The Fault in our Stars

I just started reading this book over the weekend and am a third of the way through. It’s re-inspiring me to get back into reading again. It’s quite wonderful.

Our breakfast Thanksgiving morning. We ate apple pie, bourbon spiked pumpkin chai, and watched Looney Tunes for several hours. My man and I really have a great time together. I am so grateful for him.

Speaking of what a great guy he is, he even lets me sneak in multiple shots of him with my feet on his chest. SNEAKY.

Saw these at a local store over the weekend and couldn’t believe how cheap they were. Makes me feel like my $8,000 kit for hygiene school was a total rip off!

Union/Pine was offering a great liquor tasting sesh for free over the weekend that we took advantage of. Our favorite? New Deal’s Coffee Liqueur.

Scored a new purse from one of my favorite shops, Appetite. It has a black and white Pendleton pattern on the outside and kinda looks like this. I love it. It’s so roomy (the kind of roomy where stuff can get lost way too easily!) but at least it’ll hold my camera which was the whole point of getting something new.

Ok, so I’m not much of a dog person, but I do love pugs now and again. And this little guy runs the shop at Appetite. So ridiculous!

So many books, so little time.

We’re headed to Michigan this weekend for a week. Flying into Chicago and staying around Grand Rapids, Saugatuck, and Holland, then staying for 1 night in Chicago on our way back. I’m so excited! And preparing to pack very warmly. Wish me luck for my first time back in the mid-west in winter time!

My Trip Back Home Away from Home

Last Tuesday I embarked on the long eleven and a half hour drive home to grieve Capistrano’s passing, and to regroup, return to some familiarity, comfort and support. It had been nearly five months since I moved out of my parents house, living on my own in Portland. Many life changes. Many good life changes.

Santa Cruz is what it is. It hasn’t changed much. Pretty much exactly as I expected it. It’s so crazy to be able to just jump in my car and have the freedom to change into a completely different city.  700 miles later, and I am back to my home away from home. It was a long drive, I won’t lie, but once it’s over you think “well, that wasn’t so bad”. It was full of rain, wind, buffalo, rainbows, tumbleweeds, crazy California drivers, traffic, and cruise control. Coming home was exactly the thing I needed and I am so glad I listened to my gut and my heart and what I needed most to help heal.

My stepmom has since redecorated and renovated my bedroom with lovely wall decor and a comfy couch. It was my room, but nearly unrecognizable. The orange and grey walls are no more. Now it’s Edison bulbs, antlers, and Turner prints.

In a way, it was a mechanism of avoidance, just up and leaving my apartment. There was too much space, not enough energy that I’m used to with the little one being around. Every time I walked into my apartment, I was so used to his greeting, him sitting on the couch or hiding under my covers till my return. Walking back in Monday evening, it felt so dead. So cold. So different. The power of space, a space, is not to be underestimated. It can be quite overwhelming, similar to the way that your sense of smell can bring back childhood memories.

I revisited my faithful running trail near the backwoods of our neighborhood, went to my family’s favorite breakfast joint, visited all four of my grandparents, brought home some of my grandma’s homegrown apples from her farm, had home cooked meals shared at the dining room table, cuddled with my Lily, had the honor of participating in my stepmom’s girlfriends “old hen” brunch extravaganza full of boozy french toast, bacon and swedish tea, met up with a former lovely dental hygiene instructor to discuss my current job hunting frustrations and to catch up in general, spent several hours surprising lovely people from hygiene school and assisting my “little buddy” during clinic, had a wonderful dinner with two lovely people dear to my heart, had a great sushi lunch and catching-up time with this beautiful, crafty lady and wonderful mother, tried out a new Italian restaurant with my family that was surprisingly scrumptious, attended a Harvest party (with pumpkin macarons in tow, of course) and reconnected with a bunch of great Santa Cruzans and Shopper’s peeps dear to my heart, met up with my Ayurvedic guru owl friend for another delicious meal and great catch-up time talk, and made a trip to Costco with mom, scoring some apple pie moonshine and my favorite apple pie. Yep, I brought my man home a $10 delicious Costco pie instead of making one. Tis okay though, I’m making a homemade bourbon pumpkin one to make up for it. Oh yes, and how could I forget a meal at my favorite restaurant, Malabar.

