in between

photograph by rinne allen

ice beauty

every morning i take my dogs on the same walk through a neighborhood path and down the train tracks.  it is a quiet and peaceful time that i have to myself and look forward to each day.  one thing that i love about it is seeing how things that i see everyday change from day to do...with the weather and the seasons.  it may be the leaves starting to change color, buds coming out, flowers blooming, dew, or frost from a cold night.  the other day i walked past a puddle that had iced over from the cold evening.  it was just starting to break as the sun was starting to warm thing up.  it was lovely. 

photos and words by kristen bach

woodpile

photograph by rinne allen

quince & roses

the quince is beginning to bloom. it looks beautiful on its own, but, on this day, i had a handful of roses leftover from something and i tucked them in for extra color....i like it both ways.

words & photographs by rinne allen

charred onion and radish dip

i'm not one for watching football but my family is.  every year my folks throw a little gathering for the superbowl and my mom asked me to bring something over to snack on. 

i made a charred onion and radish dip.  it's almost in the family of spinach and artichoke dip....a warm and comforting winter app that can be served with crackers, bread, or tortilla chips. 

-coat a baking sheet with olive oil

-thinly slice 2 onions and carefully arrange on your baking sheet

-brush tops of onions with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt

-broil in oven until tops start to blacken, remove from oven

-in a bowl, combine 2 Tbsp mayo, 2 Tbsp cream cheese, 1/2 cup shredded pepper jack (if you would like some spice) or swiss cheese

-stir in your onions and 4 radishes sliced like matchsticks

-stir all ingredients together and spoon into a oven safe bowl or small baking dish

-sprinkle with some more shredded cheese and bake in oven at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes

photo and recipe by kristen bach

indoor plants in winter

we were recently at our friend cameron's house (see our post from earlier this week here) and we loved seeing all of her house plants. granted, it was a particularly grey day, so their green was extra-refreshing.

words & photographs by rinne allen

winter's chartreuse

photo by kristen bach

daffodil repotting

photograph by rinne allen

crepe myrtle

photo by kristen bach

vines in greenhouse

photograph by rinne allen

rain on screen

photograph by rinne allen

curly willow

photograph by rinne allen

yellow holly

photograph by rinne allen

In Bloom

our friend hope hilton is curating a show at ciné , titled 'in bloom'. after all of her artists had installed their pieces, i came in and created a piece for the show, a simple flower arrangement. nothing showy, just what i found in the garden earlier today. i did tuck in a sprig of winter honeysuckle from a neighbor for fragrance, and also some browned camellias from another friend...i plan on going in and changing it or freshening it up over the next 6 weeks while the show hangs.

arrangement and words by rinne allen

winter squash + coconut soup

i make soups a couple of times a week throughout the winter months.  i love packing a ton of vegetable, flavors, and nutrients into one pot and getting a good baguette to go alongside.

this week i roasted some winter squashes that i had been storing and used up some other vegetables we had on hand to make a delicious winter soup.  i always try to have coconut milk on hand so i can add them to soups when they call for them.  this soup can be made with carrots, sweet potatoes, winter squash or a combination of all three!

-pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.  

-cut two small or one large winter squash(s) in half and gut.  apply a light coat of coconut oil to a baking sheet and put the squashes cut side down.  roast in the oven until the squash is tender, 30-40 minutes should be good but depends on the variety of squash.

-in a large soup pan dice a yellow onion and green pepper, 3 inches of fresh ginger, 4 cloves of garlic, and saute in 1 Tbsp of coconut oil.

-when the vegetables are tender, add 4 cups of vegetable stock.  

-dice 3 small sweet potatoes (or 2 large) and 3 carrots and add to soup pot.  When the winter squash is done, spoon out the squash and add to the pot.  

-cook on medium heat until all of the vegetables are tender.  

-slowly add 1 can of full fat coconut milk.  Remove from heat and let cool for a bit.

-in batches, blend soup until it is very smooth.  Return to heat, stir in sea salt to taste.  

-top with some sriracha sauce if you want to add some spice.

-enjoy!     

winter clippings

it has been drizzly all day, but i still went for a little walk in the yard to see what i could find for today's arrangement...i found some classic southern winter beauty: clematis seedpods, early hellebores, wintersweet, hazel, and fatsia berries. i placed them all in an old container that was my grandmother's.

arrangement and photographs by rinne allen

early hellebores & branch

one of the first flowers to bloom, hellebores have always been one of my favorites, partially because of their early appearance, but also because they remind me of the yard i grew up in. these early white ones came from my mother's garden, and i brought them home and tucked them in this found branch, at the suggestion of my 6 year old.

perfection.

words & photographs by rinne allen

fading

photograph by rinne allen