July Focus: Memoirs

I read A Girl Named Zippy about six years ago and  I've been a sucker for memoirs ever since. I love having the chance to see glimpses into another person's life--and when the voice is unique and the stories are powerful...it is the perfect combination! I had been stockpiling a couple memoirs for quite some time now so I figured July would be a great month to focus on them.

Wow--I read a heck of a lot of books this month! Here is the list:

Read: My Stroke of Insight
Read: My Brain on Fire
Read: The Bedwetter
Read: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Read: Let's Pretend This Never Happened
Read: I Was Told There'd Be Cake
Read: Breaking Night
Read: Are you there, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea
Read: This Boy's Life
Read: The Duke of Deception
Reading: Same Kind of Different As Me



Let me know if you have any memoirs to recommend!

Fingerling Potato Salad with Gremolata Dressing

We received this amazing bundle of potatoes in our CSA box from Telltale Farms and I was super excited to make the potato salad recipe that came along with them.

Here is what you need:

1 pound red fingerling potatoes

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

1 garlic clove, crushed and minced

1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Here is what you need to do:

1. Steam potatoes for about 12 minutes or until tender. Cover and chill.

2. Combine juice, salt, and pepper in a large bowl; slowly add oil, stirring well with a whisk. Stir in rind and garlic; let stand 10 minutes. Stir in parsley.

3. Cut potatoes into quarters; add potatoes to juice mixture, tossing to coat.

Enjoy!

Dee Wright Observatory on McKenzie Pass

Farm Animal Finger Puppets

 I mentioned in June that I had made some farm animal finger puppets for my nephew and niece. And here is the picture proof.  I looked up a bunch of different farm finger puppet ideas on Pinterest but mostly ended up modeling my puppets off of this set and this set. Pretty adorable, huh? My favorite is the chicken.

Roasted Carrots and Cauliflower with Walnuts

Is this not absolutely gorgeous? And it is equally as delicious, I promise. We whipped this up together one night and then I fought my way to getting to eat it all. The recipe came along with the carrots, cauliflower, and parsley from our favorite Telltale Farms!

What you need:

 4 medium carrots , peeled and thinly sliced on an angle

 1 small head cauliflower, trimmed into small florets

 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

 Salt and freshly ground black pepper

 3 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts

 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Here is what you need to do:

First off, preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Then toss the carrots and cauliflower in a bowl with 3 teaspoons of the oil, the thyme, and sprinkle with salt pepper until well coated. Spread in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast the vegetables for about 25 minutes, stirring once or twice.  Season with more salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, cook the walnuts in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring, until toasted,  about 5 minutes. Pour into a small bowl and toss with the parsley, lemon zest and remaining 1 teaspoon oil. Sprinkle over the roasted vegetables.

Enjoy!

Seal Rock on the Oregon Coast

Crazy Quilt Color Fabric Book

I made this little fabric book full of colorful crazy quilts for my new little nephew. His mom loves books (almost!) as much as me so I knew she would appreciate having a colorful, touch friendly book to show him. I've been saving all of my fabric scraps for the last year so I had a lot of great options to fill this book with.

  

 

Frittata with Purple Cauliflower and Green Beans

I was super excited to receive a purple cauliflower in our CSA box. I had never seen a purple cauliflower before and was delighted by how pretty it was! Combined with the green beans and the eggs, it made such a beautiful frittata, don't you agree?!

This recipe arrived with our box from Telltale Farms...and it is delicious!

You will need:

1 Small onion, diced

Handful of green beans (ends removed and chopped in short segments)

Handful of purple cauliflower florets

4 Eggs

Small bunch parsley, chopped

Salt & Pepper

Olive Oil

Parmesan Cheese (optional)

Here is what you need to do:

Fry the onion in a frying pan on low heat until they become translucent. Add in the green beans and shortly after add in the cauliflower. 

In a bowl, beat the eggs and add the salt, pepper, and parsley. Pour on top of the vegetables, and cover the pan with a lid. 

Let cook on a low flame until the egg is solid on top. Lift onto a plate with a very large spatula. Top with parmesan cheese. 

Enjoy!

Simple Flower Crown

My sister in law got married in June and asked me what I thought about a flower hairpiece. She sent me an idea on what she wanted for her hair and after some research...I figured I could probably make one!

I biked over to Joann's and bought some floral tape and wire--and my very own wire cutters.  (I'll be the first to admit that I was probably a bit too geeked about owning my own pair of wire cutters. Something about a small pair of wire cutters really makes me feel prepared for whatever comes my way). Anyways--back to the crown.  I would have loved to make it out of fresh flowers/plants but I had to take it with me across 2200+ miles so I figured fake flowers were probably my best bet. I spent quite a while picking out the perfect assortment of small flowers and greens. When I got home, I laid everything out and started working! 

 I made the crown about 21 inches round. I slowly started cutting buds off of the branches and started taping them to the wire circle. I worked my way around the circle, as the picture below shows, until it was all the way covered. Then I used some floral wire to secure additional pieces in any empty spots.

It took a while but it was a really nice project to work on. And she looked so gorgeous with it on! I felt so honored to have her wear something I made on her wedding day!

Easy Men's T-Shirt Revamp

My husband threw this shirt in the donate pile a while ago and I snatched it up immediately. I have always loved this shirt of his and while I don't typically wear brown, I made an exception with this shirt.

I first flipped this shirt inside out and sewed up the sides to make it fit better. I then chopped off the sleeves and rounded the neck and bottom. I'm so happy with how this turned out and am happy that it can continue to live on in our family!

Here is a picture of me super excited to be wearing the shirt:

Happy 5 Year Anniversary!

What a lucky lady I am to be celebrating my 5 year anniversary with this guy!

Baked Radish Chips

We received radishes in our CSA box and we both looked at each other like...what do you do with radishes?  I'm pretty sure we have never made anything out of them before. At first I ate some raw with some salt and butter but then decided to try out a recipe with the ten or so I had left. I tried this super easy recipe here and wished that I had a few more bundles of radishes so I could make more and more and more! So tasty!

What you need:

Radishes (the more the better!)
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Here is what you do:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cut radishes into slices
3. Spread cut radishes out on a cookie sheet and sprinkle olive oil over them. Rub in the olive oil on the radish slices.
4. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the crispiness you want!

Enjoy!

Woodworking Apron from Men's Pants

Easy (and Adorable!) Baby Quilt

 

I have a little niece coming in August and I wanted to make her something extra fun and adorable to welcome her into the world. I hope she loves the bright colors and fun shapes.

How I made it: I pinned two yards of fabric (one side is made up of the three pieces sewed together) right sides together then sewed around the edges. I left about six inches open and flipped the quilt inside out. I then pinned the hole shut and sewed all the way around the edges again about 1/4 inch away from the edge. I also top stitched five straight lines to secure the pieces together.

A Summer Day in Portland, OR

A couple weeks ago, my friend came to visit from California and we headed a bit further north to spend a day in Portland. We had such a great time just wandering the city. We checked out the farmer's market, Powell's books, the rose garden, and even the long line at VooDoo Donuts. We also stumbled upon the dragon boat races that were happening all day.  Here are a couple pictures of our fun day!