Archive | October, 2012

{whatever wednesday} — the halloween dog parade

31 Oct

this is about as self-explanitory as it gets.  i was originally going to post images of the halloween parade i walked in one year in new york, but there are far too many to sift through and i’ve had a very busy week. so, the next best thing is this.  i hear they’ve cancelled the parade in manhattan this year, so i doubt they’ll be doing this either – let’s live vicariously through my fotos, shall we?!

in manhattan’s east village – typically every year – they host a “halloween dog parade” — and yep, it’s as adorable as it sounds.

here are some fotos to prove it :

Continue reading →

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{travel tuesday} — i recall… central park and fall…

30 Oct

it’s really hard to imagine new york city under water right now.  the subway is shutdown, 1.5 million people without power – my former roommate included. I WAS JUST IN NEW YORK LAST WEEKEND!!!  i’m so glad i dodged the bullet that is frankenstorm.  my heart goes out to all of those who are struggling from the effects of this monstrous event.  of course, i’ll always think of new york when i think of the east coast.

last night, i was watching the david letterman show and as he was listing the “top ten rejected frankenstorm names” i began to wonder why no one was laughing… “too soon?!”, i thought… but then i realized that no one was in the audience, and he was recording anyway. jimmy fallon did the same thing.

here is a little article about it – classic.

so here’s what central park would probably look like in the next couple weeks, if the rain hasn’t totally bogged it down…

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{meatless monday} – another spaghetti squash meal

29 Oct

look at that colourful plate!

i heart vegetables.  i especially heart spaghetti squash, it’s seriously one of my favourites!  and it’s hard to get it all year round, but i try anyway.  right now is the best time to buy it – totally in season, and they are HUGE.  i like that there is usually a variety in size with spaghetti squash… i typically buy a smaller one just for myself and my roommate, although it is still very good as leftovers, so make extra if you want!

i also realized, when browsing through previous posts to make sure i wasn’t duplicating this one, that i eat a lot of tomatoes.  i mean, A LOT!  i cook them, which i’ve read is actually better than eating them raw because they are more bioavailable that way. in other words, your body uses the nutrients more effectively because they are cooked… i don’t fully understand it all, but this fact i found online was interesting :

Lycopene, the antioxidant found in tomatoes in large quantities, is located in cell walls. Cooking tomatoes releases lycopene to do its work. A combined analysis of 21 studies published in Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention showed that men who ate the highest amounts of raw tomatoes had an 11% reduction in risk for prostate cancer. Those eating the most cooked tomato products fared even better: their prostate cancer risk was reduced by 19%.

so – hooray for cooked tomatoes! Continue reading →

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{foto friday} — a perfect autumn wedding

26 Oct

i told you how i fotographed a wedding a couple weekends ago, right?!  well, i’m still processing the 1300 raw images i shot, but i wanted to share a few of my favourites for foto friday.  i am beyond blessed to have met this woman. she is a soul sister and i immediately knew when we met that we were going to be close friends.  it can be a little nerve-wracking to mix business with pleasure, but i have found i work better when fotographing events for people i know.  in this case it was beyond easy.  first of all, the bride is STUNNING!  she looked like an egyptian goddess this day.  and she just put me at ease.  the entire wedding was basically HAND MADE from the flowers to the cake to the beer.  hosted in coal creek canyon’s eldora lodge – complete with crackling fireplace, snowfall, hot tubs, an incredible host staff, and tons of love and laughter.  i have never been to such a wedding.  i will never forget this day, it was so special to me in a very unique way…

so, here are a few of my favourite images.

i did mention how it rained like, 4 times that day?! i’ll share the shots i was able to snag in good light! 🙂

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{thirsty thursday} a comfy classic paired w/ a perfect homebrew

25 Oct

i’ve been craving slash eating a lot of this lately :

classic grilled cheese and tomato soup… only, as per usual, i mix it up a little.

i use the most healthy bread i can find.  usually something a little more dense like a multigrain – or in this case, a flax-seed bread.  i opt for organic when i can… bread is expensive!  and, instead of traditional tomato soup, i buy this from pacific foods.  OH EM GEE, it is so delicious!!  the red pepper makes it just a tad more flavourful and sweet and when you dip your grilled cheese in it, HOLY SMOKES!!  just – just, do me a favour and go buy some.  and then tell me how you’ll never want to buy any other tomato soup again… Continue reading →

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{whatever wednesday} — an update.

24 Oct

hello you wonderful faithful readers, you!

