once upon a time in february it was 70 degrees, and I walked around a lake in a t-shirt…
along the way, i spotted lots of beautiful and interesting things… like naked trees and cracks in the earth…
like, crazy amounts of cracks… like the earth is erupting from below!..
along the way, i also spotted crazy amounts of geese… walking around, and walking on ice…
and speaking of ice, i spotted parts of the lake that were still frozen and parts that were melting…
it was a lovely site… the wind blew crazy in my face and yet the sun on my face kept me crazy warm…
the clouds were very interesting… and this picture looks like an alien ship about to land!…
cat tails… everywhere!!!
shout out to the east coast… and to interesting angles!…
…
art… is… everywhere…
once upon a time, i saw interesting patterns in the ice… and in my shadow…
and in the geese’s {is that right?!} foot prints…
and then… one of the geese flapped his wings… and a ton of birds flew by…
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j.good would appreciate this blog ❤ i hope she reads it!
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it’s just around the bend… that wonderful feeling in the air, as summer transitions to autumn… this is, afterall, my favourite time of year… and i humbly and somewhat eagerly welcome the change of seasons {both literally – in nature, and figuratively – in my own life} as i toast with a yummy, beautiful brew — pumpkick, from new belgium… and goodness, they sure know what they’re doing when it comes to beer!
and i’m slowly learning what i’m doing when it comes to life…
SLAINTE!
there were such beautiful and intimate moments at this wedding, that at one point – i almost forgot to keep taking pictures! i was completely enamored, what can i say?! these two are such magnificent souls… and their love carries such an intense energy with it that EVERYONE could feel!
they decided to wed on the blue moon, just three weeks ago, this past july. it was just the most beautiful day and only 20 people were present for the ceremony… and so was blue moon, the yummy beer.
congratulations, a & a! ❤
here’s a bunch of pics via the iphone, from recent days in the life of audrey michelle :
lemon/vanilla-based tart with fresh berries and white chocolate rice “poppers”
aesthetics, humour, and deliciousness courtesy of the noshery cafe.
photography, enjoyment, and consumption courtesy of yours truly.
HAVE A HAPPY AND SAFE WEEKEND!!!!
i’m just so thrilled when i have a repeat client.
david farwig is a client/friend from many years back and we’ve remained in contact over time… so when he reached out this spring to discuss another portrait session, i was very thankful and excited! i just love it when someone comes back. that means not only were they happy, but it also means they were satisfied and craved more… it means i’m doing my job well… it means i’ve left an impression… it means they WANT to hire me back… and that feels amazing.
david is a professional choral singer and he wanted some updated images to represent himself for his website… and since we had already engaged in a similar session a few years back, david felt much more comfortable with me and the camera for round two. we strolled around a park in denver, which was vividly green thanks to all this rain. it’s always a pleasure to work with him because david is so easy-going and kind. he has a gentle disposition which i appreciate and he enjoys my work, so it’s a win-win. i hope i can attract more clients like him in the future!
thanks, david!
last day in the tiny house…
hey gang – how’s the new year treating you so far? did you make a bunch of resolutions? are you off to a healthier new you?! seems like many of us make those kind of promises in honour of the new year.
me?! i moved… again. and so i figured it was time to clue you all in.
i’ve missed blogging… but i have literally been living like a gypsy for the past month – and i simply didn’t have time to update as often as i had before. plus, my camera is still broken so i haven’t been fotographing as much. i’ve been relying on the trusty iphone to supplement in that regard… but this will all change very soon… it’s just life, i guess.
in my last post of 2014, i mentioned that i had to leave the tiny house… it was something i wanted to do but also something that was hard to do. it wasn’t so much that i wanted to leave the house, it was more that i wanted to leave the area. it’s a beautiful place, but i am simply not cut out for the cold weather or the culture. if i could have taken that tiny house and put it on wheels to travel with me, i so would have. but alas, it’s a stationed tiny home and that wasn’t an option. c’est le vie. it was an experience i will never forget, and one that changed me and molded me into who i am today.
anyway – i can’t go into the whole story because i could seriously write a book about the circumstances around my final decision to leave the valley. it was just a series of events, some unfortunate, that paved the road to open up new directions in my life. and i have no regrets about it. i feel content in my choices and in the things i’ve learned, and i am excited for a new beginning in my life.
