Road Trip Highlights - Part Two

So for the next leg of our journey we decided it would be fun to go to New Orleans, Louisiana and experience Mardi Gras...Blue Dog style!

Of course we needed some seriously fun Jazz to accompany us along the way, and who better to supply those Jazzy music needs than NOLA's very own...the Mr.'s Wynton and Ellis Marsalis...pure jazz royalty!




Once we arrived, we realized that beads, masks, feathers and crowns were going to be needed...everyone was thrilled about that!

So we tried some things on and then got to gettin all dressed up!

This is Frank...he wasn't very thrilled about having to dress up, but he was a good sport about it and ended up looking quite festive!

And this is Estelle...Frank's wife. She was still trying to decide what color all her finery should be when I took this picture. Frank kept telling her she looked just fine as is, and since they were running late, she should just stick to the all white theme and call it good! Estelle would hear nothing of the sort...but as we had to hightail it out of there to get our perfect parade spot, we never found out what she actually ended up choosing...I'm sure it was dazzling though!

This is Lavinia...Estelle's best friend. She stayed behind to help Estelle in her decision making.

Then there was Fern...she decided to be different! Since Blue Dog can technically be blue, red, green, pink...or yellow, she thought it would be fun to mix things up a bit. Who wants to wear the same color all the time anyway?

And then at long last, when we'd had our fun and explored all the shiny, glittery and colorful delights of Mardi Gras and New Orleans (well, not all the delights, we are ages 6-10 after all)...it was time to head back home to our beloved Seattle...

And to once again see the glorious night sky that hangs like an umbrella over that famous Emerald City skyline...that is, when it's not cloudy of course!

And when we finally did reach home...it was time to immediately start planning our next trip! This time, we're going Around The World...London, China, Russia, and Egypt I think...still working on the itinerary...but there's plenty of time...we don't leave until NEXT MONDAY! Wish me luck!

A huge thank you to all of my delightful traveling companions - to my partner in Art...Alicia, who's very special talents provided us with our New Orleans and Seattle destinations, to Miss. Kaitlyn Elizabeth...who's map reading and many other skills were indispensable (you always rock, even after a night of Katy Perry),...and of course, to our fabulous students who amaze us with their creativity, humor, wonderful stories...and plain old cuteness...you all are the very best! ♥

Road Trip Highlights - Part One

Well I can't believe we have two trips across the country under our seat belts now (summer camp style)...the time just flew! I think we could have spent the whole summer cruising around the States, but alas we had to come home. Here are a few favorite snaps from our trip, we had the best time...and it was a very fun learning experience for all of us.

We left Seattle on a beautiful summer evening...it was a very 'Starry Night', just gorgeous. We drove for quite a while until we reached our destination...Historic Route 66!

Our version of Route 66 that is...which took us wherever we wanted to go...and in our case, that meant Arizona and Louisiana.

So we traveled down the old dirt roads of long ago, listening to Patsy Cline and the soundtrack from 'Oh Brother Where Art Thou' (minus the first song...prison road-work just wasn't putting us in the proper mood.)

Everything we could possibly need was on that road...diners, places to rest...and the most important of all, gas...from some old vintage gas pumps of course.

Sometimes the gas wasn't all that good...but it kept us rolling along anyway.

We traveled for two whole days, enduring all sorts of crazy weather...intense heat, lightning and thunder storms...and yes, even a little snow! Then finally, on the eve of our second day...

We arrived at our first destination...the Grand Canyon!

The next morning proved to be a glorious one...the sun was out, the skies were blue...and the colors of the Canyon were shockingly vivid and bright...we couldn't have asked for more!

In every direction we looked, the Canyon greeted us with magnificent vistas and awe-inspiring views.

Some of us were brave enough to visit the Skywalk...and I must say...it is definitely *not* for the faint of heart...but a must see & try either way!



And at the end of the day, when dusk started to set in....

And a sunset of 'grand' proportions was upon us, we decided it was time to start focusing on the next leg of our journey...

And to reminisce about the truly wonderful time we had exploring this 277 mile long, 18 mile wide, and 1 mile deep natural wonder of the world that happens to be right outside in our own back yard...pretty amazing!



Next stop...

New Orleans...for Mardi Gras of course!

