Food, Inc. and Sante

Last Saturday night Matt and I headed out for our first "date night" in a while - mostly with the intention of seeing Food, Inc. and relaxing after a long day of work. We ended up having quite the local experience from dinner to the theater seats we sat in. These are some reflections:

Image from Food, Inc. movie website.

There's no shortage of print media about the perils of factory farming and Big Agriculture these days. There is, however, a drastic shortage of video - we don't see much about issues of Agriculture on the news or on the big screen. Food, Inc. is the movie equivalent of all those books (well, more specifically, the movie equivalent of The Omnivore's Dilemma). Basically, I learned a few new things from this movie - i.e. more details about the way seed patents influence farming techniques - but most of the info is contained in the most popular written works on this subject. However, I would still recommend going to see this movie, because the images that are presented along with the well-known information are really powerful. I also applaud the makers of this movie for bringing faces and images to the population of people that are just never going to read a full book about the importance of eating seasonally and locally. It's sad that we live in an age where many people don't take the time to read a well-written article, but we do, and it takes people like the producers of Food, Inc. to get important messages out to the public.

At the same time, don't expect Food, Inc. to be an objective view of the state of agriculture in America today. The intent of the movie is clear from the start, and the voice of BigAg is basically non-existent in the movie. However, the facts presented are well researched and sourced, and make logical sense - so don't write the whole thing off as just propaganda!

Basically, is Food, Inc. worth your time to go see when it comes to your area? Absolutely. It'll make you value your local farmers' market so much more! Go check it out. But as with everything, take your thinking cap and do your own follow-up research if you haven't already.

Image from The Inlander.

Another part of our local evening was the venue. The Magic Lantern is one of the few (if not the only) theaters that show independent movies in Spokane. Unfortunately for us Spokanites, it had been closed for quite a while. BUT, it was reopened recently, and we got to experience the awesomeness that is a small, independently-run theater in the heart of downtown. And, to top it off, all tickets are only $5 - so cheap for a movie these days! If you're in Spokane and looking for a movie to see, be sure to check out The Magic Lantern (and you can read more about the reopening from The Inlander, here).

The final part of our evening was dinner at Sante's restaurant in downtown Spokane. I have no pictures of our food, but trust me when I say - delicious! It's a little pricey for Spokane - the meal with a drink for each of us, an entree for each of us, and dessert came to about $75 - but I think it's a great *really* special occasion restaurant. My two favorite parts of dining there? A complete vegetarian menu (diners are presented with both a vegetarian menu and a "regular" menu upon seating), and an amuse-bouche! I'd never received an amuse-bouche at a restaurant before - even though I've heard about them tons on shows like Top Chef - so it was pretty awesome to finally go to a classy place that serves them! Also, super fun fact that really fit with the evening - Sante's lists all of the farmers that they get their food from right on the menu.

So that was our date night in Spokane last Saturday. A good movie, a good venue, and delicious food. Can't ask for anything better!

I really don't mean for this blog to turn into a bunch of whining...

... but seriously, this weekend was LAME! My job has this tendency to give us last-minute notice of mandatory overtime, so on Friday afternoon I learned I'd be putting in a full 8-hour day on both Saturday and Sunday. Sure, they bought us lunch both days as a sort of consolation, but I was sadly out-voted and we ate Red Robin, both days. Now I'm trying to catch up on everything that was on my giant to-do list for the weekend, while wandering around with a grease-bomb in my stomach from the huge burgers and trying to make up to Matt for being gone all weekend.

But it's not all bad! I still miraculously got to a yoga class on Saturday morning (talk about a sanity saver!), and Matt and I managed to sneak out for a date night last night (which I'll probably write about tomorrow). I also made sure to decompress especially well on Friday and Sunday night, including the construction of a few birthday cards for some special ladies with birthdays this past week.

Happy birthday girls! Love you all!

