This Is Me #4

1.  I like to dress comfortably, and I try to find clothing that complements my body shape.  It's not always easy, but the hunt for the perfect top is worth it.  I've had this top for a few years now, and it's comfortable, and I never feel underdressed, or slovenly wearing it.  I'm in the process of stalking out the perfect top right now.    

2.  Accidentally photos have the potential to be more impressive than any photo you planned on taking.  

 3.  I wish I had more than a couple cute dresses to make it through the oppressive heatwave.  Dressing for winter or fall comes more naturally to me.

4.  I want to take elegant jumping photos.  I want to be more comfortable infront of the camera.  I want to be more comfortable with me.

5.  I'll sweat it out to get some much needed sunshine.  

I had a really off day.  I don't have much to say.  Hope you're having a good weekend.  Happy DIYing, chris.  

Fun Friday Fascinations #11

1. I've been wanting to learn how to crochet, this owl might be just the inspiration I need.  He is so perfect, and cute.  Found on Love the Blue Bird.

2.  This pair of art slip-ons by Robayre are truly inspiring.  I want to go buy a pair right now, get my paints, and permanent pens out and go to town!  

3.  Aaron and I have been talking about the idea of a fire pit.  No conclusive agreement on whether we do or don't want one, but this one has me thinking, if we come by an old washing machine, we might HAVE to build one.  I mean, come on?  How awesome does The Flourishing Abode's DIY fire pit look?  Obviously this would make anyone's backyard ten times cooler.  

4.  I am head over heels for this art installation inspiring the people and tourist of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to recycle.  The fish were made for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development or Rio+20.  I love art that has such an overwhelming impact on the viewer.  I bet these are beyond impressive in person.  

5.  Frieke Janssens photos of chain smoking children are wondrous.  I hope this would make a smoker have a second thought about grabbing a pack.  

6.  I want to learn how to jump as effortlessly, and with as much elegance as Natsumi Hayashi.  

7.  Two fabulous map art pieces.  The abstract or geometric inspired map is from Michael Tompsett's gallery, and the colorful dino map is from artPause's etsy shop.  

8.  Finally, this ModCloth top isn't available yet, but hopefully, if you help me out by voting for it, soon enough we could all be having a lacy owl affair.  So please, please, please vote for this pretty top.  I'd love to have the opportunity to purchase it from ModCloth.  

Yay for fridays!  Hope ya'll have a lovely weekend.  I'm going to get out of my house for a bit, and hang out with my favorite couple.  Happy DIYing, chris!

A New Series: Happy Thirsty Thursday!

Last week I shared my recipe for a Cherry Mojito on (thirsty) Thursday, and it got me thinking this might make an awesome regular series.  So here we are, Happy Thirsty Thursday!  Mint grows like wild fire, and I keep thinking up new mojito recipes to put it to good use.  We had some fresh strawberries, so I decided to give them a try.  

Ingredients: (for one Strawberry Mojito)

- half a lemon

- half a lime

- mint leaves (7 - 10 leaves)

- a couple strawberries

- half a shot of simple syrup

- a shot of white rum

I started by picking some fresh mint.  I used about ten leaves.  I rinsed those off, plus a couple deep red strawberries.  I dropped the mint into the bottom of my glass, and sliced a strawberry up, dropping the slices into the glass as well.  Then I squeezed half a lemon and half a lime, removed the seeds, and poured the liquid into the glass.  Next, I poured in a shot of light rum, and a half shot of simple syrup.  If you would like to make your own simple syrup, check out my recipe here.  I mashed all that stuff together in the bottom of my glass, making sure to break up the strawberry slices, and smoosh the mint.   Once it was nice and flavorful looking I filled the glass up with ice, and poured my club soda over the top.  I used the wild cherry club soda I had leftover from my Cherry Mojito recipe, but I'm sure this would be great with regular club soda too.  

To finish off the look I sliced up my other strawberry, and tucked the slices in around the ice.  I saved one slice to spear with the top bunch of mint leaves, and float on the top of the drink.  I didn't realize how simple it is to make layered drinks like this.  All that red on the bottom is sooooo pretty.  Be sure to stir before you take you start drinking though, because other wise all the rum and favor will stay on the bottom, making your last sip beyond strong.  Ha!  I made this last night, and looking at these photos this morning makes me want to make one right now!  This drink is dangerous, you totally can't taste the rum in it at all.  Yet at the same time it's not overly sweet tasting.  The lemon and lime juices balance out the sweetness of the strawberries and the simple syrup, and it makes for a super refreshing light summery drink.  

