WE'RE OBSESSED

This is a story with a soundtrack. 


The Doe Bay Sessions - Curtains for You from Sound on the Sound on Vimeo.


Recently, we attended a show at Richard Hugo House. It was a part of a literary series. 


Each artist - two writers and three musicians - were asked to write new work based on the theme "Brief Encounters" and preform. It was really amazing. 


Our favorites were the Hannah Hynes-Mumford's (a high school senior, impressive!) reading and Macklemore. Both mind-blowing in different ways. It was a special treat to see how Macklemore's rap techniques translated to the essay he wrote and vice versa.


And it reminded us of a brief encounter of our own.


Last fall we stopped by a vintage shop called Indian Summer. We scored some great stuff and admired this cool men's shawl-collar Pendelton sweater on a mannequin. As we were paying two guys walked in. One was super-cute and happened to be wearing the exact same sweater as the mannequin.


Of course, we blurted out "You're wearing the same sweater..." (it was a small store) and trotted over to him to check the labels of both sweaters and confirm. Did we mention how cute he was?  


He told us that he got his sweater from his grandfather. And that was that. 


A few weeks later we were lucky enough to be invited to a house show featuring The Head and The Heart (don't be jealous), Kelli Schafer and Drew Grow and the Pastor's Wives. And, in between getting totally wasted - we went alone and were nervous, don't judge - we spotted a familiar looking guy. But we couldn't figure out why. Until at the end of the night he put on the sweater - it was him again!


Who is he? He must know someone we know...this is just crazy.


And then, on New Year's day, we walked around Greenlake with a friend - it was a beautiful day. And who did we see walking the opposite direction? Yep, Cute Sweater Guy! 


We couldn't help but jump. And we think he noticed us because we made brief eye contact. He gives us goosebumps.


Weird huh? It makes us wonder how many times we cross the paths of the same people but never recognize them.


Since then we've seen him around even more and actually figured out that we do have friends in common. No, we're not stalking him. But, for some reason he makes us incredibly nervous and we haven't gotten the courage to introduce ourselves yet. 

TAKING A MOMENT

Photo by Amber Karnes via SF Girl by the Bay

Dear Readers, 


We just wanted to make sure that you know how grateful we are for you. Thanks so much for reading regularly, commenting, submitting stories - especially all the V-Day ones - and laughing and hoping along with us.


And (here comes the shameless self-promotion), if you do read regularly but don't follow, please follow us. Comment if we say something that makes you think. Even if it's just to tell us we're being crazy or way to critical of a guy (but be nice : ).


If you have stories, or have friends with adventure-in-dating stories, send 'em in.


We love hearing from you!


XOXO

IT'S THE THOUGHT

Photo via Design*Sponge

Sometimes it's something small that's just the thing. We're loving these downloadable stickers from Twig & Thistle for a DIY Valentine's touch.

A VALENTINE'S RETREAT

Last year a bunch of us - singles, couples, all good friends - decided to go away for Valentine's weekend. We retreated to Orcas Island, just a quick drive and ferry ride away from Seattle. The house in the woods was the perfect spot for cooking great meals (including the above butternut squash galette via Design*Sponge), vino, Apples-to-Apples games and a puzzle or two. 


We also went on a crazy-and-amazing tour/adventure of the Lambiel Museum - a private collection of Orcas Island artists (from fine art to folk), Oriental rugs, antique grandfather clocks and more. The experience is pretty indescribable, but we say it's a must-see if you ever find yourself on Orcas island. 


For a festive brunch we made special heart-shaped pancakes and then rushed-off to the ferry line. If you ask us, it was the perfect way to spend a holiday. Truly lovely. 


And that's what Valentine's is all about, right?


We die over these pancakes and are sure that anyone you ever make them for will know that they're truly loved.

LEMON RICOTTA PANCAKES WITH RASPBERRIES AND LEMON CURD*

Ingredients

3/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 T. baking powder

1/2 t. ground nutmeg

1/4 t. salt

2 T. sugar

1 c. ricotta cheese

2 eggs

2/3 cup milk

1 lemon, zested and juiced

Butter, for griddle

1 jar prepared lemon curd

Fresh raspberries, for topping

Confectioners' sugar, for garnish

Directions

Preheat a nonstick griddle or skillet.

