Art Bake Love

Goodbyes and Hellos

2012-01-06T17:26:00.000-08:00

As much as I love this dear blog, I feel like it's time a fresh start. I started writing here in November 2009, and was attempting to make this a semi-fashion/lifestyle/DIY/art blog. I was also using it for my (former) etsy shop as a means of promotion. Times have changed, and I'd really like to get a clean slate. So, I would love if you would follow me in the journey over to my new blog: here

christmas!

2011-12-27T17:59:00.000-08:00

Well, Christmas is over. I am one of those people that is itching to put away stuff on the afternoon of the 25th. Yep, my husband laughs at me because I am so giddy at putting decorations up (My rule is I must at least wait till the day after Thanksgiving) but I get even more antsy to take them down. I guess I am a perpetual decorator, I look forward to new projects.

Here's a peek at our Christmas:

- Colin found a Sponge Bob Christmas shirt (in the boy's section of Old Navy hah!) it was so amazing, he wore it to work.
- My mom got me a cute owl message board
- Our Christmas scrabble game (Where I made a 116 point word!)
- Rainbow Christmas donuts from Kaylah's Recipe
- And of course, a silly Christmas photo

This year was a little rough on me since I was away from the rest of my family in California. But Colin did an awesome job of cheering me up and having fun with me. I tried starting some new traditions (Scrabble Christmas game, Rainbow donuts, etc.) What sort of traditions do you guys have for Christmas?

Hope y'all had a good holiday season!

Christmas!

2011-12-25T19:08:00.001-08:00

& Happy Holidays in general blogworld!

Finally here!

2011-12-20T14:34:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to finally post these! I tried to not totally flood you with wedding photos, but just an overview of the ceremony with some of my favorites. I plan on writing another post about decorating for the wedding, and that will include some of the more detailed shots of the decor. But for now, here's a glance at our wedding:

Pre-wedding.

"Meeting Before The Wedding"

Bride and Groom Party Shots.

Ceremony.

Newlyweds.

Reception.

Cupcakes from Sweet Pea Bakery

Donuts from Voodoo Doughnuts

Velvet Couch Photobooth.

Interested in seeing more? See our Flickr Wedding Set.

(All photographs taken by Ben Tapper)

Snacks

2011-12-17T10:32:00.000-08:00

These two things together have become one of my favorite breakfasts:

For the non-portlanders who read my blog, Dave's Killer Bread is a big deal, you can hear his story below:

And if it's not carried near you, you can apparently order online as well.

Wedding Photos (almost!)

2011-12-13T14:38:00.000-08:00

The time has come! I finally have my wedding photos. I promised that people in my family would be the first to see them, so the internet will have to wait. Sorry to be a tease! But, to hold you over -- here's what a screen shot of what the front of our photo book will look like:

And one more, this is a photo of my Maid of Honor, Jill. Second to Colin, she was seriously my grounding throughout all of my wedding. For every stress out (where is everyone? I can't finish this! ahhh! moment) she was there to pick up the pieces. She crashed on my couch and made sure that she could be there to help with every little detail. My wedding day was extra special with her help, I love you lady!

Hair Entertainment

2011-12-06T13:25:00.000-08:00

In an effort to distract myself from cutting my hair, I decided to dye it yesterday. I was hoping that the dark shade would be a noticable change. But, I think it may only be noticable to me, oh well!

And of course an obligatory silly face. As far as hair color, not too much of a change. But it was something entertaining to do in the process of growing out my hair.

Anyone else out there growing out their hair? How do you cope with boredness?

Inspiration via Pinterest

2011-12-03T16:44:00.000-08:00

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Allison on Pinterest

My love of pinterest has continued to grow. I started out as using it to save my cluttered design folders on my computer. But now I've expanded to using it to track recipes, fashion/hair inspiration, & DIY ideas.

Whenever I'm feeling bored with the way things are arranged in my house, I just go on there and start looking till I find an idea I like, and I'm able to run with it. The picture above is from Apartment Therapy and something I'd love to implement in my kitchen. I'd love to hang some pans on the wall, & use unconventional storage for kitchen utensils.

I then poked around more and found this photo from Design Sponge:

I love the colors (Seen easily at the palette displayed at the bottom) and the mixtures of metal and wood. I'd love to add some colored cast iron pans to my collection to double as decor and practical use.