I MISS YOU!  i missed blogging.  i was away for the weekend, and although i had created some drafts of blogs to post, my internet connection wasn’t as reliable as i would’ve preferred, so i didn’t even write a {meatless monday} this week and i feel like i have so much to share with you all!

well, not really.  i mean, kind of.  i just missed blogging.

i’m sick – i almost always manage to get some kind of head cold or sinus infection pretty much every time i travel. i’m used to it, i always got sinus infections when i was younger.  whatever, it’s not a big deal – the word “infection” kind of freaks people out, i think. but it’s really something i’m kind of used to when i fly… i can avoid it if i’m proactive, but these past couple of weeks were like a whirlwind!  anyway, it’s just that i don’t always do my neti-pot lately and i’m sure that would’ve helped prevent this icky feeling. but i will kick its ass, don’t worry. Continue reading →

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{travel tuesday} — ttfn, NYC

23 Oct

see you later, new york… you sexy little crazy wild and hardcore vixen, you.

until next time… xxoo

 

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{foto friday} – i got a vitamix!!!

19 Oct


🙂 Continue reading →

{thirsty thursday} — pasta primavera w/ a local oktoberfest lager

18 Oct

if you’ve been a reader for a bit, you probably know by now that i do not often cook pasta.  i am getting better, but for the longest time it just seemed like i couldn’t make a decent pasta dish to save my life.

mostly, i just throw together stuff in my fridge and call it a “primavera” — and i’ve been on this kick where i just make my own sauce fresh every time i make a pasta dish or spaghetti squash dish.  i’m all about things in one pan… make it easy! Continue reading →

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{whatever wednesday} — a gentle reminder…

17 Oct

a sweet message from my morning yogi tea – “let your heart guide you”  — and this is why i drink yogi tea… it tastes amazing, they use organic ingredients, AND – they leave you little reminders for your spirit.

i am especially grateful for my morning tea today… and for all the love the universe showers me with.  sometimes it’s hard to hear/feel your heart clearly speak to you amidst all the noise of every day life.  but if you quiet the mind, and {as my spiritual guru would say} crack that chest open and inhale – it’s amazing how much love will flow right through you.  i’m not saying it’s easy, i’m saying it takes lots of practice.  the heart is the 4th chakra, right smack in the middle.  it is the most neutral of our chakras.  it is neutral because it has no opinion, it just is.  the heart is the center, and it only knows love – and love has no opposite, it just IS.  it accepts, it forgives, it doesn’t hold on, and it is free. so be good to you heart, and listen to it more – tell the brain to take the backseat… your heart got this!

and i – i believe in the power of love.

and ya’ll should, too! because… we ARE love.

oNeLoVe

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{travel tuesday} — colourful new york in autumn

16 Oct

i’m visiting NYC in three days… and i actually kind of got a little nervous.  for real legitimately nervous… what?!  i lived in manhattan for 3 glorious years, and i ran the LES.  why am i nervous?!  it’s like i’m going to rekindle a former relationship or something.  haha

i’m definitely bringing my camera with me, and although i won’t get up to bear mountain park {where these images were taken}, i do hope to catch a glimse of a few of these colours throughout central park or the like.

for now, i’ll share these with you… oh how i love the autumn!

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{meatless monday} – cheesy polenta w/ homemade tomato sauce

15 Oct

i made this dish weeks ago, and have had this blog in queue for a while now… i had quite a collection of blogs to  keep me updating regularly, but i haven’t been cooking much this week and so my recipe backups are all gone now yikes! — see, i had a rather busy week, and another one ahead.  i’m using up what’s in my kitchen to rid my fridge because i leave for a trip to NEW YORK CITY this week!

woo!

but today – today will be spent in front of my computer with WORDPRESS CLOSED so i can focus — i’ll be editing a wedding i had the privilege of fotographing this past weekend amidst the fall foliage and log-cabin backdrop.  it was gorgeous and i can’t wait to share some of the fotos!

in the meantime, here is a simple recipe for a simple side dish… Continue reading →

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{foto friday – seven different kinds of squash}

12 Oct

it’s that time of year.

my goodness do i love autumn!  the leaves, the brisk air, the campfire nights, the comfort foods… i mean, i guess most people don’t consider squash a “comfort food” – but isn’t it, though?!  i mean… in my opinion, if you put something in the oven, it’s comfort food.  haha!  mostly i just mean i think of the aroma that roasting squash in the oven creates in your home… it just screams AUTUMN and COMFORT!

anyway, squash was on sale and i bought all kinds of it.  i wanted to try some varieties i had never tried before.  a few of my favs were in the mix, but i also came out with some i never tasted and i am excited to! Continue reading →

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{thirsty thursday} — smashed fingerling potatoes

11 Oct

i have been craving mashed potatoes ever since long before our first frost on october 5th – {what the heck?!} — and i finally made some at home.  you wouldn’t think mashed potoatoes would be a “seasonal” food, but apparently according to some, they are. i tend to think of them as a seasonal-transcendant food, but i also tend to think against the grain – whatever.

