So You Want To Leave A Job You Hate

A COMMENTARY ON HOW TO APPROACH LIVING YOUR DREAM IN A WAY THAT IS LASTING AND SUSTAINABLE:

On Apologizing

WHAT IT IS & WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

In some families, please is described as the magic word.  In our house, however, it was sorry.  ~Margaret Laurence

Great Gorm Guitar Rack

FROM ONE OF MY FAVORITE BLOGS

During my regular peruse of Ikea Hacker, I came across this wonderful DIY guitar stand made from the Gorm shelves and wine rack.

 

 

Unfortunately, the specific instructions aren't in English. But the pictures should suffice.

Women's Business Exchange

 A COMMUNITY AND BUSINESS NETWORK

I found the Women's Business Exchange (WBE) in an effort to find mentors who were women. I was six months into my first office job and I worked for and with "the good ol' boys".

The Entrepreneurial Breed

 After only five minutes of sitting in the Founder Institute as a volunteer, my body was buzzing in ecstasy to have finally discovered a place that values- that demands- being well-rounded, being passionate, being both analytical and creative.

WabiSabiWear Launches!

An internship from November through December 2010 helped me learn the many tasks required to launch a local clothing company.

Current Book: This Time I Dance

This Time I Dance
How one Harvard lawyer left it all to have it all!

by Tama Kieves
www.awakeningartistry.com


"I wanted to read the story of someone who really honored their gifts and put them into the world---what they thought, chose, felt, wished for, and how they faced fear, depression, the judgment of others, and horrendous self-doubt. I was tired of reading experts and easy steps. I wanted someone to tell me how they got through all the emotions that come up and found their way through murky territory. So I wrote that book. I wrote it to talk myself into creative centeredness and boldness and I wrote it for everyone else."



I had nightmares the first few days I started reading this book. Soaking from a cold sweat, I would wake up and get the urge to write because something in me- my body, my dreams- was begging to get out; a knowingness that had been suppressed until the words in this book stirred me.

Eight months ago I reached a point where I could no longer stand putting my life on hold while waking up every day to be led by poor leaders whose training and compassion came from online tutorials, and whose messages were distant and uninspiring.

So I made a call that I had been putting off for a year. Despite the voices in my mind telling me to wait until I "gained some experience", until I had "something to bring to the table", I called and asked if I could do anything to exercise my passion for horses. I've been with the horses now longer than I was at my corporate job, and I am so sparklingly happy. Making that call was my first way to acknowledge my own dreams.

Today, I just barely pay the bills by working independently- with horses, with entrepreneurs and small businesses- but my dreams still feel so cloudy and I still feel so uncertain about my future.

I read This Time I Dance because the title jumped out at me from the shelf while do working in my little borrowed office. I don't make a habit of reading "self-help" books, but I decided to read a bit until I lost interest. This didn't happen. I laughed, and cried, and recited whole passages from the book to the audience of my boyfriend and cat. It was so good to know that I wasn't alone in the confusion and doubt while creating my own work. I felt like I finally had someone who understood; who could hold my hand and tell me that I am neither lost nor alone.

Recipe: Linguine With Baby Heirloom Tomatoes & Anchovy Breadcrumbs

SAVED FROM AN OLD BON APETIT MAGAZINE

* INGREDIENTS *

- 8 oz Linguine
- 3 Tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
- Anchovy filets (6), mashed to paste with 1 tsp oil from can
- Garlic cloves (3), pressed
- 1 cup course breadcrumbs (fresh is best, but I typically use the stuff from a box)
- 1 1lb container baby heirloom tomatoes (or just plain cherry tomatoes)
- 1 cup thinly sliced basil
- 1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese


* PREPARATION *

1. Cook linguine until just tender but firm to bite.

Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid.

2. Heat 1.5 Tbsp EVOO in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add mashed anchovies and 2 garlic cloves, then breadcrumbs. Cook breadcrumbs until golden, tossing to distribute evenly (about 5 minutes).

Scrape crumbs onto plate and cool.

3. Heat remaining 1.5 Tbsp EVOO in same skillet over medium heat. Add tomatoes and remaining garlic.

Cover; cook until tomatoes begin to break down (3-4 minutes).

