my apologies

I'm desperately sorry that I haven't updated much lately. Let's face it...winter dampens my creativity...and since I didn't have that much creativity to start with...well...you get the picture. Anyway...my life is slowing down a bit. This is the last super busy week of work for a while, so hopefully that will leave more time for the other things I love...friends, photography, coffee, cooking (in my own kitchen!!)...etc.

In the meantime...some old pics for you...this is where I used to live.



Also, I'm very excited because my parents gave me an external hard drive for Christmas, so now I can keep all of my pictures on it, and it will speed my computer up (hopefully!).

happy winter

I can't wait for lovelies like these to come back soon!!




All of these pics are from the Auckland Botanical Gardens.

Monday: something to love

Happy Monday everyone!! Only 5 days until Christmas...which means I need to get my Christmas shopping done...yikes!

Unexpected and lovely handmade Christmas gifts...so fun!! This is a necklace made out of a piece of driftwood that my friend picked up on the beach in New Zealand.


Also, I have a special love of fortunes from fortune cookies. If I eat out it is usually Chinese food, and while I don't place much stock in fortunes I do believe that God can speak to us through all things, so sometimes I keep them because of that or just because they are good or funny. These are a few that I have floating around.

a tiny piece of heaven

I was making Tiramisu today for a couple of very special friends (who used to be my roommates), and I discovered a little piece of heaven. Not that Tiramisu by itself isn't heavenly, but this was maybe 10 times better...okay maybe only 5 times better...

So I had to share it with you...also I'm trying to make up for being so lame about blogging this last week (or two).

Tiramisu is one of those desserts that everyone thinks is really difficult to make, but it really isn't. At least the recipe I use isn't. But there are two basic parts to it. The first is a coffee syrup that you use to soak ladyfingers in. The second is a creamy marscapone cheese layer.

Being the coffee lover that I am, I decided to brew a little extra coffee for an afternoon treat. I finished making the Tiramisu and I had extra of the cream layer which I like to dip ladyfingers into and enjoy for a sweet treat.

That was when the stroke of brilliance happened. Why not dip the ladyfinger with the cream on it into my coffee...yep...delicious. I might have melted onto the floor. So rich, so creamy, so delightful. I almost made myself sick on it.

coffee...

ladyfingers...

a match made in heaven...
or maybe just my kitchen.

Monday: something to love (remix 2)

Life is insane. Monday is Friday. Friday is Monday. Up is down and right is left. Basically the Christmas season is upon my life right now which means I have basically been living at work. Next week it will get better, but I just realized that it is Friday and I never did something to love on Monday. Between work, baking Christmas cookies, and celebrating a good friend's homecoming, I really had no extra time on Monday, and then I blinked. Now it's Friday.

Anyway...something to love...big mugs of steaming hot tea...

Delightful...think I will go have one right now...and try to remember what day it is.



Maybe tomorrow, up will again be up and right will again be right...or maybe not.

where i really want to be right now

Kensington Gardens

Hyde Park

London, England
Yes, Please

Merry Happy Christmas

Work has been taking over my life lately...which is both a good and bad thing. At any rate, I haven't had time to even take my camera out much lately. Today, I had a break for a little while, though, so I thought I would snap some pics of the Christmas tree my roommate and I decorated this year. I am very grateful to live in my roommate's house...especially when she has such great taste in decorating.

What's a girl's Christmas tree without a shoe?

Monday: something to love

Roses and Lilies...two of my favorite flowers...oh, how I am longing for Spring!!

multinational scarf collection

A while back I posted photos of my shell collection for a photo competition. One of the collections that I had thought about photographing was my scarf collection. However, I couldn't really think of a good way to photograph it, so I didn't. Since then, though, I have been taking pictures of my scarves when I wear them.

In honor of colder weather, I decided to go ahead and give you a taste of my scarf collection. This is by no means the entire collection. I haven't had to really dig out my heavy winter scarves yet, but maybe soon. That being said, I may end up posting again about scarves, but for now this is a good start.

Both of this lovely scarves I picked up on my trip to New Zealand. God bless the boys for allowing me to do a little shopping.

Hmm...black scarf...not sure where it came from...maybe JCPenny's?

My roommate brought this one back from Malaysia for me.

London scarf...from the store on the corner of my street...I think it was called Fusion.

This scarf came from a little shop on my street corner in London.
And I spy some red TOMS!! :)

This lovely scarf (one of my favorites) a dear friend got for me on a trip to Alaska.

I picked up this red scarf from a street vendor in London.

A dear friend brought this back from Malaysia for me.

Another friend brought this scarf back from a summer missions trip to Uganda for me.

I wear scarves a lot...almost every day...that and my TOMS are my favorite accessories. Be prepared for more random posts about my scarves. Winter is difficult for me because of the cold, but I try to focus on the positive about the season...like getting to wear scarves and drink hot chocolate and decorate for Christmas.

where i really want to be right now

Cold weather makes me want to be all snugly and curled up in my favorite comfy chair at my favorite coffeeshop sipping a steaming mug of coffee or tea or hot cocoa or chai...yum!

Monday: something to love (remix)

In lieu of something that I love, today you are getting things I am thankful for in honor of my second favorite holiday--Thanksgiving.



So many things that I am thankful for are embodied in these pictures. Food, Home, Family, Friends, my Job, electricity, a warm house, love...the list goes on and on.

TOMS love VI

Remember my red TOMS? The ones I said I was going to decorate? Well I finally got around to that. I knew what I wanted to put on them when I got them in October. I just hadn't had time to actually do it. I finally had a few free minutes over Thanksgiving to sit down and take care of business.





"Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage, wait for the Lord!" - Psalm 27:14

delightful

Near Auckland, NZ

This is the background on my computer right now, and I just wanted to share it with you because I love it and it makes me happy.

Monday: something to love

You are getting several of the things I love today as I am feeling in a particularly excellent mood today. I think it's because I've thought it was Tuesday all day long...that and the pie fumes are getting to me.

lovely summer trips to the lake

getting an artistic photo when i wasn't trying to

creative table decorations at weddings

delicious pancakes in different countries
Gailey's in SGF, USA (above)
NZ (below)

where i really want to be right now

I talked to a lovely lady today who also studied abroad in London. It was an unexpected connection that gave us a great time bonding. It also made me remember this lovely place and wish I were back there.



The Ace Cafe is probably the closest thing to a biker bar that London will ever see. It's a fun hang out place where people get to show off their bikes and cars. For a nice car and bike enthusiast it is a wonderful dream. I loved going there...even though I had to convince my friend to walk through some janky streets to get there. We had a blast.

And they had the best cider I have ever had. I still crave me some Scrumpy Jack Cider. Yum...I could go for a pint right now. Delish.

TOMS love V

These picture combine my love of my TOMS with my longing to go back to NZ and loads of good memories along the way. These were taken up on the observation deck of the Sky Tower in Auckland, NZ.