Pic a day challenge Week 21

Pic a day.  For May. Almost done.  With pic a day.  For May.
Day 13 – Mom.  A picture from way way back, at a Boise State football game, that I went to.  That’s how far back that is.  I have a picture somewhere of all of us, but I have no idea where it went.  I felt bad I was out of state, but we had a great phone conversation of me talking her into how to get away for a wine weekend.
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Day 14 – Grass.  Our backyard, and I did a feet picture!  Hey, would you look at that.
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Day 15 – Love- interpreted by me. Also, it was a Tuesday, so I was feeling like I looked pretty haggard.  We had drove ten hours the day before.  Sort of fatigued.
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Day 16 – What I’m reading. Cooks country magazine.  Almost close to a food reference slash bible.  I am thinking hard about how to justify a membership.. so much.. reliable access.. aagh.

Day 17 – snack – So Fraser wine was having a tasting of their Petite Sirah and Cabernet release, and they were pouring 6 month old Malbec and Cabernet.  Zeppole and the Chocolat Bar had some of their goodies out for the tasting.
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Day 18 – something I made – Ah yes, the ol’ “I’m trying on some wedding dresses so I better get ‘into shape’ but only kind of”
Ah, whatever
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Day 19 – A favorite place – Superb Sushi!  Our friend’s son and his girlfriend were in town from North Carolina so naturally, we head to Superb.

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Oh pic a day… keeping this little blog barely above water… I found my manicotti pictures, and we did go on a trip to Napa Valley in California so I am getting that going.  What a great wine valley, I was loving how green everything was, and how some wineries were dog friendly
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Pic a Day challenge Week 20

Tromp tromp through these pics.  I was feeling under the weather, then we headed to California for an extended weekend.
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Day 8 – A smell I adore.  Bread.  I was stuffy.  I got a mild cold-like allergy thing attack and all I wanted was soup on a beautiful 80 degree day.
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Day 9 – Something I do everyday.  Eat chocolate.  I was sort of at a loss for this, read?  Play Draw Something?  Eat? Feed the dog?
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Day 10 – A favorite word… montage… right?  I just love these new shelves from Bumble for our salon.  I can’t wait to see them in the new location!
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Day 11 – Kitchen.  Road kitchen!  We went to Napa and Sonoma for some California wine tasting and adventures.  We were at an Extended Stay so we settled right in for 2 and a half days.
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Day 12 – Something that makes me happy.  There is nothing more that makes me happier than hanging with Fiance.  He gets me so well, I have a great time with him.  With that, I love experiencing things with him, good and bad.  This was grand.  This was lunch at the Culinary Institute of America.  We shared some overpriced food and enjoyed a stellar view.

Pic a day on the road!
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Pic a Day Challenge week 19

Got a little bottleneck backlog on the pic a days but worry us not!  For I have been taking pictures and trying really hard to suck it up and construct posts via mobile.  Not the best, but it actually is pretty effective in getting the content in.

May 3- Something I wore today – Art at the Modern Hotel.  It was a great experience to tag along with someone who was affiliated with a room
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May 4 – fun!  Getting some Muy Bueno tasting in the new room at Bueno Cheapo Vino.
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May 5 – Bird.  This is borderline still kind of sad.  I lost my last bird in December, on a night where I was promoting… feather extensions.  This is some wall art I got from a friend at work.
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May 6 – You (me).  I broke a point and shoot camera last summer but it still works and the pictures are… unique.

May 7  - someone that inspires me
I will throw a dice out there, and say Bumble and Bumble Creative Technical Lead Zoe Wiepert.  She is so creative, a twitter I can follow.  Great mind for hair color inspiration, which I like to keep as some of my top priorities.
Honorable mentions go to my mom and dad, fiance, co-workers and friends, chefs, editorial stylists, some winemakers, artists of all genres, our dog…

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Pic a Day Challenge week 18

More pics this week, more pics next week, more the week after that…
Day 27 – Somewhere I went.  Well, we went to Twig’s, our first time.  Our friend we were with has his wine, Vin Du Bois, there and they are scrumptious.  Both were reds.  We had them with the renowned strawberry rhubarb pie.  Got the last pieces, too.

