Thrift Store Score

Last weekend Pescadero's tiny thrift store yielded this dress, which magically happened to be in my size and come with a very manageable $12 price tag:

Now, looking at this dress, doesn't it scream "vintage"?  Yes.  Yes, it does.  From the waistline to the pleats to the fabric to the cowl/scoop neck, it has vintage written all over it.  But when I went looking for the assumed vintage tag, instead I found one from David's Bridal.  I guess this must have been sold as a bridesmaid's dress.  Either way, I love it!  {And I will be passing it off as vintage when I wear it out on the town.}

Speaking of which, were I to wear this dress out for a nice dinner or to a party, I'd pair it with black tights, black booties, and a cardigan of some sort (since it never gets warm enough here to bare your shoulders).  

St. Anthony's Cemetery

Last time we went to Pescadero, we didn't stumble upon this pioneer cemetery until it was almost dark.  So this time I made sure that we went over to check it out with enough daylight left to take photos.  It's a fascinating place, with so many very old tombstones and grave markers, some of them tumbling down and crumbling, others in (strangely) almost perfect condition.

{Founded in 1856.}

{Fallen.}

{Frankie Estes.}

{The Good Family.}

{Fred Good, age 7.}

{From the Goulson plot.}

Goat Cheese, Please

I doubt I'll ever tire of driving south on Highway 1, with the Pacific to my right and rolling hills to my left.  It always amazes me how quickly the metropolis that is San Francisco and her surrounding cities turns to countryside, pastureland, and beaches.  Every day I thank my lucky stars that I get to live in this beautiful state, but anytime I'm on Highway 1 my gratitude increases exponentially.

We found ourselves on the 1 again this weekend, headed to Pescadero for the dedication of a new Bookmobile (nerdiest excuse for a day trip ever!).  Cole wanted to be there for work reasons and she invited (bribed) me to come along, with promises of goat cheese from Harley Farms, idyllic landscapes to photograph, and a meal at the historic Duarte's Tavern (in operation since the late 1800s and still going strong).

Harley Farms was one of our first stops.  It was our second trip to the farm, and not only did we get to see big goats and baby goats, a wedding was about to get started in the garden!  This would be a perfect place to get hitched--green rolling hills, gardens, an old farmhouse.

 {The garden set up for the wedding.}

{The edible flowers that are used with some of the goat cheese.}

 {Kids!}

 {Some of the cheese they sell.  The flowers on the buttons above are from the edible flowers garden.}

During this visit, we picked up some goat milk ricotta, which is delicious.  Cole turned out tasty tuna melts with the ricotta this weekend--white albacore tuna mixed with balsamic vinegar and capers on homemade bread, topped with goat milk ricotta.  I think Cole has officially turned into a foodie.

In a few months I'm planning to lobby to return to Harley Farms.  Still need to try their (goat milk) fudge!

I still need to try their fudge...guess we'll need to go back!

T-Shirt Rug: Part One

A couple of months ago I saw this tutorial on making a Flokati-style rug out of t-shirts.  Since rugs really cozy up our apartment full of hardwood floors, I jumped right on it.  The prep phase for this project has been a bit long, but I have no doubt that it'll be worth it.  

To get this DIY started, I had to scour our local Salvation Army for a ton of white t-shirts.  I made a beeline for the men's t-shirt section and selected the biggest, cheapest white shirts I could find.  That day, I went home with 25 t-shirts and began the cutting process.  I cut the tees into one-inch strips, filling a huge bag.  This cutting phase took a long time and spanned many an Entourage episode.  It also took a toll on my right hand.  Even with Cole's good sewing scissors, it was a lot of repetitive movement!

{The dyed strips waiting to be cut into smaller strips.}

Once I had sliced and diced all of my t-shirts, it was time to dye the strips.  I chose Sunshine Orange, a RIT color, and I headed up the hill to a laundromat on Cortland to do the dyeing.  Talk about a stressful hour!  I did not choose wisely in terms of laundromats.  The one I chose was really small and an old Chinese lady was milling about, cleaning the floors and watching everyone and everything like a hawk.  I already felt suspect since I was going to be dyeing my strips in a machine, which can be a big no-no at laundromats.  (In my defense, I always clean up after myself and make sure that no trace of dye remains on/around the machine.)

