Miss Modish- Mojo Maker

My new favorite breakfast

Happy Monday! I'm just gonna ignore the wicked windy & wet ughness outside today and focus on what's happening inside- food!

I've been eating this for breakfast for the last couple weeks straight and it's soooo yummy: scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese and roasted pumpkin seeds over corn tortillas with hot sauce on top. It's also delicious with some avocado (or whatever toppings you want really) added to the mix! 

I had pumpkin seeds in a breakfast burrito at J&M Cafe and have been adding them to my eggs ever since for a healthy and delicious touch! And locals, if you haven't tried it yet, this Secret Aardvark habanero hot sauce is so addictingly good- it's sweet and smoky and pretty dang hot, but with lots of flavor, not just heat- so delish!

What's your favorite quick and savory breakfast? 

Kitty Photo Friday

This photo represents pretty much everything I'd like my weekend to be: warm, cuddly and bathed in orange light. 

Hope you have a happy one my friends! Meet you back here next week :)

<3 jena

My Seed Sowing Equivalent of Girl Talk

Seed Starting! Yay! It's time again to think about all those tasty spring and summer veggies we all love to grow so much and I have this weekend set aside specifically for Phase 1 of seed starting. Every year I tell myself I'm going to "do it right" and every year I try something different. Last year (was it last year?!) I tried to make germinating mix from scratch. Never again. It was too expensive and too. much. work.

This year I've got a bag of Fafard Germinating Mix, the soil blocker, some toilet paper tubes and other implements and I'm ready to go. This year, Girl Talk is to music what seed sowing is to me. Anything and everything goes, and maybe something brilliant will come out of it.

How about you? Are you ready? Find yourself a handy dandy way to keep track of your seeds. I hadn't seen this one by Mother Earth News before, but I like how it has all the info you need right there on the same page. Double check your last frost date with the ol' faithful Farmer's Almanac.

Now, go get your dirt hungry fingertips in the soil! Are you starting seeds this year? What's on the menu for your garden?

Renee Garner has a passion to make things grow, although her brownish thumb wants her to believe otherwise. When mud pies aren't on the menu, you can find her doodling the days away at Wolfie and the Sneak.

The Cat's Meow

:: photo source

Making me purr this week:

These cute little vintage bug plates, perfect for holding little trinkets, from Monki Vintage

These perfumes by D.S. & Durga sound awfully enticing- anyone ever tried them? I think the "cowgirl grass" scent sounds like it would smell like my childhood home out in the high desert.

These gorgeous and simple little antique stud earrings from Erica Weiner

This stunning mixed media piece (all her work) by Sarajo Frieden, via my Get Your Paint On class!

These gorge eyeshadow colors from Lumiere Et Alouette

These pretty porcelain rings that spell "LOVE" in braille, by MaaP Studio

This springy vintage umbrella from brand new shop, Scout & Smith Vintage

This pretty vintage tote with hand-embroidered flowers and supple caramel leather, at Spool 72

This cute little handmade doggie planter by Miriam Brugmann

The new Radiohead album, which I've had on repeat for days

This sweet trio droplet necklace by MIni Cyn

And this is the Holiday Hair Studio! The newest and cutest little cart on the block, only this one is an adorable salon. I got my haircut there this past weekend and it's the first cut I've gotten in over 3 years by someone other than myself! I haven't trusted anyone with my curls in a long long time, but Robin did an amazing job- I love it! She gave me just what I wanted and sculpted my curls, more than cut them. She's a painter too and I can tell her artistic eye is put to good use with hair too- it looks awesome! Thanks Robin! 

Miss Modish Muses: Peggy Moffitt

I stumbled upon this photo of Peggy Moffitt on Pinterest and knew instantly that she had to be my next Miss Modish Muse.

{Below is an amazing little fashion vid from the 60s featuring her- see her move and groove, man!}

Not only does she have some seriously amazing make-up going on (which I'm totally into at the moment) but she just seems so cool and confident and quirky. And isn't her hair amazing? Dang! Married to photographer William Claxton, she became a model and muse for his friend, designer Rudi Gernreich. When she modeled his "monokini" in 1964 (a bikini with no top) it catupulted them both to stardom and she became a total icon of the 60s. I love her edge and her personal style. She definitely has a little up-to-no-good in her eyes- hah!

make/do tuesday: make-me-up

For many years I've been wearing little to no make-up at all, an effort on my part to really try to feel comfortable with my natural self after even more years (all thru high school and college) of wearing make-up every single day to cover-up and hide. 

