help polyvinyl and help yourself to some of their music...

donate using kickstarter and get wonderful kick backs, such as copious amounts of cds...


or help polyvinyl release one of their classic albums that was never pressed to vinyl:


fun and creative ways to use the internet, WOOOO?

a busy day for budget bears...

in an attempt to tighten our belts just a little bit more, we've declared 2009 the year of the budget bear! we've done the appropriate budgeting, figured out what gets allotted to where, and are having fun doing it!

one of the most helpful money saving-tips i've read has been to comparison shop... for everything, not just major purchases. because so much of my cooking deviates from the typical SAD, i've found shopping at "ethnic" markets to be a major cash saver! asian markets have great prices on quality produce and, of course, tons of interesting ingredients to experiment with. a perk of living in aurora has also been mexican markets where i can find perfectly ripe avocados for much less than the local supermarket.

buying in bulk has also proven a valuable technique... shopping the bulk bins at whole foods for flours, grains, nuts & legumes costs next to nothing. also, forget stale supermarket spices! look for an indian market for lots of spices or check out a retailer like penzeys where you can forgo fancy packaging for high quality, potent herbs and spices!

now... i admit that i probably get much more joy out of grocery shopping than the average person. while i certainly don't think everyone has to turn into a total foodie, i think having fun with food can definitely open up some new doors. i spend my days pouring over recipes, writing my own, & experimenting with different foods... but i also have taken the time to understand what i'm feeding my body & why. this has probably proven the most valuable money-saving lesson of all - taking care of my body and treating it right has kept me away from the doctor, off medications, & feeling great.

after we finished some epic food shopping we grabbed our coupon book and headed over to pita paradise for some delicious mediterranean food!






oh, & one last tip! reusable grocery bags, good for the earth & your wallet... here we are modeling some amazing handmade totes our deadformat buddy mel made us!

2009 the re-cap

So much has happened these last few weeks, we thought it appropriate to begin the year with a re-cap of all things panda-y and holiday-ish. First off jess and I both got new tattoos at our favorite tattoo shop. Jess went to our place to get a tattoo with her father. Jess got a piece of cherry pie(her father’s favorite) with a dad banner. And jess’ dad got a touch up on an old rose tattoo he had, with jess’ name above it. And a week later I got an amazing panda tattoo, below are pics of jess’ and I’s tats:






We were very fortunate to have great holidays this year. We had a good time with jess’ folks while they visited over thanksgiving. And we had a great time running around on xmas day seeing everyone(even if i did have to work part of that day). we had a great new years eve eating thai food with sean and irene. Jess’ and I present exchange couldn’t have been better, with both of us getting fun and surprising presents that we both adored, below is a composite:

ryno got:
dinosaur jr : whatever's cool with me 7"
modest mouse : good news for people who like..
mountain goats : sweden
nirvana : in utero(clear yellow)
sea and cake : oui
smashing pumpkins : machina | the machines of god
sonic youth : goo lp(first pressing)
pedro the lion : whole ep 10"
sonic youth stocking cap!!!!

gesso got:
himalayan sea salt
saves the day - through being cool
braid - rainsnowmatch 7" original pressing
kung-fu panda dvd
beetlejuice dvd
and lots of cute oven mitts... and a cupcake apron!!!!
money with which she bought an ipod touch which she is adoring so much right now

here's some pictures of us crazy cats:


not to mention dad/bonnie/santa got us tons of fun things from ten thousand villages, and other thoughtful fun things. And jess’ parents got us pjs. And of course our families/santa gave us money for records and or culinary fun things.

