What's wrong...

...with this picture?

*IT'S GREEN! 

So*Much*Green

...and short sleeves

...ok NO sleeves.  

You wanna know why?

 Cause it's 90* out!

 And there's plenty more of that where it came from...and she's bringing her evil sister, Humidity, with her in the next few days.

 I have one request, please...when you are out frolicking & enjoying your fall colors and cooler temps, sweaters, boots and scarves, think of me, dying in the sweltering, triple digit heat wave.

Thank you...

Carry on

Happy (sweaty) Snapping!

xo

Kelly

Diamond are a girls best friend...

...but nuts are always welcomed!

*These acorns might as well be diamonds. Frankie was in a park, under The Arch in St. Louis a few days ago & picked these up and schleped them all the way home for me. All because he knows how much I adore fall and anything that screams Autumn.

I get giddy over the silliest things!

* These acorns are real beauties & I can't help but smile that Frankie is always thinking about what would me happy. I love that about him!

Happy Fall Snapping!

xo

Kelly

It's official...

...fall is here

Yup!

 According to what I read in the morning paper, Fall rolled in at 7:49 a.m. I feel like celebrating! 

*Actually, even though it's suppose to hit the 90's, right now it's overcast, that cool kind of humidity that's really not so bad. My doors are open & any time that AC is not running is a good thing!

So Fall in SO Cal is really different than Fall anywhere East of here! Notice anything "unusual" about the photo above?

How 'bout the photo below?

* Well if you guessed the fake fall leaves and the green trees, you'd be right! That's what it's like here. Sad but true. We have to make the best of it!

*I NEVER tire of Autumn hues and tones. They are calm, soothing and peaceful to me. It makes me giddy to think of soups and stews and baking again.

 I'm all over Fall Y'all!

Danbo is too.

*Happy (Fall) Snapping!

xo

Kelly

Sugar and Spice...

...and everything nice

Ahhhh (happy sigh)

~I am so happy to be here with you! I hadn't planned to be a no-show for a week. I knew this year with Austin being a Sr. would be busy, so it should come as no surprise to me how hard it is to break out the laptop and blog! Even Frankie made mention of how long its' been when I sat down to edit these pics! 

Anyway, I'm super excited to have my IG peeps over for a look see at a recipe I've been wanting to share & I was naughty and teased them w/pics.

If you love salmon, THIS is your lucky day. If there's someone that's not a fan of it...I say make it anyway for YOU!

*Yummy right? Now, I LOVE food photography but this took me an entire afternoon to prepare, shoot and cook. I don't have prep cooks or dishwashers, or anyone cleaning up after me so as much as I love to shoot food, Not sure I could blog about it on a regular basis. 

This salmon is the perfect balance of sweet from the marmalade...

...and heat from the Cajun spice.

Now, if you have your favorite cajun spice, by all means use it.  I set out to make my own.

You'll have to double the recipe for the homemade if you are making more than a 1 or 2 pieces of fish. 

ORANGE-GLAZED SALMON

3 TBSP Cajun spice (recipe to follow)

1 tsp. brown sugar

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

4 boneless, skinless salmon fillets (4-6 oz ea)

BLEND; Add

1/4 cup Orange marmalade

1 TBSP fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Combine Cajun spice, brown sugar and salt in a small bowl. Rub over all surfaces of fillets. Saute fillets in olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over med-high heat for 3-4 minutes. Turn & saute an additional 

2-3 minutes.

Blend marmalade & lemon juice; swirl in pan until melted. Carefully turn fish to glaze on all sides. Fish is done when it begins to flake when tested with a fork (about 1-2 minutes on each side)

Cajun Spice

1 tsp salt

2 tsp garlic powder

2 1/2 tsp paprika

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 1/4 tsp oregano 

1 tsp herbes de provence (salt free)

dash of red pepper flakes (or to your taste)

*Tada...It's THAT easy! The marmalade may splatter, so dress accordingly! 

If you make it, I'd love to hear about it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Snapping!

xo

Kelly

Never...

...forget

*A tribute of this magnitude is never easy for me to attempt.

 Nothing I edit ever seems right or honorable enough. I hope it's respectful enough. Does it do the memory of those who lost their lives justice. One can only hope. 

If you are anything like me, you relive the moment that struck fear in your heart and rocked the world to it's very core. Time stood still for me. Our safe haven had been violated. Life as we knew it would never be the same. 

I welled up with tears as we walked the avenues in front of the WTC1 over the summer. I was overcome with sadness at the thought of the chaos that followed the towers collapse. To look up among the buildings that withstood the debris fall out is nothing short of a miracle. 

It was a humbling moment. 

I am grateful I had the privilege of standing in awe at these architectural accomplishments that dominated the N.Y. skyline. 

I hope to never live through an event like 9-11 again. I hope my children and my children's children  never feel vulnerable or insecure at doing the one thing we all want to do in peace...Live 

xo

The Endless...

...summer

What else can I say? 

I've written & deleted this post a dozen times. Mainly because I didn't want you to come here and listen to me bitch and complain about how miserably hot & muggy it is! 

(shameless, I know!)

So, this is the last summer-y post I'm going to put up. 

It's all fall from here on out!

I'm s-l-o-w-l-y discovering that you should be a season or two ahead when it comes to photography. So, I bought these sweet little fruit baskets here:

http://www.shopsweetlulu.com/
Now I'm ready for all that delicious fruit next spring! 

For now, I'm going to sit in the pool and cool my heels & dream of cooler weather!

Happy (Fall)  Snapping

xo

Kelly

"Ruadh gu brath"...

..."Red heads forever"

When is the last time you celebrated your hair? A-ha! You have to think about that one huh? Yeah, me too! All the things I use to hate, curse and cry about my hair, I felt like celebrating it today! 

* We are being treated with summer rain and cool humidity today. It's a dream now, but I remember very vividly, on a rainy, humid, picture day in 9th grade, living in Pensacola, Fla....Hair nightmare! I have several several cowlics that DO NOT behave in humidity. And in 9th grade, on picture day, the picture that goes INTO the yearbook, for ever and ever is me, with horrible, cowlicky hair. I still remember how mortified I was when we were handed those pictures. It was a deeply emotional event in my life! 

I guess if I was a cool kid or popular, it would have been different. But that was not the case. 

* So today, I take back any power I ever gave to my hair and I celebrate all the cowlicks, the curls, the waves, the wisps, the grey...aye aye aye...(didn't realize I was getting so grey)....the GREY, and hope this inspires beautiful YOU to celebrate something you never thought was worth celebrating until now!

Happy Snapping!

xo

Kelly

A shift of...

...seasons

Funny as the years roll on, what I use to live for just isn't the same as when I was younger. It's not all about summer anymore...Nope, it's all about Fall. I love everything about it, the sights, the smells, the thought of baking, (we don't dare turn the oven on is the summer) 

I have a great idea for a blog entry, it includes an outdoor selfie, but as I was scouting for my spot, I said to myself "what a kook-it's 100* out here." Feeling deflated, I jotted the plan down, and will wait....wait till Mother Nature has decided, SHE'S had enough summer.

In the meantime, I drove Austin to look at a watch he's considering buying and I found another Anthropolgie & another knob for my DIY project.

*I'm telling you, I'm in love with that store and even the tissue and tape are cool! If that makes me crazy than so be it...maybe it's the heat...No, I love the paper and tape!

Happy Labor Day...I am SO not laboring in any way, shape or form!

Happy Snapping!

xo

Kelly