 
Momentum. Mom mentioned that word in her last post (which you should go read because it introduces our next series). It feels like a good word for this season. We just started all the fall things, school and routines. All the things you let go of in the summer so you can adventure without being quite as tied down to home. I love them both. I love the freedom (and warmth) of summer, going hiking, and camping and exploring, not caring what programming we’ll miss with preschool or small groups that are our norm. But I love home. I’m a homebody. And as much as I love adventure… I also love my PJs. I like coffee and sleeping in (as much as the girls will let me) and regular times to do life with my people. So I’m loving being back in those routines. And getting that momentum going again. Thank you fall. :)
I need momentum these days… Mom was right, I juggle a lot of balls. A four year old preschooler, a two year old (equal parts cuddle and crazy), mops leader, small group leader, my photography business (the most consistently busy I’ve ever been: hello full-time working hours many weeks), and to top it all off… I just started my master’s degree! (Let’s not forget all the normal stuff like: being married, running a home, friends and family I love and want to invest in, etc, etc…) But as we approached this new season and I sat down to write out my priorities, I couldn’t leave creativity behind. It might not look the same, or as often, but it couldn’t just be limited to my job… because lets face it, after six years as much as I love my job, it’s still a job a lot of the time. (I’ll never love tedious hours editing on the computer) Enter: the last 100 days of 2017, the resuming of creative adventures as we close out this year. Building momentum in the creative area I’ve been missing. And to ease myself back into the habit I started with a Morning Moments series. All photos, all moody black and whites, all playing with natural light and shallow depth of field, all taken before noon, one a day. As chaotic as my life can be right now, I needed this creative outlet to ground me in the tiny moments so they don’t pass me by.
So here’s my introduction to the series of Sam’s Morning Moments. You can head to instagram to see the descriptions, (and all of the 8000 hashtags I LOVE using), but in this post I’ll let the series speak for itself.
  
Excited to see this progress, and excited to be back talking to you again! See you soon.
Sam
Gail here — Sam and I have been plotting behind the scenes again! We miss blogging! I especially miss the creative discipline. I’m all for reframing our absence here as a temporary suspension, and that we will resume. So much easier on the heart and mind :) We will continue to work at *resuming* our blogging as the weeks roll by!
Obligatory excuse paragraph: On our last bit of off-site blogging, we both faltered with the #100dayproject, 100 Days of Making, on instagram because … well, she has so many balls to juggle in her life! And I became overwhelmed learning to draw the way I was doing — my brain could not shut off the observation channel and I needed a break. OK, that’s that. Done!
Part of our discussion has been how we had regrets about not finishing that series of 100 days. We liked it! So we decided to pick something we are truly likely to stick to for that long; something based on activities similar to what we are already doing, actually. And nothing about the 100 Day Project concept says it has to start on a certain day or be coordinated by a certain authority. It is open to any individual at any time to begin.
I did a little research and found the root of the current 100 day movement, which has become worldwide and calendar-wide. Design expert Michael Bierut taught a workshop for grad students in design at Yale beginning 2006, challenging them to choose a design operation they could repeat daily, and do so for 100 days. It was purely elective, and many did not finish.
Here is a quote from near the end of this article about Michael Bierut and his original 100 Day Project that gave me some clarity on the ultimate purpose, or goal, of the project.
“People have asked me many times to say what, exactly, is the point of this project. I’ve always had a fascination with the ways that creative people balance inspiration and discipline in their working lives.” –Michael Bierut
Here is another article about the spring/summer 100 Days of Making project on instagram, http://www.whatdesigncando.com/2015/02/27/process-great-surrender/
And so we counted days. OK — Sam counted days and I checked her math, and we discovered that there are exactly 100 days from today to the very last day of the year. September 23rd through December 31st, including the 23rd, is exactly 100 days. So timely for our ideas!
(And kinda extra cool on my end, as today is my birthday. All these years and I never knew my birthday was 100 days from the end of the year!)
And so we begin. Today.
Please feel free to tag along on instagram! (Did you see what I did there?) Use the hashtag #last100daysof2017 as we will be doing. I just made that up. I hope Sam likes it well enough haha!
See our daily efforts on instagram, https://www.instagram.com/2createincolor/
See a few selections of our 100 days as they happen, and always some other stuff, on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/2CreateinColor/
Right here on the blog, see a weekly post from each of us showing our progress, and a few What’s Up Wednesday features, and then more creative projects as the momentum picks up! I’m excited to show you my collaged file folders that I teased on instagram over the last couple weeks!
Happy last 100 days of 2017~
Gail
Sam here, real quick to introduce what Mom and I are working on! The 100 day project! It’s an art/creative project, where you do one little thing every day for 100 days! And since we are still struggling to get back into our creative groove, and we were both super excited about this creative prompt… we hopped on board!