Combine flour, baking powder, nutmeg, salt and sugar in a small bowl. Whisk together the cheese, eggs, milk, lemon juice and zest in a large bowl. Whisk the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until combined (don’t over mix).

Brush the hot griddle with butter. For each pancake, pour approximately 1/4 cup measure of the batter on the griddle and cook on both sides until light golden brown. Repeat. We kept batches warm in the oven until ready to serve.

Empty the contents of the lemon curd into a small saucepan and warm over low heat (we just used the “double boiler method” and put the whole jar in a sauce pan with a few inches of water – cleaner!).

Drizzle a few tablespoons of the curd over the pancakes and top with fresh raspberries. And, if you want to go all-out, sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

*Adapted from Bobby Flay (if you can believe it!)

IT'S GETTING SERIOUS

The best way to make an intention real is to declare it. So here we stand. We need more writing practice, discipline. Blogging is good and all, but we need to mix it up.


Yesterday we had coffee with our dear friend - the talented, fabulous M of Styled Northwest and mentioned our desire to find a writing group. Or something. She was encouraging, of course. And curious herself. 


When we got home we did some searching and came up with Richard Hugo House - an organization we knew but hadn't explored much other than knowing they put on awesome events (hope we can make it to the one with Macklemore, dang!).


But, guess what? They're launching a writing happy hour! Drinks, writing prompts, other writers, space to post up with our laptop or notebook...here we go. 


Thanks for pushing us, M!

SOUPAPALOOZA

Last week we were oh-so-not-tactfully reminded that "no one wants to be alone during the holidays." 

Right.

Our dating life has been a bit sparse lately. So, in an effort to stave-off being alone - and mostly because a bunch of friends were in town and we've been wanting to host a soup party for years - we made a big pot of soup and invited the masses.

We also made amazing savory cookies (cheddar and jalapeno, yes please) from Design*Sponge, man we love those recipes!

The kiddo-guests were hilarious. Lots of hugs, kisses and catching up. People brought bread (and even homemade onion focaccia, yum), wine and a special dessert. It was a blast.

We love our friends and family. Happy (almost) New Year! 

What do you have planned for 2011?

RED LENTIL SOUP WITH COCONUT MILK & SPICED BUTTER*

Serves 4

3/4 t ground cumin

3/4 t curry powder

1/2 t fennel seeds, lightly crushed

1/4 t dried thyme, crushed

1/4 t ground nutmeg

1 T vegetable oil

1 1/2 c finely chopped yellow onion

3/4 c finely chopped carrot

1 medium clove garlic, peeled and minced

2 jalapenos (we've also used 1 Anaheim chili), seeded and minced

2 t finely grated fresh ginger

1 1/2 c red lentils, rinsed

1 can (14.5 oz) vegetable broth

3 1/2 c water

1 c unsweetened coconut milk (we used light)

1 t kosher salt

1/4 t black pepper

3 T fresh lime juice

2 T cilantro, chopped

2 T butter (or butter substitute if you want to do vegan)

1. In a small bowl combine cumin, curry, fennel, thyme and nutmeg. Set aside.

2. In a soup pot, heat oil over medium-low heat. Saute the onion about 4 minutes. Stir in carrot and saute about 3 minutes. Add garlic, jalapeno and ginger, saute 2 minutes. 

3. Add lentils, broth and water. Stir in 3/4 t of the spice mixture. Bring to boil, cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes (be careful that stuff doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan and burn). The lentils should be soft and falling apart.

4. Remove from heat. Cool about 10 minutes. Stir in the  coconut milk, salt, pepper, lime juice and cilantro.

5. Melt the butter in a small pan and stir in the remaining spice mixture. Cook 1 minute. Stir into soup and serve.

*Recipe via our mom but originally from the Seattle Times, we think.

NOW THAT'S HOT

It's the holidays and tonight we're going to a cookie exchange. Because we're obstinate (ahem, like to try new things) we're making something different. Cheddar jalepeno cookies.* It's an experiment, we've never baked anything like this before.


We have to admit, we're a little nervous. Is it too weird? We like the idea of a cookie you eat with salad. (Who wouldn't like that?) And with so much sweetness these days, we were sold.


What do you think of savory cookies? Would you exchange with us if you could? 


Reviews (and maybe photos) to come.


*Thanks to Leah Verwey for the recipe, via Design Sponge.

