i love lavender

lavender always reminds me of a wonderful trip I took with my Mom to France. I've been trying to incorporate it into my daily life so as to feel like I am constantly "en vacances"

I xoxoxo making homemade pizza. I've been trying out pizza dough recipes and all of them have been so-so thus far. today i found the perfect recipe! by julia child of course. this is actually a foccacia recipe, but I think it would also make a good pizza.

today i just make a plain foccacia but I added about a Tbs of dried lavender during the mixing process,( make sure your lavender is intended for eating/hasn't been sprayed with pesticides) and topped it with 2 large onions very thinly sliced (so they are cooked thoroughly before the crust burns) and some fresh rosemary. the lavender made it all very exciting and pretty and delicious. Don't skip the cornmeal part- i think it makes the crust extra delicious. serve with lavender olives (i found some at the grocery store, but i suppose you could add lavender to some regular olives a couple of days in advance.)

other uses for lavender:
my hairdresser told me how to make a homemade spritz to make my hair less frizzy and my curls more defined-
In a spray bottle combine some water,a little sea salt and lavender oil. spray on towel dried hair. oh la la!

home alone.

adams is in china for 5 weeks. I was a bit jealous of his exciting adventure, but am also glad to have the time to stay home, enjoy the summer and get to know bloomington a bit more on my own.

one of the best things about going to another country is new cuisines. I've been trying to make more exciting and varied meals. anything, anything besides rice and beans. If I could go anywhere I would pick Greece (if it were a bit safer to visit...) So maybe i'll try out some greek dishes this week. although provence would be nice. or spain...

rainy.

yesterday was rainy rainy with lots of jump-out-of-your-seat- thunderclaps.

a great day for:
my garden- green beens are flowering!
attempting to make homemade ginger beer
starting a new book
and working in studio.

i'm sorta particular about my drawing supplies. here is what I always like to have with me before beginning work.
super comfy bose headphone, natural hair paint brush, martha scissors, mars plastic eraser ( i find it erases very well) rapidograph pen for tiny, tiny line drawings, draftline pencil, .3mm HB refills ( the perfect hardness- doesn't smudge, but still makes a nice line) pencil sharpener, eraser refills, i pod with lots of podcasts (this american life, fresh air, radio lab, stuff you should know, the moth) and martha xacto knife.

oh and watercolors too.

book report

yesterday was the last day of library book sale. all the books were free.


the best one I got was an old home repair manuel. Not very useful, but I liked the drawings.


and children's book about a whale that is exactly something I would have written.

miracle of life

pretty flowers are blooming from what I though was just an ugly bush
enough lettuce from my garden for a small salad

ahead of its time.

williamsburg menu typeface?

hearth and home

trip home was warm and cozy and fun. I always leave more homesick then before I visited

airport swatch store

puppy heaven

a trip to Petco for a haircut
a really big dauchunt




pizza party!

OMG, OMG, ketchup news!

haven't tried it yet, but I am for real really psyched on Heinz's new dip-and-squeeze packaging. i've always thought those little packages were the WORST.

sushi

tonight audum is having a potluck dinner party. i got a book out on how to make sushi. but I still have inadequate knife skills.

photo lesson

today amanda gave me whirlwind lesson on how to properly light and take slides. here are the results... better then pictures i've taken before, but i think I didn't get the lighting quite right- not as sharp as I hoped. there must be a way to avoid photoshop contrast button?