The Project Project 2013

I am always coming up with projects. I thought it would be interesting to see how many unfinished ones I have, so I decided to type up a list, in no particular order of priority.

1. Finish tree canvas painting
2. Dining room built in
3. Dining room bench
4. Dining room mural
5. Dining room chandelier
6. Dining room chairs
7. Dining room entry table/bench
8. Studio floor repainting
9. Kitchen cabinet refinishing
10. Window shutters/shades
11. Learn stamping
12. Learn Chinese brush painting
13. Calligraphy
14. Hang tv
15. Living room couch
16. Repaint bedroom
17. Paint art for bedroom
18. Hang mirror in dressing room
19. Regrout bathroom sink
20. Redo stairs
21. Change drawer pulls to studio cabinet
22. Laundry room door
23. File newspaper clippings
24. Hand letter holiday cards 2013
25. Instagram gallery in hallway
26. Redo lights in kitchen
27. Photography business
28. Clean roof gutters
29. Outdoor kitchen
30. Chicken coop
31. New fence
32. Vegetable garden
33. Plant new roses
34. Trim the redwood
35. Fix sprinklers
36. New outdoor eating area

Well then, only 36. That's not too bad! Still 48 weeks left this year...

Here's a photo that has nothing to do with this post, I just kinda like it.

Weeks 51 and 52, Happy New Year

Yes, yes, it's already two weeks into 2013. As you can see from the white squares below, I was a bit busy.

351: I baked cookies, trying to get together some home made gifts. 

352: With little time to cook because it was crazy busy at work, my meals consisted of cookies, leftover croissants, and scones. I think there are few food groups in there. 

353: Busy

354: Still busy, take out noodles and soup

355: Unwind with the girls over wine and Middle Eastern food

356: Busy again

357: Busy again, this is a Trader Joe's chicken pot pie that I stuck in a ramekin to make it look homemade.

358: Sunday Football. My team lost, by a lot.

359: What, Christmas Eve? Barely got the gifts together, and went to the folks and stuffed my face like a chipmunk.

360: Stayed over at the folks just so I could have more food the next day. Oh yes, and Merry Christmas!!

361: Breakfast under bad light

362 and 363: Busy

364a: Saturday I went into the city with the fam and we played tourists, staying overnight in a hotel and eating up a storm. Went to Tout Sweet for this beautiful dessert of burnt caramel and buttery goodness. 

364b: Dinner was at the lovely Quince. Gorgeous plating and wonderful ambiance. Too bad my lobster was ridiculously oversalted that I had to send it back. But this little amuse bouche was lovely. 


Day 365: We ended our SF adventure with a few more good eats. But as a lot of Instagram activity was posting your favorite 9 of 2012, I posted this little collage of some of my favorites.

I have to say, it is really interesting to see the difference in my food photography from day 1 up to this point.

Day One

And finally, DAY 366!!!

I decided to celebrate completing my little 366 project (that I will never do again), I would host a dinner for 7 of my closest friends. It was a fantastic meal, if I do say so myself.

Le Menu:

Smoky Chicken Phyllo Croustillants

Slow-Spiced Short Ribs

Prosciutto-Wrapped Asian Pears

Potato & Leek Soup with Bacon Jam

Freshly Made House Rolls

Spinach and Pomegranate Salad 

Herb-Roasted Pork Tenderloin

Deconstructed Croqueembouche with Dulce de Leche Cream

As usual, too busy prepping to take many good photos, but this one is a good representation.

So that's it! 366 days of food! I hope you enjoyed the journey. Here's to more yummy eats in 2013, except I'm not taking any photos of it!!

Weeks 49 and 50

337: Sunday morning big breakfast! Eggs, sausage and some homemade Meyer Lemon Scones

338: Homemade cauliflower and leek soup with a drizzle of bacon

339: Ham sandwich for lunch at the desk

340: Noodle soup with bacon and some leftover fortune cookies. Are the fortunes still good if the cookies are old?

341: In need of photos with good light, I took one of breakfast, no bacon :-( 

342: Tried a homemade pumpkin and sausage lasagna. Overcooked the pasta, but the stuffing was delicious.

343: Potato pancakes and smoked salmon. I've got to do potato pancakes more often!

344: I went for a jaunt at the beach with the dogs and came across this interesting creature. It was moving, and looked like a mutant crab. After some online research, I learned that this is a gooseneck barnacle. They are also known as percebes in Spain and Portugal and are a delicacy there. Talk about the perfect foraging find! Except I didn't take it home, although I sure wish I did. 

345: The usual quick dinner of noodles

346: Take out sushi for dinner after a very busy and stressful day

347: More noodles

348: Too busy, and I probably had noodles

349: TGIF! I had some time in the morning so made a good breakfast.

350: A baby shower for a friend means lots of goodies for lunch!

16 DAYS LEFT UNTIL THE NEW YEAR (holy cow!)

December Mood Board

Since I'm not posting that much on my blog, I thought I would share what I've been doing over on Instagram. The end of November was filled with so much fog, it was just gorgeous chasing it!

Then the rain came in, but there would be breaks when the sun would peak through, creating such gorgeous light. I didn't even have to edit!

Now into December, the rain is falling harder, so my photos have a dark and eerie feel to them. But the rain doesn't darken my mood at all. In fact, I love snuggling up in a warm blanket with a cup of hot tea, listening to the sound of rain. After of course, I've been out in the rain taking these shots!

Come follow me on Instagram! @ailoves

Weeks 47 and 48, I can't wait!

to be done with this project. Four more weeks to go! Woo hoo!

323:  I love the Sundays when I have some time to make a nice breakfast. Here we have pancakes, sausage and an egg. I hope I did some exercise after this.

324: Met up with some old high school friends who I haven't seen in a long time. It was fun catching up over burgers. It's great how even after you haven't seen each other for years, you can just start back up as if no time has passed.

325: Late Tuesday means take out Burmese!

326: My friends kidnapped me from work and we went for food. That's what friends are for.

327: THANKSGIVING!!! Ate. So. Much. I love you mom!

328: Used Thanksgiving leftovers (not turkey) for a quick meal after work.

329: I don't think I had dinner. But I had dessert!

330: Mom has a Meyer lemon tree and I may have taken one or a hundred lemons. Search Epicurious.com and voila! Meyer lemon and cranberry scones. Really really good. I may have eaten one or a hundred.

I took a little extra time to style this shot along with a couple of others this week. I've been very active on Instagram and was kind of tired of having my pretty nature photos interrupted with a poorly lit food photo.

331: Breakfast sandwich. Mmm... biscuits.

332: Went lighter for breakfast with some persimmons. And a buttery yummy biscuit.

333: Was home early from work and took advantage of the light. Made this Morrocan Chicken with Green Olives and Meyer Lemon. So good! And I just love this photo! I even got featured over on Instagram!

334: Lunch with a friend. A whole pizza for me? Don't mind if I do!

335: Gym, yoga, lunch, hike. That works for me!

336: This should actually be day 334. Was eating leftovers and in bad light. This cloud soup was much prettier.