Rolling in the Dough

Paul and I have all of these crazy plans. Among some of the craziest are yarn bombing, moss graffiti, and dumpster diving. Every book we've read about green living and urban foraging says that bakeries are a jackpot for day old bread that they are required to throw out if it doesn't sell. It may or may not be illegal depending on who you talk to and with yesterday's crazy weather, I wasn't risking anything. So when Paul suggested that we try bakery dumpster diving, I told him he was welcome to, but that I would be staying nice and warm in bed.

But twenty minutes later I heard him running up the stairs, giggling, and holding five loaves of bread. I was a little wary of them, considering they came from a dumpster, but Paul explained how they were in several clear plastic bags which were full of big crusty, bakery-styles loaves of bread, and that the bread wasn't actually touching the dumpster. Paul said the bag he got these five loaves out of was so heavy that he actually couldn't lift it! This morning for breakfast we tried big hefty slices slathered in butter and honey and then toasted in the oven. It was heavenly. Now we know of this never ending supply of bread for never ending toast and sandwiches. Next time, if it's not raining, I might just join Paul on the adventure.   

On Zines and Poetry

The sky was playing tricks on me today. It snowed three very brief times. I rained like mad. It hailed the moment I stepped outside and it felt like I was being pelted with needles. But for the majority of the day it was sunny, and this was very strange. So Paul and I generally stayed inside and ate fruits and vegetables.

I had a good hair day and managed to take pictures outside during one of the short periods of sunshine. The highlight of the day was going to the Wandering Goat Cafe and making a zine with the ladies in my poetry seminar. It's a year long program and we had to apply to get in; I actually won a $3000 scholarship from this program for the quality of my poems in my application! Seeing as it's the coolest class ever, we decided to make a zine to showcase our work so far. I picked my four favorite poems to share.

Once we all get our pages done, we're going to make black and white copies and distribute them everywhere! I think we finally decided to call it "Girls with Pens: A collection of poetry from kickass ladies." I always get a little nervous when sharing my writing because I have often experienced negative reactions just because I study literature, let alone poetry. People feel like it's "easy" and a cop out from taking "real" classes. But the fact is, I'm not a pre-med student for a reason. It's not because I'm not good at science, but because I like writing more. It makes me feel something and allows me to think more critically than I ever have in a science class. And right now I'm pretty much getting paid to do it, and honestly it's the hardest class I've ever taken. 

Crazy Times

I may not be the most interesting college student around. After rock climbing every Friday I eat ice cream. I don't drink; I don't go to parties. Watching Lost on Netflix, knitting, and making pink food may be as crazy as I get. But I do smile a lot and I always eat my vegetables, so I guess I'm a good kid. 

  

Today I'm tired. This morning the sun was shining, but right now the skies are bleak and grey. That's kind of how I feel. It's getting towards the end of the term and I just want a little sunshine and maybe like three and half days where I can go swim in a lake and eat strawberries and not do any homework. The good news is a I have a stripey skirt, and Paul was really cute while trying to put these Tetris blocks together to make a cube outside of the local post office. The other good news is that tomorrow is the weekend and while the weather forecast predicts wind and rain, I will stay positive and maybe it will be sunny once more.

Also tomorrow my poetry seminar class is going to my favorite cafe to make a zine. There's only four of us including the teacher and we're all girls and it will be so fun and crafty. Paul and I took a long trip to get this beautiful bread yesterday and we used it today (on my new cutting board) to make a fried egg and tempeh "bacon" sandwich. Also I just got this most wondrous yarn in the mail from my super cool Auntie Robin and Uncle Kirk! It's my favorite brand; it's soft and fluffy and thick. It's the same brand that I used to make my cool hat and scarf. I don't know quite what I will make of this yarn yet, but the possibilities are endless!

Chocolate Chips

I made blood orange cupcakes last night. They taste like a creamsicle dream. I even added chocolate chips to make them rich and lovely. But I learned a hard lesson. The truth about chocolate chips is that you have to flour them before you dump them in the batter, especially if the batter is thin because they will just sink and be sad and look like little poops at the bottom of your cupcake. Then they will melt together and when you try to eat them, you eat the paper wrapper too. 

