2013 In Passing

I would say forgive me for my absense, but I'm not exactly apologizing. Since the last time I shared anything here life got intense! I fully meant to elaborate on what really brought about the change in my frequency here, when it became obvious but I was so wrapped up in it that I never did. You'll understand after I sum up the many ups and not so many downs of this year.

I suppose we'll start with the downs. At least what I can remember, which is not very much.

1. After too many complaints from neighbors of the noise coming from our apartment during our Thursday night grocery trips, we were forced to find a new home for our Miniature Schnauzer Edith, who was our first baby together. **This has an upside that will present later, in the goods part.**

2. At the very beginning of the year David's mom suffered major injuries from falling on ice at work and is STILL having surgeries to recover. **There is an upside to this too. Balance**

3. David's family's dog Obi went out to the backyard, fell asleep, and never woke up.

4. Someone who was very dear to our family and my grandmother in particular was taken from this earth.

Then there were all of these amazingly good things!

1. David's mama was able to quit smoking because of her stay in the hospital. She had been smoking for over thirty years, as I recall. She has also done a lot to get healthy, including eating mostly plant based food.

2.We went to Portland for our third anniversary, an epic first date without our child who was then just over two. This is when I weaned her as well.

3. David received a promotion at work which has made life a bit more comfortable (ie. not living paycheck to paycheck, being able to splurge on hobby stuff, the ability to throw out old holey sheets, etc.)

4. My dad started working a stable job with growth opportunities for Jackson's convenience stores. He's completed manager training and hopes to get a transfer and management position here in Washington sometime in 2014.

5. My sisters and I all got to see each other for Kitty's 20th birthday, in Idaho.

6. Lorelei became more or less potty trained. Accidents still happen every so often in the form of minor leaks and during the night, but she is a little rockstar!

7. My aunt and uncle opened a small family run business in Nampa, Idaho. This is something a lot of my dad's family always dreamed about.

8. We purchased an espresso machine and started our coffee business on the blogging/education/review side of the coffee industry. Our website Purista Coffee Co has been a really rewarding and fun project for us to do together. We've met the most exceptional people through it and feel great about it's future. In 2014 we plan to start selling our home roasted coffee!

9. Edith was taken in by David's dad who has always loved her and is a lonely long-haul truck driver. They are the best companions for each other we could have hoped for and they take such good care of each other as well. In fact, Edie saved his life one night while CO2 leaked into the cabin of his truck and he slept. The girl usually sleeps quietly through the night, but woke him urgently so that he could get them both out. He said when he woke up he had a horrible headache and felt the worst he ever had. We're so happy that she was there for him.

10. We started home roasting coffee, see #7. ;)

11. David's best friend moved into our apartment building (from Idaho) and started working with David as well.

12. My mom started working her dream job as a labor and delivery nurse at the hospital she works at. Next step midwifery, I hope.

13. David and Lorelei got to see the Pacific Northwest Ballet's Nutcracker for the first time. It was MAGICAL!

14. We got health insurance!!!!!!!! To each their own opinion about the Affordable Care Act, but  we couldn't be more happy. No more worries about whether or not we're falling apart. We'll be choosing a naturopath as our primary care provider and are thrilled about our wellness checks. Weird?

15. We found a house! Closing should be any day now and I can't wait to share our homeownership adventures here.

16. Last night we adopted a four month old Ausky (Australian Shephard/Husky mix) as an early birthday and housewarming present. She's a little not so little dream come true. We're looking forward to playing in our yard, hiking, swimming, and doing all kinds of active stuff with her. Her name is Gesha (pronounced like Geisha, but it's a rare and delightful coffee varietal, not a courtesan).

17. I'm still growing my hair and bangs out, and no-pooing. I'm shocked, really.

18. We have made some great plans and goals for 2014. I'll be back soon to share those.

I hope that you all have a great time saying goodbye to 2013 and ringing in 2014. For Auld Lang Syne...

Idaho Visit and Photo Overload

The 6th through the 10th we were in Southwestern Idaho to see family. It was the first time seeing my middle sister since we moved to Washington in February of 2012. Since then she got married and moved to California, so my immediate family now spans 3 states. I can't imagine how that feels for my parents, who only have one kid left at home.  In some ways being with both of my sisters at my parent's house felt just like home, but the dynamics have changed. We get along now, we love each other more, we don't have things to fight about, we've added brothers to the mix. Side note: I really like my new brother (who can dish out smack and tease with the best of them) and he makes my sister happy, which makes me happy. I miss the heck out of them! When I look at my youngest sister who is going to be a senior this year I still see her as being Lorelei's age, then being 5-10 and a complete pain in my rear, on purpose. I see my middle sister finding her own identity and ideals, and gaining a sense of independence, and I'm surprised and proud that she's managing (she's the one I thought might live at home much longer *chuckles*). 

