What would Coco do?

So if clothes make the Woman, than imagine my shock at realizing that lately, I have been dressing like a Hobbit... Now, before I am spammed by the People for Ethical Treatment of Hobbits, let me go on record saying "There is nothing wrong with looking like a Hobbit, it is just not for me!" To be honest, I saw it coming.

• The crop pants were just so damn comfortable and never needed hemming, than why not buy 5 pairs.
• If one white t-shirt is great than 10 must be awesome and really so what if they are stained you where shirts over them anyway...
• A summer vest professionalizes any outfit, even a stained white t-shirt and cropped pants
• Mixing patterns and textures is a sign of your refusal to conform and thus a good thing
• A boldly colored scarf is a whimsical nod to my heritage... even if it is 80's floral

and thus... the transformation to Hobbit is complete...







(Not actual picture of the blogger, but pretty damn close!)





Solution... (Not admitting to actually watching Lifetime TV, but maybe absorbing over acted Coco Chanel Biopic as I cruised channels *being fair.. it was not so bad*) I have decide to look to Coco Chanel as my design inspiration... With a little modification... I will not be chain smoking until I can fit into a size 4, nor will I be wearing any clothing with gold chains or ostrich feathers... and double stranded pearls aren't my thing.... Really, imagine if Coco Chanel shopped at Target and Lands End and lived in Seattle ... yup that is the look... classy, stylish comfort (hold the Hobbit)..

So what would Coco do when faced with my closet? After vomiting, she would promptly throw most of it out (donating such fashion don't is cruel to people in need) and then she would click her way over to Land's End (who have rocked the basics with their Fall collection) and order these....

Thank you Land's End and Coco for rescuing me from the Shire...

Fall is for food

For me, September starts off 4 months of truly inspired cooking. As the temperature cools, a warm kitchen becomes a cozy and relaxing place to spend an afternoon. Fall produce is rich with soft, starchy comfort foods, just think potatoes, pumpkins, squash, yams and apples; and cooking becomes an acceptable alternative to gardening.

If summer food is about simple and basic, such as the sweet and subtle acidity of a ripe tomato, than fall food is about complexity: layers of texture, flavor and smoky undertones. As a cook, in the Fall I feel like an artist, my paints are whatever ingredients I can get my hands on and my brushes are my Le Cruset pots and wooden spoons.

Every fall I pick a signature dish, I’ll cook it several times, tweaking it and making it my own before I release it on to family and friends. Last year, I settled on this chicken pot pie with lots of vegetables, dark meat chicken and a really creamy sauce; all covered with puffed pastry. It’s pretty damn good if I do say so myself. This year, I am toying with several ideas, so far I am thinking about these:

Sweet Potato Pie
I am in awe of the concept of vegetables in a pie. Sweet potato is my absolute favorite pie followed closely by pumpkin. Good sweet potato pie has a creaminess to it that I think would benefit from marshmallow and perhaps a little chocolate. hmmm?

Mashed potatoes
Mashed potatoes make me swoon, particularly when they have other notes like horseradish, leeks and bleu cheese.

Poutine
A Quebec comfort food consisting of French fries covered with gravy and cheese curds. I think I can make this slightly healthier with baked fries, and really light gravy.

Stay tuned, I'll keep you posted...

Dreams, Pet Projects and Burning Obsessions...

Confession... for almost 18 months I have been wanting to start a blog devoted to crafting a better life. There are many different types of crafters out there, but I rarely saw the type of crafter I wanted to be.... You see, some call it delusion... I call it divine insight, but I believe that with patience persistence and a little information, you can make anything you want. So why not focus on making things that bring you joy and improve your life...

My goal was to launch on September 1st and I am happy to say that I met it head on... (This required a 5 hour marathon session with Word Press... apparently building with CSS is not like riding a bike) So it is up, it is live and it is in progress... check it out at http://livingwithscissors.com

My first post is about my struggles in relearning penmanship and features a free template for Handwriting Practice Cards (as if anyone would pay money for what is essentially the alphabet). Enjoy...

