August Challenge: Eating Local (and In Season)

delicious*

The past few weeks, or maybe just this last week has had me thinking a lot about what I eat and where it comes from. It started with watching Food, Inc. It grew after reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and after adding Take Part: Hungry For a Change to my bloglovin and from there being referred to 18 Years to Life where Mrs. Lampshade (isn't that a cute name? they're so clever over there) is taking on a challenge to shop local as much as possible, I decided August was going to be the month of conscious, local, seasonal eating.

Rules for my August game are as follows:

1. Go to Farmer's Markets OR local co-ops/local produce stands once a week.

2. Only go to grocery store when all else fails or markets are closed. (aka only when Taco Bell is the only other place open and getting grocery food would be healthier and cheaper)

3. Find local options for things like flour, nuts, etc. 

4. Make at least one loaf of bread.

5. Make own pizza dough (and then pizza).

6. Learn to make (and can) spaghetti sauce.

7. Go to Sauvie Island to pick blueberries and blackberries.

I'm really quite excited about this challenge and honestly I think I've been gearing up for it in more than just the reading department. Recently I went to Sauvie Island and picked some of the most delicious raspberries which I then froze. I also bought a big thing of strawberries (unfortunately not local) and froze them (with some preparation) to have for smoothies year round. 

I'm not going to be super tough on everything I eat this month, I still have some things left in the cupboard (though it is sparse) and when I go out to eat I'm not going to demand a restaurant that only supports local farms but I am lucky enough to live in a city that houses many restaurants dedicated to sustainable, local food so when I can I'm going to make the best choice possible.

Does the beginning of a new month bring want of a new challenge? Is that just me? While I'm happy summer finally made an appearance here in Portland I am going to put it out there in the universe that I am excited for pumpkin season. I don't need it to rush here by any means, but I'm looking forward to it.

I am going to make pumpkin dishes from scratch come fall!

xoxo

* I could only find the tumblr blog it came from, I looked it up on TinEye and there were no results. 

Books of July

This month I fell a tad behind on my reading. I'm not quite sure why, maybe I had other projects I was working on. Oh yes, I spent a good deal of time working on a blanket and watching movies so that cut into my reading time. That and I've been connecting with friends and making an effort to get out of the house. So alas, I was behind for the month but definitely not behind for the 52 in 52 project. I'll just have to make it up this month!

Here they are:

I really enjoyed this book. I have Spooked on my bookshelf and I think I will be reading that soon. Her style of writing is easy to get into and stay interested in. I guess the subject matter wasn't boring either. As a person who wanted a public health and human sexuality minor (but didn't wanted to graduate more) this book was right up my alley.

So cute! So so cute. I have to read the two other books in the series now. My friend gave this to me after trying to start it a couple of times. I'm not sure if it was Nicole or Chelsea (sorry ladies) but either way I loved it. 

As I've come to the last book I realize this month, though few in books was filled with quality. 

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is a book that is going on my Favorites list, no doubt about it. I've had this book on my shelf for a while (along with other great books I am sure) and after watching Food Inc. I finally dived in. 

This book is full of devotion to a craft that many of us have long forgotten though it was part of our existence for so long. I'm motivated to eat in season and local and start making my own sauces. I'm excited to really learn about what I am eating AND, truth be told, it made me question my actions with my vegetarianism. Not that I think I made a bad choice, just that, with my beliefs, there may be other things I can do, like if I do go back to eating meat only get it from farms that are local and breed heritage animals. That all is to be discussed (or written) at a different time though.

I recommend this book through and through. Absolutely gorgeous and delightful.

Stats:

34 books out of 52. Still ahead of the goal but can't keep slacking! :)

What did you read in July? 

xoxo

EDIT:

I read 4 books this month. I forgot about this book!

I'm always pretty skeptical of a christian awakening story BUT I am into spirituality and road trips and memoirs so I decided to give this book a try. I'm very glad I did. While I won't reread it ever I did get through the story pretty fast and have some lasting images. 

So that means I've read 35 out of 52 books and I'm still on track!

woooo

xoxo

Portland Love: Living Room Theaters

Portland Love is a series in which I take to the streets of Portland, eating at new places, shopping at new shops, smelling old books and doing my best to not get too wet without the use of an umbrella. It's my way of falling in love with this city over and over again while sharing it with you. Enjoy! 

A couple of weeks ago Nicole and I went on a lovely friend movie date. It was a nice day out, so we spent some time (like 20 minutes) on Hawthorne selling her clothes and trying stuff on. We failed to find anything (which was fine) and headed downtown to see a movie at Living Room Theaters. We had our eye set on watching The Trip with Steve Coogan...

Well, Nicole wanted to  watch that movie, I just wanted to go to Living Room. I wasn't really in a picky mood. Or maybe I was but figured british humor (humour... since we're talking british here) would be just fine.

Either way, this isn't about the movie so I'll move on.

