Sun, I remember you well...

It has been a long, dark, sunless start to spring and it is really starting to wear on us poor Seattlites! The cherry blossoms are in full bloom and are so muted without a sunny day to dance around in! This picture is from my short stint in San Diego. It was so nice to see the glorious sun and the lovely Ms. Jane. Here is hoping to seeing both again very soon!

December 2010

We had a long, lingering meal at La Spiga for New Year's Eve. We had the antipasti with delicious wines, handmade tagliatelle noodles with truffle butter, a dish with farrow and escarole, and this apple tart with walnut gelato and espresso. We were SO full to the point of uncomfortable, but it was a lovely way to ring in the New Year.

One of my students brought be a huge pack of sticky syrupy divine dates from his family farm in Saudi Arabia. I put these to good use in a fig-nut bundt cake that is made with a caramel sauce. Very rich, and very delicious.

Our latest favorite: Spicy Italian Sausage, Kale, Extra Ricotta Lasagne in our lovely Le Cruset wedding gift...

Really into making different wrapping cowls for the season. This one is for lady Jane in San Diego so it is a bit lighter than the others.

Candied citrus peel in foreground with our little Peace Tree lit up in the back...didn't use corn syrup with the peel this year and some didn't dry like I like it...but a treat nonetheless!

A new year with new annual collage calendar/planners. Below is one I made for my new mother-in-law and the one on the right is the one I made for myself. I like them because you can see the entire month with plenty of room to write!

Made some holiday cloth gift bags which are so easy to make and look so cute...

We had a nice trip to Portland to see friends and family complete with a great Chinese meal, whiskey sipping and competitive rounds of Botticelli. Spokane was full of fun and many, many, christmas cookies. We had one of the best night skiing sessions with a giant orange moon to accompany us. The van transmission went out on the way down the mountain, but we all recovered and ended the trip with some beautiful huffing and puffing on the cross-country ski routes of Mt. Spokane. In Seattle we enjoyed our Charlie Brown Christmas Tree, lots of baking including taking on the delicate fussy cookies French Macarons (my favorite), crafting to our favorite Christmas movies and music, and lots of cozy time together.

In skiing news, Donna and I ripped it up on the Moguls on the Two-Face run on Chair Two (not us in photo)...although I did run into Ryan when I started going too fast and bruised my shin + knee. It was great to be on the mountain with the crisp air and we are looking forward to more skiing this January.

Three Months Later...Happy New Year!

I'm not frozen in time in a wedding dress like the ladies in my last post...instead we have had a busy autumn with good friends and family time, holidays, some busy work schedules, and a dash of laziness thrown in for good measure. Today is 1.1.11. A new year that, at this point, is full of mystery, surprises, and in all likelihood will bring us away from Seattle for the year or longer! After over ten years here, that idea is hard to grasp...but with all new beginnings and adventures, you have to be willing to wander down those unexplored paths. I think we are ready! In the spirit of a healthy blog update, I'm going to do a photographic year in review. 2010 was a rough year for many people we know. We were lucky to have a very joy-filled and mellow year and look forward to brighter times for everyone.