But now, I seem to be finding a new relationship with make-up, one that doesn't feel like it's stemmed from necessity, like I need to wear it in order to feel good about myself- that's such a horrible feeling. 

I'm now re-discovering make-up as something just for fun, as an accessory, as something that makes me feel flirty or pretty when I want to- I use it every once it awhile now more as a reflection of my mood or style, than as a way to cover-up. And that feels great!

And one of the things I've been wanting to experiment more with are bright, colorful eyes. Make-up that doesn't look like you're "not wearing any" but make-up that says "hello! I feel great today!" Like the make-up we had at the Elizabeth Dye show below- we each had eye shadow that matched our neon tights!  

(more pics from the show right here!)

So, for my make-do "project" this week I really just did something for fun. I spent an hour with myself in front of the mirror practicing painting my face, and putting on some colorful eyes! 

I did two different looks on each side of my face just to play around- one daytime look that I'll call "Neon Cleopatra" and one nighttime look I'll call "Purple Haze"- I probably would not go out in public with a half and half face tho, hah!

I have all these bright eye colors in my collection and never really wear them! But now, I think that's got to change for sure. How about you- do you like to rock the colorful make-up looks or stick to neutral? Do you wear make-up just for fun? Or at all? I think it really does something for my feminine self to get dolled up every once in awhile- I'll have to do it more often!

{Every week I make or do something creative just for fun- join me! If you have a make/do project to share this week, feel free to tell us about it in the comments below!}

Eco-Friendly Find: the fabric society

I've been working on updating the kitchen in my little house, so between that and an itch for warmer weather, I've got future entertaining on the mind. These lovely natural and reclaimed fiber goods from the fabric society will do just fine for all those summer barbecues I'm dreaming up...

I love that natural "no waste" apron—the pockets are made from the scraps cut to shape the bib—makes me want to get cooking. How about you? Are you dreaming of summer nights and dinners with friends too?

Liz Grotyohann is a co-founder of cosa verde, a marketplace for handmade, environmentally-conscious goods.

Kitty Photo Friday

Ah, sisters... lulu and neko wrestle like this pretty much everyday. You should hear the sounds they make, so funny! I'll try to get it on video sometime since it's hard to get a clear pic with them moving around so much! 

This weekend is supposed to be COLD here, but sunny! It also marks our 3 year anniversary of moving to Portland- best decsion we ever made! We may go out to the coast this weekend to celebrate, relax and get some chilly sand in our toes. 

So, I'll meet you back here Monday- have a happy weekend! Oops, forgot it was a holiday Monday- I'll see you back here Tuesday! :)

Hungry for Hostas

Last weekend I went to a forest gardening class taught by Dave Jacke. One of the plants he suggested for an edible perennial garden was the hosta. Errr wha?? Hosta? All records within a 50 mile radius came to a screeching halt the moment hosta escaped his lips.

I have to say I've been skipping over the aisles and aisles of hostas at the nursery for years. They're pretty enough, but I'm not interested in adding simply ornamental plants to my cart. I guess I've been wrong about "simply ornamental".

Through lots of searches and internet time suckage here's what I've gathered: hostas are a common food in Japan, called Urui or Yuki-urui. Look for Hosta montana or Hosta sieboldii--they're tender and less bitter than some of the other types. Prepare young hosta leaves like you would asparagus or substitute it for spinach.

New Hampshire Hostas (middle left) have both H. montana and H. sieboldii. I've never ordered from them, though, so I can't vouch for their quality, but might give them a try. Hostas just might be what I need to fill in the shadier parts of my garden that I can't fill with the average annual veggie crops.

Want to try a hosta recipe? Giboshi arekore has all the info you need to make Urui with Vinegar Mustard Miso Dressing (middle right). Dcarch on the SeedSavers forum gets really creative with his (her?) hosta recipes. The pictures (bottom) alone are enough to send me down the hosta aisles.

All this talk has my belly saying, "hello hosta!"  Have you ever eaten hosta leaves? What do you think? Plant them for food or stick to spinach?

Renee Garner has a passion to make things grow, although her brownish thumb wants her to believe otherwise. When mud pies aren't on the menu, you can find her doodling the days away at Wolfie and the Sneak.

