Hasselback Potato

I stumbled across a picture of a weird-cut potato recently.  It looked crispy, and golden, and yummy altogether, so I dug around some more and figured it out.  It's called the Hasselback Potato and it's cut almost all the way through, laced with garlic, drizzled with butter and evoo, and then dashed with salt and pepper, and baked.  The end result is a fun looking, crispy, and tender side dish that I was "wowed" by. 

Well I had some colorful fingerling potatoes and i decided to try this little trick out on them, modified of course.  :)  I sliced up each one as directed, put them in a dish and coated them with olive oil, and then used most of a packet of lipton soup mix to add some flavor.  I stirred them all up using my hands, put them in the dish, and then stuck them in the oven for about 45 minutes until they were done.  They turned out great, and are super fun and easy! 

Cut thin.

A bushel of em.

Coat with evoo and onion soup mix - or follow other recipe.

Bake and enjoy!

I will definitely be trying this out on baking potatoes soon, but really enjoyed the little fingerlings!

Self-Portrait

When I first entered the world of social networking and online dating, it was very important to me that I had a good profile picture.  A self-portrait.  An image of myself that I liked and thought accurately portrayed myself.  I would spend hours alone, trying to create the perfect image.  I would put myself in front of a 35mm (real film... gasp) and utilizing the self-timer, would push the button, run to the other side of the room, and pose.  I spent a small fortune of film, and a quick minute figuring it all out and perfecting the shot.  I would take cues from professional photographers that I saw on episodes of America's Next Top Model, and try to emulate their shooting technique - all the whole trying to be like a model.  I would think about angles, lighting, how my lips looked, my eyes, to smile or no, the background, clothing, etc. etc...
It was almost a hobby.
And before my digital day, I would do all of these shots within the confines of how many different poses and looks I could get onto a single roll of film.  There was one time where I even spent a good amount of time drawing on my face with eyeliner - drawing - tattoo like designs.  But then I didn't like it, so I washed it all off, and just did my makeup a little heavier than usual.  Then I slicked my hair back, used a skirt as a tube top, stood at an angle to the camera, parted my lips, and snapped.  To this day, I am proud of this picture.  It basically represents me at the very beginning of my digital age... to which I owe a bit of credit.

And what's even more is that now I am familiar with the digital stuff, I can alter things.  I can mess with lighting, shadows, highlights.  I can see a picture instantly.  And if I don't like it, I can take 7 more until I get to the one that is right.  And then, I can go back and reflect on the others, and delete the ones that I don't need anymore.  It's an amazing phenomenon really.

And getting back to the point of today's lesson, is the ability to take self-portrait.  
Some days it is hard to stare into a camera...  it almost hearkens to the belief that when a camera takes a picture, it takes some of your soul.  And that may be fairly accurate.  Photographs are images that are frozen in time - good or bad.  All of your particles, and any surrounding you, are captured and put into one frame as a snapshot of that very moment.  A self-portrait is meant to document that moment of your self.  And if you keep a log of those images, you can see a progression of yourself (of your soul) through time. 

Just to share a few...
Still looking for that first one.

I hope you had a good Tuesday, and that the rest of your week goes well!  :)

Window

We spent the majority of the day inside.  Aside from running a few errands, we had a meal and watched some movies.  It was raining, it was dark, and it was quiet.  It was lovely!  And by the time I got my camera out, the weather had started playing tricks.  It was really light outside but there were sirens going off, and warnings abounding.  We were pretty much oblivious.  It wasn't a bad thing. 

I like the difference in feeling between the two pictures above.  Outside, the light was so stark apparently compared to the darkness inside.  And if you shake the camera when it's taking a "night exposure" picture, it looks haunted.

That is all.  :)
I hope everyone had a nice Labor Day!

24-hr Synopsis

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Southern Fried Sideshow
Absolutely fantastic!  At The Five Spot in Little Five Points.  Great show!  Saw amazing things.  Dined at Front Page News before hand and loved it!  It's like NoLa in ATL.  :)  Had a drink.  Saw sword-swallowing, glass walking, and weight-supported-by-nose-swinging.  Perfect venue for it too! 

Outside of Venue

Glass-walking

Sword-swallowing

 

Sideways picture of wall mural...