typically i use creamer potatoes for my mashed taters, and i use a special kind of butter that leaves every guest asking, “what did you put in those mashed potatoes?!?!?!!!”  i take a lot of pride in making some mean mashed potatoes.  it’s one of my few specialties.  not a super difficult dish by any means, but i do think that i was a potato farmer in a previous life, no doubt… so i pour a lot of my soul into my mashed potatoes.  and as we all know, my soul tastes like butter… 🙂

this time i opted to try something new.  i decided to make “smashed fingerling potatoes” instead.  a slightly different potato, but still a creamier texture.  and i used a different butter.  no matter, it still turned out amazing. Continue reading →

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{whatever wednesday} – it’s a new dawn…

10 Oct

it’s a new day… it’s a new life…

colorado has THE BEST sunrises this time of year!!!!!  stay tuned for more…

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{travel tuesday} – the new york comic con

9 Oct

i have a very dedicated follower of the blog and of my work – i am proud to call him a friend.  anthony is a native new yorker and when i lived in the city, he’d always show me the best and most authentic hidden parts of that huge playground.  anthony always knew {and knows} about the coolest things to do in the city – it seems he always has tickets to the best stuff, too!

a couple years ago, anthony had an extra ticket to the new york comic con… and he was generous to share it with me.  i had never heard of it, but once i found out what the event was all about, my camera and i got super excited. the javits center was no stranger to me… i had been there a few times for photo events…once for the PDN expo in 2008.  the building alone is cool to visit – when they have events inside, as they typically do, it’s even cooler 🙂

i had a friend at the time that was/is an outstanding illustrator.  you can see his work here.  i plan to hire him if/when i do a childrens book… he is so incredibly talented.  he was an artist at comic con that year… i’m so glad i got to go!  it was really fun.

this year, the NYC comic con is this weekend – October 11-14. so in honor of that, here are some fotos i took when i attended this famous event.

this one’s for you, anthony 🙂 Continue reading →

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{meatless monday} — buttercorn squash soup

8 Oct

i am fully aware that “buttercorn” is not  a word… remember how i like to make up names for my dishes?!  well, this was no exception.

and i’m so fully in autumn mode it’s not even right.  and it’s not just because we got hit with some snow this week.  i’ve been ready now for weeks.  i thrive in the fall, i love this time of year!!  and yes, part of it is because i have a birthday approaching! 🙂  but i just love the food autumn brings.  i’m finally ready to put away the salad fork and bust out the soup spoon more often… i’m ready for root vegetables, squashes, potatoes, yams, and soups!!!!

squash was on sale a couple weeks ago – 10 pounds for 10 dollars.  so i snagged up 3 different kinds – spaghetti, acorn, and butternut.  i always use my spaghetti squash as pasta, so i knew what to do with that… and i was going to try to make the butternut squash as soup anyway – then i thought, well why can’t i just use BOTH kinds of squash in the soup?!

and so i did. Continue reading →

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{foto friday} — three nails photography

5 Oct

the truth is : i’ve been a semi-stalker/fan-extraordinaire of this guy’s work for only a few months since i randomly found this image on pinterest :

i dare to say it’s one of the most stunning portrait images i have EVER seen in my life!  i wouldn’t change a thing about it.  every little detail is perfect. his stance, the basket, her grip on it, her 2 creeping visible fingers caressing his neck, THE LIGHT!, the obviously amazing wind in her cape, the composition…  just beautiful.

here are a few more samples of the uber-talented hunter’s work… Continue reading →

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{thirsty thursday} — simple pasta w/ a pre-prohibition style lager

4 Oct

sometimes, you just don’t want to have to spend a long time in the kitchen.

i do enjoy cooking, but i also sometimes just want to be super lazy and curl up by the fireplace and eat comfort food.  that’s all i’ve been wanting to do lately.  the weather is changing a lot here {calling for snow in the next few days – ALREADY!} and i have been kind of lazy extra lazy…  just wanting to eat mashed potatoes and soup and bread and wear hoodies all the time.  i love changing with the seasons, it gives me something to look forward to. 🙂

so, i made this super easy pasta.  i don’t think i need to actually tell you how to cook it.  but i tried this new kind of cutsie little pasta – ditalini rigati, which will go lovely in some fall crock-pot based soups i’ll be trying soon!

Continue reading →

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{whatever wednesday} — new york city, by joey ramone

3 Oct

i randomly found this video online and i LOVE IT!!  i’m too tired to write anything today and i didn’t have a backup post created, so i’m just going with this.  it’s way cool.  i love the use of the still frames to create the video… i think it’s so well-done!

enjoy and happy whatever wednesday!

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