When the moon hits your eye

I'm back to baking with the Daring Bakers (a huge virtual baking group) this month after a two month (move/lack of internet) hiatus! This months challenge was chosen by Rosa at Rosa's Yummy Yums and she picked Pizza Napoletana from Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice which yields a beautifully tasty, thin, crispy, and chewy pizza crust. The recipe is on her blog for those interested.

I was relieved when I saw how quickly this dough would come together, however I find that making dough requires a lot of waiting and patience-something I sometimes lack. The dough needed to rest for 24 hours and then another two hours. The recipe, which I halved, came together really quickly and resulted in a very thin, crispy, chewy crust much like Rosa said it would. I spread my pizza out right to the edge after trying somewhat unsuccessfully throwing it. I used white bread flour instead of all-purpose four which I felt gave the bread a really nice texture.

My toppings were pretty basic as far as pizza toppings go and resulted in pizza that rivals take out. Pizza 1 was split in half. Left half: bacon, feta and provolone. Right Half: ham, green peppers, onion and a mixture of provolone and mozzarella. The sauce was a can of diced tomatoes, poured directly on the pizza and topped with minced garlic and dried basil.

When it comes to homemade pizza sauce I just use what I have around the house and it always turns out really nice and full of flavor. The second pizza was mozzarella first with minced garlic followed with pepperoni and sauce and then sprinkled with dried basil. I went overboard with the pepperoni thinking the five huge slices I used would shrink, but they didn't and the pizza was too greasy.

Overall, I'm really pleased with this recipe and will probably make it again in the future and freeze extra dough for later use. Making this from scratch has really gotten me back into the mindset of taking the time to make food (which I find very therapeutic and relaxing) instead of just throwing something together because its easy.

a sublime world

It was a nice surprise when I checked the mail and found Black Apple embroidery patterns sent to me from one of my favorite ladies! Sublime Stitching is full of really cheeky embroidery kits and patterns. I'm really excited to get started on some very special Christmas gifts using my new pattern set. Thanks Ashley!

life as an artist

This new blog entry by Elsie from a beautiful mess clearly illustrates life as someone who works creatively for a living. Check it out here: Things I wish I had known.


Snippet:

5. What are some common misconceptions about your career?

Elsie: Oh man, there are so many! People say to me all the time, "must be nice to just stay home and paint all day" or "I wish I didn't have to go to work and I could just make crafts all of the time". Those kind of statements are funny to me because they are super untrue. I have lots of friends who have normal jobs and can spend part of their working day playing on the internet and still get paid for it. Working as an artist isn't like that. Yes, you can leave and get coffee anytime you want, but you don't *ever* get paid for hanging out. I love it because I survive on deadlines and late nights, but it is a lot of work. Working as an artist & designer is the job I have chosen and I wouldn't trade it for literally any job the world. I don't think very many people can say that, but it is also a career that is full of personal sacrifice and hard work. It's a very fulfilling job for me and I love it, but it makes me sad when people think that it must be really easy.

Jeremy: A lot of people think that the goal is to get signed to a label. I've gone that route before; though it has it benefits, in the end it means nothing. It always comes back to you having to work daily to promote yourself and try to move people's emotions with your music.

Rachel: There is a lot of research time involved in having a scrapbook kit club as well as a vintage goods store. I have to stay on top of the latest trends in both markets and search out the unique pieces that will appeal to customers that are familiar with normal products. I have to spend a lot of time online for both. It may seem like starting either business takes little time but there are so many elements that are time sensitive, involve large amounts of work all at once, take up a lot of space at home, and include tedious, uncreative tasks. Its a fabulous way for me to live right now but I agree that there are personal sacrifices that are made. Free time and plenty of sleep to name a few...

little hands and feet

It's pretty amazing what they have done and what they will do.

obama mode

We went to see Obama yesterday in Roanoke with the little one (Dylan) and it was so exciting to be there with a huge group of people all hopeful about the direction of our country. We were pretty far away, but we got to get in pretty quickly thanks to some volunteering we did.

I wish I could say I got a really good picture of Obama, but we brought the silly silver camera and it couldn't seem to focus on the tiny spec of Obama in the sea of people around him. Thats a good thing though.

Thanks to Colleen at Loose Leaf Notes who steered me and Josh in the right direction for local democratic activism. We're doing door-to-door canvasing tomorrow and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about that. I haven't gone door to door since my days as a girl scout. I'm thinking it might be easier to sell cookies.

