jules and juniper

If you were in the DC metro area this past weekend, you already know that Saturday was HOT. So hot in fact, that you probably didn’t leave your house till after sundown. You and everyone else, which is why there was basically no attendance at the Fenton Street Market. I might give this market another try, but not until it cools down, a lot.

My (and Sean’s) only consolation was early dinner/late lunch at one of our favorite Vietnamese places, Lotus Cafe. We were the only customers, and the bartender was all too happy to make me a strawberry basil (thai) mojito-like cocktail. Food heals all wounds.

Later that night we made yet another zucchini (as) spaghetti dish to take to a paleo potluck for my gym. Rave reviews all around but I was too busy dulling the pain of my heat rash with whiskey and water to feel any sort of pride. In any case, Sean made the sauce, and since the pasta part is so easy, I can’t really take the credit.

Sunday we ventured out for an “exotic breakfast” at Zorba’s before catching up with our invertebrate pals at the Zoo. One nice thing about the heat, hardly anyone was there (for a Sunday). After a rainstorm cooled things off significantly, I met Shauna at Commonwealth for a half pint and handed over her recent purchase, which she promptly took out of the box and wore. All in all, a good weekend. Next weekend, it’s NashvilleCountryMusicTownUSA!

I’ve neglected the blog a bit this past week and don’t have too much time for catching up now… Sketch Crawl was tons o’ fun. The spiral slicer is AMAZING (more on that later). I adore my boyfriend, etc etc…..

Just wanted to let you know that I will be selling vintage and handmade jewelry at the Fenton Street Market tomorrow, from 9 – 3. I’ll be sharing a booth with Mia of Murai Vintage and the fabulously talented illustrator, Elizabeth Graeber. Bonus, there will be a DJ all morning and then a live show at 1 pm.

Please stop by and say hello if you are there. :)

In other news I am currently obsessed with The Tudors (show) and the new season of True Blood. I’ve started saying things like “With God’s grace…..” It’s a little weird, but I’m going with it for now. It’s too darn hot to worry too much about anything really. Also, near future travel plans include Nashville, TN (thrifting!!!), Wilmington, NC (beach!) and Lake George, NY (cannonballs off a pontoon!). Ah, summer.

somebody please buy this belt because i am broke…

via massdistraction on flickr

Thanks to a guest post over at Modish which led to another post and another blog – all on what to do with all that zucchini (I am not having this problem, but apparently it’s the season to be on zucchini overload), I have just purchased a World Cuisine spiral slicer (for less than I thought, here). It arrives in two days, thanks to my mistaken “purchase” of amazon prime. I have long been a  fan of making squash ribbons with a vegetable peeler and blanching them to use as a pasta substitute, but imagine – zucchini spaghetti!!! I’ll post the results as soon as I get a chance to experiment with this wonderous kitchen gadget.

I think about clothing, more than I should. Thrifting and the fashion that results are something of a hobby and I tend to find more than the average person. Blame it on growing up next to an outlet mall and working retail instead of waiting tables on my summers off from school. Even today, my mom goes to our local thrift store everyday, so maybe it’s in the blood.

A year or so ago I found this vintage, touristy, from Mexico (?) flowered straw handbag at a thrift store. I never thought I would use it much, but this summer I find myself reaching for it again and again. It instantly makes my outfit, mysteriously seems to go with everything I wear and fits everything I need for summer: wallet, sunglasses, camera, cell…. Now I’m thinking I wish I had two, you know, just in case something happens to this one. ;)

I found these similar ones on etsy:

It seems I’ll be spending time on boats (in lakes) this July and August. I already have two sun hats, both thrifted, one vintage and one Scala with a golden shimmer I’m a little averse to… I know I shouldn’t buy another one, and I probably won’t, but that doesn’t stop a girl from dreaming…

To celebrate the long weekend in true patriotic style, Sean and I holed up in my (empty) house, made lots of yummy food (much of it fried) and watched movies on the projector from a nest that I made by pushing together two couches in the living room and filling it with pillows and blankets. It was quite possibly the most amazing two days I have ever had in a house, ever, seriously.

Yummy things fried in tofu skins. Technically not paleo, but paleo friendly in comparison to their wheat-based counterparts.

Top chef <3

Needed more counter space for condiments so we set up another table…!

Fresh plantain chips, lychees, yumminess…

July 5th is my mummy’s birthday, so I headed home for a visit. Happy Birthday Mom!

I couldn’t believe this was a single cherry tomato plant… so I made her stand next to it to for a photo. :)

Tomatoes being made.

Elephant ears. We eat the stalks. I took some home for soup. :)

Pads in her pond.

Baby cuke.

Asian pears being made.

Persimmons, won’t be ready till fall.

OOOooooh, so this is how an okra grows…..

Vietnamese coriander Sean gave my mom at our last visit. Slow and steady….

AAAaaahhh, I miss the nest already. And the projector can come back for a visit anytime it wants. I miss it so.

We are Marfa bound in less than two days… <sigh> <smile>

In last night’s class I finally finished a necklace that began last semester in Jewelry as Sculpture. My professor, Anya Pinchuk, was pleased with the result…!

Chain works in the display case at the Corcoran Georgetown campus.

My work: necklace in polymer clay, resin, enameled steel and silver.