erin elizabeth king

2009-12-14T10:52:00.000-08:00

slept in til' 11:30 today!! guess i'm still catching up from my lack of sleep during finals. but i'm ready to go. lots of things to be done today! currently listening to elliott smith radio and crafting. baking cookies for recipe club. getting the house in shape for weekend festivities! my in-laws will be here thursday. and i must have their christmas presents done in time! which means i must run. hope your monday is rad.
love,
erin

p.s. hope the RC man dinner pic gives you a chuckle! they did a great job.

2009-12-09T20:16:00.001-08:00

oh yes, i meant to tell you michael's show was a success. great turnout and lots of fun. here's us kings with joe. he stayed the entire time chatting with my mom and jen, meeting all our friends etc. it was delightful. tomorrow we're going to lunch and a movie with him. seeing the blind side, because amelia isn't in theaters anymore! it's my first true day of freedom. no school or work. bring on the fun.

p.s. shall we take a vote on whether michael should get a holiday beard trim? maybe he could make it a christmas present, right??? what do you say?

joe, cuppies & joe, collected thread, and underwater filming

2009-09-11T16:29:00.000-07:00

this week i had lunch with joe. joe is 77, still travels to australia to do research every year, and has his PhD in something that i believe to be botany and taxonomy. although we are about opposite in our fields of study, the conversation was delightful. i approached joe at McAlister's last week when i was eating lunch in between classes. for my aging and development class i have to interview someone between the ages of 60-80 and someone 80+. joe was eating by himself...so after working up the courage to walk over to his table, i somewhat explained myself and asked if he would be interested in meeting for lunch the following week. he kindly obliged (fortunately!). i believe joe and i will meet for lunch long after my interview is over.

tonight, my friend katelyn and i are going to collected thread's 1 year anniversary party! it is a wonderful store of local handmade goods, my favorite : ) cuppies & joe will be there with their famous cupcakes, and there will be music too!

tomorrow, my modern class is exploring our performance in the swimming pool. we are taking the phrase we've been working on this week and putting it in the water. it will be documented with an underwater video camera. cool.

2009-12-09T12:44:00.001-08:00

well folks, i'm done. finals are over, woo hoo! now i'm in turbo christmas present making mode...as soon as i get done with work tonight. preparing for michael's family to come next week and his grad party. thinking about the study we'll do with the teens in russia. oh yes, we are leaving december 28th from houston and we'll be back january 11th. funny story, school starts for me that day. oops. but i refuse to spend another 4 hours on the phone with the airline to change our flight! someday i'll be done with school, for good, and have more hours in the day to do these things. and make one of these from the cover of my ReadyMade magazine : )

instructions on psimadethis

2009-12-04T18:59:00.000-08:00

tree is up and aglow. show is on tomorrow, and mom and jen (brother's gf) will be here! one final down (found out i don't have to take history if i'm satisfied with my grade. i'm satisfied.). recipe club man dinner is on for sunday (our significant others have to make a complete holiday meal together for us ladies)! i haven't told you guys yet because it makes me sad...but emily from recipe club is moving. to amarillo, tx. however, we are very happy for her and her husband, dylan. he is going to be the sports broadcaster for a news station there. we will really miss her, but recipe club will go on and i'm sure skype will be involved. this is us being silly as usual. tracy is trying to get us on the ellen show : )

2009-12-03T11:42:00.001-08:00

i was listening to NPR today and heard a very interesting story...well its interesting to me. roman baca, a ballet dancer, joined the marines. he kept his past to himself; as you can imagine he was probably apprehensive to face scrutiny. he was deployed to fallujah in iraq for the war and eventually opened up to some of his buddies about being a dancer. when he came home he created exit 12, a dance company combining his love of dance and his experience in the war. read more about it here and here! fascinating and admirable.

2009-12-02T16:28:00.001-08:00

the christmas season is here! michael and i will put up our tree tomorrow night, and i am beyond excited. however, can you believe i haven't started making christmas presents yet!? only a little more than three weeks left! i have a few ideas, but if you stumble upon any cute DIY's let me know. i'll be sewin' away after finals. getting antsy about michael's show this saturday. mom is coming to see it : ) here's a little preview for those of you far away. i'm a very proud wife.

dropping in

2009-11-29T14:52:00.000-08:00

thanksgiving was great. my family's house was packed with loved ones and lots of excitement. in lieu of the traditional football game we play in the park, ALL the boys, young and old, bought air soft guns and shot each other. michael looked like a kid in a candy store. we did not venture out on black friday, but all the gals went to southlake town square on saturday. i found a darling soap dish and my mom stumbled upon the most perfect handkerchief for me at anthropologie. it's embroidered with an owl and a crown. i love owls and my last name is king. perfect. thanks mom. and...i signed up for my anthro card so i can get a free necklace on my birthday! michael, katie, and i went to our russia meeting/dinner and picked up our gigantic suitcases full of presents for the kids. we now leave in less than a month : ) wish i could stay longer but this week is going to rush by...i've got lots of homework to finish so i can help my hubby finish up his pieces for the show! hope your thanksgiving was rad.

cute illustration here.

