photography | happy easter

"He said He was love then proved it with blood;

Rose from the dead to prove He was God"

-- lyrics from "Mercy" by Phil Wickham
I hope you had a Happy Easter!!   The day started early for me... going to church, of course!!

It was a blessing to be a part of the singing & narrating during my church's two morning services.  

The words we sang & read on Easter morning were so full of His love. 

What He did gives us hope for this life & forever...

What He did for us means everything!

Because HE LIVES, I can face tomorrow

Because HE LIVES, all fear is gone

I am so thankful for what Easter reminds me of!After church we had our family over for Easter dinner. It was a wonderful time with everyone.

We had great food & the weather was perfect. So thankful for these sweet memories!

...I guess she was too preoccupied with her Reese's Egg to smile for the camera!

And of course we had a little Easter egg hunt & an afternoon walk with that cute girl. 

She asked us to "swing" her so many times on our walk that my arm was actually sore yesterday...

I am pretty sure she had a good day! It was indeed a wonderful Easter Sunday!!

recipe | chicken tortilla soup

Soup, in it's many varieties, is one of my favorite foods. I love combining different flavors & textures in one meal. 

So perfect! Of course, soup is always best on cold winter days and I know it's spring, but winter weather isn't 

quite finished here in Colorado, so I am not letting go of soup yet. Yummy soup makes these in between 

winter & spring days not as bad. Anyway, here is one of my favorite soups...

Chicken Tortilla Soup Ingredients... 1 chopped onion

3 cloves minced garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

2 (10.5 ounce) cans condensed chicken broth

1¼  cups water

1 can whole corn kernels

1 can white hominy

1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers

1 (15 ounce) can black beans (rinsed and drained)

2 boneless chicken breasts, cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces

Directions… In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic in oil until soft. Stir in chili powder, oregano, crushed tomatoes, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in corn, hominy, green chilies, beans, cilantro, and chicken. Simmer for 10 minutes. Serve soup into bowls and top with shredded cheese, crushed tortilla chips, etc… Enjoy!!

photography | life lately...

Currently I am learning to knit with the magic loop and I am so excited to say that I know how to do this now!! 

It was easy to pick up and I am so thankful to my knitting friends for encouraging me to try it! 

Lately I have gotten a few things from Target that I really love... I bought the yellow stripe cup because I have a thing for buying too many cute mugs. I couldn't resist the round pillow, because I love the design, it was on sale & it goes perfectly with my bedding. The picture frame was also on sale and it was just what I had been wanting for a cross stitch my aunt made. Since she has passed away that simple little cross stitch is very special to me, so I wanted a better frame for it than the plain black one it was in. I love the way it looks now. All of these items are by Threshold, love that brand!!!

Current nail polish. Found this bottle buried in my nail polish drawer and it has made my nails feel stronger. 

Lately I have liked the beige/nude color... classic & pretty!

Lately, this poor dog has had it a bit rough... About a month ago, we noticed her shaking her head & scratching her ears a lot. I took her to the vet & it turned out she had a severe double ear infection... So, we had a long few weeks of giving her antibiotics for a week, then ear drops for two weeks. This morning, I took her to the vet for the third time & I am so thankful for the report that she is all better!

Lately my favorite snack has been fresh pineapple, bananas & coconut. It's like a tropical vacation! :)

Currently reading... Beth Moore's David study  +  She Reads Truth for Lent  +   Staying on track with reading the Bible in year, I just started Judges  +  I am slowly reading through Mansfield Park.

knitting | yellow lace slouchy hat

Well, I finished my second attempt at my slouchy yellow lace hat & I am happy to say it was successful!

The first time around I followed the pattern but the hat didn't end up being deep enough for me. I had a

 second skein of this pretty yarn, so I decided to try it again, making it deeper and now I am in love with 

the results. I still plan to tweak this pattern a little bit to get it exactly how I would like it, but in general 

it is such a pretty & easy pattern. Here is the original pattern that I used.

Also, I recently designed a cute new tote bag with a favorite Jane Austen quote printed on it! I bought a plain canvas bag from Hobby Lobby and then I printed my design on to iron-on transfer paper and after a bit of ironing I had a cute new tote for all of my current knitting projects. Easy! 

My new tote is very helpful because lately I have been going knitting once a week with a couple of ladies that I go to church with. They are both talented knitters, so I am excited to learn a few things from them & just be encouraged to knit more. One of my goals is to try more challenging projects... I think next up they will be teaching me the magic loop method... I already have a pattern in mind to try, from the book Lace One-Skein Wonders. I borrowed the book from one of the ladies & I love so many of the patterns in it. It is definitely a book I will be buying for myself soon!

The Jane Austen quote design that is on my tote bag is available as a print in my shop...

recipe | lemon berry baked doughnuts

I recently got myself a doughnut pan, which I have wanted for a while. I am so excited, because homemade baked doughnuts are the best!! I decided to try this recipe first, because I made it before in muffin form, so I was sure it would turn out good. Of course, these are great as muffins, but there is something so cute & fun about doughnuts! So, I can say I love my doughnut pan & I can't wait to make more Saturday morning doughnuts in many different flavors...

