Nectar & Light

~ we have meet long lost relatives that now seem like we have known them forever;

~ we slumbered next to a glistening lake at the foot of the mountains;

~ we ate a delicious breakfast next to that same lake;

~ we spent an amazing evening catching up with old friends and having one too many mojitos;

~ found crepes a la cart in breckenridge and had breakfast and dinner there - on the same day;

~ drove a rough and rocky road to 12,000 feet where we were met with fog, wind, hail, snow, sunshine and wild horses - all within 4 hours;

~ wandered through an ancient mining town;

~ looking forward to an train ride through the rockies this afternoon...

have a wonderful weekend - i will check in next week.  in the meantime - some wonderful news - our Polaroid Notecards are now available! find them here and your local borders and barnes & noble booksellers!

xoox~jla

edited* thank you to everyone who sent emails and commented about the misdirected link - all fixed!  and a very big thank you to anna for reminding us to check with your local independent bookseller for the note cards as well!

i married the love of my life.  we shared the day with 25 of our closest friends and family on the grounds of an ancient mill in tuddenham, england.  the day was hot.  unusually hot for england - even in the summer.  but the heat fed the fever of excitement and the afternoon gave way to an enchanting twilight reception that will forever remain in my clearest of memories.  the day our life together began.  the day i bound myself to the man who would give us the three greatest gifts we could have ever imagined.  the day that we promised one another that no matter the pain, the trails and tribulations - we would remain at each other's side - supporting and loving...

xoox~jla

wonderful seems to be my word of the week. it has been a week of discovery, a week of quiet moments with girlfriends, of meditation and realization.  of recitals on the front lawn and the tangled limbs and infectious laughter of children in the trees.  dinners picnic style and recuperative lunches.  the weekend only promises more sweetness - days in the delicious cool water of the pool and evenings chasing fireflies.  wonderful.  more wonder...

~ my cousin {my soul sister} lindsey just launched her gorgeous blog... it will become an addiction, i assure you.  and watch for her shop opening next month - full of print-making magic...

~ i am so very excited to share with you that i am now being represented by wonderful machine - you will find me under 'omaha' as well as food, still life, travel and fine art.  so far the experience has been nothing short of stellar... {you can get lost on this site for hours - be warned.  i am honored to be among such talent}

i will be away for awhile.  we are heading out to colorado again - this time to attend the national land rover rally.  we are taking adie as one of her favorite things in the world is off-roading with her papa.  after that adie and i are flying to dc to spend a long, overdue weekend with one of my dearest friends and her son.  i will check-in over the next two weeks with some "wonderful" news. 

 in the meantime, have a wonderful weekend friends... linger over a homemade breakfast saturday morning, pour a little extra sugar in your coffee, put a swimsuit on and run through a sprinkler - you know you want to, grill something, stay up too late with someone you love, get up early and drink in the morning summer sun...

xoox~jla

the happy mondays... because:

~ there are some new stories here;

~ i snagged one of these from kate's shop - i am so happy - they sold out so fast;

~ sophik is making me smile;

~ this makes my heart dance with delight;

~ loving this by slow club {via the unicorn diaries};

~ and this little love story {via cup of jo}

xoox~jla

p.s. and lulu FINALLY re-launched her site - SO worth the wait.

{image is medium format - not polaroid}

life is good.  and good means busy.  and busy means little time to enjoy my favorite blogs and even less time to explore new ones.   but today i had some time to do exactly that.  what i found was fresh, beautiful and completely inspiring.  i receive emails every week asking where to start in the blog world - what to write about - what to do next.  my answer is always the same - write from your heart; share what you are comfortable sharing; and use the space as your own visual inspiration board.  of course, you want people to stop by, read, hopefully comment.  but that will only happen if you are true to your own vision - that blog is your space, your vision - fill it with love and light.  these women do:

some of my favorite daily reads:

~ unruly things:  alyson's blog has been one of my favorites for sometime and one of the few that i read almost everyday.  she has the absolute best finds and i rely heavily on her eye for her jewelry and dress selections in particular.

