Author: laurakrier

Wow. I just realized that we only have ten weeks left in 2012. That is insanity. I also managed to forget to take a picture on Thursday AND Friday last week. Sad face. It was kind of a long and frustrated week, I will admit. It’s hard to want to capture the moments when the moments are feeling dumb. But here are some of the parts that aren’t dumb

Oct 14 – Ok, this part is dumb. I made this skirt a few weeks ago, and the zipper broke. I bought another zipper, took the skirt apart, put in the new zipper, and it broke again. Then I realized that I must have made some cutting and measuring mistakes because as you can see, there is a serious gap in the back. Doh. It’s a bummer: I loved this fabric, and my stitching was actually really good. But alas. I’m still learning. I will just have to try again. (In happier news, I made another skirt this weekend, one I’ve been thinking of for years, and I’m wearing it right now! No broken zipper.)

Oct 15 – I got this recipe for a pasta-less butternut squash “lasagna” from my colleagues Kathryn. It was so delicious. Just thinly sliced squash, Italian sausage, marinara, and plenty of cheese. Yum.

Oct 16 – We’ve been getting lots of little apples from our CSA. We are not eating them fast enough.

Oct 17 – I had a dream for an amazing grilled cheese sandwich, with creamy Brie and sauteed mushrooms. It didn’t turn out quite as wonderful as I imagined, but these sandwiches were still tasty. I just have to do a little more tweaking.

I don’t know what happened to Thursday and Friday. Apparently, nothing worth capturing on pixels.

Oct 20 – But that’s ok, because there was plenty worth capturing on Saturday. We went for a walk in the Huckleberry Botanical Park, and it was quite lovely. And I was admonished to know my snakes. We didn’t see any, but I feel better prepared for the future.

Oct 20 – I have no idea who J and S are, but I’m happy for them.

I cannot stop marveling at how fast this year is passing. I am like a broken record saying this.

Oct 7 – I spent my last afternoon in Columbus at the North Market, where I ate some tasty polish food, bought some awesome spice and salt blends, and enjoyed some Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream (Bangkok Peanut!).

Oct 8 – I participated in The Bitten Word’s Cover to Cover Challenge, and made this very tasty citrus and chile tuna.

Oct 9 – I made a special note for my man.

Oct 10 – I’m trying to be a little more adventurous with my clothing choices. Bright floral patterns. Trendy boots. I actually really loved this outfit.

Oct 11 – Fall food makes me happy. This butternut squash mac and cheese might not look like much, but it was so good. The browned butter didn’t hurt one bit.

Oct 12 – It’s time for scarves!

Oct 13 – Saturday evening we visited Drake’s Barrel House in San Leandro. Kind of hard to find, but so worth it. They make some tasty beers.

I don’t know why I’m so bad at counting, and keep mixing up what week it is. It’s a problem I have, apparently. But here we are, it’s October (otherwise known as Oakland summertime), and here’s what’s been going on around here.

Sept 30 – I spent most of Sunday morning vigorously cleaning our apartment. Then Sunday afternoon we had a very relaxing, quiet time at home. I cut out fabric for a new skirt.

Oct 1 – The sun is starting to come up later and later, which is both terrible and kind of cool. It’s so hard to get up before the sun, but it is nice to see it slowly brightening our apartment and our city in the morning.

Oct 2 – The greens are starting to appear in our CSA again. I made this quick saute with chard, mushrooms, and couscous. for dinner on Tuesday night.

Oct 3 – Our tomato haul is starting to slow down. I marked the end of summer produce with this simple but super tasty caprese with grilled chicken (and no basil, because I forgot). If you had told my 18 year old self that someday I’d be eating raw tomatoes, I wouldn’t have believed you.

Oct 4 – Thursday I flew to Columbus, Ohio for the LITA National Forum, a library tech conference. I have to admit, I kind of love hotel rooms.

Oct 5 – Friday morning, I got to join a small group of librarians for a tour of the OCLC data center. This is the server where WorldCat lives, and if you are a fellow librarian, you probably think that’s as neat as I do. If you are not a fellow librarian, just be content to know that this is where the biblio-internet lives.

Oct 6 – I bought some new boots this week, and I am in love with them. I’m having a thing for grey right now, and these little grey ankle boots are perfection.

I missed my kitchen, and my blogs, while I was away in Ohio, but now I’m home, and I have lots of fun cooking projects up my sleeves. I love how getting away for a few days can sometimes help me hit the re-set button on life. I came back from this conference energized and motivated, and that is such a great feeling.

Last week seemed really very long. But it was a good week, mostly, and I am fully embracing fall.

Sept 23 – On Sunday night, I made Vanilla Bean Blondies. They were good, but way too sweet and much chewier than I wanted. This recipe is going to need some testing before I share it, but I loved these pictures, anyway.
Continue reading 2012, Week Thirty-Seven

Last weekend feels very far away. It’s been that kind of a week.

September 16 – Last Sunday I ran a 9K. I achieved my personal goal and made decent time, so we celebrated with mac and cheese at Homeroom. I love their card catalog decor.
Continue reading 2012, Week Thirty-Six

I swear folks, this isn’t intentional. But I once again missed a weekly update, and am now sharing two, two, two weeks in one. September has been a doozy so far, and it only promises to continue at its hectic pace. I’m a little disgruntled to see how quickly October is filling up, too. And then we’ll be hitting the holidays and I really, really need some time to breathe.

But yeah, yeah, yeah, everyone is busy. No one likes to hear about that. At least we are good busy!

Sept 2 – And that busy-ness started off with an AWESOME breakfast at Big Kitchen in San Diego. This breakfast burrito was phenomenal. I mean, look at that tortilla. You can’t get tortillas like that up here in Oakland.
Continue reading Weeks Thirty-Six and Thirty-Seven

Wowza. I got a little bit behind. I have a good excuse, though: I have a new baby niece! Last week I crammed a full week of work into three days, then hopped a plane for San Diego to cuddle a newborn. It was great.

Here’s what happened before that:

Aug 19 – I made some muffins. These Carrot Cherry Morning Muffins were great for breakfast. Give them a try!
Continue reading 2012, Weeks Thirty-Four and Thirty-Five

Last week started with some serious relaxation at Cavallo Point and ended at a crazy crowded Urban Wine Festival in Oakland. Another week of LOVING California.

August 12 – Sailboats and fog. I love the San Francisco Bay.
Continue reading 2012, Week Thirty-three

This was a week of Oakland love, computer failure, and a few really good breakfasts.

August 5 – We went hiking in Redwoods Regional Park, and I broke in my new hiking boots. It was a beautiful day.
Continue reading 2012, Week Thirty-two

The last two days have been largely lost to me, since my laptop has been in surgery and is in flagging health. It’s kind of amazing how much I rely on this little guy, but I can’t seem to think right when it’s not working. That might be sad, or it might just be how we’re living these days. Anyway, here are pictures from last week. It was a good one.

July 29 – I made panzanella for dinner, and those tomatoes were perfect. Perfect. This was a great side to some grilled salmon. Simple, wonderful summer dinner.
Continue reading 2012, Week Thirty-One