Operation Puppy Adoption: Complete

This weekend was a whirlwind. I usually feel almost bored by the end of a three day weekend but this one ran me a bit ragged. Last week I was feeling super tired but I figured it was just the completely hideous weather we've been having. No such luck. I think I am the least in tune with my body person ever because this happens every month and I never catch on that it's coming...I got my period.

For most women that's not a huge deal but for me it's like the black plague. It also probably contributed to not-so-relaxing thing number two which was a gigantic bawling breakdown over Kevin. I've been holding up fairly well ever since a couple days after his funeral but I just could not. stop. crying.

And then, because I am so together and not at all completely crazy I had a super painful headache and tons of tension on Sunday night (meaning no sleep) over the new puppy coming home and if Javier would hate me and if the puppy would eat all my shoes and I would have no footwear and he might choke and I would have to take him to the vet and the bill would be $8,000 and I'd end up poor and homeless. And Javi would still hate me.

Because these are the things that go through my head.

Then Monday came and even though it took me forever to get out of bed and I woke up still having a headache, after a shower I felt a lot better. I picked up Craig and we made our way to Eugene to pick up the new pup. Eugene was a new experience for me and I liked it a lot.

First we went to lunch but we went to McMenamins which are all over Oregon so that wasn't super exciting but then we looked for this rock that commemorates Steve Prefontaine who was a super good runner or something from Oregon. Apparently he is way famous and I am unbelievable for not knowing all about him. I mostly wanted to see the rock because Craig said there was a pair of his shoes there and I was intrigued how a pair of running shoes could hang out in the Oregon weather for years and years and not just be a moldy blob. This is the rock. Notice, there are no shoes. Because Craig is a liar.


But even awesomer than the rock was this YARD FULL OF TURKEYS!

This was seriously my favorite part of the trip. Someone just has a whole yard full of turkeys hanging out...

Next we went to this treats shop that is ah-mazing. It's called Sweet Life Patisserie and I wanted to eat everything. But I only ate one thing and it was called Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake. I couldn't eat much of it because it was super rich but it was delicious.


After that it was time to take pictures of weird things, one of my favorite pastimes.

I think I want my money back...


If you look closely the gentleman on the right there definitely has his penis hanging out. Which may make for an awkward haircut.


We also visited Craig's sister who is super adorable and nice and his niece who is the cutest ever. She also had new shoes that squeak with every footstep she takes. Surprisingly this is not at all annoying.


Then it was time for the main event...puppy!

Tova and her very patient husband David brought Tiger up from California for me. Tova held him the whole ride home and it makes me happy he felt so loved. Craig and I went to pick him up and left pretty quickly to give the puppy transporters some space after their long journey. Then we started our trip home!






When we got home I introduced Javi and Tiger. Javi didn't even notice him at first. I was holding Tiger when I walked in the door and Javier was way more concerned with me giving him attention than that there could be a living being in my arms. Once he did figure it out he was surprisingly calm. The pup was a little more intent on chasing/playing with/annoying Javi. That's me making him not attack my cat.


Eventually they both chilled out and drank water side by side.


I had planned to crate train Tiger but he definitely hates being in there and I don't want to piss off all my neighbors so I let him sleep with me. He was pretty much the best ever and so snuggly. I knoooow I was supposed to just ignore him and let him self soothe and go to sleep happily but it wasn't happening and I honestly really enjoy him snuggled up with me. So I guess maybe I just ruined my dog but for now he's not sleeping in his crate.

What I'm Wearing Today

I bought this romper at Target a long time ago. Probably a year ago. It's been in my closet with the tags on since. One of those "Even thought this doesn't work on me I really really want it to so I'm going to just keep it and hope that someday it does" sort of things. This morning I wanted to wear a kelly green cardigan I have and thought it would look really good with the romper. I was definitely wrong (the cardigan length wasn't right) but I decided I was into the romper anyways. I guess sometimes it pays to have high hopes and zero willpower when it comes to cleaning out your closet.

Best. Job. Ever.

I got my schedule for June at Sur la Table yesterday. These are some of the classes I'll be helping host...

