Wake-up: Budding Roses

photo credit: Cayenne 05.16.10 in Fairbanks, Alaska

vintage rosehips platter from etsy shop retrovert vintage 

Wake-up: Paper Birch

photo credit: TEB 05.18.10

canadian birch paper straws from anthropologie

Wake-up: Tis the season...

...for giving at KIVA. I've mentioned Kiva before and I just wanted to remind you this holiday season that this is a wonderful, fun way to give a hand up. I am still re-loaning the $100 that TEB gifted me through Kiva.

I give in $25 increments and my most recent loan was to a man in Columbia that makes leather goods by hand. You can search by many different parameters, e.g. female, type of industry, location. Give KIVA this holiday season.

Disclaimer: I have not been paid or compensated in anyway by Kiva. I truly believe that they have a great business model and that they help people all over the globe.

Wake-up: Tis the season...

...for union suits. yah know, the one piece jumpsuit PJs. Outfit the whole family!

Teenager:

Jack Wills' Shelderton All-in-one, $90

Exhilaration union suit, $20 Target

Trendy Aunt and Uncle:

J. Crew classic union suit, $70 (grey and red stripe)

Sports enthusiast:

Burton midweight one-piece, $100 (made for outdoor sports)

The Parents:

LL Bean two-layer union suit, $50

Baby:

Polarn O. Pyret classic striped eco romper, $50

Wake-up: Fall has arrived

Yup, fall is here. I quite enjoy fall with the beautiful colored leaves, crisp air, and layering of clothing that circumvents having to wear a heavy jacket.

My capitol hill neighborhood is bursting with color.

Red leaves across the street from our house.

photo credit: Cayenne 11.06.10 and 11.13.10

Wake-up: I'm still here...

...exploring bustling DC.

...finding a routine.

...commuting 2 hours a day.

...enjoying happy hours.

...settling into the house.

All this takes up the majority of my time and leaves so few spare moments for blogging or cooking. Am I cooking? - not so much, just the quick dinners that I've posted for the past two years here on Cayenne + Carob.

Am I reading blogs? - a few but mostly enjoying the more graphic blogs.

I don't know where this blog is going to end up after my career transition. In the meantime you can still find me on twitter and on Pinterest.

Pinterest is a virtual pinboard. Looking for neat architecture, interior design, or fashion/style there is a cache of boards for you to browse through. I pin a dozen images a week so go check it out. Keep up with me there while I figure out what I'm doing here.

Sign up to create a profile and pin images on Pinterest.

Follow my pins via RSS feed.

photo credit: Cayenne 09.25.10, American Visionary Art Museum (Baltimore, MD)

Wake-up: Bed on the Floor

I moved to DC with no furniture, thus am still sleeping on a mattress on the floor. We mistakenly bought off craigslist the wrong size mattress so even that is not going to stay.

As always craigslist is touch and go - we bought a large table and four chairs for only 80$ but then the mattress was advertised as a queen but when we got home it clearly was a full size (our fault really, seller was foreign). A mirror we purchased at IKEA was cracked along the edge hidden by the cardboard packaging. And we are still searching for an inexpensive couch.

I wish my floor bed was as serene as the one above with the Swedish Crux blanket by Pia Wallen. Buy from Pia Wallen website (~800$ USD).

photo credit: Pia Wallen Crux blanket found via Door Sixteen blog

Wake-up: Road Trip up the Coast

There is nothing more perfect than a spontaneous summer road trip up the California coast. We have (somehow) managed to swing two of these trips this summer. For the rest of the month I'll highlight some of our favorite stops that we took along the way as we drove along the coast to northern California.

photo credit: Airstream's Bambi 422 Trailer from CarScoop

Wake-up: Summer Camping

There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer.

~Ansel Adams

I love two things about this photo - the vintage teardrop trailer and the expression of the woman. Wonder who is taking the picture...and can I have one of those beers?

I am hoping that this summer has at least one camping trip it in for us. Our trip will be tent-style and probably involve backpacking.

photo credit: 1960s teardrop travel trailer by Christian Montone

Wake-up: New Business Cards by Moo

I just got my new business cards from Moo. They turned out way better than I expected. I chose mini cards, which are about half the side of a regular business card. They were printed on heavy stock and the printing image and my personal information seemed like high quality printing.

I ordered one of their graphic designs (huge selection) on the "image" side and put my contact information (LinkedIn address and email) on the "info"side. You do have the option to leave the "image" side blank and to add your own logo on the "info" side in addition to your name. The only drawback was that I could not use one of their cool designs on the "info" side.

Looking forward to networking and handing out my new cards!

photo credit: Cayenne 06.23.10

Wake-up: Monochromatic Blooms

Feeling a little monochromatic on this Monday morning.

source list: vintage Rosenthal Classic Modern Pattern (Germany) coffee pot from TEB's mom, gerber daisies from TJ's, Rie Munoz print from my parents.

photo credit: Cayenne 06.13.10

Wake-up: Transition to summer

I took TEB to Alaska a few weeks ago to see a season other than winter ;-) We had a really wonderful trip with my sister graduating from college, 18 hrs of sunlight, and celebrating the first week of summer with my 7 year old niece, MRC.

On one of those looong days (with plenty of sunlight) we drove to Denali National Park. The place was just waking up - the flora was starting to green and the fauna stretching their legs, and summer employees had arrived and were exploring the hiking trails, like we were. Since Fairbanks is only 2.5 hour drive north of the park it was the perfect day trip and we hiked until 11p before heading home.

