Day 15 of 365
Since the new year my creative spark has been rekindled. I just ordered candle making supplies, I'm shopping for a new sewing machine and I took Kari Chapin's The Handmade Marketplace off my bookshelf, dusted it off and started reading. I've owned the book for over a year and I'm just getting to reading it... better late than never! It's a new year and I'm inspired to create!
Day 13 of 365
I don't know,(sigh), I'm just poopy today. Figuratively, not literally. It wasn't a bad day per-say, I'm just in a funk. Maybe it's because I only had one cup of coffe. Maybe it's because my job is really stressing me out lately. Maybe it's because yesterday's sensational sunshine was replaced by a dreary dripping day full of rain...
Maybe it's because tomorrow is the actual B-day. And I've already celebrated. Not to mention it's a birthday I am not that happy to be celebrating in the first place. (See here.) The sweetest man ever offered to drive up from Olympia to take me out to dinner on my "actual birthday". That's after going with me on my frivolous trip to Mexico! After the beautiful glass pitcher and glass set. I insisted that he not. (I told you I was poopy...)
Maybe it's because I told myself I had to really start budgeting. After Christmas and Mexico and with wanting to start really building up my craft room (even with an basic Ikea table, not the glorious craft table I pinned on pinterest here) I needed to really watch my money. So when I went grocery shopping last week I bought Ramen. I also bought "Asian style" frozen veggies and precooked frozen shrimp. Today's photo is what I had for dinner tonight. "Grown up Ramen" if you can call it that. I added just a little bit of that Veri Veri Teriyaki sauce to my sauteed veggie and shrimp and the end. I love that sauce. (I've seen the teriyaki sauce @ World Market, I got mine here at Uwaijimaya here in town)
Day 12 of 365
Another sunny day in Seattle. I took Olive for a walk today over my lunch hour, or rather she took me on a walk. It felt so good to get some fresh air, to feel the warmth of the sun & to be outside in the middle of winter.
I love days like these.
The high today was 48 degrees. The Wisconsin town I grew up in, didn't get above freezing.
I love living in Western Washington.
This past weekend I got Olive the new green harness she's wearing in the photo. Finding a harness that fits her odd little dachshund body has always been challenging. Usually to get a harness that's big enough to fit her large chest barrel it ends up riding too high on her neck. She's a wild-child when we're outside, a switch flips and her huntress instincts kick in. She pulls, a lot. Her new harness is made by Cloak & Doggie and it is the best harness I've found! You can see how it rides lower; on her actual chest and not her neck. Today it was warm, sunny and the melting snow made everything smell good. We had quite the afternoon walk today & much to my delight there was no horrible, hacking huffs to be heard from that little doxie o' mine.
Day 11 of 365
I love breakfast food. When I was little & we'd go out to dinner (ie high class places like Perkins, or any other diner-style restaurant) I'd always ask the waitress: "Do you serve breakfast all day?"
About two weeks ago I made these Caprese Baked Egg Cups. They were really good! I need to practice a bit more with the timing and how firm we wanted the eggs, but overall I was really pleased with how they turned out. This weekend I found myself looking into my fridge wondering what to make for breakfast. I saw the mozzarella cheese, tomatoes and the container of basil from the cups. Despite buying these ingredients two weeks ago, being in Mexico last weekend, the tomatoes and basil were still good. Many of the basil leaves were browned, but others were perfect. For breakfast this morning I took the easy route and just made an omelet vs messing with the egg cups. The omelette turned out wonderfully! Mozzarella, chopped fresh tomatoes & basil. The icing on the omelette (if you will) was some premade pesto that I also had in the fridge. (Jake and I really like basil.) So so good. We split both the omelette and the German pancake shown on the left in the photo. The pancake is so simple to make, 3 ingredients, light and airy. I experimented with whole wheat flour here and found that the pancake did not suffer at all, in fact I think (as you would expect) that the wheat adds a great flavor.
Day 10 of 365
Day 10, Saturday, I got to bed to find my little Olive Oyl positioned in bed like she's a human. (pardon the grainy photo, I took in dim light w/ my phone) My crazy dog has rekindled her fear of the tv. She first showed this fear this past summer, it took me a fair amount of time to even figure out what she was scared of, let alone how to go about curing her. She'd hop off my lap and trot back to my bedroom and hide under the bed. Often she was so scared she was shaking. I finally saw her giving the tv sideways glances and realized that her reaction was triggered by not only the sound of the tv but also the moving pictures. The fear disappeared, but for whatever reason this past week when I was stuck inside with the snow she started getting really scared again. (maybe it's because I watched all three seasons of Unites States of Tara in two days?)
As soon as I flip on the tv Olive will scurry out from under the blanket (and mutually beneficial warmth of sitting on my lap) and high-tail it off the couch, then army crawl to the sanctuary she finds under the skirted ottoman. I feel bad her hiding under the ottoman, still CLEARLY within range of the sounds the television is emitting, so a couple times this week I'd run down to my bedroom and call to her asking if she wanted to go to bed. She gladly accepted the offer and would bury herself under the covers content to be "safe". Many times I'll come back into my bedroom to find Olive positioned with her head up my the pillows, the blankets up to her chest. Even though that is not how I left her. Anyone who knows me will attest to the fact that I treat Olive like a child, my child, and maybe, just maybe Olive Oyl is starting to think she's a human too. Well besides that whole running from the tv thing...
Day 9 of 365
This is it folks. Takeout and a movie. Or tonight's lineup of Damages, a great tv series. I got the boyfriend hooked and now I'm re-watching seasons 1 & 2 while he gets caught up. That's right. Even with a boyfriend, this is still my Friday night. And I don't care. I just don't have the energy or desire to go out. Working for the weekend has a whole new meaning.
Day 8 of 365
Baby butt and baby feet. My couch buddy Thursday (and most everyday). We were snowed in. Western Washington got hit with lots of the white stuff. So I worked from home a couple days this week, although the weather was a harsh change it was a nice way to ease back into work.
Day 7 of 365
I got back to Washington Monday and by Tuesday they were predicting a Wednesday snow storm unmatched in decades. Here in my Eastside suburb we didn't get more than 4", but I stayed in all day anyway. All the white stuff was a harsh reality to come back to after Mexico. I decided to pull out the pitcher and glasses Jake bought me for a birthday present in Mexico. As we were leaving the sun & warmth we spotted the colorful pitcher set in an airport gift shop. We thought the pitcher and six glasses was a steal at $50. We immediately made plans to use the set to serve margaritas and Arnold Palmer's all summer long.
Picture 1 of 365
We arrived in Cabo and got to our hotel with enough time to grab dinner & a couple beers at the poolside grill. Please note the cup-full of fresh salsa. Perfect start to the vacation!
Picture 2 of 365
Woke up to this view everyday.
That's the ocean behind the pool & palm trees (really.)
Picture 3 of 365
One could really get used to this life. So many people asked us if we were down for "one week or two?" They all seemed surprised that our stay was just four nights - I found this curious considering they were all had a good twenty years on us. Some day, some day.
Picture 4 of 365
This is photo, along with the prior, was how Jake & I spent the entire day (all 3 of them!). Drinks, (attempting) crosswords together, more delicious drinks, reading, or just taking in the view. Supreme relaxation.
Picture 5 of 365
Departure day. We had a couple hours after breakfast before leaving for the airport. We walked down to the beach and took some more photos. Trying to hold on to every last second of our 1st beach vacation.
Picture 6 of 365
Home. No this isn't Puget Sound. It's me longing for the wonderful view and the warmth of the sun. Already. Editing some vacation shots.
