.this and that.

.11 for 2011. conclusion

2012-01-05T07:07:00.000-08:00

Cut back on alcohol. Both for health/weight and money savings. Didn't do too bad at this! Stopped drinking during the week (usually a glass or two at dinner).
Work out to my new dvds, the Exhale: Core Fusion Collection at least two times a week (ideally three times). (still wogging, and started using the nike workout app for iphone) Was doing pretty well (not 3 times a week) but as soon as winter came I stopped doing anything (it's too cold out!).
Try at least one new restaurant a month. (Jan-Jules Maes; Feb-Via Tribunali, Kingfish Cafe, Book Bindery, Eddies Trackside; March - Habesha; April - Quinn's, Salumi; May - Showa, Revel; June - Seatown, Passionate for Pies, Allium; July - Peak's Pub; August - Ciccheti, 2100 Bistro; Dec - KatsuBurger, Georgetown Liquor Company) I can't think of all the places we went to but I can say for sure I accomplished this one!
Read at least one book a month. (Jan - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows; Feb - Cannibal Killers, The Time Traveler's Wife; March - The Lost Symbol, Moloka'i, The Tattoo; April - Honolulu, The Zahir; May - Makes Me Wanna Holler, Christmas House ; June - Shattered Silence, Little Bee, Art of Racing in the Rain; July - Raven Stole the Moon, Unbearable Lightness; Aug - My Best Friend Leonard, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, A Visit From the Goon Squad) I can't think of all the books read in what month but I can say for sure I accomplished this one!

Knit a scarf with nice yarn. (This one is slow going... eek!) Done! Am on a knitting kick at the moment! Made Jason a striped scarf, made fingerless mittens, and am working on a fancy pattern scarf.

Work on Darwin's training. I've been slacking on working with her and really want to improve her recall.

(I've been working on her recall and new tricks!)

Can't say her recall has been worked on consistently but she has learned new tricks!

Trim Darwin's toe nails more consistently. Darwin hates when we trim her nails and so we usually go long periods without a nail trim. She went to the boarder over Christmas and came back with nice short nails. Now to keep them short.

(still need to work on this!)

Been doing okay with this one. Her nails are still pretty long.

Go hiking (snow shoeing in the winter) at least once a month. Besides the exercise aspect of it (for us and Darwin) it'll be good to explore the area. Embrace our inner Pacific Northwesterner. (Jan-Gold Creek snowshoe; Feb-Lake Wenatchee (failed snowshoeing); March-Hyak snowshoe; April-Larrabee State Park; May-Lake Serene (this was a tough one); June-Moran State Park: Mountain Lake; July-Lake Quinault; Aug - no hiking but we went horseback riding and river rafting; Sept-DeceptionPass; Oct-Barclay Lake; Dec-SnowShoe at Gold Creek) Check!

Call home at least once a month. (facetime on the ipad has been great for making calls) Check!

Limit my shopping (clothes/shoes) to $500 or less for the year. ($186 left! winter boots + gift cards = $70, BR jeans = $20, Goodwill (Gap and Lucky) jeans=$27, skinny jeans, 2 blouses and a hoodie (Forever 21) = $52, flannel and puffy vest(Target) = $15, ASOS blouse = $12, Piperlime top = $15, Max Studio wedges = $70, Goodwill (J crew shorts, skirt, Old Navy skirt, running shorts, Gap tank) = $25, Goodwill (2 tanks) = $8) I think this was a fail. But I did do pretty well!

Do at least one house cleaning activity during the week (sweeping, mopping, clean the bathroom, etc). Jason likes to do all the cleaning on the weekend. It'd be nice to have one less thing/area to clean so we can have more weekend time. I'd say fail. We still ended up doing most of our cleaning on the weekends.

.11 for 2011. aug update

2011-09-12T12:12:00.000-07:00

Cut back on alcohol. Both for health/weight and money savings.
Work out to my new dvds, the Exhale: Core Fusion Collection at least two times a week (ideally three times). (still wogging, and started using the nike workout app for iphone)
Try at least one new restaurant a month. (Jan-Jules Maes; Feb-Via Tribunali, Kingfish Cafe, Book Bindery, Eddies Trackside; March - Habesha; April - Quinn's, Salumi; May - Showa, Revel; June - Seatown, Passionate for Pies, Allium; July - Peak's Pub; August - Ciccheti, 2100 Bistro)
Read at least one book a month. (Jan - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows; Feb - Cannibal Killers, The Time Traveler's Wife; March - The Lost Symbol, Moloka'i, The Tattoo; April - Honolulu, The Zahir; May - Makes Me Wanna Holler, Christmas House ; June - Shattered Silence, Little Bee, Art of Racing in the Rain; July - Raven Stole the Moon, Unbearable Lightness; Aug - My Best Friend Leonard, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, A Visit From the Goon Squad)

Knit a scarf with nice yarn. (This one is slow going... eek!)

Work on Darwin's training. I've been slacking on working with her and really want to improve her recall.

(I've been working on her recall and new tricks!)

(still need to work on this!)

Call home at least once a month. (facetime on the ipad has been great for making calls)

.11 for 2011. june-july update

2011-07-20T07:16:00.000-07:00

Cut back on alcohol. Both for health/weight and money savings.
Work out to my new dvds, the Exhale: Core Fusion Collection at least two times a week (ideally three times). (started wogging (walking + jogging) and got p90x dvds to try out too)
Try at least one new restaurant a month. (Jan-Jules Maes; Feb-Via Tribunali, Kingfish Cafe, Book Bindery, Eddies Trackside; March - Habesha; April - Quinn's, Salumi; May - Showa, Revel; June - Seatown, Passionate for Pies, Allium; July - Peak's Pub)
Read at least one book a month. (Jan - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows; Feb - Cannibal Killers, The Time Traveler's Wife; March - The Lost Symbol, Moloka'i, The Tattoo; April - Honolulu, The Zahir; May - Makes Me Wanna Holler, Christmas House ; June - Shattered Silence, Little Bee, Art of Racing in the Rain; July - Raven Stole the Moon, Unbearable Lightness )

Knit a scarf with nice yarn. (This one is slow going... eek!)

Work on Darwin's training. I've been slacking on working with her and really want to improve her recall.

(I've been working on her recall and new tricks!)

(still need to work on this!)

Call home at least once a month.

Limit my shopping (clothes/shoes) to $500 or less for the year. ($194 left! winter boots + gift cards = $70, BR jeans = $20, Goodwill (Gap and Lucky) jeans=$27, skinny jeans, 2 blouses and a hoodie (Forever 21) = $52, flannel and puffy vest(Target) = $15, ASOS blouse = $12, Piperlime top = $15, Max Studio wedges = $70, Goodwill (J crew shorts, skirt, Old Navy skirt, running shorts, Gap tank) = $25)

.11 for 2011. update

2011-05-31T07:00:00.000-07:00

Cut back on alcohol. Both for health/weight and money savings.
Work out to my new dvds, the Exhale: Core Fusion Collection at least two times a week (ideally three times). (added another DVD to the mix Abs & Arms, bought some 2lb weights so I can do more free weight exercises.)
Try at least one new restaurant a month. (Jan-Jules Maes; Feb-Via Tribunali, Kingfish Cafe, Book Bindery, Eddies Trackside; March - Habesha; April - Quinn's, Salumi; May - Showa, Revel)
Read at least one book a month. (Jan - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows; Feb - Cannibal Killers, The Time Traveler's Wife; March - The Lost Symbol, Moloka'i, The Tattoo; April - Honolulu, The Zahir; May - Makes Me Wanna Holler, Christmas House )

Knit a scarf with nice yarn. (This one is slow going... eek!)

Work on Darwin's training. I've been slacking on working with her and really want to improve her recall.

(I've been working on her recall and new tricks!)

(still need to work on this!)

Call home at least once a month.

Limit my shopping (clothes/shoes) to $500 or less for the year. ($219 left! winter boots + gift cards = $70, BR jeans = $20, Goodwill (Gap and Lucky) jeans=$27, skinny jeans, 2 blouses and a hoodie (Forever 21) = $52, flannel and puffy vest(Target) = $15, ASOS blouse = $12, Piperlime top = $15, Max Studio wedges = $70)

ipad2

2011-05-18T15:28:00.000-07:00

giveaway.
not by me!
check out design for mankind. it's a great site.

and her amazing giveaway!

.11 for 2011. april update

2011-05-03T17:54:00.000-07:00

Cut back on alcohol. Both for health/weight and money savings.
Work out to my new dvds, the Exhale: Core Fusion Collection at least two times a week (ideally three times). (added another DVD to the mix Abs & Arms)
Try at least one new restaurant a month. (Jan-Jules Maes; Feb-Via Tribunali, Kingfish Cafe, Book Bindery, Eddies Trackside; March - Habesha; April - Quinn's, Salumi )
Read at least one book a month. (Jan - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows; Feb - Cannibal Killers, The Time Traveler's Wife; March - The Lost Symbol, Moloka'i, The Tattoo; April - Honolulu, The Zahir )

Knit a scarf with nice yarn.

Work on Darwin's training. I've been slacking on working with her and really want to improve her recall.

(I've been working on her recall and new tricks!)

(still need to work on this!)

Call home at least once a month.

Limit my shopping (clothes/shoes) to $500 or less for the year. ($316 left! winter boots + gift cards = $70, BR jeans = $20, Goodwill (Gap and Lucky) jeans=$27, skinny jeans, 2 blouses and a hoodie (Forever 21) = $52, flannel and puffy vest(Target) = $15)

.11 for 2011 update.

