I wanted to celebrate our anniversary by making a big list - a bucket list, if you will. We spent all day brainstorming big (and little) things we want to accomplish over our lifetime together.

I decided to make it official by typing it out on my vintage typewriter. Only getting it notarized would make it more official.

Here are some of my favorites:
021: get a palm reading
030: start a fire without matches
031: watch all the godfather movies - in a row
039: make s'mores from scratch
041: go to a drive-in movie
045: fly a kite
066: make a short film
074: have a full blown pet funeral (for scooty, most likely... awww)
076: in one year grow more food than we buy
090: find a signature scent
097: watch the sun set and stay awake to watch the sun rise

Do you have a bucket list? What are some things on it?

• Labels:
• bucket list
• jeremy and kathleen
• typewriter
• vintage


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I picked up another Bombs Away Oklahoma tee at Birdie this weekend. Love it.

• Labels:
• oklahoma
• shopping local
• what we wear


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I had planned on making homemade powdered donuts for our anniversary breakfast but decided on a German pancake.

Grandma's German Pancake
2 eggs
1/2 c milk
1/2 c flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour)
A pinch of salt
4 tbs. of butter (you can get away with 2)

Lemon
Powdered Sugar
Honey

Heat your oven to 400F and melt butter in a cast iron skillet.

Mix your eggs, milk, flour and salt together until smooth (no lumps like normal pancake batter).

Pour batter into cast iron skillet on top of the butter. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Top with lemon and powdered sugar. We also used a little bit of honey. You can also use jam or maple syrup as well. Whatever suits your fancy.

• Labels:
• eating local
• organic
• what we eat


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I don't care how ugly my feet are - a fresh pedicure always makes me feel a little more pretty and put together.

• Labels:
• kathleen
• spring


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Today we celebrated 365 days as Mr. and Mrs. by lazing around in our pajamas, cooking good food, watching the entire first season of United States of Tara and making a big list. More on the list later.

• Labels:
• Photography
• wedding
• wedding anniversary


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a.


b.


c.


d.


a.
One of the things I'm going to do to prep for the Everest Base Camp trek is to walk to work a couple times a week. It's just a little over 3 miles and will be a great way to engage my walking muscles (which seem to be a little different than running) and break in my hiking boots.

b.
I love these WPA stamps in concrete.

c.
Hi, dad! (that's his office building)

d.
On my "urban trek" I walked through 3 parks, two historical neighborhoods, a little bit of the ghetto, the first place my sister lived when she moved to OKC, lots of churches, lots of historical mansions, the bombing memorial, downtown and finally to my destination in Bricktown.

• Labels:
• everest base camp trek
• Work


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Jeremy and I have decided to stay in our current home forever. That is until we can afford build our dream home in the country, live off the grid and have a goat or two.

However, this house is a few blocks from ours and if it ever comes on the market I will be very tempted to buy it. I'm pretty sure it's tiny but it's right on a park and has stairs that lead to the roof!

• Labels:
• House
• Inspiration


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Today I've been daydreaming about getting a few chickens that would give me delicious eggs, whenever they please.

There's even a group on Facebook working hard to make city chickens legal.

Photos by Liz Fabry, who now has a fabulous Flickr account.

• Labels:
• chickens
• eating local
• eggs


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Mister Boots is going through a sweet phase. He can't get enough of his morning lovely time with Jeremy and lately he's all about burrowing under blankets. Yesterday I was wearing a hoodie-scarf and when Boots noticed it he insisted on getting cozy under it with me while meditating on a squirrel in the front yard.

• Labels:
• scooty boots


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Now that I've mastered my red curry recipe (the trick is to add peanut butter) I've moved on to a masaman curry recipe. Eventually, I want to get into experimenting with Indian recipes.

Oh - and I've figured out how to get my brown rice JUST right (without a rice cooker).

Masaman Chick Pea Curry
1 small can of masaman curry paste
1 14oz. can of coconut milk
1 red pepper
1 large onion
1 block of extra firm tofu
2 c chick peas
Olive oil

Heat olive oil in a pan until a drop of water sizzles and threatens to burn your eye out. Slice your tofu block into 1/2" slices - then cut those into strips. Fry in pan until browned (it took me about 5-6 minutes on each side).

Meanwhile slice your onion and red pepper. Remove tofu and add entire can of curry to the pan (just use the leftover oil from the tofu). Sautee alone until fragrant. Add onion and red pepper. After a few minutes add your chick peas. Then add your coconut milk and tofu. Stir it all together and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes so all your flavor is absorbed into the veggies and tofu.

Serve over brown rice.

I'm now cooking my brown rice with 2c rice, 3c water, 1 tbs butter. Bring to boil, cover with a lid with just a small crack to let a little steam out, simmer for 50 minutes. It comes out perfect.

