it’s kind of a known fact that photographers generally don’t like being photographed… in this case, with my friend slash client who also works behind the lense, she was no exception 😉
congratulations, kate!
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{“drink the rainbow” : berry-cream vitamix smoothie!}
16 Julit’s been a while since i’ve done a post about a vitamix smoothie! however, it’s that time of year when i find myself wanting to eat a little less and drink a little more. the heat of the summer causes us to sweat out toxins and i find that my body craves the freshness of a cold fruit smoothie to help replenish vital minerals.
berry-cream vitamix smoothie : frozen blueberries, blackberries, cherries, and peaches, with fresh dates and coconut milk
do you sometimes do what i do?
…catch myself feeling guilty for not drinking more smoothies, so i’ll run out and buy a bunch of stuff to make them with, but then i don’t make nearly as many smoothies as i said i would, and those yummy ingredients go bad in the fridge. and nothing upsets me more than wasting food! {and money, for that matter!}
well, may i suggest something i do in order to avoid wasting precious resources?! just keep canned or boxed coconut milk in the house and/or fridge! you can purchase coconut milk in aseptic {shelf-stable} containers. why coconut milk? well, i personally prefer coconut milk for the healthy fat content as well as the the fact that the coconut is pretty much one of the most amazing things on the planet! not only is coconut milk loaded with vitamins and minerals, it’s also great for your heart, your hair, your skin, your nails… shall i go on?! furthermore, i’ve created the habit of freezing any overripe fruits that i buy, and that way i always have the two main ingredients i need to make a smoothie!
of course, you can also add in spinach or kale to get a little extra vitamins and nutrients. for this concoction, i kept it pure and simple. just frozen blueberries, blackberries, cherries, and peaches blended with fresh dates and coconut milk. it’s light and fresh and only gently sweet. dates are nature’s candy! they are loaded with potassium and create a little sweetness without adding in unnecessary calories or sugar. and this smoothie is perfectly refreshing on a hot summer afternoon!
drink the rainbow!
{storytelling}
10 Julhere’s a bunch of pics via the iphone, from recent days in the life of audrey michelle :
{red white and blue… cookies!}
2 Jul
i made these yummy cookies in 2012 for the holiday, and it’s become a tradition ever since.
it’s no secret to those who know me well, that i am not a good baker. i can whip up things in the kitchen over a skillet pretty amazingly, but one can’t “wing it” when baking… it is a legit science! and i respect that… i just can’t seem to nail it.
but i did with these cookies! Continue reading
{“you can learn a lot of things from the flowers…”}
27 Jun… “especially in the month of june…”
———
my roommate brought these gorgeous flowers home from work recently and i gasped with glee when i laid eyes on them… then i immediately grabbed my camera, of course! actually, i waited until about 6:00 the next morning, then took them out on the balcony and sipped my iced americano while snapping images of these amazing beauties. i just love mornings… and i LOVE morning light… especially this time of year!
such pretty tulips, orchids, peonies, and greenery!
i am inspired by LIFE. not necessarily by the world, and the way we live, but by LIFE itself. these flowers are alive, just as we are. i was inspired by the stillness of these flowers, the stillness of nature… how nature just IS. the sole purpose of these flowers is to simply be. if anything, they just long for us to look at them, to bring awareness to them. and i believe when we “stop and smell the roses”, we can connect with them, with nature, in such a way that can offer stillness and peace to our own lives. after-all, i do believe we are just as much a part of nature as nature itself.
i love what eckhart tolle says about nature :
“Even a stone, and more easily a flower or a bird, could show you the way back to God, to the Source, to yourself. When you look at it or hold it & let it be without imposing a word of mental label on it, a sense of awe, of wonder, arises within you. Its essence silently communicates itself to you and reflects your own essence back to you.”
eckhart’s words resonated with me and i’ve carried them in my heart over the years. when i felt the glee i did upon seeing these flowers, i was reminded of that quote… and i thought i would post some pics of these gorgeous flowers along with some of my favourite quotes regarding stillness, spirituality, or love.
i hope you enjoy and i hope this brings some stillness to the mind and a warmth to the heart.
