Bits of my weekend...

This weekend seemed to be about breakfast and projects. I finally made my herb windowsill garden and I couldn't be more pleased with how it turned out. I got the flower box and old tobacco tins at this amazing yard sale I stumbled upon in Portland. They fit perfectly in my little window. What do you think? Other than that weekend highlights included-- home cooked breakfast, cake stand making, a little redecorating (I strung some of my holga pictures up in my living room), Denver does Denver at the Meadowlark, and Steuben's brunch (btw, cucumber cocktails---so refreshing). Overall, a very nice weekend indeed.

Have a lovely weekend...

Hello my dears. Phew...is it seriously the end of August? What happened? It is already starting to get dark earlier and I am hating it. Mostly because it just reminds me that soon I will be driving home from work as the sun is setting--I'm so not ready for that. Okay well, let's discuss something more fun, the weekend. Any plans? Tonight I am going bowling with some buddies here--they have $1 games and $5 pitchers of PBR, steal! I have been wanting to go for a while now and we finally got a small crew together so I'm pretty excited. Saturday I'm going toDenver does Denver, which is an event where local Denver bands cover other local Denver bands. Such a fun idea! My friends the Pink Hawks are covering my friends Bad Weather California. It should be down right awesome.

Also, I like...

Umami.

Welcome back students!

Ceramic wardrobe.

What songs would be on your mix tape?

Danger.

I don't usually post about weddings-- but this airstream mountain wedding looks amazing.

Please give them to me...all of them, thanks.

Love this simple bed frame...I think I'm too old to be sleeping on the floor.

adorable illustration.

bento boxes...I am kind of obsessed with you.

Perfect.

fanciful felties

summer day-- (I love the little crabs)

Sky planters.

Take me here.

Yes! Lasagna cupcakes.

(this photo reminds me of the road trip!-- via scissors)-- Also, sorry for the post delay, I wrote most of this yesterday and had to tie up some loose ends. x.

Deep thought thursday...

Today I will pose a question...

.

I was listening to a This American Life a lot on my recent journey out West and, in an episode titled Superpowers, a man was interviewing people asking them if they would rather have the power of invisibility or flight. What do you think? I tossed it around in my head for a bit but I am pretty sure I'm settled on flight. I feel like invisibility could only take you to dark places- eavesdropping, theft, prowling about, trespassing...you'd settle into a kind of mischievous lifestyle that I feel is unhealthy. Flight on the other hand is freeing and less complicated. It just takes you from here to there and who couldn't use a little ease with that? Well, I'd like to hear your thoughts...

(via This isn't happiness)

A recipe: Zucchini Bread

Monday night I made zucchini bread with my sister from the zucchini's she is growing in her garden. They are absolutely huge compared to the ones you buy from the store. I'm pretty jealous. I've talked about my garden envy before but this just escalated it to a new level. I didn't bring my camera so I don't have a picture of my own baking but I wanted to share the recipe because it is down right fantastic. (recipe and photo via Streaming Gourmet)

Zucchini Bread Makes 2 medium loaves

Ingredients

3 eggs 1.5 cups sugar (in 1987 it was 2 cups)

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups grated zucchini

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

3 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 Tbsp cinnamon

dash of freshly ground nutmeg

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Beat eggs until foamy. Add sugar, zucchini, oil and vanilla. Mix lightly but well (with a spoon).

2. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients.

3. Add dry ingredients to egg mixture (in batches) until blended. Don’t over mix.

4. Bake for 1 hour.

I'm back!

So I went away for about a week. I was not able to give you all proper warning because the decision was made in a period of less than 24 hours. My friend Rob and I traveled up through the Grand Tetons, Yellowstone National Park, Idaho, Montana, Washington and finally Oregon. We were headed to Portland as a final destination, camping on the days in between. It was a much needed break from all the chaos that was happening around me these last few weeks. I will have pictures very shortly; I just wanted to check in....x.

Deep thought thursday...

Hello dears. Sorry for being m.i.a. the past few days. This week has been incredibly emotionally draining and I'm flat out exhausted. I have said more goodbyes in the past four days than I have in over a year. So today I leave you with this...

(via blinks of life)

Advice from Jens...

Leave it to one of my favorite musicians to put things into perspective for me. I went to Jen Lekman's website yesterday and happened upon his blog. He doesn't write frequently, only a couple times a month but the entries are pretty marvelous. He's such a good story teller which isn't that surprising if you listen to his music. One entry in particular hit home for me. He starts by stating the following...

It sounds like a pretty depressing sentiment at first but then you dissect it and realize it is quite brilliant. No matter how big your problems are, there is always something bigger. It's a pretty comforting fact actually. (He wrote a song with this exact title and you can download it for free if you go to his blog and click on the exact image above) He finishes the entry with this story:

It was the day before the american election 2008 and I was filled with a hopelessness that only a McCain supporter could have shared with me at the time. I was in Washington DC to perform for swedish TV, sitting in the couch with a profesional smile on my face, joking with the hosts and discussing the lobster with the TV chef. I saw the clips online sometime ago, it's amazing what an actor I can be if I really make an effort.

I lived in America back then, up in New York. At the time I felt like everything I touched was turning to shit and I had decided to put everything on one card. Subconsciously I knew I needed to hit the bottom so I could work my way up again. I needed confirmation, I needed someone to tell me it wasn't going to work out, not this way. Yes, there was a girl involved in this. I was very much in love with her.

Some things you just go through. You don't write about it, you don't turn it into art because it can't be turned into art. I didn't write any songs that year because you can't pour manure into an espresso machine and expect a cappucino to come out. When they announced the results and the streets filled up with people celebrating I felt happy to be part of something bigger than myself. It was a feeling that lasted me until the very last days of December 2008 when I finally sat down in my old teenage room at my parents house and I wrote this song. Then the year ended.

It's a song of hope. When love turns it's back on you it's nice to know there's a world out there that doesn't give a shit about your problems. That forces you to keep your head held high and move on. A world that is fragile and beautiful. Maybe it can sound cold to some of you, but let me make it clear that I believe in love, I just get so wrapped up in it sometimes that I need to put it into proportion. It's something you have to do a lot when you're Jens Lekman.