crocheted necklace and a guessing game

Yesterday I wore this necklace I won from Donna's Decembers via a Smile and Wave giveaway. It made me smile all day long. You can't see it in the photo (due to my short arms and lack of camera self-timer skills), but I was wearing a red and blue tie belt over my t-shirt dress and cardigan. It was a very patriotic/nautical kind of day. 

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These are photos of K opening his crocheted gift. 

Can you tell he's a little baffled?

 His first guess: handwarmer? Nope.

 Neckwarmer? Not nearly big enough. 

 His final guess was upperarm warmer. While he could start a new trend, I don't really think it's very practical. 

I reminded him that he had forgotten the most important clue: 

It's not something you wear. 

So, what about you? Any guesses?

 I know I've got some crafty readers. I bet you guys can guess this in no time. 

birthday boy...

...er...birthday man? That just doesn't have the same ring to it.

Anyway...

Happy Birthday to my favorite husband, Korey!

Hope you have a marvelous 28th birthday.

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He opened presents this morning* and spent his time before work listening to new records. Tonight we're looking forward to dinner out and cake at home (quite possibly the ugliest cake I've ever made. I'm hoping that it is equally homely and delicious). 

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* I'll put up photos later of him trying to figure out what the crocheted thing I made him is. It was hilarious!

weekend snippets

This weekend we took a little roadtrip to K's parents' house to celebrate several birthdays. Along the way we managed to squeeze in a visit with my sister at her college. Some of my favorite parts of the weekend follow:

Fire. So perfect on a cool night.

There was marshmallow roasting.

K's mom harvested some of the last tomatoes (and peppers) of the season. We took home a giant bag to eat and freeze for winter.

I spotted the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile in a darkened hotel parking lot in Lexington, KY. So exciting! Perhaps it was in town for the World Equestrian Games?

My sister has the coziest dorm room I've ever seen. It was so good to see her!

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And you? What was your favorite part of the weekend?

csa day: autumn begins

CSA day vegetables from the past two weeks have definitely shown that fall is here. We're getting butternut squash and cold weather greens like chard, though some summer staples like tomatoes and peppers are still hanging on.

Two weeks ago we got: lots of sweet peppers, hot peppers, a variety of squash, chard, and tomatoes.

Last week we got: sweet peppers, a mix of beans, hot peppers, sweet basil and holy (purple) basil, beets, butternut squash, and sweet potatoes.

This year's CSA subscription has felt very different from last year's. Last year we picked up the vegetables at the farmers' market and chatted with one of the guys who worked on the farm. He'd let us know how growing was going and give us tips on how to cook things we weren't familiar with. This year the vegetables are delivered to my dad's front porch in the early morning, so it feels a little like the vegetable fairy has come. Delivery is very convenient for us, but I've missed the interaction with the person who grows our food. 

Recently Nick, the farmer of Finger Picking Farms, emailed some details about how the farming is going. He said that because of the lack of rain and super hot weather, he's gone to overnight watering for the fall crops. The watering has to be rotated fairly often to get to all of the crops, so he's been sleeping in a makeshift bed in the back of his pick-up truck, waking every hour and a half to change the watering over. Knowing all of the work he's put into these vegetables will make them taste even better and will keep me motivated to use them all.

The plan is to freeze a lot of peppers, make a small batch of pesto, and to roast the squash and sweet potatoes. I'm sure we'll find a night to have the green, speckled, and yellow wax beans with dinner, but I don't know what we'll do with the beets yet. With school and work, I don't have the time to whip up beet gnocchi this week. Does anybody have any quick and easy ideas?

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Menu Highlights from the past two weeks:

Indonesian Sweet Potato and Cabbage Soup

Spinach Lasagna

Black Bean Chili (from Lynn's Paradise Cafe)

Breakfast Burritos (Chili leftovers + Eggs + Tortillas)

Peas, Feta, and Fried Egg on Toast (via A Cup of Jo)

Veggie Burgers and Cabbage Casserole (K's mom's recipe)

Yes, I am very behind on sharing our menus, but we've made some really great meals lately that I think you will absolutely love! 