So yeah, good times. I felt so much better about coming home, re-energized and inspired to take another go at this. To keep going at this. To not give up or lose hope. To remind myself of all of the lovely people I have in my life, that I have a home base to fall back on, that that place is there. It isn’t going anywhere. And I can come home anytime.

The comfort in knowing that alone is worth the 24 hours and 1,400 miles of travel time.

Tomorrow it’s just me and my man, cooking up our own Thanksgiving feast of feasts. The day after that, we are unplugging. Friday is a “no-electronics, additional consumption or outside communications” day. We’re taking a day off to just be, to be together. Face time. Much needed time. What’s on your menu for your turkey (or Tofurkey) filled weekend?

Random Old Photographs

Sometimes I like to thumb through my old Flickr photos to see what I was doing exactly a year ago from today. With Instagram being so handy and easy to use, I primarily used that at the time. I was so busy with school that I hardly ever uploaded any actual 4×6 photos from my DSLR. But it’s all good. Instagram is pretty great anyhow. So here are a few photos I particularly like from last Fall. Because nostalgia is fun!

My 6th or so visit to Humphry Slocombe in the city.

Dental Hygiene full throttle!

Fooling around with butternut squash at work.

Hanging out with Elena was wonderful. I miss that girl.

Mantra reminders.

Pumpkin spice owl cupcakes.

My favorite cheesy stuffed pumpkin.

The Fruit Bats live! I can’t believe that was exactly one year ago. How time flies!

Drowning in case studies. SO glad that stuff is over!

Baking butternut squash tarte tatin’s and chicken pot pie casserole for a par-tay.

And a fun little photoshoot with Sharron for this Etsy seller, NYHop. This was so much fun!

Fall + Wood Inspiration

A little photographic inspiration in the meantime… I don’t know about you, but all of these colors make me happy and excited that this is the time of year it is. I am not taking any of these days for granted, I can tell you that.

Photo Credits: All That is Interesting, Anne-Marie Arpin, found via Tumblr, found via Tumblr, Kate The Great (Tumblr), Chinese Lanterns, Beautiful Tree, Forest Cabin.

The Side Yard: Portland, OR

This last Sunday morning I had the great pleasure of being able to photograph and take part in (aka. devour) the beautifully crafted autumnal brunch dishes of Stacey Givens, owner of the Side Yard farm. Stacey began her organic urban farm in 2009, and ever since has been a supplier for local restaurants (Ned Ludd, Veritable Quandary), and regularly holds brunch supper clubs featuring her homegrown seasonal produce. In addition, she provides cooking classes and workshops on occasion. See previous and upcoming events here!

It was a beautiful fall rainy day and we were protected by a white sheet tent in the side yard (yep) of her farm, accompanied by warm and bubbly beverages and lovely company. I met some really wonderful people. I was spoiled with fantastic food. Everything was awesome. A great time was had by all.

The three course meal was absolutely spectacular. I was in foodie photography heaven.Let me lay it out for you.

1. Sweets

Pumpkin hot cakes. Pomegranate. Poached pear. Bacon fat cream cheese. Spice maple syrup.

2. Fall Hash

Hard cider braised pork. Yukons. Celeriac. Collard greens. Horseradish mustard seed creme. Farm fried egg.

3. Farm Benedict

House made crumpet. Charred brussels. Chanterelles. Braised escarole. Hollandaise. Poached farm egg.

*Not to forget the mimosas and the best coffee I’ve ever had by Ristretto Roasters (and I never drink caffeine)!

You guys, it was to die for. I’m telling you. I had such a blast taking these pictures! If you live in PDX, you must go. Please support her awesomeness and all of the awesomeness she does.

Here’s a sneak peak of the upcoming brunch next weekend!

fall crepes.
mike’s figs. chevre. local walnuts & honey

farm hash.
sweet potatoes. braised short ribs. roasted quince. shrooms. sorrel. jus

breaky sando.
buttermilk cheddar biscuit. dad’s fried chicken. farm egg. green tomato jam. spicy greens

 And it looks like I’ll be the “official” farm photographer! Will take pictures for food!

