T-mins one week till Graduation

I can hardly believe that tomorrow is officially my last day in college. I completed all my classes last week and somehow lucked out with zero final exams (the perks to being a senior design student). I'm presenting a website I've been designing for a local cafe Monday morning and then it's smooth sailing until graduation this Sunday. I hope by now you have received the announcement I designed. I just had fun with it :)

The last few months have been insanely busy with getting ready for graduation, preparing for moving out and of course still working at the magazine. I've managed to fit in a number of fun things as well, trying to make the most of the time I have left in college with my roommates and friends. It's amazing how many people are moving to work in different countries or going to grad school in other states. My plans are still slightly up in the air, but I'm learning to roll with it. As one of my co-workers (who graduated last year) put it, this is the first time in my life where you don't have a plan, no more getting through high school, applying for college, planning college, etc. I'm trying to take my plan in strides, first by moving myself home and then hopefully into an apartment in Seattle!

Here are some pictures from the last couple months...

Heather, Alex (my best friend from high school) and I met up a few weekends ago for Happy hour at the Melting Pot. Happy Hour there is the best, because fondues and appetizers are half price. Our bartender (pictured) practically had to roll us out of there we ate so much. Our meal consisted of...a walnut honey brie plate, cheese fondue, salad, drinks and dark chocolate fondue.

Then I met up with two old friends from church to celebrate Micah's (the one in the middle) engagement. He's been serving in the Marines in DC for the past year and came home on leave to celebrate with his fiance.

Then it was Cinco de Mayo and one of my best graphic design friends, our design professor (not pictured) and I went out for Cinco de Mayo. There happened to be a lovely balloon making woman (who must only come out for holidays) who made us balloon hats.

But sometime before Cinco de Mayo Dustin and I attended our first wedding together. My co-worker got married in a beautiful church in Tacoma. It was actually only my second wedding ever, which most people were astonished to discover.

We celebrated Kristen's (my roommate) 22nd birthday in April at Indochine. It's a fancy thai restaurant in Downtown Tacoma. I made a double chocolate cake from scratch, topped with home-made ganache frosting. The recipe is great and can be found here.  Indochine actually let me bring the cake to the restaurant and put it in their fridge. So my roommate Katie and I snuck to Indochine a little early to drop the cake off for a surprise. Funny enough though at cake time our waiter came out with a dainty little one layer slice of chocolate cake that was definitely not mine. After some more communication and happy birthday sung twice... MY cake was brought out, sliced, sprinkled with powdered sugar, topped with whipped cream and a flower. The presentation was wonderful and Kristen was definitely surprised.

We went to see Born to Be Wild in 3d Imax at the Seattle Science Center for Mother's Day. It's the most adorable movie about two different women, one who raises orphaned elephants and one who raises orphaned orangutans. Could your life get any more fulfilling? It made me want to pack up my bags and head to Africa to be an elephant mama. Afterwards we stopped by an authentic taco place on Capitol Hill for some grub.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

At the Macklemore Concert

This last weekend PLU put on its annual LollaPLUza music festival. Each year they bring in a well-known artist and then a bunch of local artists. The concert is outdoors and free to anyone. This year we had the privilege of having Macklemore. He just finished a national tour and is ending it in Eastern Washington this weekend. He's a hip hop/rap artist from Seattle who is starting to make it pretty big. His songs are great, and the concert was awesome! We lucked out with sunny weather and the third row. I even got to fist-pound him during the concert!

This last picture is just from the other day driving home from work. On sunny days the mtn is out and so pretty! Tacoma is lucky to have a much better view than Seattle.

Pizza night

I've been venturing out more often lately with my cooking. After doing this recipe book project, I've been more open to trying new recipes. It's a whole different deal to shop with a meal plan in mind. My co-worker, who is an avid veggie cook, gave me this recipe. Last night I got the dough ready which is really easy and let it rise during the day. Then tonight I carmelized onions (or burnt them...a little bit of a failed attempt, but hey next time will be much better) and sauteed broccoli and mushrooms in garlic. A layer of olive oil, mozzarella cheese on the bottom and voila you have one amazingly delicious pizza. Any suggestions on getting your pizza from the cutting board to the pizza stone in the oven without the toppings flopping off? I managed to drop a couple broccoli chunks in the oven. :)

Pizza Dough recipe:
2.5 cups unbleached white flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp yeast
1 3/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup olive oil (optional)
1 3/4 cups water

Stir together chilled flour, yeast and salt. Gradually pour in olive oil and then the water. This should be over 5-7 minutes. Mix with hands until the dough no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl, but isn't runny either. Split the dough in half, put half in the freezer for later and half in a bowl for now. Cover the bowl with a towel and let rise while during the day or overnight.

