Peach Streusel Pie

The end of the year.

Thanksgiving Recap

My friends I had not meant to be away from this space for so long.  I've been so busy with work and not really doing anything else that I haven't had anything to share with all of you.  Here are some of pictures from our feast yesterday.

Finishing up the last of the meal!

Happy Friday!

Life has a way of running away from you.  We've been in Portland for two months now.  I've been working non-stop and so has Alex I've had little time for this space and that makes me a little sad.  Though I've started instagraming.  This is a new development in my life and I'm still getting to know my new apple product!

Here are some snipets of my life.

Getting back to normal

The apartment is almost done.  Just a few little things still need to be taken care of, but for the most part everything has a place and it feels like a home.  Even the kitties are getting back to their normal selves.

Mamasita exploring her new favorite place to sit

Updated About Page!

Welcome!

I'm Dianna.

At the end of July 2012, my husband, Alex and I packed our car with as much of our possessions as we could fit and drove off into the sunrise.  We left behind books, plates, shoes, desks, wine glasses, and our beloved kitties.  Don't worry, the kitties and everything else are staying with Alex's parents.

After a long five day drive (which took us six days), we landed in our nation's capital, Washington, DC.

Read all about our Journey, Day One , Day Two , Day Three , Day Four , Day Five , and  Day Six .

We are now settling into our new home in the basement of a DC suburb house.  As we do this we await the arrival of our kitties, search for a job for Alex and I prepare myself for the year ahead of grad school.  On September fifth I begin a Masters of Montessori Education at Loyola University Maryland.  I am truly blessed to have this opportunity, if you had asked me last year where I would be right now I would have never guessed that I'd be this far away from California, let alone starting a graduate program.

For this year I'm unsure what direction this blog will go, but I hope you stick around.

This will be our journey together.

Thank you for visiting my blog, I hope you enjoy your stay.

The Players:

Dianna:

Blogger, Dancer, Reader, Sewer or Sewist, Photo taker, Maker of things edible and not so edible, Lover of things old.



Alex:

Husband, Video game player, Pasta Maker, Griller extraordinaire.



Mamasita:

Cat, Breaker of dishes, Player of cat toys, Catnip aficionado.



Zoey:

Baby Kitty, Snuggler, Nuzzler, Biter, Lover of laps and laptops. 

Going Away

We are leaving... All too soon... But the great thing about leaving is people give you wonderful gifts to remember them by. Here is what we have received of late (of course they have to come with us on our journey)

 

Saturday

Today we are cleaning, organizing, packing, anything else that needs to be done,

And we are listening to

Joy the Baker Podcast.

Episode 55: Taco-fy

Episode 56: Why is your dog in a purse?

Episode 57: Dodged a Fairy Bullet. 

Today's Progress

A Good Day

I'm finally done with my class.  I do not generally stress over classes, but this one (the first class in two years) threw me for a loop this past month.  

But not today.

Today, was the last day of class.  I'm free.

I can start planning for our big move.  So much to do, so little time.  

Today, I walked around down town for an hour.  

Wondered into a used book store and found one of the books I need for school for only $3.00.  What a steal.  I picked up a couple more Montessori books while I was there and they were inexpensive.

After that I walked up Seven flights of stairs.  Nothing like stairs to make you feel really out of shape.

And to round out the day, I finally had enough energy to clean the house while listening to Joy the Baker Podcast

I haven't done this for awhile.  I've been very busy.  

So strange as it sounds.  This makes me very happy!

Today, the kitties and I listened to...

Episode 45: Like Nobody's Blaziness

Episode  46: Tiers of Tears

Big News

Big, Big, Big, News...

I got into graduate school...

I have been accepted to a Master's degree program in Montessori Education at Loyola University Maryland.

WOW!!!

Now, I just need to figure out how to get me, Alex, Zoey and Mamasita all the way across the country.


View Larger Map


And, how to pay for it all.

But, for now I'm going to be happy and celebrate!

Wordless Wednesday: Zoey spies on Mamasita

Happy Christmas!

Fall, Cleaning, and Pumpkin Bread

It was a beautiful Fall day.



Even Mama was in the mood to pose for some photos.



Unfortunately, there were ants running amok in my kitchen this morning.

I had to wipe down all the shelves.

And pushed into the back was this.

Pumpkin Bread mix.



So I mixed it up with water, olive oil, and eggs.



Divided the mix into two bread pans.



Put in the oven and out popped bread.



So my dinner tonight was pumpkin bread with pumpkin spice tea.

Happy Saturday

Thankfulness Week Three

This week...

Just one week from Thanksgiving.

Lots to do and yet things are moving in slow motion.

It's a strange feeling.

The air is crisp with autumn.

This week I am thankful for...

Fall Leaves.

I don't think they need an explanation.

Mamasita.

We have had her for 8 years now. She is the best kitty.

Wii Balance board.

For staring me in the face everyday to remind me to exercise.


Happy Wednesday.

What are you thankful for today?

musings

Okay, so it's still summer, but I'm yearning for the fall.

I'm having this problem right now of being too cold when the swamp-cooler is on, but being too hot when I turn it off. My solution have the air on, but put on a wrap. Does anyone else have this problem? I'm feeling a little strange.

Now, something about my cats:

Mama is pretending that sitting on books is the most comfortable position to be in and that she is not thinking about pawing at the blinds behind her.

It's late and I wont let her go outside. So the pawing at the blinds is her way of annoying me into letting her get her way. She is very tricky in her manipulation of us humans. She never does anything when she thinks someone is watching her.

2011 About Page!

Welcome!

I'm Dianna.

