on the menu tonight {food + photography}

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it feels like summer in the napa valley today + warm days always make me want to cook these tacos!

spring in the vineyards {part one}

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TWE vineyard equipment {photographs}

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Langston Hughes {quotes}

Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby.

– Langston Hughes

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Leon Levinstein {quotes}

I walk, I look, I see, I stop, I photograph.

- Leon Levinstein 

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{this image makes me smile}

mustard {part two}

There are always flowers for those who want to see them.

- Henri Matisse

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Albert Einstein {quotes}

The woman who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever been before.

- Albert Einstein

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Buddha {quotes}

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; 

you are the one who gets burned.

- Buddha

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daffodils + barbed wire {a napa valley scene}

Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.

- Confucius

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yesterday i was driving along on a beautiful country road on my way to a shoot when i spotted a strikingly  gorgeous patch of vibrant yellow daffodils.  it wasn't the beauty of the daffodils however that actually caught my eye, it was the juxtaposition of these lovely flowers against the entangled rusty barbed wire fence of which they were growing alongside. i didn't stop as i was en route to meet clients, so i just soaked up the beauty and acknowledged how lucky i truly am to live in such a naturally inspiring and beautiful place- that i should see such a scene while simply driving from one destination to another. hours later, driving home in the dusk light, this scene once again caught my eye and i had to stop and capture it.   

mustard {part one}

Earth laughs in flowers.

 - Ralph Waldo Emerson 

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the newest addition

If a dog will not come to you after having looked you in the face, you should go home and examine your conscience.

- Woodrow Wilson

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important to remember

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happy birthday, dr. seuss!

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you'll get mixed up of course,

as you already know.

you'll get mixed up 

with many strange birds as you go.

so be sure when you step.

step with care and great tact

and remember that life's

a great balancing act.

just never forget to be dexterous and deft.

and never mix up your right foot with your left.

- oh, the places you'll go

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come on! open your mouth and sound off at the sky!

shout loud at the top of your voice, "I AM I!

ME!

I am I!

and i may not know why

bit i know that i like it.

three cheers! I AM I!"

- happy birthday to you!

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the more that you read,

the more things you will know.

the more that you learn,

the more places you'll go.

- i can read with my eyes shut!

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it's a troublesome world.

all the people who're in it

are troubled with troubles

almost every minute.

just tell yourself, duckie,

you're really quite lucky!

some people are much more...

oh, ever so much more...

oh, muchly much-much more

unlucky than you!

- did i ever tell you how lucky you are?

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i meant what i said

and i said what i meant...

an elephant's faithful

one hundred per cent!

- horton hatches the egg

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hot cheesy sandwiches {my latest obsession}

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i received several inquiries about my recipe for this sandwich so here you go!

-preheat oven to 450

-spread mayo + dijon mustard on two slices of untoasted sourdough bread

-layer sliced roasted turkey on one slice of bread

-cover the turkey with sliced tomatoes

-cover the tomatoes with sliced provolone

-put the other slice of bread on top and put on baking sheet and place on the center rack in oven

-once the cheese starts to melt i flip the sandwich until the top slice of bread turns golden then flip one more time to lightly brown the other side.

Samuel Johnson {quotes}

Almost all absurdity of conduct arises from the imitation of those who we cannot resemble.

- Samuel Johnson

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banana nut bread {yummy!}

when i realized yesterday that it was national banana bread day, i happily used that as an excuse to make one of my favourite treats. my go to recipe is from my go to cookbook, the joy of cooking.

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joy of cooking recipe {with my adjustments noted}

have all ingredients at room temperature

preheat oven to 350

grease 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan

whisk together:

     1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

     3/4 teaspoon salt (i use 1/4 teaspoon)

     1/2 teaspoon baking soda

     1/4 teaspoon baking powder

in a large bowl, beat on high speed until lightened in colour and texture, two to three minutes:

     5 1/3 tablespoons unsalted butter (i use 6 tablespoons of salted butter)

     2/3 of a cup of sugar 

beat in the flour mixture until blended and the consistency of brown sugar. gradually beat in:

     2 large eggs, lightly beaten

fold in just until combined (i put in the mixer and blend completely):

     1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (i freeze very ripe bananas, thaw and then place whole into the mixer)

    1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans (i use about 1 cup of walnuts)

scrape the batter into the pan and spread evenly.  bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes.  let cool in the pan on a rack for 5 to 10 minutes before unmolding to cool completely on the rack. 

{i love to enjoy mine sliced at room temperature or heated in the toaster with a bit of soft butter...of course with a cup of tea!}

updating my website {my work}

i'm once again in the process of updating and freshening up my website.  please click on the image below and take a look around! xo

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leifsdottir pop up shop launch party at cake plate {good taste}

cake plate (if you don't already know) is a fabulous women's boutique in napa, owned and operated by sisters, lindsay kroll and paige smith.  in addition to great lines including milly, hudson jeans, kate spade and trina turk, lindsay and paige launched their own house brand, cp by cake plate, which consists of classic yet chicly savvy dresses, skirts and tops.  i love that one can walk into cake plate and find the perfect dress for a ladies brunch, a handful of tasty accessories for saturday night and, oh look, a set of divine champagne flutes from roost! having owned a retail business myself, i have such respect and admiration for lindsay and paige's well edited collections, their business acumen and above all, their ceaseless creativity with regard to how they continuously conceive of remarkable and unique ways to promote the shop.  whether it's a guy's night out so the men can shop their lady's wish list or a lovely trunk show where they take the fashions to you, lindsay and paige are on it...but this new concept is the best of all! cake plate is now featuring a designer pop up shop wherein a chosen designer will take up residence in its own space within the store for a few months. how genius is that?! the first designer house guest is leifsdottir, a line that i really like, so when lindsay got in touch to ask if i could shoot the event i was thrilled.  the ladies did such an amazing job of decking out the space with fun baubles from anthroplogie, hair calf rugs, stave luminary lights (which i'm obsessed with and are locally made!), a wine bar, yummy hors d'oeuvres and of course a group of fun and fabulous ladies.  be sure to pop in while there is still inventory!

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