Good Things: This Weekend

My boyfriend rules. Yesterday morning he did all my dishes, did all the laundry, took out all the trash, and MADE ME BREAKFAST. I think I’ll keep him…

Pictured above: Roasted root veggies (rainbow carrots, parsnips) with spinach, crumbled country sausage, over easy eggs, and pumpkin english muffins. Oh, and pumpkin chai too! (which I am totally bummed that TJ’s is completely sold out of! Wahhh, I want more pumpkin chai!) I was in heaven.

Look at this little snuggly fox. He’s been such a burrower lately…

I’ve been teaching myself how to draw for the last few weeks, slowly but surely, and this was my latest creation. My first proper rose drawing! I’m so proud of myself.

Pumpkin pistachio oatmeal with pumpkin yogurt, licorice tea, and the new November Bon Appetit on a rainy fall day… my kind of idea of perfection, if there even is such a thing.

Pumpkin apple streudel cake. Recipe coming soon!

Got this little pip squeak a new squeak mouse toy, a new fascination! Blueberry waffles with pumpkin yogurt and pumpkin chai. Chocolate peanut butter eyeball truffles! So spooky and deliciously good! And some spooky sidewalk decorations! Love it!

I’ve been trying to branch out from my usual coffee shop hangouts (ie. Crema) and tried a few new places last week. Both uber hipsterish and a bit overrated, but still delicious. I tried the newish Heart on Burnside and the downtown location of Stumptown. Heart’s soy latte (at a whopping $4) was honestly not the best. A bit watered down and slightly bitter, I’ve had better. Also got a buckwheat fig roll that was decent, but definitely not worth another $4 or so. Regardless, I could’ve had a more substantial meal for those, but it was nice to hang out in and the vintage botany posters were uber pretty.

I didn’t get any decaf at Stumptown, just a fig anise scone supplied by Little T American Baker, which was a definite new experience for my taste buds. Good, but not sure if I would ever try again. What can I say, I’m spoiled with Bakery Bar!

Oh yeah, so this came in the mail a few days ago. An official OFFICIAL copy of my license! That was kinda nice… it’s all sealed and pretty and stuff.

Met up with some friends last night at a neighborhood eatery, Nepo 42.

Had some fried chick’n ‘n waffles with bacon and sage maple syrup with nice, tall, dark and handsome stout. Holy yum!

Love the tongue shots! Yeah super fast shutter speed, GO!

Kitty cuddle time is the best time.

My man also introduced me (finally) to the Batman series and we’ve been watching one a day since Friday. We saw the 1st Friday, the 2nd last night, and we’re about to go out and see the current 3rd one at the Mission Theater this evening. Batman marathon rules!

In other awesomesauce news: I received a complimentary copy of Breakfast in Bridgetown from the author himself for being able to identify a dish at a restaurant on his blog (Swedish meatballs from Broder)! Paul is a Portland foodie writer, specializing in the best of the best brunch places around PDX. Think of it as your Yelp brunch guide in hard copy form. He even includes critical information about expected wait times, the brand of coffee served (hey, this city is practically fueled on the stuff), the best “feel good” and healthy options, and if they have wifi available.  I’ve always admired the book at Powell’s, checked out a copy at the library a few weeks ago, and now I have my own copy. Thanks again, Paul! You rule. Oh yeah, and not to mention a gift certificate for dinner at Besaws was tucked inside the pages too! So excited to finally check them out!

Also, today I did something very special and exciting. A girlfriend of a friend and I connected, and I was able to flex my love for food photography this morning for a very special brunch event. And it looks like this will be a regular thing! I will post about it soon. It deserves its own post for recognition. I’m so excited to look over the photos tonight and the next few days!

Photo Walks: In The ‘Hood

I live in such a gorgeous place, especially this time of year in the fall. My neighborhoods’ streets are full of trees transforming their colors and losing their leaves. I decided this past week that I will make more of a point to get out of my apartment in the mornings, afternoons, and evenings more often to go on little photo walks in this area. There are many reasons why this will be great: #1, I will become better acquainted with my neighborhood and what’s in my surroundings, #2, I’ll get many great new photo ops, and #3, it’s a little exercise and a reason to get out and get some fresh air.

What’s especially great is that Halloween is just around the corner! The craftsman houses around here are absolutely stunning, and it’ll give me an even better excuse to take pictures of them when there are cute pumpkins and ghoulish decor and spiderwebs on their front porches. If I’m too old to trick or treat, at least I can take pictures!

