black tea cake with lemon buttercream frosting + blackberry lime jam

You know how sometimes you get an idea in your head and regardless of how silly it is, you just gotta do it?  I got the idea in my head the other day to bake a cake, and so even though I don't need a cake for any reason, I decided to bake one.  Sometimes baking is just so therapeutic.  You make a total mess, get to taste-test sugary goodness, watch silly tv shows as you bake, and at the end you have a (hopefully) yummy result.  Plus, I make such a huge mess when I bake that I have to clean the kitchen afterward, which means I get cake and a clean kitchen.  Of course, now I have a cake in my fridge and no one to eat it.  Our neighbors brought over cookies for us when we were siding the house, and last week they brought Dan some barbecued chicken legs while he was working on the house.  So I'm thinking I should take a couple generous slices of cake over to see if they'd like some.  



The cake and blackberry lime jam recipes can be found here.  I didn't have any black tea on hand, so I used some Republic of Tea Ginger Peach Green Tea instead.  I'd love to try this with some Earl Grey black tea, though.  I didn't have the frosting ingredients for the Honey Whipped Cream used at the original cake recipe, so I decided on a simple buttercream frosting, but with a zesty lemon kick.  I figured the lemon would pair well with the blackberry lime jam.  Ugh, it's SO good.  Frosting is usually too rich for me, so the citrus lightens it up enough for me to really enjoy it fully.  And fully is an understatement.  And speaking of frosting... let's just say that this is the "rustic" method of frosting a cake.  That's just fancy-speak for "messy."
Lemon Buttercream Frosting: 1/2 cup  (1 stick) of butter softened 1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp lemon zest  1/4 cup of milk 3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice

1. Mix together the butter, lemon zest and vanilla, mixing until smooth and free from lumps.
2. Alternate adding the confectioners sugar by the 1/2 cup and the milk as you continue mixing.
3. Once all the sugar and milk has been added, cream for two minutes and then add the lemon juice.

coffeeshop days

Since having a working bike again I've been enjoying getting out to coffee shops to work instead of staying at home.  We live far enough away from our favorite shops that walking would take too long and driving just seems excessive.  Plus, with all the nice weather lately taking a ride through the breeze with the sun on my skin feels so great.  It's supposed to be in the 80's this weekend and I'm dreaming about basking in the sun in a bikini with a cool drink in hand.  Last year we had a weekend of 80 degree weather in May, but I had flown up to Anchorage to attend my little brother's high school graduation, so I missed it!  We didn't have nice weather in Tacoma again until July.  People always say summers in the PNW are unbeatable, and I'm inclined to agree.  

dress/courtesy of nectar :: shoes (similar)/courtesy of modcloth :: belt/thrifted bag (similar)/courtesy of handbag heaven headband/just lovely things :: jacket (similar)/lulu's
These shoes are my absolute favorite summer shoes.  I got them back in 2010 and wear them to death every summer.  They started getting a bit frayed last summer so when I pulled them out yesterday I had to superglue them back together.  Hopefully with a bit of repair they'll last through this summer!  I love wedges for summer because they're easy to wear while pedaling a bike.  I even decided to paint my toenails to match the shoes.  I don't paint my fingernails anymore because they get ruined in a matter of days or hours due to rock climbing.  Plus, I have to keep them short to climb, so they look like little boy fingernails anyway, not really worthy of taking the time to paint.  Maybe someday if we stop climbing I'll grow them out and have pretty nails again, but for now my third-grade-boy-nails prevail.
Oh, and before I forget, I'm participating in Vanity Fair's Best Dressed Challenge, so if you feel inclined to check it out and vote (or participate as well!), click here!

pnw blogger meet up!

On Saturday I went up to Seattle to attend the PNW Blogger meetup.  I initially missed the ticket sale, but thankfully got on the waitlist and was able to buy a ticket from a girl who couldn't attend.  Honestly blogger events and meetups are usually pretty awkward for me.  Unless there are activities planned it's typically just me standing in the corner near the food.  I think most bloggers feel at least a little awkward at IRL blogger events.  I mean, we all blog... which means we carefully craft what we want to say behind the scenes before posting, edit our photos and usually choose only the best/most flattering images, and rarely have to speak to other people in real time.  It's not really surprising that we're an awkward bunch to shove in a room together and say, "go socialize!"  Uh... do what?  I know that my typical reaction in those situations is to find someone who I'm familiar with, converse with regularly online, or have met up with before and immediately glom on to them.  Not only is it nice to catch up with someone you know online, but at least you can actually have a conversation that goes a bit deeper than the, "So what's your blog?  Do you live in Seattle?  What do you blog about?" conversation that is a necessity at blogger meet ups.  
Honestly, I need to get better at small talk because I find it quite emotionally draining, as an introvert, to  meet so many new people and make conversation with someone you only just met.  I should probably go in with a game plan like, "Meet 5 new people and have a 3-5 min conversation with each person," because otherwise I see a sea of people I'm *supposed* to go meet and immediately get overwhelmed.  Cue hiding in the corner behind a stiff drink.  I know that my introversion isn't an excuse for hiding in the corner, it simply explains why such events are so draining.  It's been so long since I've gone to an event like this that I kind of forgot how hard they are for me.  Next time I'm going with a game plan to avoid being lame! 
The meet up was at a pretty cool place up in Seattle called Von Trapp's.  They had indoor bocce ball, lots of brats and sausages (interestingly there was a lot of sausage at an all-women event), delicious and pricey cocktails (holy $11 batman!), and it was a huge restaurant!  We got to hang out in a neat loft space overlooking the bocce.  There were tons of prizes that were given away and I won a confection cookbook!  I'm looking forward to trying my hand at making some truffles, chocolates, and other delights.  Candy making is one thing I've never even thought about trying to do, but it looks like so much fun.  

