Monday, April 30, 2012
What I've been up to...and a cookie for you!
When we moved to Houston I was adamant that I wasn't going to let this blog fall by the wayside. I was going to have tons to write about - right?? A new city, new restaurants, a new house to cook in...the opportunities were endless! And then reality set it. As I settled in to my third trimester I saw my energy diminish by the day. Each day brought more boxes that needed to be unpacked, new fires that needed to be put out and another day without anything exciting to write about. If you have been keeping up with the mini traveling cupcake you will know that I am still alive (and still unpacking) and now that I feel like I have my head (slightly) above water I hope to make a more regular appearance here. So thanks for sticking with me all this time. That is, until this baby is born and then I will probably be on another hiatus :) Sorry folks, that's just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.
Speaking of cookies!!!
I made you some!
In one of the (many) boxes that I unpacked over the last month, I was super excited to find my new copy of the Joy the Baker Cookbook. If you don't already read this amazing blog I highly suggest you make it a part of your daily rotation. Since she's the second most popular food blogger out there though there's a good chance you already know who I'm talking about. I first found Joys blog a few years ago and she is a huge inspiration to me. She cooks and bakes just about anything - from bread to cookies to cakes - you name it, she's baked it. She also bakes gluton free and vegan goodies just because she wants to. To me it takes a lot of courage to use a ton of ingredients you aren't used to (almond flour, what? coconut oil, who?) and her creative recipes never cease to inspire me. I am also a huge fan of her podcasts - Joy the Baker Podcast with Tracy of Shutterbean and We're About to be Friends.
But this post is about her cookbook. And these awesome cookies.
When I found her cookbook stashed away in the 495083409 Tupperware bin that I had unpacked that day I was pumped. I called it a day and proceeded to read the entire cookbook in one sitting. I had pre-ordered the book months ago and couldn't wait to dive in. This cookbook has it all. Want some pancakes? Pick your poison. Coffee bacon? Comin' right up. Cakes - cookies - frosting?? Done, done and done. The cookbook gives some of Joys great tips and is written in the same style as her blog - ie friendly, warm and funny. Basically like talking to your BFF while mixing up some amazing treats.
The first recipe I decided to make was these Trail Mix Cookies. These are pretty similar to what some people call Kitchen Sink cookies because they have, well, everything but the kitchen sink in them! M&Ms, peanuts, peanut butter chips, raisins, oats - you name it, it's in there! The recipe made a huge batch, I got three dozen out of mine, so I had plenty to stash in the freezer for when the baby is here and I don't have time to brush my teeth let alone bake cookies. And since these guys are made with whole wheat flour, oats and raisins they are practically health food! Sure to keep us going through those long days and nights.
Since I followed Joy's recipe to the letter (I usually do the first time around) I don't want to publish it here. You're just going to have to go out and buy her book yourself - I promise you won't regret it!
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Lake Austin Spa - A Mini Getaway
To say that we have had a stressful and hectic first quarter of 2012 would be an understatement. And the rest of the year looks to be just as crazy, if not more so once the little one gets here and flips our lives upside down (in a good way, of course). We had been dying to getaway, to go on vacation. We didn't want to stare at the piles of boxes and things needing to be unpacked. We didn't want to have to go to Home Depot again. We didn't want to have to deal with buying any more baby-related thing (how much does an infant really need??)
We wanted - no, no, better yet - needed a break.
Enter Lake Austin Spa.
I often find that the best recommendations come from people you know. That's how we found this little gem. One of Brian's coworkers recommended it as a place to go "if you really want to relax and not have to worry about a thing." SOLD. Sign us up!
We spent three nights at this oasis in the Hill Country of Western Texas. I did a little bit of research before getting there but not much - most of my research included perusing the spa menu and making our appointments! The resort has 40 cabins which means that their maximum occupancy is never more than around 80 guests. They were pretty full while we were there but you wouldn't have known it - we were always able to get a lounge chair by the pool, had a choice of tables for dinner and plenty of peace and quiet.
