Cover Pic
Friday, October 9, 2015
Made it official
I was sworn in as a member of the Oregon State Bar today. Originally I was going to wait for my Mom to be here but now that I've got a job that starts soon time became more of the essence in getting sworn in so I can actually practice. Cooper was there and my friends who work at the Courthouse so I still got to feel the love.
Thursday, October 8, 2015
Big News!
I got some great news yesterday
I got a Job!!! Job is capitalized because it's an exciting real grown-up-job in my field using my super expensive degree.
I start in about 10 days. It's a new ish area for me so hopefully I learn quickly.
I'm going to be getting training and working on low stakes stuff at first so hopefully not too much pressure right away.
I got a Job!!! Job is capitalized because it's an exciting real grown-up-job in my field using my super expensive degree.
I start in about 10 days. It's a new ish area for me so hopefully I learn quickly.
I'm going to be getting training and working on low stakes stuff at first so hopefully not too much pressure right away.
And I'll be working in the same building as two of my bffs from law school so that's an added bonus.
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
WIP Wednesday
It's been pretty busy around here so I haven't gotten much knitting time in. I have done a little bit though and here is what I've got.
I finished up the sleeves and got them placed on holders and started the body. I've done the turned hem and started the patterning. Man I love how the turned hems look.
I turned the heel and knit most of the way up the cuff. It's going pretty quickly so that's good.
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Happy Birthday Cooper
It's cooper's birthday :)
We had dinner with friends and shepards pie (Alton Brown's recipe and we swap the lamb for ground beef and jimmy deans sage sausage), wine, and cake. It was a great time, it's been a while since I've gotten to see my friends and they're all pretty great even though they've gone off and gotten real jobs and be adults and stuff.
Alex was the star of the show as usual, charming all the ladies (and men) with his 6 words and the love of being the center of attention to the point where he'll do just about anything if you applaud him including wearing a frozen waffle as a hat.
Anyway, I love you Cooper and I'm so happy you were born. And I can't believe. next birthday we'll have been married for 6 months!
Also the cake was a hit! 
Monday, October 5, 2015
Birth Day Cake
When I was growing up we never bought birthday cakes, we always made them from scratch. Usually "we" was me and my dad. I think making birthday cakes was sort of our first cooking projects that we'd do together. I cook much more than my siblings, although my parents got all of us involved in cooking from a young age. I enjoyed it more I think so I'd volunteer for extra cooking on top of when one of us would get conscripted into helping with dinner.
Anyway so birthday cake was one of those things that my dad and I would do together. And usually we would make a chocolate cake recipe that he learned from his mother (who died when I was 8). So for me making birthday cakes is the norm and it reminds me of home and growing up and all those sorts of happy memories.
Cooper's birthday is tomorrow and he requested a lemon and poppyseed cake. I knew my dad had a good recipe for that sort of cake so I looked through his recipe folder (all online of course because we're cool that way). Eventually I found the recipe (his organization system sometimes escapes me) and after having to go to like 4 different grocery stores (I told you I haven't baked in a while, I needed things like cake flour which for some reason the first store didn't have, then we had to go get the good lemon curd from trader joes, and then we got home and realized we needed more butter for the frosting, oh and a sifter).
Making the cake brought back so many memories, not so much with this exact recipe but it shares a lot of things with our traditional birthday cake. First, I'm using my dad's old KitchenAid, the one he's had since the 80s and we always used growing up. He has a new one and I'm "storing" this one for him.
It also made me remember the two steps I always hate doing and usually out source to my dad and this time outsourced to cooper. The first is greasing and lining the pan. It's pretty simple, just cut out some parchment paper for the bottom of the pan and butter the whole thing so it cake doesn't stick. It's simple but for some reason I always hated that step as a kid and that just stuck with me.
The second is the stupid pre-sifting of the cake flour. You're supposed to sift some flour, then measure out your amount and then sift all the dry ingredients together. The problem is always trying to get the extra pre-sifted flour back into the tiny box the cake flour lives in without getting it everywhere. Somehow I managed to pre-sift just the right amount and didn't have to put any back. That never happens, it must be a birthday miracle.
Following my dad's recipes is always fun because he takes a recipe but then he annotates it which is pretty helpful. Especially since it's been a while since I've made this cake or the frosting. The cake was easy but the frosting can be tricky sometimes. It's the neoclassic buttercream recipe from the Cake Bible . Seriously, if you're going to make buttercream use this recipe, it's amazing. You can add lemon curd for lemon frosting, or baker's chocolate and a shot of espresso for the best chocolate buttercream you've ever had. It can be a little bit finicky if you haven't made it a 100 times so I found myself lecturing cooper (who was in the living room) about technique as I worked. And of course I kept texting my dad with questions, who luckily knew exactly what I was asking and the best answer (we've made this a lot, did I mention that?). So it came out great. If you are making this frosting the main trick is how to work with the corn syrup and mostly the key is to just immerse whatever had corn syrup on it in boiling hot water immediately for easy cleaning. Otherwise it'll turn into cement on your cooking implements.