The Cat's Meow

:: photo source

Making me purr this week: 

This gooorgeous of Amanda Blake painting. I love it so much, I can't stand it.

These cute vintage granny boots over at Moxie

These stunning fashion/painting match-ups by Miss Moss- she's so good!

This crazy quilted pencil case by Enhabiten
This so pretty Victorian signet ring, from the late 1800s. At Erie Basin

This vintage granny blankie over at Funkey Finds

This pretty little mug by Clam Lab

This gorgeous range of porcelain jewelry with hand-drawn details by Goldenink, via Bloesem

These pop-up wild bird cards, from cute Australian shop Upon a Fold

These pretty and suprisingly inexpensive totes from Fabric & Handle, via Seesaw Designs

These glowing watercolor flowers by Leanne Shapton

These incredible cabochons from Silurian Era, found via Wolf & Willow. I could stare at them all day.

Own+Adore: My LF Rainboots

For Christmas, the mister and I decided to just buy ourselves one thing we've really been wanting for awhile as our main "gift". So, my Christmas present was to finally get a pair of the Loeffler Randall Rain Booties I had been coveting for months on end. And you know what? I think I've worn them everyday since! 

Small confession: This is the first time I've spent over $100 on any pair of shoes. I didn't even for my wedding! I have been living so thrifty for so many years, building up an ever rotating wardrobe full of cute and cheap second-hand things, that I just couldn't even consider spending that much on any ONE thing. But now that I have them, I think they're worth every penny! 

I can wear them with my funny 90's peg leg jeans or skinny pants or big wide leggers and they look great with it all- worth it! And I love how they fit! Typical rainboots are just too wide for my skinny ankles and calves and make my feet feel like they're floating around in aerospace- these hug my feet and keep them warm with wooly socks and they don't even look like rainboots- worth it! Plus they're comfy to walk around in for hours and I can jump in puddles and splash the mister- so worth it!

So, the moral of the story is, sometimes quality is worth a little (affordable for you) splurge. I think I'm definitely going to be incorporating more quality staples into my wardrobe this year to complement my thrifted finds because it's nice to have a little of both worlds!

And you know what else is worth it? 

Pedicures in the middle of winter! (ok, maybe not- but look, I have little flowers on my toes! :)

make/do tuesday: in progress

Last week, I got to work on a new painting for my class. I will probably have only paintings to share for make/do over the next few weeks until class is over, as I don't really have time to make anything else. I still have lots of details I'd like to add to this piece, definitely still working on it! But here's what a couple hours got me :)

Did you do something creative last week just for fun? Try a new recipe? Make some Valentines? Do tell! And if you have a link to a project you'd like to share, feel free leave it for us to check out in the comments below.

If you'd like to join in next week, go ahead and make/do something creative for at least an hour this week, just for fun, and tell us about it right here next Tuesday. Happy creating!

Eco-Friendly Find: Urban + Forest

Hope you all had a lovely Valentine's Day! Myself, I was stuck with an icky head cold, so I'm taking a raincheck on candlelit dinners and the like. But that's OK... maybe I'll get myself a pair of these pretty birch candlesticks before I cash in on that candlelight.

Urban + Forest, aka virtualdesignlab, crafts these candlesticks, organic shelves and other naturally understated lovelies from reclaimed birch logs from their home state, Maine. Perfect for bringing a little bit of the outside in to your table or walls.

Liz Grotyohann is a co-founder of cosa verde, a marketplace for handmade, environmentally-conscious goods.

Mister Mix: Mista Lova Lova

Happy Valentine's Day! The mister made a special music mix for you filled with totally not sappy love songs to get your day going right. Whether you're in love or out of love, you'll be in a good mood after you listen to this, guaranteed! I've been tapping my toes to it all morning long- thank you my wonderful mister! You can hit play and leave this window open while your cruise through your day to hear them all. Hope you enjoy!

 

PS: Hey Portlanders! Remember the 4 little kittens my friends rescued? Well they're 3 months old now with a clean bill of health and ready to be adopted! If you're interested in showing some love to a little kitty in need and can provide 1 (or 2? or 3? or 4?) of them with a good home, please let me know and I'll get you in contact. Thank you!