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Day 28 – 1pm.  On this particular day, it was a day to get a little work done while PBS is on in the background.  Breakfast is made, the day is laid out, then it is get down to business and do semi-productive adult chore things.

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Day 29 – Circle.  The circle of life, food.  The circle of Italian life, manicotti.  My first attempt, and while trying to reduce the ‘lover’ from the meat lovers recipe, I turned it into a cheese and severely moderate meat lover’s manicotti.  That was one heavy dish.

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Day 30 – something that makes me sad.  Taken from my Facebook status-
“My seasonal affective disorder must be opposite. I just saw Shafer Butte, aka Bogus Basin’s front face and most of the snow is gone. From white to brown. Sad face Can’t wait for next season shred some gnar, breh.”

While it was noted that whitewater rafting is the antidote, I still miss riding to the back-backside just to have some beers on the deck.  Also, while this year the crappiest I have seen it in years, the days we rode were some great days.
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Into May!
Day 1 – Peace.  Sort of.  We have moments, but I think a little toy poodle was coming around so naturally doggie wants to investigate.

Day 2 – Skyline.  I just had to .
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Weeky weeky week.  Late and late and late.  I did a rogue photographer escapade this week.  At the annual Art at the Modern, I got access to a room (to store my stuff) and followed a friend around to document, and to help her find new artists for Happy Fish Sushi restaurant.

Pic a Day Challenge week 17

Weeks go by, days go by, hours, minutes… Heading into the May challenge, I am starting to feel nostalgic.  Helps me look at the days a little differently.
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Day 21 – bottle – I llove this necklace, I wore it to every wedding I went to last year, so I wore it at least seven times.

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Day 22 – The last thing I bought.  By this day, I had mad no purchases, it was Sunday, we had all our food in the house already so we holed up and got the house tidy inside and out.   I can’t wait to open this, and the impending lineup of wine..
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Day 23 – Vegetable.  I am back into slicing my carrots for snacking.  They were super small some time ago when I got them.  They were still two pounds, but kind of a pain to manage and cut.

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Day 24 – Something I am grateful for.  This is a superficial one, as I have never really wore big girl make up- face make up. Yet I always complained, so I finally did something about it.  Otherwise it would be a picture of Fiance, family, doggie or my hands.

Day 25 – Looking down.  Well, this is another case of , “too lazy to get even the point and shoot camera to break my depth of field.”  From our master bedroom looking into our backyard.

Day 26 – Black & white.. Redvines, get it??

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Another week, more pictures, getting into the “doing things” season, camping, little hikes, nuptial planning, rivers!  Star trails, light painting… I also have not been plugging this at all so that will be some throwback plugs, what can I say?
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Food I (We) Made – Tri Tip, Coffee and Cupcakes