Also, Josh cracks me up. He has decided to leave obama pins with a generous tip when we eat out. The first one was left at Smokey Bones in Roanoke.



It looks like other people are in need of change!

First time for everything

(click image to enlarge)

Going along with my last post, I really can't stay away from the idea of art journaling. I love it! I did my first one today and I really want to try making these everyday. I won't lie, when I started working on it, it was a mess. I just kept pushing forward and trying new arrangements.

I had a feeling of wanting to do too much today and not knowing where to start. Making this helped me to focus and created some sort of release. I'm pleased with how it turned out.

something good

I could waste hours on the internet every day. I can't help it, there is so much good stuff out there. So much eye candy to collect, so many bits of inspiration- all out there just waiting to be looked at.

I recently discovered the Red Velvet Girls and a whole world of really cool scrapbooks. That's right, I said it: scrapbooking. Apparently, it got really cool and much more creative. There is also digital scrap booking and all of these websites with tutorials and ideas. Someone help me I feel an obsession coming on. The ideas are limitless and believe me a scrapbook is unfolding in my craft room.

Two Peas in a bucket has a ton of digital downloads-but you need to have photoshop or photoshop elements to use them. They also have free digital kits each month. The halloween one is super cute.

A Beautiful Mess is a member of the Red Velvet Girls and very cute indeed. Her Flickr.

Kitschy Digitals by Danielle Thompson. She will soon sell exclusively through Two Peas in a Bucket, but for now she sells through her blog. Check out her other blog, I love her house!

Bling another journaler and scrapbooker. I really like the combination of journaling and scrap booking as a way to record life and inspire daily creativity.

october visits and the degree challenged

A couple of my friends, mom, sister, aunt and family friend made the journey to Floyd for a visit this past weekend. Things are finally in order around here and it was nice to have visitors over who appreciate my decorating efforts :) thanks for coming!

I'm also pleased that they all gave Floyd a stamp of approval, not that I was worried. I think making a move from NYC to a small town could make some people ask "why?" but this isn't like other small towns. There is a community of people here that care about creating something meaningful and it shows.



We took a tour through the parkway, ate at every local restaurant and went to the pumpkin festival near Christiansburg. Took a hayride, ate pumpkin fudge, and laughed. Despite the distance its really nice to have a small group of friends that get you, and your bad jokes.




What else? oh yeah, remember my dollar request for baby questions? I have a new one! One dollar for every "when are you going to finish college?" question. gah, seriously I don't have an answer for that. I think about college and I think about the 4, almost 5 years that I spent there and really cannot picture myself going back.

I get school and degrees and why its so important for so many people. I respect that. My mom is going back to school to become an RN and she is in her early 50's and my aunt is doing the same thing. I think its really cool, however, I just can't get on the degree's-are-important-for-everyone bandwagon.

I was getting a degree in graphic design, which is really laughable that you need to spend five years to learn design. I don't know everything about design, not even close, but you don't need four years of college to learn how to do it. You could learn everything you need to know in six months or less at an internship. I take issue with the amount of money people spend to get a degree and then they graduate and a) they make crap money b) can't find a job c) spend most of their lives paying back student loans d) realizing they hate doing what they majored in.

I'll be honest, I'm not passionate about studying graphic design. Sure, I love aspects of design:web graphics, craft design, product design, interior design, illustration and photography. If I had graduated and gotten a job at one of the two major design firms in WV (highly unlikely, btw) I would have barely made 25k a year. I then would have to spend all my time working on someone else's projects while climbing some invisible latter to get a promotion.

I'm still paying off student loans, I owe about 12k and I'm not upset about that. I had a really good time in college and I highly recommend living in dorms and living the college life. Thinking about going back, right now, just seems silly for me. There anything I would even want a degree in. The idea of working hard for someone else's gain doesn't appeal to me.

I'm lucky that my parents don't ask me this question and are really supportive of my pursuits. Occasionally my mom suggests jobs that I might like, but other than that she seems to be cool with it. Thanks parents!

Another thing that pisses me off about degrees is that they are seemingly mandatory for most jobs that don't require a lot of skill. But, if someone has work experience and are intelligent they should get a chance for training. Maybe I'm naive in thinking this.

For example I know someone who is working at a hospital making an o-kay salary. They should be making about 15k more a year (according to the national average) for their workload and experience. They have been working in their position for over ten years and they are the only ones with that position and the knowledge for the job in the entire hospital.