Mom is doing a daily drawing practice, as she said: Drawing is a tool I want to develop to “Tell About It” I am always Paying Attention and Being Astonished!
And recently I’ve been feeling like I’ve lost some of the joy capturing photos, my work has become work… and I want the joy back! So for 100 days I’m planning to use the gift of my creative eye to breathe some life back into myself and those around me! And as I was looking around at other project people were working on last night, I was really inspired to take on one other little project I’ve had in the back of my mind too. I’ve always wanted to hand letter, but have never really explored it. So that’s all my second project is… an exploration of hand lettering of single words or very short phrases inspired by that day’s life and/or photo. (All on legal pads because I didn’t want the pressure of something fancy!)
So we’ll post the occasional other projects on here, but for the most part our creative energies are going into creating our 100day projects! We’ll do weekly recaps here on the blog and if you want to follow along daily you can find us on Instagram as 2createincolor.
If any of you are doing this we’d love to follow you too, leave a comment!!
Sam
My chili. A crowd pleaser, or at least that’s what the folks at the church cook-off seemed to say. There was a popular vote and a judges vote, and while big money did sway the votes (bribing was encouraged… it was an awesome fundraiser for our youth mission trip), with minimal shenanigans on my part (or on my behalf)… my chili took second place in both votes! Only minimal bragging, but I *think* I would’ve had a good chance at first in both if money wasn’t a significant deciding factor. But it was, and I’m encouraged by how many people were willing to donate big for these teens off to do some amazing work this summer!
This recipe isn’t for the faint of heart. In all it was a three day process for me, from marinating the pork, to smoking the pork, and making the chili. And I did my best to write down the recipe, but I adjust based on flavor as I go so I encourage you to adapt to your preferences. Creating recipes is kind of an art form for me, and it’s so personal since it is based on my favorite flavor profiles, with a few considerations for not overdoing those things so most people would enjoy it too! And even though I think this turned out fantastic, I’ll include my notes on what I might switch up a little in my next go at this chili… because there will definitely be a next go!
In its creation, this recipe hinged on the sweet and smoky flavor combination paired with pork. Smoked pork shoulder, thick cut smoked bacon, and sausage. Hence: Triple Pig. I created my own spice blend and my own sauce as the base flavor profile. The spice blend was added to my sauce, as another layer on the pork shoulder before it smoked, straight into the chili itself, and as a coating on some tortilla chips I served as a garnish for a very complimenting crunch.
One of my favorite little parts of the sauce came from some homemade applesauce I canned a couple years ago. The sweet of the apple, that compliments pork so nicely, seemed like a natural way to start. I definitely used a fair amount of apple cider vinegar too, that tang highlights so many things!
I marinated my pork for about 12 hours in my sauce, and then added a thick layer of my spice blend before the smoke. I didn’t pat off any sauce, so together it was kind of like a paste that coated my pork. I used country style pork shoulder ribs, honestly because I thought they’d smoke faster. They didn’t. Enter staying up until 3am to take them off the smoker. I’m still on the fence about whether I’d go this route or a big pork shoulder to smoke for the next round. There were more burnt end type pieces from this which I like, but they didn’t all cook evenly and there was more fat that didn’t render into the meat than I’m used to with just a big pork shoulder.
For the record, the only thing Aaron helped me with was getting the smoker started and opening doors for me when I carried it out to put on. He was making his own chili for the church cook-off, so it was stiff competition at our house. ;)
Oh, and I used a pan with some chopped onion and apple cider vinegar for some extra moisture and flavor while they smoked. Don’t do it. It’s honestly just not worth the mess and clean up. I’m not writing that into the recipe below. If I did anything for extra moisture I would just spritz the pork with some apple cider vinegar occasionally throughout the smoke.
Thick cut smoked peppered bacon, deglazing the bacon pot to cook the onions in, peppers and garlic and chiles in adobo, peppers and good beer, a mix of beans, and that beautiful smoke-ringed pork! Yum. I’m hungry for this now, and it’s early in the morning as I’m writing this!
Made the day before the chili cook-off and reheated and adjusted the day of… we all know chili is better the second day!
Sam's Sweet and Smoky Triple Pig Chili 2017-03-14 09:51:36 - 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup salt
- 1/4 cup smoked paprika
- 2 tbsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 1.5 tbsp onion powder
- 1.5 tbsp mustard powder
- 1.5 tbsp cumin
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp chipped onion flakes
- 1 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 pints applesauce (used homemade honeycrisp, 1 cinnamon, 1 regular)
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup S&S Spice Blend
- 6-8 pounds pork shoulder (I used pork shoulder country ribs, can use big pork shoulder)
- 18oz hickory smoked peppered bacon, chopped
- 3/4 lb. sausage (used jimmy dean all natural, and added some of my S&S seasoning blend)
- 2 onions, chopped fairly small (I don't like big chunks in my chili!)
