attitude of gratitude

there just are not words, good enough. descriptive enough. strong enough. to explain the unruling beauty that rolls on and on as far as you can see among the mountains in this state. as soon as we began our decline into jackson, i twisted and turned my upper body to my left. threw myslef across the seat. forehead pressed against the window. eyes wandering every which way. so i could get a peak out the "window seat". i was at loss for words. and this was before we even landed. so then we land. and we get going on our drive to where we are going. ughhh. could.not.believe it. it was spectacular. every view feels like a shooting star. as we drove on it began to snow. harder and harder. winding our way thru beautiful bendy roads. mountain lined. tree filled. rivers wrapping around, from side to side as we went forward on this journey of ours. finally. here i was. in winter wonderland. with my wonderman. and everything was perfect ( i kid you not ) the entire time. we were blessed with bright gorgeous days. easy safe travel.

and memories that i will treasure for. ev. er.

the air was fresh frosty+pure. i felt so lucky being there. an attitude of gratitude. another thing i felt. i felt warren. i felt him all around. i felt warmth+ease, going places he had been. seeing things he (so much) loved to see. being were he loved to be. a constant little grin ran across my face from the time coming up to the trip. the time we left. the time we had there. and the times i have now, remembering it. thinking about it. loving every aspect of it. it was fascinating. the people. the way of life. the larger than life views that make everything else seem so small. i wanted to know all about it. striked my curiousity and i suddenly found my self constantly wondering every locals "story". how they got here. what they do. why they stay. how they feel about living a life so secluded. in towns so unpopulated. where there are more mountain goats than people. (heres a little random nothing for ya -> snapple fact #81: alaska has more caribou than people.) im all over the place. back to wyoming. gods country. warrens heaven... something else i found very cool about the place- the architecture. the detail. the creativity and unique.ness of every building. the interior decor. the antler door handles.chandeliers.pantry handles.wine bottle holders. (and many other things i cant think of at the moment). the ax handle bar stools. weathered stone. copper accents.everything had such character of its own. alot it was unbelievable to me.

man o man. am so grateful for the experience + all.

(thank you boatloads everett)

incredible place, to say the least.

oh wyoming...

wyoming. you hold a special spot in my heart. you do.

oh hello.

good early morning.

you.re looking lovely today.

yes, you too.

ya take one down. pass it around. 99 bottles of beer on the wall.

there.you.are.

i watch with a little bit of fear here and there (wont lie).

wild man rides on. fearlessly. bravely. confidently. continuously amazing me.

it was crazy fun. and at certain times. i was happy to hop off and play onlooker ;) there are a ridiculous amount of photos from this trip (hence why its taken so long to get em' up here)

so this is just a tiny little taste to hold you over.

many more to come. i think ill have to do a slide show.

makes more sense for an album so... hmm? prodigious.

will get on that asap. thanks.sorry.andeverything inbetween.

back in a flash. (which in my world is like, two days to be truthful) yikes is right.

xo.kv

little continuation from previous post :: heart day related.

hope your valentines weekend was happy. mine was unforgettable. the best ever. and glad to say, that not a day in february (correct. the whole month.) passed where there was a shortage of sweets. after all.. that is what february is all about. and with easter candy right around the corner. sweet anticipation grows for my all time favorite and ever so heavenly mini eggs. mmm. mini egg fanatic i am. my mouths watering now just thinking about them. ive decided to drag the valentine "holiday"-if you will- out until the end of the month. if you cant be cheesey cutesey lovey pink fluffy & sparkly during valentines, when can ya? definately taking advantage here friendsicles.

a unique treat for those of you who like these nifty kinda things. chocolate bowls filled with love and scrumptious-ness, down to the very core. the process of creating them was nothing less than magical. surprising. and undoubtedly memorable. would you believe me if i told you it can be done in just 5 easy steps? its true.

:: 5 easy steps ::

melt chocolate.

blow up a small balloon.

dip the balloon in the chocolate.

set dipped balloon on tinfoil or waxpaper.

after 20 minutes, pop balloon.

and wa-la. cocoa bowl you got it.

ok. ok. ill explain with a litttttle more detail than that. but it doesnt take much.

point is. its simple. and wonderful. try it.

what youll need :

chocolate wafers ( they come in different colors for your choice )

balloons (small water bomb balloons work best )

a bowl. some wax paper or tin foil.

and a sharp item to pop your balloon.

thats it.

to prepare for this, you will want to have your balloons blown up and set aside. they will pick up dust.dirt.crumbs. whatever happens to be sharing surface space with them at the given time. so do yourself a favor, and wipe down your work area with a damp cloth before you get started. i have used tinfoil.wax paper. and one time even a large zipblock bag (deperate times call for desperate measures) in the past as my drying.setting sheet for the balloons that have just been dipped in the melted chocolate. they all worked fine for me. so have a sheet of tinfoil.waxpaper. set out aside. you are now ready for the shiny. sparkling. enchanted fun to begin. yes.

