I spent two weeks at the end of March & beginning of
April visiting my family in New Mexico.
We took a road trip out to Arizona, Nevada and California.
These a just a few photos from the sights that I saw.
We followed historic Route 66 for part
of our journey through Arizona.
We found a car repair shop that had some
snazzy old cars like this one.
I'd never been to the Grand Canyon before. It was absolutely STUNNING!
Words and photos can not accurately portray the great
depths of the canyon, the colors and the layers of earth.
Such a beautiful place.
We took the second tour of the Hearst Castle.
The architecture, old art and artifacts that
Mr. Hearst collected... it's just so cool to be able
to see so many historic and old things.
I love history so this is a place that I love to visit.
Oliver, also called "Ollie", is one of the cutest, sweetest and most smiley babies I have ever seen!
This was my first time taking pictures of such a young child.
It's something I definitely want to do more of in the future!
View the rest of the photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alicemae/sets/72157629809931153/with/6928738858/
Spent some time walking about the hills near La Crosse with Beth and Bridge yesterday. Sierra joined us later.
Just a couple of shots to commemorate the first warm day of spring.
I’ve wanted to take time this winter to practice taking photos, learn more, try new ideas with my photography and actually keep this blog updated. It’s been a pretty busy last two months, between the holidays and some things that were going on with my family, but partly I wasn’t making time to do it.
On January 23rd I woke up to a gorgeous snowfall. It was draping the limbs and branches of the woods I live in with beautiful little crystals of white. I suddenly got the urge to grab my camera and go out. I had this red coat and hat I wanted to use for contrast against the snow, but without a decent tripod and a remote I couldn’t really do it myself. I called my good friend Bridgette (waking her up by doing so) and she agreed to go trudging through the snow so I could take some photos of her in the coat and hat.
We had fun and I ended up with some photos that I really love, as well as some mistakes that I’m going to learn from and (hopefully) not make again. Hip-hip-HOORAY for getting out there and accomplishing things!
Here's a photo I snapped (with my phone) from my upstairs window on 11/09/11.
For the first time (that I can remember in my 20 years) there was a huge snow storm that went through on my birthday. It was the first time I'd ever made a snowman that early in November. However, due to the extremely warm temperatures in the days to follow, it did not last long.
With Thanksgiving being only a few days away I'm getting quite excited for the holidays!
I took this last year at Devil's Lake State Park. Because this month has been so crazy I haven't really got out much to take fall-time photos. Now most of the leaves have turned and fallen.
Exactly one week from today one of my best friends will be getting married! I'll be shooting her wedding, which I'm pretty stoked about. We've been living together since June and I'm kind of sad that I'm moving out next week (where did the last 5 months go?!), but she's starting a new chapter of her life. I'm so excited and happy for her!
Hopefully next month things will slow down and I won't be quite so busy. Maybe I'll be able to do my one-blog-post-a-week plan like I originally intended. ;]
It's been a good day.
My good friend Frida is visiting from Germany. We spent the morning and afternoon drinking coffee, eating flavorful vegetables ("weggies" ;) ), searching small shops for treasures and walking about. The weather has been wonderful! The clouds have been so varied and are constantly changing... they sure are beautiful.
I've officially broken out my tights, boots and scarves. One of the things I love about fall is how I can wear so many layers and be a bit more creative with my wardrobe. Today's outfit was fairly simple, but comfy.
Other things I love about fall: The leaves change into brilliant colors of red, orange and yellow. Candles add a lovely glow on those cloudy, dreary days. A hot cup of coffee, tea or apple cider will always warm your bones. You can curl up with a good book and bury yourself under a heap of blankets.
Cooking is something that I've always enjoyed, but lately I learned how much more fun it is for me if I can cook something that is delicious AND pretty enough to photograph. The photos below are of a simple vegetable recipe I made up for dinner one night. In case you're interested in trying it I'll include the ingredients and how I did it below.
(Because I love to listen to foreign music when I cook...)
Ingredients:
one small eggplant
one small zucchini
one medium, thinly sliced tomato
a garlic clove
1/4 cup diced onion
1/4 cup sliced mushrooms
1 1/2 cups of shredded (I used Dubliner) cheese of your choice
a few leaves of basil
1 cup of flour seasoned with salt + pepper in a bowl
a bowl of water
olive oil
Directions: Preheat over to 300 degrees.
Peel the eggplant and slice it into half inch pieces. Thoroughly wet slices in the bowl of water, then dip into flour mixture and lay on a greased cookie sheet individually. Proceed by cutting the zucchini the same and then lay on top of the eggplant. Drip a bit of oil on top and put it in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until it browns slightly. While that's baking, mince the garlic and sauté it with the onions until it's nearly done, adding the mushrooms at the end so they aren't over cooked.
Take the cookie sheet out of the over and begin to lay a slice of tomato on top of your eggplant + zucchini patties. Next, sprinkle your shredded cheese on top. Put it in the over again for about five more minutes or until the cheese melts. When it's done, take it out of the over and transfer to a plate, put the sautéed mix over the top of the patties and garnish with a leaf or two of basil.
