enJOY it

40 loaves / rosemary rolls.

March 21, 2012

Bread no. 37 : rosemary rolls.

Adjustments : I made these up. Basically, I took our exact pizza dough recipe, split it into 9 small balls, let it rise for four hours (the dough balls doubled in size) then covered the whole pan with some olive oil, dried rosemary and sea salt. Then I baked the pan for about 24 minutes at 400*.

Notes : I thought I was going to end up with wheat dinner rolls that had a touch of rosemary and salt taste. Thanks to the olive oil, what I got was basically focaccia bread that was lacking in salt and oil flavor. (If you want an excellent focaccia, check here.)

Review : still decent though. Great texture. Would probably be even better dipped in olive oil and vinegar. If I did them again, I'd let the dough rise for about two hours, then knead it again, form dough balls and let it rise a second time before brushing with olive oil, rosemary & salt.
i love march.

March 21, 2012

DIY wine cork herb labels, jcrew striped sweatshirt (I joked that this had "elise" written all over it. it's so me.), weber charcoal grill (this isn't the one we have – but you can't go wrong with a charcoal weber), poshlocket bangle (I have this in black and love it, but the teal is so cute too), FORLIFE tea mug (great news – I got Paul hooked on tea!), orange & park california coastal print, old navy pink pants (the sizing on these is totally off – so check in store, but these wonderful for the price).

March – you are more than halfway over. I can't believe it. 2012 is flying by in a candy colored haze.
on expertise & tips for making it work.

March 20, 2012
Sometimes I think about my blog (or my Instagram feed) and how much I bounce around from project to project and I have to laugh. It's a giant ping-pong table of crafts. I am a baker. I am a knitter. I am a quilter. I am designer.

But I am never going to be an expert bread maker. Or expert knitter. Or expert web-designer.

And I have completely embraced that.

I recently had the chance to step inside my neighbor's house. She's a super sweet lady. As soon as I walked in her home, I could tell that she was also a quilter. An expert one, at that. Her work fills her home and it is stunning. Intricate and beautiful and textured and perfect. I mean really perfect. It's awesome and WOW – I really appreciate expertise when I see it.

I thought about my two super simple block quilts on my bed and realized WOW – I am so very far from being an expert. It made me think about how legit quilters, sewers, knitters, designers and bakers must just cringe – though hopefully in a loving way 😉 – when they see some of what I pull together and share here on the blog.

It is something I also thought a lot about when I decided to dive into the 27 materials project. I am not – nor will I ever be – an expert in any of those 27 materials. But I am an expert at getting stuff done. I can commit to a plan or a project and finish it like it's my job. In fact, I have made it my job.

I am a crafter. A maker. A doer.

I always feel like I should add a footnote that says "but really – you should check with an expert!" when I share my tips for quilting or bread baking or whatever else I am working on (though I know at times learning from a non-expert can be helpful too). I know there are people out there really nailing their speciality and I am awed by and full of respect for them.

So today, I want to share six simple tips about something I am an expert in : making it work.

Just start. I know, I know, I know. SO ANNOYING. Elise, you always say this. But what does it mean? I'm confused! I have questions! I can't do it. I hear you. I know. I know. It is so ANNOYING. But this is the deal : you have to start. At the beginning. I often start huge projects involving materials I don't know how to use before I know how to use them. Because considering the whole project and all the difficult parts? That's damn exhausting. And getting exhausted before you've began is a very quick way to not pass go and head directly to mind-numbing craft jail. And I'll tell you what, that's more annoying that my vague "just start" concept. SO START. Don't over think. Buy your supplies and cut your fabric. If I had thought out how I was going to finish my first quilt, I would have never started and I absolutely would not have two warm, awesome and perfectly imperfect quilts covering my body every night.

Know it's possible. The first year I worked at Paper Source, we made giant window displays out of paper every eight weeks. They were fantastic and 3D and similar to the rad stuff Anthropolgie does for their store decoration. I remember being at work and diving into these huge projects and not feeling nearly as overwhelmed as I did when I was trying to decorate my first apartment. Why is that? I think it's because someone else told me we were going to make it happen. I had a boss who believed in the project and co-workers who were going to help. On my own, I don't have that, but I try to maintain that mentality. I know it will work so I make it work. And I make it work because I know it will. (Self-fulfilling prophecy, much?) I have done this tons of times but two strong examples are the chevron headboard and the wall stripes – both were projects that weren't difficult but tedious. In both cases, I visualized the end result and told myself to pull it together. That made the process easier and more manageable.

