Tag Archives: winter

{first snow of 2024}

16 Jan

baby, it’s cold outside!


oh, and it’s national AUDREY day! 😉

hehe 😉

and the holly tree sure looks pretty in the snow!

happy new year!


 

{happy holidays and happy new year!}

5 Jan

greetings!

happy holidays and happy new year! {also – happy mercury retrograde for all you astrology fans out there!}

i hope you all are doing well! also, i wanted to welcome my new readers to this tiny little space on the world wide web. thank you for taking time to subscribe and follow along – i truly hope you enjoy the time you spend here at food and foto dot com.

as a personal goal, i am working to post new blogs at least once or twice a month… but ideally, my aim is to post once a week. as usual, you can expect the topics to include all things food and foto related – as well as the great outdoors, cool people and places, occasional astrology jargon, and general musings/ramblings from yours truly.

for example : 

even though our temps have been in the mid 50s all week, this morning i was thinking about the weather and how i really never liked winter… this became particularly true when i lived in the high country in colorado and worked at 12,000 feet elevation {brrrr!}. i don’t enjoy the cold, although i do know that some people really do! the winter season is just not my favourite. however, i have recently learned to embrace each season for different reasons.

as humans, we are just as much a part of nature as nature itself. i sometimes feel we have really lost that connection and we often forget that we, too, have seasons. whether it be the “aging” process, or a relationship, or a job, or relocating/moving, or any other variables in life, we all go through seasons. and i believe that the winter season is a time to relax, reflect, and regain strength for spring. it’s a time to hibernate and go within, and most importantly – a time to REST!

personally, i {now} enjoy the downtime that winter has to offer more than I ever did in the past. of course – a lot has changed in my life which has offered me new perspective on this time of year… but nevertheless, i have certainly learned to embrace this season in a different way. plus, {in true introvert form} i enjoy working on a lot of puzzles this time of year – one of my favourite hobbies. 😉

also, i am not really big on “resolutions” – but i did make a short list of things i want to do more of this year. that includes :

  • practice my piano/keyboard
  • learn how to use {and use!} my sewing machine
  • spend less time on social media and more time on my blog
  • grow a vegetable and flower garden closer to my home
  • get back into my exercise routine
  • volunteer somewhere in my local community
  • welcome more ways to sell my greeting cards

do you have any resolutions or goals this year?

 

 

{belated full moon post}

19 Feb

i took some pretty pictures of the moon a while back and never got around to posting them. since we recently experienced a full moon, i thought i would share some of those images here with you.

also – my favourite quote :

“to be nobody but yourself in a world that is doing its best to make you something else, is to fight the hardest battle you are going to fight… never stop fighting.” – ee cummings


{snowy tessellation}

19 Jan

i remember this being an assignment in one of my classes during college… creating a photographic tessellation.

at the time, it seemed so difficult… but today i have a different understanding of the digital composite images. when i was a photography student, the digital / social media world had not yet become what it is today… and a lot of my colleagues and i were not too keen on the idea of switching from film photography to digital photography. we were purists in love with the romance of black and white film photography and ansel adams’ zone system… and we also thought it was lame and pointless to do anything digital. it took a lot of convincing from my professors to get me to invest in a digital camera… but i finally {begrudgingly} bought one just before graduation. another hilarious truth – when i purchased my first apple laptop, they asked if i wanted to add built-in wifi and i remember being like, “ppffttt, why would i need that?!

ha! – it’s wild to think about how much has changed in such a short time.

anyway, i think this snowy tessellation turned out pretty cool – what say you?!

{snowtography}

18 Jan

composition, light, contrast, details, depth, patterns, aperture, bokeh, simplicity, mood, moments…

these are some of my favourite things about fotography, no matter the subject…


anyway, happy 2018! is it snowing where you are?!

 

 

 

{the sn-haps}

15 Jan

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{my first post in 2015 – an overdue update… with tons of pics!}

6 Feb
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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!

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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.

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i will miss seeing the deer in my front yard every morning… that’s for sure.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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… and their ham, swiss, egg, and avocado croissants!

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i swear i wear this hat every day, lately…

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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.

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i left this for the new tenants… cuz i’m like that.

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i also “left my mark” under the kitchen sink… 😉

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moving day lunch – cubano tacos. AH-mazing.

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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. 😛

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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.

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gettin’ artsy with a clementine…

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… and some window light!

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who wouldn’t love cooking your oatmeal on a wood stovetop?!

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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.

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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…

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the roaring fork…

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this reminded me of new york…

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never grow up…

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moving day dinner… i will miss the local grass-fed burgers!

