the minecreations blog

three good things

2012-01-27T19:03:00.001-06:00

a friend inspired me to share three good things with you all today, so here goes:
:: the delicious improvised dinner i made last night--lemon roasted asparagus and mushrooms with leftover hulled barley and chickpeas sauteed with olive oil, onion, garlic, cumin, paprika, and veggie broth. delicious.
:: knitting. seriously, i'm obsessed.
:: next week jared starts his very last semester of school. i could not be more proud [or excited].

and you? what three things are making you happy this week? please share.

happy weekend, friends. xo

knitting for little people

2012-01-26T18:59:00.002-06:00

and more knitting. i'm trying to break it up here, but i really do have a lot of knitting to catch up on. this blanket for our newest nephew literally took me a week, which was so perfect as i was able to start it after the first time we saw him (when he was just five days old) and have it all finished, including blocking, by the next time we saw him just one week later.

the pattern is wool leaves by jared flood. it was easy to follow and i got the hang of it quickly. it's a bit small, so i wish i had added one or two more pattern repeats and knitted it a bit longer, but i wasn't really thinking when i started it and after blocking, it measured about 27"x39", which i think is just fine. i knit it in cascade 220 superwash holding the yarn double. i will say that this used a bit more yarn than the pattern called for (either that or there weren't really 220 yards in the skein) since i ended up using a bit of a fourth skein when three should have been a bit more than i needed. oh well. another thing about this pattern is that from the photos in the pattern it's hard to tell just how lacey this pattern really comes out. obviously i knew there would be holes from all the yarn-overs but it was a bit more hole-y than i expected. still, a beautiful, easy, and quick knit. [on ravelry]

and now this babe won't have to share his older brother's blanket (see a glimpse of it in that photo?), which i'm told he still sleeps with every night except for laundry night. when my sister-in-law told me that, i just about melted. we were over at their house last week to celebrate a belated christmas and ended up looking through some little family photo albums that they boys keep in their playroom. my heart filled when looking back at all the different pieces i've knit and sewn for them over the past six years. i was also informed that they often opt for their auntie-made sweaters for picture day and other dress up occasions. again, melt. so just as i was trying to talk myself out of knitting this blanket (why i was talking myself out of knitting something i have no idea), i realized that these pieces really do mean something to them, even if i don't always see it. and that makes all the work worth it (as if the joy of just knitting wasn't enough).

oh, and i also made him a vest. this one, again. but with no modifications this time. [ravelry]

down south

2012-01-23T19:17:00.000-06:00

i've never been to the south. i've been to florida, plenty of times (my grandfather used to live there and jared's parents live in orlando), but i don't really consider that to be the south. florida is kind of its own little world. i've never really loved going there, except for the people who are there. orlando in particular feels mostly like a mass of strip malls and amusement parks. this trip, however, we took a couple of excursions to new spots (the beach, a trail right in my in-laws' backyard, and a forest trail close to their home) that were just beautiful. the forests in particular, with the live oaks and spanish moss, really reminded me of what i think the south would look like.

in any case, i had my trusty yashica mat 124 with me and shot a bunch of film. have i mentioned how much i love that camera? i really really do. there were some true gems on all the rolls of film i shot (kodak portra 400, kodak ektar 100, and kodak tmax 400), but the black and white roll pretty much blew my mind. as i was scanning in the film yesterday, i kept thinking of brian's post last week about photographs that look like paintings. it's not that the photographs are blurry like a painting, but something about the perspective and depth of field here makes the scenes look almost fake. in fact, they remind me of the dioramas at the museum of natural history. i can't quite put my finger on what it is about these photos i'm finding so interesting, but i do know that i love them. i'd love to hear your thoughts.

holiday handknits

2012-01-19T07:49:00.001-06:00

last year, i went all out and knit sweaters for each of my three nephews. what with the wedding and everything else going on this fall, i knew there was not way i could manage that large of a project. of course i couldn't give up on handmade gifts altogether, so i settled for hats. i used the simply fair isle pattern by kate oates (looks like it's only available through ravelry) and got to using up some of those half skeins of worsted weight yarn that i have lying around (i have a lot). i used some malabrigo, plymouth superwash, lorna's laces superwash, berrocco vintage, and mission falls superwash. the yarn was leftover from such projects as: this, this, this, this, this, and this (pretty good, huh?).

these were super easy to knit up, each one taking a few hours. i started out with three for each of the nephews (two in the "child" size and one in the "toddler" size for a 7, 5, and 2 year old), but since we were doing a belated christmas gift exchange, by the time we got around to it their newest little brother had arrived on new year's day. so last week, i whipped up a fourth hat in the 0-6 months size. perfection. the only modification i added was to crochet a row of contrasting color trim around the bottom edge and the braided ties. seriously? how can you say no to those faces? love these kids.

[more details on ravelry]

2012 manifesto

2012-01-17T18:05:00.000-06:00

blair recently wrote up her 2012 manifesto and it inspired me to do the same. i don't do new years resolutions but i like having goals, even if i don't always fully achieve them. it's nice to have something to focus on and work towards. at my work, we are always talking about how we shouldn't measure whether or not kids achieve a certain goal, but whether they've made progress towards it. i'm taking the same approach with myself this year. progress, that's all i ask of myself.

::organization. i don't know if it's the new year or never having fully recovered from the wedding, or what. but i feel like our house is full of crap. there is crap everywhere. whether it's stuff we need to get rid of, stuff that never gets put away, or stuff that could get put away if only we had a place for it. we have a big house, which i've come to learn is both a blessing and a curse. it means we have lots of room for stuff, but it also means we have lots of room for stuff. my goal this year is to identify what storage we need and deal with that, and to take time (just a little bit- maybe 1 hour a week or less) to put stuff away. part of my problem is that i hate to throw stuff away if i think that somehow there might possibly, just maybe, be another use for that item. i need to get over this. because i'm never going to use those things that i'm saving (twist ties, excess plastic bags, broken egg cartons) and sometimes you just have to throw it out.

::blog/shop. after a couple of years off, i am finally feeling inspired to get my shop going again and do my best to keep it regularly stocked. as part of this, i am working on a complete overhaul (and most likely a move) of this blog and shop (most likely moving it off of etsy). i've learned a bit (a lot) about building a website in past couple of months and i'm excited about making myself a new space online, after five years on blogger. i have loads of new ideas for creative endeavors and products for my shop and, while i know my limitations, i would like to work on some of them. and i'd also like to have a show of my photography. (just thought i'd throw that one in there for good measure).

::wardrobe. here's the deal: i hate shopping. i get overwhelmed, i get stressed about spending money, and i hate trying on clothes. mostly, though, i get paralyzed by whether or not a garment was made in a sweatshop. seriously. i can't help it. i have a history of working on anti-sweatshop and labor issues and it paralyzes me to the point where i assume that all mass-produced clothing is made in a sweatshop (which i know is not true). i buy most of my clothing used, which is obviously one solution. making my own clothing would be another solution, but i know my limits (both skill and time) and even if i make myself three new garments this year (which is my goal), it's not enough. i really need some new (mostly, nicer) clothing. i am tired of staring into my closet in the morning and feeling utterly uninspired. i'm not a teenager, and i'm barely in my 20s anymore. this has to change. i need to buy some quality pieces (even if they're expensive, i know it's worth it), get rid of the stuff i don't wear, and build a solid wardrobe. (suggestions on where to shop are welcome, hint hint!)

::learn new things. this is a constant, of course. i love learning new things, trying new projects, hobbies, etc. but i'd like to be a bit more deliberate about it. people often ask me if i think about going to grad school. i don't. not ever. i loved being in school when i was, but now i have absolutely no desire to go back to that (living with a college student for the past four years has helped this decision). but i do love learning new things and i'd like to take a class or two in something this year, especially if it's design or art-related. to this end, i did sign up for a calligraphy class through community ed that starts in two weeks!

phew. that was a lot of words. if you actually read all of that, thank you. i'd love to hear your thoughts on this, or your own goals or manifesto for this year. i am mostly writing this here for my own sake, to keep myself on track, but i really would love to hear your thoughts as well. here's to an excellent year, full of progress.

inspiring me lately

2012-01-13T18:29:00.001-06:00

i just deleted a lovely list of inspiring things as i was just about to hit publish. let's see if i can re-create that shall we? (i suppose if that's the worst thing that happens to me on this friday the thirteenth, i can live with that).

::knitting! i've been knitting up a storm lately. these are a few projects i can't wait to get on my needles: trail jacket, larch cardigan, emilien (for jared), paulie, toe-up socks, and so are you.

::amy's new space, second and edgemont, is beautiful. and her husband just opened a gorgeous etsy shop. love.

::lisa congdon's 365 days of hand lettering. i love the "j". and she has totally inspired me to sign up for a calligraphy class, i'm so excited!

::rachel's post on digital photography. i'm working on it, i truly am. (also loving her new space)

::russia by rail. david gilkey, an npr photographer documents the trans-siberian railway on impossible project film.

what's inspiring you these days? i'd love to hear. and i hope you've all survived this friday the thirteenth with minimal mishaps :). happy weekend friends.

freddieboy

2012-01-10T18:15:00.000-06:00

three snuggle-filled years with this amazing pup. i will never cease to be grateful for the love and joy that he brings into our lives.
xoxo

knitting season

2012-01-09T18:30:00.000-06:00

the truth is, it's always knitting season in my book, though i feel like i've definitely been kicking it into high gear these past few months (watch out, i've got lots of knitting catch up to do!). after all the shawl knitting i did last spring and summer, i took a quick break to knit up this beautiful blanket for my friend's new baby boy, hartley. i started this blanket just a few weeks before hartley made his arrival in august [at which point we didn't know if he would be a he or a she] and worked on it all the way on our trip to california and back, finishing it in late august and finally getting to wash, block, and mail it in september.

the pattern is the baby chalice blanket by karen lauger. it was narrower than i expected, so i made it longer so that it would be what i think of as an acceptable size for a baby [i repeated the pattern 12 times instead of 9 and stupid me i forgot to take the final measurements]. i used three skeins of lorna's laces shepherd's worsted, which was a dream to work with.

my only wish is that i could see this little guy all wrapped up in this lovely blanket.

[more details on ravelry here]

what? you don't put up winter decorations after the new year?

2012-01-06T11:44:00.000-06:00

oh.

here's the thing. we don't celebrate christmas in my home. for the past few years, and especially since we've moved into our own house, i've struggled with wanting to decorate the house for winter, without those decorations seeming "christmas-y". whenever i settled on something that just seemed purely "winter-y", i wavered, thinking it really would be christmas-y. and back and forth i've gone. resulting in not decorating at all.

this year, eireann made the most beautiful and simple garlands for our last minute sale and i snagged one to bring home. [in fact, she said she salvaged most of the greenery from the dumpster at the farmer's market-i'll have to remember that for next year!) over the past few weeks, in the hustle and bustle of finishing up work and being out of town, it has lived on our coffee table and i finally got around to hanging it up [along with some twinkly lights] yesterday afternoon. and i have to say that it is making me extraordinarily happy. even though it doesn't even feel like winter has arrived in minneapolis yet, i know it will. and on those snowy, blustery days when i'm curled up on the couch with a puppy and some knitting, i will smile looking up at this garland.

happy weekending friends.
xo

5 january

2012-01-05T07:20:00.001-06:00

hi friends!

welcome back. i suppose i'm saying that as much to myself as to you. i'm settling back in to being home after a week away with jared's family. i hope you all had a lovely holiday and new year's celebration, whatever you got up to.

i know it's the new year and everyone is all about making resolutions and goals for the year and starting new projects, but i'm holding off on that for a bit. last year was such a crazy year, and i can see some more changes for us in the months ahead (jared finishing school this spring!), so i'm just going to try to take it easy this year and take things as they come. hopefully that means being around here a bit more. i definitely have plans to change this space around. next month will mark five (!) years of blogging here and i'm ready for some freshening up for sure. i also have a ton of projects that i never managed to show you here, so get ready for some crafty catch up in the next few weeks. i'd love to continue to see you all around here too!

xo
julia

happy happy

2011-12-26T10:06:00.000-06:00

good morning friends.

i hope you are all having a wonderful holiday week, whatever you may be celebrating. i hope you all find something, small or big, to celebrate these days.

i'm going to sign off here until after the new year, as we are headed to florida this afternoon to spend a week with jared's family. i'm really looking forward to a week of being somewhere else and just chilling out with some of our loved ones. of course, don't think i'm not bringing a bag chock full of projects! i've been agonizing over what knitting projects to bring, as usual!

i wanted to thank you all for all of your love and support over the past year. it's been a big year over here and your sweet comments always put a small on my face.

from my family to yours, wishing you a happy happy new year. and all good things to come
xo
j

favorites

2011-12-20T16:42:00.000-06:00

1. some peace, 2. Untitled, 3. out a salted window, 4. test test, 5. The Impossible Plane, 6. Untitled, 7. 349/365, 8. home4, 9. J, 10. Untitled, 11. Untitled, 12. heartsick, 13. Untitled, 14. 9 november, 15. Untitled, 16. repeat, please

i haven't been taking that many photos recently (though i did just send in a roll of film from my weekend with the sweetestbabyofalltime). but some of my friends on flickr have been making some beautiful images lately. these are a few of my recent favorites.

tonight is the first night of hanukkah. in very untraditional fashion, jared and i are having dinner with some friends: indian or greek, we haven't decided yet. we'll light the candles before we go out. and i'll be making latkes for jared's family christmas eve celebration this saturday. it's a low key year, but i'm quite alright with that.

sunday

2011-12-18T18:23:00.000-06:00

good evening friends.
how was your weekend? mine was busy (as usual). we finished up (hopefully) taking photos for jared's website. we're hoping to have it completed in the next few weeks and i'm really excited to show it to you. it's nothing uber special, but i'm pretty proud of myself for figuring out how to code a website from scratch and and i'm pretty proud of him for all his hard work in getting his business out there more.

i ran a bunch of errands yesterday...some boring (post office, bank) some were fun (book shopping for the nephews- i swear i could buy them every book in the store, and a fresh new haircut for me). other than that, i've been baking up a storm and prepping for the last minute handmade gift market tomorrow night (don't forget to stop by if you're local!). i think it's going to be a great time and am really excited for tomorrow.

i took a nice walk with the pup this afternoon, since it was unseasonably warm out. it was a gorgeous late afternoon in the park and i was really happy i grabbed my polaroid spectra on the way out the door.

hope you're all well this evening.
xo

last minute

2011-12-14T15:09:00.001-06:00

i know i mentioned this in my last post, but i thought i could write a wee bit more about the last minute handmade craft market that's happening next monday evening.

eireann came up with the idea for a small holiday craft market as she'll be in town for the holidays from her current home of nottingham, uk. it quickly evolved to include myself, martha, jen, and cynthia. we put the word out to some other local artists and designers and were lucky enough to partner with modern times for our venue. i am super psyched about the event and even though it has all come together in just about a month, the planning process has been really smooth and organic between the five of us ladies. maybe a sign of future collaboration? (wouldn't that be fun).

be sure to check out our website for the details and more information on each vendor and you can rsvp on the facebook event page as well. hope to see you there!

winter manifesto

2011-12-13T17:30:00.000-06:00

even though it's not quite winter yet (and certainly hasn't been feeling like it here at all), i've started to think of the cozy snowed in days that are sure to come over the next couple of months. last winter was a long one and i loved it so. i hope this year is the same. here are few of my daydreams for the coming months.

