3191 Quarterly, Issue No. 8 is our final issue in the 2011/2012 season/subscription. When I look at its pages I can really see where we’ve been and where we’re going. I hope you can see it too! We are excited for our next year of issues (limited subscriptions open on October 5, 2023) but I am enjoying sitting with Q8 for these coming weeks. You already know how I feel about Steph’s Branch Weaving project so today I wanted to show you a few outtakes from some of my Q8 pieces.

Up top: Film photograph outtake from Deep Spring. There is SCB, my oldest nephew, Miles, and myself sitting outside on a chilly May evening. It seems like ages since you were here, SCB. When will you come again?

Two up top: Film photographs from my piece about traveling to Colorado. The Clyfford Still Museum in Denver. Oh my gosh, I am still thinking about this museum. It’s incredible. I would go back in a heartbeat. I’m trying to figure out a way I can get back to Colorado asap!

Two up top: Film photographs from At Home. Miles in the morning after a sleepover (with his favorite cat: Scotch) and me holding the bottom of a lettuce. It was so pretty that I couldn’t get over it. Look at that pale pink!

Two up top: Photographs from a piece I did on our Leaf Collection. Miles and I had such a great time leaf collecting. We are going to have to do another collection this autumn. I’ll keep you posted.

: : :

3191 Quarterly, Issue No. 8 will be on sale for a few months or until the issues sell out. A special thank you to those who subscribed to this past year of issues. YOU make our beloved Quarterly possible and we are very grateful. If you want to tell us what you thought of your subscription to Q5–Q8 please do email us at hello(at)3191milesapart.com. Look for new limited subscriptions to open on October 5, 2023 with lots of new surprises added into the fun!

I can’t quite believe that we have reached the end of August. Summer is not over, but, in our household, the ease and liberty of summer ends this week as we get back to school and work schedules.

September is not such a bad place to be—caught somewhere between nostalgia for summer and longing for autumn. It has been a great summer, not without its challenges and hardships, but exciting and beautiful and memorable, nonetheless.

We have fit in most of our favorite things. We have picked pretty much every type of berry. We have camped and hiked and swam in rivers and rocked in our hammocks. We spent hours on the road listening to Radiolab. We saw extended family and made babies giggle. We walked and biked our neighborhood. We slept in. We put fresh herbs in everything. We visited museums and saw amazing sights. We went to a movie in the park. We made smoothies and popsicles and called them a meal. We grilled dinner enough that we depleted our propane tank. Some of us grew a few inches. I shot rolls and rolls of film (a few shots of which I am sharing today).

While I am not ready for summer to end, I am ready for what is next. MAV and I have so much more to share with you. You may have noticed that A Year of Sundays came quietly to an end earlier this month. We have a new project up our sleeves which we will be starting soon. It is called A Year of Moments and will feel, I think, both startling new and totally familiar to those of you that have been following our projects all these years, stay tuned.

This is my Beauty & Use Collection II.

I’m sort of speechless after the last few months of preparation for this second Collection. I am enjoying this project beyond words. These tops are all dream tops to me … cozy yet sexy, roomy yet refined, simple yet not boring (at least I hope they are not boring!). I guess I just really love these tops and I hope you do too.

Beyond that our shop is stocked with a new issue of Quarterly, new prints (Mornings, Evenings and Sundays) and a whole new Found Collection. Thank you for supporting 3191 Miles Apart. We do indeed love what we do and we hope it shows.

p.s. See some film photographs of my new collection here and here on the More & Co. blog. Special thanks to RTS for those!! I love them so much and there are more to come. Keep your eye on More & Co. Notes.

It’s here! 3191 Quarterly Issue No. 8 is in the shop now!

I am going to let you in on a little behind-the-scenes secret. MAV and I really debated about the Issue No. 8 cover. Sometimes, an image speaks to us immediately, sometimes we have to do a little searching. You may have noticed that all our covers include a human element. I hope this reflects that this is not a publication solely about food or interiors or travel or crafts or pretty things, but instead a publication about personal stories and experiences—our own personal stories and experiences. I hope this sets us apart, and I hope it is meaningful to those of you who buy 3191Q.

