New Year's Eve Sparkle

Wishing you all a sparkly festive New Year's Eve!



Here's to a brand spankin' New Year chock full of possibilities, opportunity, & happiness!

Happy Happy Holidays!

Our city is ready, I hope you are too!



Wishing you all a Merry & Magical Christmas!

The Winter Soiree

See more of the party here.

Dapper Gift Wrapping

This year, I really wanted to dress up my Holiday wrapping with dapper little bow ties, so I whipped up these cuties:



I also wanted to offer a free holiday download to all of you, & there are already so many adorable gift tags out there... maybe your last minute gifts need handsome bow ties too? I bet they do! Print out DIY bow ties of your very own right here!

Like Butta

Did you notice how those seemingly benign roasted potatoes that accompanied our salmon were pretty darn tasty? A little thing called Chive Butter is the secret.



One of our foodie friends introduced us to Chive Butter (AKA Crack Butter- for it's addictive qualities) & we've been hooked ever since. I would give you a little to take home with you, but I'm afraid as usual, there's none left. I will send you off with the recipe though - now you can make it anytime & eat way more than you should in the privacy of your own home.

Entre Vous, Entree

Have you worked up an appetite after chatting about Palm Springs, & downing 3 glasses of wine? Good, because it's time for our main dish!



Our salmon is very simply prepared, but is rich & layered with goodness thanks to our sweet & savory Blackberry Balsamic Reduction. We'll be serving another glass of white with this course, usually we'd pop open a red, but we are on a roll, so let's go with it. Now who'd like to sample wine #4? It's Oriana, a Rhone style blend from Brian Carter Cellars.



Please don't let your salmon get cold while we pour the wine, dig in!

Laying the Groundwork

Now that we've enjoyed our appetizers, salad, & uhm.. dessert, it's time to bring out the big guns & lay the foundation for our main course.

This recipe is from the true Chef of the house (R), & don't let the simple ingredients fool you, because your taste buds are about to fall head-over-heels goo-goo in love. Be aware that once this happens, you can never go back, & it's possible that you will pine for it, pen sappy love songs, & leave blubbering messages for it when you have had too much to drink.

Dessert First

Didn't I tell you? This is a madcap devil-may-care sort of dinner party where dessert will be served before the entree.

Now enjoy your Honey Roasted Pears in Ginger Caramel Sauce, & then we'll see if we still have room for the main course.

We'll be sweetening up our vino too, how about an Inniskillin Vidal 2007 Icewine?

Palm Springs Dreamin

Let's take a break from our dinner party to dream about Palm Springs! What if we jumped on a plane & rented a gorgeous mid-century modern abode for a few days? The perfect mix of modern amenities & vintage lines would be just the place for a pre-holiday rest.

In the mornings we could pop over to Kings Highway at the Ace Hotel for a good old fashioned diner breakfast & a piping hot french press of Stumptown. After breakfast we can even take silly pictures in the photo booth!

Then we could go back to the house & hang out in the pool until our fingertips turn amazingly pruney.

What do you say? Shall I book it?

The Salad: Super Fresh!

Since those dates with chevre can be pretty rich, I thought you might be ready for a brisk palate cleanser. This is a frequent flyer for us on hot Summer days, the lemon & mint are wonderfully bright & refreshing. Did you finish your glass of Viognier? R's pairing suggestion is a Lemelson Pinot Gris.

First Course

Deceptively Easy Appetizers



Here are my first shots & recipes for the Food & Foto Challenge. Shooting food is a whole different ball game but, I'm pleasantly surprised at my results. Give these sweet & savory morsels a try - they are quite decadent. For the winos out there ( I kid) R's wine pairing recommendation is a Viognier like this one from Alexandria Nicole.

Shooting My Food

Lunch was tardy today, since I felt it had to be photographed before being eaten.

I'm getting in a little practice for the new Souvenir Foto Food & Foto Challenge. I'm not the Chef of the house, but hopefully with good light & flattering angles, I can make the very simple dishes I plan to shoot look dinner-guest worthy. I'll be posting my food shot & recipe here every week for the next 6 weeks if you'd like to follow along!

Wrestling Peacocks

After a ton of trial & error, I am so happy with this beautiful peacock color for a brand spankin' new Way to the Show print!


You may be wondering how difficult it can be to choose the right shade of peacock blue, right?

let's just say this is a small sample of possibilities.

Experiments in Freelensing

SwissMiss posted about freelensing today, & I had to give it a try immediately.

I love the softness, light leaks, & the potential for a little renegade unpredictability. I am quite happy to add this technique to my arsenal!

Soup-er!

Crisp fall weather made me want to chop up a bunch of colorful root vegetables & take their picture,

& since they were so conveniently chopped up, I made some very tasty soup.

Better with Sprinkles

Does adding sprinkles make Monday better?


