a mini roadtrip!


we're heading to kansas city tomorrow in celebration of six months of marriage! we're staying with some of my family & i am so excited. my cousin, danielle, & her husband, corey, are the definition of the word, "cool." they've seriously got it goin' on. we've also planned a lunch date with a good friend whom we haven't seen in awhile. what better way to celebrate than with friends & family?
i'm packing light. a change of clothing & a pack of film.

i love trips like this.

love,
natalie

food & a bit of updates



there is something about winter that has my mind thinking about food. fresh food. those kinds of food that are so out of season my carbon footprint is something that i won't mention to anyone. i feel like my husband, the sustainable farmer, is becoming very disappointed when i come home with a bag full of tomatoes, cantaloupe, oranges, & pineapple. yeah, pineapple. it's getting pretty bad.
but there is light here in columbia, missouri. that light is in the form of these {two} {restaurants} that use as much local & as much in season foods as possible. oh, i love these places. the photos above are from {here} while enjoying our lunch date. i'm still dreaming about my steamed kale.

& as we are on the topic of food... & local food at that... i promised i'd share with you my cookie recipe that is THE BEST COOKIE RECIPE EVER. seriously. EVER. once the cookies are out of the oven, i can't stop. it is almost impossible to wait for them to cool.
& i have {patric chocolate} to thank, a local business in columbia that makes the most amazing chocolate. this recipe is adapted from their recipe with a few changes. enjoy!

ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt (don't substitute for another salt, it will not taste as good)
1 tsp baking soda
two sticks unsalted butter
1 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp real vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup dark chocolate chips

preheat oven to 375 f. combine flour, salt, & baking soda in bowl. in a separate bowl, cream the butter by hand or with mixer. add sugar, vanilla, & egg to the butter mixture & beat to combine. beat flour mixture into butter mixture until just combined. stir in chocolate chips. drop by rounded teaspoons onto baking sheet (i use parchment paper instead of greasing my pan). bake for 10 minutes. remove from oven & let cool on racks... that is, if you can wait that long. :)

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& on another note, we're continuing to work hard on our etsy shop. we're aiming for the first week of february! so, we'll keep you updated, friends.
also, my {best friend} & her love opened up their shop recently. {third hand thrift} is the cutest little shop with the best vintage finds at reasonable prices. they also have a {blog}! check it out!


woah, that was a lot! enjoy that recipe & let me know if you like it. enjoy your day.

love,
natalie

our trip! part ii. & a bit of rambling...







little moments from our trip: a nest found on one of our walks, blown weeds against the cool blue of the river, a perfect scarf worn by one of luke's younger brothers, the thickest fog i've seen, a new friend who greeted us at our cabin, & a dried leaf very similar in character to {this} birch wood found on our last trip with the family.


i miss the quiet of that trip, but it is also nice to be back into the schedule of classes. i feel a little restless, though. life has been so full lately. when it is not full, i feel like something is missing. i think my response, rather, should be to relax during those times of quiet.


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i have had a lot of ideas & thoughts swimming around in my head recently. thoughts about...
+ where life will lead us
+ how to regularly exercise my creative talents in hopes of becoming a better "artist" or "photographer" or "hobbyist" or whatever you would like to call it.
+ ways to better spend my morning. if you have thoughts on this, let me know. i'd love to hear how you spend your mornings & the ways you relax before beginning a new day.
+ what kind of mother i will be. this is weird for me because luke & i do not want to have children for awhile, but still, i continually wonder about how we will raise our babes & the decisions we will make. this might be due to the hours of reading in my child development class, but who knows!
+ ways to spend less money. i realize that above i wrote about feeling "restless" & the need for life to feel "full," but i hope to get over this... & quick! i'd like to work less & make more, plan more, grow more. i've decided to not purchase anything but necessities (food basically) for the next month. there are so many ways to stretch our budget! i must research these ideas...


anyway, i hope you enjoyed a bit of my ramblings. sometimes its nice to just write. not edit. simply record my thoughts.

thanks for reading, friends.

love,
natalie

a trip!





