little black journal

Loving…

Christmas-time baking – I made my first batch of almond butter toffee yesterday, and am on the lookout now for a good cookie recipe to add to my baking repertoire.  Preferably one that calls for massive amounts of both butter and chocolate.  ‘Tis the season…

My new copy of Drawing Now.  Insanely beautiful drawings, from a collection of enviously talented artists.  I love every. single. page.

Holiday movies.  Every December, I pull out Serendipity to swoon over John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale’s fairy-tale romance, and Little Women to cry over the heart-breaking loss of Beth.  Shane and I have also made it a tradition to watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy every December – though they don’t fall in the ‘holiday’ genre, these movies feel deeply connected to the Christmas season, as we always caught them in the theater as a family during their late-December releases.

Rainy Sunday afternoons, when I can light a couple of candles, snuggle up on the couch, and munch on holiday goodies while flipping through good books or watching the afore-mentioned movies.  Today was that sort of day, and it was gooooood.

Oh, my, it was a full one but a good one…the highlights:

watched our dancer-friend Donna perform an amazing piece entitled ‘Paper Chase’ at Velocity  |  drank wine, ate cheese, and had a very involved discussion about cars at the Tin Table with Shane, Jack, and La V  |  cut down and decorated what I think might be our best Christmas tree yet  |  ate cherry pie at a little ho-dunk diner in North Bend  |  made egg-nog, spiked it, drank it  |  attended a lovely choral concert at St. Mark’s cathedral  |  ran myself ragged trying to get all 13 of my little preschoolers to assemble ‘Advent paper chains’ in Sunday School this morning  |  sat in a cafe and scribbled in my sketchbook  |  unwound from all the busy-ness with out latest Netflix pick and some quality couch-time with Shane.  and…whew!

Indeed, we are sitting at the airport as I type, waiting to board our plane to cold, snowy, cold (did I already say that?) Minnesota for a week with Shane’s family. This trip has become an annual tradition for us, and I’ve come to look forward it more and more each year. I love being in a house full of family, watching Shane play Legos with his nieces and nephew while the smell of roasted turkey wafts in from the kitchen. I love taking a ride down memory lane with Shane, as he takes me past all the places he used to get into trouble as a kid (yes, my gentle, law-abiding husband used to be the king of car crashes, stolen road signs, and toilet papered front yards). I love getting up pre-dawn with with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law to hit the Door-Buster sales the day after Thanksgiving. And I especially love waking up to the sight of a freshly fallen blanket of snow, knowing that if I so please, I don’t have to do anything that day other than curl up on the couch with a cup of tea and a good book. Cheers to time with family, to relaxation, and to my new fuzzy, warm hat. It’s going to be a very, very good week.

t.g.i.F!!! This week has felt exceptionally long, even though it was about the same as any other week, with work and work-outs and grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner, since we haven’t grocery shopped for nearly two weeks. I’ve definitely been battling a case of the day-in, day-out doldrums, and am seeing how routine can be so exhausting… But enough of the pits – my weekend has begun and I am looking forward to an evening with the ladies tonight, a some time set aside for art-ing with a few kids from our church tomorrow morning, perhaps delving into Harry Potter book #2 tomorrow afternoon, and then a living room dance party or two with Shane and our brand-new X-Box Kinect. Oh, and pie. Sometime, somehow, there will be homemade apple pie. T.G.I.F. indeed.  (In fact, I was so happy to get off lightrail and wave goodbye to the work week that I had to snap a pic…)

Whoa – where have the past two days gone?  It was a busy-but-fun kind of weekend, as we hung out with friends, cheered on our Giants, and partook in Halloween festivities.

Shane and I spent Friday evening at Lounjin Cafe up in the U-District, hanging my artwork on their walls for a month-long showing.  It was a last-minute request, made through a connection from my show at the Q Cafe last July, but I was happy to oblige, and let a few of my pieces see some daylight after months of being stuck in my upstairs closet.  Check it out if you’re in the ‘hood – and order a glass of Sake!  Art is often best paired with a drink.

Saturday morning brought book club, and some quality time with the ladies.  Books are often best paired with coffee, so I was content to sit around a table at Espresso Vivace and sip my perfect latte, while discussing Little Bee and watching the rain fall outside.  One of those I-love-Fall kind of moments…  After book club, I jetted home to finish up my costume preparations for that evening’s Trunk or Treat party, taking place at our church.  We had volunteered with our community group to decorate a couple of cars and dress up for the mobs of sugar-hungry kids that would be attending.  The rail foiled our plans for being outside, but we took over the cafe space adjacent to the church and made our vision come to life indoors.  We had agreed on a Wizard of Oz theme, and were proud to have all of the characters represented, from the Tin Man to the Good Witch to Dorothy herself.  I was the Cowardly Lion, and Shane and Jason rocked their Lollipop Boy outfits – it was certainly an evening to remember (though the image of those two Lollipop Boys might be better off forgotten…).

