{365 of 2012} Week 4

You know you lead an exciting life when 

your daily photos are of refrigerator magnets and trivets. 

Am I right?! 

Here is Week 4 of the year...

 Picked these up at an estate sale. I thought they were cute. 

 Also from an estate sale. Trivets are great. 

What else am I supposed to say about this kind of thing? 

 My coworker and friend has the best "whiteout" costume for spirit week. 

I laugh every time I see her in this. 

 I made snickerdoodles for my homeroom. 

I am not a hand model... 

 Going to Thursday night class is extra fun when this is the view. 

 Sometimes I spend my wild Friday night cooking 

wine-braised cabbage in my dutch oven. What of it. 

I actually did get out to socialize once this week. 

Terrible cell phone photo at Brave Horse Tavern.  

Blackberry sangria. That stuff is TOO good. 

Learn from my mistakes...cut yourself off after two. 

That's it for this week, thanks for stopping by! 

First Aid Kit

It's Music Monday and I can't even begin to describe 
how obsessed I am with this Swedish sister duo: 

First Aid Kit. (photo source)

They are coming to Seattle in April and you better believe I'm going. 

Tickets are only $12 and I have an extra if you want to join me :)

This is the song KEXP used to hook me: 

And this is my current favorite. Pretty video too! 



The album is only $7.99 on iTunes...I just treated myself :) 
I can't wait to see these ladies live! 

{365 of 2012} Week 3

Thanks to the snow, it was a lazy week. 

Therefore 3 of the 7 photos are of my cats, 

and only 2 of the 7 photos weren't taken at home. 

Try to enjoy them anyway! 

 Watching the snow fall. 

 We are really good at doing lazy these days. 

 Driving home from my one day of work - 

the calm before the (snow)storm. 

They like to love each other for about three minutes 

and then an epic battle follows. 

 Snow day #2 was the prettiest. 

 The snow melted and I attended a Mad Men 

themed event at the Bellevue Art Museum. 

One of my favorite FAB purchases. It's a bamboo bread board. 

The knife is stored in the slot on the side and the crumbs all fall inside 

while you slice. I tested it on some banana bread and it was fantastic. 

I can't promise that next week will be any more exciting, but we shall see. 

Thursday Happy Thoughts

All of my Happy Thoughts today are things I would love to own. 
Be warned there are a number of pillows... 

1. Arrows I want these SO BAD. 

2. Red Fox Pillow I think it's supposed to be for kids, but I like it. 

3. Home Is Where The Heart Is Print Because I need more art. Not.

4. Yellow Pillow for my bed. Too bad it won't go with my red couch. 

5. Fox Print Pillow Cover Cute, yes? 

6. Ghost Bear Scary and pretty at the same time. 

7. Mustard Houndstooth Scarf This one sold. I must find one.

8. Periodic Table "Teach" Pillow I don't know where this would go but it's cool. 

9. Mustard Deer Head Pillow I really want both of these pillows! 

I see a craft project in my future... 

10. Polar Bears (free pattern!) I want to make these. 


It's snowing again. Happy thought #11!

Snow Days

I got the call last night that school was canceled. 

One benefit of being a teacher is we still get good old snow days. 

I spent the day watching Downton Abbey, 

thinking in a British accent, 

making chili and skillet cornbread, 

doing homework, 

and cuddling with the kitties. 

Then I got another call...snow day again tomorrow!!! 

Black Bean Veggie Chili

Snow days require leggings, flannel, chili, and chocolate chip cookies. 

Let's take care of one of those things right now with a recipe... 

Black Bean Veggie Chili

(Not spicy in the least, because I am a wimp. 

I like my chili to be mild and packed with veggie goodness.) 

Ingredients: 

2 T. olive oil 

4 cloves garlic, minced 

1 red onion, chopped 

1 red pepper, chopped 

1 large sweet potato, chopped 

1 lime, zest and juice 

1 T. cumin 

1 t. salt 

4 - 15 oz. cans black beans 

1 - 28 oz. can diced tomatoes 

1 avocado (optional)

 Step 1: Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. 

Add the garlic, onion, and red pepper. Saute just until soft. 

Step 2: Add the sweet potato and the lime juice/zest. Cook until 

the sweet potato is soft, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Step 3: Stir in the cumin, salt, black beans and tomatoes.  

Once simmering, cover and cook for 15 minutes. 

Thin with broth or water if desired (I added some vegetable broth to mine). 

Serve hot with a little avocado and fresh baked cornbread. 

Watch the snow fall. Life is good. 

Recent Estate Finds

It's been a long time since I've posted estate sale finds. 

Then again, it's been a long time since I've been to an estate sale. 

I don't take home nearly as much as I used to. 

Which is definitely a good thing. 

Here's what I picked up with Kelly a couple weeks ago: 

 These three books are so pretty. 

And I always, always judge books by their covers. 

 I don't actually plan to read these, though. 

They are in Norwegian. 

 But aren't they sooooo pretty? 

 It's probably weird that I chose to take this home. 

But I thought it was cute. 

And who knows, maybe someday I will have pet sheep. 

And I will want to raise them in a modern way. 

I am planning to get rid of all my old suitcases and only keep this one. 

It's in beautiful condition (even the inside!) and actually sits flat. 

Plus it's a really pretty blue that goes with my decor. 

Last is this little owl. It can hang on a wall and hold flowers. 

On the back there is a note that says 

"Jim brought from Okva...? 7-13-53". 

I can't actually make out what the city is after the Ok. 

Anyway, I think it's cute. 

{365 of 2012} Week 2

Sorry for the lack of posts recently - 

I've been in a bit of a blogging slump. 

I have been keeping up with my daily photos, however. 

Here is Week 2: 

 A present to myself for the new year...a jototes camera bag. 

This way I can have all my cameras with me at all times. 

 A recent estate sale find. Maybe someday... 

 A sneak peek at the prettiest suitcase there ever was. 

 Sunset over the Olympics. 

 Another sunset while driving. The only time I see daylight most days. 

 There were a dozen of photos like this one on Facebook that night - 

the sky looked like it was on fire! Mine was taken in Ballard. 

The owl and the pussycat. 

Well that's it for Week 2. 

You'll see a few of these items in my next post... 

{365 of 2012} Week 1

I decided to start up my Project 365 this year. 

It can be tough but it forces me to stretch, which is good. 

Technically this will be Project 366 since it's a leap year... 

I got this awesome album for xmas so my photos will all be 4x6 this time. 

Here is Week 1 of 2012:

after midnight on NYE

CATS

quinoa, black beans, tomato, avocado, onion, lime juice = YUM

new favorite pillow

dessert after an evening class

playing CSI at work

a peek at my square photo wall featuring my last 365 project 

My current plan is to do a photo dump once a week. 

Doesn't that sound lovely? 

I have been in a slump lately and haven't felt like doing many of my favorite things. 

This includes taking photos. So please excuse the lame-factor in this set.