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What’s New, February?
What’s new, pussycat?
It’s been verrry, verrry (Payam has taught me a Middle-Eastern accent) cold lately, relatively speaking. Thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit is VERY cold for us!! I can’t even remember what summer felt like and I know it was really hot. So I illustrated a February banner with the feeling of a being blown away with an arctic wind and some little love-blown valentines thrown in. I know a lot of people are finding my site from all the old valentine printables I used to make. I have some brewing but they will probably show up on Alphamom and not here. Gotta pay the bills and all. But if I get some extra time maybe I’ll pop out some pineapple valentines or minecraft valentines for certain little people in my house and I’ll share them here.
I’ve been antiquing a little lately. A new job has popped up where I’ll be repurposing antiques and shooting tablescapes. It’s a little scary for me and I’m feeling intimidated but I think once I get used to it, it could be really fun. So if anyone wants to hit up Orange Circle with me for some shopping and a coffee date, I should be open to that. Payam went with me last week and we had all kinds of fun.
Payam bought these really old wooden boxes and he’s thinking of repurposing them into either some wall art or maybe even furniture. I am very excited to see what he does with them. But in the meantime, they’ve been great props for shooting on. I felt like I had a little Knotts Berry Farm family portrait studio wall or something.
Lubna has popped up as a model here and there. I can only show the outtakes on this site so if you see something old that you might like, shoot me an email and I can probably sell whatever item it is. These double-handled soup bowls are great latte mugs. They didn’t make the cut for my new job so they’re hanging out in my kitchen but I know I can’t keep everything I find so eventually I’ll have to pass these on. If you like them, let me know!
Isn’t Lubna adorable?!! Did you know she might be engaged soon? I know, it’s crazy. I’m having some trouble wrapping my head around it myself. She’s only seventeen but in her culture pre-arranged marriages are very normal and expected, especially when your teenage daughters are drop-dead gorgeous like she is and prone to mischief. I’m just hoping the guy her family has picked out for her is as wonderful as she is. Of course she can always break off the engagement if she doesn’t like him and she might but she’s pretty excited about the whole prospect. Teenage love and all that. And yes, I have been preaching to the moon and back about how young she is and how she should finish school and have a career etc etc…I’ll keep you posted.
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Get Better Tea
I’ve caught some kind of weird viral bronchitis that’s going around (don’t worry in the scheme of illnesses, totally not a big deal) and Payam sent me this recipe. It instantly inspired me and I had to make some STAT. I can’t take any credit for this recipe at all. I just spend a lot of time on pinterest for my job and I’ve been more and more inspired by food photographers lately so when I see beautiful raw ingredients in the sunlight from my kitchen bay window, I can’t help but want to pull out my 50mm lens and try some test shots. Even if it means getting my camera all sticky.
I didn’t have any lemons but we have a lime tree in our front yard that has been making the biggest, juiciest limes ever. It’s kind of a shame that it’s winter and margaritas are not my go to drink anymore. Good thing limes stay fresh on the tree for a very long time.
I sliced up all my citrus with my fancy new knife from that cooking class I took. I chopped up a big piece of raw ginger (because I love it spicy) and pounded it to a rough paste with a mortar and pestle. Then I dumped everything in a bowl with honey and a heaping tablespoon of turmeric. The recipe says to go light on the turmeric because it can be a lot to handle but I didn’t. More spice = better in my eyes. Big chunks of ginger, lime seeds, tons of turmeric…bring it.
Then I slopped my magical concoction in the only jar I have on hand right now, a pickle jar. Good thing it had been through the dishwasher a few times already and didn’t smell like pickles anymore.
Before I put my jar of super tea juice in the refrigerator, I spooned a sloppy spoonful into my favorite clear glass tea mug and poured hot water over it. Mmmmmm…. it smelled good. And tasted pretty good too! I refilled it twice and drank it all down to even munching on the lime and orange rinds at the end. Good stuff!
I don’t know if it will make me feel better in the long term but the aroma therapy and fun of photographing it certainly made me feel better in the short term!
