FSC!

Today our neighbor came over (with baby Mabel who is my favorite because she's just the cutest but more on her another time) and she was talking about the house her and her husband are starting to build. She said she had been looking into flooring and really wants hardwood floors but wants them to be responsible, so she's looked into flooring that is FSC certified wood. FSC stands for the Forest Stewardship Council and they are an international organization that makes sure their forests are harvested sustainably and responsibly. They don't clear cut forests or use woods that are endangered and they make sure that they can harvest from the same land for years to come! They also don't use many chemicals and treat their workers well!

I found a way cool company in Seattle today called Ecohaus. They have all sorts of products, but the thing I was most excited about is that almost all of their hardwood flooring is FSC certified! So I made sure to show my neighbor because she was having a hard time finding flooring up here in anything other than oak, and she doesn't want oak (don't blame her, I'm not a huge fan of oak either). They had eucaplytus which I have never heard of for flooring before! Oh and tigerwood which is um gorge! ok sorry I could talk about the pretty woods all night, so I'll stop now. ::sheepish grin:: I get excited about interiors but I get even more excited when its sustainable interiors!

To learn more about FSC go here! I think they're way cool, but I tend to be partial to anything saving forests because I'm a Northwest girl and I love my trees.

So next time you are flooring a house make sure to get FSC certified woods so you are being kind to our planet and the forests and the animals that live there and the people who work there! :)

My Cricket kitty.

Last week wasn't a very good one. Our kitty Cricket got really really sick Monday and went to the vet Wednesday and passed away Thursday. We had her for almost 13 years. She was the sweetest kitty ever, and she was queen of our household's animal kingdom. It was very hard to say goodbye to her as it all was quite sudden and we weren't expecting it to happen. The day we brought her home to say goodbye the other two kitties were very upset. They knew something was happening with Cricket and didn't know what to do. Birdie, our doggie, has always been bff's with Cricket, they came home the same summer. She's been upset all weekend, whenever she isn't sleeping she just wanders around the house looking forlorn and just can't settle down.

It still hasn't truly set in that Cricky is gone, I keep expecting to see her at the kitchen door wanting in from the garden. The house feels very empty without her. She had a big personality and she let you know she was the boss. But she was the most loving cat ever. She loved to come into my room when I was in bed and snuggle up to me, except her snuggling was to plop down hard on the bed then slam herself against me to get as close as possible, then she liked to pet my face with her rough little paws. And she had the funniest meow of any cat I've ever heard, it was almost like a bleating lamb. And boy would she yell at you when she came in from outside to tell you all about her day. She also begged worse than the dog at the dinner table, and of course she came to my chair and would smack me with her crooked tail and paw at me until I gave her something. And speaking of her tail, it was shaped like a lighting bolt, we never knew what happened because she came to us that way.

I'll miss the little miss, I've never met another cat like her and I don't think I ever will.

Cricket a few years ago

Cricky the day she passed away

bff's. we have a pic of them when they were both babies sitting in a chair together

Birdie

I know she's up in heaven sitting in a garden and hanging out with all our other kitties we've had throughout the years. 

Music Monday: Joshua Radin

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My silly friend and Nutella love.

So I didn't have a very good day today...more on that later. But this song that Heather wrote about Nutella totally made me laugh out loud and I needed that! So I had to share, because I too love Nutella. Nutella and I have had a good, no GREAT relationship for many many years now, and we look forward to many more wonderful years together.

(to the tune of Rihanna's Umbrella)

You have my heart
And we'll never be far apart
Maybe in pantries
But you'll still be my spread

Baby cause roasted hazelnuts
Skim milk and cocoa
No colors or preservatives
With you I’ll always share
Because

When the spoon shines, we’ll eat together
I’ll pick you over any other
Said you’re always gluten free
Ferrero’s spread will stick around till the end

Now that we’re hungry more than ever
Know that we’ll share the jar together
You can eat some of my Nutella
You can eat some of my Nutella
(Ella ella, eh eh eh)

Eatin’ my Nutella
(Ella ella, eh eh eh)
Eatin’ my Nutella
(Ella ella, eh eh eh)

The Jenny/Curtis Project: Day 9

Paella paella! Thats such a fun word to say! PAELLA!!! paella. PAella. ok sorry.

