Nectar & Light

2009-12-16T09:06:42-08:00

i have been buried. and i am finally breathing again - it feels good. aside from the handmade gifts and all the baking i promised i would do this year {and is done!} i volunteered to help with a project at the girls' school that pretty much took over my life for a week. it feels good to breath. hanukkah began last friday evening and we have been lighting the candles and reciting prayers... and waiting for thursday night when den is home to exchange gifts and enjoy a feast of brisket and latkes. one gift they were allowed to open already is the casa cabana from kidsonroof my sweet friend gave the girls. i don't think i have ever seen them all jump so high at the same time as the little house was coming together. they are already working hard on wall murals inside their little play house and want to sleep in it at night... best. gift. ever.

on another note, my plan to purchase a potted evergreen to plant in the coming weeks was foiled by the blizzard that swept his angry arm across the plains last week. so now i am torn - do i still buy a potted evergreen and keep it inside through the winter and use it for mulch in the spring? a small cut tree that would meet the same fate? or do i buy a sugar dusted green that we keep in the basement during the year? i am leaning towards the first two... for us, this is about winter and replenishing the earth which the mulch would do... any thoughts?

xoox~jla

2009-12-09T07:59:10-08:00

we are home again today. i am sitting in the dining room, sipping my cappuccino and watching the neighborhood attempt to unbury itself from several feet of snow. the wind has other plans. he is gusting with icy force down the street and making the efforts of those attempting to clear their sidewalks nearly impossible. i think i shall stay put for a while and let that mighty wind have his moment. and sweet ludwig - the neighbor dogs are body surfing through the snow and he is snoring in front of the fire. we knew quite early last night that it would be another snow day and we decided to celebrate accordingly. peanut butter and oatmeal balls spiked with chocolate chips and rolled in cinnamon sugar - happy snow day treats...

~ 1 c. honey

~ 1 c. peanut butter

~ 1 1/8 c. non-fat dry milk

~ 1 c. oatmeal

~ 1/2 c. chocolate chips

~ 1/4 c. sugar

~ 1 T cinnamon

mix the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and set aside. in another bowl beat the remaining ingredients together. roll into small balls in your hand then toss into the sugar and cinnamon mixture. you can put them in the fridge to set up for a few hours - but we like them soft and tasting like cookie dough.

xoox~jla

2009-12-08T09:07:17-08:00

today we in held captive by wintery winds, marshmallow mounds of snow, a roaring fire and a holiday tune or two. we started the day with chocolate chip pancakes and we are in need of a hot cocoa break soon. i hope you are having an equally lovely day. some things i am loving right now...

~ the creative commons;

~ obsessed with these oil paintings by carly waito {via d*s};

~ finally picked up a copy of the satorialist - i can. not. put it. down;

~ on my wishlist;

~ i am traveling to both stockholm and burgundy, france {with a two day layover in paris} to shoot polaroid weddings this summer - i am thinking this might be in order;

~ i would love to spend a long afternoon in front of the fire with this and a cappuccino;

~ i am happy to report that i finally found the perfect polaroid bag. a hands free messenger, it fits my sx70 and 680 beautifully - with tons of roomy exterior pockets to slide in just shot polas - i heart it. big time.

~ and i am honored to be sharing again at habit - quite a party over there this month...

xoox~jla

2009-12-04T13:19:59-08:00

here we are again. the holiday season. it has been a strange time of year for me for the last few years. something has felt like it was missing. my husband and i both grew up celebrating both hanukkah and christmas {in a very secular way}. when we had adie we honored both holidays as we did as children - but something felt off. we decided that if we were going to raise the children jewish, then we really had no place for christmas in our home - secular or not. so we donated our tree and most of our decorations to goodwill and spent the last few years honoring hanukkah in a very traditional way. again, something did not feel right.

i was raised in a home where everyday was a celebration - and if it had a name - then all the better. as such, the winter solstice was a special night - the house glowed by fire and candlelight, my mother always made a special dinner that would rival the most lavish christmas spread. we sat around the dining table and spoke of the science of the season - with a globe and a flashlight, of the wonder that was winter - and that it was as important to honor the ancient spirits as it is the new. that is something i reconnected strongly with while living alone in italy about ten years ago - the nature based side of my faith. life has overwhelmed me in the sense that i have not found the time - or to be truthful - the thought - of maintaing those connections. but something deep within me has shifted in the last few months. those bindings that the earth and the heavens cast upon my soul have never broken - they have been there awaiting the time when i was clear-headed enough to feel the sweet tug once again. honoring the earth, the spirit {the goddess, the god - whatever you name that energy} is all that more important to me now as i watch my daughters grow and marvel at the world around them.