While you're reading this I'll be hanging out on LBI with one of my favorite buddies from college.  I'm going by myself, which isn't something I do often, but it's nice to have some girl time.  I love Aaron, but I'm pretty sure I love him even more after a day or two with the girls.  :)  I wish I had more girlfriends that lived near me, so I could have girl nights more regularly.  i don't have too many friends that live close by.  The few awesome buddies I do have, don't know each other, so it's usually Aaron and I, and another couple hanging out together.  Maybe one day I'll invite all my lady friends over, and do lady things together.  Like painting our nails, and talk about hair, and boys.  :)  

Hope you have a lovely thirsty thursday, and happy DIYing, chris!  

Rocks Rock!

I've been super busy lately with an extra exciting surprise, but I don't want to ruin it until it's a completely done deal.  Since this big secret has been eating up a ton of my time, and mind space I haven't been up to too many DIYs lately.  I'm sorry if I'm disappointing any of you with the lack of tutorials, but I promise there will be a plethora of them in the future, if you can hang on.  For now I hope you like rocks, because I sure do!  

Actually, I like rocks a TON.  I'm even willing to pay for them.  I think it's romantic if Aaron buys me a rock, and I'm not talking about diamonds or rubies here.  I totally prefer a colorful, crystal-covered, other worldly rock, rather than a bunch of roses.  Aaron bought this rock for me on our most recent trip to Vermont, when we saw Peter Dinklage talk.  It's called a Wavellite, it's from Mount Ida in Arkansas.  

He bought this one for me at the same place.  It's called a pyromorphite, from Guangxi Province in China.  I had an extremely hard time deciding on which rock I wanted.  I think next time we are in Bennington we might be buying another one.   I do love the one I got.  The orange with the green crystals growing out of the sparkle is perfectly lovely.  I adore all the colors and textures.  

I think I got the two rocks when driving cross country with my mom.  We stopped at a place with a ton of petrified wood, and I think I got these there.  At least they look like petrified wood to me.  I love the wood grain, and the beautiful shades of colors.  The little bit of driftwood is from a DE beach.  I think.  I have a hard time keeping track of where all my rocks are from.  For me it's more about finding a little natural object that I find beautiful.  I find solace in knowing they have been on the earth longer than me, and will remain here long after I'm gone. 

This is a fossil my mom bought for me when Aaron and I first moved back to Delaware.  We found it at this big arts & craft festival that happens every year, in this hippie little community called Arden.  The rock it's on I probably found walking around somewhere in this area, because I think it looks like slate or blue rock, which are both natural to this area.  

Aaron and I also bought this little bear fetish on our trip to Vermont.  It's hand carved by Inuit people from North America.  The wolf I found in my parent's kitchen.  The Jesus pendant I found somewhere really special, that shall remain nameless for the time being.  I found the bottom rock on a family trip a looooong time ago.  I think it looks like sliced bread.  The other rocks have been found random places.  I setup this little alter for the bear, because I thought the little guy would be happiest like this.  

I almost didn't get this guy, and I'm soooo pleased I made Aaron come back with me to wrap him up, and bring him home.  He is just perfect.  

My first dog was half wolf, and they've always had a special place in my heart because of it.  

I wasn't raised in a house where this type of jewelry was bought or worn, but they always catch my eye around someone else's neck.  I love how worn this is.  I bet this pendant has seen a lifetime of stories.  I hope this brings me some luck being around.  

Hope you enjoyed my rock collection, as much as I do!  Do you collect rocks too?  Happy DIYing, chris

Upstate New York Shenanigans

Our trip to New York was nice, too quick though.  We got to go camping.  For a night.  Aaron and I totally lucked out too, because we got there just before a storm arrived.  We knew it was coming, because we drove through super thick buckets of water pouring down.  We setup in a hurry, finished before the rain started, and better yet, our tent was completely dry.  

It was pleasant waking up and seeing this gorgeous view outside of our tent.  The fog was perfect in the morning.  I love waking up before everyone, and wondering around.  It's something I've done since I was a little kid at sleepovers.  When I spend the night over someone's house it's awkward waking before everyone, but it's fantastic when camping!  I get to see and discover things most wont.  

When I was little I would spend hours playing in the forest by myself.  It would be so easy for me to lose myself in a forest forever.  I mean why not take some chickens, and some goats deep into some forgotten vast overgrowth of wondrous trees?  Where do those places still exist???  Probably only cold places, I should learn how to hand mill wood, and build a log cabin.  :)  

Aaron and I planned to visit a farm on our way out of town on Sunday, but the one farm we tracked down close by didn't open until 11.  We were ready to buy some cheese at 9:30.  We had to kill some time waiting, because we were hoping to be able to take some pictures of goats and an alpaca or two.  While driving around we found this awesome display tucked away on a gravel/dirt road.  

We also stopped, and took a photo of this pretty pond.  While snapping some photos, the owner, who lived across the street, came out with his lab, and said, "Hey! How ya doin'?", and not in a pleasant way.  Awkward!  Aaron complemented his water feature, and the owner said they thought so too, and we thanked him, and left.  Opps!  