2009-11-24T12:29:00.001-08:00

there's lots and lots going on these days! we're getting ready to leave for tx tomorrow for our thanksgiving extravaganza with my family plus friends. recipe club has many holiday events in the near future. and michael's show is quickly approaching! this next week i'll be helping him finalize some little details on his paintings before they go up. if you're in the okc area on december 5th please join us! i must say, he's got some great stuff : )

2009-11-19T12:03:00.001-08:00

today i am enrolling in my last semester of college! not the very last, since i plan on grad school, but the last for a while. it feels great. and michael graduates this december, next month! i love graduations. my mom went back to school and finished her degree two years ago and we had a great big celebration. sometimes while sitting in class, i plan michael's graduation party in my head. upon his request, there will be a large tray of a variety of cheeses. maybe a traditional "congrats" sheet cake, but probably not. i'm thinking giada's mini chocolate-orange cheesecakes, or the lemon-rosemary olive oil cake i made a few weeks ago. or all of the above plus more. as you can see, my mind often wanders from matters concerning school : ) but i should say, i really enjoy most of my classes this semester: ballet, modern, aging & adult development, and art history. i could really do without my juvenile delinquency class and my online history course though. any who, what are you looking forward to these days?

recipes and photos here and here

2009-11-18T20:57:00.001-08:00

boy, some days are just exhausting. today i woke up late, rushed out the door just in time to make it to ballet, studied frantically for a test i was able to use my notes on, lost my cell phone, and the garbage disposal quit on me. oh and while michael was in the midst of changing the oil in our car...he realized he forgot to buy a new filter! since we only have one car, he hopped on the edmond bus to walmart : ) good news: my phone was found on campus, i realized i can do without a garbage disposal for a while, and the oil is changed in the car. oh, and michael made me a special calendar just for december!

2009-11-13T13:47:00.001-08:00

i was just a walkin' home when i saw a mysterious package on my front porch. then i remembered, my aunt rebecca said she was sending a "junk" box. this was not just any "junk" box ladies. it's a fantastic treasure box, filled with lovely sewing accessories galore. friends and family, you may just see remnants from this box in your christmas presents. thanks aunt rebecca!

joe

2009-11-12T21:19:00.000-08:00

i wanted to tell you that my friend joe just had lunch with my little sister katie last week, in odessa, tx! my dear friend is moving to his other house in odessa in the spring : ( as much as i don't want him to go i know he needs to be closer to his sister, and it looks like my little sis will fill in for me and have lunch with him every so often. thanks katie.

michael, joe, and i are going to see this movie soon upon joe's request.

date night

2009-11-12T20:17:00.001-08:00

it's rare, but sometimes it works out that michael and i are home on the same night. and it's wonderful. we cook dinner together and then watch a couple CSI-type shows. tonight i made pioneer woman's sweet-roasted rosemary acorn squash wedges and michael cooked up some grilled cumin chicken. we rounded it off with some whole wheat rolls sprinkled w/rosemary. delish. i also made a very girly cocktail that i'll share with recipe club next time i get the "drink" category. thursdays are my favorite, especially when i get to sit down to a meal with my husband.

2009-11-11T13:37:00.000-08:00

our modern class went to the park today, as one of our last ventures this semester to explore the environment's effect on our performance. ok, so we filmed some cool stuff on the merry-go-round and a tower and then we played for a while : ) the weather has been so beautiful. swinging reminded me of the beginning of my relationship with michael. we loved the park. we still do. these are some pictures from our "early days".

found objects

2009-11-10T10:45:00.001-08:00

there are so many beautiful things on the ground right now! grab some and put them in clear jars. i love these berry-like things...found them on campus the other day. free and recycled decor is the best.

beets!

2009-11-05T16:13:00.001-08:00

they're actually growing. it's fabulous. if they ever harvest, michael will probably make borscht. i'm really not a fan of borscht, but i could learn to like beets in other forms. probably not beet salad like we eat in russia though...which includes fish of some sort. maybe i'll just be happy something was harvested from my garden and admire them in a cute basket.

p.p.s.

2009-11-04T22:05:00.001-08:00

the happy couple.

croquet partet

2009-11-04T16:25:00.001-08:00

october 30th. our best friends got engaged! and we were in on it...i loved it. lauren had not the slightest idea. we went to see some bands, including a mystery one. it just so happened to be jake and his friend mark on the guitar. she didn't know he was going to get up there and sing, especially songs to/about her. you know how it ends. he called her up to the stage area and got on one knee. she squealed and we cried. it was glorious. her green diamond ring is killer (we already saw it many months ago ; ). the next morning some of her dear denton friends hosted a "croquet partet" brunch, with mimosas and crepes! we mingled, some played croquet, and i gathered three pounds of pecans. delicious. i love brunches, and i love engagements. congrats lauren & jake!

p.s. sorry i didn't get a pic of the happy couple! they have some great ones on their camera. more to come.