Are you on pinterest? If so, add me!

Currently.

2011-11-29T18:29:00.000-08:00

Saw this posted over on Danielle's blog and I really liked it...

Obsessing over: Finding something to do besides school/school-related activities (ie: Studying). I feel like I've hit this sort of stalling point where I am not content with how my day to day life is being filled, but I'm not sure what to do about it. Right now, I'm just brainstorming how to deal with it.

Working on: Besides finals prep for school, I've been trying to read The Compass of Pleasure, sometimes it's nice to indulge in a pop culture science book.

Thinking about: What to make for dinner. I picked up some delicious looking asparagus from Whole Foods, and now I'm trying to figure out what to pair with it...

Anticipating: This quarter to be over, I want my husband back! Right now, our time together is much more limited than I'm used to. With him being in school full time and working full time, it makes his days pretty full. I'm excited to have a whole month where he's just working full time and no school.

Listening to: Band of Horses (via Spotify) and the puppies eating their dinner.

Drinking: Water. But wishing it was Diet Coke.

Wishing: I could be in grad school already, and wishing Colin could be done with his undergrad/med school. I'm ready for us to be out of our current limbo/in-between stage. On a lighter note, a good movie from Red Box would be nice too :)

What about all of you?

no thank YOU!

2011-11-24T10:24:00.000-08:00

Inspired by my awesome husband, I'd like to take this time to write a little "thankful" post on here.

- I'm thankful for the basics in my life. A roof over my head, food in the fridge, my heater humming away, and clothing on my back. I know I often take these things for granted, and there are many who struggle to maintain those.

- My parents, all three of them. My Dad, for making it possible for my to pursue my educational dreams, making the best caesar salad in the world, inspiring me a love for music and animals, and for teaching me what the perfect baguette tastes like. My Mom for inspiring me to be crafty, teaching me the importance of kindness and compassion, and letting me know that Diet Coke existed. And Dave, for giving me my first guitar, playing games with me (and teaching me new ones!), giving awesome neck massages, and loving me like his own daughter.

- I'm thankful for my move to Portland. Even though the rain may be tough sometimes. I absolutely love my city. I love the art, nature, and people. I've met some amazing people here this year. I'm so very thankful for it all.

- I'm thankful for having two great best friends, Jill & Larissa. You both are awesome, and I am so thankful for the two of you. You can make any bad day better!

- I'm thankful for my amazing husband. He loves me unconditionally, in good times & bad. He knows just how to hug me to make me feel like absolutely nothings wrong in my life. He always supports all of my dreams, no matter how many times they change in a week. He's patient loving father to our fur-kids. He lets me decorate for Christmas obscenely early in the year. He will work on puzzles with me and thinks it's cute, no matter how much of an old lady I look like. He's my role model for good health, his passion for cycling inspires me. And, of course he makes me a killer diet coke.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, what are you thankful for?

The Uncostly Christmas Wishlist

2011-11-22T19:55:00.000-08:00

As it draws near to the holiday season, I start brainstorming about the exciting things I might want to put on a wish list. But, for me, this holiday season is going to be tough. We recently had a giant unexpected vet bill (well, we expected it, but rather didn't expect it to be quite as giant as it was) So we might have to get a little creative this year. Thus the creation of "The Uncostly Wishlist"

Do you have an Uncostly Christmas Wishlist? Post below and share with me!

Tour Guide Part 2

2011-11-13T16:14:00.000-08:00

Our awkward photo to prove we hung out.

This weekend I finally got to meet up with one of the amazing people I've meet via blogging, Larissa. I lured Larissa to Portland with the promise of Voodoo donuts, Powells, shopping, and getting to meet my cute animals.

We did head out to the suburbs so we could check out the talked-up, newly opened, Native Foods Cafe. I tried the "chicken run ranch burger" (as did Larissa, great minds think alike!) and Colin ate the "Super Italian Meatball Sub." The chicken sandwich was good, the fries were seasoned and I might skip out on the seasoning next time (if they have plain) and just dip them in their delicious vegan ranch. I, of course, had to try dessert and ordered the "Chocolate Love Pie." To preface, I am a total vegan-dessert-snob, & I have to say, ehh. It was only alright, I wouldn't order it again. But I did have a bite of Larissa's cupcake, and it was pretty tasty.