• Labels:
• organic
• what we eat


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a.


b.


c.


a.
The weather was beautiful yesterday. I went straight home after work to go play in the park with Jeremy.

b.
We played some frisbee. Our favorite.

c.
And I got some (much needed) sun on my legs - they pretty much glow in the dark.

• Labels:
• edgemere park
• spring
• Weather


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A few years ago I didn't really eat beans. I was the worst vegetarian ever. I finally found joy (and protein) in beans. Now I'm discovering soaking and boiling which takes a little bit of foresight and some much needed patience.

I love the relationship I've developed with food and cooking - we're becoming old friends, fast. Cooking is becoming more like a ritual: rinse, soak, boil, mix, knead, rise, bake, chop, dice, toss. It's not a new concept - but it's new to me.

Also, I just really like the color of those kidney beans.

• Labels:
• Food
• organic
• what we eat


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Check out this jankity little seed operation we've got going on here. I couldn't decide if I wanted to start my seeds indoors and transplant later or just start outdoors - but here we are. With a beer palette full of dirt and seeds housed on the guest bed where it will get lots of daylight.

For the next couple of weeks we will continue to water and cross our fingers.

• Labels:
• gardening
• square foot garden
• vegetable gardening


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I've been reading a lot about altitude sickness in preparation for our Everest Base Camp trek and trying to figure out any way possible to prepare for it - though you really can't. You either get it or you don't - and there are varying levels - from a lil' bit of nausea - to cerebral edema and dying.

So some of the things I'm reading are telling me to avoid caffeine and alcohol, my two favorite things, and to stay hydrated.

Avoiding alcohol is fine. I enjoy a glass of wine every night but I can do without. Coffee is another thing altogether. We don't drink soda but I feel like I can't live without my morning cup of coffee. I'm not willing to go for decaf - it'll just be a hurtful facade of a cup of coffee.

So, now until our Fall trek Jeremy (our household barista), will be making less of our coffee every morning and making it ever so slightly weaker. We've been developing a taste for tea, which has significantly less or no caffeine, but still has that same piping hot comfort.

Have any of you given up caffeine? How did you do it?

• Labels:
• coffee
• everest base camp trek
• tea


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I wasn't sold on getting a food processor. I thought maybe it was a fad cooking tool - like a panini griller. Or a practical tool, like a blender, that just never gets used - no matter how many fruit smoothies you think you'll make.

I was wrong.

Jeremy ordered me a 14 c. Cuisinart food processor (with our credit card rewards points!) and it arrived on Friday. I've used it for almost every meal since.

Pesto & Pasta
1 bunch of basil
1 bunch of fresh spinach
3/4 c. freshly grated parmesan
1 small handful pine nuts
3 cloves garlic
A few tbs. olive oil

Throw it all in the food processor and blend. Voila.

I used kamut and quinoa pasta. This was one of the quickest and tastiest meals I've had. Adding fresh diced tomatoes would've given this dish a nice color and flavor.

• Labels:
• eating local
• food tools
• organic
• what we eat


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a.


b.




a.
This morning we woke up with the ground covered with snow and huge powdery flakes falling from the sky. Everyone has seen enough snow photos this season to last a lifetime - so instead I thought I'd post a picture of how bright snow makes the interior of our home. Reflective snow with 27 windows makes it very bright.

With my family out of town we've been spending our day organizing, cleaning, reading and watching movies.

b.
And of course, with snow on the ground I got the urge to bake. Today I was craving homemade whole wheat biscuits and honey. When I was a kid this was my favorite kind of breakfast and when canned biscuits became all the rage I would specify to my mom "homemade, please" - the ultimate comfort food.

• Labels:
• eating local
• living room
• organic
• Weather
• weekend to-do


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I woke up this morning with a bit of a sore throat. And by a bit I mean it felt as if my throat had been cranked through a meat grinder. I escaped the pain by sleeping all day and cooking up a batch up Get Well Soup this evening. I cleaned out our fridge and threw in all the veggies and readily available grains I had into some veggie stock.

Get Well Soup
2 small onions (or 1 large one)
1 red pepper
1 bunch of mushrooms
1-2 boxes of veggie stock (depending on how soupy you like your soup)
1 cup of lentils
1 cup of leftover quinoa
1 bunch of kale
Yellow curry spice
Cumin spice
Salt

Rinse and boil/simmer your lentils for as long as it takes to cook. Begin heating your stock in a large pot. Dice your onions and sautee in a pan with a little bit of olive oil - just until transparent. Dice red peppers and chop mushrooms (I like big bits of mushrooms). Throw everything in the soup stock. Add spices to taste. Simmer for 20 minutes or so.

When lentils are finished cooking add those to the stock as well as the quinoa. When everything is just about done dump your kale in and put the lid on for about 2-3 minutes. This will kind of steam the kale on top of the soup. Stir in.

P.S. I'm new to lentils - if you guys have any vegetarian recipes (especially Indian recipes) you'd like to share that feature lentils it would be greatly appreciated.

