i can't stop this story

Partly because I want to be just like Elsie Larson at A Beautiful Mess and partly because I enjoy scavenging for items on the cheap, we do a lot of DIY ‘round these parts. Home decor, art, recipes - boom. I’m down with that. The initial itch begins when I stumble upon a super-cute website run by a ridiculously crafty person (who also happens to be a semi-professional photographer). The seed gets planted deep within my brain’s Adorablus Maximus Cortex and I start to obsess. I think about how ‘even I could do that,’ and scheme for ways to get Devin involved. His handyman skillz come in, well, handy. We gather materials, which often includes trips to thrift stores and / or roadside stops. In the end, even though we’re usually happy with the way our DIY projects turn out, it’s always trickier than what was alluded to on the original site. Either a step is left out or not fully explained, the crafter had access to materials or tools that most normal people don’t or the professional-grade photos are over-flattering and not truly representative of what you’ll end up with. That’s why I’m here. The non-crafter’s crafty person, just like you. If I can do it, trust me - you can. If I can’t do it, hopefully it’ll save you the trouble and provide some laughs. Nothing is better than seeing someone’s goals and projects turn into something akin to a kindergarten macaroni project! It’ll be the normal person’s take on #CraftyTruths.

Starting off with a bang, I’ll go ahead and preface it with this: Unlike what I mentioned above - where sometimes it’s the original post that leads you down the wrong path - this one was all me. This should give you a pretty clear picture of my base level of craftiness.

Homemade peanut butter dog biscuits. Right? Yum. This has to be, by far, the easiest recipe - for dog OR human - I’ve ever made. My final product didn’t look quite as appetizing as the photos I typically see of homemade dog treats (see below), but most of the issues I ran into were my own fault. On another note, I like knowing exactly what went into them - no shady by-products or ingredients with 20+ letters. 

 

I think I could get there though. I’d love to get a dog bone cookie cutter and try another, more diverse recipe next time. Like this one from Jun Blog.

Here’s the recipe I followed from Dog Treat Kitchen:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/3 cup peanut butter, chunky or smooth
• 1 1/4 cups hot water

Recommended equipment:

• Stand mixer
• Cookie sheets
• Cooling rack

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350° F.
• Mix dry ingredients together.
• Mix in the peanut butter and hot water. You may need to add more flour if the dough is too sticky.
• Knead the dough well.
• Roll out the dough into 1/4” thickness and cut into shapes with dog cookie cutters.
• Note - This recipe doesn’t call for it, but I put an egg wash (one egg whisked with a fork and then brushed on with a pastry brush) on the treats before I baked them. It gives them a nice sheen once they’re baked. Here’s how they look before baking.
• Bake on a lightly greased cookie sheet for 40 minutes. Turn off the oven and let them cool overnight.
• If you and your dog can’t wait that long, cool them completely on a wire rack before serving.
• After: The cookies get very hard, just the way dogs like them!

One cool thing about this recipe: I had everything it called for on hand. Just a few common ingredients are needed. If you ever do any general, human-type baking, chances are you will have everything you need, too. Plus, you can add in basically anything that’d be good for your pup. Our favorite pet food guy, Jeffery at The Feed Bag here in Seattle, suggested we add in egg white, quinoa and flax in our next batch. 

At this point, things are still going quite well. See how pretty the oats and flour look together?! The recipe says to mix the ingredients and then flatten the dough, rolling pin style. Unfortunately, I don’t have any cookie cutters, so instead I rolled little balls (traditional-like). 

 

That seemed like an easy alternative option. That’s what I thought before I fully realized the consistency of the dough. Utterly paste-like. Thick, gooey and wet. It was like quicksand, really. 

 

At one point, so much of the dough was sticking to my hands that I physically couldn’t roll it into balls. I used my mixing spoon to gloop the contents from my hands and start over. 

 

My last big mistake, I wanted these little fellas to look like actual peanut butter cookies. I forgot to make the cross hatch fork marks in the dough BEFORE baking (doh!), so I tried to do them as soon as they came out of the oven. That ended up not going well, and the peanut butter cookie aesthetic didn’t really work out for me. Come to think of it, with the consistency of the dough, I’m not sure I would’ve been able to do the cross hatch marks before baking.

