Letting Go

Day 30, Thursday: React to this term: Letting Go

I think I will end up sitting here for a while staring at my screen trying to figure out what on earth to write about for this post. I'm not one of those people who can write about cheesy things and have it sound quaint or inspiring. I hardly write to begin with! I'm pretty sure this would just end up sounding like a cliche Facebook post about forgiveness or whatever. No one needs to see that.

So here you go: Letting go... of my cat.

I'm not giving her away, don't worry! I just let her check out the porch outside this afternoon. It's scary to let my fluffy girl go outside without my supervision, there are big dogs out there! There are huge bees and yellow jackets! She might get lost and run away or get hit by a car!

But I can't deprive her of these nice days. Alaska has so few. So I let her go outside... I followed her, of course.

For some reason she wanted to hide under the bench.

Then she wanted to go under the stairs and tried to explore a gross shed. Come on, kitty! Enjoy the sun!! We nicknamed you "sun cat" for a reason.

It's been sunny and warm for days, I can't believe how nice it is. It stays sunny until 11 at night and comes back up at 4:30 in the morning. It's pretty weird. It puts you in a better mood for work at 6 in the morning though.

Apple Crumble

There is nothing like apple crumble during summer! Or is it more of a fall dessert? I don't know, who cares? I could eat apple crumble all year long. With ice cream or homemade whipped cream it's delicious.

I had some granny smith apples I wanted to use up, since my husband doesn't like raw granny smiths, but I also didn't have any rolled oats to make apple crisp with. We only have the Irish steel cut oats which aren't really suitable for baking. I adapted this recipe for some oat-less apple crumble.

Apple Crumble

Apples
4 Granny Smith Apples, cored and sliced
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
1/4 tsp Cloves
1 tsp Cinnamon
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
2 Tbsp Sugar

Topping
1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/3 Cup White Sugar
1/3 Cup Brown Sugar
1/3 Cup Butter, softened
1/2 Cup Flour

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.

Drizzle lemon juice over the sliced apples in a mixing bowl. Combine nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle onto the apple slices. Mix and pour apple mixture into a glass casserole dish.

Mix the white sugar, brown sugar, and flour in a small mixing bowl. Cut in the butter and vanilla extract. Sprinkle onto apple mixture. 

Bake for 40 minutes.

One thing I would like to do is figure out how to take nice food photos. It seems like it's such a pain in the butt to cook something successfully that adding in the pain of trying to photograph it nicely just seems impossible. And lighting? Good luck. Even if Alaska has 19 hours of daylight this time of year my kitchen still only has one small window! I'll settle for iPhone photos for now.

Music and Memories

Day 29, Wednesday: Five songs or pieces of music that speak to you or bring back memories. Use Grooveshark or YouTube to include them in the post

1. Duran Duran - Come Undone

On the way to San Diego in 2009.

I listened to this song almost everyday when I lived in San Diego. I would go out and walk to the coffee shop to knit while this played on my iPod. I don't know what it is but I adore this song.

2. Miles Davis - So What
My dad always played the Something Blue album. He played a lot of different music, but mostly jazz. I can remember the smell of my dad cooking dinner when I hear this song. I would usually be downstairs with him talking while he cooked dinner every night. My dad is why I love cooking and plan on going to culinary school.

3. Jason Schwartzman - West Coast

This is the song we played for our first dance on our wedding day. We had a long distance relationship for almost two years at that time so this song always made me cry. Joe had made me a bunch of mix tapes when we first met before I moved to Alaska. This was one of the songs he included.

4. Yellowman - If You Should Lose Me 

Halloween in San Francisco... Those were the crazy days.

This brings flashbacks of college in San Francisco. My roommate Stefanie and I would smoke pot all day and listen to Yellowman, Queen, and the Steve Miller Band. 

5. Ani Difranco - Little Plastic Castle
Pretty much any Ani Difranco song will bring back memories from the ages of 15 to 22ish. I worshiped her. Still do.

Wedding Photos - The People

Day 28, Tuesday: Only pictures


Since I only posted my favorite photos of wedding decor I thought I should use this opportunity to post some people pictures. There are so many great photos I was avoiding taking the time to edit and post them. This is just the wedding part for now. I'll post the reception later. I'm sure that everyone loves to look at their own wedding photos... I sure do! I LOVE them!

