Quinoa and More

We sautéed garlic, eggplant, and chard from the farmers market in olive oil before throwing it in a pot with tomatoes and basil from Jesse's backyard. We seasoned it with salt and pepper as it cooked down. Then we tosses it with roast chicken pieces and quinoa cooked in homemade chicken stock. So good!

August Break 2013: Floral

Giant bumblebees all over these flowers. 

August Break 2013: Touch

A hike at the Reservation

Jesse and I went for a hike at Ramapo Reservation. We hiked a 7+ mile loop up to Bear Swamp Lake. We saw skinks, efts, toads, and cicadas. Our feet were absolutely soaked by the end because many if the trails had become creeks due to the recent rain. My new barefoot Merrells stood up to the challenge, though.

Rainy Day Sewing

When I woke this morning the sky was dark and gray and the rain poured freely from the sky. It seemed like a good day to break out my seeing machine and work on a project I've been thinking about for a while. 

I have several tote bags. I'm not a purse kind of girl, but books and sweatshirts don't fit in my pockets. One of my biggest issues with totes, though, is that they tend to turn into black holes for small items. So, I made a detachable organizer for my bags out of old tee shirts. 

I sketched out a pattern this morning based on something I had seen on the Internet. 

It took a while to get started because I haven't used a sewing machine in over a year. 

I hand sewed much of it because of my less than perfect design and inexperience with the machine. 

It came together quite nicely, though I don't love the colors. 

Despite my problems with the aesthetics of the organizer, it does the job well. I'm already enjoying the extra organization and the ease of finding my wallet quickly. 

August Break: Home

I've lived here for about 14 years now. Maybe fewer considering how often I've slept elsewhere since graduating high school. Now I feel this is less my home than it is my parents' house. I'm in between homes these days. No longer a child. Not quite an adult.