the weekend

This weekend was the Oceanbeach Street Fair & Chili Cookoff. I only participated in the street fair aspect of it because I do not enjoy chili one bit. It was incredibly crowded and it took me 1.5 hours to go the 10 miles from my house to the beach on the trolley and bus. Oceanbeach is known as the "seediest" beach in San Diego. I completely agree, although they've also got a great farmer's market and this festival wasn't so bad either. (As long as you don't walk under the pier, you'll be okay.) It's also one of the more popular surfing spots.

I spent most of my time scoping out surfboards in stores and on the water.

I've made it my mission to find or make a wind chime while I'm in California. There's a store in Old Town that is full of every kind you can imagine:

I happen to think this is pretty great too, though I'm not sure what it would sound like:

At the place I am housesitting this week, there is a giant wind chime made from three-inch-thick cast iron I-beams. Of course with it being so heavy and the lack of anything other than a little breeze, I never heard it and didn't know it was there until I saw it today. I tried it out and it sounds great, and would be perfectly suited for the Kansas winds!

I spent a lot of time in the garden today, pulling weeds and doing turtle inventory. There should be four, I believe. I only found three, and one was lodged between a plant pot and a brick. I thought he had gotten stuck there and died, but he was sleeping apparently, as I found out after tickling his foot.

In the evening, I cooked some miso soup and baked some honey almond cakes, recipe courtesy of my sister. I found these adorable cupcake liners at Ikea for only $1, but while baking there was no cupcake tin to be found, hence the puzzle-piece blob cakes.

                                                          Still, my roommates seemed to like them!

it's the end of an era: no more free pancakes

I've left the hostel! I was really quite used to staying there, and I even miss it a little. Especially the free pancakes in the morning. And meeting so many different people. It makes me want to go on a trip far, far away. Today's acquaintance was an older lady from Victoria, Australia who is finishing up a 10-week "holiday" on the west coast. She was a lot of fun to talk to and eat pancakes with.

I'm somewhat moved into my new place with four other roommates, and I feel at home-- probably because I spent the last week sharing one room with up to 9 other girls, so it's nice to have my own space again. Little did I know that at this new place I'm actually sharing a bathroom with two guys. I thought just one. I also thought no one had been using the bathroom when I walked in to unpack because there was nothing to be seen except for some shampoo in the shower. I opened one medicine cabinet and nothing. I opened another and found toothpaste and a razor. It must be nice to be a guy.

I'd say I packed rather efficiently, wouldn't you?

My tiny Ikea mattress. There's just something nice about being able to cram it into the back of a Subaru and it's just as comfortable as any other bed. I had to buy an extra wool blanket (from Ikea...) because it has been COLD here.

New bracelets, plus a not-so-new favorite.

the joys of still being in school

I have to say, I'm glad I'm back in school. These breaks between semesters are great! It's given me a chance to finally visit my sister in Virginia (for New Years! Fun!), as well as somewhat manage the arduous task of preparing internship applications for this coming summer (not so fun!).

My trip to Virginia included Richmond as well as DC, and scoping out museums for future "use". I was lucky enough to have several people to show me some neat places. Ever been to Occoquan? No, it's not "Aqua-quan" as I originally thought the name to be. Hey, they told me it was down by the river, so that spelling just made sense! It's a darling little place outside the city. Not to mention, it's close to Ikea (which we also visited)!

The break has also allowed for much-needed magazine perusing, knitting, and painting. You know, for those winter days when there is just no enjoyment in being outside. One new project I plan for this lifetime is to construct a green wall. You know, plants that grow on a wall. A vertical garden. This one will be filed with the rest of my ideas for when I have my own house, I suppose. I hope to eventually have a sun room for this purpose, but perhaps the dining room will do?

Ok, that is actually a restaurant in New Zealand (Foxglove in Wellington), not a private dining room in a home, but what a great idea! I think it fits perfectly.

For now, I guess something like this will have to do for the single bedroom I call my home:

early St Lucia's Day

So I'm still going through Ikea withdrawal, especially after getting an email about their "Swedish Holiday Smorgasbord". Because of that, I decided to make Lussekater, or Saint Lucia buns! I always remember St. Lucia's from reading American Girl books when I was little. St. Lucia's Day is a Swedish holiday celebrated on December 13th. It was around before Lucia was even a saint (as in, before Christianity), and was traditionally the day of the winter solstice (I suppose before they realized it actually wasn't?). In the book I read when I was little, the Swedish-American was Kirsten, and she wore a wreath with candles on her head and gave her parents breakfast on the morning of St Lucia's Day, which happened to include St. Lucia buns, all because she was the oldest daughter. Plus she had two looped braids hanging from the side of her head, which were awesome. See?

And here they are:

They are AMAZING! And you should try them, so here is the recipe, from the cookbook "The Swedish Table".

Lussekater
16 rolls

1 T sugar
1/4 c warm water
1 pkg. dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1/2 c butter
3/4 c milk
1 t saffron
3 c all purpose flour
1/4 c sugar
2 egg yolks, beaten with 1 T water
raisins

In a bowl, combine 1 T sugar, warm water, and yeast. Let sit 10 minutes or until yeast begins to bubble.

In a saucepan, combine butter, milk, and saffron. Heat until warm and the butter is melted, but do not boil. Let sit until temperature falls below 110 degrees F.  Add milk mixture to yeast in the bowl. Add flour and 1/2 c sugar and stir until combined and the dough is smooth and workable. If necessary, add more flour, up to 3 T.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 1 minute. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled (or buttered) bowl, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Divide into 16 pieces. Roll into 1" X 6" lengths. Coil ends in opposite directions, forming tightly curved S-shapes. Let rise for 1 more hour.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Brush buns with egg yolk and place raisins in center of curls (two for each bun). Bake 10-15 minutes, but don't let the raisins burn!

Evidently they freeze well too. I kind of feel like making a whole bunch and sharing them with everyone, because they are that good!