Final product?! They looked an awful lot like crunchy peanut butter no bake cookies. This is definitely something I could do again, and do much better. But, at the end of the day, with a simple and tasty list of doggie-approved ingredients - it’s really hard to mess up. Jersey and Diego definitely didn’t seem to mind. Non-crafters, fear not, you can definitely do this.

Walking / Transportation
Dallas-Fort Worth is spread out, with a total area of 9,286 square miles covering 12 counties. Dallas proper has a total area of nearly 400 land-locked square miles. The city of Seattle has a total area of 184.5 square miles, and 83.9 miles (or over 41%) of that area is made up of water.

That said, a lot of people near downtown Seattle judge distance by how many blocks away something is or how many minutes it’ll take to walk there. When we first moved, it was a tad mind-blowing to us that no one described distance by how many miles away or how long it would take (by car) to get there. 

From First Hill (our neighborhood), there are 3 restaurants / bars within 4 blocks - it takes 10 minutes or less to walk to any of them. Back home in North Texas, there is no walking to a bar. Or, at least, that was my experience (although I never lived in downtown Dallas). Our favorite local bar in the Dallas area was the Flying Saucer in Addison, which was 20-30 miles from our place in Denton. 58% of Seattle residents have a Walk Score of 70 or above, while only 12% of Dallas residents have a Walk Score of 70 or above. First Hill has a walk score of 94%. The negative with having such a rockin’ walk score is that there are always a ton of places you could go and spend money… making it easier to spend more than you really should.

Ah, and cars. If you don’t have a car in North Texas, it means you probably don’t have enough money to own and/or maintain a car. There’s a certain stigma to it. In Seattle, you’re smarter than everyone else if you can manage not to burden yourself with a car. They’re a pain to keep in the city (see parking below), they’re expensive, and more times than not, walking or riding a bus will get you where you want to go faster.

Lastly, parking is a luxury not a right in Seattle: not all apartments come with designated off-street parking for their residents (including ours). If that option is available, apartment complexes usually charge their own residents an additional $100-$200 per month for a spot in the parking garage that’s beneath their feet. I lived in a handful of apartments in Texas, and every one came with a designated, usually covered, always FREE parking spot. It’s ‘cause there’s so much space in Texas!



 

So, I’ve been working on this post on-and-off, here-and-there since June! I’m still not quite finished, but I’ve decided to break it into several smaller posts (instead of one monster post). So, June. June. It was a big month, signifying many anniversaries and milestones. 

+6/6/11 was our one year anniversary as a married couple
+6/18/11 marked our first full year as Seattle residents
+6/23/11 was my one year anniversary as a full-time employee at my job

I remember pulling into Seattle in June 2010; Devin and I had been married for shy two weeks, we’d spent 4 full days on the road - traveling through some of the most beautiful countryside I’ve ever seen (I’m taking to you, Utah & Wyoming). We were crammed into the cab of a truck with our two 60 lb. dogs and everything we owned, praying that the money we’d received from our wedding guests would buy us enough gas to land in Seattle (it did, THANK YOU ALL!). 

And after all that driving, we finally made it. We have a 23 second clip filed away - of the day we arrived in Seattle, put the keys in the door of our apartment for the first time. We’d rented it sight unseen, only viewing website photos and doing many, many “street views” on Google Maps. It was our first glimpse into our new lives as Seattleites. About 5 minutes after the video was taken, I was in tears, calling my mom and telling her I was almost 100% sure our apartment was leaning. Turns out, it is leaning because we’re on a mega-hill, but once our stuff was unpacked, it did start feeling like home.

You can watch that video clip here.

In the last year, we’ve learned a lot about this city, this city we love very much. We’ve also observed some differences between Seattle and Dallas / Texas - socially, culturally and otherwise. I thought it’d be fun to recap some of those.

So, here we go — Enjoy!

#1) Hospitality / “Seattle Freeze”
Sweet, sweet Southern Hospitality. It’s true that Texans are more accommodating, helpful and are, in general, more welcoming than people in Seattle. In Texas, it’s not uncommon to say hi or strike up a conversation with a stranger. After 5 minutes, it’s not uncommon for that ‘stranger’ to become a ‘friend’. And after 10 minutes, shoot, you’ve exchanged life stories.

