ONA Chelsea Bag

I have a handbag weakness.  I know this.  Even in my New Year's purge and move to more minimalism, I still love my handbags.  I've purged a crazy amount of things in the new year including clothing and shoes, but my sweet bags sit on their protected shelf in the closet.  

And this beauty?  Well she serves double duty as a camera bag.  Get out of here right?  I still get e-mails about bags in my original camera bag post, and yes, I still love my Flipside.  It's just the right size to carry all the lenses and accessories I want when I travel and it fits perfectly  under the seat in front of you when flying.  It's also the only choice for hiking.  But sometimes a girl just wants a classic bag to match her riding boots...of course.  

The first time I saw an ONA camera bag it was obsession at first site.  Unfortunately for me, I saw their Venice bag just as it was being discontinued and I couldn't find it in a color I wanted.  This bag is evidence that good things come to those who wait.  

Look at the leather grain and hatch pattern on this girl.  What especially drew me to ONA was that their bags actually are real, quality, yummy, scrummy leather.  While there are tons of ultra cute camera bags out there now, I've seen very few that are real leather.  Yes, the faux stuff is lighter and probably more waterproof, but the leather is yummier for sure.  While I generally tend to be drawn to camera bags with pockets on the outside, I love the clean classic lines of this bag.  The back of the bag has one zipper pocket for holding your cell phone and some lip gloss. 

The Chelsea bag is a pretty good size for traipsing about town with your DSLR....as you can see I can fit quite a bit in mine: One body, one extra lens, remote, extra battery and CF cards, hand cream, wet wipes, snacks/mints, compact, lip goodies, wallet, sunnies and of course my phone and my little Kindle.

Yes, I do still love my Black Rapid too.  I use the full strap when I'm out of the house and use this little wrist strap in the house just for peace of mind...Black Rapid's carabiners makes switching them out easy peasy.

It fits perfectly and the padding in this is ridiculously thick and protective.  The cross dividers have velcro like most camera bags so you can customize the slots for all of your lenses or your wallet. 

Of course, the question all camera bags must answer for Canon girls is whether the bag holds the 70-200.  I threw in the iPad as well because that's probably the next question. 

The Chelsea bag will hold both of these--there's a divided section made for a tablet.  Mine gets a little thick here because I have a quick release plate mounted to the bottom of my camera and I have a bigger case on my iPad.  If you have a thin iPad case and  no quick plate, this bag zips right up.  The one thing this bag won't do is make carrying your iPad and the 70-200 light as a feather.  I don't often carry either of these two things around which is a good thing because loaded up with these items makes this bag crazy heavy even if you attach the long shoulder strap that's also provided.  The little bitty straps kind of scare me with that much weight.  

I know I fall in love with a lot of  bags but this one's stayed front and center since I bought it last summer.  The Chelsea just screams quality craftsmanship.  My only buyer's remorse have been moments when I wondered if I should have purchased the black Chelsea instead.  Or the Brooklyn---love the Brooklyn bag too.    I can't even look at ONA's site anymore because of the temptation.  

Speaking of Brooklyn, I took a little one out to enjoy the new super powdery snow a couple of weekends ago.  Puppies playing in snow pictures never get old. :)

No Knead Cast Iron Sourdough Bread...French Toast

This is a little bit about a french toast recipe, but more about what to do with all of that leftover no-knead cast iron bread you'll probably be making after the weather slowly moves from hot cruel summer to cool cozy fall.   Yes?  Yes. 

Hopefully you've had a chance to make some of the basic no frills no-knead bread..there's nothing like pulling a loaf of freshly made artisan type bread out of the oven, and it's even better if it only took a few minutes to throw together.  If you have made it though, you know that this is usually "same day only" bread.  No preservatives means this bread is awesome the day it's baked and quickly (too quickly) loses it's charm as time progresses.  You can make some pretty great croutons and bread crumbs with a day old loaf, but my favorite use is french toast.  Of course. 

First the bread of course, and since I can't post the same recipe repeatedly, I tried a sourdough version this time.  

My starter is about 3 months only and only gets better over time.  I poked some holes through a plastic cap, and store my starter in the fridge. Every couple of weeks I dump the starter into a clean quart sized mason jar because the dried crusty starter towards the top of the jar starts to bug me.  Keep feeding this and the starter will become your friend for use in bread, muffins and ... yum ... pancakes! 

This is a perfect weekend recipe in my mind because if you make the dough Friday night before bed, you can have fresh bread on Saturday (I used to give in and buy that $7 artisan loaf every week at the farmer's market) and then have leftover bread for french toast for Sunday brunch.  

