Ornament-Making Part Two

For these ornaments, we started with my husband's photos of flowers that he's taken over the last year. Most of the time that we go on walks, there is a camera on his back so each of these photos remind of us of the different adventures we've had. There is even an ornament made from photos from my wedding bouquet. (though those pictures were taken by the amazing Stephanie!) :)

These were pretty time-intensive...Selecting them, printing, punching out the circles, applying adhesive, and assembling, but I really like how they turned out. They are very small--close to the size of a silver dollar--which I think adds to their cuteness. Oh, I love the ornament above with the pink bougainvillea!!!

I can't wait to give these as presents this year! :)

Let the Ornament-Making Begin!

Thanksgiving was lovely this year--spent it with the husband's family which is always fun. They spoil us with a lot of good food and laughter. I took off Friday this year and pulled out The List of Things to Do and ornament-making was right up there (after doing laundry and going on a run ;)). We decided to make ornaments for each family this year rather than do a gift per person. We'll also make treats and give everyone a picture of ourselves (mom's request). This gives me an excellent excuse to pull out the recipes for chocolate bark and toffee and other yummy things that I don't want to make and eat by myself (ourselves).

It took a while to come up with an idea for ornaments, but in the end, we settled on two designs. One that is 'me' and one that is 'him' using each of our talents and loves. I made these thinking of the Scandinavian ornaments I love so much, so these are an ode to my heritage. And his use his gorgeous photography...but I'll show you those tomorrow.

Today's a GREAT day to create!

i think today is a great day to create! go make something! :)

One Year

Today is our first anniversary.
I hardly know where the year went.
There are so many snapshots framed in my mind from that day.
The little girls 'practicing' walking down the aisle which meant they were making endless loops around the conference room table (did I mention the 'bridal room' was a board room? ha!)
The beautiful flowers and smiles on everyone's faces. Friends. Hugs. Family I hadn't seen in ages. Good coffee. A bite of a cupcake. Tons of little kids running around and laughing.
Chatting with my dad and feeling like I was going to burst with joy and nervousness. Eating a sandwich.
My cousins and aunt and uncle setting up the morning of--I could cry because of how wonderful they were.
The sleeping ring bearer. Oh well. At least he looked cute.
The beautiful day--thank you, Lord! It had rained all week up until our wedding day and I was starting to envision us all squished inside the house for the ceremony. Which would have worked...but...
Seeing my soon-to-be husband at the end of the aisle. That was the best part.
I don't say this lightly that this year has been such a blessing.
A year of growing and learning and falling more in love.
Thank you, Lord!

11-11-11

I just wanted to post something since today's date is so fun. However, it seems the only photos I have on my camera these days are pictures from Manhattan Beach. Oh well. I do like this mile marker. The design is so fun with the little pier and the waves. Happy Friday and Veteran's Day, everyone.

Beach Bird House

seen at Manhattan Beach...seems we've been there a lot lately :)

I think it would be fun to make birdhouses. Maybe someday I'll make a series of them, starting with the bird lifeguard house. Love the surfboards!

Terribly Delicious Sandwich

A couple of weekends ago, I made a terribly delicious sandwich for our lunch. It was terrible because it probably had 800 trillion calories in it and enough fat to keep us warm through the winter, but the deliciousness won out. This is something you eat and then have to take a nap afterwards because your body is saying, 'what just happened?!' mmmm  It was really simple, though, if you'd like to try it.

Toast ciabatta bread in the oven, slice in half (after cooled, of course!)
Made an avocado spread out of smooshed up avocados, lime juice, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes (for a kick of heat)
Cook a few pieces of bacon, pat excess oil off and break into pieces
Slice up a ripe tomato
Slather the bread with the avocado spread, top with bacon and tomato
Wrap sandwich in napkin because it will be messy!
Eat sandwich in bed so you can take a nap immediately upon finishing. ha!

I'm So Granola

I'm steadfastly working through a notebook of printed off recipes that I've accumulated over the years this fall. Part of this is a form of housekeeping--if the recipe is awful, why am I keeping it? Another is because I got stuck in a rut of 10 meals that we seemed to be eating constantly. Or maybe we weren't, but it felt like it. I know I definitely was in a rut for breakfast, having eaten my version of muesli since last April. A couple weeks ago, I couldn't take it anymore and bought some (gasp!) store-bought granola. It was pretty good but now that I've joined the ranks of those who make their own, it's hard to go back. It just doesn't taste the same at all. So, I pulled out the recipe notebook and there, lo and behold, was a vanilla almond granola recipe that I had never tried. I happened to have all the ingredients on hand and so made a batch. Yum. This granola isn't too sweet and is definitely not clumpy, but it is crisp and delicious with plain yogurt. My husband, who eats a version of apple pie every morning (oatmeal with cooked apples dressed in cinnamon and honey), even admitted to sneaking some. Though it is named, 'vanilla almond', this granola has a very subtle taste. You're using 4 teaspoons (!!!) of vanilla but the flavor is slight. I like that. 

I used the following recipe from everybody loves sandwiches, but took out the vanilla sugar that she suggested.

vanilla almond granola

4 c old-fashioned oats
1 c sliced almonds
2 T flax seed
3 T brown sugar
1/4 t salt
1/8 t cinnamon
1/3 c vegetable oil
1/4 c honey
1 T almond butter
4 t vanilla extract

Preheat to 300°F. Mix the first 6 ingredients in large bowl. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine oil, honey, and sugar. Stir honey mixture until it just begins to bubble. Remove from heat and stir in the almond butter and vanilla. Once the almond butter melts, pour the hot liquid over the oats and stir well until thoroughly mixed. Spread granola on a large rectangular baking sheet or pan. Bake until golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely. Break apart and store in an airtight container.

Manhattan Pier

On the day this picture was taken, it was so overcast at the beach that you couldn't even see the horizon. The clouds came down to kiss the ocean...more like meld into the waves since there was no distinction. Oh, I love the fall and winter at the ocean! The entire atmosphere becomes quiet and mysterious and golden.

More Sunset....

These branches at sunset were practically neon. Absolutely breathtaking!

Beach Sunset

how i love eucalyptus trees...
they remind me of childhood. we had a treehouse at grandma and grandpa's house in a huge (to us) eucalyptus tree.

Up Close

Usually we have to stop several times on our walks at the beach to take out stray pieces of this bark. However, up close these pieces are so very lovely in the sunset light.