that one time i ALMOST met..

I have an old story to tell...

Rewind to march (wow that was 5 months ago). She & him was playing in savannah. five of us headed downtown early in the afternoon to kill time. On the way there we kept saying we were going to find zooey and talk to her, hug her..ect.
That turned into us (jokingly) pointing at random people/objects and saying 'there she is!'.
A few minutes later, we were walking down the street and stopped outside of a store, debated whether or not we wanted to go in, when someone (again, jokingly) said 'this looks like the kind of store she'd go into'. so we laughed and started heading up the stairs.

about halfway up the stairs i heard a familiar voice, and looked up and there was miss zooey and her band coming down the stairs. I turned around as she passed us and vanessa says 'i have no shame, i'm going after her'. So the two of us, ran back down the stairs (leaving the other friends in the dust), tried to quickly compose ourselves and make a plan for how we were going to approach her all while walking about 5 feet behind her.

Apparently we aren't so good at making plans. we followed her for probably ten blocks (if not more) and we we're even stopped at a crosswalk with her and still nothing. It seemed really awkward to approach her from behind. We started walking faster so we could pass them, just in case they noticed us and thought we were creepy.
A few minutes later they walked into a store, we debated.. then decided to go back and head in to the store and make our move.. tell her we are big fans and ask for a picture, then be on our way.

Then we got in there.. she was in a corner looking at clothing racks, then a few girls pulled out their cell phones and started sticking cameras in her face. LIKE RIGHT IN HER FACE. not 'hey can we get a picture with you' but straight up let me get a paparazzi picture of you. then she ran (quite literally) out of the store and took off down the street.

and just like that, we missed our chance.

and believe me, we didn't stop talking about it for HOURS.

but the concert was amazing.. her voice is angelic.

And yes, she is every bit as stunning in person as she is in photos.

Curry chickpea burgers

Need a healthy summer dinner?

These are so easy. And so tasty, I ate them plain. Although I'm willing to bet they'd be even better on a bun with some fixins.

1.5 cups cooked chickpeas
1/2 cup regular oats
10 baby carrots or 2 carrots
1 tbsp coconut oil (or oil of your choice), melted
1.5 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp Paprika
1/4 tsp Tumeric
1/4-1/2 tsp sea salt, to taste
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp Parsley flakes (optional)
3 tbsp sunflower seeds

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a baking sheet or line with parchment paper and set aside. In a food processor, process the oats, carrots, and all the spices/seasonings (sea salt, black pepper, curry, paprika, tumeric, ) for 30 seconds or until somewhat smooth. Now add in the chickpeas at 1/2 cup increments and coconut oil (melted), stopping to scrape down the bowl as necessary. Once the chickpeas are mostly processed and smooth, take the mixture and place in a medium sized bowl. Stir in the sunflower seeds. Wet your hands and shape patties. Makes about 6-8 patties depending on how big you want them. Note: You can also pre-bake these for about 20 minutes and them pop them on the BBQ to finish them off.

raspberry love

a handful of frozen raspberries (or any berry, but raspberries are my fav) is my go-to cool you down summertime snack. YUM. And they also tint your lips the prettiest pink.


Also, i had to share this amazing engagement photo shoot. it was inspired by the notebook and I can't get over how perfect they are. Read more about it and see tons more photos here


(source)


Edit: oh yes! i made a formspring for vanilla and lace. if you have a silly (or serious) question that you feel isn't email worthy, there is handy dandy little question box on the right.. or can go here.

homemade laundry soap

This is my first try at a homemade laundry soap and i'm really happy with the results. I did a little bit of research since there are quite a few different "recipes" on the internet, and i heard great things about this one. When this runs out i'll probably try a couple more "recipes" for comparison sake, and i'll be back to tell you what I liked best. But for now I wanted to share this one! The ingredients are easy to find, and quite cheap. Maybe not initially, but the product you buy makes a few batches and the total cost per load ends up being about ONE CENT! You can't beat that..