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ran into a little weather on actual moving day…

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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!

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homemade vegan pizza…

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with tons of fresh mushrooms, spinach, garlic, and jalapenos!

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good wine, good friends…

and my goodness, is it warm here! and i love that!

{some virtual holiday haps}

16 Dec

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…}

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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?!

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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! 😛

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occasionally we get some really cool clouds up here. have you been looking up in wonder at the sky lately? …you should, and often.

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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! ❤

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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.

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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! 😛

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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

{season’s first snowfall on the tiny house}

14 Nov

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… at least it came a month later than last year!

{“partly cloudy”}

1 Apr

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april fools! – more snow on the way!!!  big fat sigh.

it feels like groundhog day all over again… 😉

{by the way – i took this foto last week and the next day, it was literally a blanket of white…}

 

{oh hey, march! – it’s my week in fotos, and i’ve got spring fever}

1 Mar

via the shakeit app.

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colorado has some crazy clouds this time of year!

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and some crazy snow, too!

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and this is how i feel about the snow, at this point in the season… Continue reading

{reflecting}

28 Feb

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mercury goes direct today…

{and i really really love this foto!}

{whatever wednesday – foto love}

26 Feb

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nothing makes me happier than when i’m taking pictures.  nothing makes my soul shine brighter and vibrate higher than when i have a camera in my hand. i am at my absolute best when i am capturing the world around me, through these eyes, through fotography.  creating memorable images is what i do best. i am in love with fotography, and it is in love with me.

fotography is my absolute passion in life.

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snow, however – is not. but we are working on establishing a healthy symbiotic relationship…

😉

{abstract snow}

25 Feb

i took my camera for a walk the other day… and goodness, was it slushy and wet.  however, it was still cool to see all the snow in its many forms… the patterns the water creates and carves as the it melts is just fascinating to me!

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snowlove-3 Continue reading

{snowy saturday}

1 Feb

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{foto friday – so, it’s been snowing a little… and i was kind of a major slacker at work today}

31 Jan

…and i took a ton of pics with my favourite iphone app, shake-it.

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beginning with a shameless selfie 🙂

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POWDER DAY!

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so pretty. Continue reading

{some stuff that happened this week – via the shake-it app}

25 Jan

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i went to work – this is what i see when i arrive… 🙂

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i had edible flowers in a salad i bought at the market…  that was a first, for sure! especially considering i just grabbed it from the salad bar… i also discovered that they sell boars head meat, which got me all kinds of excited and happy! 😀

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i took a selfie at the bus-stop…

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i enjoyed this amazing spread with some friends…

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i saw this sunset over mt. sopris…

and now i’m off to check out the WINTER X-GAMES!! 😀 pics to follow…

have a great weekend, ya’ll!

{thirsty thursday – a toast to all this white stuff outside!}

16 Jan

two delicious NBB brews to add to the list :

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snow day – dark and rich and full of caramel notes…

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accumulation – bright and hoppy with a crisp finish…

both brews celebrate the winter season, and the fanciful snowfall that comes with it. fanciful… how fun is that word.

😉

please drink responsibly… for real, though.

{organic beef roast}

8 Jan

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i don’t eat a ton of red meat.  however when i do, i prefer it be as local, organic, and grass-fed as possible.

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have you ever had grass-fed beef?  you may think to yourself, “what do you mean, don’t all cows eat grass?” when you think of a cow, you picture a field or pasture and you see them eating grass, right?!  well, you may be surprised to know that most cows are actually fed a grain or corn-based diet – that stuff is in everything!… again, i encourage you to do your own research.

there is lots of fresh, organic, local, grass-fed beef where i live.  and that makes me so happy!  i have mentioned before that i don’t really subscribe to any “diet” per se – but if i had to pick a category to fall into, i would say my diet is totally intuitive and mostly organic.  and it varies all along that spectrum.  this time last year, i was totally vegan and coming off a major 2-week cleanse of only veggies, fruit, kombucha, and water. i remember around christmas, trying some of the ham at whole foods one day and i actually spit it out. and now, i can’t seem to eat enough meat!  so i’m just listening to my body and rolling with it.

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i recently bought this adorable little crock-pot, which is perfect for the tiny home, and it fits about a 2-pound roast just perfectly!  it only has one setting – ON. but it totally does the trick!

Continue reading

{foto friday – stuff that happened this week via fotos}

20 Dec

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i watched this movie

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i ate this entire bag of holiday grapes…

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i saw this on the bus ride into work… i’m pretty sure it took off from someone’s private ranch… Continue reading