The cake turned out great. And the frosting did too.
I've wrapped up the cakes and frosting and I'm keeping them in the fridge to assemble on the actual birthday day.
Cooper was totally into the cake, which I thought was funny. Maybe it's just because we always buy cakes now but he seemed very impressed at my baking prowess. I'm glad he likes the cake because this is part of what my dad is making for the wedding. My dad is going to make our traditional chocolate cake as our wedding cake, and do a couple of small poppyseed lemon cakes for other flavors for the non-chocolate eaters. I was so touched when my dad offered to make the cake for us. He's done it before (I've helped him in fact), make a wedding cake that is. He's got all the rounds and the tiers. So we'll have a round tiered cake to display and some sheet cakes in the back for more caking. It'll be great since it's the cake of my childhood and from my grandma's recipe etc. So yeah, birthday cake means a lot of me. And I have a lot of things to say about it apparently haha.
Anyway so birthday cake was one of those things that my dad and I would do together. And usually we would make a chocolate cake recipe that he learned from his mother (who died when I was 8). So for me making birthday cakes is the norm and it reminds me of home and growing up and all those sorts of happy memories.
Cooper's birthday is tomorrow and he requested a lemon and poppyseed cake. I knew my dad had a good recipe for that sort of cake so I looked through his recipe folder (all online of course because we're cool that way). Eventually I found the recipe (his organization system sometimes escapes me) and after having to go to like 4 different grocery stores (I told you I haven't baked in a while, I needed things like cake flour which for some reason the first store didn't have, then we had to go get the good lemon curd from trader joes, and then we got home and realized we needed more butter for the frosting, oh and a sifter).
Making the cake brought back so many memories, not so much with this exact recipe but it shares a lot of things with our traditional birthday cake. First, I'm using my dad's old KitchenAid, the one he's had since the 80s and we always used growing up. He has a new one and I'm "storing" this one for him.
It also made me remember the two steps I always hate doing and usually out source to my dad and this time outsourced to cooper. The first is greasing and lining the pan. It's pretty simple, just cut out some parchment paper for the bottom of the pan and butter the whole thing so it cake doesn't stick. It's simple but for some reason I always hated that step as a kid and that just stuck with me.
The second is the stupid pre-sifting of the cake flour. You're supposed to sift some flour, then measure out your amount and then sift all the dry ingredients together. The problem is always trying to get the extra pre-sifted flour back into the tiny box the cake flour lives in without getting it everywhere. Somehow I managed to pre-sift just the right amount and didn't have to put any back. That never happens, it must be a birthday miracle.
 |
| Large bowl of flour, tiny box opening |
Following my dad's recipes is always fun because he takes a recipe but then he annotates it which is pretty helpful. Especially since it's been a while since I've made this cake or the frosting. The cake was easy but the frosting can be tricky sometimes. It's the neoclassic buttercream recipe from the Cake Bible . Seriously, if you're going to make buttercream use this recipe, it's amazing. You can add lemon curd for lemon frosting, or baker's chocolate and a shot of espresso for the best chocolate buttercream you've ever had. It can be a little bit finicky if you haven't made it a 100 times so I found myself lecturing cooper (who was in the living room) about technique as I worked. And of course I kept texting my dad with questions, who luckily knew exactly what I was asking and the best answer (we've made this a lot, did I mention that?). So it came out great. If you are making this frosting the main trick is how to work with the corn syrup and mostly the key is to just immerse whatever had corn syrup on it in boiling hot water immediately for easy cleaning. Otherwise it'll turn into cement on your cooking implements.
The cake turned out great. And the frosting did too.
 |
| Prepared or storage |
Cooper was totally into the cake, which I thought was funny. Maybe it's just because we always buy cakes now but he seemed very impressed at my baking prowess. I'm glad he likes the cake because this is part of what my dad is making for the wedding. My dad is going to make our traditional chocolate cake as our wedding cake, and do a couple of small poppyseed lemon cakes for other flavors for the non-chocolate eaters. I was so touched when my dad offered to make the cake for us. He's done it before (I've helped him in fact), make a wedding cake that is. He's got all the rounds and the tiers. So we'll have a round tiered cake to display and some sheet cakes in the back for more caking. It'll be great since it's the cake of my childhood and from my grandma's recipe etc. So yeah, birthday cake means a lot of me. And I have a lot of things to say about it apparently haha.
Friday, October 2, 2015
Home again- now featuring salsa dancing!
I just got home from a quick trip up to Seattle for a job interview.
I used to do that drive all the time for undergrad and then when Cooper was still loving in Washington but I'd forgotten how long it actually is when you're driving by yourself. It went pretty smoothly though and I made it on time despite some traffic. The interview went well but it was short considering how far I drove. It was only 1/2 hour.
After the interview I met up with my cousin and hung out until his girlfriend got home and we went to dinner. Mostly I was willing to drive up for an interview so I could then eat my way across Seattle (as usual). We had delicious asian food at Boom Noodle which has finally moved back to Capital Hill from the U district. We would eat there every time we visited Seattle during my under grad days.