Perhaps the best thing about the Lake Austin Spa is that everything is included in the room rate - I mean everything. Well - everything except spa appointments. Close enough. They have a full schedule of work out classes, hikes and classes every day and you are free to enjoy as many as you like - or as many as you can pack into your day! Since I'm about to burst I wasn't able to enjoy many of the fitness classes that they had on offer but Brian was able to take a few each day. We went on boat tour of the lake on afternoon and I even went to a cooking demonstration lead by the head chef at the resort. In addition to all of the scheduled activities you also have access to kayaks, water bikes and paddle boards should you want to take to the open water on your own.
If you wanted to take a more relaxing approach to your stay you had plenty of options there too. The resort features two pools - one on the main resort and one at the spa. The spa menu includes anything and everything that you can imagine, from massages to facials to body scrubs and everything in between. There are hammocks set up by the lake, begging you to spend your afternoon in them reading a book. Or perhaps you would rather take a leisurely stroll through the resorts gardens - where fresh herbs, flowers and vegetables are all in full bloom. The garden is also the place where the chefs get most of their vegetables and herbs for the days menu. There is every kind of herb you can imagine in full bloom, vegetable plants, fruit trees and plenty more growing bountifully getting ready to be picked for that days lunch or dinner. It doesn't get much fresher than that.
Which brings me to the food. Their website mentions that the seasonal menu includes fat grams and calories posted next to each item in case you are watching your weight. Any of the dishes can be made to accommodate your dietary needs - whether it be vegan, gluten free, sugar free, nut free - or any other ailment that you might have! As much as they can the pick the herbs and produce from their own gardens, and everything else is sourced as locally as possible. It feels good knowing that what you are eating is fresh, organic and truly good for you.
Now, I do have to mention, since this is a health spa the portions are TINY. An appetiser of fried olives included only five olives. Five. I could - and did - eat five olives in 10 seconds flat. Luckily, our super nice waitress let us know ahead of time about the teeny tiny portions and let us order as much food as we wanted. Six appetisers, two salads, three entrees and three desserts later we were happy and full. And every bite of each one of those plates was amazing. We didn't have one single complaint about the food the entire time we were there. You can have your meals in the main dining room, outside on the patio, in the Spa cafe or even brought straight to your room, should you be too tired from the days activities to venture outside (although the staff full encourages you to wear your bathrobe to the dining room whenever you like). And remember - all of the food is included in your rate, no mater where you chose to enjoy it.
We each had a massage appointment at the spa and boy did we ever need it. I was able to get a Mama-To-Be massage and it was just what the doctor ordered. My therapist was super friendly and knew all the tricks to relieving pregnancy pains. The staff encourages you to hang out in the Blue Room (where you can relax and catch up on your reading - or take a cat nap!) and to use the steam room, sauna and pools before or after your appointment. It only takes a few moments to feel the tension in your shoulders and the furrow in your brow melt away once you are here. I should mention that Lake Austin Spa has recently (and is frequently) named the #1 Destination Spa by Conde Nast Traveler Magazine amongst many other top rated awards. With accolades like this it's a good idea to book early!
I can't wait to go back to the Lake Austin Spa after Baby C has arrived. It is an excellent place for a girlie weekend - in fact while we were there Brian was one of the only men that we saw during our whole stay. Of course that being said it is also a perfectly romantic place for couples to getaway from it all. Next time I am here I am looking forward to taking advantage of more fitness classes, a few deep tissue massages (I'll need them after lugging around a baby all the time, right?) and enjoying a glass of wine by the pool. It doesn't get much better than that.
Lake Austin Spa Resort
1705 South Quinian Park Road
Austin, Texas 78732
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Labels:
flowers,
go here - now,
hiking,
leica,
life,
photography,
restaurants,
road trip,
texas
Monday, April 02, 2012
Introducing - Tracy Lynn Photography
As if moving to a new country/state/city, buying a house and having a baby all around the same time isn't crazy enough, I've decided to add one more big item to my "to-do" list (which is another reason why things have been so quiet around here). And that, my friends, is a new business.
After eight years of working in the corporate world I have the amazing opportunity to make my passion my business. I am nervous and scared, excited and thrilled all at the same time. It's going to be a lot of hard work and it's going to take a lot of time - but I am in it for the long haul and truly believe that this is going to be an amazing experience.