Today was surprisingly, wonderfully sun-shiny, so we took advantage of the weather and headed over to Discovery Park after church to take a walk with the Rust clan and enjoy what may be our last moments of clear skies for awhile.  The G-man played in puddles, Shane and Jason chatted it up about taxes and the latest ballot measures, and we all shuffled through the fallen leaves that served as reminder that November is just around the corner.  Hard to believe how fast the past couple of months have flown by.

And tonight was spent at home, taking in the Giants win with our fellow fans, eating bowls of hot soup and slices of pumpkin pie as scores of Trick-or-Treaters came to the door in their costumes.  Kinda sad to see October come to an end, but it is definitely going out on a very, very good note.

It was a cold, wet weekend in Seattle, but, in true Northwestern form, I didn’t let that get me down.  We spent Saturday night keeping tradition alive, taking part in our third annual dumplings-making/pumpkin-carving party. I believe I may have eaten more dumplings (as in, 15?) than I actually made (as in, 0), but I had a good excuse for my lack of participation; I was in the living room watching THE GIANTS WIN A SPOT IN THE 2010 WORLD SERIES! There was much celebration as Wilson struck out that very last batter – I believe I even witnessed a joyous embrace between Shane and Jack at some point, though they will likely deny it. With our stomachs full of dumplings and our faces plastered with victorious grins, we were ready to focus our energy on our pumpkin-carving bonanza. I spent the next hour elbow-deep in pumpkin guts, but ended up with a nice little haunted house jack-o-lantern to show for my efforts, while Shane basked in baseball glory with his SF logo. Meanwhile, the rest of the gang worked on the props for our Wizard of Oz-themed car decorations, for next weekend’s ‘Trunk or Treat’ (stay tuned for photos of the group decked out in our scarecrow/lion/tin man/Dorothy outfits).  It was a lovely, cozy evening among friends, complete with hot apple cider and long bouts of laughter. I love Fall…

Today I tried my hand at being one of the guys, and spent the day with some fellows from work, tailgating and then cheering at the Seahawks game. Not gonna lie – when the guys mentioned drinking at 10 am, I was hoping they meant mimosas, but it turns out I can drink Coors Light for breakfast with the best of them. The game was fun (much credit to Shane for teaching me how to hold my own in a conversation about football), and I was incredibly thankful for our covered seats as we watched rain pour down on the field.  It was cool to see the Seahawks win, and surprisingly easy to get swept up in the energy of the crowd.  Still, it felt dang good to get home, slip into my sweats, and curl up on the couch with my hot cup of tea.

And that’s the stuff that Fall weekends are made of…

When Shane told me last Spring that he wanted to buy a subscription to MLB-TV, so that he’d be able to watch all of the Giants games from the comfort of our living room, I cringed a little bit.  I imagined the countless Sunday afternoons we’d have to spend parked in front of the TV, rather than getting outside to enjoy the summer weather; the evenings that I would have to escape upstairs to get away from Shane’s post-loss funk; the fabulous pair of shoes that money could buy me…  But much to my surprise, the more I saw of the Giants, the more I fell into fan-dom.  I’ve always liked baseball, and if I’d ever had to choose a favorite team, the Giants would have been it, but it wasn’t until this year that I truly got behind them.  I learned all the players names and knew their trademark accessories and rituals; I cheered for Buster when he made his stunning debut and shouted at Sandoval throughout his steady decline; I found myself putting the game on even when Shane wasn’t around, checking standings on my iPhone and daily wishing defeat upon the Padres.  I was hooked.  And so I was stoked when the Giants made it to play-offs – what a year to become a fan!  We haven’t been able to watch the last few games at home, since we cancelled our cable, but have found an awesome little sports bar called Auto Battery in Capitol Hill where we can spend our evenings cheering on our team.  It’s been a lot of fun – Jack and La V have joined us there as fellow Orange-and-Black fans, and we’ve found instant camaraderie with the handful of other Giants supporters that frequent the bar.  Tonight was a big night – we all jumped to our feet, cheering and shouting and clinking our beers as we secured our place in the National League Championship Series.  Woot!!!

I’ll leave you with this video, currently making the rounds on YouTube – Let’s go Giants (clap-clap, clap-clap-clap!)…

Yes indeed, I turned another year older yesterday – I am now the big 2-9 (the number some how feels smaller if you insert a hyphen between the digits).  We have a big weekend-long birthday bonanza planned a few weeks from now, in celebration of Shane’s, La V’s, and my birthdays (all in October), so I was happy to lay relatively low yesterday and save up my party energy for a later date.  But still, the day was filled with several special moments, much to the credit of my thoughtful husband and very special friends.

We started the day with breakfast at Geraldine’s, feasting on French toast and eggs and bacon and endless cups of coffee with several friends.