:: make soap
:: finish that quilt
:: get at least one of my photographs printed, framed, and hung in our house
:: have dinner parties
:: spend a cozy weekend in a cabin
:: try my hand at sourdough bread again
:: write more letters
:: snorgle with my new nephew as soon as he arrives
:: print on fabric
:: sew myself a new garment (i'm thinking a dress or shirt or maybe, just maybe, those pants i've been putting off forever)

in other news, this is the last week to order from my shop in time for holiday delivery. the shop will stay open until 12/23 but obviously any orders placed that late won't arrive until after christmas. and for you locals (i know there are some of you out there!) please join me and some other very talented artists for the last minute handmade craft market next monday evening, 12/19 at modern times. more information here. hope to see you there!

5 december

2011-12-05T18:46:00.001-06:00

good evening friends. thanks to all of you who supported my shop opening last week. there are still plenty of items left, including a bunch that i've just added tonight, so be sure to check it out if you're in the market for anything.

i'm really pleased to be back at habit with all the 2011 guests for the month of december. such a lovely spot.

we finally got some decent snow over the weekend. nothing earthshattering, but a couple of inches and i think it's here to stay. i was feeling pretty happy about it until i hopped on my bike to work this morning. that first snowy/icy ride is always a little stressful. we'll see how long i can keep it up.

i've been cooking up a storm lately and plan to keep it up this week as i'm headed to madison this weekend to see my dear friends and their two-week old baby. i'm planning to arrive with a few meals on hand. (on my list is lasagna, black bean soup, bean burgers and hand cut fries, granola, and brown sugar peach muffins)

even though it's not officially winter yet, i've been working on my winter manifesto. hoping to have it up later this week.

for those of you who are local to the twin cities, save the date for two weeks from today. some friends and talented artists and i are putting together the last minute handmade craft market on monday december 19 at 5pm at modern times cafe at 3200 chicago avenue in minneapolis. wish you could all come!

xo
j

shop is open!

2011-11-30T22:58:00.001-06:00

good morning friends! and happy december!

the holiday shop is open! i'm really excited to share these goodies with you today. i will tell you that i'll be adding more items over the weekend including some sets of knitted dishcloths (which are finished, but i just couldn't get good photos by this morning) as well as some tins of lip balm and jars of cocoa mix. since i don't have all the items up just yet, if there's something from the first round here that you'd like me to reserve for you, just let me know and i'll happily do so.

again, i think this will be my last ever etsy shop update since i do have some new plans for a shop next year, so please do take a look and i hope you find something you like for someone special in your life this season, or for yourself.

thankyou thankyou.
xo

sunday sunday

2011-11-27T19:05:00.001-06:00

good evening friends. i hope all of you celebrating thanksgiving had a wonderful time. i know i did. after the sad news i mentioned in my last post, my mood was lightened by the birth of one of my dear friends' first daughter, a thanksgiving baby.

thursday night, we celebrated with a group of friends. we had good food, lots of laughs, and one adorable baby getting passed around the table. friday night, we had jared's brothers, their wives and our three little nephews over for round two. it was super fun. great to catch up and just chill with all of them after the craziness of two weddings over the past six months. and, have i mentioned how much i love those little boys? man, do i ever. i can't wait for there to be another one to snorgle with in just over a month!

i have had this whole past week off from work and, in between the two days of cooking and (successfully!) teaching myself how to build a website, i've spent a lot of time knitting and sewing in preparation for a small holiday sale i'll be participating in later in december. and so, i've decided to open up my shop again for some small holiday goodies. after five and a half years, this may be my very last etsy shop update (not that i've had very many over the last two years) as i'm working on some new ideas and am hoping to have a new shop set up sometime in the beginning of next year. the shop will hopefully be open this thursday, december 1 and i'll probably add some more items next week as well.

thanks, friends.

giving thanks

2011-11-23T20:46:00.001-06:00

hi friends.
just wanted to pop in and wish you all a happy thankgiving (if you're in the u.s.). we are having two thanksgivings, as i mentioned in my last post, one with friends tomorrow and one with jared's brothers and their families on friday. i can't wait for both.

i obviously have so much to be thankful for this year. but after some receiving some sad news today about a few friends and family members, i'm mostly thankful for my health and the health of my family, and so very very thankful for our friends and family. this year especially i have been so lucky to be on the receiving end of so much love from my amazing friends and family and i am so very grateful for that. for that, and for my husband (!).

much love to you all.
xo
j

these are just some random shots from a recent roll i shot on my yashica mat 124.

an applesauce cake, and a very ambitious menu

2011-11-21T20:43:00.001-06:00

this here, my friends, is a very delicious applesauce cake that i made for a party we had last weekend. i had been thinking that i really wished this recipe was vegan because i missed making applesauce cake. and seeing as we have a lot of applesauce, it seemed like a good idea to figure it out. it really was quite easy, once i came to the conclusion that this pretty much is a dense cake (sort of like banana bread, or any other quick bread), and therefore my standard 1T ground flax plus 3T water as an egg replacement would work great. i had considered getting more adventurous and tweaking the recipe even more, replacing some of the sugar with maple syrup and combining that with oil to replace the egg, but i'm glad i stuck with the flax, as it was delicious.

my mom discovered this recipe back when she was a preschool teacher. it is from some kids baking book and she used to make it with her kiddos. she also made it for us. and i think it was some time in college that i asked her to copy it for me, as the cut out photocopy is taped into a small spiral notebook that is my first collection of recipes that i began my second year in college when i lived alone in the basement of a dorm and had a communal kitchen down the hall from my room. i don't know how many evenings i spent in that kitchen baking cookies, breads, and bars when i probably should have been in the library. but it was just something about that single dorm room in the basement of the most sterile, generic college dorm building that drew me towards that kitchen to bake and bake and bake.

speaking of recipes. i mentioned that i'd share my thanksgiving menu here today. seeing as we are having thanksgiving on friday, and we are hosting a somewhat vegan and/or gluten-free crowd, we are going a bit alternative here (most notably, in the absence of a turkey). on friday evening, we will be dining on:
butternut apple curry soup
roasted garlic mashed potatoes (from veganomicon)
root vegetable hash (from autumn 2010 3191Q)
cranberry apple casserole
green salad of some kind
roasted vegetable of some kind (these two dishes are being brought by guests)
mini cranberry muffins
mini corn muffins
pear frangipane tart
gingerbread cake with orange ginger sauce (from voluptuous vegan)

sounds good to me. let's get cooking! [we will also be attending a thanksgiving on thursday to which we'll be bringing more root vegetable hash, and a cranberry orange tart (also from voluptuous vegan)].

if you're still in search of the perfect dessert for your thanksgiving meal, might i suggest an applesauce cake? or, if you already have your menu set in stone, it would be quite the easy post-thanksgiving dessert to whip up.

vegan applesauce cake

ingredients:
1/2 cup nondairy margarine
1/2 cup brown sugar
2T ground golden flax seed + 6T water
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
1 cup applesauce

for the glaze:
1 T softened nondairy margarine
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 T nondairy milk

preheat oven to 375. combine flax seed and water in a small bowl. in a large mixing bowl, cream together margarine and brown sugar. add flax/water mixture and beat well. in a medium bowl, sift together flours, baking soda, salt, and spices. slowly add flour mixture to creamed mixture, alternating with applesauce. mix well, but do not overmix. pour batter into a 6 inch greased bundt pan (if you do not have a bundt pan, get one, they are so fun! but really if you don't have one, you can use any cake pan). bake for 45 minutes. allow cake to cool and then spread with the glaze. delicious.

20 november

2011-11-20T18:02:00.001-06:00

it snowed yesterday and it was gorgeous. it's gotten quite cold, and that is taking a bit of getting used to. but hot tea, knitting on the couch, long underwear, and wool knee socks are helping the adjustment. i've also decided that i need new boots for this winter (any suggestions?).

i took a gorgeous walk at the dog park this morning with freddie and jack, my coworker's dog who we're watching for the week. i snapped these polaroids--i am so happy i brought that camera along (and discovered that the inside pocket of my new jacket is the perfect size for keeping polaroids warm when it's cold out). i have the whole week off from work so i am really excited to get some projects underway and do loads of cooking for thanksgiving. we are going to a friend's house on thursday and having jared's brothers, their wives, and our nephews over on friday. needless to say, i've got an ambitious menu planned.

this weekend has proven to be quite full, starting off with four loads of laundry on friday night, volunteering at a record sale on saturday morning (oh, did i mention how we need to get a record player now? we do.), celebrating a friend's birthday and going to see the roller girls on saturday night, dog park this morning, and visiting with some lovely friends this afternoon. i was lamenting a bit my lack of home time this weekend, but sometimes it is really good to be out and about a lot. and now i will have all week to putter and work on fun stuff.

i have some new projects in the works that i am really excited about. i am feeling inspired and am daydreaming about all kinds of new work for the first time in a while. i am starting to realize now how all-consuming planning my wedding really was. and while it was fun, and i'm glad i spent all that time on the details, i am very excited to be working on new projects.

what are you all up to this week? and what are you making for thanksgiving? i'll share my menu here tomorrow. it's a good one.

wedding project: succulent centerpieces

2011-11-08T19:03:00.001-06:00

months and months ago i decided that i wanted to pot succulents for the centerpieces for our wedding. around june, my friend marieka was visiting and finally got me into gear collecting milk glass teacups, goblets, and other various containers to use as pots. over the course of three or four months i frequented antique and thrift stores looking scouring the shelves for milkglass. (odd sidenote: is milk glass a midwestern thing? jared and i went to numerous thrift stores in san francisco over the summer and saw not one piece.) i eventually collected about 65 of them and after a few flats of succulents from the farmers market (plus some amazingly mailed to me from a lovely lady in portland) i had them all potted by late september. i added some bits of moss to cover up the dirt and voila!

my mom tea-dyed a whole bunch of doilies to set under the pots of succulents and the tables looked beautiful, if i do say so myself. (you can also see a little peek at all the jams i made as favors for our guests). luckily for me, and our guests, most of the pots went home with guests (including some out of town guests who bravely brought these home on the plane!). i love the thought, as one of our friends pointed out at the end of the night while everyone was standing around picking out their favorites to bring home, that we sent our loved ones home with something alive as a remembrance of our wedding day.

[photos by tiffany bolk]

wedding favorites

2011-11-07T18:22:00.001-06:00

okay, i know it's been a bit of wedding overload here. and i promise i have many non-wedding posts to share here soon. but before we move on, i just want to share a few (okay eighteen...i couldn't narrow it down!) more of my favorite professional wedding photos. i have all of next week off from work, so i'm hoping to catch up on some posting here. happy weekend friends. xo

ps. this week was our one month anniversary!

wedding project: ties

2011-11-07T18:17:00.002-06:00

part two of julia's crazy wedding projects! i decided back in the spring that i wanted to make neckties for jared and the groomsmen. after my relative success making jared a tie last fall for my cousin's wedding, i knew it wouldn't be too difficult. i looked around for fabric that matched the bridesmaid dresses, but couldn't find anything i liked. i was able to order a couple of yards of the fabric directly from the company that makes the dresses, so it ended up being an exact match. pretty snappy, eh?

i left this project until the last minute (sort of, a couple of weeks before the wedding) because i knew it wasn't essential and if i ran out of time it wouldn't be a big deal. i ended up having plenty of time, but lacking a bit in the motivation department. by the time i got around to these, i was a bit burnt out on the wedding projects and was getting anxious for the day to just come already. but i'm glad i made myself do these- they only took about a week and it all went pretty smoothly. i'm super happy with how they turned out and it was a nice little gift to give our guys who helped make our wedding so wonderful.

technical notes: i used the purl bee father's day tie pattern. the only thing i changed was that i only put one layer of interfacing in (the medium weight sew-in, i left out the lightweight fusible) since the fabric i used-silk shantung- is heavier than liberty tana lawn. the last time i made this pattern, i used similar fabric and both layers of interfacing and the tie was super stiff. while it wasn't stiff at all this time, it still feels a little flimsy, if i did this again, i might put a layer of muslin or other cotton fabric inside just to bulk it up. also, i made one tie 3" longer for our friend who is 6'4".

also, these are some of our professional wedding photos! i'll share more later this week. courtesy of tiffany bolk.

wedding projects: shawls

2011-11-01T19:40:00.001-05:00

as you probably guessed, there was a whole lot of handmade goodness going on at our wedding. i was thinking that i'd share it with you all throughout the planning process, but then i started to get shy. like i didn't want to spoil the surprise before the big day. now that it's over, i'm excited to do a little recap of some of my favorite projects.

first up was some knitting, of course. i decided early on that i wanted to knit shawls for my four bridesmaids (and our one groomsgirl!). i hemmed and hawed for a bit over which pattern and ultimately i chose the mara shawl, a free pattern from madeline tosh. after a bit of searching, and matching to the eggplant-y color of their dresses, i chose malabrigo worsted merino in frost grey. it's a gorgeous color that tends towards purple on the grey spectrum.

because the malabrigo skeins are slightly smaller than the madeline tosh ones, the ruffle on these was narrower than the pattern called for, but i think they look perfect. i used exactly three skeins for each shawl. i started these back in march and each one took me about a month. for a while i got worried that, although i thought they all looked beautiful and i knew my ladies would love them, they wouldn't look elegant enough with the dresses, since they are a bit bulky. but in the end, i think they were perfect. and it was definitely nice for them to have something to ward off the slight chill that was in the air that day. if i wasn't so sick of the pattern right now, i'd make one more for myself since i think they are amazing. maybe next year...

details on ravelry, here.

weekending

2011-10-31T18:25:00.001-05:00

this weekend was filled with all good things, after a rough couple of weeks. a quiet friday night. a long chat with my dad. cleaning up our house. stocking up at the last farmer's market. chilling with visiting friends. pumpkin carving with more friends. nice chats. good music. sleeping in. dog park. and lots and lots of knitting.

like i said. all good things, no?

friday happymaking

2011-10-21T18:42:00.001-05:00

i'll admit, this week has been pretty rough. coming down off of the high of last week has been harsh. jared dove right back into crazy schoolwork, and i went back to work on tuesday. we've been having some car issues. we both seem to be coming down with colds. and we cannot seem to get enough sleep no matter how early we've been going to bed.

despite that. i have so much to be grateful for. and so very many things to be happy about...

::it's sunny. it may be cold in the mornings, but it is warm and sunny by my afternoon ride home.

::looking through all of our photos from last week [over and over and over]. those memories will bring a smile to my face forever.

::hearing our friends and family tell us what fun they had. good to know we weren't the only ones having the time of our lives!

::ready to make some time for cooking this weekend. pretty much every recipe i've seen in the past couple of days has looked amazing to me, probably because i've barely cooked a meal in the last month. any recommendations? i'm thinking about making a nice big breakfast for us one day this weekend.

::working on non-wedding craft projects. first up: i'm knitting a pillow cover. i had the yarn in my stash and a couple of pillow forms in the closet [and all those house guests last week made me acutely aware of the sad state of our pillow collection...i plan on remedying that this winter].

::the second to last farmer's market this weekend. well, i'm sad that it's the second to last, but i've missed the past couple of weekends and i'm excited to stock up on some yummy veggies. especially pumpkins, i haven't made anything pumpkin yet this year! oh! pumpkin saag, that's totally going on the list for next week. love that dish [from veganomicon].

::back [i hope] to regular blogging! aside from the fact that i have so much to share right now, i'm also excited to have some more time to take photos and write here. in addition to wedding reports, i have a few backlogged projects i've been meaning to write about here.

