Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Time for a little change!

So, turns out my life isn't very exciting. Since it's lacking in fun, I am now only going to blog about projects I am working on. So, this summer I am planning on sewing more and cooking more, this is what I will be blogging about. Here are some pictures of my quilt blocks and the baby shoes I have made in the last couple of months. Enjoy!










Sunday, February 20, 2011

Bob's Red Mill

So, I had found a job posting on Craigslist for a baking position at Bob's Red Mill. I decided on my day off to go down there and apply. I don't often apply for jobs because my schedule was so perfect and I don't care for change. I went down and applied and while I was applying this man came over to me and introduced himself, It was Bob of Bob's Red Mill! I was pretty certain that Bob was either dead or a made up character of sorts. He ended up getting one of the store managers over to meet me and have a small interview with me. Turns out this manager Lori went to George Fox and was friends with one of my chefs from CIA. Crazy! Later that day the kitchen manager called me in for an interview. I then found out that one of the other bakers just happens to be Bruce Bishop, he was one of the leaders at my summer camp that I grew up going to. By the end of the next week I was offered the job! So, now I am the 5Th baker at Bob's, we bake all the breads, cookies, pastries, biscuits and such for the store. It's a pretty fun relaxing job. I seriously am never stressed out there!

I did however have to quit one of my other jobs because 3 jobs would be too much! So, Bon Appetite wanted me to stay and continue dinner desserts, so I figured out a new schedule there and quit Starbucks. I was pretty sad to leave, but I think it was a good choice! Come by and see me sometime my days off are Sunday and Wednesday!

Starwars Cookies!

I found some Starwars Cookie cutters at William Sonoma. I thought my nephews would love them. I made and decorated the cookies and shipped them to Alabama! I also made heart and flower cookies for my niece. For some reason I can't flip the picture. Sorry!

Carving Pumpkins!

There is a group of us at Starbucks that are pretty close friends, we all started hanging out this summer around the time our manager Amy was leaving the store. Carolyn, Lisa, Nikole, Amy and I, we have so much fun talking and hanging out! Amy now lives in Washington so we don't get to hang out as much. This time we met up at Carolyn's house to carve pumpkins! Carolyn and her partner Brenda made us dinner and then we carved up some pretty fun pumpkins. Mine was pretty basic, but Carolyn brought out some power tools for hers! Dinner was delicious, and as always we had some great laughs! Here are a few pictures from the night!


everyone carving pumpkins!


Nikole and her owl pumpkin.


Brenda carving her pumpkin.


Carolyn and Kyle


Carolyn and the Power tools!


My pumpkin!


all of our pumpkins!

Jean Shorts!

Before you read this post, Please know that I mean no offense to those who do actually wear jean shorts, mandals(men's sandals) or play world of war craft also known as WOW.

So, Way back in September I was going to a physical therapist for my shoulder. He was super fun and we got along really well. He offered after one of my last visits to set me up with a friend/patient of his. I declined the offer because I thought it was weird and I had been on a few dates with this other guy and I don't think I would be able to "play the field" very well. So, about a month or so later I decided that really what's the worst that can happen. So, I gave Ian(PT)the go ahead and he passed on my number. So, later that day Darrel called me. This was probably the first sign that things weren't going to go as planned. He was so nervous and weird, he told me that Ian gave him my number and that he didn't know what to say. I wanted to reply with Really? Then why are you calling me? but of course I didn't. Instead I asked if he wanted to get coffee or dinner sometime. I also offered up where to meet and when. So, I now had me a date for that weekend!
After I got off the phone with Darrel, Cousin Laura and I got on Facebook. This is why Facebook is so great and so awful at the same time. It's great cause you can see what you're walking into, it's awful cause you can see what people are into, how nerdy or cool they are and make all sorts of judgements on them! Right off the bat, I peg this guy as a little nerdy, maybe a World of War craft playing computer geek, Jean short and Mandel wearing guy, with not one tattoo on his whole body!
He wasn't sure how we were going to find each other at the restaurant being that we had never seen each other. Yes, in this day and age with cell phones and such how in the world will we ever find each other?!?! When I got there I texted him and he was already there with a table. So, I realize not all guys know how to dress but seriously you are on a date and you choose to wear black pants and a faded tan polo. exciting! So, we start talking and turns out he is a computer technician of sorts and used to work on cars. He does enjoy hip hop but doesn't care for JayZ. I then tell him that I love all different kinds of music and love Dolly Parton. He says "Dolly Parton is one of those influential women like Bette Milder and Whoopie Goldberg." I will give you Bette, but really Whoopie? I mean I liked Sister Act as much as the next person but really? Then I ask about hobbies and such and he replies with "well, I don't want to scare you off..." So, now I have all sorts of crazy things running through my head! If you don't want to scare someone off, I probably wouldn't use that line as my opener. He finishes with "I really like shooting guns." So we start talking about that and how he owns 20 guns but doesn't believe in hunting. I tell him that I am all for hunting if you are going to use the meat, then he says "What's a pastry chef going to do with elk meat?" Yes, cause all I know how to do is make cookies and cake. Somehow we start talking about the movie The Hunted, this movie is about a guy who hunts down hunters and quarters them like deer and leaves them in the forest. I have not watched the whole movie but it was filmed in Portland and that IS what it is about. He then tells me that The Hunted is not about that and he hasn't seen it but doesn't think that is the story line. I didn't really know what to say about that. He clearly doesn't know me and my weird knowledge about movies and celebrities! He was so argumentative the whole time! After the date we walk outside and he asks if I would want to get together again. I really don't think this is a fair question, it puts you on the spot and doesn't give you time to asses the whole date. So, I of course say sure and go home. He texted me a couple of times the next day and I responded with No worries about Saturday, thanks again for dinner. I didn't hear from him until 2 weeks later and he asked if I would want to hang out again. Well, no...but really no since you waited 2 WEEKS to ask me out again! The funny thing is s guy at work nicknamed him Jean Shorts and now that's what Cousin Laura and I call him when we talk about this date. We don't actually know if he wears jean shorts or not.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Quilting Class