Learn what makes you tick. I love talking to creative people. I love discussing our jobs & projects. I love commiserating and celebrating similar habits, strengths and weaknesses. I love the joy that comes from realizing other people get what you do and have been in your shoes. But I have realized that often too much idea sharing stresses me out. I get nervous thinking about the sheer weight of projects and possibilities out there. Some people thrive on that but I tend to retreat completely and start worrying about completing even the simplest tasks. It's not a big deal, but it's important to recognize and know that after a joint brainstorming session I can expect a bit of a panic attack. It's also important to give myself lots of time to brainstorm on my own and decompress after large events. Figure out what gives you confidence and what takes it away and then adjust your behavior and interactions accordingly.

Walk away (but come back!). Sometimes a project is terrible. But sometimes it just needs a fresh perspective. Walk away and return later. Is there something that can be salvaged into something else? Is it worth it to finish anyway? Can you learn from this mistake by completing it? Can you consider this a practice round? I often hear from people who have trouble with their bread baking (yeast isn't bubbling, dough isn't rising, etc.). My recommendation is always see it to completion! The baked loaf will tell you so much more than the stages. And it's probably going to be edible regardless – so finish. Always try to finish.

Listen & learn. Listen for and absorb inspiration from strangers. Listen for advice from real experts. Take workshops. Take notes! Between youtube & wikipedia there is nothing you cannot learn to do (and so many people willing to share). Listen for support from those around you (and if you are not receiving support – ask for it). If it fuels you, take a second to listen for the naysayers. I actually get more determined when I hear "no" or "you can't." I cannot tell you how many people told me I couldn't do my own flowers for my wedding. It fired me up almost more than the encouraging words. (Yes, I realize this makes me a stubborn child.) Sometimes people are going to have great tips and tricks. TRY THEM! Sometimes people are going to dump on you their own self-doubt, issues & insecurities. LET IT GO. It's not you. Take in that inspiration, tutorial, support and fuel and let it make your work stronger.

Embrace imperfection. This is the hardest one to accomplish in some ways – especially if you tend to be a perfectionist. Some projects have to be perfect. I get that. But others absolutely do not. When I decided to handwrite all over my blurb photo book, I knew that chances were I was going to mess up. I decided the "risk" was worth the reward. My plan was to just cross out and keep going if I made a handwriting error in the process. Oddly, after adding all the notes, I didn't end up with any cross-outs. I think part of that is because I relieved myself of the pressure of being perfect and just got to work. Without stress, it was easy to write from the heart and I became less likely to make mistakes.

see also : tips for staying inspired.

**first & fourth photo by my sweet friends at The Goodness.

Other posts you might enjoy:
new tradition / waffle saturdays.

March 19, 2012

We had a quiet, lazy, boring weekend. Probably the very best kind there is. I am looking forward to hitting the ground running this week – lots to be done!

Happy, happy Monday & thank you so much for your sweet comments on my posts last week.
project life : week 11.

March 18, 2012

Week 11 and I'm back in the swing of things.

(click to enlarge & the images above will be [somewhat] clearer)

Simple spread this week – no inserts, lots of photos. It's nice to be home and able to document as things happen. We are halfway through March now, and that is usually when the novelty that comes with big new projects (or resolutions) starts to wear off. I am determined not to let that happen and relieved to find that I still really enjoy putting this album together. That's a really good thing.

Mostly repeat techniques this week and the a few new things.

Adding the digital text this way has become a stand-by for me (I'll try to get a video together next time I use it). It like it because when I take the time to type the text I add more detail. "C" letter sticker is Amy Tangerine for American Crafts. The orange and white paper is a 4×6 card from the Clementine kit that I wrote some personal journaling on and folded in half.

On Monday, when we BBQed for the first time it was a glorious day with an extra hour of sunlight – quite different from the windy, rainy weather of the past few days. But this is why I am glad I work on the album throughout the week – it did feel like summer that day and I was able to document it on a 3×4 card. Those letter stickers are also Amy Tangerine for AC. Originally they were cream colored, but I wanted them to stand out, so I painted them with some hot pink paint. It worked well to paint them with a foam brush while they were still on the sheet and then add them to the card after they were dry.

