My humble beginnings

My best friend Chelsea was the recipient of the first full scarf I ever made, back in 2005. It was crocheted out of an acrylic boucle-type yarn. I couldn't decide which color to use, so I made it two-toned. Why Chelsea is holding onto it and torturing me still with pictures of it, I don't know. But the Generation 2 scarf I gave her in 2008 probably makes up for it. Let's see a picture of that, Chelsea.

really adult-like thursday nights

It has come to my attention that my last blog title, "Hello, Spring!" is incorrect, and not intentionally. Portland winter has lasted so long that I forgot it was already June, or already almost not June. I'm still wearing jackets. Why are you cold, Portland!? Get with it.

Rachel and I spent the afternoon at the Portland Nursery, and then repotted my tomatoes in my "backyard." If you live in Portland and haven't been to the Portland Nursery and you like plants, and even if you don't, it's really stellar. I was so overwhelmed by the selection of starters. I've dreamed of having a jasmine plant, and I have I feeling I could find it there. And, Rachel and I learned that their Pesto Perpetuo basil plant smells exactly like basil pesto, and that we need it. Bad.



There are downsides to living in high-density uptown, one of which is the lack of garden space, but directly outside my window (and unfortunately, above the trash cans) is a concrete platform which gets tons of sunlight, and is never used! I'm requisitioning it for my little tomato/basil patch.


Here's my "backyard." You might see some little kitty heads poking out of the corner window - that's TimTim and Avie, my super rad neighbors' cats. (Both neighbors and cats are rad.)


These very brave kitties want to come out, but it's so far down! :(




This is my biggest tomato plant, my pride and joy. I can't believe this grew from a tiny little seed! The root formation was so impressive.


I agitated the roots a little, because I hear that helps them take root in new soil.


Meanwhile, our kitty friends are still undecided.


An important part of gardening is taking phone calls with weird demonic looks on your face.


We got bamboo poles to stake our tomatoes. Sustainable! (But not for pandas.)








I'm putting love into that pot.


This little watermelon toothpick marks my favorite tomato plant. But I still love them all equally, of course...


TimTim finally came out!




I got my hands dirty? Oh no!


Avie came out too...but only after my neighbor Hannah helped her down.


I felt like there was too much bare space in the huge tomato planters, so I put my biggest basil plant in there too. We'll see how that turns out.

So then we got the boys and headed out to Sauvie Island for some strawberry picking. The fact that I even live in a place where this is possible is so awesome to me.




Alex immediately became disenchanted when the VooDoo donuts truck was sold out.


Little juicy strawbrys growing everywhere! Would you believe it, just a few years ago I had never even eaten a strawbry! Now I think they are pretty much the greatest.


Then sun even came out for us.


Strawbry picking is not as easy as I imagined. You kind of have to just look for the glimpses of bright red, and hope that Alex doesn't snipe your strawbry out from under you.


Rachel is apparently an angel, or I am just a bad photographer in bright lighting.


Ahem. Deformed berries.




The most perfectly-shaped little strawbry ever!


I think they like each other.


Alex, sampling the goods.










When you give Rachel your camera, you get lots of pictures of Alex.




Later, Geoff and Alex played chess by candlelight while us ladies baked scones. (Thanks for the help, guys! :))


Then, for our take on strawbry shortcake, we put ice cream (coconut milk ice cream for the vegans!) and strawberries on top of the scones.


It was delicious as hell.


Oh, did I mention that aside from the fun of picking your own strawbrys in the sunshine, we also got them for dirt cheap? $2 a pound for freshly picked berries! And I even know that no humans were harmed in the picking of my berries.

I'm going to go eat myself sick on strawbrys now.

Hello, spring!

I'm learning how to double knit today. So far, my hands are cramping, but I seem to love colorwork anyway. I must be a masochist. More on this later - it's a secret!