::speaking of photos, i'm hoping to shoot a roll of film on my yashica mat this weekend. i am so in love with that camera and can't wait to use it some more. [did i mention our wedding photographers used a mamiya tlr and a diana+ in addition to the digital photos?! so excited to see those shots!)

okay friends, what's making you happy today?

we are rich

2011-10-20T17:56:00.002-05:00

we have people.

oh.

do we have people.

we have friends. and we have family. who buy each other plane tickets so they can be there for our wedding. who email others who they've never met before to plan wonderful things for us. who sew for us. who get creative when they think they are really not creative people. who listen to us. who show up and stand up for us. who help us pick fruit and make jam. who mail us plants. who travel halfway across the world to be with us. who walk ten minutes from their homes to be with us. who tell us that we are right. who tell us that we are wrong. who build things for us. who write the most beautiful words for us. who are there for us, even when they are not there. who make us feel special and loved.

we are so loved. and so blessed. and oh so very rich.

well then.

2011-10-19T18:23:00.002-05:00

and now we are married. i could not have imagined a more perfect time.
truly.

i am full of love.

more soon.
xo

sigh

2011-10-04T19:01:00.001-05:00

to all those people [and there were a lot of people] who said "why would you move to minnesota from california?" this is my response.

there is no more beautiful sight in the world than leaves glowing in the evening light of autumn. the fact that it is 82 degrees doesn't hurt. though i'll admit that i wouldn't mind if it was a little colder.

autumn!

2011-09-23T20:28:00.003-05:00

happy first day of autumn, friends! anyone who's been around here for more than a second probably knows that fall is my absolute favorite season, so today is definitely something to celebrate.

i had contemplated forgoing my standard manifesto, replacing it with the single goal of "get married!" but i quickly decided against that. although anything on my manifesto will likely not take place until after october 15, there will still be a whole lot of fall left to enjoy after that. so, without further ado. here is my autumn manifesto...

:: eat pumpkin ice cream from pumphouse creamery
:: sew at least one garment for myself
:: work on that quilt
:: start knitting a sweater
:: make new pillow covers
:: blow through more rolls of film on the yashica mat
:: bake bread again and make lots of soups to go with said loaves of bread
:: drink pots of tea while sewing in my studio and listening to music and podcasts while watching the autumn light fade in the evenings [boy, am i living in a fantasy land or what?]
:: take brisk walks and savor the sound of leaves crunch crunching under my feet
:: read something [anything]
:: build a website with jared
:: have lazy weekends

sheesh. can you tell i'm excited to work on non-wedding related projects? not that i haven't been enjoying them. and not that i'm not bursting at the seams to show them off to everyone in a couple of weeks. but a small part of me is ready to get this show on the road. have all my friends and family arrive and hang out and have the best time. and then settle back into normal, quieter, life. because that's what fall is all about to me. settling in. tucking in. cozying in.

settling.

ps. these photos have absolutely nothing to do with fall. but i took them recently with my "new" yashica mat 124, which was so generously gifted to me last winter and i'm just now finally getting around to use it. to say i love it may be the understatement of the year.

canning week: jam

2011-09-16T20:06:00.000-05:00

jam was the very first thing i ever canned. raspberry jam, to be exact. at our old apartment, we had a gigantic and extremely productive raspberry patch in the backyard. the first summer we lived there, i quickly realized that i had better figure out how to make jam, or i was going to be swimming in raspberries. and so i did. like i mentioned yesterday, we're not huge jam eaters, so over the years i have given away many a jar of jam to willing and happy friends and family members. and, i've actually cut back on the amount of jam i make each year, simply because we don't eat that much of it, and you can only give so many away [and we no longer have a gigantic raspberry patch, though i am working on building it up].

one thing about my jam making that i should mention: i do not use pectin. i think when i first started making jam i mistakenly thought that pectin was some artificial ingredient that i didn't want anywhere near my jam. i'm pretty sure i'm wrong about that, but i've been making jam without pectin for four years, and i'm kind of scared to change my ways now. oh well. it's been working for me so far so i'm okay with it.

this year, i have probably made enough jam to last a lifetime. 203 jars, to be exact. you see, we are giving them away as the favors for our wedding next month! so, since june i have made:
strawberry rhubarb jam
strawberry vanilla jam
strawberry jam
apricot butter
raspberry jam
blueberry jam
peach jam
spiced apple butter

[i am not including the tomato jam, since that is not counted towards the wedding favor effort]. i have a feeling we will have some very happy wedding guests...

ps. thanks so much for joining me for canning week, it was super fun for me to do this recap of all my canning for the year. i'd love to hear about any of your canning adventures and i'd definitely love to hear if you try any of the recipes i shared here this week. happy weekend friends. xo

canning week: apples

2011-09-15T21:49:00.001-05:00

welcome to day 4 of canning week! today i want to talk about apples. especially since we are full blown into apple season here. i usually do apples three ways: applesauce, apple butter, and sliced apples in syrup. i've also dried a lot of apples as well, but this is canning week, so i'll zip it about the dehydrating...

this is my all time favorite apple butter recipe. it is easy and ever so tasty [i make the spiced variety]. i wouldn't know, but my mom swears it's delicious on a turkey sandwich. have i mentioned that canned goods make excellent gifts? really, you'll be surprised at how much people marvel over a jar of home canned pickles or jam. jared's grandpa is obsessed with my jam, so i like to bring him a jar whenever we see him. and it makes the perfect quick and easy birthday or last minute host/hostess gift. i like to write out cute labels. paper source makes really nice blank labels, and sweet preservation has some really cute ones that you can download for free.

i feel a little silly posting a "recipe" for apple sauce since it's such an easy thing to make. but i'll just share my tips. my all time favorite apple variety to use for sauce is mcintosh. apparently this is an east coast thing since most midwesterners have hardly heard of them and when i was at the orchard last weekend and asked the old dude there if the the macs were ready, he immediately asked if i was from "out east." apparently apple preference is a dead giveaway. i can live with that. i do not like sweet applesauce, and i cook it [like my mom always has] by simply quartering the apples [leaving the cores out but the peels on] and cooking them down with water. i like to leave the peels on because it makes the applesauce pink. no, i am not a four year old girl. i just like it that way. use a potato masher to mash it up. once it's reached a nice sauce-y consistency, you can either leave the peels in and can a chunky applesauce, or use a food mill to smooth it out and remove the peels. if you plan on using your applesauce for baking, i'd recommend removing the peels [learned from experience on that one].

to make 6 quarts of applesauce, i used 14lbs apples plus 4 cups water.

this is another instance where you really want to make sure to get the air bubbles out of each jar before sealing and processing, because you can experience siphoning and some loss of liquid. again, as long as the jars are sealed, this is not a problem. just wipe any sticky liquid off the sides and store as usual.

stay tuned for a canning week wrap-up tomorrow!

canning week: tomatoes

2011-09-14T21:15:00.002-05:00

ahh, tomatoes. the golden child of canning [is that true? did i just make that up? oh well]. i started canning tomatoes in 2009 when i decided that i needed to can something other than jam. something that we would actually eat. i mean, we eat jam, but not that much jam. for the past few years, i've canned tomatoes two ways: crushed and a thin sauce. while i did both of those this year, i branched out a bit, adding whole peeled tomatoes, tomato jam, and tomato salsa to the repertoire. i have to admit that next year, i'm definitely bagging the thin sauce, and possibly even the crushed tomatoes, and just doing all the plain tomatoes whole. when i open the jars later on, i can just crush or puree them then, right? we'll see... the grand total of tomatoes that i canned this year was: 5-4 oz. jars of tomato jam, 6 pints salsa, 10 quarts whole peeled tomatoes [3 are with my own tomatoes!], 8 quarts and 1 pint crushed tomatoes, and 5 quarts thin tomato sauce. i used one and a half bushels of tomatoes from the farmers market, plus some of my own.

if you're new to canning [or not] and you haven't checked out food in jars yet, go do it right now. seriously, i'll still be here when you get back [just, don't get too distracted over there, i'll get lonely]. marisa has a great post here where she addresses a lot of issues regarding canning tomatoes. word is, she's putting together another one soon, so keep an eye out if you're planning on canning tomatoes soon.

what i really want to talk about today is the tomato jam. i made this on a whim back in mid-august. i had taken the day off of work to get ready for our california trip and found myself with a few pounds of delicious cherokee purple and ace bush tomatoes from my garden. not wanting to risk that they would still be good in a week upon our return, and not really wanting to part with them [it was early tomato season and i was savoring each and every one], i searched for a way to preserve them and came across this recipe. i was a little wary, thinking that it might be weird, and wondering if this was really something i would eat [see above re: jam]. but let me tell you that this is more delicious than i could possibly have imagined. on toast, crackers, with cheese. you name it. this tomato jam's got it covered. i kid you not.

----------------------------------------------
heirloom tomato and thyme jam
[adapted from the cosmic cowgirl]

2 pounds heirloom or homegrown tomatoes, chopped.
1 cup light brown sugar
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
8 whole cloves
2 sticks cinnamon
4 tsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp bottled lemon or lime juice

wash and sterilize five 4 oz. jars according to manufacturer's instructions. put spices in a tea ball or cheesecloth. combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan and simmer for 45 minutes, until it has reached a good jam consistency. remove spice bag and ladle jam into the jars and process in boiling water bath for 15 minutes.

endnote: just in case any of you thought i was some kind of expert or something. tonight, as i was canning dilly green beans and pickled peppers, something happened that i've been fearing for the last four years: a jar broke while processing in the canner. i heard a knock and thought one jar had just tipped over in there, when i lifted the lid there were peppers floating everywhere. needless to say, the other jars have been reprocessed and everything is fine. not that i've ever claimed to be an expert, but i don't want to give false impressions here! everyone has "disasters"!

canning week: peaches

2011-09-13T20:49:00.001-05:00

one of my favorite new canning discoveries last summer was peaches. there i was, less than a week before leaving for our big summer road trip vacation, shopping at the co-op. and my eyes suddenly happen upon half-bushel boxes of michigan peach seconds. on sale. what's a girl to do? obviously buy them and madly can them while also packing for a big trip. obviously.

let me just tell you that having a few quarts of these delicious babies was one of the highlights of my winter. there were muffins, there were crisps, there were many many slices of juicy peaches mixed into warm bowls of oatmeal. i couldn't have been happier about it.

so this year, i got my name on the list at the co-op to call me when the cases came in. and that's how i spend much of my labor day weekend. last summer i only canned peach slices in syrup, and also froze some peach slices, which we've used in smoothies over the past year. this year, there were slices in syrup, along with about 40- 4 oz. jars of plain peach jam [more on the plethora of mini jars of jam later...]

one of the things that always confuses me when canning is when recipes don't specify how much fruit will translate to how many quart/pint/half-pint jars. how am i supposed to know how much fruit to use? and how many jars to sterilize? for peach slices, i followed the instructions in putting food by, but these are my proportions based on two years of experience.

sliced peaches in syrup

adapted from putting food by

8 lbs peaches
6 cups water
3 cups sugar

this will make 6 quarts and 1 pint of peaches. wash and sterilize jars according to manufacturer's instructions. blanch peaches and peel. slice in thin slices. in a large stockpot, combine water and sugar and heat over medium heat (do not boil). add peach slices to simple syrup and simmer for 2 minutes. pack peach slices in to hot jars. pour syrup over peaches, leaving 1/2 headroom. use a rubber spatula to release air bubbles in the jars. process in boiling water bath for 25 minutes (if you are doing all pints, you can process for 20 minutes).

a couple of notes: after i had finished this, i had almost 1 quart of simple syrup left over. so you can make less syrup, or just hang on to it for some homemade soda or use in iced tea.

also, you will notice that in my jars, there has been some loss of liquid (siphoning) in the sealing process. this is because i didn't do as good of a job as i should have in getting all the air bubbles out of the jars before putting the lids on and processing. this is nothing to worry about as long as the jars are sealed.

canning week! [pickles]

2011-09-12T21:20:00.001-05:00

so here's the deal. i've been canning. a lot. and if i really want to start blogging more, that's mostly what i have to show for myself these days, so here we go. i'm officially declaring this week canning week on the old blog here. [nothing official, really, but feel free to join in if you have something to say about canning this week, let me know if you do and i'll link to you. or something like that]. maybe i'll even share some of my favorite new canning links throughout the week!

of course, i'm copping out a bit on this first day by just directing you over to [tend] where i'm blathering on and on about pickles today [oh yeah, i'm over there on mondays now if you'd like to check out what i'm up to in the garden]. i promise something original here tomorrow. gosh knows i've been canning everything from tomatoes to apples to peaches to blueberries to raspberries to strawberries to apricots to pickles to....

seeing as i'm making my way through what's likely to be the last of my canning for this season, i thought it would be nice to do a little re-cap and share with you some of what i've learned this year since this has definitely been my biggest [and best] canning year yet. well anyways, canning week it is! woop woop!

they're off!

2011-09-08T20:46:00.001-05:00

well, they were off a couple of weeks ago, but i've been a bit remiss on the ol' blog as you may have noticed. in any case...the invitations are out and our wedding is just over a month away! i need to photograph the invitations themselves, because they are amazing. one of my oldest friends designed them and i am in love. seriously. i couldn't be happier, and i am so proud of her for creating something so beautiful. soon. because you'll love them too. [those custom stamps are from zazzle.com and the image is based on the invitation design]

i'm in full-on list mode tidying up all the last minute details so that i can just concentrate on being excited for the big day [which i totally am, by the way]. i am so excited to have so many of our friends and family all here under the same roof in our home city, many of whom have never been here before. also? i'm excited to dance my ass off. there, i said it.

now that things are getting closer, i'm hoping to share some sneak peeks of some of the projects i've been busying myself with these past months. because oh, i've been busy.

*calligraphy by the amazing queen quills. when i picked the envelopes up from her, i kind of kicked myself for not having her write something with our own names on it because her work is so freaking cool. what a treat to have her do this. [and the photo was totally inspired by alyson brown]

about those cupcakes

2011-09-01T20:13:00.000-05:00

i mentioned i had the lucky job of cupcake baker for jared's brother's wedding back in july. let me tell you that baking 264 cupcakes in six weeks is no small feat. but it was a fun one. i'll also tell you that 264 cupcakes was way too many. good thing we had lucky folks to send some home with. on the recommendation of at least a few people, i went with molly's chocolate cupcake recipe from a homemade life. jordan and pari (and i!) are coffee lovers, so this seemed like the perfect fit. the first couple of batches came out a bit gooey, which is probably what molly was going for, and frankly, would have been delicious if these hadn't been destined for an outdoor summer wedding. i ended up baking them at 325 instead of 300 and for a few minutes longer, just to firm them up a bit. i tripled the recipe each time i baked, making about 38 cupcakes each time, and kept them in the freezer until two days before the wedding. i frosted them with chocolate and vanilla buttercream recipes from martha stewart (times four and times three, respectively). i have never had so much dairy in my house as i have while baking these cupcakes. i admit that i actually got a little hooked on the whole milk that was leftover from the frosting, mmmm.

in any case, as crazy as this whole endeavor was, i am so glad i could contribute to their wedding this way. and if i had to do it all over again, i totally would.

jordan + pari

2011-08-30T18:12:00.000-05:00

about six weeks ago, jared's younger brother got married. it was a hot july day in a lovely park in st. paul. they looked beautiful and so happy. the wedding was a perfectly relaxed picnic, just like they wanted. i got the lucky honor of being cupcake baker and part-time photographer. [more on the cupcakes later]. the day before the wedding, my brand new camera was stolen, so i ended up going all film here. good thing i have no shortage of cameras lying around. these are a few of my favorite snaps [see the full set of photos here].

dreaming

2011-08-25T18:28:00.000-05:00

lately...i have been day dreaming a lot

of being a graphic/web designer
of working on non-wedding related projects
of swimming
of decluttering and organizing our house
of taking a long, slow vacation
of taking more photographs [and being better about sharing them online]
of practicing yoga again
of making myself a new wardrobe
of getting a new computer...and phone
of taking long walks with my dog...and long bike rides on the weekends
of fall...oh fall, how i do love you.

