New Hampshire Nuptials

West coast, you've got some competition in the fall department.

Redemption via earrings.

Today, after working 10 hours, I came home to find these earrings that I ordered from Etsy in my mailbox - the ones from the seller in Italy that I was starting to think weren't going to show up before I get on a plane to the East Coast tomorrow morning.

Well, they're here! And they're even more lovely than I anticipated. I can't wait to wear them while I watch my dear friends get married, on a mountain, in New Hampshire. (And maybe also while I'm drinking overpriced martinis in Manhattan.)

Here's to small victories, like earrings that seem like tiny miracles after a long week.

Reasons why the Pacific NW is pretty much amazing - Exhibit Q: Swimmin' Hole.

I don't know why it took me so long to go to this place, but on Saturday I threw myself in this mystical spot called Dougan Falls in the Washougal River in near Camas, Washington.

About half an hour's drive from Portland, a 30 mile stretch of road follows the water, allowing frolickers to pull off just about anywhere and jump in, with varying depths and currents. Some spots are perfect for a lazy tube ride, others, like the one we went to, are prime for amateur cliff jumping. Here the water was crystal clear and cold, but not go-into-shock cold, and deep enough in spots that you couldn't touch the bottom.

And the best part? I got myself some water socks. Amphibian feet technology has come a long way since 1992. I was shimmying up those wet boulders like it was nobody's business.

Hello, Pretty.

I finally succumbed to my urges, and brought home my very own iPhone today. She is everything I ever hoped she'd be. I've rationalized this upgrade in a number of different ways.

1. This is the first phone I've ever paid money for. Sooo, I deserve a nice one. Yeah. That's how that works.
   
2. My current (woops, I mean, former) phone, a dinosaur Nokia flip thing, has to be rigged up very carefully with the wind blowing on it in exactly the right way in order for it to charge. At one point it didn't ring, it warbled. Which was especially interesting when my rooster alarm clock went off.
   
3. This is not just a phone. It's a tiny computer! And an iPod, a digital camera, a video camera, GPS, and has applications that tell me where to eat and what constellations are currently overhead. How did I ever live without this?
4. I've already canceled out the additional monthly cost from my budget by threatening to leave my internet provider, which they responded to by cutting my bill in half for a year. Boom. Try it.
   
5. I just want to feel fancy.
   

I just worry about this purchase turning out like the dreaded Guess sunglasses incident of 1997. I was working as a lifeguard at the ole municipal swimming pool and went against all of my better judgment and spent $70, which is a fairly shocking figure when you're a 16-year-old lifeguard, on a pair of sunglasses. To go with my whistle. I lost them within 72 hours, and have been pretty cheap as a rule ever since. Here's hoping that my new precious gadget doesn't find itself underneath a zamboni, or in the belly of a wild beast. Which is where I can only assume my sunglasses are.

Why June would beat January in a cage fight:

Top sirloin, horseradish mashed Yukon Golds, sauteed zucchini + asparagus. Almost all of it from the farmer's market.

Berries. Berries!

I luuuuurve Oregon's berry season. What we lack in sunshine, we definitely make up for in well-endowed fruit. Some of you might have heard that I have a teensy bit of a sweet tooth. Or a gigantic Paul Bunyan sized bicuspid of one. So when the berry bounty is in full swing, I feel good about satisfying my urges in a more natural fashion. Like more natural than a jumbo box of rainbow nerds, for example. Or a half pound of salt water taffy. You get the idea.

It starts with the rhubarb. Then come the strawberries. Then the raspberries, followed by my favorite: The jumbo Oregon Blackberry varities. I'm pretty sure no other berry will ever compare, and I've come to terms with this.

All summer long I come up with different ways to manipulate all this fruit into desserts, my favorite being the Crisp. They're easy, you can virtually mix any kind of berry together and it will meld OK, and I usually have all of the ingredients on hand. I'm a firm believer that if you take some berries, mix them with a little bit of sugar, then top it with some semblance of oats, sugar, and butter -- it will turn out amazing and stun everyone you feed it to. Of course, you can add little variations - a little cinnamon here, some walnuts here - but seriously, it's pretty hard to screw up a crisp.