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to enjoy my glass of wine while folding a few loads of laundry, watching Who Wants to be a Millionare (did that carnival worker guy suck it up or what?), and reading some of my new book, Three Cups of Tea. I'm definitely not ready for the work week to start again tomorrow but I'll do my best!

TIme for another personal confession...

Ladies, I never foresaw my admission to my participation in a certain... *ahem* extracurricular.... happening on this blog. But now, as i sit to write a post about what I'm doing and have done on this particular Saturday, I see no way around it.

I am...

A former pageant girl. And by that, I mean that I competed in one Miss America preliminary shortly before my 21st birthday. But, nonetheless, that has classified me as a pageant girl (and crossed one of those "what-if" things off my adolescent to-do list. I didn't do well - it was quite comical in fact - but it's one of those experiences that you glad you took advantage of while you still could.

Want proof? I give you... the infamous pink bikini (that played a part in Rachel's blog name):

Yeah, it's pretty heinous, isn't it? Crocheted pink bikinis will do that to ya.

So I hope you all will excuse me while I continue to watch the live webcast of the Miss Washington and Miss Washington's Outstanding Teen pageants tonight instead of contributing anything blog-worthy (again) tonight - except for maybe that photo up there. Don't blackmail me now y'all!

Project 18 - Morning Routines

My morning routine (or lack-thereof) has really been biting me in the butt this week. I used to be such a morning person - getting out of bed at the crack of dawn to workout, starting the day early with loads of energy, and still being able to stay up through to the wee hours of the morning. And seriously? It's only been two years, but I've apparently become well settled into "old lady"-dom. It's ridiculous!

Basically, I stopped having a morning routine when winter came around, and now my lack of routine has turned into a routine in and of itself - and not a good (or helpful) one! A typical morning for me these days looks something like this:

• 7AM - Matt gets up, I rearrange myself so I take up the entire bed, and fall back asleep
• 7:30AM - Matt wakes me up to tell me he's leaving, I debate whether or not to get out of bed
• 7:45AM - I bite the bullet and drag myself to the bathroom to brush my teeth/put in contacts
• 7:50AM - Still not awake, I decide to forgo a shower and check blogs/watch the morning news instead
• 8:05AM - I decide that I can still make the 8:06 bus, and sprint to the bedroom to get dressed
• 8:06AM - The bus goes by, and since I still don't have pants on, I decide it's time for a nap
• 8:15AM - Finish getting dressed and put make-up on
• 8:20AM - Start packing lunch for the day
• 8:29AM - Begin the frantic search for enough quarters to get the 8:36 bus
• 8:34AM - Sprint out to the bus stop, praying I'll make the bus the whole way
• 8:36AM - Either get on the bus, or watch it roll past me (in which case, I will have to walk the 1.75-ish miles to work) - more often than not this week it's been the latter.
  
• 8:45AM - If I caught the bus, roll into the office; if I didn't, lament about how I should be to work by now while still being far away, and on foot.

See what I mean? Not a great way to start the day. Especially when the rest of your coworkers show up at 8AM and schedule 8:30AM meetings that you're constantly being late to.


A little bit of blog research has shown me that morning routines are a pretty popular topic in blog-land, and that everyone likes to wake up in the 5am hour (good lord, really?). While my before-6AM-wakeup days are over for sure, it seems like everyone accomplishes a lot more in their mornings than I do - working out, fixing food, actually eating breakfast, and showering (ugh, I know). It'd nice to be able to do all (okay, maybe at least two?) of these things during my mornings as well.

So this is it. I'm giving myself a month. What is today, July 10th? August 10th it is. I am going to change my morning routine (for the better!) by August 10th. My tangible measurements of this change will be arriving at work before 8:30 and showering in the mornings (can you tell I'm really hung up on the fact that I don't do this anymore? Because i am).