French toast...does it need a recipe? I use 2 eggs, 1 cup of milk, 1 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp vanilla  whisked together (I don't soak the bread for long but if you do, you'll need much more egg/milk mixture), dip the sliced bread, and add to med-high griddle.  Cook until golden and flip--about 3-4 minutes per side.  Top with maple syrup or freshly made blueberry syrup. 

And it goes without saying that this is best served with a nice latte.  Have you tried a Nespresso sample at your local Williams Sonoma or Crate and Barrel?  One latte and I was absolutely sold and this machine came home with me two years ago.  I love him.  Madly, deeply and truly.  

The associate at C&B talked me into the Citiz version with the attached milk frothing unit.  I'd originally wanted the decoupled version so I could store the milk frother in the cupboard but she showed me how the frother shelf could also be used to store espresso cups and the pods in a cute little apothecary jar... oooohhhhh..... so cute....

When it comes to my java though, cute is not going to cut it.  This machine makes a pretty good espresso (said the girl who drank 10-12 a day in Italy). It's not as good as the $2000 espresso maker Williams Sonoma tried to sell me (yeah, nice try) and it's better than a stove top moka pot.  The pods make it as quick and mess free to make a latte as it is to make a cup of Keurig coffee and the pods are similarly priced if you use one pod.  I like my lattes strong so use 2-3 pods depending upon cup size-- 1 pod makes one espresso shot.  The biggest bummer is the exclusivity of the Nespresso pod system...unless you are near a Nespresso store, you have to buy them from Nespresso online.  You definitely have to watch your stash and plan ahead because if you run out, well you are waiting for delivery.  They are little painful on the wallet when you are ordering 200 at a time but I just consider it an investment in my sanity.  Much cheaper than therapy.

Seriously good stuff comes out of this machine.  I like the espresso as much as the lattes--look at the crema on this beauty!  If you love your java and don't mind a little investment for it, this thing is awesome.  Can you tell I love it?

No Knead Cast Iron Sourdough Bread

Sourdough Starter

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 packet or 2 1/4 teaspoons of active-dry yeast
2 cups warm water

1. Mix the flour, sugar, and yeast together in a clean and sterile container (use only glass, glazed ceramic or crockery to hold your starter. No metal or plastic) that can hold two quarts. Gradually stir in the water and mix until it forms a thick paste (don't worry about any lumps, as they will disappear).
2. Cover the container with a dish cloth and let it sit in a warm counter. The dish cloth will let wild yeasts pass through into the batter. The mixture should bubble as it ferments (this will foam up quite a bit). 
3. Let it sit at room temperature for 2 to 5 days, stirring it once a day with a wooden spoon. The starter is ready when it develops a pleasant sour smell and looks bubbly.
4. Once your starter starts bubbling, then start feeding it daily with flour and water according to the directions below. Then stir it, cover loosely and allow a little breathing (can use plastic wrap with a hole punched in) and store it on your counter top or in the refrigerator.  Never store in an airtight container. 
5. If stored on the counter, you'll need to feed it every 1-2 days which is great if you use it often.  If stored in the fridge you'll want to either use some once every 2 weeks, or dump some out and feed. 

To Feed:

Remove approximately 3/4 to 1 cup of starter (use this starter in a baked item or throw it away). Replace it with same amount (3/4 to 1 cup) of warm water plus(3/4 to 1 cup) flour.  Stir with wooden spoon and store

No Knead Sourdough Bread

Ingredients
1 cup sourdough starter at room temp
3 1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons sea salt

1 cup water

1/2 tsp yeast (not always needed with sourdough starter, but I still like to add a bit)

Instructions

1. Pour sourdough starter into a bowl with flour, salt, yeast and water. Mix with wooden spoon until combined. 
2. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 12-16 hours or overnight.
3. Heat oven to 450 degrees. When the oven has reached 450 degrees place a cast iron pot with a lid in the oven and heat the pot for 25 minutes. 
4. While the oven and pan is preheating, dump dough onto a heavily floured surface and shape into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest until pan is ready.
5. Remove hot pan from the oven and carefully drop dough into ungreased pan. 
6. Cover and return to oven for 30 minutes. 
7. After 30 minutes remove the lid and bake an additional 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. 
8. Remove bread from oven and place on a cooling rack.  Let cool before slicing

Road Trip Goodies and Covered Bridges of Madison County

I love a good road trip.  Really.   There's nothing like zoning out, listening to a good book and watching the country fly right by you.  Having grown up making the drive between Denver and Iowa many, many, many times, I'm a little partial to the rolling cornfields and barns of America's heartland.  The big sky, gentle hills and wind blowing through the fields makes me feel like maybe there is tranquility and peace amidst the craziness of daily life.  And since my 4th of July road trip took me right across I-80 and within 30 miles of the bridges of Madison County, it was a no-brainer to make a bit of a detour.  

