LOW FAT POPPYSEED CAKE

i've been making a lot of diy things lately and haven't had much patience to take pictures (or blog) so i'm going with the vector art on the how too.

i had a perfect excuse to make a cake...for mrs chinn's birthday!

i found an easy recipe for poppyseed cake and made it my own while trying to make it "healthier." 

(i used sodium less salt and homemade applesauce with no added sugars.)

it wasn't the best poppyseed i have ever had but it was good to not feel horrible guilty after eating.

FALL TODO

i have a horrible memory so i am constantly making lists and writing notes so here's the first of my to do list for fall...

links to diy projects:

tights (thehautepursuit, theworkisgettingtome, boatpeopleboutique, pinterest, & pineneedle-collective)

leggings (pinterest & boatpeopleboutique)

sweater (sincerelykinsey, ascotfriday, pinterest, sprinklesinsprings, polyvore, & sprinklesinsprings)

details (madalynne, pinterest, houseofearnest, ispydiyl, apair-andaspare, aciddreamsandsugarhighs, boatpeopleboutique, & ispydiy)

FOX EMBROIDERY APPLIQUES

i came across this tutorial on a blog i follow what i wore. i loved it. i've been seeing a lot of embroidery lately and since i lack an embroidery machine or money to get one here is the second best.  check this out. 

here's mine...

i changed mine up a bit by adding velcro to the back of the foxes and to my shoes so i can switch appliques. i am currently working on other a animals/objects for faux embroidery.

SEATTLE/KIRKLAND

last weekend was our yearly trip to seattle. jason goes to whatever football game with his brother and my sis and i go shopping. dave moved up to kirkland a couple months ago to live with his gf so it was just lic jason and i that drove up. the boys and hannah went to the coug/ducks game and lic and i went downtown, shopped and ate at serious pie. usually there is a long wait but we got in pretty fast. it was good. the picture on the left is lobster mushroom with truffle (it's a type of mushroom, not lobster and mushrooms. we were sadden to find out after we ordered). the right is penn cove clams with mustard greens, extremely delicious. i would highly recommend. after we ate we picked everyone back up at century link field and headed back to kirkland. 

i'll post pictures of my awesome buys from the trip soon.

in the morning we got up and had breakfast and walked around kirkland for a little bit. they have a beautiful view on washington lake and in the below picture you can see across the water the high rises of seattle.

wonderful statue..."to those families that also serve." there was also a kid on the back side hugging his dad.

2012 PORTLAND COLOR RUN

we've (mck and me!) have been looking forward to this race since we found out about it earlier this year! its a 5k and at each kilometer this pigmented chalk is "thrown" at you. so by the end you are cmkyk'd. the official charity for the color run portland was child aid which helps children in central america improve their lives through education. i can't wait for next year and we'll try to leave a little earlier to be some of the insane crowds.

top: jason, me taz, amber, and jared.

top: blaine, mck, amb, jared, jason, me.

PETITE PROVENCE

i missed mrs chinn's birthday due to the lisa lampanelli show so i met up with her and molly the next morning for breakfast at petite provence in portland off alberta. very delicious!

from: lulumoonmymuse.blogspot.com/

via mrs chinn's instagram.

french toast stuffed with cream cheese and topped with mixed berries.

DATE NIGHT & LISA LAMPANELLI

we started out our evening with dinner at brix tavern. the mac and cheese is so good but so not worth the crap you have to deal with. this is most likely the last time we will every go there. rock bottom has bomb mac and cheese and the staff is better except for always trying to give me chicken in my food.

then down to the schnitz for some laughs from lisa lampanelli. jason got tickets to her show for his birthday. she was hilarious and lost a ton of weight, she was almost unrecognizable.