2011-03-29T19:07:00.000-07:00

Cut back on alcohol. Both for health/weight and money savings.
Work out to my new dvds, the Exhale: Core Fusion Collection at least two times a week (ideally three times). (added another DVD to the mix Abs & Arms)
Try at least one new restaurant a month. (Jan-Jules Maes; Feb-Via Tribunali, Kingfish Cafe, Book Bindery, Eddies Trackside; March - Habesha, )
Read at least one book a month. (Jan-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows; Feb-Cannibal Killers, The Time Traveler's Wife; March-The Lost Symbol, Moloka'i, The Tattoo)

Knit a scarf with nice yarn.

Work on Darwin's training. I've been slacking on working with her and really want to improve her recall.

Call home at least once a month.

.11 for 2011. update

2011-03-08T12:58:00.000-08:00

Cut back on alcohol. Both for health/weight and money savings.
Work out to my new dvds, the Exhale: Core Fusion Collection at least two times a week (ideally three times). (added another DVD to the mix Abs & Arms)
Try at least one new restaurant a month. (Jan-Jules Maes; Feb-Via Tribunali, Kingfish Cafe, Book Bindery, Eddies Trackside)
Read at least one book a month. (Jan-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows; Feb-Cannibal Killers, The Time Traveler's Wife; March-The Lost Symbol)

Knit a scarf with nice yarn.

Work on Darwin's training. I've been slacking on working with her and really want to improve her recall.

Call home at least once a month.

Limit my shopping (clothes/shoes) to $500 or less for the year. ($383 left! winter boots + gift cards = $70, BR jeans = $20, Goodwill (Gap and Lucky) jeans=$27)

.11 for 2011. update

2011-02-21T17:45:00.000-08:00

Cut back on alcohol. Both for health/weight and money savings.
Work out to my new dvds, the Exhale: Core Fusion Collection at least two times a week (ideally three times). (so far so good!)
Try at least one new restaurant a month. (Jan-Jules Maes; Feb-Via Tribunali, Kingfish Cafe, Book Bindery, Eddies Trackside)
Read at least one book a month. (Jan-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows; Feb-Cannibal Killers)
Knit a scarf with nice yarn.
Work on Darwin's training. I've been slacking on working with her and really want to improve her recall.
Trim Darwin's toe nails more consistently. Darwin hates when we trim her nails and so we usually go long periods without a nail trim. She went to the boarder over Christmas and came back with nice short nails. Now to keep them short.
Go hiking (snow shoeing in the winter) at least once a month. Besides the exercise aspect of it (for us and Darwin) it'll be good to explore the area. Embrace our inner Pacific Northwesterner. (Jan-Gold Creek snowshoe; Feb-Lake Wenatchee (failed snowshoeing))
Call home at least once a month.
Limit my shopping (clothes/shoes) to $500 or less for the year. ($410 left! winter boots + gift cards = $70, BR jeans = $20)
Do at least one house cleaning activity during the week (sweeping, mopping, clean the bathroom, etc). Jason likes to do all the cleaning on the weekend. It'd be nice to have one less thing/area to clean so we can have more weekend time.

.11 for 2011.

2011-01-06T16:25:00.000-08:00

So I did a 29 by 30 list last year for my 30th birthday, and while I didn't cross everything off, I did get a fair share done. I was inspired by Erica's 11 in 2011 and thought I'd set goals for this year. Resolutions, goals, call it what you will, but these are mine.

Cut back on alcohol (even though research says abstaining "significantly shortens life"and someone who drinks one to three drinks has the lowest mortality rate). Both for health/weight and money savings.
Work out to my new dvds, the Exhale: Core Fusion Collection at least two times a week (ideally three times). I just got this as a Christmas gift and have used it 3 times and man what a work out!
Try at least one new restaurant a month. We always end up at the same places and always say we should try new places, now we'll HAVE to!
Read at least one book a month. I do read, but Jason says I'm a binger when I read. I'll find something I really like (Twilight series, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series, etc) and stay up all night reading nonstop, then I don't read anything for weeks. (Jan-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows)
Knit a scarf with nice yarn. I had knit a scarf on my 29 by 30 list and crossed it off! But I used cheaper yarn, and seem to have accumulated a lot of cheap yarn. I went and bought fancy alpaca/wool yarn at the end of last year, but have been too scared to use it in case I mess up!
Work on Darwin's training. I've been slacking on working with her and really want to improve her recall.
Trim Darwin's toe nails more consistently. Darwin hates when we trim her nails and so we usually go long periods without a nail trim. She went to the boarder over Christmas and came back with nice short nails. Now to keep them short.
Go hiking (snow shoeing in the winter) at least once a month. Besides the exercise aspect of it (for us and Darwin) it'll be good to explore the area. Embrace our inner Pacific Northwesterner. (Jan-Gold Creek snowshoe)
Call home at least once a month. When I first moved to Seattle almost 4.5 years ago (WOAH it's been almost 4.5 years) my dad would call ALL the time. Now, not so often. Don't get me wrong, we email and call randomly, but I'm not prone to being the caller, usually I'm the callee. It doesn't really help I'm not much of a phone person, but I should make the effort to call not just on holidays or when I need something (some snacks from Hawaii can't be found in Seattle).
Limit my shopping (clothes/shoes) to $500 or less for the year. I'm not sure how much I normally spend on clothes/shoes in a year, but this year I'll have a budget. Besides being good for savings, we don't really have the space at home for much more clothes or shoes. ($410 left! winter boots + gift cards = $70, BR jeans = $20)
Do at least one house cleaning activity during the week (sweeping, mopping, clean the bathroom, etc). Jason likes to do all the cleaning on the weekend. It'd be nice to have one less thing/area to clean so we can have more weekend time.

nerd

2010-12-03T14:43:00.000-08:00

I am nerding out looking at blogs with gift wrapping ideas. I love wrapping presents! I actually hated it as a kid because I was the designated gift wrapper of the family. I remember wrapping boxes of Crown Royal for my dad to give to his workers and even wrapping my own gifts from my family (lame).
Check out some of these ideas:
Make a bow from old magazine pages.

image via how about orange

and another version here

image via craftster

A whole blog dedicated to gift wrapping!

image via the gifted blog

And finally a cute way I can use up all the cheap yarn I have!

image via bugs and fishes

new (to me)

2010-09-24T15:20:00.000-07:00

Another new (to me) blog I love!
Jim's Pancakes.

new (to me)

2010-09-15T16:10:00.000-07:00

Love this new (to me) blog/cartoonist!

Draw the Dog

love

2010-07-23T11:14:00.000-07:00

images via bliss by nick brandt

glamping

2010-07-21T13:45:00.000-07:00

I need to win the lottery soon so I can stay here.

images via four seasons.com

stumbled across via wide open spaces

garden progress

2010-07-06T17:04:00.000-07:00

We got our first batch of sprouts!

After the first layer of seeds went in the sprouter, I waited two days and added a second level. The third level was added yesterday. One tray of sprouts is enough for two (fairly big) sandwiches, so we'll have to continuously rotate the trays.
While it's pretty easy to use, my biggest problem seems to be the siphoning action of the water dripping from the top to each tray level. The first day it seemed to flow quite easily, and even making sure there aren't seeds or sprouts blocking the siphon, I still have a laggy water flow. I've taken to popping open the top of the water tray to keep the water flowing, though I'm sure that's not the best thing to do.

In other news I've done some redecorating in terms of the containers on the balcony. Here's what it looked like before:

Our office is reducing the size of the space we're renting and so we've been having major purges of stuff. I was able to score these file/milk crates and I figured I could transform them into planters and create a cleaner looking balcony garden.

I had looked on Google to see if there was a cheap way to line by containers, and some sites were talking about peat moss or landscape fabric. I went super cheap by digging up old cardboard boxes and newspaper.

I ran out of potting soil halfway through so after a quick run to the store I was able to complete three of them.

Everything fits nicely now along that south rail and I was able to gain more space and depth! Can't wait to plant more things in them!

sprouts

2010-06-30T15:25:00.000-07:00

We've been trying to be better about bringing home lunches, and usually it ends up being a sandwich. We've used fancier breads (baguettes, rolls, etc) and regular sliced bread and we've tried to fancy them up with lots of veggies too. We like to add sprouts to our sandwiches and I thought maybe we should try to grow them. I was online shopping for wheat grass seeds (more on that to come) and the website I was on (wheatgrasskits.com) sold sprout seeds and sprouters.
On Monday we received in the mail our sprouter and seeds. I finally had some time last night to read the instructions and started some seeds this morning before work.
Here's what the sprouter looks like:

And here are the seeds we got. I chose the 5 part salad seed mix.

The instructions with the sprouter says 1 tablespoon of seeds will fill one tray so that's what I did.

You put the top level on with water in it and it drips down to each level then to the bottom catcher. You change the water ever 12 hours and in a few days we should have sprouts!

I started one tray this morning and will start the second one in a couple days and the third tray a couple days after that so we have a continuous supply of sprouts for our sandwiches or salads.

Stay tuned for results!

HP

2010-06-29T09:06:00.001-07:00

screw Twilight. I CANT WAIT for Harry Potter!

.strawberries.

2010-06-28T16:12:00.000-07:00

Jason thought I wouldn't be able to get strawberries with them planted in a rail box.... but lookie here!

I think I may eat it soon!
The first row of carrots are growing as well.

I think I need to thin them out as some of the sprouts look pretty close together. I think I'll plant another row too.
This is probably a big no-no in the gardening world, but in one of the rail boxes I wasn't sure what to plant, but wanted to plant something, and we had a ziplock bag of mixed seeds from seeds that had fallen out of their pouches (they have since been moved to glass jars). I figured they were mostly salad greens (spinach, lettuce and arugula) but they could be lavender seeds as well. hehehe. Well, things have sprouted and for the most part they look like I was right with the salad green guess.

Me + Basil doesn't seem to be a good combination. I've tried basil from seeds, and basil from two different starters and they all seem to be struggling. Any advice?
My peas are quickly growing, but I think it's time to pull out some green onions and even the spinach that is sharing the container as it's all looking a bit cozy.

