Birds and Tomato

I think it's really interesting that I keep drawing something that I really don't love to eat. It just shows that aesthetics are most important to me when it comes to painting food. {print available}

Cherry Banners

I rarely eat a cherry alone, but absolutely love cherry pie. It's always my number one choice when several flavors are presented before me. {print available}

Toast

Okay, I'm really excited about this...I'm only days away from finally having prints available of my food illustrations. Just hold on and I'll let you know when I'm ready. Woo hoo! {print available}

Pickled Beets

I love pickled beets, but my husband doesn't. That means I don't get them much since he does the shopping.

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Carrots Popping

My husband just pulled a ton of carrots out of the garden. Tomatoes are now dwindling and the carrots are popping.

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The Pear Earrings

It seems as the year progresses I get busier and busier. It just might be that my son is now over a year old and has to be chased constantly. This results in fast, odd food photos...like these pear earrings. {print available}

Pumpkins

Have I mentioned how much I love the fall...especially when adorned with pumpkins, gourds, and dried corn?

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Fruit Boxes

I was just thinking about how lovely those little wooden fruit boxes are...especially when filled with berries and such.

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Banana Necklace

I know, this is my first official person with fruit jewelery dangling around her neck. I was just up for a new challenge today.

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Fall Pears

It's officially fall...my favorite time of year!

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Contains Peanut Butter

At a potluck this weekend one dish had a note taped on it that read "Contains Peanut Butter". Though I know this is a warning for those with peanut allergies, it was a neon sign to me announcing the delicacy inside. {print available}

Breakfast Burrito

This is a treat we enjoy when visiting the Des Moines farmer's market, but now my husband makes them when we have out-of-town guests. A bonus for us this past weekend.

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Dandelion Wine

Wine can be created with anything...even those pesky, yet beautiful flowers in our pristine lawns. I loved the image of this dandelion wine and just had to draw it. Please take a peak yourself at Rebecca Brenner's blog, Playful Noshings.

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Another Birthday

Today is my son's eleventh birthday. You may be wondering why we've had so many celebrations the past couple of weeks...its because we didn't plan well and had all three of our kids within a two and a half week span. The end of August through mid-September is party time for us. {print available}

Thanks for the 100

I really can't believe it. Yesterday I gained my 100th official follower! As a big thanks I want to give all of you $20 off a Lunch Box Project card painting through next Monday, September 21 (they are normally $65, now $45 for the week...and they are original paintings). A big thanks for reading all these silly posts over the past nine months!

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Brownie Bites

We had family visiting this weekend for our kids' big birthday bash. I was worried we wouldn't have enough cake for everyone so bought these cute little brownies with cream cheese frosting as a backup. There was plenty of cake, so we got to enjoy these the next day. {print available}

Pretty Lunch Bags

I was helping our visitors pack a lunch for their trip home yesterday when I realized how nice it is to re-use a pretty bag to store all your goodies. We just used a simple store bag, but you could also use gifts bags. How neat is that?

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Butternut Squash

We have these beautiful butternut squash in the garden and I just don't know what to do with them. Any ideas? Remember, I am a simple cook.

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Forks Galore

All I can say is that this has been a really busy week and it's a miracle I can even pull together an image of flying forks.

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A Wagon Full of Tomatoes

So many tomatoes are popping out of our garden that we have to find places to store them. Our wagon is one spot. It's strategically placed so we can encourage visitors to grab a bunch. We even hand them a plastic bag to make it a little easier. {print available}

Ham and Cheese...and a Little Mayo

My son does not like any mayo-based sauces, which rules out potato salad, macaroni salad, coleslaw, etc. But, for some reason, has started a love affair with mayonnaise on ham and cheese sandwiches. {print available}

Q is for Quiche

Quiche is such a lovely way to enjoy eggs. We used to have a food vendor at work that would change their quiche weekly. I really miss that. {print available}

Leaves and Pear

A pear to start off the work week. Hope you all enjoyed Labor Day!

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White Pumpkins

It's nearing pumpkin and gourd decorating season. We love stopping by a local farm to pick colorful and oddly shaped gourds to toss into a pretty basket at home.

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Eggplant

Such a beautiful vegetable with such rich color. I think I've only had it once or twice in my life, but we still grow it in our garden and just pass it on to others. {print available}

P is for Pineapple

Shall I dare admit I've never had a fresh pineapple? We eat it all the time, but its always popped out of a tin can.

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Peach Pie and other Niceties

A few days ago someone gave us a homemade peach pie in return for a favor. Ten minutes after they left, our neighbors to the east delivered a homemade funnel cake. Should I mention the homemade peach jelly and kringla our neighbors to the northeast brought over last night? I am so thankful for all the generous chefs in our neighborhood. {Big thanks to the G-Family, K-Family and Marita!} {print available}

Hot Diggity Dog

The hardest thing about our move to Iowa twenty years ago was the scarcity of a good hotdog. There are some good "Iowa" hotdogs, but not the typical, throw everything on top and wrapped in a poppy-seed bun. It makes our trips to the Chicagoland area even more special. {print available}

Cake Under Glass

One of my favorite things is a covered cake dish. It makes any dessert...new or left-over...beautiful. Our dish is still holding my daughter's birthday cupcakes that we'll be using tonight for my son's birthday. He just turned one and won't mind the pink hearts. Don't worry, we'll have a real party for him later with his own cake. {print available}

Just Peachy

My brother bought this for a visiting friend, but they never ate it, so we inherited it. It will become part of my husband's late night snack ritual...jelly on crackers.

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