so this week, i decorated the house. it may seem like such a trivial thing - but such things hold great power. there are sprigs of sugar-coated evergreen, pine cones, crystals, candles and faerie lights - frosted snowflakes, crystal icicles and white doves. and in the coming weeks we will be bringing home a potted evergreen. we will collect bounty on our evening walks and we will cover our tree with our treasures and in homemade garland and ornaments - all honoring the season. and we will be digging a hole in the backyard and covering it with leaves and mulch - and as our gift to the earth for blessing us with a year of wonder, we shall plant that tree just after the solstice. something has shifted in me already - a sense of peace and enlightenment that all is right once again.

however you celebrate this time of year, i encourage you to embrace it fiercely. whatever your believes - religious or not - this is a time of wonder - the earth is sleeping and we should honor her efforts. for soon she will awaken anew in a burst of life - and for that, we should all be thankful.

xoox~jla

2009-11-27T07:47:57-08:00

just a quick pop in to share that the fieryeyed photography holiday sale is on now through 1 december. deals include free shipping on all items {except book}, buy one get one free on 8x8 and 8x10 prints, and new limited edition 8x10 diptychs. and a quick reminder that the last day to order books for guaranteed holiday delivery is 1 december - thank you!

xoox~jla

2009-11-25T17:59:50-08:00

i love thanksgiving. it is one of my favorite holidays and the reason is ritual. i subscribe to ritual in all aspects of my life - the everyday, and the holiday. aside from the aforementioned dishes in the last post, there is the thanksgiving day parade that we watch in pajama's in front of the fire - drinking oj and brunching on french toast; the quiet afternoons that give way to festive eves, and the lazy hush that follows when the girls are tucked deeply into downy beds and den and i have the house to ourselves. of course, i love the idea of focusing on what we have to be thankful for - our home, our health, each other. but in truth, i am brimming with gratitude every single day - we speak of our thanks and our love out loud everyday to each other - and for that, i am eternally thankful.

so if you are curious of what those thanks may be, you can look here - in the meantime, i want to share my thanks for women like my friend kathya ethington - who do something selfless and amazing for others. kathya is raising funds for the leukemia and lymphoma society as she trains for a marathon in support of the cause. she has opened up a shop selling her {seriously insanely} gorgeous photographs and 100% of the proceeds go towards her fundraising efforts. this is a cause that is particularly close to my family's heart and i would be so grateful if you supported kathya - she is not only an inspirational and giving woman, she is my sweet friend - and for that, i am eteranlly thankful...

have a gorgeous day. focus on the good, the happy moments that define your family and spread the love through embraces - it is up to you.

xoox~jla

2009-11-24T11:57:25-08:00

good day. it is so very rainy and gray here today so i am about to start a pot of soup to warm the house and our bellies. i enjoyed a wonderful morning at montessori with ayla sipping tea {that she and her classmates grew and harvested in their school garden}, being guided through her favorite works with unabashed excitement, then being serenaded in french - quiet a morning. adie's tea is tomorrow and i expect equal delights.

i wanted to pop in today to share a couple of things:

~ anne of pret a voyager invited me to be a part of her "boarding pass" series - i had so much fun dancing through the memories of my wonderlust as i answered her questions... you can read it here.

~ need some pretty? spend a moment with the cherry blossom girl...

~ and be sure to check back on friday when i announce the special holiday weekend sale at fieryeyed.

see you tomorrow with my list of thanks...

xoox~jla

{i shot the photos above with 35mm film about 10 years ago. clockwise from the top, chillon castle on lake geneva in switzerland, sagrada familia in barcelona, atop the eiffel tower in paris and the trevi fountain in rome}

2009-11-23T08:11:14-08:00

happy monday! we are looking forward to a short week, a mother-daughter tea in both adie and ayla's classrooms - and a very, very laid back thanksgiving. this will be the first year that it is just the five of us - a little bittersweet - but i am looking forward to it as well. it reminds me of a lot of our thanksgivings as a teen where the formal roast turkey dinners with extended family gave way to a help-yourself smoked turkey and lots of football - and just the four of us. i will be making the favorites: roasted garlic and goat cheese mash potatoes, cranberries with roasted balsamic shallots in a port reduction {pictured here} , harvest dressing and a maple-orange roast turkey. these dishes have been the mainstay of our menu for nearly 10 years - there is something welcoming and wonderful about creating your own classics that you return to year after year. i had always relied on guests to round out the side dishes - this year, i think i might add cinnamon glazed baby carrots. and as previously mentioned i do prefer the simplicity of the perfect pumpkin pie over any other dessert during this time of the year.