Summer Tamales
Basic Masa Preparada - Pasilla Chile Shredded Pork Tamales -Vegetarian Masa Preparada - Green Chile Queso Fresco Vegetarian Tamales - Cinnamon Caramel Flan

Artisan Breads
Neo-Neapolitan Pizza Dough - Classic French Baguettes - Ciabatta Loaves - Focaccia with Herb Oil

Saturday Morning Treats
Challah French Toast - Maple-Pecan Sticky Buns - Belgian Waffles - Feta, Roasted Pepper, and Basil Muffins

Tuscany on the Grille
Grilled Flatbread Pizza with Cherry Tomatoes and Aged Balsamic - Grilled Basil-Rubbed Lamb Chops with Gremolita - Cannellini Bean and Grilled Artichoke Salad - Chianti and Peach Granita

Summer Cocktail Party
Crab Cakes with Black Truffle Mayonnaise - Thyme-Scented Golden Onion and Gruyere Tartlets with Crème Fraiche - Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Sage and Parsley Pesto - White Bean and Harissa Hummus in Endive Cups - White Peach Sorbet with Basil

Italian Summer in Venice
Sun-Dried Tomato and Olive Crostini - Grilled Radicchio and Endive Salad with Balsamic-Honey Vinaigrette - Squid Ink Noodles with Scallops and Asparagus - Grilled New York Steak with Pancetta-Red Wine Sauce - Raspberry Tiramisu

Don't hate me 'cuz you ain't me.

It's Official

I've decided to name the new puppy Tiger. I love it. No one can shorten it to anything dumb, it's fierce without being too intentionally ironic, and it's simple enough I'm not going to be that weird pretentious pet owner who's pets all have names that elicit "How do you spell/pronounce that...?" Which really means "Why the hell did you name your dog that?" And I ordered him an ID tag that's in the process of being engraved. So there's no going back.

Well, I suppose there is since the tag was $12.95 and really not that big of a deal but whatever. This is what his tag looks like except it's light blue, not black.


He also got neutered today. Katie (the girl who is taking care of him now) text me this photo and said he currently weighs five pounds. Which means Javier weighs a little over twice what he does. I never think of Javi as big but he's going to look giant next to Tiger.


By the way, if you Google "tiger dog" you end up with this...







Weird.

This goes out to dirty dancing, cursing, back-masking, back-slitting pastor's kids.

Since the first time I heard the album Alopecia by the band Why? I have been obsessed. Sometimes I quit listening to it and then when I come back I just put it on repeat for weeks. Yoni Wolf is this short-ish Jewish guy who looks super nerdy but damn, the guy can spit some verse. I saw the band live once and they just aren't at all what you're expecting when you hear the music. Which is one of those fun little surprises I love, seeing what my mind comes up with as an image of an artist based on their work...and then being wrong.

Anyways, I've recently been all over this again and wanted to share. Warning, the music is weird, but in a totally awesome way. Their other albums are good too but this one is my favorite. Here are a few of my most loved tracks.

The Hollows


The Vowels Pt. 2


The Fall of Mr. Fifths

Quiche. With Brie. Oh yes I did!

I made quiche last night. Quiche is one of those things I crave. I just love it. Unfortunately I love it because it is a pie made of cheese and cream so you know, one of those special treat foods unless I want to die of a heart attack at 25.

I pretty much always put the same veggies in my quiche. Zucchini, red peppers, and crimini mushrooms. I also use Gruyere because it makes the most fantastic quiche ever. My mom used to make quiche with swiss cheese and it wasn't terrible but it was weird. I made quiche with gruyere for a friend's bridal shower once years ago and I've never looked back. Yesterday though I was at the store and looking at cheeses (I like cheese okay?) and saw some triple cream brie and decided I needed to put it in the quiche I was planning to make. I figured it would either be the most amazing thing ever or a total disaster containing $20 worth of cheese. So, I put in a bunch of gruyere, the brie (sans rind obviously), sauteed zucchini, red pepper, shallots, and mushrooms, salt, pepper, thyme, eggs, milk, and cream and hoped for the best.

Quiche is like cheesecake in that you aren't supposed to brown the top and it's supposed to finish cooking while it's sitting out of the oven. Unfortunately I always, without fail, brown the top of the quiche a bit. It still always tastes great so I'm not too worried about it but I guess if I ever decide to enter a quiche baking competition I should figure that whole thing out.

Even though technically I didn't do the quiche correctly with the whole browning thing it was incredible. I've never made such a light and fluffy quiche. And it was seasoned perfectly. I also made a side dish of roasted red potatoes and green beans with leeks and rosemary. Sometimes I get busy and I forget how happy cooking makes me. I came home yesterday and just cooked for an hour and a half and it felt so wonderful. I ended up making extra of everything to bring to my boss' family too. Then Craig came over and we had wonderful food and watched the Glee finale.

It was a pretty good night if I do say so myself.

Uh Oh...

