so, i have to many clothes.  like…waaaaaaaay too many.  and yes, true, i have a ton of really unique and awesome pieces.  but that ton is literally everywhere.  i have a closet full.  plus two industrial clothes racks.  and don’t even get me started on the number of shoes.  purses i have actually pared down very nicely.  i have a few random colors and two really amazing giant black bags that lex gave me, which serve as my go-tos.

a few months ago, i decided to attempt to get my clothes collection tapered down to 100 pieces.  LOL.  that didn’t work.  i figured that i wouldn’t have any problem coming up with 25 items per season.  LOL.  it was unfortunate.

but i’m serious now.  i have to make it happen, because i just visited ikea.  again.  and the closets?  like everything at ikea, they were so amazingly organized!  and in each of them?  a capsule wardrobe.  ahhhhh.

therefore, over the next few weeks, i totally intend to get my things squared away.  i have looked up so many articles and pictures and concepts that my brain is just overflowing with incredible ideas!

in fact, right now, pretty much everything has me super-pumped.  i’m just in one of those good, productive sort of moods.

tomorrow, at some point, i’ll try my best to get an update about the trip lex surprised me with to nyc (OMG!!!!) and if i get anything done with that whole capsule wardrobe thing, i’ll let you know about that, too.

wish me luck!

so, right now we’ve got about 7″ of snow on the ground here.  this makes two snowfalls already this winter, which is practically unheard of for us.  the last snow we had didn’t stick and make the town pretty, it just got sludgy and gross.  but this morning?  a gorgeous, pristine blanket of snow covered everything, just begging to be explored!  i headed over to my folks house with my camera and the first thing i heard from my mom was that my dad was in the garage, waxing the runners on my old flexi flyer sled.  how many 63-year-old dads do you know who are out there waxing the runners on a sled in preparation for their own sledding adventures?  i’m glad my dad is among them  

anyway, since i’ve been sick, i made a regretful remark about the fact that i would have to limit my snow day fun.  my mom responded, “well, you probably shouldn’t go out at all.”

to which i replied, “pffft.”

there was a definite pause, during which we both considered our next replies.  mom said, “i know.  but it seemed like something a mom should say.”

and i asked, “okay.  feel better?”

she smiled, “yep.  good to go.”

i’m glad we came to that understanding.

so, not to turn this into a solely vegan foodie blog, i’m here to interject an actual post!

this week has been crazy in a very meh sort of way.  i’m trying my best to recover from whatever crud has hold of me.  between doses of allergy meds, cold meds, and mucus meds, i’ve been loopy for about two weeks now.  awesome.  it’s tough to get a lot done when you’re walking around in a constant fog, but i’ve still managed to put in a bunch of applications, which is a good move.  i’ve also had plenty of fun cooking the fresh vegan foods i’ve been showcasing on here.  and time to bond with our newest kitty friend, bijoux.  she has a particular penchant for the blankets i’ve been wrapped up in, so she’s spent most of my sickly relaxation time with me.  she’s sweet!

got to watch a crazy matching of political wits between one of my former college professors and my uncle.  it kept my phone buzzing with updates to the point that i had to leave it in the office while lex, kyle, and i enjoyed the sounds of the new home theatre system.  woo!

i was in the most despicable mood yesterday.  it was really terrible.  i was grumpy and whiny about everything, and i have no idea how anyone managed to put up with me.  bless them all for loving me enough to see past those flawed, annoying moments!

one thing i’m definitely ready for is to be back at the gym full-time.  i’m going back tomorrow, no matter how crappy i feel.  i’m tired of being so restless.  i need to run and stretch and work my muscles.  they’re very grumpy with me for keeping them still in an effort to recover.  i can only hope that getting them going will help me recover more quickly…as long as i don’t hack up both my lungs, i think i’ll be okay, lol.

had a meeting with the head of theatre at my alma mater–looks like i’ll be teaming up again.  working as the assistant director on little shop of horrors, with a primary focus on direction of the audrey II.  hooray!  i’m already so excited about getting involved with it.  auditions are this week, and i can’t wait to see what sort of talent comes out!

and other than that?  well, i’m still trying to pare down all my junk.  giving it to charities, toting it to goodwill, casting it off to friends in need, whatever.  i just have too much stuff, and it kills me to think of it.  i really need to tackle my clothes, but that’s a project that is completely beyond me at the moment.  i have so, so, so, so many clothes!  i’d really love to be one of those amazingly sleek new york women who has a core outfit of only a certain amount of items that all work together.  i’ve even actually been researching how on earth one puts something like that together.  and i keep coming back to the concept that i need all these random little pieces of stuff–all my scarves, forty-eight thousand clever t-shirts, a warm winter coat in every single color.  it’s really pitiful.  oh well, it’s one of my goals for this year, so i’ve got twelve months to work on it

well, that’s it, i guess.  gotta go get some other stuff done!  have a great week, everyone.  i’ll see you around again soon enough.

so, i got this amazing vegan cookbook from lex’s aunt for christmas.  seriously.  it’s the best vegan cookbook i’ve had yet.  all the recipes have ingredients that are fairly easy to locate (read:  available in town!), which is the first thing i inspect in a vegan cookbook.  we don’t all live in california, vegan cookbook writers!  anyway, one of my goals for 2011 is to become more familiar with the staples of vegan cooking (and, thereby, form my own pantry-worth of go-to noms).  i figured that a pretty easy way to do this would be to take on a handful of new recipes each week.  i didn’t really make any rules or anything about the challenge.  just some common sense guidelines like a focus on trying out new veggies and herbs and making smart lists so that a weekly trip to earth fare wouldn’t be required.

