Butternut Squash Soup

To be honest, I don't have an exact recipe to share with you...but here is a delicious butternut squash soup I made for dinner tonight! I started by preparing the veggies to be roasted - butternut squash, potatoes, celery, carrots, shallots, and grated fresh ginger. I then tossed them with some olive oil and roasted them in the oven for about an hour. After the veggies were tender, I transferred them to a pot on the stove and added chicken broth, cumin, garlic, salt, cayenne and black pepper to taste. With a hand-held blender, I puréed the mixture to an almost smooth consistency and served it topped with shaved Parmesan cheese and chopped chives. I think I succeeded in making this ALMOST as good as my mom's version :)

Kohar & Raffi's Wedding!!

I think that I may actually have been equally if not more excited and impatient about seeing these pictures than the bride and groom themselves! When my friend Kohar started planning her wedding and was in search of a photographer, the first person that came to mind was my friend Jake who shoots for {Mike Larson}. We were classmates in college and I have been following his {blog} and always love seeing his beautiful photos so I knew he would be perfect for shooting Kohar and Raffi's wedding. Their {engagement photos} were just a glimpse of what was to come...these pictures from the wedding day are absolutely stunning! Not only were the bride and groom seriously one of the most gorgeous couples I have seen, but they made great models and the creative and technical skill level of Jake, Steven, and Necia is very impressive. As Jake called it in his blog, this was definitly a Big Fat Armenian Wedding - with its 400 guests and 3 day long celebration filled with lots of love, fun and tradition. I'm sure this was quite a challenge - it's not everyday they shoot weddings this big with a bunch of crazy people like us loud Armenians, but I think they did a fantastic job. I wish Kohar and Raffi a lifetime of health and happiness. Congrats to you both! <3

Handmade Fabric Napkin Rings

This weekend was all about (much overdue) resting, sleeping in, enjoying downtown, and best of all catching up on some therapeutic craft time. I did some serious damage to my wallet at {The Cotton Ball} in Morro Bay as I have done before...and here is what I came up with for my first project using my new fabrics! Stay tuned for more to come :) These will be for sale soon when I get my {Etsy} shop up and running!