Lemon Berry Baked Doughnuts

Ingredients...

¼ cup butter, softened

¼ cup vegetable oil

½ cup sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 2/3 flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1 1/3 cup frozen berries

Directions...

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Lightly spray your doughnut pan with non-stick spray & set aside.

Mix together the butter, oil, sugar & brown sugar until creamy and smooth.

Mix in the eggs & vanilla. 

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, salt & cinnamon.

Alternately mix in the milk and the flour mixture three times, starting and ending with the flour mixture. 

Chop or pulse the berries in a food processor, so there will not be very large chunks of berries. Gently fold the berries into the dough. Scoop the dough into a disposable decorating bag or a ziplock bag and cut off the tip of the bag. This will make it easy to evenly & cleanly squeeze the dough into the cavities of your doughnut pan. Be sure to fill each cavity most of the way.

Bake the doughnuts for 15 minutes or until they are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

Allow the doughnuts to cool completely.

Next, on to the glaze, because no doughnut is complete without a glaze...

Ingredients for the lemon glaze...

1 cup powdered sugar

1 lemon, zested & juiced

To make the lemon glaze... 

Put the powdered sugar & lemon zest in a bowl.

Gradually whisk in the lemon juice until the glaze is the desired thickness.

If the glaze is too thin, add more powdered sugar. If it is too thick, add a little bit of lemon juice or water.

Whisk until the glaze is smooth.

Once the doughnuts have completely cooled, drop each doughnut into the lemon glaze. Using a fork, you can easily turn each doughnut over to coat the other side with the glaze. Set the glazed doughnuts on a cooling rack and allow the glaze to set up before serving.

Oh, so good....

photography | through my lens lately...

(Necklace is from Two Little Doves!! I love the turquoise and that it is so simple & delicate!!)

recipe | lemon shortbread cookies

Just because everyone loves pink heart-shaped cookies for Valentine's Day!

Lemon Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients...

2 sticks butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

zest from one lemon

pinch ground ginger

2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions...

Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy. Mix in the salt, ginger, and lemon zest.Gradually add in the flour and mix until combined. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Roll out the dough 1/4 inch thick and cut into shapes.

Place on a cookie sheet about an inch apart and bake for 9-10 minutes

Allow cookies to cool completely while you make the lemon icing.

For the "lemon" icing...

juice from one lemon

1 cup powdered sugar

(I added one drop of red food coloring to make them pink for Valentine's day!)

To make the icing, whisk together the above ingredients. If the consistency is too thin add more powdered sugar. If it is too thick add more lemon juice or water, a little bit at a time, until it is the right consistency. Once the cookies have cooled completely, drizzle the icing all over the cookies and allow the icing to set up.

photography | winter's sunrise

Foggy mornings don't happen very often where I live, so it may sound silly, but I guess that makes them kind of special. And when they do happen, it is never around for long, because the sun always shines and burns off the fog in no time. 

So, this morning when I woke up and looked out the window to see that it was foggy and that the sun was just beginning to create a magical glow, I quickly bundled up and grabbed my camera. I think it is possible that my favorite weather is the glorious combination of fog and sunshine. The light is heavenly and as a photographer it makes me a bit giddy!

Any time it is like this I think of a favorite quote of mine... 

"In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary."  - Aaron Rose

That was this morning. And, of course, the snow & frost made everything even more beautiful.

Pretty soon I will be excited for spring, but for now I am going to enjoy the beauty of winter!!

recipe | soft pretzel bites

 I made these pretzel bites for a little Super Bowl party that my family had. The game was quite depressing 

for us Bronco fans, but we still enjoyed the time together and, of course, the yummy food!!

Soft Pretzel Bites

 Ingredients…

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons salt

1 package active dry yeast

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 

4 tablespoons butter, melted

10 cups water

2/3 cup baking soda

Coarse sea salt

Instructions...

In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine warm water, sugar and kosher salt. 

Sprinkle yeast on top and allow it to sit for 5 minutes. 

Add in the flour and melted butter. Mix until well combined. 

Use the dough hook attachment to knead the dough until it is smooth, for about 5 minutes. 

Remove the dough, knead it by hand a few times and form it into an ball. 

Place the dough in an bowl brushed with vegetable oil. 

Cover and allow it to sit in a warm place for an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

In an 8 quart pan, combine 10 cups of water with 2/3 cup of baking soda and bring to a boil.

 Cover a cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper and lightly brush it with vegetable oil.

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a clean counter top and divide it into 4 even pieces. 

Roll each piece of dough into a long rope and cut it into several 1 inch pieces.

Place 4 to 6 pretzel bites into the boiling water at a time. Leave them in the boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove them from the boiling water using a strainer spoon and place them on the cookie sheet. 

Sprinkle each pretzel with coarse sea salt. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until they are a dark golden color.

Serve Soft Pretzel Bites warm, brushed with melted butter or dip them in hot cheese sauce.

(These Soft Pretzel Bites are best served fresh, the same day they are made.)