For about a year I've been wanting to organize a PNW blogger social.  I'd love it to be here in Tacoma, not only for ease of planning it, as a Tacoma resident myself, but because it's in between Portland and Seattle and I'm a big fan of Tacoma and want to share its awesomeness with the world.  Having attended a few blogger events, I've found that the ones I enjoy most are the ones where there are activities or mini events within the large event.  So, say, there's a table where you can make a certain craft, or there's a station where a glasses sponsor has brought a bunch of frames to try on, there's a photobooth with silly props.  Activities like those are great ways to break the ice, and they give introverts something to do other than hide in the corner drowning their introversion in wine.  If there was a craft table at a blogger meet up I would probably be there the entire time, because not only does it give me something to do with my hands and feel engaged in the event, but it's also a perfect icebreaker to talk to new people.  "Oh man, I'm terrible with glue guns!" "Ugh, I know! I burn my finger almost every time I use one."  It's a nothing conversation, but it opens the door in a more natural way than *walk up* "uh... hi, I'm so-and-so... what's your name?"  Which might be a perfectly natural thing for some people, but sounds so uncomfortable to me.  
What kind of blogger meet up would you like to go to?  Or, if you've been to a blogger meet up what did/didn't you like about it?

investing locally

I feel like a newb here in Tacoma, though I've lived here for about two and a half years.  Despite still feeling like I'm getting my footing in my new city, I find myself fiercely defending it and the people who make it great.  I felt the same way about Spokane when I lived there.  So many college folks transplanted from the Seattle area would complain about how lame Spokane was.  I still love Spokane and love hearing about the great things that people are doing to invest in the community and make Spokane a better place.  When people have a negative attitude about the place they live it never does anything except create a feedback loop of disappointment and dismissal.  Disappointment that the town isn't better, and then dismissal at any assertion that you should invest in the town because you don't want to invest in a "lame" place.  It's like cultural brain drain.  People with the means to make a real change want to leave and go to somewhere better and cooler, rather than investing in the community where they already live.  I saw it happen in Anchorage, with kids graduating from high school and wanting to "get outside" (aka: go to the lower 48).  
dress (similar) + top/courtesy of modcloth :: shoes/minnetonka :: jacket/lulu's bag/courtesy of rouge & whimsy :: necklace/courtesy of adorn by sarah lewis Not that it's always bad to leave a place.  It can be necessary to get out to gain a new perspective, and sometimes you really do need to leave to live the life you want to live.  But it's disappointing to me when people leave a place because of a cultural anorexia without ever doing anything to feed that local culture.  Tacoma, Spokane, Anchorage... they won't ever be New York City or even Seattle or Portland.  They have their own history and culture to offer.  Comparison is the thief of joy, they say, and while this is good advice for individual people, it's also sound advice for our local communities.  Tacoma isn't Seattle and we shouldn't try to be more like Seattle, we should try to be a better Tacoma.  The best Tacoma.  Instead of pining to be more like Portland, which is a great city in and of itself, we should shift our gaze to our own communities to see how we can invest here and now.  It can be hard and overwhelming, which it why I imagine so few people feel up for the task.  I myself feel ill equipped having lived here for only a couple years.  I feel like I lack the history and knowledge of this place that more long-term residents have.  But I realized that someday, assuming we stick around, I will be a long term resident and I'd better start investing in this place now if I want it to be better by the time I've lived here for a while.

new york sour

Spring this year has been awesome.  Last year at this time I was so over the dreary, wet weather and constantly dreaming about moving somewhere less yucky.  This year?  70 degrees in April?  Yes please and thank you.  The sunny weather has made me excited about concocting fun beverages, because what's better than basking in the sun with an ice cold cocktail?  Dan made me one of these the other day and I loved how pretty the wine looked floating on top so I decided to share the recipe.  A New York Sour is a pretty standard cocktail, so this isn't anything too crazy or special, just a nice, solid cocktail that looks super fancy.  The best part is that it's a rather simple and easy cocktail to make, so you won't have to be at the bar doing a bunch of crazy mixologist stuff while your friends enjoy their cocktails.


New York Sour

2 oz bourbon
3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz simple syrup
1/2 oz red wine

In a cocktail shaker 3/4 full of ice, add bourbon, lemon juice and simple syrup.  Shake until frosty. You can either strain into a chilled cocktail glass or a collins or rocks glass with ice.  Over a spoon, pour the wine onto the top of the drink.  This will keep the wine floating on top of the drink and give it that cool gradation, pretty fancy!  You'll probably want to mix the wine in before you drink it, just to mix the flavors, but it's fun to serve it with the wine floating on top.  You can garnish with a cherry and/or lemon/orange slice if you like!  I thought the wine float was fancy enough so I went sans-garnish.  And since I always get asked where the spiral paper straws are from, you can find them on Amazon in tons of different colors.

photos of me by Dan