The glorious side of the theater. My dear cell phone and I are still not getting along when it comes to taking pictures of backlit things in the dark. Either the backlit letter are showing and the building isn't or the building is and the letters aren't. As shown above. That big white glowing rectangle actually shows the movies playing.

Like this... but see, you can't see anything else now. Sigh, that's a problem for another time.

So, review time... I have nothing, and I mean nothing bad or slightly negative or even just mediocre to say about them.

Seriously, fantastic.

Two picture then I'll tell.

Better side picture kind of...

Blurry movie description picture

Okay, here we are. Why I like LRT...

First, the lovely woman in the ticket window was very awesome to the couple in front of us. She let them have the teacher discount even though he didn't have his card with him. He seemed legit, I would have done the same thing. Excellent customer service.

I wanted popcorn so I stepped up to the small and adorable concession stand register and ordered some popcorn. Their small is actually a small, and their large is HUGE (see picture below) but both are very reasonably priced.

The gentleman ringing me up was very friendly (not in a flirty way, just in a nice person way) and told me that I could have refills, as many as I wanted, of my DC (diet coke). One price, refills?!?! No "do you want 20 million ounces extra for .50?" Awesome.

He filled it in an actual glass. 

We head toward our theater, the seats are large love seats. We found one with an ottoman, well, a block foot rest. 

I realize my DC is without the D. I go back out and say sorry but could I get DC instead of just C. He apologizes and says he must have heard me wrong. Again tells me I still get free refills. I tell him I love him. (not really, I just think it)

Go back in and register gentleman comes in soon after carrying plates of real food.

This place serves you real (and very delicious looking) food, to your theater, to your love seat or recliner! And they have little tray things that pop into the cup holder so you have a place to hold your plate.

Next time I go I'm ordering food I think. Or maybe I'll get food in the restaurant part (yes there's a restaurant part) and then get a small popcorn to take into the movie. Options! So many!

The movie is on, lalala, good stuff. Etc etc.

The chairs are comfortable, they also look really clean, the popcorn is delicious and if I had wanted to get up I could have had more soda for free.

The price for admission is the same as all the other regular priced theaters but it is way more comfy

AND

big part I forgot. After 7pm you have to be 21 to go in. 

Why?

Because you can have alcohol (not just beer!!!) during the movie. You don't have to sneak it in. (Some of my friends are lushes, what can I say.)

All in all, customer service was awesome. Seats were awesome, popcorn and soda were awesome. Everything was two thumbs up five star awesome. 

Safe to say, I love Living Room Theaters!

Resting our feet waiting for the movie, giant popcorn in our reach!

To Visit:

Living Room Theaters

342 SW 10th Ave

Portland, OR 97205

If you have a place you want me to check out feel free to leave me a comment or email me!

xoxo

The Baby Bundle

 It's getting to be that time in life where my friends are starting families. I'm going to be honest with you, I feel like it's all happening quite fast and we're still just kids ourselves but then I think about my actual age and realize it's not so uncommon. 

Sheesh. Where does the time go?

So, friends are having babies and with each one I've been trying to figure out what to get. I know the common books like The Little Engine That Could, The Hungry Caterpillar or The Giving Tree * but so does most everyone else. It's hard not to give a duplicate book to a friend's new baby and I don't want to have them feel they have to keep it because I wrote a little note in it. I've thought and thought and now I think I've come across a good mix!

I thought I would share my little care package/first gift to new parents. 

Part 1: First things first... a lovely book.

This book I think was one of the major reasons I loved reading and I think, started reading at a very early age. My Grandpa would sit with me in a chair and read this over and over again. My favorite was saying the sounds of the animals with him. The best, Ga-Dunk!

My mom sat and read it with me too I know. I remember loving this book and thinking we had gotten rid of it (I may have decided in my tender youth that decorating it with stickers was a good idea...) but while my mom was moving one year she found it again and I was so very happy. 

Stickers and all that book holds so many memories and I'm going to be so very happy (I'm almost tearing up here) to pass this on to my child.

The best news about this book? They started printing it again. So guess what parents to be... you're going to be getting this book for your children! I don't even care that this ruins the surprise, I mean how surprised are you really when you open baby presents unless someone shells out the big bucks on some fancy dancy item? Yeah... exactly. It's for your child, don't be so selfish.

Anywho... moving on...

Part 2: I will get for new babies (I might wait until the child is 1 for this... haven't fully decided yet) is this awesome, wonderful movie.

My mom would put this movie on and I don't know how we got it but I remember liking it slash being a little scared of it. Maybe we'll push that to 2 years old. 

What I realized in High School (seriously we watched this in a math class) is how much information was in this movie. So many facts surrounded by a silly character.

I'm not going to lie, I ordered myself a copy and I can't wait to get it in the mail.

I would love to say we kept the VHS but when I stopped using a VHS player I figured tapes were unnecessary. 

Part 3

I don't have a picture for this because it will be different for each parent/baby pairing but Part 3 is the blanket. 

It is my goal to make a baby blanket for all of my friends' babies. Maybe just their first born, we'll see what happens when they all start popping them out at the same time. 

But in all seriousness, this was always a given, AND the color scene/layout of the blanket will always be a surprise. (There you go parents, something for you!)

I love making baby blankets. As of yet I haven't used the typical baby pastel colors. 

We'll see what the future brings.

What about you? What gifts do you find yourself turning to for new parents?

xoxo 

*three other books that positively shaped my childhood and early reading

Dreaming of... vinyl

As you may have noticed I've taken a break from Monday Mayhem. I often pin things but I rarely feel inspired to take the random images and post them anymore. Maybe my "mayhem" posts will come back again but until then I'll stick with some "Dreaming of..." posts. 

Today I stopped by the post office to finally (and I do mean finally) pick up a record I ordered in December. Yes, of 2010. Due to many different complications, delays from the company I ordered from, then moving away from the house I had it addressed to maybe a week or two before it arrived. It needed a signature and they wouldn't let Señor Brows pick it up because it was in my name. Then I didn't have an address to forward it to and it got sent back to the company, THEN I had to get them to respond to my emails and phone calls (I think I sent three and called twice) which they did. Then they had to see if they had any more left and thank goody goody goodness they did. 

Today I picked up my City and Colour, Bring Me Your Love limited edition vinyl. I'm in love. 

Only one teensy little problem left... I do not have a record player.

I've been wanting one for years but never really had too much inspiration to actually purchase one (goodness knows I bought a lot of other crap I didn't need, but not a record player) but now, NOW I have a reason.

In honor of that reason today's dreaming of is all about vinyl...

enjoy.

Do you have any recommendations on record players. Some say getting them used is not worth it. What's your opinion? Do you have a turntable?

xoxo

sources: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 

Portland Love: Swirl Frozen Yogurt

Portland Love is a series in which I take to the streets of Portland, eating at new places, shopping at new shops, smelling old books and doing my best to not get too wet without the use of an umbrella. It's my way of falling in love with this city over and over again while sharing it with you. Enjoy! 

Tonight after enjoying dinner with a friend I dragged him (don't get any ideas, seriously we're just friends) to Swirl for some amazing frozen yogurt... by the ounce. I always go crazy at places like this but oh well. I try to limit how many times I frequent these places so I don't feel so bad.

I love, love, love this place for many reasons. 

1. It's in the middle of (in my humble opinion) the best part of Hawthorne.

2. Every single person that I have talked to that works there is incredibly friendly. I honestly think it's genuine. Seriously it blows my mind, especially here in Portland.

Sorry folks, we aren't always as friendly as people say we are. Seriously these kids don't act like they are better than anyone else, they are helpful AND they always punch more than they need to on my punch card. 

AKA Stellar Customer Service. I'm quite impressed.

3. It's by the ounce. Love these places.

4. So many toppings!

5. Open until like 10 pm. 

Because I feel like everyone does their self serve frozen yogurt a little differently I decided to share my way. Enjoy!

First, the cup with the waffle cone in it. Yes it makes less space to fill but that's not so bad... especially because with a cup that big you don't realize just how much you are making.

Second, put some toppings in the bottom. My favorites are rainbow sprinkles, granola and oreo pieces.

Third, add the frozen yogurt... my favorite mix is usually chocolate with a touch of peanut butter.

Fourth, put some more toppings on the top, sometimes strawberries, sometimes more sprinkles. Choose with your mood.

Last, and this is the best part here...

EAT!

What are your favorite toppings for frozen yogurt (or ice cream)?

xoxo

Visit here: 

Swirl

3538 SE Hawthorne Blvd

Portland, 97214

If you have a place you want me to check out feel free to leave me a comment or email me!

Favorite Books: High School and Beyond

The beginning of the rest of your life... that's what high school is right? Something like that. I decided to put together high school and beyond because frankly I can't remember which were my favorites in High School and which extended beyond that. I think I read a little less in High School than I did in Junior High. I remember now, as I type this, that most of my high school reading was the Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging series as well as the Harry Potter series topped with some Faye Kellerman books. I wasn't going to anything series during those years it seems. Thankfully I branched out after high school, read some possibly deeper reads and would every once in a while come back to the young adult books.

My list to date of books I have loved from High School and Beyond:

Angus Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging (series) - Louise Rennison
Harry Potter Series - J.K. Rowling
The House of Spirits - Isabel Allende

Reading Lolita In Tehran – Azar Nafisi

Good Omens – Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

The Perks of Being a Wallflower – Stephen Chbosky

Eat Pray Love – Elizabeth Gilbert

Ishmael – Daniel Quinn

A Room of One’s Own – Virginia woolf

Bird by Bird – Anne Lamott

If You Have to Cry Go Outside – Kelly Cutrone

The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon

What books helped you through High School? What about after?

xoxo