Creole Wisdom

soul food dinner party

My two good friends have their out-of-county boyfriends visiting, so of course I thought it would be a grand idea to throw a soul food dinner party- just to showcase some of the stunning cuisine were have here in the states.

Dad and I planned out the menu, throwing in a bit of creole flavor: yellow rice, fried catfish, greens and cornbread– It was divine, everyone loved it!

Karen, Margaret and Becky: all sipping some good red wine (thanks Karen!)

Before we eat Dad and I spoke a little bit about what soul food is, what it means. It was a really special moment, I love my dad–

I'm so thankful he could make it happen.

give me autumn please

Yesterday it was really hot. I mean death like humid + hot that only a truly midwestern summer can be. I felt awful for Karen's Irish boyfriend Conor. The look on his face said it all. Misery.

It was so hot I could hardly force myself to eat, so I took some fruit and made an ice cold smoothie instead. so good-

I have a love-hate relationship with summer: I love bbqs, cabin weekends, diving into a lake, shorts and sun dresses, getting my share of vitamin D- but I hate the heat, the humidity, the stickiness, air-conditioned colds.

Want to know what season I really love? Autumn. Give me tights and a briskly sunny fifty five degree day and we're talking. Just a few more months, cannot wait!

In other news I am done editing over 1,000 photos and will be sharing a small fraction of those with you quite soon. There's a soul-food dinner tonight, which is exciting, and I cannot wait to share that with you dear readers as well.

over and out,

stay cool,

cw

me versus the apple crisp

On Monday it was raining. Why can't we have nice, gorgeous weather? Why is a bird repeatedly pooping on my new car? Why do I wake up to pee at 7:00 am when my alarm goes off at 7:15? These are some of my endless questions...

But, back to Monday night. I had purchased a gigantic bag full of fantastic granny smith green apples from Rainbow (happy sale!) and decided to make apple crisp. Because almost everyone has the ingredients for a crisp on hand.

Apple crisp is a really poor choice for me, because I am obsessed and addicted to it. It's right up there with my other cracks of choice: brie cheese, vera bradley, and driving 75 mph. The worst part was having to wait 45 minutes for the crisp to bake.

and waiting... (45 minutes is the worst length of time to have to wait for something. Absolutely awful. Don't believe me? Observe your mental health 45 minutes before work is over)

Then when the wait was f i n a l l y over, I devoured the crisp. Quite concerning to say the least. The verdict? The crisp got the victory.

That is all.

- to +

Today I woke up in a really ungrateful mood. It wasn't awful (I've felt worse), but it was significant enough to get me off to a slow start.

Somehow, like all days, the hours passed, and the morning turned to lunch time turned to afternoon.

By the time the sun was high in the sky, I felt better. After all, it was seventy two degree outside in Minneapolis- that should lift any mood.

When I drove up after work Kate was just returning from a walk. She smiled at me, and informed me that we had forgotten crushed tomatoes for our dinner recipe, but all was well- I had a can in the corner of our pantry.

The rest of the evening, we spent cooking the most delicious meal. It was fantastic, and then Becky and Katie (who will kill me for posting this picture) arrived. Even better. We laughed really hard, and my heart was full of happiness.

From ungrateful to joyful thanks to a good meal, sun, and lovely friends.

Reminds me: happiness is as much a choice as many other things. I am a half glass full kind of person, it's time to get with it!

adventures in modern baking

Because I love baking, am half southern, and love the color red: I had to make the most gigantic red velvet cake for my Uncle Steve's birthday. Dear readers, it. was. divine.

I just don't think you can go wrong with red velvet + cream cheese frosting + coconut (almost an entire bag). Loved that we had red candles, too.

A Little Holiday

I think this was the best Easter I have had in a long time. Nearly perfect. 

First up: Church. I love the Basilica on most Saturday nights, but on holidays it's always perfect. The sanctuary looked gorgeous, and the music was beautiful.

Then we met up with the rest of the family for the best brunch ever. Major thanks to the loveliest of roommates for hooking us up and giving us the VIP treatment. I don't need to eat again for a long, long time. I think my favorite? The salmon, so good!

From there we headed to dad's place for the main attraction: dessert. Mom and I put together the finishing touches of the cake, which involved me making whip cream without a kitchenaide. I knew there was a reason why I lift weights- I owned that whisk :)

Isn't it glorious? My favorite part of this entire cake would have to be the fresh whipped cream topping complete with berries.

I think the best part about Easter, besides the religious meaning, is that it marks the real end of winter. Did I mention it was 65 and sunny today? So thrilling.

Something that's been on my mind as of late: "When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad consider: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his nature" Ecclesiastes 7:14

easter dinner & dessert

I love Easter. This year, we're going out to eat (praise the Lord).  That translates into: my feet don't have to be sore due to standing over a stove for hours.  Instead, we'll be enjoying the goodness that is M&S.  But, I am making the dessert.  It's a toss up between these two, both from Martha.

I love M&S so.  Why? Well Boo Boo and Jackie work there.  Also, when I was in HS they were so accommodating for the gigantic prom group (nice).  The food's amazing, too.

seward co-op favorites

These are just a few of my favorites from Monday's photo shoot at the Seward Co-op. I love when I finish editing photos a few days before their due date, and I love when so many of them can just be SOTC. Beautiful food doesn't need a lot of changing.

sometimes in life:

It is all about the packaging.

What I love:

-Kraft paper. Is there anything more simple and elegant, and not to mention versatile?

-Good, simple graphic design

-Carbs. Deliciousness in every last bite

What I also love:

-More photography work. I am so thankful.

-Lots of photos to edit from yesterday's shoot at the co-op (these images are from that)

-Leaving soon to work on the Substance Magazine layout

it was cold.

I knew because I had to run outside for .5 seconds from work to my car and then from the gym to my car. My iphone told me, too. So I baked chocolate molten cake with homemade whipped cream.

It was warm inside, and the chocolate cake went down oh so well. I had 2,000 layers on, too. I'm ready for the weekend, and I'm hoping to finish up any and all Christmas shopping and then get wrapping done. Maybe I'll add fabric ribbon and ties to go with my kraft wrapping paper. We'll see. It's certainly time to get festive!