REFRESHING

We admit that we're obsessed with design - lately it's been focused on fashion styling and home decor. Sneak Peeks on Design*Sponge are a particular fave.


We spent months and months going over the archive peeks and now check every Monday religiously for new ones. It's so hard to pick one, but we love love love the two homes of Michelle Michael and her husband. Simple and functional, fun color, a mix of thrifted and high-end, ooh la la! And really, it's no surprise because we own a very dog-eared copy of Michael's "The New Apartment Book."

After recently repainting our apartment we tackled long-talked about updates including:

• Hanging new curtain rods
• Hanging poster display system to show off our collection
• Making curtains with cool fabric we found at Ikea

And the next day we made banana crunch muffins (via Barefoot Contessa) and changed our headlight. We were feeling so handy until we electrocuted ourselves when replacing a light switch cover (the easiest-seeming thing on our To-Do list). Whoops!

Our fantasy is that one day we might be cool enough to be featured in a Sneak Peek (hey, a girl can dream). But in the meantime we'll be satisfied with sharing with you.


And, this spring we refurbished an old, ugly Ikea TV cabinet into a small bar. Before:

Adding the clear casters was the final touch. After:

 Most of the posters, but not all, are by Beautiful Angle. Some bought, some found on telephone poles.

BOO!

Sometimes a party sneaks up on us, sometimes we spend weeks planning. Tonight, it's a little bit of both.


First things first, it's Halloween Eve (is there such a thing?) and our dilemma is always - what to be? We considered Frida Kahlo and Miss Piggy before settling on the seemingly easy, inexpensive and not-that-exciting black cat. And then we went over to our dear friend Spuntina's house this week - she and L were doing crafts, we were doing a test run of our makeup. And it was a disaster. We hated everything about our costume. Plus, the girls made these totally amazing masks that really made us feel lame.


And then we decided to copy (ahem, get inspired) and make a mask of our own. Delicious black glitter, long black ribbon...we're cat-tastic!

We're having people over tonight for a funk-fest before going out. Or, maybe it'll be so much fun we'll just stay in. Of course, that means Halloween-decor, good food and drink. We scored a cheap table runner at Pier 1 and decided to make paper bag jack-o-lanterns. And we wanted to buy a bunch of black helium balloons with black ribbon and let them float up to cover the ceiling but we ran out of time. Next year.


A FALL MENU
Rosemary Almonds*
Butternut Squash & Gorgonzola Pizza (we blogged about this in April)
Steve's Mom's Brownies (recipe here)

*Rosemary Almonds (adapted from the Barefoot Contessa Paris)
This is seriously the best-ever cocktail party snack. It's made us the most popular girl on several occasions!


1 lb roasted, unsalted almonds
2 t minced fresh rosemary leaves (OK, we admit we pick this from the neighboring condo's landscaping)
1/2 t cayenne pepper
2 t light brown sugar
1 T kosher salt (we generally use less)
1 T unsalted butter, melted


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread almonds on cookie sheet and toast in oven until warm (about 5 minutes). In large bowl combine rosemary, cayenne pepper, sugar and salt with melted butter. Toss toasted almonds in spiced butter until coated. Serve warm or later. Yum!

IT'S A DATE

Photo via Green Door Studio

OK, we need your help. We've been compiling a mental list (to be doled out when asked - what do you feel like doing?) of our favorite date ideas. But, we live in Seattle and have only really dated here (except for some college-era dates in LA, which barely count) and, we've realized most of our fave dates are centered around food. We need some diversity and inspiration.


So, what's your favorite date activity and/or meeting spot?


OUR TOP SEVEN

• Latona Pub: For a first date drink, or dinner anytime. With a rotating list of craft brews and wines and inspired-pub food we love, love, love this neighborhood spot. (We've been on so many dates here, we're waiting for the management to embarrass us and say something.)
• Volunteer Park Cafe: Brunch or lunch and then bocce ball in the park (bonus, a walk up the water tower for stunning views and a kiss!).
• Ocho: Perfect for a first date, tapas are good for conversation, get the Pimientos de Padron. Hot!
• Henry Art Gallery: Watch the clouds and enjoy the company at James Turrell's Skyspace, Light Reign.
• Kangaroo and Kiwi: Quiz night every Wednesday, it's the craziest one in the city!
• Discovery Park: For a spontaneous, close-to-the-city hike, picnic (if the weather's fine) and beautiful views of the Sound and Olympic Mountains.
• Century Ballroom: If you're feeling brave, learn salsa, tango and lindy hop at one of their classes.
• Barolo: The sexiest bar in Seattle. And a great happy hour. Warning - we try and stick to a one-bottle-of-wine maximum (shared, of course!)
• A mini road trip to Tacoma: Tacoma Art Museum, Graffiti Garages, dinner at Pacific Grill or Indochine. Yum!