They got tired of the situation and went elsewhere for a job, but the hospital asked them to stay with promises of a new environment, which they fulfilled. Said person is now getting a degree not in the field that are working in and the hospital is now offering them a managerial position in their current area to oversee new employees that will take on some of their workload. They will finally see a pay increase. All of this happens once the degree is earned.

They are not gaining new information towards their work through this degree. Basically, because they now have a degree they can move forward. The logics behind this is mind boggling and the employer isn't footing the bill for the year of school it will take to earn the degree.

I understand why employers hold better paying jobs for those with degrees, but I can't help but feel like most jobs can be done very well with training instead of degrees. I read recently that most self-employed people do not have degrees which I think is really interesting. I love that. It shows that you can make your own way without paper or permission even if it means sacrifice.

When I first met Josh he said something that I will never forget: I don't want to spend the whole week waiting for the weekend to come.

Before leaving college I picked up a booked title Rich and Happy? Don't Go to School by Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad. His points were amazing and really hit home with the flaws in the educational system. After reading that book I never doubted my decision to leave.

I know what I believe doesn't work for everyone, but I guess I just like the idea of this discussion. Another thing that I find interesting about degrees and career paths is that idea of working on someone else's time. I have yet to master my own workload for myself without a boss hanging over my head, but I know that for most people eight hours of work is not necessary.

I don't understand spending eight hours at a job with only 3 hours of work to do. If you ask most people they will say that they spend so many hours online shopping, chatting, phone talking, or making up games to fill the time gaps. I defiantly mastered the task of looking busy while the boss was around, which basically meant opening up outlooking and pretending to be frustrated.

I also think it is really ridiculous to expect eighteen year olds to know what they want to spend their lives doing. I'm twenty five and I still don't know. I figure I will change my mind several times, but I think sometimes people get stuck doing something they don't enjoy just because they spent a lot of time and money towards it. With that said, most people never find jobs in their degree field, the paper simply opens doors for them.

In new york I made decent money as an assistant which I was pretty good at. Event planning and scheduling, but I'm not sure how much skill you need for that outside of multitasking and dealing with stress. Moving here, we knew that the job market would be zero. Where do people even work here? Its a mystery to me, and I assume a lot of people are doing their own thing too or driving thirty minutes to work.

I would like to take concentrated classes sometime soon. Not a course load of classes I don't need. I'm interested in leaning more about digital photography, web design and the adobe creative suite programs, but I know that most of these things can be self-taught.

Maybe one day I'll change my mind, and want to do something totally different, until then I'm happy being a renaissance lady.

Sing a song for them

Two things, maybe three. Sunday we spent the day putting together shelves, taking a very large and heavy bookcase out of the living room, hanging a giant tv on the wall, watching Boys Don't Cry, and eating frozen chicken pot pies.

This morning I'm listening to the new Jenny Lewis, Acid Tongue. Oh, its good and goes nicely this morning.


This is going to be a busy week: getting the house in order for visitors, nephew and debate watching, article writing, working, catching up on some designs, going to the gym, updating all blogs, and working on artwork.

Artwork. I've been really feeling a huge push to create lately despite what my negative brain is whispering in my ear. Sometimes I feel like there is an internal battle happening. A deep core never ending desire to make art and the brain that crushes those creative urges. Shut up brain.

Tinkering Around

I was told yesterday (by mr. josh) that I should proofread my entries before publishing them. I should mention that I rarely do that, even though I really should. It's a bad habit. I tend to not think about that when I'm rambling on about one thing or another.

Yesterday we went around to participate in some fallish activities. First was the craft fair at the local high school which was packed with people and vendors. I was happy to see that most vendors were selling handmade items rather than already purchased ones. We came away with a beautiful wooden accent table.

Josh hadn't been to the fair in almost twelve years and was really looking forward to visiting his old school. High schools are funny in the way they are all the same in how we remember them. The smell, the long hallways, the water fountains, the gym and the cafeteria. All of our memories are tucked away in the walls.

The quilt display was pretty amazing too. They asked us to vote on our favorite quilt for the viewers choice ribbon. I should mention that these ribbons were pretty nice, I found myself drawn to the tiny quilting work on them. My vote went towards the outer space looking quilt. I knew I wanted to vote on a quilt that didn't already have a ribbon, and I wonder if anyone else voted that way too?

After the fair we headed to the pumpkin festival for pumpkins and a walk in the corn maze. The maze was hard, which we weren't expecting. If you didn't have a map you could get lost in it for hours. Getting lost in corn would be a nightmare, a breeding ground for insanity.