She just turned 20 a couple days before our visit so the day we went to Boise to treat ourselves we took her with and spoiled her too. We binged on shaved ice and chatted up the owner/operator about the business and costs, he was really cool and answered all of our questions. After that we hung out at David's mom's house for a while and decided we were all tired and needed coffee (the night before we had driven over and then stayed up until 4 am for a total of 23 hours awake and then got up after sleeping 6 hours). We headed to our usual Boise coffee spot Flying M Coffeehouse, but were sidetracked by Guido's Pizzeria that is in the same building. We finally made it to the coffee shop with slices of thin, delicious basil pizza in hand. Guido's is the second best pizza we've eaten, after Ken's in PDX. Somehow, we hadn't finished our food adventures and ended up at Janjou Patisserie where we ate perfect French macaroons, a delightful little plum tart, and ran into one of David's school friends who was the barista there. Our last stop in Boise was Whole Foods, which wasn't there when we moved away so we had to check it out, and buy vegan burgers and cheese for a big barbecue we were having on Sunday. A lot has changed in Boise since we moved away, we miss it a little, aside from the dry heat and lack of foliage and employment.

The next day we lingered around my parent's house and Lorelei played in the yard and sprinkler until we decided to go see my grandma and grandpa. We stayed there pretty late, after having coffee, cheesecake, and pizza and just talking away. My grandma is always so genuinely interested in what we're up to and what our current interests are, so there's lots to talk about. We told her all about our future business plans, which she was tickled with. She told us about her plans to run away with my grandpa to the Oregon coast, which I wholeheartedly hope she does, and soon! Also, Lorelei got to see my grandma's horse Paco for the first time and pet him, I think she was in awe. My grandma sent us off with a stick horse that little miss promptly figured out how to "ride" all on her own. 

Sunday we went to breakfast to catch up with David's best friend. It was nice seeing him in such a good place, and so adult. I'm only bummed that we didn't get to meet his girlfriend who I think I would love. David misses him. I think we both miss our best friends because we haven't made any in Washington, they're kind of hard to make because people are disappointing and people have expectations. After we got back we barbecued and had lots  LOTS of company and lots of pool time (for Lorelei at least, this mama doesn't put on bathing suits, or shorts for that matter). All of my dad's family came, which included my grandparents, 4 aunts, 1 uncle, and 12 cousins, who are all growing/shrinking/changing like crazy. Abby's boyfriend was also there and I think 3 of Kitty and her Mr's friends. Also, 5 Schnauzers, and a guest appearance by a hilarious Chihuahua. Then to my surprise and delight my best friend and her two littles (who I expected) and also her parents and younger brother. When we were in high school her family was like my second family and I love them so I was so happy to see all of them! We had fun reminiscing about our shenanigans (we were um, weird, and we thought hilarious). David may have messed with Cera's dad about how because we were vegan we were part of some weird cult/religion. It was priceless. I'm so glad that even if we live 600 miles away we can still make new memories as adult friends with our own children. 

Below are a lot of the photos that David took. These are just of a few scenes from the trip, as there was so much going on that we wanted to enjoy rather than be behind a camera all the time. Fortunately these photos serve as a reminder of the other things that went on and weren't captured. It was the best kind of trip, much more pleasant than our last one to Idaho! 

All photos courtesy of Photography by David L. Clark.

Father's Daying

All photos courtesy of Photography by David L. Clark

So, not that I haven't been doing lifey stuff a lot lately, but yesterday we celebrated Father's Day and it was kind of perfect so...

1. Breakfasting: For breakfast I made vegan whole wheat and oatmeal belgian waffles and topped them with local raspberries that I pureed with some agave. Pretty, delicious, filling. Oh, and you know, chemex coffee.

2. Housekeeping: It always feels nice to do a little cleaning and care on a day when you know you get to do fun things as well. I did laundry, David tidied and vacuumed, and I cleaned the kitchen.

3. Treat Making: After some cleanup I made these raw lemon bars. They were really quick and simple to make, plus I managed to clean as I went so I had no mess afterwards (that's a huge deal, I make the worst kitchen messes).

4. Lunching: Friday night we were in Tacoma and ended up hanging out at my uncle's house pretty late, so we grabbed some vegetarian pad thai and sweet and sour tofu and veggies. It was a ton of food so we had leftovers for lunch.