The cupcakes are still totally edible and perfectly appropriate for this sunny day. The sun also means that our little lettuce sprouts are genuinely sprouting! And they are desperately leaning towards the window to get to the sunlight which is equal parts funny and worrisome. According to Paul we have 100% germination. So I'm guessing that's a good thing.

Today I'm wearing shorts and despite the fact that it rained all yesterday, I'm hoping for clear weather the entire day today. I feel like nothing can go wrong. I will be finished with work in a few hours and then I plan on having a picnic with Paul and maybe ordering myself some colorful knives to go with my beautiful new cutting board. I may even sneak in some more cupcakes. 

Two Decades

Yesterday I turned twenty. I am now two decades old. Unfortunately my birthday was very busy with school and work and I didn't catch a break until about 7:30 at night. The good news is that Paul took me out to pizza and gelato, and we just got to sit and talk and everything was good again.

Paul got me a beautiful book for my birthday about making things from scratch, which is my most favorite thing to do. And then he made me this cutting board. Yes, he actually made it! It is the most fantastic thing I have ever seen. Also he used the walnut wood to spell out my name! I am literally in shock at how lucky I am to have this handsome, crafty guy. 

We are a pretty artsy bunch, to be honest. All we want to do all day is make things. This past weekend I finally finished this painting I have been working on, and I think it turned out nice. I am hyper-critical of everything I paint and generally end up painting over things, but I like this one. Right now Paul and I are avoiding homework by making blood orange cupcakes. It was my birthday yesterday, I can still do what I want! 

Grey Day

Today will not be the most exciting day of my life. I had a midterm, I think I have a fever, and I'm going to clean my room. The good news is that I turn 20 in a few days and Paul and I got ice cream again. Somehow Paul convinced me that three scoops would be better than two. So that's what we did, and I don't know if I can go back. At least Paul and I will fill up our punch cards quickly this way.

Paul and I had a long talk with the guy from Red Wagon Creamery, and I'm now even more convinced that I want to be him when I grow up. I want to make cool food and then have people eat my cool food. I make roasted beet peanut butter cupcakes for heaven's sake! I'm innovative! I might even whip some up tomorrow for my dinner night with my lovely friend Anna. They are pink cupcakes. No one dislikes pink cupcakes.

Just like pink cupcakes go with everything, so does my pink hat I knitted myself. I knit it this summer and I'm so glad that Eugene is blustery and chilly all the time so I actually have an excuse to wear it. I wore it over the summer too, but I may or may not have looked like a crazy person. The grey in my shirt and skirt don't really match. And my sweater and polka dots maybe match too well. But then you throw my hat in the mix and everything's okay again. 

I Want to be a Farmer

Paul and I are trying our hardest to be miniature farmers in our flat. Yesterday Paul converted these egg cartons into little seed starts for cauliflower, lettuce, and tomatoes. It's small, but it's still a start. Tonight we went to an AA meeting. AA standing for Aspiring Agriculturists of course! It's a group of student at the University of Oregon that are just really sick of the way that people think about food. Food doesn't come from the grocery store. I want to take seeds, stick 'em in the ground, grow veggies, eat them, share them with other people, and somehow make a living off of it. That's what everyone else in the this group wants to do too. And it might happen! On Monday a grant is getting approved so that students can rent out community garden space and then grow food and then eat it! 

  

Here I am being in touch with nature. But really, that's all I want to do. I recently told someone I wanted to be a farmer and they looked at me as if I was either crazy or joking. But I am neither of these things, and I am so excited to have found a group of people who feel the same way.

Mascarpone Experiment

A while back I bought some mascarpone cheese to experiment with, and today I finally found the perfect recipe for it. I used it to make a play on cream cheese frosting, but it's lighter and fluffier and so much crazier tasting than cream cheese. The fluffy clouds sit on top of cinnamon banana chocolate chip cupcakes. I think they may be my favorite things I have ever made, maybe other than beet cupcakes because those are pink and you can't really beat that. I made these today with my little sister, Jillie, in mind. She is sixteen (which makes me feel old) and she loves loves loves banana cake. That may even be an understatement. She's obsessed. I bet she would love these.