My sandwich

Colin's Sandwich

We had a lot of fun this weekend (despite the usual Portland rain) and spent Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday morning running all over city. The rest of the time we watched some silly movies and ate a lot of food. I've discovered from playing tour guide I need at least 3 to 4 full days in Portland to give a good tour. So Larissa, please come back soon!

Portland Tourist Guide

2011-11-09T11:25:00.000-08:00

Late one night my roommate's cat, Linus discovered a fun new perching spot, on top of the Expedit bookshelf, it's about five feet tall so he's just high enough to be able to pounce on anything that walks by.

Not much to report around here, I've just been busy studying like crazy and trying to keep up with the rest of life. But I am more than ready to take a break, because this weekend my dear friend Larissa visits. I'm beyond excited to give her a tour of Portland. A few of the must-do's so far are: Target (I can't believe Canada is deprived of Target-goodness!), Voodoo Doughnut, Hungry Tiger Too, Vegan Row (Any vegan visiting must go check these out), and walk around Hawthorne, Mississippi, and Alberta neighborhoods, and the food carts of course. Yes, most of my tourists guide involves food+shopping, you can see my priorities.

(Update: Oh and Powells & Fabric Depot how could I forget you guys?! Add those to the list!)

Alright back to studying/cleaning. Hope everyones week is going well!

Friends.

2011-11-06T14:25:00.000-08:00

I love Portland. It has my favorite kind of weather (ie: it requires peacoats and/or hoodies + rainboots) and every craft store I could ever want. But these girls make me miss California:

Matching jackets at Target

Tea cakes at Suzette's Creperie

Ice cream at Salt & Straw

Thanks for the visit this weekend girls. My house is feeling way too empty now, come back soon!

62 days to organization!

2011-11-03T00:34:00.000-07:00

Days are flying by like crazy. Today I spent the day on campus with Colin working on homework. Meanwhile, Huey was getting some major teeth work (Poor little pup had several teeth extracted) Luckily, he's a champ and is recovering well tonight under some warm blankets. But all of the business means that my 31 days to organization series is going to be like 62 days to organization (hopefully I can get it done before 93 days!)

But I did indulge in one of my favorite organization tasks ... BOOKSHELVES! Here's a peak at them from my instagram feed:

PS: I did a little graphic rearrange on my blog. I am SLOWLY learning to draw on a tablet, it is so incredibly different than drawing on paper. But you can see my experiment in my portrait in the corner of my blog.

Meal Planning

2011-10-31T00:04:00.000-07:00

With the stress of school, Colin and I have been falling back into a combination of actual fast food and "home" fast food (aka: comes from a box, takes only a few minutes to make)

I've never been a person who's able to say "We will eat this meal on this day" but I do find success in coming up with a list of meals, that way each day I can pick a meal that sounds good. The way our budget is structured is we start a new "food budget" on Thursdays (And that generally means I go grocery shopping on Fridays) Here is this weeks food plan for the rest of this budget:

Meals for Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday

Dinners:
Dumpling soup*
Asian Tofu, steamed broccoli, rice
Twice Baked Potatoes and Pan Browned Brussels Sprouts
Homemade Pizza & Salad

* I only roughly follow this recipe, I alternate between using gnocchi instead of bisquick and then usually throw in a bag of frozen veggies or whatever fresh veggies I have laying around in the broth.

Colin and I are pretty big supporters of eating Total for breakfast (since it's fortified to get all your vitamins/minerals) but we sometimes add a little something extra on the side. I think I'll make this, then I cut it up and freeze it so that we just microwave a piece a day.

With each week I generally try one new food, or give a food I formerly judged a second chance (this week it's brussels sprouts). I also try to have at least one meal be a quick/low maintenance meal. This week the soup falls under that since it's easy to just throw the ingredients in the pot and walk away.

(Comic by Natalie Dee)

Day 1

2011-10-22T14:39:00.000-07:00

So it's day one of working towards an organized home

Today she talked about coat closets/entry ways. Our coat closet is actually at the back of our house, and our entry room lacks any sort of closet storage. So I'm going to save that for later. I apologize in advance, all the before photos were taken on my phone, so the quality isn't that hot (Trust me, it's OK, you don't want to see that mess in high quality!)

