then the sun started shining.

Does all seem right today? Being woken up by this weather is sometimes necessary. All this week, sunshine. But cold. I'm welcoming this late fall weather with Bon Iver and The Middle East. Welcome, beautiful day. 

Happy Birthday, Mamá!

 In celebration of my mother's birthday, Margaux & mom and I spent the day together downtown. The evening was spent hammering crab legs and shrimp tails at waterfront restaurant, Crab Pot! They give you a mallet, cutting boards, silver cups of butter, and pour a giant pail of seafood onto your table. Then you dive in! Afterward, we visited my aunt's home for desserts from Bakery Nouveau, which is currently selling a mini pumpkin pie cheese cake… which is perfect. Thank you, mamá, for being so wonderful, always! 

& then I took a little break from blogging.

Sometimes you need to. Sometimes you have to work a lot and read a lot and go to class a lot, and sometimes there's not time to make a new blog header or think of something witty to write. These last couple months have been a whirlwind of activity. They have been filled with beautiful days, but they have been busy.

In October, we celebrated Kyle's 21st birthday! He spent the evening roaming the town with his friends, and came back home with fish and chips that I gladly devoured. Pike Street Fish Fry, you're our favorite. In the morning, I woke him up with a chocolate cake, with two big candles (for the tens) and one little candle (for the 1). We carried our sleepy selves to Oddfellows and gorged ourselves on scrambled eggs, homemade biscuits, potatoes, and beignets. Best restaurant in this beautiful city. To the best boyfriend in this beautiful world, happy belated birthday!
What else did we do in October? We carved pumpkins at Laken's fabulous home and watched The Voice. We went all around Seattle looking for an old boy scout shirt and a raccoon hat so that Kyle could be Sam from Moonrise Kingdom. I was an employee at work for Halloween, who got to hand out candy to children trick-or-treating in the shopping complex. Seeing children in dragon costumes is adorable.
That was October.

And now it's November! The first week of November has brought lots of changes. I spent the first week battling health problems, and spent a night in urgent care (to which I am no stranger). Kyle has spent the whole time with me, making me feel better, and reading People magazine to me in an old english accent.
But now we're getting into the swing of things. I am trying to go gluten free (and let me tell you, those gluten free items are certainly not free... they're a pretty penny). It's hard, because garlic bread is one of my favorite foods. And pasta? I basically live on cheesy, baked penne. So it's a challenge, trying to change my diet. But hopefully the stomach aches will soon end. In the meantime, I've got a mountain of gluten-free mac and cheese in my cupboard.

So that has been the last two months.
What's in the future? Lots of projects for school, plus more hours at work because... it's Holiday time! Our store is decked out in Christmas trees and animal ornaments. Who doesn't love an otter with a fishing pole ornament? Very Olivia.

Happy Almost-The-Holidays!

Listening to: Dia Frampton - The Cave

Two Autumns ago, wandering around Youtube, I fell into Dia Frampton's beautiful voice. I'm in love with all piano music, and Dia's voice pairs perfectly with its beauty.

I first fell for her cover of The Cave, seen here. And then her Skinny Love cover, to which I drove home every day.

And now it's Autumn again, and I'm falling for her voice once more.

& Then I Moved Into an Apartment

The end of Summer has brought change. Change in location. Change in occupation. Change in clothes and hair and the list goes on. But I am here now. Here in my new apartment, which is really the size of a house, with four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen and living room. And a storage closet in which I have flung all my cardboard boxes. 

I've brought my yellow and white chair from home. Books with bindings that are art. An updated and in-the-process wardrobe. A gold mirror covered in makeup boxes and perfume bottles. A simple bed side table with reading material. Cozy, calming blankets. Basic, linen hand towels. More books that I've carried throughout my adolescence. Bathroom accessories. A photo of my father reading Harry Potter to me on the beach, while I eat the rest of the tortilla chips. And napkins from my mother's kitchen drawers. 

I am here. And I will be here. The change will continue. And I will welcome it. 

Catching My Eye: September

How much more ready for autumn could I be? I've been staying inside drinking tea, packing for my move, and watching Pride and Prejudice - all while wrapped in sweaters and pajama pants. It's still seventy degrees outside, and today we had a thunder storm (something that's been happening more and more in Washington). I'm excited for orange leaves on the ground. I'm excited for a new apartment. I'm excited to start my new job. And I'm excited for fall fashion.





My picks for September are:
1. Marsha Swing Dress / 2. Bien Fait Sweatshirt / 3. Comtois Woodland Satchel / 4. Penfield Lucedale Puffy Vest

Happy Soon-To-Be-Autumn!

Music: Coeur de Pirate

Coeur de Pirate, check her out here.

I've spent all week listening to her. In the morning when I wake up slowly. As I'm washing dishes. On a bench in the park. While I'm drawing flowers. Thank you to Kyle for introducing me to her charm. 

Piano, singing in French - she's beautiful. 

