To the degree that those fears have a place in your life, you neither believe I am good nor know deep in your heart that I love you. You sing about it; you talk about it, but you don't know it.

The Shack
-William P Young

I'm with Ree on this one...

I am addicted to Bokeh! I once laughed when I read this article from Ree http://thepioneerwoman.com/photography/2009/03/addicted-to-bokeh/
But now, I understand. I have seen the light. I'm officially a bokeh freak!


According to Wikipedia...

Bokeh (derived from Japanese, a noun boke 暈け, meaning "blur" or "haze") is a photographic term referring to the appearance of point of light sources in an out-of-focus area of an image produced by a camera lens using a shallow depth of field.[1] Different lens bokeh produces different aesthetic qualities in out-of-focus backgrounds, which are often used to reduce distractions and emphasize the primary subject.

Phew, I'm so glad my bokeh addiction is out in the open now. I feel so much better!

Off to cook some dinner...

-jess

Sister Photoshoot

This evening I spent some time at my parents house and had a great time playing with my camera with my lovely sister. Here are some of the shots I thought turned out nicely... actually, my sister is gorgeous so any Joe Shmo could take a pic of her and it would be amazing.

Rainy Day

Here in California, we had a burst of heat for a few weeks and the temp was up into the 90's. I loved it. It was such a nice change from all the gloomy rainyness. But here we are a few weeks later and we are getting a few drizzles here and there. I'm not complaining. Its funny how when you get used to the weather being a certain way, and once it changes drastically you learn to love that weather. Anyway, I've been enjoying snuggleing up in my PJ'S with a cup of tea, as well as making my way outside when the rain decides to take a break to snap a few photos. I love the beautiful rain drops that God leaves on the leaves and flowers after the rain. I think its such a vivid reminder of God's grace and how it rains down upon us each day. I mean, grace is like the rain in that there is nothing we do to make it rain... we don't sing a special song and then all the sudden it rains. No, we don't even live life in such a way that makes us deserve rain. Yet, despite our depravity, and wretchedness, the rain still falls. Grace like rain falls on us, not because we sing a song, do a dance, or live in a way that makes us deserve it...it falls only because of a merciful God that loves us. Thank you LORD, for sending Your Son to die for us. We are but dirt...we are less than dirt. Thank you for saving us. Amen.

Tuesday dose of cuteness...

I love this Emmi Blue puppy. She brightens my days :-)

Herb Table- thank you Martha Stewart!

OK, so a while back my husband and I were watching Martha Stewart (yes, sometimes my husband watches those kinds of shows with me, AND actually enjoys them. Strange, I know)... anyway, we saw this nifty little thing that she called a Salad Table. Now, it is already past salad growing season here, and so I thought "hmm I wonder if I could do the same thing but plant herbs instead...". So yesterday the hubs and I went to Home Depot, Lowes, and OSH and got all the supplies needed for making our very own HERB TABLE :-)

Here is the link to Martha's Salad Table for instructions, supplies and all that jazz...
www.marthastewart.com/article/salad-table?autonomy_kw=salad%20table&rsc=image_1

Honestly though, I think ours turned out better, and WAY more cute. What do you think?


HERBS: lemon balm, strawberry, mint, sweet basil, parsley, and onion chives


My HOT Fireman husband building our Herb Table. Isn't he a hunk? I think so!



I couldn't resist showing you this- my new rose bush. Its called "Angel Face". My great grandmother always had the most lovely lavender roses, that smelled so sweetly. I love it, and I love that we have such a creative Creator God!


Well, thanks for listening to my ramblings. I let you know how the Herb Table grows- I'm hoping to have a full herb garden!

Grace & Peace-
j

New Toy...

I got a new camera :-) A Nikon D80, and I'm pretty sure I'm in love. I'm so excited to finally have a nice SLR camera, and am having a great time learning to use it. Its been SO fun! Anyway, I'm hoping that this blog can be a place to share my love for life, cooking, projects, and (new love) photography. So, to start this new phase of my blog I thought I'd post a few of my favorite photos that I've taken so far.


Spring has bloomed.


This little light of mine.


My best model- Emmi.