1/3 bar of Fels Naptha soap
1/2 cup Borax powder
1/2 cup Arm and Hammer Washing Soda
Water
a bucket to mix/store

Grate or dice 1/3 of the fels naptha soap and put it into a large sauce pan. Add 6 cups of water and heat until soap melts. Add the washing soda and borax, stir until it has dissolved.
Pour four cups of tap water into your bucket, add your soap mixture and stir together. Add another 2o cups of water and stir to combine.

Let the soap cool and set up for about 12-24 hours. The consistency should be somewhat jello-ish and somewhat liquid.

Add a 1/2 cup to each load.

The role of the ingredients:

Washing soda helps to deodorize, but fighting grease and stains is the primary purpose. Look for it in the drug store or supermarket, in with the laundry and cleaning supplies.

Borax is awesome! It’s a natural stain remover and an excellent alternative to bleach, because it’s an anti-fungal/anti-mold and all-around disinfectant. Coupled with regular soap, it greatly increases cleaning power. Look for it in the drug store or supermarket, in with the laundry and cleaning supplies.

Fels Naptha is a stain remover. Also, in the laundry aisle.



more homemade cleaners to come this week.

farmers market

Hello!

Vanessa and i have been doing the farmers market every saturday since june, (I can't believe its the first time i've mentioned it!) and it makes saturday a blessing and a curse. A blessing since I get to bake plenty of treats and sell them but a big curse because it means waking up atleast a few hours before normal and sitting outside in the awful (horrible, disgusting, crappy, dreadful, ect) summer heat.

Ha! Okay, its not that bad. Actually, its super fun. Just somewhat exhausting. Saturday afternoons usually consist of a nap and plenty of couch lounging for the rest of the day (while watching tv show box sets of course).

Oh, and some pictures of our treats.

hope you're having an awesome weekend.

i have some DIY household cleaner recipes to share soon. exciting, yes?

tuesday

Just another start to the work week.

sewed up a pretty case for my "pearl"



my husband and his brother have been working on a comic book. the first printing arrived today, along with a bunch of paper strips. Mosey had a blast hiding in it, and pouncing on it.
(info about the comic book here, it's really neat)





i consumed plenty of these no-bake cookies today. i had almost forgot about a childhood favorite of mine, until sheena posted about them a bit ago.
they are too easy and i spruced mine up to be healthy (somewhat??)
she called them gorilla poops, and i liked that so thats what i'm calling them now.


makes about 20

1/2 cup pure agave (you can sub sugar if you must!)
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1/4 cup milk (almond milk was great)
1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt


In a medium sauce pan mix agave nectar and baking cocoa. Add milk and coconut oil. Stir over medium heat, and bring to a boil. Boil for one minute. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter, vanilla, salt and oats. Drop by spoonfuls onto lined cookie sheets. Stick the pan into the refrigerator until the mounds are set, then eat away.

i love the NW

some trip highlights:
(some things are accompanied by pictures, some are not..oops)

-watched my little brother shoot big guns at targets.
i was just looking through the "eye thing".. i'm too big of a weanie to actually shoot it.


-had a delicious potluck with friends and family on the fourth. with a bon fire and tons of cool fireworks that night.


-went through some old photo albums with my grandma.
the stories that went along with some of the pictures were the best part.
first picture is of my grandma, what a babe. i love her dearly!
and the second is of her parents, i would've loved to have known them
at the time the picture was taken.



-had dinner at my aunt and uncles. but just us girls made it in the picture.

-watched a spider spin a web. (its a miracle i got this close)

-photographed a few friends' adorable babies




-made a french macaron video tutorial (which i'll be showing in the near future)


-played soccer in the sand with my brother-in-law. (more pictures coming soon, action shots are always funny)


-made silly faces at the beach


unphotographed:
-went to trader joes three times. i miss that place too much.
-went on a (late fathers day) starbucks date. just dad and i.
-saw eclipse with my sisters (guilty pleasure)
-satisfied my froyo craving at yocream
-enjoyed every second of the amazing weather.

its always a blast when i get to visit. :)

colorful and pretty

photos from my parents front porch.



the beautiful sky on the fourth.


and the farmers market in downtown vancouver.