5. Hiking: We headed out around 1 o'clock to the Twin Falls trail in North Bend. I did the trail when I was a kid and loved it so I thought it would be a fun, easy, spontaneous hike. Apparently every one else thought so to, it was really crowded but we really enjoyed ourselves anyways. Lorelei is a little pro! We brought our carrier backpack thinking she'd love it as much as last year, but girl's got too much energy and independence going for her, and a HUGE sense of adventure. We hiked about 1.8 miles with her hoofing more than half of it. She took lots of spills, saw a gardener snake, chased a much older ginger boy, tried to befriend a chipmunk, got blisters on her heels, peed on a rock, and made me a nervous wreck. I think she's pretty much the coolest child I could be lucky enough to know, let alone gestate myself and spend every day with ( I love her, my little "very best friend").

6. Coffee Drinking: After our hike I mentioned that we still needed to get Huxdotter coffee sometime, because it was the first coffee stand I ever went to, as a small child, and they have lots of milk choices. So we found ourselves there. David and I opted for iced lattes with hemp milk, him a double shot, me a single, and Lorelei a cake batter frappe. It only cost us $9.00 and it was pretty darn good, so that was worth the detour.

7. Dinner and Movie Watching: For dinner I did what I usually do and pulled some ideas out of my head into a perfectly executed, new favorite dish. It was a cashew cream and rainbow chard lasagna. David said it was restaurant quality and possibly his favorite dish I've ever made. It really was delicious, and EASY and I only dirtied 5 dishes making it! We watched The Company You Keep with Shia Lebeouf (good, good movie) while we ate.

8. Coffee and Desserting: So this is where we eat dessert, with more coffee (this time iced aeropress with coconut milk). The lemon bars were ambrosia! I'm convinced that I would be completely okay with eating all raw. I can't even begin to describe how delicious they were, just, if you like coconut and lemon, you would LOVE them.

So that was our Father's Day. It was just what we needed and we all went to bed pretty contentedly. I hope you're all having a lovely day celebrating the dads in your life, those guys are pretty darn important!

Portland Reminiscing: The Stay

We only spent one night in PDX, and we're so glad that we chose the ACE Hotel! Aside from being totally hip and fresh, having a fabulous bar and restaurant and Stumptown cafe attached, a photo booth, super cool art in all the rooms, claw foot tubs, comfortable bed (minus the down pillows if you're David) and a ten dollar breakfast that is worth it just for the croissants, they upgraded our room when they found out it was our anniversary. Pretty sweet I think. We would definitely stay again, and again, and again. 

It was a perfect setting for some ridiculous posed photos taken to a soundtrack of The Dutchess & The Duke played on the in room record player. 

It was also a good setting for a nerdy aeropress video. 

An AeroPress Brew Guide from Photography by David L Clark on Vimeo.

Portland Reminiscing: Coffee & Donuts

I'm having a rough day so I was reviewing Portland pictures for a good dose of happy. I edited my first batch while I was at it, so I figured I would send some of my happy out to you along with recommendations if you find yourself in PDX.

The first thing we did after rolling in to the City of Roses was to grab donuts, except that we weren't satisfied with doing de rigueur and hitting up Voodoo. Our research led us to the conclusion that Blue Star would be our happy place and by golly was it! The flavor combos made it impossible to choose just one each, so we loaded up a box with a passion fruit and cocoa, coconut coffee cheesecake, blueberry bourbon basil, salted caramel, hazelnut dulce de leche, and a hard apple cider fritter. As if those don't sound like heaven on their own, these are not your typical donuts. The dough is a buttery soft, melt in your mouth, angel kiss brioche. The flavors are explosive and potent, but somehow still seductively subtle and very well paired. I die. My only regret was that we didn't try them all! Also, though we didn't get coffee there, they get bonus points for the beautiful La Marzocco. P.S. There bathroom was very clean and warm and smelled like donuts (you know how public bathrooms can be cold and weird, just me? Maybe I'm weird?).

We took a walk with our donuts over to Coffeehouse Northwest, where we fell in love with their mochas on our first Portland visit. We aren't even mocha people anymore and we thoroughly enjoyed them. Plus the barista was adorable, friendly, and knowledgable. She even directed us towards some good shops and roasters we hadn't tried back home in Seattle. 

So these are the captures from our first morning. I'll have more coming with pictures from activities like visiting Pittock Mansion, Multnomah Falls, our hotel, and our other food adventures and pitfalls, plus a bonus! Keep your eyes open. o.o