Something tells me it's all happening at the zoo

I love the zoo, which doesn't quite make sense, I'm not much of an animal person (except for the dog)... this is evinced by the fact that I seem to only have pictures of the two legged types roaming around with me.

Beware those sharks!

(Eliana's my favorite - in the back of the boat on the right)

I'm so rusty on photography (especially since I've had to revert back to my kodak since my sisters nice camera died). I've been so lazy about taking my own pictures because I live with a photographer. It's been fun to try again, even if I find myself frustrated with how things come out.

If you want to see some really good pictures (taken by the resident photographer) go here and enjoy all those happy faces.

She wore sunlight in her hair

We've been busy around here lately...

drawing, skipping, hiking and eating lots of ice cream.

I took advantage of vacation to practice sketching and my little niece gladly obliged.

I was really delighted with how the picture turned out - thanks to a little girl who loves to pose for her aunts (my dogs on the other hand still come out pretty terrible :).

I went hunting for a frame but couldn't find anything I liked so I cut one out of cardboard and covered it in a flannel fabric I had on hand. It now rests on her mama's desk.

Photos by RD Photography

Hello Bright Eyes

Mix three sisters, one dog, one hyundai and 5.1 hours of music and you get...

An epic road trip dance party.

Hello open road, sunshine and caffeine.

I'm on vacation with all my sisters (one, two and three ^) in Taylorsville, Utah. It's been one long sip of coffee, summer afternoon, backyard pool splashing, cinnamon roll, sketching, music and laughter filled, messy, catching up, tasty, movie watching, crafting adventure...

and they're will be more to follow.

Saturday Mornings...

Or a birthday breakfast

We've been very busy all this year so a lot of birthday celebrations have come at breakfast.

My mom's birthday is tomorrow but what with church and other plans it worked better to celebrate today.

The Menu:

Eggs Benedict w/ Black Forest Ham

Fresh Cantaloupe and Grape Salad w/ Greek Yogurt

Sautéed Asparagus

Amish Coffee Cake

Cooking is rather cathartic for me, if that doesn't sound too extreme. I cook at a local restaurant, so you would think I get enough week nights but I enjoy the break from cooking the same old thing and having more control over my ingredients. Food brings a lot of pleasure to those around you and that's one of the reasons I love being a cook, that and using really sharp knives.

Lately I've found myself cooking more and more elaborate meals as our family has been so busy. It's my little way of giving them a break.

Breakfast is one of my favorite meals to cook. It combines one of my favorite foods (eggs) with just about anything else you can imagine. Sweet. Savory. You want cake for breakfast - you got it. Somehow it always comes out brighter than other meals, or maybe that's just the coffee...

When I cook it's usually combined with a good amount of chaos and my computer. This morning I used this recipe from the Pioneer Woman for a quick hollandaise sauce, and man was it easy and delicious.

While I must confess my first attempt curdled and failed miserably (I didn't have the butter hot enough). The second turned out perfectly creamy. I've always heard the praise of hollandaise combined with complaints of the difficulty encountered making it, but it's no longer so folks. Hollandaise has been freed!

yum!

The presentation is my favorite part of every meal. I love the actual cooking too, I just get very satisfied when things turn out right and all the colors fit so nicely on the plate.

Those eggs are a double heart attack waiting to happen but man is that sauce worth it. I tried not to calculate calories and freak out while making it - that certainly was a lot of butter but so yummy. And it was probably overkill to have coffee cake, but a little sister wanted to contribute. It's only every once in a while anyway.

It is a challenging meal to make to feed a crowd (I only fed 6 this morning) and I've put it off for that very reason but everything kept really well this morning. The hollandaise didn't lose it's nice texture. The recipe also fed the six of us with some left overs although the original says serves four. I had a lot of side dishes though.

That said, happy cooking chickens.

Next week we're off to visit this sister in Utah so stay tuned. We're probably going to be home bodies and not see to much of SLC but I have some projects planned :)

Enjoy the mess!

I'll build you a home in the breast of a willow.

A certain special friend of mine had a birthday last week.

I'm really late in sending her gift but better late than never!

This was the card for the gift...

Amy (my birthday friend) has wonderful fashion and it's rare that I feel

confident giving her a clothing item. But this scarf is just too fun.

I found the pin (it's made from a vintage scarf) at one my favorite coffee

shops and the scarf is made out of an old t-shirt I bought second hand for $2.

Since it's going in the mail and will most likely arrive wrinkled, I

sketched this example of how to wear it.

Making the scarf is really simple (I've cut up multiple old t-shirts from my own wardrobe :)I ran into the tutorial at the Thread Banger site, if you'd like to try one out.

It's all tied together and ready to go out in the mail. Unfortunately she's out of town for a few days and I'll have to wait a while before she gets it. So no one go spilling the beans!

Thanks to the resident photographer for the pictures!

Enjoy the mess!

Beginnings

I find myself the author of this new and rather auspicious looking blog (thanks to the resident photographer/designer) and have been summoned to make my presence known.

*clears throat and adjusts script*

I will be brief here and simply state: This is the beginning, I hope, of something great!
Beware the mess! I don't color (or cook) inside the lines.
I have no agenda for this little blog, just a peak into my attic existence as I stretch my imagination.

*gestures to invisible crowd*

So, I'll share a little, and hopefully you'll share a little and we'll be friends.