Remembering Laura Ingalls Wilder

THE PIONEER by FREDERICK McCUBBIN
The first two parts of the painting remind me of Laura Ingalls Wilder, in Little House in the Big Woods. [Although, "The Pioneer is a 1904 painting by the Australian artist Frederick McCubbin. The painting is a triptych; the three panels tell a story of a free selector and his family making a life in the Australian bush. It is widely considered "one of the masterpieces of Australian art." "]

As a young girl, I loved reading the Laura Ingalls Wilder stories. On my family's farm, I would escape chores and read in the fields. Reading her stories, transported me back in time to the simple, yet fun, life of a farm girl. I imagined myself crossing the prairie from Wisconsin to South Dakota, having oxen and my sisters for friends. I often pretended my sisters were Mary and Carrie Ingalls. Recently, I discovered a cute blog, modeled after Caroline Ingalls, the mother of Laura Ingalls Wilder. It's called, Wide Open Spaces, and the author, Emily, put it beautifully, "I read. And as I opened Little House in the Big Woods, I no longer felt lonely or bored or unfortunate to live in the country. I felt blessed. In the pages of the Little house series, I found a friend and a heroine Laura Ingalls Wilder. Her simple life, work ethic, and innocent pleasures transported me from my ranch house to her homestead. I was caught up in all the activities of the Ingallses' everyday life: Ma making pie, Pa working a harvest, Laura studying for her teaching certificate, everyone drinking lemonade and watching the buggy races on independence day."

What was your favorite Laura Ingalls Wilder book? If you haven't read the series, read them and satisfy your inner little girl!

Emily's Spread the Word Campaign

Make a Mammogram Promise is going gangbusters and has collected nearly 2000 promises, but we need more, and you can help.

If you haven’t done so already, make a Mammogram Promise for yourself, your wife, your mother, daughter, girlfriend, or significant other at http://mam4.me/EmFe

You’ve heard the facts: Mammography rates are declining in Washington State which means more women may be missing early-stage breast cancers. The more promises we can gather, the more attention we can bring to improving mammography rates again.

So get viral! Make your Mammogram Promise today!
http://mam4.me/EmFe

My good friend's wedding in Maltby, WA!

Julia and Peter's wedding has so many vibrant and lush fall colors. Here are the brightly colored sunflowers arranged outside the church!

They left in a vintage Mercedes convertible and it was a perfect, crisp and sunny fall afternoon for putting the top down!
We drove only a few miles to the Crystal Lake Lodge, which is a gorgeous log cabin on Crystal Lake in Woodinville!
All the trees were brilliant with color, as if they knew there was a celebration!
This lovely chalkboard sign greeted the guests as they entered the Crystal Lake Community.
The Lodge!

The view of Crystal Lake and my sangria, (which was the groom's own delicious recipe!)
The chandeliers were rustic and amazing. They looked like they were made out of old wagon wheels!

Congratulations to Julia and Peter!!!

Books I Want to Read in 2009

My Life in France by Julia Child

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides (I loved the movie and only found out it was a book when I blogged about this movie!)

Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession by Julie Powell (This the author of Julie and Julia! She's written a second book and it's coming out November 30, 2009)

Pretty in Plaid: A Life, a Witch, and a Wardrobe, or, the Wonder Years Before the Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smart-Ass Phase by Jen Lancaster (The only Jen Lancaster book I have yet to read!!!)

The 10th Sookie Stackhouse novel, perhaps not published until early 2010

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson (I thought the first book of this series was too graphic and dark, but I couldn't put it down. He writes in a haunting and intriguing manner that's fascinating.)

An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde (Why not?)

Giveaways on awesome blogs!

I love finding new and interesting blogs especially when there are so many generous bloggers with their giveaways. Check out Chris and Danielle Lenz's blog, as well as Love Everyday Life!!

On the Love Everyday Life blog, you can win:

"This is the handmade bag by Kinies you could potentially win! (Check out more great things from her Etsy shop, Kinies Design here).

