A summer Concert at the Zoo///with homemade Peach Donuts!

We are having a little work party this weekend and attending Prairie Home Companion's show at the Portland Zoo. I grew up listening to Garrison Keeler's old timey radio show every Sunday morning on the car ride out to our friend's farm. It reminds me of my parents; young and dark haired, the red velour interior of our old Ford and rolling down the window to let the summer wind blow through my hair. So basically I'm excited in this strange nostalgic way /// like the way I get excited for Christmas traditions that have gone on as long as i can remember or family roadtrips. I didn't necessarilly always love every moment - I remember begging my Dad to switch Top 40 station - but overall the memories are happy and cozy and people oriented. 

So I'll bring my picnic blanket and lay it out on the big lawn at the Zoo...get cozy, eat some good food and enjoy the companionship of my awesome coworkers who I think all have silimar nostalgic feelings about the show. 

Speaking of good food I think all of us will be bringing some delicious snacks and wine to share and enjoy.  I'll bring some of these Peach Donuts///I saw these on the kitchn and literally started salivating.  They are perfect to make out of the already donut shaped heirloom peaches that are sold at Sheridan's Fruit Market right across the street from my work. I'll put them in a cute crate - sprinkle them with powdered sugar I don't think anyone will be able to say no. Yummmm

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****Post-Edit: I made the donut peaches and they were so easy and totally amazing dipped in cinnamon and sugar. If you take them on a picnic like I did I recommend laying them in a single layer in towel lined pan.  I had them stacked on top of eachother in towel lined tupperware and they ended up a lil mushy by the end of the night. But when I got them home I crisped them right back up in the toaster oven...so don't be too worried. 

Beer-Battered, Deep-Fried Donut Peaches

(makes 6)

6 donut peaches, carefully pitted without cutting the rest of the fruit

1 egg

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup beer

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

about 4 cups canola oil (or enough to submerge)

Bring oil to about 375 degrees. It should be slightly sizzling. Whisk together the egg, flour, beer, salt and sugar. Dunk the pitted donuts into the batter to coat completely.

Test if oil is hot enough to deep-frying by dropping a dollop of batter in first. If it sizzles up and turns golden brown within a couple seconds, it’s ready. Shake a little batter off each peach and deep-fry in batches of two or three at a time. (You’ll want to keep the oil consistently hot, and adding more peaches will lower its temperature.) Once golden brown, after approximately 5-10 seconds, transfer to paper towels to drain.  
*** Coat in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream optional.

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And maybe a lil mint lemonade to boot!

I can'y grt enough of///BEAUTIFUL BRAIDS

Wow, this is one continuous french braid. AMAZING!!! I can't seem to gte enough of loose braids///so pretty.

via at the tree house

Beachy outfits for the end of Summer

Jorie, these are for you///my girl and I always talk about cute beach clothes that will be totally flattering and don't require us to get naked. I love this look///it is styled perfectly.

via Pigeon.toed

Mmm triangles//The interior design of Verner Paton

via butdoesitfloat

Okay, I could wear this long dress///Ascot Friday

Thanks Ascot Friday for solidifying my appreciation for the full length dress///I wasn't ready before.

Diamond Lightbulbs

Neato.

via F/F

Trusty 35MM

I dusted off my trusty 35mm yesterday and brought it on an adventure I'd never experienced...shooting rifles. I got the photos developed right after the trip and just need to scan them into the computer now.  I miss the anticipation that comes with developing film///never knowing exactly which photos will turn out perfect. The funniest thing about that is that I never thought I'd have to do a camera tutorial with my little Minolta. But all of the photos my friends took turned out super blurry///i.e. all the photos of me. Haha, oh well.

Here are a couple shots from our day that my girlfriend Michelle took...we'll have to wait a bit longer for me to get those prints scanned in.

Crafty Jorie///I love my friends

So my lovely friend Jorie and I always talk about being more creative. Look at what she created this weekend!!!

 This girl and I seem to have this wicked inspirational esp when we're around each other that gets us both a little giddy and me, a little weak in the knees. Have you ever found those people that you want to call bosom buddies? Those people that really get you excited about life? Jorie is definitely one of those people for me. Look how cute she is paddling about Lost Lake here in Oregon. I'm gushing and this is totally going to make her puke in her mouth a little bit///but anyway...

