Happy Saturday and a Photo of the Week

Just wanted to pop in real quick since I’ve been MIA for the last couple of weeks.  I’ve had the most horrible chest cold/bronchitis this last week that has been a really hard one to kick.  I have been doing a little cooking, and have made several wonderful things that I would love to post so hopefully I’ll get one of them up soon.  It’s just been feeling like a lot of work to blog, and I haven’t had the energy to do much of anything.

My February WIP is coming along slowly but surely.  Yes it’s March and it’s not done yet.  But I think there’s a good chance it would have been finished by now if I wouldn’t have been totally wiped off my feet with the cold this entire last week, does that count for anything?   I feel like I’m turning in my homework late or something. 😉  I do need to finish this project asap though, so I can start my knit for March!

I’ve been making the Stockholm Scarf, pattern by Julie Crawford at Knitted Bliss. I just love this scarf, it’s an infinity scarf/big lacy cowl and it’s going to be so cushy and luscious I can’t wait to wear it.  I’m knitting it in Malabrigo Rios, which is a kettle-dyed, worsted weight, superwash merino wool and it is just gorgeous.  My color of choice is Teal Feather, and it has a touch more of a teal/green-ish tint to it in real life than how it’s shown in the picture.  I’ve really, really been loving so many shades of blues and greens lately, particularly teals, turquoise, and emerald.  So the rich color of the scarf makes this project very enjoyable, although the repetitive stitch pattern is getting tedious by now and is going very sloooowly.

Oh, and yes that is a little peak at the finished Will-built coffee table that I showed you a while ago.  The DIY coffee table, sofa console, and two side tables have been finished and in the house for quite a while now so I’ll hurry and get pictures up soon!  They turned out great and are very well put to use. =)

Photos of the Week {7} : My Valentines Surprise

I have been laying off the internet ‘play time’ this last week, i.e. facebook, pinterest, and blogging, as a little break from it every now and then is nice. The week was taken up with my husband being sick with a cold, and me being busy making desserts at the restaurant for Valentines Day.  After I got all of the desserts done at work I caught his cold, so we both have been laying low.

I did some nice desserts at the restaurant, which I am so wishing I would have brought my camera in to get some pictures of.  I made a lot of the usuals, Tiramisu, Cannoli, and the (almost flourless, gluten-free) Chocolate Hazelnut Torte.  And for all the sweethearts being treated to a special dining experience, I made some Goats Cheese-Buttermilk Panna Cotta (I loved them, they turned out so nice) that went with a Red Wine Apricot – Black Mission Fig Compote and a Citrus Lace Tuille.  The other special was a chocolate lover’s tart: Chocolate Soufflé Tart in a Chocolate Almond Shortbread Crust with a Godiva Sabayon and Raspberries.  They were also garnished with some pretty little edible flowers.

I would love to get some of these desserts on my blog, but I never bring in my camera to work and I just can’t talk about them and post a recipe without some pictures!  =)  I’ll share some of them on here soon.

Anyway, despite my hubby being sick this last week, he still took me out for a lovely dinner, surprised me with a vase of pretty flowers, and… a very nice and unexpected surprise…

First I must tell you that last Fall we did a road trip down to Yellowstone N.P., Grand Teton N.P., and Jackson Hole, WY.  In Jackson I made a point to stop in to a very fine chocolate shop called Coco Love.  (There’s a blog post here on the shop if you’d like to see more pictures).

In this sleek little modern shop are some fine pastries, coffee, gelato, and fine chocolate truffles of world renowned Pastry Chef and Chocolate Master, Oscar Ortega.

I didn’t leave there without indulging in some amazing chocolates, my favorite was the Goats Milk Caramel Truffle- amazing!

Anyway, this last week my husband surprised me with some special Atelier Ortega chocolates for Valentines…

And a surprise it was!  We have been enjoying the divine flavors and amazing velvety textures of these fine chocolates over the week.

They’re so pretty, they make for a great photo subject too.

Well, there’s three left which I must go take care of right now.  =)

Great job to my husband, and many hugs and kisses!

 

Photos of the Week {6}

Jackson and Ava, our furry buddies who are brother and sister but think that they are boyfriend and girlfriend, once again had a wonderful weekend full of running and playing their hearts out.  We are doggy sitting Ava again, so the two have ran and played like you wouldn’t believe.  Day one included them playing and wrestling in the back yard for at least eight hours, non-stop.  Today they finally tired out and I managed to get these sweet pics of them, very carefully, as although it looks like there was a sweet cuddly nap here for a while, it only lasted about two minutes.  I had to use some creativity here to get the camera in time and get a shot of them looking so sweet and innocent right before they looked at me and moved.  They are little busy bodies, but so cute and sweet.

I *will* start to get more interesting and exciting pictures to share for my photog project!! =)

Photos of the Week {5}

I’ve come to realize that my Photo of the Week project is a good indicator of how much I got out during that week.  And if I did get out a little, I didn’t have my camera.  I guess it’s just a sign of a little case of hibernating and some mid-winter blues, and too many gray winter days.

The sun did finally come out last week though, and I always enjoy a pretty winter tree and seeing how they take on different looks through the seasons.  I love blue skies, sunshine, and pretty ice and frost crystals covering the branches.  Sometimes you have to just stop and appreciate the small things.

Oh, and we can’t forget the ‘photo puppy’, as my husband likes to call him.  He is well-photographed. =)  And it turns out that bright sunlight, white snow, and a black dog that is always moving all provide for some good practice in getting the exposure just right with the camera in manual mode.

Our best buddy Jackson, happy as a clam laying in the snow with his raw hide…

This guy is awesome.  He is our kid, the best buddy, a great hunter, and just so darned cute, smart, loyal, obedient, fun, funny, energetic, and so full of personality and character.  I feel like we have had him for so much longer than we have.  He has totally found his way into our hearts.

Oh and while I’m sitting here, he weasels his way to sit under the desk, right by my legs, sets his face on my lap and cuts his eyes up at me.  As to say, “Aren’t I cute?  Come on, can’t we go out to walk and play yet?”.  I best be on my way, and get out while it’s nice and sunny.  =)

Photos of the Week {4}

I owe one week’s pictures for my photo of the week 2012 project…

It’s not too often that our back yard calls me out to take a picture or two, but this afternoon the sun was casting some really nice cool light on the yard and on all of last week’s snow on the ground.  And the sky was blue, finally!

I was surprised at how the pictures came right out of the camera with such a deep blue sky.  I touched them up on the computer just a bit, but didn’t even saturate or darken the sky.  I loved the blue with the browns and reds in our maple tree.

Photos of the Week {3}

This last weekend we loaded up Jackson and his sister Ava in the car and met up with some friends at a nearby sledding hill.  All of our furry friends were having fun running all over the place…

We were doggy sitting Jackson’s sister, Ava, over the weekend and she is a little sweetie.  I totally got attached to her after just one day…

They got to run and play with our friend’s doggies…

There was a campfire to keep our hands warm…

There were s’mores for the kids…

And there was a great time had by all the kids…

The girls were getting creative and coming up with their own ideas of what to do for pictures.  It’s good to be around a group of kids at such a fun age, no real big worries in life, just family, friendships, and fun.  You can just see pure joy in all their faces.

Photo(s) of the Week {2}

Lake McDonald, Glacier National Park.  A gray, foggy day in January…