We meet a really nice couple down the road from the goat dairy.  The husband mills locally chopped lumber, and the wife makes jewelry out of paper, and she makes stain glass concrete pavers too.  They completely opened their home to us, and showed us their crafts, and the wife showed me how she creates her jewelry, so awesome. 

When it was finally time to go to the goat farm, we noticed driving in, that there was a sign that said, 'no self-guided tours'.  We wanted to buy some cheese though, so we rang the bell on the porch, like the sign said.  We waited.  Then a lady smelling of b.o. and sour cheese asked us what cheese we'd like to buy, then she went in got us change, and said, "is that all you need? all right then, have a good day!"  Which we both took to mean, enjoy your cheese, and get the heck off my property!  So sadly, no goat or alpaca, or bunny, or pony photos.  BOO!  

Otherwise it was a successful trip.  Like I said before, it's nice to get away from life sometimes.  It's a shame we had to come home on such a negative note, worrying about Moose the whole way.  I might have an opportunity to get away this week too, we'll see!  

Hope ya'll are having a great tuesday, and happy DIYing, chris!  

Soup To Soothe The Soul

We are keeping on with things.  It's hard in the morning not having the usual Moose things to do, and I miss him sitting on the couch.  He'd sit next to me, and every so often he'd push his little body up against my leg, and it was dang cute.  

Anyway we still need to eat, and I always like to eat soup to soothe my broken heart.  We had a bunch of mushrooms in the fridge that needed to be used, and we happened to have almost all the ingredients for this soup.  When I want to make a soup, the first place I look is The Soup Bible.  I love this cookbook, 250 pages of awesome soup recipes.  Any soup ingredient you want to use, there is probably a soup for it in this book.  Today I'm sharing a recipe called Mushroom, Celery, and Garlic Soup.

Ingredients:

- 4 1/2 chopped mushrooms

- 4 celery stalks

- 3 garlic cloves

- 3 tablespoons of white merlot (the book calls for dry sherry or white wine)

- 3 cups chicken stock

- 2 table spoons Worcestershire sauce

- 1 teaspoon nutmeg (the book says freshly grated, I wanted a milder flavor)

Directions:

Clean and chop the mushrooms, and celery stalks, and garlic cloves.  Then place them in a large saucepan, with the white merlot, or whatever alcohol you use.  Let cook, covered for 30 - 40 minutes, or until tender, stir occasionally.  Once cooked pour into a food processor with 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock, and blend until smooth.  Pour back into the large saucepan, add the other 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock, worcestershire sauce, and nutmeg.  Bring to a boil, and add salt and fresh ground black pepper to season.  

Serve warm.  It had a tiny bit of a kick to it.  The soup was fresh and earthy tasting.  A great vegetarian option.  

Hope you enjoyed, and happy Nom Nom Monday, chris.  

Another Loss.

Aaron and I had a fantastic time visiting with our buddies in Chestertown, New York.  It's always nice to take a break from the everyday, and see some close friends (and new friends), and celebrate the happy parts of life.  I planned on coming home, and making a happy post, with joyful photos, but sometimes life just gets in the way.  

Around noon my stepdad, Andy called me while Aaron and I were on our way home with absolutely awful news.  My mom and Andy had to rush Moose to the pet hospital.  They had noticed a swollen bulge on his tummy, and the night before he had three accidents in the house.  They didn't see him make them, so they weren't sure what end it had come out of, but they thought it might have been throw up.  In the seven weeks we've had Moose he was always great about letting us know when he had to go, and he only had one accident on the second night we had him.  

They got x-rays done, and a little while later they let me know what the veterinarian's diagnoses was.  He had a strangulated hernia, which would mean ultra super expensive surgery, that they wouldn't be able to guarantee that a few months, or a year down the road it wouldn't happen again.  Permanent debt to the vet.  Or let him go before his colon ruptured through his hernia.  

We rushed home to spend a few moments with him, and to be by his side for his final seconds.  It was a terribly hard decision, but we just don't have that kind of money right now, and we can't take on that much debt.  And like the vet said, sometimes it's easier for the animal to move on to the other side.  Moose is in a better place now.  

The day before we left he seemed a bit sluggish, and he wasn't going up the stairs.  I thought he banged up one of his knees on the steps, because almost daily he'd slip up one step, from running up them too fast.  I couldn't have imagined it was something this severe.  The vet said it could have been hereditary, and something he had been living with, or there could have been an incident like a dog fight or if he fell.  Besides slipping on a step or getting a little wild on his walks, we can't think of anything that could have happened during the short time that we've been caring for him.  

Sometimes our bodies just fail us.  Young or old.  Animal or human.  

That's all I got.  It's beyond hard losing two animals less than a few months apart.  Hope you're having a better day than I am, and happy DIYing, chris.