the oven is on

the oven is on and i'm in bliss. in the past week, it's been all about the...
 
butternut squash,
beets,
chocolate chip banana bread,
potatoes,
celery root,
bittersweet chocolate and pear cake,
crostini.

there's something special about elevating the profile of raw elements with a little roasting. a little heat. i think it's even more special when we can take roots that are inedible in naked form, dress them with a generous coating of olive oil, dazzle them with salt and pepper, and then let them lure us with their tantalizing aroma as they roast away in the oven. vegetables, sexed up.

and then when you get into baking treats...oh my, don't even get me started. i am in a relationship, you know.

chai

i never appreciated the glory that is chai...until now. well actually, since seattle.

i always loved its fragrance, always dreamed that a chai tea latte would be heavenly, but i was just never opened to including it in my tea repertoire. give me an earl grey or english breakfast for my blacks, throw in jasmine or white peach for my whites, and don't you dare leave out chamomile, black cherry, or hibiscus for my herbals. blends are welcomed too.

but whenever i drank chai, i curled my upper lip ever so slightly, as if to repel it from my mouth. there was something about the spice, the warmth. i felt like i was eating pumpkin pie in liquid form. and no one messes with my pumpkin pie! although chai sounded and smelled like a good idea, it clearly was no fit for my drinking pleasure.

and then comes seattle. our hostess kindly provided us with coffee and tea to last us through the time we stayed. as grateful i was for our supply, i was a bit befuddled by the selection: three different types of chai! and what in the heck was i going to do at that moment, when i was craving a hot tea to warm me up? thankfully, i didn't throw a tantrum for something ridiculous, and proceeded with making a cup. to this day, i still don't know what came over me when i took a sip. it was magical. the spice! the warmth! no pumpkin pie here. it was lovely chai all on its very own!

i now gladly include chai into my tea stash. it has its place, but boy, am i glad i discovered its delightfulness this season.

oh, my heart

manlihood...gone. today we took chase to the clinic to get neutered, and let me just say, it was not easy. we all know and understand the benefits of spaying and neutering your pets (thank you for the reminder, bob barker), but until you have to drive to the clinic, leash your dog, bare the sights and sounds of terrified pets in the waiting room, and then pick up your drugged up pup with an empty sac, you have no idea how miserable you feel. 

as i write this, chase is sleeping in his bed, aloof to his surroundings. and then that cone! god bless his soul for trying to navigate outside without scraping the walls or getting stuck in the doorway. when he looks at us, his eyes droop as low as his head. and it's just killing me. sure, he is fresh from a surgery and, yeah, the effects of the anesthesia are still lingering, but when you see your baby outside of his typical energetic state, it's tough. really tough. 

this healing time makes me thankful for my mama, who nurtured and comforted me when i was sick. who eased the prospect of getting a shot with a treat. who warmed a pot of broth with star-shaped noodles when i had a sore throat. and with her warmth came healing. i hope to be that for chase. with g by my side, i have a feeling he is already on his way to recovery.

remember when

i remember when we invited our friends over that october night. when we laid newspapers on the floor and dug out every knife we could find. the doors were wide open since it was so bloody warm, as most southern california october nights are. that night, in 2008, we put the books aside and slipped those thoughts of midterms in our back pockets. 

i remember that october night, we were a family. and that i had some pretty damned creative friends. 

i have a feeling

let's be real. it's fall. i don't care if la lacks in the season-change thing, but my mind, body, and soul know better. usually, fall creeps up on me since october tends to be one of the warmer months of the year. leave it to advertisements for "pumpkin spice lattes" or the piles of pumpkins at whole foods to remind me that the season has, in fact, changed. 

this year however, fall didn't surprise me one bit. thank the heavens above that we were in seattle while the leaves changed to their orange hue; the brisk chill tickled my skin; and tea was sipped and enjoyed without a drop of sweat. after welcoming fall the right way, i seem to have kept it nestled in my bosom. where it's nice and cozy.

so here we are, back at home, with the season trying to make its overt appearance. first thing to do to lure it here: bake. today, spiced apple cake. in a couple of days, perhaps pumpkin bars or chocolate scones. (probably the chocolate scones since "you know who" will be wreaking havoc in my body). 

either way, i have a feeling this gem and i will be great ol' chums.

snapshots

anyone can tell you that shedding a tear when leaving a city means something. really, it's no secret that i love seattle - for its natural beauty, fresh food, lovely people, inspiring energy. after spending over a week there, g and i are convinced seattle is the place for us. new beginnings. living seasonally. making a home.

i could go to great lengths describing our trip. the meals, october chill, runs by the lake. our visitors: mama and daddy, emma and fin. but i'll take it easy, and just post some of my favorite snapshots. these really take me home...

again, seattle did something special to us. it brought us closer to our senses, filled us with energy, and reminded us of how grateful we are for new possibilities. what a city!

forever marked in seattle

so we're back. g and i spent the past nine days in our soon-to-be-home of beautiful seattle. i can't wait to  share our time with you...lots of food, walks, exploring with mama and daddy, reuniting with emma while meeting her beau, relaxing, and falling in love with our city all over again. pure loveliness.

there's something about seattle that makes me feel so right. like i belong. my energy is at peace, my thoughts are enlivened. in seattle, i feel like i have the power to do exactly what i want, all judgment and expectations aside. so what better time and place to make a commitment to myself...in ink.

g and i discussed extensively about what it means to have a tattoo. it could be a cosmetic thing - something "cute" or "trendy." or it could be a symbolic thing - something to live by, something to share. we asked each other what our mantras were and if we believed in them strongly enough to have them marked on us. we both agreed it was time to do it.

when i run, i live my mantra. and that is mindfulness - the idea of living in the present moment, of being in the here and now. day to day, i struggle with this. but when i am running, when i am focused on the path, on my breathing, my strides, my pace, i feel that i am most present. and most at peace. 

"the secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, nor to worry about the future, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly." - buddha

g always believed his mantra was "everything equals nothing and nothing equals everything." essentially, that what we don't have is the greatest gift and that what we desire and what we "have" really makes no difference in the end. 

so we researched tattoo parlors throughout the city and to our surprise, one of the highest ranked ones was down the street from where we were staying. two birds tattoo, a charming studio owned by two women with bossa nova playing in the background. we met halley, our tattoo artist, and each described our vision. there was an instant connection. her energy resounded with us as she asked us why we were doing this, what it meant to us, and what we believed was innately important. basically, she spent time with us. i couldn't have felt more right about allowing halley to express my belief.

before

before

halley walked us to the back, set up her table, and then we were off. no turning back now.

after

after

getting "inked" with g was such a special moment. we committed ourselves to a permanent marking, individual symbols that will forever remind us of our ethos. and getting it done in seattle - it was a commitment to the place we love, a place with which we connect. we let go of our inhibitions and just went with it. and i am thrilled.

every tattoo experience needs a nap in the park...