The week, in brief:
visited the Wing Luke Museum and enjoyed the Bruce Lee exhibit (for anyone local: it ends today!)
ate a yummy dinner with friends at The Whale Wins,
read On Chesil Beach (I'm not sure if I'd recommend it. It was an odd, uncomfortable novel, and I think it would have been better as a short story)...
and added these new earrings to my Etsy shop & a set of London rubber stamps to Mignon.
A much more exciting week than the last – my nephew was born! He's tiny and sleepy and sweet. If you have any advice for a first-time auntie, I'm all ears.
Hope your week was a good one, too.
Recovering from a cold. Hope to have a more interesting post next week!
A busy work week. As in, two wholesale orders and a lot of writing. I have always struggled with calling my writing time "work," because I don't earn income from it, and the only person I really have to answer to is myself — there's no editor calling about a deadline, no book contract that has to be fulfilled. Yet it is work, and hard work. And fulfilling work, at that.
A few of you asked how my writing is going, so, an update: right now, I have two finished short stories that I've been submitting to literary journals – I've been "collecting rejections," as I like to say. I'm also working on a novel. A new one. (Any previous novels-in-progress that I've mentioned have been abandoned). It's going both sort of well and sort of poorly. Let's just say that it's still taking shape.
This week, in brief: spent an afternoon in the reading room at Suzzallo doing research for a writing project, had tasty meals at Junebaby and Coastal Kitchen, gave my houseplants some TLC, got a rejection letter, watched a few underwhelming movies, got lots of cat cuddles, went to ballet class. How was your week?
A few things from the first week of the year:
Broke my tradition of cooking pad thai by cooking a few Chinese dishes instead: veggie chow mein, fried rice, and General Tso's chicken.
Went book shopping and brought home Brooklyn and Swann's Way.
Planned out my seed sowing schedule for the spring. (Purple snap peas! Sunflowers! Love-In-A-Mist!)
Watched Eat Drink Man Woman.
Read the first half of My Cousin Rachel.
And added a new necklace to the shop.
(I'm going to try out a weekly post like this for a while and see if it sticks.)
Hey guys! I'm sorry I've barely blogged this year. Whenever I try to think of something to post, it always ends up feeling too similar to something I've posted before, or feels too frivolous, or forced. But I do still care about this space, and I would love to figure out a way to stay more connected to it.
In the meantime, I just wanted to say: Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas! However you spend this time of year, I hope it's filled with warmth and joy.
See you in 2018.
For all you early holiday shoppers (or those of you who want to treat yourself): use the coupon code "FALL2017" to get 20% off jewelry in my etsy shop! Sale ends December 1st.
It's been a while since I've had flowers in the house. I love this fall-inspired bouquet – especially that orange chrysanthemum!
It was time to finally dig up my lone tomato plant of the year… which left me with a couple dozen green cherry tomatoes on my hands. What do you like to do with green cherry tomatoes? See if they ripen on their own? Make some mini fried green tomatoes?
Colors of fall.
A few things I'm coveting for the garden… 1. chicken wire cloche, 2. ceramic pot, 3. watering can, 4. Renee's Garden flower seeds, 5. potting bench, 6. gloves, 7. potting trowel.
...in clay, sienna, luster blue, and bronze & black!
Working on adding a little color around here with pansies + violas.
Up-close with a houseplant.
(Happy Friday!)
I love these JOCO travel cups and I'm stocking them now at Mignon. Available in eight colors here!
My tomatoes are starting to ripen! And the bell pepper is persisting.
Four books I've recently read and enjoyed:
1. The Leavers by Lisa Ko – "Short and blocky, she wore loose jeans—never had he seen her in a dress—and her voice was so loud that when she called his name dogs would bark and other kids jerked around. When she saw his last report card he thought her shouting would set off the car alarms four stories below. But her laughter was as loud as her shouting, and there was no better, more gratifying sound than when she slapped her knees and cackled at something silly."
2. Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny – "First, in the produce section, they saw some woman with a baby in a stroller and Audra said, "Oh, hi! How are you? Are you going to that thing on Tuesday?" and the woman said, "I don't know, because there's that other meeting," and Audra said, "I thought that got canceled," and the woman said, "No, it's still on," and Audra said, "I wish they wouldn't double-book this stuff," and the woman said, "I know," and Audra said, "Well, if we don't go, will everyone say bad things about us?" and the woman said, "Probably," and it wasn't that Graham wasn't paying attention, it wasn't that he missed the specifics—it was that there were no specifics, that was the way they actually talked."
3. Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – "Your feminist premise should be: I matter. I matter equally. Not 'if only.' Not 'as long as.' I matter equally. Full stop."
4. The Thing Around Your Neck By Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – "The drive to the resort was long, on roads haphazardly chiselled into steep hills, and Ujunwa worried that Edward was too old to drive so fast. She held her breath until they arrived at the cluster of thatch roofs and manicured paths. A smiling blonde woman showed her to her cabin, Zebra Lair. She sat on the bed and smelled the cool lavender scent from the linen and then got up to unpack, looking out of the window from time to time to search the canopy of trees for lurking monkeys."
