Cindy Pease Roe- Featured Artist September 2011

  This week, my very talented AND very cool cousin, Cindy Pease Roe, was featured in an online editorial showcasing her marine inspired collection of paintings. Cousin Cindy spent her Cape Cod childhood on the water and around boats so it comes at no surprise that she rents studio space from a boatyard in Greenport, NY, to do the majority of her work. The studio not only reflects her love for the art of boat building, but also the devotion for preserving the traditional crafts. 

the typical subject and Cindy's studio/gallery

Cindy is drawn to boatyards as the subject of her paintings because she sees it as a dying art with marinas being replaced with condominiums. She desires to capture the history and craft of boat building at a time where they are threatened of becoming obsolete.

poetry reading outside the "studio" in the boatyard

Most recently in her latest collection "Nautical Musings" Cindy creates dreamlike collages with her own photography and Xerox transfers of boat images with encaustic wax. I love that technique to capture history and make it modern!

I encourage you to check out Cousin Cindy's website or blog:
www.cindyroe.com 
http://cindypeaseroe.blogspot.com/

If you have an artist you would like to nominate for next month's Featured Artist please leave a comment below. 


enjoy!

The Best of the Boob Tube

For cereal, I haven't watched T.V. for 3 years or longer. It's not that I don't like watching television, it just seems like there's nothing on but reality tv, (which totally sucks) until NOW.

So thanks to commercials, I found 3 new shows to DVR and I loved them all! You should set your DVR too and tell me what you think. 

Here's what to watch:

1. Two and a Half Men- Recently I watched the movie "No Strings Attached" and fell in love with A.K. He's just as cute on Two and a Half Men and shows just about as much skin. No complaints here!

2.  2 Broke Girls- This comedy is written by the same writer as SATC so you're almost guaranteed to love it. The series chronicles the lives of two young women, one born broke (Kat Dennings) and the other new to the land of poor (Beth Behrs), who dream of opening a cupcake business using only their earnings from waitressing in a Brooklyn diner. Sounds like the story of my life right?

(Comes on right after Two and a Half Men) 

3.  New Girl- This comedy stars Zooey Dashanel as the simply adorkable, recently dumped school teacher who moves in with 3 guys. This show made me LOL more than a few times, as Jess the main character, reminded me of a hodge podge of my best friends without all the nerdy attributes.

Enjoy the shows and let me know if I am missing any other chick shows!

Words to Live by = Inspiration

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

Mark Twain

Hillsboro Lighthouse

One of my favorite memories growing up in South Florida (if not my absolute favorite) was spending summer weekends at the Hillsboro Club. As a kid, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to climb to the top of the lighthouse with my best friend Kelsey and her family, a memory I will never forget.

Now since I have returned from college and am grown up, driving over the Hillsboro Inlet Bridge and down "Millionaire Mile" still gives me the warmest peaceful feeling. I kept my 

favorite lighthouse close by; my first post-graduate studio had an awesome view of the lighthouse, especially at night.

Fun Fact of the day: During the prohibition, lighthouse keeper Thomas Knight's brother built a restaurant on an island near the inlet. Rum running boats entered the inlet and illegal booze was served at this restaurant, called "Club Unique". During WWII this club was a secret meeting place for President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Prime Minister Anthony Eden amongst others. These world leaders would often spent time near the lighthouse. To this day the Coast Guard still utilizes the lighthouse keeper's cottages for both retired and active military families. 

To learn more about the "Big Diamond" as locals call it, visit www.HillsboroLighthouse.org. You can even schedule a tour!

The Birth of Blogging

I don't intend for my blog to be about recipes, it just happens to be what I'm learning these days! This recipe comes from my "roommate", who is teaching me a thing or two about the kitchen (finally) and what can and cannot go in the dishwasher. Tonight it was served with homemade guacamole and ground turkey tacos for a family get together with my "roommates" and my mom! Watermelon Gazpacho  My mom told me tonight that about 20-30 years ago she went on a "gazpacho diet" and lost 20 pounds! I'm pretty sure she has also been on an ice cream diet, which comes close to my mermaid diet, which I will save for another post. Ingredients: - 1 large red bell pepper - 1 ear corn - 3 cups seedless watermelon - 2 1/2 pounds ripe red heirloom tomatoes - 1 English cucumber, peeled and seeded (English cucumbers are plastic wrapped!) - 1 chipotle in adobo, seeds removed, coarsely chopped - 2 teaspoons chipotle adobo sauce - 2 scallions, white and green parts only - 1 garlic clove -1 jalopeno - 3 Tablespoons lime juice - 1/3 cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped - 2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil - 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

How to: 1. Roast Peppers and Corn: Roast red bell peppers over an open flame until blackened. Put into a paper bag for 5 minutes then peel off charred skin and remove seeds and stem. Roast corn over a flame, turning frequently, until the corn is charred. 2. Chop and Puree: Roughly chop watermelon, tomatoes, cucumber, roasted red peppers and jalapeno. Cut corn off cob. Combine. Add chipotle and adobo, scallions, garlic, lime juice, cilantro, olive oil and salt. In a blender, puree the mixture until smooth. Transfer to a pitcher. Chill and serve in glasses (or a shot glass)! Add sour cream and jalapenos to taste.