Under The Trees

Under the trees, I'm at peace with myself.

I'm home.




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Dread: apothecary

The anxiety and grief has finally released their grip on me. I haven't been much of any use these past few weeks, and finally picked up my camera (shamefully, it's been weeks) and began to shoot.

Oh....it melted everything away. 

Camera, I love you. 

available in print

available in print

I like this series, do you?

It's a great way to make sense of my glass bottle obsession.

....and an excuse to continue it.

Bake it

It's about that time again! I pretty much will bake uncontrollably all through the fall season.

How can you not? The weather is gorgeous, and I'm an early riser on weekends anyway so why not make myself useful (and my boyfriend happy) by baking.

This is a great recipe that can change to fit your cravings. The original called for chocolate chip cookies, but I added the cranberries for some bite.

I do believe Kaelyn gave me this recipe, it was written on a calendar page (with sharpie, no less) stuffed inside one of my books. ::shrugs:: It's delicious, regardless.

Our little tropical storm has finally stopped (although you wouldn't be able to tell from the overflowing rivers causing mania in our area), and I hope to have a sunny and relaxing weekend.

Enjoy yours, wherever you are!

T

Priscilla

I'm still getting used to this area, and for whatever reason I still talk about Berwyn as if I have doubts.

The truth is, I've been having one amazing experience after another. I've met a few neighbors who enthusiastically talked about food and art with me, and one in particular....shared her life story. I think if I walked away she still would have kept talking, but the point is everyone seems so open and nice. Not at all what I expected moving to the Main Line (the stuffy, I drive expensive cars so I'll cut you off and spend $45.00 on a sandwich type o folks).

Before I moved here, I guess I thought I'd have to be around that certain type of person all the time. Funny thing is, I'm finding these great little nooks all throughout town that are starting to light sparks of love for Berwyn. 

Our neighborhood feels like a beach community, which is so fun. Everybody is outside their fences either chatting or walking their dogs (I've met quite a bunch of those, Marshmallow sticks out the most). It's very relaxing and I can feel myself slowly settling in. I still have rising bursts of anxiety, but it's fading away.

We needed house plants.

So I finally stopped by Flowers by Priscilla off Lancaster Ave and see what this funky little shop was all about.

Let me tell you, do not be fooled by the prim and proper website. Priscilla is a fast-talking, quick-moving, straight to the point woman who made an impression on me almost immediately.

I hadn't even look at a single plant, but I knew I'd leave buying something from this magical place.

Picture this:

If a mad chemist had a wife who adored flora and fauna, glass bottles and do-dads so much she opened a little shop. That would be Priscilla. 

We talked and she asked my name.

"Tina? Oh! Do you know the song Tina the Ballerina?" and quickly disappeared into the back, behind some flowers to find the song on youtube.

It was a whirlwind for the 15 minutes I was there, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Exactly what I needed this afternoon.

I bought this little guy for our bathroom, as well as these dried seedy things that I have no idea what they are. Any idea?

She never did find that song....

Hi!!!

::waves::

I think I'm finally getting back into the groove of things now that we're a tiny (and I mean..super tiny) bit settled in our new home. I realized a very important fact about Mike & myself.

We're hoarders.

Not the trash keeping, paper clip collecting, strapping ourselves to chairs so we don't fall in the muck on the floor, kind of hoarders.

I guess more along the lines of pack rats.

A lot of stuff, no where to go with it. We're working on it, though.

I'm not completely ready to feature whole rooms at once (because I've strategically not shown the towering boxes in any of these photos), so here are some mini scenes from our new place at Bridge, Berwyn.

I apologize for small images, I didn't want a long row of single images :/

taken with FXCam on Motorola Backflip

ok, enough with the pillow making already.

I never considered myself crafty.

Or, domestic. Yes, I can cook, water plants and make pretties with a camera, but furniture finishing? Pillow-making? DIYing? Count me out.

With my old age (that would be 25) I find myself daydreaming about fabrics, wood finishes, and cute containers to hold all my pencils, or kitchen things.

Yes, I officially became that girl.

The funny thing is, I don't mind it at all. I really enjoy learning how to create things for my home, and the whole cheap ticket really is the best part.

I adored this little button up skirt from American Eagle I got last summer. At the time, I was flirting with the idea of wearing more skirts (my wardrobe is pretty basic) and this (which was also on sale!) seemed a great way to start it out.

So fast forward to this summer, and I'm 30 lbs lighter.

Meaning, this skirt just falls to the floor when I put it on.

I loved the button detail so much, I decided I could make it into a pillow.

And that I did.

The fabric is a really, really soft corduroy, grayish blue with great bronzey buttons.

When I finished cutting the first panel, I did toy with the idea of making it a cute strapless top of some sort.

But let's be honest, my sewing machine skills are extremely limited.

It would have been a disaster. I can only make pillows. Seriously.

I can't get over the cute little buttons!

