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Cooking

I love cooking. I really do. The problem is, I am far more in love with the satisfaction that comes with making something from scratch than I am with pouring time and grocery trips into making things from scratch. Luckily, I've figured out recently that I'm not alone in this.

Anyway, the point is that I made really easy cherry jam! After a trip to the farmer's market this week, where fruits and veggies are wonderfully cheap, we ended up with a couple cups of cherries starting to get mushy. A few Google search results later, I land over at David Lebovitz's blog and this no-recipe cherry jam "recipe". You can use as many cherries and you're willing to pit, stir them around while they soften in a pot with lemon zest and juice (I used the zest of one full lemon and the juice of half a lemon.) Once they're totally soft and mushy, add 3/4 of the amount of cherries you have (I had about one cup of cherries so I added 3/4 cup of sugar,) and stir and stir while being very careful not to burn the jam.

I totally recommend making this jam. I've wanted to make jam before, but I really didn't want to go through the whole process and making so many jars that I'd never get to and that powder stuff. Since this recipe hardly takes any time at all (I finished in less than 45 minutes, including time spent pitting the cherries,) you can make as little as you want, and there are only three ingredients. It's perfect. It's perfect without being snobby.

Here's a picture of my jam while cooking:

After letting it cool to room temperature then storing it in the fridge overnight, I had to have some (with crackers) this morning. It's so delicious, and the lemon zest really goes perfectly with the cherries. In fact, I'd like to make some more with lemon and orange zest. Yum (Oh, and my camera is dying, I guess. All the pictures are turning out really overexposed with horizontal lines...?):

I'm really trying to diversify try really simple but delicious recipes, and I'm going to try to add in a little more of this into the blog mix.

Happy Sunday!

Yesterday was not such a good day for me. To make a long story short, I'm a junior at Fresno State and there likely won't be room in my major courses for me to take any of them, and even if there were room, I can't register for classes because the server has me as a freshman so I can't sign up for any upper division courses. Well, after thinking and stressing about it, I've come to terms with this and devised a back-up plan. But really, the thing that brought the biggest smile to my face last night was stumbling across Missa's blog, Thrift Candy. That's where I saw this and two other videos of her and her daughter Clover as the beach!

Sand Pail Piñata from Missa D on Vimeo.

They're both so cute. I'm not sure where exactly they live, but I'm telling you, this is the life I've always dreamed of living someday! Missa seems to buy exclusively from thrift/consignment shops and yard sales, she heads to the farmer's market all the time, gets together with friends for dinner and beers like once a week, and has a huge backyard. I'm in blog love. Speaking of love...

I've had this love for Jessica Biel kinda slowly growing for awhile now. I think I've only seen her act a couple of times and it doesn't really have anything to do with that, but more to do with her demeanor, her love for the outdoors and staying fit (she climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro for charity! How is that not respectable?) she seems very down to earth, and she dresses pretty cute, too. Anyway, I stumbled across this photo of her at the MTV Movie Awards, while I may or may not have been watching The Hills...

As for crafts/handmade projects, I've got to get something on my plate! I've only hemmed a couple of items over the past week or so, but I'm just about ready for a new sewing project. Enter, the amazing peeps at Design*Sponge. Jared and I have been wanting a new duvet for way too long and I think we deserve it. It doesn't seem very difficult at all, and I'm getting pretty excited about it! Since it takes about ten yards of fabric according to the turtorial, I'm going to have to save up some tip money (from work @ Starbucks) and really shop around to find the right fabric that isn't going to break the bank. Wish me luck...

And isn't this pretty? It's some art by Betsy Walton, which I also came across at Design*Sponge.

Happy Friday.

I need these, but the website's been sold out for months! I've done my best to look for them, but I haven't found them anywhere. They're so much prettier than neon highlighters...

Wednesday, Already?!

Hello world! Pardon my absence, but the last week has been such a whirlwind. First things first, I have to talk about the Table Mountain Powwow! Last week was almost entirely spent working on my dress. I still am not sure how I finished the entire thing on my own (mom did come over to show me how to sew on my sleeves and add a zipper, but it was limited to her pointing and looking over my shoulder a few times) given that I'm not exactly a master sewer.

