My New Favorite Dress

Glasses: BonLook

Dress: Trove Vintage / Similar

Belt: Vintage / Similar

Flats: Rocketdog / Similar

I think I can speak for everyone when I say that last week was a doozy. Man, was it rough. In my personal life, all I really had to deal with was a grain beetle infestation (ugh.), but the news was full of one awful thing after another. It was a hard week. I got sucked in, internalized too much, and didn't figure out why I was feeling so crummy until three quarters of the way through the week. Fortunately, once I figured out WHY I was feeling so awful, I got to talk it out over nachos with an awesome friend of mine. So that was really nice.

In other, less depressing news, I'm taking a class right now called Change One Room, Change Your Life, which is being taught by amazingly talented friend, Hollis. I'm two weeks into the three week course and am feeling so inspired! I'm going to be tackling my living room, so I've been spending hours poring over inspirational photos and furniture websites as well as rearranging my furniture to finish getting my plan in place. If you're in the Seattle area and looking to redecorate any rooms in your house, I would highly recommend this class Hollis will be teaching it again starting in September, and if you're interesting in signing up you can register here.

Other than spending a lot of my weekend rearranging furniture and looking at couches, I had brunch with a friend, hit up the farmers market, and hung out with Katie! Katie and I have both recently cleaned out our closets, so we gathered up a bunch of our clothes to sell at Buffalo Exchange. I did quite well, which I attest to the outfit I wore, which you can see above. Seriously, I feel like when the buyers like your style they buy way more of your stuff! 

This dress is absolutely my new favorite. I picked it up at Trove Vintage in Ballard earlier in the week before seeing Guardians of the Galaxy (which was great, btw). I instantly fell in love with the print, but the style was not necessarily love at first sight. When I put on the dress, I actually laughed out loud at the Judy Jetson-esque shoulder detail on this puppy. See that stitching details on the shoulders? Yea, that's the shoulder pieces folded in half. They were huge!!!! Fortunately, I saw a spark of hope for this dreamy dress, folded the shoulder pieces, and knew I could tack them into place to make it the cutest dress ever! Now that it's fixed up, I don't think this dress will be worn less than twice a week for the rest of the summer.

So that's my report! Did you guys get up to anything fun over the weekend?

XOXO

Becca

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Blueberry Peach Pie

Is anyone out there NOT a fan of pie? Because if you ask me, pie is one of the very best foods- up there with waffles and doughnuts. As I was getting ready to go blueberry picking a couple of weeks ago, it occurred to me that I had not baked a single pie all summer. ALL SUMMER! NOT A SINGLE PIE! What is wrong with me? Well, I can assure you that this problem has since been fixed as I have made not one, but TWO pies in the last two weeks. True story.

This Blueberry Peach Pie is real tasty. I'm fully aware that it's not the prettiest pie I've ever made, and yes, I dreamed of making a pie with a lattice top, but ya know what? I was challenging myself, so it's ok. Yep, this dreamy, delicious, tart, fruity pie was a bit of an experiment because it was my first vegan and gluten free pie. I can assure you that you will not miss the gluten or the dairy one bit when you give this a try.

I will warn you, making a gluten free and vegan pie crust definitely has some challenges- the big one being that the crust is a little tricky to handle. We'll talk more about that later, but if you stick with it, I promise it will be worth it!

Alright, pie time!

Blueberry Peach Pie: Makes 1 pie
Gluten free, vegan.
Crust adapted from this recipe.

Ingredients:

For each crust (top and bottom)(in other words, you'll make each crust separately, and the amounts listed below are the amounts for 1 top crust or 1 bottom crust):
- 1 1/4 cups gluten free flour (I used the Trader Joe's multi-purpose)
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 6 tbsp cold vegan butter (I used Earth Balance)
- 1 1/2 tsp Ener-G Egg Replacer plus 2 tbsp warm water to make 1 "egg"
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

For the filling:
- 4 generous cups of blueberries (fresh picked if you can swing it!)
- Scant 3/4 cups sugar
- 2 medium peaches, pitted and chopped- skin on is fine! (about 2 cups)
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice or lemon juice

Make the pie crust!

1. An hour or so in advance, start making your dough! Begin by whisking together the flour, sugar, xanthan gum, and salt.

2. Cut the cold butter into pats and then work the pats into the flour mixture until it's crumbly, with some larger, pea-sized chunks of butter remaining. Then, place this mixture in the freezer to keep cold.

3. Whisk the egg replacer, warm water, and vinegar together until very foamy. Pull the flour and butter mixture from the freezer and mix the vinegar mixture into the dry ingredient. Stir until the mix holds together.

