Day 186: decisions

I picked the options to the right.

Duh!

Music Monday: Jessica Lea Mayfield

Jessica Lea Mayfield is one of my favs,

and she released a new album earlier this month.

Her new single, "Our Hearts are Wrong", 
is FREE to download here, and it's my favorite.
There isn't a video yet, but you can listen to it in the "video" below:

My other favorites from this new album are 
"Run Myself Into the Ground" and "Sleepless".

From her older stuff I'm still obsessed with this song:


And I love this one too:


Her music is very relationship-heavy and is kind of a downer,
but that's my favorite kind!
Love her.

Bingo Night!

 A local senior center does a bingo/karaoke fundraiser once a month. 

Kelly convinced me this was something we needed to do. 

Good thing she made reservations early because it sold out in a week! 

 When we got there I was shocked to find that there wasn't a senior citizen in sight. 

And they were serving alcohol. Cheap alcohol. 

I picked the best dauber there. 

 There was a huge group next to us that was part of a birthday party. 

They were all dressed up like senior citizens. 

 This woman even found an oxygen tank that she dragged around! 

Everyone at our table was really nice. 

We started each game with a "dauber toast". 

 Kelly and I didn't win anything... 

But those who did were pelted with everyone's crumpled up bingo sheets. 

While everyone chanted, "BULLSH*T! BULLSH*T!"

 

One of the best parts of this night was the bingo caller. 
She looked and acted a lot like the grandma from Napoleon Dynamite.
At one point she even yelled, "Get yerself a god damn hot dog!" 

 Between each round of bingo there was karaoke. 

The oxygen tank woman danced on her chair. 

It was pretty wild and crazy and we all sang along. 

I learned that a bingo dauber makes an excellent microphone! 

This was more fun than I ever expected. 

I had an absolute blast! 

Can't wait to go again next month. 

Day 185: Martha does it again

I was at Safeway today purchasing supplies for this week's recipe 

(which is in the oven now and smells amazing, be excited for Tuesday) 

When I spotted this month's Martha. 

I've been planning my vegetable garden for months 

so I'm excited to see all of her ideas! 

Day 184: moccasins

 I'm up to 3 pairs now. Obsessed. 

They're all I wear. Every. Single. Day. 

But today it was below freezing, and my feet are numb. 

Worth it. 

The cats insisted on being part of this photoshoot. 

In fact, if you look through my photos 

a lot of them have little cat faces hiding in the background. 

Latest Estate Sale Finds

Thanks to some unexpected days off last week 

I was able to visit an estate sale on a weekday. 

I didn't pick up much since I'm trying to limit my spending, 

but the beauty of estate sales is you can satisfy that shopping craving 

without spending a lot of money! 

4 mini loaf pans - perfect for sharing Banana Bread 

A little ramekin for baking up some Spinach Artichoke Dip. 

Some pretty pyrex bowls that I passed on to Kelly. 

Sadly I don't have room for any more bowls! 

Day 183: a hint at things to come

Sunset on Phinney Ridge.

Tacos, beer and margaritas at El Chupacabra.

Followed by an incredible experience I will blog about tomorrow.

After yoga and lunch, in Saturday tradition!

Flashback Friday: snow (for reals)

In honor of the "snowstorm" we recently sustained, 

I want to revisit December of 2008. 

There was legitimate snow! 

Here I am measuring the snow on the back deck. 

I lived in Woodinville at the time, and my neighborhood usually got dumped on. 

Weird I was just wearing that shirt two days ago. 

This was the view from the front porch. 

This lasted for a week during winter break. 

One night a drunk driver came careening down our street, 

hit three cars, and crashed into a ditch. 

That was the highlight of the week since I couldn't leave the house for days. 

This was the year I decided I needed snowshoes. 

Of course, we haven't gotten snow like this since then. 

But someday I will snowshoe around Lake Union. 

Just you wait. 

