Egg Dying Party- Lush Scout Style

Hey Hey Hey Lush Scouts. Happy Easter or Happy Pesach or Happy Zombie day or Happy Spring day or whatever you want to say. Regardless, Gu and I dyed eggs yesterday and it was bomb. Check out the results below:

All the things necessary for bomb.com egg dying.

Makin' magic with water, vinegar, and dye capsules.

The ever-lovely gu provides a 'before' photo.

The finished product!

YOSHI!

#4ever

We also enjoyed our awesome egg-dying with some big ol' Bloody Marys (obvi). 

You're never too old to dye eggs, right Lush Scouts?

Put my makeup on and wear my hair all pretty,

Cait

Heavy Rotation

Lush Scouts, I have a confession to make: I tend towards becoming obsessed. Not in a creepy way, but all of a sudden, I'll just find a particular musical artist, actor, artist, writer so captivating that I basically can't stop listening/watching/reading for a few weeks.

I've always been a big fan of David Bowie, but with the release of his new album The Next Day (which is great, by the way) I have been listening non stop to every album he has released, which is why this particular Heavy Rotation is so Bowie-tastic.

Sorrow - David Bowie

Hazey Jane II - Nick Drake




Atlantic City - Allo Darlin'




Up The Hill Backwards - David Bowie




Weeping Mary - Elvis Perkins



 Footstompin' - David Bowie (I find this one to be a particular gem, as it is from an appearance/interview on the Dick Cavett show. Throughout the interview, Bowie is obviously high, clearly has terrible coke nose, and during the performances you can hear the toll that his drug-use was taking on his voice. I still think he sounds incredible though! There is also a very precious Bowie moment around 2:50 that I cannot get enough of.)

And nothing, nothing will tear us away,

Cait

Friday's Awesome Five

Hola Lush Scouts! After a slightly less horrifying than usual week at work (because it included free mexican food and margaritas), I'm here with the Friday five.

1.  The most exciting development of my week is MY BED! I finally bought a bed. I've been sleeping on a mattress on the floor which is fine, but it is difficult to go from dead asleep on the floor to completely upright at five in the morning, which is why this is so great. I bought the cheaper bed below from IKEA (obvi) and have plans with a bookshelf to make myself a fake alcove bed.

2. I've been on a bit of a summer-wardrobe-buying-spree because it is getting so so nice here in Tacoma and also because I had a 3 week paycheck this week. One of my favorite purchases is this triangle necklace from Forever 21. I've been obsessed with pennants and bunting for a while so finding this necklace was perfect!

3. To continue with the theme of my spring wardrobe, I've been completely obsessed with this dress for a while now, so I finally bought it, I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that it will fit when it arrives. (lord knows modcloth plus sizing is super inconsistent). I also got a couple of other things.

4. You may not know this about me, but I really really really like dogs. A lot. I would rather spend my time online on Petfinder than trying to online date. I basically make all of my life choices around what will let me get a dog sooner. Right now, being out of the house for 12 hours every day and basically making a pittance is putting a serious damper on my dog-having abilities, but that doesn't stop me from looking and pining and following basically every local rescue group on Facebook. I am currently really interested in Salty Dog Rescue here in Seattle. They rescue Formosan Mountain Dogs from Taiwan and bring them stateside to enjoy much more lush lives. They do great work and these particular dogs are apparently really loyal and affectionate and socially awkward, which pretty much sounds like me in dog form. They're also pretty small without being little dogs and they have the most adorable ears known to man. I cannot wait until I can adopt! Look at this sweet baby below, brought in on their most recent transport. You can check them out at their website above and definitely follow them on Facebook!

5. Gu and I are having an egg dying party. Sadly it isn't going to be as fancy as this INCREDIBLE one  from Real Simple. I mean, I can't. I can't even. Seriously Real Simple. You need to stop right meow. But, there will be eggs. There will be dye. There will be joy. Keep your eyes open for pictures of the party later! I don't think they'll be as fancy as eggs I saw in Austria below, but a girl can dream.

Hakuna some vodka,

Cait

Get Lush | Whiskey-Pink Lemonade Popsicles

As if you weren't already the life of the party, my beloved Lush Scouts! Here is a treat that will have you waking up every morning thinking of reasons to have people over that evening, just so that you can open up your freezer and watch everyone's face light up as you exclaim, "Oh hey! Who wants a popsicle with booze in it?!"

Two things are clear: Everyone wants one, and they are super-duper easy to whip up! Cait and I happen to have found the ice pop maker you see here at IKEA, but I see no shame in a tray full of paper cups with popsicle sticks stuck in the middle! Everything else is sort of up to you. If you don't want to start with a plan or a clever name in advance, any combination of what-we-had-for-girls-night-last-week can make for a great popsicle! Though come to think of it, that's a pretty clever sounding name.

Since a plain-pink pop isn't really anything to write home about, I decided to pizzazz them up with some grenadine. Now that we're all sitting at the grown-ups table at Thanksgiving (I wish!), grenadine isn't just for Shirley Temples anymore! The bottle might look like a big commitment compared to how much you actually use in any given drink, but aside from looking beautiful on the shelf, it can jazz up any drink! If you're super worried about it, just buy some orange juice make tequila sunrises--the best way I can think of to get your daily doses of vitamin C and vitamin T at the same time. Plus, I guarantee that your instagram followers are gonna FREAK about all the cute drinks you'll be drinking.

The Recipe:

1 can frozen pink lemonade

2 oz whiskey, approx.

