homemade, challah!

I went on quite the adventure today after discovering this blog.

It inspired me to 1. explore my local goodwill and see what kinds of vintage cookware it was hiding, and 2. make some challah bread and put my bread hood to use with my kitchen aid!

Wanting this to be an adventure, and not just a trip to goodwill, I decided to walk, about two hours round trip to get some fresh air. Good thing I did, because I found a goodie on the way there!

I found this one on the side of the road! It's vintage Descoware - a company that used to make enamelware before Le Creuset purchased it in the 60s. It has a dime-sized chip in the enamel so it may not be useable, but it sure is pretty.

Goodwill find: vintage pyrex. It just so happened to match the pan that I picked up 30 minutes before. It's really pretty and came in really handy for bread baking!

After finding that bowl at the Goodwill in Emeryville, I tried my luck at the one in downtown Berkeley, but unfortunately they did not have nearly as much stuff. If I had driven to the store in Emeryville, I probably would have come home with a lot more stuff. I will be keeping my eye out for more of these bowls though.

Later, I decided to make some homemade challah bread. I got the recipe from the kitchn, written by Emma Christensen. Their photos are really helpful in figuring out what everything should look like at every stage. 

Putting the dough hook to use on the kitchen aid! It made kneading so easy. My mom was an expert bread maker, and I have very real memories of her kneading bread in the kitchen, punching it down, etc. This whole process reminded me of her. 

Bread braiding! Pretty good for my first try, if I do say so myself. Again, this was another process that reminded me of my mom. I was always fascinated bread braiding. She would do it so quickly and with such ease. Next up I'll have to try a stuffed bread recipe - she would always make one around Christmas to have on Christmas morning... That's where most of these memories come from. Every year, she and my Aunt would make loaf after loaf to give away to friends.

finished product. A little blobby, but a success nonetheless! 

Happy Sunday!

I had a bit of an odd end to the week, landing me in the emergency room. I fell wrong on my ankle at the gym which led me to think I had broken it (it hurt a lot and there was a weird popping sound when I landed on it). Fortunately, it was only a bad sprain, so I just had to take it easy this weekend. The photo above was taken on a short walk around the neighborhood yesterday!

Peter and I went and saw Trainwreck on Friday in Berkeley. The theater we went to has couches in an upper level (awesome.) The movie was great! I really enjoyed it through some cringing moments :)

I'm headed to San Jose early tomorrow morning for an AP Calculus conference. I'm excited to learn more about the subject I'll be newly teaching next year! As of right now, I have my first unit of Pre-Calculus all planned out but I am feeling behind in Calc so hopefully this will give me a boost to get planning! I'll let you know how it goes!

Art Institute

One of the (very quick) stops we made while in Chicago was a trip to the Art Institute. Peter's mom has a lifelong membership which means that we get in for free which is always nice. Every time I've visited, we've only stopped at the Art Institute for a very short amount of time... I think in my next visit I want to take a little more time.

In the under an hour we were there, I wandered around the modern wing for about half and then went to see the Degas exhibit they had up, along with a few stops along the way. It is such a lovely museum and I love how the architecture of the building changes throughout, fitting with the artwork.

Anyways, here are some snaps I captured of the pieces that made me stop and look along the way.

1. Me posing with George Washington, by Roy Lichtenstein

2. Circus Horse, by Joan Miró

3. The Bedroom, by Vincent VanGogh

4. The Star, by Edgar Degas

5. Water Lily Pond, by Claude Monet

6. A Sunday La Grande Jatte, by Georges Seurat

summer bucket list

As a teacher, I get to enjoy my summers off (well deserved, might I add!!). Last summer I worked for three weeks teaching summer school, but this year I decided to just take it off; no concrete plans, just good old relaxation.

Don't get me wrong - I'm still doing work this summer, I'm teaching Pre-Calculus and AP Calculus next year, my school is moving to block scheduling which means a whole new curriculum revamp, and I've never taught AP Calculus, so some major planning is happening behind the scenes this summer. However, for the most part, I'm enjoying my time off, trying not to work too much.

To give myself a few goals, or at ideas on a boring day, I created a bucket list for this summer (and I'm happy to say I can already cross a few things off!). I've been reading like crazy and keeping up weekend trips to San Francisco so I can say I'm well on my way!

