The Clearest Way Into The Universe

Last weekend we were visiting Dan's parents who were getting rid of a bunch of stuff because they're moving, and we scored some sweet camping things, so we decided to take advantage of the late summer warmth and squeeze in a hiking trip before the weather cooled down.  Dan had been wanting to hike up Tatoosh Peak for a while so we decided to go up early, hike all day (up to the summit and back) and then drive back to Skate Creek and camp there over night.   It turned out to be a pretty challenging hike, with the heat really adding a lot of difficulty.  At least half the hike was out in open sun with almost no shade from trees, except for the occasional bunch of trees to hide behind and rest for a bit.  I ended up getting heat stroke at the very summit and had to rest (and vomit... TMI?) for about an hour and a half before I could get back on my feet and hike down.  I'm so not used to hiking in any kind of hot weather and had on dark jeans and a winter pack that provided no ventilation, so that really didn't help.  But once I cooled off and hydrated more, I started feeling better and overall the hike was really fun.  Overall, you gain about 3,500 feet in elevation from the start of the hike to the peak, and round trip it's an 11 mile trek.
The view of Mt. Rainier from the ridge.  Click the photo to view it larger.

It was really great being out in nature.  We'd like to figure out a way to do more traveling and adventuring.  Dan & I both grew up being pretty outdoorsy, so getting back to our roots is nice.  I have a photo somewhere of tiny me hiking with my parents in Juneau, it's one of my favorite photos.  
Skate Creek.  Click photo to view larger.

Homemade Applesauce

We're still swimming in apples at our house from when we harvested .  One of the drawers in the fridge is filled to the brim with apples, so I've been trying to figure out what to do with them.  A while ago I had pinned a recipe for crock pot applesauce and was planning on making it when autumn arrived.  Well, I decided I wanted to make applesauce, but was too impatient to do it with the crock pot and ended up just going with the stovetop variation.  I really love it!

Storebought applesauce isn't my favorite, but I remember when I was a kid there was a sort of western-y barbecue rib type restaurant in Anchorage that we'd occasionally go to and they had delicious homemade applesauce you could order as a side dish that was always so warm and chunky and amazing.  Homemade applesauce is so much better than the stuff from the store, and it's actually super easy and quick to make.  I added it to my oatmeal the other day with some brown sugar and a bit of cinnamon... incredible.  Such a hearty and warm breakfast for those cold autumn mornings.  You could also pair the warm applesauce with some vanilla ice cream and it'd be sort of like having apple pie a la mode!

The nice thing about this recipe is that it's pretty open for experimentation.  Add more or less sugar depending on how sweet you want your applesauce to be.  I did it plain the first time, but the second time I added some molasses and some spices to give it more of an autumn-y taste to it.



(Recipe adapted from simply recipes)
INGREDIENTS:
3 to 4 lbs of peeled, cored, and quartered apples.
4 strips of lemon peel
Juice of one lemon ~ 3-4 Tbsp
3 inches of cinnamon stick
appx 1/4 cup of dark brown sugar
up to 1/4 cup of white sugar
1 cup of water
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Optional additions:
Tbsp Molasses
tsp nutmeg
tsp allspice
any other spices you want to toss in there! Experiment!


1. Put everything in a large pot, cover, and bring to boil.

2. Once you've got it boiling, lower the heat and simmer for about 20-30 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and fish out the cinnamon sticks and lemon peels.  Then, go ahead and mash it all up into applesauce with a potato masher, or similar mashing device.

4. Eat it!  It tastes great both heated up and right out of the fridge cold.  It also freezes easily, and can last up to one year in the freezer.

Skate Creek

Yesterday Dan & I got home from a big hiking and camping overnight trip where we camped right on the side of this creek!  These pictures are most definitely not from that trip, as this is no camping outfit.  We've driven past this creek a few times in the past month, though, and it's always so gorgeous, so I thought it'd be fun to stop for pictures on our way home.  A creek running through large boulders, with mossy trees fallen across and the sun streaming through huge pines might be one of the most beautiful sights in the whole world.  There's something about the combination of the sounds and textures and the quality of the light that strikes the perfect chord.  I really love living in the Northwest where places like this are so accessible.

