Seattle Weather

"It's raining!" (and not men) is a common phrase around the Northwest. Especially from those of us who didn't grow up here. In my 6 years here I have come to appreciate the rain (sometimes) but more importantly I have come to appreciate clear skies. Something my SoCal upbringing did not encourage. Here are some moments I've appreciated weather wise:

Taming the Madness of March

So, maybe it has almost been a month since my last post. I promise I will do better. Cross my fingers, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye. We will ignore the fact that I have a serious phobia of needles. I pass out. No joke. One time my dad even told me he'd buy me a puppy if I didn't faint. No puppy.

March has been very productive so far (especially in the area of flying by way too fast).

I had a minor case of OCD this month. So much so that my roommate coined the term "I OCDid this."

These cases usually come about when I have a million other things happening & I need some order. So, between making baby shower invites, planning the baby shower, helping with the Knox wedding, preparing for my friend Jesse to visit, and trying to complete my grad school application I OCDid some things. OCDoing some things tamed some of the madness that just so happened to fall in March.

Here are some things I OCDid:

Ironed & folded (to the same size) all tablecloths for the much anticipated Knox wedding

Made tags to make packing easier

I'm not currently going anywhere, but one day I will be

Pretty much you just hang your entire outfit for each day including undergarments & accessories behind the day you plan on wearing it. On a hanger of its own of course

This makes over packing almost impossible & mixing & matching second nature

Labeled sections in my closet

Not knowing what order to put things in has been driving me crazy. I finally fixed the problem by making cute labels from scrapbook paper & attaching them to wire hangers. Now when I put my clothes away I know where they go AND when I go to search for something to wear I know where to find it. Also, take note that all of my hangers match. White & plastic. One day I will have beautiful wooden hangers, but for now I have boring white ones. Life on a budget. What can I say? Each section is then organized by color. The order of the rainbow.

Ironed my pillowcases

Confession: I iron my pillowcases. I even starch them. There is just some magic that happens when I do this. In the words of my roommate Meg, "It makes my heart happy."

I am very excited to inform you that this post is the end of only iPhone photos. I love the convenience of the iPhone camera (I will still use it), but I do not love the quality always. That is why I was an Indian giver & took my camera back from my mom. I had let her borrow it while hers was being fixed. I just couldn't do it any longer. Jesse (one of my best friends from high school) came up this past weekend & he very nicely brought it up to me. Hello camera!!! How I missed you.

Expect crazy posts in the next week. Jesse was here for 5 days & we explored Seattle until it closed except for the day we went to Portland & Longview. I drank so much coffee that my skin hates me. I am most definitely dehydrated. It was nine thousand percent worth it. Here is a preview. And. Yes. Our futures are very bright. Thus the sunglasses in gloomy Seattle.

Surprise Saturday Morning Snow & Gilmore Girls

I woke up this morning to snow.

Slushy snow.

Being from Southern California and never expereincing snow (except for Santa's Village and a very unfortunate camping trip) I get very anxious when white fluffyish stuff falls from the sky. 

It is gorgeous and gives a sense of innocence to the world, but it also messes with my life. I am quite the fan of no one and nothing determining how I spend my time. Selfish? Yes. Immature? Yes. Unrealistic? Yes. There is nothing like the snow to remind me of how not in control I am. 

I can either stomp around with an attitude about it or embrace it.

Today, there has been a change of plans.

I chose to stop and smell the snow,

make a cup of coffee (or 2 or 3 or 4), 

AND

watch snow clips from Gilmore Girls. 

I will share them with you. 

The snow is gone now, but it was great incentive to watch Gilmore.
It isn't like I've seen them all five thousand times.
Actually, it's EXACTLY like that.

 This is how Melissa felt when she finished the last episode...
very very very very sad.

Turning 26

I feel a sort of kinship with the rain on February 18th. It always makes an appearance. My Little Mermaid pinata had to be hung in the garage, my backyard drive-in movie barely survived, my beach party was rained out, but ALWAYS the next morning I woke up stoked about my birthday. 