However, you're not just going to win this bag - there will be some other items in there:

- a bottle of OPI's "I'm Not Really A Waitress," nail polish (to see the color, click here)
- a $10 gift card to Borders
- a $5 gift card to Starbucks (because really, what good is a fall day without a good book and a delicious drink?)
- and...a couple other things (all fall-related)"
On the Lenz blog you can win of of these two adorable aprons! Just leave a comment and/or become a follower!

Please let me know if you know of any other giveaways, I always enter in all contests possible! Have you entered in to the Make a Mammogram Promise contest yet? http://mam4.me/Em Please help me win a glassbaby and you might too!

Pink Wedding Dress for Breast Cancer Awareness Month!!

Colorado Springs designer, Alisa Benay Bridal Couture will donate $1,000 from the sale of each of this year’s limited edition gown, Mirabelle, towards breast cancer research and awareness. The goal is to raise $100,000 dollars for breast cancer research by selling 100 dresses.
Alisa writes on her website, "100 Brides for 100K® ' is 'to benefit breast cancer research. Monies for this initiative will be derived from the sale of my Limited Edition Gown that will be on display at every trunk show. I believe it is important to give back to the community whether it is through a cause such as breast cancer research or some other charitable organization. Through the 100 Brides for 100K® initiative, it is my desire to bring hope to someone who is suffering the heartache of breast cancer. "

This gorgeous pink wedding dress is a "silk satin, strapless trumpet gown with three dimensional, beaded reimbroidered chantilly French lace with silk applique flowers custom made and imported exclusively for Alisa Benay."

Check out the Green Wedding Shoes Blog for their take on this dress!

Don't forget to Make a Mammogram Promise this month too!!

[For women over 40, getting an annual mammogram is one of the most important things you can do to protect your health. That's why I'm spreading the word about mammograms. What's more, if you make a Mammogram Promise at mammogrampromise.org, you'll get the chance to win a glassybaby. All you have to do is click on the link below and make your Mammogram Promise at mammogrampromise.org.

http://mam4.me/Em

Lots of women, including Senator Patty Murray and Governor Christine Gregoire, have promised to get their mammograms, and so should you.

And best of all (at least for me!), your Mammogram Promise could help me win one of four Spread the Word Grand Prizes. That's something you could win too!]

Did you know it's National Chocolate Cupcake Day on October 18th?!

Apparently, it's National Chocolate Cupcake Day on October 18th! I plan to incorporate a chocolate cupcake or two into my Sunday! Are you ready for National Chocolate Cupcake Day?

Here's a great Double-Chocolate Cupcakes recipe from Cooking Light:

"These cupcakes are easy to make, and because simple ingredients are used, it's best to purchase premium cocoa powder and dark chocolate. Since they're studded with dark chocolate chunks, just dusting them with powdered sugar is enough to decorate these treats. Bake them in muffin cup liners. A dozen of these are a terrific holiday treat to bring to coworkers at the office.

Yield

12 servings (serving size: 1 cupcake)

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (about 4 1/2 ounces)
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup egg substitute
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup 1% low-fat buttermilk
• 1 1/4 ounces dark (70 percent cocoa) chocolate, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup, and level with a knife. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir with a whisk.

Place granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well combined (about 3 minutes). Add egg substitute and vanilla, beating well. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to granulated sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Fold in chocolate. Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups lined with muffin cup liners. Bake at 350° for 18 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly in center or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan; cool completely on a wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

150 (31% from fat)

Fat:

5.2g (sat 3.2g,mono 1.2g,poly 0.2g)

Protein:

3.1g

Carbohydrate:

24g

Fiber:

1.1g

Cholesterol:

11mg

Iron:

1mg

Sodium:

125mg

Calcium:

42mg"

Kathy Kitchens Downie, R.D., Cooking Light, DECEMBER 2007

My cute cats makes me happy!

(Lyra)

I had a hard and long day, so I decided to post my favorite pictures of my kitties, Lyra and Lily Thomas.

(Lily Thomas)

l
Lyra

Tiger our family's barn cat

Favorite things of the day

My cute sissies....

Rabbit cookies...

This painting, otherwise known as Reminiscence of Mauve by Vincent van Gogh...

Queen Mary tea parties with petit fours Ginger Peach Apricot tea...

Also, Tortilla soup sounds so good today! Check out Honey & Jam's recipe!!