Happy September

Okay, this barely counts as a post, but my goal this month is to post something everyday for the month of September.

Today marks the end of a 4 day weekend and the beginning of my favorite time of the year.

Fall: Let the cooking begin...

Ordering in Preparation for Fall....


Kenyon's Clam Cake and Fritter mix from Farm House Wares. I love my new hometown, but take every chance I can to celebrate the culinary joys of my New England childhood.. I love!!!!! Clam Cakes.. they are perfect on slightly chilly days... And the only place I have ever had them is the New England Area..

Warning!!!! You may think I am insane after reading this post...or Brilliant

"Christmas is only 128 days away"
Mentioning this in August is like saying you hear voices at a Psychiatrist conference... People will take notice, but not in a good way. But nevertheless, Christmas is only 128 days from today... but really who's counting. ;-)

Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year... The gifts are great, the food is awesome and I love cold weather... But really for me it is all about suspending disbelieve. Christmas (from thanksgiving to C-Day) is generally 30 days, where the entire US population goes insane... and we celebrate it.

Mass insanity... trust me..

• We think it is a good idea to dress in sweaters with appliqué characters.
• Red and green suddenly become a conservative color combination
• We pretend to be nice to people we dislike... even buying gifts for them
• Maxing out the credit card for 10 minutes of Christmas morning joy seems like a good idea.
• Dressing up your cat as a reindeer is not considered cruel. ( my cat actually enjoys this, really)
  
• Making a 5 course dinner from scratch sounds fun
• Singing at work becomes mandatory
• and being a good parent means shoving some old lady out of the way at Walmart, so you can get the last Whatever Elmo doll...
  

I LOVE IT!!!!!

So why am I thinking of it in August.... Well last year we made cards and a few select gifts. This year. I want to make cards and cookies and what gifts I do give ( I am cutting down-like I say every year) will be handmade... (exception, being books, and some tech stuff). But mostly this Christmas, I want to savor and enjoy a stress free 30 days of celebration... This means, starting a little early...

In September I will start compiling my list of things I want to make and for whom.... I love making gifts... I can make things I might otherwise not be able to afford and the feeling I get giving a lovingly handmade gift is better than any chocolate I have eaten thus far... A feeling you get to experience every time you think of the recipient or see them actually wearing/using your gift. September being only 12 days away... you can see why all the excitement and anticipation..

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

We took the ferry to Bainbridge Island on Saturday. It was very fall like with rain, a nice breeze and great views everywhere you looked.

My To Make List...

There are so many amazing tutorials on the Web of things I am dying to make. This Crochet Collar from the Ongoing Project is definitely tops my list. Now all I need to do is learn to crochet.

The Un Garden

Another photo from the Georgetown Garden Walk... This lovely dress form sitting on a porch surveying the garden.

The view from down below...

Sorting through my photos from the Georgetown Garden and Art Walk. This is my favorite. Something about the colors against the sky.

A Perfect Shot

I am a huge fan of the Blue Angels and look forward each year to their Seafair visit to Seattle. I hate the thought of war and think the military spends money that should go for social programs, however as a Die Hard Science Geek, planes are cool. And... the Blue Angels are amazing. Generally I end up seeing them by myself... and last year, I went down to Boeing Field to watch them take off. AMAZING!!!!

This year, I didn't make the time to go enjoy them.... Except for a brief moment from the deck of a South Lake Union Office... As they zoomed by I snapped a shot...

She's Back...

Yesterday, after more than 6 weeks of torture, I picked up my computer from the shop. I was so happy I almost cried in the parking lot and after months of sheer bitchiness (due only in small part to the computer), I have begun to feel pretty good.

Poor health, stress, job woes , lack of exercise, PMS and chocolate deficiencies have resulted in the worst funk I have experienced in years... In fact, I do not remember being this sick of myself since I was 25 (almost 15 years ago).

