Little Nemo Hosting!

Finally,  little Nemo hosted with the rose tip anemone.  FI-NA-LLY!  it was worth the wait. ;)

Cinnamon Palmiers

What to do with all that left over puff pastry?  Well, these little guys are super easy and so very yummy.

recipe:

1/3c. sugar

1 1/2 t. cinnamon

1/4 c. butter 

preheat the oven to 400.  

Take the puff pastry you have, thaw, and cut into long rectangular pieces.  lay over a well sugar and cinnamon-ed (I realize this is not a word out of webster, but I think it's pretty easy to understand) surface.  melt butter, mix the butter sugar and cinnamon together.  spoon out and layer the mixture over the dough.  Roll the dough starting from each end in. Then cut at a slight diagonal about a 1/2 inch thick and lay over a baking sheet with parchment paper.  (I butter my parchment but that's just me... extra flavor).

Family

Grandmommy Kiseko with baby Dorothy June Hilliard, my mother, in San Francisco Sept. 1952.
Grandaddy Charles Wesley Hilliard with Aunt Theresa and mama Dorothy.

Cork it, drink it, bury it... bottles.

Something to do with wine bottles for all those wine-o's out there.  Feel free to polish off a couple more while making the perfect border for your lovely garden.

Love Bean

Aquarium UpGrade!

80 GALLONS BITCHES!!!

                             

then there's... THE CLAM!!!

We shall call him, PEARL...

itsallhiphop

itsallhiphop

moments.

Maybe it was the dehydration and hours of sun baking, maybe it was the medicinal smore I won't say more about, maybe it was just one of those perfect moments... and to me, this was one perfect moment.

shades of grey.

http://soundcloud.com/jessica-roselius

Salted Chocolate and Peanut-Butter Cupcakes

Salted Chocolate and Peanut-Butter Cupcakes

                                                                             with love... jRo

                                                        

the Recipe for these simple delights...

• preheat oven to 325 degrees
• one box of vanilla cake mix
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 c. vegetable oil
• 1 c. water
• fill cup-cake tins (with the cake sheets already placed) about 1/2 or 2/3 full.
• place one dark chocolate reese cup inside each cupcake batter.
• bake for 22-25 minutes.  check with a toothpick.

      chocolate frosting:

• 6 T. unsalted butter (soft)
• 2 c. powdered sugar (I sometimes use more or less, depending on how sweet I want it.)
• 1 t. vanilla extract
• 3/4 c. dark cocoa powder
• 1/3 c. milk

this is a standard chocolate frosting recipe... I love playing around with the ingredients, tasting along the way, to see what will fit your cake of choice.

enjoy!

Sentinel Dome, Yosemite

the view...

The Remedy is Yosemite...

view from campsite hammock

What a trip, what a time.   When you are surrounded by such a mass amount of nature with beauty so magnificent it brings tears to your eyes; even the loudest mind is forced to shut-up.

  I had the great opportunity of joining my love and his family on their yearly trip to Yosemite.  And when I say yearly, I mean this kid has been going to Yosemite for 26 years now, since he was 2 months old.  His mother had been here every year since she was 4 yrs. old and so on.  So it was quite the privilege to go to one of the most beautiful places on earth with professionals.  

 We ate well, drank well, and lived well.  Every day was an adventure, and at the same time, more relaxing  than the next.  Hikes, waterfalls, wild life, and Half Dome give you a glimpse into the magnitude of this majestic landmark.  I'd have to say my favorite part of the trip was river rafting.  The water was not at it's fullest so it was more like river floating but I preferred it that way anyway.  You just cruised down this crystal clear river while gazing up at the mountains and floating by waterfalls. Pretty amazing, to say the least.

 I had such a wonderful time.  My mind, body, and soul feel replenished.  Some quality time with good friends and good family.  I'd say this was quite the trip.  And how lucky are we, all across America, to be in driving distance from this place of ultimate creation!  We're lucky.  And I am thankful.