Plus, it's the perfect dessert to show up with at a BBQ. Here's the recipe I based my most recent crisp adventure on, from Molly Katzen's Dessert book.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp

2 lb fresh rhubarb, cut in 1-inch chunks
3 cups sliced strawberries
1/3 c sugar
1 1/4 c rolled oats
1 c flour
1/4 c brown sugar
3/4 tsp cinnamon
dash or two of allspice and nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 375. Mix your fruit with the white sugar. Mix together remaining ingredients. Put this on top of the fruit. Bake for 40 minutes. I told you it was easy.

Garden Arty

My friend Sally might be the most adorable person of all time. She's a newly minted art teacher, the kind that her students will someday refer to as "the one who determined my noble path in life" or "the teacher who inspired me to become the world class still-life painter I am today." She's one of those people.

A couple of weeks ago she gushed to me about my garden-in-a-drawer project, and said that it was inspiring her to create some art. Yes, this is how precious she is. I tried to warn you.

Her illustration is above, and it's so cute I want to squeeze something until I turn blue. My bearded companion suggested that I the little dresser tattooed on my body somewhere. I'm going to hold off on that. For now.

It's so good to know that there are people like Sally around, and even better to know that she's one of my buddies. I can't help but wonder how much better off I'd be, or we all would be, if we let ourselves be a bit more inspired all the time.

Also, I should probably note that I've gotten into the habit of watching Full House reruns at the gym, and just cued the "let's learn a valuable lesson" music in my head when I wrote that last paragraph. And I'm ok with it.

Epic Desert Camping Journey

This week Beard and I are embarking on a good old fashioned road trip to do some desert camping at Zion National Park in southern Utah. We're packing up the 93 Subaru wagon with bug spray and trail mix and will hopefully also be visiting the Grand Canyon, Joshua Tree, and Yosemite as we make our way back to Oregon through California.

I've been itching to spend some wilderness time in the southwest, and could really use a change of scenery. So I'll be off the grid for a week or so, but don't worry, when I return, you'll be powerless against the barrage of photos that I am going to force upon you. Hopefully I'll have a scorpion bite or two to show off as well.

Can't. Stop. Buying. Fabric.

It's like a sickness, really. I currently have enough in my arsenal to provide aprons for a small army of cake decorators, but knowing this does nothing to stop the urges. And I'm just getting started.

I've actually been sewing up a storm lately, but I can't reveal my creations to the blogosphere because they're gifts. But sooner or later certain people will have birthdays, and the sharing will commence.

In the meantime, check out these darling fabrics from Joel Dewberry. I found his work in a cute little sewing magazine that my mom mailed me. (Thanks, Mom. You're an enabler.) It doesn't appear that any of my local dealers currently carry it, but when they do I will find the fabric, and I will fondle it.

Pasty Magnificence.

In case you don't know, you're looking at a pasty. And you see that bulging pocket? Well, that's filled with beef. It was braised in port, along with some potatoes, carrots, onions and rutabagas, then inserted into a flaky, buttery crust. It may sound like a fancy Hot Pocket, but I assure you, its excellence is beyond compare. And that pile of ruffage? IT'S ALL PICKLED. Even the apples. This meal blew my doors off.

Pasties are a Midwestern thing, associated most closely with the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The 'ole U-P, if you will. When picking out a place to celebrate my birthday this week, my eyes lit up when I read about this new-ish establishment in North Portland called "Saraveza: Bottle Shop and Pasty Tavern." Bingo. And as if the pasties weren't enticing enough, they also sell Leinenkugel's, a Wisconsin microbrew that holds a dear place in my heart.

I could gush about Saraveza all day. They serve over 200 beers! There was a Belgian tasting going on while we were there! They offer cheese and summer sausage platters! They make their own chex mix! Before I knew what was happening the energy in the space propelled me to try to sing, then subsequently attempt to explain, the Turdy Point Buck song.

