12/18/14

travels in square format



Right now, we are in the lovely Scottish city of Edinburgh. It is fantastic and cold and dark (because there are only about 6 hours of sunlight every day), and we're enjoying it immensely.


I have been taking some photos of our trip with my Canon, but I left my computer (and thus, my Lightroom app) at home, so I won't be able to post them until I get back. However, I do have some grainy iPhone photos to offer, instead! Not really a sufficient substitute, I suppose, but it's all I've got.


Enjoy!


(p.s.  I post photos on my instagram more frequently. Check it out, if you fancy seeing some more shots of our trip.)



12/4/14

dylann's apple pie: a recipe

The holidays just aren't complete without warm, homemade desserts. Christmas cookies, hot chocolate, flakey pastries. The harsh chill of winter is mellowed out by the glow of ovens, filled with delicious treats. Our winters certainly aren't cold where I live, but I definitely remember what it was like. It's hard to get into the Christmas spirit when it's 90 degrees outside. However, there are a few things we can do to encourage our sentimentality of the season; baking festive goods is one of them. 


My sister makes a KILLER apple pie. Last week (for Thanksgiving), she created one of her masterpieces. The delicious scents that surrounded our kitchen during the time she spent in it made us all feel just a little bit more at home. It's so extravagantly amazing, I thought you might like the recipe. So, here it is; Dylann's apple pie: 


i n g r e d i e n t s:

(c r u s t)
2 1/2 cups flour
2/3 cup butter or margarine 
1/2 tsp salt
3-4 tbsp cold water

(a p p l e  f i l l i n g  /  s u g a r  s a u c e)
8 apples
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 tbsp flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup white or raw sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar


i n s t r u c t i o n s:
(see below)


(1) mix flour and butter/margarine in a medium mixing bowl by cutting it with a pastry cutter until it forms small balls.
(2) add remaining crust ingredients into the bowl and mix. 
(3) roll dough out into two equal-sized circles and set one into pie pan so that it fits snugly (2nd circle will be used for topping). cut off excess dough with a knife. set aside. 



(4) melt the unsalted butter and flour (from the sugar sauce ingredients) in a saucepan. stir in the flour to form a paste. add the water, cinnamon, white sugar, and brown sugar; bring to a boil. then, reduce the temperature and let simmer.
(5) skin, de-core, and slice the apples. then, add to the pie pan on top of the bottom crust layer. 
(6) make a lattice with the other circle of crust. cut it into equal strips and weave together on top of the pie in an under-over pattern.
(7) pour the sugar sauce over the pie. pour it gently and slowly, so that none of it runs off the top.
(8) bake in the oven at approximately 350 degrees until the apples are soft and the crust is a golden brown.


Happy December, folks! 

Do you have any favorite treats for the holidays? 

11/16/14

windy







pre rain jitters
consisting of soft golden
and gray hues,
cool winds
and fresh scents,
and the excitement
of relief from the relentless
african sun.


11/4/14

listenings || entry one


Right now, I'm living in one of those weird in-between moments. I've finished my school, but my new curriculum hasn't arrived yet. So, as of late, my life has consisted of lazy mornings curled up in my bed, afternoons in our hammock, and copious amounts of reading. Also, I've been burning lots of vanilla-scented candles (slight tangent: I highly recommend burning a candle in the evenings. The warm glow is cozy, and delicious, autumn-esque smells are so comforting at the end of the day.) 


Anyways, I guess I could say that my taste in music has been much the same, a weird in-between. Many of my tunes are slower and laid back, but I occasionally feel a need for something more up-beat. So, here's my autumn playlist, mostly slow and some a  little folky, peppered with a few more alternative songs. 


I Cried Like a Silly Boy- DeVotchKa
My Silver Lining - First Aid Kit
Columbus - Snowmine
Waves - Sleeper Agent
My Body's a Zombie For You - Dead Man's Bones
Featherstone - The Paper Kites
Walcott - Vampire Weekend
This Too Shall Pass - OK Go
Three White Horses - Andrew Bird
Tugboat - Galaxie 500
Troubled Waters - Sucré
When I'm Up I Can't Get Down - Oysterband


What's on your playlist? 

10/4/14

rain



In most places, there's an inexplicable aroma that comes about before a big storm. It smells like water and wind and dust and freshness.

In Nimule, we have something kind of like that. But ours carries the scent of the mint leaves and lemon grass that litter the hilltop we live on, and it's one of my favorite smells in the world. 

9/19/14

read || entry one

I love reading. I read quite a bit. Living in the middle of nowhere, there's little else to do.

But I don't mind.

I've finished a couple of books over the last month or so and I thought I might share my opinion on them with you.

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis: Other than The Chronicles of Narnia, this was my first encounter with Lewis. And really, from the childhood stories, you don't get to fully see how brilliant Lewis' mind is. He thinks so logically, and it's refreshing to see Christianity examined from such a logical standpoint. The last couple of pages had some of the best quotes on individuality and personality that I've ever read, which was extremely meaningful to me, being a teenager in my "formative" years. I know that so many people have already read this book, but if you haven't, I definitely recommend it.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith: To quote my dear friend Sophie, this book is seriously underrated. Underrated because of the fact that no one has heard of it, and it deserves to be a classic of much larger proportions. The story is a poignant interpretation of what life in New York was like for 1st and 2nd-generation immigrants in the early 20th century. Not to mention, it features (in my opinion) one of the best literary characters in the history of forever, Johnny Nolan.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan: This series was good. Like Harry-Potter good. While the first two books were less-than-satisfactory, by The Titan's Curse I was absolutely hooked. What is it about children's book series' that make them so wonderful? Riordan created fantastic, likeable characters and a super awesome world for them to live in.

So what about you? What have you been reading lately? Anything you recommend? I love book recommendations, and I'd love to get some from you!


9/18/14

leave nothing but footprints




[Leave nothing but footprints. Take nothing but pictures. Kill nothing but time.]

In the photos: Dylann Mckay