More coming soon!

Keep Calm and Decorate On

Went a little fall decorating crazy at Trader Joe’s yesterday. They have my favorite seasonal pumpkin peppers! Have you seen these before? They’re the best. They are long stems with mini pumpkin looking peppers hanging off the sides. I purchase a bundle every year!

So stoked to bust out the candles again. I love candle-lit dinners at home, getting cozy away from the rain. And they always smell so amazing! I love rosemary-sage, pumpkin, and coconut ones the best.

Pumpkin smoothies all the time!

We tried this Nosedive merlot last night (only about $8 at TJs!) and really liked it! Not bad for a cheapie. 

Post-dinner cuddle love.

Yep. All these books.

These little orange ceramic pumpkin-like pots with succulents in them are also for sale at TJs! I love the bright pop of orange color, plus the fact that I can’t easily kill these kinds of plants. Although I probably will anyhow.

Slow baked lemon-thyme salmon. Delicious.

This is my all-time favorite salad recipe. Roasted butternut squash in spinach with green beans in a tangy garlic mustard vinaigrette. I also love adding some dried cranberries and some form of nut (candied pecans, rosemary almonds, or pistachios!). It’s a perfect Thanksgiving side dish, also!

How cute is this candied apple? Picked this up at Fred Meyer the other night. I couldn’t resist. It looks way cuter than it tastes though. The green apple was wayyyy too sour. But maybe I’ll make my own sometime soon?

Also, good news! Got the test results back for the kitty and things came back negative, so it doesn’t look like he has the fatal FIP disease. Not 100%, but really giving us hope right now and his spirits are on the mend. We’re just going to take things day by day. I can’t tell you what a relief this is. This past week I’ve pretty much cried at least once at some point each day, worried sick about his fate, not being able to imagine life going on without him. It’s terrible to see the ones you love suffer, especially when they’re so innocent and helpless in every possible way. His fever went away, and he’s eating more again. Purring like never before and being the best cuddle bug ever. This kitten has stolen my heart to the millionth degree.

I love you, Capi. 

Friday Radar

1) The tables were turned! I finally got my teeth cleaned yesterday. Now if only I could get a job there… 2) Voodoo Donuts and new Night Owl Pumpkin Ale glass, perfect for drinking milk, 3) Took kitty to the specialist opthamologist  vet (again) to check up on his eyes. Still taking things day by day but he’s hanging in like a trooper, 4) Fall colors and acorns make me happy, 5) What would I do without Pepino’s in my life? and 6) I started my first day temping/working as a registered dental hygienist! (A whole other story in itself that would be way too long to discuss so we’ll leave it at that.)

A few things that have been on my radar this past week:

• If you haven’t heard of Tiny Buddha before, I highly recommend you check them out. I’ve been following them for several years now, and their inspirational stories never cease to amaze me. Ironically, each topic always seems to exactly fit what I’m going through in the moment of my life, as well. These recent few were ones that stood out to me this past week: 1) Taking Small Steps to do the Thing That Scares You, 2) Learning to Forgive Yourself even when You’ve Hurt Someone Else, and 3) Make Up Your Mind to go with The Flow.
• This featured photographer/designer & musician on VSCO. His photography is mindblowingly beautiful. I love the idea of approaching strangers and recording a little glimpse of their life, what’s in their bag. I believe someone’s belongings tell a lot about a person… don’t you agree? (See his Flickr page here.)
• I can’t stop listening to this. Yea, pretty old school, but I’m lovin’ me some Phil Collins lately… like, majorly. I’m not sure what took me so long. I’m an 80’s child, whatcanIsay? (I can’t leave Genesis out, also… this song AND video RULES.)
• This graphic is pretty dang cute.
• Caramel apple spice snack tea? Yes please. Tastes just like apple cider, but better.
• Checked this book out from the library and made the saffron pistachio bread (recipe soon). Love everything that’s in here. Beautiful photography AND recipes. I fell in love with it so much that I’m going to order my own copy.
• Went a little Amazon crazy with my saved points and got this and this. Plus a few books about food writing and blogging! Yeah! I can’t wait to learn more about web and graphic design eventually, too.
• There’s supposed to be rain this whole weekend in Portland! So excited for it to finally arrive. This is what I’ve been waiting for!
• Trader Joe’s just came out with a bunch of new pumpkin items! My dream come true! Pumpkin spice macarons (remember the ones I made? I’m going to compare although the cashier today told me they were the best pumpkin item they have in the store!), pumpkin greek yogurt, pumpkin spice chai, pumpkin chocolate mousse cake… what?! I bought a bunch of baby white pumpkins, some succulents in these great ceramic orange pots, and some of those seasonal pumpkin peppers to decorate. I love the colors of fall!