I've sewn a number of things (a couple of laptop sleeves based on One Yard Wonders, a couple of yoga mat bags, a lady bug costume and of course hemming pants) but I've never accomplished such a task before. I somehow, without trying, didn't stress over it either - which is way out of character for me. While making the dress, I thought a lot about the importance of what I was doing. I thought about how sewing is in my blood. I thought "I've never made this before, I don't know how I know what to do next but I just do," and when I'd pause and lift my foot from the sewing machine pedal to question if it would turn out right (something I do quite a bit) I'd think, or something would tell me "just keep going, it's going to turn out right."

I could go on talking about this for a very long time, but I'm sure this isn't the place for it. The weekend was really great, spent with my family and dancing with my aunt for the first time since I was little. Stephanie, Emily and Lucia even came out on Friday night! So that was my entire Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

OH, and I'm very, very, very excited to say that I'm going back to see my family in Montana in August! I haven't been since I was probably in like fourth or fifth grade. As I've said before, I'm Crow (Apsaalooke) and we're around Montana. The third weekend in August is Crow Fair, a really huge powwow and rodeo with hundreds and hundreds of dancers. Everybody camps out in tents and tipis, so many people that it's nicknamed the "Tipi Capital of the World!" The scenery and lifestyle there is really amazing. (I feel like a kid who gets to go to Disneyland!)

The days since Sunday have been spent tending to everything I ignored last week: laundry, cleaning, groceries, laundry, ironing, and laundry. Now, back to all of that.

Round up! June, wk. 1

This week went by so very fast! It was a lot of fun, and I even have a couple of pictures for proof of my life.

1. For the second time in one week, I went to the beach! This time was girls only, with Stephanie and Brittney.

2. My mom and step-dad have been working on their backyard organic garden for the past couple of years now, and it's really come a long way! After refining their gardening skills and learning about methods of planting/replanting/rotating/placement, etc. they have a lot to show for it! So mom dropped by and brought a basket of goodies with her: boy choy, spinach, red spotted and green romaine, red and green leaf lettuce, yellow carrots, yellow squash, blueberries, blackberries, and red and golden raspberries! Oh, and a jar of homemade raspberry jam and a few flowers. Isn't it pretty?

3. Tower district (my neighborhood) has a really awesome set of block sales starting (I think) in April or so, and basically just kinda hits the next street every Saturday for a couple months. Over the years I have definitely gathered a little collection of items including my 35mm Mamiya camera, jewelery, clothing, scarves, books, milkshake glasses among other kitchen items...you get the idea. It's an old neighborhood so these people have good quality items and great vintage selection. Unfortunately, yesterday was the first sale I got out to. Nonetheless, at about $10, it was a success. (Not pictured, a black suede jacket and a pastel striped 80s polo.)

4. I'm just over 1/4 Native American, mostly Crow. I may only be 1/4, but that makes a lot of my family half and my grandmother and much of my family full. Since I was a wee little one, that part of my heritage has definitely dominated my identity and I wouldn't change that one bit. I've spent the last fews years of my life on the academic side of Native America, taking classes and reading books, learning about the genocidal, imperial, colonial history of North America and Europe, and the current issues that Indigenous people face (from the mascot issue - which is a big issue - and the use of Native themes and misuse and disrespect of using things like fake headdresses, to the environmental destruction and its effects on culture)

That brings me to my current project. A jingle dress! As far back as I can remember, we've been involved in the world of powwows. I haven't danced for quite a long time, but my aunt is the head woman dancer of on of our local powwows (next week, ah!) and I decided in late-winter/early-spring that I'd make a new dress for myself! Well, school did get in the way of that and I now have to get down to business on the dress! Here are my materials and a couple of my old dresses that I'm using as patterns.

And here are a couple of links:

The Jingle Dress: Healing Through Dance

Jingle Dress Dance, by Manataka American Indian Council

Jingle Dress Dance Competition Video, ASU 2009 (I won't be competing for the first time! Also, all dancers dress and other items vary by tribe, region, individual style, traditional vs. contemporary, etc. For example, as a Crow woman, I don't wear a feather pointing up in the center back of my head, but rather on the side pointing downward, and likely two together.)

But now I'm off to work! Boo.

