new things for sale

Just an update...I have been listing new sorts of items on my Etsy as of late and just wanted to inform you about them!

lightning speed

Hello, dear friends and readers. Forgive my lack of posts since starting classes...this last semester of undergraduate school is jam-packed! Everything is falling into place and I feel very fulfilled, like I am going out the way I should. Tying up loose ends, coming around full circle, connecting the dots on all of the things I have learned. It feels good. But I won't deny that I'm crazy busy! In the past year, however, I have learned some things about managing my stress, and somehow everything doesn't feel as daunting as it once did. Also, I feel myself coming to terms with letting go of undergraduate school and all of the wonderful things it has entailed.

These images are from my final project...dun dun dun...the BFA Problem. I am recreating old family photos. It's turning out great. Um, only 17 left to go...whew. So far, so good, however.

tim & meagan

Today I photographed Tim and Meagan's wedding! I had a great time. I'll post more pictures tomorrow. I have so many to go through!

p.s. That butterfly landing on Meagan's bouquet was totally coincidental! It made for an awesome photo opp.

a peek into my kitchen

I've been perfecting my cracker recipe. I've almost got it. I'll be posting my findings soon.

Spitzbuben for my brother's 17th birthday.

Strawberry oatmeal brulee.

Fruit salad.

Stir fried veggies.

la mia pizza

Cooking, cooking, cooking. My food photography is improving. Perhaps there lies a job in this somewhere.

Yesterday I made pizza with Roma tomatoes, cilantro, onions, purple bell peppers, and chopped homemade veggie burgers as toppings. It turned out wonderfully. The dough recipe is from VegWeb (it was my 2nd time to use it).

Other news...

- I put in my degree application on Friday, an entire week before the deadline. I was proud of myself for that...and actually, it was a lot of work just getting the application filled out and signed! So many hoops to jump through. In three months, I will have my BFA...ahh!

- Digital photography is going well. I am learning many new things! My BFA Problem is also shaping up...I'm about 1/5 done with my prints right now. Please wish me luck on the rest. It's a lot of work in an insanely short amount of time.

- I got two photographs in the fall issue of Fifth Wednesday Journal! Very exciting news. This is one of the publications I entered over the summer.

- I have also been brushing up on my Italian skills (I attended Italian language school in Florence last summer)...I am not very good at speaking Italian, by any means, but I really enjoy learning it and it's very close to my heart!

cupcakes from heaven

Tonight I baked these chocolate cupcakes and they are amazing! I adapted the recipe from one of my favorite blogs, The Baking Bird. I'm excited about all of the vegan cooking I've been able to do lately. Being vegan is something I have wanted for a long time, but never felt was feasible. I actually feel like it might easily happen within the next few months. I'm making slow transitional steps. And even if I decide not to be completely vegan, I think the closer I come, the better. It makes total sense for all the same reasons I want to be a vegetarian. I won't go into it right now...but I have many valid reasons.

The recipe from the Baking Bird calls for crushed peanut butter Newman-O's, but I didn't have any type of cookies to crumble so I just added 1/2 cup extra flour to compensate. I also didn't have all of the frosting ingredients so I just made frosting by creaming powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, water, and vegan butter. The cupcakes themselves are fantastic though. Here is the recipe exactly as I made it:

Chocolate Vegan Cupcakes

1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon vinegar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pan with paper or foil liners.
2. Whisk together soy milk and vinegar in a large bowl, and set aside for a few minutes to curdle. Add the sugar, oil, and vanilla extract, and other extract, if using, to the soy milk mixture and beat till foamy. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add in two batches to wet ingredients and beat till no large lumps remain.
3. Pour into liners, filling three quarters of the way. Bake 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to cooling rack and let cool completely.

as of late...

Let's see...lately I have been...

1. Getting into my new class schedule. It's the final sprint...it seems impossibly short to accomplish all I need to. I keep telling myself I'll make it! I can't believe I will be a college graduate in three months...that's crazy!

2. Enjoying my new apartment a lot and cooking amazing things. I sometimes miss the cafeteria, where I dined multiple times daily for four years, but not as much as I thought I would. I knew I loved cooking and baking, but before now it was more of a hobby than a necessity. I feel like the habits I let myself keep now will likely follow me into my post-grad life, so I'm trying not to use excuses like "it's only for a few months" when it comes to cooking and housekeeping. What I've learned in my "adult life" so far is that there really won't ever be a time when you can't claim busyness as an excuse. So when I'm busy, I just try to throw together simple but balanced meals that are quick and use up what groceries I already have.

3. Starting my final photography series for undergraduate school...scary! I know it's not the end all, be all, pinnacle of my career as an artist, I just want it to be good. I'll post more on it when I have images to share...hopefully very soon.

4. Crafting and reading in my spare time (spare time--what's that?). I've been making jewelry and reading In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. I highly recommend both activities. This is my third Pollan and definitely my favorite. I think a career dealing with some type of food counterculture movement and combining my art in some way would suit all of my interests. Does such a job exists? If not, can I make one? These are the questions in my brain as of late.

5. And now I leave you with some pictures from my latest cooking and food photographing endeavors (I think I'm getting better at the food photographing part!)...Some of these veggies are from the local farmer's market.