First things first.  Driving across I-80 requires some goodies.  Not this many really, but I have a thing about going overboard when it comes to planning and preparedness.  Heaven forbid all the gas stations are closed and there are no snacks to be found.  I don't have a plan for how to get gas in that scenario, but I have food.  Yes I do. 

Road trips are just a huge temptation for me and my love affair with any salty fried foods (read french fries and potato chips).  Being prepared with some healthy alternatives that you really, really love, helps.  The key words there are really, really love.  Pack up a healthy snack that you are just "eh" about and how do you resist the siren song of the french fry?  (I didn't really but with only one order each way, I call it a success)  If I'd packed apples, I'd probably have eaten 3 orders of fries each way...tru nuf.

Instead, we have a caprese salad.  Throw some tomatoes, mozzarella, basil and dressing on a toothpick and you have car friendly salad that can be eaten while driving, shifting, changing lanes and changing songs.  Fantastic.

Next up are some turkey, hummus and cuke stacks.  I seriously love these little guys and am perfectly happy snacking on their yumminess.  Make these the day of or the cukes get all watery and ick. 

Other goodies to throw in the bag or cooler: more turkey, pumpkin seeds and dried fruit.  I went through an obsessive cantaloupe dehydrating and homemade fruit leather phase so was well prepared.  Purchased fruit leather is also pretty fantastic. 

Jerky and trail mix are kind of road trip staples aren't they? You can buy premade trail mix of course but I find that the premade ones fail to understand the most important aspect of trail mix: perfect sweet and salty balance. The key to me is using dry roasted salted peanuts and dark chocolate M&Ms.  Buying a bag of M&Ms, a box of raisins and a jar of dry roasted nuts is as easy as buying the premade mix and you have complete control over ratios.  

After my traumatic experience with no Starbucks and only gas station coffee on one road trip(visible shudder here), I always carry VIA with me just in case(Worst case scenario, you can buy some hot water that is used for tea.  Some gas stations will give it for free).

And what car trip is complete without Lara Bars, food of the heavens?  I actually keep some in the car but a few extra bars never hurt.  My favs are the PB&J and the PB and chocolate chip--YUM.  I didn't get it in the photo, but right before the trip I threw in some of those small Natural JIF To Go PB packs too...just in case there's a PB shortage somewhere. Other ideas for goodies: granola bars, cheese cubes and crackers(Carr's Whole Wheat crackers are crazy yummy even plain), and fruit.  Berries are the most perfectly sized portable fruit IMO.

And Izze.  Don't forget those little guys...only slightly better than a Coke Zero but they do stave off the cravings when all you want is something bubbly, which for me is waaaaay too often.

Don't forget the four-legged piglets in your car.  I give Zukes a good portion of my paycheck each month--I like that they are not total junk like the mainstream brands and that they are made in Colorado.    Brooklyn loves each and every variety of their snacks and supplements so it was a given to pack some in the front with us.  And cheese.  Yes, pups LOVE string cheese and we buy it bulk for spoiled rotten puppies.

With all these snacks packed perfectly into a tote with a couple of books on CD...12 hours pass more quickly than you can imagine and you feel a lot better arriving at your destination than if you'd stopped for fast food, candy bars and chips along the way.  

PS--I love Land's End monogrammable totes.  Yes I do.  That's another post altogether. 

This sweet little bridge is Hogback Bridge in Winterset, IA.  When I read the book The Bridges of Madison County, I envisioned the bridges to be north of I-80, or northern IA country.  The bridges are south of I-80.   Geographical changes like these (to what's in my mind) really throw me.  It took me awhile to get over the fact that the bridges were in southern IA and not northern IA like I'd imagined.  When I visited Mt. Rushmore years ago, I fixated for a week on the fact that the presidents' faces look east when my entire life I'd envisioned them peering due south.  Yes, total dork alert.

This is Roseman Bridge.  It's a lovely little jaunt down gravel farm roads (love those).  I wish we'd been able to visit some other time than high noon but alas, it was bright and super sunny.  Sun flare was inevitable.

The bridges were covered to protect against weather and keep horses from looking over and being spooked.  I eavesdropped on an actual tour. :)

Puppies are more fixated on the cooling rivers under the bridges than the bridges themselves. 

Camping Food: Chicken Fajitas

This is a post about chicken fajitas.  But it's also a post about a girl and her footwear needs.  Can you see the awesomeness in this photo?  Besides the awesomeness that is my friend Ash of course. 