Catching My Eye: August

Happy August / Last month of Summer! It's true. I'm ready for Autumn. Or, perhaps, ready to move to the city and experience a new life... which will come with the arrival of crisp air and school books. 
It's that time of year when I receive Boden and J.Crew catalogs boasting of new fall styles, making me ready to buy suede boots and wool hats. To top it off, it rained for the first time all Summer - a chilly rain, accompanied by wind rather than humidity. Fall is calling to me!
Although we haven't quite reached that apple cider time yet, some of my picks for this month are styles for the fall. Tunics - I'm loving tunics of all patterns and shapes. Paired with thick tights, boots, and a scarf... or, in our current weather, sandals and a cotton baseball cap (go Sox!). So until that time of orange leaves and red noses, I'll be enjoying the sunny weather that is headed our way next week!

1. Stripy Tunic / 2. Colorblock Wool Baseball Cap / 3. Black Boots / 4. Denim Shiftdress

Baking: Flourless Chocolate Cake

 

I am a chocolate girl. Hot chocolate in the cold. Mochas instead of plain coffee. Rich chocolate ice cream and chocolate croissants. So naturally, I appreciate a good chocolate torte. 

I've tried hard to make the perfect flourless cake. For my dad's birthday, I made one with fluffy peanut butter frosting. For Avery's birthday, I made one with far too much vanilla frosting. So it was about time I made a flourless cake without any frosting. Summer desserts call for fruits as a topping. 

This particular recipe tastes like a brownie and a torte mixed together... and in a 24cm pan, it didn't taste too thick! 

It takes less than 10 minutes to mix, and 25 minutes to bake. Perfect to bake in a late summer evening as the outside heat winds down. 

You'll need:

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup butter

1/3 cup sugar

3 eggs

1/2 cup cocoa powder

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

First, melt and mix together the chocolate chips and the butter in a saucepan. 

Once they've melted together into a thin consistency, pour them into a mixing bowl. 

Mix in the sugar. 

Whisk in the eggs. 

Add in the cocoa powder until everything is blended together. 

Pour the mixture into a 8 or 9 inch pan.

Bake in the oven for 25 minutes. 

Once it has cooked all the way through, set it out to cool. After it has cooled, feel free to sift powder sugar over the top, and add the freshest summer berries you've got. 

Printable: Recipe Cards

Recently, I've become ready for school to start up again - to move into a new apartment, learn to cook new foods with my friends, and buy fresh fruit and breads in the city. To embrace this mindset, I drew out these recipe cards, scanned them, and learned how to use the double sided feature on my printer! So exciting. Feel free to save them and print them out yourself!

Happy cooking!

Happy Father's Day (And Weekend!)

 I spent Saturday afternoon with a plethora of friends, my boyfriend, and my parents. J, Marcus, Hannah and I visited my favorite spot in my hometown, where you can peek through the brambles and see a sailboat or a ferry pass by. It's a quiet, peaceful spot, but that didn't stop us from taking fun photos and goofing around with flowers. 

 J and I have decided we are going to spend the summer being flower fairies. 

Father's day was spent in Seattle; a picnic at the beach with my family. I love my father dearly, but somehow a photo with him didn't make it onto the camera! He was off playing guitar and pushing Em on the swing. Em particularly enjoyed the "bubuhhhhs."

And I loved the the arrival of Summer. 

Xxo

Baking: Zucchini Carrot Muffins

After finishing my final essay by 2 o'clock, I thought I'd treat myself to a little zucchini carrot muffin making. I had an hour and a half to spare, so why not bake something? 

I found the recipe from searching around Pinterest, and discovered this post. I halved the recipe, because I didn't quite need 3 dozen, and it ended up making a dozen because of the acorn shaped pan that I used. 

This is the fabulous Acorn Pan It's especially wonderful when you're making something that's sweet but earthy.

In the oven for 22 minutes... and they come out looking perfect. 

My favorite, because they're absolutely fresh and taste like a sweet version of the garden.Happy first day of Summer Break!xxo

Back home.

What it feels like to be home:

Seeing Em learn about the garden / Picking sweet, green peas / Giggling together

Happy Wisconsin Wedding!

This weekend, my parents and I took the plane to Wisconsin to celebrate the wedding of my cousin. 

Lots of fun family, delicious food (especially those DB Infusion chocolates in Madison), and a truly beautiful wedding. 

Congratulations, S & N ♥ 

Late Nights after Warm Days.

The temperature reached over 60 degrees today. Put a skirt on, add pearls, and finish with "Beach Coral" Clinique lipstick.  That's what the weather told me. 

Alright.

I've sat in the grass in the sun, and now it's night and the temperature has dropped. But the warmth is still clinging to my skin.

And I'm celebrating with The Head and the Heart. 

In the Process...

As Spring Quarter rolls around and the cold weather begins to subside, I'm hoping to have more time to work on this blog. 

This will include a brand new layout, consistent posts, and all things great. 

However, this may take a long time, perhaps until Summer.

Until then, enjoy random bursts of creativity. 

Xxo

Olivia

Rain day!

Wore green rainboots today. Le Chameau. 

Smelled the sweet dirt as two men planted new ferns by my dorm.

Made me miss the Summer, gardening with my parents.

Green earth. Good things are on the way. 

Addition: Peppermint tea in the evening. 

Late Night Cupcake Run.

Very much loving the "Deathcake" at Cupcake Royale.

My parents took a trip to the city tonight and invited me for dessert afterwards, and I suggested the lovely Capitol Hill. Anytime you need dessert (or basically anything) to cheer you up, Capitol Hill is the place to go. 

And add a little Eric Hutchinson and you've got yourself a party.