this being the first week of the year is also the first week of the experiment, or whatever you want to call it, and so far:  woohoo!!

here’s the menu i made for the week.  all of these recipes have come from robin robertson’s vegan planet.

ginger-scented pot stickers
thai-style leaf bites
chili taco salad
tofu and veggie lo mein
cheesy chili-topped pizza

on monday night, i spent some time actually making vegan wonton wrappers from a recipe i found online.  i couldn’t locate vegan wrappers at a store, but my internet search turned up a super-simple and ridiculously cheap recipe (seriously:  flour, salt, and water.  that’s it.)  i decided to give them a try with whole wheat flour, instead of regular unbleached, and we used them to make the potstickers.  the dense wheat texture actually made an incredible packaging for the yummy filling recipe!

this was only half the dough—i ended up just rolling it on top of the oven!

doughin’ it up right

once they were stuffed, they went into the wok to fry in a little peanut oil:

what did one dumpling say to the other?
i feel stuffed! 
(insert rimshot here)

in the last step, you add a little soy sauce and water and let it cook off—it ends up glazing the dumplings with this sticky, caramelized goo that tastes like heaven!
lex made up a quick batch of brown sugar and teriyaki dipping sauce that finished them off perfectly.

dumplings, your days are numbered.  soon, you’ll meet your fate—in my tummy!

we also made the tofu and veggie lo mein…but that all got devoured before i could think to take a picture, lol!  the only thing i’d do differently next time is to marinate the tofu in a little soy before cooking it.  it needed a little oomph (as tofu often does).

let me pause and say that working in the kitchen is so relaxing for me.  there’s something blissfully peaceful about chopping fresh veggies and creating something delicious from scratch.  as crummy as my body has been feeling lately, that therapy was much-welcomed last night, as i made the chili taco salad.  first, i made fresh tomato salsa, which is simple, fresh, and delicious on its own.  but then, i grabbed a bowl and layered vegan chili, the fresh salsa, some chopped avocado, chopped red pepper, and chopped olives.  here’s what it looked like then:

naked party dip!

then i added the vegan cheddar shreds we’d gotten at earth fare.  the packaging touted that it would melt and string like real cheese.  reviews i have read online say this kind is the most like the real thing you can get.  we’ll see…

wanted:  vegan cheese that behaves like real cheese.

i dressed it up like it was going to a party

the belle of the ball

and put it in the micro to see if it would actually melt…

i’m meeeeeeeelllllllttttttiiiiinnnnnggggggg!

the result?  a-freakin’-mazing!  i have to go ahead and tip my hat to the daiya brand for making an excellent vegan product.  the cheddar shreds used here are completely worth every cent.  the cheese melted like real cheese, actually tasted cheesy, and totally tempted poor rorschach, who was certain that i’d made the dish just for him.

i can haz?

 

in the end, i must have had throwing parties on my brain, because i got so carried away with all the layering and pretty presentation-ing that i totally forgot it was supposed to be chili taco *salad*.  i left the shredded lettuce concept out completely, in favor of making a giant bowl of fiesta flavor.  which is how we ate it.  yellow corn chips, cheesy chili dip, and a couple episodes of dexter.  it was a good night!

 

so, lex and i finally decided to do our christmas celebration yesterday afternoon, and it was awesome!  cat santa visited, wrapping paper flew, and hysterical laughter, hugs, and kisses were had all around   since we’ve decided to give each other the gift of travel for the big gift-giving occasions, this christmas was completely new territory.  it didn’t feel right to just let the holiday go by without exchanging anything, so we had a sweet, laid-back, and low-key exchange.

my stack of (mostly) eco-wrapped gifts from lex

from me to lex:  a ridiculous pooping duck, just for fun, a set of mirrors to hang up around the house, a crazy vintage lamp that was a heck of a thrift find, and a set of flameless candles (with timers!) like the ones he has envied at my aunt and uncle’s place in fl.

  

from lex to me:  a five-pair set of purple socks (hooray!), a jane austen action figure, a custom-printed fat unicorn shirt (LOL), and a gorgeous missoni scarf!

  

 

my scarf came in the original missoni folder, even.  it’s amazing.

and an equal exchange between the two of us:  as soon as we decide where we’d like to travel next, we’ll put in the money to book it right away

nari and rorschach knew cat santa had visited as soon as they heard the jingle bells in their stocking.  but bijoux?  she had no concept of the joys of christmas, lol.  it pretty much just freaked her out.  we did finally manage to introduce her to catnip, and it was priceless!

rorschach checking out his stocking

 

       

nari and rorschach, rolling in the catnip…

       

then playing with us

lex could hardly put the catnip out, because nari just wanted to love on the bag!

 

bijoux’s first nip-trip   

bijoux getting some love from dad 

 

nari and bijoux, playing with one of the jingly toys cat santa brought      

lex doles the cat-stocking goodies throughout the year to keep the toys fresh and exciting.

this is rorschach letting us know that he knows exactly where the stocking is kept.