Bird on a Pine

I've never really thought of myself as a bird watcher, but when a group spent part of the day hanging out in the trees outside my window they gave me an excuse to ignore work for a while.  Not surprisingly, when I finally got up to grab my camera they all disappeared, leaving me just one shot of this little one before he deserted me too.

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Watching the Clouds Roll In

I've been remodeling a room off my garage to serve as a home office.  While I've still got a way to go before it is complete, last week it was far enough along I started working from there (working from there is a great way to keep me away from the kitchen and the associated calories during the day.)


The biggest benefit of the office is an enormous window that I put my desk in front of.  The view from this window is incredible - in fact the view from the back of this house is probably the reason I bought the house in the first place.


One day last week I found myself fascinated all morning watching the clouds roll in and swirl around the mountains.  At times the clouds sat below the mountain peaks, but over time they swirled up to meet the sky.  It was beautiful and distracting.  I feel so blessed to live in such an amazing place.

I heard this song on NPR last week.  Isn't it just moody and perfect for watching the clouds roll in?
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The Sunday Creative - Frozen

It's been a few weeks since I managed to come up with a photo for Maegan's Sunday Creative, so I decided it was time I jumped back in.

The prompt was surprisingly easy thanks to a turn in the weather which left me with a frozen porch railing.

Today's song was a debate - Madonna or Tegan and Sara.  In the end I decided to go with the one I liked the most - Madonna wins again.
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Cooking 101 - Warm Chickpea Vinaigrette

Thanks for all of your support and ideas on my new cooking project.  So far this week I've managed to make the world's easiest cookies (1 spice cake mix, 1 15-oz can pumpkin and 1 cup chocolate chips, mix together and bake) and completely mess up a package of jello pudding (who knew pudding wouldn't set up if you used Soy Milk?)

I also tried a new recipe out of a cookbook I won in a giveaway - Simply De-Lite-Ful by Alice Bolen and Janelle Woolley, find it here.  I've had a stash of chickpeas around the house because I want to try making hummus, but I can't seem to find tahini in Utah.  So when I saw a recipe for a chickpea salad in the cookbook I decided to give it a try.  It was super easy and would make a great side dish, although I used it for a main dish.

Warm Chickpeas Vinaigrette

 from Simply De-Lite-Ful

by Alice Bolen and Janelle Woolley

2 (15-oz) cans chickpeas, drained (I halved the recipe)
1 large shallot, diced (I'd cut back on the shallot, I'm not a huge onion/shallot fan)
3 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup large carrot, grated (I had baby carrots, so I chopped them)
1/4 cup fresh flat-leave parsley, chopped
2 teaspoons olive oil
Freshly ground pepper


In serving blow combine shallot, vinegar, garlic and salt.  Allow to sit for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, blanch chickpeas in boiling water for 2 minutes and rain.  Add warm chickpeas, carrot, parsley and olive oil to shallot mixture and toss together.  Taste and sprinkle with freshly ground pepper and additional salt if needed.

For those of you who asked, here's last week's recipe, along with our best google attempt and converting from the UK recipe, if you are in the UK and want the original drop me a line:

Tomato Soup 

Pret A Manager

1 tablespoon Olive Oil
2 cloves Garlic, chopped
1/2 Onion, chopped
4 cups Tomato, chopped (we've tried fresh, canned, and bottled - I prefer canned, I use 1 15 oz can and one 32 oz can, slightly more than the recipe calls for)
2 teaspoons Tomato Puree (I've only found it in a giant can, so I froze the leftovers)
1/2 cup Water
2 tablespoons Dry White Wine (I use cooking wine)
4 tablespoons Cream 
2 teaspoons Vegetable Bouillon (recipe calls for Marigold brand)
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons White Wine Vinegar
1 teaspoon Oregano, fresh chopped
1 teaspoon Parsley, fresh chopped
Salt
1 teaspoon Thyme, fresh chopped (fresh herbs make a huge difference)
Black Pepper


Gently fry the onion and garlic in the olive oil until soft, around 5 minutes.  Add the tomato, water, tomato puree, wine, bouillon, sugar and white wine vinegar.  Simmer for 20 minutes.  Finally add the cream, herbs and seasoning and simmer for a couple of minutes before serving (I prefer the soup after it has simmered for hours.)

While I cooked this week I listened to Mumford and Sons - kept me hopping in the kitchen.
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Accidental Bokeh

What  happens when you forget you left your camera on manual focus and try and get a couple photos of your Christmas tree?

Accidental bokeh.  Which, for some reason, I love (SOOC.)

I finally got my hands on the new Belle & Sebastian - love it.
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Resolution Thinking

With January not so far away, New Years' resolutions are on my mind, which may be why this quote struck a chord with me recently.

"If you want to be found, stand where the seeker seeks." Sidney Lanier

I saw the quote on one of my favorite blogs Smart, Pretty and Awkward, a blog where I consistently find posts that make me stop and think on Molly's blog.

This quote has me thinking about not just setting goals, but making sure I am in the right physical and mental place to make reaching them possible.  Couple this quote with a line from a song I (surprisingly) fell in love with this summer and I think I have a good recipe for goal success.

"If you want more love why don't you say so." - John Mayer

Bottom line - my plan is to decide what I want, say it clearly and make sure I'm in the right position to make it a reality.

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Snowy Day

The snow has officially arrived in my neck of the woods.  I don't mind it much when I don't have to try and drive in in (and after I've done the work of clearing the driveway, sidewalks and balcony.)  

My favorite time with the snow is the day after a snow storm when the sky is clear and the sun rises over the mountains in my backyard.  

