The Mantel

Hi, again!
Sorry for not writing in so long, but we have been busy, busy, busy! :)

And now we are fully into the Autumn Season and entering the Holiday/Winter one too!
But I'm glad that before that happened, I was able to instate what I hope will become more of a tradition around here!
Our Seasonal Mantelpiece:


I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but Amanda Blake (or "Soule Mama") has become a real source of inspiration for me ever since Ella Rose was born. And she has reminded me how beautiful and important it is to be aware of the changing cycles of seasons, to embrace them, and to bring them into the home so that our homes reflect the nature outside.
So here is the Autumn 2010 version of the Seasonal Mantelpiece. Not much, but it warms the area immensely, I think ;)
The branch was something I picked up while on a walk with Tak'e and I must admit I don't know what species of tree it came from, but I'm glad it has a nice home now. :)
Ella Rose and I have been picking up all the beautiful leaves we've been seeing on our walks and in the park, and adding them to our display. And we even have a seasonal "greeting card" (a Happy Halloween shout from Ella Rose's great-grandmother!)
As Winter starts to take hold here in the Northwest, we'll probably see a sprinkling of pine cones and needles, and some crafty homemade snowflakes too! :)

Until then, Happy Autumn and stay warm!!

Spa Fashion Show!

Okay, so this was actually a couple weeks ago, but I only just now got around to doing a post about it -- sorry!

So! Saturday, September 18, The Epic Day Spa in Corvallis celebrated their One Year Anniversary with a fashion show!!!
And since Celeste is one of the administrative directors there, I got (happily) roped into being a model for it :)

Even though Celeste kept insisting I was doing them a huge favor...I felt like I was the one getting the favor! For the week prior to the big event, I got my hair dyed, my nails painted, my eyebrows shaped...and all for free! I felt so pampered and girled-out~ For the first time since...my wedding!!?

Then, the day of the event, I got my hair and make-up done, and got to model clothes from the local consignment shop, Second Glance. All in all, I rocked a Mad Men-esque retro sexy office worker. I loved the bright red lipstick, beehive hair, and plaid jacket.

That's me in the pedicure section of the spa. Doesn't it have the most beautiful interior design? And, yes, those are rose petals floating in the bath water...siiiiigh~

As you can see, Ella Rose was there too!

They also had the most killer food which I wish I had photos of...but oh well!
For the record, these are who did me up:

- dye job = awesome Alicia
- nails + eyebrows = magical Michelle
- make-up + hair-do = noteworthy Nicole

A fabulous team in all and I will definitely be going there to book any future grooming needs! :)

Ta-ta for now, and happy modeling~!

A Chore for Every Day

Wash on Monday
Iron on Tuesday
Mend on Wednesday
Churn on Thursday
Clean on Friday
Bake on Saturday
Rest on Sunday.

Perhaps some of you are familiar with this traditional saying that sorta dictated how American household chores were to be handled back in the day.
It made a fair amount of sense, too. By cleaning all week, your house was nice and clean for Sunday and the guests you might be entertaining. And by baking on Saturday, all your good eats would be fresh and ready for the big Sunday evening dinner. And finally, if you washed all those good linens and clothes that might have been soiled over the weekend on Monday, you eliminated the risk of stains setting in.
A very good system indeed.
And I have decided to make up such a Weekly Chore system for my household too.
Here it is~

Bake on Monday
Vacuum on Tuesday
Sweep on Wednesday
Clean Bathroom on Thursday
Clean Kitchen on Friday
Laundry on Saturday
Dust on Sunday

It goes without saying that I don't need a day for churning or a day for ironing. For the former, I don't make my own butter (yet ^_-) and for the latter, I just don't iron my clothes. Ha!

I can't claim any clever logic as to why certain chores go to certain days, besides baking our weekly bread on Monday to get us off to a good start. ^_^
And I suppose that by cleaning the bathroom later on in the week, it will make it clean for company we might have over Friday through Sunday.
And today is Saturday, and first thing this morning, I threw in a load to do. And it felt nice, so might as well do it every Saturday hereafter why not ^_-

Well!
I'll let you know how this Chore Schedule goes and if things get swapped around for one reason or another.

'til then, take care and Happy Housekeeping!
HA!

Our Daily Bread

I don't think I've ever told you all this, but for the past year, since moving to Oregon, Daddy and Mama have been baking our own bread. :)
Nothing fancy, just your average whole wheat bread. Someday, I'd like to venture into adding dried fruits and whatnot (like Kae and her amazing raisin bread that sustained us for the first part of the trip East earlier this month ;) )
But, I must say, for us novices, even nailing down whole wheat bread has been a challenge.
The challenge being, namely, how to make it light and fluffy. Not dense and squat.

We initially started with the "Honey Whole-Wheat Bread" recipe from Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Baking but it was a little rich for all the us. And so thick and heavy!! ;_;

So we started to adapt the "Whole-Wheat Sandwich Bread" recipe from The Joy of Cooking 75th Anniversary (a must-have for any kitchen, we say!!) and have slowly but surely been getting better and better results...
One effective trick we learned was keeping the bread, while it was rising, in the greased rice cooker on "Warm".
But what would start out as a big, fluffy mass of dough...would inevitably collapse into a thick log.

