Homemade Granola

Granola is so tasty, no? If you do not agree, this post is not for you. Granola used to be one of our splurge purchases at the grocery store. Despite getting it from the bulk food section it was always one of the highest priced items on the list. And sometimes they'd be out of our favorite variety. Boo.

Enter this recipe from Bon Appétit (which happened to be part of one of my most favorite features ever: a collection of the editor's favorite breakfast recipes. Uh, breakfast is the best meal, am I right?). I was still skeptical because in my mind making granola sounded like too much work when you could just go buy it already made and delicious. I know, I know. This sounds pretty hypocritical from a person who makes hand knit socks. Whatever, the world is full of contradictions folks. Moving on. Despite my skepticism I decided to give it a go. As it happens, making your own granola is super easy and it turns out even more delicious than the store bought variety (in my opinion). What I like most is that I can make it a little bit more well done than grocery store granola, which makes for awesome carmelly flavored cereal milk. Also you can put whatever you like it in so you are always making your favorite kind. 

I've modified the recipe a bit from the original. Here's how I make it: 

Ingredients: 

• 1 egg white, beaten a little bit (but not until foamy)
• 3 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 1 1/2 cup coconut shavings (preferably unsweetened, but if I've only got the sweetened kind on hand I'll use those and then omit the extra brown sugar)
• 1/2 cup agave syrup
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, warmed
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 2 Tbsp ground flax seed
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar, packed
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 300°. Combine everything but the cranberries in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Cover a large (preferably rimmed) baking sheet with parchment paper and spread mixture on top. Bake for 15 minutes, then check on it and flip it as best you can without sending granola cascading to the bottom of your oven where it will later burn and create a horrible stench. Do this two more times (or until your desired done-ness). That means it will be baking for a total of 45 minutes. Take out and let cool on the baking sheet. Once cool, sprinkle with cranberries and transfer to container. The recipe suggests it can be kept up to 2 weeks in an airtight container. 

52 Tuesdays: Favorite Thrifts #17

What: Yellow Chair
Where: Lynnwood, WA Goodwill
Level of Love: 10 out of 10

I love this chair. It's my favorite color and it's in really good shape. Can't remember what I paid for it, but I know it was a pittance. I spotted it while just walking near the furniture section and made an immediate quick dash towards it. Then hovered over it like a protective parent until a store clerk wandered by so I could proclaim my love (for the chair not the clerk) and have him put a sold sticker on it. Because when you're thrifting alone you simply cannot risk abandoning your treasure to walk to the front of the store for a clerk. Of course. 

This chair has a great how-I-got-it-home story, too. We still had our Ford Taurus at the time and I used to pride myself on being able to eyeball what sorts of things would be able to fit in it. This came from the numerous dorm move ins, apartment moves, and even the big cross country move we've done together. Not to mention IKEA runs and past thrifting excursions. In short I was pretty freakin' confident the chair would fit - one way or another. Note the smug look on my face as I check out and carry it through the parking lot. Then, I get to the car. Confidence is still high as I attempt to hoist it into the trunk. No go. While the trunk is very spacious, you have to be able to get things in at just the right angle. Which I could not manage this time. No matter, there's always the back seat. I have fit surprisingly large items in the back seat in the past, so I'm not sweating it (yet). Case in point: this dresser. Much bigger than the chair, right? Well, sort of...bigger, but again it's the angle needed to squeeze it in with the door not being able to open all the way. I reposition it, twist it this way and that, and still the chair is just not having it. Ugh. At this point, I'm starting to feel a little nervous that I might have to sheepishly drag it back into the store and be that customer. You know, the one who buys things willy nilly without thinking through how to get them home. The situation is not helped by the fact that it is dark and raining. Yep, raining. Luckily my favorite chair is upholstered with classy vinyl so there's no risk of damage. But of course I'm not wearing a rain jacket and am starting to get soaked. Add to this the group of Goodwill workers watching and snickering at me from the donation drop-off area and you can understand both my urgency and rising panic. Nevertheless I continued to try to finagle it into place, going from one side of the car to the other and giving the trunk another go. Some might call it persistent optimism. I'm going to be blunt and call myself what I am: stubborn. Combine that with a high threshold for hanging on to my willing suspension of disbelief and I was absolutely not leaving that parking lot without my chair. At some point I decided to give the front seat a try. I pushed the seat back as far as it would go, reclined it all the way, and prayed (literally). It still needed some persuading but I finally managed to make it fit! I triumphantly (and gently so as not to accidentally shatter a window) shut the door, cast a once-again-smug look toward the Goodwill workers - who likely could not appreciate it due to the lack of sunlight - and set off. I may have ridden home with a chair leg jabbing into my ribs, but I made it nonetheless. 

