confused seasons

My mom was in Seattle this past weekend for a friend's memorial service, so she hopped on down to Tacoma for an afternoon and we got to eat breakfast and go shopping over in Gig Harbor.  There are some stores my mom likes, but they don't have any locations up in Alaska, so whenever she's down in the Lower 48 it's fun to go visit those stores that aren't available up there.  I remember getting so excited to go to Target when we were down south because we didn't have one in Alaska when I was growing up.  Stores are slowly migrating up to the last frontier, but there are still lots of shops that only have locations down here, so it's always a treat to visit on trips for my mom.  We ended up at Coldwater Creek, and I didn't think I would find anything that I liked, since I'm pretty sure everyone in the store had a good 30 years on me, but I found this jacket and immediately fell in love.  My mom also got a super cute coat.  We ended up winning a gift card in a silly little impromptu in-store trivia contest, and it turned out they were having a big sale that day so we happened upon quite the deal!  It's always nice when things turn out like that.

dress/courtesy of lulu's :: tights/target :: coat/coldwater creek :: boots/courtesy of modcloth top/courtesy of asianicandy :: necklace/courtesy of moorea seal :: photos by Dan
I feel like this outfit is half spring, half fall.  It probably would've made sense to wear a cardigan over it, but I couldn't find one that went with what I was wearing and wasn't in the mood to change everything, so I just went with it.  I like the outfit better in the photos with the coat on, but maybe I'll keep the dress/top combo in mind for when warmer temperatures return to the PNW.  I'm a little obsessed with this necklace from Moorea Seal.  I've admired her work from afar for some time now and I'm thrilled to finally have a piece of hers.  I already have my eye on another pretty necklace in her shop...

top + jeans/thrifted :: hat/target :: shoes/merrell :: bag/courtesy of nicolette
Dan got this awesome top/jacket thing at the thrift store the other day.  It's quilted on the inside, so it's really warm and can be worn as a jacket, but still looks like a regular flannel shirt.  I love thrift store scores like that.  I've passed on my thrifted secret of shopping in the kids' section to Dan.  We're both people of small stature, so shopping in the kids' section can be a great way to get things that fit a bit better than what's in the women's or men's areas.  Of course, there's a lot of sifting through things that are too cutesy, but Dan's found some pretty amazing flannel shirts and sweaters.  Plus, kids stuff is usually cheaper.  Bonus! I never really intend to use these pictures of Dan as outfit photos, I'm just taking test shots to see how the location looks, but it's a nice bonus that I get some photos of my love.  I think he's pretty great. ... and if you want to see Dan's impression of James Dean, here yah go:  

bertha's kitchen // pioneer mac & cheese

A couple Christmases ago my grandparents gave me a handmade recipe box full of recipes from my grandma's repertoire.  Embarrassingly, I only recently started making recipes from that box!  I've been used to just grabbing stuff off of pinterest or searching for it in Google, but my grandma has some great recipes and they all have this charm to them specific to the lifestyle for which they were created, specifically life in Juneau Alaska.  My grandparents have lived in Juneau for most of their lives.  My grampa has lived in Alaska since he was born in 1921, and my grandma moved there after she graduated from nursing school and drove up the AlCan during the first year it was open to the public in order to teach native Alaskan mothers birthing techniques as a midwife.  Needless to say, culinary luxuries were minimal and I love to see how she got creative with recipes and pioneer cooking.  So, I'm trying to make an effort to go through her recipes and cook them, and maybe update them with some of my own modern zest!

Ingredients: 4 cups hot drained boiled macaroni (8 oz. uncooked) 2 tbsp butter 1 1/4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese 1 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper 2 eggs (beaten) 3 cups milk paprika 2-3 strips bacon, diced into bacon bits (optional, but delicious)
Preheat your oven to 350º.  Mix all ingredients well in a 9x9(ish) oven safe dish.  Bake for about 40-60 minutes, until golden brown.  Sprinkle with paprika and serve hot!  
If you want to take it up a most delicious notch, fry up 2 strips of bacon worth of bacon bits (I always snip my bacon strips into little squares with scissors before cooking=insta bacon bits!) while everything is in the oven cooking.  Then, right before serving, stir the bacon bits into the mac and cheese, top with paprika, and BAM.  Magic happens in your mouth.  I didn't discover this until I had reheated a second serving the day after I took these photos and thought to include the bacon, which is why you'll note a distinct lack of bacon in the photos.  But trust me, it was incredible.  And photo worthy, if I'd thought of it earlier.

black and white

I've always gotten the impression that maxi dresses are for summertime.  They're light and breezy and evoke that carefree feeling that summer embodies.  I'm on board with that, but I kind of like the idea of winter maxi's.  First of all, it's pretty practical.  Underneath a maxi dress you can totally rock some thermal/fleece leggings that are just as warm as (if not warmer than) pants.  And no one's the wiser because you just look fabulous!  And while a summer maxi looks great with sandals or some espadrille wedges, I really like how a pair of boots look with a maxi.  I have to wear heeled boots with this maxi due to my short stature, but I also kind of dig how a pair of regular, flat motorcycle/equestrian boots look with a maxi.  It gives a bit of a rough/masculine touch, which is a nice contrast to a flowy, feminine dress.

dress/courtesy of modcloth :: cardigan/courtesy of marshalls :: hat/northface via rei

necklace/courtesy of moorea seal :: shoes/courtesy of blowfish :: belt/thrifted

I went to Fred Meyer the other night for a couple necessities and walked past the Christmas decor section and started to get super excited for Christmas.  I'm of the belief that Christmas decor should not be put up until Thanksgiving is over (one holiday at a time here, people), and I can't stand Christmas music until Thanksgiving is done, but I am definitely feeling the excitement of the upcoming season.  We might be able to get a Christmas tree this year that's bigger than 18 inches tall and I'm trying real hard to contain my excitement.  