::directions::

in a deep yet small bowl, melt your chocolate wafers. i tend to use about half a bag of these, purchased from a.c moore. melt them for a minute and 30 seconds. give or take. take your bowl out, and place it down right beside your drying sheet, for less of a mess. take your balloon. one at a time. and holding the knoted end, dip the balloon (a little more than half of it) in the chocolate. Place balloon on drying sheet and hold it for 2 seconds while it sticks in place on surface. repeat with other balloons. wait about 20 minutes to be safe and sure that your chocolate has dried and hardened. you will notice the chocolate has gone from shiny.to.dull while drying. good sign. now heres where the magic plays in. POP your balloon once it is completely dry. pull lightly up on deflated balloon, while holding the chocolate mold. and there you have it! fill with treats. chocolate pretzel sticks. m&ms. ice cream. whipped cream. nothing. whatever you choose! sprinkle them down. glitz them up. enjoy the glorious cocoa bowls.

pretzels also made with that same kind of chocolate. melt your chocolate, dip pretzels in, and decorate. in the past, i have rolled them in oreo crumbs, shredded coconut, heath, candy cane, and sprinkles. personal favorite? definately the oreo rolled. to decorate them with chocolate drizzled over, or poka dots, or writing like the ones pictured above - i melt the chocolate. transfer it to a zip block bag. make a tiny little opening in one corner of the bag and use that as my decorating tool. it works fantastic.

much to tell

good afternoon thursday. youve been surprisingly delightful thus far.

theres a bitter.sweetness that came with your gloomy.rainy.darkness today & the constant damp chill included with that. youve created a greenhouse of good ideas and thoughts. am enjoying the feeling of getting snuggled up. toasty. kozy warm with leila bug. am enjoying this warm rich hot chocolate. am enjoying this starbucks java chip ice cream. (best stuff on earth). am really enjoying the humming silence right now in this still house. with nothing but the pleasing sound of raindrops. dead silence is too distracting for me. but this here now, this is blogging weather at its best.

much to tell. not really.

first and foremost. i have been slowly chipping at the iceberg, and preparing to prepare the whimsical wyoming post. lame i know. preparing to prepare. which unltimately means... just thinking alot about it, wondering when ill have the time to do it, and not getting it done. gunna get it done today. check. i will force my self to be a mouse potatoe. glue my hand right down to the thing until all editing.cropping.posting is final. i will be blog obsessed until it is complete. yikes. see heres where that blogworld intimidation plays in. time eating machine. which, actually. is ok with me. im happy to put all real chores aside while i post photos. type my mind. and write neat nothings.

ev.myself.ash.jon.

this weekend, mallory james plans to come + have fun tolland style. due to the unpredictable weather of the east coast, im not sure these plans are a definite. if she does come. she will bring sunshine with her, that i am sure of. in great company we will chat + laugh. the norm. just listening to her tell stories of her life, her craziness. its joy all on its own. she kinda makes you forget about your own ho.hum ordinary every day life, when you listen to her untamed tales of the wild. when we were walkinig along the streets in nyc talking a couple weekends back on my visit with her, she said something that has stuck with me. and i love it. and i feel the need to quote it. blog it. share it. its not just the quote itself, but the little picture i have in my head of mallory when she said it. we were walking. hands in pockets. mallory says " it should be illegal to be this happy" looking up with her eyes and smiling wide. it was hers. that euphoric feeling of being so happy. so high on life. like falling in love. the joyous jitters of overwhelming happiness. you almost feel crazy. kinda nuts. and all of that, it was hers. it was written all over her face. shes been waiting for that. she has desired that. and she got it.

greatly enjoyed seeing her in this state.

oh MAN. bummer. total bummer. word just came in. malpal will not be coming. well. hmph. the thought was entertaining. she is currently being burried in snow. in the city. must be pretty.

upcoming blogs :: (in order)

wyoming*

*v.day continuation

mallorys homey home*

*more of leila bug

this weekend i am going to try this new recipe for boneless buffalo chicken. right off the back of the bisquick box. who knew? let ya know how that tastes and if its worth trying.

seems simple, looks scrumptious. also going to try (re-try i should say.) these mint brownies. cupcake wine is delightful. and stands at the cheap price of 10 dollars. this has raised my love o meter for it even more. another 10 dollar treasure? manicures at soho nails in vernon. strawberry cream cheese is my new obsession. it is amazing.