Another amazing recent development that I mentioned in my last blog, was that we got our new coffee table. I urge anyone to take the time when they visit us to check out this lovely piece of artisanal carpentry mastery. Here are some pictures, but no justice will be served unless you see this in person:





yesterday we went to Chicago. We met up with ben and his lady friend jenny and had a wonderful time. we met up with them at the chicago diner, and enjoyed brunch. we then went to reckless records (of course), rag stock, urban outfitters, and a few other stores. we finished the night at mac's, where all four of us enjoyed their fish and chips. and we all loved it! next time though, we are going to smoke daddy! we had a great time with ben and jenny, it was a shame the night ended so soon, but we look forward to seeing them this summer, and whenever they visit these parts!

so after all of that bloggery, we are so thankful we have each other and family and friends to share our lives with. we are so thankful and happy that 2009 is starting off so well. this year for us, will bring tight budgets, a fun summer train ride to california, a possible 2010 wedding date, and our kitties will be turning two!

happy birthday to... me!

aw, today was the best birthday ever! last night ryan & i stayed up late and i got to open my gifts at midnight!

i opened up some early gifts beforehand, but all together i gotttttt:

lifetime - jersey's best dancers lp
bikini kill - cassette version of the first two records
bikini kill - self titled lp
haveans to betsy - these monsters are real 7"
heavens to betsy - calculated lp
saves the day - through being cool lp
frumpies - frumpies forever 7"
frumpies - babies and bunnies test press!
kung-fu panda & beetlejuice on dvd.
annnnnnnd set of three new dots pyrex mixing bowls, the pièce de résistance of my pyrex collection so to speak!



we had birthday pie at baker's square... and for dinner we had tonsandtonsandtons of sushi!




i had such a wonderful birthday... i'm such a lucky lady, & ryan went above and beyond (per usual!) thanks everyone for the phone calls & birthday wishes!

cap'n jazzzzzz

long overdue ramblings...

so i finally got my lap-top back last week, and i have been gleefully updating and frustrating over my computer. i basically had to start from nothing. but was fortunate enough to have nearly everything backed up. and when i say everything, i mean tons of music(70+ gigs worth) all my pics and scans[except my most recent ones, so i need to re-scan some polaroids:(], all my word docs and even microsoft word. i also had to download my driver for my printer, and update all this junk. basically my computer is now fully functional and works better than it ever has.

so what has been going on you ask? mostly i have been adjusting to a new job. which means a new schedule. which means new people. which means a hell of a lot. as far as work goes, it is a matter of feeling comfortable, getting your own pace, and learning new processes. those are the typical stresses i have been going through. so although annoying and a bit stressful, also normal. my bike ride has obviously been shorter, which means my commute overall is great. i feel as if i work as much at my last job(time wise) becuz i spend far less time en route(even though my new daily shifts are 10 hrs not 8hrs), so in the end i spend about the same amount of time at work than my last job, just one less day. all in all i would say i have traded up, especially when you consider how much gas i am saving.

jess has been doing superb on watch watchers, and i am so proud of her. she really helps me, because i am doubly conscious of what i am putting in my body and doing with my body. so i have been working on being more consistent with running, even more now that i don't get tons of biking in. and as soon as my work routine sets in(i have trainings off and on throughout the month), i think it will be easier for me to take care of me.

as jess mentioned below, i was able to stop at reckless records a few days ago. it was nice, to shop and buy some records that i have been looking forward to. i won't list them all, because i would get carpel tunnel, but here are some stand outs.

deerhoof : offend maggie[oh my goodness! beautiful pop, great drumming, pretty silly vocals] this is my introduction to this band, and they have been around for years, so i have been sleeping on this one, and need to play catch up, BIG TIME] highly-bear-recommended!

jandek : ready for the house[beautiful folk, dark haunting vocals, sparse arrangements, jandek has released over 50 albums in his 30 year recording career. this is a repressing of his first album. so great. not many of his albums available on vinyl, but this is wonderful. this is great for anyone that enjoys nick drake, jurado, and anyone who appreciate rock/folk music history. and most of all anyone who enjoys timeless music/art. not to mention jandek himself, is a bit of an enigma, being mostly a recluse and not touring much in his prolific 30 year career, and self releasing all his albums. an amazing artist] bear-recommended!

son, ambulance : euphmystic[son, ambulance released this album in 2001, at the height of saddle creek's success and when every teenager wanted to boo hoo to bright eyes. this album may be one of saddle creek's most overlooked albums, if not bands. the mainstay of son, ambulance is joe knapp, who has played drums for bright eyes, and is a brilliant pianist/song writer. each song has pop and rock sensibilities in the likeness of the beach boys, but with a wispy darkness. every song feels familiar, even if it is your first time hearing it. the stories he sings, and the diverse vocal harmonies are pretty and intriguing. just plain beautiful. and for those who are interested, connor oberst has a nice vocal cameo in the last track of the album, which is done very well. so to those who like great piano-layered-folk/pop-rock, check this out.] highly-bear-recommended!