One time when I was a kid my Dad and I sneakily decorated a huge pine in our backyard with those large colored bulb lights and then surprised my mom when we turned it on.  I've always loved putting up lights and garland and a tree for Christmas and I really want to make a wreath for our front door this year.  I get a little sad not having a white Christmas here in Tacoma, but we might get to visit Anchorage during the holiday season, so I'll at least get a good dose of snow up there.

pumpkin pie smoothie

Lately I've been having some fun coming up with seasonal drinks and cocktails.  I don't even care if it's totally expected to make pumpkin flavored drinks, I unabashedly love them.  Bring on the pumpkin! Last year I made a pumpkin milkshake, but I wanted something a bit different this year (not so milky), so instead here's a little pumpkin pie smoothie recipe!  It's still pretty dessert-y compared to a regular fruit smoothie, but definitely not as heavy as a milkshake.

Ingredients: Canned Pumpkin Pie Mix Puree (frozen) Chai tea concentrate (I used oregon chai) Vanilla Soy Milk Pumpkin pie spice (just a couple dashes)
To make the smoothie, just put equal parts of each ingredient in a blender, blend for a bit until smooth, and voila!  Pumpkin pie in a glass.  To get the texture of a smoothie, I froze the amount I needed of the pumpkin pie mix before hand, so instead of having to add any ice cubes to give it that smoothie-ness, the frozen pumpkin gets blended up.  Just measure out the amount of pumpkin pie puree and put it in a tupper ware or some other freezer friendly container and stick it in the freezer until it's solid enough to blend well.  I froze mine overnight, but you probably only need to freeze it for a couple hours.  I used 1 cup of each ingredient and it came out to about 1.5 servings, so I bet 1.5 cups of each would give you a nice solid 2 servings (16oz each)
I garnished the top of mine with a bit of crumbled graham cracker, you know, for fanciness.  Garnishes always make things more fancy.  If you used those cinnamon graham crackers it'd probably be even more fancy!  I also dashed some pumpkin pie spice in the blender, but if you don't have that you can always toss in some cinnamon or nutmeg if you like!

(I got the striped straws are from amazon, in case you were wondering.  Someone always asks, so I thought I'd preemptively answer, heh.  I got them for the mimosas at our wedding, but I still have leftovers!)

the unimportance of style

Lately I've started to become annoyed when people put down a city or town for being unstylish. I mean, there are a lot of places that could be considered unstylish. My hometown of Anchorage was recently voted the worst-dressed city in America, and there's no doubt that there is more than enough evidence to back that up. But you know what?  I love it.  I love that in Anchorage people wear North Face jackets, jeans and snowboots most of the year. I love that the focus isn't on impressing others with style or appearance. I think that's kind of great. Sometimes people with style, myself included, can start to look down on people who don't consider style important. This isn't to say that I don't think personal style is a great thing. I believe personal style can give someone incredible confidence and I love how it can be a way to express individual creativity. I love when people take the time and effort to express themselves through the way they dress and I definitely encourage people in that. But at the same time, style isn't paramount. I would much rather live in a town full of kind, adventurous, independent, and nice people who wear hideous or dull outfits than in a city full of chic, stylish, beautiful people who wouldn't give me the time of day. This isn't to say that stylish people can't be nice, but to write off unstylish people as unworthy of our time, or as lesser beings is, quite frankly, kind of offensive.

plaid top/courtesy of free people :: top/scrapbook via cosette :: scarf/h&m jeans/blank nyc courtesy of modcloth :: necklace/courtesy of moorea seal shoes/courtesy of blowfish shoes :: jacket courtesy of asianicandy :: photos by Dan The more I think about it, the more and more thankful I am for growing up in a fashion-free environment. I was more concerned about going on adventures than what I was going to wear at school the next day.  I didn't feel pressure to look a certain way in order to be "cool." We all had to wear snow coats and boots anyway. Even in high school style wasn't that important. The only thing I really remember about style in high school was being annoyed by shopping at Pac Sun because everyone shopped there and someone else was bound to show up at school wearing the same shirt as me. Style wasn't what set people apart, it was their spirit, kindness, and character, not wearing the right outfit.

Now when people make fun of Anchorage for being unstylish I just get a little salty thinking about all the people wearing Danskos and outfits bought from Fred Meyer, because those are my people, you know? Those people have my heart.  In all of their 2-years-behind-every-trend glory, and dressing-completely-for-function practicality.  And there are many places around the world similar to Anchorage, in that they aren't fashion forward or cutting edge. But they're important. People who live there are just as valuable as people who live in Manhattan or LA.  Fashion just isn't on their radar.

In some ways I feel very behind on discovering my style.  There are personal style blogs out there now written by high schoolers and I didn't even start thinking about developing my personal style until college.  But I'm glad, actually.  I spent my youth adventuring instead of shopping and putting together outfits, and I like it like that.  I'm sure I'll have fun dressing my future child until they start having an opinion of their own on what they want to wear.  At that point I'm going to (try to) just let them take over.  I don't want to give my kids the impression that their appearance is what makes them worthy or important.  I want them to know that they can be an unstylish slob and I'd still love them just as much as if they were a fashion plate.  If they want to wear sweat pants and baggy t-shirts every day, so be it.  God knows I did...