scenes from a life...

wembley at the union

tula mirth + pals

two artists and a bike romance

this weekend is a big one as far as music festivals go in little ol'raleigh with several awesome acts including fellow slow lifer tracy's band, wembley.  it is also a big weekend because tula mirth, at age five, is loving this kind of stuff far more than she once did.  i watched amazed as my daughter befriended an artist who was painting in the front row of the ben sollee show and actually ended up working on the painting alongside him.  she later made some new friends and convinced them to lift her onto a brick wall to dance with them to the rosebuds.  ha!  i have so much love for that girl of mine who is truly a surprise.

happy rest of weekend!

do you ever get tired of...

tweeting, liking, texting, blogging, tagging, emailing?  

the social remedy by farnell

 yes, me too.  and that is why i just might buy this awesome print.

my daughter, the muse

tula mirth, age 5

i take a lot of photos of strangers and really have always preferred photographing people i don't know but my daughter has kind of changed all that.  i can't just take a "snapshot" of her making some childhood milestone.  i like to approach recording her life with the same thought that i would put into any documentary project.  there she is growing, learning and being imaginative...and i am just so amazed.

nashville's imogene + willie

i just got back from a quick weekend trip to nashville, tn to visit one of my oldest, bestest friends holly. saturday, we had an amazing and cheap brunch at mas tacos in east nashville. we piddled around town the rest of the day, looking at vintage clothes and furniture.  no, i did not buy any cowboy boots.
i finally got to see imogene and willie in person after hearing about their hand-made selvage jeans for so long. i wasn't really looking for a new pair, but seeing their shop was worth the stop. check out this video...

a few styles...
hazel stretch

maggie sailor short

clyde

vegan lemon cupcakes!

vegan lemon cupcakes 

1½ cups (6.6 oz.) unbleached all-purpose flour*

1 cup (7 oz.) sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

1 lemon

½ cup orange juice

cold water

6 TB canola oil

1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. lemon extract

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees. place paper cupcake liners in 12-cup muffin pan. set aside.

2. mix dry ingredients in mixing bowl. make sure they are thoroughly combined.

3. zest and juice lemon. set aside 1 TB juice and 1 tsp. zest for icing. place remaining lemon juice and zest in a measuring cup. add water to equal ½ cup liquid.

4. make 2 small holes and 1 large hole in the dry ingredients. pour 1 tsp vinegar in one of the small holes, pour the vanilla and lemon extracts in the second small hole, pour the oil in the large hole. don’t worry if it overflows. pour the orange juice and water/lemon mixture over everything. using a mixer, mix until batter is smooth.

5. portion out the batter in the prepared pan. bake cupcakes for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. cool completely before icing with lemony cream cheese-ish icing.

*do not substitute bleached all-purpose. you can substitute ½ cup bread flour, 1 cup bleached all-purpose flour.

lemony cream cheese-ish icing

3 oz. tofutti cream cheese substitute

3 oz. vegan margarine

3-4 cups powdered sugar

1 TB fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. lemon zest (for garnish)

place tofutti and margarine in bowl. whip with mixer until smooth. stop mixer. add lemon juice and 3 cups powdered sugar. mix until combined, then whip on high until icing is fluffy and spreadable. (you may need to add more powdered sugar if the icing seems too soft.) frost cupcakes and garnish with reserved zest. 

**my friend amber, of sweet girls bakery, came up with this recipe for us vegans of the world who miss a good lemon bar.  these cupcakes were just as refreshing and light as i remember the lemon bars to be in my pre-vegan days.  if you live in the raleigh area and are interested in purchasing some yummy baked goods, contact amber at sweetgirls@mindspring.com

the 5th birthday

just a handful of photos from my daughter's fifth birthday party last weekend.  she chose the theme of yellow submarine based on the old animated beatles' film which seems to be on constant rotation at our house these days.

happy weekend!

happy birthday tula mirth.

tula + mama, minutes after birth. 7.17.2006

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)

                                    i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant 
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart) 

...e.e.cummings

my wee girl is five and i want to stop time.  it feels like everything is moving so fast and i am not savoring it enough...suddenly we are here at five when my girl's lanky legs hang down to my knees and i grunt when she sits on my lap.  i remember easily when she was so light that she fit into the crook of one arm.

happy birthday tula mirth.  you are my heart.