walkscore

i saw a post on sightline's daily score talking about the new website that calculates the walkability of your neighborhood, walkscore. simply enter your address & up pops businesses in your neighborhood (all places tagged are pulled from google). the sight also gives your a rating, my apartments is 92 out of 100. quoted from sightline, "walk score does not count every single business within a one-mile walkshed... it calculates the distance to the closest business in each of a list of commonly used categories such as grocery stores, restaurants, and coffee shops. it assigns points based on the distance to these amenities, then averages the score. this simpler strategy works well and generates great maps."

crafting with the kids

while back in northern michigan for 9 days, i decided to do a project with my 2 nieces, ages 8 & 5. i had read about using freezer paper to do screen printing multiple times on craft:. i bought all the things needed: t-shirts, freezer paper, fabric paint, stencil brushes & of course, rhinestones & craft glue. i'm not going to say that i thought that it was as simple as i thought it would be; mostly because the freezer paper was hard to cut. i ironed a full sheet of freezer paper on the back side of the shirt & it did create a tight stencil on the front. i let the paint dry & pulled the paper off. the girls were really happy with the finished product.

not yet a pillow

i haven't posted a project in so long. i have no excuse other than it is summer & i bought a bike. i've started two crafts in the last couple of weeks; a purple tank top inspired by this top from j. crew & two pillow cases.

i bought this amy butler fabric & 2 18" square throw pillows a month ago. after a crafting night with the ladies, yachi gave me the idea to embroider one of the flowers. i'm not a pro embroiderer, but it turned out nicely. i'll be leaving for michigan 9 hours; finishing the sewing of the pillowcases is the first thing on a list of "to dos" when i return.

quinoa & sweet peppers

i spent the better part of april & may living at chris's apartment while he traveled the west coast for work & just avoiding my house all together (i had a crazy landlord, not just ha ha crazy...but really nuts). for that time period, i didn't do a whole lot of cooking. i spent a lot of time at in the bowl & ha na on capitol hill. i moved into my new apartment almost 2 months ago & have found pure happiness & comfort in spending time at the apartment making myself dinner & enjoying over-easy eggs & an english muffin on saturday mornings.

the majority of meals i cook have the same composition, i don't use recipes & rely heavily on red pepper flakes & olive oil. the usual composition being:

• carbs (whole wheat pasta, quinoa, arborio rice)
• meat (usually prosciutto, pork or chicken)
• some sort of veggie (eggplant, sweet baby peppers, asparagus, spinach)
• cheese (mostly goat cheese)

i like my meals in a bowl, so i cook these things separately & then mix into a bowl, portion out that meal & garnish with cheese & more red pepper flakes.

so, the point of this post is my recent rediscovery of quinoa & sweet baby peppers. it is an edible seed that has a similar texture to cous cous, the flavor is mild & slightly nutty. outside of the texture & flavor, quinoa has great nutritional value, as it is super high in protein & fiber. the sweet baby peppers from costco are such a great deal & perfect to have on hand. they are about $10 & you get a boat load of them.

edward burtynsky

i was browsing through cut+paste blog & was taken back by the photographs taken by edward burtynsky. these photographs were taken during the filming of the documentary manufactured landscapes by jennifer baichwil. burtynsky is known for his large-scale photography capturing the industrial revolution.

"MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES is a feature length documentary on the world and work of renowned artist Edward Burtynsky. Burtynsky makes large-scale photographs of ‘manufactured landscapes’ – quarries, recycling yards, factories, mines, dams. He photographs civilization’s materials and debris, but in a way people describe as “stunning” or “beautiful,” and so raises all kinds of questions about ethics and aesthetics without trying to easily answer them.

The film follows Burtynsky to China as he travels the country photographing the evidence and effects of that country’s massive industrial revolution. Sites such as the Three Gorges Dam, which is bigger by 50% than any other dam in the world and displaced over a million people, factory floors over a kilometre long, and the breathtaking scale of Shanghai’s urban renewal are subjects for his lens and our motion picture camera." - the edward burtynsky website

UPDATE: manufactured landscapes will be playing for one week only at varsity theatre, starting tomorrow, july 13th.

google image - dottie

my friend ragan did a google image search for her name & was freaked out by the results. i decided to give "ann" a whirl & was disappointed to find some sexy pic of a girl from thailand (but now that i do it again, i get ann coulter). i tried dottie & i'll stick with the above picture.

give it a try & send me your results!

way enough

today was the last day of teresa's & my learn to row class at lake union crew; it started june 4th & went three mornings a week for a month. i can't explain the joy that is to be on the water, rowing your ass off & working as a team. we had all kinds of weather, raining & 45 to sunny & 75 (thanks to john & maryann for driving me to work that cold, rainy day), but i made it to every class. i rode my bike (downhill) to class 2 miles & to work 3.8 (not downhill) on my rowing days & am probably in the best cardio shape of my life.

some highlights of the class: dealing with tom's sweet bitchiness, getting stuck in the lily pads, the bald eagle, dealing with tom's appropriate bitchiness & that first time we went all 8 rowing. this is such a scattered post, but the point is that rowing has been an incredible experience & i hope to stay on the water through the summer. check out more pics.

can't wait to meet her

i just got an email from michigan filled with pictures of my 8 months pregnant friend, kacey. i had to post this picture because she just looks so stunning & healthy. she's due one day before my trip back to michigan, which means i won't see kacey pregnant, but i'll get to hold the beautiful nora!

random kacey memory: it was nye 1991, i was in 5th grade & kacey was in 8th. our parents were friends and they had us babysit (actually they had kacey babysit, but told me i was helping) a couple of their mutual friends' kids while they all went out. it was the first time that i really got to know & hang out with kacey. at one point in the night, the youngest boy (a baby at the time) woke up crying. i remember going into the nursery with kacey & listening to her sing him back to sleep (she has a beautiful voice). she's going to be a great momma.

UPDATE: little miss nora riley was born this morning at 3am est. she's was 7 pounds & some odd ounces, 20 inches long. kacey was only in labor for 3 hours, that lucky lady. when i called this morning, aaron (her husband) was taking a nap with nora & kacey was filling out the birth certificate. i can't wait to get up to petosky to see the new family.

want a custom something?

in the last couple of months i've been thinking about trying to do something more with my craftiness; however, work, moving & summertime in general slowed the thought process down. i haven't quite figured out what direction i'll head in. here are some things i'm debating:

• custom cards, stationary & invites
• screen printed & embellished onesies & bibs
• screen printed & embellished domestic goods (linens, aprons, napkin rings, coasters, etc)

what i need from you is the opportunity to develop a portfolio of work. if you have any custom craft or graphic design desires, shoot me a line & i'll make you a good deal (a really good one).

*above is the t-shirt i had made for my dad who has started brewing beer in his retirement. the design is much different from what i would normally do, but i had to consider my client (wink wink).

furries on bikes

posted on boing boing, i was attracted & fearful of the video; it prefaced "furries on bikes doing stunts in the dark;" it sounds like a nightmare (i hate things dressed up as oversized things, especially if it involves a mask). but, i was intrigued & clicked the video link. the video is so good & the song even better. bat for lashes releases their album fur & gold in the us later this summer, but i wanted immediate gratification & bought it on itunes. on the second go round of the album this far, my favorites are sarah, prescilla & what's a girl to do.

plus, she likes antlers.