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| Image via www.coffitivity.com |
What do you all think? Do you work better when it's quiet, listening to music, or hearing soft ambient sounds like a coffee shop?
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Coffitivity
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Marcin Sobas {Photography Inspiration}
Just last week I stumbled upon the work of Polish photographer Marcin Sobas. The landscapes he captures are absolutely breathtaking, particularly the way he highlights their light, color, and texture.
"I specialize in landscape photography. My favorite themes are rolling farmlands, foggy mornings in the mountains and by the lakes. I do my best to have every single picture to tell a different story where the light and conditions are the main characters. These two factors make the world look extreme and unreal at various times of a day and year." – Marcin Sobas
You can check out more of his photography here: http://500px.com/MarcinSobas
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What photographers really inspire you?
"I specialize in landscape photography. My favorite themes are rolling farmlands, foggy mornings in the mountains and by the lakes. I do my best to have every single picture to tell a different story where the light and conditions are the main characters. These two factors make the world look extreme and unreal at various times of a day and year." – Marcin Sobas
You can check out more of his photography here: http://500px.com/MarcinSobas
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What photographers really inspire you?
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Happy Pancake Day!
Today is Fat Tuesday (what a great holiday), which means that it's also National Pancake Day. Delicious! If you live near an IHOP, you can celebrate by getting a free short stack of buttermilk pancakes today, but if you don't live near one or don't like crowds, pancakes are still a great way to load up on all things rich with butter and eggs before Lent.
To celebrate, here's one of my favorite pancake recipes (courtesy of Martha... of course).
Blueberry Pancakes
From Martha's American Food, by Martha Stewart
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted, plus more, softened, for skillet and serving
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons neutral-tasting oil, such as vegetable
1 cup fresh blueberries, plus more for garnish
Pure maple syrup, for serving
Directions:
Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, whisk buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, melted butter, and 2 tablespoons oil to combine, then whisk into flour mixture (do not overmix, batter should be slightly lumpy). Fold in blueberries.
Heat 1 teaspoon softened butter and remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, pour in 1/3 cup batter per pancake. Cook until small bubbles form on the surface, about 3 minutes. Flip; cook until underside is golden brown, about 3 minutes. Add more butter as needed between batches. Serve warm with butter and syrup, garnished with additional blueberries.
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Doesn't that sound just delicious? Another traditional Fat Tuesday food - which I had never heard of before Will introduced me to them last year - is paczki (pronounced PUNCH-key). It's a special kind of Polish doughnut traditionally made only around Fat Thursday and Fat Tuesday, filled with cream, fruit, chocolate, liquor, etc. It's such a fun tradition, and I admit that Will and I have been excitedly looking forward to them for some weeks now. I found this recipe for them last week, which looks very delicious, but today Will is picking ours up from Ryke's Bakery. Their paczkis are so delicious that I definitely don't feel the need to attempt them myself this year. :)
I think pancakes for dinner and paczkis for dessert sounds just right for Fat Tuesday (it also sounds like a recipe for a food coma and a sugar crash, but we'll have all month to recover I suppose). :)
What about you all? Do you like to celebrate Fat Tuesday with pancakes or paczkis?
To celebrate, here's one of my favorite pancake recipes (courtesy of Martha... of course).
 |
| Photo via marthastewart.com |
From Martha's American Food, by Martha Stewart
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted, plus more, softened, for skillet and serving
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons neutral-tasting oil, such as vegetable
1 cup fresh blueberries, plus more for garnish
Pure maple syrup, for serving
Directions:
Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, whisk buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, melted butter, and 2 tablespoons oil to combine, then whisk into flour mixture (do not overmix, batter should be slightly lumpy). Fold in blueberries.
Heat 1 teaspoon softened butter and remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, pour in 1/3 cup batter per pancake. Cook until small bubbles form on the surface, about 3 minutes. Flip; cook until underside is golden brown, about 3 minutes. Add more butter as needed between batches. Serve warm with butter and syrup, garnished with additional blueberries.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Doesn't that sound just delicious? Another traditional Fat Tuesday food - which I had never heard of before Will introduced me to them last year - is paczki (pronounced PUNCH-key). It's a special kind of Polish doughnut traditionally made only around Fat Thursday and Fat Tuesday, filled with cream, fruit, chocolate, liquor, etc. It's such a fun tradition, and I admit that Will and I have been excitedly looking forward to them for some weeks now. I found this recipe for them last week, which looks very delicious, but today Will is picking ours up from Ryke's Bakery. Their paczkis are so delicious that I definitely don't feel the need to attempt them myself this year. :)
I think pancakes for dinner and paczkis for dessert sounds just right for Fat Tuesday (it also sounds like a recipe for a food coma and a sugar crash, but we'll have all month to recover I suppose). :)
What about you all? Do you like to celebrate Fat Tuesday with pancakes or paczkis?