A Short Letter

Day 27, Monday: A letter to your readers

Dear Readers,

                Hi mom! Haha. 
Seriously though. I don't know what to write about. I don't have many readers and I don't think the people who read my blog come around regularly. So... thanks for stopping by! Hope you come back soon! 

Love, Sarah Grace


I totally skipped out on the last few days of the Blog Everyday in May challenge. I wasn't too excited about the subjects either, but mostly I was busy having a great weekend! I have been looking forward to this four day weekend for months!  The weather was warm and sunny and awesome. We enjoyed a day thrift shopping in Wasilla where we found a some great stuff. Joe's friends joined us later and they filmed some street skating.

 We picked up an old Polaroid camera and a panda cookie jar. I used to have the "Spice Cam" which came out when the Spice Girls were a thing. I had the modern Polaroid that came out right before they discontinued it. I even had two super old Polaroids with the accordion lenses. Most of these have gotten lost in the Great Breakup of 2009. Probably in a dusty moldy corner of my exes storage unit. Maybe she stopped paying for the unit and it all got auctioned off. Who knows?

We got really lucky and found a camera bag filled with the entire set for a Nikon EM from 1979. I can't wait to pick up some film and try out those colored flashes. I don't know the first thing about cameras but I'm excited to learn!

Yesterday we went on a picnic in the park across the street from out house. We found a little picnic basket on our thrift store shopping spree so we put together some sandwiches and leftovers and headed out.

This guy came by and wanted some treats! He found his human and played fetch later on.

Weekend Nails #5

We just found out that our next home will be all the way down in Louisiana. I don't know how I feel about it. We will trade in the Alaskan cold for humid swamps. Moose and bears for chiggers and alligators. 

I'm actually pretty excited because the only part of the south I have ever lived in is El Paso, Texas. We will be living about a 4 hour drive from New Orleans, which sucks a little because it will be quite a trip to visit, but at least I can see it for once in my life. New Orleans makes me think of Anne Rice novels and voodoo.

Master Plan - Essie

Nothing Else Metals - Essie

I know that the town we live in will probably be ridiculously boring, however the housing prices look phenomenally cheap! I looked on Craigslist and found a four bedroom house with two bathrooms for $890 a month. That's insane. Our tiny little apartment in Anchorage with one bedroom and one bathroom costs more than that.

I think I won't mind living the southern life for just one year. After that we will head back home to upstate New York.

Take it from Joan Jett

Day 23, Thursday: Things you've learned that school won't teach you

1. Don't EVER get a credit card. EVER! It's a scam.
2. YouTube can teach you almost any skill you want to learn. Knitting, crochet, sewing... oil changes. Anything.
3. C's get degrees, but degrees don't really get you anything these days.
4. People in this world are crazy. You hear about it on the news but it doesn't always seem real, like the Westboro Baptist Church crazies. Or the KKK. But they really exist. You will one day find yourself face to face with a person who believes women shouldn't be treated equally to men. People who hate Mexicans. You will meet them and it will blow your mind. Don't let it make you lose faith in humanity.
5. Seriously, do the things you dream about. Don't be afraid to jump right into something even if it scares you. I have had the best experiences of my life just by saying, "Fuck it, let's do it."
6. Take it from Joan Jett... Fuck what other people think. Those people are boring.

Office Politics

Day 22, Wednesday: Rant about something. Get up on your soapbox and tell us how you really feel. (a pet peeve, a current event, a controversial topic, something your husband or roommate or neighbor or boss does that really ticks you off)

OK... This is a piggyback off of my day 20 post. I could go on about politics or something else of that nature, but I really don't think I have too much to add on that subject. There are many other people who can say it better than I can. So this rant is going to be about a personal pet peeve... Talking about work when you are not at work. Office politics. Yuck.

One thing about being in the military is that you're basically forced into an incubator. It's like college but not as fun or intelligent. Your friends are work friends. I have actually found some amazing people here, which was unexpected to say the least. Awesome ladies are hard to come by in the military, so I am lucky to have my girls. (Not to say that females in the military aren't cool, it's just there are not very many females at all!)
But anyway... not to veer off the subject... Pretty much your friends are your work friends. Since we spend so much time working it becomes a reflex to talk about work to each other when we go out on weekends. I HATE it. It puts me in a terrible mood. I mean, come on. I just spent an hour doing my hair and makeup and drove all the way downtown to a fancy restaurant or bar to meet up with my girls. I want to drink wine. I want to talk about our husbands or third wave feminism. Not army regulations... Yuck.

