Things: Current Favorites

Who know's what my favorite things will be next week, but here are my current obsessions:

Arizona Skye Slingbacks:

I've just discovered JCPenney's shoe department. I'm impressed by both the selection and the ridiculously-low sale prices. These sandals are $13.99 right now! They're crazy comfortable, too.

Josie Maran Argan Oil:

Probably my biggest skin care splurge to date, but I've decided my beauty mantra is "Face and feet". I want to take good care of both, so while I have the money, I'm gonna do just that! Argan oil is kind of a miracle serum. It's soothed my itchy, irritated skin (too much make-up? Laundry detergent? Who knows). I use a drop on dry hair to enhance shine and tame flyaways, and it's also healed my split cuticles. Nuff said.

MAC Lipstick in Sushi Kiss:

This lipstick is almost neon in real life. It looks much more sensible in the picture. I love it either way.

 Champagne Drops:

From The Confectionery in University Village. Just slightly fruity, soft, but not super gummy like a gum drop. They're quite pleasant. I had them at my wedding reception and they're one of the few things I paid full price for.

Slice o' Amethyst:

I bought this necklace off Chictopia a couple months ago. I wasn't sure how to style it at first, mostly because I find jewelry to be overwhelming. Now I've decided to just wear it with everything. Why not, right? It's a total conversation starter.

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Recipe: Curried Lentils with Sweet Potato & Quinoa

I will eat pretty much anything that contains raisins. I just love how they plump up when you cook them. Combine them with spices and coconut butter and I am completely smitten! The best part is that this dish is really good for you. It's full of fiber & anti-inflammatory spices, plus it's vegetarian and gluten free!

Ingredients:

2 tsp Turmeric

1 tsp paprika

2 tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp cumin, ground or whole

½ tsp chili powder

½ tsp ground coriander

¼ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp ground ginger

pinch of cayenne

1 bay leaf

2 Tbsp coconut oil

1 cup chopped onion

1 small sweet potato, diced

1 tomato, diced

½ cup raisins

½ cup quinoa

½ cup lentils, rinsed

2 cups vegetable broth

1 container plain yogurt

1. Start by heating the coconut oil on medium heat. Add the spices and bay leaf and cook till hot and fragrant. Stir them pretty consistently & careful not to burn them. Pour into small bowl and set aside.

2. Add remaining coconut oil to hot pan and saute onions, sweet potato, and tomato for about 5 minutes.

3. Add spice mix, raisins & lentils and stir to coat. Add vegetable broth. Make sure the broth covers everything by about 1/2 inch. If it doesn't, add some water.

4. Bring to a boil, stir then reduce heat to low-medium. Simmer for about 20 minutes

5. Add quinoa and cook for another 20 minutes, or until both lentils & grain are soft. 

6. Remove from heat and stir in yogurt (this can be omitted to make the dish vegan!) 

Serve and enjoy!

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Red, White, and Black & Blue

The Fourth of July is quite possibly my favorite holiday. Despite the amount of explosives involved, it's so relaxed; there are so few expectations. The only thing that can ruin it is clouds (which of course we have this year). Oh, and a sprained ankle. I twisted my left ankle for the 4th time this year, so the clouds aren't the biggest bummer. It's kind of nice that I'm not missing out on any awesome weather. That'll be back this weekend.

I spent the day, despite the injury, enjoying the company of my mom and niece. We spent some time in the garden, and then my mom made hot dogs with homemade buns and the prettiest potato salad I've ever seen. It was half way to Waldorf Salad, since she was low on potatoes. Apples add a nice crispness to a salad I usually find too mushy and heavy. The genius finishing touch, though? The delicate radish blossoms sprinkled on top.

I'll have the recipe up soon! 

We've had our disagreements, but all in all I really love my country. It's offered me many opportunities and freedoms. There is still much room for improvement, but on this day, it's good to think about how far we've come and how much closer we are to equality for all. Tomorrow, we'll focus on how far we still have to go.

Now I'm off to comfort some frightened little dogs. Maybe a beer would help...

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Photo-A-Day: Week 4

This week, I went with Instagram-y square pictures. I have no idea how to use Instagram, though, so these are just cropped in Pixlr.

Day 22: Enjoying Life

Trevor's "enjoying life" face after hours of listening to people talk about high school (my reunion was great)

Day 23: Last

Day 24: Negative Space

The gutter in Elle

Day 25: Sharp

My cousin didn't heed my warnings and gave herself a nasty cut with these :(

Day 26: Empty

Day 27: Into the Sun

 I had to take this picture today since there was only gray sky yesterday

Day 28: Red

Just a couple more days to go!