~ enhance the everyday:  another addiction.  pia has a magical gift to transport her readers to another time and place.  she provokes you to take her hand and explore with her anew... her blog fills me with such joy.

~ the habit of being:  nicole's message is singular - a life of ritual is beautiful, respect our mother earth and she will share her fruits... one of the most beautiful spaces online.

revisiting often:

~ sandra juto

~ perfectbound

~ the unicorn diaries

~ paper cameras

new to me and thoroughly enjoying:

~ jollygoo

~ darling dexter

~ all the mountains

~ we make words

~ mer mag

~ little postcards

~ lolita

~ a creative mint

have a lovely weekend friends...

xoox~jla

p.s. i feel dizzy with blog love this morning - a few more newly discovered:

~ daydream lily

~ kyla roma

~ fleur avenue

i will share a few more next week...

am i killing you with the recipes yet?  i am just trying to make up for all those months that i didn't post any - fair?  my husband's birthday was yesterday and i made myself a little promise some months ago.  i wanted to start a tradition to bake a birthday cake from scratch for my family on their respective birthdays.  ayla's was a disaster.  so much so, i bought cupcakes for ari rose.  feeling a bout of confidence, a decided to give it another go.  while my husband will tell you today that his favorite color is blue, but tomorrow it could be red - one favorite has remained steadfast and true... tiramisu.  

the tiramisu birthday cake:

the cake:

~ 13 T butter

~ 1 c. sugar

~ 1/3 c. honey

~ 2 eggs

~ 3 yolks

~ 1 t. strong brewed espresso

~ 1 t. vanilla 

~ 1/2 c. milk

~ 2 c. flour

~ 2 t. baking powder

prepare two 9-inch baking rounds with butter, flour and parchment paper and set aside.  beat the butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy. add the honey and continue to mix.  in another bowl whip the eggs, yolks, espresso, vanilla and milk - set this aside.  in another bowl, sift the flour and baking powder together.  add a bit of the egg mixture to the butter and then a bit of the flour - continue this until the batter is thoroughly mixed and ribbons when you pour it.  divide is equally between the two baking pans and bake in the center of the oven for 25 minutes.  let stand for 5-10 minutes before turning the layers out onto a cooling rack.

filling number 1:

~ 1/4 c. marsala {sweet italian wine}

~ 1/4 c. strong brewed espresso

whisk together and set aside.

filling number 2:

part one:

~ 7 egg yolks

~ 1/4 c. sugar

~ 8 oz. mascarpone

~ 4 oz. cream cheese

~ 1 T. strong brewed espresso

whip the yolks and sugar together until they become thick and pale.  add the mascarpone, cream cheese and espresso.  whip until fully incorporated.  pour into another bowl and chill.

part two:

~ 1 pt. heavy cream

~ 1/2 c. sugar

~ 2 T. strong brewed espresso

~ 2 T. marsala

combine all ingredients and whip until stiff peaks have formed.  remove part one of filling number two from the refrigerator and gently fold - adding small amounts at a time - the mixture into the heavy cream mixture.  be gentle as you do not want to lose the air that you whipped into the cream.

filling number 3:

~ 6 oz. roughly chopped semi-sweet choclate

~ 1 t. espresso grounds

assembly:  

when the cakes are cool enough to handle, use a serrated knife to cut off the top round part of the layers - exposing the interior of the cake. place the first layer on a cake platter or serving dish.  using a pastry brush - gently brush/dot the espresso and marsala mixture over the top of the cake.  top with 1/3 of the cream/mascarpone mixture and spread gently - let it pour over the edges of the cake.  sprinkle 1/2 of the chopped chocolate over the mixture - then add another 1/3 of the mixture on top the chocolate.  top this with the other cake layer.  using the remaining espresso/marsala mixture - brush this layer as well.  top with remaining cream/mascarpone and sprinkle the chocolate over the top.  using a fine sieve - dust the top with the espresso.  let set up in the fridge for at least an hour before cutting into the cake.  

