End of Fall

Hello friends. Today I bring you pictures.

But not just pictures. I always like reading every one's Wordless Wednesday Posts, but I can never post a picture without a few words. (Actually more than just a few words, but I digress...)

I've probably said this before- but I just love fall. This year I was especially sad to see all the beautiful leaves drop from the trees and get shoveled into heaps by loud backhoe-type machines that terrorize the neighborhoods every November.
Actually I should rephrase that- I was glad those machines paid me a visit yesterday. Begone slimy, rotting leaves!

But they are pretty.....

Winter is somewhat dull where I live. We don't get copious amounts of snow or debilitating ice storms. This is not to say I live in the tropics. Living in a valley, we get tons of rain. I like rain. Not when it interferes with my plans, of course.

Though I love rain, I also love those November mornings when you go outside and the sun is shining and the air is crisp and clean. I certainly don't like getting up in the morning, but once I'm up I'm generally happy.

I raked leaves outside this morning before my brother and I left for classes. It was a glorious morning. These pictures were taken a few days ago but I think they capture the feeling of these last few days of fall. 

Concerning other things.....

I wish I could really and truly participate in this. But seeing how certain people read this blog, I can't reveal too much about my projects;) 

That said, I will probably have more pictures in the next few days concerning homemade Christmas items. I've spent the last few days baking and packaging dipping cookies for a Christmas bazaar benefiting a local pro-life resource center. Thanks to my mom, we also have plates and boxes full of cookies and other treats that will be dropped of tomorrow morning with my biscotti. I hope to get some shots of our projects and post them on here for your enjoyment.

I also want to do a few posts on wrapping paper substitutes- stay tuned! (Now for some good natural light!)

Autumn!

What? I left you all with some pictures of blue skies and balloons? Shocking- it's the middle of October and not one leaf or pumpkin has appeared on this blog! Shame, Natalie.

I've been really busy. Not exciting-to-hear-about-busy, just busy. But I'm never to busy to manage to take a few pictures.

I became so excited after I took this one. I was outside today enjoying the gorgeous October weather- shooting random stuff. 

I'm expecting some cousins to come visit some sunny day in the near future. We plan to take lots of photos, which I'll be doing a bunch of different things with. Stay tuned!

More randomness.....

I admit I have a poetry deficiency (but not an epic poetry deficiency)....There are so many good ones, though. Like Elizabeth Barrett Browning's The Autumn.

You should read it if you haven't already:)

I've made so many things with apples this past month. Actually I've been baking a lot in general.

I had to make blueberry muffins today because we were out of cinnamon and I flatly refuse to make anything with apples that does not involve cinnamon. It's just wrong.

Here are some apple muffins I made a few weeks ago with cinnamon cream-cheese frosting. I'm sorry I can't give you the recipe....it's somewhere. I'm an expert at loosing recipes.

So go read some poetry and enjoy the nice weather! (If you still have it.)

Natalie-

Balloons

    I took these photos yesterday at an orchard festival we attended. The weather was perfect.

Today is one of those grey, rainy days. I actually don't mind it. I'm happy it's Autumn and I can attend classes, bake "fall stuff," and most importantly, wear winter shoes and coats. (OK, so maybe I got a little carried away this morning when I almost wore a scarf to church.)

    So yes, I like rainy fall days. But I also like those days in early fall when the sky is bright blue and the air is crisp. Yesterday was one of those days.

To me these shots scream summer. But they were actually taken in a pumpkin patch with a bunch of people nearby drinking cider and eating apple crisp.

The clouds were so glorious. If I could control one thing about outdoor photo shoots I'd be the sky.

I think photographs are essentially like food and drink. There are dark, sophisticated pictures that could be compared to a glass of red wine or a gourmet meal, and then there are simple photos that evoke things like orange juice and bubble gum. Both are good in their own ways, though extremely different. (Although is bubble gum even considered a food? Never mind...)

Anyway, I like both kinds of pictures. I could never be one of those people who only takes happy pictures or one who produces only serious images.

Oregon Coast

Those of you who live near or have visited this usually blustery, grey, and rainy coast will know that the sky and water are usually not this blue. Actually probably never.....

BUT- we can imagine, right?

Please? Because I'm in love with editing. It makes me happy.

I like our beach. Never in my life have I ever seen the shores crowded with people. It's big, clean and cool. Cool as in- well, usually cold. But if you go in August or September chances are you'll get good weather.  We went last Sunday and it was gorgeous.

My dad was kind enough to think the dog might like to come. Usually she gets left behind due to various reasons. But we brought her:) She was happy.

(All pictures depicting me were taken by my mom;)

Casual The Cat

It's not often that my dog gets a whole post to herself. And I'll dare say that none of my neighbor's pets has ever been featured on this site.

But then I snapped a few good shots of Casual the Cat- and I knew I'd have to show you.

Casual is unlike any other cat I've met. I understand, certainly, that cats are prideful and arrogant creatures by nature. I've owned a few before. (I mean- I still own them. It's a long story you've probably heard before so I won't elaborate.)

I like cats. They are generally soft, polite, and most importantly- clean. (Well, most of them are, anyway.)

Though my neighbor's cat Casual is soft, clean and polite- he possesses a few peculiar qualities.

