret to any of you who know me. It makes me happy to feed other people. Well, since it's football season as well as soccer season, our household is a bit chaotic! I was looking online today for a crock pot chicken recipe - Chicken Parmesan to be exact. Looking during approved breaks of course! :)

I found this fantastic site that I wanted to share. It is called "A Year of Crock Potting". A woman set a resolution for herself to use her crock pot every day for a year. And I am glad she did! Check it out for yourself:

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/