I was able to stick an extra photo in this week instead of the normal patterned paper that I put in the "date" pocket. Super simple.

More photos and some of the usual suspects (quote, arrow bullets) on the right side. I printed the text from Friday's post, folded it and clipped it to some October Afternoon paper (c/o Scrapbook Circle). Paul wrote our meals last week and when I took it off the fridge I added it to a pocket. Glad to have a bit of his handwriting in there.

Top pocket has a few instagram photos and some journaling about our adventures in backyard gardening. I hope the spreads the next few weeks show a lot more garden progress.

supplies / Paper Source circle label & ribbon, Martha Stewart and Avery labels, American Crafts letter stickers goodness & lovely, October Afternoon patterned paper (c/o Scrapbook Circle) Ormolu "hip-hip hooray" tag and "hers" button, Design A page protectors (which are available in this variety pack), Clementine core kit, Bebas quote font. I use a Fiskars corner rounder (it's not amazing, but it's lasted the longest of any corner rounder I've ever had). I am using a Zig Millennium 0.1 pen and Recollections glossy marker throughout this album.

Confused by Project Life? Start here. See all my Project Life posts here.
around here.

March 16, 2012

We have now been home together in our "normal" lives for about a week.

The short story is everything is wonderful.

The long story is there is more to it than just that.

Some moments are hard. Some moments I burst into tears. Some moments I am frustrated. Some moments I really struggle to find balance between the girl that I was pre-deployment, the girl that got through the deployment and the girl that I am now.

It's not easy re-fitting two different people into one house.

It wasn't when we first moved in together almost five years ago and it isn't always now.

Thankfully, today, I have hindsight and perspective on my side. I have growth, maturity and a deeper faith in us. Thankfully, today, Paul continues to be a rock. He's the best.

And really, there is so much good. So much it is overwhelming. My partner is home. My house is warmer, my meals better, my entertainment livelier, my life fuller. I am choosing to be patient. With myself and with Paul. I am choosing to be calm. I am choosing to be more deliberate in the things that I say and the way that I act.

I am relearning how to balance. I am relearning how to share space & time with someone else. I am learning how to manage both my independence and my dependence. It's like kindergarten at the Cripe house only instead of milk and cookies, we have red wine and phenomenal burgers.

And so the long story is really just that "wonderful" takes work. All good stuff does.

p.s. that art print is by Austin Kleon for 20×200 & I think that quote on the tag is correctly attributed.
project life : week 10.

March 15, 2012

Yada, yada, yada, week 10 and I still love this project.

(click to enlarge & the images above will be [somewhat] clearer)

It was a big week because we were vacationing which meant my camera was burning a hole in my pocket at all times. I took probably 600-700 photos between my iPhone and my camera. (The phone photos are about 100x more relevant and exciting.)

So obviously this week is super photo heavy.

I wanted to work a lot of those instagram/camera photos into the book through a grid page protector, but I didn't want to worry about cropping and arranging them before printing. I used a trick that I have used many times before and uploaded them all into iPhoto. Then I selected 40 at once and printed them at home as a contact sheet.

Out of the printer, they looked like this. I've embedded a video from last summer that walks you through the process of printing a contact sheet in iPhoto. I am not sure how you can accomplish the same thing without iPhoto or on a PC but I am sure there is a way.

printing a contact sheet with iphoto. from elise blaha on Vimeo.

Please check out the video if you have questions about this printing method. I printed my instagram photos so they were three across which meant they just needed a tiny bit of cropping to fit into the square pocket page protector I picked up from Amazon.

I love how they look in grid form. And with both sides of the pocket page full, it's a pretty great collage of the trip.

Added a second insert this week to hold photos and text about the Seabee Ball. A few weeks ago I purchased a ton of 8.5×11 page protectors to add different inserts into this album. This one looks looks like this and when it's full sized has six 5.5×2.5 pockets. I trimmed mine down so it had space for just four photos and papers on the back and front. I am enjoying playing with the different pocket sizes.

On the left page, I liked the repetion of the e&p photos. Those were all taken on my phone (and not processed through an app) and there is one from each place – the start of the roadtrip in the car, then Napa, SF and finally Big Sur.

I've had those Making Memories travel word stickers forever and I'm glad I could use some of them this week. The herringbone patterned paper is American Crafts and the ribbon is Paper Source.