I decided to set aside the afternoon for some ‘me-time’, and headed up to Lynnwood to check out a spa I’ve heard lots of good things about.  I spent almost three hours moving from the soaking pools to the tea room to the various heated rooms, repeating the cycle multiple times.  It really felt like relaxation in its purest form, and I headed home feeling rejuvenated and cleansed.  Turns out I may have been wrong all these years, when I told girlfriends who were making time for facials and massages and pedicures that “I’m not really a spa person”.  Shane’s birthday present to me was a generous gift certificate to a different Seattle spa, so I’ll be digging further into my “spa philosophy” in the weeks to come.   I’m always looking to become a more well-rounded person, after all…

Saturday evening, we dined on Thai food in Capitol Hill with Jason and Nancy, and then headed right around the corner to meet up with several other people at our friend Karen’s dessert party/fundraiser.  Karen is quite possibly the most talented dessert-maker that I know, and so it was a double-bonus to be able to feast on her “chocolate profiterole topped with red wine raspberry sorbet and a blackberry compote”, while also contributing to her upcoming trip to Tanzania to visit Brian and Nicole.  Well-done, Karen!  The look on La V’s face says it all…

Enjoying so much goodness all in a single day had me beat by the time 10 pm rolled around, so I was happy to spend the remainder of our evening at home, catching up on Project Runway and cozying up on the couch with my very favorite person.  Being spoiled is exhausting!

Jason asked me at dinner last night to list my three biggest highlights of the past year, and I feel so blessed that it was hard to pick just three.  28 was good to me.  And I’m thinking/hoping/planning that 29 just might be even better.

Loving…

Mint dark chocolate by Divine.  Minty, but not too minty, dark, but not too dark, and sprinkled with little bits crunchy peppermint that give a perfect contrast to the creamy chocolate.  Plus, it’s fair-trade and organic – bonus!  The only downside of this stuff is that Shane, who is not usually a sweets-eater, loves it too, so I’ve resorted to hiding my share in the deep recesses of our kitchen cupboards (I never claimed I was good at sharing).

My art hanging on the walls of our home.  Bit by bit, I’ve been getting some of my encaustics and prints up on our walls.  It’s really satisfying (and motivating) to daily walk past the fruits of my creative endeavors.

Tomatoes from our garden – due to the cooler weather and all the rain we’ve had lately, this was not a stellar summer for tomatoes, but the handfuls we’ve picked from our vines have been sweet, juicy, and absolutely perfect when paired with fresh basil and drizzled with olive oil.

Modern technology – Shane I and video-chatted for an hour last night with our dear friends Brian and Nicole, who moved to Africa earlier this month.  From our living room couch, Shane and I were able to take a virtual tour of their Tanzanian home, see the smiles on their faces as we cracked jokes and caught up with one another, and temporarily forget the thousands miles between us.

Also loving the thought of snuggling into my warm, cozy bed on this cool Fall-feeling night, as it’s been a pretty long day.  Bonne nuit!

The past couple of days have been perfectly chill and weekend-ish.  Sad to see them come to an end…  We spent Friday night with a couple of neighbor/friends, eating peach pie, watching a movie, and getting caught up with each other’s goings-on.  As darkness comes earlier and earlier, I see lots of weekend movie nights in our future – this is a good thing.  I like a fancy night out on the town, but I love an evening spent lounging on the couch.

I was up early(ish) on Saturday to kick off the day with a run, and for the first time in awhile, I felt like I flew through my 3-mile loop, rather than trudging through it.  Shaved 20 seconds off my best time for that route (woot!).  I’m wondering if the aforementioned peach pie had anything to do with this sudden burst of energy?  I was so happy with my progress that I decided to counteract it with a trip out to Red Hook Brewery to meet up with Shane, Jack, and La V for lunchtime burgers.  Shane and Jack had taken advantage of the sunshine and made the 25-mile trip on their bikes (stopping only once on the way for a wine-tasting detour – I’m so proud of them…), but since I’m not really the cyclist-type, I was happy to hop in the car to meet up with them.  We scored a perfect table out on the patio, where I could soak in the surprisingly warm rays of September sun.

Saturday afternoon, I dropped Shane off at Lakewood so that he could play a round of disc golf with Jason and the G-man, then parked myself at nearby Dubsea Coffee for a latte and some ‘me-time’.  I was totally impressed with the quality of the cafe’s space – I think I’ve found a new way to occupy my time while Shane is tossing frisbees.  Lots of natural light, rotating art exhibits on the walls, and a ceiling painted the most perfect shade of turquoise.  I found a cozy little table by the window, pulled out my book, and was completely in my element.

Saturday evening I pleasantly surprised Shane by asking him if he wanted to head out for a late-night cocktail (something ‘out of the ordinary’ for us…).  We headed out to Tavern Law – a little bar in Capitol Hill that we’d heard has a cool speak-easy vibe and killer cocktails.  My gin/lime/cranberry/lavender/egg white concoction was delicious, and Shane’s gin/Lillet/apricot/Absinthe drink was right up his alley.

Today was spent mostly at home, watching the Giants beat the Padres (holla!), cleaning up the house, and doing a bit of yardwork.  I was happy to find that the plant I thought I’d killed during the mini heat-wave we had a few weeks ago is actually sprouting some new leaves. With a little more work and some TLC, I’m hopeful that we’ll have a lovely, flourishing backyard by the time next summer rolls around.

We’re wrapping up the evening with a bowl of ice cream and a crappy movie (anyone seen Date Night?).  All-in-all, a rather perfect couple of days.