We also like Lenny's for the jukebox, brews and maybe a game of pool. The Hazelwood because it's a great place to sit at the bar. And a walk to look at the houseboats on Lake Union.

GIDDYUP

We fell a little bit in love with a wrangler in Montana. We did. 


The road trip was epic. Lovely country, lots of good tests (we know how to build a mean fire and cook fab one-pot meals on a camp stove, hooray), one black bear (from a safe distance), new friends to inspire us and many laughs. 


Then there was our cute-and-super-cool wrangler (which is like a cowboy, but with horses only) who took us on the beautiful and miserable 8-hour trek to Cracker Lake (east Glacier). The icy wind blew, the rain poured, we were soaking wet and we saw a moose! It was the highlight of the trip. 


And then we had our crush to talk about the rest of the week. Aren't boys fun?

OFF YOU GO

It's about to begin: Ten days, two girls and a map of Montana. We're taking a road trip with one of our favorite people and can't wait for the adventures we're going to have.


We're borrowing a Holga. Our iPods are full of e-books, This American Life and great music (we plan on listening to The Head & The Heart over and over again after last weekend's epic performances). We have champagne in cans, lots of sunscreen, warm clothes and freshly washed sleeping bags (no bears for us!). And, in true Chop Suey-fashion, the menu's planned.


First up, Glacier (west then east) complete with a day-long horseback riding trek. Then Bozeman, Yellowstone, Missoula and home. We plan on going swimming, breathing lots of fresh air and taking in as much scenery as we can. Maybe we'll meet a cowboy (or two) or a super-hot camper-boy along the way....

A PICNIC

Nice weather and a friend's birthday inspired a simple picnic to celebrate. We tried to do-it-up-in-style for the occasion.


A mix of homemade and choice store-bought elements plus monogrammed takeout containers* and a festive oilcloth made this easy to pull together, but still special.


THE MENU
Green salad with Girard's Light Champagne Vinaigrette
Pesto with pasta, potatoes and peas
Steve's Mom's Brownies (adapted from an ex boyfriend's mom's amazing recipe, see below)
Dry Soda (our favorite local, delicious and low-cal non-alcoholic beverage)

STEVE'S MOMS' BROWNIES
Melt together, stirring a few times:

4 squares unsweetened chocolate

2 sticks unsalted butter

In a large, separate bowl, beat together:

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

2 tsp vanilla

After the chocolate mixture has cooled a bit, add it to the eggs and sugar mixture. Then, stir in:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

Optional: Stir in 1/2 to 1 cup chopped nuts or chocolate chips (our fave).

Heat oven to 325. Pour the batter into a greased 9 x 13 baking pan. Bake for about 25 minutes or until knife/toothpick comes out clean. Cool and eat.

Yum.

*We just asked our neighborhood restaurant for a few takeout containers and they were gracious enough to give them to us, but we think you can buy at Cash & Carry. 

DRESSED TO IMPRESS

We have a date tonight and are pretty excited. It's at our fave neighborhood pub (inspired food, delicious local beers and the perfect first date environment) and today's going to be super-sunny and hot. So we're having major outfit dilemmas. We want to wear a dress, but not be to dressy, booby, etc. 


Staring at our closet and not feeling very inspired. Wish we could have one of these...

We'd wear it with gold gladiators (flats) and simple jewelry. Maybe throw on our very favorite jeans-jacket.

Especially love the sweet one on the top-right. Styled with navy wedge espadrilles (TOMS if we were splurging) and our Kimberly Baker peacock earrings.


And this one just screams sexy summer.

We're on a budget so won't be buying anything and will probably settle on a black maxi dress, denim jacket with silver Birkenstocks and rocking-silver-chain bracelet. Maybe add a summer-weight scarf for "modesty."


What is your perfect summer date outfit?


PHOTOS:
1 and 3 Clothesure
2 Zachary's Smile via i am a greedy girl

WE WON!