Sleepy Sunday

As I've mentioned before, I am doing my very best to make the most of this summer. It's the first time in three years that I have not been taking any classes - including killer summer classes - and I've made a promise to myself to take advantage of every single day! I'm happy to say that this weekend was really no exception. Saturday I went to my family reunion for my great-grandmother's side of the family (which means I get to see a whole lot of extended family) and as usual we spent the day at the park hanging out and playing badminton and volleyball with my cousins and relatives.

Since I was lucky enough to have today off, Jared and I hopped in the car and spent the day at the central coast. I was so very nice to get out of town and spend the day together, which we don't usually get to do. We first hit up the Nipomo Swapmeet (which was a little disappointing, but still fun and we found a couple of things we brought home.) I have to day, I've been on the hunt for lavender-ish nail polish for what feels like FOREVER now. Sure, I've found the stuff online, but I don't usually order online. I've even found some good lavender polishes but they always have a glitter or a glossy or metallic finish. Well, of all places to find nail polish, I found the most amazing periwinkle polish! I love it already. It was a buck and is a brand I'll never hear of again but I'm super excited to wear it. For a visual aid, this is the general idea:

The rest of the day was spent sunning, swimming, on the beach, walking around downtown slo (San Luis Obispo,) and dining.

I hope its the first of many day trips of the summer. Living in Fresno makes them pretty easy, so I don't have any excuses. Now we're back home and ready for some much needed sleep. Goodnight!

Note to self: Photography

35mm, various Polaroid formats, medium format tlr. I've promised myself to take more photographs again. It's one of my many goals for summer. If you'd like to check out my photos, many of them are up on my flickr.

Hooray Tuesday!

I am a student as well as part time Starbucks barista. I'm not a big girl with a grown up job and definitely not a grown up schedule! This means that I usually get my days off in the middle of the week and end up spending the day almost always alone, maybe seeing friends just for a little while here and there. So while Tuesday may as well be any other weekday for most, it's my Saturday this week!

(uo utility jacket, thrifted braided belt)

(bdg skinnies, f21 gladiator wegdes, unknown bag)

Our weather here in Fresno has been strangely cool this year, and the cloudy breezy and sometimes rainy days just keep on coming! So I was so excited that I had a chance to break out the utility jacket!

I was in a shopping mood, so I headed over to the big mall (I never go out there anymore, but I was lucky enough to remember that I had gift cards!! Woohoo!!) Here's what I picked up:

According Sephora's website, the frangrance is "sparkling, fruity floral...rich, earthy scents. Addictive top notes of sophisticated citruses...mandarin and yuzu...white floral and fresh mountain strawberries...delicate woods and musk, giving the fragrance an invigorating and velvety finish." In other words, YUM!

This adorable little eco-friendly and safe solid perfume is equally as delicious. Sephora describes the scent as "meditative...intoxicating blend that evokes the inspiring ambiance of a garden full of citrus trees, fresh herbs, and rare plants from all over the world."

I also picked up a pair of "jeggings" from Forever 21! I came across them @ calivintage and at Kelly's Chictopia! I'd heard of them before but was soooo weary. I'd seen some really horrible denim calf-length leggings without pockets or anything, but these new jeggings are serious! They're just like real jeans - gold stitching, belt loops, button & zipper, plus all five four pockets. Swoon, I'm in love!

Sunday: Mother's Day Part Deux

My mother and I have had a very close relationship since I was a little girl. She's so open and caring, and definitely doesn't take anything too seriously. I'd been so busy with work the weekend of Mother's day, and busy with finals the week after, that I'd only had a chance to see her for a few minutes! So I packed up a picnic full of delicious food, picked her up and we drove down to my favorite park in town. We set up our blankets near my favorite little corner that's always quiet and talked, enjoyed our gluten-free lunch (she's allergic, so we had smoked gouda, brie, apples, grapes, melon, all sorts of berries, crackers, nuts, olive tapenade, sparkling lemonade, iced mint tea...it was delicious!) and laid in the sun!

It was so sunny, in fact, that moms said it was too bright for a picture! So I tried to help her out...

...which just cracked her up

I was dressed perfectly for the weather...

...and even managed to climb a tree in the outfit...

...while at least attempting to be lady-like.