this weekend i have off from work, so that will be lovely. jess and i will probably do lots of bike/running, and relax. we need it, and we freakin' deserve it!

oh, one more bit of great news. amie(my sister-in-law) is going to be having another boy(a brother for brayden), so we are very happy for her. and look forward to being wonderful uncle-rynos and aunt-gessos to him!

medium

i have an obvious fascination with my preferred audio medium. and a couple of months ago i was able to purchase a couple white whales:
[starflyer 59's s/t gold lp and mxpx's teenage politics lp.]
while the phrase "white whale" is used lightly(i mean it isn't as if i had to kill anything or track down these things with a harpoon), i have wanted these albums for quite a while, and was shocked when i was able to get them. great art, and a beautiful medium.

i also was able to complete my damien jurado vinyl collection:

damien jurado
[left to right/top to bottom]

lps:
waters ave s.
where shall you take me?
and now that i'm in your shadow
i break chairs
on my way to absence
four songs[one sided lp w/ b side etching]
the fabulous century

7's:
halo friendly
motorbike
trampoline
vary[clear blue]
big let down
devil in the woods #52 v/a hand #'d 652/666
damien jurado/dolorean split


next week 'caught in the trees' comes out...so i will need to get that, but for now it is complete.

and finally buki is using her scratching post:

you sleep, i'll breathe

tonight was a great night. the day started terrible, so to be able to say that. to be able to read that. goodness. sometimes days can't get back on track, after you wake up to an overdrawn account, a job that can make you go batty, or a day that just seems like everything is not going your way. but sometimes things go your way, despite self-fulfilling prophecy or bad vibes. sometimes parents can still lift you up, even when you feel like you have out-grown their help. sometimes something so beautiful as caring for the one you love, just takes all the sting out of a day that felt like it would have been better spent in bed all day.

tonight was like the ultimate high for jess and i. she got her vegan food, and i got to go record shopping. the wonderful part about both of these things, is that we both enjoy these things. so jess wanting to go out for vegan isn't exactly like pulling teeth out of my mouth. likewise jess loves records almost as much as i do, so when i lust for vinyl, she tends to go along, because she loves me, and of course she loves records TOO!

tonight was more than great food and awesome record buys. tonight we saw love of everything. goodness i think this may have been the most fun, most smiling, shouting, and girlish laughter i have been guilty of in one half hour of my life. it was so fun, to see bobby put together a song, it really was like being in a studio, or seeing someone create something from the bones. it was beautiful. and jess and i had so much fun yelling along to the songs. so much fun. and if that wasn't enough, i got to talk with bobby afterwards. thanking him profusely, and enjoying some idle chatter, being a total geek, but i guess this is how people would act if they met a famous movie star they liked, or something like that. he even sold us a shirt at a discount, and gave us an out of print 7" he was humble and just cool. if you are up for seeing a great show, go do yourself a favor and see love of everything.

btw, here is a pic of jess and i with bobby last year after the make believe show:

so the night has winded down, jess is sleeping and we are listening to the mountain goats'"heretic pride" a very beautiful album, that i really don't have the time to go into. but a definite top ten of '08 already. a great night, i am nearly passing out, running on pure adrenaline from such a great time tonight. i leave with you a picture of my wonderful bevy of records from reckless records:

more pictures of us eating food?

tonight we went downtown to see love of everything, eat yummy vegan food at the chicago diner, & we even were able to do some much needed record shopping...

i'm sure ryno will cover the show & talk up our new buys... but for now, the photos!


i had the seitan reuben (SO GOOD) with mac & "cheez"... we also started with the bbq seitan appetizer which was surprisingly good, considering i'm not the biggest seitan fan...


ryno had the gyro sandwich with sweet potato fries. judging by the (complete lack of) leftovers on his plate when we were done, it wouldn't be terribly far-fetched to say it was good. oh by the way, did i mention the vegan milkshake?! mmmm...

