Jan 31, 2012 | A House A Home
A gift from the lovely Heather. . .
The house is in limbo—I can’t really do much painting until we get through the inspection process and that’s still a few months out. So, I’m focusing on the few spaces I can touch. In this case, my closet. There is sun on the horizon, which means I can post photos later. The images I shot this weekend are still a bit dark. But this one exposure was pretty. I love how the vintage curtain casts a shadow that’s reminiscent of the trees in the photo.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the lovely calendar. It was a gift from the ever thoughtful Heather (aka HG on this blog). She puts up with my poor writing skills and is constantly lobbying for a move to Pennsylvania. I suspect this calendar was a bribe. . . and a very tempting one at that. I love it.
It took me most of the month to figure out where to put it, decisiveness not being my strong suit. Consequently, a month to mention this gift. (SO BAD) I finally decided the closet was a perfect location. I’m sure that makes absolutely no sense, but I think when you see the photos later, you’ll understand why.
So, until there’s sun, a sneak peek. Progress, not perfection.
Jan 30, 2012 | From the Kitchen
Nutella No Bake Cookies. Or, Crack for short.
If you’ve managed to escape the scourge on modern life that is Nutella before today, you should stop reading this post right now. Really, walk away. I’ll be posting tomorrow, come back then. Because what I’m about to share is doubly addictive. . . You won’t be able to stop making or eating these things.
Consider this your “Dead Men Tell no Tales” amusement ride warning.
Somehow, until this weekend, I had managed to escape the clutches of Nutella. In part, because I was pretty convinced I wouldn’t like it. I’ve never been a huge fan of hazelnut anything. I figured that out with my first sip of Hazelnut Coffee. Swill! And then confirmed it with my first box of Godiva chocolates. Beautiful boxes, pretty little shapes, and luscious chocolates that are, sadly, mostly filled with hazelnut cream. There must be something wrong with me.
So, when a wave of Nutella freaks entered my social sphere, I gently pointed out with every enthusiastic recommendation, “But, I don’t like Hazelnut.”
“Well, there must be something wrong with you.”
Indeed.
But last week, for some inexplicable reason*, I bought a jar of the stuff. (*I blame Pinterest) IZ gave me that look as he often does when random food items sneak into our cart. Does that happen to you? Odd or exotic food stuffs just wander into your life via the shopping cart? Happens to me all the time.
Clearly, there’s something wrong with me.
And the rest is history. I’ve told twitter and facebook and now I’m telling you, “If you’ve never had Nutella before, you should avoid it like you’d avoid Crack Cocaine.”
As for these cookies? Well, they’ll keep you from eating the jar wholesale by the spoonful. At least until they’re gone!
(more…)
Jan 27, 2012 | In Photos
Captured.
Today was a good day. Scary, but good. I’m not going to burden the blog with details (email me if you want the dish), but considering our circumstances, today’s meeting went about as well as we could have hoped. That being said, this is just the beginning of a long journey. The mediator called it “Purgatory”—he had no idea how apt his descriptor is.
But today was a good day. And I am reminding myself that I love my life. No matter the circumstances. Â I am surrounded by people who love me (you should have seen the Facebook posse that showed up yesterday with bits of prayer and wisdom and Star Wars references) and that’s all that matters. Â In the long run, it really is about the relationships you maintain. The house problems will resolve themselves, one way or another.
So we wait. . . with you. Thank you for that.
(the photo was a quick light check for today’s photoshoot. Sunshine arrived. . . a good day indeed.)
Jan 26, 2012 | This Life, Thrifty Goodness
Back to our regularly scheduled content. . .
I’m glad y’all had a good laugh with me yesterday. My not real list of New Year’s Resolutions is providing blog fodder, at least. And the in the case of yesterday’s post, a Christmas Card photo? Heh, who am I kidding, I don’t send Christmas Cards. Aren’t you relieved.
I know I said I would stop buying unframed art until I framed the stack piling up in my studio. But. . . but. . .but surely original watercolors found at ridiculously low prices at the Goodwill shouldn’t count, right? Â And how could I pass up this little thing, it had a green tag and green tags were 50% off. COME ON. . . Original Art + Deep Discount = Wende breaks her promise.
Sue me.
What tipped the scales (though, I was probably going to buy it anyhow) was that the back was inscribed with a title: Summerland Morning. Â For those of you who don’t know it, Summerland is a little surfing town directly adjacent to Santa Barbara. Though we’ve not been home in 3 years, it’s never far from our thoughts. Palm trees and sunshine, these are the visions that keep us moving forward.
