chicken tomatillo stew

ruth be told, I haven't been doing too much cooking these days.  I haven't felt inspired to cook so I've been making a lot of boring, old, standard meals.  Dan and I have opposite schedules these days so making meals together hasn't been possible and it feels weird cooking up a big meal for just myself.  It's been mostly quesadillas and cereal these days.  But we happened to have almost everything for this recipe in the fridge, so I hopped over to the store and got the last couple ingredients to whip up this stew!  The rain has started here in the PNW, so stew is the perfect meal for this drizzly weather.  Martha Stewart sent me their One Pot cookbook full of amazing soups, stews, and more that can be made using only one pot, hence the title, which is perfect for both the season and the laziness I've been feeling towards cooking.  This recipe is from that cookbook and I'm excited to try some of the others.  For whatever reason, soups and stews have become some of my favorite recipes to make, maybe because they feel hard to screw up and make for great leftovers.


Ingredients (recipe via martha stewart) 2 pounds tomatillos (husks removed), washed and halved
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 whole chicken (3 to 4 pounds), cut into 10 pieces (wings reserved for another use)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 jalapenos, chopped
1/2 medium white onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 can (15 ounces) hominy, drained
1/4 cup chopped fresh, cilantro

1. In a food processor, puree tomatillos; set aside. 
2. In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to pot, skin side down. Cook until browned on one side, 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
3. Add jalapenos and onion to pot and cook, stirring frequently, until slightly softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in tomatillo puree and hominy, if using; season with salt and pepper. 
4. Nestle chicken, skin side up, in sauce. Cover pot; simmer until chicken is cooked through, 22 to 25 minutes. Stir in cilantro; season with salt and pepper.

laura + aaron // copper creek inn wedding

his past Saturday I got to go up to Copper Creek Inn again to shoot a beautiful wedding, so while I'm still editing the photos from that wedding, I thought I'd share some of the images from Laura and Aaron's wedding last year!  I always love shooting weddings up at Copper Creek because Dan and I honeymooned at this very location!  I think that natural, woodsy settings will always be my most favorite locations for photos
The wedding was full of DIY touches, and I think one of my favorite moments was walking up to the reception area to shoot details and all the women in the family were busy icing the cakes and making the bouquets!  DIY weddings are my absolute favorite.  It's so fun getting to have the whole family involved in such a special day.  
It was such an intimate ceremony and thankfully the rain, which was supposed to be pouring all day, held off for all the important moments, only showing up during the reception when we all were able to be under the cover of tents.  Another favorite detail of mine was the pizza truck they had to cater the wedding!  Pizza is one of my favorite foods and the wood fire pizza was coming out all evening!  Such an awesome option for catering!  Oh, and obviously all weddings should include a bonfire.  The kids had a blast poking sticks in the fire and writing on rocks with the charcoal.  
Thank you Laura and Aaron for letting me capture your special day!



 

 

 






 



 



 

 
 

 

 

 

nothing to say

This outfit's been sitting in my drafts for over a week.  I don't have much to say, but I'm tired of staring at a blinking cursor with nothing to say while these photos languish in a sad little draft, so here is an outfit I wore a couple weeks ago!  Also, this is the last outfit you'll see with red hair.  Just a tease!



top/skyline fever :: jacket/modcloth :: hat/the north face :: boots/courtesy of cat footwear necklaces/handmade + courtesy of adorn by sarah lewis :: photos by Dan

frocktober

ey Guys!  Today I've partnered up with Ruche for their fun Frocktober campaign!  Ruche is celebrating dresses all month and I decided to get a little glam for my style.  After spending the weekend at BurlyCon I'm coming down from a glam-high, so it only seemed appropriate!  When I first saw this dress at Ruche I wasn't sure how sparkly the top would be but I love that it's even more sparkly in person than it is in the photos on their website!  I've been embracing sparkle more these days, perhaps due to my incursion into the burlesque scene.  I've always been more of the kind of girl to eschew sparkly, "girly" things.  I grew up as a dyed in the wool tomboy who almost exclusively hung out with the guys.  I never wanted to be associated with anything girly or super femme.  I felt like girls got stuck in a girly box that was full of pink and glitter and weakness and I wanted nothing to do with it.  Now that I'm older I've ben exploring more feminine styles over the years, enjoying the fact that I can swing from one style to another, from ultra glam, to masculine, to casual, and continue to be authentically, wholly myself.  I love that being a girl means, well, nothing really.  It doesn't mean anything except that I'm a human and that I get to express myself however I want, regardless of my gender or sex.  I now feel free to be glittery or butch without feeling boxed it, and it's awesome. 