[in reality, i've mostly been having anxiety dreams about things like typos on our wedding invitations. just so you don't think my life is all rosy and calm]

tuesday... (and giveaway winner!)

2011-08-23T17:36:00.000-05:00

hi friends! i'm having a bit of trouble settling back into home life after a fantastic, but whirlwind (as usual) trip to California last week. more details and photos to come soon...in the meantime, i wanted to announce the winner of the wolfie and the sneak giveaway from last week.

congrats goes to: Kristen from one lonely apricot! kristen's comment was: "I am crazy about asparagus but haven't lived in any one place in my adult life long enough to grow it myself (it takes 3 years to mature). However, I do grow my own tomatoes and they are another favorite!" congrats kristen! email me your address and i'll pass it along to renee. you are in for a serious treat for your walls. special thanks to renee for hosting this giveaway, and don't forget you can always check out the wolfie and the sneak shop to get your hands on your own beautiful print or other goodie (and all proceeds from the shop during the month of august will go to support renee's aunt's cancer treatment, bonus karma!)

i'll admit that i've wavered back and forth between titling this post "tuesday happymaking" and "tuesday slog" [while finally settling on just "tuesday"...i'm somewhere in between apparently] there are loads of things making me happy right now, but whenever i sit down to write here, i just feel overwhelmed. overwhelmed at my ever growing to-do list, overwhelmed at all the amazing things i'm seeing around the internet and feeling like i'm not contributing anything interesting or creative to this world right now, overwhelmed by the lack of sleep i'm getting, and lots more. but. things are being checked off the list. and i have tons of photos to share if i can just get off my butt and do it. so. in light of that little bit of whiney-ness, here are a couple of lovely things to share with you all today:

::did you check out all the amazing guest posts over at tend last week? we had a great group of ladies joining us.
::heather launched her blue sparrow press shop yesterday, i want one of everything!
::doesn't amy's cabin vacation look divine? i'd like to go on vacation with her family please.
::the new 3191 is beautiful (not that i would expect anything less). i thoroughly enjoyed my subscription to 3191Q last year and am so happy to hear they are continuing it, can't wait to renew!
::the more & co. blog. so inspiring.
::jenna rose's solo cabin trip & natural dyeing experimenting.
::farm anatomy by julia rothman looks incredible. one more for the birthday list [clearly it's no coincidence that it is released on my birthday!].

alright, that should keep you busy for a bit. back later this week with more...

wolfie and the sneak giveaway!!

2011-08-11T10:02:00.001-05:00

hello friends!
so i told you i'd be back here this week with an exciting giveaway, and i do not disappoint. i'm psyched to be partnering up with renee of wolfie and the sneak to giveaway one of her awesome four seasons posters to one of my readers. i had been in love with renee's seasons posters, but could never decide which one i liked best, and then [genius that she is] she combined them all into one beautiful piece that i am so happy is now hanging in my kitchen where i can look at it everyday and be reminded of all the delicious and beautiful food i should be eating.

if you all aren't already familiar with the wolfie and the sneak blog, you should be. renee writes about gardening, composting, family life, and just life in general. and her illustrations are kickass. i mentioned this earlier in the spring, but i first came across her on flickr years ago and then somehow lost track of her work. i'm so happy to have rediscovered her this year and i love checking out her blog for tips, thought provoking words, and some laughs.

and be sure to check out the wolfie and the sneak shop for other beautiful prints, and even handmade pinhole cameras! and, for the month of august renee is donating all proceeds from print sales to her aunt's cancer treatments, so if you're thinking of supporting her shop, now's the time.

soooo. just leave a comment here by midnight next wednesday (8/17) telling me what is your favorite fresh seasonal produce to eat. bonus points [not really] if you grow it yourself! i'll pick a random winner next week when i get back from sunny california. [fine print: this giveaway is limited to the US and Canada only, sorry!!]

[top two photos by me, bottom two photos courtesy of renee garner]
[also, the photos next to my four seasons poster are by abby powell thompson]

8 august

2011-08-08T18:15:00.000-05:00

hi friends. how have you all been during these winding down of summer days? i have been good. good. good. i can tell you that much.

what have i been doing? i have been making jam and pickles, i have been neglecting my gardens, i have been potting flats of succulents in vintage milkglass for our wedding centerpieces, i have been getting ready to fly to california to spend a few days in napa with my family and a few days in san francisco with some friends [our one and only summer trip this year], i have been slowly making my way back into the kitchen and cooking real meals [this was a recent favorite], and i have been knitting up a storm [i am finally working on something that's not top secret and i can't wait to show it off].

speaking of weddings...i have also been feeling so incredibly well-loved by our family and friends and all of the amazing things that people are doing just for us. i know i've chipped in my fair share for my friend's weddings over the past few years, but being the recipient of all that love and hard work, well it's a special feeling. i can't wait to share with you all that our incredibly talented friends have done.

so...what have you all been up to? this may be premature, but i'm finally starting to feel myself coming up for air and i'm hoping to be around here more often. after all, i have quite a lot to share with you all!

in the meantime, be sure to check back here later this week...i have an exciting giveaway planned! xo

gleaning cherries

2011-07-29T17:55:00.000-05:00

a couple of weeks ago (july 10 to be exact) i pulled my wagon and ladder over to my neighbor's house to absolve him of his sour cherries. i know i've mentioned before (here and here) how lucky i am to have a neighbor with a plethora of fruit trees that he is completely uninterested in picking, but i'll reiterate it again. i am damn lucky.

i didn't get around to weighing all of them, but i think i picked around 15-20 lbs of these beauties. i wish i had had more time, because there were plenty more too. this was definitely the most successful cherry haul i've had over the past three years- usually they are mostly picked over by the birds by the time i get to them.

i used up most of these by dehydrating them in our new-to-us dehydrator that jared's parents picked up at a yard sale for us last fall. it has 12 trays and i didn't really realize quite how much that was (i think it was about 12 lbs or so) and it dehydrated to about 1 quart. hmmm. i'm thinking they will be delicious in some granola or cookies or something over the winter.

with the remaining cherries, i whipped up one jar of this sour cherry syrup and have been seriously enjoying homemade sodas with it. i also froze a couple of quart bags of pitted whole cherries. those may or may not end up in another batch of the syrup later this fall...

{ps: for another homemade soda recipe, check out my post over at tend this week}

happy weekend, friends!

future pickles

2011-07-28T18:21:00.000-05:00

i'm sorry cucumber lovers, but to me that's basically what these are. not that i dislike cucumbers (i'd better not with the crop i've got coming my way soon!) but what i really love is a good sour pickle. i cannot wait to make a couple of batches of these spicy polish dills. this was my first cucumber harvest, and judging from how my 9(!) plants are taking over the garden, and the hundreds of blooms on them, i think it's safe to say that this year, i'll be growing all my own pickles! this was one of my goals and i am so psyched it's gonna happen. (fyi: these are the double yield cucumbers from seed savers. i tried growing this same variety, from the same seed packet, last year with no luck. just goes to show that you should never give up!)

in the meantime, do you folks out there have any other pickle or cucumber recipes? i'd love to try something new this year!

'roid week favorites

2011-07-18T21:01:00.000-05:00

1. polaroid carrots, 2. Hearts, 3. swing down, sweet chariot stop and, let me ride, 4. waiting, 5. friday*, 6. the fog returns, 7. the fog returns, 8. that time of year, 9. Untitled

last week was 'roid week on flickr. one whole week celebrating all things polaroid and the magic of instant film. i love this week (which has been held for the past five years) because so many talented photographers are posting beautiful photos that were taken with beautiful beautiful polaroid cameras. did i mention i love polaroid?

the top three photos were a few of my submissions, and below are some of my favorites from other flickr users. you can check out the entire pool here and keep your eye out for the next 'roid week.

friday afternoon treat

2011-07-08T19:45:00.001-05:00

on my way home from work today, all i could think about was making a big bowl of popcorn and plopping down on the couch for a while. between the prep for jared's brother's wedding next weekend, our own wedding planning, work, and the heat, i am feeling beat today. but, as soon as i walked in the door, i remembered this that i had seen earlier today. feeling a bit lazy and too tired for a cocktail (which surely would have meant that i would not make it off the couch for the rest of the evening) i whipped up my own easy peasy version of the strawberry mint spritzer.

chop a handful of strawberries, a small sprig of orange mint (this was delicious, but any kind of mint will do. even better if it's from your own garden) and threw it in a glass with some ice cubes and seltzer water. delicious. and mighty refreshing as i sit on the couch.

happy weekend friends! xo

getting away

2011-07-04T10:21:00.000-05:00

with our busy schedules, jared and i don't get a lot of opportunities to get out of town. on friday, i had the day off work and, with the excuse of bringing my camera to the only person around who will fix it (who happens to be 40 minutes away), i took a little solo afternoon trip to stillwater. stillwater is a super cute little town right on the minnesota/wisconsin border that is chock full of crazy antique stores. while it can get kind of busy and touristy in the summer, it being a friday afternoon, it wasn't too bad. and after taking care of my camera business, i was more than happy to take refuge in a few air conditioned antique stores since it was about 105 degrees outside. after accomplishing my antiquing goals, i dipped my toes in the st. croix river and watched the lift bridge go up to let the boats pass through. i couldn't believe how high the water was-flooding the riverside park where i was, and allowing a gap of only about 4 feet below the bridge when it was down.

even though it was just a quick trip of a few hours, it was so nice to get out of my normal routine, and take a little time to myself to just wander around and be in my own head. definitely something i need to remember to do more often...

summer manifesto

2011-06-30T18:37:00.002-05:00

about a week into summer, i'm finally starting to feel its presence (those 95 degree temps don't hurt the summer feel either!). while i know that this may be the busiest season of my life, with wedding planning, helping with jared's brother's upcoming wedding, work, and trying to keep up with my out of control garden[s], i still have a few things that i'd like to put down on the proverbial paper here to try to do this summer.

:: have backyard fires in the evenings.

:: go swimming in at least one new spot.

:: read a book.

:: sew one article of clothing for myself (have you noticed that with each season's manifesto this number goes down? i will not let it go though!)

:: make ice cream sandwiches.

:: go on a bike picnic.

:: spend at least one night away from home (i'd like to say camping, but with the impending state government shutdown, state parks will be closed for who knows how long).

:: make some jam for myself (not only for wedding favors)

:: eat from the garden as much as possible.

:: try new recipes (including one for those garlic scapes up there).
:: fill up our freezer with fruits and veggies.

:: write some letters.

:: drink my morning coffee outside.

:: find time to just play.

:: and take some naps with open windows.

what's on your summer list?

edited to add: while i may be bummed about parks being closed, that is nothing in comparison to the thousands of state employees who will be losing their jobs (temporarily or not) and countless folks who will lose access to critical social services that will be shut down during this period as well. i felt a little remiss in not mentioning that.

weekending

2011-06-26T22:04:00.000-05:00

i know i've already given myself permission to not post here that often, given all that i have going on in my life these days. but honestly, i miss blogging more regularly. aside from just being busy, one of the reasons i haven't been posting a lot lately is that i haven't been taking a lot of photos, i've had some camera problems, and my film developing spot closed in march and (aside from drugstores and target) the only places to get film processed are in the suburbs, where i don't make it too often.

so, after months of hemming and hawing and researching, this weekend, i treated myself to a fancy new camera. i'm hoping that this will reinvigorate my photography mojo and hopefully i'll be around here more often. even though i'm not getting any less busy anytime soon. here are a few scenes from our jam packed weekend that included cupcakes (and more cupcakes!), loads of errands, jam making (times two), a backyard party, a long-overdue trip to the dog park, and a little bit of planting.

i'll be back later this week with a new banner and a summer manifesto.

nyc scenes

2011-06-14T08:40:00.000-05:00

so, it seems that once a week is about all i can muster here these days, no matter how hard i may try to get back here a second time. oh well, if it's once a week, it's once a week. i'm working hard lately to accept what i have in me and be content with that. because i am only one woman, and one woman is only capable of so much, right? right.

almost a month ago now, i traveled back to new york city, where i grew up, for a little visit. i didn't take too many photos this trip (only about half a roll of film, and a handful of polaroids) and i always find it interesting to see what i choose to capture each time i visit the city. here are a few of those captures...

and just like that...

2011-06-07T19:38:00.002-05:00

...spring is over. we reached 103 degrees this afternoon. the hottest day in 20 years. phew. it'll be back down to 65 in a day or two, man this weather is crazy. here are a few scenes from my garden. i took these photos about two weeks ago, when i first got home from new york (those photos coming later this week) and it's crazy to see how much things have already changed. these early peonies and lilacs are already done blooming, the peas have climbed almost to the tops of the trellises, and these pots have filled in so much more. not to mention that i've planted a lot more too!

i've mostly been writing about my gardening adventures this year over on tend, but i'll try to keep sharing some here as well. gosh knows, there's certainly enough to go around this year! in addition to my home garden, which has expanded this year, i somewhat inadvertently acquired two additional plots at my community garden. i feel like i'm managing a small farm! i've got 19 tomato plants, almost 30 onions, 3 melons, 17 pepper plants (bell and jalapeno), countless beans, 3 zucchini/summer squash, 3 cucumbers, 17 garlic plants, herbs up the wazoo, radishes, arugula, lettuce, peas, 3 types of kale, more chard than i can count, loads of flowers, and more still to be planted. {phew}

for the past few weeks, almost every evening, after i get home from work, i spend a little bit of time (maybe even a few hours) watering and tending the gardens. it's so nice to have this time in the evening after long days at work. since it stays light so late, it makes it easy. but we've also been finding ourselves at after 8pm and not having even thought about dinner. we're going to have to get into a better routine with this thing, i think.

are you planting a garden these days? and what are your favorite quick summer dinners?

signs of spring

2011-05-31T20:08:00.000-05:00

:: all those bulbs that i planted in a frenzy last fall finally making an appearance.

:: rain and thunderstorms and tornadoes and more rain.

:: bare arms and sandals and dresses and no jackets.

:: the soreness after a day's work in the garden.

:: light spring dinners eaten at 9pm when it's still light out. (our recent, easy favorite being salad greens with tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, carrots, avocado, crispy tofu cubes, a scoop of warm quinoa with balsamic vinaigrette. and some chopped sharp cheddar for me.)

spring took a long time to show her face this year, but now that it's finally here, i hope she'll stick around for a while. spring this year is bursting so full of life and good and crazy and collapsing on the couch and good and good and good.

herbal shampoo

2011-05-25T22:01:00.000-05:00

hi friends!

i know, i know, it's been forever again. i've been to new york city and back and my garden is exploding, and my work is sucking me in, and i've got a zillion thank you notes to write to some very very lovely people. i will be back soon, promise.

but first, i've posted a recipe for a lovely herbal shampoo over on [tend]. do check it out.

bees. 'nuff said.