FO: Simple Striped Sweater for Me

It's finally finished! Knit, blocked, and ends woven in. This sweater has been an on-my-mind project for quite awhile now. I thrifted about five skeins of the cream color way back when. Can't even remember where. It's a linen rayon blend from a company called Springbrook Yarns (now defunct) with just a little bit of sheen and a lovely drape. I knew immediately I wanted to make a loose fitting, easy wearing sweater out of it. The one problem was I didn't think I had quite enough. So. Stripes it was. The indigo colored yarn is Rowan Creative Linen that was purchased at my favorite (semi) local yarn shop Churchmouse Yarns on Bainbridge Island.




This is my second go at using the EPS (Elizabeth's Percentage System) method (you can see my first here), and I'm tempted to never follow another sweater pattern ever again. It's so darn liberating to be able to knit with whatever yarn and whatever needles you like and still be totally confident the fit will be perfect. I have to admit I'm one of those knitters who shrugs off doing a proper gauge swatch (for those non-knitterly types gauge is the count of stitches per inch. When you knit from someone else's written pattern, your gauge needs to match the designer's gauge so that the finished garment is the right size). I also tend to substitute yarns a little haphazardly. All of this means that sometimes things don't turn out as expected. And I have gotten better at swatching when it really matters. Say, for a sweater instead of a scarf. All this to say, I love that with EPS you can both do your own thing and be certain the measurements will turn out right because they're your measurements. On the other hand, there are so many beautiful designs out there - like this or this - that I'm sure I'll be following someone else's directions again soon, too.

Now for the rest of the details. Size US 6 needles. Extra design elements: 2x2 twisted rib (with only the knit stitches twisted because I hate twisting purls) on the lower hem and sleeves, side slits, and raglan sleeve shaping. I wanted to stick with the semi-nautical theme so I went with a wide boatneck by doing extra all-the-way-around decreases, and only three rounds of neckline shaping in back (to raise the neckline slightly in the back). I finished the neckline with three rows of garter stitch, then bound off with a super stretchy bind off method. Underarm holes were grafted together after finishing everything else (hurray for only having two tiny seams to sew!).

52 Tuesdays: Favorite Thrifts #16

What: Silk Print Dress
Where: Hunt and Gather, San Diego, CA
Level of Love: 9 out of 10

This is one of two dresses I found at a vintage shop on this trip. I'm fairly certain it's handmade due to lack of tag and the seam construction. There are belt loops but no belt - which if fine with me since I usually toss the matching belt anyway. I had one of those magical moments when I zipped it up where you feel like the garment was made just for you because it fits so well! Like, who took my measurements before making this? The shape and length are exactly what I look for, too, but rarely find. Sleeves (but not cap sleeves), waistline at my natural waist, slight a-line shape, and a length that ends just a teensy bit below the knees. None of this thigh-length business thank you very much. The only thing that would make it better are pockets. Pockets would make it a 10 out of 10. In case you're interested, my clogs are from here and come highly recommended. My dimples? Now those on the other hand I'm not certain where they're from. Family member types feel free to speculate...

Birthday Month in San Diego

Have you heard of Birthday Month? We've instituted it at the Churchill household this year starting with September, which is Kevin's Birthday Month. It's the month of your birthday, where you get to celebrate all month long, and it works a little something like this: Looking to buy yourself something special at the thrift store? Go for it, it's Birthday Month. Hankering for a pizza at 10:00pm after you've already had a full dinner? Why not, it's Birthday Month. Want to go to San Diego for some sunshine and surfing? Birth. Day. Month.

So that's just what we did. Oh, and it was Labor Day weekend so Kevin had an extra day off of work...

We started our trip off with a trip to the Saturday Farmer's Market in Little Italy. It was huge! We bought some of the best dates we've ever had, some Korean-style street food, and shared a coconut. We've been addicted to coconuts since this trip. After you drink all the juice, you can take it back to the guy at the stand and he cracks it wide open for you so you can scoop out the flesh. Mmmm, flesh. 