❤
“the earth laughs in flowers.” ~ ralph waldo emerson
“the intuitive mind is a sacred gift, the rational mind is a faithful servant. we have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift.” ~ albert einstein
“we need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. see how nature – trees, flowers, grass – grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence… we need silence to be able to touch souls.” ~ mother teresa
“there is a voice that doesn’t use words… listen!” ~ rumi
“if we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.” ~ buddha
“after women, flowers are the most lovely thing God has given the world.” ~ christian dior
“the best teachers are those who show you where to look but don’t tell you what to see.” ~ alexandra k. trenfor
“yesterday i was clever, so i tried to change the world… today i am wise, so i am changing myself.” – rumi
“and when you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.” – fredrich nietzsche
“be kind whenever possible. it is always possible.” – dalai lama
———
enjoy the weekend! ❤
{some virtual holiday haps}
16 Dechey gang – how’s winter treating you?
i really don’t wanna jinx it, but this time last year we had like double the amount of snow, if not triple, that we do now. we had a storm blow through this weekend, but nothing really accumulated or even fell from the clouds. i’ll probably get chastised for saying this, but i am perfectly fine without all that cold white stuff. {i do, however, like to see it flurrying down my screen from wordpress tech wonderland…}
i’m still in the holiday spirit, though. my tiny tree has been up in the tiny home since thanksgiving weekend and i’ve been watching tons of christmas movies and listening to christmas albums. i save “home alone” for christmas day – i wouldn’t say it’s my favourite, but it’s just one of those classics i have to watch every year. my favourite christmas movie ever is probably “love actually” ❤
what’s your favourite christmas movie?!
i also plan on pretty much not taking off this santa hat until december 26th. i have two cowlicks in my hair and when it’s short it’s fine, and when it’s long it’s fine… but i’m in the funky “growing out my hair” phase and sometimes throwing on a hat is the only way to get through my day and be happy about my hair. this time last year, it was about the same length, but i got impatient and cut it all off. this time, i will persevere! 😛
occasionally we get some really cool clouds up here. have you been looking up in wonder at the sky lately? …you should, and often.
LOVE : that wonderful feeling that can present itself in many forms. and sometimes the only place to find it is in a sticker plastered on a bench at a bus-stop… but it’s still there! ❤
a random salad i whipped up : brussel sprouts, cabbage, bacon, tart cherries, flax seeds, and parmesan cheese in a french vinaigrette. i admit i do not eat nearly as many cold salads in the winter… i just can’t get down with cold food in the cold months. but i do try to squeeze in some raw greens when the mood strikes me.
as a child of the 90’s, peace signs were kind of cool when i was growing up. we drew them on our notebooks, put pins on our backpacks, some of us even got tattoos of the peace sign! but it’s kind of weird to me that you don’t often see it anymore – at least not like we did when i was a kid. seeing this peace sign drawn in permanent cement made me smile – it’s there forever, dammit! 😛
something so simple as a wreath does so much for my holiday spirit. perhaps they remind me of my mom, in a way… i am pretty sure she would make them and we always had them on our doors, growing up. my neighbour thoughtfully bought me this wreath for the tiny house door… Continue reading
{words to live by}
27 Nov
——–
I’M SORRY
I LOVE YOU
PLEASE FORGIVE ME
THANK YOU
———
today, and every day…
{30-something}
21 Novaudrey’s perspective
it’s my birthday weekend!
classic audge – circa 2006
and i’m trying really hard not to feel lonely, weird, and slightly freaked out. i kinda wish i could watch that show that was big in the 90’s… it may offer some comfort. but i do know one person that always makes me smile and feel better about life and all its weirdness – the late, great, george carlin.
i thought i’d share this with you in celebration of my “getting older”… you may have already heard or seen this, but it’s worth a second round, for sure!
———
GEORGE CARLIN’S VIEW ON AGING
Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we’re kids? If you’re less than 10 years old, you’re so excited about aging that you think in fractions.
‘How old are you?’ ‘I’m four and a half!’ You’re never thirty-six and a half. You’re four and a half, going on five! That’s the key.
You get into your teens, now they can’t hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.
weee!
‘How old are you?’ ‘I’m gonna be 16!’ You could be 13, but hey, you’re gonna be 16!
And then the greatest day of your life…You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony… YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!
But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! She TURNED; we had to throw her out. There’s no fun now, you’re just a sour-dumpling. What’s wrong? What’s changed?
happy me, on my 30th
You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you’re PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it’s all slipping away.
Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone.
But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn’t think you would!
So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.
You’ve built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it’s a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday! You get into your 80’s and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime.
And it doesn’t end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; ‘I Was JUST 92.’
Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. ‘I’m 100 and a half!’
May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!
never grow up
HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay ‘them.’
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. ‘An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.’ And the devil’s name is Alzheimer’s.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love – whether it’s family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don’t take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.
AND ALWAYS REMEMBER : Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
———
{a great reminder from the great ee cummings}
9 Nov{my favourite poet!}
“to be nobody-but-yourself in a world that is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else – is to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight… and never stop fighting!”