2011-05-14T08:32:00.000-05:00

if you caught my post on [tend] this week, you got a sneak peek of my exciting news already, but in case you missed it...probably the most exciting backyard development of the year is the addition of two bee hives. that's right. two. bee. hives. with approximately 20,000 bees or so (at least, that's what i think 6 lbs. of bees adds up to) buzzing around.

it's pretty awesome. it all started a little over a year ago, when i wrote this post. chris, who i only barely knew through molly and the now-fizzled out homesteading blog (in fact, the only time we'd met was at our foray into cheesemaking) responded, offering some assistance. in a nutshell, chris wanted to keep bees but had no space, and i had the space but not the time to learn how to keep bees. a match made in heaven. or something like that. by the time we got it all together last year, it was too late in the season and it didn't work out. but this year, it all came together and i'm a happy landlady to my bee tenants.

chris came over a couple of weeks ago and we set up the hive boxes and about a week and a half ago the bees arrived and chris and her friend joe successfully transferred them into the hive while jared and i watched in awe. to say we're excited about this would be an understatement. our yard isn't that big, so these little ones are practically right out our backdoor and almost every morning we go out and just watch them crawl in and out of the little holes in the front of the hives. we checked on them earlier this week to confirm that both queens were alive (they are!) and we found that they've already begun drawing out the comb (making wax) and collecting pollen. if we look closely as they return to the hive, we can see the yellow/orange spots on their legs, which is the pollen they've collected.

i'm so excited to learn more about this, and feel so lucky to have such a capable teacher/beekeeper to take this on (and i know how grateful chris is for our yard, so i feel like this is such a perfect exchange). i hope you all are ready for a summer full of bee-talk!

and yes, in case any of you are wondering, this is legal in minneapolis. at the moment, it's legal to keep chickens and bees in the city, and i know there are folks working on getting permits available for hoofed animals (particularly goats), which are allowed in st. paul. i recently read that there are currently only 6 permits for beekeeping, which we're one of! (though i have a feeling most city beekeepers don't have permits...)

all it takes

2011-05-11T07:47:00.001-05:00

spring has finally found its way to me. in fact, we practically jumped from winter straight to summer with 88 degrees and humidity and tornado warnings last night. and suddenly {as shari wrote so eloquently} i found myself thinking that i could barely remember being freezing just a few short months {weeks} ago. i can only imagine that this change in seasons must be something akin to childbirth {not that i would know}...forgetting all the discomfort and pain in the face of the joy of your child. i wonder if there are actually hormones that biologically incline us to forget the misery of slogging through feet of snow as soon as the warm sun arrives and the flowers are blooming {likewise that we forget the misery of 100+ degrees and humidity as soon as the air is crisp and the leaves are falling}?

i've found myself with a changed outlook recently and have begun to realize that, in the face of difficulties, the only thing i can change is myself. and once that happens, i can only hope that my changed self will positively affect others around me.

recently, there was a horrible incident with a client at my work. alone with her four children, she was forced to leave the homeless shelter where they were staying for no apparent reason. we were able to find her another place to stay temporarily, but there was a day or two when it was all up in the air and we offered to store her belongings for her until they were settled. there were continued discussions of "how much stuff" they had. with a small busload full, i was faced with the belongings of an entire family. clothes, toys, books, food. and i was struck by how little it truly was. i don't work directly with the clients, but at times when i feel bored with my job, i need only to remember these days, when my boredom or other personal worries seem so minuscule in the face of such struggles. and i remember that i truly am blessed.

remember that, today.
xo

on gardening in a community [tend]

2011-05-04T20:05:00.000-05:00

my weekly post is up at tend. this week, i'm writing about why i love my community garden. i wanted to say thank you one more time for the positive response we've gotten around this project. it's so gratifying to have others share in the excitement. and it's given me an even greater excuse to focus on and document my gardening adventures this year, which have already proven to be greater than any other year (and it's barely spring yet).

anyways, if you want to read a bit about community gardening, check it out!

a sign of spring

2011-05-03T19:08:00.000-05:00

those pesky dandelions that everyone wishes would leave their pristine yards alone. i'll take them! last year i ventured further into urban foraging and made dandelion sorbet, which was absolutely delicious.

spring has been very slow coming in minneapolis this year- it actually snowed during the annual may day parade this past weekend. so when i started to see dandelions popping up around town last week, i knew some spring-like weather would surely follow soon. so this afternoon, when i was headed out for my walk with freddie, i decided to grab a little mesh bag to bring along and collect dandelion blossoms in the park. as with last year, i got a few odd looks, and was happy to explain what i was doing to a passing schoolgirl.

of course, if you're going to forage dandelions (or anything else) you'll want to make sure that the area is not treated with pesticides. last spring, i called the minneapolis parks department and they assured me that the only treatment the parks get is an occasional (and, i mean occasional) mowing. definitely no pesticides. of course, there are all manner of other things going on in the park (especially dogs and other critters) so you'll want to make sure to thoroughly rinse the flowers when you get home.

instead of sorbet (which i do hope to make again this spring), i decided to go for some dandelion lemonade today. i followed this recipe, using about 1 Tbl honey and it's steeping right now. can't wait to drink it up later this evening. perhaps while sitting on the back porch? why, don't mind if i do.

white bean dip

2011-04-28T08:40:00.001-05:00

first of all...thank you so so much for all the kind comments, tweets, and posts about tend. we are so very excited about this project, and i was overjoyed to see that so many others were to. thankyouthankyouthankyou!

now, how about a recipe for your weekend ahead? this recipe is nothing groundbreaking, in fact it's pretty much just a variation on hummus. but it's delicious, and it's got a different mood than hummus, which is sometimes just what you need. jared and i make hummus quite frequently, and while i do love it, i do tend to get tired of it.

i made up the recipe for this white bean dip a few months ago, during a very off dinner week, and it was the perfect rescue. we all have those, right? i've written here before about my attempts to stick to a weekly meal plan, but man sometimes that's pretty damn hard. i don't always find the time to sit down on saturday morning to plan out our weekly meals, then fight the weekend crowds at our coop, then spend all of sunday making food for the week ahead. in an ideal world, that would define my weekends. but it just hasn't lately. we don't eat out or get take out very often, we don't have a microwave, and since we cook most of our meals from scratch, when we're caught at 7pm with no dinner plan, the options can be limited. we've eaten popcorn or cereal for dinner recently more times than i'd like to admit, so compared to that, warm white bean dip with homemade toast is a pretty good meal, no?

i'm sure i'm not the only one with this problem. i'd love to hear how any of you deal with the dinner dilemma, especially for last minute meals. in the meantime, i offer you this recipe, for a snack, or maybe a light dinner. give it a go and let me know what you think. xo

white bean dip

ingredients:
1 cup dried cannelini beans
2 cloves garlic, chopped coarsely
1 Tbl. fresh sage, chopped coarsely
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
3 Tbl. lemon juice
5 Tbl. olive oil

start by cooking the beans. if you have a preferred method of cooking dried beans, use that. if not, here's what i do: place beans in a pot and cover with water by 1". soak overnight. after 8 hours or so (or more), drain beans and put them back in the pot with fresh water, covered by about 1" or 2". cook for approximately 30-45 minutes, until beans are soft. since you'll be pureeing them, it's okay if you overcook them a little. it's better to have them overcooked than undercooked for this recipe! drain the beans, but reserve about 1 cup of the cooking water.

next, combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. if it's too dry, or doesn't have a creamy texture, add some of the reserved cooking water until you reach the desired consistency. enjoy with crackers or toast.

tend

2011-04-25T18:41:00.000-05:00

hello friends!

it's been a while, hasn't it? i didn't mean to disappear for almost two weeks, but that's just life, then sometimes isn't it? it is for me lately anyways. spring is finally here (i'm ignoring the forecast of 2" of sleet for tomorrow!) and i'm feeling a weight lifting every day. i do promise to be here more often!

today, i wanted to share a new project with you all. it's called tend. tend is a new collaborative blog initiated by amy johnson. amy, shari, natalie, heather and myself will be posting weekly (i'm on wednesdays!) about our adventures in tending our gardens. i'm so honored and excited about this project and about documenting this year's garden in a new way. i think each year i say this, but i am more excited about my garden this year than ever before- from my seed starting adventures, to all the new things i'd like to try to grow, and new techniques i'm experimenting with...it's going to be a beautiful garden this year.

i'm so grateful to amy, for coming up with this project, and to shari for inviting me to participate. please join us over at tend!

{ps: a new spring banner is up...only a month late!}

in which i jump up and down and scream {or just plant some seeds}

2011-04-12T08:47:00.000-05:00

i started seeds! okay, so maybe this isn't nearly as exciting to anyone else as it is to me. but OH MY GOD I PLANTED SOMETHING! this fact is exciting to me for a few reasons. number one, as much as i loved it until a month ago, this feels like it has been the longest winter ever. number two, thus far i have never been very successful with indoor seed starting yet i am incredibly hopeful for this year's attempts. and number three, it feels so freaking incredible to get an idea for a project, plan it out, and just do it. really. such a good feeling, i highly recommend it.

a bit of background: the first spring after we moved to mn was the first year i gardened. it was 2007. i got a copy of you grow girl and went for it. although, i didn't exactly follow the instructions closely and just figured that our sunny kitchen would suffice for my little indoor tomato seedlings. wrong. they were very leggy and barely survived and didn't turn out to be very productive. jump ahead to 2008 and repeat. the following two years, i gave up on the seed starting and just direct sowed seeds outdoors and supplemented with plants purchased at the farmer's market. this was my plan for this year too (you know, making an effort to acknowledge that i probably have too much on my plate to start another project). but there i was, reviewing my already-placed seed order, when i realized that kale (which was a total flop last year) is actually supposed to be started indoors early. what?! who knew? so of course the fact that i needed to start my kale seeds early turned into setting up a full blown operation in my basement. not to mention, an excuse to start a whole slew of other plants early too.

so here is my setup. it is based largely on this post. i have no plants that i overwintered and i didn't start that many seedlings, so i'm just using a crappy thrifted table that was serving as a laundry folding station. i think next year, i'll need to upgrade to a full on shelf. aside from the table, here is what my setup required:
2 fluorescent shop lights ($10.99 each at the hardware store).
2 fluorescent bulbs- i already had 2 on hand ($3.99 each at the hardware store)
1 timer for the lights
a length of chain and some S-hooks
2 boot trays- i already had one ($7.99/each at the hardware store)
2 heating pads ($55)
a cut-up garbage bag to cover the seedlings
seed starting soil mixture ($10 for 2 bags)
re-used plastic pots from all those plants i've bought over the years
seeds

so...what did i plant?
cherokee purple tomatoes
ace bush tomatoes
yellow pear tomatoes
basil
stevia
bull nose bell peppers
jalapeno peppers
lacinato kale
scotch blue curly kale
red russian kale
five color silverbeet chard

it took me about three hours to plant all these seedlings and get the operation set up, which i think is pretty good. i started this a little over a week ago, and almost everything is sprouting now except for a couple of peppers. this past weekend, i added another tray consisting of: mn midget melon (like muskmelon, i think), sugarbaby watermelon, zinnia, calendula, and marigolds. i was contemplating starting squash and cucumbers too, but i'm not positive yet. i've never started squash early (always just direct seeded) but i figure i might as well get a jump on it, which may give me the opportunity to plant something else after it's finished producing later in the summer. or at least give it a longer time period for producing. (i've recently read that cukes don't like to be transplanted, so maybe i'll just direct seed those afterall- any tips out there?)

so there you have it. the beginnings of possibly my craziest gardening year yet. i've got so many new ideas for this year, i feel like i'm going to burst. all i can hope for now is that this excitement (and the energy to carry it out) lasts throughout the summer.

also, i've got a very exciting garden-related collaborative project in the works that will hopefully be revealed in the next week or two. i can't wait to share it with you all.

what are you all growing these days?

things i saw on my walk this afternoon

2011-04-05T20:29:00.000-05:00

a family playing hopscotch on their front sidewalk

lots of bikers

a new community garden

two girls walking on stilts

high school boys filming each other skateboarding down some stairs

kids picking up litter

a family raking their front lawn

perfect thin clouds

an airplane or two

tulips poking their way through the ground

melting snow

people reading and drinking beer on their front steps

a new cafe in my neighborhood that's about to open

...spring is surely here. yes indeed.

three things i love.

2011-04-04T18:33:00.000-05:00

1. corduroy
2. dark purple
3. the tulip skirt

i think i've had this project on my list since immediately after i completed the last tulip skirt. i knew it would be perfect in corduroy. and boy was i right. i think i picked up this fine wale dark purple corduroy at joann's or mill end or some place like that a few years ago, and it's been waiting patiently ever since to be turned into a skirt. which is just what i did over my spring break two weeks ago.

this pattern (the tulip skirt by jenny gordy from the fall 2008 issue of stitch magazine) was a dream, just like the first time. a little bit fussy, but in a good way. i made a couple of careless mistakes that aren't even worth mentioning, and overall it turned out just fine. before i started this, i checked my post from the first tulip skirt (that's really what this blog is good for!) and remembered that i wanted pockets. at the time, i thought adding inseam pockets would be so easy. however, i have since made inseam pockets and although i could have figured them out and added them (and that would have been completely rad) that would have taken this project out of the instant gratification category. and, to be honest, that's really what i was looking for.

so there you have it. garment #1 for spring. and corduroy to boot (which was a holdover from the fall manifesto, double win!).

spring manifesto

2011-04-01T19:10:00.000-05:00

so, only about a week late, but it's actually starting to feel slightly spring-y here. i'm biting my tongue because i know it could snow more, but i'm also feeling optimistic about the coming warmer weather. my seeds arrived yesterday and while i had convinced myself that i do not have the time to start seeds indoors this year, i realized that my kale seeds should be started early (in fact, i think they should have been started a couple of weeks ago) and i've also decided to give it a go with tomatoes and peppers. so this weekend will be dedicated to putting together a makeshift seed-starting area in my basement. wish me luck! i am overflowing with gardening ideas for this year, but i'll save that for another post.

it is, in fact, spring, and i'm feeling full of energy. here are some things on my list for this coming season...

:: make at least two garments to carry me through summer.
:: try sourdough again.
:: begin quilting my quilt.
:: start doing yoga again.
:: spend as much time outdoors as humanly possible.
:: puddle jump.
:: clear out the freezer and make room for this season's produce.
:: hang more art in our house (and maybe even start my family photo wall).
:: plant a new garden filled with vegetables, flowers, medicinal herbs, and plants to use for dyes (!)

well okay then. i think that's a good place to start. what do you have on your lists for this spring?