Well tonight I made....yep you guessed it...paella! I've always wanted to make this dish because I kinda have a thing for rice. I love it. And whenever I watch travel shows that are in Spain they ALWAYS show paella and it looks so yummy! This one is the seafood version (the other version is like chicken and rabbit traditionally); but I left out the mussels and clams because A. I don't like "shelly" shellfish (i.e clams, mussels, geoducks [kidding]) and B. mother requested no mussels and said she'd rather not clams even though she likes them she doesn't like them in these type of dishes (i.e pasta). So I said no prob Bob (and not to dad) (his name's Bob) and just did shrimps and scallops. Actually scallops are a "shelly" shellfish, they just don't come in the shells...but I'm not the hugest fan of them either, I'll eat them but I'd rather shrimp or something. ANYWAY (sorry I'm rambling).

So it was pretty easy to make! I chopped three shallots (and oh my gosh you guys those shallots were FRUH-ESH my eyes were burning out of their sockets) and some cloves of garlic and sauteed them quick then put in the rice and then the wine and chicken stock and cooked it until the it simmered then popped it in the over for 20 then threw in the seafood and cooked it for another 15 and VOILA!

Oh but the one thing that I didn't have was saffron because who has that sitting around the house? And our grocery store doesn't have any because its not that fancy of one. SOOOO its not that pretty yellow color its supposed to be, but it tasted yummy. I just heard mom tell our neighbor that I made a fantastic meal! hehe.

the finished product. 

My tea cups

I have a teacup collection. I love it dearly. I actually never intended to collect tea cups, it just kind of happened. And its not a collection I advertise or add to regularly. I collected teapots when I was young but many broke and I got rid of most of them because they didn't really have any sentimental value or real value. But my teacups started when my great grandmother showed me all her old teacups from when she was a little girl. She grew up in the 1910's and the tradition then was for girls to give each other teacups as a birthday gift. They were a symbol of friendship. 

She had kept hers all those years and I always thought they were the most beautiful things in the world. They are. She died when I was about 15 and the first thing I made sure I had from her house were her teacups to add to my small collection of about three. I always look for new ones when I'm in an antique store but I've run out of room now for anymore. One day when I finally have my own place I'll put up special teacup shelves that I can fill up with as many as I want. But for now they'll stay on my one little shelf with my other treasures.

I love looking at them in my bedroom, they remind of my great grandma. I'm named after her and I like think that her and I are quite similar, she was a very strong woman. Every day when I have my cup of tea in the morning I think of her because it was at her house I had my first cup of tea.   

Tuesday sillies: I wanna paint!

This weekend mom and I were at Crate and Barrel (don't judge me, but its better than Pottery Barn [barf]) and they had this gorge purpley eggplanty auberginey color in one of the displays and we decided that color would look great in my parents living room! The kitchen (its a great room) is painted a dark orangey terra cotta color so I think purple on the opposite wall would be fantastic! Purple and orange is one of my very favorite color combos! Anyway then it got me thinking that it'd be fun to paint my room, even though I'm only here for a few more months and mom wants to change my room when I move out.  One of my walls is barcode striped that I did myself a few years ago and the other walls are "rhinestone" white, so we were thinking if I did a fun peacock blue on the white walls it might be pretty! So we're gonna go paint shopping soon, not much else in this world can get me as excited as the prospect of picking new colors can! Here's some pretty interiors to look at.

source: weheartit.com

Music Monday: Jack Johnson

I can't help it, I love him. Whenever I listen to him it makes me feel like I'm sitting on a beach in Hawaii, or Cali, listening to the waves and feeling the cool breeze. I think at heart I'm just a beach bum hippy.

Fashion Friday: florals

I am so into the florals that are out for Spring and Summer this year!!! I love them! But I can't seem to find ones in actual stores that I really like, unless I'm willing spend tons of money which I'm not. I might just be too picky though, some of them remind me of 90's florals which instantly turns me off because I just remember our horrible hair and ugly pants and am like oh no I'm not reliving middle school days! So anyway, I'm on the search for fun florals for the Spring that I might be able to actually afford (not that I can really afford anything...ah the life of a grad student).

10

Rachel Denbow had this 10 questions quiz she made up on her blog, so I thought I'd play along! I get a kick out of these, I have no idea why, but I do!

