Kim

This is my wonderful friend and former roommate, Kim! Kim just finished grad school--wahoo! So we took a few shots for her to use for graduation announcements for friends and family. Congrats, Kim!

give

I realize I'm a few days weeks late in posting about the brand new year. But I figure the extra time really provided ample opportunity to reflect on 2011 and dream about 2012 without getting all wrapped up in everyone else's profound, reflective, and erudite blog posts. Everyone was writing and thinking about 2012 and resolutions and goals three weeks ago. And since the average New Year's resolution only lasts about 10 days, chances are no one is thinking about it anymore. Except me! Sometimes it pays to procrastinate...

Last year I wrote a blog series, "Love Yourself," (some which were dually published here), starting with this post on why. The year 2010 had not been great, and I was stricken with the idea that I was sabotaging my own happiness by not creating it. It had been my goal to write every month on a different way to love yourself, and while I may have totally blown the last several months of the year writing-wise, the idea was always there in the back of my mind. 

I am happy to report that, for the most part, it was a huge success! (Hurrah!) 2011 was not without its yucky moments, and I definitely made some repeat mistakes. What was different was my perspective. I refused to victimize myself, knowing that the choices I made were my sole responsibility. How I chose to respond to situations, whether I chose to do or not do something...it made all the difference. 

I took some risks, I said some goodbyes, and I embraced some changes. I got a new job. I moved and am living completely by myself for the first time. I could have, should have, done more. But overall, I'm very happy with the way my year of loving turned out.

And you know the great thing about love? The more have, the more you can give. In 2011 my focus was on me, and in 2012 it's going be on others.

For years my family has celebrated Christmas with a special tradition. Instead of making New Year's resolutions, we give a gift to God. One gift. We write them down on a piece of paper and wrap them up in Christmas wrappings. Each year we open them and reflect on how we did in fulfilling our gift, and then we make a new one. Or sometimes the same one, because sometimes it takes a long time to live up to a promise.

This year, my gift is to love on and encourage others in small ways--some specific, some not so much. It doesn't take much to brighten someone's day, to bring a smile to a face, to remind a friend that they are cared for and important.

So, here we are, 2012! Welcome...

p.s. If you would like to be the recipient of some encouragement this year, send your mailing address and/or email address to stephanie[at]stephaniegracephotography[dot]com!

merry...

I come bearing (a) gift...

The last couple months of 2011 have been a whirlwind of changes--hence my terrible abandonment of all things blogging. In October I accepted a new job offer in Orange County, so the last ten weeks have chock-full of wrapping up my old job, cleaning out the office, hosting my best friend for a week of San Diego fun, apartment hunting, finding someone to take over my San Diego lease, packing, cleaning, and moving, unpacking, working, and holiday-celebrating. Full on crazy! 

I'm still adjusting to the whole new life and schedule thing, but I've missed blogging and hope to be back on a regular schedule real soon.

Now, on to the gift part....

How about this little guy? This, my friends, is a Butterbeer Cupcake. That's right, a Butterbeer Cupcake! (Honk if you're a Harry Potter fan...) I made these over Thanksgiving weekend, mostly to appease my younger brother, who had been pestering me for months to make them ever since I announced my discovery of the recipe. 

We ended up taking them to Thanksgiving dinner at Grandma's house. And luckily, dinner and dessert were both over before my youngest brother "threw" the rest of the cupcakes onto the floor. Yeah...we still don't know how that happened. Anyway, you can find the recipe for these tasty treats here. They were very tasty. The frosting is a little sweet for my taste. I'm not a big frosting girl. But you could always replace with a cream cheese frosting for something with a little less sugar.

Whip up a batch and pop in your favorite Harry Potter flick to watch while you munch on the creamy, butterscotch-y goodness.

I know they can be poisonous and deadly...but they sure are beautiful.

childhood obsessions & photographic amphibians

As a kid, I went through a phase. A frog phase. I loved all things frogs and thought they were just the cutest thing ever! Maybe it stemmed earlier childhood years "collecting" frogs and toads with my friend Angela in the egress at my house. Maybe it's because my favorite color is green. All I know is when I saw the frogs at one of the small aquariums at Sea World I had definitely had the urge to whip out my camera. What can I say? I still think they're cute. :)

Inside the Tiffany's bag...

Last week I was in San Francisco for work. But who says you can't have a little fun on a work trip? I had been pondering a Tiffany's purchase for a little while now. So when I found myself in the two-story Tiffany & Co. store on Union Square with my colleague, I thought, "Why not?" After all, making your purchase in an actual store is waaaaay better than online. Plus, these will always be the earrings I bought at Tiffany's in San Francisco! They're my I'm-a-big-girl-now-and-don't-need-a-man-to-buy-me-nice-jewelry earrings. Although if there are any men out there reading this who would like to buy me some nice jewelry I probably wouldn't turn you down. Just sayin'...

Thank you, Tiffany's for my shiny new earrings and my pretty little blue box. 

Power Outage 2011::What I Did

During the power outage that swept San Diego County last week, my biggest worry was boredom. No TV...no Internet...My roommate was at her parents', so I had to bunker down by my lonesome. Luckily, I found plenty to do. 

I got out the candles. 

I ate Lemon and Almond Rice Pudding, pumpkin pie, and Fontina cheese for dinner (note the perishable refrigerated trend). 

I played solitaire. With real cards, not a computer.

I read by candlelight.

All in all, not a bad blackout. It was kinda nice to be forced to entertain myself. And go to bed early. :)

Lemon and Almond Rice Pudding

Warning. This rice pudding does not pretend to be anything other than what it is--creamy and delicious, decidedly NOT low-fat. At least it's honest.

This is a recipe from my Food Network fave, Giada De Laurentiis. You can find the original recipe here.

Here's what you'll need:
4 cups whole milk
1/2 cup Arborio rice or medium-grain white rice

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, seeds removed, pod reserved
• 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, from about 3 large lemons
• 1/4 cup amaretto liqueur
• 3 large lemons, zested
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
• 
  

I accidentally left Sugar out of the group photo. Oops.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Arrange the almonds in a single layer on a baking sheet.

Bake about 6 to 8 minutes, until lightly toasted. Let cool completely. 

To remove the seeds from the vanilla bean, slice thinly lengthwise from one end to the other. The vanilla bean was new for me. I've never actually cooked with one before. Here's my vanilla bean.

Kinda wrinkly and pathetic-looking, huh? If I hadn't seen the episode where Giada makes this rice pudding, I would have sliced open my vanilla bean and said, "Where the heck are the seeds?" Because vanilla bean seeds...well, they look like coffee grounds to me. Wouldn't you agree?

They sure smell good though!


In a heavy, medium saucepan, combine the milk, rice, sugar, vanilla seeds, vanilla pod, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. 

Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender, about 35 minutes. In a medium bowl, mix together the lemon juice, amaretto, and lemon zest. 

Slowly stir the lemon mixture into the rice mixture and cook for 10 minutes longer. Remove the vanilla pod and discard.

Stir in the whipping cream (mixture will still be runny but will thicken as it cools). 

Spoon the rice pudding into bowls--bonus points if they're cute and polka dotted! 

Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Sprinkle the chilled rice pudding with sliced almonds and serve.

It's delightful, lemony, and creamy! I have an urge to try making a coconut version next....