Sugar Cookie Fantasy

I am doing it again. 
Another one of my baking fantasies...


I am alone in my kitchen. I can hear SuperMoto outside
running a chainsaw or something noisy that makes me aware that he is outside working. All of my beautiful pans are stacked up on the island. I can hear the tink of the ovens preheating. The mixer is whirring away creaming butter and sugar. Stacks of sprinkles and cellophane bags are everwhere. There is a dusting of flour on the counter that makes a path between the bag and the bowl of the mixer. The GeoDog is asleep on the floor by my feet. Close enough to trip me but not. (This is my fantasy after all) (In real life I would have fallen already and been at the ER having x-rays) I am preparing to make my first sugar cookies in my new kitchen. 


Isn't this the most beautiful fantasy in the world? Well, ok, for me anyway. I get it, you probably don't dream about baking in your kitchen, but you know me and
I DO!! 

Our Commute

Our commute home is a Scenic Byway. It is the first marine scenic byway in the state of Washington. 

There is only one other state in the nation that has a scenic byway. 

When you get on the ferry, and it pulls away from the dock, the view takes your breath away. Literally. There hasn't been a time that we have sat down on the ferry that I am not made speechless by the beauty of the view. 

A direct ferry takes about 70 minutes to get from the Anacortes to Friday Harbor. If you have the time and want to really get the million dollar view you can jump on a ferry that stops at all four stops, Lopez, Shaw, Orcas, and San Juan Islands. I would recommend this to anyone who hasn't explored this area as it is the most lovely views. 

City vs. Island #4 The Restaurant Situation Revisited

Do you like a good hamburger?

Do you like a gorgeous view?

Do you like to feel the warm sun on your skin?

Do you think you might like all three of those things at the same time?

Well, if you would you might want to go have a hamburger at Friday's Crabhouse.

I am pretty sure you are supposed to want to eat fresh cracked dungeness crab, steam clams, mussels, clams, and oysters, homemade crab-cakes, fresh grilled salmon, fish and chips...get the picture? If you asked SuperMoto, he would tell you all of these things are to die for good. They have this fantastic homemade sauce that they smother their shellfish with. When we eat here he grins and slurps and is in shellfish lover heaven!


The view of Friday Harbor and the Ferry Terminal is so amazing. Sitting there with the sun beating down on you while you watch the ferry pulling up to the dock is unbelievable. I have sat up on the top deck with the GeoDog waiting for SuperMoto to run off the ferry with his suitcases. During the summer this is the most wonderful spot in the world!

Window Coverings

Well, we never did talk about the new window coverings. We decided to go with a woven wood with a liner. We chose a woven teak called Corban Teak. 


They are super gorgeous and still in the box. Currently our windows are adorned by the most lovely black sheets you have ever seen. 


The next trip to the house is a finishing trip. We plan to finish a bunch of projects that are still uncompleted. It is so easy to get started on something, get most of it completed and then never put the finishing touches on it. 

So, hopefully in a few weeks we will be able to post pictures of the actual Roman Shades hanging in our windows. Don't hold your breath! 

Hardwood Floor and the Dog Hair Issue

Awwww....

We have this adorable, sweet thing, that sleeps like a baby. Isn't she adorable? I know, makes you want to coo and caa and give her bones and cookies and take her for walks and pet her endlessly hu? I know, I know, me too! But I am lucky because she is mine, all mine. Well, actually I do share her with SuperMoto and she shares herself with all who tread through our home?

Think I mean she is loving?

Think I mean she is friendly?

Well, she is all that, but she is giving in a far more generous way too...

She generously leaves her hair EVERYWHERE!

It is disgusting!! Don't EVER wear black in our house because you will be covered in it. We have carpet in our California house and are constantly vacuuming up the fur. Here, at the San Juan Island house we have now hardwood floored almost the entire house. Turns out her hair flows across the floor only stopping to ball up with the other hair on the floor, that she has already left there, and then move on. It is the grossest thing I have ever seen! We have an old vacuum here but it wasn't designed for the hardwood floor and isn't removing her hair in the way it should be. So, don't go barefoot. At least you couldn't until the other day. Now you can go barefoot all you want. Why you might ask? Because we have been saved by this...

YELLOW BE GONE!