The size is a 18x12 insert. The white pillows behind, I have yet to find a fabric for. They will stay white, but I'm thinking a linen of some sort. I got those 2 from Ross for $4.

Oh! And this new (to me) white comforter is an Ikea down comforter that I think runs for $30-$40?

I got it at Liberty Thrift for $12

The hardest part was the elastic synched waistband, I kind of left a bit of it at the top of the pillow (which is stratigically not shown) so it would be easier to sew closed. It's not perfect, but that doesn't really matter.



Alrighty, now that I've made several pillows for my bed, I think it's time to tackle something bigger. Any ideas? Anything that's not hard like a sofa slipcover?

I'm going to focus on packing and getting things ready for the new apartment in the next week. Things will be a little MIA for a bit, but I'll be back. With new apartment pics, of course :)

Enjoy your weekends, lovies!

Florida is hot. Seriously.

I am back from Florida, and although refreshed I somehow caught a little flu and I'm feeling pretty miserable today. Luckily it's cloudy and chilly outside, so I can stay in my house and watch HGTV without guilt.

I'm out of shape, and it's sickening.

Not a body out of shape, but a fine art out of shape. 

All the images from my Florida trip seem uninspired, and dull.

Ugh, it's very disappointing. It's funny how all this time I've been using my camera differently (more food shots), and when I try to go back to shooting scenery I just fall flat.

Ok, well I do have one photograph that I felt was pretty cool.

It's actually the first one I took when we arrived. Go figure.

I wanted this image to set the mood for how I would photograph the rest of the trip.

But things didn't seem to quite work out that way. I couldn't tell you the reasons, it just wasn't going to happen and I wasn't about to force anything.

Or make any of you look at ugly photos and ask (or beg) to say nice things about them.

That just isn't me.

Where is the groove, and how do I get it back?

I can already hear my Dad "Practice makes perfect, and you're out of practice, so stop whining and go shoot." Thanks ahead of time, Pops.

Things are really busy here (that seems to be the norm, though) and- 

OH!

I really almost forgot about my important little news.

........so...Mike and I move into our first apartment September 1st.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We're super excited, and admittedly, a little nervous.

I wanted to share some pics but when we did our first walk through, it never even crossed our minds. I think it was because we knew this would be our new home, and there'd be plenty of time for pictures later. So there, I've shared it!

I never lived with a boyfriend before and I'm figuring there's going to be some seriously weird things I'll have to get used to.

Any of you have any tips when it comes to living with the opposite sex?

I'd appreciate a head's up on anything!

Well, back to Design Star & a cup of a coffee.

-T

Thai food is the 2nd best thing in life...well...besides my cat Piggy...

...and I guess my boyfriend too. But the point is, Thai recipes (which I find to be the hardest to recreate) are so freaking amazinggggg, and addicting.

I found a sweet little coconut based soup from FOOD&WINE (August 2010) that had my mouth watering halfway through the recipe list.

This afternoon I got some free time to test out the recipe, and do a pretty little set up.

Spicy Avocado Cucumber Soup

Ingredients:

2 - 12 oz cucumbers - peeled, seeded, & chopped

2 - Haas avocados, chopped

2 tsp Thai green curry paste

2 tsp sugar

2 tsp grated lime zest

1 serrano chili *I put in two* - seeded & chopped

1 - 13oz can unsweetened coconut milk

3 T lime juice

salt

1/2 cup coconut flakes

cilantro sprigs

1. In a food processor, puree the cucumbers until smooth. Add the avocados, curry paste, sugar, lime zest & chile. Process until blended. Add 1 - 3 cups of water (depending how "soupy" you want your soup. I only added 1 cup so it would be creamier), coconut milk, lime juice and process until smooth. Transfer the soup to large bowl and season with salt. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, about 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, toast the coconut flakes in a pan over low hear, stirring, until lightly browned and crisp. This takes about 3 minutes. 

3. Ladle soup into small bowls or cups, garnish with coconut flakes, cilantro sprigs and serve.

Servings: About 6-10

I think the soup has a really unique flavor, and the idea of it being served chilled makes it a great late afternoon snack when the August heat just doesn't want to give up.

Also- toasted coconut flakes are now my new favorite snack.

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I found this super easy to make, and lessened my fear of cooking Thai for myself.

Are there any cuisines that you just love but have the hardest time recreating in your kitchen?

I'm off to enjoy the weekend! And pack a lot of boxes................

:)

Florida in 13 days.

I. cannot. wait.

I've had an exceptionally good day, with some great news (hopefully I can share soon!) so I wanted to spread the goodness around.

A sale seemed appropriate.

From today til Friday, August 6th I will be having a BOGO sale at the shop.

Purchase any 8x8 (or 8x10) of your choice, type in the title of your second (free) print in "notes to seller" and zing! You're done!

Any questions, just let me know!

Thank you (times a million) to everyone who has kept this shop going with all your love, support, & inspiration.