Way back last year sometime, I mentioned at work to my Pastry Chef Chelsea, that I thought it might be fun to learn to quilt. I do really think it would be fun, but after I told her that I filed that dream away. I figured I would probably never learn how and it would just be a dream like me learning to street fight or becoming an Olympic Swimmer (referring back to the August of 2008 blog titled I love the Olympics). Right as the semester started at Lewis and Clark, Chelsea told me she found a quilting class for us to take if I was interested. Well, I never thought she was actually going to find a class for us to take. My response was...of course I am interested!
We signed up picked out our fabrics and I headed to Vancouver for class. Well, The thing is, I haven't sewn since 6Th grade. I don't remember how to use a sewing machine and really all I made in class was an apron. I figured that it can't be brain surgery I am sure I can figure it out! So, me being me, I waited until the night before the 2ND class where Block 1 was to be finished to start working on it. Luckily enough I have this fantastic friend named Hannah who invited me to her parents house to sew with her. I got there and thankfully Nancy (Hannah's Mom) was there to help. Between Hannah, Nancy and I we got the first block done. Wow, Sewing can be very complicated. I had no idea. We had so much fun that we talked about starting our own quilting club!
I went to the class the next day but couldn't find my book or block. All I could think was that I left it on top of my car and lost it somewhere in SE Portland. Long story short...the book and block somehow maneuvered its self between the passenger seat and the door, then slid all the way under the seat. Not to sure how it did that!
the second block I did, I worked on all by myself and it's kind of a mess up close but I am still proud of it...seriously 6Th grade was the last time I remember sewing!

Here are the pictures of my blocks!
The Fabric


Block 1


Block 2


Tori and Andy's Wedding Cake

My old roommate Tori asked me to do her wedding cake. Here it is! It made it through the whole day of rain and never melted! Awesome!

Moving Part 2!

I really don't enjoy looking for places to live. It's a little stressful and I hate to make the commitment to the lease and really I just hate it! Luckily enough I have this pretty awesome cousin who lived in SE Portland in a 2 bedroom house all by herself! She knew I was moving and asked me if I wanted to move in. At first I said I couldn't cause I came across this sweet deal to live in Wilsonville, rent free! A Starbucks customer of mine said the house was his mothers and when she past away they started using it as storage. He offered it to me free of charge! Awesome! Well, turns out it sits in Charbonneau (which is a golf club) and well, I would have to pay club dues, utilities and the added cost of the commute to my Starbucks out at the airport. When I went out to look at the house it was not so much trashed, it was just that the last person who lived there (his niece) never cleaned it. So, you know when you are cleaning out a room and move some furniture you find a build up of dust or random items such as paper clips, old receipts, pens, scrap paper....etc. She never cleaned that up or vacuumed up all the dog and cat hair. While showing me around the house we came across a cat box that had been there for a year! Not Cleaned! Sick!
Aside from the nastiness of the house, it was so out of date! I had never seen the style microwave that was in there. It had all sorts of dials and no buttons. It was weird! So, needless to say I decided against the gross "Free" house.
That very day, I sent Laura, my cousin a little note asking if she was still in the market for a roommate. Turns out she was, about a month later, I moved in. Highlights to Laura's house:

An upstairs room, with a blue walls and big window!

A big kid bed (I used to sleep on a twin sized bed).

My very own bathroom!

a Giant closet that has a little step in it. Seriously the step was my favorite part!

A microwave and saran wrap.

a pantry that can hold my mixer so I don't have to haul it up and down stairs.

Tonya (a friend of ours) comes over all the time and sometimes we cook.

There is a sewing machine that I can use for my quilting class.

A treadmill in case I want to use it.

I am sure the list will continue to go on the longer I live here. Thanks Cousin Laura for taking me in, I really appreciate it!

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Moving!

For the last 2 years I have been living in the basement of my good friend Tori's house. I loved it there and had Tori not gone off and gotten engaged I would most likely still be there. Don't get me wrong, I am so happy for Tori! I just don't care to move and CHANGE things. Here are some fabulous things I loved or learned while living with Tori!

Watching Prison Break and lost while eating beans and rice or Totino's pizza. With Murphy snuggled in between us on the couch.

She loved Murphy and all his grossness just as much as me!

Learning to live with out a microwave and saran wrap.

That mini chocolate chips make banana bread yummier.

if you want to you can crochet your own kitchen rags and cotton balls.

She always cleaned the bathroom and never asked me to do it.

Walking to the Hollywood Farmer's market and buying veggies.

Walking to Laurelwood and me having a beer and her having a glass of beer cause she is a bit of a light weight.

Grocery shopping at Trader Joes.

Waking up to go to work or the gym and she was just going to bed or getting home from work.

Sometimes waking up at midnight and having a snack and chatting for an hour and then going back to bed.

Always supporting a McDonalds, Burgerville or Ice cream run.

Almost always knowing exactly what to say and how to fix most situations.

Chasing the mice.

I have been friends with her since JR. High and we have always kept in touch. I probably hadn't seen her in a year or two when I moved in. We hit it off as roommates! Thank you Tori for all your love and support over the last 2 years! You have really made my life a lot better! Congratulations on your engagement/marriage to Andy, he is so nice and as you know loves you so much! I could not be happier for the both of you!