This year I just embraced the rain. 

I wore flip-flops. 

I opened my window to let the rain in.

I didn't take an umbrella to protect my hair. 

My hair just got a bit frizzy. 

I still had a blast. 

It might have been because I wore my cowboy boots.

(graffiti compliments of Seattle)

So, this is how the day went down...

Melissa took me to breakfast at Woodinville Cafe (best salsa!)

We shared food, drank a ton of coffee, and laughed & laughed.

Delish!

I went home & spent some much needed time organizing my room. 

This might sound horrible to some, but it is quite therapeutic for me.

(this picture was taken a bit later, but gives you an idea)

Note the birthday flowers from Whitney. 

Then Melissa Buchanan, Meg Voeller, Alison Currier, Jody Robbins & I went to Capitol Hill to hit up a ton of places. 

Here is Meg letting us know the plan...

(this was the plan. plans change)

We got all dolled up. 

Drank 5 hour energies.

Danced.

Laughed.

Sang to REALLY loud music...

(maybe Ke$ha & Katy Perry)

Played in photo booths.

We partied all night. 

The best night. 

The next morning I showed up to a brunch that had NOTHING to do with my birthday, 

but there were a few surprises...

a special seat covered in streamers 

with a certificate for thrifting with Jenica

flowers & essie nail polish (in colors a room needs to be decorated in)

Also, the awesome scarf I'm wearing came from Dyanna. There was a neon yellow clutch & watch & bracelet & "totally 80's" neon yellow nail polish.

I was also surprised with a card, pie, candles, and everyone singing happy birthday.

The entire day I was blessed with phone calls, texts, & facebook messages. 

I truly felt loved.

Best birthday yet!

Hearts Day

Here is the deal. I am single, but I LOVED Valentine's day this year. I spent it with the coolest chicks in the world (the actual world) and in TV world (current & past).

Alison Currier (who made crazy good brie, pear, carmelized onion bites), Colby Swicord (who brought pink champagne), and myself spent some time with (while doing our nails. of course!)...

Lorelei & Rory Gilmore

and

Jess (I don't know her last name)

This is embarrassing, but I have quite the attachment to the Gilmore Girls. I have only watched all 7 seasons in order about 5 times. When I'm having a bad day, I'd like to take a trip to Stars Hallow & grab a cup of coffee from Luke's over some witty banter. Because, just by going to Stars Hallow you get the super power of witty banter. I promise.

Then we have New Girl. It just makes me crack up. OUT LOUD. Even by myself. Every time. Just like FRIENDS (which is entirely a post in itself). Might I just suggest every household have a douchebag jar? You can call it whatever you want if that is a little too risque for you, but seriously it is the best idea ever. Unless you've never seen Gilmore Girls or New Girl. Then watching them is the best idea ever! Trust me!

Don't you want one????

Well, I just wanted to share that I was not sobbing into my pillow & stuffing my face with chocolate and feeling sorry for myself on, what some have come to call it, Single Awareness Day. I was pretty happy with my life Tuesday night. Thanks ladies!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Reflection Three. 2 Kings 5:1-15

2 Kings 5:1-15

Well, I am not convicted AT all by this story (insert sarcasm here). So, it's about this man Naaman who has leprosy and goes to Elisha the prophet for healing. Elisha sends a messanger out & tells him to dip into the river (a certain river) 7 times & he will be healed. Naaman thinks this is ridiculous & pretty much that he knows better. He is absolutely set on not following God's direction given to him through Elisha.

