I stood upon the hills, when heaven's wide archWas glorious with the sun's returning march, And woods were brightened, and soft gales Went forth to kiss the sun-clad vales.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Rosie Goes to the Vet
I've been MIA the last few days and you want to know what my excuse is? I had to take Rosie to the vet. I feel like maybe I'm getting a glimpse into what having children would be like. (All you moms out there are probably shaking your heads at me right now. ;) ) I'm not kidding, it gives me a HUGE appreciation for the moms who also, somehow, run a business. You all are rockstars. And now I will stop comparing having a cat to having multiple children and share a couple random tidbits from the weekend:
- Nathan baked an apple pie. From scratch. With the fancy criss cross top and all. He is officially a better baker/cook than I am.
- New Girl never gets old. I'm stretching out the season finale as long as I can by watching it multiple times. I'm on number four.
- Wearing my good flats to trek around in the woods for an engagement session is never a good idea. I think I dumped about five pounds of leaves, sticks, grass and dirt from my shoes at the end of the session.
- Gnats, while annoying, can really add something to the bokeh of pictures. Tune in to next Thursday's wedding blog post to see what I mean.
And here's my usual view of Rosie. She's a lot happier in the window sill than at the vet.
Waiting to Dive In
Being a wedding photographer is kinda funny sometimes. You go from being soinsanelybusyyoucanhardlybreathe May through October to sloooooow over the winter. I think no matter how many wedding seasons I go through it will always take me by surprise. I'm wired to be very calculated and routine, and I'm still learning to speed up and then slow down and bask in a day off during the week when I work all weekend. Today is one of those days. I've been on the cusp of busy season for awhile now but I haven't completely dived in. Starting this weekend I'll begin my long stretch, and to make sure I'm completely refreshed and ready for that, I'm going to relax today.
I'm going to play with Rosie.
I'm going to have lunch with my mom.
I'm going to go for a run and enjoy being outside.
I'm going to get some things crossed off my to do list that won't otherwise get done this busy season.
I'm going to eat lots and lots of Nutella (and maybe frozen yogurt if I'm being completely honest).
I'm going to watch the season finale of New Girl.
It's going to be a glorious day! :D
A Garden + My Favorite Summer Recipe
Giveaway update: Congratulations to Jessica Waskin and Crystal Welsh for winning the pairs of tickets to Cleveland Magazine's Silver Spoon Awards party (winners were chosen using random.org)! I'll be putting the tickets in the mail today! :)
This year, with a little help from our neighbor, we have a garden! One of the few things I remember from the first open house we did at this house was our now-neighbor cleaning up her garden as we checked out the backyard. I remember thinking, "I've always wanted to live somewhere where people have gardens." And here we are.
Our neighbor was gracious enough to let us use her garden this year, and we've planted all kinds of things: spinach, green beans, peppers. My favorite of all, however, is the basil. I love fresh basil. I could bottle up that sweet, earthy smell and wear it as perfume (maybe). I could eat basil in anything. In just a week we've already gone through all of the basil leaves on our plant. Looks like we should have bought five more!
One of my favorite summer recipes calls for lots of fresh basil (surprise). It's my favorite for that reason, but also because the first time I had it I was celebrating being reunited with my four college roommates not long after we had graduated. We were all moving around my little kitchen at my first real grown-up house in Cincinnati, enjoying each other's company after months away (which probably seemed like years because we spent every day of senior year together). I think Leah found this recipe (she's the foodie of the group), maybe from Real Simple, and every time I eat it, it takes me back to that night.
Summer Corn and Tomato Pasta 1 pound bowtie pasta 2 tablespoons EVOO 2 garlic cloves, smashed 1 pint cherry tomatoes 3 ears of fresh corn, kernels cut off (or 8-16 ounces of frozen) 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces Parmesan for topping
Cook pasta al dente, and boil the corn. In the meantime, heat EVOO over medium heat. Add garlic and tomato. Cook about 5 minutes, until tomatoes are soft. Stir in corn and raise the heat, about 5 more minutes. Add the mix, butter, and basil to cooked pasta and toss to coat. Top with fresh parmesan.