Now, brace yourselves. I decided to go for complete honesty on this one. Our entryway has really become our dumping ground and here's what our entryway looked like before I started:

The upper left photo shows an overall view of the "entryway." It's often a dumping spot for Colin's cycling gear (Since it's usually a little rain-soaked when he comes in) It's also the quick storage spot for his bike when he's not riding it. The top of the built in usually gets knick knacks thrown on it as well as some more of Colin's biking gear (gloves/hats/etc.) Then the hooks which are supposed to be temporary storage for coats and dog stuff, is really Colin's heavy bike riding jacket, his helmet, and a few random things of mine (a purse I was using last week, scarf etc.) Then I also keep a bag of the dog stuff on there, which you can't see because it's hiding under my scarf. But it has all the dog sweaters and leashes in there.

So after examining it I decided I really needed to send the majority dog stuff back to the laundry room where the rest of their stuff is. The exception was the brushes that I left in the yellow box. I know if those get sent back to the laundry room the pets just don't get brushed enough. I put away my neglected scarf/bag. I snapped Colin's helmet on it's bike and put it back in its permanent home. I went through the keys a bit (but need help from Colin since he is the key decoder) I cleared off and sorted through the top of the shelf. I also put a clock there that didn't have a permanent home. I took our sad plant that I killed and replaced it with a less-dead one from the bathroom. The best idea was adding a crate for Colin to put his bike stuff in. And here's the result:

I would have loved to put a second crate on the floor for shoes. But, not only is it not in my current budget, I also know it's not all that realistic. Although Mimi is past her "puppy chew" stage, I don't really want to leave temptation out there for her.

Have you done a recent organization project? Link it in the comments, I'd love to check it out!

On the path to organization

2011-10-22T00:32:00.000-07:00

I've decided to start a modified version of the "31 days to organizing." Tonight, I wanted to write about what she addressed in day one, which is "why do you want to organize and declutter." My goals really are to find some organizational systems that work for our house. Every time we move, we have to figure out new systems for our new spaces. With this last move we moved into a place with a lot more square feet plus a backyard. With both of us in school, plus Colin working full time, we don't have a lot of free time to always be searching for things or spending large chunks of time to catch up on chores.

So to summarize, why I want to organize and declutter:
- Destress me (and therefore destress Colin)
- Be proud of where I live
- Value the possessions we have, and make our house truly represent us
- Give us space to explore and create our passions
- Be able to focus more on each other, school, and spending time together.

As I mentioned earlier, it will be a little modified to fit what I need. I'll skip over some of the days she talks about kid stuff, and also probably combine some of the days to work better with my schedule. So, here's to an organized house!

(image taken from here)

from my google reader...

2011-10-18T13:00:00.000-07:00

Halloween Decor at Our House

I'm stuck in bed today feeling sick and I'm using it as an excuse to attack the hundreds of articles in my google reader.

So here are some favorites from my google reader:

- One of my favorite artists, Jill Bliss, has a studio tour up on Renest.
- I recently discovered kim gee's comics, and I love her work.
- I added The Nearsighted Owl's blog recently, and I've fallen in love with her writing, the lovely drawings she does, and her lists.
- Pumpkin scones? Yes please! oh, ladycakes has a delicious looking recipe posted.
- Speaking of baked goods, these apple pie cookies are going to be on my "must bake" list.
- I think I've blabbed about this next one on other social media sites, but I'm going to attempt to follow this 31 Days to an Organized Home (via Sometimes Sweet) It has some great tips and I feel like will get me kick started into ~~spring~~ winter cleaning.

Lastly, not from my google reader, but I squealed (yes, literally) when I saw West Elm is featuring a "Wise+Witty Owls" collection

Wedding Rings.

2011-10-17T17:37:00.000-07:00

Yay! Both of us finally have rings*

This is the shop that we ordered Colin's from. Allison (yes, we have the same name!) makes beautiful jewelry and it arrived timely and in lovely packaging.

My ring came from Gilt. They were also amazing to work with. The woman sat with me as I tried on like twenty different rings. I finally settled on this one, a gorgeous vintage ring from the 1920's.

* There was a small mishap with Colin's first ring. We ordered from an Etsy seller, but the ring just seemed to be set on always being too big. We had it resized twice and still it was a little loose on his finger. Plus, it was really thick/uncomfortable to wear. So instead, I found another one from a different seller on Etsy and replaced it. This one fits just perfect!