Effortless Honey Dijon

A third, a third, a third, a cup! That is how I've managed to remember the recipe for this lovely dressing...which initially was intended for a Cobb Salad but has since become a particular favorite for just about every salad that we make.
The fact that I've been able to file this one away in my cerebral recipe box (it's the only there one so far) has been a great achievement, because no matter how often I make something, the modus operandi leaves my mind the minute the dishes are washed and put away, and I am then left once again wondering how many eggs go into the scallion tart that I've made a million times! Also, since I can't remember for the life of me where I found the recipe, I'm very thankful that it has stayed neatly tucked away and ready for use at a moment's notice these past few years.

I'm do hope it will become a 'memorable' favorite at your table, as much as it has ours.

Whisk together 1/3 cup Dijon Mustard, 1/3 cup Apple Cider Vinegar, and 1/3 cup Honey (I use either Anna's Raspberry or Blackberry Honey). Now whisk in a pinch of salt, a bit of pepper, and about a 1/2 tsp dried tarragon (crush in palm if needed).



Now slowly whisk in 1 cup Olive Oil using the same third cup measure that was used for the previous ingredients...easy-peasy.

Once the mixture is all glisteningly emulsified, let it sit for at least fifteen minutes so the flavors can mingle and get to know each other a bit...then enjoy.

The dressing will keep for quite a while so find a nice little jar or cruet bottle and it should stay in the fridge happily for at least two weeks...if not longer.

Here I paired it with a cucumber and apple salad that we had along side some French Onion & Apple Cider soup...which I cannot believe I made during the *summer* as the soup is usually a fall/winter treat. But since this summer has felt like anything but summer, it was perfect...gooey cheese topping and all!

So tomorrow we're on our way to New Orleans for Mardi Gras (imagination-imagination!) on the last leg of our journey, and then it's back home to Van Gogh's Seattle. And since we were already heading to Louisiana, I decided to save Georgia for another trip (I'm thinking peach orchards!). We did come across some very cool vintage gas pumps along the way though, and now there are visions of having all gas stations turned back into vintage style ones so that getting gas is a much more exciting spectacle...such smart students...I like the idea!

Georgia On My Mind

I'm gearing up (no pun intended but that was pretty good) for another 'Road Trip' on Monday and was hunting down some inspiration (vintage gas pumps) to mix things up a bit and found this great-but sad site called Vanishing South Georgia, by Brian Brown.
It put me in a Fried Green Tomatoes/Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood type of southern mood, which I love, and made me want to figure out a way for us to take a detour through Georgia...the Georgia of the long ago, or even just the South of long ago.

The wheels are spinnin on the gravel road now...wonder where they'll end up.

Flowers Instead Of Sand

Well I wasn't able to get to the beach for a breather during camp preparations last weekend as I had hoped (wishful thinking)...but instead, after hours of trying to figure out how to construct the Grand Canyon out of a ridiculously large amount of paper (to no avail), I ended up going for a very long walk in our neighborhood which thankfully, due to the beauty of the day and the luscious flowers that greeted me along every path, thoroughly refreshed and renewed my poor muddled brain.

Glorious roses peaked at me from behind a fences.

A tower of bright purple Clematis entwining itself around a cute fence post completely charmed me as I usually see these blossoms either climbing flatly up the side of a fence trellis or bridging themselves up and over an arbor. This way truly captivated me and produced quite a few fanciful thoughts of having one exactly like it in our future garden.

And then there were these luscious fluff balls of sunshine...

I think they were my favorite.

I kind of wanted to lay down in them. I know, I know...it would have been a little prickly, but look at them! don't they look like golden pillows of comfy softness just waiting to be napped upon?? Why yes they do....

So all was not lost, I had found so much to inspire and revive my overwhelmed and frazzled imagination.

Which allowed me to come home...

And try once again to whip up a Grand Canyon out of this mess, which by the way happens to be sitting on the dining room table that I insisted we take out of storage so that I wouldn't have to fabricate our beloved national park on the floor...it helped tremendously!
The table belonged to Mr.24's grandmother and her parents had it before she was born...it's over 100 years old and a dear family treasure. We still have to find the missing leaf, but for now this will do just fine, and after five years, I was just very happy to see it again.

The camp is coming along beautifully by the way, thank you so much for all of your well wishes! We have an amazing group of young artists that have been creating some pretty fun masterpieces and I can't wait to share them with you. Wait till you see *their* Grand Canyon's...they rock!!

Weekend Wishes

Summer camp starts Monday, so this weekend I will be furiously getting ready. But I do hope at some point to be able to have a walk on the beach with this guy, or at least one of his friends....and since tomorrow the weather is supposed to turn back into the summery sort (poor thing is so confused this year, it's been spring all week)...I say, perfect timing!

Wishing you all a lovely and perfect summer weekend...