So I'm pretty sure this blog is kind of dead. If you want to still see what I'm up to, I have a tumblr that you can feel free to bookmark/add to your reader/ignore at redwingblackbird.tumblr.com. It's mostly a design/photography/life inspiration blog but it has some original stuff occasionally as well.

500 miles of apple orchards 'til we meet

click to embiggen

I finally tried my first Joy the Baker recipe after reading her blog obsessively for a while: Fried Apple Cakes!

They were. So much more amazing than I was even anticipating. And the little bit of maple syrup with sour cream was. Amazing. Haha. I'm also thinking about just making up a bunch of batter for when I want some cause they were that good! I definitely need to try more of her recipes soon. <3

here comes the sun again...

Rhode Island bound...

This is my friend Abby and I:



We're pretty hilarious together. But that's not the point. The point is, Abby needs help. Your help, more specifically. Most post-grads, like myself, are facing one heck of a brick-wall job market, leaving us with entry level jobs at insurance companies, menial office jobs, or on the front lines of retail; three things no one wants. So now, we're turning to something that seemed like it was only for doctors, junior college professors, and those people on the History Channel with weird titles like "Nautical Science and Etymology Expert": grad school. However, grad school is a huge, expensive commitment and in order to decide if it's something Abby really wants to do, she's decided to take an intensive summer design course at the Rhode Island School of Design, or RISD, for short. While much more inexpensive than actual graduate school, she will still be incurring a huge bill... and this is where you come in.

Abby loves to knit. Not only that, but she's good at it, too! And she wants to do it for you! So, if you're so inclined, check out her blog demonstrating her skills, and drop her a line if you'd like to help her out by buying something. I know she'll appreciate it, and I appreciate it, too!

yes, this is really happening

I am in love. In love with Clif Bars. And to commemorate this, I'm going to review all of the flavors I've tried so far.



Let's start with where it all began, when I decided to buy a bulk box of 3 varieties from Costco.

Crunchy Peanut Butter Out of the 3 included in the variety pack, this one is, by far, my favorite. Awesome chunks of peanut and over all amazing. A classic. A

Chocolate Chip This may come as a surprise, but this is the worst one! Not really chocolate-chippey and has a weird glyceriny syrup all over. Edible, but kinda gross. D

Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch A nice combo of the Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip, but without the weird syrup. Has a mostly PB taste with flecks of chocolate chips. Okay, but nothing special. B

After suffering through 2 variety packs of the Chocolate Chip, I decided to start buying them individually from Trader Joe's. I realized that it's not that much more expensive to buy them that way, plus I can pick out any flavors I want. Here's what I tried...

Chocolate Brownie FANTASTIC. After trying this one, Chocolate Chip is dead to me. Seriously, if you want something chocolatey, Chocolate Brownie is for you. A-

Cool Mint Chocolate ALSO FANTASTIC. Basically the Chocolate Brownie but with the added amazingness of peppermint, which is probably my favorite chocolate combo ever right behind chocolate and coffee. A

Black Cherry Almond Meh. This one's just ok. I like the idea more than the execution. It could probably use a bit more cherry and a bit less almond. I think if I want a good cherry granola bar, I'll stick with Kashi's Cherry Dark Chocolate. C

Blueberry Crisp This is another really good one. When I first tried one, I thought it might be too sweet, but now I think it's just right. It's got almost a creamy texture which is a nice change of pace. B

Carrot Cake I've never been a big carrot cake person, but I decided on a whim to try one, and it turns out it's really good! I love spiced things that make me think of autumn and Halloween and this was just that. Maybe I'll have to try actual carrot cakes now? A

That's all I've tried so far. The rest are: Peanut Toffee Buzz, Chocolate Almond Fudge, Apricot, Oatmeal Walnut Raisin, Banana Nut Bread, Maple Nut, and White Chocolate Macadamia Nut. Trader Joe's only carries so many different types, so who know's if I'll ever get to try them all. I sure hope so, though. =D

a little color

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So. So. Excited.

off on a tangent...

Ok, I don't ususally write posts like this, but my discovery was too fantastic not to share with the blogosphere.


So I was looking up who did the song "In the Year 2525" (it's Zager and Evans, btw) and I discovered that after 9/11, a group called Clear Channel Communications made a list of songs that they found had "questionable lyrics" and that radio stations were urged not to play following the attacks. And while I feel their concern was valid, I find some of their selections wildly bizarre, and actually more offensive that they singled them out as songs of questionable taste in explicit response to this national emergency.

Anyhow, here are some of my favorites. A few make sense within the context and a few completely surprised me.

In The Air Tonight - Phil Collins



Jumper - Third Eye Blind



She's Not There - The Zombies



Rocket Man - Elton John



Imagine - John Lennon



Sabotage - The Beastie Boys



And my personal favorite: every song by Rage Against The Machine

Oh man there are so many I want to include. It's probably better if you check out the list yourselves. It's pretty amazing.

things that make me happy

moments during road trips



things you see every day, but in a new way



afterthoughts that turn into something amazing



comfort food



pretty new accessories



and giant blackberries!

p.s. i completely took this idea from color me katie, my favorite feel-good blog

sometimes life gets in the way of living

4th of July and other summer activities. I wish I had more time for more fun stuff. But working pretty much only on the weekends kind of prevents that. Oh well.

diggin'

the coldest May of all time

Just the past few days or so of my Project 365.



It's been a little mundane.



But I've also had a few adventures.

leaves tea? never.

I've officially been doing Project 365 for over a month. I'm really glad I decided to do this. Even though a lot of them are not very good, it's good be just be taking photos.



I also like that I'm learning more about flowers from working in the garden center. Woo!

summer arrives with a length of lights

Such a beautiful day off! I'm glad I finally got to shoot these tulips. I think they're on their last legs so if I hadn't gotten them now I probably would have missed them. Whew!

bog day!

I took a trip out to Volo today. I thought it would be too cold but it ended up being just right.

(remember, click on any photo to view it larger!)

Project 365

I've decided to begin a photo-a-day project over on Flickr. I will try to post my favorite from the week but it may be less often than that. If you want to follow everyday, I suggest checking back on my flickr for new updates!

weekend preview

Just some things I plan on putting up on Etsy this weekend. Make sure to check the shop!

Handmade Auction!

I just wanted to take a minute to send anyone who might be reading this over to my friend Jen's handmade blog who is hosting a benefit auction for our friend Katelyn. She's been ill and needs relief from the massive hospital bills she is incurring. I've donated a cupcake purse for auction and there are currently 20 other amazing items that are all hand-made by friends and, amazingly, strangers! There is some really cute stuff over there and anything you are willing to bid is incredibly generous.

Anyhow, here are a few items up for bid. Please go over to Jen's blog and bid on anything you might like. And be sure to look at the older entries as well because they go back all the way to Monday (page one, page two, page three). Just leave a comment in the entry for the item you like along with your contact info. The first three auctions end Sunday Feb 28 at midnight.

And please pass this along to anyone you think may be interested! Thanks in advance!

we're surrounded by a billion galaxies

Sorry my last post was sort of cryptic. I found out a friend is very ill. I immediately began making these paper roses when I found out she couldn't have real flowers in her section of the hospital.


I used this tutorial to make the flowers and then hot-glued them onto floral wire.




I don't know if I'll actually be able to get out to the hospital she's at to give these to her because it's in a part of Chicago that's kind of hard for me to get to. But I made these in her honor and hopefully I'll be able to get them to her eventually. <3

a special project, perhaps