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Recipe: Goat Cheese Crackers

Ingredients:

½ cup corn flour

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp sage

4 oz. soft goat cheese

½  to 1 cup ice water

⅓ cup olive oil

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350ºF

1. Combine corn flour, salt and sage in a medium mixing bowl. 

2. Add goat cheese. Use a fork to break it up.

3. The next part is easier with your hands: as you mix in the goat cheese, sprinkle a couple teaspoons of ice water on the mix. 

4. Now, drizzle some olive oil on everything. Alternate between ice water and oil till the dough stops falling apart when you try to press it flat.

5. Roll the dough into a ball and place to one side of a large piece of wax paper. Fold the other half of the wax paper over the ball of dough and gently press to flatten a bit.

6. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to a little more than a ¼ inch thick. (Your dough will have a few cracks around the edges, but if it cracks a lot or falls apart, put it back in the bowl and mix in a little more water or oil.)

7. Use a cookie cutter to cut your crackers. Line them neatly on a cookie sheet and use a fork to make divots in the centers.

8. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until the edges turn a nice golden brown.

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Photo-A-Day: Week 3

Week 3 of the June Photo-a-Day Challenge did not go as well. Most of these pictures were not taken on the appropriate days, but, hey, at least I'm taking them!

Day 15: From above

Looking over the edge of my roof

Day 16: Family

A small sampling of my family on my wedding day. Dad was working in England :(

Day 17:  Centered

Taken from Madrona, directly across from Bellevue

Day 18:  Street

My daily drive is pretty gorgeous

Day 19: Currently Reading

I wanted to take a picture of nutrition labels, because I read a lot of those :-/ 

Day 20: Cute

Not your usual cute: some sort of animal tail and a bug pin

Day 21: Lunchtime

Not much of a lunch, but I'm not complaining!

Tomorrow is my 10 year reunion! Wish me luck!

Photo-A-Day: Week 2

Week two has passed and I'm still managing to keep up with the challenge, with the exception of Day 14, which is currently trapped in the RAW universe while I figure out how to convert it on my moldy-oldy computer.

Day 8: An animal

Little Joy is a 2 week old Boer goat

Day 9: From down low

Day 10: You!

Day 11: Something Funny

A loaf of alligator bread

Day 12: 11 o'clock

Trying to clean off the bed so I can go to sleep

Day 13: Kitchen

The tidiest spot in my kitchen

Day 14: texture

My father-in-law's Harris tweed suit

Look of the Day: Leopard print + flatforms

I'm writing to you from the past. As you read this, I'm most likely on a plane coming back from Houston. We flew down, just for the weekend, to take part in the wedding celebrations of my husband's aunt. I'm sure it was all lovely, but as I am writing to you from the past, I don't know for sure yet.

I do know, for certain, that I will not be wearing this fur hat. It's supposed to be in the upper 70's and most likely quite humid. The Weather Underground says a chance of thunderstorms!

Maybe I will bring these shoes, though. They're better suited for warm weather. I traded in my Forever21 flatforms at Buffalo Exchange for these sweet Gee WaWa flatforms. They're way more comfortable and are made of the softest leather. I wore them out dancing in England, at Heathrow and Keflavic airports, and to my friend's birthday party last weekend. On top of that, I have bad feet, so I can certainly attest to them being comfortable and pretty easy to walk in! I only paid $22, but would happily pay full price for another pair. Preferably, a close-toed version, like these.

Update: I nearly forgot to mention the Thrift Love Link-Up I'm part of! Visit LindsayLiving.com, check out Lindsay's great blog, and see what great thrift store finds other bloggers have styled.

Fur hat (similar)- Forever21 coat - thrifted sweatshirt (similar)- thrifted oxford shirt (similar) - Forever21 leopard print pants (similar) - GeeWaWa Flatforms (similar)

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DIY: Easy picture hanging

I am so bad with home projects, especially, when they involve tools. Mainly, I just don't have the patience, which I guess is kind of how I came up with this picture hanging technique. It doesn't require many materials, and you won't need any tools except for scissors.

 Another huge plus is that it doesn't involve anything heavy. The most dangerous thing is the thumbtack, so in the event of an earthquake (they're always a risk here in Seattle), the people sleeping under it won't have their heads smashed.

You will need:

1 thumbtack

1 spool of string

Small bulldog or binder clips

Art, photos, or postcards

Scissors

How-to:

1. Hold one end of your string to the ceiling and unspool until just about your headboard (or wherever you want it to end). Cut with scissors.

