tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78785873835148009312026-05-30T20:44:12.338-04:00<br>A chronicle of the strangely varied aesthetic dalliances I love to indulge in.Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03679678300841120058noreply@blogger.comBlogger224125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878587383514800931.post-58033561910218387622022-02-05T20:00:00.000-05:002022-02-05T20:00:00.860-05:00

When we moved into our house here in Utah, one of the things I was most excited about and charmed by was the giant garden plot in the backyard, left planted with plentiful corn and potato plants by the previous owners. &nbsp;Sadly, we had no idea what a potato plant looked like so last summer's harvest went uneaten, but we had more than our fill of corn. &nbsp;I was already rubbing my hands

Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03679678300841120058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878587383514800931.post-44745374875461721232022-02-05T19:19:00.002-05:002022-02-05T19:19:27.012-05:00

Family portraits, Baby gates ready for storage; October 2014I found this post today (2/5/22) and decided it was about time to publish it. It was last edited on 5/15/16 while living in Utah.&nbsp;* * * There are so many things I'd like to touch upon in this entry because it's one that is about my life in a very personal way.&nbsp; It is about the lifestyle my family and I have chosen and the

Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03679678300841120058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878587383514800931.post-153667190894800052022-02-05T19:08:00.007-05:002022-02-05T19:38:39.757-05:00

(Wrote this in 2014. Published it today, 2/7/22) Today is a special day.&nbsp; Our Alexander turns 1 year old today. Today marks the anniversary of the day he was born, the day we arrived in Arkansas exhausted from an overnight drive from Colorado, the day we, in a flurry of nerves and excitement, met our 2nd son and his birth family, a group of people who have changed our lives immeasurably and

Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03679678300841120058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878587383514800931.post-82908622190678555502017-05-17T00:34:00.000-04:002017-05-17T13:09:32.785-04:00

Thank you kindly For thinking of me. If I'm not smiling I'm just thinking. Glad and sorry Happy or sad When all is done and spoken You're up or I'm down Can you show me a dream? Can you show me one that's better than mine? Can you stand it in the cold light of day? Neither can I. "Glad and Sorry", Faces * &nbsp; * &nbsp; * Sometimes you hate a place so very

Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03679678300841120058noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878587383514800931.post-15631778599037406162017-01-25T17:37:00.001-05:002017-01-25T23:57:31.196-05:00

The Grand Tetons It feels like life these days is a series of snapshots, moments, that I play back in my mind, looking back and wondering how in the world it is that it goes by so quickly in the long-run, and yet so slowly in the moment. &nbsp;The rollercoaster of daily chores, the beastlings, the random outings and busy-ness we create for ourselves revolve around routine meals

Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03679678300841120058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878587383514800931.post-68439546789474920092016-06-12T18:06:00.000-04:002016-10-03T18:49:32.283-04:00

Somewhere in the middle of Idaho. &nbsp;Adventures awaiting. Living in the wild west means I am perpetually hounded by the trips I should be taking. &nbsp;It is no secret that I don't plan to live in Utah forever and so my mind has a list of must-sees about a mile long that may or may not get seen but feel urgent nevertheless. &nbsp;My current, incomplete, western bucket-list goes something

Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03679678300841120058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878587383514800931.post-23649718628153758192016-05-24T16:37:00.002-04:002016-05-24T17:05:08.673-04:00

“To move, to breathe, to fly, to float, To gain all while you give, To roam the roads of lands remote, To travel is to live.” - Hans Christian Anderson * &nbsp;* &nbsp;* My wanderlust has always been there. &nbsp;A part of me as normal and necessary as my skin. For me there was never a time when I didn't want to travel and explore. &nbsp;While, with age, that

Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03679678300841120058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878587383514800931.post-46620107511350590222016-01-29T17:07:00.000-05:002016-01-29T18:28:32.658-05:00

Three's not a crowd. &nbsp; Writing is such a luxury these days. There are so many things I want to write about and never enough time to do it.&nbsp; I am overdue for one of my pictorial appreciation posts about the beauty all around me (and there is plenty), I have a back-log of all the culinary dalliances I've been concocting (no, still have not lost the holiday weight), and let's not

Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03679678300841120058noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878587383514800931.post-46917771076159280932015-10-03T15:44:00.000-04:002015-10-08T16:35:15.789-04:00

It is October; that Autumnal smell is in the air.&nbsp; Here in the Wasatch mountains, the changing of the seasons is particularly beautiful with the Rocky Mountain shrubs and oaks turning all manner of bright, warm colors, the mums blooming fervently, and the Utah gardens and orchards bountiful with the many fruits of Fall.&nbsp; The apples are particularly delicious and abundant

Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03679678300841120058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878587383514800931.post-44566338806619577742015-09-16T14:47:00.000-04:002015-09-16T14:47:30.532-04:00

Cooked eggplant This summer almost killed me. &nbsp;Yes, more in a figurative way than anything, but it almost killed me nonetheless. &nbsp;Nearly ten years of life-changing occurrences happening over and over again, almost always in groups of two or more finally culminated this summer in the unholy trifecta of having a baby / selling our house / and moving to a new state in a two-month

Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03679678300841120058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878587383514800931.post-72607453562693590872015-06-05T23:21:00.000-04:002015-07-22T23:25:12.415-04:00

Born June 1st at 12:11 - 8lbs 9oz, 20 inches;we saved the best for last. ;) And they lived happily ever after. :) &nbsp;

Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03679678300841120058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878587383514800931.post-17516102707651079952015-05-22T16:25:00.001-04:002015-05-22T16:25:58.260-04:00

Roman and Alex: chocolate-chippity-apple-pancake-style &nbsp; I have one week to rearrange my daily life's paradigm.&nbsp; One week to accept that my life right now is probably the easiest it will ever be.&nbsp; In one week, a new person enters the world and enters our family and we embark on yet another, unique adventure in parenthood.&nbsp; 10 months ago I could not have told you this

Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03679678300841120058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878587383514800931.post-28231472858789460312014-05-08T12:34:00.003-04:002014-05-09T11:31:31.511-04:00

Quesadillas Fritas con Ensaladita de Col; Fried Quesadillas with Cabbage Salad Some meals bring home the sunshine.&nbsp; They make me smile, they make me lounge, they make me want to run in the clover barefooted like a little girl.&nbsp; Some meals make me think of home - when home was mom and dad and sister, half-Spanish, half-English (NOT Spanglish), Texas sunshine, and the smell of lime

Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03679678300841120058noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878587383514800931.post-41235706991351868242014-04-01T13:56:00.000-04:002014-05-05T13:59:28.532-04:00

Porchetta Panini with Salsa Verde: highly addictive, but legal. I wrote this post over a month ago - life is so busy I didn't get to finish it and publish it till May, but I am retroactively publishing it :) *&nbsp; *&nbsp; * I'm struggling a little bit, as I usually do at this time of year, with the fact that it snowed again a few days ago.&nbsp; In April.&nbsp; And it's not easy

Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03679678300841120058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878587383514800931.post-9014657204928552014-03-21T11:45:00.002-04:002014-03-21T11:56:17.327-04:00

Successful Pickling Dabblage. I was caught off-guard by the beginning of Spring this year.&nbsp; I completely forgot about it, happy to live in my on-again, off-again sun-drenched-quick-melting-snow-filled-Denver-winter for a bit longer, I suppose.&nbsp; Suddenly, Roman's class was taping paper flowers all over the school hallways and I was being asked questions about possibly acquiring a "

Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03679678300841120058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878587383514800931.post-54400839240629335602014-02-08T17:55:00.000-05:002014-02-08T18:05:59.507-05:00

The steamed pudding. Amicable Alimentations: A series of posts with no predictable order or timing dedicated to a delicious food and the friend who most reminds me of it or inspired me to love it.&nbsp; Here's the link to post number one, number two, number three, number four and this is post number five in the series. *&nbsp; *&nbsp; * When you're facing life as an ex-pat, the

Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03679678300841120058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878587383514800931.post-37359461341539962522014-01-29T10:31:00.000-05:002014-01-30T18:49:37.860-05:00