And Summerland is special. Like Gelson’s and Butterfly beach, it’s on our must do list whenever we make it home. Â We have a favorite breakfast place there, a favorite burger joint, and we stop for coffee at the local art house cafe on our way out of town to take in the view, one last time before we journey north.
I miss home most in the winter. So, this was a little gift  from the Universe. Hey, even the Universe is a good shopper.
Original watercolor “Summerland Morning” by Sally Bailey.
Jan 25, 2012 | This Life
He said, “I remember thinking I should stop before I leave a mark.”
Jan 24, 2012 | From the Kitchen
I’m knocking these resolutions out of the park. . .
Dark Chocolate Oatmeal
3/4 cups Quick Oats (not instant oatmeal)
1 Cup milk (I use organic 1%)
1 oz dark chocolate (I use Ghriadelli 60% Dark Chocolate Chips)
Prepare oatmeal (with chocolate and milk) on cook top, bring to boil and then simmer until oatmeal is tender. Top with a few extra chocolate chips and raspberries. Share, only if you must. (technically 2 servings)
Rejoice: it’s chocolate for breakfast.
Jan 23, 2012 | This Life
This is my new water regimen. I know, I know, plastic bottles. It’s a sensory thing, I really only like water out of plastic  bottles. So to reduce waste, I’m refilling these bottles every night and lining them up on the counter for the next day. Not a perfect solution, but it’s better than not drinking enough or blowing through 50+ water bottles a week.
The only down side, I think I’m going to be peeing. A lot.
Jan 22, 2012 | Sunday Sermon
What little things are important to you?
Jan 21, 2012 | This Life
A new painting from Evelyn Heilberger of Paper Violet Studio. Evelyn is closing her Etsy store and her work is lovely. (and if you’re bargain hunting, then you’re going to swoon!)
Hand Me A Shovel: Or Random Post Ahead
We survived the storm(s). I can’t say the same for counties south of us which  are dealing with immense flooding. Or for our friends to the North who found themselves tunneling out of the snow only to be met with ice. We feel fortunate, what hit our portion of the coast felt mild by comparison. Especially when you consider Wednesday’s high was 53 degrees.
La Nina is nothing if not unpredictable.
So, it’s just rain for us. And lots of grey days. January.
After spending 6 months letting Mireio simply exist, I’m slowly getting back in the studio and making things. And relearning to chase sunlight. I forget how taxing that seems in January. But I’m certain that if I were to troll the archives, I’d find lots of posts with me whining about the lack of quality light.
It finally dawned on me (pardon the bad pun) that I’m going about this photo business all wrong. I should stage and practice shoot new items without light. Forget light, it’s not important. THEN, when the sun does deign to show her face, I know exactly the shots I want. No wasting precious sunlight trying to decide how things should best be staged.
I’m embarrassed  it took me 5 years to figure that out. Let’s just consider me a cautionary tale.
Wow, this is a really random post.
So, then there is this lovely piece of work that arrived in the mail today. Sometimes, I feel like I’m stealing art off Etsy. In this case, the studio is closing, so the pieces (originals!) are marked down to guilt inducing pennies. Despite the bargains, I limited my purchase to just this one because I really need to tackle the stack of unframed prints I have first. I have dreams of having them all up on my walls (and my walls painted). Buying more pieces isn’t exactly helping that process along.
Anyhow, I originally bought this to put in the new bathroom. However, it’s propped up next to my bed currently, displacing a photo of IZ and the boy. I feel a bit guilty about that, but I think this painting is staying. I’m sorry, boys. But she’s really pretty.
Someone hand me shovel, I’m in trouble here.
Jan 17, 2012 | From the Kitchen
We’re expecting a major blow here on the coast tomorrow. Power outages are likely—for how long, is anyone’s guess. I’m frantically doing laundry, have baked a huge raspberry coffee cake, put fresh sheets on the bed, and when I hunt down that dog, she’s getting a bath. We’ve got gas, and fuel, and wood, and each other. I think we’re ready. Â So, I’m leaving you with a bit of sunshine in the form of lovely Meyer Lemons (my favorite!) and I’ll catch you on the flip side of this winter gale. In the meantime, if you’re feeling inspired, here’s a wonderful recipe for Lemon bars.