I've got some new things in the mail today and more container ideas in the works. Stay tuned for more updates to my balcony garden!

garden progress

2010-06-21T14:34:00.000-07:00

One of these things just doesn't belong here. One of these things just isn't the same. Can you spot something amiss in the garden?!

If you said "what are those drumsticks doing in your garden?" I asked myself the same thing when I saw them.
The timing of them sprouting was perfect because I had just picked up a nasturtium plant and transplanted it into other containers and the drumstick became a perfect stick in case the nasturtium wants to climb!

See those broccoli and cauliflower plants. We've got a problem. Caterpillars are infesting both!

Oh and slugs too!

DANGIT!
But I do have little strawberries growing!

As full as our balcony is getting with pots, I've figured out another way to get deep containers to use to grow plants that need more root depth. I'll have a post up as soon as I get all together!

world cup

2010-06-18T12:45:00.000-07:00

image via black eiffel

garden progress

2010-06-11T14:55:00.000-07:00

So I finally had the time to make my new railing boxes inspired by the 6x8 garden.

As you can see I decided to keep the smaller box with the not so pretty railing holder and we still have the plywood backers to prop up all the railboxes.... oh well. I still like that we have more planting space on the deck.
I rearranged some plants and added some new things like a strawberry plant and some carrot seeds!

I took the cilantro out of this rail box since it was getting too much sun and replaced it with another sage plant.

The bolted arugula came out of this shallow container and I transplanted my mini roses into it.

I moved the chives to a rail box and moved the cilantro to the pot to the right so it's more in the shade. Hopefully it does a little better in its new home. I also planted some snow pea seeds in the big container to the left. I don't know if I'm too late planting them, but I figured I'd give it a shot.

The broccoli in the bed out front was growing quite nicely, so we harvested it and ate it with dinner!

One cauliflower plant isn't looking so hot, but the second one is thriving and has a little head growing.

We've been having salads almost daily as things keep growing! The arugula is bolting, so I planted more seeds, even though we're approaching summer, I figure that bed stays in the shade for the majority of the day so it could be ok for a bit of time.

The tomato plant is slowly growing (very slowly it seems).
And that's about it for the garden!

garden progress

2010-05-27T12:59:00.000-07:00

I have some totally newbie questions about my garden. And I also have some inspiration from another balcony garden blogger!
I'll start with the inspiration.

I've noticed how the 6x8 garden has this set up of their railing boxes and I totally want to do it! I've seen those premade two sided over the rail but didn't really want to buy them in case they didn't fit our rail, and after seeing this picture and asking how she did it I'm totally going to do this. First off I like the idea of maximizing both sides of the railing. And secondly the metal do-hickey we bought to hold the planter boxes don't fit our rail correctly and we had to do a quick (ugly) fix by using some spare plywood behind the metal bars to keep our box level and not tipping over. You can see our our eyesore here:

Not pretty at all. So I definitely am going to be buying another pair of boxes and some nylon rope! I'm thinking of doing strawberries and sage (cause our lemon sage makes puney little leaves) or maybe garlic in one and maybe peas in the other.
Is it too late to plant peas? Can I plant carrots in a box that shallow?

Onto my newbie questions (besides those previous ones).
Why aren't my chives flowering?

When we use green onions are we supposed to pull the whole thing out or can we just snip off a few sprigs and use that?

It's been raining a TON here in Seattle and I think it's killed my cilantro... what do you think? Can it survive?

Oh yea, and see that thyme? (See how puney the sage leaves are) Is it supposed to flower? Or does that mean it's bolted?

Why is my mint not really growing... the mint leaves are all so puney!

I think this arugula has seen better days, what else can I plant in a shallow container?

Could I transplant this mini rose plant into that container?

Ok, that's it for my newbie questions. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

garden progress

2010-05-18T16:23:00.000-07:00

I went to water the broccoli yesterday and look what I saw!

We'll soon be having garden fresh broccoli!
I'm also beginning to think the other two plants we thought were broccoli (I grabbed 3 plants in the same area not carefully looking at the labels) are really cauliflower. Dang! Oh well, we'll make something with it!

garden progress

2010-05-13T09:20:00.000-07:00

More garden progress!
Darwin had to inspect as I was trying to take pictures.

Here's one without her:

We've got arugula in the low pot, green onions in the the next one (and some spinach and arugula that got moved out from the front raised beds to make room for the starts), rosemary chives and oregano in the tallest pot, and mint in the silver bucket. In the box on the railing there's thyme, lemon sage and cilantro.
I think the arugula is starting to bolt and I'm wondering what I can plant next in it (the pot is pretty shallow, like a big bowl). I'm wondering why my chives don't have the pretty purple flowers I see in other chive plants... is mine defective?! And the mint and thyme only produce small tiny leaves.... is that normal?
Inside we have another box that is starting Italian parsley and basil.... I'm not sure when I can put those outside. Nothing seemed to grow from the first round of seeds of basil so I tried it again and there are maybe 2 or 3 little sprouts coming up.

I also just got a mini rose plant for my birthday!

Some of the flowers are starting to open up and they are so pretty! Yellow roses with slightly pink tips! I'm wondering if it would do better inside or outside and if I need to put it in a bigger pot?
Our broccoli is coming along nicely. It's funny how one is growing pretty quickly and the other two are lagging behind.

We also planted Jason and Darwin's tomato plant, and even though I don't like tomatoes I'm very excited about growing them!

So that's the rest of the garden. I did do some thinning of the arugula and some of the butter lettuce which we ate in a salad, but I'm still worried things are too squished, especially for the arugula.

garden progress

2010-05-07T16:27:00.000-07:00

I realized I haven't posted updated pictures of my garden in a while, so I took a few quick shots this morning.
A few weeks ago I went to the Ballard Farmers Market and picked up some starters to speed up our veggie eating. I got some butter lettuce, some red butter lettuce, and some red spinach.

This morning, everything was growing well!

The spinach I planted from seeds seems to be growing the slowest.

But the butter lettuce and arugula started from seeds is doing well.

I'm not sure about the whole thinning thing. Should I start thinning the arugula now? Do I really have to?!
It's pretty amazing looking back at the starts from three weeks ago or so and how much they've grown, actually how much everything has grown.
Next week I'll post about how the broccoli and other things are doing.

29 by 30 final count

2010-05-05T07:28:00.000-07:00

29* things to do before turning 30 - so I didn't get to cross of everything off my list, but I made a good dent and a lot of the things remaining I may be able to do before turning 31 so I think that counts. :)

(i think with the economy in the state its in... all items below that cost money may have to be put on hold til things are more stable)
1. visit at least 5 "middle" states (1. indiana, 2. michigan, 3. illinois, 4. ohio) (i dont know if im going to get one more "middle" state in!) (my 5th middle state won't get logged til next year)
2. ~~go rock climbing~~
3. ~~pay off all loans~~ (loan one paid off - dec 2008, car loan paid off - july 2009)
4. ~~start licensing exams (i may need to shoot for completing my idp forms first)~~ (finished logging all 7 years worth of hours that I've worked since I graduated college for IDP)
5. ~~read the pillars of the earth~~ (160 pages to go!)
6. ~~cook lasagna from scratch~~
7. ~~buy flowers for myself at least ~~once a~~~~ ~~quarter~~ (nov - tulips, dec - christmas tree, march - daffodils, april - daffodils, july - lavender, dec- christmas tree, jan - daffodils, feb - tulips, april - tulips)
8. ~~save money~~ ~~(so far so good!!)~~
9. make an amigurumi
10. work out at least 3 times a week
11. ~~treat myself to a massage at least once a year~~
12. ~~take at least one international vacation~~ (2.5 week cambodia trip starting now)
13. take a pottery class
14. bike the burke-gilman trail (maybe able to do this one this summer)
15. ~~spend a day in west seattle~~
16. ~~do a real detox~~ (dr natura... cant say it did much)
17. ~~knit a scarf (closer to achieving this one thanks to Cassie~~)
18. ~~purge the closet (dressers & shoe racks too)~~
19. ~~visit the olympic peninsula~~ (really went to the Olympic National Forest, but that's close)
20. ~~go to whistler~~
21. go fishing
22. ~~have dinner at canlis~~ (really the company holiday party, but i say it counts)
23. visit the capilano suspension bridge (planned for June - a month past the big 3-0, but I think it should count)
24. watch a live nfl game (steelers would be good, but id settle for the seahawks) (maybe we'll get to a game this fall)
25. ~~learn how to turn (all the way around) on a snowboard~~ (still not a pro, but i made it!)
26. ~~go camping~~
27. ~~buy a gift for no reason for three friends~~
28. ~~use my dutch oven at least once a month (at least when its cold)~~
29. ~~get a kitty~~ (a kitty turned into a puppy)

30. ~~start a garden~~

31. ~~meet the Pioneer Woman~~

*I've decided to add things to my list that I've done recently to make up for some of the things that won't get done before the big 3-0.

elephant

2010-04-29T11:27:00.000-07:00

I love elephants so it's only natural that I LOVE this:

image via design crush

succulent

2010-04-28T11:19:00.000-07:00

Love this succulent chandelier.

image via erin ever after

vote please!

2010-04-23T15:42:00.000-07:00

Please vote for the Bardessono Project in Napa which my office/firm designed. It opened last year and was recently awarded LEED Platinum.

See pictures of the hotel at HERE at the Bardessono website.

