A baby and French Macarons

Wow...I have been totally absent from the blog-o-sphere lately. Life just seems to run away with itself sometimes. To quickly catch anyone up who still stops by here...my husband and I are expecting a March baby!

Needless to say we have been very busy making preparations baby Ieshee (my nickname for our little one since we are not finding out the sex). My husband has been busily preparing the nursery which includes pulling up carpet to refinish the hardwoods underneath, adding wainscoting and painting. We are going with a very neutral color scheme, a rich gray with yellow accents to the room.

I've also found myself baking more and more lately. I got this determined idea to try and make French Macarons this weekend, and I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome:

They look like little pink hamburgers, but they are much more delicious than that! I was nervous about how they would turn out since I've heard they are pretty time consuming and finicky to make. Luckily I found a great easy recipe, and my first batch turned out perfect! My husband was super impressed. Here's the recipe if you're interested: French Macaron Recipe

Letters & Postcards

Out going mail for the week!

On the left are 3 friends I met during high school through Foreign exchange programs. I never pursued the opportunity to study abroad but I did become good friends with students who did. Georg and Mic were students at my high school from Germany and Italy. Olga was part of the host family that my best friend lived with during her Junior year abroad in Madrid (and that I stayed with during my summer graduation trip to Spain). I've kept in touch with all of them, which has never been easier due to facebook. But hey! I like writing the old fashioned way. 

On the right are a few postcards sent to friends in New Orleans and Olympia.  My mail goes near and far!

All this mail enthusiasm has led to me to want to try a little "boomerang" mail art project which I will tell you more about after I nail down the details.

George

 

It's looking as though my photo blog is turning into a mail art blog! This is what you get I suppose when you have an obsessive personality that floats from one idea and passion to the next.

As for George, he was a good buddy from my photography days at The Evergreen State College.  I have many fond memories with GG...working in the darkroom or bumming around town with our cameras.  He is a fabulous photographer working out of Brooklyn, NY, check out his site George Barberis.

Miss you old friend!

Third Thursday

 

Yesterday was an extremely relaxing and enjoyable evening after the 4th day in a row of stressful work blues. It was the perfect day to come home to not one, but two surprise packages! The first was a belated wedding gift from a dear friend and the second was a  cute felt floral pin from a total stranger!  

The rest of the evening included an impromptu picnic at a friends and Arts Walk adventures downtown...a lovely spring day in the Northwest.

Teeny Tiny Postcards

More mail! I found this fun template on the Photojojo site.  I spent a chunk of Saturday afternoon mining through old photos of my friend Rachel who I met my Sophmore year of college, so I've collected quite a catalog of our shenanigans.

I took these photos as my little keepsake of our memories.

Pen Pal Project

A friend of a friend told me about a pen pal project that she was involved in.  Being a lover of sending a receiving mail I decided to join.  This will be my first send off and above are just a few photos of what I have included to some lovely stranger.

The project has inspired me to continue to create and craft mail for friends and strangers alike.  So who knows, you might receive something from me one of these days!

Momma's got the goods...

 Red Onion and Blue Cheese Spread

This is one of my favorite recipes that my mom gave me.  It's super easy and great to bring to parties as an appetizer.  I made it last night for a social event I was attending and it was a hit. 

1/2 cup olive oil

1 cup chopped red onion

1 cup chopped toasted walnuts

1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped kalamata olives

2 garlic cloves minced

1 cup crumbled blue cheese

freshly ground pepper to taste

Baguette slices

Red grapes for garnish

In a dry pan toast the walnuts, set aside. Put olive oil in a pan over medium heat and lightly the saute the red onions and garlic. Add olives and heat through. Stir in the walnuts. Put the blue cheese on a large platter or serving dish, pour the heated olive and onion mixture over the blue cheese. Gently stir to mix.

Pepper to taste and add red grapes to garnish.

*I also made another super easy appetizer which is what the basil in the first photo was for.  I stuck mini mozzarella balls on a toothpick followed by a quarter slice of a cucumber, a basil leaf and a cherry tomato.  I brushed them with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper and voila!