We’ve been really busy around here with holiday decorating, entertaining, and house guests. All that exciting activity meant that I didn’t have a whole lot of time for blogging, but I have a few photos to share as we go careening into 2015.
We enjoyed a traditional British Christmas pudding.
A few weeks ago I wandered around some stores looking for subjects to use for shots of multiples with depth of field. My new camera does this fabulously. Here’s one of them that I took at Pier 1.
Every time I roast a chicken, I am reminded that there’s a reason chickens are awesome.
I had seven people over for dinner last Friday, and chose two plump roasters at my butcher shop. Out the door, less than ten dollars.
Click into photo for recipe and source
I ran across the tutorial on Facebook and it’s really a good one. I’ve always loved the look of the glass flowers I see at markets and in other people’s gardens.
Click into photo for tutorial and image credit
The article from Flea Market Gardening makes it seem pretty easy to make garden ornaments out of old dishes. I’ve never done this since I never met a dish I didn’t want to put on my table, but this tutorial makes me hopeful. Enjoy!
When I’m traveling in my car, I usually choose light cozy books in which I’m unlikely to be shocked by overt sex and graphic language, since one can hear my speakers outside of my car if I’m at an intersection or in a parking lot. That was one of the reasons I chose The Merlot Murders by Ellen Crosby; it looked interesting but also safe. I was also intrigued by the idea of a book based in Virginia’s wine country, rather than California or France. My choice did not disappoint; it’s an easy murder mystery with enough intrigue and surprise built into the plot to keep me guessing. The book is the first of a series about Lucie Montgomery and her family’s winery, and I was encouraged enough by the first book to go on to the second. The Chardonnay Charade was just what I expected — another cozy murder mystery with a little romantic spice built into the story. Thank goodness my library has the books so I don’t have to keep buying them; I just put holds on the other four titles and will enjoy spinning through them over the next few weeks. Continue reading
For our last summer hurrah, many of you spend Labor Day weekend at the seashore. Here in the Midwest, we call it going to the lake house.
You might find a few shells on our inland shores, but for this tablescape, I used my son’s collection of shells that I found in the garage with some of his other treasures. He’s thirty-six years old; I think it’s time that I considered that collection mine to use! Continue reading
Are you a Facebook recipe collector? I feel sometimes that all those recipes are like shiny bits of glitter and of course, the gorgeous photos are designed to attract my attention. This one for Fresh Corn Soup really caught my eye!
I’ve been on a Hemingway journey for several years, enjoying The Paris Wife, A Moveable Feast, The Sun Also Rises, and Woody Allen’s film Midnight in Paris while armed with my own memories of Paris. Today’s review includes two recent reads about Ernest Hemingway and his world.
At the Hemingways: A Family Portrait
Originally published in 1962 after the suicide of her famous brother, Marcelline Hemingway Sanford shares stories of growing up with her brother and very family. With their primary residence in Oak Park, Illinois, and their summer home at Walloon Lake, Michigan, I found these local stories interesting just for their history. A newer edition was published in 1998 for the centennial of Hemingway’s birth, and includes correspondence between Ernest and his sister Marcelline. Hemingway’s experiences as a child and young man in Illinois and Michigan, as well as his time in Italy, Paris, and Spain are part of this treasure trove of Hemingway history. Marcelline Hemingway Sanford’s writing is clean and her narratives move along crisply, with wonderful characterization of the family members and friends who influenced Ernest Hemingway. Continue reading
It’s that time of year — time for a little R&R and a focus on some personal goals.
One of my goals is to learn to use photo apps more effectively, and this photo demonstrates my first attempt at using my iPad to directly edit and watermark a photo.
I’ll be doing a few book reviews and probably posting some new photos, but I need a little break from tablescaping and researching vintage finds. Stay with me — I’ll be back!
Vintage pieces are everywhere and are the perfect backdrop for interesting blogging and photostyling.
This display was taken at Lucky Junk with my cell phone. Interesting blog photos are everywhere!
While I’m still learning about photography and photostyling, I’ve figured out a few pointers that might help people who are starting out in blogging. I’m not a professional photographer, but the difference between my old and new photos is noticeable. Continue reading