Or maybe the Leinie's was to blame. Either way, you know where to find me from now on.

SXSW Day Dos

Thursday was epic. We spent 12 hours downtown, and although it was packed with more musical merriment than one could imagine, by the end I feared my head might explode.

First we dropped into the Flamingo Cantina and caught Slaraffenland's set - a crew of Danes on Portland's Hometapes label, which also includes Eau Claire buddies Megafaun, (featured in the above photo) who we saw next. Fantastic show from these bearded gentlemen, who now reside in North Carolina. About 10 minutes after this show, we caught word that Portland darling Laura Gibson was playing a couple blocks away at the Side Bar. We walked in just as she was starting, and it was a treat. I could have done without the really loud, distracting drunk dudes guffawing and saying loud manly things in the background, but what do you do.

THEN, we biked across the Colorado River, which for some reason Texans refer to as "Lady Bird Lake." Whatever you say, Texas. We went to Auditorium Shores and saw Elvis Perkins, The Cold War Kids, and another Stumptown friend, M. Ward, who surprised me with a rollicking rock and roll show, the perfect ying to the yang of his recent, more subdued show at the Aladdin Theater. My friend Nathan Jr. is playing in his band, so it was great to see him get some Jumbotron time. Shredding, nonetheless.

We biked back downtown but the mayhem at this point was overwhelming, and we soon climbed back on our two-wheelers and went back home to recharge. SXSW, I vow to keep up with you.

(Laura Gibson)

(M. Ward and Nathan Jr. Jumbotron action)

SXSW Day Uno

Eeee! Arrived in Austin late yesterday afternoon, and after a quick clean up session to help me forget that a little guy barfed all over the back of my seat on flight 1, and that another kind soul decided to sneeze directly on me during flight 2, my friend Katie and I took to the streets. I enjoyed my first Lone Star beer on the back patio of Mug Shots bar, while listening to some really bad hardcore music in the adjacent lot. Then we went to the Stimulus Show at the Paradise Cafe and caught the tail end of Tigercity, followed by Morning Benders and Harlem Shakes. Good times. Other highlights include the "pulled pork taco" that I purchased, which turned out to be a good pound of pork in a tortilla, with NOTHING else, not even sauce mind you, and the bartender that threw a piece of ice at me. I did not follow-up.

Great day planned for today! Bikes, breakfast tacos, bats, beers and hopefully some old buddies. And in case you're wondering, yes, all that alliteration was on purpose.

There's no basement in the Alamo...

Weee!!! Stay tuned for some SXSW reportage!

Mine.

Huzzah! This biotch scored herself a sewing machine. It's my pleasure to introduce you to the Janome Sewist 525S. And I'm so tickled I'm just going to keep on typing without dwelling on the fact that "Sewist" is an unabashedly made-up word. You're spunky, Janome. Willing to take risks. I like that.

This weekend involved some intense research (I now know the difference between oscillating and rotary hooks!), demonstrations from a couple different sewing machine dealers around town, and I'm not ashamed to admit -- a bit of haggling. Ended up getting a screaming deal on this little princess. It seems Janome is giving their look a face lift -- in a month or so this exact machine will appear more futuristic and sleek. But in the meantime, they're trying to get the ugly stepsister version out of sight, hence knocking a couple hundred dollars off the price tag. But don't worry, 525S, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I will never make you feel less than stunning.

Here's a sampling of the features on my new fabric sleigh:

• 25 stitches including a one-step buttonhole
• Built-in needle threader
• Automatic one-step buttonhole
• Magnetic type horizontal full rotary hook
• Convenient one-hand thread cutter
• Convertible free arm for circular sewing
• Accessory storage
• Foot pressure adjustment
• Quick foot conversion
• Drop feed dog

I'm hoping to find out what most of these phrases mean soon. (I know one thing for sure, they're all about the buttonhole.) I've never wanted to be a member of a club so badly in my life.