You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello

Hello again...



Life has been hectic this year!  So much has happened in a relatively small amount of time, and I don't really know where to begin.  Several of our friends moved away, had babies (or are still expecting some!), and sadly there were a couple of divorces too.

While I know two of those things will happen to us eventually, I couldn't help but feel a pang of "outsickness" as friends disappeared one by one.  I love the feeling of packing up and heading off into the unknown, and I fully intend to "have a midlife crisis" and live overseas at some point when we have children, just like my parents did when I was younger.

In the meantime, however, we're enjoying our life here.  We love our home, and we have an amazing family of neighbors.  I've been doing really well at work too--I've had TWO raises in the past 6 months, which is supremely gratifying :) 

I haven't had much time for sewing lately (soon, soon!), but I somehow found time to become a cooking-gardening-pickling-juicing, laundry-detergent-making, cloth-napkin-using lunatic ever since we started eating clean last summer.  I'll have to update you on all my random kitchen experiments next time. :) 

 I hope everyone is enjoying the summer!

Dragons & Jewels

A couple friends & I went to a small Chinese New Year celebration last weekend.  Our favorite local jewelry designer, Mae-Mae from M Squared Jewelry, was there to tempt us with lots of beautiful new goodies!  I ended the afternoon with a few new pieces to take home with me, and memories of lions and dragons dancing in my head.

Fact:  Asian kids are the cutest kids.  It's science.

And of course, the jewelry!

Tiny vintage elephant & faceted goldstones

Love the length of these

Another giant stone necklace!

See you again soon--I'm just finishing a new pocket skirt, & I can't wait to show it off.  There's a good chance I may blind someone when I wear it to work, which is reason enough for wearing it, don't you think?

Itty Bitty, Ooey Gooey

I made these baby cheesecakes after seeing this incredible recipe on the Joy the Baker blog.  I didn't have time to make caramel from scratch, but Cajeta was a deliciously messy stand-in.  I hadn't had cajeta since my college years, but an old roommate & I used to smear it on cookies or Bimbo brand pound cakes before class.  Breakfast of champions, right?  The mind reels.

Did I mention there's a ginger snap crust under all that deliciousness?

(These cupcake liners are the BEST.  "If You Care" is kind of a guilt-trippy sounding label, but you don't have to use cooking spray at all, and they aren't in silly pastel colors.  Amazing!)

Bon Voyage Kelly!

After a bit of a social drought, my girlfriends and I all got together to send off our dearest Kelly in the usual rowdy style.  I hate to sound super old, but drunk bar crawls are extremely rare for me these days.  Usually, my idea of a good time is a delicious meal, occasionally a glass of wine, and messing with bits of fabric.  Or watching cheesy anime series on Netflix, which my husband hates.  Haha! 

I haven't been blogging at all these past few months, but now that work is less bananas I will be back more often.  I can't say that my posts will all be style-related, but if you still want to keep up with my cooking, sewing, traveling shenanigans, I would love to have you!

P.S. Kelly:  Please start a blog so we can keep up with your new life as an Alaskan!

Wedding-o-rama

Just got back from a wedding in Mississippi and am totally drained...but it was worth it!  The wedding was beautiful, the weather was perfect (including the thunderstorm--haven't seen one of those in Austin for months!), and I got to spend time with several college friends that I hadn't seen in years!

Just a couple random Hipstas to tide you over until the real pics are ready:

"Dr. Boozington" & "Professor Wifflebottom" do the Godwink...an inside joke from my college days

So, obviously I haven't been posting as often, but hopefully that will change after the next month or so.  Thanks to those of you who still keep up with my randomness, despite my absence from blogging lately.

Bourgeois as Hell

Has it really been a month since I last posted????

My brain is scattered in all different directions these days.  Work, an upcoming wedding, 2 friends just had babies (Welcome, Wilson and Ryter!), home renovation projects.

Catcher in the Rye tee, Out of Print clothing

grey belt from clothing swap

Circle skirt, H&M

Orange platforms, Jeffrey Campbell

I mentioned last month that I had started this cleanse thing (the 28-Day Challenge over at Whole Living).  Well, because of it, my food/cooking obsession has reached a new level...I am cooking constantly and love every minute of it!

I've always had a "Why buy that, when I can make it?" attitude towards food & fashion-- partly because I am a cheapskate, but mostly because it is just so satisfying to make something perfect from scratch.  Now that we've cut out processed foods, my DIY stubbornness is spreading.  Bread, ice cream, ketchup--the store-bought versions of these often contain high fructose corn syrup, not to mention a variety of preservatives that one can't pronounce.  Why not make them at home, where I can actually control what's in them?

Who knows, before long I may be making my own shampoo and eye cream too...I have my eye on this book already.

Don't worry, I still plan on posting outfits and sewing projects.  But don't be surprised if the occasional food post sneaks in here!

Salad Days

Hello again...

 

What have I been up to lately?  Working endlessly...(blergh) and cooking up a storm!  The husb and I are trying to be good and have cut out all processed foods (at least for a while!).  I was hesitant at first, but I'm really enjoying it. 

If there's one thing I enjoy as much as I love getting dressed in the morning, it's food.  ("Food, glorious food...!")  I'm sure there will be skeptics out there, but anyone who knows me can attest to the fact that I chow down like I'm a contestant in an eating competition--hence my childhood nickname "The Stomach". Luckily, this "clean food" thing is providing me with enough food that I don't wake up in the middle of the night gnawing on my own leg. 

(If you want to try it, or at least test some of the amazing recipes, click here!)

I started these pants almost a month ago, but my Sweden trip and jam-packed workweeks prevented me from finishing them until just recently.  I'm loving the super-high waist, and I hemmed them to wear with my tallest platforms.

I used this pattern, found on Etsy.  Probably the easiest Vogue pattern I've ever used.

 And a soft, flowy brown linen.

Now all I need to do is make some blousy silk tanks to wear with them.  It's just too hot for sleeves right now!