Fairhaven is one of those towns that makes you want to settle down and have a couple of kids. During the summer, the entire town meanders around with gelato and dogs on leashes and coffee while the sun sets into the ocean in the distance. Everyone wears shorts and flip-flops and has no where to be but where they are. I wish there was a town like Fairhaven in Los Angeles for us to move back to. Tonight is Movie in the Park night  and all the kids on summer vacation are snuggled under blankets, feeling all grown up to be out without their parents. One group of youngsters had pockets full of one dollar bills and they took turns buying kettle corn and cotton candy for each other. The highschoolers to our left were not so entertaining, however. Lots of loud, obnoxious shrieks and grotesque PDA. I hate highschoolers.
Tonight's movie is How to Train Your Dragon  and I couldn't be more excited. Will and I saw it in the theater when it came out but Kelly was seeing it for the first time. Eeep! Since I had to work all day, Kelly and Will prepared an awesome picnic: Bacon fig and goat cheese hoagies, fresh, local fruit salad (pineapple, blueberries, apples, walnuts, bananas, oranges and peaches) and cherry hand pies. Hand pies might be my new favorite thing. I want to make a million of them and wrap them in butcher paper and hand them out to everyone I meet so they can understand the happiness I feel. They are made with fresh black cherries as well as dried cherries, sugar, corn starch, all wrapped into individual puff pastry pockets just small enough to hold in your hand. Oh my goodness. So delicious. We ate everything in about five minutes.

Since summer is officially in full swing, the sun was still shining bright at 9:30 so the movie was set to start at 10:15. While we lounged on the grass, with our smuggled wine in hand, a local artist played her guitar and sang about her garden and the immigration laws in Arizona. Her hoakiness seemed fitting for the amount of kids that turned out for the movie. I was ecstatic when she finished and it was just dark enough to start the show. Everyone instantly hushed and snuggled closer together, ready for the intense emotion this movie delivers. Kelly, Will and I were on the edge of our blanket, tears welled in our eyes and silly, joyous smiles on our dorky faces. We love sappy kids movies. I started getting nervous as a few rain drops splashed on my face about ten minutes into the movie. The clouds had moved and I wondered if we would get rained out. Luckily it only sprinkled and my hoodie was enough to keep me dry. That never would have happened in California. We would have drown!

Thrift Store Finds...

Look at these goodies I found at the thrift store this weekend...


I am hoping to add handles to all of them and use them for our camping trip this summer. On their own, these wire baskets are pretty boring but all together I think they look vintage-ey cool. I have some neat ideas I want to try out on them but I feel like I need visual aid before I try to explain it. So, when they are used in their element, I will post again!

Chic chicks

6:25pm Saturday: A package arrived in the mail for me. It is from Amazon. I didn't order anything... I scooped up the box and plopped it down on my bead while I searched for my box knife. I hope Will didn't buy me anything. I say out loud as I slice the tape, first on the top, then both the sides. It's not that I don't think it's adorable that he showers me with random presents all the time, it's just that I keep telling myself that I will buy him a random present next time, yet he always beats me to it.

The box is full of books. The book on top is a Martha Stewart cookbook, surprisingly not for me. Will was eyeballing it at a shop one day, but was appalled by the $38.00 price tag. The receipt here says he paid only eight. Nice. There  are two more books in the box: Chicken and Egg and Grow Great Grub. Both appear to be cook books of sorts. I am intrigued by the Chicken book. It has a cute cover. With cute blue font. I read the intro.

Turns out it is a cook book but it also has a story about raising chickens in an urban space. This book is definitely for me. I have been talking to Will about wanting to have a gaggle some day. Every time I mentioned it to Jolyn, she laughs and says, "But you want to live in Southern California! There are laws about having chickens in the city, you know." Yes. She is right. But according to this book, laws are changing. People want to know where their food is coming from and many are turning to sustainable food sources. Neato! I am super excited to read it Will saw this book at Anthropologie a few weeks ago and  thought I should have it. What a cutie.