dress/courtesy of lulu's :: cardigan/anthropologie :: belt/thrifted shoes/minnetonka :: necklace/jewelmint :: photos by Dan
On the way home from our little adventure, we stopped in Eatonville and checked out the antique store there.  I'm pretty sure we could browse through antique stores for hours on end and only stop due to hunger.  Dan's been on this big kick of getting "heirlooms" lately.  He wants to get stuff that lasts that will eventually become our family heirlooms.  He ended up getting a little hatchet, which will come in quite handy on our camping/hiking trips, and is currently in the backyard refurbishing it back to it's former glory.  So cute, ahem, I mean manly.  I too love the idea of things handed down through generations.  I absolutely adore looking through my family's old things that used to belong to my grandparents and great grandparents, and pretty much every time I go home I look through the old photo albums full of pictures from when my parents were my age.  I think maybe it has something to do with feeling a connection to my past, my heritage, my ancestors.  I have a beautiful diamond ring from my great grandmother, and I cherish it so.  It's one of the most beautiful things I own.  It's nothing big or ostentatious, just a delicate, beautiful thing.  I hope our future kid(s) are into getting things handed down to them, because we're handing-down types of people.

Least Likely

Remember yesterday when I said I had a lot of floral in my closet?  Yup.  Back in high school if you had voted for the "most likely to wear florals on almost a daily basis," I would've been on the bottom of the list.  Granted, I probably definitely would've also been "least likely to start a fashion blog/wear dresses on a daily basis."  Look at me, all full of surprises.  The amount of times I wore a dress/skirt to high school could be counted on two hands.   Thinking back, I'm not sure what my superlative would've been.  I actually did get voted "coolest car" but some jackasses on the yearbook staff put in one of their friends with a dumb lifted truck instead of my El Camino.  Jerks.  I was also kind of hoping to get "coolest hair" but that one went to my friend Lauren, who did in fact have the coolest hair.  We were kind of hair twinsies, but hers was the most gorgeous natural red.  I was kind of a bit jealous because I missed out on my mom's redhead genes, but then I decided to take matters into my own hands and dyed my hair red.  And loved it.  So much so that I'm thinking of going back.  I don't think I'll be able to keep away from the copper locks for long. But anyway, enough about hair.  Superlatives in high school are funny.  I doubt any of them actually come true.  Did you guys have those silly "most likely to..." things in your yearbook?  

dress + shoes/courtesy of modcloth :: shades/vintage top(similar)/forever 21 :: belt/thrifted :: necklace/handmade
It's strange to think about high school and all that has happened in the seven years since graduation.  Who I've become and how I've changed.  The people who have come and gone from my life.  I can't even begin to imagine what the next seven years will hold.  I feel like people always talk about five year plans.  Damn if I know what my life will even look like one year from now!  Maybe I'm just not good at planning.  I think maybe I'm more of a spontaneous, go-with-the-flow kind of person?  I know I have goals, but I also like being open to the possibility of other things coming up, or life deciding to change course.  

Floral on Floral

We're getting quite the amazing extended summer right now in this late September, but unfortunately it's at the expense of my hometown.  Anchorage is getting hurricane force winds, flooding, and all around crazy awful weather the past few weeks!  Trees are falling everywhere, and those weird emergency alerts on TV aren't tests, they're the real thing, haha!  And here I am lazing around in the balmy 80 degree weather.  Sorry Mom & Dad!  I'm sure Tacoma will start trying to flood soon enough once the rain clouds come to stay.  I'm blocking that out of my mind for now though.  We're trying to take advantage of this lingering summer and have fun in the sun before it hides behind the clouds.
dress + blazer/courtesy of modcloth :: shoes/courtesy of seychelles :: necklace/inPink belt/thrifted :: photos by Dan
Last week when Dan and I went to a wine tasting event with a friend, her sister looked at me and said, "I love that you're wearing floral on floral and don't look like a complete dork!"  I feel like it's almost impossible to not wear floral on floral with my wardrobe.  So many floral pieces, so little time.  I think this dress has probably been paired with most of my closet.  When I got it two years ago, it was more of a departure from my usual styles- loose, shift style with a bit of a drop waist.  Kind of shapeless, really, but I thought it was pretty and decided to try it out.  Now I consider it one of my favorite and most versatile pieces.