Some time ago, we got some Living Social coupons for a bunch of meat from Porterhouse Meats in Eagle, we got some New York strips, a giant corned beef and this.  The tri tip.  It came with a southwest type rub on it so all we had to do was throw this bad boy on the grill.  Low, indirect heat for an hour and a half, we were all drooling.
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This was an nontraditional weeknight dinner, since my exif data tells me I shot these on a Thursday.  Then I remember I did my Mom’s hair that afternoon, and she told me to make a gravy and serve it with some egg noodles.  Um, this is why we have parents, among the many things they provide, food advice.
This was also a night where I posted to Facebook that I cook with a spatula in one hand, and a camera in the other.  
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The wine we served it with was from Revelry, a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Cabernet Franc.  A great blend.  I was having trouble eating the meat and drinking the wine, I didn’t want either to finish.  This is a winery in Walla Walla.  This was our last tasting room stop from our first trip there.
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This needs to be repeated.
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Next up is cold brewed iced coffee.  This is starting to get to slow cooker pulled pork status.  I have been making this once a week.  I like to cold brew overnight if I don’t work the next day.  It’s so easy to pour it all in together, go to work, then strain out while dinner is in it’s simmer and leave alone phase.
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I also got a bigger wire strainer since then.
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Getting better at setting up for shooting.  I draped something over wine bottle and a cereal box.  Bam, background.
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Last and certainly not least are the tiramisu cupcakes.  I thought, at work, we buy each other dresses for birthdays, since the cakes get half lifed.  It was my birthday, so I wanted to make cupcakes for my salon ladies.  One serving, not so guilty, right??  Bonus?  They are gluten free so our recptionist and a few select friends can enjoy one and have their bodies not be mad at them.
Homemade ladyfingers. Oh yeah, recipe from Cupcake Project.  Ummm, yeah, lets just say this website will give me plenty of content for the rabbithole. 
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I love whipping cream.
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I was glad to take the finish pictures at the salon.  We got these new casual chairs and I love love love them, keep an eye out for them in some Bespoke shots!
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They are gluten free, so you can have two.
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More food.  I am revisiting some cookies into gluten free and something I found is my chewy soft is gone.  So I Googled it and found an Alton Brown recipe.  The secret ingredient?  Xantham gum and cornstarch.  This weekend has just been planned.  David Sedaris, America’s test kitchen manicotti, found out the fiance will do anything for it.  And attempting a chewy gluten free cookie.
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Beverage Medley – Three bottle night

These were wines we had one evening a few weeks ago.  All reds.  It was a lazy weekend, I got a massage.  He did yard work.  The weather is turning nice, but there is a fine line since I can only take so much heat before I start to melt.  For real.
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2010 San Giorgio Sangiovese.   Or S word wine, I call it Sangio most of the time.  The San Giorgio family has a good selection of wines for under $10.  We even liked their white wine.  This is a light red, not too tannin-y, like just enough of the dry taste.  I can see this being a great patio wine at night.  I am mentally filing away summer red wines, other than pinot noirs.  We had this with Brats, nice, easy, light, flavorful.
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2003 E&E Barossa Shiraz.  This nice big red was given to us, I am pretty sure it was given to us by Fiance’s little brother.  This. was. delicious. We were sampling whatever cheese we had, which may have been some Frigo brand cheese sticks. Chocolate to pair with?  Anything we can get our hands on (like, Christmas candy or something).  We looked it up, and we were blown away by the praises and great reviews. We took notes, and tasted dark, inky with dark red fruits, black cherry, plum.  Long finish, great finish, I didn’t really want the glass to end until we got to the port.  Just joking, we poured into separate glasses.  Ha!
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Elyse Petite syrah port.  We took no notes on this, but there is something I have learned over the years, never say no to a petite sirah port.  I feel like there is enough tannin with the sweet that it just works.  I love these ports, the two that I have had so far.

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More wine, more time, more wine time.  We just keep getting bottles, and we are getting better at taking notes here and there.  You can’t blame me, by bottle number three, it just tastes good enough to finish.   I am still.. researching the spring and summer beers.  I used to just, not care and not drink it, but I am drinking with my big girl stein and getting my tastes down.  Daunting research.

Pic a Day Challenge Week 16

This could be called “guess who like their tilt shift camera phone app” or “most of these were taken in a hurry”.  Either way they are completed. I am kind of wishing I were an octopus so I can edit, clean the house, cook, deal with the plants outside…

Day 15 – Sunset .
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Day 16 – flower – Tulips outside our house, bloomed, showed their colors, then the wind blew them all away into our fence and tree.
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Day 17 – Something I don’t like – Diverted Bumble and Bumble. No.  No no no no no.  It is not guaranteed, if it is even the product it says it is.  The people at Rite Aid, Walgreens, Target, Fred Meyer do not know this product.
NO!
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Day 18 – Hair – I may or may not  have donned this for this pic.
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Day 19 – Orange – Ah, the remote shutter release release.  This was the crucial piece I love having getting action shots of my friends coming down Brundage Mountain.
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Day 20 – something i drew – Hearts and hearts and hearts and hearts…

