Gataface Killah

Chris and I think, like I imagine most parents do about their children, that we have the best cat in the entire world.

When I moved back to Lincoln for graduate school, I decided that I needed a cat to keep me company so I went downtown to The Cat House for a fury friend. Juliana, or the Gata, was the first cat to approach me. I entered the house, walked up to the counter and began filling out the paperwork when a kitty jumped up on the countertop, sat down next to me and hovered over my pen. "We've all been wondering why no one has taken Juliana home, " a woman named Fran explained, "I guess she was waiting for you, Erin."

I met Chris a few weeks later and his eyes lit up when I told him that I had a cat and her name was Jules. I believe that being genuinely pleased that a potential girlfriend owns a cat is a rare trait in a man, don't you? Chris and the Gata were instant friends; he calls her Gataface Killah, after one of his all-time favorite rappers, Ghostface Killah of the Wu-Tang Clan.

I mean, the Gataface is pretty bad ass so the name fits. While it may be true that she sports a bell on her collar, its important to note that the collar is printed with skull-n-bones. We consider this fair warning to intruders.

Like any good cat, the Gataface loves to attack my knitting:

Gataface Killah!

She's pretty ferocious isn't she?!?

Sunday Funday

Wishing you all a relaxing Sunday afternoon...

First day on the job.

Contrary to popular belief, I will not be a professional student for the rest of my life. Today, Monday August 23rd, 2010, I start my first job with a salary. I hope you were sitting down for that. I'll wait a second while you process.

I received the job offer on Friday morning and Chris and I did a celebration dance around the dining room the second I hung up the phone. I'm thrilled - the work environment is casual, the people are interesting and fun, and I get to work downtown!

There was only one problem - what would I wear on my first day at work?! I thought of it like school shopping for the beginning of fall semester, only this time it was for the beginning of work. That makes sense, right?

I continued to reason with myself, attempting to justify the urge to go shopping that afternoon. On the one hand, I desperately wanted to treat myself for scoring such a great first job. On the other, one reason I sought a stable job was because I wanted to be more financially responsible. To me, this new financial maturity meant that I shouldn't spend money before I have it.

As you probably guessed from the images, shopping trumped staying at home on my last sunny, Friday afternoon off work for a long while. I bought this shirt, which was not a splurge. At the end of the day, it was a win-win; Financial responsibility meets a little treat.

This little top is by Left of Center from Anthropologie. I normally wouldn't buy such a long, loose, flowing top without putting a belt around my waist. However, because the side panels are a lighter, pale fabric, the shirt is surprisingly slimming.

I love how the batik-esque pattern is graphic without being stiff.

Paired with dark, skinny jeans, a pair of matching pointy heels and a cardigan or jacket and I'm out the door.

Happy Monday!

the monster under the bed

When I decided to launch Lavender Honey, my goal was to publish a cohesive, developed post once a week. I chose Monday because that was the day that made the most sense to me. However, I noticed that I have a lot more photographs I'd like to share than would make sense for one post, once a week. The remedy, I believe, would be that I could post additional times each week if I had the photographs and inspiration to share, while relieving myself of the "cohesive and developed" aspect of Mondays at LH.

This weekend was a perfect example. The weather was incredible. Whoever said that Seattle has terrible weather must be from San Diego because, although it does rains here, the summer has been beyond pleasant - mild, sunny, and refreshing for a girl from the hot, sticky midwest.

Check out our first backyard Sungold tomato harvest! (Chris took these tomato pics :)) A couple summers back I worked as a farm intern with an urban, organic farm called Urban Roots in Austin. I didn't think I liked tomatoes before I started farming, especially not raw. However, after I sampled a few of theses little guys while harvesting, I was sold. I eat them like candy these days, straight off of the vine.

On Saturday I started organizing the shed.

Let's tour, shall we?

Above is a view from the entry. When Chris and I combined our personal belongings, we found that we had an absurd number of Ikea tables. I plan on raising the two on the left to make a cutting table for fabric. My sewing machine will go on the next table, where the desk lamp is now.

This view from the opposite side of the shed, looking out, shows the mess! I must say, having water and electricity in the shed is glorious.

This is where I plan to draw and draft patterns. My landlord just installed a heater for us! Yes.

I positioned the table so that I can see out the windows while I draw. Having a place like this to work feels like a dream...

...speaking of dreams, I found the neat little post-it below while I was cleaning the shed. For the past few years I have been keeping a pen and paper on my nightstand because I wake up in the middle of the night with ideas or images from my dreams that I want to remember later. Hazily written in the dark, these little notes or drawings often make absolutely no sense to me by the afternoon, but every once in a while I will find one in the pile that intrigues me.

Chris thinks this monster must have been our cat.

Conference of Creative Entrepeneurs was a hit!

If you are a creative business owner in the Seattle area, or an aspiring one like myself, it is likely that you attended the Conference of Creative Entrepreneurs (CCE) over the weekend. CCE was held, aside from a short stint at the Century Ballroom on Friday, at the Richard Hugo House (a literary arts center) in Capital Hill. Forgive me for being at a loss for words - all I can seem to muster in my exhausted, brain-fried state (this is how I am when my mind is bursting with ideas) is that CCE was a hit.

I signed up for CCE within the first couple weeks of moving to Seattle and noticing the conference dates creep up my calendar made me feel like I was beginning to put down some roots in this new city. I spent weeks preparing: I launched this blog, snapped photographs, designed a logo, and printed materials to take along (recall Humpday Highlight). On the day before CCE, my bookmarks and photo cards arrived from the lab and I was thoroughly pleased with how they turned out. This, of course, meant that I felt confident walking up to other creatives, giving them my information and showing them a bit of my work on a handy bookmark they may actually use. Besides, we were at the Hugo House for crying out loud - the bookmarks made sense! Come to think of it, perhaps I ought to have left a few there today for fellow bookworms...

White House Custom Color printed both the bookmarks (left) and the photo cards (right).

CCE proved to not only be worth my time and money, but tasty too. Chris took over the cooking and kitchen while I recharged. This is a white pizza he whipped together with a fennel from our CSA and potatoes from our giving neighbors, Linda and Liesha:

The dough was made using the CDR pizza dough recipe from Pizza, Pizza.

For toppings, Chris sliced the potatoes to 1/16 inch with a mandolin and braised the fennel by adapting a recipe from Serious Eats. He used only aged mozzarella because that's all we had in the fridge. On the very top of the pizza, he added the grated Romano cheese left over from the meat week stuffed red peppers. According to him, the Romano made the pizza brown exceptionally well. Also, he saved a few of the leaves (or are they feathers? Chris just informed me that they are fronds) as a garnish and a bit of freshness.

Did I mention that my brain is fried from the weekend?!?! This is a good thing as my head and tummy are both full and happy. I'm going to sip a glass of wine and allow thoughts to marinate in my head until I drift off to sleep. Cheers!