I went puppy supply shopping this weekend and found this toy. At that point I was still considering the name 'Cupcake' for the new little guy and thought this would be super perfect if that ended up being his name but pretty dang cute regardless. Tangent...do you know how much merchandise for dogs is littered with images of cupcakes? It's like, a whole thing. There are toys and collars and clothes and bandannas...Cupcakes are cute so I could see some things with that image emblazoned on them but the pet store has an entire section devoted solely to things with mini cake on them. It's weird. Anyways, I also bought this thing because it was $1.17 and I don't really know how you can beat that.

Unfortunately, this has happened.


He made a noise when I touched it. He's already stealing toys from the sibling he doesn't even know he has.

Summer in the City

I've mentioned before that I go through nail polish phases. I've been trying to get a bit out of my comfort zone since I tend to buy colors I love in the bottle but realize later I don't actually want on my fingertips. For some reason bright pinks always make me feel too flashy and Barbie but I'm officially in love with this new color.



Ridiculous right? I hate neon colors and this is about as bright and almost neon as you can get without officially treading into dayglo territory and I can't get enough. I usually change my polish color every week but I have a feeling I'm going to be wearing this one all summer long. I've also gotten mad compliments on how pretty my nails are even when they were chipped to hell. The polish actually lasts forever though. I had gotten my nails done May 4th and didn't get them done again until the 20th and yeah, they were chipped, but they weren't terrible.

The color is Primrose Hill Picnic by Butter London. Which is actually made in Seattle. I give them points for image design though.

Back to Brunette

I once said I would never die my hair blonde again. And then I did. I've also done this with cutting my hair short and dying my hair from a box. Sometimes you just have to make the same mistake twice.

But I learned my lesson. I'm not a blonde girl. It's fun but fidning the right blonde is like a never ending quest and I just don't have time for the adventure. And I don't like having a stripe of roots down my head every month. It was impulsive but I decided to dye my hair back dark. I thought my hair guy was going to be grumpy since we just got it light but he was fine and started his thing. Miss Tova came with me and we were chatting the whole time and it wasn't until he started applying color that I noticed he was using two different colors, one on the under side and one on the top part. I trust him tons so I didn't really worry about it or ask too much. And when he was done I ended up with an awesome ombre effect. I love it.

Puppies! I love you!

So, I'm still ridiculously excited about the new pup. I also still don't have a name. I think the top two contenders are Cupcake and Peanut. I really liked Sparkle but then someone said they would call him Sparky and I hate that so that's out. I'm still looking for more ideas though so keep 'em coming.

Here are more pictures of him from the lovely Katie.







I'm also not going to dress him up with the possible exception of a raincoat in the winter so he's not a disgusting mess when we have to go on walks in the winter but I'm definitely going to create a little collection of collars for him. So far these are some of my favorites.

Last Week as an Only Child

Warning: This is probably only entertaining to me.

Guess who's getting a puppy...

...me! He'll be here Memorial Day weekend. Coming from CA on a road trip with Tova who happens to be going down there anyways and offered to be a puppy shuttle. I have wanted a dog for a long time but not felt like I was at the right place in my life. I finally feel like this will be good. I can't wait to spend the spring and summer on walks with this little guy. I haven't decided on a name yet so if you have any ideas throw them out. I tend to like weird names. If you hadn't gathered from my naming my cat Javier.

Ice Pops!

Craig and I made six different kinds of popsicles last night. And that wasn't even all the ideas we had but then it was like 11pm and we were kind of tired and we'd used up most of the ice pop mold space so we stopped at six. The flavors we made were berry vanilla, Arnold Palmer, chocolate banana, peach mango, watermelon with blueberries, and watermelon grapefruit. Tell me you don't want to eat all of those.


Supplies. Except not even all of them. Because when I do something I do it big.


First layer of the Arnold Palmer pops...you can ignore the nine pints of ice cream in my freezer.


Our watermelon blueberry pops were made of pureed watermelon with some simple syrup. Once they froze a bit we pushed blueberries into them so the berries would stay suspended.


Javier was confused why we were in the kitchen if it wasn't to continually bring him fresh ice water.


Craig was confused by my juicer. Yeah, I don't know why either.


Second layer of the Arnold Palmer pops and some blueberries added to the watermelon popsicles.


I realize that looks like sawdust but it's actually a brick of chocolate I shaved with a Microplane. Added to bananas and milk.


Mango peach pops! We added honey as a sweetener. We also ended up adding some blood orange juice once blending sans liquid was obviously a mistake.


Our berry mix was so good. We used a bunch of frozen berries, vanilla yogurt, pomegranate cranberry juice, and some honey. Incredible.


We made two of each pop so we could each try them and decide what we liked best.


I made my boss' daughters some flower popsicles with fantastic "sticks" (actually straws) with the leftover mixes.


Aaaand...scene.