Just Saying

If for whatever reason Nathan in the future would go back on his original notion that living with me was a good idea (hahaha) and decide to leave me :'( I will most likely track down Andrew Bird and force him to marry me.

I will convince him this is a good arrangement by supplying plenty of violin and guitar strings, keeping his suits well pressed, and helping him brainstorm more zaney rhyme schemes (don't they make rhyming dictionaries? I'd have one of these). I would have a thermos of honey-lemon tea and a pocket of chapsticks to make sure his crooning and whistling is always top-notch.


Very fortunately Nathan and I have a good thing going, so this wild eyed scenario isn't going to happen. And thank goodness, because the ol' boy makes me very happy (for instance, he brought me a donut this morning!) And let's be honest, hunting down Suitor no.2 would be a feat, and I would be a very jealous stage wife...Although I was once a mere 4 steps to Andrew Bird and terribly excited about it (me--dance teacher--Dosh, the drummer--Andrew Bird)!

But for real--he might be the world's best whistler, and that's enough for me.

Fitz & Dizzyspells - Andrew Bird

Because I love you...

III maaaaddde...

...COOKIES!

Because I love you Nathan, and I want you to have cookies.

I'll try to stay away.

Happy Birthday Taylor!

Attention, world: today is my big brother's birthday! woohoo! 

I wish I could be there to help you make it a completely foolish 26th birthday.

Let's take a look at your cute little baby mug:

25 years ago, before little sister was on the scene...

A few things I learned from my brother:

Michael Jackson dance moves

How to really appreciate Monty Python

Some history of rock music, and how to compile a good mixtape

How to convince yourself scary movies are not so scary by doing your own commentary

I heard Mom made you some sort of crazy delicious cheesecake, and I deeply regret that I am not there to partake. 

Of course, I probably would have made you something like this, but whatevs.

Have a great day big brother Tato! I love you!

Quest: Perfect Salad

I am having dinner at a friend's tonight and plan to take along a salad for accompaniment. On a regular basis I'm a bit lazy and cheap out on doing anything more than lettuce, carrots and celery. For this occasion I'd like to add some fixings, but I can't decide. I love a sweet and citrus inspired salad, though it's hard for me not to use calamata olives if I have any reason to.  A friend once brought a salad with pomegranate seeds to a potluck, and it was so awesome. And then of course....during my very brief time in France I ate tomato, basil, and mozzarella salads numerous times.* I think their soil must grow better vegetables. I don't know that I have ever enjoy eating anything more in my entire life. 

*I first had a salad of this kind in New York City and didn't like it. This was still during the phase of my life that I didn't enjoy a fresh tomato. I must have been expecting something else because when the waiter set it in front of me I was for whatever reason almost moved to cry (and terribly embarrassed, by the way). I must have been exhausted, or maybe I was bummed NY wasn't perfect anymore.

Don't you sometimes wish you were a food photographer? I really like looking at beautiful photos of food, both prepared in lovely bowls and with the ingredients laying there before being mixed up. I also like the way my friend Tyler photographs food, which he makes look slightly disconcerting and often very object-like. Like, if you saw a creme brulee in one of his photos you might call it Food and not creme brulee. I hope he won't mind me sharing one of his nice ones.

"Chicago's Twice Thrice"

A real food classic, here with shadows

Oh yeah....it's Cupcake Day on the Martha Stewart Show. I'm still not over yesterday's cupcake lust, and this is just cruel. After kind of a funny morning I'm having the kind of day that if everything else doesn't go just right I might go to bed.

P.S. I want this

So. Bad.

I have a major sweet tooth today. 

Maybe for the sake of celebration...

Signed, Sealed, Delivered!

Hello there Mr. President.

Welcome home, Obamas!

What a cute family.

Today is a good day...even though we set our alarm for 7am to see the Inauguration (and hit snooze til 7:45). Don't you agree? I can't help it, I like this family. I hope they like their new home and their new lives. I hope in 4 years, 8 years, they can be as happy as they look in this photo. And of course, I hope things are looking up for all of us in the next few years too.

What were you doing eight years ago? Do you remember who you were when Bush took office, have you changed? I was 14, going on 15, a high school freshman. I went to school, I had dance and soccer, friends and a boyfriend. I got into college, moved away to college, made friends and got my first apartment. I took lots of classes, learned about design, loved design (and hated it). I belly danced, I stayed up all night, I got another apartment, I graduated. I left Chicago, packed a van, and I moved with Nathan to Seattle (thereabouts). I finished a project, found a new apartment, and looked for a job. I look for a job. I'm 22, but I will be 23 in a month and a half.

A lot changed! I know I was a kid and that everything was supposed to change. I had lots of changes already laid out in front of me that I knew would basically happen. But now we have 4 more years, and a lot can change again. What will you be doing, where will you be, in 2012? Yikes!

Oh Sunny Day

Sunshine on my shoulder certainly does make me happy.

It's our second day of a weekend full of sunshine,

lighting up our little home, keeping us warm.

If I lived here I'd drag a blanket into one of those sunbeams 

and spend Sundays reading magazines. 

I'd put on some albums and lie there listening to music echoing 

through that grand hall-like room.

There's nothing more important in making a home than allowing for sunbeams.

