green

How I love this.

this is tord, from norway

This kid is amazing. He's 10 years old.

Um... Yeah.

scones

Just made fresh scones in anticipation of mom's arrival in Portland! I used this recipe from Smitten Kitchen and subbed a mix of dried cherries, cranberries and golden raisins for the currants.

Yum. 

pestering the boy

After knowing my dear, sweet Blake for over five years years, I’ve realized there is no one on earth who is easier (or more fun) to aggravate. It's kind of like bothering a cat when they're trying to sleep in the sun so that they growl and hiss and then go back to sleep.

That being said, this list is just the tip of a rather formidable iceberg. We’ll start with 50, just to get things rolling. 

In truth, it’s infinite, but we only have a short time here and...Uh... Yep, I see they’re giving me the light so I should get on with it. Thanks for coming out, it’s been real, I'll be here all week. Try the veal. What? No, I am not a proponent for politically incorrect meat, it's just that... And I really don’t appreciate the insinuation! Yeah? Well same to you, Bucko! How dare you! Hey, no! Put that chair down…

50 Ways To Irritate Blake

*Things learned firsthand

1. Saying something stupid*

2. Using the word “little” in the same sentence you mention him*

3. Hand him a penny*

4. Loose buttons… Anywhere near him*

5. Ask him the same question repeatedly*

6. Badger him in any way*

7. Insult him

8. Be taller than him

9. Ignore him*

10. Put him in the same room as a cat*

11. Quote movies he hasn’t seen yet*

12. Olives*

13. Trick him into drinking coffee

14. Spell things wrong*

15. Use bad grammar

16. Be an idiot*

17. Be inconsiderate

18. Sleep when he’s not sleepy*

19. Overstay your welcome

20. Move when he’s sleeping/cuddling with you and he's already comfortable*

21. Excessive promiscuity

22. Throw things at him from across the table*

23. Attack him in the pool during a water fight*

24. Run out of whiskey and/or Dr. Pepper

25. Like cats*

26. Dislike huskies

27. Disagree with him on various things*

28. Have no class

29. Go to Eaton

30. Go to Oxford

31. Be unattractive

32. Be gross

33. Make him wait*

34. Make things more complicated than they need to be*

35. Waste his time*

36. Talk down to him for any reason

37. Be disgusting

38. Be a blond bimbo/idiot/slag/etc.

39. Dislike Disney movies

40. Dislike comic books

41. Be his old Italian professor

42. Make him watch a movie he doesn’t like*

43. Quote a movie as it plays*

44. Disloyalty 

45. Swearing, if you’re a girl*

46. Put trash in his car because he leaves the doors unlocked and how else is he going to learn?*

47. Write on his car with dry-erase markers*

48. Act like an idiot while drunk

49. Anything to do with his big toes*

50. Hang out with someone he doesn’t like*

Oh, and...

51. Move to Oregon*

cheeseburger risotto you say?

Yes, you heard right kids... Cheeseburger risotto. Just the latest materialization of the goings-on within my brain. While at work last Wednesday I found myself with nothing better to do than fantasize about dinner (Wednesday nights are my nights while Jared's in class so I usually try experimental recipes on myself first before feeding the boys). I had a wicked hankering for a burger but couldn't bring myself to do a drive-thru dinner. I was feeling domestic and wanted to stand in front of the stove for an hour thus, risotto. I usually make this fantastic rice dish about once a week just because a) I love rice and b) it's a fun-to-make crowd pleaser. You can put just about anything in it and have a winner on your hands.

And so, after a quick trip to Freddie's (that would be Fred Meyer... What's up PNW lingo?!) (Oh, PNW here meaning "PacificNorthWest"... Aren't we crafty?) I arrived home, threw on my yoga pants (no, I don't do yoga, I just like the clothes) and poured myself a glass of our pinot gris. Time to get to work!

Dice up one small onion (I used a Mayan Sweet Onion)

The aforementioned glass o' gris... This is a necessary step in the cooking process

Slowly caramelize the onions. This, though time consuming, creates the perfect caramelizing to occur rather than just turning them brown by cooking them too quickly.

See?

Next, brown the meat. I decided to indulge myself and used ground buffalo (it's leaner and tastes better than beef)

Secret Weapon ingredient. Actually an impulse buy in the spice packet isle but it turned out to be a great addition to the overall flavor. 

Yes. That would be ketchup and mustard. IT'S A BURGER! Add this just before the meat is done and let it absorb into the swirl of flavor. It added just the right amount of sweetness/tanginess to that classic "burger" flavor.

