elephantine

my old stomping ground...

I had a dinner date yesterday in the university district and went over early to catch the sunset and to take photos of the UW campus. (And, consequently, to feel nostalgic.) A lot of people visit for the cherry trees – which weren't in bloom yet – but there's a lot of beauty everywhere, especially in the quietest corners.

After trekking around campus for an hour and a half, I was beat. I met up with my best friend and for a split second it was almost like we were back in college again. Down the street, we got a small table at a mirror-lined Vietnamese restaurant, and caught up over hot bowls of Pho.

(Editing this post was crazy hard because I shot TONS of photos. If you're interested, maybe there will be a part two...?)

kitchen tricks {no. 1}

Here's a trick I use all the time when our fridge is a hodgepodge of different veggies, meats, and/or herbs: I just pan-fry them with a little olive oil, and then serve over rice or noodles (for an asian-inspired dish) or penne (for an italian version). It's the perfect no-fuss meal.

Above: a mix of tofu and vermicelli noodles (leftover from making spring rolls) and zucchini (from salad-making supplies).

things that make me smile...

...this house, these shoe clips, this planner, and these decorations.

fresh tofu spring rolls {with peanut dipping sauce}

Seattle has been getting a few sunny days here and there, and even though they've been cold sunny days, they've got me daydreaming about summer anyway. When summer does come, and when we get one of those sticky, drowsy days where cooking sounds unbearable, this is the recipe I'm going to turn to.

I love fresh spring rolls because they're refreshing, healthy, and pretty easy to make. Oh, and don't forget the peanut dipping sauce. Fresh spring rolls love dipping sauce, and they are very sad to be eaten without it.

Fresh Tofu Spring Rolls*
rice paper wrappers (some info on these here)
extra firm tofu
lettuce
cucumber
carrot
vermicelli noodles (see photo above for the kind I have)
thai basil and/or mint

1. Soften the vermicelli noodles by placing them in a small bowl and pouring hot water over the noodles. Try a noodle after about 5 minutes; once they're soft, drain over the sink.
2. Slice the tofu and vegetables into thin strips. Remove basil and mint leaves from stems. Set fillings aside.
3. Fill a large, shallow dish with hot water. Dunk a rice paper wrapper into the hot water, pressing down if it starts to float up. It won't take very long for the wrapper to soften, and the hotter the water, the faster it goes. (Don't stack the softened wrappers; they'll stick together. I make these spring rolls one at a time.)
4. Lay a wrapper onto a plate and dab off any excess water with a paper towel. Start adding your fillings on the lower third of the wrapper. Don't overfill, or the wrapper will tear.
5. Start rolling the wrapper, holding in the fillings with your hand if needed. About half-way up, fold in the left and right sides of the wrapper, then finish rolling. The wrapper should be sticky enough to "self-seal".
6. Slice your roll in half and enjoy with the peanut dipping sauce.

Peanut Dipping Sauce
adapted from Iowa Girl Eats

2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp peanut butter
1 tsp chili garlic sauce (I have this little bottle)
2 tbsp chopped peanuts

Mix all of the dipping sauce ingredients except for the chopped peanuts. Once the peanut butter has fully mixed into the rest of the sauce, add the chopped peanuts and stir again.

*I'm not including specific amounts for each ingredient because it can really vary based on how big the veggies are, what your ratio preferences are, and how tightly you pack the rolls. But for reference, I made about 5 spring rolls with the amounts shown in the video (with 1/4 pack tofu and 1.5 ounces of dry vermicelli noodles).

inside + outside

Recently captured: the bedroom ceiling, a dog outside the library, a neighbor's planter, living room curtains.

just a regular cat

Sometimes I think Rufus's sole purpose in life is to drive us crazy. He will ever-so-gently claw at our faces while we're sleeping. He will stand on the dresser and grab me when I walk by, effectively hooking a claw into my new sweater. If we are on the couch late at night and he wants to sleep there, he'll stomp around the house producing such ear-piercing meows in protest that our neighbors can probably hear him too. He only likes one type of cat food, and will throw up all others. Our bathroom has these weird non-locking doors, and if he sees you go in, he'll immediately rush over and pull the doors open, just because he can.

The thing that drives us the craziest is something he does exclusively in ungodly hours of the morning. He stands on the bed, on the tiptoes of his hind feet, and furiously rattles the nearby floor lamp back and forth as if he's the percussionist in a band. If that doesn't work, he knocks the alarm clock off the bedside table.

Every so often, he'll curl up on Stefan's chest if he's on the couch and purr up a storm. It's as if it has slipped his mind that he's supposed to be torturing us. For a brief moment, he's just a regular cat. He'll do that thing that cats do where they nudge their face against yours, a little gesture that I'm pretty sure means "hi, I love you, and aren't I cute?" until he's had enough of that, and then off he goes again.

top pot doughnuts {belltown}

I stopped by Top Pot yesterday to enjoy what was aptly named a pink feather boa, a doughnut topped with pink icing and coconut shavings. You know what I love about this place? The floor-to-ceiling bookshelves.

let's just try it and see

Can I tell you a secret? Earlier this week, while I was folding laundry, I started daydreaming about becoming a freelance photographer. I imagined myself shooting pastries in small cafés and capturing congested kitchens in local restaurants. I imagined myself staying up late to edit. I imagined putting together a legitimate portfolio.

And then the voice of reason spoke up: hey, remember those two shops that you spend 50+ hours a week tending to? Remember that novel you keep trying to write? And the house you always need to clean?

It's difficult for me to come to terms with the fact that I can't do everything I want to. There aren't enough hours in the day, and I just don't have that much energy. And the other thing? I've always wanted to be someone who is fully dedicated to just one craft. I like the purity of that.

The point of this post? I guess I just wanted to tell you that even though things might always appear fine and dandy on this blog, I have struggles like anyone else, creatively and otherwise. I hope I never give off the impression that I have a perfect life. My reason for blogging has always been to share things that I think are beautiful. But maybe it's possible to keep doing that while being a little more personal? I don't know the answer to that yet. So, let's just try it and see.

Yesterday afternoon, I was planning on shooting some new kitchen products, but I ended up photographing these flowers instead. It occurred to me that there were leftover packs of instant film from our wedding just sitting in our bedroom closet, so I dug those out, too. Maybe this fragment of a dream will go nowhere. At the very worst, I'll just be stuck with a bunch of photos of my life. And that's not a bad problem to have.

new at elephantine...

A new piece in my shop called conmigo (meaning "with me" in spanish). Two tiny squares, all sterling silver.

some favorites...

...from Kaufmann Mercantile.