I feel that the cover photo we chose is absolutely perfect (it is one of MAV’s) as we ready ourselves to take the step from summer to autumn and into our next year of 3191 Quarterly (subscriptions for the new year will be made available in the coming months, sign up on our mailing list to be the first to know).

Issue No. 8 continues with our At Home series—a peek into our surrounding along with thoughts on our lives at home.

Another recurring feature is our seasonal gallery. This time, Deep Spring. (That’s a photo of my treasured Beauty & Use smock. MAV has new smocks in the shop today!)

I love the effortless and simple way that MAV approaches entertaining (it is such a pleasure to sit at her table), and her story on a simple and fresh dinner party is inspiring.

I offer a trio of recipes using seeds—tasty nutritional powerhouses.

Perhaps my favorite story I worked on for Issue No. 8 is the branch weaving piece (MAV shared about it last week). You can get a peek on the back cover, but there’s full instructions inside. I hope folks have fun making these!

::

Summer is a really intensive family time for me, so I was not able to offer a handmade collection this time (I will be back with a new collection in the fall), but I am so excited about the Found Collection II. MAV and I have been looking and high and low, and we have even more amazing finds this time around. Many of them were hard for us to part with—better grab them quick before we change our minds!

Thank you so much for all your tremendous support and interest!

ps: Thank you to MAV for the photos of Issue No. 8 on my favorite blue table as I was having technical difficulties!

I have been so excited to try the Stephanie’s Branch Weaving project from the new issue of 3191 Quarterly (note: 3191 Quarterly, Issue No. 8 releases in our shop in one week; subscribers should have theirs already or in the coming week or so) and finally got the chance this week. It was so fun and I love the results! Above you can see the very first one I made. I’m going to make a new one this weekend and will show you that soon.

I love working on things like this in a group. So Evan, our beloved creative assistant here at 3191, and Chloe, our beloved creative assistant at More & Co., and I sat down with our branches (from the beach) and some yarn and got to work!

Evan’s is still “in work” as she had to dash. I can’t wait to see what she’ll add in next and I love this rounded branch style.

I decided to keep mine lose with an organic look/feel. It was my first one so there were some little inconsistencies (as always when you’re learning) so the lose nature helps to hide those as well. I think this one will be going to my oldest nephew, Miles, for his 4th birthday which is coming up very soon. He can use it as a “flag” or as a “wand” … I can just see him marching around with it as the band leader!

And Chloe wove hers tight with a beautiful pattern. It’s so special!

I don’t think I say it here enough but I wanted to take a moment to thank Stephanie for her hard work, creativity and her inspiration. She gives us all so much! I can’t wait for you to get your hands on your issues of Q8 so you too can play with her Branch Weaving project. As ever we’d love to see what you make. Email us your creations at hello(at)3191milesapart(dot)com.

We spent all of last week away from home. First, a road trip to pick up my daughter who has been staying with her aunts in San Francisco, then five days of camping in Northern California and Central Oregon. It was fantastic. We came home happy and relaxed (if a bit dirty and sunburnt).

Tired of camping food, (I am a lazy and unimaginative camp cook), I was excited to get back in the kitchen, but we are having a rare heat wave here. It’s HOT in a way our Northwest home and kitchen is not set up to handle. I didn’t even want to stand over the grill in the yard.

Salad rolls were the answer. We made them in the morning, so that in the end of the day heat, all we had to do was pull them out of the fridge and mix a cocktail. If you have not worked with the paper-thin rice wrappers before, they can be a little frustrating. Take your time and you will get the hang of it.