I plan on making a nice dinner and dessert tonight, and just hanging out this weekend cozy inside from the rain, reading with the kitty and drinking tea. Have a happy day and weekend! xo

Adventures in Oregon: Manzanita

One of the things I absolutely adore about Oregon is that there are so many coastal towns. The mister and I have plans to tackle this entire map, and use their guide for suggestions on where to eat, sleep, and explore. Two weekends ago we took off on a random trip to Manzanita, about 2 hours away from Portland. It’s a very tiny place, currently holding about 550 residents. (Also cool trivia–Manzanita means “little apple” in Spanish.) The drive was super gorgeous. We had driven through US-26 to go to Astoria and Cannon Beach two years ago, in the middle of winter. There was snow everywhere and the roads were slick, so we weren’t paying much attention to the scenery, especially since everything was covered in white. This time, the trees leaves were changing colors, and it seemed like a completely different road entirely.

It’s funny how much I took the Pacific Ocean for granted living in Santa Cruz my entire life. I hardly ever went to the beach except to run on it or alongside it. I’m not a sun person. I avoid it (as much as possible) like the plague. I’ve always been the fair-skinned type that gets burned, so lying out in the sun on the beach even for an hour I’d come home like a bright red tomato. No fun, I tell you. But I must admit I do miss that crisp, clean ocean air.

It was super windy that day, to the point where we were getting blown away. As you can see, I was quite cold. There was enough wind to even accomodate the wind surfers! After a little walk on the beach with the hair blowing in my face, we were pretty much done… note to self to pack lots of layers next time!

We had a lovely lunch at a locally owned bakery/cafe by the name of Bread and Ocean, a very tiny but cute place. They served artisan sandwiches and soups, homemade bread, and a wide range of cookies. We had the “picnic lunch”, which included a half sandwich, cup of soup, and a cookie. We both had the roast beef with blue cheese on their rosemary potato loaf, carrot ginger coconut soup, and peanut butter and ginger cookies. It was the perfect chilly coastal day lunch!

What I look forward to the most in visiting these coastal towns is to find niches and word-of-mouth places. Little shops and stores to poke around in. Finding great places to eat. Being able to take pictures. And experience new things with my man. We found a cute old-fashioned candy store on our way out that had Fireballs, Tootsie Pops, Airheads, Gobstoppers, and every other childhood nostalgic candy you could think of. We also left with some more “adult”-type candy, artisan chocolates. Pumpkin spice and beer truffles, peanut butter cones, chocolate covered graham crackers. It was a gem!

Speaking of gems, we found this great spot on our drive home: Camp 18. It was definitely the highlight of our trip, for sure. We noticed it on the side of the road on our way to the coast and made a promise to each other we would stop there on the way back. And my goodness, I am so glad we did! Such an amazing sanctuary to take tons of photos (as you can see)! It’s an old logging museum and restaurant made out of a huge log cabin house! There were all sorts of tractors, wagon wheels, machinery and other heavy equipment outside in the parking lot. We walked around and tripped out for a good hour or so!

When we stepped inside, I nearly squealed with joy how cool it was inside. I felt like I was in a completely different state, like Colorado or Montana or some equivalent woodsy type place. It even reminded me of Yosemite in some ways. There were antler chandeliers everywhere, and it was super cozy like Christmas time. It reminded me of a place my grandparents would live in, very homey and family-like. Deer heads, saws, black and white vintage photographs, you name it. It was full of awesome stuff to check out.

J had the patty melt, and I had fish ‘n chips (not pictured), some of the best I’ve had in quite some time!

This was down in their basement area… a little model of the whole place! Can you imagine making something like this?!

I love this place and would recommend anyone to check it out! I can’t wait to stop by again sometime on our way back cruising through 26! Who knows where we’ll be headed to next.