Day 182: wall art

Thanks to another snow day 

I finally got around to hanging a couple prints I got for xmas.

this one

and this one

I love them!!!

10 Things I Love

Here are 10 Things I Love this week!

1. Pre-mixed cocktails in jars.

 I thought I had come up with idea on my own 

after my delicious mason jar beverage in Portland.

 I thought, "I can't drink this whole thing. 

Wouldn't it be nice if I could put a lid on it and take it to go?" 

But then I found this picture, so I'm obviously not the first to have this idea.

Image found on Pinterest but I couldn't locate the original source.

2. The Dainty Squid's post where she confesses 
to pulling her tights up so far they tuck into her bra.
And the comment thread that followed.
So funny/true!

3. Cat bunkbeds.

This is both hilarious and awesome at the same time.

These originally sold on Etsy.

I think I need to find an old suitcase and make this.

I'm going to skip the softballs, though.

4. This engagement shoot.
Inspired by The Notebook. Lots more photos here.
Mostly I just want that red dress. So. Bad. 

5. Fringey streamers.

So much better than regular streamers! Click here for the tutorial.

6. Book Club. 
It's only once a month and I really wish it happened more often.

7. This amazing dress.

Good thing it sold so I can't buy it.

8. This. 
Found here. Enough said.

9. Recycled bottle idea.
Just spray paint them white! From Aura Joon.

10. snow days, duh!

Best. Banana Bread. Ever.

I know, I know. 

It's not Recipe Tuesday. 

But for some reason today ended up being a snow-less snow day. 

And I had some bananas that needed to be baked up or thrown away. 

(the rhyming above was completely unintentional) 

This is Molly Wizenberg's banana bread recipe. 

It has a crumbly cinnamon sugar topping, 

and it will make your house small amazing. 

Not to mention it is the best banana bread I've ever eaten.

(nerd alert: I made a density column)

Day 181: snow day

snow day agenda: 

1. sleep 14 hours 

2. read blogs and drink coffee 

3. bake banana bread (recipe will be posted next) 

4. shower 

5. wash dishes and clean kitchen 

6. clean bathroom 

7. sweep, mop, and vacuum all floors 

8. watch Glee with the kittens (see photo) 

9. cook and eat stir fry for dinner 

10. book club 

11. relax and hope for another one tomorrow! 

Day 180: missing work

Not as in "I miss work", but "I wasn't at work". 

Interesting things happen when I'm away from my job... 

For example. 

I came back today to find that one of my students 

(who was proud to turn himself in) 

spent the time I was gone attaching clips to a paper towel. 

How lovely. 

When I asked "When did you have time to do all this?" 

He replied, "Oh we were all just standing around". 

Perfect. 

Spinach Artichoke Dip

With all that grading I had to do yesterday,
I needed a good snack...
Spinach Artichoke Dip 

This recipe is based on one from the vegan recipe at Daily Garnish. 

This version isn't vegan but it's still super healthy! 

Ingredients: 

1 T. olive oil 

5 cloves garlic, minced or pressed 

1 can artichoke hearts (in water), chopped

1 lb. frozen spinach 

2 T. mayonnaise 

2 T. cream cheese 

1/4 c. milk (I used almond milk) 

1/4 cup cheese (I switched from the cheddar pictured to mozzarella) 

Pinch of salt 

Heat the oil in a pan on medium-high and add the garlic.

Heat the garlic for a minute or two, stirring constantly so it doesn't burn.

Add the artichoke hearts and cook for a couple minutes more.

Keep stirring so you don't burn the garlic.

Add the spinach and cook for about 10 minutes.

Try to cook out as much of the water from the spinach as possible.

Add this mixture along with the rest of the ingredients to a food processor.

Process just until blended. You want it to stay a little chunky.

Put the mixture in a baking dish and sprinkle a little more cheese on top.
Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

This was really good!

I enjoyed it with Triscuits.

Definitely made the grading a little more bearable.