Visit Washington

Posted on February 28, 2011 by Becky

Derek has another print for sale! He’ll design Oregon next, then maybe Idaho, then if we’re lucky he’ll do all the states and make a full postcard set available for us to buy. My fingers are crossed. (Click here to check out this 11″ x 17″ print on Etsy.)

Featuring Bigfoot, George Washington, Mt. Rainier, and the official Washington State bird, the Willow Goldfinch.

P.S. After months of subtle hints, Derek has finally agreed to design our Save the Date cards and Invitations. I might be more excited about that then anything else to do with the wedding.

Steve owes me $760.

Posted on February 25, 2011 by Becky

Steve and I made a big kid purchase for our apartment – a brand spanking new couch. We knew that we didn’t want a used couch (I love antique or even used furniture as long as it doesn’t involve fabric. I lived in NYC 12 months too many to not be scarred forever by the thought of bed bugs.), and that we had $500 to spend on it. Obviously that dollar amount seriously limits things, particularly if you don’t want microfiber, pleather, or crazy amounts of the 90′s thrown up all over your couch. What it came down to is that we could take our pick from the two couches at Ikea that were priced at $500 or below. Not very exciting, I know. But on our way down to the Ikea in Tukwila a few Saturday’s ago, we decided to stop by a couple of the furniture warehouses in the area. JACKPOT. We came across this bad boy at the Macy’s Furniture Gallery and were intrigued right away. Originally $1,260 on sale for $500, and only because of one small little hole on the bottom. Yes, that’s right. My sewing skillz saved us $760. Hot damn.

The supplies.

Would it have been our first or second choice for a color? Probably not. But the quality is way better than an Ikea couch would have been, and it’s big enough to sleep on comfortably for when we have guests in town. It’s a win-win, really.

Every time Steve sits on the couch he puts $10 in a jar. When he gets up to $760 I’ll probably let him lay down on it. Maybe.

Fun tip: After I finished hand sewing the hole shut, I went over the top of the stitches with clear nail polish to (hopefully) insure that they won’t ever come loose.

Disclaimer: I am not an expert. I have no idea if that actually works or not.

The view from Space.

Posted on February 23, 2011 by Becky

As I mentioned briefly on Friday, Steve and I had some friends come to town last weekend. We did a ton of touristy things, and luckily for everyone involved, the weather was absolutely gorgeous. I wish I could take credit for the following photos, but let’s be honest. Nobody would believe me. My friends Matt and Sarah have a camera lens the size of a 3 month old baby. Or an adult sized thigh. Or a rolled sleeping bag. Or. You get the idea. Their camera takes beautiful photos anyway, but the ones from the top of the Space Needle turned out downright impressive. Thanks Matt for lending your skillz to the blog.

Disclaimer: I know this has nothing to do with anything I made or wore or created. I mean I didn’t even take the photos. But I like Seattle and I want you to like Seattle too.

Vegetarian cooking

Posted on February 22, 2011 by Becky

Personally, I’m not too into cookbooks that don’t have any photos. They drive me nuts. For that reason, as well as because of the fact that 9 out of 10 times I prefer the vegetarian option when choosing a meal to eat or make, this is one of my all time favorite cookbooks. Each step and each ingredient is accompanied by a photo.

I failed to snap any photos of the finished product, so you’ll have to believe me when I say that it was delicious.

Fun tip: I couldn’t find the pine nuts at the Safeway I went to and since I was in a hurry, I opted for the shelled sunflower seeds instead. They weren’t as satisfying as pine nuts would have been, but it was a pretty good, and far less expensive, substitute.

Fun fact: I got this cook book in 2002 as a high school graduation gift from the family I used to babysit for.

Mac and Cheese

Posted on February 21, 2011 by Becky

A couple of weeks ago, Steve and I made dinner for his parents. Steve was in charge of the main course and let me tell you, this macaroni and cheese is de.li.cious. Check check check out the recipe here.

And I was in charge of the dessert. I went with something simple and semi-healthy – Angel Food cake with strawberries and whipped cream on top. Note to self, if it looks like this in your cake pan before it’s baked, it is too full and will explode all over the inside of your future parents-in-laws’ oven. Oops.

We ate it anyway. And I made sure they smiled the entire time.

FRIDAY.

Posted on February 18, 2011 by Becky

There have been very few weekends that I’ve been this excited for. Why, you might be dying to know? It’s been a l.o.n.g. week, it’s a three day weekend, Steve and I have friends coming to Seattle to stay with us and lastly, and obviously most importantly – I just bought an armoire for all of my sewing stuff and I’m so excited to organize it I can hardly stand it. Seriously, how I’m going to get through today is beyond me. Wine and a string of 80′s movies is everyone’s ideal Friday night, right?

The view of Mt. Rainier on my way to work. <Sigh> I do love Seattle.

Book Club: #1

Posted on February 18, 2011 by Becky

I’m not actually in a book club. I thought it was important to clear that up right away. I do read a lot though (one instance where I am indeed very thankful for the bus), and just in case anyone might be interested in what I consider a ‘good read’, I thought I’d post them here on the ol’ blog.

I’m going to start off with The Help. I know, I know. Everyone is reading or has read that book. Well let me tell you, there’s a reason for it. It is by far one of the best books I have ever read. Did I mention I read a lot? Seriously – Top 5. It’s set in Mississippi in 1962 and is told from the perspective of a wealthy white woman and two of her friends’ black maids. I’m not going to say anything else about it.

Except that it’s beautifully written.

And laugh out loud funny.

And terribly depressing.

And uplifting.

Go now. Read it. If my mom says it’s okay you can even borrow the copy she lent me. Just kidding. I don’t know you well enough for that. But if you do read it, let me know what you think! And then maybe I’ll respond. And then maybe you can borrow the next book. Baby steps, okay?

Mini Funfetti cupcakes!

Posted on February 16, 2011 by Becky

Okay, so maybe this isn’t the most sophisticated dessert I’ve ever made. But they sure are delicious. Like little bite size pieces of heaven. The fun twist with these is that because of Valentine’s Day, and because I’m awesome, I added pink and red heart-shaped sprinkles to the vanilla frosting. Jealous?

Wedding Capelets

Posted on February 15, 2011 by Becky

A bride-to-be contacted me on Etsy and asked me to make 4 capelets to be worn by her bridesmaids.

#1. Genius idea for an early spring wedding.
#2. I was honored and excited for the challenge.

Well…to be honest, agreeing to make them probably wasn’t the best decision I’ve ever made. Not only did I seriously underestimate the time it would take to construct 8 double welts, 8 pockets, 8 lining welts, 12 buttonholes, etc., but the bridesmaids are 4 different sizes – which of course added to the initial patterning time. In a nutshell, it took a really long time and started to feel like a chore. Which is the exact opposite of how I like sewing to feel. I can’t even describe to you the pure elation I felt when I sewed on that last button. I literally jumped up and down around the apartment until Steve reminded me that we have neighbors below us.