Click HERE to vote for Bardessono for the AIA Seattle What Makes It Green People's Choice Award! Thank you!

tpw in the pnw

2010-04-19T18:25:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond had a book signing at Third Place Books up here in Seattle.

image from Scott Kelby

When her cookbook first came out last year I was hoping hoping hoping she was going to make a book tour stop here, but she didn't. I've been obsessed with her blog (and her) for the past year or so, relying on her recipe posts to plan many a meal. When I got her book for Christmas I was so excited and read it that night.
Earlier this year she posted on Facebook that she was planning another book tour and holy shiet she was stopping in Seattle. I knew I had to go.
Friday came and I checked the Facebook page and saw a comment that we needed tickets to get our book signed and that Third Place Books had started giving out those tickets in the beginning of April. I figured I'd be out of luck to get a coveted ticket and debated all Friday and Saturday if I wanted to chance the drive up there.
Finally Saturday night came, it was 630, and I figured it started at 5, if I headed over then, maybe everyone would have gone and I'll be able to just pop in and out real quick. I was still reasoning with myself as I left the house (not bothering to change out of my lay-around-the-house-clothes into I-may-possibly-meet-someone-famous-if-I-can-stand-the-wait-clothes) that if I showed up and it was ridiculously packed I would just leave. When I got to the parking lot it was relatively empty and I thought I was in luck. As I walked up to the store a girl was walking out with her book so I asked how bad the wait was and she said an hour... so I thought I can do an hour. Then I walked in and noticed the bookstore was actually on the second level and the second level parking was PACKED. uh oh. I went and got a ticket.... J... "what letter are you on now?" "E... almost F" uh oh.

I took a quick walk around the store and found a gap through the shelves and I COULD SEE HER!!!

At this point, besides wishing I had changed my clothes and maybe put on some makeup, I wished I had brought my zoom lens!!! Though I did feel slightly stalker-ish peering over a bookcase taking pictures of her and random other fans.
I called Jason to let him know the status and we decided I should just stick it out since I was there. I found a seat at a table in the food court and started my wait and facebook play by play.
As I was waiting they had a great swing band playing and I was able to eat dinner. Then I noticed the Pioneer daughter walking around, and thought, well if I don't stay til J is called (I think they were still on F at this point) I should get her daughter's signature so at least I have something besides stalker photos to show!

She was so cute (and super tall)! So polite!
I waited and waited, bought a new knitting book, and waited and waited. The swing band played two sets and then they were gone... after 3 hours, it was finally the J group! Woo hoo! I jumped into line and suddenly felt nervous. I was about to meet a celebrity! The line slowly moved forward and soon I was next!
Five seconds or so of random chit chat (who knows what I said) and she signed my book and we took a picture (man I wished I had changed my clothes)!

Even after five hours of signing and smiling and posing and chatting she was still just as pleasant as if she had just started!
My first celebrity encounter and it was The Pioneer Woman. I couldn't have been happier. It was worth the four hour wait!

29 by 30 update

2010-04-19T11:55:00.000-07:00

29* things to do before turning 30 - gives me a a little under a month!

(i think with the economy in the state its in... all items below that cost money may have to be put on hold til things are more stable)
1. visit at least 5 "middle" states (1. indiana, 2. michigan, 3. illinois, 4. ohio) (i dont know if im going to get one more "middle" state in!)
2. ~~go rock climbing~~
3. ~~pay off all loans~~ (loan one paid off - dec 2008, car loan paid off - july 2009)
4. start licensing exams (i may need to shoot for completing my idp forms first)
5. ~~read the pillars of the earth~~ (160 pages to go!)
6. ~~cook lasagna from scratch~~
7. ~~buy flowers for myself at least ~~once a~~~~ ~~quarter~~ (nov - tulips, dec - christmas tree, march - daffodils, april - daffodils, july - lavender, dec- christmas tree, jan - daffodils, feb - tulips)
8. ~~save money~~ ~~(so far so good!!)~~
9. make an amigurumi
10. work out at least 3 times a week
11. ~~treat myself to a massage at least once a year~~
12. ~~take at least one international vacation~~ (2.5 week cambodia trip starting now)
13. take a pottery class
14. bike the burke-gilman trail
15. ~~spend a day in west seattle~~
16. ~~do a real detox~~ (dr natura... cant say it did much)
17. ~~knit a scarf (closer to achieving this one thanks to Cassie~~)
18. ~~purge the closet (dressers & shoe racks too)~~
19. ~~visit the olympic peninsula~~ (really went to the Olympic National Forest, but that's close)
20. ~~go to whistler~~
21. go fishing
22. ~~have dinner at canlis~~ (really the company holiday party, but i say it counts)
23. visit the capilano suspension bridge (planned for June - a month past the big 3-0, but I think it should count)
24. watch a live nfl game (steelers would be good, but id settle for the seahawks)
25. ~~learn how to turn (all the way around) on a snowboard~~ (still not a pro, but i made it!)
26. ~~go camping~~
27. ~~buy a gift for no reason for three friends~~
28. ~~use my dutch oven at least once a month (at least when its cold)~~
29. ~~get a kitty~~ (a kitty turned into a puppy)

30. ~~start a garden~~

31. ~~meet the Pioneer Woman~~

*I've decided to add things to my list that I've done recently to make up for some of the things that won't get done before the big 3-0.

scarf

2010-04-19T10:09:00.000-07:00

I did it!
I finally knitted my first scarf!

Thanks to Cassie, mom of Darwin's blog friends Baby Rocket and Hootie, who sent me a scarf knitting kit! I have another item to cross off my list. I've got under a month left and don't think I'll be able to do half of what's left on the list, but I'm one goal closer! I've even started a second one!

GLEE

2010-04-16T14:32:00.001-07:00

garden progress

2010-04-12T11:44:00.000-07:00

Things are growing!

The basil is slowing coming up.

The parsley is coming up really fast!

I planted a little container of arugula inside to see how that'd go and they are growing as well (the seeds I started outside aren't progressing as quickly).

I added a chive and oregano starter to the rosemary pot, though my chives look a little limp.

The mint got a new resident... meet Finbert!
The other seeds I planted outdoors in the beds aren't growing as quickly as the seeds I have inside. The arugula is starting to poke through but the butter lettuce and spinach aren't as visible. Hopefully things warm up and they'll start to grow!
The wildflowers are just starting to break through too and the broccoli is still kicking.

I read a copy of All New Square Foot Gardening last week.

I wish I had read it and done a bit more research before I started my bed. Oh well. Next year. Or if the seeds I planted the other week don't grow, it'll get started sooner!

man.

2010-03-31T16:33:00.000-07:00

i wish i had found these links before i started my garden last weekend!
straight from the farm has a great food blog (which i haven't checked in a while) and has these tips for gardening from scratch.

image from straight from the farm

and i saw this book on amazon the other day,

image from you grow girl
and by chance i came across her website today!
so while a week late, i guess they are still helpful moving forward.

gardening

2010-03-29T14:33:00.000-07:00

we decided this weekend to take a shot at serious gardening.
last year we did planter boxes on the balcony with herbs... i tried basil (twice), thyme, mint, sage and cilantro. only the mint, thyme and sage survived. i don't know if it has to do with the fact we used started plants or just poor gardening on my part, but this go around we are starting with mostly seeds.
on friday while jason was getting his hair cut i stopped in at a little shop, the copper vine and found they had started arugula plants. i bought two and had them re-pot them in a bigger pot.

the owner there is really nice and even gave me a discount on the pot because it didn't have a matching plate for it.
after picking that up on friday i was in the gardening mood and on saturday we found out i could use 2 of the 3 planter boxes our neighbor built outside. we headed to the store to see what seeds we could find and came away with wild flowers and lavender for the first box nearest the street (in case any dog's wanted to pee at least it wasn't something edible) and for the 2nd box we picked up butter lettuce, spinach and arugula seeds. we also found starter broccoli and grabbed three of those to plant in another planter. i also got a rosemary starter and seeds of basil and italian parsley to try and regrow on the balcony.

hopefully in a week or so we'll see things starting to grow... and in a few weeks have actual salads and herbs from our garden!

raisin pecan oatmeal cookies

2010-03-22T10:44:00.000-07:00

i love watching the food network on the weekends... well i should clarify and say i love the one hour of giada at home and the barefoot contessa back to back. both their shows always make me so hungry and craving at least one of the things they made. this weekend it was ina garten's raisin pecan oatmeal cookies. these were some of the best cookies i've made in a while.
as i told jason, pretty delicious.

raisin pecan oatmeal cookies
adapted from the barefoot contessa

1 1/2 cups pecans

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 1/2 cups raisins

preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

place the pecans on a sheet pan and bake for 5 minutes, until crisp. set aside to cool. chop very coarsely.

in a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. with the mixer on low, add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla.

sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together into a medium bowl. with the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. add the oats, raisins, and pecans and mix just until combined.

using a small ice-cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop 2-inch mounds of dough onto sheet pans lined with parchment paper. flatten slightly with a damp hand. bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned. transfer the cookies to a baking rack and cool completely.

makes 30-35 cookies.

happy hump st. patty's day

2010-03-17T11:08:00.000-07:00

A bunch of us in the office were ready to order some cupcakes from Trophy for St. Patrick's day delivery, but I decided we'd save our money (for beers) and I'd make my own Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes with Baileys Buttercream frosting.

I researched a bunch of recipes online and chose this cupcake one from Chow.com and the frosting from Smitten Kitchen. While Smitten Kitchen had a cupcake recipe of their own, I read a good review about Dave Lieberman's recipe so I thought I'd give him a try.

Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes

adapted from Dave Lieberman at Chow.com

1 (12-ounce) bottle Guinness stout, at room temperature
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup melted unsalted butter
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
1 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter or line 24 cupcake tins.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the Guinness, milk, butter, and vanilla. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Mix in the sour cream.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa, sugar, flour, and baking soda. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet Guinness mixture.
Divide the batter among the muffin tins.
Bake 15-20 minutes, until risen and set in the middle but still soft and tender. Cool before turning out of the tins.

Baileys Buttercream Frosting
adapted from Smitten Kitchen

3 - 4 cups confections sugar

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

3 - 4 tablespoons Baileys (a mini bottle of Baileys from the liquor store is the perfect amount)

Whip the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, for several minutes. You want to get it very light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, a few tablespoons at a time.