More details on summer fun in the Fairbanks area coming up this week.

photo credit: TEB 05.18.10 pussy willows

Wake-up: May Grey + Jasmine

Despite the May grey our jasmine "tree" is blooming away. I love our blustery prelude to full blown summer sunshine in southern California. I think it might actually be colder than Fairbanks is right now.

photo credit: TEB 03.14.10

Wake-up: Inspiration in the Blogsphere

Here is a peak at my *starred* posts from last week - Inspiration is everywhere.

Enjoyed Door Sixteen's renovation of her NYC apartment and now captivated by her round up of white-on-white (plus black) rooms - dreaming about my new apartment in black and white.

Tiny House Blog posted the most petite, yet serene, guest room ever.

As a wearer of glasses I loved Black Eiffel's Girls with Glasses Fashion photo shoot.

Oh Happy Day's birthday surprise is indeed a SuRpRiSe, wish I could pull something like that off.

I had the paloma for Cinco de Mayo (substituted gin and Trader Joe's Italia Grapefruit Soda) and am inspired by Coconut + Lime's Dark and Stormy cupcakes.

I wish that I had made my mom this dahlia flower brooch from not martha, tips for creating this felt-no-sew-pop-of-color right here.

Celebrate: Cherry Blossoms

Just one week ago I was en-route home from DC (more on that later). The flight schedule is such that it takes two days to get to Juneau, via an over-night-stop in Seattle. I was a little tired at this point after spending a day running around DC looking at the sights and then a 5 hour plane flight.

When I walked into the Cedarbrook Lodge lobby there was TEB - he had flown in from San Diego just so we could spend an evening together. I was so surprised. It is not often that I am completely unaware of something like that but it was totally off my radar and it was wonderful.

By the way, if you are even in need of somewhere to stay within 5 minutes of the Sea-Tac Airport then stay at Cedarbook. It is next to a bird estuary and the design is very modern, sustainable cabin. They also have hot breakfast and serve only locally grown food.

photo credit: Cayenne 03.06.10

Wake-up: On my walk to work...

I am lucky enough to be able to continue my eco-friendly commute that I enjoyed in San Diego, here in Juneau, AK. One of my favorite things about downtown Juneau is that it butts right up against the Tongass National Forest, meaning that houses only sit about 1 block high on the mountain (also for the reason that it is too steep to build higher). Think San Francisco but way smaller and at the base of Mount Juneau. Top left pic shows the view from my entryway porch and top right is looking north on South Franklin Street directly in front of my apartment.

I live a short 7 block walk from my office at the capitol building. Bottom left is the looking back at where the houses ascend up Mount Juneau. Bottom right is the view north just 2 blocks from the Capital building outside my favorite morning coffee stop, Pie in the Sky.

photo credit: Cayenne 01.31.19

Wake-up: Officially Unplugged

Before I moved to Juneau it never occurred to me that I should worry or plan to be in a situation without internet. I thought of all kinds of other things like the fact that there is no clothing stores in town but I'm use to that from my Fairbanks days. After living here for 1.5 weeks I have to now accept the fact that I don't have internet unless on the weekend I hit the library from 12-5p or I somehow miraculously get moving early enough to go to Silverbow Bakery and Inn for breakfast and internet.

All this makes planning things and working infinitely more difficult. Being this unplugged is very annoying and makes me sad. Not only did I move away from my friends in San Diego but I now have trouble keeping in touch with them and blogging is down to a bare minimum. I'll be back next weekend with an update.

photo credit: power hungry from t-squared

Wake-up: Holiday Decorating

I am with my family in Alaska for the holiday season. Given that we are spending 2 weeks away from our San Diego home, I went minimalist on the holiday decorations. I put up the Christmas bears next to a tree silhouette quilted by my mom, surrounded by mini presents.
The plants got a few decorations from some hanging mittens and Swedish straw ornaments. Looking forward to January!

photo credit: Cayenne 12.13.09

Winter Wishlist: Boots

Winter Wishlist Boots: I am thinking about gearing up for cold weather in a wet environment. Strangely enough San Diego and Fairbanks, AK have one thing in common despite the drastically different temperatures - dry, low-moisture climates. Living in rainy climates is very foreign to me. I lived in DC for 3 years but I don't think that I mastered the cold, windy and wet winter. Here is what I have on my wishlist if I have to move to where it rains more than 3x/year.

1. Tall waterproof and warm boots that can handle icy sidewalks.

Cydwoq desk boot, pictures from Ped Shoes, 440$. I normally wear European size 39 but sized way down to 37.5 in these American-made shoes. The tailoring was near perfect and good for people with slim calves.

2. Aquatalia by Marvin K, Spunky boot in chocolate brown, 400$. I owned these for about a week before I took them back due to the price. To date they have been the most comfortable boots that I have put on. They have a cushioned foot bed and a narrower calf, though you can see from the photos that the calf area was still a bit big on me. The lug sole is great for slippery sidewalks and all the reviews I read said the suede holds up in rainy weather (Seattle-based reviewers). I am waiting for these to show up on Sierra Trading Post next year. I think the Aquatalia Kerry Suede Waterproof boot is a beauty too.

Wouldn't all these boots look lovely with the Lole plaid Stylish jacket, 190$ (polyester, not wool!).

Wake-up: Marimekko Christmas News

During an 8 hour layover in Seattle, TEB and I ventured down to Pike's Place Market. We bought some carrots from one of the veggie vendors and fresh donuts. On our way to lunch with TEB's family at SAM we quickly ran through Tuuli, a cute shop that features Marimekko textiles. In the Marimekko Christmas Newsletter I discovered these lovely illustrations of how to use fabric to wrap gifts. I might just try it for this year's Christmas presents. I was getting a little tired of my recycled paper bag + stamp combo.
Tuuli
1407 First Avenue
Seattle WA 98101
Tel: 1.206.223.1112
tuuliseattle@gmail.com

photo credit: images from marimekko christmas newsletter 2009