{i know, i need a new banner, i'll get on that as soon as it starts looking spring-y around here!}

an epic failure {another bread story, with a very unhappy ending}

2011-03-31T18:31:00.000-05:00

about a month ago, i decided that it was high time i tried to make some sourdough bread. i was thumbing through wild fermentation and realized that i have had this book for quite some time now and still hadn't actually made anything from it. so, sourdough it was.

i followed the instructions for a rye starter, but something went terribly terribly wrong. i let the starter grow for about two weeks, all the while being a bit concerned, but trying to reassure myself that maybe this was what it was supposed to be like. i'd never made sourdough, and the book doesn't provide much of a description of what the starter should be like. i kept feeding it whole wheat flour, but there was a very pungent odor. i tried to convince myself that it was just a strong yeast smell and continued on.

after about two weeks, it seemed like it might be ready and i decided to use it to make the german sunflower seed bread (sonnenblumenkernbrot) and things completely fell apart. i mixed the sponge, which was unlike any sponge i had ever made before. it was thicker than bread dough normally is and i could barely stir it together. i let it rise for two days, but nothing changed, and it still smelled something terrible. again, i told myself maybe it's supposed to be like this. jared encouraged me, given that german bread is often very dense. so i forged on.

i added more flour (though not as much as the recipe called for- there was absolutely no way that dough could absorb that much flour--8 cups of flour and 4 cups of sunflower seeds for 2 loaves!) and made a very sorry attempt at kneading it. i baked it and the next morning i toasted up a couple of slices for me and jared. if i told you the bread was gross, it might be the understatement of my life. it was sour, and foul, and pungent in the worst way possible. i actually wish i had a photo of my face after the first bite. determined to give it a chance, i slathered it with raspberry jam and somehow managed to eat an entire slice. jared tossed his after one bite. he then informed me that i was not to make breadcrumbs out of it (which was what i did with my last bread failure). i decided that i wouldn't even dare to feed to to the birds and tossed the rest of it completely.

since then, i read up a little bit on the wild fermentation forums and discovered that others have had trouble with his recipe as well. i was directed to the recipe in the bread bible, which i have. i read through it and this recipe could not be more different than the wild fermentation one. it is extremely detailed and well-explained. i'm hoping to get a new starter going this weekend using this recipe and will report back soon. i would like to give the wild fermentation one another go, but i'm thinking it's best to wait until i have a little bit more experience. i'm guessing that the starter was not active enough, and maybe too thick. and that it somehow went sour.

any thoughts on sourdough? have you tried it? what's your favorite recipe?

just in time for spring...

2011-03-28T18:28:00.000-05:00

...a wool hat. when i cast on this hat the week before my spring break, jared suggested that maybe it was a little late in the season to be making a wool hat. i scoffed. and guess who was right? (me) since i finished this hat, which took me less than a week, we've gotten five inches of snow and the temperatures have dipped well below 20 degrees. yet somehow this new sunny yellow hat has been warming my spirits during this snowy and cold early spring.

i've been feeling lately that i needed a new hat, since i haven't made one for myself in a couple of years. ever since i saw this one on elena's blog, i knew this one would be a top contender. i had purchased three skeins of this yarn a couple of years ago with the intention of making myself a cabled earflap hat. well, clearly that didn't happen, but it turned out to be the perfect yarn for this pattern (i only used two skeins, so if anyone has a suggestion for what to do with 87 yards of this, i'm all ears!). when first casting on, it seemed like this yarn would be pretty nubby, but it knit up quite evenly and i think the dimple pattern is the perfect compliment for the slight variegation in color and slight nubbiness. in fact, the only downside to this hat is that it's too bulky to fit under my bike helmet!

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pattern: dimple hat, by whitney van nes {from the purl bee}
yarn: nashua handknits natural focus ecologie wool
needles: size 7 circular
modifications: i only cast on 78 sts to account for the difference in yarn weights from what the pattern called for.

{more details on ravelry}

thoughts for a monday evening

2011-03-14T20:07:00.001-05:00

::this weekend, i made pretzels. and, well, they were pretty much amazing. and they only lasted a day, which can only mean one thing...i must make more. they were the rye pretzels from good to the grain, which i checked out from the library a few weeks ago, but had to return before i was able to make any of the recipes. i got enough of a look at it to know that it's totally worth buying, but until that happens, i photocopied a few recipes to try out. these pretzels were absolutely delicious and so easy to make. while they were in progress, i was thinking that they were supposed to be a bit doughier and i was worried that mine would be too tough, but they were really just right. they're not supposed to be that doughy. i had intended to make this mustard to accompany the pretzels, but didn't get around to it in time. i think i'll start it tonight so it'll be ready by the time i make more pretzels.

::it's time to get back on the bike. it's supposed to hit fifty this week and despite (or maybe because of) the ginormous puddles everywhere, i cannot wait to get back on two wheels. sadly, i have some painfully squeaky brakes and a rusty chain. i think i'll hobble my way through this week of commuting and then bring it in for a nice professional overhaul this weekend. can't wait to have that baby tuned up and riding smooth.

::speaking of spring, it's hard to believe that it'll be here next week! i was so deeply in love with winter this year, that it's almost hard to admit that i'm starting to get excited about spring. mostly gardening, although i have barely even thought about my garden plan for the year. needless to say, i am not starting seeds early this year. i can barely keep my head above water with the projects and work i've already got happening, that i think it'll be a triumph enough to just get the garden planted and kept up.

::when i got home from work today at 5:45pm, i took freddie for a long walk all the way on the park. then, i worked on my bike in the garage for a while, and then got distracted chipping away at the ice that's built up in the garage. and all that time it was light out and i wasn't even wearing a hat or gloves. insanity.

that's the word around these parts. i've got some crafty updates to share and maybe even an actual recipe or two. this is a crazy busy week, and then i'm on spring break with my parents visiting for half of next week, but i'm hoping to pop in here at least once in the next week to share some fun stuff.
xo

finding focus

2011-03-09T18:47:00.001-06:00

a few weeks ago, i found myself at the dog park with freddie. i feel so fortunate that we have this space so close to us where we can let freddie run free and swim (in warmer times), and where we can take a nice, long, quiet walk. even though it's beautiful in the summer, i especially love going there in the winter. it's stark, and quieter still than in other seasons (with only the more hardcore dog owners making braving the cold and snow and icy paths to make their appearances).

despite how much i love going there, and despite how much i love taking photos there, i find myself taking the same photos over and over again. i find this especially true in the winter, when it is so stark and there's less variety in the landscape.

so there i was, on a medium cold saturday afternoon, and wanting to finish my roll of film. i lifted the camera to take a photo of bare tree branches and practically recoiled. i've taken this shot time and time again. so i decided to focus. to limit myself. inspired by shari's water's edge project a few years ago, i made a rule to only take photos of the water's edge. (or ice's edge, in some cases). i noticed many things that i might otherwise have overlooked, and i found a focus. sometimes, it's good to just shoot photos willy nilly. but sometimes, you need a focus to help you see something new and break out of the rut.

a quilt, and a winner

2011-03-08T18:55:00.000-06:00

i'm pretty sure i promised to show off my quilt last week, so here it is! this is an adaptation of the stacked coins quilt in Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts. i didn't really follow the instructions that closely mostly because (a) i wanted to make a queen sized quilt, and (b) i wanted to use up a lot of my own fabric scraps, none of which were as wide as the pattern suggests they should be. (though it was totally worth it, as all of the fabric for the strips was from my stash!) also, i completely fudged the whole "squaring up" thing to make the coin strips even. and i added a coin strip to the back. but it all seems to have worked out. so far.

at this point, the quilt is taped to my living room floor and i'm almost done basting it. and then, the looong hand quilting process begins. i wasn't sure how to quilt it, but i had a friend over last weekend who suggested overlapping squares, which i think will look really awesome. it'll accent the coin stacks without taking away from them.

the most exciting thing about this quilt is that it is for us. that's right, i won't have to ship it off somewhere when it's complete. i'll just pull it out of the dryer and head straight to our bedroom. to say i'm excited about sleeping under this baby is an understatement.

------------------------------------

also, don't think i forgot about my blog birthday giveaway! thank you all so much for sharing why you stop over here to visit. i really enjoyed reading your comments and i'm glad to know that you all like the variety of topics and my ramblings :). so, without further ado....the random number generator revealed #5, shari as the winner! i'll be sure to come up with something good for you!

recent inspiration

2011-03-04T15:17:00.000-06:00

recently, i've been discovering (or, re-discovering in some cases) some very inspiring blogs and other places around the internets and i thought i'd share them with you all. even though i love the blogs i read, sometimes i feel like it's been forever since i've found something new. so it's like a burst of energy to be finding all these new, or new-to-me, places recently.

in no particular order, here are a few of my recent favorites:

:: food in jars makes me want to get canning right away (too bad it'll be months before there's anything to can!)

:: the new home economics i was psyched to realize that this awesome blog is written by a nearby neighbor of mine! always happy to discover like-minded folks who are close-by. and check out her garden plan, it's so inspiring!

:: wolfie and the sneak i think i discovered renee on etsy a couple of years ago and definitely remember following her on flickr, but somehow the links got lost in the shuffle. i'm happy to have rediscovered her blog and am really looking forward to following her gardening/homesteading posts.

:: jenna rose journal i'm not sure now how i found jenna rose, but i'm so glad i did. i really love her designs and screenprinted fabrics. i'm hoping she'll start selling fabric by the yard soon (though I really need more fabric like a hole in the head). jenna rose is also a member of the recently formed beehive craft collective which is totally making me wish i lived in ontario. so inspiring!

:: denise holmes sketchbook i just love her super sweet illustrations.

:: the purl bee mini quilt series the purl bee is by no means new to me, but i'm loving their new monthly mini-quilt series! i really want to make the courthouse steps blocks...maybe as a potholder or pillow?

:: a little while ago, i joined pinterest, which i have found to be a really wonderful way to catalog a lot of these recent visual inspirations. you can follow my boards here (and you can even get a sneak peek of some of my wedding ideas! don't worry, the wedding chatter will probably be picking up here on the blog before too long- less than nine months to go!)

also, thanks for all of your sweet comments about the blog birthday, i really love reading the different reasons why you all stop by here. don't forget to leave a comment before monday and I'll pick a giveaway winner on monday. have a great weekend friends!

happy birthday to the ol' blog

2011-03-02T07:06:00.001-06:00

last week marked the fourth birthday of this little blog! i know, it's just crazy talk. i'm pretty sure i write this every year (and i'm actually pretty sure that i write that every year), but i can still remember sitting on the couch in our old apartment starting up this blog thing and having absolutely no idea of the journey it would lead me on. most importantly, having absolutely no idea of all of the lovely people it would lead me to. {that would be all of you}.

it has changed my life, literally

and to thank you, well one of you, for being such an amazing piece of this journey, i'm doing my annual blog birthday giveaway! i don't yet know what i'll be giving away, but it will be good. (and i promise to try to mail it sooner than i did last year, sorry claire!).

as you may have noticed, things have been a bit quiet here lately. largely because life, work mostly, has been so draining lately, but also because i'm in a period of just not knowing exactly what to share here. so, if you would, leave a comment before next monday (3/7) telling me what you like best about this blog and what you'd like to see more of in the future. this is not just me fishing for compliments, i really want to hear what you like reading/seeing here. is it the recipes, the craftyness, the photos, the ramblings? why do you take a few precious moments from your day to come here and look around? i'd like to know. i'll pick a random winner on monday.

thank you for being here. again.

a bread story, of sorts.

2011-02-28T20:04:00.000-06:00

Persistence it what it's all about. Yesterday I failed two loaves of bread. When I say fail, I mean fail. You see, I'd been making Molly's Oatmeal Sandwich Bread (pictured above, with the addition of some seeds) almost every weekend since she posted that recipe. It's good. Really good. But it was time for a change. A couple of weeks ago, I tried making some wheat berry bread. Fail. It was a recipe from The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook that I had been meaning to try for a while, but would never remember it in time to soak the wheat berries overnight. Two weekends ago, I remembered. Wheat berries were soaked, recipe was followed. Fail. I don't know if it was the recipe's fault or mine. You see, I was not instructed to cook the wheat berries, merely soak them. So they were still relatively hard and an unpleasant surprise whenever I bit into one, which was often.

Back to the Oatmeal Sandwich Bread. Then, a few weeks ago, Natalie recommended Simply in Season. I immediately requested it from the library and have been pretty enthralled. Being that we're heavily in Winter right now, I was looking for some cooking inspiration. On Sunday morning, my eyes ran across a recipe for Whole Wheat Flax Bread and I knew it was just what I wanted. Whole wheat, flax, sunflower seeds, poppy seeds, honey, yum. Everything was going just dandy, until it came out of the oven. It was stuck to the pan. Really stuck. Oof. Jared and I managed to get it out, and it completely fell apart. Oof. Also, there was a whole in the middle of the loaf. (Why does that happen, anyone? I remember it happening occasionally when I worked at the bakery, but I don't remember the cause.)

So there I was, miss grumpypants. Later in the afternoon, I decided to have another go at it. Of course, I had used up all my ground flax on the first loaf so I was forced to try something else. I went back to the recipe that had previously been the standby before I switched to the Oatmeal Bread. A basic honey wheat that I had found through Melissa. I had never had great success with this recipe, but it had done its job. While I was kneading it, something definitely seemed off. The dough was tough and very small. But on I pressed. By the time the first rise was supposed to be completed, it had barely grown. I tried moving it onto the radiator for another half-hour, but still nothing. So there I was. Defeated. No bread to show for myself. But one loaf that had fallen apart and was destined to become bread crumbs, and a second piece of dough that was headed for the freezer in the hopes that someday it will make a decent pizza crust. (I'm opting to leave out the part of the story where Freddie somehow knocked the destroyed loaf of bread off the counter in the hopes of making it his own. He was caught).

Currently, I have another attempt at the Whole Wheat Flax Bread rising (let's cross our fingers). And I've got a rye sourdough starter bubbling away waiting for the weekend. So there you go. Persistence, right? And a very long story about bread.

weekend happymaking

2011-02-21T15:26:00.000-06:00

i meant to get over here on friday for some friday happymaking, but i worked late and the evening just got the better of me. i had (am still having) an awesome weekend and hope you did too (and that you're enjoying your bonus day today if you've got one!). here are a few things making me happy this weekend...

:: we hosted a live performance in our living room on saturday featuring our friends, The Blind Shake, and it was broadcast on our other friend's internet radio station, Misplaced Music. jared recorded the performance and it should be archived on the website soon. i love having talented friends!

:: speaking of saturday night, i made this skillet chocolate chip cookie and these vanilla bean cupcakes with chocolate ganache. so. good.

:: i also got finally got around to preserving some meyer lemons that my friend brought me straight from her mom's tree in california. can't wait for some limoncello and morrocan preserved lemons. yum.

:: the new 3191Q arrived and i am in love. i just used maria's recipe for a steep and took a luxurious afternoon bath. i'm also planning to make stephanie's split pea soup with barley and lemon tonight. (and that soup goes toward my february goal of using what i've got, sweet!). if you don't already subscribe to this lovely publication, i highly recommend it.

:: speaking of baths, our bathroom is done! well, about 90%. i think jared and i are going to be the cleanest people around because we just want to keep taking showers. i cannot tell you how wonderful it is to not have to go down to the freezing basement. and i am so grateful to our friend who did such an awesome job on it. (more talented friends!)

:: i finished my quilt top and back and cannot wait to show you later this week. i'm really happy with how it's turned out so far, and am so grateful to a few flickr friends for kicking my butt into gear so i'd actually get it done! now onto the quilting, which (as i know from experience) will take quite a while.