I'm sleepy today, so my warm bed with my two kitties also sounds very nice right now!!!

The lovely Magnolia neighborhood on a crisp fall day...

The walk along the Magnolia Bluffs is breathtaking and gorgeous in any weather. Today it was sunny and 60 degrees. It was pretty windy, but pleasant. It was a perfect temperature for an hour long walk!To the East, there are gorgeous expensive homes, North is Discovery Park, South is Downtown Seattle, and to the West is the Puget Sound. We love to park near Discovery Park (Emerson Street and Magnolia Blvd W) and walk the length of Magnolia Boulevard. It's about 4 miles round trip.
View Larger Map

Did you know that Magnolia is the second largest neighborhood in Seattle, according toWikipedia? Also "although magnolia trees do line W. McGraw Street in the neighborhood's commercial district, Magnolia's naming was actually a misnomer. While out at sea, Captain Vancouver saw the huge madrona trees atop the peninsula's southern bluffs but mistook them for magnolias and noted this the ship's log. Groups are actively working to save the remaining madronas on the bluff."

This is my most favorite house on Magnolia Boulevard. It has a wraparound veranda and a stone chimney. It's huge yet charming and without an overly manicured yard. I adore the curved windows on the second floor with the circular and peaked roof. It would be absolutely heavenly to sit at those windows looking out over Puget Sound to Bainbridge Island. You could watch the storms come in or just read on the window seat, pausing every once and while to look for an errant whale.

My favorite viewpoint is overlooking Elliott Bay and downtown Seattle, if you sit there long enough you can watch several ferries and container ships go by.

I saw some sweet strawberries near the sidewalk as I walked by and I couldn't help but take a picture!

Harbinger wines

We opened this rhubarb smelling rose tonight and it became, yet another reason, why I love this winery! This rose is fruit forward and a little tart. My husband describes the nose as rhubarb, nutmeg and cinnamon. As Harbinger puts it, "reminds us all why rose is the #1 selling wine in France."

Harbinger wines are fresh, unique, and delicious (plus the story behind the winery is fascinating!) The tasting room at Harbinger is one of my favorites in Washington. It's in a converted logging truck shop with galvanized metal siding with kayaks on one wall and comfy chairs made out of wine barrels. The space is wide open with neat wooden beams. And all the wines are great to try! Some of my most favorites are their dessert wines.

This is nearly the most amazing dessert wine I've ever had. We're members of the wine club and for their annual wine club barbecue they had ribs with Blackberry Bliss sauce. Blackberry liqueur flavored, finger licking goodness.

The best dessert wine I've EVER had is Harbinger's Raspberry Bliss. It tastes like liquid raspberries, slightly sweet yet a tad tart. I was first introduced to it with a piece of Theo's dark chocolate. Together they were absolutely divine.

I would describe this wine as plum delicious-ness, with a little bit of leather on the nose. The Harbinger 2006 El Jefe is a 'Traditional Rhone-style Red blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre." It's not your average red table wine.

Driving out to Port Angeles is a beautiful and fun in any season. If you're ever on the Olympic Peninsula, stop at Harbinger Winery!

Which cupcakes should I get for dessert tomorrow night?

My grandparents are coming over for dinner tomorrow night. My husband is planning on making Russian beef kabobs from his favorite cookbook, the Barbecue Bible. We'll probably have quinoa and a large green salad too. I'm excited to plan what we're having for dessert. I'm thinking either Trophy Cupcakes or Cupcake Royale.

Cupcake Royale is having it's 5th Annual Cupcake Harvest Festival with special flavors like, Carmel Apple, Pumpkin Maple, and Carrot Cake. Later on in November, they'll even have Cranberry Orange!

Trophy Cupcakes has Carrot Walnut, Lemon, Chocolate Peanut Butter and Triple Coconut flavors on Saturdays. I'm thinking old fashioned carrot walnut cake with cream cheese frosting or chocolate cupcakes topped with peanut butter buttercream and sprinkled with crushed salted peanuts could be perfect. Trophy's Facebook page says, "Next week our Stout Cupcake with Stout Caramel is back!" I wonder if stout cupcakes are good.