• Labels:
• eating local
• lentils
• organic
• quinoa
• sick day
• soup
• veggies


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Sarah and Brian's art nouveau inspired wedding invitations. Double-sided offset lithography in one and two colors on Classic Laid natural white paper.

I could not wait to post these custom wedding invitations I designed for Sarah and Brian.

Sarah is a long-time and very dear friend of mine so when she asked me to help her out with her wedding invitations I was beyond excited to do her the favor. Her only direction was "Do your thing."

So I did my thing and channeled everything I know about Sarah's aesthetic and personality - and fortunately, she loves them.

• Labels:
• screen printing
• wedding
• wedding invitations


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Did anybody else drink too much green beer last night? I didn't think I had had too much until I woke up this morning feeling like I was coming down with the flu. For lunch I knew I either needed something cheesy and greasy or something incredibly substantial and nutritious.

Lucky for me I decided to go home and cook up something delicious and nutritious. Because we had leftover quinoa in the fridge this was one of the quickest lunches I've ever cooked up.

Quinoa, Spinach, Mushroom and Egg Scramble
2 tbs. toasted pine nuts
4-5 mushrooms, sliced
A big handful or two of fresh spinach
1 egg
3/4 c cooked quinoa
Soy sauce
Olive oil

First, in a dry pan toast your pine nuts until browned. Remove and add a smidge of olive oil. Throw your mushrooms in the pan. As they start to cook throw in all of your spinach and quinoa and sprinkle with soy sauce.

Meanwhile, get an egg scrambling in a separate pan. Or you can omit the egg for a vegan meal. When the egg is just about done scrambling throw it in with your cooking veggies and quinoa - toss in the pine nuts and scramble it all together.

P.S. I'm going to get back into the habit of highlighting local ingredients, in green, to keep myself accountable to my New Years Resolution.

• Labels:
• eating local
• organic
• quinoa
• what we eat


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Jeremy (left): Outdoor Research Transcendent Down Jacket - 650+ Fill; Kathleen (right): Marmot Uptown Down Jacket - 650 fill power

As you guys know, we're planning a trek in Nepal to Everest Base Camp this year. We're beyond excited but have lots of planning to do and equipment to gather.

Last night we purchased down jackets. Very bright down jackets.

Through our planning I will keep you guys updated on stuff like equipment gathered, physical prep, trekking tips/advice, vaccines, etc.

• Labels:
• everest base camp trek
• Mount Everest
• nepal
• what we wear


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I feel very lucky that my dad, an avid fisherman, has agreed to catch fish for me this season in our effort to eat local. You could easily omit the bass from this roll for a vegan meal. You could also use brown rice instead of quinoa - but I love the texture of quinoa and it doesn't take quite as long to cook.

Quinoa, Cucumber and Bass Hand Rolls
.5 c quinoa (cooked makes 1.5 cups)
1 cucumber
1 avocado
A few macadamia nuts
Nori seaweed sheets
2-3 bass filets

While your quinoa is cooking toast your macadamia nuts in a dry cast iron skillet. Proceed to toast your nori - it's done when it turns bright green. This brings all the flavor out.

Slice your cucumber into square slices the size of french fries. Half, slice and scoop out your avocado.

Cut your bass into strips about 3/4 inch thick. Cover with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Heat oil in a skillet until hot. After throwing my bass slices in the skillet I covered it for a few minutes until ready to flip. I think this helped cook the fish more thoroughly without drying it out.

Assemble your hand rolls with a scoop of quinoa, a slice of cucumber, avocado and bass. Throw one or two macadamia nuts in there. This was definitely the tricky part. I learned quickly that you want your ingredients towards the top corner of the sheet. As your rolling you kind of have to keep the stuffing together while trying to create a cone shape. Mine didn't roll perfectly - so the presentation was lacking but they were tasty!

• Labels:
• eating local
• organic
• quinoa
• what we eat


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I don't think there is anything that compares to snuggling in brand new sheets. Brand-new-striped-organic-sheets-that-don't-break-the-bank, no less. You can find them in-stores at Target.

• Labels:
• bedding
• organic
• sheets


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Last night Jeremy and I, along with a few other friends, visited our friend's, Mario and Erin's, mid-century ranch. They've completely overhauled the place, in a very short amount of time, and I was most impressed with their kitchen. Specifically the amazing back splash that Mario installed himself.

P.S. You might remember Mario - he helped us with our bathroom tile.

Edit: You can see more of the kitchen pics over at Mario and Erin's blog here.

• Labels:
• Kitchen
• Remodel
• tile


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Jeremy and I got a great start on our square foot veggie garden this weekend. We gathered our soil mix (1/3 coarse vermiculite, 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 compost) and built our frames. We also got our seeds in from the Hudson Valley Seed company and will get those started this week.

The most exciting part, after looking at the finished beds after a day of hard work, was using the compost we've been making from our food scraps for the past year.

• Labels:
• gardening
• square foot garden
• vegetable gardening
• veggies


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