:: snow! i know, i know, you think i'm crazy. we got about a foot of snow yesterday and it's still coming down. even though i was grateful for the warm weather last week, i'm glad winter's not quite over yet.

so, friends, what's making you happy this week{end}?

a winter walk

2011-02-16T18:44:00.000-06:00

even though it's absolutely balmy outside today (51 degrees, people!), i'm under no illusions that winter is over yet. in fact, given how deeply in love i've fallen with winter this year, i've even been feeling guilty for so enjoying this little break in the cold. how nice it's been to wear just a few less layers. to have some of the ice on the roads melt, allowing me to get back on my bike, to test out my new spring coat, and to not just completely freeze every time i go outside. it has been nice. and even though i'm excited for spring (must get on that seed order!), i'm still not quite ready yet. maybe i'm just ready for late winter.

but before we get to ahead of ourselves, i just wanted to share with you this winter walk. despite my brave attempts at winter biking, after taking a few tumbles on the ice last month i decided to pack it in until the roads were safer. being the one car family that we are, i've been mostly walking to and from work since then.

it's about a thirty minute walk, and i'm lucky to get to spend about half of it on an off-street path (the same path that i bike on). i like to pass the walking time by listening to some of my favorite podcasts: the moth, radiolab, and spilled milk. i highly recommend all of them and i often find myself laughing hysterically while passersby must think i'm insane. i've really enjoyed this quiet time each day- in the mornings it's so nice to have a bit of time to myself and get some fresh air and exercise before i enter the office for eight hours, and in the afternoons it's a nice release after what has been a few months of stressful, busy workdays.

in the winter when it's so darn cold, it's easy to just hibernate and not get outside. i'll admit that i've often wished that i didn't have to go to work, just because i didn't want to walk there. but in the end, i'm so glad i have this excuse to breathe that invigorating cold air, move my body, and appreciate the beauty of winter.

two inspiring winter walks: martha & shari

weekending

2011-02-14T08:20:00.000-06:00

good morning friends! so it seems that i've fallen into a once a week/monday posting schedule. i keep trying to make it back here before the weeks end, but somehow it just doesn't happen. i guess my days are just packed now. anyways, i'm trying to carve out some time to be here more regularly, because i do actually have things to share.

this weekend was definitely packed. jared and i each made lists and i'm happy to report that i crossed off almost everything on mine (his was a different story, but that's okay). and there's nothing more satisfying than Getting Stuff Done, right? (and crossing things off lists is pretty nice too, yeah?).

Here's what I got done:
:: 5 loads of laundry
:: a little closet clean out (complete with new wood hangers from a nice friend!)
:: repotted a whole slew of plants (boy did that make me excited for gardening!)
:: a whole bunch of handwashing of tights and woolens
:: stole away a few moments to work on my second sock
:: fixed a few pairs of jared's pants, a shirt and two sweaters
:: spent some time in the kitchen (tried a new bread recipe, pancakes, apple muffins, and made veggie burgers for the first time)
:: went to ikea for some much needed basics (dishtowels! shower curtain for our almost-finished bathroom--check out that sink! and tile!)
:: took advantage of the crazy warm weather and went for a beautiful sunday afternoon walk with jared and freddie
:: helped jared rearrange our living room for a little performance we're hosting this weekend.
:: and a little bit of wedding stuff, checked of the list!

phew. needless to say, i'm not really ready to go back to work this morning. i might need some more coffee.

{ps: this photo was my habit entry for yesterday, don't forget to check me, along with some other wonderful guests, out there this month. it's been a joy to participate!}

an interlude

2011-02-07T18:19:00.000-06:00

I took a little break after I completed my first sock to work on a little side project (and to give my hands a break from the size zero needles- how many times do I need to mention that here? a lot apparently!). This project was one that I'd been wanting to do for quite some time, especially since I already had a bit of yarn in my stash that was just perfect for it. It's a wee set of dishcloths for washing dishes! We wash all our dishes by hand here (we still haven't even tested out our dishwasher after living here for over a year!) and even though we've been using "ecofriendly sponges," I wanted something even more sustainable. Hence, the handknitted, reusable cloths.

I didn't use a pattern for these- I just cast on about 31 stitches (you'll notice that one is larger and one is smaller, and two are just right...I was experimenting) and knit seed stitch (K1P1) until it measured an approximate square. I used two colors of Rowan Handknit DK Cotton in my stash (this must be leftover from a project of my mom's- otherwise I have no idea where it came from) on size 6 needles. {on ravelry, here}

Stephanie shared these instructions for a dish scrubby over on 3191 a while ago and depending on how these work out, I might try to make one or two that way as well. I love how she wrote that it brings her pleasure to make "simple and useful things." I feel the same way and am working on completing a lot of those simple, useful projects around the house that I've been putting off for a while (remember the oven mitts? check).

Part of the reason I wanted to make these is that I've been on a major anti-plastic kick lately. I've been trying to eliminate as much plastic as I can for a while now, but I just discovered a new website recently which re-ignited my crusade (I found it via this post). Claire has also been a great motivator, and if you're not a knitter or sewist, she's got a genius kitchen set in her shop with cloth napkins, cloth produce bags, and knit dishcloths. I could go on for pages about things I'm trying to do to cut down on the plastic, but I'm afraid I'd bore you all to tears (and I've already managed to go on for quite a while here about some dishcloths that didn't even have a pattern!). Maybe I'll save some of those ideas for a later post, but for now, I'm heading back to the second sock...

hello february

2011-02-01T18:46:00.001-06:00

Normally, February is not my favorite month. Each year, I devise a strategy to get through the February funk. But this year, I am all about February. In fact, inspired by Shari, I'm making a little list for this second month of the year...

:: go ice skating (we tried and failed twice this past weekend and will succeed!) and maybe even snowboarding!
:: finish sewing a quilt top
:: start a book (i've already read one book this year!)
:: load my new yashica mat and take it out for a spin
:: spend some quality time with friends
:: cook from the pantry, inspired by molly. (i stole this one straight from shari)

I think this is a pretty manageable list for a short month. What's on your February list?

a few bits

2011-01-31T19:19:00.001-06:00

Hello friends! We're getting a nice new blanket of snow here today and even though Jared keeps saying that he thought winter was over and wondering why winter isn't over yet, I'm secretly loving this. Sure the shoveling is getting old and I'm a bit exhausted after my 30 minute trudge home from work each day, but something inside me is comforted by the cold and the snow. Maybe it just fuels my desire to cozy up indoors? I've started sewing my quilt top and have finished the first of my socks. I'm taking a quick break before starting the second one (my hands need a rest from the size zero needles!) to work on some cotton dishcloths, which should provide some instant gratification before starting in on the next sock.

I also wanted to share a couple of pieces of fun news with you today.
:: Meg is spending some time in Hawai'i and has asked some of us midwestern ladies to share some of our favorite things about winter. You can find my guest post from the northcountry here. (and I share my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe...the perfect remedy for those winter blues!)

:: I am beyond thrilled to be joining the ladies over at habit during the month of February! I'm sure you're all familiar with this lovely little spot by now (this is their third year already!) but it's definitely one that I've been admiring since the beginning. I hope you'll pop in and check it out, I'm happy to be in the company of some wonderful friends (including mama-to-be abby!)

I hope you're all staying warm and cozy these days!
xo

oh hello there

2011-01-24T18:40:00.001-06:00

Hi friends,
I didn't realize that I'd been gone from here for a whole week. Sometimes when I'm constantly checking in with all of you, I forget that I've not posted anything myself. My days have been pretty full over here...between work, getting a new bathroom, stealing away moments to work on my socks, prepping a quilt, moving along nicely on wedding planning, and just trying to stay on top of life on a daily basis I realized that I've only shot one roll of film in the past few weeks. Crazy. {I'm hoping to pick that up tomorrow, so I'll have something new to share with you all}

In the meantime, these are some shots from back in November of a very delicious meal I made for Jared and myself. It consisted of the no-knead bread from the NY Times, pumpkin soup, and an apple galette. I made a loaf of this bread yesterday along with Molly's Ed Fretwell Soup from A Homemade Life. Sadly, there was no apple galette to finish that meal off.

A few inspirations that I've come across recently:
:: I love the styling (and the offerings) in the trampoline etsy shop
:: these pancakes look delicious, maybe I'll try them this weekend...
:: this blog makes me want to fill my house with even more plants
:: the seed savers exchange catalog arrive recently, i'm dreaming of gardening already.
:: hello handmade valentines are here!
:: winterness. enough said
:: erin's liberty quilt.
:: jen's uv+ impossible project polaroids

what have you all been up to lately?

some more knitting (and the giveaway winner)

2011-01-17T14:30:00.000-06:00

Hi friends! I thought I'd share some more of my recent knitting with you all today. This might be the last finished knitting work that you see here for a while since my current project (the socks) is taking for.ever. These are two relatively quick projects that I had been saving in my ravelry queue for quite some time and that I finally completed in the last couple weeks. Coincidentally, they were both knitted with some Jamieson's yarn that my mom gave me (which I think a friend gave her). The first project was the Dandy Neckerchief, which I've pretty much been wearing nonstop since I finished it a few weeks ago. This pattern was much easier to follow than I had expected and I really enjoyed working on it. I'm not 100% sure how you're supposed to wear this, but I'm going with the bandit look. Feel free to share any styling suggestions :) {details on ravelry, here}.

The second project that I completed in the first week of the new year were the Bella's Mittens. This was another project that shocked me in how fast they came together. I got a little scared off by the magic loop cast on, but ended up just knitting the entire mitten on double pointed needles and it was fine. Despite the bulky wool I used for these, I think they're still more of a fall/early spring mitten. I tried wearing them out last weekend after I finished them and my fingers were freezing after a two block walk. Oh well, I'm excited to wear them when it's not insanely freezing out. {details on ravelry, here}

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And...without further ado, the winner of the More Last Minute Knitted Gifts giveaway is Julie! The random number generator picked number 1! (Julie, please send me your address). Thanks to all of you for commenting, I wish I had a copy to send to each and every one of you. Stay tuned, though, I'll be having another book giveaway in a couple of weeks...

some goals for the new year (including not turning into a crazy person)

2011-01-14T17:58:00.002-06:00

last year i posted a list of my crafty goals for the year and, well, let's just say i didn't do the best job fulfilling them. the one goal that i did succeed the most at was making time to be creative everyday. sometimes that creativity took place in the kitchen, sometimes it was behind a camera, but over the course of last year it most often involved knitting needles. (also, to give myself due credit, i did keep my stationery collection well-stocked and well-used).

even if i didn't manage to re-cover the plaid loveseat or hang up any of my photographs (i'm still working on that one, frames are expensive!), i am proud of the projects that i did complete (which included fourteen knitting projects!), and i'm chalking that up to a change in my priorities. when i made my list early last year, i didn't have any idea how strongly my love for knitting would be re-kindled. amanda recently wrote this ode to knitting and it really struck a chord with me. last weekend, i found myself in between knitting projects, and lacking the necessary needles to get started on my next project. people, i went a whole day without knitting a stitch and it apparently drove me batty. sometimes we just need an outlet for all that electricity that's buzzing inside of us. sometimes we need a little yarn to bring us back down to earth.

so, with the caveat that my creative interests might take me in a totally different direction as the year moves along, here are some of my crafty goals for 2011....

}knit a pair of socks. i'm already in progress with this project, so it almost feels like cheating. but who doesn't like to start a list with something that's already done, just to have something to cross off? (and for the record, these are nowhere near done. and it'll be awhile before they are, on account of the size 0 needles).

}make a pair of pants. i have been holding onto a pattern for a while now and i think this is the year to dive in. i have a few friends who i think are in it with me this year, so we'll see how it goes.

}make at least one quilt. hopefully two. i know, this sounds insane. but for this one, i really do have some friends who are in it with me and i'm actually hoping to have a quilt top completed and ready for quilting in a little over a month. wish me luck.

}get started (and hopefully finish) an alabama stitch skirt. i've ordered the fabric and am hoping to get to this as soon as the first quilt is done. i know this will take a while too, and the stitching of the skirt will be in direct competition with quilting those quilts, but we'll just have to wait and see who wins that match.

}knit a sweater for jared. he has finally agreed to let me knit him a sweater! as soon as he gave in a teeny bit, i hopped on ravelry and faved six different sweaters in the style he agreed to (a zip-up cardigan). for this one, i'm hoping to at least get it started by the end of the year, even if it's not finished.

okay, that is a whole lot of large projects. not to mention working full-time, continuing to fix up our house and starting to think about my garden for this year, and planning that wedding (which of course will have its own set of crafty projects too!). so, i'm well aware that not all of these will get done, but thinking about them (and starting at least some of them) makes me happy. the important thing is not to let the things that make you happy stress you out and to let go of what you know you just can't do. otherwise, you turn into a crazy person. and no one wants that.

And don't forget, there's still time to enter the giveaway for More Last Minute Knitted Gifts. Leave a comment on my last post by Sunday at midnight and I'll announce the winner on Monday!

for {someone else's} baby and for you!

2011-01-11T19:55:00.000-06:00

In case you thought I'd had enough of knitting for children, think again. Some good friends of ours are expecting a little one at the end of next month and I was so excited to try out a couple of new patterns for him. Earlier in the fall, I was lucky enough to receive a copy of More Last Minute Knitted Gifts, the new book from Joelle Hoverson, from the very kind folks at STC Craft. As with her previous books, it's beautiful and filled with a really lovely variety of projects ranging from bookmarks and coffee cozies to adult socks and sweaters. This book, also like her previous ones, is arranged by the time it will take to complete the projects, and I must say that I've found these time frames to be quite accurate. I've already bookmarked a whole bunch of patterns that I want to make, and aside from the patterns below, I've already started on the Toe Up Socks, which I hope to have finished sometime before I die, on account of those size 0 needles...

Since I found out that our friends were expecting, I had planned to make something (obviously), but of course had been putting it off. When we got the invitation in mid-December for a shower in early January, I panicked. Not enough time to make something! Oh how wrong I was, I had a whole book of last minute gifts to choose from! For this new little one, I picked out the Baby Socks and the Easy Baby Cardigan. I started with the socks so that I'd have something to bring to the shower in case I didn't finish the sweater in time, but it all came together, and with time to spare! These little socks were such a dream to knit. They are insanely adorable, simple, and so satisfying to knit since they're finished so quickly. I used the incredibly soft Sandnes Garn Alpakka and made 0-6 month and 6-9 month sizes, so his little feets can stay warm and cozy for a long time. {more info on ravelry, here}

For the sweater, I unintentionally used bulky yarn instead of worsted, but I adjusted the pattern a bit and it all ended up working out just fine. The good thing about babywear is that it doesn't really matter if it doesn't fit perfectly, and if it's too big, even better! I chose O-Wool Legacy Bulky and it was really nice to work with. I had used O-Wool once before, when making my February Lady Sweater and I was really annoyed with all the "bits" that were stuck in the yarn, so I was hesitant to try it again (I'm actually still picking "bits" out of my sweater after two years of wearing it!). Maybe the yarns have improved, because I didn't encounter any of that this time. I was a little worried about how this sweater would come together since it's all knit in one piece, and then you fold it in half and sew up the side and sleeve seams on each side. But hey, it worked! And they seriously loved it, can't wait to see the little guy in all his handknits! {more info on ravelry, here}

And finally, the part that's for you...I mentioned that STC Craft was kind enough to send me a copy of this book last fall, but they actually sent me two copies so I could share one with a lucky reader! So for all of you who are finally recovering from the holiday gift making and need some last minute ideas, just leave a comment here by midnight on Sunday and I'll announce the winner next Monday. Happy knitting!

it's been two whole years

2011-01-10T19:12:00.001-06:00

It's been two whole years since we brought this puppy into our lives. I remember vividly how I fell in love with his picture on petfinder and basically told Jared that we were going to bring him home from the adoption event. I remember how I began to get nervous as I signed the papers and then proceeded to panic once we got in the car.