I hope to have at least a few more photos from the day...but from my 35mm Mamiya/Sekor! I've been taking photos since about 2006, starting with a vast collection of polaroid cameras (10 or so?) then moving to a new 35mm Canon and at last to my 1968 Mamiya (which I purchased at a yard sale from an elderly man who once used the camera when he was a young architect in San Francisco - awesome, right?) I've been on a photography hiatus for too long, with only a few rolls of film and one digital engagement-like session I shot with my boyfriend (who is a photographer, among many other things) over the past year or so. I'll post some of my photos to this blog, this week, hopefully along with my newest to add to the collection.

Secondhand

Since I was a little girl, used items have been staples in the home. Antique sales, hand-me-downs, thrift stores and yard sales have always been a source of new-to-us items for my family. So, it's not surprising that when I started buying my own clothes after getting my first job, I continued to go to yard sales and thrift stores on my own.

Over time, I've done even more of my shopping here, and I can think of so many reasons I love to do so:

• Classics should be a part of every stylish girl's wardrobe
• Rich people get rid of damn good and current clothes, like, all the time!
• It's waaay eco-chic
• The thrill of the hunt!
• A new, poorly-made and not that cheap item, or a well made and inexpensive item...well, need I say more?
• I usually get my money's worth in just one wear!
• Bad people throw things in landfills, and good people donate to thrift stores. Therefore, the items have already been given a ton o' love!

Having said that, here are the shoes I picked up from Kelly's Etsy, Vintage Strings!

A few hours + $50

This was a fun little project that added some serious spring our bedroom. It was super easy, and only took a couple of hours. I'd seen a few posts here and there about diy upholstered headboards, and after seeing a full tutorial by the amazing diy-ers @ young house love (check our their house tour w/ full before and afters - it blew me away!) I had to make my own.

Their tutorial is great, but I made a few changes w/ each step:

1. After measuring the size of our future headboard, I was off to pick up fabric and batting. When I got there, I was discouraged by prices and selection, but was relieved to find a damask pattern I liked in a color scheme I really love - and it was on major sale. I wouldn't recommend leaving the home fabrics area, the fabrics are thicker and more durable so this price difference is worth it. The batting I chose was a high loft synthetic.

2. Next, Jared and I were off to Lowe's. We considered getting a piece of plywood, but didn't like the flimsiness or prices of what we saw. So we went with a very inexpensive particleboard, and had it cut down to the proper size - which was free with the purchase of the board. After Jared somehow got both pieces (I'd like to make something else with the other piece, since I did buy it!) to wedge into my teeny car, we headed home.

3. To save on batting/fabric/sanity, I chose to make the width of the headboard shorter than the bed. Since you can't see the bottom, both the pretty fabric and the batting end just under the top of the mattress. I used an adhesive to keep the batting in place, then stapled the back edges. (the fabric at the bottom, which is the left in this picture, is a muslin that I already had, just so the particleboard is covered.)

4. I had a little dilemma with my fabric selection. I didn't realize that the fabric was actually not wide enough when the pattern was facing the right direction. Rather than try to sew borders in the same fabric, I paired it with this circular white fabric for more contrast. After sewing them together, I turned the sewn piece over and ironed them flat in the same direction - behind the patterned piece, not the white. Then I flipped to the front and ironed some more to make the seam nice and flat.

5. Next, I draped the finished piece over the board nice and centered, and stapled the corners and edges. Oh, and to keep it lookin' good, I made sure to spray a fabric protector.

6. After getting it in place, viola! Completed upholstered headboard!

That bedding doesn't quite complement the headboard, so swapping that out is in the works. I'll have to post a picture of the improved version. It was a lot of fun, and Jared was quite impressed. (Thanks for the help and encouragement, Jared!)

With finals almost over...

...I'm so very much looking forward to summer. It doesn't mean that I want the semester to end - I'm truly going to miss playing badminton twice a week, my American Indians in Contemporary Society gave me so much knowledge that is worth far more than the tuition for the class, as goes with my American Civil Rights Movement class - but with one last final to go, I realize how much I hope to immerse myself with the things that I love.

1. frozen bananas

2. great thrift store finds

3. quality time with Jared

4, 5, and 6. beach time, out of town time, and besties time

I got a road bike a few weeks ago that I love riding around the neighborhood. In fact, I just got back from Kelly's where I picked up shoes from her etsy! I'll be sure to post about those soon. Until then, I have a final to finish before it gets too late in the day.