I'm also including this picture of Paul and I from this past summer because I miss summer so much! This is strange for me! Summer is generally my least favorite season of the year. It's hot and sticky. I'm usually a fall and winter girl. But this year, I can't wait for summer and to be warm all the time. I might even be fine with a little humidity, which is how I know I'm really going crazy. I just know that these cupcakes would probably be even that much better in the sunshine, on a picnic, while wearing a tank top, and drinking chocolate milk. 

Grocery Run

Today was lovely. While Paul was at work this morning I took a long bath, organized my makeup, smelled all the lotions that I own, and did all sorts of girly things. Then I put on my purple hiking shorts. I think of them as my adventure shorts, but Paul questioned what kind of adventurer wears purple shorts. This one does.

After Paul came home, he made us an amazing pepper jack, corn, and spinach straight from the farm omelette. Then we picked up a cardamon truffle and a vanilla sea salt truffle from Euphoria Chocolates. The omelette was great, the chocolates were great, and then we walked to the grocery store, which is one of my favorite things to do. I think I like the walk there maybe even more than all the yummy food.   

We found some moss on the way the way to the grocery store, and had to make mustaches and eyebrows. 

 I don't have any homework this weekend, so maybe I will get some quilting, knitting, and baking in tomorrow. Paul and I have some pretty crazy cupcakes that we want to make soon. This is your typical Noelle weekend. If I have free time, I can't wait to do old lady activities. And maybe take some crazy jumping pictures, too.

Brief Friday

It may appear like my life is boring, because here is another Friday of rock climbing, Red Wagon Creamery, rain, and watching Lost all day with Paul. But that's my life right now, and it's honestly pretty great. Paul and I tried honey hazelnut flavored ice cream today along with our favorite smoked salty caramel. It was beyond words, as usual. As if fairies were dancing on my tongue. 

This was a crazy week at school and I think the weather is starting to get to me. I am craving summer and have frequently fantasized about wearing shorts without tights underneath and riding my bike without wearing mittens. Paul and I treated ourselves to fried egg sandwiches after rock climbing today. We actually got the sandwiches after we got the ice cream, because we're weird like that. I just realized we got veggie burgers at a diner last week after rock climbing and after ice cream, too. We must be really weird. While it is currently miserable and rainy outside, if it's nice tomorrow, Paul and I are going to go volunteer at the Urban Farm. Hopefully this is the start of a relaxing weekend because I could sure use a break.

Climbing to the Top

I've been pretty hard on myself lately. I'm terrible at rock climbing. I'm not normally terrible at things because I always tell myself I can do anything and this mentality generally lets me do anything. I'm taking my second rock climbing class right now and I still can't get to the top of the wall. I get so embarrassed that when I get close to the top I just give up because I assume I won't be able to anyway. But today I am winner because today is the day I climbed to the top, and it was the best day ever.

Seeing as it was the best day ever, I got paid, it was sunny, and Paul and I treated ourselves to veggie burgers at the local diner and we got Red Wagon Creamery ice cream again. The guy who owns it even remembered us from last week! It's almost as if he knew we would be back. I think this will be helpful in my quest for a summer job scooping/eating ice cream.

Unfortunately Paul is leaving for a two day field trip tomorrow so I will flying solo this weekend. And while I may spend my time doing ridiculous amounts of homework, dishes, and laundry, I can look back on today and know it was awesome. Plus Red Wagon Creamery is open tomorrow too, so I might just have to drown my sorrows in more smoked salted caramel ice cream. Oh well. Such is life.

Salted Caramels

One of Paul's newest favorite activities (in addition to moss graffiti, guerrilla gardening, and urban maple syrup foraging) is making salted caramels from scratch. They are delicious and it is quite difficult to stop at just one. Paul suggested that we make a thousand caramels and carry them around with us, and that anytime someone tells a funny joke, we'll give them a candy. He's such a nice guy.

Last night I had a little fantasy where I imagined that Paul and I could open a cupcake stand at the Farmer's Market this summer. We even made a menu and tried to calculate how much it would cost to create each cupcake. Unfortunately you need all sorts of permits and commercial kitchens to have a stand, but it was fun to think about. I even came up with a clever way to wrap the caramels that we would obviously also sell. Paul  says we would sell them at 17 cents a piece, because wouldn't that be annoying? What a nice guy.