Resources: There's a great article on Zen Habits entitled How I Became an Early Riser that outlines a gradual progression into morning activeness. Unclutterer also wrote an article a while ago called Streamlining Your Morning Routine to help you figure out where you're wasting time. And The Simple Dollar has an awesome article about starting new habits that should be pretty helpful. More productive morning, here I come!

A blah evening ahead

I had every intention of writing an insightful blog post tonight about something, but honestly - I'm exhausted, there's laundry to be done, and I really need a shower.

On the plus side, I went on a super fast and energizing run with the Flying Irish tonight, watched a running friend get her club shirt, and afterwards enjoyed 2 beers and lots of laughs with friends, coworkers, and fellow runners. And, due to my inability to control myself in the local Rite Aid, I have 2 new wedding magazines to peruse tonight, in bed, after my shower.

So with that, blog friends, I bid you good night, and hopefully I'll return tomorrow with more energy and some sort of meaningful blog post. Hope you all have fabulous evenings!

Long Weekend Plans

I can't even tell you how excited I am to have a 3-day weekend here at home. I've done a lot of traveling in the last few months, and have a 4-day Portland weekend coming up later in July, so it's nice to not worry about going anywhere for once! Hooray!

But just because we're not going anywhere doesn't mean we're not doing anything! On the contrary, the weekend will hopefully include a few fun things. For example:

Strawberries!

There's a strawberry festival going on a few miles north of Spokane, and it includes U-Pick strawberries. I hope we get some juicy fresh strawberries like these, and turn them into strawberry shortcake!

It's supposed to be awful, but maybe IMAX will make up for it?

I really want to see some hard-core special effects on IMAX film this weekend, and figure Transformers 2 will come through in that regard. Plus, Matt can make Shia jokes the entire time. Everyone wins, right?

Fireworks!

There always has to be fireworks on the 4th, right? Spokane has a huge 4th of July celebration featuring fireworks on the Spokane river, and lots of music and festival food in the park at the center of town. Not sure how much of the rest of the festivities we'll take part in, but you can bet we'll have ourselves situated for the 10pm show tomorrow!

Alright, I'm off to run before it gets to 90 degrees today (ugh!). Hope everyone has a fantastic 4th of July weekend and enjoys a little extra time off!

Hot Soup for a Hot Summer

Is it weird that, even as the temperature is reaching the upper 80s and 90s, I'm still reaching for steaming hot bowls of soup? I know a lot of people associate hot soup with winter and couldn't imagine eating a bowl on a hot day, but I love it!

I wish it was only 5 cents!

My lunch today came from Soulful Soups, by far the best lunch spot in downtown Spokane if you ask me! A large steaming bowl of Tomato Bisque was just what the doctor ordered to wake me up after my long night yesterday. And I was delighted to see that I wasn't the only one craving a hot bowl of deliciousness on such a warm day - there were a few other patrons indulging themselves as well.

Soup - winter warmth, now also a summer delicacy!

Busy Weekend!

These past few days have been pretty hard on my psyche. Probably the biggest downer in my life that happened this week was my company's decision to cut a bunch of jobs and give the rest of us that are still (thankfully) employed a pay cut. The economy's tough, and my company is definitely feeling it. That, coupled with the celebrity deaths, and my mother's arrival in less than 36 hours, has made this NOT the most fun end of the week ever!

This weekend, I fully intend to keep myself busy busy busy to get my spirits back up! This morning Matt and I will be getting a delicious bagel breakfast, and then head here:

The Spokane Farmers Market

After all that, we'll be heading down to check out the action at Hoopfest! Despite the fact that I'm nearly 6'2", I'm not playing in it this year - I've been a volunteer referee in the past, but this year I'm ready to enjoy it as a spectator! Hopefully we'll see some friends play and meet up with other spectator-friends while there.

And then, it's back home to clean like crazy so my apartment will pass my mom's white-glove inspection! I'm not sure when she's arriving tomorrow, so it all has to be done tonight.