Then for breakfast/lunch (at like 11) we went to a place called Jack's for BBQ. It was awesome. I don't usually like dry rub ribs but they were do delicious they didn't need any sauce. And the Mac n cheese was soooooo good and cheesy. I totally don't regret that we didn't do dim sum (which is what we normally do when we visit). If we move to Seattle I'm going to get so fat.
Then when I got back home Cooper and I went to a free salsa dancing class over at the university. We were late but the people were super nice and caught us up on the lesson. We weren't very good at it but it was a lot of fun. I took a ballroom dancing class in undergrad and had a ton of fun with it som I'm stoked to have found this. Even though I'm not a student they'll still let us come (it's like $5) and they do it every Friday night. A lesson and then a social dance with a bunch of different dance styles. Cooper enjoyed himself too so hopefully I can convince him to go back. I'm definitely going back when it's time for the Waltz lessons since I wanna do that at the wedding.
I used to do that drive all the time for undergrad and then when Cooper was still loving in Washington but I'd forgotten how long it actually is when you're driving by yourself. It went pretty smoothly though and I made it on time despite some traffic. The interview went well but it was short considering how far I drove. It was only 1/2 hour.
But my first interview was shorter and they're moving my application forward with a back ground check so that's cool.
After the interview I met up with my cousin and hung out until his girlfriend got home and we went to dinner. Mostly I was willing to drive up for an interview so I could then eat my way across Seattle (as usual). We had delicious asian food at Boom Noodle which has finally moved back to Capital Hill from the U district. We would eat there every time we visited Seattle during my under grad days.
Then for breakfast/lunch (at like 11) we went to a place called Jack's for BBQ. It was awesome. I don't usually like dry rub ribs but they were do delicious they didn't need any sauce. And the Mac n cheese was soooooo good and cheesy. I totally don't regret that we didn't do dim sum (which is what we normally do when we visit). If we move to Seattle I'm going to get so fat.
Then when I got back home Cooper and I went to a free salsa dancing class over at the university. We were late but the people were super nice and caught us up on the lesson. We weren't very good at it but it was a lot of fun. I took a ballroom dancing class in undergrad and had a ton of fun with it som I'm stoked to have found this. Even though I'm not a student they'll still let us come (it's like $5) and they do it every Friday night. A lesson and then a social dance with a bunch of different dance styles. Cooper enjoyed himself too so hopefully I can convince him to go back. I'm definitely going back when it's time for the Waltz lessons since I wanna do that at the wedding.
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Stitch dictionaries
You guys, how is it possible that I've never used a stitch dictionary before? They're awesome.
For those who don't know it's basically just a reference book with a library of different stitch patterns, from knit/purl combos to color work, lace, and cables. Pretty much everything.
There are a few different things I've knit a ton of and understand the basic construction (hats, scarves, socks, shawls, mittens, etc) that I look for patterns to add the interesting designs but still sometimes can't find just what I'm looking for. This is where the stitch dictionary comes in. Peruse the book, pick a stitch, add it in and voila new custom pattern. That's the great thing about knitting, it's been around so long there is no need to reinvent the wheel every time. Obviously not every possible combination of stitches is in any one dictionary but it's a great jumping off point.
So today I charted up a diamond lace pattern to make a simple lace scarf. The hardest part was finding a good knitting font so I could make the knitting symbols in excel. I used this font, if you're looking for one. I added a little bit of stockinet background, a border, and presto I have a scarf pattern to use for Alex's matching scarf. I'll probably write it up and put it on Ravelry as a free pattern just for fun since I've already done the hard work. I think I'm also going to try and do a new men's sock pattern since I'm bored with the vanilla latte socks. Basically I've just realized (for like the millionth time when it comes to knitting) all the possibilities out there for me even though I'm not super creative.
For those who don't know it's basically just a reference book with a library of different stitch patterns, from knit/purl combos to color work, lace, and cables. Pretty much everything.
There are a few different things I've knit a ton of and understand the basic construction (hats, scarves, socks, shawls, mittens, etc) that I look for patterns to add the interesting designs but still sometimes can't find just what I'm looking for. This is where the stitch dictionary comes in. Peruse the book, pick a stitch, add it in and voila new custom pattern. That's the great thing about knitting, it's been around so long there is no need to reinvent the wheel every time. Obviously not every possible combination of stitches is in any one dictionary but it's a great jumping off point.
 |
| I now want to find something to add zigzags or diagonal stripes to |
So today I charted up a diamond lace pattern to make a simple lace scarf. The hardest part was finding a good knitting font so I could make the knitting symbols in excel. I used this font, if you're looking for one. I added a little bit of stockinet background, a border, and presto I have a scarf pattern to use for Alex's matching scarf. I'll probably write it up and put it on Ravelry as a free pattern just for fun since I've already done the hard work. I think I'm also going to try and do a new men's sock pattern since I'm bored with the vanilla latte socks. Basically I've just realized (for like the millionth time when it comes to knitting) all the possibilities out there for me even though I'm not super creative.
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