OK. Get ready for the rice. It's best to use Arborio rice because it's a plump, short-grain that will puff up nicely as you add liquid (plus, it's traditional). Melt a pad of butter in a pot to start. 

This is when I added to onions. Let the juices from the onions and the butter meld for a second or two.

Add your rice. Lightly "toast" it in the butter/onions. The key to risotto is to stir almost constantly (it releases the starches and makes the rice creamy).

I always add a little wine to my rice so I sacrificed the rest of this glass to the food gods (and quickly refilled).

Add broth. I ended up using two cans of reduced sodium beef broth. Add only about 1/2-1 cup at a time, stir and allow to absorb almost completely before adding next cup. After the two cans were gone I used a bit more water until my rice was nice and soft. No, I do not use precise measurements. Ha. Who does that?

While the rice was going, I spit my attention momentarily to quickly sauté the grape tomatoes I had cut in half for a second, just ot break them down a little. I added a pinch of seasoning to them, but not a lot. 

Eventually, your rice might look something like this. As the last of the liquid is absorbing, give it one more good stir before turning off the heat and adding in all the other goodies. 

In goes the buffalo. 

And the diced up Velveeta. 

And those pretty little 'maters. 

Though iceberg or romaine are the usual burger-toppers, I opted for spinach. Again, it's healthier and I love it. Win-win. 

One final stir to get all those yummy ingredients to play nice and make friends and then serve! And yes, finish off that glass of wine, the pairing is delightful. 

So there you have it! A totally unnecessary rendition of a burger (I mean, why mess with perfection?) but totally delicious. I was thrilled with the results and urge you to play around with the rice in your pantry. 

The possibilities are endless. 

all rise

Look who's standing! What a great new trick. This kid has potential. 

gridiron

This is a fantastic post from Hither & Thither, a blog which, if you haven't already, you need to investigate - simply delightful.

(image via The New York Times)

elizabeth taylor

"I call upon you to draw from the depths of your being — to prove that we are a human race, to prove that our love outweighs our need to hate, that our compassion is more compelling than our need to blame."


Elizabeth Taylor passed away today. She was 79. Though her life was tumultuous, it meant a great deal to her fans and I believe she was, at heart, a beautiful person. Every death is sad but here's to the hope that she can now find the peace she so needed here on Earth. 

everything's coming up... daffodils

Have I mentioned how ecstatic I am about the arrival of the daffodils? And, on that note, the arrival of spring?

Ahhhhhhh!


I'm basically thrilled about this recent seasonal development (even though it's still in the 40's and bucketing down from the heavens).

Anyway, there are a few posts that I have in mind for this week so hopefully I can get out of my own way and get them up here!

Happy Spring kids!

have a bit o'craic!

Irish breakfast, first day in Dublin (and yes, that's blood sausage I'm eating)

Guinness for lunch

More Guinness, at the top of the Guinness Factory. Yes, you get a pint at the end of the tour... This is how all tours should end.

Guinness Lake in the Wicklow Mountains. Arthur Guinness moved sand up to be the head on the pint created by the dark, rich, iron-heavy lake water!

Oh, I was wrong... All tours should end with a shot of Jameson like our tour of the mountains. Tiny cup? Irish communion. 

So it will come as no shock that I'm proud of my Irish heritage. While my mom's side of the family is almost entirely English, my dad's side boasts the richness of Ireland and Scotland. Yes, I am a veritable UK mutt (and damn proud of it!).

When I lived in London I was able to travel to each of the Isles and visit my family's stomping grounds on a daily basis. A couple of summer's ago, I revisited dear Dublin with my mom and grandma and danced around the city for almost a week (often to the tune of Flogging Molly).

In light of this most revered of holidays I wanted to share some of my pictures from that trip (are we shocked that these focus on the local nourishments? Not hardly).

And so, Erin Go Braugh! Ireland forever! Have a pint, have some potatoes and have some good, old fashioned craic (pronounced "crack" - it's the Irish word for "fun")!

"if you're going through hell, keep going"

Well, if you need to read about a miracle, start here. This sweet little four month old baby girl was found alive in the midst of chaos and reunited with her parents, both of whom survived the devastation in Japan.

It makes my heart smile.

(photo reposted from Time; quote in title by Winston Churchill)

on again, off again

And then there's this.