The Sweet Potato and Cabbage soup--Inspired by the Indonesian dish gado-gado, this soup contains sweet potatoes, chopped cabbage, ginger, garlic, onions, and tomatoes in a peanut butter broth, and is excellent when topped with green onions and cilantro. While the name might not sound very appealing at first, let me tell you, once you make this it will quickly become a regular in your meal-making. It's got peanut butter in it after all!  And with so many healthy vegetables, it's great for warding off colds.

The Black Bean Chili--This is a very thick and hearty chili (what a certain TV chef might refer to as a--gag--stoup). The recipe comes from a nationally famous local restaurant that specializes in good food, expensive drinks, and gaudy decor. What I love about this chili is how versatile it is. Not only did we eat it as plain ol' chili, we also used it to make breakfast burritos and as a topping for baked sweet potatoes (my new favorite lunch). The only major change we made is using only half as many beans as the recipe calls for. Believe me, even when halved, it's still plenty of beans.

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What have you been cooking lately? I'm always looking for fast meals and make-ahead dinners.

Autumn Nostalgia

Happy Autumn! I'm over-the-moon happy that it's officially fall. I decided to celebrate by sharing some of my favorite fall photos that I took when I lived in Japan. It seemed fitting to reminisce--autumn just makes me feel like curling up and telling stories over spiced wine or tea. 

Crochet and food offerings at this tiny shrine in Kajo Park, a city park that I biked through on my way to work. Not a bad commute! I always thought of this as the cat shrine because it looks like a feline perched there on a rock, but I don't really know what it's supposed to be. 

Daikons and persimmons hanging up to dry. This was the view out my bedroom window.

Yellow ginko leaf on my scarf. I took this photo on a cool autumn day at the park. K and I sat on a bench sipping from a thermos of hot tea and watched the ginko leaves stream down from their branches. 

A garage well-stocked with wood, daikons, and drying peppers. I was always peeking into this garage to see what they were drying, and I remember trying to sneak and take this photo. K and I referred to the owners of this garage as 'the catwalkers' because they were always out in the morning walking their cat on a leash. 

Oh goodness, it's me circa 2006. Don't I look so young? Anyway, this picture is part of my fall flashback because I was drinking umeshu, which is a deliciously sweet apricot liqueur. In the spring, unripe apricots are mixed with sugar and alcohol and left to ferment over the summer. By fall, it's ready to drink. You can see the preserved apricot in bottom of the glass if you look closely. Mmm...I'm going to have to find some umeshu soon.

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So, what's your favorite fall memory? Jumping in leaf piles? Sipping cider? Picking pumpkins? I'd love to hear!

Pinwheel Friends

My sewing machine saw the tiniest bit of action this weekend. It's the third weekend in a row I told myself that I was going to finally finish up my second pinwheel pillow cover. The first needed a friend, you know? So there I was at 11 o'clock on Sunday night stitching this together so that I could reach my self-appointed deadline. Success!

The pinwheel covers are for my living room floor pillows. I don't know if it's from living in Japan or what, but I often find myself wanting to plop down in the middle of the floor to work on projects or just listen to records. These floor pillows make the hardwood floor a little more bearable.

These are made with vintage sheets from my growing collection. I can't get enough vintage sheets in my life! If you missed it the first time, I used this fun tutorial for making the pinwheels.

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In a happy coincidence, today is pinwheels for peace day! Thanks to Elizabeth for the heads up.

weekend snippets: tea, cupcakes, and crochet

masala chai for two from the zen teahouse.

cupcake prep. yum.

my potluck contribution. chocolate cupcakes with vanilla/chocolate buttercream frosting.

reading middlemarch with the help of awake blend tea.

a bit of hook time with some red thread. motif #46 from this book.

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this weekend has been full, but very happy. i got to visit with both of my parents, hang out with a grade school friend, and go on a cool morning walk with k. of course there was also lots of studying, as well as a bit of cooking and cleaning, but that's to be expected. 

what's something happy from your weekend? i'd love to hear. it'll help me (and maybe you) extend good weekend feelings on into the work/school week.