used to be one of the rotten ones

On Saturday, some of my friends from work and I had a potluck barbecue at Karlee's beautiful house. Her dad likes to garden and he did a great job! So, once I got off work I stopped by the store to get things to make lumpiang shanghai (a skinny Filipino eggroll made with ground pork and carrots), and summer sangria (my own recipe below), which is sort of my specialty, even though I've only made it twice but it always comes out magnificent if I do say so myself! We had a lot of fun making all of the things in the kitchen together.

Here's a video of us as I man the grill making burgers and hot dogs and everyone else sets the table for a homemade feast of Filipino lumpia, vegetarian Vietnamese spring rolls made with tofu, deviled eggs, chips, dip, salsa, bean salad, sangria and cherry Coke. Set to a beautiful song, "Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl" by Broken Social Scene. (I was commissioned to put my iPod on shuffle.)




Accidental outfit coordination, part 1


Woodland fairies.


Karlee had never bbq'd before so I showed her the ropes.


Accidental outfit coordination, part 2.






Nature's table! Our thighs were burning from squatting :)






Apples to Apples by lamplight!




Summer Sangria
1 small jug of Carlo Rossi sangria (you can use 2 bottles of red wine if you like it stronger, but for summer I like it less wine-y)
2 large oranges
2 lemons
2 limes
3/4 cup strawberries, sliced
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup chilled ginger ale
double (or triple) shot of cherry rum

Pour sangria/wine into large pitcher. Cut one orange in half and squeeze the juice from the half. Cut the rest of the orange into circle slices. Do the same with the lemons and limes. Add sliced strawberries, sugar, and rum (I threw in a few blueberries too). Put in fridge for at least two hours to let the flavors marinate :). The chilled ginger ale should be added right before serving so it's still fizzy.
(If you don't like red wine, use white wine, still use oranges/lemons/limes, but try different fruit additionally, like peaches, apples, grape juice. Fruit selection is really up to you!)

Cleaning up to "Absolutely Cuckoo" by the Magnetic Fields


Check out the post below for my first ever CLOSET SALE!

memorial day

I spent most of this uneventful Memorial Day Weekend working at American Apparel, but on Memorial Day itself, I went out to Prospect Park in Redlands, which I'd never been to-- or even really heard about. We got some McNuggets (my fave!-- the one thing I crave at McDonald's; besides fries and yogurt parfaits) and drove up to munch them at a picnic table and played the Shrek card game that came with the box of nuggets. It was quite pretty up there, and there's this really great little outdoor theater tucked away. I wanted to take pictures there, but a theater troupe was rehearsing a loud and shout-y play. Next time, mayhaps.

So here is my first attempt at showcasing an outfit. I've been hesitant because I'm not all too comfortable in front of a camera-- I like being behind one best. The pictures are a bit blurry because I'm still trying to figure out my camera and also, it started getting dark out. I have a step down from an SLR camera, but it's a Canon and it's a good solid one. I wish I could have gotten a better floral detail shot of the jumper, because it's very intricate and pretty. (If you click on the pictures, you can see them full-size but I don't recommend it because then you have to see me up close).





White 3D flower mesh jumper
and khaki hight waist denim short: both American Apparel
Floral camera bag and sandals: Urban Outfitters


Also this weekend, I found a yummy yummy recipe for snickerdoodle cookies courtesy of Joy of Cooking and decided to try and make them. They turned out wonderfully delicious, and only after eating the pretty batch, I had the thought to take a picture and post it up, so you get to see the remains (and the recipe!)::


Snickerdoodles:

2 3/4 cups (360 grams) all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup (227 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Coating:

1/3 cup (66 grams) granulated white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder.

Beat the butter and sugar until smooth (about 2 to 3 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat until you have a smooth dough. If the dough is soft, cover and refrigerate until firm enough to roll into balls (one to two hours).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (190 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Shape the dough into 1 inch round balls.

Coating: In a large shallow bowl mix together the sugar and cinnamon.

Roll the balls of dough in the cinnamon sugar and place on the prepared pan, spacing about 2 inches apart. Then, gently flatten each cookie to about 1/2 inch thick.

Bake the cookies for about 8 - 10 minutes, or until they are light golden brown around the edges. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

Makes about 6 dozen cookies.