xoox~jla

i hope you had a lovely weekend.  we are in the midst of some lengthy to-do lists around the house but we had some time to relax and enjoy our days together.  we enjoyed a simple {albeit labor intensive} dish of fresh snow crab and penne {recipe below}, a movie night - the dark crystal is a favorite repeat in our house, swimming at my parents house, another lovely meal in the woods and taking the girls out for shrimp tacos and to finally see up - how was your weekend?

the recipe is as follows:

snow crab & penne:

~ 1 lb. penne

~ 1.5 lbs. fresh snow crab legs

~ 2 cloves garlic

~ 2 T. olive oil

~ 2 T. butter

~ handful of fresh basil

~ 1/2 c. freshly grated parmesan

~ salt and pepper

boil the pasta as per the instructions on the package.  meanwhile, begin cracking and cleaning the crab legs.  the easiest way is to utilize a pair of kitchen scissors and cut the legs down the seam - then you can simply fold the length open and extract the meat - a trick my mom taught me.  for the longer pieces - break into bite size pieces.  set this aside.  finely chop the garlic and saute in the olive oil and butter - remove from the heat just as the garlic begins to turn gold.  drain the pasta when it is ready and pour the butter, olive oil and garlic over the penne - toss until coated.  add the crab pieces and salt and pepper to taste.  top with freshly torn basil and parmesan.

*note* i recommend keeping a small bowl of warm clarified butter next to you while you de-shell the crab - you know, to make sure the crab is to your satisfaction.  in fact, i highly recommend this.

*one more note* the addition of the parmesan to a fish based pasta dish is something that evokes a memory of an afternoon in cinque terre...

need dessert?  be sure to check out my strawberry basil bread pudding that appeared on design*sponge on friday...

xoox~jla

p.s.  the originals is now open.

so apparently strawberry has a crush on basil.  and little does strawberry know... basil loves her too.  so much in fact that they both call out to me in the balmy evenings and beseech me to make them one... who am i to deny the lovers?

the summer lovers:

~ 2. frozen strawberries

~ 1/2 c. orange juice

~ 1/4 c. tanqueray rangpur gin

~ 2 T. agave nectar

~ 12 medium basil leaves

~ pinch of salt

throw the lovers and their friends into the blender and  blend until they are smooth and silky...

have a lovely weekend...

xoox~jla

 

more news and some link love.  fieryeyed:  the originals will be opening on monday, 13 july at 9am CST.  it will feature my original polaroids.  it is something i never thought i would do - but after a week or two of cleaning house, cleaning studio and cleaning out my head - it is time to move on and let go from somethings - some of those things happen to be either out-take or "hero" polaroids.  all polaroids will be hand signed on the back.  and as you know... once they are gone - they are gone.

some link love for your thursday:

~ thank you for all the love regarding short stories - i plan on shooting this weekend and should have a new tale to share next week;

~ she has been shooting as well;

~ need some inspiration in the kitchen?  the cook's atelier transports me... it will surely become one of your favorite reads;

~ my friend jeff just relaunched his site - he is a constant source of inspiration and has been a wonderful mentor to me;

~ listening to:  passion pit, the black rebel motorcycle club and tapes n' tapes;

~ i have a huge crush on this necklace.  huge. {via simply olive}

~ very much in love with this;

xoox~jla

i have something special to share with you.  i have a new blog called the short stories.  i needed a new places to showcase some of the new work i am shooting - and of course wanted to do it in the most creative way i knew how.  i love {heart and soul love} nectar & light, but did not want to compromise the look and feel of this space - it is about my everyday, my joys, my girls, my light.  the short stories is about my process.  when i shoot for work, i find most creative enlightenment when i create a story within the subject.  i am sharing these stories with you - just an image or two and a few words that i hope convey my creative state at the time.  i hope you find inspiration there and i look forward to reading your thoughts...

xoox~jla