I collected a ton of business cards while on the trip. Not all made it into the book but a small collage of the wineries and the resturant we ate at in Napa fit well into a 4×6 pocket. I layered an Elle's Studio circle tag on top with text.

Usual suspects on the right page with the quote and arrow journaling.

While we were in San Francisco, I realized how different Paul and I are when it comes to choosing a restuarant. I used E & P stickers from Office Depot and Martha Stewart labels to talk about the difference. I stuck them to a drink menu I grabbed from one of the bars we went to.

Handwrote some text about Big Sur onto American Crafts patterned paper and clipped an extra photo into the pocket as well.

Originally, I thought I would do a minibook in addition to the weekly update to document the trip. But after putting the spread together, I don't think I'll do something separate. My time can be better spent elsewhere – like decorating our place, working on the 27 materials project and another giant work project I have on my plate.

This isn't to say I am done with minibooks for the rest of time, but I can tell that my focus has shifted. If this Project Life album (and what gets written here on the blog) is the only way I document 2012 – it will still be much more than I have done the past few years and I'll still be thrilled.

supplies / Paper Source circle label & ribbon, Martha Stewart and Avery labels, Making Memories word-fetti stickers, American Crafts patterned papers, Ormolu "you and me" tag and "this" button, Elle's Studio circle tag and flag tag, Design A page protectors (which are available in this variety pack), Clementine core kit, six pocket page protector, square pocket page protector, Bebas quote font. I use a Fiskars corner rounder (it's not amazing, but it's lasted the longest of any corner rounder I've ever had). I am using a Zig Millennium 0.1 pen and Recollections glossy marker throughout this album.

Confused by Project Life? Start here. See all my Project Life posts here.
the what and where of our california coast roadtrip.

March 15, 2012

This is the official wrap up of our post-deployment California roadtrip. We've been dreaming of this vacation for months and planning for almost as long. It was sort of second honeymoon and so we were willing to spend a bit more than usual for fantastic accommodations. We picked our hotels in advance based mostly on yelp reviews and then decided where to eat the same way while we were in each city.

We left from Sacramento (where our families live) and headed to Napa on Sunday.

We stayed at the Rancho Caymus Inn. Which was awesome on the inside with comfy beds, rustic decor and a fireplace. We were purposely up on the St. Helena end of town because that's where the wineries we wanted to visit were located.

That first night we ate at Cook and it was wonderful. We shared melt in your mouth gnocchi, braised short-ribs, a great bottle of wine and an ice cream sundae made with balsamic vinegar – strange but awesome.

Monday morning we tasted at Flora Springs because it was associated with our hotel which meant it was free and Neal (my dad's favorite winery) and Viader. All were great. The view at Viader was fantastic (and that Dalmatian greeter was pretty cute).

Dinner Monday night was at the Rutherford Grill. It was good, but a little too over-hyped to make it a favorite.

Before we left Napa on Tuesday, we ate at La Luna Market which is basically a grocery store with a Mexican food kitchen in the back. Paul read about it months ago and had been looking forward to it since then. Thankfully, it did not disappoint.

We were coming from the north and got off the 101 at exit 442 to take a few pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a stunningly beautiful day and I'm glad we took the time to stop.

In San Francisco we stayed at the Hotel Vitale which is a sister hotel to the place we were married.

Our view of the ferry buidling and bay bridge was pretty fantatic.

The first day in San Francisco we ran down from our hotel (near Pier 2) to Fisherman's Wharf (Pier 39) along Embarcadero. It was a great run and quite popular because on the bay side there are no stoplights to hold you up.

We celebrated Happy Hour at 83 Proof and had dinner at Wexlers. Both are in downtown and walking distance from our hotel. Pretty small menu at Wexlers, but very good stuff. We had the BBQ scotch eggs for an appetizer because they were recommended on yelp. I can't even explain them (something about poaching, breading and frying), but so GOOD. And for dessert we had burbon banana cream pie.

The next morning we ran down to Pier 39 again and then had a small breakfast at The Plant. Just simple breakfast sandwiches and fantastic coffee. After deciding it wasn't enough coffee (Paul came home from deployment pretty addicted), we walked back to the ferry building for Blue Bottle Coffee.

Wednesday we walked and walked and walked. Paul estimated it was over 10 miles in total. Highlights were going through Chinatown and to the base of Coit Tower.

