fading

photograph by rebecca wood

side of the road

i have passed by this old place for 20 years and wondered about it. i finally decided to get trespassing and document it. there were black cows all around the house. you could tell they had never seen a human around that place, and they watched intently from a distance. it was the biggest excitement they'd had in awhile.

as usually happens, looks like it was used for a hunting lodge or a party place after it quit being lived in, but still lots of beauty!

words and photographs by rebecca wood

little ones

photograph by rebecca wood

dark landscapes

on a warm grey afternoon, I explored the nearby community garden. the light made the landscape look like a painting by courbet, dark and deep.

words and photographs by rebecca wood

silhouetted branch

photograph by rebecca wood

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

after the rain

photo by kristen bach

the perfect sweet potato

today i am sharing a way to make the perfect sweet potato.  my friend kat shared her method with me last year and i have never looked back, it always makes the perfect sweet potato. 

-pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees 

-wash your sweet potatoes, organic if available

-place them directly on the wire rack

-bake for 45 minutes

-enjoy

photo and words by kristen bach, recipe by kat howkins of sweet olive farm

teal

photograph by rebecca wood

sky drawings

all the leaves are gone now, just bare branches against the grey sky. they almost look like energetic drawings. I may make some like this soon...

words and photographs by rebecca wood

brick wall

photograph by rebecca wood

madison, after christmas

in the lazy post christmas days, I decided I needed a drive in the country...winter pasture scenes are my favorite roadside pleasures. I drove to madison, georgia and took pictures of some of the many wonderful homes there, many still decked out out for christmas.

enjoy dreaming!

words and photographs by rebecca wood

panels

photograph by rebecca wood

rebecca's house

I moved into the cutest place ever this past year. it's a little house on a corner, built in 1918. it reminds me so much of my young art school days because back then we all lived in rented rooms in old houses in this neighborhood. inside is a surplus of visual beauty, and outside, garden space galore and a secret garden out back! more on that later...

for now, here's some of the beauty I am blessed to see every day.

words and photographs by rebecca wood

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

winter window

photograph by rebecca wood

candied kumquats

being so close to florida, we get a lot of fresh citrus throughout the winter.  i love making candied kumquats and snacking on them and using them on a variety of desserts. 

candied kumquats

1 cup water
1 cup raw sugar
1 pint kumquats, thinly sliced
sea salt
cardamon
raw sugar for sprinkling

directions:
-in a large frying pan, boil 1 cup water and add the 1 cup sugar- stir until dissolved, simmer
-add a layer of the thinly sliced kumquats to the simple syrup mixture
-simmer for 5-6 minutes, making sure not to burn
-lightly sprinkle some sea salt and cardamon over the kumquats
-using metal tongs, turn the kumquats and simmer for another 5-6 minutes
-cover a wire rack covered in parchment paper
-remove the kumquats from the heat, one by one and place a single layer on the parchment paper.
-let cool and dry for 1 hour and sprinkle with sugar!

photos and recipe by kristen bach

happy holidays...

wishing you all a happy holiday, wherever you may be!

we will be back in this space on january 1, 2015...