I'll be here

Travel-themed 4X6 postcards, 5X7 and 20X20 framed art all available for purchase. Click here for a complete list of vendors.

Cozy by the Oven.

The first chilly, gusty fall evening of the season called for some warming up. Cookies were deemed too demanding, but I thought I could still use the ingredients from my favorite cowboy cookies to whip up some satisfying granola for a little snack tonight and a quick breakfast in the morning.

To 3 cups of old-fashioned oats, I added chopped walnuts, almonds, cinnamon, salt and a little shredded coconut. I stirred in a good amount of agave nectar, mixed it up and toasted it golden in the oven at 350' stirring 2-3 times. About 20 minutes later, out of the oven, I grated some dark chocolate over the hot oats, mixed in some flax meal and repeated with more chocolate and flax until it was coated to my liking. Serve at room temperature with plain yogurt, mixed berries and a little drizzling of agave nectar.

The lingering warmth of the toasty oat & cinnamon will keep things cozy until morning.

I Got the Beet

So many beets I've had this year - especially in the last week. Roasted & Peeled, like these:

Foil-wrapped and in the 400' oven with oil, garlic & rosemary. Peel, slice, serve. Tastes like dirt. Yum.

Split Rail

I like the way the line seems to reproduce - peeling away from the center rail. I think this is our departure from Centraal Station in Amsterdam. It's much nicer without sound (or play your own music).

Fox Cities Shopping Event

My first time as a vendor (fun!)- I'll be participating at this Holiday Charity Shopping Event in Menasha. Check it out: Fox Cities' Special Shopping Event Benefits Charities

Amazon Adventure

Been working on an Amazon.com webstore at work for nearly a month now. It's been a bit slow coming together as I had to research the outfit and then work on it's inventory and products. It's been an adventure - if not just completely frustrating but today I had an "Ah-ha!" moment with the program and I feel as though I now really get it. As a reward (not sure if for me or the site) I spent some time today jazzing it up with this graphic I created:

Then also spent a minute filling in some of the other site information. Definitely some work to do yet, but I like where its headed. Check it out in its entirety here. And check back because it'll be updated lots in the next coming weeks.

Oh, Martha

Although only six ingredients make up this stripped-down version of Roast Chicken, every detail is carefully considered - including the Brioche Stuffing. It's like roast bird for purists. This aired on Martha's Season Premiere courtesy of Eleven Madison Park (NY Times Four Stars) executive chef Daniel Humm.

While you may not find my name on their reservation list just yet, you may find me in the kitchen stuffing a chicken and roasting beets for Humm's simple, yet slightly exotic Beet Salad.

Don't miss this either.

Eating Again

I had nothing to do with the preparation, but this Sunday meal turned out just gorgeous. And delicious. I hate the term, but this was some mean "surf & turf" if I've ever had any. Just don't ever call it that while I'm eating it.

Autumn-ness

Okay, so I staged these leafs but on a whim. I loved every element - the colors, the scratched paint and the rusty screw heads. Almost inspired me to make some leaf prints.

Fall is nearly here, isn't it?

50 Posts + 1

Just realized the last post was the 50th. Time to celebrate? Not yet. But here are some images I "stole" from the walls of the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome.

The "Barn" Inside

A few weeks back I posted photos documenting the resurrection of an antique barn structure within a modern shell (with all the modern amenities) at my friends farm. Here are some updated pictures of the progress.

Here you can see where the old meets the new - the old beams butt up to the new architecture and windows. The beams themselves had to be sandblasted once in place before they were sealed up. The sandblasting revealed a gorgeous honey patina that should really warm the space up even more.

This is the original 19th-century ladder - there are 2 - the other on the background post. The views from the loft offer views of green countryside. Quite remarkable - can't wait to see some of the interior finishes.

View up the drive - quite a contrast to the earlier photos. The place kind of sticks out of the hill right now, but thats part of the process. Inside, at this point, you take for granted the void of nearby trees that allow for such sweeping views of the land.

Words on Canvas

In my junk room in a vacant apartment I have some old canvases unfinished from years ago. Every so often I visit them and rework them a little. These two contained remains of stencils - glued on and painted (who knows what I was thinking). Somewhat deconstructed, marked up and embellished with buttons - this is what they looked like when I left. The one on the left reads: "30 Men & Woman Wearing Diamonds" while the one on the right simply reads: "2 of Us." The content was determined by the random stencils that had once been in place. The buttons are not yet permanent...think I'll stitch them on. Until then, there they wait.

Signed, Stamped, Delivered...

Had some fun embellishing the outside of this envelope for my sister's birthday card. She's 30, but I ran out of stamps. The little illustrated stamps were to make up for that.