off to edit.

xo.kv

my little leila.bug

upon my recent return from a wonderous trip out west, i found myself (once again) glued to this creeky old wooden chair beside my computer, sucked right back into blog world. i never initially do what i intended in blog world, because of course, one thing leads to another and before you know it, your digging thru old albums. revisiting places youve been. people youve meet. old memories. yatta yattta yatta. so. its no wonder, why i find it to be so overwhelming and time consuming. because i make it that way! ahh. well, today i came on here intending to upload pictures from our trip to wyoming, but instead - ended up in an album from the summer, of my leila bug. leila is my love, who i nanny for. she is great. shes bright.curious.caring. and has the most contageous chuckle.giggle.outburst of laughs one will ever hear. and i miss her. i will see her soon though and i cant wait for that big squeeze ill get from her :) i love when we're driving places, and i look back at her in her car seat all strapped in. she has this little look of thought, when she stares out the window just looking out, kind of bobbing her head around in happiness with a gigantic grin ear to ear and her squishy cheeks pushed up high. and she just looks so joyful and content. i shouldnt interrupt these moments but i cant help but start to laugh and smile myself and tell her "you are SO CUTE. or. i LOVE you. or. what are you doing back there you little stinker" and i wonder what thoughts she is thinking in her (2 yr old) mind that are radiating bliss from the inside out. ill never know. but its fun to think about. and is part of what makes that moment so unique + special. i love those.

being so expressive and adorable, she is (hands down) my favorite subject to shoot. shes natural. + .pure. and the combination of those squeeze.me.cheeks + long thick hair... its love to my lens. her smile takes me to another plant. and while i look at these, i hear her laugh. and it is so.good.

and then i look at the rich green grass. and fluffy.lively. trees in these photos.. and i begin to think about summer. and i begin to miss summer... badly. so then i open more summer albums, and stay stuck in blog world for longer periods of time.(im not complaining. really. its a love hate thing) stay tuned. im sure ill have more up very soon, in between runs to the laundry room to address the mountains of clothes that need to be washed.folded.putaway. yikes. unpacking is awful.

xo.kv

click for full size slide

next stop...wonderland

in just one short day...

not even actually. very early tomorrow morning...

i leave.

on an adventure of a lifetime.

to wonderland.

(or something quite like it i imagine.)

with my wonderman.

(everett)

whoops.

sorry to put you on the spot darlin

buuut...

you do deserve some serious recognition

for being the worlds bestest treasure.

you're a gem. its true.

yikes. im in troub.ulll.

sometimes ( and by sometimes i mean often),

i get so excited. and feel so lucky. and happy. and fortunate.

i want to stand a top a mountain and yell it out loud.

im serious.and weird. [ i know ]

being normal is overrated.

my anticipation for this trip has been building.building.&.building.

for some time now. (or so it seems)

i see nature as opportunity.and.inspiration. simply being outdoors brings me peace. the woods.the ocean.rivers.mountains.my backyard.swinging with leila at the park. you can find it anywhere too.and no one spot is exactly the same. my clearest deepest and best thoughts come to me when im outside. in the zone. thinking. filling myself with fresh air and ideas. my mind sort of relaxes and everything in that moment seems to be perfect. and thats when become inwardly peaceful and think of all the things i am blessed to have in my life, which of course then makes me smile, whiiiich ultimately makes the outdoors my "happy.place". (which also (kinda.sorta) might explain why my answer to "what do you want to do?", is always "lets go on an adventure") because adventures are (in my opinion) always outdoors. right? yeah i think. so to be going out to wyoming, on so many outdoor adventures seeing things ive never seen, going places i havent gone. its going to be undoubtedly epic. i am extremely grateful, in more ways than one. something i (very much so) enjoy about traveling, is seeing the different lifestyles from place to place. the different ways of living. style of homes. landscape. slang. everything.the people. the food. mmm. its like jumping into a diorama for a week.

a whole different world, a different life.

and lucky me, i get to play observer!

observer with a fabulous new camera that is ;)

i will document my adventure as much as i am possibly able.

and gladly share with you my friends.

until then, see you next time.

xo.kv

i was flipping through some old photos. and for some reason or another, i stopped at this picture. (this one was taken in arizona a couple years back while i was there.) i couldnt tell you why. but it caught my eye and immediately after opening it, the words in my mind that went with the photo were.... "ohhh. i love you to the moon and back." so i started playing with my new editing program and branded the photo with that quote. ( which i saw the other day at target, on this cute painted wood sign in the decor section- and that too, caught my attention.) i love that little saying. it'd be an adorable touch in a babies/kids room. i dont know why i even think these things? anywho. for those of you who would like to check that out, and/or purchase...