Although most Seattleites are polite, it seems to be more on their terms. If it works for them, if it’s something they’d like to do … If not, you’ll know pretty quick.

Devin and I do happen across the “Seattle Freeze” on occasion- someone who doesn’t smile back, acknowledge that you’ve said hello or care to take notice of another human being in their general vicinity. It’s a phenomenon that Urban Dictionary defines as “a phrase that describes a local public consensus that states the city of Seattle and/or its outlying suburbs are generally not friendly, introverted, socially aloof, clickish or strictly divided through its social classes, thus making the city/area difficult to make social connections in on all levels”. Is it real? Fake? Imagined? The Seattle Freeze debate was just talked about this week on the SeattlePI’s “Big Seattle” blog: The Seattle Freeze: Real or all in your head?

Texans are perhaps overly nice, until you give them a reason not to be. Then they’ll put a boot in yer ass. Some (not all) Seattlelites, especially at the beginning, can be a tad stand-offish and a bit hesitant to let anyone else into their social circle. They make you work for their good graces.

BOTTOM LINE: We’ve made some incredible friends in Seattle, and overall, people here are kind. People generally become MORE friendly the longer you know them. Texans aren’t as protective of their social circles and are usually eager to meet and get to know new people. That’s kinda part of what Texans are known for, it’s our thing. ;) And I think that’s really neat.

via Ork Posters!

Hi friends! I hope all is well, wherever you are and whatever you’re doing. After eight months, I’m starting to get the hang of this whole “being an urbanite”-thing. I’m no pro, but city living has definitely grown on me. At least in this city. It’s vibrant, hustly-bustly and culture-soaked. The city smells like coffee and color surrounds us. Most people think of Seattle as a grey place; dark, dank and covered in rainwater. And, honestly, that’s fine with most people who live here. Even when the days are grey, there’s still so much to do / look at / enjoy. I’ve gathered a few pictures that Devin has taken with our (mostly his, so far) new baby: a Nikon D3100. She’s real pretty, I’ll say that. I’ve chosen a few photos to include in this post that ooze RED, in the midst of Seattle’s darkest season. Enjoy! 

What do you think?! Love you guys and hope you have a great rest of the weekend.

xoxo
Kelly 

[image at the top from nubbytwiglet.com]

2010? One for the record books. Toward the end of December, I see Facebook posts about the past year’s struggles and and many who are looking forward to a fresh start, a clean slate. On the horizon, every January holds so much promise: resolutions in full swing, the momentum and mindset to get things done; work, life, home, physical, mental, spiritual, etc. The decisions you swore you’d make, the life you swore you’d lead: it all seems so much more possible during the new year.

2010 was my year. It was our year. I wish every year was this type of year: full of change, new adventure, growth and lots of love.

This year, the one that’s set to end in 5 hours and 13 minutes, was a life-changer.

*Several months before getting married, I took the plunge. Into Brunette-hood, that is. My always gold locks aren’t gold anymore. For years, I was told I wouldn’t like it and that I’d fry my hair trying to go blonde again. But, guess what? I do like it. A LOT. If there’s something off-the-wall you’d like to try, do. And if it doesn’t work out, worry about frying your hair later.

*I got my first real, full-time job as the Placement Leader at Paul Mitchell, The School - Dallas. I was offered a PR job at Fleishman-Hillard in Dallas immediately after starting at Paul Mitchell. It was one of the hardest professional decisions I’ve ever had to make. I stayed at Paul Mitchell because of the people and the culture, and the commitment I’d made to be there. The best part of my job was sharing an office with Mikey Mitchell (below); the most hilarious, outrageously ridiculous person in the world. I worked alongside friends and people who were actively pursuing their dreams every day. Pretty neat!

*I lived at home. My quaint, rural hometown, under the roof my parents graciously allowed me to occupy (on-and-off) into my 20s. I moved home in 2009 so that I could take a full-time internship, and stayed because - well - my family is amazing. And because I also got engaged in 2009, and needed to save up. Even though I lived at home for over a year, I knew that it would be the last time I’d reside on Hummingbird Lane. I knew I was on the verge of becoming a real-life, independent grown up. Weird.