Check it out below:

ps. we just got back from Chicago! Pictures on their way soon!!

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Happy Weekend!

photo credit: lauren conrad

There's something about the Nantucket scenery that makes me swoon. I've never been, but boy do I want to. Maybe next summer I can convince the rest of my family, or Peter and I can just rent an airbnb... mmm dreamin.

I've been loving the idea of a midi skirt (since when did this come back into style - I remember my older sister poo-pooing it around... 10 years ago??)

Currently dreaming over this camera, or this one. Any thoughts as to which is better? I'm waiting for Amazon's Prime Day (July 15th!) to see if either will go on sale...

Fell in love with this house tour - I've got some major decorating to do in our new apartment.

I've totally bought into this tote... I feel like I see it everywhere and it is gorgeous. I love my other Madewell bag but was not really impressed with the quality of the tote when I saw it in store. Pictures are changing my mind though.

Searching for new art. I've been checking out stuff at society six (one, two, three) and at 20x200 (one, two)

Just got this nail polish for my toes! Perfect summer color.

Currently reading The Bone Clocks, it's moving a little slowly right now but I have a feeling it's about to turn a corner!

off to chicago!

Peter and I are off to Chicago for a few days to see his parents! I can't wait for some (hotter) summer days, trips into the city, and a visit to Lake Michigan.

It's been awhile since I've been and I'm excited to explore a little more. So far we've got an architectural tour of the city planned, we're watching the cubs v. white sox game from a roof top, and a bunch of delicious dinners (Peter always finds the best places to eat!)

I'm going to try to up my picture game over this trip so that I'll have a lot to show for once I get back!

From my first trip to Chicago!

trip up to sonoma!

A few weekends ago, my Aunt and Uncle came out to visit Peter and I in the bay. I have few snapshots from the trip:

We decided to do a bike trip around to a couple of different wineries through Sonoma Valley Bike Tours. We decided to take the cheaper route, just renting the bikes instead of doing a planned tour with them and I was really happy to have the experience. 

We went on a really hot day - which was my one regret. I think this would have been perfect in 70, or even 80 degree weather. We were all so beat that by the time we got to the third winery, none of us wanted wine!

The first winery we went to was Sebastiani Vineyards  which had a great tasting room. We split two tastings amongst the four of us. One was their standard wines (which I loved to taste considering all of them are available to Peter and I locally), and their reserve wines (which overall were much better than the standard wines). I appreciated that the tastings were on the cheaper side.

After that we went out to Ravenswood Winery which specializes in Zinfindels. Unfortunately to get there we had to go up our first major incline and the Aunt and Uncle were out for tastings. They enjoyed sitting outside and rehydrating (especially considering it was ~90 - eek!). Peter and I split a tasting of their not Zinfindels since neither of us enjoy Zins. I really liked their rose, but otherwise nothing else stood out to the two of us. However their atmosphere was great! Very laid back and a lot less stuffy than other tasting rooms.

At this point we were about a third of the way through our ride and pretty tired. We biked to our last winery which (to be honest) consisted of one section where the four of us walked our bikes up the hill (again did I mention how hot it was??) We ended up at Gundlach Bundschu (pronounced Gun-Lock-Bun-Shoe) which had a lovely area to catch our breath outside. At this point we were all pretty exhausted and decided to skip the wines. However I think this winery was the prettiest we went through. As we were leaving, I have to admit I was tempted to take a bunch of grapes off a tree, but then realized the grapes would be even more delicious as wine, and decided to move on.

I would recommend doing a bike tour of Sonoma, if drinking the wines is not your priority. The four of us were craving water way more than wine by the end of this trip. However, it was beautiful and definitely an adventure! I think next time I'll take a party bus :)

Welcome...

Welcome to apartment eight!

A blog enthusiast, I decided to start my own - this all feels very cliche...

I am a 24-year-old New Jersey transplant living in California. I moved out here to teach with Teach for America and be with my boyfriend. I slowly grew to enjoy the Bay Area and all it has to offer.

I will be documenting my cooking adventures, travel and exploration, along with the bumps and joy that comes with teaching high schoolers. I am looking forward to this becoming a space I can look back on as I move through my twenties, along with meeting any new bay area friends along the way!