2009-10-26T13:40:00.001-07:00

yesterday we had the opportunity to see Tulsa Ballet's "Dracula"! i got a great deal through the school and we were able to score orchestra seats. it was amazing. the set was unlike any i've ever seen. the effects were impressive as well. we ate lunch at Sage in the Deep Deuce historic jazz section of OKC before the ballet. if you live in the OKC area and haven't been there yet, you should give it a try. it's a darling cafe and market. they sell gourmet products too, and of course they've jumped on the cupcakery bandwagon. what an overwhelming trend right now. but i like it. cupcakes are always more appealing than regular cake to me.

this week i'm:
working on a special project for my brother
preparing a best friend's birthday present
having lunch with joe on wednesday as usual
weeding my garden (we've got real sprouts coming up! beets...yay)
having lunch with joy and her daughter mila on thursday (may get another fashion show)
trying to think of other projects i can do instead of homework : )

2009-10-23T15:39:00.001-07:00

you've got to try this shower gel. i know the picture is kind of blurry, so let me explain it to you. this Yes to Tomatoes "terrific day" delight combines organic tomatoes, watermelon, rosemary, and dead sea minerals. the scent is refreshing, real, and clean. michael likes to use it too because it doesn't leave any perfumey vibes. now let me tell you my favorite part about it - i got it on clearance at target for $4.48. i think that's great for a natural brand and the size of this bottle, 16.9oz! i hope you find it on clearance at a store near you.

find more products here

2009-10-21T21:48:00.001-07:00

last night after house church, i crashed. this meant i did not make michael's lunch for today, which always includes a little note. he packed his food this morning, and as i was watching him unpack it this afternoon i saw him pull out a note...from me! since i didn't get to pack him his special lunch with a note, he used a leftover one from last week that was still in his bag. so sweet. i felt so terrible that he had to resort to leftover notes, but it was reassuring to know he appreciates them. i really like him. looking forward to making an extra special lunch with an extra special new note this friday.

the joys of cable

2009-10-17T19:14:00.001-07:00

during our time in vernon, tx (for katie's rodeo), we had the privilege of watching food network at the hotel! this might not seem like a big deal to some, but when you don't have cable and you looove food network, believe me...it's a joy. we watched a show i had never seen before: "Cooking for Real" with Sunny Anderson. i really like her because she doesn't use outlandish ingredients. this roasted tomato soup was on the show and looked so good that my mom and i both made it when we got to our homes : ) it's so easy, healthy, and hits the spot on a chilly day.

Ingredients

8 Roma tomatoes, halved and seeded
2 red peppers, quartered and seeded
1 medium onion, quartered
8 cloves garlic 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
6 cups vegetable stock
1/4 cup loosely packed chiffonade basil leaves

Directions

Special Equipment: Blender or immersion blender

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

On a sheet pan, gently toss together the tomatoes, peppers, onion, garlic, thyme, 2 tablespoons olive oil, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Arrange the tomatoes and red peppers, skin side up, and bake until lightly charred, 45 to 50 minutes. In a soup pot, warm the remaining 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium-high heat. Stir in the tomato paste and mix well. Add the tomato and pepper mixture, including the juices, and combine. Stir in the stock, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Transfer the soup to a blender* (or use an immersion blender) and pulse in small batches that reach only about a third to halfway up the side of the jar. Be careful to start slow then increase the speed to blitz the ingredients until smooth. Use a separate bowl to hold the blended soup and then return it all to the pot.

Heat the soup to warm through, then ladle into serving bowls and garnish with basil.

*When blending hot liquids: Remove liquid from the heat and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes. Transfer liquid to a blender or food processor and fill it no more than halfway. If using a blender, release one corner of the lid. This prevents the vacuum effect that creates heat explosions. Place a towel over the top of the machine, pulse a few times then process on high speed until smooth.

p.s you don't see red peppers on my baking sheet because they were $1.64 each, and i think that's outrageous! so i used 1/2 a jar of roasted red peppers.

garden date

2009-10-16T19:14:00.000-07:00

i love fall break! we finally got around to planting our garden, which is now going to be a winter garden. we've got kale, cabbage, beets, rosemary, and some mums i'm trying to revive because i almost killed them! yep. i did. these are just some in-the-process pictures, i'll post some "afters" soon.

small town finds

2009-10-15T11:04:00.000-07:00

last weekend michael and i traveled to vernon, tx for katie's college rodeo. she's so cute and we're so opposites. we got to spend some time with her and my mom, exploring the entire town...which took about 5 minutes to drive through! one thing i love about small towns is the quaint little antique shops. we found lots of treasures: some vintage tins (i use them for christmas candy gifts or baked goods), michael found some great old family photos to use in his art, i got a necklace and some adorable owl bobby pins, and my mom and i found some old shutters and drawer pulls to decorate with. our next project is decorating mom's room and bathroom! can't wait : )