Casual, I believe, is a Maine Coon Cat. He supposedly likes going to the groomers to get a bath. (It took a shower with a good strong door and a determined adult to scrub gasoline out of my cat's fur.) And once a year Casual is given a lion cut. This means that every spring I'll look out the window and see a large beast-cat with fluffy Ugg boots, skinny legs, and a puffy head. It's quite amusing. But most of the time Casual possesses all of his fur.

Casual is not disturbed by his appearance. Or anything else, for that matter. Casual's tolerance of various indignities may be termed "dog-like," but Casual would never lower himself to the level of a dog. Ever. The world would cease to turn if Casual did not uphold his dignity. There is nothing shameful about furry Ugg-boot haircuts.

I kind of like Casual.

Saturday Night

I went out with a few of my friends last Saturday night....I'm going to show you a few photos I took. I'm usually not pleased with my night shots, but I liked how these turned out.

I've had a crazy weekend. My family and I went to the beach Sunday afternoon- I have lots of pretty photos to show! 

I'm going to wait to post them though- I'm awash in homework since my classes started last week. I'm really happy with my math class, and choir is simply a riot. I love it and am having a great time. My Great Books Class is, as usual- very inspiring.

Carpools have been figured out- public transportation is out of the question due to route problems;)

Mondays for me are now pretty chaotic. Everything just sort of stacked up:)

Anyway, I hope you all have a good week!

Natalie

Jerome

Here's a picture of Jerome I took this August and edited last night. He's such a serious (but adorable) kid.


Hope you all have a lovely weekend! I'm sure glad it's almost Saturday- I've had a busy week.



Natalie

A Not-So-Wordless Wednesday

    

  

 It's Indian Summer where I live. A somewhat nearby Oregon wildfire is sending smoke and ashes into our valley- which makes for some pretty interesting "weather." 

      Yesterday we all felt like we were living in a photoshopped image- the light was so strange. I was down at the track this morning running like I've been doing every other day the past few weeks (hi mom!), and I happened to catch an amazing sunrise. The sun was actually pink- from all the weird stuff in the air, I'm guessing. (If I'm wrong feel free to correct me.) The picture I'm sharing with you is not of this amazing sight (it was taken a bit later- I had to run home to get my camera.)

    The football team was practicing under this glorious sphere, the sprinklers were doing their job, and it was altogether a lovely (though polluted) start to a good day.

    I guess people in typically smoggy cities get to enjoy prettier sunsets and sunrises. The air is usually clear around here, which I appreciate- but I kind of hate to lose this real life "effect."

Tartine+Ice Cream

I've made more batches of biscotti this past summer than you'd care to know about. Excepting those kind of crisp "coffee" cookies, I'm really haven't been much of a cookie person lately. Not that I don't like eating them- I am firmly committed to loving that variety of baked good to the end of my life.

Lately, though, when I want to new recipe out, I'm more likely to make something like scones.

This summer I met the Tartine Cookbook. And I instantly fell in love with it. Tartine Bakery is located in San Francisco and purportedly has a ridiculous amount of people lined up outside waiting to enter every day. I've never been, but I believed the rumors after I tried a few recipes out.

(This recipe is for lemon bars.)

I think the thing that made me first love the book was the amazing food photography. I follow a number of food bloggers- not because I'm in the habit of making their recipes, but simply because I'm in love with their photos.
The Tartine Cookbook made me want to visit the bakery, take pictures of it- and eat it in its entirety. Er, I mean just the food.

Anyway, I usually don't say this about those outdated things called "cookbooks." I'm an Allrecipes person. I have entered the twentieth (I mean twenty-first) century. Come and join me. I know you'll like it here.

But I cannot resist Tartine's pictures. Or their food.

Yesterday I saw a recipe in the book for chocolate cookies. As I said, I'd been in a major scone/pastry making mood- but I was busy and this particular recipe looked tempting.

We had a lot of leftover ice cream from a pizza party with friends last Friday. I got the idea to make homemade ice cream sandwiches using the Tartine cookie recipe.

Behold:  (And yes, I'm sure Tartine's cookies are more photogenic than mine. Sorry.)

Now these are not the prettiest ice cream sandwiches. The edges are not scalloped-rather falling off. 

The cookie recipe was a little frustrating. You're supposed to take them out of the oven when the centers are still soft. I learned that I had to trust the recipe, but also use common sense and not remove them from the oven when they're still a pile of hot, gooey chocolate. 

Despite their uncouth appearance, these were SO INCREDIBLY GOOD. And it was all Tartine's fault. 

You can find the recipe here- on some other person's

 blog. I love getting out of "hard" work like typing recipes. Go check it out! (

And remember, LEAVE THE COOKIES on the sheet until they cool a bit. Otherwise, like me, you'll end up with misshapen, bent cookies. Do as I say. Also- the ice cream depicted is mint chocolate chip. It blended nicely with the super-rich cookies.

Love,

Natalie

At The Market

Saturday I went downtown with some friends to the local market. We had a great time eating lunch, looking at vegetables, and drinking the best lemonade ever. (At least in my opinion.)

If any of you live in my city, you'll notice I'm glossing over a lot of downtown aspects. However I really don't want to subject you all to shots of purple-haired goths busking on the sidewalks, porcelain brains, tarot-reading booths, etc.

This is Perugino, a colorful coffee shop downtown. I don't really drink coffee, so I can't vouch for the quality of the drinks- I only know that I love the decorating job. (A lot of the buildings here lack aesthetic grace.....so the few that posses it really stand out.)