the untamed

Whenever I'm back in Alaska, I feel like I return to my outfit-photo-roots.  Lately I've been enjoying exploring more urban settings in my photos, but I think I will always feel most natural in a more wild setting.  Perhaps its because my own style tends towards being more wild than neat and orderly, and even my hair refuses to be anything but untamed.  Besides, taking outfit photos in the wilderness does afford a nice sense of solitude and a guarantee that no one will come poking around wondering what the heck you're up to.  
Despite the snowy beach, it is starting to feel a bit like spring here, even if the temperatures are still in the 30's.  Compared to Anchorage, though these photos are incredibly springy, as they've been getting pounded with snow recently!  In Tacoma we barely got a dusting of snow this whole winter.  Kind of strange for a girl used to at least 3 feet of snow all winter!

dress/courtesy of lace affair :: cardigan (similar)/gap :: scarf + belt/thrifted tights (similar)/target :: boots (similar)/courtesy of blowfish shoes
I recently finished reading Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma, and since I knew I would be on a plane, which is when I get most of my reading done, I grabbed his other book, In Defense of Food.  I really enjoy his writing and the past couple years I've been on an informative book kick, reading all kinds of different books on faith, food, psychology, etc.  For some reason I feel like I find those kinds of books more enjoyable than stories, but perhaps that's just because I haven't actually read a real novel in ages.  I think reading books where you learn things becomes a substitute for school after you've graduated to the real world.  I love learning, about almost anything, so reading books like Pollan's is a way to keep learning even though I'm no longer in class.  It's nice that we have Netflix nowadays too, with tons of documentaries at our fingertips.  I guess the library has those kinds of things, but the library isn't open at 11pm when I'm wanting to watch something on a whim.   I think I've watched like five documentaries this month.  It feels less lazy to binge on documentaries than on hours of tv episodes. 

the rosemary club

Since I made my rosemary simple syrup, I've been brainstorming drinks which would be good with that rosemary flavor.  We still had some gin left, and I remembered my favorite summer drink from last year, the Clover Club, and I wondered to myself what it would taste like if I replaced the grenadine with rosemary simple.  Well, it tasted lovely.  I like grenadine a lot, but the rosemary in this drink gives it a much more subtle and sophisticated disposition.  The botanical flavors of the gin really mesh well with the rosemary.  I love the texture that egg white gives a drink, but you could always omit it if it weirds you out.  If you're looking for the rosemary simple recipe you can find it here!  I promise no more rosemary drinks, but watch out because Dan and I just made a new infused simple syrup and it. is. awesome.  I already have a drink recipe for it and it is the bomb.


You'll Need:
2 measures Gin
1 measure Rosemary Simple
Juice of half a large lemon
1 egg white
Ice
Cocktail shaker

Pour all the ingredients in the cocktail shaker and shake with ice for about 30 seconds to make sure the egg white is thoroughly incorporated with all other ingredients. Strain into a glass and garnish with a slice of lemon. You could also garnish with a sprig of rosemary, which I think would look pretty.  I didn't have any more fresh rosemary on hand, though, so I settled with a slice of lemon.  This drink is kind of plain looking without a garnish, so I definitely recommend adding something to give it a little curb appeal.  

space... the final frontier

People.  This skirt is awesome.  I want it on my body all of the times.  Not only is it a space skirt, it's also super comfortable.  How did I not know I was so lacking before this space skirt entered my life?  Okay, well, I'm hyperbolizing but really, this is one of my new favorite things.  I remember seeing a few galaxy print dresses and such floating around the fashion-sphere in the past couple years, but they were usually way out of my price range to even consider.  I love when high fashion trends start trickling down to the more affordable shops.

top + skirt + tights(similar)/courtesy of modcloth :: jacket/courtesy of asianicandy necklace/courtesy of adorn by sarah lewis shoes/courtesy of lulu's :: shades/vintage :: photos by Dan
I always want fresh flowers in my house when spring rolls around.  I'm too cheap to go out and buy bouquets though, even though I linger by the floral section every time I go to the store.  Maybe I will get some flowers to grow in our garden this year so I'll have them around.  I've got some basil, onion, and lavender seeds starting to sprout, and I still need to plant a ton more starters before we make our raised beds outside.  Seems like we've still got some time before it gets warm enough outdoors to actually transfer them, though.  
It's supposed to be sunny here in Tacoma this week, but I won't be here!  I swear that happens every time.  I leave Tacoma and it decides to be nice.  Last spring I went up to Anchorage for my little brother's high school graduation... like 80 degree weather in Tacoma the whole time.  I get back? Freezing and raining.  We didn't see 80 degrees again until July.  So typical, I'll be up in Alaska this week while Tacoma gets its sun on.  Hopefully Dan will be able to get some work done on the house.  We still have only half the house painted because we've been waiting for a dry spell to get the last couple coats on.  It looks real nice from one side, and then kinda weird from the front, and then totally unfinished from the other side.  So it goes!  
Thankfully this winter has been much more mild than last and I think I probably will make it through without losing my mind like I nearly did last year.  Having a larger house is helping.  Our tiny, dark house drove me stir crazy last spring and I was desperately looking around the country for places to move, even if to just imagine it in my mind.  This year I'm so excited about sprucing up our home that rainy days are barely bothersome, except when I want to go take outfit photos and it's a downpour.

rachel the hat giveaway!

