Last month, Jill taught Annie how to make an apron. Earlier this week, Annie passed the skill on to me. Since Annie is also a beginner, we ran into a few road blocks. It's nice to run into those with friends, because had I been alone I might have given up. I went to sleep at 3am that night, rather exhausted, but I had a new apron by my side!
I had never touched a sewing machine, even though I'd been eying them for years. I was so happy to discover how naturally it came once I'd figured out some of the basics (and gotten past those road blocks). I've spent a lot of time this week thinking about what I want my next sewing project to be...
Here's I am showing off my apron:
I brought the apron to our annual family beach trip this week. My mom really liked it, so I gave it to her. Here she is, excited to have a daughter who can sew:
This summer I have been fortunate enough to see The Olympia Free Choir perform two times. The first time was at What the Heck Fest, and the second time was at The Stretch Pants Summer Party that Kimya Dawson hosted in her backyard earlier this month. The Olympia Free Choir meets on Tuesdays in a gazebo in Olympia. Everyone's welcome and they sing the cutest songs. Here's a video of them practicing one of my new favorite songs:
This song has been the backbone of my summer. It's encouraged me to step out of my skin and reminded me the importance of checking in with myself. It's really been a mantra of sorts. 10 Things was written by Paul Baribeau and I strongly recommend listening to his version in the morning. Especially if you've got a sun-drenched kitchen and a cup of tea.
When you ask someone to make a list of ten things they want to do before you die, you're getting personal. After The Stretch Pants Summer Party, I went to QB with my mom, sister, boyfriend, and one of my close friends. We ate sweet potato fries with cilantro lime aioli and each wrote down our ten things before sharing them with the table. It's definitely my new favorite thing to do with a group of people. You see the nicest part of a person when they talk sincerely about what they want to do with their lives. I learned a lot about all of them and I think we all realized that the things we want to do the most are totally reasonable and attainable. And that's a really good feeling.
My list: 1. write a book of my very own recipes 2. learn how to play an instrument 3. become fluent in spanish 3. go on a cross-county biking trip 4. learn how to decorate a cake 5. sell something that i've made 6. grow the biggest garden on the block 7. brew my own wine 8. make my own marshmallows 9. take a picture every day for a year 10. perfect the art of cutting hair
Joel won a free bbq from Trader Joe's earlier this summer (and he's showing it off with Emily in this picture). Since Joel doesn't have a backyard, it's been hanging out in mine all summer. I've never really been one for bbq's. I've thought of them as a steak-eating dad's toy, not a couple of vegan twenty-somethings. Turns out I was missing out. Veggies are delicious when bbq'ed. Which brings me to my new favorite food...
PORTOBELLO MUSHROOM BURGERS. OMG. For some reason I always thought portobellos cost something outrageous, like 5 bucks a shroom. Turns out they're cheap, and all you have to do is brush them in olive oil and minced garlic and then put them on a grill for 15 minutes or so.
Joel and I made them twice last weekend, and when I woke up this morning I was craving them again. Did you know that black salt has a sulfuric taste that is reminiscent of egg yolks? I am quite excited about the discovery. This recipe is from Vegan Brunch, but you can find it online here.