RIP Michael Jackson

I know this is a blog about organization and life style and all that, but I have to say that my heart is feeling pretty heavy today after learning about the sudden, pretty unexpected passing of Michael Jackson. I grew up with his music, watched Thriller and his other music videos all the time on the VHS tapes that my parents used to copy them off of the tv; I started dancing in part because of the sheer magnitude of his videos and performance energy. And let me tell you, I perfected the moon-walk! For someone with a pretty tumultuous life and career, it is impressive that he made the mark on the music world that he did. Goodbye, King of Pop.


And of course, who hasn't heard of the passing of Farrah Fawcett yet? I'm so glad that she's finally at peace after her epic battle, and hope that her family can find peace as well.

So many celebrity deaths this week; it's going to be a long few weeks of mourning.

You know you're a domestic goddess when...

... people get to your blog by googling "you know you are a domestic goddess when".

I am a golden [domestic] god[dess]!

It's been a while...

So I really suck at this whole "letting readers know when [I'm] not going to be here" thing.... but in case you missed it, I took a random 2 week (if you count that book review as a week's worth of posting) hiatus from blogging without filling you guys in! But I have a good reason, I swear! Two major things have happened since I last wrote, and they are the following:

1. I finished my last masters class ever! I don't have my masters degree yet - still need to write that pesky thesis/research paper and do my comprehensive exam - but I never have to go to another class for this degree again! Hooray!
2. My baby brother graduated from high-school! Okay, we're less than 6 years apart... but he still feels like my baby brother even though he's 18 and officially graduated! So weird! Of course, this prompted an extended trip home to celebrate the occasion appropriately, which also partially explains my absence!

But don't worry... even though I haven't been writing, I've been busy! I've been experimenting with my food processor, which has been very enlightening and exposed how clueless I am about some things in the kitchen. My exploits have included an almond butter experiment with Rachel that turned out quite nicely, and my first ever pesto experiment!

I made a spinach-walnut pesto with some parmesan, salt, and olive oil that was absolutely delicious! In the mix was about 2 1/2 cups spinach, 1/3 cup parmesan, 1/4 cup olive oil, 4 cloves garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Added to 1 cup lightly toasted walnuts (chopped and toasted in a 350 degree oven for 5 minutes) in the food processor, it made the excellent topping for some whole wheat pasta! Yum yum.

I've also been busy doing other sorts of kitchen experiments and cooking... the most profitable of which has been my homemade granola bars - made using this recipe. Take a look - they're totally delicious, and I highly recommend them!

I've also been busy keeping my flowers alive - and I must say, I'm so happy that they finally bloomed! 3 months of tender love and care has paid off in some beautiful (and big!) pink and white flowers that really brighten up the balcony. Don't let the pictures fool you - they happen to be taken in the middle of a thunder storm at 10 pm!

And perhaps the biggest news... I finally have my own computer again! I'd been (not so) secretly using my work laptop for school and personal business, but all that has come to an end. Please meet my new Mac - I've never owned a Mac before, but so far I'm loving it! It's only been a few days though, so it's possible I could fall out of love with it... ha! Just kidding. I love love love it, and it's so sleek and pretty.

So anyway, I will be posting a lot more now that my new laptop is up and running and I've got no homework or classes! Thanks for hanging in there in my absence!

I'm back!

Image from portlandground.com.

I survived the weeekend in Portland! We made it back last night, after enjoying an absolutely gorgeous weekend in a usually rainy city (at least during this time of the year!). We visited 3 churches, 3 ballrooms, 2 vineyards, and 2 hotels - and only crashed a couple of weddings in the process - to look at potential sites for the ceremony/reception. We don't have a decision yet, but we've definitely ruled out a few of our options. I'll post about the adventure for Wedding Wednesdays this week!

We also enjoyed a Mothers Day brunch prepared by my future mother-in-law - ever had amaretto french toast with peaches? TO. DIE. FOR. My parents and Matt's parents were both there, and my parents met one of Matt's sisters for the first time. Our families really are coming together, and best of all, they really like each other!

