snail mail

Does anyone else get super excited when they get mail? I love getting letters...In high school my best friends and I used to send each other mail just for fun even though we lived minutes away from each other. I like having something physical that I can hold and put away to read down the road.  The other day I got a letter in the mail from a friend I went to summer camp with years ago, and it motivated me to send out a few letters of my own...I used this as an excuse to break out my Martha Stewart glitter and some new washi tape.  Thought I might share a couple of the cards I made!

I got these pretty semi see through envelopes a while back at a paper store sale...I cut magazine clippings/fun papers to twice the size of the cards then folded them in half around the cards and slipped them into the envelopes to hide my letters and customize the envelopes.  Super easy and pretty!

Do you send letters to friends or just stick to email/facebook? I'm going to make it a goal to send one letter to a list of friends/family I don't see much before the beginning of summer...we'll see how that goes!  If you have any questions about how I did the cards pictured here just post in the comments!

(belated) easter carrot cake

This year I had grand plans to make cute carrot cake cupcakes dressed up like rabbits for Easter for everyone in my house...Lucky thing no one really pays much attention to such holidays around my house because my plans got delayed by a few days.  This weekend was beautiful, and since I had workshops both days I wanted to soak up the sun when I got out, not stay inside and bake.  The sun has since left to hide behind the clouds again, so I finally made some time to make this cake.  This is a recipe from my all time favorite cookbook, Vegan With a Vengeance.  I'm not vegan (I'm just a very undisciplined pescetarian) and I used to stay away from vegan food--especially baked goods (love me some cheese/butter/eggs/etc)...BUT, every recipe I have tried from this book has been amazing.  Also, the recipes are super easy to un-veganize if you want to do that, but that really isn't necessary.  Anyways, this is the best carrot cake I've ever had. So. Good. Click here for the recipe (or go buy the book). The only note I would make is that if you use sweetened shredded coconut (I've found it's near impossible to find unsweetened here) use a tiny bit less sugar than the recipe calls for.

Enjoy!

Anthropologie Inspired Necklace Display

I'd been meaning to make this necklace display for a while before I finally did it this Summer.  It's inspired by one they used to sell at Anthropologie (which I can't find online for the life of me...).  There are also a ton of versions being sold on Etsy.  It prevents my necklaces from becoming a tangled mess in a box somewhere and goes nicely with the earring display I made. Also, it's pretty cheap and easy to make.

You will need:
A piece of scrap wood (I got mine from the Rebuilding Center.  They have so many pretty scraps and saws for you to cut them with.)
Mismatched knobs with the backing screws to attach them--make sure the screws are the right length so they don't stick out of the back (I got mine from Hippo Hardware. There are also lots of pretty ones on Etsy and at stores like Anthro and Urban.)
A drill (I borrowed a friends tiny, cheap battery operated drill.  It took a while to make holes but worked out fine.)

If you don't want to make holes in the wall to mount it you will need: thin pieces of wood (I used popsicle sticks), wood glue and command strips.

Cut your scrap of wood to size (mine is about 10 inches long).  Drill the appropriate number of holes, making sure they are evenly spaced.  Screw in your knobs. I attached mine to the wall using the command strips that are for hanging framed pictures since I'm renting and can't make holes in the wall.  I used wood glue to attach pieces of popsicle sticks to the spots where I needed to attach the command strips (this was so the display would lay flush against the wall--attach pieces until they rise the same distance from the back of the wood as the screw heads from your knobs).  Attach your command strips and hang up your new display! Super easy.

Currently

Reading:  The Silver Linings Playbook.  I've been trying to read The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo since the end of the Summer, but no matter how hard I try I just can't seem to make myself get into it.  Anyone else feel that way about this book?  Anyways, I decided to just stop forcing it and move onto something different.  So far I'm loving this book. Also loving being able to read for pleasure now that I'm no longer reading hundreds of pages of academic literature a night!

Listening to: Lots of Camera Obscura.  I recently bought more of their music and have been listening to it non-stop.  Especially love this song.  (Also, try listening to the Camera Obscura playlist on Pandora.  So good).

Eating: Healthy.  I'm trying really hard to cook real meals rather than pasta every night. It's going ok.  I made a variation of this vegetarian chili with polenta the other night and it was really good and easy to make.

Loving: Yoga. I started going to Power Yoga at a "yoga by donation" studio downtown and I love it.  I come out feeling so productive and relaxed.  For those who live in the area, this is the one I go to.

Drinking: Specialty cocktails at Happy hour with my girlfriends.  We went to a place called Saucebox in downtown Portland twice within a week.  If you ever visit Portland definitely go for happy hour. I would recommend the Pad Thai ($4!) or Steamed Clams ($5!) to go with their "cocktail of the day".

Looking forward to:  The weekend! I have Friday off this week, so I get an extra long weekend.  Also, one of my best friends from home is visiting on Sunday.  Can't wait to see her and show her my city.