When the frosting looks thick enough to spread, drizzle in the Baileys and whip it until combined. If this has made the frosting too thin (it shouldn’t, but just in case) beat in another spoonful or two of powdered sugar.

(I was feeling a bit lazy and after all the dog drama for the day I didn't take good pictures, so these are from my iphone)

29 by 30 update

2010-02-21T11:06:00.000-08:00

29 things to do before turning 30 - gives me a a little under 3 months!

(i think with the economy in the state its in... all items below that cost money may have to be put on hold til things are more stable)
1. visit at least 5 "middle" states (1. indiana, 2. michigan, 3. illinois, 4. ohio) (i dont know if im going to get one more "middle" state in!)
2. ~~go rock climbing~~
3. ~~pay off all loans~~ (loan one paid off - dec 2008, car loan paid off - july 2009)
4. start licensing exams (i may need to shoot for completing my idp forms first)
5. ~~read the pillars of the earth~~ (160 pages to go!)
6. ~~cook lasagna from scratch~~
7. ~~buy flowers for myself at least ~~once a~~~~ ~~quarter~~ (nov - tulips, dec - christmas tree, march - daffodils, april - daffodils, july - lavender, dec- christmas tree, jan - daffodils, feb - tulips)
8. ~~save money~~ ~~(so far so good!!)~~
9. make an amigurumi
10. work out at least 3 times a week
11. ~~treat myself to a massage at least once a year~~
12. ~~take at least one international vacation~~ (2.5 week cambodia trip starting now)
13. take a pottery class
14. bike the burke-gilman trail
15. ~~spend a day in west seattle~~
16. ~~do a real detox~~ (dr natura... cant say it did much)
17. knit a scarf (closer to achieving this one thanks to Cassie)
18. ~~purge the closet (dressers & shoe racks too)~~
19. ~~visit the olympic peninsula~~ (really went to the Olympic National Forest, but that's close)
20. ~~go to whistler~~
21. go fishing
22. ~~have dinner at canlis~~ (really the company holiday party, but i say it counts)
23. visit the capilano suspension bridge (planned for June - a month past the big 3-0, but I think it should count)
24. watch a live nfl game (steelers would be good, but id settle for the seahawks)
25. ~~learn how to turn (all the way around) on a snowboard~~ (still not a pro, but i made it!)
26. ~~go camping~~
27. ~~buy a gift for no reason for three friends~~
28. ~~use my dutch oven at least once a month (at least when its cold)~~
29. ~~get a kitty~~ (a kitty turned into a puppy)

29 by 30 update

2010-01-21T15:38:00.000-08:00

29 things to do before turning 30 - gives me a a little over 4 months!

(i think with the economy in the state its in... all items below that cost money may have to be put on hold til things are more stable)
1. visit at least 5 "middle" states (1. indiana, 2. michigan, 3. illinois, 4. ohio) (i dont know if im going to get one more "middle" state in!)
2. ~~go rock climbing~~
3. ~~pay off all loans~~ (loan one paid off - dec 2008, car loan paid off - july 2009)
4. start licensing exams (i may need to shoot for completing my idp forms first)
5. ~~read the pillars of the earth~~ (160 pages to go!)
6. ~~cook lasagna from scratch~~
7. ~~buy flowers for myself at least ~~once a~~~~ ~~quarter~~ (nov - tulips, dec - christmas tree, march - daffodils, april - daffodils, july - lavender, dec- christmas tree, jan - daffodils)
8. save money (so far so good!!)
9. make an amigurumi
10. work out at least 3 times a week
11. ~~treat myself to a massage at least once a year~~
12. take at least one international vacation (cambodia?)
13. take a pottery class
14. bike the burke-gilman trail
15. ~~spend a day in west seattle~~
16. ~~do a real detox~~ (dr natura... cant say it did much)
17. knit a scarf
18. ~~purge the closet (dressers & shoe racks too)~~
19. ~~visit the olympic peninsula~~ (really went to the Olympic National Forest, but that's close)

20. ~~go to whistler~~
21. go fishing
22. ~~have dinner at canlis~~ (really the company holiday party, but i say it counts)

23. visit the capilano suspension bridge
24. watch a live nfl game (steelers would be good, but id settle for the seahawks)
25. ~~learn how to turn (all the way around) on a snowboard~~ (still not a pro, but i made it!)
26. ~~go camping~~
27. ~~buy a gift for no reason for three friends~~
28. ~~use my dutch oven at least once a month (at least when its cold)~~
29. ~~get a kitty~~ (a kitty turned into a puppy)

march 5

2009-12-16T14:29:00.001-08:00

cant wait for this:

love

2009-12-16T13:53:00.001-08:00

alicia keys. love her.
love this video. hahaha

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Alicia Keys - Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

U.S. Speedskating

{giveaway!}

2009-12-09T11:42:00.000-08:00

Tiffany over at Style-ish Reviews is doing a great giveaway!!!

Go check it out!

LOVE

2009-11-06T09:55:00.000-08:00

I am currently IN LOVE with Sharon Montrose's prints. Look at these!

Kill me now! Too cute!

darwin!

2009-09-23T11:26:00.000-07:00

its official... darwin has her own doggy blog now...
{evolution of darwin}
hopefully i do a good job at keeping up with it!
thanks to dana & moose for getting us started!

29 by 30 update

2009-09-22T21:50:00.000-07:00

29 things to do before turning 30 - gives me a year and a half:
(i think with the economy in the state its in... all items below that cost money may have to be put on hold til things are more stable)
1. visit at least 5 "middle" states (1. indiana, 2. michigan, 3. illinois, 4. ohio) (i dont know if im going to get one more "middle" state in!)
2. ~~go rock climbing~~
3. ~~pay off all loans~~ (loan one paid off - dec 2008, car loan paid off - july 2009)
4. start licensing exams (i may need to shoot for completing my idp forms first)
5. ~~read the pillars of the earth~~ (160 pages to go!)
6. ~~cook lasagna from scratch~~
7. buy flowers for myself at least ~~once a~~ quarter (nov - tulips, dec - christmas tree, march - daffodils, april - daffodils, july - lavender)
8. save money (so far so good!!)
9. make an amigurumi
10. work out at least 3 times a week pages to
11. ~~treat myself to a massage at least once a year~~
12. take at least one international vacation (cambodia?)
13. take a pottery class
14. bike the burke-gilman trail
15. ~~spend a day in west seattle~~
16. ~~do a real detox~~ (dr natura... cant say it did much)
17. knit a scarf
18. ~~purge the closet (dressers & shoe racks too)~~
19. visit the olympic peninsula
20. ~~go to whistler~~
21. go fishing
22. have dinner at canlis
23. visit the capilano suspension bridge
24. watch a live nfl game (steelers would be good, but id settle for the seahawks)
25. ~~learn how to turn (all the way around) on a snowboard~~ (still not a pro, but i made it!)
26. ~~go camping~~
27. ~~buy a gift for no reason for three friends~~
28. use my dutch oven at least once a month (at least when its cold) (oct - pot roast; nov - beef stew, lasgna meat sauce)
29. ~~get a kitty~~ (a kitty turned into a puppy)

2009-08-04T16:14:00.000-07:00

29 things to do before turning 30 - gives me a year and a half:
(i think with the economy in the state its in... all items below that cost money may have to be put on hold til things are more stable)
1. visit at least 5 "middle" states (1. indiana, 2. michigan, 3. illinois in sept)
2. ~~go rock climbing~~
3. ~~pay off all loans~~ (loan one paid off - dec 2008, car loan paid off - july 2009)
4. start licensing exams (i may need to shoot for completing my idp forms first)
5. ~~read the pillars of the earth~~ (160 pages to go!)
6. ~~cook lasagna from scratch~~
7. buy flowers for myself at least ~~once a~~ quarter (nov - tulips, dec - christmas tree, march - daffodils, april - daffodils, july - lavender)
8. save money
9. make an amigurumi
10. work out at least 3 times a week
11. ~~treat myself to a massage at least once a year~~
12. take at least one international vacation (cambodia?)
13. take a pottery class
14. bike the burke-gilman trail
15. ~~spend a day in west seattle~~
16. ~~do a real detox~~ (dr natura... cant say it did much)
17. knit a scarf
18. ~~purge the closet (dressers & shoe racks too)~~
19. visit the olympic peninsula
20. ~~go to whistler~~
21. go fishing
22. have dinner at canlis
23. visit the capilano suspension bridge
24. watch a live nfl game (steelers would be good, but id settle for the seahawks)
25. ~~learn how to turn (all the way around) on a snowboard~~ (still not a pro, but i made it!)
26. go camping
27. ~~buy a gift for no reason for three friends~~
28. use my dutch oven at least once a month (at least when its cold) (oct - pot roast; nov - beef stew, lasgna meat sauce)
29. ~~get a kitty~~ (a kitty turned into a puppy)

mj

2009-06-25T15:50:00.000-07:00

rest in peace michael jackson

darwin - 14 weeks

2009-05-16T11:52:00.000-07:00

14 weeks and now up to 37.5lbs!
we had a little mishap today... i decided to cut darwins nails before going to the vet, and she moved a bit on one and i cut the quick! she didnt yelp in pain and let me finish cutting the rest, but by the end there was blood dripping all over the balcony. we dont have styptic powder on hand, so after a quick google search, i found out flour works just as well. and it did! it amazed me how much blood came out of one toe, and that she totally was oblivious to it.

we went to a small park near the house this week and let her run around off leash. she had tons of fun. we forgot to bring a ball (bad puppy parents) but she has a thing for sticks, so we were in luck throwing a stick around.

now that shes gotten all her shots, we plan on taking a trip to marymoor park on a sunday afternoon where we hear a bunch of great danes meet up at 100. should be fun to see how she interacts with full sized great danes.