Now it's back to reality - work, a dreary Northwest day, and no delicious food in sight. Hope you all had fantastic weekends as well!

One of those mornings...

This morning started off perfectly. I had the right amount of energy to get myself out of bed at 6:15 for a run, and pounded out 5 miles pretty easily before 7am. I found exactly what I wanted at the grocery store on the way home (my office is having a bake sale today, and I wanted to contribute muffins and cookies). The muffins and the cookies came out fine, and were out of the oven by 7:40. I was showered, make-upped, and dressed shortly after 8, and all was going well to catch the 8:20 bus to work and make my 8:40 am meeting. No sweat!

And then...

• Matt and I are going on a "date" tonight, so I decided to wear my 4-inch heels to work.
• I couldn't find any paper plates to bring the baked goods to work on, so I had to rummage through the kitchen to find a few in the back of a cupboard, which took about 5 minutes longer than I thought it would.
• Saran wrap and I don't get along
• I get all the way down to the street the bus is on (4 blocks away), and it blows right past me because I'm at the wrong end of the block to catch it.
• I can't run to the bus stop because I'm wearing 4-inch heels.
• I speed-walk the 1.5 miles to work - in 4-inch heels.
• I get within sight of work, stop paying attention to where I'm going, step in a pot-hole, and fall down in front of a line of cars in the middle of the street
• The contents of my purse go everywhere (including about 15 tampons, lets be honest)
  
• The muffins and cookies are squished and, because they were still warm, get quite deformed. Seriously, they look like the rejects at the bake sale.
  
• I'm late for the meeting.
• I have skinned and bruised knee, which isn't going to go well with the dress I was planning to wear to visit wedding venues this weekend.
  

What started out so promising...

Combatting Stress with Craftiness

It's been a rough weekend, coming back from 8 days away, preparing to go back to work after working from Houston for a week, trying to adjust my sleep schedule to be normal again, and making up for a week of missed chores. *sigh* So much to do, so little time!

Whenever I get stressed, I like to do something "creative". It's even better when that creative thing is for someone else! Since my birthday was a couple weeks ago, I decided to make some thank-yous to send to my family members that sent me presents. My mom always used to make us make birthday cards and thank-you notes when we had to send them, so it's a habit I've had since childhood I suppose. Anyway, here's my handiwork - I think they're pretty cute, and I finished them during the 20 minutes of The Simpsons we had DVR-ed!

Flowers are the perfect addition to every Spring card!

I've found the urge to "make things" coming on more and more, and it's made me reaaaaalllly want a sewing machine. I used to make all kinds of stuff - doll clothes for my American Girl Doll (Kirsten, the Swedish one, of course!) and various other crafty projects. I've been imagining the reusable grocery bags I could make; the aprons I could assemble that are actually proportionate to my body; I've even had an occasional desire to learn how to quilt.

I think I'll probably go for something a little more... modern? But you get the idea.

As my mom would say, "Add it to the registry!" And in the mean time, I'll keep making cards when I need to take my mind off things.

I've been tagged!

While I was away, Megs over at Newbie New Yorker tagged me for this little meme (love her blog, check her out!). So here goes!

Here are the rules...

1. Respond and rework: answer the questions on your blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention, add one more question of your own.
2. Tag other un-tagged people.

The Questions:

What is your current obsession? Aprons! I love aprons; I want to get a sewing machine just so I can make aprons; I look at aprons on Etsy instead of clothes shopping when I'm day-dreaming at work; I even write blog posts about aprons!

What do you think your name says about you? Well, Rebecca is a pretty classical, biblical name; it says that I'm not Jewish maybe? Ha, I don't really know.

Who was the last person you hugged? Matt! Well, and Monkeybear (he'll get his own post soon).