I recently bought an ice cream maker, just for fun. (Well, what other reason is there to buy an ice cream maker?) For its inaugural churn, I made vanilla ice cream with chopped up treats mixed in (one part Skor bar, one part grasshopper cookies). Now, what to make next? Another flavor of ice cream? Sorbet, gelato, frozen yogurt? Boozy slushies? If you have a favorite recipe, I'd love to hear.
I waited too long this year to start growing vegetables from seeds, but the other day I bought a couple tiny plants to at least have something to grow. Now, every morning, I go check on my tomatoes and my one incredibly cute little bell pepper. I hope they survive!
Rufus, the king of fuzz.
A few days ago I finished reading The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti and I can't get over how great it is. It's a coming-of-age, father-daughter epic; it's a page-turner and also beautifully written; lovely Whidbey Island makes an appearance; it's also just plain fun to read. I already want to read it again.
What have you been reading lately? I'd love to hear.
A couple new pieces of jewelry in the shop! Lily earrings, Aum necklace, Mira bracelet.
An abstract moment for today.
A tulip from the backyard. I couldn't not include such a long, perfect stem in the photo!
I'm having a sale in my etsy shop for the next week! Take 20% off your order with coupon code "SPRINGSALE" until May 2nd. A pair of Elephantine earrings or necklace makes a great Mother's Day gift :)
More spring beauties.
I have another short story to share with you!
This one is called "One Last Thing" and was just published in the spring issue of Crazyhorse. I was completely surprised and delighted when they accepted the story. "One Last Thing" is about a mother running an errand for her 10-year-old son's birthday. If you'd like to read it, you can find it in issue no. 91 of Crazyhorse, or you can download a pdf here. I hope you enjoy it.
Camellia season! The best time of year.
I've been wanting to make thumbprint cookies ever since I first tried one. Unsurprisingly, they're fun and easy to make! Here's the recipe I used...
Thumprint cookies
recipe from Food Network
Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer, whip the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla until just combined. Carefully add the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.
Scoop and roll the dough into small balls. (I made mine a little over 1" big.) Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving a few inches between each cookie. Using your thumb, make an indentation into the center of each ball. Fill with jam.
Bake cookies until the edges are golden, about 15-20 minutes. Cool, then serve. Store in a tightly sealed container for up to 5 days.
*I didn't actually measure out my jam – I just scooped it directly from the jar – but 1/3 cup is the amount the original recipe calls for. I used strawberry jam and fig preserves.
I recently started volunteering as a tutor for Reading Partners, a wonderful program for helping kids who are behind in their expected reading level. It's great because as a tutor you get to work with the same student every week and there's a structured curriculum to follow. In Seattle, there's a waiting list of kids who are in need of tutors, so if you're looking for a way to give back and have time during school hours, I'd definitely encourage you to consider becoming a tutor, too. You can read more about the program here.
(Also: the Seattle branch of Reading Partners has a wish list of books they'd like to add to their library!)
An abstract moment.
Some bright flowers for a rainy day.
Over a year ago, Grant had started noticing so many little yellow notes stuck up all over the house. That was not entirely new. Fiona had always written things down—the title of a book she’d heard mentioned on the radio or the jobs she wanted to make sure she got done that day. Even her morning schedule was written down. He found it mystifying and touching in its precision: “7 a.m. yoga. 7:30–7:45 teeth face hair. 7:45–8:15 walk. 8:15 Grant and breakfast.”
The new notes were different. Stuck onto the kitchen drawers—Cutlery, Dish-towels, Knives. Couldn’t she just open the drawers and see what was inside?
Rereading a beloved book, which contains probably my favorite short story of all time.
Happy Friday!
New earrings in the shop.
Leaf collecting.
It arrived! A very good mail day indeed.
I mentioned this last month, but in case you missed it: my short story, "Bliss," was just published in Carve's Winter 2017 issue. It's a story about a couple on their honeymoon. After 9 drafts and 7 rejections, I'm very happy that this story has finally found a home.
If you'd like to read "Bliss" online, it's over on Carve's website!
Currently reading & loving Commonwealth by Ann Patchett.
Snow day!
A day spent on tiny Guemes Island.
"It's only just turned the half hour, Madam," said Norah in a special voice, bright and cheerful like the nurse. I wondered if Maxim's grandmother realized that people spoke to her in this way. I wondered when they had done so for the first time, and if she had noticed then. Perhaps she had said to herself, "They think I'm getting old, how very ridiculous," and then little by little she had become accustomed to it, and now it was as though they had always done so, it was part of her background. But the young woman with the chestnut hair and the narrow waist who gave sugar to the horses, where was she?
Finally reading Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier and am thoroughly enjoying it.
Hi! I'm Rachel, and these are bits of my days and things I like. I run the online shops Elephantine and Mignon, am a fiction writer, and live in Seattle with my husband and two cats. Read more about this blog...
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