What cupcake would you prefer?



My good friend Mohit says I should get Cupcake Royale for sentimental reasons. We had wedding cupcakes from Cupcake Royale in lieu of a wedding cake. He prefers Cupcake Royale because he associates it with my wedding. Isn't he sweet?

My sister-in-law made Mohit hold her flowers for the photo, needless to say he wasn't as happy she was to hold them.
Here are our cake toppers on top of our wedding cupcakes!
Cupcake Royale suggested we personalize each cupcake, so we had them put sugar bees on each one!!

Win a glassybaby with a Make a Mammogram Promise for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

"It’s the right season to bug the ones you love. Pass out your pink ribbons, run your relays, walk your fundraising feet feverishly, but while you’re at it, remind women you care about that mammograms work! They are an important part of a woman’s annual exam."

[All you have to do is go to the Make a Mammogram Promise website where they've combined taking care of our health with having fun. Go to http://mam4.me/Em any time in October and promise to get a yearly mammogram. You'll automatically be entered to win a daily prize. Then, for each day that you log on to the web site in October, you are eligible to win a glassybaby. ]

About Mammograms

Getting a mammogram is one of the most important things a woman can do to protect her health. Unfortunately, more and more women are not getting the message. The percentage of women over 40 who reported having a mammogram has fallen from from 70 percent to 66 percent, a 4 percent decline nationally. That’s why Seattle Cancer Care Alliance is launching the Make a Mammogram Promise campaign.

Mammograms are X-rays that produce an image of the breast to detect abnormalities that may be too small to see or feel. On average, mammograms detect 80 to 90 percent of breast cancers in women who have no symptoms. The American Cancer Society recommends that women age 40 and older have a screening mammogram every year.

Mammography can now be performed digitally for a more accurate diagnosis. Studies have shown that digital mammography can detect breast cancer at its earliest, most curable stages, detecting up to 28 percent more cancers than film mammography in women 50 years of age and younger, pre- and perimenopausal women, and in women with dense breast tissue. A 28 percent increase in accuracy means earlier detection, and most importantly, a better chance of a cure.

“This technology is better at finding breast cancers, gives fewer false positive results, and is more comfortable for the patient,” says Dr. Constance Lehman, MD, PhD, director of Breast Imaging at SCCA.

Many studies also show that doctors who specialize in mammography are more accurate at interpreting mammography images when compared to physicians with less experience.

Go to Seattle Cancer Care Alliance’s web site to learn more about mammography, digital mammography, and the providers who specialize in caring for women with breast problems.

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Virgin Suicides

I first saw Virgin Suicides in high school, a very impressionable age. (I was a little obsessed with Josh Hartnett at the time too.) The Virgin Suicides was written in 1993 by Jeffrey Eugenides. The story takes place in Grosse Pointe, Michigan in the 1970s, centering around the suicides of five sisters. It's told in the words of the neighborhood boys who worshiped them and who come together 20 years later to try and solve the mystery of the Lisbon sisters.

To this day, I think fondly of Sofia Coppola's big directorial debut because it is so melancholy and dream-like. It's so bittersweet and beautiful. I've heard it described as, 'hauntingly poetic'. Fortunately, it is not as grotesque as the title might suggest, and watching the trailer may help convince you, if you don't believe me.


I was excited to see A Cup of Jo's post today on How to get the look: Out of Africa, which linked me to Design*Sponge's post on Living in: the Virgin Suicides.

Photos from Design*Sponge
[image above, clockwise from top left: lockers $524,bestie necklace $13, school clock $33, whale ashtray $16, composition notebook $1.20, leather backpack $170, perfume bottles $24+, lipstick pen $5, paper fans $1]

Here are some of my favorite quotes:
Doctor: What are you doing here, honey? You're not even old enough to know how bad life gets.
Cecilia: Obviously, Doctor, you've never been a 13-year-old girl.


Trip Fontaine: You're a stone fox.


Narrator: What lingered after them was not life, but the most trivial list of mundane facts: a clock ticking on a wall, a room dim at noon, and the outrageousness of a human being thinking only of herself.

Reminiscing about this movie makes me curious to check out the awesome soundtrack too!