Pigs' Heads at the Bar The past few weeks have been a little rough. Two weeks ago Matt got into a "fender bender," as he taught Roman to call it, with a telephone pole when his car slid out of control on the snow and ice.&nbsp; They were headed to A-basin to go skiing in a big storm and had decided to turn around when it happened.&nbsp; Nobody was hurt, except the car, thank God, but the

Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03679678300841120058noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878587383514800931.post-39883736314429356482014-01-25T20:17:00.000-05:002014-01-26T11:20:23.670-05:00

It has been five years, shy 3 days, since I started Aesthetic Dalliances.&nbsp; I went back and read my first-post-ever, and laughed at how apt the description for my blog still is.&nbsp; Though lots of things have changed about me in five years, almost nothing has changed in terms of the random and varied nature of my blog.&nbsp; I have become, admittedly, a less prolific blogger, but then

Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03679678300841120058noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878587383514800931.post-42049599140979522782014-01-09T18:46:00.000-05:002014-01-09T18:46:32.267-05:00

Boletis edulis; Porcini Me and Mushrooms.&nbsp; Mushrooms and me.&nbsp; This love affair has been going on for my whole life.&nbsp; But it was in August 2013 that I officially began dabbling in the world of amateur mycology - that is, the amateur study and collection of mushrooms - because that was when Matt, as a wonderful anniversary gift, got us a Saturday outing on an amateur mushroom

Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03679678300841120058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878587383514800931.post-83810977989256947562014-01-08T10:06:00.001-05:002014-01-29T22:26:05.548-05:00

Born November 16th at 13:25 - 7lbs 7oz, 19 1/2 inches; forever-and-ever-ours as of November 22nd 2013. And he's just perfect. :)

Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03679678300841120058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878587383514800931.post-44169944623882400472013-11-08T10:59:00.002-05:002013-11-08T11:00:42.180-05:00

The Last Stapleton Foliage You're like a party somebody threw me You taste like birthday You look like New Years You're like a big parade through town You leave such a mess but you're so fun Tell all the neighbors to start knocking down walls To grab their guitars and run out to the hall And we're coming out right along to sing them my new song For every place there is a bus That'll

Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03679678300841120058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878587383514800931.post-52463570421488977252013-08-30T11:45:00.000-04:002013-08-30T11:54:17.617-04:00

Moi-meme: Love-filled and bubbly-all-over. Days like today make me remember why I feel so lucky to be a part of my family.&nbsp; Things happen, like my little sister calls me to tell me that she's just found out she's having her first son - a new little brother to my niece Ava, a new cousin to my son Roman - and suddenly, my heart, my life, feels so full I could burst.&nbsp; We have so many

Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03679678300841120058noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878587383514800931.post-7601017884020533272013-08-16T18:56:00.000-04:002016-05-15T18:57:51.120-04:00

Dennis Port, Cape Cod, MA 2013 The Summer windcame blowin' in, from across the sea. It lingered there to touch your hair and walk with me. All summer long we sang a song and then we strolled that golden sand - Two sweethearts - and the summer wind. Frank Sinatra / Lyrics by Johnny Mercer *&nbsp; *&nbsp; * NOTE: I found this unfinished post in my drafts and decided

Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03679678300841120058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878587383514800931.post-29195392401485504032013-08-15T17:52:00.000-04:002013-08-15T17:53:00.690-04:00

The Rabe: Highly Bolted. Amicable Alimentations: A series of posts with no predictable order or timing dedicated to a delicious food and the friend who most reminds me of it or inspired me to love it.&nbsp; Here's the link to post number one, number two, number three, and this, of course, is post number four in the series. *&nbsp; *&nbsp; * We are getting ready to head NE for Matt's

Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03679678300841120058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878587383514800931.post-91361449286772757112013-08-01T13:32:00.000-04:002013-08-15T17:37:28.910-04:00

Summer Peach Pie - Oh my. I started to write this post almost exactly a year ago.&nbsp; A colleague of Matt's from London happens to own a house in the amazingly beautiful mountains of Western Colorado - in&nbsp; Telluride to be exact - and he invited us for a weekend trip at the last minute.&nbsp; Despite the long drive (6-7 hours), and the fact that we hadn't even finished unpacking our

Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03679678300841120058noreply@blogger.com1