i’ve always been one to change my surroundings if i feel the need… and this move was no exception. home is truly where the heart is… so as long as i have ME, i’m good.
and so without further ado, here are some snaps of the haps in january… enjoy! i look forward to reconnecting with you and hope you all are well!
this message really helped me as i made the final decision to leave colorado… the best word i can use to describe all the feelings… bittersweet.
i will miss seeing the deer in my front yard every morning… that’s for sure.
as i was packing and downsizing even more, i came across all these notebooks i saved from all my years working as a shift leader in NYC. i miss that job and that city so much, but it was an experience like no other and one i will cherish.
fracking is a big thing in colorado – i would see signs all the time and people in the town where i lived were not at all ashamed of expressing their opinions on it… do you see the hand-painted sign on the bottom? it reads : “fracking gassholes” — haha! i loved it.
i took myself to breakfast here on moving day… it’s called heidi’s deli. they make one of the best pastrami sammies i’ve had this side of the hudson… i will miss them.
… and their ham, swiss, egg, and avocado croissants!
i swear i wear this hat every day, lately…
i was nervous moving in january… it’s not something i tend to plan out, what with unpredictable weather and all. but i was so thankful that wedged in between all the snowy days, was sunny friday – the day i moved my things out of the tiny home.
i left this for the new tenants… cuz i’m like that.
i also “left my mark” under the kitchen sink… 😉
moving day lunch – cubano tacos. AH-mazing.
while in gypsy mode, i was staying with some friends out in the sticks… literally. i helped them chop and stack some wood for the winter… okay, mostly i stacked. 😛
i’m learning to incorporate more salads into my diet in winter… my dear friend miss M taught me about the simplicity of putting cooked veggies in with your greens to add more dimension and warmth during the cold months… so simple, so easy.
gettin’ artsy with a clementine…
… and some window light!
who wouldn’t love cooking your oatmeal on a wood stovetop?!
i was SO thankful to be able to spend plenty of time in the private hot springs near carbondale… it was so healing, so sacred.
doesn’t this look so bizarre and cool?! it looks like some kind of alien snow crop circle or something… but it’s really just an indentation from a cross-country ski pole…
the roaring fork…
this reminded me of new york…
never grow up…
moving day dinner… i will miss the local grass-fed burgers!
ran into a little weather on actual moving day…
i’m so grateful my chauffeur {kind of a joke – a good friend drove me the entire 8 hours to my destination!} was fully prepared with snow tires!
…and i’ve pretty much been eating a lot since i got here!
homemade vegan pizza…
with tons of fresh mushrooms, spinach, garlic, and jalapenos!
good wine, good friends…
and my goodness, is it warm here! and i love that!
❤
hey gang – how’s winter treating you?
i really don’t wanna jinx it, but this time last year we had like double the amount of snow, if not triple, that we do now. we had a storm blow through this weekend, but nothing really accumulated or even fell from the clouds. i’ll probably get chastised for saying this, but i am perfectly fine without all that cold white stuff. {i do, however, like to see it flurrying down my screen from wordpress tech wonderland…}
i’m still in the holiday spirit, though. my tiny tree has been up in the tiny home since thanksgiving weekend and i’ve been watching tons of christmas movies and listening to christmas albums. i save “home alone” for christmas day – i wouldn’t say it’s my favourite, but it’s just one of those classics i have to watch every year. my favourite christmas movie ever is probably “love actually” ❤
what’s your favourite christmas movie?!
i also plan on pretty much not taking off this santa hat until december 26th. i have two cowlicks in my hair and when it’s short it’s fine, and when it’s long it’s fine… but i’m in the funky “growing out my hair” phase and sometimes throwing on a hat is the only way to get through my day and be happy about my hair. this time last year, it was about the same length, but i got impatient and cut it all off. this time, i will persevere! 😛
occasionally we get some really cool clouds up here. have you been looking up in wonder at the sky lately? …you should, and often.