Pattern Gaga

We are in the thick of a wallpaper resurgence. I need a good friend or client that will let me wrap a room in something bold and colorful and even slightly over the top. A little powder room would do just fine, though I wouldn't say no to a dining room either.

graham&brown

graham&brown

jonathan adler

skonahem

design*sponge

This Week in Foods

Happy Friday, everybody! 

(And hurrah, a 3-day weekend)

I hope those of you in the frigid Midwest are staying indoors and cuddling for warmth! We actually had some direct sunlight yesterday afternoon, and I was delighted. This week continued the job searching and applying, and there are a few decent leads. Nathan's back on the school routine, but it's been nice to have mornings together with his new schedule (and often time for a movie when he gets home). I had the chance to meet up with some friends and catch up over dinner on Tuesday, which was a grand time. I went out with a friend Wednesday evening as well to enjoy a beer and Trivia Night at a local pub. We didn't do so hot but that's besides the point.

This hasn't been an especially exciting week, though fairly productive, so it seemed like a good time to bring back the home cooking segment. I got a package from Mom with some baking pans I saw at home and wanted to swipe--thanks Ma! So I made a couple loaves of Chocolate Chip Banana Bread that are quickly being widdled down.  Last night I cracked open the cookbook I got from Anna for Christmas and made a delicious pot of Egg Flower Soup! (I'm also loving our new bamboo utensils which are especially awesome for making stir fry) My camera battery was dead so I snapped a photo on my mobile phone to share.

The recipe is quite simple: 4 C. vegetable broth, a little soy sauce, a little lemon, a carrot+zucchini chopped into little strips, a few chopped scallions, and 3-4 egg whites. You boil the veggies in the broth for a few minutes then reduce heat to medium and add scallions for a few minutes. Finally, you stir the soup quickly while slowly pouring in your egg whites, and that's it! 

Warm and scrumptious! The book is called Hungry Girl: Recipes and survival strategies for guilt-free eating in the real world, and it's by Lisa Lillien of  hungry-girl.com fame. It has all sorts of great recipes and tips for avoiding calories and fat without giving up on some of those foods you figured you'd have to, like Peanut Butter Chocolate Milkshakes...I'm serious. :)  I'm attempting to expand our typical dinner lineup so expect more foods in the weeks to come. good weekend and good eating to you!

Lovely Kate

I haven't even seen her movies yet, but I am so happy that Kate Winslet won the Golden Globes! Finally, after 5 Academy Award nominations. She is so beautiful and gracious and well deserving.  I can't wait to see both of her films.

Did any of you see the Golden Globes? Wasn't she wonderful?

Northwesterly Again

I'm back from an almost three week hiatus from my daily laptopping. Have I missed you, PowerBook? Yes, but not that much. I had much too nice a time in Iowa over the holidays to be thinking of you!

Thank you to everyone back home for making our visit so wonderful! Since moving to our new home in the Northwest last summer I have really missed my family and friends in the Midwest. It was such a pleasant retreat to spend the holidays somewhere comfortable with lovely, comfortable people. :) I was so glad to see my sister Anna and niece Jenna again--it had been far too long, and I'd hate for it to be so long again. Love those girls! Thanks to our parents for not turning our bedrooms into sewing or exercise rooms so that we could have them back when we visit (and also for making us breakfasts and dinners and giving us great presents like you always have). I hope our next trip home isn't too far away...in the meantime, come to visit us! (but wait until it gets warm and the grey passes, you'll be glad)

myself, nathan, and infamous christmas cat poncho

Back in the Saddle Again

Welcome January! 

Nathan has started classes again, I am back to my to-do list, and it's still raining--and snowing! It is peculiar to me that we celebrate the New Year's arrival within the middle, or even just before the peak, of winter. While we establish new goals and hope for good fortune to come in the next twelve months, there is very little to our surroundings to make us feel like anything has changed...I suppose our days are again getting longer, but who would know when some of the worst cold weather storms are still ahead? 

I do not think I am the only one to feel hopeful yet still doubtful in beginning the new year...we wave sparklers and shout, trying to ignore that we're actually freezing and crazy for standing out in the snow at midnight on January 1st. But I suppose the reality of the New Year is better once we acknowledge that it really is freezing. It is a time to be reinvigorated, if not in spite of but also because there are still harsh months in front of us, and losing momentum in the middle does us no good. For all of you with resolutions (I'm still configuring mine...let's say they're more like guidelines) this little allegory may make sense. The New Year allows us to hope for change and something new, but the hard stuff, getting it done, is still ahead. The New Year is possibility!

1. I'm pulling up my boots and still trying for good work...I don't love job hunting but it's my number one resolve.

2. This year I will attempt French by osmosis, kind of. Not sleeping on dictionaries but finding the words for as much around me as I can....I'm a noun and verby kind of speaker, so labeling dishes and doorknobs will give me a good start. 

3. Health, fitness, I don't have a plan for this but ideally I'll work on this. (What are you guys doing for this one? (Dad, I already know.))

4. Doesn't everyone hope for more happiness in the following year? 

Oh! And making a little money, and then saving it.

That's a start. What are you working on this year, this January? Will you keep to it? Best wishes that you do and that you love 2009. I miss you guys already and still.