My Love

Vernal Falls

Tuolumne Meadows

Happy Mother's Day.

 

  Today I reflected upon a memory.  The memory of the first time I ever ordered mint-chocolate chip ice cream on my own.  I was nine I believe, and just so you know, my favorite ice-cream is mint chocolate chip and it became that after this event in my life.
Twas a hot summer day in Hickville Kentucky.  Also known as Nicholasville.  My step-mother Kathy and I go to grab a scoop at the local baskin robbins.  I think this was the first time we had ever gotten ice-cream together.  Usually my mom and I would get ice-cream at the baskin robbins in Dallas.  The one that was walking distance from my Aunt-Theresa's house.   It was always a fun journey, walking the alley way on warm summer evenings, plucking honey-suckle's from draping vines on your way to ice-cream.  One-hundred percent of the time my mom would get mint-chocolate chip ice cream in a waffle cone.  I would usually get oreo cookie ice cream or the peppermint candy ice cream in a kids cone.  Every time.  My mom used to ask me to try her ice cream and sometimes I would sometimes I wouldn't.  I was seven or eight at the time so it was never as good as what I had and that was that.
Back to the hot summer day in Kentucky; Kathy got a scoop of butter- pecan or praline or some weird ice cream flavor in a waffle cone, and I got, without much thought, a scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream in a waffle cone.  This is what I wanted.  This is all I wanted.  I looked at this delicous scoop of ice cream and all I could think about was my mom.  And how all I wanted was the exact same thing she found to be so perfectly delicious.  It was the only flavor I found to be appealing out of baskin robbins 31 flavors.  Or 34 flavors or 72, how ever many it has.  That cold minty cream and shaved chocolate sealed the deal.
Nonetheless from this day forward, my ice cream of choice has been mint chocolate chip and always will be mint chocolate chip.  I am almost positive of this.

So, to you mom, cheers to mint chocolate chip ice cream.  I will carry on the flavor for you through generations to come.   Unless a better one comes along... but there won't be so no worries on that.

I love you mom.  Happy Mother's Day.

-J

Mint Chocolate and Dark Chocolate Chip Layered Ice Cream Cake.

Mint Chocolate and Dark Chocolate layered ice cream cake.

Fun Day with the Fam.

   Baileyana/Tangent Winery:  enjoying some delicious sparkling wine, a delightful albarino, and some good times with the family here on the beautiful Central Coast.  Even though they killed me at bocce ball, something they had never played before I might add...

Die Antwoord - Zef Side (Official)

BRINGIN THAT NEXT LEVEL SHIZ.

I Fink Yo Freaky and I like you ALot!

                                   I FINK YO FREAKY- AND I LIKE YOU ALOT!


  Die Antwoord gave one hell of a performance at the Club Nokia LA Friday night.  Such an energetic show!

  These performance Gangstas from South Africa really gave us a show to be fired up about until the next time we see them live.  These peeps are weird.  DJ High Tech stayed somewhat out of the light by covering his face with a freaky mask.  With that said, this guy is a music genius.  Perfect sound, perfect time, perfect beats, and constant energy.
 With most rap bands- there can be a lot of dead moments in a live performance.  With electronic/dub-step sets, there are a few flat moments.  Everyone loses momentum for a bit.  This could be the high intake of ecstacy flowing through the mindstream in all these little teenagers, but lets, for now, say it's the music.  Die Antwoord?  Not a dead moment, no lulls, no stop, go go go the whole time.  It rocked.  They rocked the Mic!  Ninja did some free-style, suprisingly awesome; Yolandi gave us all Yolandi and more!  Her voice and style was just as fun-quirky live as she is in the studio.
 What's great about these guys, is they are better live.  They are true performers and true survivors who worked hard to get to where they are.  Live is not always better but in this case it is.  They win you over with their clear talent and freaky confidence.   Whether you like their music or not, you will leave happy.