(eggs from my boss chickens. They laid eight dozen extra this week!)

Now, friends of mine know that I am not the biggest fan of eggs, and up until recently, I was a vegetarian so... Chickens? You? Yes. I want chickens. I am learning to like eggs again and honestly, I've become aware of what it takes to feed a nation and I want no part in it. Monsanto's is forcing it's way into everything we eat with a million different corn and soy derivatives, not to mention that all these major chicken and beef producers feed their animals mainly corn (which cows don't eat naturally) making them super malnourished... they live horrible lives so we can eat them. How selfish. I figure I will buy eggs regardless of weather I'll eat them for breakfast or put them in a pastry, so why not know where they've come from and the chickens are treated well? Plus I like the idea of doing my part in a small way, and, maybe, if I pull it off in a stylish sort of way, more people would see that you don't have to live on a farm to be a farmer. You don't need to wear overalls or speak with a southern accent or be married to your cousin. You can live in a cute home in the city! You can drive a Volkswagen and throw dinner parties and be adorable. Well... maybe. I have yet to prove that all those things are possible while raising chickens, but I plan on trying.

8:00pm: I've finished the book. It turns out that most of the 246, or so, pages are recipes. Both chicken and egg recipes. The author prefaces the book stating that she never eats her chickens, as they are pets, but most people eat chicken for dinner most nights of the week. Her pets inspire her meals. Which is sort of weird. I hope she doesn't have cats. She has a lot of good insight for a first time raiser. I am not sure I am %100 sold on the whole idea, but I definitely want to continue researching. Bottom line: I can't have an ugly-ass chicken coop ruining all my summer bbqs and dinner parties. Also, they can't take over my life. I cannot become a salve to my chickens. So... more research. Lot's more research.

10am Sunday: A decision easier to make than weather or not to Homestead (fancy lingo meaning "to raise chickens" eep!) is what to have for breakfast. Kelly stole the book from my coffee table, her mind set on making the recipe for Bacon and Egg Breakfast Tarts. As I got ready for work, I prayed it would be ready in time for me to leave. It smelled awesome. But I knew as I rushed down the stairs at 10:55 that it wouldn't be. Will, being the awesome husband that he is, dropped me off and immediately went back to the house to wait for breakfast to be finished so he could bring it to my work. Sweet guy.

The Verdict: Puff pastry, parmesan, crispy bacon, chives, fresh tomatoes, and one whole egg, sunny side up, oozing all over the place.

As a novice egg eater, every bite I took of this pizza was intentional. I noticed bites that tasted very eggy and bites that had hardly any egg taste. I can't say that I love they way eggs taste but I liked the breakfast as a whole. All the ingredients together were very hearty and sophisticated. I was impressed. I can see myself eating it for breakfast, sipping coffee and watching my silly chickens from my kitchen window.

I guess the first step I should take is finding a home in socal, right? We have been looking and praying that the Lord blesses us with a place that's worthy of our dreams. We deserve it, I think. Wish us luck and, as always, keep us in your prayers.

                                               -W&J

It Almost Feels Like Summer

The weather is still gloomy as ever but at least it's not freezing. It was a balmy 55 degrees yesterday morning and I was able to ride my bike to work for the first time this year. Go me! Although, my entire ride is basically down hill so I picked up quite a bit of speed which increased the windchill factor, which made my eyes water, which made my mascara bleed into my watery eyes, which made them burn intensely. I arrived at work looking like I'd seen  a cat get hit by a car or something...  all puffy and squinty and drippy. bleh. I had no time to fix my face, however,  since work was crazy from the start. Wine Wednesdays: a day of drinking ridiculously awesome wine. Mostly french. Very expensive. Tough life.

Sometime in the middle of Wine Wednesday, Claudia, a wine rep for Mt Baker Vineyards and organic farmer, brought by a huge, one pound bag of greens... yes. GREENS. I never thought I would get so excited over lettuce but this lettuce is bomb-ass lettuce, okay. LOOK AT IT! dandelion buds, butter lettuce, spinach, arugula, other things that I don't recognize... oh man. the best salad you will ever eat ever. Period.

