Moving.

It's official. We're moving to Omaha. It's the right thing to do but I can't help missing Bend something mighty. My life has evolved so much since I moved there; job changes, new friends, meeting my husband, getting engaged and married, getting our dog. I don't want to forget some of my favorite things about the little mountain town that I love so much. Better write them down, as to never forget.

Things I will miss about living in Bend:

3 great years in this house.

Summer. Floating the river. OUR FRIENDS. Our friends are so, so great. Jackson's Corner. Riding my bike. Mountain views. Food carts. Ocean proximity. Dogs everywhere. O'Kanes. Drake Park. Brother John's. Dog parks. Deschutes River. Riverside Market. Huge orange poppies. Wild strawberries surprises. The Farmer's Market. Sparrow Bakery. Planting flowers around the tree. Our landlords. Our street. Our neighborhood. The big blonde guy who always has a floppy mohawk, walking around our neighborhood. Our neighbor's dogs. Bite of Bend. Bend Brewfest. Hoppy beer. All the breweries. Les Schwab Amphitheater. Free Summer Sunday concerts. Taking my dog with me everywhere. Pho. Rockin Dave's. Wall St. and Bond St. Our deck and backyard. Walking dogs with friends. Dog-friendly attitude. Make Local Habit. Happy Hours. Dudley's Bookstore. Riding our moped. Jump-starting our moped every time. Elk Lake.

The weird tulip that comes up every year in the front yard.

Living in Omaha will be different. I'm feeling positive about it and hope I will come to find things I love about this new community.

And most importantly,

this:

valentine's day plus a fail

Here's the deal. I had a post idea and took pictures. When it came down to it, the lighting is just ridiculous. I get horrible light in the evening (or always) since the only window in my kitchen is north-facing and we use the low-energy compact florescent lights. As I was trying to edit some life into my food shots, I got grainy yuckiness that no one wants to look at. So, next time I make the following, it will be either morning or afternoon and taken in the right place in my house accordingly.

Oh- the post was detaling the lettuce wraps I have been making like crazy, trying to perfect my own recipe. I think I've got it finally so will be sharing that soon!

For now, I will post Geof and my Valentine's Day dinner...our first effort at sushi! There was a sushi set gifted to us that was gathering dust and we were finally ready to try it out. We bought hamachi (yellowtail), maguro (ahi tuna), seaweed salad, fresh crabmeat and a few raw oysters. Add to that two different lagers: Kirin and Longboard and a couple sakes and we're set!

Before (click to make bigger):





And after:


I don't even know why we bothered with nigiri...we would have been better off sticking with just sashimi! The first roll was the California roll...it was also the hugest and ugliest. Everything else was perfect. I would totally do sushi again, but with some friends next time to offset the amount of fish and rice we had.

blog love

I just found some entertainment via the New York Times Dining and Wine blog.



The author buys meals at various fast food restaurants and turns them into something else entirely! I won't be trying any of the recipes because they pretty much gross me out completely but they sure are fun to look at!

A Book a Week

One of my goals in 2010 is to read a book per week. I know I will struggle with this a few times over the course of the year, but it should be mostly easy. When you break down the average 200-300 page book, it's only an average of 40-ish pages per day.

Thanks to some good reading buddies and Costco, I have a pretty big stack waiting for when I finish the current book.

I can guarantee I won't be reviewing each book I read but I will try to highlight the ones that I really like. Check out my reading list on the sidebar!

One of my new favorites

Lovely, just lovely.



(found on Pacing the Panic Room)

Bunting Flags

I usually love winter and snow but lately, I have been really lusting for summer. Maybe it's because our weather seems so in-between to me. Cold but not snowy or just warm enough that it spits rain instead.

I have some really cute fabric from the Stitching Post in Sisters that I got over the holiday break and I'm looking for something cute to make. Here's what I'm thinking:

(image links to source)

The last one is made with vintage newspapers which could be really fun too! I think these will bring a little summer to the world right now. We shall see what I come up with....