{petroglyphs – “rock art” in moab}
4 Nov
i don’t know if i can find words to express what i felt when i saw these petroglyphs on this huge rock in moab last month… it is beyond fascinating to me.
notice the 6 toes on the right??!!
i’m sure i learned about this stuff in science class, but i was just blown away to see it in person!
so fascinating……….
what were they trying to say?!?!………….
what do you all think about this kind of thing?! does it blow your mind like it does for me?!
😀
{october round-up}
1 Novhello, november!
this is definitely my favourite time of year… even though it always shocks my system a little to do this whole daylight-savings-time thing… seriously, my sleep is jacked up for like 2 weeks after that happens.
c’est le vie, eh?!
at least it won’t be pitch black at 7 a.m. anymore…
anyway, here are a few of my favourite shake-it snaps from recent days. i hope you all had a fun, safe, and happy halloween!
—
sopris never gets old…
this is the time of year when they move the cattle down to graze in different pastures…
this kind of colour is pretty much totally gone, now…
but i made sure to soak it all in…
i just love it…
mmm, apple pie………….. soooo good!
i did a little dog-sitting last month… and our shadows were GIANTS! teeeheheeee….
i also did a little chicken-sitting… and had the freshest eggs i’ve ever eaten! like, 40 minutes old – fresh!
frost!
sopris… again.
i’ve been making and eating a ton of sauerkraut…
and making and taking a bunch of pointless selfies…
i dunno, this just looked cool…
so did this…
fall!
this time you couldn’t even see sopris…
fiery sunsets!
a rainbow over my tiny house!
i’m so in love with lense-flare.
oh yeah, one day i found these guys in a head of broccoli… they both took a poo on my hand – hysterical!
mmmmmmm, nothing like cozying up by a wood-fire!
an archery target! which i SOOOO want to use some day soon!
weird stuff you find on hikes…
… like the pumpkin graveyard… 😉
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have a great weekend!
{pickled gherkins}
30 Octwhen i say, “gherkins” – what is the first thing that comes to your mind?
for me, it’s the movie dirty dancing. weird, right?! there’s the scene where neil is asking baby if she is hungry, and he’s looking in the fridge… “leftover cabbage roll, fruit salad…? sweet gherkins?!” 😛
anyway… i don’t really like sweet pickles. but i do love dill pickles. and when i found these *adorable* baby gherkins, i literally squealed in excitement! apparently, they are also known as “cucamelons.” {teehehee}
they are slightly sour, and very juicy! which, i admit, was a little surprising. i also read that they are very easy to grow… which makes me totally want to try to include some in the garden next year!
they look like little watermelons!! eep! so cute. Continue reading
{refusing to let go of autumn…}
29 Octi went for a hike a couple weeks ago in snowmass, where i used to work last winter.. and i was shocked at how much colour was left on the trees all around! the aspens were still an amazing mix of colour and no colour… i just love them so much! the peaks were dusted with snow, and it was a sight to behold!
when i very first came to snowmass last year, it was october 22nd. it was the day of my interview and i remember seeing very little colour left on the aspens in the area. i though to myself, ‘what a sight this must be in autumn!’ and i was soooo hopeful i would get out to see it this year! i’m way grateful there was still some amazing colour on the trees and hills in this beautiful mountain town!
we went on a nice little hike…
some incredible views!! check out that rainbow of colour! Continue reading
{seasonal eating : wild chanterelle mushrooms}
27 Oct
i looooooove mushrooms, did you know this?! it was amazing to discover that some mushrooms grow WILD up here in the high country. morels, boletus, and chanterelles, to name a few. and they are all something special. when we received some wild chanterelles at the store, i eagerly nabbed some up so i could try them for the first time. they are only available for a short time, and many of the “professional” foragers are extremely secretive about their “finding spots” – and who can blame them!!?? – they sell for upwards of $20.00 a pound! we had a very rainy august here in the valley, and that made for some ideal mushroom hunting-and-gathering!
the peak season for chanterelles is in the fall… we have had a little frost in the mornings lately, so i’m kind of assuming they’re done for the year… but i could be wrong. i’m also just a little late in posting this blog 😛
i most likely have had chanterelle mushrooms at some point in my life and not realized it. i’m sure at some fancy dinner in NYC, i had a couple in a dish once… but i wanted to truly truly taste the mushroom – being a purist and all – so i simply sauteed them in some awesome local pasture butter.
i sauteed the golden fungi for about 15 minutes, until they were nice and aromatic… then poured the whole mixture over a yummy baked russet potato…
it was a taste of heaven…
do you like mushrooms? have you had chanterelles? what is your favourite mushroom??
{flowers for brunch}
26 Oct
and why not?! 😉
along with adorable pansies – tulips, sunflowers, and even orchids – are some of nature’s edible flowers.
cool, huh?! ❤
i am audrey michelle
i am a minimalist
food & foto 