welcome home.

This past weekend Ryan and I moved into our very first apartment together! It's an old stone inn from the 1700s that has been refurbished into lovely rustic apartments (like something I'd see on a mori girl tumblr!) On our street are little historical plaques stating the date on which some of the buildings were defended during the Revolutionary War! It's very neat and gives you an idea of just how old these structures are!

Now, this was very stressful for me, and Ryan took my fear and attitude like a champ. I moved a lot during my childhood and my most recent home was where I had been given the opportunity to stay a while and make friends, and truly get to know an area. Moving away from that made my gut clench, tears well, and a whole new level of anxiety spring up. I snapped without meaning to, I was a little ball of negativity, and I was scared as hell. Ryan smiled at me when I was frowning, did lots of heavy lifting, and took care of me when I couldn't really contribute to the move with my mindset. My family helped pick up my slack as well!

Despite my sour attitude, we made it! This is my first day off since we moved all our boxes in, and it's my first chance to truly relax in our new home. Now without stress and homesickness fogging my vision, I've been able to truly appreciate the place we were lucky enough to find.

It's beautiful. The walls were originally covered with stucco and the owner stripped it all and exposed the amazing stonework that laid beneath. The floorboards upstairs are the original planks, and are wide and from very old growth trees. They're gorgeous, dark, and glossy. I'm not sure if the floorboards downstairs are original, but they are also very old and beautiful. The upstairs has cathedral ceilings with the original wood beams exposed. It sounds amazing during rain, and feels incredible to walk around in.

The apartment even came with a hutch that I assume was too much of a pain to move. It has lead glass windows and currently houses the teacups I was able to fit in the move, and my teapots. It will soon be filled when I head back home with boxes and bring the rest of my teaware over.

My family helped so much along the way, and even thinking about it is enough to make me very sniffly. I've moved a whole 20 minutes from my old house, but somehow it feels so far away from where I grew up. Especially when I don't see my family every evening chattering in the kitchen. :(

excitement.

Ryan and I put a deposit down on our first ever apartment together! I haven't even started packing, but the move-in date is projected to occur before the month's end. The owner of the building is refinishing the original hardwood floors, painting, resealing some of the stone by the window, and making sure everything is in tip-top shape for us. Ryan and I were in love the moment we saw the exposed stone walls & wood floors & windows.

I can't wait to take photos of my tea in all the natural lighting. I will be posting more photos once the landlord has finished sprucing the place up -- it seemed silly to photograph everything when it would look much better a week later. It even came with the hutch in the above photo -- perfect home for my teaware!

The most fun and unique part is that it is a 2 floor apartment! We have a full dining area, living area, kitchen and bathroom, and the bedroom is an upstairs loft! Of course we got a loft like that just before summertime hits, but the windows will accommodate an AC unit for us (as I cannot stand extremes of either temperature.)

Ryan brought home boxes from work and I'm sitting here telling myself, "Oh I don't have that much to pack..." but I am ABSOLUTELY LYING TO MYSELF. I am so grateful I have the next few days off so I can start packing all my little knick-knacks. I am also so grateful that I won a lot of teacups from eBay and the seller was utterly excessive with the protective packaging. The surplus of bubble wrap is very much a blessing for all the fragile things I've had for ages sitting in my room.

... I AM SO EXCITED!!!

We will have an apartment like the cottage-style ones I always am envious of on tumblr. We will have breakfast together, tea and coffee in the sunshine with our Chai-kitty, and a lovely abode to call our own.

DIY: teacup candles.

This little craft project is a great way to spend an afternoon, and a great way to repurpose teacups that might be cracked/chipped, or could be used as a charming gift idea with an undamaged teacup!

You will need the following:

- microwavable soy wax flakes
- microwave safe container

- candle-safe fragrance oil

- cotton wick

- a teacup

If you are making a single candle at a time be sure to measure out 2 teacup-fulls of the flakes. Every teacup has a slightly different capacity so I had better luck just scooping soy wax flakes into them, transferring to microwave-safe container, and melting from there. Didn't waste a drop of wax! The microwavable wax melts down. If you measure out 1 cup of the dry wax flakes, you'll be left with a 1/2 cup of melted wax for pouring. Keep that in mind when buying wax as well -- you'll likely need twice as much as you think!

I found a shop on Etsy that sold wicks with the little metal attachment at the base along with the fragrance oil I was seeking, but you can find similar supplies at your local craft shop! 

I microwaved the wax flakes for 30 seconds at a time. You don't want to overheat the wax, and risk breaking the microwave-safe container or potentially causing terrible burns upon removing container from microwave. I stirred the wax every 30 seconds, and when it appeared mostly liquid with a few bits of floating unmelted wax, I carefully removed the container from the microwave with oven mitts. It will be hot, proceed with caution.

Add a few drops of your fragrance oil. Stir thoroughly, and then pour slowly into your teacup. Add the wick, and use a chopstick to ensure that it will not fall. In the top photo my wick was a bit long, and caused it to lean a great deal, but I trimmed it down and let it lean on the chopstick until the wax cooled.

I let mine cool for 8 hours until lighting one up and seeing how it burned.

