Wednesday, January 18, 2012

B is for Baby

This past Saturday Mr. Gill and I went to a baby shower.
It was for a couple that attends The Collective with us, who recently moved here from Michigan.
They are just the sweetest couple and we were super excited to share in the anticipation of the arrival of their baby.
I was asked to make cupcakes for the party, and I was really pumped to do so because I had to make a bunch AND I haven't really been baking much since I stopped baking for The District.
They have decided to not know the gender of their child before they deliver, so I went with a yellow and green color pallet.
I was googling for recipe ideas and came across this blog where I didn't really find a recipe BUT I found a great idea for the look of the cupcakes!

Instagram by Mr. Biggerstaff

























Although this looks like I was going for Packers colors....I was not. I just purchased the food coloring paste and apparently it is MUCH more powerful than those traditional drops.
They were lemon cupcakes with a lovely light frosting, although the green coloring didn't really get completely whipped together so it kinda looks like AstroTurf BUT it tasted great!

I made flags that said J is for Jackson and B is for Baby.
It was such a nice party and a great excuse to bake! :)

*Jenny G

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Brown and gross

So it's Jan 12 and there is no snow in Boise. I know I had a little fit about that last time, but for reals people there is NO SNOW!!!!!
When Mr. Gill and I moved out west I told myself that I want to try to be a more adventurous girl.....try to do some camping....I did a little snowboarding (I cried the whole drive up the mountain though, knowing it was the last time I'd be able to walk without a limp) and was looking forward to doing it again this year. I thought maybe we'd even do a little snow-shoeing.....I don't want to waste the opportunity of being in such a Beautiful and extreme sports climate.
But, for the winter it seems......there will be no snow.
And it doesn't just hinder our exploration of winter sports.....it's ruining people's lives!

Kind of.

People who work at the slopes have had to figure out how to be paid cause.....no one is skiing.
More dramatically though, people here in Boise keep talking about how if there isn't a snow pack on the mountains, there will be no snow melt in the spring.....less water in the rivers....no water through the canals that bring water to the cities and farms because really......boise is a DESERT!

Snow apparently is vital to the workings of this valley.
And last but not least, no snow leaves us brown and ugly winters....:/
I heard a rumor that the reason lots of places are having such strange weather is because of the earthquake and tsunami over in Japan....truth? It seems shady at best but, at least it gives us something to blame.
I don't necessarily have a point to this ramble except that um, pray for snow.....and Can I just tell you that today when I was driving in the middle of the city there were two kamikaze deer? Seriously one ran right in front of my car and the other was waiting in the wings! Antlers bigger than my car! (ok....maybe not bigger than my car)

Some things never change.


Jenny G

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

in the year 2000.........and 12

Ohmigoodness!


So....we bought a house

and we moved in


and I lost my CAMERA!?!?!

I know-it's terrible.

How can I be a blogger w/out a camera?

I kind of feel like I'm going to be disappointing you all w/all my ramblings with out some sort of fun photo.
I'm sorry. You will leave this blog wishing for lovely images so you'd know what I was talking about but-oh well.

We LOVE our house. It's old, and the floors creak and its just great.


Here are some photos I took before we moved and I lost my camera....got to love the paneling :)
but also notice my coat in the mirror-it's like a dress....i LOVE it!














Some fun cubbies in the bedroom!


















We took care of the paneling by painting it a lovely sunshine yellow! Its so great.













We also painted the dining room and kitchen a nice light blue/gray that looks awesome.
Yes-I've bought into the yellow and gray fad but-whateva->it looks great!











So-we've done some other fun things like-move all our stuff in and paint one room emerald green(!)
In other news-WELCOME TO 2012!
Who's ready to make it a great year?!?!

That would be me.

I'm ready to make it a great year.

Mr. Gill and I have been in Boise over a year now, and we're really excited to establish some rhythms in our life....besides eating and sleeping....we have those rhythms down!
We have high hopes for snow* in Boise, for getting to know our neighbors, to start you know-saving the world one little chicken at a time.
Did I mention I might want to start raising chickens now that we have a real yard?
OH MAN! I think it would be great!! Fresh eggs-all these little hens for me to run around the yard with? Doesn't the idea just make you want to jump up and down and yell YAY!?!?!


Ok-maybe that's just me.


So-one of my rhythms will be trying to talk Mr. Gill into letting me raise chickens so I can slowly turn into a homesteader.

I am actively planning our garden. What do you want me to grow? I'm thinking rutabagas. Corn because we miss Indiana...

Mr. Gill got us Lindy Hop lessons here in Boise for Christmas-We're hoping this turns into a regular thing for us-to be out dancing. It is part of how we met and our story in Indy and we loved it....and we think we'll get to meet awesome people here in the city not to mention a good workout and it's way fun.

What are some of the things you want to make a habit out of in 2012?
Taking out the trash regularly? That's a good one, I'd suggest that to anyone really.
Making your own yogurt? That's kinda fun-use a crockpot.


*Jenny G
















*Boise has NO SNOW/No SNOW on the mountain either and Mr. Gill went and bought a snowboard he can't use.....because there is NO SNOW*