darwin - 11weeks

2009-04-27T21:14:00.000-07:00

darwin is now 11 weeks old.
we took her for her second set of shots on saturday and shes up to 26.4 lbs! (she was 12.9lbs at 7 weeks)
we have her in puppy kindergarten for training and socialization, and while the training is helpful, the most helpful part is the socialization. since we bottle fed her from 5 days old, and she only got weekend time with her mom and the majority of her siblings, she was a bit snarly at other puppies. weve been going to class for about 3 weeks now, two times a week, and shes getting a lot better. tho shes still intimidated by a big group of older/bigger puppies, shes getting better with smaller puppies, and one on one bigger puppy time.
this is her bff from class, louie the french bulldog:

and this is her bff neighbor from upstairs, riley the black lab:

it still amazes me that shes as big as she is now, when we first took her and her brother and sisters home to foster they were this big (shes the one with the pink ribbon):

29 by 30 update

2009-04-27T21:07:00.000-07:00

29 things to do before turning 30 - gives me a year and a half:
(i think with the economy in the state its in... all items below that cost money may have to be put on hold til things are more stable)
1. visit at least 5 "middle" states (1. indiana, 2. michigan)
2. ~~go rock climbing~~
3. pay off all loans (loan one paid off - dec 2008)
4. start licensing exams (i may need to shoot for completing my idp forms first)
5. read the pillars of the earth (160 pages to go!)
6. ~~cook lasagna from scratch~~
7. buy flowers for myself at least ~~once a~~ quarter (nov - tulips, dec - christmas tree, march - daffodils, april - daffodils)
8. save money
9. make an amigurumi
10. work out at least 3 times a week
11. treat myself to a massage at least once a year
12. take at least one international vacation (cambodia?)
13. take a pottery class
14. bike the burke-gilman trail
15. spend a day in west seattle
16. ~~do a real detox~~ (dr natura... cant say it did much)
17. knit a scarf
18. ~~purge the closet (dressers & shoe racks too)~~
19. visit the olympic peninsula
20. ~~go to whistler~~
21. go fishing
22. have dinner at canlis
23. visit the capilano suspension bridge
24. watch a live nfl game (steelers would be good, but id settle for the seahawks)
25. ~~learn how to turn (all the way around) on a snowboard~~ (still not a pro, but i made it!)
26. go camping
27. ~~buy a gift for no reason for three friends~~
28. use my dutch oven at least once a month (at least when its cold) (oct - pot roast; nov - beef stew, lasgna meat sauce)
29. ~~get a kitty~~ (a kitty turned into a puppy)

darwin

2009-03-09T15:44:00.000-07:00

so our coworkers great danes had a litter of pups... a huge litter. 18 to be exact (tho one was still born and another passed away after a couple days).... so 16 pups and a mom who couldnt feed them all, so i volunteered be a foster mom and bottle feed four of them... after a week four became a handful so we went down to two... four weeks later, weve decided to adopt one of them....
meet darwin:

29 by 30 update

2009-03-09T15:28:00.000-07:00

29 things to do before turning 30 - gives me a year and a half:
(i think with the economy in the state its in... all items below that cost money may have to be put on hold til things are more stable)
1. visit at least 5 "middle" states (1. indiana, 2. michigan)
2. ~~go rock climbing~~
3. pay off all loans (loan one paid off - dec 2008)
4. start licensing exams (i may need to shoot for completing my idp forms first)
5. read the pillars of the earth (started!)
6. ~~cook lasagna from scratch~~
7. buy flowers for myself at least ~~once a~~ quarter (nov - tulips, dec - christmas tree)
8. save money
9. make an amigurumi
10. work out at least 3 times a week
11. treat myself to a massage at least once a year
12. take at least one international vacation (cambodia?)
13. take a pottery class
14. bike the burke-gilman trail
15. spend a day in west seattle
16. ~~do a real detox~~ (dr natura... cant say it did much)
17. knit a scarf
18. ~~purge the closet (dressers & shoe racks too)~~
19. visit the olympic peninsula
20. go to whistler
21. go fishing
22. have dinner at canlis
23. visit the capilano suspension bridge
24. watch a live nfl game (steelers would be good, but id settle for the seahawks)
25. learn how to turn (all the way around) on a snowboard
26. go camping
27. buy a gift for no reason for three friends
28. use my dutch oven at least once a month (at least when its cold) (oct - pot roast; nov - beef stew, lasgna meat sauce)
29. ~~get a kitty~~ (a kitty turned into a puppy)

le creuset

2009-01-14T10:18:00.000-08:00

ideally id own a le creuset dutch oven (or french oven as their brand calls it), but being that they are way out of my budget i own a cheap (temporary) version from ikea.
i went to williams sonoma this past weekend with the intent of picking up a lodge 12" cast iron pan. they were having a big sale mostly on their holiday items, and me being a big shopper of sale items and bargains i spent a good chunk of time wandering around the sale tables... and to my luck i came across a cherry red le creuset cast iron pan!

it was on sale from $110 to $49.99! and tho it was more than i was intending to spend on the lodge one, and it was only 10" rather than the 12" one... it was my chance to own le creuset without spending hundreds of dollars... slowly making steps to good cookware.

so to break it in we made steak and garlic mash for dinner... mmmm.

29 by 30 update

2009-01-04T13:43:00.000-08:00

29 things to do before turning 30 - gives me a year and a half:
1. visit at least 5 "middle" states (1. indiana, 2. michigan)
2. ~~go rock climbing~~
3. pay off all loans (loan one paid off - dec 2008)
4. start licensing exams (i may need to shoot for completing my idp forms first)
5. read the pillars of the earth
6. ~~cook lasagna from scratch~~
7. buy flowers for myself at least once a month (nov - tulips, dec - christmas tree)
8. save money
9. make an amigurumi
10. work out at least 3 times a week
11. treat myself to a massage at least once a year
12. take at least one international vacation (cambodia?)
13. take a pottery class
14. bike the burke-gilman trail
15. spend a day in west seattle
16. do a real detox
17. knit a scarf
18. purge the closet (dressers & shoe racks too)
19. visit the olympic peninsula
20. go to whistler
21. go fishing
22. have dinner at canlis
23. visit the capilano suspension bridge
24. watch a live nfl game (steelers would be good, but id settle for the seahawks)
25. learn how to turn (all the way around) on a snowboard
26. go camping
27. buy a gift for no reason for three friends
28. use my dutch oven at least once a month (at least when its cold) (oct - pot roast; nov - beef stew, lasgna meat sauce)
29. get a kitty

christmas treats

2008-12-19T09:57:00.001-08:00

instead of buying gifts for people, i decided this year to bake cookies. since our office is so small i decided to make cookie bags for everyone.... oi. next year i shall start earlier and cut back on the variety.
from that though a coworker asked if i could make a batch of the chocolate dipped rice crispy treats i had included for a party shes attending. my first baking effort commission!
instead of just the standard sprinkle topped treat, i decided to crush up some candy cane and sprinkle that on some also. i even packaged it up in a festive box.

listen...

2008-12-10T08:40:00.000-08:00

i have a hard time watching him play, but listening to what he can do on a ukulele is amazing.

more here

via boing boing

christmas in the mainland

2008-12-08T19:17:00.000-08:00

the great thing about living in the "mainland" (as opposed to hawaii) during the holiday is the added activities that come with a holiday.
going to the pumpkin patch in october rather than the grocery store... m
and the best... going to the tree farm to cut your own christmas tree rather than picking one up (at a ridiculous price) at a random lot.

thats me cutting down our tree this year

and thats jaisn carrying it to be wrapped up

and thats our end result!

tho i think we agreed that next year wed buy a potted tree to possibly plant or reuse rather than killing another tree.

thanksgiving fun

2008-12-07T10:46:00.000-08:00

ok im a bit behind on my posts.... ive been busy with work.
anyway. so we did end up coming into work on thanksgiving for a few hours and made some crab and garlic mashed potatoes for dinner. not very traditional i know.
but for the weekend we went up to a cabin in mount baker with two other couples and had our second annual thanksgiving getaway. last year we went simple and made chili and cornbread... nothing too difficult. this year we decided to step it up.
friday night andy made great steaks in his new cast iron skillet, shannon made a yummy salad with a champagne vinaigrette, and i made garlicy mashed potatoes to go with it
saturday morning the suess' made breakfast burritos with sausage, egg, cheese and salsa. they also made cinnamon rolls and had a fruit platter. yum. and that night was our "real" thanksgiving feast.

sunny was in charge of the main dish... a roasted pork loin. mmmmm.

i was in charge of sides and dessert...

roasted stuffed onions

whiskey glazed carrots

deconstructed green bean casserole, crash hot potatoes, and a pumpkin cream cheese pie (oops i forgot to take pictures of some of them).
the stuffing in the onions was the best stuffing ever... i was exhausted after making it (premade it the day before) because of all the prep that went into it, but it was definetly worth it. the green beans were also very good... tho i made the fried onions in the morning and they didnt stay crispy til dinner time. oh well. the carrots were a little sweet for my taste.. i think it wouldve worked with less (or no) brown sugar. the potatoes were good as well... i think i couldve put garlic on it.... cause who doesnt love garlic. and the pie... so good. the crust came from the same batch as the pecan pie and it was still a hit.

recipes here:
roasted stuffed onions via smitten kitchen
deconstructed green bean casserole via vegan yum yum
whiskey glazed carrots via the pioneer woman
crash hot potatoes via the pioneer woman
pumpkin cream cheese pie via how to eat a cupcake

happy thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T08:20:00.001-08:00

while most of the us is sleeping in or traveling to spend the holiday with family, jaisn and i are spending the morning at work, for the second year in a row. partially due to the fact our families are at least a plane ride away and partially due to deadlines. oh well its nice and quiet and no one to bother me while i work away... and blog?
this isnt to say we wont have a thanksgiving at all... we'll make dinner tonight and go away to a cabin with friends for a thanksgiving weekend.

anyway to get into the thanksgiving mood, earlier this week i made pumpkin whoopie pies for the office.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Filling
adapted from martha stewart

Pumpkin Whoopie Cookies
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground cloves
2 cups firmly packed dark-brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 cups pumpkin puree, chilled
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Filling
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
sprinkle of cinnamon

Make the cookies:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat; set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves; set aside. In another large bowl, whisk together brown sugar and oil until well combined. Add pumpkin puree and whisk until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and whisk until well combined. Sprinkle flour mixture over pumpkin mixture and whisk until fully incorporated.
Using a small ice cream scoop with a release mechanism, drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Transfer to oven and bake until cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of each cookie comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely on pan.