Just a quick note to say that we've had the best day ever. And it's not over yet. The sun is shining, we got to see Ian McFeron Band - one of our faves - outside at lunch. And we just found out that we won the Elizabeth and James/Shopbop shopping spree via Apt #34! Hooray.


If you haven't gotten a chance to check out Apt #34, you should. It's a must style read, for sure. Plus, she's a fellow Seattleite.


And tonight we're catching up with some home-town girls. Can't wait!


Hope you're all as fab as we are.

WORD

We spent last weekend in our favorite grit city: Tacoma, WA. We didn't meet any new cute boys, but house and dog sitting gave us the opportunity to spend some time alone, reflecting. Also got to see great friends and catch up with an incredible community. Some highlights.

Wandered the graffiti garages on Broadway and (as usual) were blown away by the amazing variety and talent. This is such a cool space and the graffiti practically changes before your eyes, a constant rotation of art. We love it. Love it!

Baked a vodka pie (really, it was rhubarb but we got the recipe for the crust that includes vodka via Smitten Kitchen).


Went to an amazing David Bazan show at Urban Grace Church. He entertained us with beautiful music and a lively, honest Q&A. One of his songs made us cry.

And the highlight - went to Wayzgoose at King's Books. For those of you who haven't heard of it, Wayzgoose is a printing festival and the coolest thing is that they make HUGE lino prints with a steam roller. Didn't take any photos, but we did get to print our very own Beautiful Angle poster. Like many Tacomans, we're huge fans of Beautiful Angle - a local letterpress poster project. Thought-provoking, witty and lovely copy, amazing design, wheat pasted around the city once a month. Free for the taking if you're lucky.


We think the copy of this poster is the perfect mantra for our spring.

PIZZA PIE

Another kind of pie we're obsessed with is the pizza kind. We especially love putting "weird" things on pizza and calling it fabulous. Awhile back we were inspired by InStyle and Aida Mollenkamp ("Food Network's rising star," apparently) to have our very own pizza party with one of our favorite people and fellow blogger, Saltina.


(Saltina takes the most lovely, thoughtful photos. Check out: myphoneograpy. Really, you'll love them.)

And today, we're thrilled to do a co-post. Here for the recipes. There for more photos. Join us.

Note: We used one package of Trader Joe's whole wheat pizza dough, divided and made one of each of the pizzas below. Recipes are for two small pizzas each, so you might want to halve the ingredients. Although we believe that pizza is very forgiving and don't worry about measuring (maybe that's why we love it).

POTATO, ARGULA, PECORINO AND MOZZARELLA

2 cloves garlic, sliced thin

2 T grated pecorino cheese (we think Parmesan would work, too)

1/4 lb. mozzarella, sliced

1 small (about 1/4 lb.) cooked potato thinly sliced (we sliced, then cooked)

4 T olive oil

2 cups baby arugula

Preheat oven to 450. Drizzle 1 T olive oil over cookie sheet (or, you could use a pizza pan or pizza stone if you're feeling fancy). Prepare dough (to us that means rolling out as thin as possible, we don't worry about the shape, as long as it fits on the pan). Sprinkle garlic, pecorino, mozzarella and potato slices onto rolled out dough. Drizzle 1 T olive oil over pizza. Pierce dough with a fork several times. Bake 10 - 12 minutes or until crust is crispy. Remove and top with fresh arugula.

BLUE CHEESE AND ROASTED SQUASH

1/2 cup diced butternut squash*

1/4 cup diced onion

5 T olive oil

1 t salt

1/4 t ground pepper

2 T grated pecorino cheese

4 T crumbled blue cheese

In large bowl, toss squash and onion with 1 T olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread vegetables in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast at 400 until tender (about 20 minutes, but depends on how small you dice 'em), set aside. Preheat oven and prep pan/dough as above. Sprinkle pecorino onto dough. Spoon the veggies evenly over dough. Sprinkle pizza with blue cheese and 1 T olive oil. Pierce dough with fork several times. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes or until crust is crispy.


*We diced up all the butternut squash and threw small batches into individual ziplock bags and froze them for future pizza parties. Easy!

If you're feeling extra fancy make the Orange & Lillet Cocktail that Aida recommended. 

Thanks to InStyle, October 2009 for recipes and inspiration.