click right about here.

a couple other shots from my travels in arizona. . .

i could never live there.

too much dirt.sand.flatness. not enough green.

but the skies did glow vividly at sunset.

landscape lacking in natural beauty + color? yes.

sunsets lacking in natural beauty + color? not a bit.

im just not a desert loving gal i guess.

but i did enjoy the experience. and i did find myself intrigued

with the fact that people live there. grow up there. go to school there. mostly just because it is so different from our landscape here on the eastcoast i think.

hey there sugar

well with another loving.giving.holiday just around the corner, it comes as no surprise to me that i am in a complete chocolate.sweet-treat.candy.cookie (anything sugary) state of mind. arent we all? i mean, not that i have any more of a sweet tooth than usual. but. because its valentines day, i not only want to devour the sweets, but create them as well. it puts a little fun into the "holiday" i suppose. being a nanny and all, it is my job to encourage the imaginations of my little critters, and spark up some creativity whether it be in the kitchen or craft room. i constantly find myself thinking of what neat little thing to do next with the kids. crafts were a huge part of my upbringing. i luckily have a nifty mother who thought of all things crafty and mind stimulating while raising us kiddos. kudos mother. it brings the fairytale.fantasy to life in a young ones imagination world. playing with color. squishing dough between fingers. stirring up ingredients. cutting out shapes. i love it all. alright. where was i going with this you wonder? right. back to that. well, ill be posting some photos of our valentine creations. edible playable pink and red fun. maybe some tasty recipes. treats. ideas. who knows... stay tuned for more v.day play. we'll start with your basic.everyday.oh so good. sugar cookies and cupcakes.

for anyone and everyone who has kids. i urge you to take a trip to a.c moore in manchester. ( right in that little plaza with babies r us and bed bath beyond, etc.) such a great store for crafts and baking/decorating supplies. one thing i love- if craft time is intimidating for you non-creative mothers.fathers.babysitters.aunts.uncles.whomever. - you have no excuse here. you can find little sets that come with everything you need and instructions for an easy.to.do project. for example, around halloween they had a haunted house brownie set that came with the brownie mix, 3 icing colors, candy ghosts,spiders, gummy cats, gumdrops, and sprinkles for decorating. another example: they have these tiny make your own finger puppets that come with everything you need to glue together an animal friend finger puppet AND did i mention, there about a dollar each? you cant walk in there and not find something that you can do whether your martha stewart. betty crocker. or susie q next door. everyone can find something. they are also very festive to any holiday on the calendar. it is my go to store if i dont know what to do for the day with the little ones. in the photo above, you will see one of our latest finds at a.c moore. a pink (chinese-rice) box. correct me if im wrong. i honestly have no idea what the true name is for it. so- we got that for 99 cents. and then some candy hearts for 50 cents. glued them on. ate some. and enjoyed it all the while. sometimes its not the great.ness of the craft your creating, but the quality of the time spent with the ones you create it with, that you cant put a price on. i say this because with that exact craft im speaking of- it is so simple. and leila was just precious when we were making it. talking and singing away. glancing up at me between moments of gluing the hearts on the box, smiling and saying ( with her cute little eye brows raised) "kiki, can i eat?" so, again. i urge you to set all electronics aside, and spend some time creating something.anything. even if its just sitting and scribbling and talking with your young ones. its time you will treasure. i sure do.

just a few add ons,

since ive been missing from the blogspot

durring the v.day week and all...

try these xoxo + heart hot cakes

pour slowly. i found that making the pancake mix

on the thicker side works best.

xo.kv

some kind of wonderful

im rolling in to grand central and mallory awaits with her 2 carry-ons and trendy new coat that isnt the least bit warm, but adorable none the less. (we're girls, hello.) "what are you wearing?!" were the last words texted before entering that sketchy dark part of the train station where you lose all cell phone service. the second i had service & stepped out into the main area of grand central i hear her laugh & look up smiling at her. we both run. i love that feeling when your going to look for someone you havent seen in a while, in a busy crowded place. you look around, through all these people and then boom. there they are. instantly everyone else and everything else becomes blurry. except for that one person you finally found and locked eyes on. and then of course you run to eachother like they do in corny movies. true. its such a neat feeling. some kind of wonderful, indeed. through out dinner, mallory and i kept looking at eachother, and we'd just giggle. take a bite of our delicious dinner. say a few things. look up. and laugh. "is this REAL, is this really my life right now?" yes. it was real. and it was great to say the least. here she is. still lovely. still courageous and confident. still my best friend. i present to you with great honor...

mallory james!