Oh, and I got a new camera app for my droid that takes HDR images, called Camera360. Now if only I could find an app that allows me to clone myself. You can never have enough of me in one frame.

home sweet home cafe

When I packed up and left Lubbock, Texas for the much greener pastures of Portland, I assumed I could easily find a replacement for my favorite restaurant, Home Cafe. Portland has a reputation for being a foodie mecca, and I have found some crazy delicious food, but nothing quite like the down-home gourmet style (by which I mean chicken sandwiches with red pepper aioli - I think the aioli separates gourmet from non!) I found daily at Home Cafe. And, their mac and cheese is just TO DIE FOR. I'm a picky eater, but I always found something on Home Cafe's daily rotating menu that I would love. Asparagus soup? Done. Layered enchiladas? Delicious. Mac and cheese? Don't touch mine, or I will fork you.

I've been craving the hell out of that mac and cheese recently. No recipe I've found online compares to the thick, rich, gooey, stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth amazingness that I ate multiple times a week (when I found an apartment literally around the corner from Home Cafe, I didn't hesitate before moving in. I could pick up a to-go order in minutes at lunch. I am kind of nuts about this place. And the leftovers!!)

So, yesterday I wrote them a somewhat crazed email asking for the recipe. I figured it was kind of a long shot, but I haven't been back to Lubbock since Xmas '09, and I just couldn't handle the mac n cheese deprivation anymore. And, much to my delight and surprise, I got a very nice email from Rachel, the Home Cafe manager! I was so stunned that she was willing to share the recipe. I expected it to be some closely-guarded secret passed down from someone's sweet grandmother and unavailable to requesters (even those offering their firstborn, like I did).


It came out FANTASTICALLY. It was as close to the original as I can remember. Thick, creamy cheese sauce coating the macaroni noodles, with no extra spices or seasonings needed. I knew it came out right when I saw the light catch the cheese sauce. So glorious.


It was a big hit with Geoff, whose favorite food is mac and cheese! I'm so glad he got the chance to experience one of my favorite dishes I have ever had, ever. (Please also note the owl mug.)

If you live in Lubbock, and you haven't been to Home Cafe, I don't know what's wrong with you. Any place that is rad enough to share a recipe with an ex-resident earns my undying love and loyalty. If you live in Portland, you should invite me to your next potluck. And if you live anywhere else...take a trip to Lubbock, just for the food! Seriously!

Home Cafe, I love you guys. See you soon!

i make my own sun.

I've started experimenting lately with repurposing secondhand cashmere clothing. I like the idea of recycling something old and out-of-date and turning it into something fun and new! Plus, it's eco-friendly and prevents waste! So that's cool. Unfortunately, as much as I would like to disassemble, dye, and knit something knew out of every cashmere sweater I come upon, I don't seem to have enough time. So, at the insistence of the unrelenting Rachel Red Lips, I am listing my first ever Recycled Hand-dyed 100% Cashmere Eco-Friendly Yarn. Lace Weight. 400 yards. Ish. Formerly A Sweater.


Here's what I started with. It's a vest made of soft, lovely cashmere. It would make more sense if it had sleeves, because I don't know what climates are appropriate for a vest made of cashmere. Well, it came from a clothing swap, so I guess nobody wanted it. I gave it a loving home.


This is not the first sweater I have taken apart, but it was the easiest. I love the care given to the edges. Each piece felt as though it was made especially in that size and shape, rather than cut from a larger swatch of fabric.


I wound the yarn very tightly as I unravelled the sweater to avoid it kinking up (see messy pile in the background). I ended up with very little waste (messy pile in the background). It's a lot less than it appears, promise.


So, after reskeining the yarn, I finally got around to soaking it in preparation for dye. It looks almost like angel hair pasta.


Here it is hanging in my bathroom to dry. Early on, I decided on a bright, golden-y yellow, to stay a little more true to the original ivory color, and allowed the yarn to absorb the dye unevenly. This resulted in:



some little flecks of white! I like how it adds some depth and character to the yarn.





Both skeins are for sale on Etsy. I hope someone else loves this yarn as much as I do!