Quite Mad

Did I mention I will be attending this?

Come Join Me!

Super Moon

I hope everyone had a wonderful solstice!

Fresh

Hello Lovelies!

Just a little update on my organic produce situation. Our first box was delivered last week and let me tell you it is seriously the greatest thing ever.

It is like a happy little present all wrapped up and full of surprises.

Aside from being delivered, which means not having to go to the grocery store (hooray!)....

Everything is just so fresh and delicious.

Oh, and local!

We have already used up almost everything and it has only been a week. However I think I am still going to stick to the every other week delivery for money reasons. I might go up a box size though to have a little extra!

I can't wait for my next delivery!

I also received my new camera and let me tell you it is so wonderful. I can hardly express how happy I am to have so many settings and be able to take pictures the way I want!

I love being able to make everything so bright and filled with light.

As you can see, I have been playing with the settings a lot and am still learning how to use everything since this is by far the fanciest camera I have ever had.

Love it! Hopefully the more I practice and tinker with it, the better my photos will get. For example I took a whole bunch of photos (including the ones in this post), but when I uploaded them they looked all grainy. I finally figured out that it was because I had accidentally and unnecessarily put the ISO on the highest possible setting. Oops! 

So if anyone has any good photography tips, lay 'em on me!

Well I think that is all for now.

Oh wait, I almost forgot to tell you. We have a little family of bats living in the eaves of our patio!

Adorable, no? I just love bats.

See you soon!

The Weekend

A few photos from the weekend (still with old camera as new one hasn't arrived yet).

Saturday morning breakfast.

Don't look to closely at bunny mug in background as it is slightly inappropriate

Bread, cheese, and beer to go with pot roast for Sunday dinner (bread recipe from here).

Cheese flavored with black tea and bergamot 

Stone IPA

Happy weekend! 

Married

A lot has happened since my last post, mainly that I got married! It was very small and casual and in Hawaii.

It was amazing, but ever since we have been home I have been feeling restless. I have really loved living in Arizona, but I think I might be reaching my limit of dry desert. I still don't mind the heat, but I find myself yearning for humidity and green, forests and sea (Hawaii may be partly to blame for this).

I have begun to feel that tug on my gypsy soul that says move on.

As I cannot move any time in the very near future this restlessness has manifested itself in other ways. I suddenly have the desire to eat better, have less dirt and clutter, and do more reading and creative activities. I have already begun to take some steps.

1. I signed up for one of those local organic produce companies that deliver to your house. Part of why I eat so poorly is because I am terrible at grocery shopping and I hate to do it.

2. I don't often have the itch to clean, and lately I have barely had any free time, but this weekend I have time blocked out.

3. I have decided to try to commit to blogging again, more than just once every three months. 

This is where we run up against another problem. As I mentioned in my last post I have just been so dissatisfied with my blog lately. Compared to the blogs I love to read it is messy, poorly maintained, and the photos are not what I would consider good.

So, I bought a camera. It is not a super fancy camera, but it is far better than what I had before so I am hoping it will help inspire me. It has not arrived yet, but is on the way.

I also have tried to slim down my blog and de-clutter it. I for some reason (maybe just because of the basic blogger templates) cannot get the simple yet fun look of other blogs I admire, and perhaps have gone too far in the opposite direction nearing an adjective more like stark. However, it is a start and feels much cleaner than it was before. (If anyone has tips in this area or wants to help build me page, I would be ever so appreciative).

Part of what has inspired me in this area is of course the lovely Vanessa over at A Fanciful Twist, whose blog I have always admired greatly, but also a recent discovery: Honey&Jam. You know how sometimes you come across a blog that you instantly love so much you read all the entries, all the way back to the very first one, and then are sad there is not more? Lovely. I do not not expect my blog to be like that of course, but it would be nice to have maybe a small returning readership. 

So enough of my blathering. Future posts will hopefully be more pretty photos and less boring exposition. I hope you will join me in a cup of tea and toast to the new era of Buccaneers And Ball Gowns! And please feel free to jump in with comments (what you like and don't like aesthetically) and suggestions for starting anew.