I would like to introduce you to -
Tracy Lynn Photography specializes in Childrens and Baby photography in the Houston, TX area. I already have a great portfolio from London and can't wait to expand my client base to Houston.
If you would like to check out my website and get some more information on my packages and rates, you can visit me here:
Or contact me here:
TracyLPhotography@gmail.com
917-420-0990
I am offering a limited number of appointments from now until May 1st and then will resume a full time schedule in September (I'll need a few months off to take care of the little one!) I think the great thing about my packages, and is something different from many photographers, is that I give you the rights to the images. Every session includes a disk of edited images (30-50 images depending on the package you chose) for you to use however you like! Of course - you are welcome to order prints, albums, cards, etc from me but it's nice to have those images at home so you can order more whenever you want!
I am really excited about my new endeavor and can't wait to get the business fully up and running. For those of you that are in New York - feel free to contact me about possible sessions while I am in the area (at least a few times a year). I am happy to take on extra clients in my old home state!
Thursday, March 08, 2012
Settling In
For some strange reason I had the idea in my head that once we moved to Houston our lives would calm down a little. We would suddenly have time to catch up on our sleep and reduce the amount of stress we have been feeling for the last few months.
HA!
HA! Ha! HA!
I think thats a trick my mind played on itself so that it didn't go insane.
So...what have I been up to? Besides test driving nearly every SUV available in the US market (honestly - someone just PICK A CAR FOR ME! I never want to see a car dealership ever again) the majority of my time has been taken up by...
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That's right! We closed on our house earlier this week and couldn't be more excited. And scared. More like, 99% excited 1% scared.
Or maybe 75% excited and 25% scared.
It's definitely at least 60% excited 40% scared.
Its changes, day to day.
Again, for some reason my silly mind thought that once we closed on the house we would be able to relax - that was the stressful part, right??
HA!
Oh silly that brain of mine.
The ink was barely dry on the papers when we started calling roofers and painters and making multiple trips to Home Depot. What's the rush? Ohhh a little thing called a BABY. We need to get as much of the big "fix-it" items completed before it's time for us to move in 100%. With the days flying by faster than I can shake my fist at them that meant that we needed to get to work pronto.
So now my days are spent arranging deliveries, scheduling appointments, picking out paint colors, coordinating our shipments from the UK (I can't wait to get all of our stuff!! I miss my pots and pans - sad, isn't it?) and picking out more paint colors.
One of these days, hopefully very soon, I will be able to go to all of those wonderful farmers markets and explore Houston beyond the Home Depot and all the major car dealerships. Hopefully that time comes before the baby does...
But that could be just another silly trick my brain is playing on me.
Thanks for your patience while I try to get my life in order - I promise to try and update the blog as regularly as I can! Besides...I have spotted a few cupcake bakeries around town and have a feeling I will be taste testing them in the very near future!
Monday, February 27, 2012
We made it!
Howdy!
Sorry, I had to. It's only fitting now that we are living in Texas, right?
The good news is - we made it!! It was a long and stressful process - moving day was less than stellar and the bronchitis that I have been fighting for the last month didn't make it any easier. BUT! We are here now and everything has been going well (in the last 48 hours that is). We are all set up in our temporary housing and are anxiously waiting to close on the house we put an offer on the last time we were in Houston. Only a few more things on our To-Do list (OK that's a lie, there are definitely more than a few) and we will be all settled in!
The first item on our agenda once we got to Houston (and got a good nights sleep)? BREAKFAST! We were in desperate need of a good, solid American style breakfast. I'm talking french toast, waffles, American style breakfast sausage, bottomless filter coffee - the works. We did a quick google search and all reviews pointed us in the direction of The Breakfast Klub in the Fourth Ward. The reviews warned of long lines so we high tailed it there as soon as we were conscious on Sunday morning. We managed to get there right before the rush, and in no time had hot coffee in our hands and these plates of deliciousness in front of us -
We were more than satisfied with our Texas French Toast and Pecan Waffles - it was basically heaven on a plate (or, three plates if you want to get technical). The Breakfast Kulb is also known for their Wings and Waffles and Catfish and Grits breakfast plates - which we will surely be back to sample soon!