FAQ

2011-10-16T15:34:00.000-07:00

I don't have nearly enough blog readers (especially since most of them know me from my non-Internet life) to justify having some sort of Intro/FAQ page. But I do find the "get to know your blogger" type posts interesting, so here's one of sorts.

How long have you been blogging?

I've been blogging since I was in high school. I started out on Melodramatic, then moved over to Livejournal and then finally to Blogger. I do maintain my Livejournal still on occasion to write more personal posts, but it's mostly private and only accessed by a few close friends.

Why "ART BAKE LOVE" ?

Choosing your blog title is sort of like choosing your first tattoo. I love my blog name as well and my first tattoo. But looking back, I wish I could make them cooler :) But in case you couldn't figure it out, each of those words represent some of the major passions in my life.

Tell me about your family...

My little family is made up of:

Colin is my partner/husband, we've been together for seven years as of October 2011. We had our wedding this summer (July 2011) Our first adopted furkid was Holden, & next came Gatsby. Then we finally decided we really wanted a dog, we contemplated maybe a small lab or some sort of mix, but nothing too small or yappy (ie: Chihuahua) But then one day when I was on a rural highway with my Mom, Aunt and Grandfather and here came this little chihuahua running down the road. When I brought him home we both resisted initially, but it took all of a one night stay for little Huey to win over our hearts. He's a social butterfuly, spunky, little dude who is incredibly lovable. Next came Mimi, who was supposed to be a playmate for Huey. She was abandoned on the side of the road in a box and found by one of my Aunts. She turned out to be quite a bit more work, she is an anxious/neurotic little 15 pound furball. But you can't help but love her little tragic face!

Are you a vegan? You post a lot of vegan recipes.
I've been a vegetarian on and off since high school. I have never tolerated dairy well and when Colin went vegan this last year I committed to making all the stuff I baked in the house vegan. I still aim to eat primarily vegan, but I don't identify as vegan/vegetarian. It's something I often feel conflicted with, and I admire Colin greatly for the life decision he's made about it.

Are you ever going to do a house tour?

Yes! I've been talking about it probably since I made this blog and never really gotten around to it. I'd really like to work up to it slowly by maybe doing one room a week or month. It's a lot of work to photograph and prepare a blog post for a house tour. But stay tuned, it's coming I promise!

What are you going to school for?

The question is more what HAVEN'T I gone to school for? I started out majoring in journalism/graphic design, switched to psychology and stayed with that till a year before I graduated. Then in a last minute move I became a Women's Studies major and a psychology minor. Since then I have graduated and discovered the job market sucks. I am currently going back to graduate school for a health-related program (exact program TBD, I'm looking at occupational therapy or speech therapy)

Do you plan on doing a post about your wedding?

As soon as I get my pictures back I'll do a larger post about the wedding process. I learned A LOT and have a lot of great advice for engaged couples. I hope to have the photos back and post written before the end of the year.

Will you make my blog header?
I do "just for fun" design work on the side. If you are interested in me designing a logo or blog header, send me an e-mail. My prices are beyond reasonable, and I am open to barters!

Thanks to everyone who submitted (via e-mail/tweet/comment) questions. Some of the questions I'm saving for later, since I was keeping this blog pretty basic FAQ's. If you'd like to submit any other questions, do so below or e-mail them my way: AMBlakeley[at]gmail[dot]com

PB&J Deliciousness!

2011-10-13T18:29:00.000-07:00

I had put this as a "to do" to write about, but had forgotten all about it. Last summer I had a friend request I make a flyer for his PB&J party. I, of course agreed, I love doing fun creative projects like this. This was the draft I created first, it was tweaked a bit more (wings and a picnic blanket added) It was so much fun to work on:

It kind of makes me want to have a birthday party that is PB&J themed! It definitely reminds me of the PB&J's Grilled cart here in Portland.

2011-10-13T13:57:00.000-07:00

Happy fall!

I don't have nearly enough blog readers (especially since most of them know me from my non-Internet life) to justify having some sort of Intro/FAQ page. But I do find the "get to know your blogger" type posts interesting. I've started working on with questions that have been asked so far, but if you have one to add, feel free to write it below or e-mail it to AMBlakeley[at]gmail.com

miranda july

2011-10-09T11:27:00.000-07:00

(found via miss james)

Pumpkin time!

