Office-y

When I got this new job I realized (to my comfy and warm horror!) that I would have to go from wearing yoga pants, furry boots, and huge jackets every day to wearing actual office-y clothes. I think I'm looking at my wardrobe in a whole new way now. I've been digging through my "to sell/give away" pile of clothes and have found some pretty wonderful gems in there that I'm excited to wear to work. Taking outfit photos in the snow? Not really the most splendid of processes (a.k.a. wet feet, weird looks from manly looking dudes in passing trucks, falling through snow up to your knees, general freezing-ness) but I think these photos actually turned out pretty well!







Yesterday I went climbing for four hours and then rested my tired muscles in the sauna. I'm getting a leetle bit addicted to climbing. Every time I finish a new route I get abnormally excited. Even if it goes down like my last climb yesterday, when my friend was yelling from the balcony above me to "woman up and be strong!" while I pathetically dangled about ten feet from the top and contemplated an obnoxiously zen-looking Buddha shaped handhold. I'm glad I made it in the end!

Today I did more training at work and then lay on a dock by Donner Lake and contemplated the moon with a fellow Piscean. Life is marvelously peachy sometimes!

Have any of you been having suitably wonderful adventures/trying new things in the new year?

Flats: Gap; Skirt: Thrifted, Crossroads SF; Eighties Blouse: Thrifted; Cardigan: FCUK; Wool Coat: Thrifted

I'm Makin' Real Good Bread

I made some fresh bread to go with my soup the other day, and I thought I'd share the recipe with you. It's insanely easy because you don't have to knead it, and it only rises for half an hour. It makes a dense loaf that's perfect for sandwiches. I like to use whole wheat flour but I have also made it with white flour and that tastes delicious too. This is perfect in the morning with homemade jam...check out my recipe for that here. Enjoy! Hope you all had a happy, hopeful and happenin' weekend!

Yummy Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread
1 Package Dried Yeast
1/2 Tsp Sugar
Two Cups Warm Water
1lb 2oz Whole Wheat Flour (Approx. 4 Cups)
1 1/2 Tsp Salt
2 Tablespoons Nutritional Yeast (Optional)
3 Tablespoons Sesame Seeds (Optional)
Any other seeds/grains/spices you would like to add!

Dissolve yeast in a cupful of water with the sugar. Leave 10-15 mins. Grease a bread tin (I line mine with parchment paper as well). Combine all other ingredients, then add yeast liquid and water to make a sticky dough. Spoon into bread tin. Cover and let rise in a warm spot for 30 min. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. After bread has risen bake for 30 minutes. Cool and eat!

Dreaming of Summer

"She's a summer love for spring, fall and winter." - Grateful Dead, "Sugar Magnolia"

I can't help but be jealous of everyone in the lovely antipodes, especially when I see pretty summer posts on Lost in the Haze and K is for Kani. Those girls have summer style if I ever saw it! It makes me wish it was summer here...since we haven't really been getting much snow I want winter to be over so summer can hurry up and get here! I can't wait to ride my bike along the lake, or wake up super early to go wakeboarding when the water is smooth and glassy, or just sit by the beach with a good book. Doesn't that sound just perfect right now? What are you missing most about summer?










I'm still praying for snow of course, I wouldn't mind skiing a little bit before winter's over, but in terms of clothes...well all I really want to wear is hot pants and mini skirts! These photos are from my favorite hiking spot behind my old house. What a beautiful place to hike that was. I took these in October and it was still warm enough to wear shorts and sandals.






I'm off to go watch my friends' funk band play. I love their shows, all of my friends always come and we tear it up on the dance floor! What's your favorite thing to do on a Saturday night?





Sandals: Sanuk; Shorts: Topshop; Blouse: TJ Maxx; Backpack: Thrifted

Butternut Squash Peanut Soup

Last night I made this soup for a little dinner party and it was oh-so-good! It sounds a little funny to add peanut butter to soup, but I promise you, it's delicious.

Butternut Peanut Soup
Serves 6
1 Onion
3 Cloves Garlic
1 Butternut Squash
1 Tetra Pack or Two Cans Vegetable Stock
1/3 Jar of Peanut Butter
Juice of One Lemon
1 Tsp Cumin
1/2 Tsp Chilli Flakes
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cut up the onion and carmelize in a large soup pot with a little bit of olive oil. Peel and cut the squash into one inch cubes. After the onion looks browned, crush 3 cloves garlic and add to the pot. Add squash, cover, and let cook for five minutes. Add spices and stir ingredients. Pour in stock, cover, and let simmer until the squash is soft enough that it falls apart if you press it against the side of the pot. Blend the ingredients, either with a hand blender, or in batches in a regular blender. Return the soup to the pot and add peanut butter, lemon, and salt and pepper to taste. Keep stirring until the peanut butter is fully incorporated. Enjoy!