LOVE : that wonderful feeling that can present itself in many forms. and sometimes the only place to find it is in a sticker plastered on a bench at a bus-stop… but it’s still there! ❤
a random salad i whipped up : brussel sprouts, cabbage, bacon, tart cherries, flax seeds, and parmesan cheese in a french vinaigrette. i admit i do not eat nearly as many cold salads in the winter… i just can’t get down with cold food in the cold months. but i do try to squeeze in some raw greens when the mood strikes me.
as a child of the 90’s, peace signs were kind of cool when i was growing up. we drew them on our notebooks, put pins on our backpacks, some of us even got tattoos of the peace sign! but it’s kind of weird to me that you don’t often see it anymore – at least not like we did when i was a kid. seeing this peace sign drawn in permanent cement made me smile – it’s there forever, dammit! 😛
something so simple as a wreath does so much for my holiday spirit. perhaps they remind me of my mom, in a way… i am pretty sure she would make them and we always had them on our doors, growing up. my neighbour thoughtfully bought me this wreath for the tiny house door… Continue reading
hello, november!
this is definitely my favourite time of year… even though it always shocks my system a little to do this whole daylight-savings-time thing… seriously, my sleep is jacked up for like 2 weeks after that happens.
c’est le vie, eh?!
at least it won’t be pitch black at 7 a.m. anymore…
anyway, here are a few of my favourite shake-it snaps from recent days. i hope you all had a fun, safe, and happy halloween!
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sopris never gets old…
this is the time of year when they move the cattle down to graze in different pastures…
this kind of colour is pretty much totally gone, now…
but i made sure to soak it all in…
i just love it…
mmm, apple pie………….. soooo good!
i did a little dog-sitting last month… and our shadows were GIANTS! teeeheheeee….
i also did a little chicken-sitting… and had the freshest eggs i’ve ever eaten! like, 40 minutes old – fresh!
frost!
sopris… again.
i’ve been making and eating a ton of sauerkraut…
and making and taking a bunch of pointless selfies…
i dunno, this just looked cool…
so did this…
fall!
this time you couldn’t even see sopris…
fiery sunsets!
a rainbow over my tiny house!
i’m so in love with lense-flare.
oh yeah, one day i found these guys in a head of broccoli… they both took a poo on my hand – hysterical!
mmmmmmm, nothing like cozying up by a wood-fire!
an archery target! which i SOOOO want to use some day soon!
weird stuff you find on hikes…
… like the pumpkin graveyard… 😉
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have a great weekend!
i went for a hike a couple weeks ago in snowmass, where i used to work last winter.. and i was shocked at how much colour was left on the trees all around! the aspens were still an amazing mix of colour and no colour… i just love them so much! the peaks were dusted with snow, and it was a sight to behold!
when i very first came to snowmass last year, it was october 22nd. it was the day of my interview and i remember seeing very little colour left on the aspens in the area. i though to myself, ‘what a sight this must be in autumn!’ and i was soooo hopeful i would get out to see it this year! i’m way grateful there was still some amazing colour on the trees and hills in this beautiful mountain town!
we went on a nice little hike…
some incredible views!! check out that rainbow of colour! Continue reading
i looooooove mushrooms, did you know this?! it was amazing to discover that some mushrooms grow WILD up here in the high country. morels, boletus, and chanterelles, to name a few. and they are all something special. when we received some wild chanterelles at the store, i eagerly nabbed some up so i could try them for the first time. they are only available for a short time, and many of the “professional” foragers are extremely secretive about their “finding spots” – and who can blame them!!?? – they sell for upwards of $20.00 a pound! we had a very rainy august here in the valley, and that made for some ideal mushroom hunting-and-gathering!
the peak season for chanterelles is in the fall… we have had a little frost in the mornings lately, so i’m kind of assuming they’re done for the year… but i could be wrong. i’m also just a little late in posting this blog 😛
i most likely have had chanterelle mushrooms at some point in my life and not realized it. i’m sure at some fancy dinner in NYC, i had a couple in a dish once… but i wanted to truly truly taste the mushroom – being a purist and all – so i simply sauteed them in some awesome local pasture butter.
i sauteed the golden fungi for about 15 minutes, until they were nice and aromatic… then poured the whole mixture over a yummy baked russet potato…
it was a taste of heaven…
do you like mushrooms? have you had chanterelles? what is your favourite mushroom??
food & foto 