By the time we managed to roll our full bellies out of there the line was wrapped around the front of the restaurant! It was well worth the hustle to get down here nice and early.
I'm looking forward to discovering a whole new type of cooking down here in Texas. The first place I am going to start is with the markets. Houston has a wide variety of weekly farmers markets that I am anxious to take part in. I can't wait to see what kind of season goodies they have to offer here - I bet it's a world of difference compared to what is offered at the London farmers markets in February!
Monday, February 20, 2012
Goodbye London
Ok, so it's not quite time to move yet - but the date is rapidly approaching. By the middle of this week our flat will be empty and by the weekend we will be on our way to our new home in Houston.
I've been feeling a rush of emotions over the past few days. We have been excited about moving to Houston and starting the next phase of our life. But I have also been reflecting upon all of the wonderful memories that we have from our time here - all the amazing places we have been, wonderful people that we have met, and delicious food we have eaten. Sure, it hasn't always been easy - sometimes it's been down right hard and frustrating - but we wouldn't trade our time here for anything in the world. We are truly blessed to have had this experience and I will remember it always.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Things I'm going to miss about London
By the time we move next week we will have been here for three years and four months. To me, that's a long time - it's almost as long as I lived in New York City. And although this has been an amazing opportunity and I have so many wonderful memories, I never really called London "home". I always saw it as a temporary move, never thought of our life here for longer than 1-2 year increments. And maybe that was part of the problem. A friend of ours mentioned that the London relocation program at her work was the least successful out of all the programs. That simultaneously did and did not surprise me. It was a little surprising to hear that employees found settling in to far away places like Singapore easier than London. And at the same time, I know exactly how they feel.
We have been looking forward to moving back to the US for quite some time now - especially since we found out about Baby C. And as much as I am looking forward to starting a new adventure in Houston, there are a few things about London that I am going to miss...
Monday, February 06, 2012
A Trip to Ireland and a New Camera
For Christmas I wanted to get Brian something really special. We knew our time in London was coming to an end and we would soon be off on a new adventure. When I thought about what to get him I wanted to make sure it was something that he would remember for a long time - kind of a "last hurrah" if you will. The idea of taking him back to Ireland came to me after dinner one night with some friends. Brian had mentioned to our friends that his favorite place in the world was this small town on the West coast of Ireland that we had visited a couple of years ago.
His eyes lit up and he was so excited just talking about the place, I knew we had to go back one more time before we left London for good. So on a random, grey weekend in January we were off to Ireland for our last trip before the big move.
We flew into Shannon and drove a couple of hours North and West to Connemare. This rugged part of Ireland appeals to Brians adventurous side. There are the Twelve Bens mountain range and endless country walks that you can take around this spectacular piece of the country. The landscape is so rugged - mountains and rocks and crashing waves of the Atlantic as far as the eye can see. His favorite part of Connemare though is a small hotel called Ballynahinch Castle.
The castle sits on 450 acres of stunning property made up of woods, lakes and rivers. You can shoot game, go fly fishing or take one of the many walks around the property or of the surrounding area. There is a pub and a fine dining restaurant on site, neither of which disappoint. We gladly called this place home for two nights.
The next morning Brian was off on an all day hike to see how many of the Twelve Bens him and his guide could get through. As luck had it the weather was actually pretty decent all day, they didn't get caught in the rain at all and it was even sunny for a bit (quite a rarity during an Irish winter). While they were out I decided to take a walk around the property. It was a good opportunity to get some fresh air and use my Christmas present - a new camera.
Ballynahinch has three walking trails along the property, ranging from 1-3km. They are easily walkable and wind through the woods, along the rivers and lakes and all meet back at the main house. I decided to walk the newest trail - the Railway Loop. It took me about an hour which included numerous stops along the way to take some photos.
As I mentioned, Brian got me a new camera for Christmas. And man, is it an amazing camera. My new Leica is unlike any camera that I have ever used before. First and foremost because this camera is completely manual. It is not a regular DSLR camera. There are no auto modes - I can't set it to landscape or portrait or macro. I can't even set it to a full auto mode. The closest I can get to automatic setting is I can set the ISO to auto and I can set the shutter speed to Aperture priority (did I lose you?).