There was also a stickball tournament going on in Little Italy, which I found fascinating. It was just so cool to see a sport where kids were playing with their dads and grandpa's. And it's so low tech. They kept score on the street with chalk, too, which was awesome. 

Later that evening (after taking siesta because of my low tolerance for heat and our 3:30am start), we headed up to the North Park neighborhood on the suggestion of the front desk guy at our hotel. He told us some fact about how it had just won some sort of most-hipster-y neighborhood title. Apparently, we look pretty frickin' hipster because he assured us we'd love it. And indeed we did. First,we had some spot on fish and chips and brews at a pub-ish place called Ritual Kitchen. Then, we walked the streets and stumbled into a vintage clothing store, where I found two perfect silk dresses. Score. Throughout the whole trip we did most of our travel via Car 2 Go. It's this cool car sharing program where you find a car anywhere near to you with an app, pay by the minute to drive it, and leave it anywhere within the Car 2 Go territory (all of SD pretty much). The best part is you can leave it in any legal street parking spot and not have to plug the meter or pay attention to the time limit. Other pluses: u-turns on a dime, parking in teeny-tiny spaces, and no need to pay for gas since they're electric. They do feel sort of...well, let's just say I nicknamed them "the toaster". 

Sunday was our surfing day. We started off with a hearty breakfast at Lucky's Lunch Counter - a place I loved and would highly recommend. They played my favorite kind of old-timey 50's music and had diner-perfect hash browns. Next, we went to a swap meet at the recommendation of the shop girl from the following night's vintage store. For the most part...it was a lot of junk. But right when we were about to call it quits we went down on last row, I found a super cool vintage bowling shirt named Frank. Sure to be featured on a 52 Tuesday post in the near future. Then, it was off to Pacific Beach for our surf lessons! We did it through the San Diego Surf School. The surf instructors were great and we both had an excellent time. There were a ton of people on the water, but most were beginners like us where we were, so it wasn't much of a problem. Kevin and I were even able to ride a few waves together! I pooped out a little early (one hour of our hour and a half session), but Kevin stayed out the whole time and rode a bunch of waves successfully even without the instructor's help. He's hooked for sure! That's him standing up in the last photo. 

Sunday night we stayed out late in the Little Italy for drinks and dinner. We both agreed Little Italy was our favorite neighborhood. So charming and so many places to hang out! Kevin ordered his first Negroni - inspired by our recent watching of this Anthony Bourdain show - and I think it's going to become his signature cocktail. We picked our dinner spot based on which restaurant seemed to be the busiest, and the technique payed off. Good food, good wine, good times all around.

Monday we rented a car and drove up to Torrey Pines State Park. The day was overcast and there were (again) tons of people on the beach due to the holiday. Our favorite part was the hike we took down through the bluffs and along the beach. Even though it was overcast it was still gorgeous scenery and a nice walk. While we had the car, we also hit up La Jolla beach. No pictures from there since we didn't end up snorkeling as we had planned. Just way too many people in the small cove area and not enough sunshine to have good water views.

 

Tuesday we had a late flight out so we had enough time for a few things before heading to the airport. Kevin really wanted to surf again before we left, so we headed to Mission Beach just south of Pacific Beach and he rented gear. I opted to stay on the beach this time and enjoy the sun. After, we both rented beach cruiser bikes and had a blast riding all along the beach. Before the airport, we made a quick stop at Balboa Park for a walk through the the palm canyon and a look at the Prado building.

Overall, it was a great birthday month trip that left Kevin especially pining for constant sunshine, warm weather, and more surfing!

Resizing a Button Down Shirt

I'm married to a skinny man. No two ways about it. Sometimes this makes finding awesome shirts for him at the thrifts difficult. If you've been in a thrift store lately, you know what I mean. The XL section goes on for miles, but there's only a measly five shirts in the S section. And one of them has a stain. On rare occasions, I do stumble across a lucky, perfect fitting find, grab it as fast as I can, and ecstatically rush towards the register before some other skinny hipster dude can body check me and make off with my find. More often, I find M or L size shirts in the most perfect prints and cry a little inside because they're so big Kevin will drown in them.