So I'm utterly in love with what she did with her shoes. We both have a thing for pattern, triangles in particular and tennies. We talked about doing this with Tom's but those kicks can be way too expensive. I love how she turned a pair of Target "keds" into a wearable piece of art. 

They remind me of the puff paint days of yore. Oh I know you remember. I mean, check me out /// in one of my masterpieces circa 1989. 

Have to say Jorie's taken it up a couple notches from my childhood craftiness.

Happy Weekend///I'm off to the fair

This weekend we'll be at the Canby Fair for a friend's birthday. I haven't been to a county fair in years///I can't wait for the smells of fair food - corn on the cob, cotton candy and corndogs, to see the animals, take photo booth photos and ride the swings!

Hope you are having a fantastic August time as well.

My New Obsession///Beets

I have this new foodie obsession and it come in the way of bright pink beets.  Oh my god, yum!! I always imagined them sweet and stayed as far away from them as possible. If only I'd know long ago how good they are. I now am making beet salads almost daily: most commonly with arugula, goat cheese and a touch of vinegar. But beet pasta dish that I found over at The Five Senses looks to die for. Wheat pasta, beets, butter, poppyseeds and chevre. YUMMM!

Find the recipe here.

My next gift for Ketch///Puzzleboard

Ketch and I have a lot of nicknames for eachother, the first being Ketchup & Mustard, the second: puzzle piece. There are more...maybe I'll mention them in a later post cause it's kind of embarrassing.

It would be fun to get him this cheeseboard that is made to look like puzzle.  Talk about cheesy. heh heh 

Oh my god, I'm sorry you guys. Anyway/// the pieces actually come apart to make plates that could even carry a wine glass. Neat.

Available over at Supermarket

Art on Wood Grain///Michelle Hartney

This girl's work is amazing and right along the lines of a couple projects I'm working on of my own.  

Love///

 

You can purchase her work on etsy.

Kimonos Repurposed///Coumon

Necklaces and headbands made from old kimonos by Coumon designer Julie Robinson! Beautiful!

Dead Man's Bones///Ryan Gosling's Band

Ryan Gosling///I've loved him since the notebook, now I'm even more impressed.

Gettin my hair did///

My beautiful friend Michelle is going to put some color in my hair for me soon.  Highlights that frame my face but are hidden away from my part and hairline so the grow out isn't bad.  I'm not a fussy hair girl.  When it comes to getting my hair done I prefer a bang trim to a $200 dollar dye job.  But my dear is in school and is helping me out - maybe we'll do some sort of neat trade.  I just want my french braids to look like this///

via hello lindello and so many other places

These are beautiful///Pedro Matos

I simply love portraiture. It is my absolute favorite. These are by Portugeuse artist Pedro Matos.

via BOOOOOOOM!

Nail Polish Art///

I remember in 5th grade when my Mom taught me to paint flowers and stripes on my fingernails...just like she did in the 60's. Though I dig some funky colors I have not been into the "art form of Nail Art" since I was a pre teen.

These nails though...so rad. Totally back on the bandwagon.

via pigeon.toed

America captured in color///1930's & 40's

Beautiful photos of american circa 30's and 40's///it made me realize how often we don't get to see imagery from the past in color. What a magical glimpse into the past. See more beautiful images on The Denver Post's blog.

Zipper Jeans///Quicksilver Women

I don't think of Quicksilver brand as sexy...actually far from it.  It takes me back to being 13 and wishing I could be a surfer girl, even in Oregon. But these jeans which they actually call Sheath leggings that they've put out for their Fall line are INCREDIBLY sexy and I would love to have a pair of my own.  I already own a pair of dark skinny jeans with cute little ankle zips. But I love how these go all the way up the calf and how the denim has some shimmer to it. So rockin.

I shall be released///Check out Mary's hair///perfection

 

A great Bob Dylan song...performed by some of the best. All via Nicest

This Joe Cocker version is beautiful///and the festival clips in the video are to die for. 

A man's life in photos///great little film

Industrial Lighting for the Home

I'm in love with industrial style lighting at the moment /// metal pan shades, powder coating, edison lightbulbs, corded pendants and metal cages. 

 I was shopping at the hardware store the other day with my friend Jorie and found these great work lamps that could clip onto my bed and look uber cool.  They had a metal cage and would really only work with a low wattage bulb because there is no shade to diffuse the light. Thus not necessarily a great reading light, but definitely good mood lighting. The options below though could give task lighting versus just ambiance.  I love them.

Below is just more inspiration///

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