Claudia has to grow them in a greenhouse to keep them warm enough to grow all through the summer. It makes me want to have a veggie garden! I love fresh, local produce. Hands down, it's the only way to eat. Will made an awesome dinner  to go with our salad... spicy apricot chicken and fingerling potatoes... yum yum yum. He made the bbq sauce and everything!! So delicious.

After I ate way too much chicken, Will, Kelly and I all went to the Brown Lantern for game night. Play a board game and get a free beer? Really? So we played Boggle for an hour, which is hilarious when you're drinking because you come up with all the naughty words. "Teats" and "Titties" were popular words that night, despite the fact that titties is not in the dictionary. Kelly kicked our butts in Boggle, proving her English degree to be useful after all. A guy came around and collected all the games after about an hour and a half and we decided we'd all get one more beverage before we called the taxi. Then Will had a revelation: Come up with a clever name for a drink and then ask the bartender to make it according to it's name. After debating over Hepatitis Tea, Chocolate Rain and Unicorns Blood, Will decided on the latter. The bar tenders got really excited and methodically concocted this:



"Watermelon Schnapps on the bottom because it resembles blood" explained the bartender "and then Goldschlager because unicorn blood is shiney, obviously. We added a touch of hypnotic for flavor and, to top it off... Kraken Vodka. 'Cause it looks badass."  Sweeeeet. We let Will take the entire shot because it was already midnight and the cab was on it's way... Will got waaayyy too silly right as we arrived home 10 minutes later, lol. We've decided that we will order one custom drink every time we go to the bar from now on.

To finish off the Deans recap, Will, Penny and I went on a walk around the neighborhood to savour the partly cloudy, early evening sun. And we weren't chilly at all! I took my wine along on our walk... It kind of felt like Thanksgiving, when your whole family is over and you play football in the park with a glass of wine or a pint of beer or something... not that I want to start reminiscing about fall when we are barely getting weather over 62 degrees here. Anyways, We talked about planning a camping trip and how we need to put the bike rack back on the Volkswagen and how silly our puppy is. Good, good evening. And on that note, good night! See you soon, California!

Home Stretch

The sun stays up until 9 o'clock now. For some reason the late afternoon light makes me so happy and motivated. As the light turns shades of orange and red, my little brain tells me it is time to go on a hike or have a photo shoot in the garden. Mostly I want to lounge in the backyard with glass of lemonade in a pair of shorts and sunglasses and listen to pop music. Someday soon, when Will and I have our own place, I will be sure to indulge myself.

It is seriously bizzar how the sunshine makes everyone so happy. Will was in such high spirits that he made homemade oreo-cookie ice cream. Milk, sugar, cream, salt and oreos. Only five ingredients! And it only takes 15 minutes to make with our new ice cream maker. Next time, I hope he uses fresh blackberries or peaches or strawberries. I've been on a fresh fruit kick lately. Probably because everything tastes so good right now! Greek yogurt, honey and fresh fruit could be the only thing I ever eat for the rest of my life so long as the berries are fresh and sweet and as amazing as they are right now.
Despite all the good feelings I get from a little sun exposure, I have been homesick as of late. Along with a feeling of being a rat in a cage. So on Wednesday Will, Kelly and I all went to the Angels vs  Mariners game in Seattle. Baseball reminds me of a simpler time in my life. It reminds me of being in high school and meeting my friends at the movie theater on a Friday night. It reminds me of falling asleep in the back seat of my parents van, listening to am radio.
The Angels lost, unfortunately, but by that time I had plenty of beer and stadium food in my belly so I was happy and content and sleepy. It was a good time. We had awesome seats right on the ground floor behind second base. I felt I could reach out and shake Ichiro's hand... I should have. Maybe that would have distracted him from catching every fly ball. Damn him.

