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May 23, 2007
Swiss Delight etcetera
I made Gazpacho today. I didn't really use a recipe, although I did call Vicky to check the major ingredients on my list. We chatted about lovely persimmon and copper colored yarns and then I skipped home to make my cold veggie soup. I have eaten so much junk lately, I guess I shouldn't really be surprised that my appetite is rejecting just about everything but vegetables. As gross as it is to have been eating so poorly, it sure feels good to crave vegetables. And what better way to satisfy the craving than with Gazpacho? The irony of the whole thing though is that when I got my beautiful Cuisinart food processor from my dad a while back, I had promised myself that the first thing I would make would be Gazpacho because that is just one of those traditionally "Cuisinart-necessary" foods. Unfortunately I never got around to it, and now my Cuisinart is in storage, so instead I got out my new knife (also a gift from dad and Vicky) and chopped my heart out (that doesn't sound right, but you get me). My soup didn't quite taste like the stuff I grew up on, but I realized that Gazpacho is pretty easy-going: add a veggie here, tweak a measurement there, it should really just taste like good vegetables. So now I am enjoying my garlic-y Gazpacho breath and look forward to scarfing the leftovers (whose flavor only improves with time) in the morning. Yay.
On a totally different note, I have to share this most exciting purchase. I bought this beautiful mousy brown wool blanket from Savers yesterday for $10 (I know, a bit high for Savers, but well worth it when you find out the story behind it...) I really just liked the colors, and the little graphic white cross and how soft it was for being wool. I thought it would be the perfect picnic blanket, or just something to keep in the trunk of the car. I thought it looked old-ish, but didn't think much else into it. Today it occurred to me that maybe the blanket was truly vintage, and maybe it was military something-or-other (I love old army surplus stuff). When I went to look it up online, I discovered that it is a Swiss Army war blanket probably from the fifties or sixties. It's not worth a bundle (I saw prices anywhere from $20-$60), but I like it that much more. First of all, it has historical value, and second of all look at how amazingly it matches the colors in my rug? Yay.
This is my friend Libby Sterling. Yes, her name is Elizabeth Sterling. How incredible is that? She is very cool. She is from Alaska and embodies so much of that North-westness that I wish I had. She approves of Portland, which makes me happy. Anyway, there we are, two Libbys.
And behold, some more friends. I was crashing the Biola Senior Dinner last week. Apparently I have something very large and frightening in my teeth...
Posted by libbystokes at 11:24 PM | Comments (0)
May 16, 2007
DIY Dreamgirl
This is so great. For the last couple of years, I have noticed that the paint on a thin metal strip on my car just below each front side window has begun to crack and chip. Weathered and washed and weathered some more, it just started to look crappy. Back in high school I had refinished our barbeque with special high heat super duper spray paint and thought this might just do a good job of covering up all the newly exposed shiny metal on the strips on my car. So I spent all of ten bucks on paint, tape, a roll of brown paper, a scraping knife and sand paper and got to work.
And of course I actually started working on it once I had arrived on campus at Biola to visit friends. So the thing that was so great about all this is I'm standing there masking off a little strip of metal on each side of my car, sticking up big sheets of paper with bright blue painter's tape, all this as students and staff are milling about their daily business.
I definately got some looks. And there was more than one "double-take." One guy when walking past me for the second time in a few minutes said, "Ok, you've got me stumped. What
Anyway, the metal window trim turned out perfect and I am feeling the satisfaction tonight that comes with the completion of a project long over-due. (Not to mention the fun of impressing a few men :)
(Speaking of men, I definately feel like I want one right now. But that's another story...)
Posted by libbystokes at 12:43 AM | Comments (0)
May 12, 2007
Give me Mr. Brown
Speaking of design shows...(see previous post)...I have also been enjoying a bunch of cooking shows these days as well. Know that I am a little embarassed to say this, but I have developed a little crush. If you are versed in the Food Network's lineup you are probably thinking, "Oh it's that british guy Oliver or maybe it's Tyler Florence." No, you are wrong.
I love Alton Brown. He is such a great combination of nerdiness, verbosity, science, glasses and food. He is both informative and adorable at the same time. He is like the Bill Nye of food. Yes, I watched that show (and probably after you stopped watching it...). I know he's like fortysomething and married and has an adorable child. I still love him.
Posted by libbystokes at 11:04 PM | Comments (0)
While you were away
I have been living with my aunt and uncle since last December and they have been very generous in offering me a room free of rent. In an effort to repay them somehow, I have offered to help with any projects around the house that might need to be done. My aunt expressed a desire to paint the interior walls, but there was always something keeping us from going forward with it.
She and my uncle went out of town about a week ago and since then, my cousin and I have conspired to do our own little "While you were out" design spectacular. Now you should know that I watch a lot of those design shows where a team comes in and totally redesigns a room in under two days for under $500. This has been a little like that. My cousin owns an event design company and so has major resources such as tons of fabric, wood, and the best part: salaried employees. So when we started our little project (we initially were going to repaint two bedrooms), there was someone to help. Then it moved outside and she had two guys over building a new patio cover. Then it moved into the livingroom, and soon we were building whole new headboards and gazebo canopies.
The best moment for me was when I looked around and realized just how much we were starting to resemble one of those design shows. There was Crystal, my cousin, the designer. There was Jody the painter, Sean and Benny the construction guys, and me the seamstress and otherwise handy do-anything-er. It was fantastic.
So all this to say, it will be a big surprise for my aunt and uncle (who haven't painted the interior for over twenty years)! Their humble little home is looking brighter and warmer every minute and I am reveling in the joy I feel at preparing something special for some very dear and generous family.
Update: here are some before, during and after pictures. There aren't so many "just room" pictures, but you can at least see a little of how it looks. Enjoy!
Posted by libbystokes at 10:45 PM | Comments (0)