Back To Neutral

Just thought I'd pop in and share these photos from my daily walk with you. I just finished knitting this scarf and I had to show it off! You might have noticed something a little unusual in these photos...snow! That's it, we finally got a storm. Which explains why things have been pretty quiet over here as of late, I've been spending most of my days either shoveling or skiing, neither of which a pretty outfit makes.
I did take photos of what I was wearing but looking at the photos I decided I would just post these two, because honestly I'm wearing the same furry boots and warm tights I always wear. It's a leetle boring. I love Amanda's comment in her latest post: "I've worn this all before...lots of times. I'd call it a remix but instead I'll just call it reality." Sometimes it's hard to be all stylin' when the weather and your closet gets the better of you. But I'll be back with some funkaaay outfit post soon for y'all, don't you worry!
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to my soup making. Why oh why is it so very difficult to peel butternut squash? In the process I have managed to peel my hand and the countertop. But it's going to be one delish soup, so totally worth the minor bloodbath my kitchen just experienced! (Kidding...there is no blood in the soup. That wouldn't be very vegan now, would it?)
Anyone have any good soup recipes? I think I have exhausted every last one in my arsenal. As my roommate said to me the other day: "What are you going to make for dinner? Oh, of course, something stew-like in that giant cast iron skillet of yours." Help me out so that I can stop getting made fun of! Hope you are all having a fab Thursday!

"Rhiannon Rings Like a Bell Through the Night"

Channeling Stevie Nicks! This outfit was so much fun to wear. I kind of felt like I was floating about all day with my skirt billowing behind me. These photos are thanks to Isla again. Both days that I came into the city we drank lots of coffee, talked about clothes and blogs, did some light thrifting and a lot of photo taking. I love that girl...our dads are best friends, and somehow we always end up in the same place. We didn't even know we were going to the same university until we ran into each other in the library and discovered we were living three houses away from each other! How crazy is that? I think there are some people the universe just wants you to have in your life, and I'm so lucky that she's one of those people for me!
We also got to hang out with the beautiful Annalise and her cutie pie doggy. It's so nice to go back to San Francisco and get to meet up so many lovely people. That place rocks my socks!















Btw you guys! I got that job I was hoping for! So I get to stay in Tahoe. It's like a real live year round job so I won't have to scramble around for seasonal jobs anymore. I am so happy/excited/relieved!
Boots: Kelsi Dagger; Skirt: Gift from my lovely sister; Tee: Ross; Cardigan: Thrifted Levi's; Necklace: Handmade by my talented friend Ashley; Hat: H & M

Here's a funny little P.S: That awkward moment when you decide to climb on the back of a UPS truck to take photos and it drives away...

San Francisco

"San Francisco itself is art, above all literary art. Every block is a short story, every hill a novel. Every home a poem, every dweller within immortal. That is the whole truth." - William Saroyan
It is hard not to think about how magical San Francisco is every time I visit this place. I spent a lovely day drinking coffee, thrifting, and photo taking with the beautiful and talented Isla. She took all of these photos which explains why they look so wonderful! I couldn't choose, so this post is a bit of a photo overload, sorry!
I drove down from Tahoe this morning guzzling excessive amounts of chai on the way. My good friend Caleb fixed my truck for me; I am so thankful for him! He spent six hours outside in the 20 degree weather loosening the nuts on the master cylinder(at one point I had to do an emergency hitch hike to get WD40), bleeding the brakes, and replacing the master cylinder. I feel like I'm constantly reminded what wonderful friends I have.
Life is still in a general state of upheaval; I have been applying for jobs all over the place, including San Francisco, so I'm here for interviews and to catch up with old friends again. I'm hoping something turns up soon!









Boots: Thrifted; Skirt, Top, Coat: Borrowed from Isla's closet and her shop; Bolo: Vintage

Sh*t Skiers Say

So...I debated forever about whether I should share this on my blog or not because I'm sure not many of you are skiers. But, this is pretty much my life. It's so flippin' hilarious. The "Broooooo!" montage is probably my favorite thing ever. Or maybe "Where's my phone?" I have eight pockets in my jacket so that happens to me pretty much all the time. That's right, skiers are all huge dorkfaces, but we love it! Plus, it is snowing right now!!! The moment we've all been waiting for has arrived, so I feel the need to celebrate by posting silly ski videos on my blog!

Bridle Paths

Here are some more photos from my new favorite walking spot! This time I took a different trail than the one Rach and I took earlier. You can really see the burned trees in this photo. They are sort of ghostly, right?
I am losing my voice and have been guzzling insane amounts of Throat Coat tea and Kombucha to cure myself. I figured a nice long walk bundled up in my cozy BB Dakota coat would do me some good. I'm addicted to this coat...I wear it all the time. It is so warm and the hood is the best, it makes me feel like I should be wandering the frozen tundra somewhere.
My truck has been broken down for the past week and I have been missing it so much. Hitchhiking everywhere is getting a little old! One of the things I love about Tahoe is that it is safe enough to hitchhike. I always wish that it was safe enough to hitchhike across the U.S. ala On The Road. What an amazing adventure that would be! Do any of you hitchhike?







Boots: Thrifted, J.Crew; Jeans: Uniqlo; Jacket: BB Dakota; Shirt: UO; Backpack: Thrifted, Vintage