Using fork, crush 1/4 of tomoatoes.

4. Add pasta, basil, cheese and 1/2 cup reserved cooking liquid to tomatoes. Toss, adding more liquid if dry.

Mix in half of crumbs & season with salt & pepper.

5. Transfer pasta to serving dish & top with remaining breadcrumbs.


YUM!

A Natural Toothbrush Holder

(OR MY EXCUSE TO KEEP RANDOM STUFF)


Much to my dear boyfriend's chagrin, I collect things be it for sentimental, useful or "artistic" reasons. My favorite souvenir from a place that I've been is a stone from that place....

I have a few good projects involving my collected rocks in the works and, in the meantime, I have to invent other clever uses for them. In this post, a toothbrush holder:

Recipe: Easy (and fast) Homemade Marinara

Trevor discovered this delicious recipe and we've since made several renditions of it. It's worth posting here for at least two reasons:

(1) It is a great representation of what we love to cook: simple recipes that utilize fresh ingredients and emphasize how each ingredient contributes to the whole; and

(2) The homemade basil-red-pepper-infused olive oil is a simple, cheap and GENIUS detail that really adds sophistication to the dish.

Please note!
This is an exercise of smells, tastes and textures; we don't have ingredient amounts, cooking times or temperatures. Instead, you'll have to rely on the scent of the olive oil infusion and the texture of the tomato pulp to tell you when it's time to combine them, and you'll have to your own taste preferences of basil, garlic and red pepper to determine the type of olive oil infusion you create.



All Ingredients
*Pasta of choice
*Fresh whole tomatoes, of your favorite variety (we use six or so, so that there will be leftovers for two people)
*Fresh basil
*Crushed red pepper flakes (to taste- depends on how spicy you like it)
*EVOO (a.k.a. Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
*Whole garlic cloves (however many you like)
*Butter  (a "pat")

PHASE ONE:

Ingredients
*Fresh whole tomatoes:
- Blanche tomatoes in boiling water to release the skin
- When tomatoes show cracks in skin, remove & peel
- Cut tomatoes in half and remove seeds
- Place tomato halves in pot with salt & EVOO (not too much, since you'll be adding more olive oil in Phase Two)
- Let cook down until nice & pulpy 

MEANWHILE, PHASE TWO:

Ingredients
*EVOO
*Fresh Basil
*Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
*Whole Garlic Cloves (we usually add two or three)
*Pasta
*Salt

Bring salted water to a boil & cook pasta per package directions.

Infuse basil, red pepper & EVOO as you would a tea:
- Add whole basil leaves, garlic and red pepper to EVOO in small pan
- Bring the EVOO mix to warm (bubbling slightly
 - After a while (i.e. once the infusion starts to become aromatic), strain EVOO into tomatoes & stir to combine.

 
PHASE THREE:

Ingredients
*Pat of butter
*Fresh chopped basil

- Allow tomato pulp & infused EVOO to cook & combine
- Add pasta to pan
- Add a pat of butter to balance tomato acidity. As you combine & melt the butter into the dish, the sauce also develops a beautiful silky texture.


Plate pasta & garnish with fresh basil


Also: Try different olive oil infusions and report back to this post on what you discovered!

Moving!

GOALS AND PROJECTS

Since Trevor and I both work from home (did I mention he is a fantastic musician? www.trevorlarkin.com), Trevor and I made the jump to a two-bedroom. FINALLY! We sacrificed nothing in terms of location, although I do miss my balcony. However, the space is ripe for new projects and new goals.

A couple of goals:

Minimize
 
I discovered that I was almost too good at storing things in a one-bedroom. As we moved, we discovered that we have WAAAAAY more than we ever anticipated- and we didn't even have a storage unit!


- Keep the favorite pieces and let the rest go. Several of my projects reflect the decisions between keeping or donating pieces of furniture.