2011-10-08T22:41:00.000-07:00

Today I was productive. I managed to do laundry, put away last weeks laundry, scour the kitchen, bike to the store (twice, the second time being related to a Diet Coke shortage ), bake pumpkin muffins for breakfasts this week and whip up a pasta salad for dinner. The pasta salad was the highlight, it had cool looking curly noodles plus: cucumber, olives, green peppers, marinated artichoke hearts, tomatoes, garlic sesame tempeh and was coated in balsamic/olive oil.

Speaking of kitchen creations, I had breakfast for dinner earlier this week and made french (baguette) toast with dark chocolate and bananas:

Somehow this turned into the all-food related post. But I don't have much else to talk about. I am taking Anatomy & Physiology in preparation for graduate school and it is kicking my butt. I went in confident and got my ego taken down by the end of the first class. I can do this, but it's going to require a lot of hard work.

Hope you all are enjoying Fall and taking advantage of the pumpkin flavored goodies out there!

A bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils

2011-09-26T16:31:00.000-07:00

I start school this week and I'm going back and forth between excitement and freaking out.

Every year my Mom used to soothe my anxiety by going back-to-school shopping for school supplies. I was a weird kid who was calmed by the aisles of Office Depot. In honor of the school season I picked out a few things for my "back to school wishlist"

A new backpack from Timbuk2 (waterproof, since I'm riding my bike to school)

An adorable pencil case from Etsy seller: sammade

And of course, an organization nerd's dream, a planner from Mod Cloth

To end this blog post, I'll share with you this song that's been on repeat on my ipod:

&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;s&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;

A-Z

2011-09-24T23:37:00.000-07:00

Since all the cool blogger kids are doing this, and it reminds me of the early days of livejournal :)

A. Age: 26
B. Bed size: Queen. Although on our honeymoon we slept on a king size bed and fell in love, it was so spacious!
C. Chore that you hate: Mopping the kitchen floor, it kills my back.
D. Dogs: Two dogs (Mimi and Huey)
E. Essential start to your day: Getting a kiss from Colin when he goes to work.
F. Favorite color: Dark Mustard yellow
G. Gold or Silver: I used to be all about silver, but now I love them both
H. Height: 5'3" ish
I. Instruments you play: I have taken basic lessons in piano, clarinet, violin, and trumpet. I remember some piano and nothing else.
J. Job title: stay-at-home dog&cat-mom and perpetual student.
L. Live: Portland
M. Mother’s name: Irene
N. Nicknames: Alli
O. Overnight hospital stays: nope!
Q. Quote from a movie: "I'm Buck Melanoma. Moley Russell's wart. Not her wart. Not her wart! I'm... I'm the wart. She's my tumor. My... my growth. My... uh, my pimple. I'm Uncle Wart. Just old Buck "Wart" Russell. That's what they call me, or Melanoma Head"
R. Right or left handed: Right handed.
S. Siblings: Two sisters, Jessica and Arlene.
U. Underwear: I do wear it.
V. Vegetable you hate: Onions
W. What makes you run late: I hate being late. Usually it's because I realized I forgot to take Mimi out.
X. X-Rays you’ve had: Too many, ten or so of my back/neck, my finger from when I slammed it in the locked car door, ankles, knees, and my teeth!
Y. Yummy food that you make: I LOVE cooking, and I think my veganized desserts are pretty yummy.
Z. Zoo animal: Zoo's are really depressing. But I really do love watching Orangutans and Bonobos.

Honeymoon

2011-09-20T11:07:00.000-07:00

We're back! The oregon coast was gorgeous and we had a lovely time. I have hundreds of pictures to go through, but here's a glimpse of a few -

Baking Scones

2011-09-12T18:14:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been missing baking. Since I started trying to eat healthier again I noticed I stopped baking, that's mainly because all the stuff I make is loaded with ingredients that aren't so good for me. But today I did breakdown and slip into old habits and made a scone, not nearly as bad as some of the stuff I used to make! (Whoopie pies anyone?)

They are blueberry dark chocolate chip scones with a bit of vegan cane sugar on top. Yum!