Lunch was burgers and fries at Super Duper – a local place with a few different SF locations. I so wanted a fresh piece of that liner paper, but I was too scared to ask.

And then that night we met up with some friends for Happy Hour at Rickhouse and dinner at a French place called Cafe Claude. I loved the bar and it's fancy cocktails, but other than the fantastic steak tartare, the restaurant wasn't too great – excellent company made up for it though.

Thursday we woke up and had a quick breakfast of oatmel and coffee at the ferry building before getting on the road for home.

In Big Sur, we stayed at Glen Oaks Motel (excuse those photos – I didn't grab any good ones – and don't mind the computer, it was just there so we could finish the final episode of Dexter season 5.) We had one of the Little Sur Cabins and it was little, basically just room for a bed and small bath. It was awesome though – a lot like camping except with a crazy comfortable bed and heated floors (so nothing like camping). Outside the door we had our own little fire pit where we roasted marshmellows and drank wine and talked about what's next for e&p.

We ate at Nepenthe. Yelp promised the view would be fantastic but that the food would only be decent. We loved the view. And actually loved the food. The entrees didn't look great so we ended up splitting a bunch of appetizers which I think must be the way to go. They cooked Brussels sprouts and then served them cold with bacon, dates and a great cream dressing. I was obviously excited.

We took a short hike on Friday morning before heading out – maybe just a couple miles. The trails in Big Sur are fantastic and it made me excited about getting on more weekend hikes in our area this spring.

After the hike we had breakfast at Deetjens. I had eggs benedict and it was fanastic.

And then it was just a five hour drive home. Lots of very curvy roads and beautiful views down the 101. I felt like I was in a Visit California commerical. We were so greatful for safe travel and beautiful weather.

It was a really, really good week.
material 2 of 27 / photos into a book.

March 14, 2012

I downloaded the Instagram app and started taking snapshots of my daily life while I was in New York visiting with my girlfriends shortly after Paul deployed. On the day Paul came home, I had taken 601 shots. To keep from going crazy that morning, I uploaded all of them to Blurb and then used about 550 of them to make a 230 page 7×7 book.

TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY PAGES.

It arrived while we were on vacation. And it's awesome.

Blurb will auto-fill all the photos for you, but I wanted to create little grids and I wanted a say over what pictures took up a full page, so I took the time to arrange it all myself. It took a few hours and I mostly just followed a chronological order.

Instead of agonizing over photo placement, I just picked my favorites to be full page images and other detail shots to set in a 2×2 grid. On Saturday, after we got home, it was on the doorstep. I opened the package and wrote allllll over it with a black pen.

I didn't think at all about where the text would go or what I would say. I just paged through and wrote when I had something to add. I used an American Crafts Slickwriter to write and that dried well even on the glossy pages.

Some times I just wrote notes about the photos, other times I wrote text about how I was feeling.

This book is my photo diary of a full life while Paul was deployed. I am so happy to have it made and resting on my shelf for when I need a "you got this" pep talk.

heads up – I used an affiliate link to blurb.com throughout this post. Use that link and code 15OFFBLURB to save 15% on your book order. Because the quality of instagram shots isn't always awesome, some of the full page images are a little grainy looking. The book making app told me this would happen and I just ignored it. For me, having the image – poor quality or not – was worth it. The images in the smaller grids are perfect.

This is project 2 of 27. I am attempting to complete 27 craft projects using 27 different materials before I turn 28 on 02.22.13. You can follow my progress here on the blog or on pinterest. Birthday challenges are my favorite. You can see the 26 Projects I completed while 26 here and the 27 materials I have used so far here.
40 loaves / wheat hamburger buns.

March 13, 2012

Bread no. 36 : whole wheat hamburger buns.

Adjustments : I cut some sugar – used a bit less than 1/4 C.

Notes : we had this dream of making the perfect hamburger last night. Sunday we picked up grass-fed ground beef at our farmer's market and cooked it on the grill. (This grill is going to make our dinners 100x more fantastic this spring and summer.) I am not sure what we were expecting, but WOW – they were good. Instead of the usual ketchup, lettuce tomato, I added some pesto ailoi (made by mixing a bit of our normal pesto with some greek yogurt – in about a 2 to 1 ratio – and adding a bit of salt) and baked fresh buns to go with.

Review : amazing. When I make them again, I'll squash them down a bit more so they turn out a bit flatter and wider – but that's it.