Pizza Ingredients:
carmelized onions
olive oil
mozzarella cheese, grated
sauteed broccoli and mushrooms in garlic

International Cookbook

I've learned quite a bit more about photography in the last 6 months and decided it was time to retake photos of the food that will make up my recipe book. My book will be featured at our Senior Art Exhibition at PLU. At this point I am finishing the designs, coming up with a title and getting it ready for the printer.

Hope you enjoy the sample of pictures. If one of the recipes strikes you as something you'd like to make, feel free to drop me an email and I'll pass on the recipe. For those of you who weren't with me the first time around, I collected recipes from international students that were their favorite from their home town and have been remaking them.

Two recipes to go!!!

Biryani Chicken | Sharjah, UAE

Butter Tarts | Canada

Cordon Bleu | Germany

Crema de Fruita | Phillippines

Spring Eggrolls | Vietnam

Frikadellar aka meatballs | Denmark

Japanese Curry | Japan

Lis-an-el-qua-thi aka Eggplant wrapped beef mixture | Iraq

Rabarbukaka | Faroe Islands

Tinginys | Lithuania

Learning our history in DC

Heather and I traveled to DC at the beginning of February. We spent a week in the city part of it staying at her friend Juliana's house (a former Chicago LVCer) and the latter half with the Uncs. This was my first time on the East Coast and I was excited to see what all the hustle and bustle is over there. We packed in our days with museums, governmental buildings, memorial sites, etc. I think we managed to see a good chunk of the Mall plus a few extra like the Holocaust museum, the Newseum and the Kennedy Center. We had the privilege of touring (thanks to Patty Murray) the Capitol Building, the House of Reps, Supreme Court, Library of Congress and the White House. I feel it is a trip everyone should experience. How better to educate yourself about our country than to see things first hand, especially when you're a visual person like me. Now when I hear about Obama or laws being passed it's much easier to picture.

We did quite a bit of walking over the span of the week, but we lucked out fairly well with weather, a few days even being 50 degrees. Only when we visited Williamsburg and Yorktown did it drizzle. For the trade off of cold weather you get zero tourists and feel practically VIP at all the museums. I think we saw more joggers than we did tourists. I can't imagine how crowded the summer time is, especially considering all the xray and metal detector machines you have to walk through.

We had a great stay at the Uncs, treated to gourmet home-cooked meals, a hot-tub and good conversation. It's always fun to hear the insider stories about the city you're visiting!

Overall I feel very grateful to have had the opportunity to travel so much lately. I'm looking forward to whatever next comes my way!

Memorial with Washington Monument in the background

Heather with Chicago roommate Abby and bf

In Williamsburg

Abby, Heather and Juliana

After our Capitol Building Tour by Patty Murray's intern

Baby guerrilla and momma

Environmental Protection Agency

Before going up the Washington Monument

At the Natural History Museum, coral has been knitted/croqueted

Natural History Museum

Art Museum Sculpture gallery right before a squirrel jumped and attached Heather's jacket

Newseum: Daily Front Pages

Original Obama Hope art, National Portrait Gallery

Lady Freedom mold

Cathedral with Unc

Zoo!!

With Unc and Zoey, we're just missing Unc M

Crystal Mtn Ski Day

Dad coordinates a Ski Day at his office every year and I finally was able to partake in it this year! We got up to Crystal around 930am on Thursday and boarded/skiied all day. Since it was a week day the slopes were empty and there was never a line. Because there were no lines, we were able to pack in more runs than usual.

The gondola at Crystal Mtn has been running for about three weeks now. It goes from the bottom of the mountain to the very top in about 5 minutes. Non boarders/skiiers can take the gondola to the top as well for beautiful close up views of Mt Rainier and a panoramic view of the cascades, Mt Baker and Mt. St Helens. There's a little restaurant at the top and then you can ride back down.

We lucked out on such a beautiful warm sunny day. I ended up ditching my fleece and neck warmer and found myself boarding while carrying my gloves. Yes it was that warm! If you look closely you can see the blue buttons that are a Bassetti Ski day tradition. 

Gondola Ride up the Mtn

At the top with Mt. Rainier in the background

Design meets Sustainability @ Compostmodern, SF

I had the privilege of attending the Compostmodern conference in San Francisco this weekend. The conference was Saturday and Sunday and then we spent all day Monday and Tuesday sight-seeing. I went with four other students, our design professor and PLU's sustainability manager who funded our way. The conference brought into question how to create sustainable thinking in people. It also just opened our minds to the possibilities of sustainability. It kinda felt like we were all getting together to come up with ways to "save the world."

