Welcome to Painting Lilies, a blog chronicling my creations with butter, sugar, yarn and my digital camera. My business job keeps me busy analyzing numbers and looking at Excel spreadsheets. Outside of the office, I like to use the other side of my brain by cooking, baking, knitting and taking pictures of the things I create.
The story behind ‘Painting Lilies’? While making dessert for a dinner party, a friend and I came across the phrase ‘gild the lily’. Puzzled by its meaning (and wanting to make sure not to mess up our fancy New York Times dessert), we conducted some internet research . All-knowing Google told us that the phrase means, ‘to apply unnecessary ornament; to over embellish’ and that it comes from Shakespeare’s King John.
“Therefore, to be possess’d with double pomp,
To guard a title that was rich before,
To gild refined gold, to paint the lily,
To throw a perfume on the violet,
To smooth the ice, or add another hue
Unto the rainbow, or with taper-light
To seek the beauteous eye of heaven to garnish,
Is wasteful and ridiculous excess.”
Initially, I thought using the phrase ‘gild the lily’ in a recipe was an unnecessary ornament and an over embellishment (with words). Perhaps it is, but the more I thought about the phrase, the more I liked it. Have you ever seen a really beautiful lily? There really is no need to paint it to make it more beautiful. And the idea of gilding (overlaying a thin layer of gold) on refined gold is absurd. When I was brainstorming ideas for my blog, ‘Painting Lilies’ seemed appropriate. I don’t want to over embellish, but want to enjoy the simple beauty of a homemade cookie or a baby blanket knit for a friend or a perfectly chopped onion. And hopefully you’ll enjoy those things with me.
About me. I’m Lindsay and I currently live in Denver. I say currently because I’ve moved around a lot in the past 5 years. I’m a native of the beautiful state of Colorado, but have spent the last ten years living in Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Seattle, the Dominican Republic and Boston. I love to travel and discover new cities, but I’m a little tired of packing and unpacking my kitchen every few years. Someday I’ll settle in one place. But I’ve been saying that after every move.
I’m a former picky eater that now eats almost anything. I like trying new recipes and learning (mostly by trial and error) new cooking techniques. I’m a fairly clutzy cook and frequently burn my hands on the oven, cut my fingers with my knife, and break my plates and glasses.
I first tried to knit when I was a kid, but I didn’t have the patience to follow my Mom’s instructions and quickly gave it up. When I lived in New York, I stumbled upon some knitting cafes and became one of those people that knits on the subway. I’m a perfectionist and would rather tear out the whole project than finish it with a mistake. I often consult my expert knitting adviser (Mom) when I can’t figure out a technique or have trouble reading patterns.
I also like to take pictures. Once upon a time, I took a photography class in college where I learned all about aperture, shutter speed and developing my own film. I’m certainly an amateur photographer, but I love learning new tricks and skills and figuring out the best ways to document my baking, cooking and knitting creations.
My daytime job involves online marketing, numbers, presentations and analysis. When I’m not working or knitting or cooking, I can often be found reading, skiing, playing soccer, watching football (go Broncos!), drinking coffee, seeing movies, or just hanging out.