It wasn't until reading The Little House Cookbook that I learned the key tidbits of advice to making a fluffy and delicious bread.
And that being heating the water and milk in the recipe not to piping hot, but to an eerie but effective bloodwarm.


Just look at that fluffy, golden-brown bread!!
I swear, I am never going back.
No more having to slice the bread horizontally to make decent-sized sandwich slices! XD

Even Ella seems to approve...sorta.


You know who she reminds me of in this photo?
One of the Gelflings from the Dark Crystal!! Don't you think~?
And can you believe she's just shy of turning the big ol' 18 months old!!
My, how time flies~

Well! Happy baking, everyone~
And take care!!

Our new home

That's right.
We did it.
:)))))

That's why I've been so AWOL for the month of August.
Buying a house can be like that, apparently -- you feel an ever flux in how close the house is...and then how far! But when the lender and Title company and the whole gang finally announced that the place was finally ours...wow. What a good feeling!!!! o(^.^)o

But it really was a drama all the way up to the last day...and hours!
We officially closed on Friday the 27th, and proceeded to completely empty out our old abode, live off of fast food while our plates were in boxes, and wait and wait until Tuesday the 31st came around so that we could:

(1) load the moving van - 9 am
(2) wait for the current inhabitants to skedaddle - noon
(3) finish unloading the moving van - 3pm
(4) catch a plane to the East Coast for my oldest sister's wedding!! - 8pm

What a day!!
So glad it's over and so happy to start putting our happy little Home back together again!

But first, below is a video that Dash put together for me of our Home moments before we started filling it with boxes. Enjoy the tour!!

(Music is "Lonecroft Ramble" by Railroad Earth from their album "Amen Corner")


We've now been here for almost one week, and despite the terrible cold that struck Ella as well as mad rushing to meet some deadlines, we are down to only two or three boxes left unpacked :) Not bad, all things considered, I say.

The only regret I have is...I didn't picked up my needles once the whole month of August and have therefore technically broken my 2010 resolution of knitting something every month ;_;
But, hey, when I made that resolution I never even imagined something like this coming along to take up my time and attention! So I think that excuses me this once ^_-

I'm also glad that we've already had three home-cooked meals using an initially intimidating retro Jenn-Air style of range + oven including Corn Chowder, Carrot Soup, and the Dashiell Family staple: Mexican Night!!

I even made my first batch of blackberry jam.
Which I would like to mention was one of the main reasons why I decided to start blogging just about a year ago. Because I wanted to show off my newfound canning skills. Pfft~!
My, how the time has flown!!
I hope I remember to mark the 1 year anniversary coming up on the 26th -- it'll be fun to reminisce over all that a year can do...

Well!
Next time I write here, hopefully there will be some knitting news. Or better yet! Another video showing a more put-together Dashiell Dwelling ;)

'til then, take care and thanks for stopping by~!!

Rainbow Stool Cover

Phew!
What a month it's been here in Oregon~
My brother, who just graduated from college, has been with us all this time, enjoying the wonders that this fabulous state has to offer.

Here are just a few examples of what we've been up to:

- made Oregon Grape Jelly from this nifty tutorial

- went to the Oregon Country Fair and got to see Hot Buttered Rum!!

- attended Da Vinci Days

- went to a couple BBQs (thanks Celeste, you guys are the best!! :) )

- started house hunting...and maybe even found something!! (details coming soon~)

- saw what our local skaters could do at the Annual Sk8r Bash

- watched a lot of evening baseball games of the local Richey's Market team

- and one Corvallis Knights game!

- went blueberry picking

- cooked lots of meals at home and listened to lots of Thomas the Tank Engine music


And now I'm sitting in my sister's apartment down in Santa Clara, where we've come to visit for the weekend. :)

Through it all, I've still been able to get some crafting in and was able to finish this just in time to keep up my one-a-month knitting project goal.

Behold, my rainbow stool cover!!


Using the pattern from One Skein and drawing from plenty of inspiration from fellow Ravelry users' interpretations, I made this pretty little number.
(Details on my Ravelry projects page)


I somehow didn't use up all my yarn scraps, I am hoping to make a second one to fit the other stool we have! How darling it will be to have two matching rainbow-ified stools!!!


'Til then, happy knitting~!!!

Washcloths~

Wow!
Long time no write, everybody!
That's not to say there wasn't a whole bunch of stuff going on in May and June -- but it feels like for most of it we were either on the East Coast doing all sorts of visiting, or having long-term company (namely, my mom) over! So I'm finally back home and settled in again~

And don't worry! I've been keeping up with my one-knit-a-month project, and I'd like to present to you my June creations!


They are gifts for my favorite people of the 外薗 family in celebration of their new home!
They're supposed to be washcloths. Or drying rags. Or dishrags. Whatever they want them to be!

The pattern is a free one from JoAnns and it goes a little something like this:

Needle Size: 10 US
Yarn: various Lily 'n' Cream Cotton Yarn balls

(1) CO 4 stitches
(2) K all of 1st row
(3) K1, inc1, K rest of row
(4) repeat Step 3 until you reach 49 stitches
(5) K2, K2tog, K rest of row
(6) repeat Step 5 until you are down to 4 stitches
(7) bind off

The end!!
I have yet to present them, but I hope they are well-loved and well-used in their new adorable home!♡