It makes me think that I must really hate my job. Like really hate it. I am happy that my friends are into their jobs because that means they have a chance to be happy with their lives. That is good. But SHIT. I don't want to hear about it on the weekend!

Favorite Posts

Day 21, Tuesday: A list of links to your favorite posts in your archives

Memories Mini Album - I gave this to my mom and it has cute pictures from when I was a baby.

Altered Book Tutorial - It's an old post but it's still a really cool way to recycle old books and make a fancy notebook or album.

Travel Scrapbook - This was the scrapbook I kept when I went to visit New York. I got engaged AND got married on that trip! I'm so happy I decided to keep a daily journal and kept a portable scrapbook kit with me the whole time.

Crochet Kitty Toy Pattern - Mrs. Peacock loves her toys! She plays with them all the time.

Wedding Photos - In the Details - Of course I love my wedding photos!

Chevron Painting - Paint one for yourself!

Lemon Curd Recipe - YUM!

It's Not That I'm Lazy, It's That I Just Don't Care.

Day 20, Monday: Get real. Share something you're struggling with right now.

I'm very hesitant to participate in today's subject because it seems so whiny. Stuff has been getting SO much easier in the last few months. I had a pretty rough time after I moved to San Diego from Guam in 2009 and it didn't start getting better until recently.

The only thing that is tough right now is that I hate my job. I know, who doesn't hate their job? But for real, my job is lame. It has no purpose. We just do "busy work" all day. I know that seems easy, but doing nothing for 10 to 12 hours a day is exhausting and frustrating. I miss out on time with my husband and time to do things I love. Not to mention everyone I work with is pretty much an asshole. I would rather make less money and have a job that feels purposeful with people who are pleasant to be around. I also would like to be good at my job... which I'm not. It sucks to suck at your job.

It won't be forever though! I am looking forward to going to culinary school when I get out of the army, so I can't complain too much! I feel like there are only good things on the horizon.

Russian Nesting Dolls

Yesterday evening we went out to dinner with friends at a fancy place downtown. It was just a little expensive, but very delicious! I might go there again for drinks at the bar but probably not for food unless it's a special occasion.
We parked outside a super adorable Russian shop called "Masha" that had hundreds of little nesting dolls inside. Not only were there traditional looking dolls, but there were countless modern style dolls. The Hello Kitty, Alice in Wonderland, and Nightmare Before Christmas dolls were my favorites. The artists are extremely talented!

Favorite Blogs

Day 19, Sunday: Five of your favorite blogs and what you love about them

Scathingly Brilliant - She loves cats, has awesome outfits and I love her pastel gallery wall.

The Dainty Squid - She reminds me of my friends back in San Francisco. She reads good books so I get some good reading recommendations from her posts (I just picked up Geek Love at the thrift shop.) Love her clothing style. She loves cats and prefers fungi to flowers. 

The Nearsighted Owl - I love her kitschy style! She seems like a fun, confident person.

Bubble My Licorice - These two sew some really nice dresses! I love their fun hair colors and posts about their kitty. They occasionally post about feminism as well, which is nice.

The Militant Baker - She bakes and talks about feminism! 

Camping

Day 18, Saturday: Tell a story from your childhood. Dig deep and try to be descriptive about what you remember and how you felt.

I was about three years old when this picture was taken. 

I remember going camping. I remember my dad using one of the built-in grills at the campsite. I remember water... maybe a creek or something, but I'm not sure if it was real or not. I remember touching the hat I have on in this picture and how all the seams on the brim were lined up.

The main thing I remember was that I had stickers. I think they were smurf stickers. I ended up running around in my diaper and stuck the smurf stickers on my nipples and on my belly button. 

Why? 

Who knows.

Thrift Finds... Kitschy Kitties!

We went thrift shopping today and found a bunch of goodies! As promised I started collecting some kitty figurines. I found a interesting perfume bottle shaped like a kitty but it smelled like old lady so I didn't get it.

I found a cute, handmade coffee mug with kitties on it too! It is titled "Understanding Your Cat" and even has the name of the place it was made on the bottom. I absolutely love it. 

We found a couple of really nice art prints for the walls which I was surprised to find in a thrift shop. I like to look though the frames and pictures but the most I usually hope for is maybe some faux big-eyed paintings, so this was a nice thing to find.

We got a couple board games (Shots and Ladders Drinking Game and Seinfeld Scene It) a couple books and a funny duck shaped bottle opener made from a golf club.