our weekend, that is. we had tickets for a showing of fireproof on friday night, but due to the 6 or 7 inches of snow, the showing was cancelled. we ended up spending a quiet evening at home. we went to the video store, and then picked up mexican takeout. some of you may have read of my blunder at the video store(on facebook), almost getting in the wrong white pick-up with the wrong man. yeah, nice. tom and the dude in the truck got a huge kick out of it. my friend kim i.m.'d me, and said, "the question is, would you have been trading up or down?" ha! tom says the truck was fancier than his. in my defense, i did not have my contacts in. oy. saturday flew by....started slow, but then went crazy. i had photos to shoot for the world herald and then later we had cooking club. cooking club was awesome! so fun to celebrate valentine's day with our friends and a lovely meal...no waiting for hours for a table at a restaurant.
the menu:
appetizers:
spinach and artichoke dip with sourdough bread and spicy chips
bruschetta with this divine red pepper infused oil and goat cheese (i think?)
mini quiches and empanadas
field greens salad with pomegranate and mini onion rings (made with shallots...so tasty and cute!)
roasted red peppers and green beans with orange zest
garlic mashed potatoes
herbed, grilled tenderloin
chocolate layer cake with vanilla cherry frosting
the menu and concept to celebrate valentine's day was donna's brainchild. i think it was brilliant. she kept the menu simple and appealing to our relatively conservative eating husbands...and i think they loved it! nothing too adventurous. just really well done "normal" midwestern food. i didn't take many pictures, since we are sorta preoccupied with the actual preparation, but i did snap a couple-
and i think it's probably obvious that cooking club isn't just about cooking. it's about enjoying the process...and sharing prolonged time preparing, sharing, tasting, talking, admiring....there's just something about time shared in the kitchen and at the table. after dinner, we sat in their hearth room and enjoyed the fire and chatted...some may have even dozed off. it was a wonderful way to spend valentine's day.
on saturday, the second omaha world herald healthwise of the year came out, with my cover!
i photographed a vignette of things that are near and dear to me. most of them are pretty clear...but i wanted to give credit to two local artists whose work is pictured: the adorable pet portrait of my sophie (with a camera around her neck!) and scooter, by omaha artist, denise levy, if you click on the link, it will take you to her blog, which has a link to her pet portraits. i highly recommend this as a gift to yourself or a loved one. also, our family photo pictured, was taken by local photographer, cara bresette yates...she is the only local photographer who i recommend when i am unable to shoot a wedding or event...plus i obviously trusted her to do our family shots. both denise and cara are not only awesome artists, they are my friends! love them both.
here's the original photo:
i think it represents me pretty well.
today, i got an email from my friend stephanie ...and she just wrote, "you might enjoy the video on my blog today". oh yeah, i sure did...totally warmed my heart!
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what can i say after that? God bless!
congrats on your cover. love the family photo in the old truck.
Posted by: psmullican | February 16, 2009 at 09:25 AM
i'd be more than happy to lend you our dvd if you'd like - just let me know!:)
Posted by: melanie | February 16, 2009 at 10:40 AM
hey i know that sweet girl!!
congrats on the cover, that is absolutely awesome!xo
Posted by: stephanie Howell | February 16, 2009 at 12:09 PM
awesome cover! that's pretty cool!
the food looks delicious.... ♥
Posted by: emma | February 16, 2009 at 02:51 PM
Glad you had a nice Valentine's Day! I sure hope you get to see Fireproof sometime, it's an amazing movie.
Thanks for your kind words Becky. You are so sweet. I love you bunches! :)
Posted by: Cara | February 16, 2009 at 03:23 PM
Congrats on that cover!! It is SO you! Darling video..thanks for sharing it. I'm loving that song.. and what a little doll her little girl is.
Posted by: Vicki Chrisman | February 16, 2009 at 05:02 PM
Love the photo and congrats on the cover!
Posted by: kim | February 16, 2009 at 06:03 PM
Wow!! CONGRATS ON THE COVER!! And, how fantastic that your entire family is featured. You have so much talent woman! Renae
Posted by: Renae | February 17, 2009 at 08:09 PM
The video of Stephanie's daughter is priceless. So sweet. Renae
Posted by: Renae | February 17, 2009 at 08:11 PM