Category: Home

Carrot Brownies to Write Home About

~ Crystle ~ 6 Comments
I just baked these tasty carrot brownies and felt compelled to share.
Instructions:
1. Mix melted butter into all ingredients except the walnuts; mix well
2. Pour into the bakeware of your choice
3. Garnish with walnuts and sprinkle with cane sugar
4. Bake for 30 minutes
5. Serve warm with a tall glass of cold milk
Optional: 
Feel free to try sweetened cocoa
Sprinkle in a little nutmeg
Substitute raw sugar for cane sugar
Tears for Fears station on Pandora*
Tall glass of soy or almond milk
Try out the optional suggestions as well. I was multitasking by prepping a pasta salad and cleaning house when I whipped this up, so my recipe is minimalist. My cooking style is also very lax, I’m not rigid with the spices or portions. Try it your way!
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* highly recommended suggestion

Settling In

~ Crystle ~ 7 Comments
I must say, it is nice having the house almost completely unpacked. We still need a few more bookshelves and storage pieces for our books and media, but for now the house is totally functional (let’s pretend the spare room isn’t in the picture). 
Not working is a little strange, but I do keep my days surprisingly busy. Between cooking every meal, cleaning, and exploring the new town, there isn’t a whole lot of time for much else. That isn’t to say that I don’t have time to lounge in the living room to this:

I’m also getting used to my new MacBook Pro and reading up on the local outdoor opportunities. I’ve already scoped out the nearest REI (sorry, Backwoods) and gauged the best local hikes per season. Looks like we won’t be outdoors outside of the metro until May. 
With time aplenty, I’ve been able to cook breakfast, pack lunch and prepare dinner for both of us every day. On the menu today is a pizza on homemade dough with pesto, spinach and goat cheese. I prepped it earlier today so he and I can go running right after he’s done at work. After hitting the pavement, all I have to do is pop it in the oven. 
Ah, I love foresight. 

Did I mention that we’re going to a military ball this Friday? I went shopping at the Tacoma mall earlier this week and scored a classy little outfit. I really have no idea as to whether or not I’ll be underdressed, but there will be an open bar…which means it will only matter for like thirty minutes. 

 Well it’s the end of another business day in which I was not a cog in the wheel. Tanning, grocery shopping and library going is still a contribution; right?
Happy Wednesday!

So you want a couch from Ikea…

~ Crystle ~ 5 Comments
Last weekend, Isaac and I went to Ikea in Federal Way, WA where we walked around the show rooms and made ourselves belligerently comfortable on all the furniture (I’m talkin’ feet propped up, garments thrown about). We were in the market for a big, inexpensive couch and Ikea was pretty much the perfect fit. I learned a lot that day.
Here’s a little FYI:
1. Ikea has some very firm sofas
2. Ikea has some very comfy sofas (one of which we selected)
3. All these sofas will come in weird shaped boxes
4. You will have to assemble that thing
5. You will ultimately love it.
We found exactly what we were looking for…that was the easiest part. After making our final selection we had to go to the warehouse area, caravan a bunch of oddly shaped boxes to our rental truck, and haul it home. Then the unpacking and assembling began:
 
 The design and packing was really genius. The cushions were packed in the hollow portions of the unit. The covers velcro onto the sofa which is also brilliant for two reasons: first, this makes cleaning a breeze, and second, it means you can buy a cover in another color and boom! New couch!
 I made haste on the getting covers on the cushions, Isaac had the hard task of actually putting it all together. We play to our strengths, clearly.
Et viola! Our new couch is paradise! Here’s an uncanny twist: about the same time we finally got this thing set up, I plopped down and read through NPR’s stories. Here’s one that struck a chord: The Deep-Seated Meaning Of The American Sofa. So many new memories will be made right here; we can go ahead and mark the assembling memories off the list.