If you look closely you can see on the left of the hall there it is the new Barely Beige color and to the right is the old yellow color. The beige color reads a bit greyish when it is dry and done and we love it. We like how the yellowishness in the room is slowly disappearing and in it's place is a more neutral.

Oh, I can hear your whispers. I know it isn't cool to do neutrals. I just love neutrals. Some of you might remember me from my black dishes phase or my fruit dishes phase and my white dishes phase. As you might remember the white took over so many years ago, 10+ and has stuck. I NEVER go for colors now. You also might remember my obsession with black clothes phase. That went on for years but once I started wearing khaki you couldn't get me out of it and that too was a long time ago. Why do you give a crap?

Well, because this paint color dealy, it is the same as those other phases. I have gone bright, printed, massive art, and have settled down and I am neutral girl now. It has been building over the last ten years but I am all about the browns.

Neutral Girl!!

Able to roll in all colors and still come out brown.

So, the color you see to left there is the lightest color we are using.

The yellow wall in the picture, tomorrow will be the middle shade of tan. The alcove that is next to the front door that is going to house Roy's antique writing desk is going to be the darkest shade.

Haven't we discussed this before? The colors I mean? Somewhere here? Many moons ago? Maybe before I got started painting even?

Hummm, I guess I am the Repeaternator! Sorry!

Look closely. What do you see?

A mess? NO!

Three glow balls? Yes but NO!

The sunlight!!

Yes people, we have sun in the living room! Can you believe it? You might not remember but we had that tree work done last year. We had it done in September and then came back in the winter. The sun's trajectory in the winter wouldn't allow for sun in the living room so we couldn't know if our tree removal worked and when I say worked, I mean allowed for some sun and light to come in.

Turns out it did work and this photo proves it. I agree that it isn't a lot of sun but it is still winter. Wait until you see it in July! I am going to be wearing sunglasses in here.

WAHOO!!

1st Dessert...Chocolate Mousse Dreams

I was invited to a birthday party that took place today. The minute I heard about it and was assigned dessert to bring for 8-10 I knew I would make chocolate mousse. I dreamed about it and decided that I wouldn't tempt the fates, and would make the mousse.

I so often times make things based on my mood and for some reason I felt very connected to this mousse. As I started whisking over the double boiler I realized that this was to be my first dessert in my new kitchen.

When we left the house on the last trip the cook top gas had just been hooked up the afternoon before we left so I didn't get to cook on it even once.

This trip that has changed. I have created on my new cook top a bunch of times. I have mastered the dinner but but a successful dessert was still pending.

As you can see, I made dark chocolate mousse. It was so fun to make my first dessert. I loved it. Even though we have tons of work to complete the kitchen, I am loving it and enjoying it and can't wait to make my second and third and hundredth and thousandth dessert.

So, we are counting snow and dessert now. Can you stand it? I understand if you can't...I am a super freak!

Painting...The Entry

Somebody famous said that repeating the same behavior over and over expecting different results was the definition of insanity. Does that apply to prep and paint? I mean, really, does it? I go from room to room removing baseboards, removing crap, patching and prepping for painting, all the while expecting it to be fun and easy and it NEVER IS!

Here is what the room looked like when I started. Well, after I had removed a bunch of junk that is.....

It had these ugly shelves on the walls. In the corner to the right of the front door was a wall coat rack and a pine, unfinished bench. All in all this room needs some TLC.

Of course we have plans for it, as we do for all the rooms in this house. We are going to put custom made, by SuperMoto, shelves to house our art glass collection and a little desk in that nook in the corner and some pictures and a mirror. We even have some grand plans of converting a section of the closet, that butts up against my pantry, into pantry. We shall see. We have lots of ideas, let's see how tired we get.

Here is the picture of what it looked like after all of my prep...

As you can see I am all ready to tape off and paint. I am looking forward to sucking up some more of that yellow that is on every wall in this house. (Minus the walls I have already painted.) I know how exciting this is for you so please don't go far. More of the riveting entry way paint project is to come.

The Third Snow

I warned you! Proceed at your own risk. I am a cheeseball head and am going to rant for days about it snowing again and you might get bored so this is your out, right now.

There it is. See it there off in the distance past the railing and the Jeep. You might be wondering why it doesn't look like snow on the ground? It is that light fluttery snow that dances through the air but never graces the ground with it's presence. It is a lovely quiet snow that teases you and touches the tip of your head but not your toes. I am so happy to be cozy inside while it is snowing outside.