So with that being.. posted, I am working on this week, got the list for May (I am still doing this!)  and working on the photos at Bespoke, that place… people should hang out with me at Bespoke, great things happen, I may have talked a friend into a maternity shoot… Eeee!
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Beverage Medley – I Wined

Another medley of beverages, this time they are all red wines.  We have drank these in the past month or so.  I try and wait for the weekend to share a bottle, which is why we have the box of cabernet for a glass in the evenings.  I can’t remember the prices, well, the Paul Autard was $14 at Ericksons and the Borsao was $10 at Porterhouse meats in Eagle, ID.  We usually don’t spend more than $15 on bottles unless it is darn good and value things blah blah.
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2010 Domaine Paul Autard Cotes Du Rhone.

A blend of Grenache, Syrah, Mouvedre and Cinsault.  This bottle we had some time ago, and we did no tasting notes, and the back of the bottle describes this as a full bodied fruity wine.  Which I do remember it being.  It also says it goes great with grilled meats, stews and roasts.  Well I did make some pork chops and the hot chocolate cookies.  We picked this up after tasting the Paul Autard Chateaunuef-du-Pape at Bueno Cheapo Vino.  That was the rouge which is a Grenache, Syrah and Counoise blend. PS- when I can’t pronounce varietals, grapes, the wine- I seriously call it the name’s initial.  Mouvedre? M word wine.  I like it.
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2009 De Loach Merlot- Heritage reserve.

This, I don’t remember when we really had this, I the picture dates are all over the place. But from what I read and remember, this was an easy wine to drink.  Smooth, a safe fruit flavor on the tongue.
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2008 Borsao Red Wine

75 Garnacha 25 Tempranillo blend.  This was a ‘walk into meat store, see bottle, grab bottle, continue to shop’ bottle.  I liked their Granacha, always a great price, it just all added up.  A nice, dancey red wine.  Definitely had the earthy, mineraly taste to it.  I like their Granacha so I had a feeling this was going to be a tasty wine.
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So to conclude the post, wine.  We drink it often. And I always love those bottles where while we drink it, all we say to each other is how good it is and how well it it pairing with whatever we are eating.
I  have 3 more bottles, with one of them a Cabernet Tempranillo blend to try and get an idea of, before we blend our own, coming up next.  Also, with the warmer months, I realize I should not drink an oatmeal stout in the middle of July, which brings the inevitable question: what other than PBR do I drink?  Amber ale, time to discover!

Pic a Day Challenge week 15

The challenge continues… and on a better schedule, too!  Trying to compile some food into another post, and spring has come so that means everything is in bloom!  And I have been taking pictures of it!  Win win in my book.
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Day 8 – My wallet.  Picked her up at Ross a few years back and I like how it has a magnetic closure.  Sold.  It even came with a matching coin purse.  The magnets in the wallet find stray bobby pins, my keys and even the coin purse attached to it.

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Day 9 – In the words of late comedian Mitch Hedberg,  ”Every picture is of you when you were younger. Here’s a picture of me when I’m older.”

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Day 10 – Cold. Well our alleged winter has come and gone, and now we are in spring, blowing us around.  So nothing is really cold anymore, chilly, yes.  I don’t wear jeans or pants with boots anymore.  And the picture I took originally, which was ice water, got digitally lost somehow.  So we get the cold wax in my wax pot, instead.

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Day 11 – Where I ate breakfast.  Every morning I make… something, it consists of fruit, a hard boiled egg, cereal, cottage cheese and coffee or tea. I sit in our living room, and if I get to, sign on to here, write a sentence or two, and head out to work.

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Day 12 – Stairs – We live in a tri-level, so we have stairs all over the place.

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Day 13 – Something I found – Yup.  Found it alright.  And I took it home with me, too.  I love the label, the actual label, it’s like a pearl luster.

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Day 14 – How I feel today – This was in haste, I meant to take a picture of the actual massage table, but I did not.  But I love her calendar in the massage room so much that I got the same one.  Either way, I felt amazing, I was looking forward to this massage all week day.
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Another week, another set of photos.. now time to work on the wine.