Ground and Center
The first thing to develop after we moved in all of our big things was my meditation space. I've always put off creating a place designed specifically for being quiet, either because there "wasn't enough room" or it  "wasn't important". This time I didn't want to ignore how important it is to  center oneself daily. This falls in line with my desire to work with "Jackie" and "Jill" in partnership; this space... is for JILL.  As an added bonus, people are almost immediately drawn to the space when they see it, so I've had the chance to observe how much other people crave a quiet space like this. Homes should really build it into their design nowadays...

Matsu, too, enjoys the space for doing Corpse Pose:

Function plus Form

 Forwarding my favorite aspect of design: a thing becomes beautiful in serving a purpose. 

See my:

Kitchen Cork Board

Magnetic Spice Rack

Book Case Crates

Bookcase Crates

IT'S A SMALL SPACE- SOMETIMES YOU CAN KEEP SOMETHING THAT LOOKS COOL

OR KEEP THE BOOKSHELF

As we've moved into our new pad, I've been confronted over and over again with the choice of keeping beloved junk (to some) or keeping actual furniture or clothes.

It may seem like an odd choice, but I spent many hours walking about the neighborhood and dreaming up projects that would put this crate or that bottle cap to use. The items are an external collection of my wanderings, plus I think they look cool (in case it isn't obvious, I passed on collecting the "boring and ugly" items).

So when our Ikea bookcase broke for the SECOND Seattle-area move in a row, I decided not to replace it (again) and set myself the task to come up with something else. (Actually, I was going to leave all of our books in storage except that I noticed Trevor and I were both regularly searching through the various boxes piled in the hallway so something had to be done.)

A solution clicked into place when I realized that I would have to get rid of my wonderful wine crates, on which I lovingly added casters and painted with chalkboard paint, unless I could find a new use for them; like our books, they too were taking up our dwindling space in the hallway.


I decided to use them as bookshelves, of a sort, and placed our most-reached-for books (I keep telling myself I'll study for the GRE's) in the front:

Genius
and SO much cooler than our old Ikea Expedit bookshelf!

Corkboard Tiles For Practical Decor

WHEN POSTED ON A BULLETIN BOARD

 One of my first jobs in the new apartment was to tackle the kitchen and make it look... less cookie-cutter and, if possible, more tailored to us.

I removed the doors on a few cabinets (I really love the sparkle of light shining through clean wine glasses). Next, since I'm a gal who takes pleasure in texture, form, and function, I added cork tiles to the side of one cabinet. I'd call it a budget, tailored effect:

(side view)

(kitchen view)

And yes, future Recipe's of The Week are posted on the board right now!

Magnetic Spice Rack

The organizer in me loves this kind of magnetic spice rack because of the accessibility, industrial look and addition of color to the kitchen. HOWEVER, I don't like the prices; some of them go for over $100 (NOT including the cost of spices)!

The main impediment to this style is price if I want: (1) 20 plus spice jars, and (2) To spend under $50.

On the left is an example of these spice arrangement for that achieves #2. However, it provides for only an assortment of 12 spices. Similarly, for $20 could purchase a set of Kamenstein 6-Canister Magnetic-Strip Spice Rack, but I would still spend $80 if I wanted over 20 spice jars...
 

... Thus, and perhaps not surprisingly, I've decided to make my own...

Although this DIY Wall-Mounted Spice Rack from The Kitchn is cool, I wanted the containers to have clear tops like in the above images. I discovered this Instructables only after I finished my own magnetic spice rack. Here's my own, amateur solution:

Supplies:

- 25 x Tin Flat Containers 2.5 oz w/Clear Top = $15.75 plus shipping
- 25 x Neodymium magnets = $16.25 plus shipping
- Some double-sided 3M tape (I was lazy- I would have used glue, but this is what I had laying around the house.)

- An erasable pen like the kind your teacher used on the whiteboard (again, it's what I had laying around the house and I didn't want to wait until I got around to buying a labeler). I actually like this feature since it means I can use the containers interchangeably.

VOILA! For a total of $32 plus shipping, I managed to get 25 magnetic spice jars. They're currently on my fridge, but I may get a magnetic sheet for them once we're more settled into our new digs.

-

Moving - Del Sol Style

I discovered that I can carry anything in my Honda Del Sol, as long as it's a nice day. Who says my car's not practical?!