2012: more birthday maddness!

So, after work, my roommate and I headed down to Portland to spend some time with our friends (who, last year, up and decided to leave us in the dust in Seattle and settle into a new life in Portland).

The plan was to go out for happy hour, then head to the Portland Art Museum (the PAM, if you will) for Free Fourth Friday. Well....happy hour was really happy, so we didn't quite make it to the museum. But we sure had fun! :)

Me with two of my "besties", who are always up for an adventure! Thanks to Daron (not pictured) for taking photos!

I have to say, Portland friends were so, so thoughtful in their birthday gifting! Daron roasted some coffee beans, and put together a mallow tea mix specially created to bring throat relief after those long phone shifts at work!  Also, an amazing mustache cake/jello/ice mold for those occasions where you just need a giant mustache, along with some delicious Moonstruck baseball treats (it is baseball season after all!).  Thanks guys!

Later that weekend, I met up with my parents for more happy hour and tooling around Portland.

Me and my momma

We headed up to City Grill for great views and good food, then popped into Hubers for a Spanish Coffee - they make the best! And they make it right in front of you. We eventually moved on to Hurricanes and then made our way out to stroll on down to Voodoo Doughnut.  But wait! Torrential downpour! Run like mad! Never fear, readers. A little rain didn't stop us. My dad and I powered through, and in the end, the mission was a success!

Later that weekend, this little curmudgeon and I enjoyed a lazy Sunday.

What a great birthday! Thanks to everyone who made it special!

xo,

-shauna

have you heard about Kiva?

Taking a momentary break from the 2012 catch up. I wanted to ask you, have you heard about Kiva Loans?

My good friend Jill introduced me to Kiva a while back.  Kiva collaborates with microfinance institutions around the world who work with people without access to traditional banking systems.  Once you make a loan to an individual, your loan is sent to the microfinance institution, who then provides the loan directly.  100% off your dollars goes to funding loans, Kiva doesn't take a cut. Once your loan gets repaid, you can re-loan to others.  It's a great way to make loans directly people in communities who are working to better their lives.

Check it out!

I've made a few loans in the past, which are in the middle of being repaid.  This month, I loaned to Ama, who sells maize at Manpong ner Abura in Ghana.  She uses her income to support her husband and five children, including food, clothing, and her children's school fees. Ama will use her loan to purchase bags of maize to sell.  With the new profit, she hopes to expand her business.



-shauna

2012 Roundup Part 2

Hi Friends,

Part 2 of playing 2012 catch up.  In the next few posts, I'll be focusing on birthdays and celebrations.  We had some big ones this year, and the year isn't even over!

First up, Brother Birthday. My little brother turned the big 25 this year, and his birthday just happened to fall right on Mariners opening day at Safeco.  Turned out, Sounders were in town too, so we turned the weekend into sports-a-palooza.  While we didn't get many photos, we had a great time! Some good old fashioned brother/sister bonding.  Here are some of the shots we did get:

Started off the festivities at Elysian Fields for a beer, the chocolate stout was like a chocolate cake in a glass!

Then, off to the see the Mariners: 

The next morning, we were right back down at the fields, watching the Sounders!

A month and a half later, it was my turn.  The birthday of another friend from work fell right around mine, so our fabulous coworkers who threw us a Pinterest Party.  What, might you ask, is a Pinterest Party?! Oh the greatest work birthday surprise ever!  My beloved friends and coworkers had gathered many of the various recipes we had pinned over the last few months (we're both hot in the Pinterest scene), banded together, and turned our foodie dreams into real life.  I have to say, it was pretty great trying all those different recipes without actually having to go through the effort of making each one. Take a look...

From top left to right, I've linked as many as I can find the recipes for!

Creamy Avocado Yogurt Dip

Avocado & Feta Salsa

Individual Seven Layer Dips

Asparagus and Gruyere Tart

Onion and Garlic Dips

Honey Mustard Pretzels 

...and some sweet treats... 

Orange Cookies with Sweet Orange Glaze

Raspberry Ganache Cake

Peanut Butter Brownie Bites

Samoas Bars

Bacon Wrapped Dates

Fruit topped Cheesecake

It was a day of deliciousness and less work than should have happened, a great way to spend a birthday!  After work, Emily and I headed down to Portland for more birthday celebrations... stay tuned!

-shauna

2012 Roundup

Hi friends! I have some news. News I'm sure you've been aware of for some time. This blog has been sleepy. Super sleepy. Like, coma sleepy. It's been more than eight months (say, what?!). Yes, I'm ashamed to admit it's been more than eight months since I posted a single post here. Eight months of work, class, studying, playing, eating, drinking, trips, birthdays, concerts, baking, baseball, friends, downpours, sunshine, and family time. I'm going to do my best to play catch up. So, buckle up folks, we don't want any whiplash around here.  Today, we'll start with crafts and foods.

Crafty Time:
Sadly, there haven't been many crafts lately... but these wrap bracelets were quick, easy, and fun! Instructions found at Honestly WTF.

Foodie Adventures: 

Granola, for my Dad's birthday (the secret to chunks is all in the egg whites!):

Recipe thrown together from several different ones found online, and mostly consisting of what I had in my kitchen.  Big hit! So big, in fact, it was hard not to eat it all straight from the pan.  Dad's lucky any made it to him! ;)

Stuffed Baguette: 

Recipe found at Baking Obsession. This was seriously delicious. 

Caprese Skewers:
Caprese on a stick, grab and go! I used those great mozzarella balls in seasoned olive oil from TJ's, added a great flavor without having to drizzle anything over the whole plate.

Hamantaschen:
Cookies for International Cookie Day at work. My country was Israel! Recipe found at A Cookie for Every Country.  Of course mine didn't turn out as pretty as the original photo, but they were yummy little treats nonetheless. There was a slight snafu when I realized I was out of flour (seriously?! this always happens to me!). SO these were made with part whole wheat flour. They were devoured at work, so must have worked out all right!

Bite Sized Baked Brie Bites:
Recipe found at Joy the Baker (whoops, didn't get a finished product shot! Click through to see the finished product from Joy the Baker).  Now run (RUN!) and make these. They are TO DIE for. And seriously easy.

Roommate Dinner Creations presents: Homemade California Avocado Pizza
Easy peasy to throw together, our best attempt to recreate California Pizza Kitchen's California Club

Stay tuned for more 2012 adventures soon!

-shauna