Our Salad Rolls

Rice spring roll wrappers

Rice vermicelli noodles, soaked in boiling water until soft (3-5 minutes), then drained and rinsed with cool water

Filling options (pick and choose to suit your own tastes):

Baked tofu, cut in strips

Prawns, halved

Shredded lettuce or cabbage

Carrot (in strips or grated)

Cucumber strips

Green onion, sliced lengthwise

Steamed and cooled asparagus

Bean sprouts

Micro-greens or pea shoots

Ground peanuts

Fresh herbs (mint, basil, cilantro)

Instructions:

Prep and gather all your ingredients. Wet a clean dish towel and lay it out on your work surface. Fill a shallow container that is large enough to fit a sheet of the rice wrapper with hot water (a cake pan works great).

Dip the rice wrapper in the water and swirl just to soften a bit. Gently lay it flat on the wet towel. Place a few tablespoons of the noodles on the bottom third of the wrapper then add the rest of your fillings. As you are learning to work with the rice wrapper, less filling is easier to work with than an overfilled roll. Fold in the bottom portion of the wrapper around the filling followed by the sides, as you would a burrito. Gently roll up, tucking the fillings inside as you go. This may take some practice. The rice wrapper may tear—take a deep breath and start again. We like to tuck a basil or mint leaf in the last portion of the wrapper before we roll it up.. Eat immediately or chill in the fridge covered with a damp towel. Serve with peanut sauce or hoisin sauce thinned with a bit of water.

 

Above: Charlie this morning

By now you all know Charlie, right? Well, somewhere in these weeks of late August/early September he is turning 10 years old. Charlie and I have lived together since he was just about 10 weeks old. I thought I would take a minute to dedicate a dispatch to this cat and all that he means to our friends and family.

Charlie was born on the streets of Chicago. Ever since the first day I met him, he has been an anxious cat. He is never quite comfortable or settled, always rigid in his body and very tense. He does not relax. Someone said it best to me when they said, “Charlie’s dream life is a completely quiet house, with no one coming or going ever, and just the two of you living together in peace.” And it’s true. Charlie wouldn’t know what to do without me.

His schedule is fixed. Up at 6 a.m. Eat. Clean. Sleep. Up at Noon to look around for me. Find me. Annoy me for 30 minutes. Then back to sleep until 4 p.m. when he starts looking for dinner. Annoy us. (His meow is unmatched. So loud. Like a baby’s cry, really.) Eat dinner. Clean. Sleep. Up at 8 p.m. looking for his nightly treat. Treat. Clean. Bed. He rotates where he sleeps between either our bed or off somewhere by himself. Wherever it is he’s wrapped up in a tight ball. Charlie never lounges or sleeps in a laid back fashion. He would never be caught in a haphazard stance whether sitting, laying down or walking. He’s precise.

Charlie is the cleanest cat we have ever known. Never a hair out of place! He gives himself several baths each day and after being picked up, even cleans the spot where you might have touched him. He’s very fit and does just enough daily exercise to keep it that way. He’s very strong. Most people can’t believe he is 10 years old. Sometimes I can’t either … except I have started to see him slow down just a bit this year. Our Charlie is getting older.

Charlie can be downright nasty. He’s a punk. He goes out of his way to swipe his paw at the kids when they come over to play (they, on the whole, don’t like Charlie at all) and he jumps on us rudely while we are trying to sleep. He punches people in the face if they pick him up and he’s not feeling it. I always say that he understands English. He knows when we are going to leave town, he knows when we are going to leave the house, he understands everything. I’ve had many a time where I might be crying and he’ll come to me to check on me. He will not cuddle (he rarely does) but will sit just near me letting me know he’s there by crying out loud too. He’s a very sensitive cat.

Charlie and Scotch have a true brotherly relationship, laying together one minute and fighting the next. They clean each other, well really it’s Charlie allowing Scotch to clean him, and run the length of the house together like wild cats. I can’t even let my mind wander to the idea that I might outlive Charlie. I love him so, so much. I always say, “he’ll live forever and drive us crazy every day.” Gosh I hope that’s true. Happy Birthday, Charlie!