But his officers tried to reason with him & said, "Sir, if the prophet had told you to do something very difficult, wouldn't you have done it? So you should certainly obey him when he says simply, 'God and wash and be cured!'" 2 Kings 5:2-3

Naaman cannot argue with this. He goes and dips into the river 7 times, "and his skin became as healthy as the skin of a young child's, and he was healed!" 2 Kings 5: 14

Here is a little insight into my world 6 years ago. I was getting ready to move up here to wonderful Seattle and I asked God what I needed to do. I got an answer. It wasn't jump into Lake Washington 7 times, but it was simply to simlify my life. My reaction was much like Naaman's. "That's it? You want me to simplify my life? That's crazy! It's too simple." God must have repeated this a thousand times over the last 6 years. I ignored it for quite awhile. I became depressed, and really lost out on my college expereince. I kept piling more things onto my life to hide the sadness I felt while God just wanted me to peel the layers away & let him restore me. After about 3 to 4 years of fighting I gave in. Slowly. I let little things go first. So little that I can't really recall them. I gradually work my way up. I have a lot farther to go. Let's be serious, I have marathons to go, but I am happier than I have ever been in my life. Don't think this means my life is perfect. I still have terribly hard days. No one's life is perfect...that is kind of what this process is all about. Being OK not being perfect.

All I had to do was let go and let God. Cliche? Absolutely. But it has proven to be true.

The more I simplify the more I feel at peace with myself. God is restoring me to the daughter he intended me to be. EXACTLY how he restored Naaman.

God was telling me how he was going to heal & restore me. I just had to choose to listen.

Photo compliments of Giselle's feet...Thank you Gelle for bringing so much joy to my life!

My Grandmother's Pineapple Upside Down Cake

My favorite Uncle's birthday was this past week. I offered to make his birthday cake. I will be honest, this was a bit of a selfish act, because I just wanted an excuse to use my new cake stand. I planned on making a chocolate chocolate chocolate cake for him which he would have loved, but my Aunt called and told me that he had said his favorite cake was the pineapple upside down cake his mom made him. 

I have never made a pineapple upside down cake, but I immediately looked up some recipes. I was at a loss. They were all different with one thing in common: you turn them upside down at some point. I knew he didn't just want ANY pineapple upside down cake. He wanted his mom's. 

I took a chance and called my dad for anything he remembered about it. Holy moly! He remembered EXACTLY how she made it. The main ingredient was a cast-iron skillet. Thank you Value Village...I'm just saying that buying a brand new one was not an option. They are pricey and not "seasoned" when they're new. Anyway, I found one and grabbed the other ingredients (boxed yellow cake, brown sugar, butter, canned pineapple rings, and jarred cherries) from the store. 

  I told my dad, "We'll see if I have grandma's pineapple upside down cake in me." He was pretty confident I did. It's not like I hate cooking or anything and boxed cake mix is not rocket science. The selfish act of wanting to use my cake stand turned into wanting to make my uncle something from his childhood. Something his mom made with love. A lot of it.

 1. melt butter (3/4 stick) on stove top

2. stir in brown sugar (3/4 cup) for about 4 minutes. remove from heat.

 3. place pineapples & cherries.

4. pour in cake mix (make according to box, but replace water with pineapple juice)

5. bake at 350 degrees until cooked through (about 45 minutes)

6. let stand 5 minutes before turning upside down onto plate

The vintage look of it doesn't hurt my like of it.

 Happy 62nd Uncle Tim!

 Yum, Yum, Yum

I love you!

The whole process was the coolest. I just kept thinking about how I was doing something my grandma used to do. I was carrying on her legacy (if I succeeded and it was edible). I don't remember much of my grandma, but when I think of her it is with admiration and love. She HAD to have had the biggest heart ever! I lived with her for a few years of my young life. I remember eating raw onions when she made chili, dressing up her cat Samantha in doll clothes and her telling me I was the only one Sam liked, watching Murder She Wrote with her, dusting the cabinet that held her beloved Scarlett (from Gone with the Wind) porcelain doll, her hair in curlers, playing war countless times, and her buying me the heart covered bedspread I wanted so bad (sheets & canopy cover included. Yep, I was the lucky little girl with a canopy bed). She loved me and her hugs and smiles said it.

This recipe is something I can add to my few memories. It is something I can pass down.

It was so much better than making chocolate cake AND my uncle said it was perfect.

Who knew making a cake could be so profound and thought provoking. 

Thank you grandma for your pineapple upside down cake.