I have no idea how to rotate the video but just tip your head to the side and enjoy your daily dose of cute.

visiting

Jared's mom came to visit this past weekend. It was so nice to spend some time with her, hanging out with her and her friends, eating, drinking and being merry! There wasn't a lot of time to take pictures with such a short visit but I did snap this cute one of mother and son... I'm still just blown away by the family resemblances in this clan. Whether I see Jared with his mom's side of the family or his dad's, it's just outrageous how much they all look alike!

bounce house

Oh, and while we're on the subject of fur... We came across this spring-loaded pup on our way back form breakfast in John's Landing Sunday morning. The yard was all muddy and so was puppyface. Someone's owners must have been thrilled to let Woofus back inside that day.

grayson

This is Grayson, our grumpus. He's a grouchy old man with a munched up little ear who, for the most part, just wails at you as you walk into the winery hoping to con you out of another scoop of cat food. Or, on really special days, you might be lucky enough to find the decapitated mouse he left for us on the doormat.

He's a charmer.

Since I began working at Erath, I've been hoping to find the sweet little kitty inside this cantankerous old feline but other than a few little pats on the head as I dropped his food dish in front of him, it seemed like he was just too hardened to the world (the only creature he showed much interest in is Esmerelda, the tiny little girl kitty who is so skittish she's basically just a tortiseshell blur). And Don and Linda because they are the best about feeding him on a daily basis. He loves those two.

In the last couple weeks though I've broken through the grump! We've gotten ourselves into a nice little routine where, on weekends when we park in the back of the winery (Grayson's stomping grounds), he sees my car, starts squallering at me as I get out, and then just stands on the porch railing waiting, not for food, but for a little love. He just stands there looking at me until I scratch his little head, petting him from ear to tail and back again so he can do his little cat thing and arch himself back and forth.

But last Monday, we hit a real milestone. I had to be at the winery around 8:30am for a meeting and as I approached the door I heard a familiar grumble. Little Munch Head came around the corner, hollering in that way that it just sounds painful. And so, since it was so lovely outside, bright and crisp and morning-like and such, I plopped down on the deck and spent some time with little mister.

And can you guess what happened?

I even got a purr out of him! Now I probably shouldn't be as excited about this as I am but... So be it. I love kitties and miss having a little one around to roll and purr with.

So I think it's official now: Grayson and I are buds.

Can you say "score"?

how fitting

Handsome boy wearing the sweater I got him when he was born (only took him 7 months to grow into it)! I mean seriously, have you ever seen a cuter kid?

(OK, yes, we all have our biased opinions, this just happens to be mine)

180° South

Jared, Shamoo and I watched this tonight and it was amazing. There are still so many places on this earth that are wild and free and this is one of them. I now want to go to Patagonia. And Jared... Well, Jared wants Shamoo to buy a boat so they can sail down the west coast and have hundreds of adventures.

Shamoo remains unconvinced.

Though while this film definitely stirred me up, got me wanting to venture out it also got me wondering: have I gotten too afraid? I mean, I'm not hermitting myself or anything, but I am a naturally cautious person  trapped in the body of a very curious person. These two things often conflict. And I know that in the past every time I've conquered a so-called "fear" of mine I have been completely elated with the resulting adventure so what's my deal? With so much to discover and explore in this world, there is no good reason that I should limit myself anymore than things beyond my control already have (i.e. wars, natural disasters/occurrences, finances, international relations, etc.)

The more I watched the film the more I wanted to do it. Or, not actually summit a mountain in Patagonia but you know what I mean. But more than that, I wanted to know that I could do it. I think a lot of my trepidation comes from my lack of confidence in my own abilities. And I am so good at convincing myself of this that I fear I've come to believe it.

And I hate it.

I want to know that I am able to do these things that I so admire. I want to do them and not be afraid. The Fear of the Unknown and I are so well acquainted that we should be filing for common law marriage at this point.

And I want a divorce.

So as with most things that are completely within our grasp but, you know, feel like they are not, I know that I have one solid option here. I can pray. I can fall asleep at night and thank God for all He has given me the way I always do and then pray for Him to help me face my perceived hurdles and get over some of the caution and embrace my curiosity.

I basically need to get back to the mindset I had when I was seven and just do something because I want to and not fear it because it hasn't occurred to me that I couldn't. When I was little I would have looked at  a hike and not thought about that fact that things might get uncomfortable or it might be hard... I would have seen the trail and just gone for it.

So... I'm going to try to be seven again.

manifesto of encouragement

I found this on Marvelous Kiddo and just had to repost it, it made me so happy...