- 1/2-1 cup chicken stock
- 1 jalapeno, diced
- 1/2-1 anaheim, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 5-6 garlic cloves, minced
- 3-4 pureed chiles in adobo, plus 1-2 tbsp adobo sauce (adjust per spice preference)
- 2 cans, drained but not rinsed seasoned black beans
- 1 can great northern beans
- 1 can red beans
- 1 can grapefruit IPA (I might go for something less hoppy next time, personal preference)
- 3 cans crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup S&S sauce
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 can tomato paste
- 1/2-1 cup S&S seasoning blend
- 1/2-1 cup brown sugar
- 1 bunch chopped cilantro (1 cup after fine chop?)
- garnish as you prefer
- Mix seasoning blend. I think I doubled this recipe, but I had a lot left over so I *think* you could get away with making one batch. Or make two, and put the leftover in an empty seasoning bottle to use in the future!
- Mix sauce, reserve at least 1 cup for the chili.
- Marinate pork shoulder in sauce at least 12 hours. Right before smoking, take out of marinade, shake off excess and coat in S&S seasoning blend. It forms a sort of paste on the exterior of the pork. Smoke at 225 according to the weight of pork and your smoker's directions. You can spritz with some apple cider vinegar if needed. Let the pork rest, and pull or cut when it is convenient for you. (I smoked the day before I needed the pork, so I just cut it up cold right before it went into the chili)
- For the actual chili. Start with the chopped bacon and sausage (plus a little S&S seasoning) in a big pot, brown well and remove. I dumped mine in the reserved sauce to hold until it was time to add it back in. Deglaze pan with some chicken stock and add chopped onions. When onions start to soften add jalapeno, anaheim, green bell pepper, garlic, and pureed chiles in adobo+adobo sauce. Saute until fragrant and bell pepper just starts to soften. Add everything but last three ingredients to the pot. (beans, tomatoes in all forms, beer, reserved S&S sauce, pork in all forms). Simmer. I simmered until it was the consistency I was aiming for, a little on the liquid side since I knew I was reheating the next day. Probably 1-2 hours. If serving day of, can simmer longer to achieve thicker consistency. Adjust seasoning here as needed. I added 1/2-1 cup S&S seasoning blend, about a cup of brown sugar (it had ended up spicier than intended so I was hoping the sugar would mellow a bit of that), and the very last step is adding 1 finely chopped bunch of cilantro. I like it in the chili as well as the garnish, but it does not need to be cooked long.
- Serve alongside any garnishes you enjoy! I served mine at the cook-off with homemade guac (with S&S seasoning blend in it), cheese, cilantro, and hearty store bought chips I re-seasoned with S&S seasoning blend! Enjoy!
By Sam @2CreateInColor 2Create in Color https://www.2createincolor.com/
Serve with your favorite garnishes and enjoy! My kids definitely enjoyed a few bites as I photographed it, and we enjoyed the leftovers for a few days after too! I LOVE leftover chili!
And you can’t forget that it went over pretty darn well at the church cook-off too! And if you get to the end of this post and are like: “Sam, this is way too much work!” I get it… just make the seasoning blend and use it on… EVERYTHING! :)
Sam
Two things I need to remember when doing coloring pages. Reading glasses, and the fact that my dual-tip markers have a fine point end.
And maybe better lighting.
From an ordinary distance — even with glasses on! — these two month’s calendar pages look fine. Better in person than above, even. Imagine my surprise when I pulled these photos into Lightroom to start processing them and saw all the uncolored spots everywhere :-O
Oh well! Lesson learned. Let’s see how April turns out when I color it in a few weeks.
What a gloriously color-fun time I had on February’s lovebirds and garden wreath. I was “Happy-Me” every time I worked on it, smiling in my head if not with my mouth.
March, though, was all about my favorite color, green. I was frustrated by having only 8 green markers to use. That is definitely not enough green markers for this lady.
I love that band of wagon-wheel flowers that peeks through here and there!
… and the end of the month bonus:
Having worked March’s calendar page before taking photos of February’s little bonus drawing made me a little sad. They’re back to back on the same sheet of paper. There’s a distracting bit of show-through. (below)
Ideally, to prevent this, it would mean I need to color each month’s drawing on the eve of the first day.
That is SO not going to happen. Except maybe by coincidence. I just do not live that precisely scheduled a life these days :)
If you are thinking of getting a new adult coloring book, or maybe your first, may I suggest any of the books drawn by the talented Johanna Basford. I’ve seen these in person uncolored, colored beautifully on the internet, and even embroidered (with permission) by Mary Corbett of Needle n’ Thread.
One of those is next on my list. I just can’t decide which one…
Have a colorful spring!
Gail
« Previous
Next »
|
.jpg)
Morning Musings… » 2Create in Color - […] funny… last Tuesday when I introduced my series I said “As chaotic as my life can be right now, I needed this creative outlet to ground me in […]10.12.2017 – 4:57pm