Sleep
Dreamt about trying to get a tattoo.  Gary got mad at me because I didn't tell him I was going.  Kept getting tied up with other things, and had trouble getting upstairs to the parlor.  First tried climbing up this small tube tunnel.  Didn't work.  Second had to try to climb these silver rods - I apparently thought this would be easier than taking the stairs?.  Once I did finally get up, they were getting ready to close, and the guy didn't have time to fit me in.  (Details are fuzzy, but that's the gist.)

La Madeleine
Brunch with Madre.  Good to sit and chat!  Nice atmosphere, loved the food.  Makes me want to go back to France really bad. 

Shopping
Continuing our "France Day" by shopping!  We both found some great things!  Checked out the Borders at the Avenue.  Sad too see it's closing, but reaping the rewards of the liquidation.  Got some good books!  Continued to the mall, and then to Publix.

Crepe Revolution
Madre, Gary, and I.  Again, good food and keeping with the France theme.  Waiter was nice and chatted for a bit about Labor Day plans.  Smoked Salmon and Dill crepe was amazing!  Decided we will come back one day and look at these condos.  They are amazing!  It was be great to live in a place like this - will consider this for the future.  :)

Rain
It came back today!  Nice and overcast all day long, with a steady rain finally hitting before dusk.  Love it!

Source Code and Cupcakes
Really good movie - better than I expected!  I'd highly recommend it!  Desserted on cupcakes that I picked up from North Point (Yummy! Piece of Flour).  Very cute and "yummy"!

Computer Time
Time to catch up on facebook and pinterest.  Twas good to see some pictures from yesterday's event!

Sleep
Wonder what tonight's dreams will hold - they've been nice and vivid for the last few days... just need to get them written down so I can remember them.

I've had a great 24 hours!
(And we looked cute to boot!) 

Ridin'

So if we never had anything to save for in the past (yea right...), we now might have something to save for for the future!  Like way in the future - like after the kids have left, and we have retired, and need a new way to spend money in the future.  Maybe by then we could really do this!

We found ourselves at the Harley dealership up in Cartersville today.  The benefit ride for Cruise was happening, and after all of the bikers left, we took our time and made our way inside to look at all of the fun stuff.  And, of course, we couldn't help but check out the bikes.  And we found a few that we liked!  My favorite was of the tricycle variety.  It wasn't all decked out and super chunky looking, and had a vintage feel that I loved!  There's even a trunk on the back that would be great for carrying home groceries, going camping, or going cross country!  That would be such an experience, and that is the end goal now, I suppose!  :)

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The ride went well!  There was a good turnout and lots of fellowship among friends!
All of the goodies were raffled off, and some were traded, and in the end, everyone walked away with a smile!  It was a great time for a great cause!  Cruise and family, we are praying for you daily, and are sending love and good tidings your way!!

An Elephant

They were having a yard sale sort of thing at the VFW tonight. 
I love stuff like this!  Getting to look through random stuff, and finding some gems - awesome! 
I picked out an amber bottle, and an elephant.  I collect both, and think that they will make an excellent addition to the collection! 
The elephant is pretty unique.  If you look at it, you can tell that it was carved from a limb because it is done on a vertical, and not much wider in circumference than about 4 inches.  It stands nice and tall though, and is quite organic feeling.  And although the details are subtle, I love it!

Here are some shadow pics featuring said elephant.  And the last, showing it laying on it's side, gives a little more feel for the details.

Love to all!

Love is in the Air

While I was out watering the front flower bed, Gary came out and noticed this pair praying mantis' hanging from the front lantern.  They are just hanging there, with it's arms wrapped around the other, watching the worlld up-side-down, and swaying in the wind.

I think it's safe to say that "love is in the air".  :)
Or hanging from the sky at the very least.

The weird/ creepy part is when you would move, they would watch you... their heads following your motion, and their eyes aimed right at you.  I had the strangest feeling that they were going to leap off of the lantern, and go flying through the air, at which point they would land on me and attack!  Scary...  I was hesitant to get too close.  But glad that I got close enough..

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Happy September! 
This promises to be a very busy month, but a very very good month.
And with fall just around the corner, all of the fall festivals are going to be in full bloom, camping is going to be "in season", and family and friends will be bountiful! 
The benefit rise for Cruise is happening this Saturday.
Next weekend is the Yellow Daisy Festival!
Gary and I are celebrating our 3rd anniversary on the 13th! 
We are going to see "Wicked" on the 15th!
And there's even the potential for a camping weekend towards the end of the month.
I'm so excited, and super ready for the chill in the air.

Sleep well dears, and have a great Friday!