Saturday, December 1, 2012

Fall in the NW

My Pumpkin this year!
Fall here is one of my favorite times of year.  The grass becomes neon green, and the trees are aglow in reds, oranges, and yellows.  The weather gets a little damp and chilly, just enough to make it feel right to stay inside and have a fire.  This year we welcomed the season with a Halloween party, complete with a photo booth made by Ben and some yummy treats made by me!


Mummy Dogs
Spider Cookies



Witches Punch

Dead, by Dexter














Our costumes were a hit this year.  Dexter is our favorite show, so we thought, why wouldn't we dress up to honor the show.  Ben had his Dexter outfit complete with the apron and gloves.  I was wrapped in a dress, a shower curtain, and several layers of saran wrap.  

Dexter & his prey



One nice fall day I went on a walk in Lincoln Park with my friend Carly.   We found a sweet park where we enjoyed the swings :)





These are some instagrams from our pleasant walk by the water and through the trees































Friday, November 30, 2012

Apple Picking October 20 2012

As we do every year, we made a trip up north to Skagit Valley at our favorite, Jones Creek Farm.  This is our fourth annual year going.  We went during their Harvest festival to enjoy the celebration!  Per usual we picked apples and took a hayride and finished the evening off right at Applebee's!







Here are some of the results of all those apples!!!  Delicious pie filling and applesauce.


Sunday, November 4, 2012

Macklemore

A couple weeks ago we were lucky enough to make it to the Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Secret show. Macklemore is the artists who we did our first dance at our wedding to. The show was announced that day and was limited to 600 people. We rushed there and made it just in time. I may have been #601 since Chrissy ushered me in over the chains. There were a ton of people outside waiting 6+ hours for the show to start. We only had to wait 2 hours and it was well worth it.


We got in and were immediately bum rushed for teenagers. Being packed in like sardines, I didn't realize how annoying they are. We moved back like 10 feet for some room to breathe and enjoyed the rest of the show. This show was a record release party for their new album. It was very special because after each song, he sat down on stage and explained the meaning and song writing process that went into it. He touched on some very emotional aspects in his life that made their way into the music. Macklemore is one of the few artists that give 100% or his heart, soul and honesty into his music. It was an amazing concert!




While there I also took a bunch of video and used it as an opportunity to hone my video editing skills. It's a bit long, but definitely my best work to date.


Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Sushi - DIY!

Have you ever wondered if you could make your own sushi?  I love sushi, but figured it was too difficult to assemble so I would forever be forced to go out to enjoy this delicacy.   But this summer after consulting a sushi book I received from my parents, we were able to create our own Salmon Sushi Rolls!  See the steps below.

1. Cut up strips of smoked salmon, ripe avocado, and any other veggies you want to add.




2. Take a bamboo mat and cover it with cellophane. Pat down a layer of sticky white rice and top with a seaweed sheet.


3. Place the piece of smoked salmon and other veggies into a thin strip in the middle.


4. Consult the instructions one last time before sealing it up


5. Carefully roll, roll, roll up the contents using the bamboo mat to guide you.



6. Press it down into a tight roll.


7. Take the sushi roll out of the bamboo mat and roll the exterior of the rice in toasted sesame seeds.


8. Cut the long roll into smaller bite size pieces and ENJOY!






We also attempted an inside out version with the seaweed wrap on the outside and the rice on the inside.  It worked just as well...maybe even better!




It sure was a tasty treat that we enjoyed for days (since we made so much of it)!
Try it out :)