hello, dear readers!
i feel refreshed & renewed. luke & i just got back from our trip to southern missouri {lebanon if anyone is familiar} to see luke's family & talk about the past year & goals for 2010. it was such a nice trip. we played several board games, constructed origami figures & ate many delicious meals. early one morning, luke & i took our cameras out-and-about to find a breathtaking scene of golden fields, bare branches, & a frozen pond covered in a foggy stillness. on our way back to the cabin, as the sun rose higher in the sky, a warm light diffused into the sky to illuminate the fog & leave a golden embrace around us. it was the perfect ending to our winter break & a great beginning to our new semester with classes. i am really looking forward to my beginning fibers class. our units include dying fabric {which we start tomorrow!}, basket weaving, book binding, & paper making. i have a feeling that i will use this class as my little oasis in the midst of piles of books & papers in my other classes.

well, i hope your weekend was wonderful. it is so good to be back! enjoy your day, friends!

love,
natalie

for you.




as we were driving home from the laundromat, a car full of four loads of laundry + a dear {friend}, i was inspired by the snowflakes falling onto our car & melting as they reached the windows, the lights of cars zooming past us, and the white blanket of snow covering the road ahead. i was inspired by {shari's} {photos} of blur, light & winter whites. so, i snapped a few myself.
i am amazed at the inspiration that fills my screen each morning as i take a couple of minutes to read some of my {favorite} {blogs} & see photos from {flickr} {friends}... beauty at my fingertips every moment of the day. it is a real delight to be a part of this tiny community of bloggers. you guys are awesome & a true blessing to my life. just wanted you to know that...

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in other news, i am looking for a new job. i am so thankful to have my job, working at an independently-owned stationery store in downtown, but luke & i are looking toward the future. i have applied to a handful of montessori schools & to the public library, both places that would serve as great experience for my degree & future career. until then, my boss has offered to pay me to continue to do our window displays at the store. my favorite thing to do! so, i am really excited & very anxious for the future.


i hope you all have a wonderful day. lets notice the small delights of today & be thankful.

love,
natalie

as of lately list...



+i've had a bit of cabin fever lately... i'm really looking forward to our little road trip next week
+enjoying bags of frozen zucchini from the farmer's market, from this past summer, & making loaves of delicious bread
+making too many sweet treats: the best chocolate chip cookies {recipe soon, i promise!} & lemon bars {i ate these from the pan yesterday!}
+listening to {this} on repeat
+walking in the deepest of snow i've ever seen
+dinner dates & crafting nights with the dearest of friends
+not cooking dinner! only dessert...
+dreaming about gardening plans for this summer & what herbs to plant
+inspired by {this} entry
+learning to felt... new earring ideas are in the making!
+preparing for the love fest art show at the end of january
+quiet moments spent looking out the window
+{this} new series from shari
+sipping on my new favorite- earl grey tea
+working on knitting a new scarf

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i almost wrote this entry last night when the day had kicked me hard, but then decided to simply go to sleep & wake-up this morning to write. i am so happy i did. i feel so fresh... a new beginning today. so much to look forward to. so much that i won't get to. but it's okay. because it always is.


have a wonderful day, friends.

love,
natalie

hello, 2010!


2010 has greeted us with so much love, assurance, joy & good news! on new year's eve, we spent the evening over at our favorite new {neighbors'} home. we enjoyed drinks & good conversation, talking about health care, sustainable living & food. i absolutely love the conversations had with friends. we left around 11 & brought in the new year tucked under blankets & in a deep sleep. i wouldn't have asked for it any other way.
on new year's day, i cleaned & he cooked. it felt so good. he made black-eyed peas with cornbread & local bacon. i scrubbed the bathroom, reorganized the closet, boxed up the christmas decorations, & bagged up some things to take to our local thrift store. at the end of our day, we spent the evening setting up luke's new record player & dancing to frank sinatra's "tell her you love her."
now, i'm enjoying a quiet evening of baking zucchini bread & working on our meal plan.

as for good news, please visit {him + her} tomorrow afternoon for our new year's resolutions & new beginnings!

love,
natalie


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