: : :

Don’t miss the last week to get a few items in our shop. My last two tops, our prints (new ones go up August 24, 2023) and we even found a few issues of Q6 on the shelves. Next Friday we’re clearing the shop of these items … need to make room for new stuff! The new issues of Quarterly go out to subscribers on Monday/Tuesday!

It’s hard to believe it’s August, and it’s hard to believe it is nearly time to share 3191 Quarterly, Issue No. 8 with you! It has been an amazing year of growth and change for MAV and me, and we are proud to be finishing out our subscription cycle. Subscribers will start to receive Issue No. 8 next week, and the official release in our shop will be on August 24th (along with new MAV and Found Collections. I will be back with a new personal collection in the fall.)

This week I am sharing some outtakes from just a few of the stories to which I contributed in Issue No 8. I feel as though this issue is full of life and adventure. I had a great time working on it.

I learned to weave on forked tree branches as a child and have been wanting to share this project with you for some time. A willing tree and some yarn are all you really need to make your own.

Seeds—not just for the birds! I share a few of my favorite recipes using seeds including the Chili Lime Pepitas seen above.

Join me on a day trip out east where the landscape changes dramatically, and you can visit Stonehenge!

Our recurring feature, At Home, shares quiet moments and thoughts from around our houses.

We started the year with Deep Summer and now we have made our way to Deep Spring—our glossy gallery insert reflecting on the past season in film, always a favorite part of 3191Q for me.

::

As we get ready to launch the new collections, this week (August 10-17) will be your last chance to grab the few items left from our first collections—this includes the prints and the few tops MAV has left. My daughter already has Crop No. 2. or I’d be getting it for myself to wear layered over a long tee in the fall. So excited to share new things with you in a few weeks!

Make this bread now.

You will LOVE it.

That’s all I am going to say.

Except this: let me know what you think — mav(at)3191milesapart.com.

Carrot & Zucchini Bread
makes one loaf (and is easily doubled)

1 C spelt flour
1 C all purpose flour
2 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1 t salt
1-1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 C natural sugar
3/4 C canola oil
1/2 C pure maple syrup
1/2 C unsweetened applesauce
2 large eggs
3 C grated carrots & zucchini

Preheat to 325°F/170°C. Butter a loaf pan or square cake pan and set it aside. Prepare zucchini by grating it (in your food processor if you have one) and piling it all onto a towel to roll and wring out some of the excess water. Once the zucchini is dryer (might need two good wrings) put it into a bowl with your grated carrots. Set that aside. Combine well all dry ingredients (flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg) in a bowl and set aside. In a standing mixer with a paddle attachment beat sugar, oil and maple syrup until well combined (about 2 minutes). Add applesauce and beat for another minute. Add eggs and beat until well combined (about 2 minutes). Add dry ingredients into wet and mix very slowly until just combined. Fold in the carrots and zucchini gently. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 50–60 minutes or until the sides of the bread have completely pulled away from the pan. Note - Be mindful with your baking time. This is a very moist cake and you don’t want to under-bake it accidentally. A knife should come out clean of crumbs and the sides of the cake should be pulling away all the way around the pan. Let your bread cool for at least a half-hour before slicing. Try not to eat the whole loaf in one sitting!

Recently, someone brought up the list of after school snacks in 3191Q Issue No. 7 and asked about the homemade tortilla chips I mentioned, so I thought I’d share how we make them here. They are really quite simple to make and both much healthier and more economical than the deep-fried varieties. Plus, with tomatoes and peppers ripening, it’s salsa time!

You can make just a few chips or enough for a fiesta. Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. Gather as many corn tortillas as you’d like. Brush each tortilla with oil (I use olive oil) on both sides to cover then stack and cut them in wedges as you would a pie.

Spread the wedges out on a parchment-lined baking sheet. It is important that they are not crowded or overlapping. Squeeze a generous amount of lime over the top and sprinkle with Kosher salt.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until browned and crisp. I find these chips don’t store particularly well, so we make them in small batches.

On a hot summer night, chips and salsa counts as dinner, right?