Kitty Photo Friday

Mira is a nosy neighbor

Ah, Friday. She has arrived! Hopefully we'll get some thrift store shopping in this weekend. We haven't been in so long! I'm jonesin! And I have to get some painting in- I have a new class assignment that I'm excited to start. I also have four new favorite painters (<-clicky clicky) I'm really starting to understand how difficult painting is, and respecting (and envying!) those who do it well even more.

And maybe, if it's not raining on Sunday, we'll take ourselves out for a romantic hike in the Portland green to celebrate Valentine's Day. That's what we did last year and darn if it wasn't a great way to spend the afternoon. 

Hope you have a lovely weekend! Are you annoyed by Valentine's Day or excited for it? I personally just see it as an excuse to go out for a yummy dinner with my mister- ooh, I can't wait!

Well, I'll meet you back here Monday with a special little V-Day surprise!

<3 jena  

An Inside Garden in Belgium

Plants, sweets, coffee and crochet. It's the set up for a beautiful gardening blog called Belle fleur de lis.  Lotte makes beautiful objects, takes beautiful photos, and blogs mostly from her lovely indoor garden. Reading her blog is cozy enough to take the bite out of the never-ending winter we're experiencing stateside.

{Belle fleur de lis found via the mine creations.}

Renee Garner has a passion to make things grow, although her brownish thumb wants her to believe otherwise. When mud pies aren't on the menu, you can find her doodling the days away at Wolfie and the Sneak.

On inspiration and Nga

I'm posting late, really late. Because this morning was one of those mornings where inspiration seemed a far grasp away. And I just couldn't will myself to do a post. Yes, even I have those days. But just now, while reasearching for a Miss Modish client, I stumbled upon something so beautiful that I just instantly had to blog about it! And that's what inspiration feels like. And I think we really shouldn't be blogging at all without that, hmm? Me included. 

So, what turned my frown upside down today? These rings, these beauuuutiful rings! 

I discovered them over on Melissa Loves and felt that instant pang of wow + want + wow again. I love that they're sculptural and raw at the same time. I imagine that wood would feel so good against your skin and the stones- ugh! Don't even get me started on the stones! They're just too magical.

Read more about the New Zealand artist behind the line, Nga Waiata, over on Melissa's post!

Miss Modish Muses: 70's girls

Inspired by the 70's styles that are creeping back into contemporary collections this season (which I'm kinda excited about) I thought it'd be fun to look back at the source and see how those high-waisted flares and maxi dresses and turbans were rocked by stylish ladies back then. 

Click images to go to source- found in the 70's fashion, That 70's style and Lovely 70's girls groups on flickr.

Loving the striped tube socks over bright tights, the long skirts, chevrom patterns, big hats and high waisted pants- not sure I could do really flared out ones, but I do want some with a wider leg. How bout you? Think any of these 70s trends are going to make their way into your wardrobe this season? 

make/do tuesday: Valentines

Brandi from Ever So Lovely asked if I'd like to particpate in her Valentine's Exchange, and I thought it'd be a great excuse to get creative so I quickly obliged! Here are the Valentines I made for 5 lovely strangers- I hope they like them! I used vintage photos of couples from my own personal collection and embellished them with paint since painting is pretty much my new favorite thing, even though I still don't know what I'm doing :)

Now it's your turn! Did you make time to make something just for fun last week? Please share in the comments below! And if you post about your project on your own blog, feel free to share a link. And I'd love for you to make/do something creative, just for fun this week so you can join us next Tuesday!

Feeling Bridey

After being surrounded by so many stunning wedding dresses yesterday at the English Dept show, I couldn't help but reminisce about my own wedding and how fun and special it was to us. And since Valentine's Day is around the corner and people are in romantic moods, I thought it good timing to be a little mushy-gushy and share some wedding photos with you here!

So, here we go- some favorites from our Mendocino elopement on a pretty (and very blustery!) October day. And you can see lots more in my flickr set here. 

It was so windy by the ocean, we decided to hold our ceremony in the garden at the Stanford Inn (where we stayed) in front of a bed of pretty cosmos. And then we went galivanting around the Mendocino Headlands and beach to capture some photos of our newlywed excitement!

It was such an amazing day filled with so many memories and so much joy. My cheeks hurt at the end of it all from smiling so much. We're ready to go back and get married again! 

{All photos by J Perlman & R Lutge photography- they shoot Bay area, Portland and beyond!}