You can add 1 to 3 additional tablespoons of cold water to the mixture to help it come together if necessary, but I would advise against it if you can help it. When I was experimenting, I found that adding water to the mix made for an overly moist pie crust, so do without if possible.

5. Shape the dough into a ball and chill for an hour.

6. Repeat steps 1-5 for your second pie crust.

7. Once the dough has sat for 1 hour, remove it from the fridge. Then, cut two pieces of plastic wrap and spray them with cooking spray. Place the dough between the two sheets of plastic wrap (sprayed side down), and roll out the dough until large enough to fit your pie pan.

8. Once rolled out, place one crust into your pie pan. You should be able to pinch together any tears, but if you're having trouble, re-ball the crust, put it into the freezer for a few minutes, and roll it out again.

9. Preheat the oven to 400°F

9. Add the ingredients for the filling to a large mixing bowl and mix until well combined. Then, pour the filling into your pie pan.

10. Top the filling with the second pie crust, crimp the edges, and cut a vent or two in the top. I just rocked an ice cream sandwich cookie cutter.

11. Put yer pie on a tin foil lined baking sheet (for easy clean up!) and bake for 45 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling.

12. Let cool and then serve!

XOXO
Becca

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Two Years with Buddy and Hank

Happy Adoptaversary to my favorite furry friends, Buddy and Hank! These sweet, troublemaking goofballs came home from the shelter with me 2 year ago today, and I couldn't imagine life without them. Buddy and Hank are brothers, best friends, and partners in crime. They're produce-loving weirdos (seriously. Bell peppers, watermelon, green beans, asparagus, avocado, cantaloupe- they love it all), bug hunters extraordinaire, extra enthusiastic meow-ers, and cuddle bugs through and through.They make me laugh, smile, and feel loved every single day and I couldn't be happier to have them in my life. Here's to many more years with these two goofballs!

XOXO
Becca

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Guest Posting: Everyday Feminism on Clear the Way

Hi everyone!

Today I'm very pleased to be guest posting over on Kate's blog, Clear the Way, as part of her Feminist Friday sub-series, Everyday Feminism. I'm talking about feminism, what it means to me, and how I live it out every day. It's one of my favorite pieces I've written, and I'm admittedly pretty proud of it, so I'd thrilled to have you stop by and check it out!

XOXO
Becca

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Hamming It Up

Glasses: BonLook

Dress: Anthropologie

Shoes: Nordstrom

Saturday evening I was sweating away in the kitchen working on a failed dessert recipe, when Katie texted me and asked me if I wanted to go for a drink. Admittedly my only plans for the evening were cleaning up the mess I had made, so I decided to say "Screw the mess!" and hang out with Katie!

Katie suggested we do some blog photos before dinner and at first I was NOT convinced. Ya'll, I was on day 3 of my shower cycle, I had been tromping around blueberry fields in the morning and sweating in the kitchen most of the afternoon. Needless to say, my hair was gnarly as hell, and on top of that, the thought of putting on real clothes seemed like the worst.

I ended up rallying, because hey! Sometimes my hair is a little gross and that's ok! Also, because this polka dot dress is so stinking cute and so easy to just throw on and go. It's so cute and comfy that you can wear it all damn day in the summer heat. I also love the back more than I can possible say. Any dress that has cute cut-outs in the back but still let's you wear  normal bra is a winner in my book!

We had a total blast taking these photos. I for one, could not do a serious pose to save my life. We had a blast hamming it up for the camera and then went and grabbed some delicious Indian food. Yum!

All in all, it was a great impromptu get together! Katie is the best!

XOXO
Becca

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Blueberry Picking 2014!

Hey guys! Are you sick of me talking about picking berries yet? CUZ I'M SURE NOT!

Saturday, my friend Hollis and I drove out to Duvall to do some blueberry picking at Cottage Gardens Blueberry Farm. I think Blueberry Forest would be more accurate! Unlike the neatly manicured rows I picked from last year, this place was full of huge, unruly blueberry bushes. You can see in some of the photos above how incredibly tall and close together they all were.

It would seem, I'm afraid, that I have a bit of a blueberry picking curse. Both times I've been blueberry picking, I've set out on a gorgeous sunny day, only to have it downpour. This year I got lucky in that the pouring happened before we arrived at the farm, but it was enough to soak the bushes, which meant that Hollis and I left the farm pretty soggy, especially since we were climbing under branches and pushing our way between rows to get to more berries!

At the end of the day, I picked about 4 pounds of blueberries, which will mostly be gobbled up by the handful. I did reserve some for a Blueberry Peach Pie that I cooked up yesterday. I'll be sharing the recipe either this week or next.