Deans are on the home stretch! We are on the last leg of our journey, people! Soon we will be making new memories in a new home with old friends :)

just enough to keep me going

I feel like I'm letting a lot of things slip through the cracks lately... I feel overwhelmed by my daily responsibilities as a result. Mostly because of a few new obsessions: Blog design, DIY room makeovers and digital scrapbooking. Since Kelly moved in, my main focus is converting a dining room into a guest bedroom. Sound ridiculous? That's because it sort of is. Not only is it completely exposed to the rest of the house, and is it adjacent to the stairwell, it also has a giant iron chandelier in the center that everyone keeps hitting their head on. I fear that Kelly may have a concussion at this point. We  finally finished painting the walls back to a neutral shade of white. Now the room is a blank canvas.

A few snags in the decorating process:

*Doors. Without doors, Kelly refuses to put in any furniture out  fear that the dogs will pee on it.

*Kelly has no furniture to begin with. Henceforth, we've been scouring thrift shops, yard sales and dumpsters.

here is a piece that I was really excited about. I loved its simplicity and felt it would be really easy to repaint and add cute hardware. That is, until we realized just how bad of shape it is actually in. Which is discouraging. It needs some serious structural updating, particularly the drawers, and the wood is actually really  low quality.

so instead of trying to restore the piece, I'm thinking it would be a lot easier and more fitting for the dresser itself to go with a "dumpster chic" look. If you think that sounds awful, stop being so judgmental!Anthropologie is famous for this style of furniture. They mix elegant shapes and patterns and bright fabrics with tattered wood and distressed metals. I think its beautiful. 

so with a little more distressing of the wood via paint, stains and sanding, and a few added pieces of beautiful hardware...

I think we could have something that could belong in a room like this:

I mean, the dresser was only $5 and to get it fully restored would cost a few hundred extra- which we don't have so ... I like this idea. Plus, Kelly and I spray painted some frames we found hiding in the garage to use either as a headboard or something else and they seem more along the lines of shabby/dumpster-ey too so ... we think it will look pretty cool!

All this week we will be playing around with the dresser and getting the frame on the wall. Hope we get it done quickly! Kelly needs a room asap!!!

With love,
jess

Just an Update

This past month has been exciting. Kelly Deans, my sister-in-law, is moving in with the rest of the family. Meaning, our already packed/chaotic house will basically be a Nut-House. But Kelly is more like a friend, and considering the relationship she has with her actual sister, thats pretty much a good thing, lol. So I will have a girlfriend on hand at all times, lol. Wednesday is the day... woot woot.

In Anacortes News: tomorrow is the official Tulip Festival Parade in downtowsn Mt Vernon and my very own Will Deans will be IN IT! He is dressing up as the mascot for US Bank and will ride on a float and dance inappropriately, I'm sure, pelvic thrusting the old ladies who are waving flags and wearing visors. I am NOT looking forward to tomorrow because not only will I be missing the parade, it is also the Anacortes Wine Festival which is basically a drunk-fest. Or Maybe I'm bitter that the weather is supposed to be awesome and I will be dealing with drunkies wishing I was one of them. Either way, I may have to break open a bottle of bubbly before noon just to give the illusion of a celebration, even though I will be forced to stay indoors and sell more alcohol to the already severely intoxicated.

It has been a busy past couple of weeks for Will and I... mostly due to the fact that Will becomes my indentured servant when I volunteer to throw a party... Kim turned 30 last week and I planned the most awesome party... it drove Will insane. He was forced into manual labor while I tied ribbons onto goodie bags and shopped for decorations. He threatens to divorce me if I plan another party. Ever. But all my weekends were spent obsessing over party-planning that I feel like I've had no days off. Not to mention that I had to work on my days off this week just to cover the craziness of  the shop. So this weekend is going to be spent doing things for me... and most likely drinking at the Brown with Kelly.... maybe some karaoke on wednesday ;) Tootles.