blackberry weekend

The best part of August? Blackberries, of coarse! So last weekend, Ana, Dane, and I went picking! Considering how prevelent blackberry brambles are in Tacoma, it was suprisingly difficult to find good berries. All of the obvious places were pretty picked over. Eventually, we found an undisturbed bush next to the highway. You can see pictures of our berry hunt on Ana's blog, Oh Ana.

When we got home, we got to work making delicious berry treats!
Before we got to the berries, we needed some bloody marys. I love this recipe, it's got horseradish, which gives drink a great complexity. Try it out!
Next up, blackberry cocktails. We made a puree of berries, peaches, and maple syrup, then blended with ice and absolute. Delicious!
No blackberry cooking spree is complete without cobbler! For a little extra flare, Ana poured some melted butter on top before baking. It was like magic in my mouth. So glad we made a couple of these!

to austin, part 1

I went on a road trip to Austin TX a few weeks back. Emily was moving down there for grad school, so I tagged along as her co-pilot. It was a great trip! Emily planned ahead so we could stop at a fun tourist attraction half way through each day, and sleep in a different state each night.

Day 1
We headed due east to Pullman WA, to visit Caitlin and Chris, who had just moved there. Their house is so cute! I don't know what it looked like before they moved in, but they did a great job fixing it up!
After Caitlin and Chris's place, we went south through Idaho toward Ontario OR. We learned that Highway 95, while beautiful, is not a fast way to get anywhere. But if you're up for a long, scenic drive through low mountains and winding river valleys, I would highly recommend it.
Day 2
From Oregon, we went south into Utah. The drive was not nearly as pretty as Highway 95 was, but Salt Lake City made up for that. It was so clean and green, it was hard to believe we were in the middle of the desert. We spend most of our time there wandering around the Temple Square, Mormon headquarters. Of coarse, it was even cleaner and greener than the rest of the city. Beautiful buildings and meticulous landscaping. Here's my favorite temple on the square:
On the way out of the Temple Square, I spotted this spotty moss flower bed. What a cute idea! I love moss. If I ever have a yard of my own, I'm going to rip up the grass and grow moss instead.
Tune in next time for Arches Park in southern Utah!

when refrigerators die

Many weeks ago, Ana and I put in a request to our landlady for a refrigerator with a freezer. The puny ice box in our current one just wasn't cutting it; our ice cream always turned to mush! Our landlady loves us, so she got right to work ordering a fridge with a separate freezer that would fit in our tiny apartment. The first new fridge they tried to wedge in here was 1 inch too wide. The second fridge 8 inches too wide. The third fridge was just right. Finally, a freezer!

But the troubles weren't over. About 6 hours after plugging in our perfect new refrigerator, it crapped out! We called the landlady right away, but she wasn't able to come up with any immediate solutions. After 24 hours with no cooling action, our leftovers and dairy were a total loss.
Here you see the first wave of food carnage. After the loss of my precious cheese and deli meats, I decided to be a bit more proactive. Ice block time! Produce drawers filled with ice became make shift motors, saving the last of the condiments and preserved foods. It's actually pretty cold in there now!

Unfortunately, lack of air circulation meant that anything not stored in a glass container was contaminated with new plastic smell. Goodbye, produce.
Ironically, it's business as usual for the built-in ice box. The racks are all gone and the plumbing to the drain was removed years ago, so I just use it to store liquor and wine. Nothing expired in there!

farewell to the happy couple

Surprise Party! Caitlin and Chris had to move to Pullman so Caitlin could continue on her journey to become a vet at WSU. As is often the case with moving, much was left to the last minute, Chris and Caitlin was a wee bit stressed. What better relief than to be surprised with a going away party? They had no idea! All of their favorite people gathered at Sara's place, some from over 200 miles away (myself), to wish them love and good luck, and of coarse, feed them lots of alcohol! After the party, Emily, Sara, and I stuck around to help them finish packing their moving truck. We <3 you Caitlin and Chris!

shake weight

The other day, I was strolling through Target. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, I grabbed some hair stuff, some snacks, a dozen eggs (I'm loving the "fresh" food section they just put in).

As I was walking toward the register destiny struck. In the center of a mostly empty end-cap of cold medicine was an abandoned shake weight. It called to me. I knew instantly that I had to bring it home with me.

In case I had any doubts as to whether the shake weight and I were meant to be, the register set me right. When my checker scanned the shake weight, she handed me a free $5 gift card, part of a shake weight promo. An extra $5 to spend at Target!? Fate has smiles upon me.

helicopter ride

I went on a family vacation to Oregon last week. We started out inland, staying a night in McMinnville, a cute antique shop filled town where we took a helicopter ride! I've never been in a helicopter before, and the sensation of flying in one was very different than I was expecting. Takeoff felt like we were being lifted by a bungee cord! Once in the air, it was smooth and fantastic. We were cruising around at over 100 mile an hour. Too bad McMinnville wasn't very exciting to see from the air, but overall the experience was wonderful!