Tinkering: I'm still putting things away around here. Everything is unpacked, but I have a huge to-do list as far as decorating goes. I love that about moving into a new place, which oftentimes can turn into a never ending to-do list.

I once overheard a lady saying that it took her about six month to have her apartment how she wanted it. I can relate to that. I've been doing little things here and there. Painting a rug, hanging shelves, jotting ideas on paper, moving furniture around and collecting ideas.

My friends+sister are coming up next weekend for a visit, plus my mom and her friends rented a cabin nearby too so I feel like I want to get as much done as possible before then.

I'm really excited about the rug I painted about a week ago. We lack carpeting in our new place as well as the wooden floors we left behind in Brooklyn. So giant rugs are filling in where the cold tiles are. There was a green rug left behind in he dining area that was kind of sad looking and knew I wanted to paint it. I found inspiration for a simple rug pattern in one of my home decorating magazines and figured I could do it freehand.

I'm totally in love with how it turned out. I was worried it would like like a five year old got a hold of paint and went crazy on the rug. It might actually look like that, but here it is:
Before:


After:
Sorry for the bad lighting, I don't have my usual photo editing program at the moment. Until then, these will have to do.

I also started decorating one of the walls in our dining/living room area. I'm rethinking the plates so close to the top of the wall, and really want to paint over the light blue borders around the top and bottom of the house. This table I got from a stoop sale in Brooklyn for ten dollars. I think people were surprised that I wanted to bring it home, its really old with cracked paint on the top. I love it, and would love to find out why there are arms that fold out in front of it. I've thought about repainting it, but I just don't have the heart to cover up the chipped green paint just yet.

The cake stands are from the salvation army in Brooklyn. A daily refuge for me right across the street from my old job. I miss that place so much! Most of the items came from the Fort Greene neighborhood meaning: really great stuff. There was a book editor who gave away all of his/her pre-released books too.

What else? The old keys are gifts and from ebay. I also have my own version of the "keep calm, carry on" posters circulating the design world lately. And my little print I made of an umbrella with the words "I've got you covered". I have plans to make a few more digital versions of that one and possible some painted ones for my upcoming etsy store.

Thats is for today, Its Sunday and I'm going to do some planning for the week.

marriage and kids and age and work and life

It's Saturday. I feel like I'm saying that a lot lately, not Saturday, but is it already Saturday? I guess I'll keep saying that. This week, October started which is by far one of my favorite months. It just has a feel to it.

My sister turned 30 this week! I'm not totally sure how she feels about, I didn't hear any excitement and maybe a statement along the lines of being 35 in five years. I love getting older. While responsibilities do get harder, it seems like other things get a lot easier. Who would want to live in high school forever? High school was like a never ending episode of Dawson's Creek.

Love you sister! Happy Birthday!

We watched the debate on Thursday with a small group of local Democrats. I'm still shocked that people find it okay to talk so unprofessionally when giving a debate. Dang, darnit, golly wally, doggonit, what? And to be so close to an important position. I've been hearing lately that the appeal to Sarah Palin is her ability to be like "everyone else". I find that unacceptable. When it comes to most things in the world, I am in idiot. I could not perform my own surgeries, or fight my own court cases or even build my own house. So why is it that some American's are looking for someone like them to lead the country? I want someone not at all like me. I am lazy, I take shortcuts, I left college with only a year left to finish, I didn't know what the Bush Doctrine was either until I looked it up. Some of my magazine subscriptions are: martha stewart living, better homes and gardens, lucky and domino. Guess what? Not qualified to be Vice President. Can we please raise the bar again for Presidency and Vice Presidency?

Another thing I'm not understand lately is pushing newlyweds to have children. After we get married, I'm charging everyone a dollar who asks when we plan to have kids. The funny difference about living in NYC and living in most other places is the perception of age. In New York we are young whipper snappers still figuring out life and who we are. Most people do not start settling down (not sure what that means yet) until they are in their late 30's and early 40's. Which I know is not prime child-time for most women. But here, and where I come from it seems foreign to be the age we are 25 and 31 and not even close to child rearing. Whats wrong with enjoying your marriage first?

I can't help but to feel that waiting a few years to have children is a good decision all around. First, having children puts stress on a marriage and changes your relationship. Why not figure out married life and enjoy your time together first? Second, I think its a good idea to get past the first couple of years of marriage before bringing a child into the picture. Am I totally out in left field with this one?