We stayed in a gold LEED certified hotel, with a zero carbon footprint. It was a beautiful hotel with an Arabian twist and rooms that smelled like lavender. We made record speed each morning getting up early for the conference. We felt quite accomplished that we could get four girls ready for the day in 30 minutes!

After the conference was over we spent the rest of our trip exploring SF. We walked Fisherman's Wharf, where we met up with a friend of Chrissy (PLU's Sustainability Manager), who was nice enough to have us all over for tacos. On the way to tacos our cab driver drove us down Lombard street (how fun!). Homemade tacos after eating out for every meal was definitely a treat! On Monday we explored China Town, ate lunch on top of one of the downtown buildings, met with the MBA Program Director at California College of the Arts (which is the coolest art school ever) and took BART under water to Oakland. We flew home Sunday night but that didn't stop us from making use of the entire day. We actually ended up using every form of transportation on Sunday: 3 busses, 1 trolley, 2 ferries, 1 taxicab, 1 airport shuttle, 1 airplane (with only 20 people), another airport van and then finally our car. We visited Dolores Park, ate the most delicious brunch, and ferried to Sausolito where we walked around the neighborhoods and drooled over the most beautiful properties.

I had such a great time visiting SF again, what a diverse city! If anyone is visiting SF in the near future I highly recommend Brenda's French Soulfood for a large breakfast (on Polk and Eddy), Mission Beach Cafe for brunch, they have the best eggs, bacon and potatoes I have ever tasted (on 14th and Gerrara) and Fly (on Sutter and Larken). Those were a few among the many gourmet meals we treated ourselves to.

Enjoy my photos!

Getting hops on the rooftop

Our design prof Jp Avila (Dolores Park)

Waiting for the ferry to leave!

PLU Students in Sausolito

On for his free ride

SF at night, Ferry back from Sausolito

Holly and design bud Nicole on a SF building rooftop

Bringing in the New Year

I can't believe it's already the New Year, what a busy semester. What with being a full-student and working 20+ hours at the magazine, I've kept myself busy. I am so thankful that I get to participate so fully in both being a student and having a fun job. I will post some of my latest designs soon. We just published the Jan/Feb issue of 425 magazine which includes a bonus Bridal issue, where I had the pleasure of designing the Real Wedding section. I was able to include Heather's close friends' wedding, which was absolutely beautiful and so much fun to design since I knew the couple. Anywho I will post those next.

A while back right before Thanksgiving it snowed. School was canceled almost the entire week, which meant we had time to play and enjoy the snow. I went out with my roommates and some friends to toss a few snowballs.

On Christmas Eve, our family took a hike in the Mountains on a trail my Dad mountain bikes. We only passed four people the whole hike! We finished the afternoon with a tasty meal at Triple X in Issaquah.

Over break I spent a few days in Portland visiting Dustin and his family, but didn't take any pictures. We went to Sushi (which is rare for me), learned how to play Darts the real way and overall had a relaxing time. Dustin drove me back to Seattle for New Years Eve where we met up with my roommates and some friends. It just so happens that my roommate Katie's birthday is New Years Eve as well. She picked out a restaurant/bar for her birthday where we spent the evening until midnight when we wandered over (in 20 degree weather) to the Space Needle for the countdown and fireworks. I've watched the Space Needle fireworks on tv since I was little but have never had the chance to see them in person. It was definitely one of those things you have to do at least once. It was awesome to see it in person and we were able to watch it from the grass below the Space Needle. Mom and Dad were kind enough to pick Dustin, Kristen and I up afterwards as cabs on New Years Eve are literally impossible to find.

Katie the Birthday Girl

Me and Dustin right before the fireworks started

Me and Alex my best friend from high school

Kristen, Alex and I

I'm looking forward to what 2011 brings! I am doing some traveling soon and am excited to get out and about. I have the privilege to attend another design conference! This upcoming design conference is called Compostmodern, and will be held in San Francisco in the middle of January. It is a Sustainability Design conference, where I hope to be inspired on how to incorporate new sustainable practices and ideas into future design projects/campaigns. These conferences have proved to be so valuable in the means of inspiration and the people I meet along the way. They get me more and more excited to be a graphic designer. I will be traveling with three other girls, one of which is Nicole who I traveled with to our last conference. I'm excited to also visit San Francisco again! I also will be visiting Washington D.C. with Heather in February. It will mark my first time on the East Coast! I can't wait to visit with the Uncs, see all the museums and of course visit the White House thanks to Senator Patty Murry. Will keep everyone posted on my travels!