Right now:
There are Tibetan Buddhist monks in a temple in the Himalayas endlessly reciting mantras for the cessation of your suffering and for the flourishing of your happiness.
Someone you haven't met yet is already dreaming of adoring you.
Someone is writing a book that you will read in the next two years that will change how you look at life.
Nuns in the Alps are in endless vigil, praying for the Holy Spirit to alight the hearts of all of God's children.
A farmer is looking at his organic crops and whispering, "nourish them."
Someone wants to kiss you, to hold you, to make tea for you. Someone is willing to lend you money, wants to know what your favourite food is, and treat you to a movie. Someone in your orbit has something immensely valuable to give you -- for free.
Something is being invented this year that will change how your generation lives, communicates, heals and passes on.
The next great song is being rehearsed.
Thousands of people are in yoga classes right now intentionally sending light out from their heart chakras and wrapping it around the earth.
Millions of children are assuming that everything is amazing and will always be that way.
Someone is in profound pain, and a few months from now, they'll be thriving like never before. They just can't see it from where they're at.
Someone who is craving to be partnered, to be acknowledged, to ARRIVE, will get precisely what they want -- and even more. And because that gift will be so fantastical in it's reach and sweetness, it will quite magically alter their memory of angsty longing and render it all "So worth the wait."
Someone has recently cracked open their joyous, genuine nature because they did the hard work of hauling years of oppression off of their psyche -- this luminous juju is floating in the ether, and is accessible to you.
Someone just this second wished for world peace, in earnest.
Someone is fighting the fight so that you don't have to.
Some civil servant is making sure that you get your mail, and your garbage is picked up, that the trains are running on time, and that you are generally safe. Someone is dedicating their days to protecting your civil liberties and clean drinking water.
Someone is regaining their sanity. Someone is coming back from the dead. Someone is genuinely forgiving the seemingly unforgivable. Someone is curing the incurable.

You. Me. Some. One. Now.

(photo of jared and me waiting for a plane)

time wasting experiment

I'm kind of digging these pieces from Portland based Etsy artist Alyson Provax. I'm thinking about nabbing few of them to frame near my desk. I also love her explanation of the concept behind these prints:

"The 'Time Wasting Experiments' are an ongoing series of letterpress prints I've been producing which document time wasted. These are in part inspired by tracking 'billable hours' but also come from the compulsion to always be doing things and producing objects. This series is a sort of audit of how I spend my time, but the prints could also be thought of as permission slips allowing you to spend a period of time in a wasteful way (maybe recontextualizing a private, shameful activities into something which one tries to get done in a set amount of time)."

photographic evidence

Finally got off my metaphorical bum and updated my photo blog, Love, Ire & Photo (a nod to Frank Turner, yes) with a walk down memory lane (also known as some of my favorite pictures from the past couple years). I still have a few more to upload so stay tuned!

dribble the baby

Disclaimer: please do not think I am in some way advocating abuse. This is merely entertaining wording for bizarre, but sometimes necessary parenting/aunt-ing routines.

Anyway, so yes, after a day of hanging out with my lovelies at LRT, Laura and I decided to treat ourselves to Little Big Burger (I got a burger with chevre and their french fries come doused in white truffle oil and sea salt... How is this a bad idea?) (::considers current waistline::) (Oh, that's how). We sat and talked boys, babies and work as we dipped our little frites into this amazing fry sauce concoction they leave so tantalizingly on the table in front of you, practically force feeding you with some Jedi mind tricks... Where was I?

Oh... So seeing how Portland has decided to catch back up with itself and rain again, after this late lunch, I gave baby-lady a ride home and as I was saying goodbye to her, and soon-to-be-Jack, she let me feel his little head against her belly and... Wait for it... Bounce it! OK, this is probably not a great idea but just a gentle nudge and I could feel his tiny dome float briefly away and back again. It was so cool! Though it has led to us referring to this practice as "dribbling the baby".

Not to be confused with "shaving the baby", as demonstrated by Jared on a three month old Kamdyn in the photo above (the first time we met the little man and he had almost no hair except this little mullet-like strip at the nape of his neck so Andrea authorized his first haircut at the hands of his uncle).

Kids are fun.

tastes orangey, part II

So remember when I won that giveaway from A Cup Of Jo? I finally got myself together and picked out a few prints to add to my little "gallery" of pieces from Tastes Orangey, the shop from artist Clare Elsaesser! She is such a doll, it's been such a pleasure chatting with her via Etsy and I'd highly recommend checking out her shop! You won't be disappointed!

I'm so excited! Thank you again Clare and Joanna!

(images from Tastes Orangey)