However, I've become ambitious lately due to lack of job. Mmmmm. Free time and ambition. A dangerous combination. So I got it in my head I could size down those too-big button down shirts with a flick of my fairy wand a little determination and our trusty sewing machine. Hence, the following. 

One final note before I dive in, this is not meant to be a tutorial. This was my first time attempting something like this, and you'll notice (particularly at one point) things didn't exactly go off without a hitch. But, I did learn some things along the way for next time and am happy to report the shirt was enough of a success that he wore it shortly after and I'm plotting over my next shirt victim. 

Step One: Take a BEFORE shot. Apologies for the poor image quality and the fact that it's on me and not my dude. I think you get the idea, though...it was big. 

Step Two: Cut off the sleeves. But only if you're sure they're not going to fit as is. Which I was. 

Step Three: Select a perfect-fitting shirt to use as a guide. Lay the small shirt on top of the big shirt, lining up the collars. Carefully trace around the small shirt at the sides and bottom (if necessary for a too long shirt) about a half inch out. 

Step Four: Sew the new side seams by following along the traced line. 

Step Five: Cut the excess off the sides on the outside of where you've just sewn. I suppose the outside part is obvious. However, I'm stressing it because I did the opposite by accident, as you can see by the picture below. Whoopsies. (Note: if you messed up step number five like I did, frantically try to sew the errant cut back together without it looking too messy). 

Step Six: Cut along the bottom hem as marked, being careful to line up the button bands on each side. Since I had to create a new hem, I did a double fold-and-iron so that the raw end was folded under, then did a double stitch along the bottom. I also elected to pin the hem here so that it would be nice and neat as I sewed. I finished it with a double line of straight stitching to look more like a proper hem. 

Step Seven: Turn your attention to the sleeves, which were detached from the body earlier. Lay out each sleeve like you did with the body, lining up the cuffs. Trace around the smaller sleeve about a half inch in. 

Step Eight: Sew along the traced line. There should be a point where the sleeves line up around the cuffs (most wrists are the same size I suppose). When you get there, try to make the stitches as neat and flat as possible to avoid any puckering. Cut off the excess material. 

Step Nine: Reattach the sleeves. This was by far the trickiest part, but in the end wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Turn both the body and the sleeve inside out, then line up the end of the sleeve in the body's sleeve hole. Be super careful that you're lining them up right side to right side (something I also didn't do right the first time, but thankfully caught before sewing). Pin close together so that the sleeve is nestled neatly within the body hole; again, to avoid puckering. If the sleeve is just a little too big for the hole, you can hide a little pit of puckering under the armpit. Or, if it's much too big, sew it down a little bit before attaching. 

Step Ten: Once sleeves are attached, turn right side out and finish with a double straight stitch around the armhole. Again, to look like a proper shirt.

Step Eleven: Proudly present to husband and beam when he chooses to wear it to work the following week!

August in Instagrams

As of semi-recently, I became an iPhone owner. Of all the things that I love about my new phone, it's possible that Instagram is my favorite. Addiction with a capital "A". I think what I love about it is that it makes me take pictures of the everyday things that I wouldn't otherwise think to capture in a photo. It's fun to look back through my photo stream and remember little moments and big moments alike.

Here are some of my August favorites (captioned in clockwise order from the top left):

1) Dinner and pretty blanket at the first KEXP Concert at the Mural of the summer. Unfortunately overcast but still fantastic. 2) A daily Churchill house occurrence using the most perfect coffee carafe brought back from the thrifts in Maine by our dear friend Sarah.  3) Second KEXP Concert at the Mural. Sun!! 4) At Chuck's Hop Shop with friends. I spotted a lone Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy in the cooler (in a can?) and it made me smile.

5) All of my work things packed up and ready to be dropped off at the office on my last day. 6) A drink with the hubs at Fremont Brewing on a perfect sunny day. 7) My epic jobless to-do list. That's right, it's color coded. 8) Space Needle photo shoot during cousin Chad and girlfriend Nina's visit. Come back any time you two!

9) Cascadia Cup: Portland Timbers vs. Seattle Sounders (we won!). 10) The best knitting advice from Elizabeth Zimmermann, knitting sage. 11) An almost complete shot of my EPS linen sweater. 12) Favorite order at Top Pot Doughnuts (enjoyed whilst writing this very post).

And last but not least...a shot taken while out and about on our anniversary. Five years folks!