What’s my favorite dinner? I love love love curry. I think I prefer Thai curry to Indian curry, but definitely a green curry packed with veggies and tofu over rice. Yum! I could seriously eat curry every day.

What was the last thing you bought? Coffee and a bagel at the neighborhood coffee shop this morning; and groceries yesterday.

What are you listening to right now? The NBA playoffs (go Celtics!).

What is your favorite weather? Warm rains. The kind that you can go out and get soaked in, but not be cold.

What is your least favorite season? Winter! I'm not a snow person at all, and the darkness and coldness and heavy snows just are NOT my cup of tea.

What's in your bathroom cabinet? Basically nothing, because I took everything with me to California and Texas and haven't unpacked yet!

Say something to the person/s who tagged you (Megs from Newbie New Yorker). Her sense of style is amazing - I love reading about her new finds!

What is your favorite tea flavor? My engagement tea - Marzipan Rose Black Tea. It's delicious and will always hold a special place in my heart.

What did you want to become as a child? When I was super young, I wanted to be a ballerina. The more practical career path that I decided on around age 10 was an Ambassador to Europe.

What do you miss? I miss Seattle - A LOT - and I miss all of my friends and family that I haven't seen in a long time!

What's your favorite brand of jeans? Jeans and I have a love-hate relationship - the only ones that fit that I can afford are Gap brand, so I guess them.

What designer piece of clothing would you most like to own (new or vintage)? I would love to own a classic cocktail dress from the 1940s or 1950s - something that I could wear to Christmas parties and the symphonies that is classically beautiful.

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go? Sweden!

Who do you want to meet in person? Jake Gyllenhall, because he's beautiful and talented. And I think it'd be really fascinating to sit down and have a discussion with Hillary Clinton about her life, where she's been, and where she's going. Love her or hate her, she's had a really interesting life so far.

What is your most challenging goal right now? Planning my wedding. Hands down. It's lots of work!

What’s your 5 year plan? Get married; finish my masters and start my PhD; buy a house that I love in a city that I love; spend significant amounts of time traveling. Yeah, that's about it!

Why is today special? Today is special because it's a beautiful, sunny Sunday in Spokane and I might get to see some friends I haven't seen for a while!

What is my favourite sport to watch? NCAA basketball, curling, and gymnastics. To play? - Does running count? Cuz I'm a runner, and I love it. Other than that, ultimate frisbee and tennis.

What's your favouritve TV show right now? Hands down, Big Love on HBO. Reality-wise, it's The Hills.

Where do you do most of your blogging? In my super comfy over-sized arm chair, with my feet up on the Ottoman. So comfortable!

Tag! You're it! I'm tagging the following lovely ladies:

• Rachel at Operation Pink Bikini
• Liz at One Must Shock the Bourgeois
• Erin at Suburban Euphoria
• Lil Woman at Little Woman, Little Home
• Bernadette at Making Stuff and Doing Things
  

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone!

I'm off to celebrate the holiday with Rachel and her family and some of our friends! We'll be having some delicious cookies and some cauliflower mac, and whatever delicious treats Rachel's family comes up with. Yum!

Hope you all get to spend the holiday with your loved ones and enjoy the beginning of Spring!

It feels like Spring!

Today I woke up and I really felt like it was Spring outside! I mean, look at this weather:

This has Inland Northwest Spring written all over it!

Other indicators of Spring's official arrival seemed to be everywhere today. Like my flowers that I planted a few weeks ago - they looked so good this morning!

They're getting ready to bloom!

And there's nothing like a little barbeque in the Springtime, right? Well, getting ready for work this morning was a little too early for a barbeque, but it was nice to see a little reminder of recent grilling.

I can practically taste the veggie burgers now!

And finally, nothing says Spring like the addition of a little color to your wardrobe. Mine just so happens to be in the form of a light yellow trench coat!

Nothing says Spring like sunshine yellow coats!