It was a really lovely day, and such a nice chance to get out of the city. Washington is really such a gorgeous state, and I love that a 30 minute drive can transport you to lush beautiful farm land. Maybe someday I'll even have some land for myself!

XOXO
Becca

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Thank You!

Thank you all SO much for your sweet comments and kind words on my posts this week. You've seriously made me feel like a million bucks. I appreciate all of you so much and can't thank you enough for all of your support.

XOXO
Becca

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On Body Image

(Image via)

I have never been a small person. I was born average and proceeded to be off the charts the rest of my life. I was 5 feet tall by the end of the 4th grade. I was 5'11" by the time I was 14. I have never been small.

At age 14, I was 5'11" and weighed 145 pounds. I was a size 8 and my hip bones stuck out 2" from my body. My ribs stuck out so far from my stomach that when I woke up in the morning I somewhat resembled a greyhound. I had no ass to speak of. My breasts were barely there. I thought I was fat. No joke. I also had a BMI that was supposedly healthy for my weight- pretty much the last time that has ever been true.

Fast forward to now- 26 going on 27. I'm still 5' 11". I wear a size 12. I have a butt. I have breasts. I weigh 50 pounds more and I do not think I'm fat. Not even a little. I've got curves for days, and to be perfectly honest, I think I'm a total babe. Modesty is for jerks. 

Not only do I happen to think I look great, but I also feel healthy. I eat well. I practice self care. I even joined a gym recently, not to lose weight, but because my job is sedentary, my commute is now, too, and I want to keep feeling healthy. So. Yea.

I was recently lucky enough to have a coworker gift me some personal training sessions they weren't using. I'm a total novice when it comes to working out so I could really use the guidance. Well, my first time with this trainer, she busted out the scale, took my measurements (incorrectly, I may add. My waist is most certainly not 37". It's 32, thank you.), and "measured my body fat" with an electronic device that I assume is entirely inaccurate.

She then basically proceeded to tell me that I was fat. Not in so few words, but in terms such as "Your body fat percentage is way too high." (you know, according to some dumb electronic device). She asked me how much weight I wanted to lose and I told her that I didn't actually care about losing weight, and didn't want to weigh less than 190 because 190-195 is a really comfortable, easy to maintain weight for me. I also told her that I felt anything less than that would be hard to maintain and would really decrease my quality of life. She asked if I meant that I "just wanted to eat a lot of food." Seriously. I don't want to eat "a lot more food". I want to continue to eat the reasonable amount of food I already consume. I want to be able to not feel guilt over the things I eat. I want to not live at the gym. I want to not be obsessing over a measly 5 pounds that won't make me look ANY different. I value my mental health as much as my physical health and obsessing over my weight isn't going to do me any good.

So, personal trainer, fuck you. Not for making me sweat my ass off or for making me sore for three days, but for trying to tear apart a healthy body image that I've spent years building up, all for the sake of a few pounds.

Don't ever let anyone tell you what your body "should" look like. It's your body. It's your home. Love it and accept it, and treat it well. Your health is about the big picture, not just a number on the scale.

XOXO
Becca

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A Breezy Summer Wedding Look

 Glasses: BonLook

Dress: Anthropologie (old)

Belt: Target

Clutch: J. Crew

Shoes: Swedish Hasbeens

Hi guys! Yowza, it was a busy weekend! I kicked it off with a personal trainer appointment (not my favorite thing- you'll be getting an earful about that later this week), made brunch with my friend Levi, celebrated my dad's birthday with mini golf and lunch, and attended the wedding of my dear friends, Sam and Megan.

Sam and Megan have been together for about 7 years and I'm so thrilled that they were finally able to tie the knot. I'm so happy and proud to live in a state that recognizes that love is love, and allows these two amazing people to spend the rest of their lives together and not having to worry about having the rights to see each other through the hard times as well as the very best times.

The wedding itself was on Saturday evening at the Center for Wooden Boats. The weather could not have been more perfect, and the setting was too gorgeous for words. Watching them get married right on the water in such a beautiful Seattle setting brought a couple of extra tears to my eye for sure! After the ceremony (during which, I obviously cried my eyes out), we feasted on an amazing meal, made merry, and danced the night away. It was such a wonderful evening!

Since it was such a gorgeous summer day, I talked myself out of the sequined dress I was originally inclined to wear, and wore this gorgeous, breezy silk number. While the lighting and the focus in these photos isn't stellar, these are some of my favorite photos to date. The light silk material of this dress gives it amazing movement, and the print and cut out details really make it something special. I loved looking through these photos and watching the movement of the dress in the summer breeze.

