STUFFED MUSHROOMS | a recipe

I  seriously love mushrooms, and a few days ago I made one of my favorites for dinner. 

and I thought I'd share the recipe. 

STEP 1: wash about 10 mushrooms and finely chop 1/2 of a small onion

 

STEP 2: gently remove stems from the mushrooms

STEP 3: chop 1/2 of a small green or red pepper and a small tomato

STEP 4: whip 1/2 bar of cream cheese until smooth

STEP 5: add a quarter pound of fried sausage

2 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. garlic salt

sauteed tomato and pepper 

 STEP 6: mix thoroughly with the cream cheese 

take a tablespoon of filling and drop it into each mushroom

 

STEP 7: once all the mushrooms are filled, place in a baking sheet and top with cheese

 

STEP 8: bake for 24 minutes at 400*

 

STEP 9:  EAT. ENJOY. MAKE MORE. 

xxx. marcia

i've found the dearest chum.

 

 

 

 

"We don't know where we're going, but isn't it fun to go?" -L.M. Montgomery

the blue castle by l.m montgomery has been on my to-read list for over a year now. i had placed it on hold at the library three times, and each time the hold expired before i was able to pick it up. two weeks ago, i finally checked it out... along with seven others. I was in such a rush to read the others that i pushed off the blue castle until last. it isn't one of those books that you want to read in a rush because you can't wait to finish it. it's the type that makes you stop make a cup of tea (the truest sign of excitement- to be sure), grab a blanket, and savor and absorb each word. it was one of the only books that i truly wanted to underline in. (not that i haven't read other good books; i have a truck load of splendid ones) but, there was something in me that longed to underline the words that touched me so.

it tells the story of a girl who lived twenty nine dull and lonely years of her life alone- except for her demanding and overbearing family. That is, until she found out she didn't have much life left.

she made up her mind that her last year was going to be happy. she learned to look past the rough walls people build up to who they are inside. she learned to be the person she was made to be- instead of the person everyone else wanted her to be. she met a boy who called her "sweets, darling, and Moonlight" and fell in love. she learned to see real beauty. she learned to love simple things in life. she learned to love adventures. she learned to laugh. she learned to be free.

but most of all, she learned to  l i v e

and now i know i've found the one of the dearest chums on earth.

xx. marcia

(erm. now go read it!) 

also: i'm back for real this time. summer has been lovely, but i am more than ready to get back to blogging and normal life. >> photos and stories from our trip to CALIFORNIA coming soon!

it's rodeos and county fairs...

|| post title from  t h i s  song ||

we spent the evening at our county fair last monday. mostly we just walked around, smelled the delish carnival food (and the not-so-delish smells in the barns), ran into old classmates, walked through tons of 4H animal exhibits, listened to the screams from the carnival, and had a picnic on the grass. and i took loads of carnival bokeh pictures and played around with manual mode. (manual mode is fabulous, guys)

it was just basically all awesomeness, and i've decided the county fair is my favorite part of summer. 

xx. marcia

p.s. speaking of shooting in manual mode, i listened to the live stream of Jasmine Star + her second shooter / hubby JD's workshop on "The Art of Second Shooting" and woah, woah, woah. i just kinda want to go second shoot a wedding, like now. practically, i am so not there yet, but this was the best motivational course ever. it was the bomb-diggity. 

(and it's actually rebroadcasting >>here<< right now, and you should totally go listen to it.)

the cry of my heart.

(photos from over the last year)

a few days ago I came across this quote on tumblr.....

"if you want to know what someone fears losing, watch what they photograph." -unknown 

that just stuck in my mind. I kept thinking about it throughout the rest of the day. I was in the process of finishing backing up all my photos from my computer to our hard drive. and I was looking through some of my photos and observing what I photographed the most.

i realized....
i'm afraid of losing the sound of laughter from my friends and family.
i'm afraid of losing the cloudy rainy days that i love so much.
i'm afraid of losing the beautiful  l i f e  i've been given.
i'm afraid of forgetting all the simple joys in life... cups of coffee and tea, favorite books, the way the sun shines through the slats in the blinds leaving patterns on the floor, the stack of messy dishes on the counter which i was avoiding, the messy hair days, the wildflowers swaying in the breeze along the highway... i don't want to forget that.  

you see, there is nothing wrong with living a simple life.

"But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more [in brotherly love], that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands..."          -1 Thessalonians 4: 10-11

 i can get so caught up in all the things i need to get done that i forget what's the most important. America (and the world in general) has such an attitude of busy-ness. We rush from one thing to the next; we are literally attached to our technology 24/7 (you might as well super glue them to your hands); and we build our lives around the next big thing or deal. through all this, we forget about the God who created us. we push His plans onto the back shelf and carry on as if our life is still our own. THIS IS NOT OUR LIFE.. we've have been bought with a price, and that price was the Son of God dying on that cross for us. Yet we push off our morning devotions and prayer time, each time promising ourselves "I'll do it tomorrow when I have more time." or "I am to busy right now, I'll make up for it later."

we are all guilty of it.

i am guilty of it. i am guilty of putting God on the back shelf, even though i want to be living my life in reckless abandon.  

but, it's stopping here. I am tired of the busy. I am tired of missing the important things that God created especially for me to enjoy. I am tired of spending time on the stuff that doesn't matter, and missing the stuff that does. and I want the cry of my heart to be the same cry of seventeen year old Amy Carmichael...

"Nothing could [will] ever matter [to me] again, but the things that were [are] eternal." -amy carmichael

xx. marcia

an overload of cuteness | k + k

we got to babysit these little darlings a few weeks ago. they played around in our backyard, laughing and playing while I snapped these shots. they dug around in the rocks finding bugs and squealing with delight as they squashed them. (so much for being "little angels". haha ;)) 

but really, K & K are two of the sweetest little girls on the planet. 

b e a u t i f u l,   b a b y

you're sweeter than strawberry pie. just like the morning, your smile brings the sun that shines...

every day the sky is a deeper shade of blue, when I'm with you....

you make me believe in love.

when i'm with you - jj heller

            aren't they the sweetest?

            xx. marcia