I live with my  husband, Alex, and two tyrannical kitties, Zoey and Mamasita. We all live in a little yellow cottage in a central valley town in Northern California.  Where Mama has broken all, but one, of our serving plates and Zozo chases butterflies on the lawn.

I spend most of my days at work, but I long for a time when I have an in home studio and a spacious kitchen.  The rest of my time is spent sewing, knitting, quilting, and thinking about crafts .  When I’m not doing those things I’m usually taking pictures, cooking something, eating something, or watching television.  Frequently, I do all these things at once.  Like, watching cooking shows while eating something.  Additionally, my aunt thinks I’m strange for taking photos of all the things I make, but it is all for you.

I love kitties, rivers, polka dots, the west coast, pineapple, vintage china, exotic spices, vintage dresses, fancy grocery stores, Thai food, tawdry romance novels, vanilla, mystery novels, coconut, good conversation, Julia Child, laughing children, hot peppers, my niece and nephew, chai tea, and old friends.

Thank you for visiting my blog, I hope you enjoy your stay.

The Players:

Dianna:

Blogger, Dancer, Reader, Sewer or Sewist, Photo taker, Maker of things edible and not so edible, Lover of things old.



Alex:

Husband, Video game player, Pasta Maker, Griller extraordinaire.



Mamasita:

Cat, Breaker of dishes, Player of cat toys, Catnip aficionado.



Zoey:

Baby Kitty, Snuggler, Nuzzler, Biter, Lover of laps and laptops. 

Thai-inspired Chicken Lettuce Wraps

In an attempt to eat more healthy I made these for dinner tonight. I was worried that Alex would not like them, but happy day they were a success. They were a little bit labor intensive and messy to eat, but the clean up was easy due to the fabulous Halloween plates that we are using until I find a new china set to replace the one that Mamasita has broken.

Thai-Inspired Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon peanut oil


• 3 cloves garlic, minced


• 1 tablespoon ground ginger


• 2 cups bean sprouts


• 1 package shiitake mushroom


• 2 medium carrots, julienned


• 2 cooked chicken breasts, roughly chopped


• 1 tablespoon lime juice


• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar


• 1 tablespoon sugar


• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil


• 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce


• 2 tablespoons fish sauce


• large romaine lettuce leaves


• Basil leaves, cut into thin slices

Directions:

• Cook chicken breasts. I cooked them on the George Foremen grill.


• Heat peanut oil in a large skillet over medium heat


• Add garlic and ginger


• Cook for 1 minute


• Add Chicken cook for 3 minutes


• Add bean sprouts, mushrooms, and carrots.


• Cover and reduce heat.


• Cook for 10 to 15 minutes.


• Combine lime juice, rice wine vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, soy sauce, and fish sauce in a medium bowl.


• Add lime juice mixture to skillet


• cook for 5 minutes.


• Serve in the lettuce leaves, top with basil.

Lucky Bamboo not so Lucky

Another long day at work. Home I came only to find that the third plate, of my four piece set that we received for our wedding, is now broken. I'm so very sad about this since I cannot get the pattern any more. More about the plates later.In addition to this, the beautiful cobalt blue pot that I had potted the lucky bamboo in was broken in the incident. Well I think the bamboo broke the plate.

I'm unsure how this happened, the most likely culprit is Mamasita. She likes to get on the counter when Alex and I are not home. I'm just not sure why she was trying to get into the window.

I had to run out and purchase a new pot for this plant that was a present from my co-workers when I moved away.

Hopefully this new pot will hold up better than the last one. If only I can keep Mama off of the counter and away from the window. I'm hoping that the bamboo will survive this. I think that it's highly unlucky to kill a lucky bamboo.

Spring Cleaning

It's that time of the year again. Time to get into every nook and cranny of your house and dust, scrub, and clean away the winter. This year I'm bound and determined to get rid of things that I no longer use or need. Even the Cats are helping.

Well that was Saturday, we (the cats and I) finished the bathroom, living room, and most of the bedroom. The bedroom just needs hubby to put the clothes that he wants to keep back into the closet. The rest are going to a yard sale that Steph from Hope Sewing is Genetic and I are having next weekend. Hopefully the weather cooperates.

Today, it's blustery outside, not even Zoey wanted to go out and play. I just want to eat warm oatmeal and finish watching My So Called Life. I only have two rooms left and the computer room really just needs a straitening and some vacuuming. So I need to power through the rest.

I know in some of these you cannot see the difference, but I know they are cleaner because the dust is gone and the items are more neatly stacked. We live in a tiny place so there are not many places to put all the things we own.

Bathroom Closet

Before

After

Bedroom Closet

Before

After

Kitchen

Before

After

 

Living room

Before

 
After

 

Computer Room

Before

After

Happy Cleaning

D

Queen Quilt

This quilt I've been "working" on since before December. Well I've finally finished cutting the squares for the top and I've arranged them how I'm going to sew them together.

The squares are cut using a 6 & 1/2 inch square to allow for 1/4 inch seems. A total of 270 squares were cut out. The boarder (62 squares) will be solid black with a pattern square in each corner. The remainder of the quilt (208 squares) are assorted patterns interspersed with some solid black and white squares. Primary colors are Black, White, Dark Red, and Pink. With underlying colors of Grey and light Brown.

Cutting the Squares

Putting the Squares into row bundles.

Laying it all out to check how it looks (this has the squares overlapping so as to fit the extra large quilt in my very small living room).



* I put the cats out side before I did this. They think helping is messing up mommy's work*

Things left to do:

1. Sew top squares together


2. Purchase Queen size batting


3. Purchase Black backing material


4. Sew together top, batting, and backing


5. Quilt it!