and what of those little gems pictured above, you ask? like so many of you, we love having a stash of homemade cookies in the house - especially this time of year. this weekend i combined two of our favorites - my peanut butter chocolate chip cookie recipe with my friend's oatmeal cookie recipe - the result is rather divine and i had a very difficult time refraining myself from the batter last night.

the yet to be named cookies

~ 1 c. butter

~ 1 c. peanut butter

~ 1 c. sugar

~ 1/2 c. honey

~ 2 eggs

~ 1 t. vanilla

~ 1 t. baking soda

~ 2 1/2 c. flour

~ 1 t. cinnamon

~ 3 c. oatmeal

~ 1 1/2 c. chocolate chips

preheat oven to 350. smooth butter and peanut butter together - add sugar and mix until well blended. add honey and continue to mix. in a small bowl, whisk eggs and vanilla - add to butter mixture and incorporate well. in another bowl, whisk flour, baking soda and cinnamon together - slowly add to wet mixture. scrap the bottom of the bowl several times to ensure all of the dry is properly mixed into the wet. stir in oatmeal then add the chocolate chips.

place the dough in the refrigerator for up to 30 minutes. prepare baking sheets with parchment paper. using an ice cream scoop {or tablespoon}, create {somewhat} equal sized balls of dough - spacing them about two inches apart on the baking sheet - gently flatten the dough with your fingers or the back of the spoon- just a little so they are not so round. bake each sheet for 12 minutes or until edges just begin to turn gold. pull from the oven and let the cookies stand for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

xoox~jla

p.s. thank you katie for pointing out i forgot the flour on the list of ingredients - all fixed now!

2009-11-19T19:14:38-08:00

we are a bit tired and overwhelmed here and hope to all catch up on some much needed sleep over the weekend before the holiday baking frenzy ensues. i am coming up for air today to share some things making me happy...

~ gorgeous bowls by samantha robinson;

~ next summer den and i will be celebrating nine years; but i still love this site for it's inspiration and sheer beauty;

~ LOVE handcraft; was lucky enough to snag this and this;

~ bobby flay tweets, my week is made;

~ i may have recommended them before, but listening to a lot of twilight sad lately;

~ adie won this and received a big box of pink Kolo's this week - a very happy camper.

have a wonderful weekend...

xoox~jla

p.s. thanks for the photo trade sign ups - partner info will go out sometime on monday.

2009-11-16T08:48:39-08:00

above is a little peek of why i was in boulder last week. i have become rather obsessed with science as of late and had been struggling with how i could create a link of this new found fascination with my own work. an idea began to form and i contacted my dear friend chrissy who is finishing her master's in museum studies at the university of colorado. with the permission of the natural history museum on campus, i was allowed access to the zoology and mammalogy collections - i spent a morning photographing and crushing harder on science than i ever thought possible. the experience was laced with magic - opening drawers of specimens, carefully folding back each tag to find the flawless penmanship of the collectors dating as far back as the late 1800's. i held back tears - it was one of the the most fascinating experiences of my life and i am eternally grateful to the university and the collections manager who allowed me to be a part of their world - even for a moment. there are nearly 50 photographs in this series and when i have confirmation on my hopeful plans for them - i will of course let you know...

in the meantime, if you love science - two new-to-me blogs that have seduced me:

the artful amoeba & creature cast

it was a busy few days... i can not begin to tell you the pleasure i found in packaging the books this weekend. at first, as i began to wrap the first few in kraft paper, i had to question my sanity. the technical precision of the perfect wrapping job is not something i can ever brag about. so why in the world did i plan on wrapping all of these books like this? but as the process continued, i felt an almost zen like state overcome me and i literally began glowing within. it occurred to me, that i was wrapping little treasures for all of you - and it made me nearly giddy. they started shipping this morning and i can not wait for them to arrive in your post box.

and finally - the photo trade. this will be the last trade - i have loved doing this but 2009 was crazy and 2010 looks to be more so. the theme, in honor of the season, is joy. what brings you joy this time of year? the perfect pumpkin pie? baby mittens, the glow of a fire, the first impression of footsteps in fresh snow? remember the rules, sign up here - i will be accepting sign-ups only until friday, november 20th - partners will be assigned sometime on monday, november 23rd. please post packages by 7 december. it is very important that everyone refresh themselves with this post so that requests are formatted properly.

take care friends and i will connect with you later this week...

xoox~jla