These make great gifts. Not only are you providing a cute decoration with pleasant perfume, once the wax melts down, the recipient will have a lovely little teacup to use! Soy wax washes out fairly easily from these teacups with soap, hot water, and [delicate] elbow grease.

Disclaimer: It goes without saying to practice standard fire safety procedures with these lit candles. They are open and exposed, unlike candles in jars, and as such are easier to accidentally brush, or knock over. Do not leave your candles unattended. Be mindful of pets or children that might come into contact with a decoration like this.

recipe: gluten free earl grey scones.

Today I wanted to make scones, and fondly recalled a local tea room serving me absolutely delicious Earl Grey infused cookies. I could even see the little specks of crushed tea leaves when I took a bite, and was instantly in love. It's been years since I've eaten that baked delight, but I decided to channel my love for that cookie into a hearty breakfast scone! Good with clotted cream, jam, and/or spreadable butter!

I decided to use Numi's Aged Earl Grey because I was especially fond of the fact that they don't utilize artificial flavorings, and instead used real bergamot to get that lovely flavor and fragrance!

Follow the jump for the recipe & photos!

plans & plans & plans.

The other day Ryan and I paused for a moment and realized that if we are truly planning to move out by summertime, we really oughta get packing NOW. I'm taking a look around my room stuffed with things gathered over years, and am realizing what a daunting task I have ahead of me. I am also trying to figure out how to safely pack ALL OF MY TEAWARE. In a way I'm sort of kicking myself for establishing such a teacup collection, but I gotta do what I gotta do! I'll be up to my ears in bubblewrap!

So I gotta start packing ... on top of learning to drive. First and foremost, after 24 years of snagging rides and getting by without a car, I am finally working towards getting my driving license. Ryan has been the most patient, wonderful, and supportive partner in that regard. I've explained to people time and time again my fear of driving, and that it's not necessarily ME, but the fact that really reckless people are on the road.

I drove on a road that wasn't surrounded by my neighborhood and the police didn't pull me over, I didn't drive off a cliff, and everything felt okay. It was very reassuring considering how shaky I get around other cars.

Then comes the task of finding a quaint apartment that allows cats. My little Chai is well trained, declawed, and a big fat lazy kitty whose highlight of the day is just trotting behind me in the house. I understand that people won't list apartments as pet friendly right away if they can get away with it, but it makes my glances at apartment listings without the "pets ok" tag feel so stressful. She is my little friend, and I find her chirping purring presence so very comforting during stressful times.

In this area you'll sometimes come across people that even charge very expensive "pet rent" which I find fairly frustrating as that is what the security deposit is for. Fingers crossed we'll find an abode that likes kitties and is pretty and maybe even has AC (ohgodpleaseletusfindAC.)

unusually warm april.

(dress from forever21, vintage goldtone belt from etsy, glasses from warby parker)

So today our thermostats hit 87°F. It is early April. Why does it feel like July outside!?!?

Along with the really unusual temperature, I am super excited that we are being forecast for "strong storms" tonight. My favorite part about summertime is cracking open the windows and listening to the rumble of thunder in the distance, and occasionally running from windows when the thunder is exceptionally close and LOUD. I've missed the sound of heavy rainfall as well. I think we broke the record for the hottest temperature on this date!! I would very much like the April weather to resume, though, as I have yet to wear cardigans and still like holding a hot drink in my hand without feeling as if I were going to melt.

I've been drinking a lot of Numi's "Aged Earl Grey" lately and I have to admit ... it is super tasty. I don't normally take a gander at teas I can find in grocery aisles, but I think my pretentiousness has been making me miss out on a real gem. Both the tea bags and loose tea brew a really nice dark amber cup, and the bergamot is just right. I don't get a stomachache as I usually do with some Earl Greys (the creme varieties especially) and it was robust enough to wake me up at 6:30am, and mild enough to sip at while I edited photos this afternoon.

You should definitely give it a try if you've been feeling a bit "meh" about Earl Grey! No artificial flavorings too!

first warm day of spring.

Today Ryan and I decided to ride our bikes at Peace Valley, which is a lovely local park situated around a calm lake. We packed picnic equipment, strapped a crate filled with food to the back of my bike, and pedaled off to find an ideal spot to dine by the water. We had checked the weather but never noticed any notifications about wind -- at one point I had to hop off my bike or I would have been blown off! Despite the blustery conditions we made it to a nice sunny spot where some trees and brush shielded us from the wind.

We packed egg salad, corn tortillas (no good way to heat up gluten free bread outdoors!), berries, pineapple chunks, and coconut water. I was immensely grateful that the bees had not yet started springing up, as I'm sure the fruit and coconut water would have made us prime targets for their little swarms.

Hopefully we can have another picnic on a less windy day, or just ride our bikes when the paths aren't so crowded. Our area has had a long and grey icky winter, and it seems like 60 degree day drew everyone out of their homes and onto the little roads that circle the lake. At least all the people out and about meant many people brought their dogs as well! We saw a number of cute canine companions, including a pomeranian with with a stark white face and all-black afro hairdo, an old old old dachsund being pushed around in a stroller with a blanket, and a clumsy German shepherd pup who had yet to grow into it's feet.