Make the filling:
Sift confectioner' sugar into a medium bowl; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until smooth. Add cream cheese and beat until well combined. Add confectioners' sugar, vanilla and cinnamon, beat just until smooth. (Filling can be made up to a day in advance. Cover and refrigerate; let stand at room temperature to soften before using.)

Assemble the whoopie pies:
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Transfer filling to a disposable pastry bag and snip the end. When cookies have cooled completely, pipe a large dollop of filling on the flat side of half of the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, pressing down slightly so that the filling spreads to the edge of the cookies. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate cookies at least 30 minutes before serving and up to 3 days.

scary....

2008-11-26T13:43:00.000-08:00

terrorist attacks in mumbai....
its scary when you work in an industry that requires international travel... two coworkers were supposed to be going to mumbai next week....
thoughts and prayers for the victims and their families and everyone affected by this.

image via times of india

giveaways...

2008-11-19T16:19:00.001-08:00

not my own unfortunately, but over at steamy kitchen theres a giveaway for a great knife. check it out here. she also gives useful tips on how to sharpen knives.

and yesterday the pioneer woman held a contest for kitchen aid mixers... my dream appliance. too bad i didnt win.

trying to be healthy...

2008-11-17T13:24:00.000-08:00

sort of.... chickpea salad with roasted red pepper is healthy... the pecan pie, not so much.
smitten kitchen posted a recipe that looked easy to make and healthy so i decided to give it a try.

i even roasted my own peppers following the wednesday chef's instructions

i have yet to actually taste it... jaisn picked up a great dinner last night from kushibar to get out of climbing.

Chickpea Salad with Capers and Roasted Red Peppers
via smitten kitchen Adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

2 large red peppers, roasted and skinned
3 cups of cooked chickpeas, rinsed if canned (about 2 15-ounce cans)
1/4 cup of parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons of chopped mint
3 tablespoons of capers, rinsed
2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice or red wine or sherry vinegar
1/4 teaspoon of salt
2 cloves of garlic, minced
4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

Cut the peppers into half-inch wide strips and put them in a large bowl together with the chickpeas, herbs and the capers. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, salt, garlic and oil. Pour over the chickpea mixture and combine.Serve immediately, or refrigerate it for a day to get the flavors to mingle fantastically.

This is a great make-ahead dish for weekday lunches. It would also be wonderful on a pile of torn lettuce, served with toasted pita wedges.

pie time

2008-11-16T20:47:00.000-08:00

since its almost thanksgiving there are so many recipes floating around on blogs for different pumpkin desserts and pies. ive never made a pecan pie before and this recipe looked pretty easy to make so i gave it a shot tonight.
this is only the third pie or so ive ever attempted and i am not very good at rolling out the crust or getting the edges nice and pretty. maybe jaisns mom can teach me some tricks when we go visit his parents at christmas.

Pecan Pie
via the pioneer woman
1 unbaked pie crust (see recipe below)
1 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup corn syrup
1/3 cup melted butter (regular, salted)
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 heaping cup chopped pecan

Mix sugar, brown sugar, salt, corn syrup, butter, eggs, and vanilla together in a bowl. Pour chopped pecans in the bottom of the pie shell. Pour syrup mixture over the top. Bake pie at 350 degrees for 50 minutes, being careful not to burn pecans and crust.
Allow to cool for several hours or overnight. Serve in thin slivers.

Pie Crust
via the pioneer woman
1 1/2 cups crisco (vegetable shortening)
3 cups flour
1 egg
5 tablespoons cold water
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl using a pastry cutter, gradually work the Crisco into the flour for about 3 to 4 minutes until it resembles a course meal. In a small bowl beat egg and then add it to the flour-shortening mixture. Add water, vinegar and salt and stir gently until all the ingredients are incorporated.
Seperate the dough into 2 balls and place each ball into a large ziploc bag. Using a rolling pin, slightly flatten each ball about 1/2" thick to make rolling easier. Seal the bags and place them in the freezer until they are needed.
When you are ready to use the dough to make a crust, remove from freezer and defrost for about 15 minutes before rolling out. On a floured surface roll the dough starting at the center and working your way out. Sprinkle flour onto surface if dough is too moist.
Once dough is about 1/2" larger than the pie pan, carefully lift it into the pan. Go around the pan pinching and tucking the dough to make a clean edge.

i wish i spoke french...

2008-11-13T12:12:00.001-08:00

or any language really...
i find little kids who speak another language adorable!
as evident in the cutest little french girl telling a story...

via boing boing

fall means pumpkins

2008-11-11T21:06:00.000-08:00

fall means soups, mashed potatoes, warm comfort foods, and pumpkiny desserts.
tonight i decided to start my pumpkin dessert baking with pumpkin swirl brownies i came across on site.
somewhere in the middle of mixing ingredients i neglected to read carefully and mixed up the dry ingredients and straight into it added the wet ingredients... as i was cracking eggs over the dry mix, i thought to myself this is weird, why wouldnt i mix the wet ingredients together first before adding it to the dry stuff. after the last egg was cracked, i realized, i shouldve been mixing them separately first. duh. oh well, i was low on flour so i decided just to keep going and hope it turned out well.
the base batter was thick and therefore the chocolate batter was thick... and i spaced out and didnt measure the pumpkin, and just started dumping the can into the bowl, so i ended up with thin pumpkin batter and thick chocolate batter which made layering and swirling difficult...
so far after cooling and cutting they look ok

we'll see how they taste....

Pumpkin-Swirl Brownies
adapted from smitten kitchen Adapted from Martha Stewart Living

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for pan
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 to 3/4 cups sugar (the original recipe calls for the larger amount; I think it could be dialed down a bit)
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups solid-pack pumpkin
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts or other nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch square baking pan or dish. Cut a length of parchment that will cover the bottom and two sides (makes it much easier to remove), and line the pan with it. Butter the lining as well.
Melt chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, cayenne, and salt in a large bowl; set aside. Put sugar, eggs, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; beat until fluffy and well combined, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in flour mixture.
Pour half of batter (about two cups) into a separate bowl and stir chocolate mixture into it. If you find that it is a little thick (as mine was) add a little more batter (a few tablespoons or so) until it is more pourable. This is important because mine was quite thick, and the pumpkin half was quite thin, so I had trouble swirling the two together.
In other bowl, stir in the pumpkin, oil, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Transfer half of chocolate batter to prepared pan smoothing top with a rubber spatula. Top with half of pumpkin batter. Repeat to make one more chocolate layer and one more pumpkin layer. Work quickly so batters don’t set.
With a small spatula or a table knife, gently swirl the two batters to create a marbled effect. Sprinkle with nuts, if using.
Bake until set, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack. Cut into 16 squares.

naked

2008-11-11T16:35:00.001-08:00

i feel naked and totally lost today.
i left the house without any camera in my bag....
well i shouldnt say any, i have my blackberry camera which takes the worst grainy dark pictures

ive always wanted one of these:

2008-11-10T09:51:00.000-08:00

and now at this site you can buy a kit to make your own!
i think i may just have to buy one!

mmm lasagna

2008-11-09T17:13:00.000-08:00

one more item off my list: lasagna from scratch.

i need to invest in a deeper lasagna dish if i plan to make this lasagna often, i was close to overflowing when i put the final topping of cheese on, but thankfully it only swelled up a tiny bit more while baking.
for my first lasagna i must say it was really good.... thinking about it now is making me hungry.

Lasagna
adapted from my lasagna recipe
serves 12

meat sauce:
1 1/4 pound of sweet Italian sausage
1 1/4 pound of ground beef
1 small yellow onion chopped
1 carrot peeled and chopped
3 cloves of garlic chopped
1 (28 ounce) can of crushed tomatoes
2 (8 ounce) cans of tomato sauce
2 (6 ounce) cans of tomato paste
1/2 Cup of Water
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon fennel seed
2 teaspoons fresh Basil leaves chopped
2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley chopped
1 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes (less or more depending how spicy you want it)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

ricotta cheese filling:
23 ounces of ricotta cheese.
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 egg
2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley chopped
1 teaspoon fresh basil chopped

1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
12 lasagna noodles (not the no boil type)

Meat sauce

In a dutch oven over medium heat, add a couple tablespoons of olive oil (enough to cover the bottom) and brown the ground beef and Italian sausage. Before the meats are fully cooked, add the onions, carrot and garlic in a pot until the onions are golden and transparent.
Once the meat and vegetables are cooked, add in the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste and water.

Next add the sugar, fennel seed, basil, italian parsley, salt & pepper, italian seasoning, and red chili pepper flakes.
Cover the pot and let the meat sauce simmer on low heat for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

When the sauce is done, soak 12 lasagna noodles in hot tap water for 15 minutes.

Ricotta cheese filling
In a medium bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, nutmeg, egg, italian parsley and basil.

Preheat the oven at 350
In a 9x13 baking pan begin assembling the lasagna.
Spread about 2 cups of meat sauce on the bottom of the pan. Lay 6 noodles, overlapping slightly, across the layer of sauce. Then spread half of the ricotta cheese mixture over the layer of noodles. Sprinkle 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese over the ricotta layer. Then sprinkle half of the Parmesan cheese over the mozzarella layer.
Repeat with 2 cups of meat sauce, the noodles, then ricotta mix. Sprinkle on 3/4 of the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheeses, reserving the last 1/4 for the top. Add one more layer or meat sauce and sprinkle the remaining cheeses on top.

Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Place a cookie sheet or foil on the bottom rack of the oven to catch any overflow. Remove the foil and bake for another 25 minutes.
Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.

29 by 30 - update

2008-11-08T22:02:00.000-08:00

29 things to do before turning 30 - gives me a year and a half:
1. visit at least 5 "middle" states
2. ~~go rock climbing~~
3. pay off all loans
4. start licensing exams
5. read the pillars of the earth
6. ~~cook lasagna from scratch~~
7. buy flowers for myself at least once a month
8. save money
9. make an amigurumi
10. work out at least 3 times a week
11. treat myself to a massage at least once a year
12. take at least one international vacation (cambodia?)
13. take a pottery class
14. bike the burke-gilman trail
15. spend a day in west seattle
16. do a real detox
17. knit a scarf
18. purge the closet (dressers & shoe racks too)
19. visit the olympic peninsula
20. go to whistler
21. go fishing
22. have dinner at canlis
23. visit the capilano suspension bridge
24. watch a live nfl game (steelers would be good, but id settle for the seahawks)
25. learn how to turn (all the way around) on a snowboard
26. go camping
27. buy a gift for no reason for three friends
28. use my dutch oven at least once a month (at least when its cold) (oct - pot roast; nov - beef stew, lasgna meat sauce)
29. get a kitty

cake balls

2008-11-07T20:59:00.000-08:00

so i found this recipe on pioneer woman's cooking blog that i wanted to make for our halloween potluck. but i ran out of time with the pumpkins and costumes. so i decided id make it this week, thinking i could bring them in on wednesday as celebration cake balls, but my first attempt at using white chocolate chips to coat the balls, failed miserably, so i thought id dump the whole attempt.

i tried again last night with unsweeted chocolate that i had and added some bakers sugar....and it was still too thick. so i thought id just scrap the whole thing, but decided to look at what else i had and found some semisweet chocolate chips and added that. a few other sites i saw that had recipes for cake balls talked about adding crisco to the chocolate, i didnt have any, but i did have crisco vegetable oil, so i added a few drops and that seemed to thin it out some.... and this is what i ended up with:

i still wasnt sure about the whole thing, im no chocolate fan so for me it was too chocolatey... and i made jaisn try one and he thought it just seemed like raw cake batter in chocolate. but the reviews were positive with at least two people asking for the recipe....

more pictures

2008-11-07T10:20:00.000-08:00

more election night pictures... from backstage by Obama photographer David Katz up on flickr

prop 8?

2008-11-07T08:34:00.000-08:00

as exciting as it is that african americans are making a step forward with obama now the president elect, how sad is it that gays in california have now been pushed back with prop 8? if i have the option to marry who i choose, why shouldnt anyone else?
i liked what melissa etheridge says in this article... "Okay, so I am taking that to mean I do not have to pay my state taxes because I am not a full citizen. I mean that would just be wrong, to make someone pay taxes and not give them the same rights... Oh, and I am sure Ellen will be a little excited to keep her bazillion bucks that she pays in taxes too. Wow, come to think of it, there are quite a few of us fortunate gay folks that will be having some extra cash this year. What recession? We're gay!"

mmdd

2008-11-07T08:07:00.000-08:00

did you know that yesterday was national men make dinner day?
well it was, and jaisn made dinner!

jason prepping... to make.....

scallops in a white wine sauce with zucchini & tomatoes over rice and greens

i even got a special plate without tomatoes since im not a fan... how sweet of him

the skys the limit

2008-11-05T13:40:00.001-08:00

great pictures of our president elect at this site

presidents

2008-11-05T08:33:00.000-08:00

illustration found on patrick moberg

'nough said

2008-11-04T22:21:00.000-08:00

image from kotte

fall

2008-11-04T08:11:00.000-08:00

alright its really been fall for a bit now... but now with the leaves falling it really is fall

did you all go out and vote today? i did

29 by 30 - update

2008-11-02T19:21:00.000-08:00

29 things to do before turning 30 - gives me a year and a half:
1. visit at least 5 "middle" states
2. ~~go rock climbing~~ we went and took a class today at stone gardens in ballard

3. pay off all loans
4. start licensing exams
5. read the pillars of the earth
6. cook lasagna from scratch
7. buy flowers for myself at least once a month
8. save money
9. make an amigurumi
10. work out at least 3 times a week
11. treat myself to a massage at least once a year
12. take at least one international vacation (cambodia?)
13. take a pottery class
14. bike the burke-gilman trail
15. spend a day in west seattle
16. do a real detox
17. knit a scarf
18. purge the closet (dressers & shoe racks too)
19. visit the olympic peninsula
20. go to whistler
21. go fishing
22. have dinner at canlis
23. visit the capilano suspension bridge
24. watch a live nfl game (steelers would be good, but id settle for the seahawks)
25. learn how to turn (all the way around) on a snowboard
26. go camping
27. buy a gift for no reason for three friends
28. use my dutch oven at least once a month (at least when its cold)
29. get a kitty

pictures

2008-11-01T15:12:00.000-07:00

this is my nephew... he turned one on the 25th

for halloween i carved 2 more pumpkins:

a graveyard with bats.. and bats hanging inside

and a pumpkin jail

and this was our winning costume:

29 by 30

2008-10-30T22:12:00.000-07:00

29 things to do before turning 30 - gives me a year and a half:
1. visit at least 5 "middle" states
2. go rock climbing
3. pay off all loans
4. start licensing exams
5. read the pillars of the earth
6. cook lasagna from scratch
7. buy flowers for myself at least once a month
8. save money
9. make an amigurumi
10. work out at least 3 times a week
11. treat myself to a massage at least once a year
12. take at least one international vacation (cambodia?)
13. take a pottery class
14. bike the burke-gilman trail
15. spend a day in west seattle
16. do a real detox
17. knit a scarf
18. purge the closet (dressers & shoe racks too)
19. visit the olympic peninsula
20. go to whistler
21. go fishing
22. have dinner at canlis
23. visit the capilano suspension bridge
24. watch a live nfl game (steelers would be good, but id settle for the seahawks)
25. learn how to turn (all the way around) on a snowboard
26. go camping
27. buy a gift for no reason for three friends
28. use my dutch oven at least once a month (at least when its cold)
29. get a kitty

is it halloween already?

2008-10-30T21:58:00.000-07:00

next year i need to think more before i buy so many pumpkins.
i just got back last night from my visit home (and i have to say my nephew is the cutest thing ever), and that didnt give me much time at all to prepare for halloween. still need to finish a costume, just finished the pumpkin that i didnt put enough thought into, didnt carve the third i bought, and i didnt even get to make anything for the office potluck tomorrow. ugh. next year i'll plan better.

so i thought i was excited to have warm weather rather than the cold fall weather..... i forgot how hot and muggy it is in hawaii. ugh. there was even more rain there than there has been in seattle. three days of heat rash (i think thats what it was) and not much sun. but i did get to spend a lot of time with my nephew! im now going thru withdrawls.

pictures to come....

1 of 3

2008-10-23T08:42:00.000-07:00

im going back home for my nephew's first birthday this weekend.... so excited! and while i do love fall... crisp air, leaves changing colors, and so on, im looking forward to the 80s versus the 50s and seeing my nephew!

but i dont get back til the 29th... so with that in mind i have 3 pumpkins that need carving and not much time to do it.

so i got a head start last night and after much debating on what to do, i decided to go the less creative route and just use a pattern from one of those books they sell.
i always forget how time consuming and exhausting carving pumpkins is... especially when theres lots of little pieces that need careful carving and not just hacking out.

before

after

red velvet

2008-10-20T19:23:00.000-07:00

i have to say, i love red velvet cake. i dont know what it is either cause im not a chocolate person... but maybe thats why, cause its not too chocolatey.
i found this recipe on dulcedo and knew i had to try it. i thought all signs were pointing to a less than favorable result as i early on realized i didnt have enough food coloring or vanilla bean paste, and later on realized i didnt have enough sugar for the frosting. but it actually turned out pretty well if i do say so myself.

and this

yum.

after modifications my recipe turned out to be like this:

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
adapted from dulcedo
makes about 30 cupcakes

3 1/2 cups cake flour, sifted
1/2 cup unsweetened, cocoa (not Dutch process), sifted
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 cups canola oil
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 oz red food coloring
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
2 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 tsp white vinegar

cream cheese frosting
24 ounces (3 packages) cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
6-7 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk together the cake flour, cocoa, and salt in a medium-size bowl. Set aside

In a larger bowl, place the oil and sugar and beat at medium speed until well blended. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add red food coloring and beat slowly to combine. Add vanilla. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the buttermilk and beginning and ending with the flour. Beat until just combined.

Place baking soda in a small dish, stir in vinegar until dissolved, and add to batter with machine running. Beat for 10 seconds.

Fill your lined cupcake containers 3/4 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting or decorating as desired.

Frosting:
In a medium bowl, beat together the cream cheese and butter until well blended. Add 6-7 cups of confectioners' sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined. Add more sugar until you reach your desired consistency and sweetness.

follow up

2008-10-19T13:02:00.000-07:00

yum. i must say it was quite good. and even better the next day.

dutch ovens and pot roast

2008-10-18T19:20:00.000-07:00

after researching this week, i decided on cheaping out on an ikea dutch oven instead of splurging on a le crueset one from williams sonoma.... oh if only i were made out of money. the only downside of the ikea one, i didnt take time to notice when i bought it, is that it is only enamel coated on the outside and not the inside. we'll see how it holds up over time.

i did manage to find a pretty simple pot roast recipe from the pioneer woman cooks thats smelling great right now. 15 minutes and we'll find out if it tastes as good as it smells.