 

dress/courtesy of ruche :: shoes/seychelles, courtesy of modcloth  headband (similar)/courtesy of BHLDN necklaces/adorn by sarah lewis, moorea seal, handmade Being at BurlyCon was an interesting study in people, and that aspect was almost more captivating that the classes themselves.  I'm not heavily into the burlesque or alternative scene yet so I almost felt like an outsider peeking into a world I'm not really a part of yet.  It was cool to see so many iterations of feminine and masculine, and yet everyone there was (or is working towards being) a burlesque performer.  Everyone from the most flamboyant boylesque guys to mousy, quiet, and unassuming girls.  From fully tattooed gals with pink hair, to plain janes.  And everyone in between.  It seems like burlesque means something different to each and every person.  It's vulnerable and bold, both hiding and exposing parts of oneself.  In a lot of ways sometimes blogging feels a bit like burlesque.  Choosing which parts of myself I expose to my audience.  How much I take off, which styles I choose to portray in each post, how much I say or don't say.  Blogging is a sort of internet burlesque.  Sometimes it's a tease with the audience, sometimes it's more raw than we even realize.

natural perfume workshop!

ey guys!  I had so much fun doing my first perfume workshop, I've partnered up with Embellish Multispace Salon here in Tacoma to host another!  It will be on Saturday, Oct 25th, at the Salon!  It was so awesome smelling all the scents people came up with at the last workshop, I'm excited to be able to do another workshop. As I mentioned before I've never liked perfume, and kind of hate most perfumes I've sampled at stores like Macy's and Nordstrom's perfume counters.  Normal perfume is so strong, often will give me a headache, and I feel like it smells more like chemicals than any of the notes they list on the bottle.  I love perfumes made with essential oils because not only are they natural, they don't stay super strong for hours after you put them on.  They're stronger when you sniff them straight out of the bottle and right when you put it on, but they mellow out while you wear them and have a pleasant smell that doesn't intoxicate a room for minutes after you leave, like I've found many typical perfumes to do (I always feel like Spongebob running through the perfume department after someone walks by with strong perfume or cologne).  The scents play off of one another, integrate into one another, and change with your personal body chemistry once you apply them.
I also have a really hard time finding scents that I love.  I enjoy maybe 1% of the perfumes I've smelled at a perfume counter.  I enjoy scents that are spicier and citrusy, or more woodsy, and a bit masculine.  Most perfumes I've encountered tend to be super heavy on the florals and have more of a chemical smell than anything I'd prefer.  The great thing about making your own perfume is that you get to choose your own scent profile when you make your own!  Right now I'm scheming up a Bergamot/Lemongrass based signature scent...
The other awesome thing about using essential oils for your perfume?  You can craft your perfume to support your health!  Essential oils can be an amazing way to stay healthy, balance hormones, and regulate emotions, so you're doing the body good and smelling awesome too.


 


There are only a few spots available in the class, so if you'd like to sign up, head over to Embellish's website and click "Book Now" to secure your spot!  Just mention that you'd like to take the Signature Scent Class in the "Type of Service" and "Message" space!  You'll learn all about essential oils, their various uses, AND create your own vial of perfume to take home with you.  I'll have tons of different essential oil scents to choose from and teach you how to create a great scent profile for your signature perfume!  If you haven't been to Embellish before you're in for an extra treat because they're just starting to carry some locally created products by Pepper Pot Polish and Earth Nerd!  You'll get to browse around their products and you'll have a chance to buy any of the items you can't live without!  Pepper Pot Polish is an amazing handmade nail polish brand made without toxins and Earth Nerd makes all sorts of lovely products, from salves to lip balms, soaps and more.  
Date:  Saturday, Oct 25th.
Time:   6:00-7:30pm Cost: $50
Location:  Embellish Multispace Salon. 1121 Court D #A Tacoma, WA 98402  
What You Will Learn:
You will have the opportunity to play with layering different notes and scents to decide what essential oils blend best for you.  Students will also learn the other elements to creating perfume beyond the essential oils themselves.  Beyond perfume making, students will also learn how to integrate essential oils into other uses for home and health.

What You Will Take Away:
A 10mm vial of your custom essential oil perfume.

What to Bring:
Yourself!  With an excitement to learn a new skill and make a few new friends :)  All supplies, plus snacks and drinks will be provided for you.