leigh dameron

a summer swap

 

La porte rouge organized a fun summer swap and I was thrilled to engage! The swap is intended to meet someone new, to brighten someone's day and to share something lovely with a perfect stranger. Once I discovered who I was to share with I fell in love with her eye and her creativity. But...she is top-secret and I will reveal once she has received her package full of summer goodies.

I included some organic (colorful!) tea-towels, my favorite chocolate, a CD of summer songs, post cards from favorite places and some seeds perfect for my secret-summer-swapper's abode. This was so much fun that is makes me want to put little packages together for those I love...as a surprise and a little gesture to let them know how much they mean to me. I am a week over the deadline with this swap but I have good intentions... 

out of focus

Hi again. I've been feeling rather out of focus when it comes to blogging. A Photo Project is great fun for me, although much more work than I imagined and I fear I am falling sorely behind. This post by the Shutter Sisters seemed appropriate for the place I find myself right now.

I've been lucky enough to shoot two weddings (with the lovely Maria & Drew) and one engagement session in the last few months. It was great fun and I can't wait to share the moments of each beautiful day with you.

Happy week!

A Photo Project

Well friends...I have been dreaming up something new and finally have it launched...

 

A Photo Project is my attempt at maintaining a fresh perspective and continuing to grow. Although I have loved blogging, I have been unclear as to the direction I wanted this blog to go. I knew I wanted to continuing taking photos and keeping a creative outlet. This project feels like the perfect fit. I hope you enjoy by visiting this new site. Thank you for reading!

Love Our Planet

 

I heart our planet and am wishing you all a Happy Earth Day!

I have missed being a part of the blog space but my silence is in preparation of something new...I will be launching a new project and a new space on May 1st...I hope you'll follow along.

Until then...

Check out:

Hygge House's terrific Earth Day post and then review her list of green cleaning agents

Geninne's Art Blog and her beautiful home (I am smitten)

The trailer for "Earth" which I am so excited to see. A tree will be planted for each ticket bought this week. I'm buying two!

High Hopes

Hi friends. I have been taking a break from this blog for many reasons. The break will continue awhile longer but I will be back with a brand new site; a fresh look and a new focus. I have high hopes for what will become in just a few more weeks.

In the meantime I have photos to share...on Flickr...

...and we recently returned from an adventurous trip to Guatemala where we traveled around with great friends...

best wishes for now...

leigh

Happy Birthday You!

Happy Birthday to my husband...this year represented many wonderful things and I am glad we shared them together. Here is to a lifetime of birthdays; good-bye to 28 and hello to the next. I love you.

Back!

 Tikal, Guatemala. Lots of stories to tell and photos to edit. A wonderful trip.  

Something Warm

We tucked in this weekend as we anticipated our first real snow storm of the year. We ran our errands early in the morning and put a hot-pot of chili on the stove to munch on throughout the day. Sometimes there is nothing more blissful than doing...nothing. In addition to making a pot of chili I cooked my favorite quinoa dish so I would have an easy lunch at my disposal all week. I thought I'd share the recipe with you to tide you over for the next week and a half.

I am taking a bit of a blogging break as I dig myself out from under the mountain of work I have to do before we depart on a mini-vacation this Friday. We will be headed south to meet friends in Guatemala for a few days. I'll be back to the blog in two weeks with many photos and stories to share.

Until then....enjoy!

Quinoa and Beans  (from this recipe)

This is my favorite way to make quinoa but each time it is a bit different. It is a wonderful lunch or light dinner. I always have it with a side of blue-corn tortilla chips...but that's because I'm a tortilla chip junkie.

Add a tablespoon or so of olive oil to a heavy pot

Add one onion and one red pepper, chopped

After 2 minutes add one minced chili in adobo and approximately 1 tsp. of the adobo sauce (these can be spicy but I love them!)

Once the onion and pepper are cooked and soft add one cup of rinsed and drained quinoa. (I find rinsing and draining the quinoa impossible because the grains are so tiny. I would love to hear how you complete this step, please!).

Stir in 2 TBS of chili powder, approximately 1 TBS of cumin and a bit of salt

Add 1.5 Cups of Water and bring to a boil. Once boiling reduce heat to medium low and cook for about 14 minutes. Sometimes at minute 10 I add a chopped sweet potato, too. Mmmm...

After 14 minutes add a can of (rinsed!) beans and a handful of chopped cilantro. I usually add black beans but kidney beans work just as well.

Cook uncovered until the rest of the water is absorbed.

At time of consumption I sometimes add feta cheese or whatever is in the house. Today I added a tiny dollop of sour cream and that was great, too. Enjoy and be well!

dark & moody

Mooooo

 I actually really love cows. We grew up with one cow living our our field...Betsy. Betsy gave birth to "Sylvester-Fred-Flinstone" and these two black cows would follow us around and often try to lick us, which was totally gross. But we loved them anyway. Then my Dad brought home Norman, who was actually a girl, and we loved her too. We have a funny story about Norman disappearing, too, but I'll save that for a later day. 

On a different note, my great friend sent me a surprise package this weekend with a CD full of beautiful songs, all new to me. Surprise packages are absolutely the best. I was listening to it this morning and so touched by her generosity and her ability to expose me to new things; things that I love instantly. 

Here is an old song that I was thinking about this morning. It's a beauty. Enjoy.