Hi everyone! I hope you're having a nice Sunday afternoon before you have to go back to the daily grind tomorrow morn. Today I'm partnering with the lovely Rachel from Rachel the Hat to give away a $30 ModCloth gift card!  Rachel blogs over at Rachel the Hat, where she shares her fun, eclectic sense of style, her love for vintage, knitting endeavors, and life adventures.  In her own words...

I am a vintage loving,dress wearing, colour mixing, sentimental old fool who loves talking about "the good old days."  I have a new found love for all things crafty, and with my new sewing machine in tow i am learning how to make my own pieces and dream of dressmaking and other whimsical things.

 
In order to enter the giveaway you'll need to follow Rachel the Hat on Bloglovin' or GFC, and you can enter two more times for following on twitter and instagram! To enter, follow the directions below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

chocolate peanut butter cake pops AND heath bar cake pops!

Dan's birthday was this week, so I figured it was a perfect excuse to make more cake pops!  Dan is a big fan of chocolate and peanut butter, so I really wanted to make him some cake pops that tasted kind of like Reese's Pieces, but since I am not a peanut butter fan, I made some for myself which were chocolate with crumbled heath bar bits!  As if cake pops weren't amazing enough, these were just mindblowing.  Obviously I didn't care much for the peanut butter chocolate ones, but everyone who was a PB fan loved them!  And, for me, the heath bar ones were so great.  I loved the little crunch that the toffee had.  Regular cake pops are fun, but I liked making ones with a little twist.  I think these would be perfect for a kid's birthday, or even easter!
I love cake pops because it's like the perfect amount of cake and sweetness, all wrapped up into one little delicious bite sized treat.  I'm not a huge fan of eating a big slice of cake, but these are so much more dense and rich than a regular old cake.  Plus, it's kind of like portion control!  They can also be fun party favors or easy to transport treats to bring to a party or potluck.  

What you'll need: Chocolate Cake (appx 9x13 in baked cake. I used Pillsbury's dark chocolate cake mix) Peanut butter, creamy 2 Heath bars, crumbled Cream cheese frosting (I just used a store-bought 16 oz cream cheese frosting) Candy melts (I got mine from Michaels, 4 bags) Lollipop sticks (also from Michaels) Styrofoam blog, for drying
If you want to make both recipes, like I did, from one cake, just split the cake in half when you go to add the extras (PB/Heath bar) and put half the frosting in each bowl.  The rest of the recipe will be the same!
1. Bake a 9 x 13 cake.  If you want fewer cake pops you could bake a 9x9 cake instead.  My 9 x 13 cake made about 35 cake pops.
2.  Once the cake is done, let it cool for a bit and then put it into a bowl.  Dump 1.5 cups of frosting into the bowl with the cake.  If you're making Peanut Butter cake pops, put a cup of peanut butter in with the frosting at this point.  If you're making Heath Bar cake pops, take your crumbled up heath bars and mix them in to the cake with 2 cups of frosting.  Mush everything together so the frosting and peanut butter/heath bar is mixed with the cake evenly.
3.  Form the cake into little balls.  This gets messy, as you really have to do it with your hands.  Place the balls on a tray/plate and let them cool in the fridge for 1-2 hours or in the freezer for about a half hour. 
4. While the cake balls are cooling down, get your candy melts ready!  Melt the candy melts like you would chocolate chips, either in the microwave, over the stove, etc.  I don't have a microwave so I just do it over low heat on the stovetop.  This only takes a couple minutes, so don't do it too early, wait until your cake balls are ready to go.

5. Take your cake balls out of the fridge/freezer.  If your melted chocolate is too shallow in the container you used to melt it, pour some into a smaller container in order to dip the cake pops.  I usually use a small glass.
6. Dip your lollipop stick into the melted chocolate and then insert it into a cake ball, about 2/3 of the way into it.  You can do this with multiple cake balls at a time.  Then, submerge the whole cake ball into the chocolate and then knock off the excess chocolate by tapping the stick on the side of the glass, before inserting in the styrofoam to let it dry.  Since the cake balls are cold and the chocolate is warm it usually doesn't take long for the cake pop to harden, so if you run out of room in your styrofoam, you can move the ones that are done to a jar or something as they harden.  If you want to put sprinkles on the top, make sure to do that before the chocolate hardens, so the sprinkles have something to stick to.  I like to take a contrasting color of chocolate and drizzle it over them.  You can do this later, once all your cake pops are done hardening.  
Voila!  Now take these somewhere to be consumed so you don't have them sitting in your fridge to tempt you.