Anyway, I had to stealthily add my dye to the machine and start the cycle without arousing the suspicion of the old Chinese lady.  Then I sat back with my book, surreptitiously reading but really monitoring her movements.  At one point she lifted the lid on a washer in progress and my heart lurched into my throat, hoping she wouldn't check my washer.  Luckily, she didn't.  When my washer finally shuddered to a halt, I was able to quickly pile all of the strips into a dryer and then run a second cycle through the washer to remove any traces of orange dye.

Only once did the old lady pause in front of my dryer, sizing up all of the orange cotton strips spinning around in it.  She then moved on, sweeping detritus out the front door.

I'm 99% happy with the dyed color; it's just as sunshine-y as I hoped.  Unfortunately, the first thought that came to mind when I saw the dyed strips was Circus Peanuts.  Yep, these strips are the exact color of that dastardly candy.  I'll get over it.

{About halfway through the cutting-down stage.}

Once I had my clean, dyed strips at home, it was time to cut the strips into MORE strips--each one four inches long.  This also took a long time and a lot of cutting.  Again, my hand suffered.  But after a couple of hours, I cut the last one and surveyed the mound that I had created.

{Mound o' strips!}

Now that I'm done with the cutting and dyeing stages, it's time to start hooking the rug.  This is the canvas I'll be using:

It's in the shape of a rectangle right now, but I've been thinking of cutting it into a circle or possibly an oval.  We'll see.  Off to watch (more) Entourage and start putting this thing together...I can already almost feel my toes scrunching into the super-soft t-shirt material of this soon-to-be rug!

Spring Buds

Cole picked up these flowering branches at the farmers market this weekend--and within a few days of sitting on our kitchen counter, these beautiful reddish-pink flowers began to appear.  Flowering branches are one of my favorite things to get at the flower stall because they last for so long. 

I like these little buds, and I like the fact that the days are getting longer.

Let's Cuddle

For Valentine's Day, I embroidered this little guy for Cole.  What is it, you ask?  Why, it's the chemical compound for oxytocin--that little cocktail otherwise known as the love hormone.

Happy Valentine's Day!  Here's to everyone having someone that trips the love hormone for them--whether it's a friend, family member, or lover.

The New Whole Grains in My Life

Yes, I'm really writing about whole grains.  It's pretty exciting.  You think I'm being sarcastic...

For the past few years, I'd been playing the field with the usual suspects:  brown rice, Israeli couscous, oatmeal...some steel-cut oats that I quickly rejected.  About six months ago, I fell into an addictive relationship with popcorn, popped fresh on the stove and topped with nutritional yeast.  During this time I also started seeing bulgur (cracked wheat) on and off, but never could commit to a regular thing.

But this week I decided to step up my commitment to the ol' whole grain by bringing the following into my life:

• Barley:  Filling, chewy, delicious.  Barley has appeared this week in a salmon/baby spinach/orange salad; as an entree with sauteed onions and mushrooms; and as breakfast with a sprinkle of sliced almonds, cinnamon, Mayan cocoa, and milk.  It's a great alternative to my first love, oatmeal, in the morning.
• Kamut & Quinoa:  Now, to be honest, I'd already seen quinoa quite a few times and knew that my pantry contained an abundance of this grain in a red-lidded jar.  But it took a desire for better-tasting, healthy (i.e., not white) pasta for me to seek quinoa and friend kamut out in the co-op aisle.  They're a twisted pair, those 100% organic, whole-grain fellows.

Truth be told, I was a bit apprehensive about this pasta after having a lackluster experience with whole wheat pasta, which is just kind of cardboard-esque and not even that good for you in the end.

But these guys!  This twisted pair!  They knocked my socks off.

After cooking the pasta to a nice tenderness, I added a few large fistfuls of arugula (I am OBSESSED with its peppery goodness), some diced tomato*, olive oil, sea salt, and pepper.  Topped it all off with some grated Parmesan.

It came out pretty delish, if I do say so myself.  I could tell straight away that K&Q and I were hitting it off.  This twisted pair was nice and tender but not soggy.  Nowhere could I detect the taste of cardboard, despite a robust 5 grams of dietary fiber per serving.  Just like regular pasta, but better!

{I actually had to go look kamut up.  The Interwebs tells me it's two times larger than regular wheat and has a rich, nutty flavor.}

*Yes, I know tomatoes aren't in season right now.  It's a sad, sad fact of winter.  So when I saw some shiny tomatoes at the farmers market last weekend, I pounced.  Are they the best tomatoes I've ever tasted?  Not by a long shot.  Am I wondering where they came from?  Yes.  But neither of these things detracts from my enjoyment of their juicy goodness.