use real butter

Recipe: chocolate chip peanut butter cookies

Last week on my way to the airport, I read that Breckenridge had received 16 inches of snow the night before. I felt a pang in my heart as we flew over the snowy Rocky Mountains. But you know what? All of that melted away when I arrived in Seattle. I spent two days visiting with beloved friends, dining at great restaurants, seeing the city and its surrounds. Seattle is one of those places I could spend a lifetime and never get enough of it. But wait! There was more… The whole reason for my trip was a gathering of all the Nintendo Ambassadors to celebrate the launch of the Nintendo 3DS. My reaction and the reaction of all the other ambassadors was simply, “WOW!”

rebekah and erini check out the nintendo 3ds for the first time

at nintendo headquarters

lots of game play, lots of photos taken

in 2d mode

We spent the bulk of Friday learning about and experiencing different capabilities of the new Nintendo 3DS at Nintendo headquarters in Redmond, Washington. Nintendo were gracious hosts giving us a tour of their gorgeous building (sorry, no pics allowed) and access to their employees’ store.

rebekah really getting into it!

jean kicks some virtual butt playing streetfighter 2

president and coo of nintendo of america welcomes the group

discussing research on 3d viewing

After a full day at Nintendo headquarters, we spent the evening in downtown Seattle at various restaurants. I happened to wind up at Black Bottle in the private room with my fellow food blog pal Marisa and my local blog chica Aimee and new friend, Jean. A parade of small plates marched onto our tables, one after another. Broccoli fries (a favorite), hanger steak, ceviche, fried olives (another favorite), sausage pizza… It was dark. Really dark. But look at what I managed to capture for you!

caprese salad on a stick

bean and mushroom salad (winner!)

roe vs. egg

I met a lot of wonderful new people on this trip. Sometimes I think my life is pretty full and I couldn’t possibly cram another friend in… but then there are folks like Michelle, Ilina, Doniree, Victoria, M, and others who make you wonder how it is you could go on in life WITHOUT their smiling faces, witty conversation, and sweet hugs. This Nintendo trip was bursting at the seams with all manner of goodness.

the finest company (left to right): ilina, maggie, jean, marisa

chocolate cake with gelato inside

lemon cheesecake with lavender

co-owner paul chats with us about our visit to seattle

And at the end of the day, I had my own little Nintendo 3DS to take home and share with Jeremy. Thanks for an incredible experience, Nintendo. Also a huge thanks to Justine and team for their flawless execution of the entire event! [Full Disclosure: All travel, lodging, meals, and the Nintendo 3DS were provided courtesy of Nintendo.]

So now you know where I was last week and why! I’m leaving again in less than 12 hours and my shooting partner suggested I could bring that little Nintendo 3DS for him to *ahem* check out for safety and such… Right. Since I barely have time to unpack and repack my bags, there isn’t a lot of cooking or baking going on in the House of Butter. Luckily for Present Me, Past Me anticipated this stretch of kitchen inactivity and so we have some cookies today. Grab a glass of milk… It’s okay – I’ll wait here for you.

start with butter and sugars

plop goes the egg

**Jump for more butter**

meeting in west lake

dinner at my friends’ house (with tea)

cherry blossoms blooming in queen anne

grilled lamb sandwich at salumi’s

rainy day

muddy, rainy day in skagit valley

but lots of daffodils!

friend’s cute dog (when he wasn’t trying to rip me to pieces)

awesome falafel at the golden beetle

for jeremy

my friend, lu

shauna and danny at the coffeehouse

sitka and spruce

lovely dana

anchovies

lara enjoying a great lunch

grilled artichoke salad with poached egg

visiting with (and meeting!) jessie (cakespy)

in lara’s new studio

fantastic light

cabbage and pork belly salad at delancey

someone is excited for pizza

at the hotel for the next part of the adventure

My favorite thing to say or play when I was a wee tot was “let’s pretend!” Even my Po Po (Chinese maternal grandma) who spoke little English, knew what that meant. After I got home from pre-school, I would insist on eating my lunch under the table pretending to be the neighbor’s dog and Po Po obliged me. These days I don’t pretend anymore unless I’m playing with kids and I let their imaginations weave the adventure. I’m not sure when I stopped pretending some time in my youth, but I find I don’t need to pretend anymore. Life is pretty exciting as it is – more compelling than a make-believe world. Life is also far more challenging in the real world.

this beautiful planet

Last week I sat in the dark on my laptop watching updates suddenly come streaming in on Facebook. There is always some chatter after midnight, but not like this. Thrust mechanism, subduction zone. Mw=8.9. Japan. And then the ocean raced in.

Heartsick.

In my past life, I studied the Earth. Whenever there was a sizable earthquake, grad students and faculty alike would go down to the seismograph on the first floor for a gander at the wave forms coming in on the N-S, E-W, and U-D drums. I thought about seismic events in terms of stress and strain, co-seismic and post-seismic signals, convergence rates, recurrence intervals, seismic gaps. You become keenly aware of how much the Earth is a mover and shaker, how she never sleeps. After graduate school, my office was across the hall from the LA Times newsroom in the Seismology Lab at Caltech. If for some crazy reason you missed an earthquake, you’d know soon enough from the throngs of reporters and camera crews crowding into the room asking the question you can always count on hearing, “When is the BIG ONE coming?”

Some of my friends are busiest just after a major seismic event. They scramble to gather satellite data, retrieve GPS measurements, take field measurements – to better understand the earthquake cycle… to ultimately save lives.

I have seen a lot of people curse and hate earthquakes and tsunamis on Twitter and Facebook of late. Yes, I completely understand where those emotions come from and I too want very much to keep people safe from these violent and incredible phenomena. But I think it’s important to remember (and I believe the Japanese appreciate this better than most) that the Earth is dynamic: these very processes that can take lives with such indifference are also part of what makes life on this planet possible. Ours is a special planet. Understanding our complex home is essential to mitigating the loss. To think otherwise is just pretending. In the meantime, we are in this together.

fiery sunset

Last week went to the birds, literally. The Sandhill Cranes have begun their northward migration from the Bosque del Apache in New Mexico passing through Colorado. I took it upon myself to pay them a visit in southern Colorado. Sandhill Cranes are jittery creatures. You can only get but so close before they launch into the air and far away from you. The same goes for large birds of prey and pronghorn antelope. That’s why a long lens comes in handy. Really handy.

jeremy for scale

I wouldn’t have bothered shooting the trip at all without this 200-400mm f4 Nikkor lens courtesy of Pro Photo Rental in my arsenal (if you want to rent pro equipment, these are the guys to call). I don’t photograph wildlife in general unless they happen to traipse through my viewfinder on their own accord. That requires patience and skill and talent that I can’t seem to muster. But it’s fun to play at wildlife photographer once a year. And sometimes I get lucky.

in the great san luis valley

morning call

There are parallels between hunting and wildlife photography. We stalk the animals. We anticipate their behaviors and actions. We sit around waiting – a lot. When Jeremy told his colleagues at the conference that I had left to go shoot the Sandhill Cranes in Colorado, they thought I had gone to SHOOT me some birds! I don’t even know if the cranes would taste good, but there were some cute ducks that flew past which did trigger thoughts of Peking duck with hoisin and green onions as my stomach growled on empty. But if I miss my target, I get several more chances. Of course, hunters aren’t concerned with focus, exposure, shutter speed, or composition. They have plenty of other things to worry about (ask my friend Tamar).

take off

a pair in flight

You can see other photos from the shoot on my photo blog.

**Jump for more butter**