Basically what all of this means is that you have to control nearly every part of this camera in order to take a photo - including the manual focus. Which makes this camera a big challenge.
Ever since I took that photography class last year I have been pushing myself to grow as a photographer. I look at how far I have come in a year and am pretty proud of all that I have learned and the improvements I can see in my photography. I know that I still have a lot more to learn and many, many hours of practice ahead of me, but for the most part I am encouraged to move forward. When I am shooting landscapes or travel photography I am pretty comfortable using my DSLR on fully manual mode. I like adjusting the ISO, aperture and shutter speed to get the perfect photo. I usually use my camera on auto-focus, only moving it to manual when the lens isn't reading my mind and can't focus on what I want (which is not very often).
When I am taking photos of people, street scenes and children I tend to put my camera in aperture priority (meaning that I set the aperture and the camera selects the correct shutter speed to get a "perfectly" exposed photo) and always use the auto-focus. I do this because I am not entirely confident that I will be able to set all three at the same time and still get the shot that I want - I'm just not that fast yet on my camera. But since aperture priority doesn't always give me that result that I want I am forced to move my camera into full manual mode for at least half of the time, to make sure my photos are correctly exposed.
But thats with my DSLR. On my Leica I don't have the leisure of being lazy - of slipping back into those comfort zones. Sure, I can set the ISO to auto but that is really the least of my worries. Aperture priority helps a little as at least I don't have to worry about the shutter speed as much - but again, same with the DSLR - when it's in aperture priority the camera is in control, and what it thinks is properly exposed is not necessarily what I think is properly exposed. So most times I end up having to take it off and moving the shutter speed into manual as well.
Perhaps the biggest thing that I have struggled with so far is the manual focus. I haven't had to use a manual focus since I first began shooting with my Dad's old Pentax SLR in high school. If you are shooting something with a clean line it makes focusing pretty easy. But if you get in the middle of a forest with a million tree branches and leaves and layers - it can make focusing on the right thing a challenge.
So I took my new camera out for a walk and really took my time playing with all the settings and taking as many photos as I could. Most of them turned out bad. A few turned out good. But the most important thing I took away from that afternoon was that I was learning something. I was being challenged in a way I haven't been in a while. It felt good to experiment and use my brain and try to figure out this thing. Sure, it was frustrating, and will probably continue to be until I get to know the camera inside and out. But it was fun. And at the end of the day, when I had a chance to review the photos beside a roaring fire in our hotel - even through all the out of focus and over/under exposed images - I still felt proud of what I had captured. I can't wait to use this camera more and more and really unlock its - and my - true potential.
All of these photos have been minimally altered in post-processing. I tried not to change any of them so that you could see exactly what the photos looked like coming out of the camera. There were a few though that I had to reduce the shadows and brighten up a little. But for the most part though, what you see here is what I saw through the lens.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Time for a change...
I have had a lot of exciting news to share over the last twelve months! First, I redesigned my blog. Then I announced we were having a baby. And NOW - I get to make another exciting announcement. It has been three years and three months since Brian and I, newly engaged, packed up our life in NYC and moved to London. It was thrilling, scary and exiting all at the same time. We have had some amazing experiences living abroad and wouldn't trade that time for anything in the world.
But - we have decided that it is time to go back home. It's time for us to move back to the US of A!
In a little less than a month we will packing up our London home and shipping it all back across the pond. But we aren't headed back to NYC. Now that would be too easy. Much to our parents dismay (especially with the little one on the way!) we are heading off on a new adventure...
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Photo project - Childrens Photography part 4
During much of November and December I was a busy bee building my Children's photography portfolio. Our friends were kind enough to let me invade their home one afternoon and take some pictures of their two beautiful kids, Mia and Luke. The family had recently returned from a trip back to the US so everyone was a little jet-lagged - or so they claimed! The kids were running around playing like crazy, only towards the end did Luke show signs of fatigue (by laughing uncontrollably - I hope my kids are like that when they are tired).
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