we just split our huge cookie from the diner, which was just as yummy as expected. we'll definitely be back!

sunday spring cleaning....

it’s way too early in the morning, and i of course am awake. i try to let jess get her sleep on the weekend, but often times she is awoken by me doing something. usually playing scrabbleblast.

last night we had an enjoyable night, giving each other the freedom to spend some money we decided we could afford to spend. jess got an amazing amount of items for 50$, making her cash stretch at Marshals and Bed Bath & Beyond. i got four new records, jose gonzalez’s ‘in our nature’, vampire weekend’s self titled album, cancer conspiracy’s ‘omega’ and the shins’ ‘chutes too narrow’

as you can see buki is a big fan of cancer conspiracy…


i would have to say that ‘in our nature’ is most definitely the stand out album of my purchases. making me wish i had his debut album ’veneer’ on vinyl as well. ’in our nature’ really is a natural follow up to gonzalez’s first release, with his vocals a bit more prominent, his music more vibrant, making all the reviewers use a different word other than “hushed” when describing this album. the art work is amazing, very simple, and subtle. Nathan Abels, my friend and artist, wrote a while back about gonzalez’s album art. either way, if you are thinking about grabbing an album that is sweet and rich, and composed well with simple arrangements, buy ‘in our nature’.

today is going to be a day of spring cleaning. jess is going to dust and arrange our drawers a bit more. i will be vacuuming, and changing a light bulb. we will both probably contribute to cleaning the bathroom, since we both seem to dread that the most. i think for breakfast we will most likely have biscuits and “crazy", which is jess’s version of biscuits and gravy. we may try to even exercise. depending on the weather, will determine how. i hope to run, no matter how cold.

jess and i are hoping the spring weather we had a few days ago, will return soon!

our weekend..

as ryno blogged, we had a very nice, semi-productive weekend... we were able to spend a total of $15 (with tip!) on lunch and dinner out! its nice to be thrifty bears while still enjoying ourselves and having yummy meals. we also did a bit of shopping and treated ourselves... NO we did not actually take pictures with the easter bunny, but we did take this candid photo of him! i bought a nice, new big frying pan and ryno treated himself to some new records. now.. lets just make the in-car record player!

now.. let me tell you, sometimes the world is a dangerous place... especially for bears, i mean really.. you just have to watch out sometimes!



for dinner we had some quick indian food because i was craving it like crazy... i modified my go-to "saag tofu" recipe a bit, reducing the oil a lot and upping the spices. i'm completely happy with it at this point, and it definitely satisfies any craving for the "real thing." i was also craving something sweet, but didn't want anything too scandalous, so i tried to healthify an already pretty healthy chocolate chip cookie recipe. the original recipe is all over the place online, but here it is with my modifications.

vegan chocolate chip cookies
(makes a dozen average sized cookies)

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (next time i'm going to try subbing whole wheat pastry)
1 t baking powder
1⁄2 t baking soda
1⁄4 cup unrefined sugar
1⁄4 t salt
1⁄3 cup pure maple syrup
1⁄2 t blackstrap molasses
1 – 1 1⁄2 t pure vanilla extract
1⁄4 cup applesauce
1⁄3 cup non-dairy chocolate chips

preheat oven to 350°.

1. in a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt.
2. in a seperate bowl, combine the maple syrup with molasses and vanilla extras and stir in the applesauce until well combined.
3. add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir to combine. fold in the chocolate chips, incorporating the wet with the dry, being careful not to overmix.
4. drop spoonfuls of dough on to a cookie sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes. (i had to keep them in for 15 for them to get golden and cooked through. i checked them at 11 as recommended for the original version, and they were not cooked through)
5. let sit until they set up (no more than five minutes) and transfer to cooling rack. enjoy!

when you feel like you're alone...

obsessions are fun. especially when you are not the only one
i recently joined deadformat, and it is so fun and torturous to look and see what albums are coming out, and what others have that i don't. although there is plenty that i have, that others want, HA!
this is my account.
and here's what they look like in the flesh:







oh goodness records.