*I had a second full-time job:planning a wedding! People (read: Bridezillas) are showcased for their inability to enjoy one of life’s sweetest moments. (Albeit, more for shock and awe). I enjoyed every second I spent planning for our wedding. I loved doing research to find vendors, visiting venues with Devin, making a handcrafted birdcage veil with my mom’s help and spending many’a “girl’s days” checking off items on our to-do list.

*Devin and I visited Seattle. He’d been accepted to a school and I was onboard with a cross-country adventure. We made a trip up to tour the school and look at possible, could-be places / areas we’d be interested in living. He loved the school and I supported that.

*After reaching out and connecting with Barokas PR (an awesome PR agency in Seattle), I was offered a job. Knowing Devin was planning to enroll at the Art Institute, that we both loved Seattle and that I was eager to explore a career in PR: I accepted. Since I’d only been at Paul Mitchell for 6 months and the position I held had been created around the thought that I’d own and develop it, I worked up until the day before our wedding, 06/05/2010. Circumstances, plans and goals shift, especially when you’re in your early 20s. My leaving was not something everyone understood. But, it’s what worked for Devin and I.

*Wedded bliss, 06/06/2010. I married my best friend; my perfect counterpart and other half. Our wedding was amazing. Breathtaking. It happened extremely fast; I remember more about getting ready on our big day than I remember about the reception and ceremony. It was 100 degrees. I was surrounded by people I love, and I said “I do” to my best pal, Devin. I loved that we spent a tiny fraction of the amount most people spend on their weddings, but got EXACTLY the kind of wedding we wanted. More than we expected and a unique retelling of OUR story.

*On 06/14/2010 we pulled out of Denton, TX en route to Seattle, WA. The move I’d been so excited about was much harder to follow through with than I’d expected. I left on a rainy morning, and bidding goodbye to my parents and brother (and everything synonymous with comfort; people, places, roads, hangouts, etc.) was incredibly hard. Thinking about it makes me sad. Everything we collectively owned was in a U-Haul, my car in tow. Devin, Diego, Jersey and I shared the cab of the truck, and left for an apartment we’d never even seen (but had signed a lease on and paid first month’s rent for). We drove over 2000 miles; passing through Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon and - finally - Washington.

*On 06/18/2010, we arrived in the First Hill neighborhood of Seattle. Our empty apartment didn’t feel like home. Although charming and historic, all I saw were bare walls and floors. I swore the ceiling was caddywompus. (I’m still pretty sure it is). I wanted to turn around; to go back to what felt real. The reality that we weren’t in Seattle for vacation was setting in.

Tonight, I’m ringing in the new year with my friends and family in Dallas. I love them! Devin is in Seattle, chillaxing with the doggies and headed to see fireworks later tonight. I’m learning more about PR than I ever thought I would, and Devin is hoping to work towards his Associate’s Degree in 2011. We’re settled, loving where we are and what we’re doing - pleased with our decision to branch out and explore what it’s like being “uncomfortable”. Home still feels like home, like I never left. I’m really happy about that! I wouldn’t change a single thing about 2010. It was the best year ever! Here’s to hoping 2011 can live up to its predecessor!

xo

Kelly

Today I woke up in a funk. I hate when that happens, especially when I can’t attribute it to anything. Luckily, I have a super-sweet-better-half who’s always in a good mood. He thought it would be fun to check out Discovery Park in the Magnolia neighborhood in Seattle. Totally in awe of the beauty in and around Seattle (and of my 3.1-ish mile journey to and from the park’s South Beach).  

Looking West at the Olympic Mountains and the Sound






Cute lil’ guys picking blackberries, saying, “Oh boy, this one is ripe!”


We picked a bunch for ourselves too! Blackberries were all over the place.




We made it to the South Beach.


Devin found some seaweed.


Looking down onto the South Beach from a perch on the trail.


MMM.




There were SO many domed spider webs… what type of spider spins a domed web? I need to Google that. 


Moss-covered tree trunks. 


Mountain man.




This is where we came out at the end of the trail. 


Winded.


Devin being Devin. :D

XX00,

Kelly