I hope you're all enjoying the many signs of Spring as well, today. Gotta love this change of the seasons!

Wedding Wednesdays - Episode 1!

Wedding Wednesdays is a new weekly post that I'm going to be doing as Matt and I plan the wedding of our dreams! I totally stole this idea from Life of a Busy Wife, where Kaitlin posts photos and memories of her wedding on Wednesdays, but I'll be posting planning progress updates and things I find out as I go! Enjoy!

It's been 11 days since I got engaged (but really, who's counting?) and I already feel like I'm slacking off on this whole planning thing. No date, no location, nothing. One thing I do have, though, is a crap ton of magazines! I went to the locally-owned bookstore thinking I'd just pick up the new issues of the wedding magazines to peruse, and came back with no less than 6 - and that was only half of them!

Cakes and To-Do lists... so many pages, so little time!

The nice thing about all of these magazines is that each one seems to have a different focus. The Real Simple magazine up there, for example, focuses on checklists and etiquette, while the one next to it has lots of eye candy (dresses and cakes primarily). The Knot, down there on the left, has hundreds of pages of the most beautiful dresses I've ever seen, and Brides has a huge section about destination weddings and honeymoon locations.

So many magazines with so many dresses!

It's so strange to me that there are so many magazines devoted to one day of your life - I mean yes, it is one of the most important days of your life, and is probably the biggest choice you ever make in your life - but it's so... institutionalized. These magazines make me realize how much work this is all going to be if I do everything that everyone expects me to do, from the teeth whitening to the centerpieces to the bridal slip. And they've also made me realize how much I want to do this my (and Matt's) way, without paying so much attention to the rules and all that. Which is totally going to make me the girl at prom with the duct-tape dress, but whatever.

I will say, however, that Emily Post is going to get me through this thing, and that this is the best wedding-related purchase I've made so far: Emily Post's Wedding Planner. It's got time-lines, general etiquette rules, lists of questions to ask potential vendors, and pockets!

Emily Post still knows what's up!

This is going to be such an adventure, and I can't wait to really get my hands dirty in the planning process to make this day truly symbolic of the love Matt and I share: being with our friends and family, and basically having a super fun party - while I look fabulous, of course. And let's face it, that's basically the story of our relationship. :D

You know you're becoming a domestic goddess when...

... you have someone over for dinner, and your guest and your fiance decide that they want some fresh baked chocolate chip cookies, and you disappear into the kitchen (okay, maybe not disappear, but you know) and emerge 20 minutes later with a heaping plate of cookies from scratch without breaking a sweat or having to run to the store for ingredients.

Yum!

Nothing says domestic goddess like a warm cookie baked with love. :D

Lazy Sunday

This week has been a whirl-wind - lots of people to see, phone calls to make, stress at work, a new quarter starting up at school - I feel like I haven't gotten a break yet! So much stuff happens sometimes that you just have to kick back and relax to remind yourself why you're putting up with The Crazy, and that time is usually Sunday afternoons for me.

You know that I'm crazy for those cupcakes cousin!

So what's on my agenda for my "Lazy Sunday"?

• First up - LAUNDRY. I am in dire need of some clean socks.
  
• Cleaning (the bathroom and the kitchen) and dishes.
  
• I also need to go for a run - it looks like a beautiful day outside, so it's time to pull on that running skirt and hit the trails!
• I have some work stuff that I have to get done before tomorrow... boooooooo.
• I need to do some shopping - pick up the wedding scrapbook, figure out the food situation for the week, etc.
• Rachel is back from Puerto Rico, so a neighborhood coffee date might be in order!
• Matt and I need to celebrate my birthday (I know, right? Week of celebrations like whoa!) at one of Spokane's fine dining establishments.
• I want to get a preliminary list of potential wedding venues figured out!

Wow, on second thought, this Sunday might not be so lazy after all! How are you all spending your Sundays and preparing for the week to come?