For the Love of {Owls}- Part 2

While Part 1 of For the Love of {Owls} consisted of photos and a painting that were realistic representations of the nocturnal creatures, Part 2 features illustrations with portrayals of owls that are either animated, slightly lifelike, or some combination of the two.

Diana Sudyka

Badbird

Kareena Zerefos via ffffound!

Shell

Poor Dog Farm

Ola Design

Owl from "The Owl & the Pussy-cat" Diptych- Mok Duk by Anne Benjamin

Decoylab

There are more owls to come tomorrow along with an exciting announcement I can't wait to share!!

Christmas Comes but Once a Year..... Oh my gosh....

I am beginning to get SOOO excited about Christmas. I still have a LOT of decorating to do (unlike my friend PEGGY!), and some shopping to finish (don't you just *LOVE* the Internet???), but I am already getting so excited for the season. One of the reasons I am excited is my local Stampin' Up Demonstrator, Steph Gay, has been making my holiday season brighter by hosting Christmas card making workshops. I have made 48 hand made Christmas cards, and it isn't even December 1st!! How cool is that???? By the way, this seems like the appropriate place to state that I have NEVER done handmade cards before..... And yet with Steph directing my steps, it did not seem like such a huge undertaking!!! Thanks Steph. I truly am excited about my cards this year. I thought some of you might like a sneak peak of the various styles of cards I will be sending out this year (most were made in sets of 4s or 8s).

For the Love of {Owls}

I know that a lot of people are "over" owls, as happens with any trend, but, perhaps since I am such a night owl myself, I still find some owl-inspired pieces irresistible!

Each of these pieces of art captured my eye; I love the life-like quality of Cara Enteles' painting, and I adore each of the three photographs, by Sharon Montrose, Allie Arts 4 Children, and D.S. Brennan Photography, as well.

Eye of the Predator- Cara Enteles

Allie Art 4 Children

Sharon Montrose

D.S. Brennan Photography

Stay tuned for Part 2!

Kathleen and Nick's Photodate with Mariah in Boston 11.28.08

Kathleen and Nick came to see me about their wedding a few weeks ago... I liked them right away and was so happy when they decided to include me in their plans. K & N are two busy and hard working people. Kathleen is in event planning so she is organized and efficient! When they came to visit me she told me she wanted to do their engagement photos right away so they could use them for holiday cards... no problem, I said... and here we are the day after Thanksgiving on our date!

P.S. It's a good thing I am not in these photos because I have completely over indulged in pie!

We met at Boston Common, Kathleen really liked the idea of the Frog Pond. I am sad to say that I didn't even know this existed! It's a super cute skating rink right in the middle of the common. We didn't do any skating (which Nick is really relieved about) but Kathleen did bring her skates which made for a nice wintery prop.

Ear muffs too!.. I think this scene is very "Charlie Brown Christmas."

Nick prefers the warmer activities like snuggling to skating...

Kathleen doesn't seem to mind the snuggling either...

Just in case you forgot where we are... this cart had a tshirt that said "Wicked Pissa" which I wanted to buy and then forgot to go back and get.

Next we headed over to North end... Kathleen really knows how to get around the city because she used to live near the Common... we actually ended up right near the Old North Church, where Melissa and I photographed Nicole and Brian's wedding last month. The funny thing is, I really wanted to get back to this particular street because when I was there in October I thought it was really cool- but didn't have much of a chance to look around...

I thought this alley was interesting...

Did I mention it was sprinkling the whole time we were shooting? K & N are troopers, and Kathleen had the right accessories!

This is my favorite shot of the day. Kathleen and Nick had their first date at this little restaurant. So romantic!

There was a really good smell wafting down the sidewalk toward us... turns out it was from this bakery. I don't know what these things are, but aren't the gorgeous?

The lady behind the counter looks less than thrilled about me and my camera.

Remember that show "Mad about You"? Maybe I am dating myself- anyway it was on in the Early 90's. At the beginning of the show they had all these cool Black and White photos of the two characters, Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt. The photos were of them doing ordinary things around NY, this photo reminds me of that...

Nick looks pretty happy to have scored these treats...

And then he treated me to a hot chocolate- how's that for a fun afternoon?

Thanks Guys! That was so fun, I'm really looking forward to the big day!

Turkey & Sweet Potato Enchiladas

Gluten-free turkey and sweet potato enchiladas.

This Friday is just like any other out here in the New Mexico hinterland. There were big-eared rabbits eating breakfast (nibbling spare tufts of grass). A chickadee or two in the junipers. Pink light on the distant mesas. And as far as I know, no scary crush of shoppers at the Espanola Walmart. At least I haven't heard any sirens off in the distance. Truth be told I haven't budged from my casita (and I have no plans to). Nope. It's just another day here, call it what you want. Black Friday is quiet as an empty nest. So I thought I'd share a recipe for leftover turkey and sweet potatoes- a surprisingly tasty combo.

As always, make it as mild or as spicy as your little heart desires.

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