Yes, I think it does...

Wish of the Week

May you always have someone around who's got your back.

Photographic Memories

I decided to make a treasury featuring only photographs today, I think it turned out pretty sweet:

See the rest of the story here

Yippee Yay Yahooey!

This is my final entry for Souvenir Foto School's A-Z 30 day challenge ( I didn't shoot the letters in order). It's been a fantastic ride with excellent classmates. I recommend MissB's classes to anyone & everyone! I bet you want to celebrate something too- go ahead & download the mini-pennant pdf here!

You Zig, I'll Zag

I've been dreaming of chevron backed pillows with my Optimists' happy faces on the front. Unfortunately, my efforts in screen printing on fabric usually result in a sloppy mess (sigh). It might be time to find a pro.

Autumn Falling

Right on schedule, this morning's air was a bit more crisp & a layer of fog blanketed the city.

A change in season usually means a creative avalanche for me. C'mon inspiration, bring it on, I'm ready for you.

How to Romanticize the Rain

Grab some coffee or tea, stay dry & cozy while you look at dreamy rainy day photos,

& listen to this:

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to this Photo

As I leaned over a railing to snap some shots of this pretty girl,

a curious elderly man approached: "What are you taking pictures of?" (me) "A duck, -see?" (elderly man looks) "The males are much better looking." (me) "I think she is cute." (elderly man) "Cute. huh. You need to give her some bread." (me) "I know! I feel terrible that I don't have any with me!" (elderly man) "Give her your gum." ...(me) "Uhm, I don't think that would be very good for her." (elderly man) "Yes, but it would be good for you!"

I'm trying to decide if he meant that chewing gum was bad for me, or if a photo of a gum chewing duck would be extra nice...

Monday Medicine

Sometimes, the best way to brighten up a Monday morning is to remember the weekend.

Thanks Santa Barbara!

Buzz!

Vicinity Studio got a little boost from Etsy Finds Enchante yesterday!

As you can imagine, I'm doing a little happy dance right now:)

Details

Isn't she a beauty?

The owner of this 1941 Cadillac coupe was nice enough to let me take a few photos. As a bonus, he described the Cadillac hood ornaments from the 30's on. Good day folks, good day:)

Sparkle and Pretty

Just some stars & a giant bow to gussy up your day.

Cloudy with a Chance of Sandcastles

The clouds are back,

which makes for a more interesting sky, & hearty Seattle souls who put on a jacket, go to the beach, & embellish their sandcastles with shells & feathers.

Contrast

Right next to this peaceful scene were cars stuck in a 6:00 p.m. traffic jam,

& bike riders flying past the non-moving cars -probably feeling like they owned the world.

Hey, Lookit This!

I've posted a bunch of new photos for sale in the Creatocrat Shop!

Adventurous Dreamer

Got your passport?

Check out the rest of the adventure right here.

Making a Grey Day Sunny

The sky is so grey today, I had to make my own sun:

It's one of those Pacific Northwest survival skills.

It's Still Summer Folks

It's Summer prime time around here, weekends are perfect for a dip in the lake & relaxing in the sun (screened up of course).

So I plan to play in the water, have an extra popsicle, picnic in the park, make some sun tea, & savour every moment left of this laid back season. Take that back-to-school ads!

Vintage Treasure

Ka-ching! Ka-ching!

Can you imagine the satisfaction of punching a sale into this gorgeous old behemoth? If I had endless space, budget, & the strength of a circus strong-man to hoist this beauty, it would have found a home. Spotted at the Seattle RE-STORE.

Dear Canada,

Thank you for Whistler, & the surprisingly seamless way it transforms from a Winter wonderland into a Summer playground.

Also, thank you for your sweet Aussies on work visas who make amazing coffee & breakfasts like this so they can bike, ski, & board to their hearts content.

Hope to see more of you soon Canada. Love, M.

Summer is Flying By

I'm trying to remember the last time I flew a kite... for these people it was lunch time yesterday!

Happy Chic Mantle

Do you have some Jonathan Adler products cheering up your home too? Post a photo on the Jonathan Adler site!

Ahhh, So Refreshing

Mint sun tea & crisp white daisies anyone?

Summer Means Music

AND festival posters! Caught this one mid-paint job on Easy Street Records, I think they should keep the paint-splattered ladder right where it is.

The designer is Chelsea Conboy, her mid-century meets 2010 illustrations are pure eye-candy!

The Song in my Head

It may be difficult to hear the music over this guys' hair,

BUT I had to share because it's such a happy song, AND there's an irresistible trifecta involved:
1. Waffle Typography
2. Funny Dancing
3. A 360 degree instant camera hat! SHABANG!

A New Light Project: A few of my not so favorite things

Rain + sun + more rain =

It turns out that spindly weeds make really nice shadows though:

Viney weeds too: