.domestic friday.

{image credit: ME!}

yesterday was a GREAT day at the massage clinic! totally positive experiences all around. i LOVE my job.

also, i feel totally suuuuuper productive today. i got up early (ok, ok, 8:30 is early on my day off!!), swept and vacuumed, washed the dishes, brewed a new batch of tea for our homebrewed kombucha, did an hour of yoga, sent my sister some sketches for her tattoo, walked the dog, blended up a delish smoothie, did two loads of laundry, hit up target (totally had to buy whip it!), the craft store (to get some things for finishing some necklaces i am working on), the sporting goods store (i needed new wrist guards for derby), mailed a few surprise valentine's packages, made a batch of granola, and cooked up a yummy dinner of polenta and mushroom sauce for the man-friend and i.

phew.

now? off to see a friend play at a fundraiser for local non-prof west side arts and then to see sweet mary bee at her cd release party!

busy day!

tomorrow starts my work week. i don't think i'm ready.

.smooth.

remember how i said i was going to make a kefir smoothie? well. i did and it was delicious. so yummy, that i had to share!!!

kefir is a delicious fermented, cultured dairy product. it is sort of like yogurt in a sense because it has live cultures and is super good for your immune system. but it is more of a beverage than yogurt (more liquid of a consistency). read this for more awesome info about kefir, what it is, what it does, and why you should love it.

here's how i made my smothie. a sort of DIY tutorial, if you will.

i started with a blender/juicer and added chopped up organic mango, organic banana and some organic frozen berries.
then i added some flax seed meal {about a TBSP}
flax seed is a great source of fiber and healthy fatty acids. adding a small amount to smoothies is a great way to add fiber to your diet. i also use ground flax seed meal as a substitute for eggs when i am baking for my vegan friends {heat 2-3 TBSP of water with 1 TBSP of flax until it takes on an egg-like consistency. this = one egg}. read this article for more about the awesomeness of flax.
anyway, after adding the flax, i added some local honey {local honey is GREAT for reducing seasonal allergies read this short article for more info on the benefits of local honey} , poured in the kefir and blended it up! it was pretty purple with bits of delicious mango floating in it! the banana and frozen berries gave it a great texture. the honey made it sweet like dessert, but really it was a great big helping of good-for-you fruit and cultured dairy!
remember to compost your fruit and vegetable scraps! {and pay no attention to the dog-hair balled up on my kitchen floor. i sweep EVERY DAY! malamutes are just fur-factories}.

there you have it! my nutritional overdose of information. that smothie was delicious. and served in an alaskan amber pint glass {procured fair and square from the summer i lived in juneau, ak}. my favorite beer, mmmmmm.

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spent the morning working in the massage studio and then ran errands in the FALLING SNOW after all my clients left. hit up the bank, post office, grocery store and . . . urban outfitters and details {a local socks/tights/legwarmers shop . . . they had a winter sale! legwarmers for $6!!!}. urban outfitters is weakness of mine. i got m ward's album "hold time" on vinyl for $4.99!!! yummy. i also picked up some arnica gel and homeopathic tablets . . . roller derby practice made me a little sore last night . . . remind me to tell you about "blood and thunder" sometime. so fun!

.good day to stay in.

spent most of the day curled up on the couch watching old episodes of LOST online with the man-friend. i also spend about 3 hours browsing around on lostpedia. this was either a total waste of time or a fantastic decision. not sure yet. based on all the things i wanted to accomplish today (filing, finishing organizing my new amazing studio space, getting my package in the mail for my sister and the little sprout due next month, etc) it was a horrible choice. it was, however a fantastically windy and rainy day. the perfect kind of day for an after work nap (left the house at 6am for work, arrived home by noon, soup in the crock pot by 12:30, head on the pillow by 1 - woken up by crazy wind shaking the house about an hour and half later) followed by coffee and snuggles on the couch.

also, due to the fact that i was entertained by lostpedia, the man-friend was able to get 3 hours of school work done without my interrupting him.

the man-friend made an AMAZING pizza for dinner tonight (with whole, roasted garlic cloves! yum! cut the top off a head of garlic, set it in a tin foil hug, drizzle with olive oil and leave it in the oven for at least half an hour. scoop out the cloves with a knife. put it on your pizza. or spread them on crackers. so. good.)

i, in turn, made an entire crock pot of soup (kidney beans and garbanzo beans [soaked overnight] veggie broth, onion, sweet potato, gold potato, garlic, coconut milk, curry spices and honey) so that he will have stuff he can just heat up to eat while he keeps studying. he's in the last mad dash for his prelimenary exams for his phd. i am so proud of him! he's put in so much work. he still has so much more to go - but as of thursday next week, he'll have a huge portion of it behind him. he will be what is called ABD (all but dissertation), meaning he will have finished all necessary work to complete his phd except for writing his huge-ass dissertation (which will take years).

anyway, that's how i spent this crazy, rainy, windy day. tomorrow? more early morning work and roller derby practice. maybe i'll finish sorting through my studio in between?

what is your favorite rainy day activity?

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currently listening: fleetwood mac "rumors." never gets old.

.CUPCAKES!.

well, not really cupcakes. i don't really eat a lot of sweets, but i was suuuuper craving cupcakes today . . . i scoured the kitchen and found a hidden box of trader joe's banana bread mix.

so, i pulled out my awesome ceramic muffin tray, my unbleached baking cups and mixed me up some banana bread in the SHAPE of cupcakes.

i'll be making this frosting for the top.

and instead of eating them all myself, i will take them to miss K's birthday tonight.

gotta go get them out of the oven!!!

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p.s. i really do usually make my own banana bread from scratch, but this was a CRAVING! an EMERGENCY! you understand.

.friday fancies.

pretty proud of my outfit today. got this new skirt on clearance for $5 yesterday. yessss.... i only buy things resale or on clearance. i just can't afford to be buying things shiny and brand new and full-price. but anyway, i knew it was a good choice when i was fixin' the hair and the man-friend walks in and says "hey cute girl!" so full of win.

hudson, however, is NOT impressed:
we got him that stuffed duck for christmas and he's already broken the squeaker. now he uses the duck as a pillow. so cute! i LOVE that he doesn't rip the stuffing out of his toys. he is actually really gentle with them. carries them around and grooms them. sort of like they are his babies. he's so special. we love him!

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in other news, i am being punished for making the most kick-ass dinner last night! the man-friend is SO FULL that he is making me WAIT for our friday breakfast outing until he is hungry. it's been . . . 13 hours since we ate dinner? and he's still not hungry?

it WAS a good dinner. i bought some rustic, sourdough olive bread from the local bakery. i sliced it open and topped it with grilled tempeh, swiss cheese (from non-hormone treated cows) and popped it in the oven to get all melty and toasty (both of those adjectives are REAL WORDS dispite what the man-friend might say) . . . when it was finished we topped it with fermented, raw cabbage (kimchi, or saur kraut) - at least an inch thick- and some organic thousand island dressing. put the top on that sandwich and you've got a vegetarian reuben to DIE FOR. pair that with a side salad of baby spinach, pecans and bleu cheese . . . you've got a delicious, nutritious meal . . . and apparently a meal that will cause some people to not be hungry 13 hours later.

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as long as we are talking about fermented foods, here is a great article about the benefits and history of fermented foods. in short, fermented vegetables (in the meal above this includes the tempeh, the kimchi, the cheese, the sourdough bread and possibly the relish in the dressing) are beneficial because of the awesome healthy yeasts, bacterias, flora and fauna that they can add to the delicate ecosystems in our digestive tracts. this helps the food we eat to be more easily digested and it helps our immune systems to ward off any unwelcome visitors.

as i continue to educate myself on the topic i will be able to provide better information. for now, read the article i linked to above and read up on the topic for yourself. i'd love to hear what you have to say!

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so, i hear the man-friend coming up the stairs . . . maybe that means he is FINALLY hungry and we can go to our favorite breakfast restaurant. check it out: julian's.

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oh, one last thing, for those of you who LOVE the fleet foxes, check this out.

.JAMMIES!!.

if you haven't seen this SNL digital short, go watch it now.

mmmm... today is my day off. love it.

i went to bed LATE last night (see time of post from last night and add half an hour) because i was so jazzed from roller derby practice. since this past weekend was a holiday weekend, work was crazy (well, it's been better in the past - i blame the economy and the fact that the students aren't back yet. this weekend should be better!) . . . it was like working 3 weekend days in a row at the restaurant instead of just 2. so, needless to say, i was beat. without any guilt at all, i slept in until 10:15 and then lay in bed until 11.

pure. luxury.

AND i declared today to be JAMMIE DAY. i will NOT get dressed until right before it is time to go to derby practice tonight. wonderful!

nonetheless, i have been pretty productive with the few hours of daytime i had left after sleeping most of them away. i've brewed more tea for our homemade kombucha, baked a batch of granola, did the dishes, swept the kitchen, played a few rounds of mario kart on the wii, and tried to catch up on all the emails that i am behind on . . . now i just have to prep for my day at the massage clinic tomorrow (i have a full day! yay!), sweep/vacuum upstairs, make stuffed squash for dinner and put together a package for my sister and her BABY (due next month! ah!). maybe i'll clean up all my dirty clothes if i get around to it.

man, i sound really domestic.

in other news, i am totally toying with registering for this local food forum next month. it falls on one of my days off and will be over in time to get to roller derby that night . . . and it's FREE!! i just wish i could find someone to go with me . . . i love supporting all things local as best as i can . . . esp local farmers!

hmm, is there something i can blog about that does NOT sound so domestic? :) my little feminist heart is beating hard (i really actually don't mind being domestic, it's my choice. i can be both domestic and a feminist, feel free to ask me about it if you have questions).

{photo taken at the portland farmers market by ME!}

.this is lust.

i have an obsession with matryoshkas. also known as russian stacking or nesting dolls. i love them. i draw them. i've cut block prints of them and made greeting cards. i want a tattoo of one. i bought the most beautiful bare wood one when i lived in alaska. it was hand painted and covered in gold glitter. it's not tacky like it sounds, i promise. it is glorious.

enter frustration. i found these.

{image via fred and friends}

wouldn't they just make baking in the kitchen a thousand times more fantastic?

sadly, the manufacturer SOLD OUT during the holidays, and i must wait patiently until they are back in stock.

le sigh.

such is life, i suppose.

what sorts of things are you lusting after for YOUR KITCHEN?