As I could barely stand to be around myself.. I am not sure how anyone else managed... Except to say.. my partner is a saint... and the dogs wanted treats... The cat has taken to just biting me randomly (cats are quite frank about their true feelings) and at the worst, I took to arguing with complete strangers in stores and public venues.

In short, I became that bitchy person we all dislike and pity...You know the one. She flies into a rage if something is mismarked in the store, she glares at strangers in the elevators, shakes her head with disgust at crying children, berates people at every turn, steps on daisies, kicks puppies, squashes lady bugs and eventually.. The horror... votes Republican because what does it matter anyway..

Luckily I am on the mend before I could do anything so heinous as the last few things described above.

To recover,

I have immersed myself in the healing power of crafts... We'll mostly I am just stroking my beloved ribbons and organizing my pencils, but any day now I am going to make something and it is going to be GREAT.

I am taking a class. Intermediate Skirt Making at a local alternative sewing shop, Stitches. I think that the 40's and 50's were some of the best times for clothing, so I am going with a 50's style silver and Grey polka dot cocktail skirt, complete with Crinoline petticoat. (pictures are on the way).

I have started back to the gym on early mornings. This has been a challenge, but I must say, after only a few visits, I found that if I did not go, I missed it terribly.

I am wearing brighter colors, not sure when all the black crept back into my wardrobe.

and finally, I am embracing the fact.. that it is never too late to become the person you might have been.

Paper Pusher

This is just a great idea. Print any type of paper you want instantly. One of my lifetimes goals it to have lovely penmanship, so I will be downloading one of the many penmanship templates. Check it out at

Printable Paper

Amazing Fortune

Found in my fortune cookie tonight at dinner....


You have remarkable power... which you are not using.

OMG

The wireless connection just died on my computer and I am shock.....Heading to the repair place tomorrow, wish me luck!

I want to try this...

Has anyone else seen this article? It is about some strange fruit that rewires your taste buds for a few hours and changes the taste of common foods. I am so tempted to try this... I wonder if there is a Seattle supplier. :-)

What kind of film does your digital camera take?

One need only take a look at my pictures to realize I am not a professional photographer. That said, I take a lot of pictures. I am a visual junkie. I find such happiness in the simplest of images and the fact, the I can seek out and actually make these images myself just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

I love to take photos of food, gardens, vegetables, plants, flowers, birds , my pets, my crafts and the wheels of vintage cars. A weird mix, but like I said it makes me all warm and fuzzy.

Last summer, I made a pilgrimage to several of the p-patch gardens in the city to take pictures. This summer, I am planning to do the same thing. My goal is 10 p-patches in 3 months. Here is the list of p-patches, I would love to eventually take photos at all of the.

Memorial Day...

Pick flowers today for my partner's mother to take to the cemetery . While I did so I thought of the people I am missing. I know my mother and great aunt would have loved this bouquet. All the flowers are from the yard.

5 to 7 servings a day...

The last few days I have been diligently forcing myself to eat more fruits and vegetables. I had been doing so well for months and then suddenly I lost my taste for them. A week went by where I was eating maybe 1-2 servings a day. But I am happy to report I am back on the Vegetable Wagon. My saviors, sweet salads, savory soups and Greek yogurt. The sweet salads are great for my sweet tooth, but sweetness thanks to strawberries and balsamic vinegar. The savory soups have tons of vegetables and thanks to mashed white kidney beans, the soups have a creamy texture. And finally Greek Yogurt... if you have never had it, go to the store right now!!!! Flavored with honey, the texture is like a smooth pudding with a soft and soothing flavor. Add berries or fruit and you are in heaven..

Dalai Lama in Seattle

The Dalai Lama was in town for the Seeds of Compassion event. I did not get a chance to see any of the events, but I did get to walk by his hotel... Sad, but we take what we can get ;-)