it's the end of June and pouring rain in the capital city...

...which is extremely unusual, so I am sitting in my office with the door open allowing the smell of the wet pavement to fill the room.  All I hear is the intermittent thunder, the drops of rain hitting the ground, and the occasional truck driving by the warehouse--it's very slow today.  The smell of the moist pavement mixed with my cup of steeping honey lemon tea has put me in a leisurely mood, and as a result has led me to discover this site in my distracted state:

eerie ghost towns with stories and photos

So far there are eighteen pages of former amusements parks, asylums, castles, farms, highways...

Abandonment can be so beautiful.  Strictly speaking of structural abandonment, of course. 

I have always been fascinated by deserted antique buildings that are now overgrown with vegetation, inhabited only by wildlife and insects.  Imagine walking through one of the old, grand hospitals or theaters featured on the site.  When scrolling through the photos and skimming their accompanying stories, I could picture how great the places were in their prime, bustling with activity.  Like Old Hollywood, many could be restored, but will unlikely ever return to their former glory.  Mmm, nutella and graham crackers...sorry, 'food Tourette's.'  Clearly this weather has temporarily made me forget that it is in fact bikini season.

{all photos via fuckyeahghosttowns.tumblr}

you can put anything in a quesadilla

I have been excited to use the beautiful squash blossoms in our garden since they bloomed, and had grand plans of hosting a brunch or luncheon with friends to showcase some gourmet chevre-quinoa-something-stuffed blossoms, but I didn't see that happening in the near future.  Quite a few of the blossoms have already shriveled up, so I knew if I wanted to eat them this year {I missed out last year for the same fancy plan procrastination reason} I had better just do it.

On my lunch hour today, I went home and quickly surveyed the goods I had on hand, which is how I came up with this quirky recipe:

Brie and Squash Blossom Quesadillas
{sub any ingredients with your favs}


2 black bean garlic tortillas
few squash blossoms, torn into pieces
hunk of brie, mostly creamy part but some rind is okay
Mexican blend shredded cheese
butter
KS&P

Ya'll know how to make a quesadilla, so instead of instructions, here are some pretty photos of my lunch. :)

 

 these locally made tortillas are my favorite...every flavor i've tried has been super delicious

 

 

hey mom, you should probably take us for a long walk to work off that fatty cheesy thing you just ate...good lookin' out, pups.

The blossoms don't have a strong distinguished flavor, probably because the tortillas and brie were both so flavorful, but they do provide a pop of pretty color.  Plus, eating flowers is fun!