2. Firmly press your thumbtack into the wall, just before it meets the ceiling. Don't stick it in the ceiling. You'll find it's pretty hard to hang things from it.

3. Tie a small loop in one end of the string. Hang on thumbtack.

4. This next step takes a bit of concentration. Thread a clip onto your string and slide up to about the place you want it to hang. Thread the string back through again, so it's double wrapped, and tie a not to secure. 

5. Clip your first picture. This will help you decide where you want the second clip to hang.

6. Repeat Step 4. I wouldn't suggest hanging more than three pictures, as it might get to heavy for the tack to hold.

P.S. If you're wondering what the cards say, the top one has a line from a Dylan Thomas poem and the bottom card is lyrics from "Yellow" by Coldplay.

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Recipe: Mona Kay Cocktail

My experiments with homemade bitters have met with success. How do I know? Well, they're delicious. So delicious that I'm having trouble writing this. Hashtag buzzed.

I decided to try out a version of the recipe I saw in Martha Stewart's Whole Living. I used tangerine and grapefruit peel in place of the orange and lemon zest. My spice mix varied just a little, too.

To make sure my version turned out okay, I developed The Mona Kay. Why the name? While browsing old city documents, I discovered that my apartment building was christened The Mona Kay upon it's construction in the early 1940's. Since the drink and the building are a similar peachy-pink, I thought the name would fit both.

Here's a quick recipe, using store-bought bitters, just in case you're short on time:

-The Mona Kay-

8oz. grapefruit juice, preferably fresh squeezed

½ tsp sugar

2oz. vodka

Fee Brothers Grapefruit bitters, to taste

Ice

Mix the sugar and bitters in a low-ball glass, or whatever you have. Add vodka, juice, and ice. Stir. Garnish with grapefruit zest

Optional: Try a sugared rim instead of mixing the sugar into the drink. It's prettier that way.

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Product Review: The North Face Hoodie

GigaSavvy sent me this North Face hoodie to review, just in time for my trip to England! I was very glad to have it, because it was pretty cold there. 

This is not your run-of-the-mill sweatshirt. This one is heavy duty and perfect for winter. Its stand-out features are the fleece lining and quilted exterior. Throw a North Face jacket over top and you have no excuses for avoiding exercise in the winter! One other thing I like about the hoodie is the subtle branding. I hate having really noticeable writing on my clothes, so the gray-on-gray emblem is perfect. The second emblem on the back is unnecessary, but doesn't ruin the garment, so I'll let it slide. 

As for construction and basic features, this sweatshirt seems to be satisfyingly standard. The zipper works well, the sizing is accurate, and I haven't found any loose threads or seams.

The biggest selling point is just how cozy it is! I think I've worn it every day since I got it!

In Photos: Oh, England.

I'm back! I flew into Seattle on Thursday night, and I must admit, I'm still a little jet legged. I fell asleep at 7:30 last night, woke up at 6am, was up for an hour, then slept till 9:30! My poor internal clock; it's so confused.

Crab apples in Winchester.

My trip was wonderful. Thanks for asking! I really lucked out with the weather. It was incredibly cold, but sunny and mostly dry. I did wake up to a dusting of snow on Tuesday, though.

I don't know if I've mentioned this, but I lived in England in 2006, and my dad works over there a lot, so it's like a second home. I stayed with my dad in Farnborough and my friend Abi in Basingstoke. I got to see so many wonderful people that I haven't seen in years! My old neighbor Claire took me to the Christmas Market in Winchester (where Jane Austen is buried). It was fun seeing England at Christmas time. I sampled many Christmas puddings and brought back Pimm's to make a Winter Pimm's, which I discovered at a pub in Surrey. It's a hot drink that involves brandy, apple juice, and fruit & spices

The day before I left, I made a trip into London to see my friend Mike. We wandered around Liberty's, which is quite overwhelming; full of so many beautiful things. Afterwards, Mike gave me a little tour of Soho and took me to lunch at Soho Joe. They make great burgers, if you're ever in the area.

Carnaby Street

My only regret is not being able to meet up with my friend Erin over at 365. We've been friends and penpals for more than 10 years, and have yet to meet up in real life. One day, though!

Marmite Christmas lights in Oxford Circus

Now for my next trip, I want to see Iceland for more than a couple hours! It's so beautiful. IcelandAir has an entire music channel for Sigur Ros, so I listened to it as we flew into Reykjavic around sunset. Sigur Ros really is the soundtrack to Iceland. Flying over the frozen plains and spectacular volcanic land-forms, it just made sense.