Majestic

Such beauty.

Summer Landscapes

Sometimes, in the early morning hours, i sit on our porch and watch the dawn turn to daylight.

The light opens up to expose what darkness left behind.

The world wakes

I watch and listen.

This life is full of curiosity and so many unknowns.

This summer has been a gift.  It has gone by so fast, yet full of so many adventures and memories.

This summer i began taking my photography to new levels.  My business is picking up, and I'm hopeful  that one day it will be my full time gig.

I love looking at the world with a camera in hand.  The little details that i never noticed before are so beautiful and heart stopping.

And sometimes, when you have writers block, you just need to chill out and give yourself a break.  

To grasp the beauty of this life, you must look at it in multiple perspectives.

This summer, i felt the warmth of the sun on my face.

I felt the cool, soft grass beneath my feet.

I tasted the first cucumber out of the garden.

I held my husbands hand and heart as we said goodbye to our Papa.

I held so many babies in my arms, thankful for their sweet smiles and laughter.

I smiled at how perfectly this life works out, even when you think it won't.

I love this ride we're on, it's only getting better <3

Summer Eats

This poor, neglected blog of mine.  I can't believe it's been a month since my last post.

I have so much to tell, so much to share, so I'll start with some delicious food we have enjoyed this season...

Homemade pizza has been a pretty constant thing around here.  This one was dressed with caramelized onions, fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, homemade tomato sauce with goat cheese & mozzarella.

Fresh Garden salads w/ flat bread pizza for a quick Friday night dinner.

We tried out the local cupcake shop, holy moly.  We enjoyed tasting grasshopper, pineapple & tiramisu flavors.

Blueberries from our own bushes have been few & far between this year, with the Japanese beetle invasion.

I made my own vanilla extract a few months back.  So super easy and will be so much more cost effective than buying in the store.  I used the recipe from The Homemade Pantry.  LOVE this cookbook!

Luckily the Japanese beetles did not find our strawberry patch.  I was so, so surprised with the amount of strawberries we got this year out of our own patch.  A total of 15 quarts, which allowed me to freeze a bunch and make 23 jars of Jam.

Oh and a strawberry rhubarb pie from A Year of Pies by Ashley English.  I cannot recommend this book enough.  My pie dough comes out flawless every time i follow her recipe.  The savory & sweet pies i have tried have blown us away.  Such a valuable cookbook to have on your shelf :)

And that's it for a sampling of the good eats we have tried this summer!