some friday things

sarlat-le-canada, france 2009

I am so distracted by Europe plans. Like honestly. It's two weeks away and I feel like a little kid waiting for Christmas.  We pretty much have our plans set and we'll be hitting England, Scotland and France. There was a bit of sticker shock as we booked hotels, trains and a flat in Paris (!!) but I keep telling myself that we've saved and it's worth it.

But in the mean time, these are the things catching my eyes on the web and in real life...

>> current blog crush: girl versus dough. I'm becoming a major recipe/food blog lady and I'm just loving this blog for its photos and Stephanie's words.

>> these bloomers by the velvet bird are a.dor.able

>> 4 things you should make time for every day from The Shine Project

>> gossip girl. I know, I know. I am SO beyond the times but it's free on netflix and it's a perfect sewing show-- i.e. something I don't need to pay that close attention to.

>> also, you can still ask me things here.

>> I'm just feeling blessed right now. It could be because I'm eating vanilla icecream drizzled with dark chocolate syrup (ohhhh nom) but my heart is just full and happy. Small parts of me fear when things are just good because there's that sense of when is it going to get bad? But right now, I'm just enjoying that life is bright right now. And I am feeling ever so grateful.

I hope there are bright parts to your life as well.

xo, erika

 

ask me (almost) anything

I'm not an entirely open book... er blog... but I thought I'd take the chance to see if any of you who frequent here had any specific questions for me.

Maybe something about the corgi monster? The husband? The etsy shop? I'd love to hear them.

And... in turn... I'd love to hear about you. I know that there are more of you than who shows up in the comments. So if you've never commented before, say hi. Tell me who you are, where you're from, maybe your favorite ice cream? (I'm partial to mint chocolate chip.)

happy thursday friends. it's almost friday.

xo, erika

tourist in my own city

I rag on Seattle sometimes -- for the traffic, the gray days, the crowds (I don't love crowds)-- but sometimes I forget that it really is an awesome place to live.

I was reminded of it this weekend when I got to play tour guide to Caroline. Caroline came to the Pacific Northwest for an audition for the Sew It All TV show. We made plans to meet for breakfast and then we wandered over to Pike Place Market, a few blocks away.

It just happened to be a gorgeous day and Caroline and I, turns out, have a lot in common. I really enjoyed the hour or so we had to chat sewing, blogging and for me to show off my city. She is incredibly sweet and genuine in person-- and I loved her accent. (And secretly wish I had one, too... or at least had an excuse for saying y'all.)

Yes, the wall behind us is covered with chewing gum. I really have no idea why-- it's been like that for years and now is a weird attraction right by Pike Place.

Also, it was nice to have someone who was just as excited to take outfit photos as I was.

jacket: hinge via nordstrom // dress: anthro // scarf: france // booties: wanted shoes (last year)

Caroline, come back real soon and visit.

xo, erika

p.s. if anyone ever considers visiting Seattle, I'm no expert but I have been living in city since 2005, and I love to share my favorite places-- touristy and not. :)

linking here.

eat your veggies: fennel

We all know we should eat more vegetables but to be honest, there are some vegetables that I am entirely unfamiliar with-- or at least unfamiliar with how to cook them.

As I've mentioned often, I'm an experimental cook and love to try making new things so for the next few weeks, I'm going to experiment with vegetables-- trying to make dishes out of vegetables I've eaten many times, and those I've rarely touched.

I hope you join me on this kitchen journey and I would love to hear from you what vegetables I should try cooking next. I'm honestly up for anything that falls in the "veggie" category.


First up: fennel.

I've had it before but I've never cooked with it.

Fennel has a light, delicate sweet flavor with a touch of anise (licorice). You can slice it thin for a salad, or you can roast it to bring out its flavor. I decided to roast it and pair it with mint, lemon and almond couscous.

ingredients:
- 2 fennel bulbs -- soaked and sliced into bite size pieces. You need to soak it because some of the dirt can get into the layers-- don't soak for long, just a minute or two should work. Slice just the white bulb of the fennel, leaving the stalks and fronds aside.
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- 1/2 cup mint leaves, torn
- 1 tbs fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tbs lemon zest
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar
- 1 cup prepared plain couscous
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp sea salt

Toss the fennel with olive oil and roast in a dish at 350 for 30 minutes. You may need more or less time depending on your oven. The fennel should be soft, but not overly browned.

In the meantime, cook the couscous according to package directions (generally 1 cup couscous to 1 1/4 cup water.)

Heat a pan on low, and toast the almonds until slightly fragrant and brown. (Be careful not to burn!)

In a small bowl, create the dressing by whisking together lemon juice, zest, red wine vinegar, black pepper and salt.

When the fennel is done, mix with couscous, almonds and torn mint leaves. Top with the lemon dressing. Serve warm (but it's also delicious cold!)

Top the couscous with a few fennel fronds. Enjoy!

xo, erika

what vegetable shall I tackle next?

overcome the lie

There are many lies we believe. Maybe we believe that we're constantly going to fail. Maybe we believe that no one would care about our struggles.

You can likely fill in your own answer of negativity -- the thing you tell yourself -- even though you probably know, deep down, that it is not true.

Why do we keep letting ourselves be less that who we are? Why is it easier to fall into bad habits about our worth? We can blame media, models, society, but I think we also have to blame ourselves because we have become comfortable with thinking that we are less.

Ashley created Overcome the Lie,  a social media campaign that aims to help women break free from the lies and believe the truth about their worth.


Not only do I want to promote Overcome the Lie, I want to share the lie that I fall victim to all the time.

My lie? That what I do is not enough. That I need to do more. My house needs to be cleaner, my job needs to be better, I should get up earlier, I need to exercise more, I should bake cookies for that friend...fill in the blank...

I know that I am not alone in this. In fact, that's another lie I'm tempted to believe. I'm tempted to think that no one else feels inadequate, no one else feels like a failure, but in reality, conversations with other women tells me that we all have days, moments, months, years, where we feel like failures.

Yucky, right?

My answer to all this is relatively simple. We need to change our thought process. We need to look to God, who tells us our worth, who says we are incredibly loved. We need to look to each other and encourage each other that we are not the only ones that feel like what we do is not enough. And we need to go easy on ourselves... and teach ourselves to know we are good enough.

What lies do you believe?

#overcomethelie

xo, erika

p.s. check out the overcome the lie shop, too!