1. When do you feel happiest?
When I'm with my bestest friends or when I'm at the beach with a good book.

2. How do you take care of yourself?
I started doing yoga this year, and I try to walk about four miles a few times each week. And I eat rather healthfully (I've had to be gluten free since I was 17), and I do fun things for myself every once in awhile. 

hiking last Spring

3. Are you internally (by yourself) or externally (by others) motivated?
I'm a bit of both, I have to tell myself to do it, but it helps when others are behind me too.

4. What do you do for fun?
I watch movies and read and go visit my besties in Idaho (two more weeks).

5. What intimidates you?
People my age who are already doing amazing things with their life...I feel like a loser compared to them, but then I have to remind myself I'm in grad school and that's kinda a big deal.

6. What is something you're proud of?
That I moved to LA with no money and no job and just did it for fun and totally conquered that city!

7. Finish this sentence. I never _____________.
want to give up on my goals for life.

8. Favorite vacation spot.
Greece. Specifically Santorini Island. 

9. Today is a (rate from 1 - 10).
An 8. Wasn't too bad, I did some photo shoots with mom because she can't pick up her camera yet after shoulder surgery, went grocery shopping, made dinner from Curtis' book, made cookies. yeah not too bad.

10. Finish this sentence. If you knew me really well you'd know_____________.
I don't really like garlic and if its candy, I'll eat it. 

The Jenny/Curtis Project: Day 8

So tonight I made crumbed chicken stuffed with Swiss cheese. It was wayyyy easier than I thought it'd be! It only took a few minutes to prepare and then you just pan saute it for a few minutes and then bake it in the oven for another ten. It was pretty good, I'm not the biggest fan of Swiss cheese so that part was kinda meh. But on the page Curtis says in a restaurant he worked in they added prosciutto and truffles to the stuffing so I think when I make it next I'd put prosciutto in it, it needed something salty to round out the flavors. The coating was flour and egg dredge and then bread crumbs....but I didn't have bread crumbs (because being gluten free I don't use them that often so forget to keep them on hand) so I used corn meal instead. Bread crumbs would probably be better though because I think they'd make a better crust, but it worked out. Oh and it was served with a side of broccoli, I'm always a fan of broccoli, I love it. But now I am craving a desert of some sort, so I may have to go make something now....maybe something chocolate! We'll see...I can always fall back on my favorite desert recipe in his book, Chocolate chunk peanut butter cookies! yummmm! Oh here's the finished dish. :)

I'm starting to get nervous because I think I've cooked the least exotic dishes in the book so far, so I'm gonna have to start trying the more Asian inspired ones (there's quite a few). And I'm not a fan of Asian food, I'm just not. I know I know, almost everyone's favorite food is like Chinese or Thai, but give me Greek or Mexican anyday. I think I just don't really enjoy the flavors and it usually makes me feel sick, also most Chinese and Korean and other Asian foods like those I can't eat at restaurants because none of the sauces they cook with are gluten free so I just avoid it all together. Thai is usually fine to eat for me, I'm just not a fan. So anway I'm gonna have to start stepping out of my cooking comfort zone pretty soon....I'm scared. Maybe I'll start making my parents eat breakfast for dinner, some of those recipes look delish! I'm just never awake enough in the morning to make anything fancier than peanut butter toast (not a morning person). So I think dinner will be a good time to try those ones! Or maybe I'll have a big brunch party sometime and get like five recipes made at once! oh good idea! Party at my house! :) 

Happy Thursday all! And once again Curtis, good show. 

silly memories.

I was bored and looking through old pictures today. So here are some silly ones from college (mostly Junior and Senior year). We were goofs back then, but it was fun (still are goofs)!

2007

2006

2006

2006

2007

2006

2005

2005

2007

2007

2007

2006

2006

2007

2006/7

2006

Tuesday sillies: kittens!!!

I want a kitten real bad right now. But I'll have to wait until I move into my own place again...even then I'm not sure if I can get one (or two) because the friends I'll live with have two cats already (who are partly mine too since we got them when we were living in California). But I still want a kitten. Sorry dog people, I'm a cat person, I have a dog whom I love, but I prefer cats (and my doggie is a Corgi so I'm not even sure if they count as a real dog).