The snow sparkles - it really is heavenly, at least in the backyard.  The front yard tends to get brown and slushy, not as heavenly.

I just picked up a 50mm lens (aka nifty-fifty) I'm struggling a bit with it and I'm not quite sure why.  I know many of you have them (and love them) any tips to help me get started?  Also - a huge THANK YOU for all of your tips on my dry hands.  I'm working my way through the list and have already seen a huge difference - no new splits and the ones I have are nearly healed.  

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Join Us - Guerrilla Holiday

My friend Jen from Gilding Lilies has launched her second annual Guerrilla Holiday.  It is a fantastic idea of spreading the holiday cheer through random acts of kindness.  I'm going to let her explain the concept:

Last year I decided to do a Guerrilla Holiday, and I want to do it again this year, and I'm hoping you will want to join me. Here is the idea. Have you ever heard of Guerrilla Artist's? Basically, they are artists that make art and install, preform, or attach it to public spaces, with the intention of affecting the world in a creative and thought provoking way (to paraphrase Keri Smith). These installations are often anonymous, and very unique. Do a web search for "guerrilla art" and you will see many wonderful examples. My idea is to remove some of the hype from the holiday and remind people of the simple joy of kindness. I think we all get so wrapped up in the stress of the season, we sometimes forget about small ways we can feel, and spread joy. I'm talking about some random acts of giving. Tiny stuff, sweet stuff, unexpected stuff. Here are some ideas to get your creative juices flowing. Decorate a public and unexpected object. Put a handmade greeting card on a strangers windshield. If your a crafter, make something small, and stick it in a neighbors mailbox.  Go for a walk and stick a single shiny ornament on every tree that you pass. Tie a pretty tag, with a few kind words, on somebodies trash can (won't that just freak them out!). One of my readers tucked handmade beaded bookmarks in library books. There are a million possibilities. Make a sticker or a sign. Do you have something to say about the holiday season? Well, this is your chance! Won't you join me? I am really excited to see what you do. Send me some pictures, or tell me some stories, and I will try to post many of them on my blog at http://gildingliliesjournal.blogspot.com/. Spread the word, and take a Guerrilla Holiday Button. Let's see what we can do. This is going to be fun! 


I can't wait to get started and put the focus on something besides shopping this season and I'm really hoping you'll join in the fun. I want you to participate so badly I'm willing to resort to bribery.  Anyone who takes up the challenge, then emails me (see side bar for email address) with their story will receive my Best of 2010 mix - which is guaranteed to include at least one Ray LaMontagne song:


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Cooking 101

This will come as no surprise to anyone who knows me - but I'm not much of a cook.  I'm convinced it is because I usually just can't be bothered.  I'm the type of person who is satisfied most evenings with some yogurt or an omelet.  But for the last few months I've had the desire to improve my skills just so I don't feel so clueless.  I decided to get a jump start on my New Year's Resolution and set a goal (publicly) of learning how to cook (at least a few things.)  I'm hoping that by sharing my goal and progress here I'll find the motivation to follow through.

I started simple - with one of my favorite foods - tomato soup.  From nearly as long as I can remember my comfort food was tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.  When I was a kid, Campbell's was my go to.  As an adult I discovered Pacific Organic Food's Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Soup - delish!  But recently I found a new favorite.

Last October my mom and I went to Copenhagen and London, such amazing cities.  While in London always wanted a quick (but WARM) lunch.  We discovered a restaurant chain called Pret a Manger - like Starbucks in the US there seems to be a restaurant on nearly every corner.  I had their tomato soup on our first visit and kept dragging my mom back there for lunch every day because I couldn't get enough of that soup.  On our last day I finally got my mom to try it and she fell in love.

We both talked about how we'd miss that soup.  My mom, being the go getter she is, decided to do something about it.  She got home and emailed the restaurant to see if they had a cookbook with the recipe in that could be bought.  Better yet, they sent her the recipe in reply.  We did some googling to translate the recipe to US measurements and started experimenting (well, she experimented, I tasted and commented.)  We've finally settled on our favorite version of the recipe.

I decided it was time I learned how to make it on my own, and I have to say, my first (and second) attempt at real cooking worked out well, even if I had to eat leftovers twice a day for four days.

Any recommendations on what this beginning cook should try next?

I think having the right music to accompany my efforts made the difference.  For this recipe I went with Band of Horses - just the right mix of mellow and rock for my mood and the soup.
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One of Those Days

After spending the better part of the past decade living in more humid climates, my skin has decided to reject Utah's dry, dry winter air.  Hit particularly bad are my hands, where my skin has started cracking and splitting open with the least little hit.  It seems I can't keep enough lotion on them.  I woke up this morning with a new split and decided to dedicate the day to layering the lotion on.

All was going well, until just after applying lotion, I tried to take a bowl of very hot oatmeal out of the microwave.  The bowl slipped and hot oatmeal poured over my hand and splashed all over the kitchen, leaving me with a mess and a burn right over the split and on my thumb.  I could tell it was going to be one of those days!

Needless to say, I gave up on the idea of oatmeal for breakfast and switched to yogurt.

I'm really sharing this story to ask your advice on lotion - anyone have a product that saves your hands in winter when the weather gets even drier than usual?  It would be a bonus if the lotion didn't leave my hands super slick so I can safely take a bowl out of the microwave!  And, equally important - I'm a big handwasher, but I have a feeling my anti-bacterial handsoap is contributing to my dry skin.  Any recommendations on hand soap?

I heard this artist while blog hunting this morning - she's new to me, but maybe not to those of you in the UK where she is touring right now.  What do you think?  Lissie - "Everywhere I Go"
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