Pink.  Pop.  Hunter. 

I've been drooling over Hunter boots for ages.  I live in a city that gets more annual hours of sunshine than San Diego or Miami.  You may not think immediately "sunny" when you think of Denver but we almost never get those awesome dreary cloudy days--this is definitely a "you'll go blind if you don't have sunglasses" kind of place.  When we do have a bit of rain, I turn on my fireplace, make some tea and do a little "it's dark and gloomy outside" dance.  A little bit dramatic.  

So in a state that is bursting into forest fires because of the dryness, you can see how a fun pair of Hunter boots are probably not the most practical...unless you think of camping.  Yes, I was mocked by my coworkers when I told them one of our reps were able to find these "pink camping boots" in one of our Connecticut stores.  I was mocked even more when I changed their name from "camping boots" to "snake repelling boots."   Then I was mocked yet again when I insisted I really was going camping.  That's what happens when you are not perceived as being so outdoorsy--people don't take you and your pink camping boots seriously.

But who had the last laugh?

Yep, ATV gets stuck in snow and mud and you step right off and sink immediately into deep thick mud.   Huh, mud?  No worries, I'm wearing my ultra rugged mud-deflecting pink boots.  Want to clean them? Walk right into a mountain stream. They are surprisingly super comfortable since they are bendy and hey if they are good enough for the queen (of England, not America), then they are good enough for me.   Hunter boots are ESSENTIAL camping gear says me.  If I could pull off wearing them like Angeline Jolie wore them in Mr & Mrs Smith, I'd wear them that way too. 

There's also a fantastic aqua color and a yummy looking tangerine color.  If I lived in Seattle, I might  have an entire Hunter centric wardrobe.  

BTW, these boots paired with a nice pair of toasty socks keep your feet pretty warm.  Nice perk for when you wake up in the high country and see icicles hanging and water bowls frozen over.  We even got a little snow.  Gotta love those mountains. 

Teeny tiny bit chilly. 

So the fajitas.  Not really a recipe because I have a confession.  I didn't have any fajita seasoning made so I used a packet of seasoning.  Mmmm-hmmmm. As fun as camping can be, it's a lot of work to get ready, especially when you don't get home until 7:00 to prep.  I tried the Simply Organic brand of seasoning mix and it was pretty darned tasty and super fast.  

To make it for camping start at least 2 nights before you are going camping so you have one night to let marinate, and one night to freeze.  Slice 1 lb chicken into strips (I bought Redbird Farms pre-sliced chicken-love that they sell it that way) and throw it into a ziploc with  the packet of seasoning  and required amount of water.  Let marinate overnight and then move to freezer.  The night before you leave, slice 1 large red bell pepper, 1 large green bell and one medium onion into slices and place in another ziploc.  When you leave for camping, pack items in cooler--frozen chicken helps keep the cooler cool and is perfectly defrosted for the second night. 

Throw chicken on grill.  Spray a large sheet of foil with oil, add veggies to half, fold foil in half and then fold edges to make a packet.   Cook in campfire until cooked but still a bit crisp.  If you don't have a grill, you can toss the chicken in with the veggies, halve the mixture and cook them each half in a foil packet. 

Top a tortilla with chicken, pepper and onions and serve with sour cream, salsa and hot sauce. 

Red and Aqua

You know how color combinations have a spike in popularity before fading?  Remember peach and green?  Peach and grey?  Burgandy and hunter green?  Brown and pink?  Orange and Blue?  Okay, maybe only the Denver fans love that combo but I say it's one of the best out there.  That is a forever kind of color combo love though.  My favorite color combo of the moment is aqua and red.  A little trendy, a little chic and a little Dr. Seuss all rolled into one.  It's probably the type of color combo you tire of quickly, but I have to say,  I'm a little obsessed right now. 

Instead of a long verbose post, I leave a little color inspiration that has been accumulating in my Picasa folders for quite awhile now.  I'm still procrastinating on reading the 7D book now you see.

I had red yarn.  I had this almost aqua yarn.  Last year I wouldn't have dreamed of combining them. Now I can't think of separating them.

I tried a wispy flower pattern.  I tried a ripple pattern, and in the end, I settled on the african flower pattern.

Will I really finish it?  Yep, right after my quilt I'm sure....sometime around 2021.  Maybe a pillow would be more reasonable.

One of my favorite Tanya Whelan fabrics.  I love it with the gingham. I do believe everything goes perfectly with gingham though.

When I don't know what to sew but I want a finished product in an hour, I sew an apron.  It's perfectly reasonable to have 9 aprons hanging in your kitchen.  I'm sure.