*inspiration for this "currently" post came from Sometimes Sweet Blog!

easiest butternut squash soup

Hello friends! Hope you all had a great weekend.  Mine went a little too quickly and wasn't all that productive, but I got some much needed downtime, which was nice. I mentioned in my last post that I would share a recipe for the soup that I made to go with my bread, so here it is!  I think that squash is quickly becoming one of my go-to foods.  It's so yummy and super easy to incorporate into meals. When I made this soup it was already 9:30pm (woops) and I was looking for something easy that I could make with what I had on hand.  I looked around at a few different recipes and then threw together my own simplified version...and amazingly it turned out great! Depending on how much you eat this recipe makes enough for 1-2 servings.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
Half an onion
1 clove of garlic
Half a butternut squash, cut into small cubes
3/4 cup stock (vegetable or chicken - whatever you prefer.  I used bouillon cubes to make mine)
1 cup milk or half and half (I used 2 percent milk)
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (less if you don't like it too spicy)
1/4 teaspoon dried sage
Salt and pepper to season

Heat the butter over medium heat in a saucepan.  Add the chopped onion and garlic.  Cook for around 5 minutes.  Add the spices and sage, stir for a minute or so.  Add the squash, stock, milk/half and half and a cup of water.  Let simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the squash is soft. Put in a blender and puree until smooth. I prefer a thick soup, but if it's too thick add a little more water as you blend.  Season with salt and pepper, and maybe a squirt of lemon juice.  Eat up!

One of my goals for this year was to start eating better and cooking real meals (rather than making pasta or heating up frozen food every night).  Problem is, it's a huge bummer trying to cook for one person and I really don't feel like I have that much more time to cook than I did before.  I'm trying to figure out meals that are healthy but still quick and easy to make in smaller portions...So hopefully I will be sharing more of these types of recipes on here!

rosemary wheat bread

Ever since my sophomore year  I've had the same bag of bread flour (guys, I'm graduated now...).  Every few months I would say that I was going to use it and my roommates would all laugh and go, "yeah right!".  Well, this weekend I finally made that bread and it was so good! (I may or may not have had to buy new flour because the bag I already had was expired, but let's not get caught up in the details).  In recent years I have made bread a few times while visiting home and I always love making it.  It takes a long time to make but it's really not that hard and it's a nice project to do when you just want a relaxed day at home. Also, it makes the house smell amazing.

This recipe is adapted from a simple whole wheat bread recipe from this book (see the original recipe here).  It's a really good jumping off point for experimenting with different flavors.  This time around I chose to add rosemary, which works really well with the subtle sweetness of the bread. 

First you will need to make a sponge, which I guess is also sometimes called a starter (more info here).

For the sponge you need:

3 cups warm water (105 to 115º)

1 cup dried buttermilk

2 tablespoons active dry yeast

3/4 cup honey

3 cups whole‐wheat flour

Mix together all of the ingredients until smooth.  The sponge should be thick but still liquidy (not doughy).  Cover with saran wrap and let rise in a warm place for an hour.  It should double in size.  Stir it carefully with a wooden spoon.

Once your sponge is ready you can begin adding the rest of the ingredients to make your dough.

You will need:

1/2 cup vegetable oil 

1‐1/4 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary

2 to 2 1/2 cups whole-wheat bread flour

3 cups white bread flour

Sprinkle the oil, salt, rosemary and 2 cups of the flour over the sponge and beat hard until smooth.  Add the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time with a wooden spoon until a soft dough is formed that just clears the sides of the bowl. NOTE: The original recipe uses all wheat flour but I prefer using almost half wheat and half white.  You may not need to use all of the flour so alternate between white and wheat flours. Next, begin kneading the dough on a lightly floured surface. Be careful not to add too much flour as you go because the dough should remain a little bit sticky. Place in an oiled bowl, turn once to coat the top, and cover with saran wrap.  Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1‐1/2 to 2 hours.

  

Next, divide the dough into 3 equal portions.  Shape into 3 round balls and place them at least 4 inches apart on an oiled or parchment‐lined baking sheet that has been sprinkled with rolled oats or corn meal (I like cornmeal because it gives it a little crunch).  Cover loosely with saran wrap and let rise for about 45 minutes (or what I did was refrigerated over night and then took it out for a bit the next morning before baking it). When the dough is almost ready to be baked, preheat the oven to 375º.

Before you put the dough into the oven you want to very gently (so you don't deflate them) brush the tops of the loaves with a generous coat of rosemary infused oil. Then sprinkle with large grain sea salt (be generous with this too--it's the best part!).  To make rosemary infused olive oil, put 1 cup of olive oil and around 5 sprigs of fresh rosemary in a small saucepan.  Heat over medium heat for around 5 minutes.  Let it cool a bit and put it into a small container with the rosemary.  This should last in the refrigerator for about a month.

  

Bake your loaves in the center of the oven for about 40 to 45 minutes, or until the loaves are

deep brown and hollow sounding when tapped.  The author recommends putting aluminum foil over the tops to control browning, and I would definitely suggest doing this.  Also, keep an eye on your bread and make adjustments as necessary, especially if this is your first time baking bread or if you have a finicky oven.  My oven is a bit hard to control so I had some trouble getting my bread to bake evenly (also, one shelve collapsed and a loaf fell to the floor and deflated...ugh).  When your bread is done, enjoy as much of it as possible while fresh and warm! I would highly recommend eating this with some sort of squash soup (later this week I will share a simple recipe that I used).  Happy baking!

happy valentine's day!

Happy (late) Valentine's day!  I hope your day was great.  My day was filled with extra cuddles from my little Valentines at work (I work at a pre school), lots of chocolate, and some face-timing with Taylor.  I wasn't going to but Taylor insisted that I post this little (corny and slightly embarrassing) Valentine's day video that I made for him since we were far apart this year.  Sometime I'll share a bit about how I made it!