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.

Happy Holidays!

We are down to the final couple of days here in the NW before flying back to Iowa! The last week went by quickly...I meant to post some updates but kept myself busy with other tasks. Recap: Nathan finished his classes December 5, so we celebrated by going to the burger drive-in and then to see the Dark Knight (again) at my favorite discount theatre. He had another assignment and TA work to do last week but finished everything Thursday--wahoo!  I've been in the Holiday spirit, making decorations and crafty things. I had a nice evening out on my own to the SAM for the Edward Hopper exhibit, enjoyed the twinkling lights in downtown Seattle. (They make a tree of lights on top of the Space Needle!) My friends Dianna and Kim are moving back to Chicago, so we had our sad goodbyes last Tuesday (at a karaoke bar in a Chinese restaurant, so actually it was fun). Nathan and I had a day of cleaning and laundry to prepare ourselves to get out of the apartment easily tomorrow night. 

I intended to post a Gift Guide of sorts, but honestly I haven't gotten around to organizing it. While many of us are cutting back (like way back) this holiday season, it can still be fun to think of what we would give everyone on our list if we only could. Maybe some of you have gifting to do and are a bit stumped, or perhaps you are simply enjoying 'window-shopping' like I am? Since a lot of my picks are also on some of my favorite blogs, I figured I would instead direct you to these great lists and perhaps just share a few of my true favorite giftables.

Inhabitat: they have several eco-minded gift guides, but I especially like this one that is about charitable giving

Hollister Hovey: "Lumps of Coal" for your naughty friends, plus check out her other themed guides...a very original and stylish gal

Cup of Jo: blogger Joanna Goddard has top-notch suggestions, including awesome gloves that you don't have to take off to use your iPod! (unless you have those convertible mittens, this is a big winter problem)

Design*Sponge: Grace always knows what is out there in the way of home design and decor

For Me, For You: this graphic designer has a great style and it shows in this very cohesive gift guide full of cheeky design pieces (dodecahedron necklace? awesome)--scroll down on this page to find the guide

And of course, most magazines have decent gift guides on their websites. As a design junkie I go for the guides on Dwell and Domino, but try looking up your preferred publication.

Anytime you can support artisans, especially those local, I definitely recommend it. A piece of art or handmade work is personal and special. Better yet, make it yourself! With the environmental state and lousy economy, any hard earned money you spend may as well reach beyond the recipient, right?

 With that exception, here are just a few of what I consider this year's winners:

a little encouragement for the discouraged writer or journaler

One Year of White Pages, $35

one of my friend Jovencio's small leather sketchbooks would be a delightful stocking discovery

*Etsy shop currently closed for craft shows, but check back later

Diana lomographic camera, starting kit $50

good looking camera, good looking photos (also available at Paper Source)

for the book lover, the youth, and young at heart,

assemble a 4-book collection of J.D. Salinger in the signature white+stripes cover, of course

If I was a skinny high school/college girl, I'd want these for Xmas

Urban Outfitters skinny ankle-zipper pant, $58

Golden Ratio tees, $19

If I could I would get one of these for each of my art/design friends

one of my favorite expressions, good for a sweetheart...

Forget Me Not ring, $50

plates handmade in Mexico, $42

(Nest is a great organization that benefits women in developing nations)

for the little ones...

classic, perfectly crafted, totally adorable Holtziger wooden animal figures

available online and at many toy stores, $4-13

eco-friendly Klean Kanteen, $16.45

Say goodbye to bottled water in 2009

Lacquer Cupcake Box, so sweet at $16

a perfect stocking stuffer--Preserve razors made of recycled/recyclable plastic.

4 for $7.25

Oh yes, one more thing: What do you get for the dude that has everything, or the grandaddy that's impossible to buy for? How about a membership to the Beer of the Month Club! ...Know any Opas and Grandpops that might like that? ;)

I am simply looking forward to being home. Making cookies, visiting family and friends, cozying close to the fire...sigh. :) Because I will be spending time with most of my readership in the next couple weeks, I probably won't post during the vacation. If I get the chance to add some holiday photos, then perhaps. Otherwise, have a very Happy Holiday everyone! This blog will see you in the New Year!

Quarter Century Day

Happy Quarter-Century Birthday, Shelene!

This is an exciting one, right?

(I've been told the latter half of the twenties is better than the first)

Have a great day with your boys--

we'll be there to celebrate with you in just a few days!

xoxo