Monday, March 3, 2014
Monthly Goals: March 2014
A new month of exciting possibilities. Here we go! :)
Bust the Clutter: Everywhere!
I have a dream of an organized house, where everything is in it’s rightful place. A home of peace and calm, comfort and coziness. A haven for William to return to and rest after a long day of work without any busy and fretful piles of clutter to look at. This is rather a broad, cumbersome goal, but it’s something I really need to get to work on with all diligence and creativity. Besides, I have a bit of the spring cleaning bug in my blood, and maybe it will help me think of spring even when everything is still buried under snow and ice.
Purge Closet
I started on this goal last month and made good progress but it needs a tad more work.
Start Seeds in Mini Greenhouse
My Mom gave me a little miniature indoor greenhouse which I‘d like to set up this month so I can start a few seedlings for my herb and vegetable garden this year. There hasn’t been much sun or warmth so it’s hard to remember that I need to start preparing, but this would be a good month to begin.
Balance & Maintain Checkbook
Balancing the checkbook is something that’s easy to procrastinate on, but because of the farm we have two checkbooks to keep track of and it’s even more crucial to keep on top of them. I need to balance them both for this year and make sure I ask for Will’s receipts and enter them either daily or weekly. I’d also like to make a filing system for receipts and a spreadsheet to keep track of farm expenses.
Have a Birthday
To celebrate, I thought I’d throw in a fun goal this month. This one shouldn’t be too difficult to manage. :)
Recurring Resolutions
Blog 1-2 Times Per Week: Off to a good start….
Read the Bible Daily: Stay diligent with the daily readings with Will, as well as my individual reading and marking time.
Journal 2-3 times: If I journal even more than once this month, it will be an improvement.
Read Four Books: One of my favorite goals. :)
Finish Writing Thank-You Notes: Last month to finish them before our first anniversary. No pressure....
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
What about you all? Do you have any goals you’re hoping to complete this month? If you write a post about YOUR monthly goals, I’d love to add a link to this post so you can share them and we can encourage one another along the way! It really is a great way to stay motivated. :)
 |
| Note: I wanted SO BADLY to use a picture of daffodils for March, but there are absolutely none to be seen, still buried under several feet of snow. Maybe I will be able to find some for the Report Card. |
Bust the Clutter: Everywhere!
I have a dream of an organized house, where everything is in it’s rightful place. A home of peace and calm, comfort and coziness. A haven for William to return to and rest after a long day of work without any busy and fretful piles of clutter to look at. This is rather a broad, cumbersome goal, but it’s something I really need to get to work on with all diligence and creativity. Besides, I have a bit of the spring cleaning bug in my blood, and maybe it will help me think of spring even when everything is still buried under snow and ice.
Purge Closet
I started on this goal last month and made good progress but it needs a tad more work.
Start Seeds in Mini Greenhouse
My Mom gave me a little miniature indoor greenhouse which I‘d like to set up this month so I can start a few seedlings for my herb and vegetable garden this year. There hasn’t been much sun or warmth so it’s hard to remember that I need to start preparing, but this would be a good month to begin.
Balance & Maintain Checkbook
Balancing the checkbook is something that’s easy to procrastinate on, but because of the farm we have two checkbooks to keep track of and it’s even more crucial to keep on top of them. I need to balance them both for this year and make sure I ask for Will’s receipts and enter them either daily or weekly. I’d also like to make a filing system for receipts and a spreadsheet to keep track of farm expenses.
Have a Birthday
To celebrate, I thought I’d throw in a fun goal this month. This one shouldn’t be too difficult to manage. :)
Recurring Resolutions
Blog 1-2 Times Per Week: Off to a good start….
Read the Bible Daily: Stay diligent with the daily readings with Will, as well as my individual reading and marking time.
Journal 2-3 times: If I journal even more than once this month, it will be an improvement.
Read Four Books: One of my favorite goals. :)
Finish Writing Thank-You Notes: Last month to finish them before our first anniversary. No pressure....
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
What about you all? Do you have any goals you’re hoping to complete this month? If you write a post about YOUR monthly goals, I’d love to add a link to this post so you can share them and we can encourage one another along the way! It really is a great way to stay motivated. :)
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