Along with the dress itself I wore my new BonLook glasses, which I'm crazy about, my favorite black braided belt, the clutch I got on super sale at J.Crew before the last wedding I attended, and these gorgeous Swedish Hasbeens clogs. Unlike the last wedding I attended, I figured out this outfit the day of the wedding, so I was very pleased that it came together so well- even if I had to do a bit of MacGyver-ing to get my slip to stay in place!

All in all, it was a really wonderful weekend. I'm happy I got to be present for the marriage of two of the best people I know and wish them all the best. Congratulations, Megan and Sam!

XOXO
Becca

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Wishing For... A Pretty New Bag!

1. ModCloth

2. Moorea Seal

3. Urban Outfitters

4. Close By

5. Madewell

6. Urban Outfitters

As you can see, I am seriously lusting after bags right now! My trusty bag that I've had for the last 6 years is now in a state of disrepair- the lining is ripped, the leather is getting worn, and the stitching is coming apart. While I may be able to do some minor repairs, I think largely it's just time for me to get a new bag. The one I've been lugging around this summer (you've seen it here and here), simply was not made for the wear and tear I subject accessories to, so I'm looking for a new trusty sidekick. Here are some of the contenders:

1. This bag from ModCloth looks AWESOME. As you can see, I'm clearly into bags made from a combination of fabric and leather. This one rocks the canvas and leather look, has a detachable strap, and has a whole bunch of pockets inside. I pretty much automatically freak any time my chapstick or keys get lost in the bottom of my bag so pockets are key!

2. Another leather and canvas bag, this time from the Moorea Seal online store. I don't know how I haven't made it to her brick and mortar store in Seattle yet, but I'll do it one of these days! Anyway, I love the rivets on this one and think the proportions are just stellar.

3. While I think this bag would end up soaking wet a lot of the time, I am SO in love with this plaid wool  and leather tote by Drifter Bags from Urban Outfitters. You may not know it, but I'm a total sucker for red plaid. Seriously. It gets me every time. I kinda just want to curl up and take a nap with this one. Is that weird? Yea, it's kind of weird. 

4. I also totally dig this canvas tote by Poler Stuff from Close By. It seems so SO perfect for summer adventures. And fall adventures. Ok, all the adventures all the time. Also, bonus points, my friend from high school, Zack, started this awesome shop. Go check out all the things!

5. Guhhhhhhhhhhh. This Madewell bag is too dreamy for words. It makes me want to put on a plaid flannel button up shirt and high waisted jeans and channel my inner 1970s outdoorsy dreamboat. I almost bought this bag in person over the weekend, but I'm not-so-secretly hoping it will go on sale first. It's just so good.

6. Last but not least, this messenger bag by United by Blue from Urban Outfitters. I adore the forest green color, the leather details, and the fact the canvas is waxed so it's a touch water resistant.

Alright, buddies, which one is your favorite? Also, do I have Pacific Northwest-y taste in bags or what? Sheesh.

XOXO

Becca

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Rainy Summer Days

Hair Clips: Anthropologie

Sweater: Gap (ages ago!) / Similar

T-shirt: Urban Outfitters

Jeans: Urban Outfitters / Similar

Bag: c/o Conversation Pieces

Shoes: Rocketdog / Similar

Jeans? Wet hair? Water drops on my glasses and clothes? Wet ground? Ah, must be summer in Seattle. After a pretty big (for here) heat wave, things have cooled way down and we even got a fair amount of rain on Sunday! It's funny to go from swimming in the lake one day to bundling up and wishing you had your umbrella a few short days later.

This weekend was pretty quiet, which was much needed after having a busy couple of weeks. My grandma had her heart surgery a couple of weeks ago, and it went very well, which was a relief. Unfortunately, a bunch of family drama came up during that time, but everyone is healthy and everything seems to have resolved as best as it could.

This week, I kicked off the week with a bachelorette party for my friends Sam and Megan, who are getting married this weekend! Along with about 12 other people, we rode the Cycle Saloon around Ballard. It was hilarious and way more fun than I expected. Tuesday I took in a showing of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou at a local theatre; Wednesday I went swimming; Thursday I had dinner with my friend, Jeremy; and Friday I went to my parents' house to watch some old home movies I hadn't seen in years.

Needless to say, after all that hubbub, I had a reallllllly lazy Saturday. I honestly just laid in bed watching movies, cuddling with the cats, and napping all day. It. Was. Awesome. My favorite thing I watched that day was a documentary about Kathleen Hanna called, The Punk Singer. It was SO good. She is such an awesome, influential woman and has really affected my brand of feminism over the years.

Sunday I met up with Katie for some shopping and blog photos. The morning was pretty dry, but we were out of luck by the time we were ready to take photos. As you can see, we got quite wet!

Anyway, those are the updates for now!

What have you guys been up to lately?

XOXO

Becca

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