3 tsp grenadine

Prepare the lemonade per the instructions on the can, duh. The rest of the process is a lot more art than science. The closest thing to science involved is putting in enough booze so that upon trying a pop, everyone's first reaction is "woo hoo hoooo! These things are a party!" but not enough that it runs down their arms after their first lick. Alcohol doesn't freeze. SCIENCE. I put about 1/4 shot of whiskey in each, then about 1/2 teaspoon grenadine, and filled the rest of the way with pink lemonade. Put 'em in the freezer for a day or so, and party on. Even by yourself on a rainy Wednesday morning:

Take it sleazy,

gu

I Been On

Howdy Lush Scouts!

I wanted to apologize for my prolonged absence from posting. I've been real busy what with these folks (my mom and dad) visiting:

And taking me lots of places including here:

And helping me find a frame to make this happen:

Bringing this (and a table too) to help with the storage issues in my kitchen:

But most importantly, they needed to hand deliver this special present from my niece:

But I'm back now. I too got my tax returns and blew it all on some new furniture for my apartment! (I currently sleep on a mattress on the floor.) I will try to take some before and after photos so you can see the mess that exists now, and the slightly more functional mess that will happen later. 

In happier news, there is new Beyonce, and though I'm of the opinion that it's just a hype-song for her new album, I can definitely get down. Take a listen for yourselves below!

Keep on keepin' on,

cait

Friday's Awesome Five

1. Devendra Banhart--well-known for being my spirit animal, the former hubby of Natalie Portman, and an amazing psychadelic folk star--put out a new album this week! I had no idea it was coming, so what if I don't keep up on music that well?! Mala came out on Tuesday, and definitely does not disappoint. I think that this AV Club article hits the nail on the head, this time Devendra gave us a nice combination of his humorous lyrics and beautiful dreamy songs. My personal favorite is "Your Fine Petting Duck," a teasingly sweet-yet-sour duet that even ends with a sexy little electronic riff that I definitely didn't see coming. You can listen to the whole album on NPR's First Listen, or just loop it constantly at work via spotify (guilty!). And last but not least, you can swoon over Devendra holding a dog here:

2. Homemade brown sugar is a thing?! A customer I spoke to at work today casually mentioned that she makes her own and she blew my mind! This is going on my to-do list for sure. Bakergirl has a super do-able looking recipe for it, if two ingredients even count as a recipe, and I am very excited to give it a try. Guess I'll just have to bake a ton to get rid of all the sugar I have now... Oh well! ;)
How to Make Homemade Brown Sugar

3. Maybe partying will help. Makes sense to me, lush scouts, maaaakes sense to me. From my fav streetwear site PLNDR.com. Is it summer yet?

4. GOT MY TAX RETURN!!!

5. More new music?! That's right, the next single from She & Him just dropped, from their upcoming Volume III. Not sure where they get off never coming up with new album names, but its really really hard to stay mad at them.

Love you're a strange fella,

gu

Fat and Happy | Empty-Cupboard Crepes

Greetings Lush Scouts! Man, have I got a treat for you! 

You know those days when you have like nothing fresh in the fridge and nothing in the freezer and nothing good in the cupboards you're just... hungry? Yeah. Me too. And that's the beauty of these empty-cupboard crepes. As long as you have some kind of flour (even the gluten free kinds), they're possible.

I chose to use flour, water, an egg, sugar, and butter. But you can use milk, milk substitute, skip the egg, use brown sugar, skip the sugar for savory crepes, use margerine, use oil, skip the oils, whatever you want! You just freestyle, and as long as post-mixing you have a very thin batter, you'll be good to go.

Grease your pan with butter/margerine/oil/spray oil or use a nonstick pan, and get ready to practice those flipping skills. If you're as good as me you can flip your crepes in the air. NO SPATULA REQUIRED. It takes skills though. 

Watch while your pile of crepes grows and grows! This is the most difficult part though: not eating all the crepes as you make them. You have to save at least some to put all the condiments you own on!

Marmelade! Jalepenos! Jam! Cream Cheese!

And you have something totally delicious and easy to make but way more impressive than normal dinner! 

Flip it! Flip it good!

Cait

Locals Only | Second Saturdayz

BIG NEWS, Lush Scouts! Tomorrow is not just any Saturday, it is also one of our favorite days of the month: Time for Tacoma's oh-so-amazing Second Saturdayz! Cait and I are among its longest-attending fans, having started our regular monthly trip as early as the second-ever Second Saturdayz--which just so happens to have been this January. In these beautiful past two months we've watched the number of vendors multiply, the buzz spread around the crafting corners in town, the attendance skyrocket, our wallets deplete, and our homes become more adorable! This event is part flea market, part antique store, part ETSY treasure trove. If you're in the market for lovely vintage items (some refurbished or repurposed for you oh-so-hip home, of course), or at the very least if you're in search of a pleasant place to drink your maybe-a-little-hungover coffee, this is definitely the place to go.

As if it couldn't get any better, they're even super awesome people! This month the event is going to open an hour early, so that from 8-9 am you can get first dibs on all the goods AND your $10 entrance fee will go towards a charity helping children affected by HIV/AIDS. I told you, AWESOME! Admission after 9 am is $5, and in our experience there are candy bowls and badass people aplenty to make it worth your while even if a purchase isn't in the budget this month. Second Saturdayz goes down in the old post office building downtown, right off Pacific Ave at 1102 A St, so don't be surprised if you find yourself in a sweet old safe. Again, just speaking from experience.

Want to see what we've picked up so far? You got it:

Here we go mistaking clouds for mountains,

gu