Freddie...I remember how skittish you were around people for months and I remember wondering if you'd ever chill out (I still wonder that, though you have calmed down a lot). I love watching you run free and swim in the river when we take you to the dog park, I swear I can see you smiling. I love when I'm sitting on the couch and you climb up next to me and snuggle your big head in my lap and fall asleep so peacefully. I love watching Jared wrestle and play with you.

You are the perfect mixture of playful and energetic, and sweet and snuggly. And even when you eat an entire batch of my muffins off the counter top, I can't resist your face. The cuteness makes my heart explode. I can't wait to make more and more memories with our favorite puppy for many more years.

friday happymaking

2011-01-07T17:18:00.001-06:00

good afternoon friends! i realized that this "friday happymaking" is becoming a bit of a series on the ole' blog here. i think i like that. it's always nice to take a few moments to reflect on the week that's ending and what lies ahead. so, here are a few things that are making me happy this friday afternoon...

:: our bathroom renovation is underway! it's been a long time coming (well, since we moved into this house over a year ago) but pretty soon, we won't have to shower in the basement! i'm bursting with excitement.
:: we have a super fun baby shower brunch to attend tomorrow morning and i'm really happy about the cute gifts we've got for this new little man. (details next week, promise!)
:: big kitchen plans for the weekend. i'm thinking one or two soups, bread, granola, and possibly a lasagna- we're way overdue for stocking our fridge and freezer! also..something with that bag of pears i picked up from the bargain shelf- any ideas?
:: fun crafty projects in the queue. i'm dreaming of quilts, skirts, soft toys for a certain almost-one year old, socks, and a sweater for jared (he's finally agreed to let me make him one!).
:: some good work news..i've got an intern starting monday who will hopefully make my work life way easier over the next few months.
:: a certain new camera that's on it's way to me and the lovely lovely lady who sent it.
:: the new album from the decemberists (listen here for now)

okay, that's a lot of happiness for one friday afternoon...what's happymaking for you all today?

Winter Decadence

2011-01-05T18:21:00.000-06:00

I'll just get right to it...I'm pretty proud of my pantry this year. I know I need even more tomatoes because we're already getting dangerously close to the end of the crushed tomatoes and it's just barely January. Around this time last year, I vowed that "next year I'll can two bushels of tomatoes instead of just one." Well guess what, I only did one again. Oh well. Next year, right? I didn't do nearly as much jam this year, mostly because of the lack of a gigantic raspberry patch in my backyard. Though we still have more than enough to get us through the year and provide gifts for friends and family. The two additions to the pantry this year were peaches and dilly green beans, both of which have already been in heavy rotation. I should note, too, that I took this photo back in November, and the pantry already looks drastically different (especially in the peach and tomato departments).

In addition to the pantry, I also have a full freezer. This year I froze: rhubarb, strawberries, apricots, cherries, peaches, zucchini, corn, green beans. I'm hoping to freeze even more next years since we just inherited a deep freezer from Jared's parents and I can't wait to fill it up next summer! Though, to be honest, I'm a bit worried about coming up with enough stuff to freeze (you know, since we don't eat meat and that seems to be what most people around here fill their freezers with), any ideas? What do you all freeze?

In past years, I've been so stingy with using all the preserved food because I didn't want to run out before summer, only to find myself frantically using up the previous years' bounty while harvesting fresh produce in the summer. Not this year! Like I said, we've been dipping pretty heavily into the peaches and it's been such a treat. I am so happy that I frantically canned a half-bushel of these Michigan beauties in the days before leaving for our big road trip this summer (even though my mom said to me "do you really think that's what you should be doing right now?"). One of our favorite recipes lately has been this one, from VeganYumYum (I've made them with spelt and whole wheat pastry flour and they're equally delicious both ways).

Another recipe that's been eating up our peaches is my new favorite...Peach Ginger Crisp. I was trying to get all festive when Jared's brothers and their families were over for dinner in early December. I've mentioned before that our three little nephews are gluten-free and anyone who knows me knows that I'm always up for a challenge, so there we were. I started off with this recipe, resulting from a quick google search and then the modifications began...

Vegan, Gluten-Free Peach Ginger Crisp

{Note: if you're not feeling the vegan/gluten free thing, you can replace the corn flour with whole wheat pastry flour and the margarine with butter. }

Ingredients:

2 quarts canned peach slices, drained

1 tbl fresh ginger, finely chopped

1 cup plus 2 tbl corn flour (this is different than cornmeal, it's finer)

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup rolled oats (if you're going for gluten-free, make sure that the oats are gluten-free, they aren't always)

3 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 cup margarine

Preheat your oven to 375. In a 9"x13" baking dish, toss peaches, ginger, and the 2 tbl corn flour together. In a medium bowl, mix together the rest of the ingredients for the topping until it's crumbly and pour it over the top of the fruit mixture. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until the topping is slightly browned. Top with something delicious (I would suggest tempt hempmilk ice cream, or vanilla almond dream ice cream) and enjoy!

This recipe (as with most of the recipes I post here) is a total experiment and I'd really love to hear what you think if you try it out! I'm working on perfecting some of my recipes more this year and I'd be happy to hear any feedback from you all. Thanks!

Holiday Knits Re-cap

2011-01-04T20:06:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year, dear friends! I hope you all are enjoying the first few days of this bright new year. I do love how fresh and full of possibility everything seems at this time of year, don't you?

Before we get too far into this new year, though, I want to show you some of the gifts that I made over the holidays. Over the summer I decided that I was going to knit a sweater for each of our three little nephews. I didn't want them to be too matchy-matchy, so I decided to use three different patterns in different, but coordinating colors. I hemmed and hawed over which patterns to use, but eventually decided on three different ones for three unique little boys. I'm pretty proud to say that I finished these well before Christmas and the boys love them.

The first is the Fisherman's Pullover by Veera Valimaki. After completing the 2010 cardigan (and seeing this sweater on Amanda's blog) I knew this would the be the first of the three Christmas sweaters for the year. The pattern was written wonderfully, and it all came together in about two weeks (that's not accounting for the fact that I actually had to make this sweater twice since I finished it and then realized that I had knit this bulky yarn on #8 needles and it was way too stiff). I made the 6T size for a skinny, but tall almost-six year old and it seems to fit just perfectly, with a bit of room for a little growth spurt. And not that I don't want this eldest brother to fit into his auntie-made goodies for years, but at least I know that everything he receives will be loved times three! {details on ravelry here}.

The second sweater is the Runaround Raglan pullover by Sarah Fama. Another well-written and easy to follow pattern. In fact, I'd definitely recommend this for a semi-beginner knitter as the pattern really explains everything in great detail. For this sweater I used Plymouth Worsted Merino Superwash, which was a really nice yarn to work with. I made the 23" chest size, which seems big on this just-turned four-year old. In fact, it's exactly the same size as the 6T Fisherman's Pullover, except that the sleeves are a bit shorter. I'm not worried though, I'm sure this little man is about to grow a few inches, so the length shouldn't be a problem. {details on ravelry here}.

Finally, the baby of the family got the Simple Hooded Cardigan from Lion Brand Yarns. A third extremely easy and quick knit. I was so happy to find these toggle buttons in my stash, since I think they work perfectly here. I made the 18 month size for this 8 month old guy and I'm hoping he'll still be wearing it at this time next year! {details on ravelry here}.

I'm so happy I decided to do this for my favorite little boys, and I can totally see making this a tradition each year. Well, at least for as long as they're entertained by handmade sweaters for Christmas (after all, I do want to maintain my status as the cool aunt, don't I?)...

52 weeks later

2010-12-31T14:20:00.002-06:00

6:52

14:52

17:52

18:52

22:52

26:52

36:52

39:52

41:52

44:52

50:52

52:52

Hello dear friends!

I just snapped the last of my 52 weeks self-portraits and am having trouble fathoming that it's been one full year since I embarked on this project. As usual, on one hand it feels like it was just last week that I vowed to get over my chronic head tilt, and on the other hand so many days have passed since the click of my camera on that first day.

In all, I am very very glad to have done this project. I'll admit that in the past couple of months I began to grow tired of it, and that there were definitely weeks that I didn't know what to do and snapped a photo in the bathroom mirror. That said, there are many photos that I am truly proud of and these fifty two photos of myself (along with the occasional special guest, and not to mention all the outtakes...oh the outtakes!) are a chronicle of this year I could never have created through other means.

Thank you to all of you who supported me in embarking on this project, and who have sent me kind and thoughtful comments on it throughout the year. Truly, your support has kept me going. When I thought my photo was a bust and was bordering on re-taking it (but often didn't out of sheer stinginess with my polaroid film!), so often your sweet words encouraged me. And when I was proud of a photo and felt that it offered a true portrayal of me in that week of this year, you were right there with me in my excitement. Above are a few of my favorite shots from throughout the year, you can find the entire set here.

I hope all of you and your loved ones have a safe, joyful, and beautiful new year. Thank you for joining me in this space for another year and I can't wait to take you with me on the journey of the year to come.

xo
Julia

welcome winter

2010-12-22T10:16:00.000-06:00

happy winter! of course, it's felt like winter for quite some time here, but i'm glad it's finally here. i'm always sad to say goodbye to fall, my favorite season, but seeing as it's been quite wintery here since before thanksgiving, the official-ness of the passing of seasons is feeling good to me these days. i had a little visit from the mayor of winter yesterday and we officially handed off the traditional snowball :). i really like this little ritual we've created here.

i've been busy busy busy over here with finishing up work last week, jared's family being in town, and getting ready for some holiday celebrations. i've finished all my shopping and making (well, most of the making) for the year, and just about all of the cards are out in the mail. that's a good feeling. i can't wait to share with you all the goodies i've been making, and i have a few goodies for you all too!

these are some more photos from the park by our house after last weekend's blizzard. jared and i could barely walk, there was so much snow! for now, i'm going to enjoy a quiet day at home, knitting some baby socks for a friend's soon-to-be new little one. i hope you're all enjoying the beginning of winter. xo

13 december

2010-12-13T09:01:00.000-06:00

good morning, friends. well, that was a longer break than i intended! i was under the weather last week and spent most of this past weekend dealing with a massive snowstorm that came through minneapolis. despite the chaos that has ensued, it was pretty awesome. the thick blanket of snow is making me so happy right now. and, i've got a day off because of it, which is pretty darn awesome if you ask me.

despite the excitement of a snow day, though, i'll admit that i am starting to get a bit of cabin fever. i actually am sitting down now to make a list of projects to work on so i don't just end up on the couch watching alias all day (which also might happen). here's a few ideas for a snowy day...

} make lotion (i did lip balm last weekend- will share the results soon!)
} call a friend who's only available during the daytime
} write holiday cards and put together care packages
} knitting (obviously)
} cut out paper snowflakes out of parchment paper
} bake brownies
} clean up my studio and dream about new projects
} repot houseplants

okay, well, i think i've got my work cut out for me! hope you all have a great day.

hello december

2010-12-02T19:49:00.002-06:00

these photos were taken in northern minnesota on thanksgiving morning- during our eight hour driving extravaganza!

hi there friends. how are you today? i've been feeling quiet these past few days, but wanted to pop in here and say hello. yesterday was a busy day and i missed what apparently became a tradition over the past two december firsts...a self portrait in my backyard (you can see them here, and here). the weather yesterday was definitely more like 2008 than 2009- snowy and cold!

hanukkah began last night and jared and i had a quiet evening at home and lit the candles. this weekend, we'll have his brothers and their families over for latkes and i'm really hoping to teach the little boys how to play dreidel (gotta start collecting all my pennies!)

speaking of the holidays, i've been making some good progress on my big sweater project (one for each of our three nephews- almost two down!) and i'm hoping to squeeze a few more presents out in the next couple of weeks. our annual "secret snowflake" and gift exchange is coming up at my office and i need to start collecting a few small gifts to leave on my snowflake's desk throughout the week...do you have any good ideas? i'm thinking of tea, soaps, candles, hot cocoa mix, little notebooks...

tonight, we're heading out to see some music. even though it's cold and dark outside and i'd be perfectly fine cozying up at home with some tea and knitting, we're trying to make an effort to go out more. so we're going out. and i know it'll be nice. hope you have a great evening, friends.

just to let you know, i've decided to extent the 15% off and free shipping in my shop through the end of the year. i've really enjoyed the few items that i've been able to pick up from other talented folks' shops this season, and i'm grateful for the opportunity to share my work with you all.

27 november

2010-11-27T06:43:00.000-06:00

hi friends! i hope all you who celebrated had a lovely thanksgiving. we spent far too much time in the car, but had a great time (even though my camera broke about three songs into jared's show on wednesday night-crap!) seeing friends and family and eating lots of amazing food. it appears winter is here- yesterday as i sat on the couch finishing up the first of three holiday sweaters for my nephews (gotta get used to saying my nephews instead of jared's nephews- it's hard after five years!), i saw two cross country skiiers pass by in the park. i also saw about eleven bikers, though, so go figure!

this weekend we're laying low. going to be super early, cleaning up the house, getting some errands done, lots of knitting, and having some friends over for breakfast tomorrow. i think i'll make a tofu scramble and these pumpkin muffins. (i've never made it as muffins, but i can't imagine why that wouldn't work, right? and i always throw in a handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips too, yum).

speaking of which, i'd better take that jar of pumpkin puree out of the freezer! do you guys do that? just cut a pumpkin in half, scoop out the insides put the halves face down on a lightly oiled pan and roast at 350 for about and hour (or until soft). then pull the peels off (they come off easily) and puree the pulp. you can do this in a food processor or just mash with a fork. while you're doing that, wash the seeds off, toss with some olive oil, salt, and pepper and throw them in the oven for about 15 minutes for a delicious snack. freeze the puree in pint jars and you'll always have some pumpkin on hand for baking or soup emergencies!

also- as a little extra gift to all my friends, i'll be offering 15% all purchases in my shop through monday (free shipping still applies as well!). just enter the code "FRIENDS" when you checkout and you're all set!

if any of you are in the rochester, ny area this weekend, you should totally head over to second storie! my good friend shanna is one of the organizers so you know it's going to be amazing, wish i could be there too!

hope you all enjoy the rest of your long weekends. xo

in thanksgiving

2010-11-24T14:50:00.000-06:00

these days i am thankful for so many things. i am thankful for my family and friends. i am thankful for my job, and how hard everyone works to serve the children and families who walk through our doors. i am thankful for the earth, and the farmers who bring food to our tables. i am thankful for the opportunity to be creative every day. i am thankful for the support of all of you out there, {especially with my shop opening on monday!}. i am thankful for our home, our dog, and i am thankful that i get to share my days with the love of my life.

{and i'm thankful for the 110 flower bulbs that my mom bought for me in the netherlands!}

wishing you and your families the happiest of thanksgivings. much love.

julia

shoppy shop

2010-11-22T17:56:00.001-06:00

hi friends! just wanted to pop in here and let you all know that the shop has been updated with card sets, pocket notebooks, zipper pouches, and one precious pair of oven mitts. like i said, there may be another update before the holidays, but this could be it, so snag something if you like. also, i'm offering free shipping until next monday (november 29), so be sure to take advantage of that if you're interested.

thank you all SO much for your support, it means the world to me!
xo

------------------------------
a few other exciting things out there today:
} shanna's beautiful new stationery line (and the hello handmade paperie feature in rue magazine)
} herriot grace rolling pins at shop terrain
} mr. peder emil!
} alyson+dlb+one!
} sneak peek of water, paper, paint!
} the oh bara winter shop (i snagged the magpie cards!)