all grown up

{yankee and my brother aj at the beach}

i got to spend a long weekend at home with my family and yankee after they got back from the beach. she got sooo big from the last time i saw her and picked up the new hobby of frisbee. each morning at home started with breakfast on the patio, then a run to the park and frisbee fetch until she tired herself out, and ending with her taking a nap on my feet once we got back to the house.

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hopefully she'll take another trip south to dc soon!

i miss DC

{the cake jamie and i made for Scott's farewell! it took a rest on the sidewalk while we waited for the bus}

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west virginia's been pretty tough this week - the heat and humidity, super tiring works days, some crabby coworkers, frightening dinners at shoney's!, and really missing home after being gone for almost 2 weeks. it's felt like forever! i cant even remember what my new room looks like!

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after a 6 or so hour car trek tomorrow, i should make it to DC mid-afternoon. im thinking iced coffees, manicures, movie, maybe laundry (i need to wash wv off of me!) and day of hanging tomorrow - what d'ya think? then grilling, shopping, swimming, and general M street love for the rest of the weekend...

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1 more day!

another goody

to bring you back down from all the punky chick beats - check out what my love Jose Gonzalez is up to. here he is with his band Junip, from their release this past may.
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{chickens, junip}

new tunes Tuesday. Round 14. You Say Party! We Say Die!

{glory, you say party! we say die!}

the latest album, XXXX, by this Canadian indie-dance band was initially played to keep me awake on the loooong, late afternoon drives around West Virginia. then. it stuck. it's so catchy (think Ting Tings) and super edgy too (think Yeah Yeah Yeahs). the song above may be a wee bit better on the album - so be sure to give it a listen. my two others faves are There is XXXX and Cosmic Wanship Avengers. mmmm, chick rock!

mondays are tough

when sundays look like this:

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{decorating the new backyard!}

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{lights, joe}
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{lawn games?}
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{dinner time}
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first barbecue at the new house! backyard's coming together and we discovered we can cook delicious meals in our tiny new kitchen. this definitely should be a sunday tradition.

new tunes Tuesday. Round 13. Broken Social Scene, a deeper look

yes yes yes, i know. i've talked about bss. i've talked about this album. but it's out now! for months! i have to admit though that i didn't get the whole thing until just a couple weeks ago. put it on my ipod an' put it on loop. initial favorites, other than this one, were Ungrateful Little Father, Forced to Love and Lisa Lobsinger's showcase below, All to All. Feist has long been one of my main draws to bss; her voice and edge just bring this rockin' femininity to the group. but with Feist only contributing backup vocals on this album, Lisa has definitely stepped up. i have been soooo in love with this song of hers - the sweet make-up of mellow, spacey electronics, beautiful strings and her pretty, pretty voice. check it out.

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{all to all, broken social scene}

peace!

see y'all this weekend!

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lots of fun to be had before i trek back out to west virginia

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a fun tune to kick off the weekend to

♡ sweet d

the best of summer weekends

some of the best summer days yet. a weekend full of my favorite things - friends, cookouts, birthdays, meridian park, dancing, sunsets, icecream.

scenes from west virginia

so here's what the majority of my summer has looked liked - pretty sweet, huh?

while i'm soooo happy to be back in the city, my last week in the field rocked - the beautiful weather, the golden hay fields, the deer - we even caught a family (fawns included) prance away as we hiked through. elkins, WV is definitely worth a look.

a sweet break from the heat

i've been looking to share more of my favorite blogs with you, and this is the perfect way to start. Lottie + Doof is a creative, beautiful, modern food blog based in Chicago. they share stunning photographs and great info on cooking, baking, drink mixing and traveling. CHECK. THEM. OUT.

{all photos courtesy of Lottie + Doof}

they shared this recipe late last week, and i am determined to make it as as soon as possible while DC's weather is soaring into the triple digits.
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Framboise Lambic Beer Sorbetto (recipe from Lottie + Doof)

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6 cups fresh raspberries
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Simple Syrup (see below)
1 cup Framboise Lambic

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::place raspberries and lemon juice in a food processor and puree until smooth, then pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl, pressing on the solids to extract the raspberry puree. discard the seeds
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::whisk the chilled simple syrup into the raspberry puree. put mixture in fridge to chill
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::pour the beer into a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. bring to a boil, reduce the heat slightly, and boil for 1 minute. watch the pan carefully so it doesn’t boil over. remove from heat and let cool
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::gently whisk the beer into the raspberry mixture. process in an ice cream maker

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(Simple Syrup)

::in a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup of water with 1 cup of sugar. place over medium heat and bring to a boil, whisking often to dissolve sugar. reduce the heat to medium and-low and simmer for 4 minutes, while continuing to whisk until all of the sugar is dissolved. remove from heat and let cool, then transfer to a container, cover, and refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour

just because

it's summer. and it's hot. as hell. and you should listen to this fiiiine summery beat.
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{fruit, rafter}

new tunes Tuesday. Round 12. first Wilco schoolin'

i have decided today that my love affair with Wilco isn't properly represented on this blog. so. today will be an introduction and i will start to school you in the ways of wilco. here is some wilco joy for the short week ahead:
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{casino queen, wilco}

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okay, so wilco became a band around ’94 after the notverypopular alt-country gig Uncle Tupelo disbanded (co-leader Jay Farrar left to form a not only less popular but less… eh, good, band Son Volt) and Jeff Tweedy picked up the Tupelo scraps to form wilco. album ONE came about in 1995 in the form a solid, twangy (hell, even country on some songs!), weed-induced group of somewhat unpolished songs on A.M. (side note: if you are ever in the mood to sip a super good cup of coffee while listening to super good tunes – check out the Chinatown Coffee Company. i’ve gone in maybe 5 times – two of which this album was proudly playing).
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this is their first of two countryish albums – not my favorite, but certainly worth listening to a handful of songs. check this one out too.

pie for breakfast

{sweets, baked & wired}

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sshhhhhhhh. not only am i having desserts for my first meal of the day, but jamie and I are enjoying this beautiful friday sitting at baked and wired. i'm back from west virginia! come hang out!