Some more recipes I want to try -
- Isa's recipe for a Pear Frangipane Tart, I can't wait for this book to come out!
- These Blackberry Creme Crepes look amazing
- And I'll need this healthier recipe, a yummy looking Thai Salad.

Anyone have any other recipes to recommend? You'll notice my recipes are all vegan. Although I am not 100% vegan, Colin is, so all my recipes are vegan-friendly. But I am easily able to convert most non-vegan recipes, so feel free to share any!

sauvie island and honeymoon adventures

2011-09-10T13:06:00.000-07:00

I'm prepping my house to get ready to go on our honeymoon. We are sneaking off to the Oregon coast and I'm really excited! Neither of us have ever been, so I think it will be a lot of fun.

This week has been pretty good so far with the exception of getting stung by a bee-- ouch! I forgot how much that hurts. Our most notable adventure was hanging out on Sauvie Island like beach bums:

Then tonight, I'm finally fufilling my dream of going to see one of my favorite bands, Explosions in the Sky.

PS: Don't have exciting plans for your Saturday night? Entertain yourself checking out these sites, Scanwich and Scandybars, yep scanned photos of sandwiches and candybars. It's entertaining!

Bathroom Makeover

2011-09-02T14:42:00.000-07:00

I wish I had shot some serious before shots of our bathroom, but alas, I did not. I will leave you with this description "poop brown walls, gold brassy handles, and picture perfect 1990s." I feel like that will give you enough of a visual. We had limits because we do live in a rental. If it was our house I'd rip out this poor neglected scratched up vanity, or at the very least paint it. But instead we felt like more feasible was spending $30 to get new hardware for it.

Without further ado, I leave you with our new refreshed corral colored bathroom:

Same shower curtain (a lovely gift from my sister a few years ago) but updated brushed nickel hardware for the drawers/cupboard. Yes, I left our toothbrushes on the counter for the photo. I feel compelled to say, "See, Bloggers are just like us!" (Which will make no sense unless you read trashy US Weekly)

Our bathroom was in need of some storage, so I picked up these cute black fabric woven basics on clearence at Fred Meyer ($8 a basket!)

Close up of some art from some local shops, a plant (carefully placed out of a cats reach)

One of my favorite pieces of art purchased from Etsy.

I'm all about creative storage. These were repurposed from my wedding.

Above the toilet is an old gold victorian style 70's mirror I picked up thrifting. I spraypainted it with black flat coat.

More creative storage. I got this idea from a Real Simple e-mail about putting toilet paper in a crate or basket. I though it looked much cuter than those tacky toilet paper holders. And yes, we do buy our TP in bulk from Costco.

So there you have it, a peek into my new bathroom! Hope you enjoyed.

hoot!

2011-08-31T23:41:00.000-07:00

Last weekend one of my best friends came to visit and we finally got our tattoos that have been in the works for awhile. Inspired by our love of all things vintage came our owl tattoos. Specifically from a mug I picked up in a vintage shop years ago

(Excuse the weird cropped photo, it was the picture

I first sent to Kirsten and wanted to show it close up)

I dropped it off to the lovely Kirsten at Icon Tattoo and she whipped up an amazing drawing that resulted in this:

I am beyond pleased with it! It's now in that gross molting stage, but once it heals up I'll take some more close up photos of it.

Plan of Action

2011-08-24T22:24:00.000-07:00

I'm at this awkward position where I am applying for jobs, with no luck so far (ugh! economy/living in pdx) We are moved into our new place, the wedding is over, and suddenly life is... quiet. Yes, school will start at the end of September and then my life will go into chaos whirlwind mode as I attempt to master the bones and muscles of the body in a 3-quarter series of Human Anatomy and Physiology, as well as finish of some of the other required classes. But, I have one month left before the madness and I want to make the most of it. So, how do I do that? I make a list of course.

I should have my own TLC show with all these home projects.

2011-08-23T09:52:00.000-07:00

I haven't written in here in awhile, but it's because I've been going full blast working on the house. In the last week we have relandscaped almost the entire backyard and taken on painting the bathroom (which turned out to be a much larger task than we planned) But both projects are about 80% done and I can hardly wait to finish them and post pictures!

It's Colin's last day of work before he has a few days off for us to finish up our projects. I'm enjoying the quiet and trying to rest my super-inflamed muscles by taking it easy. Mimi is joining me in the task my napping next to me, and I can't help but love that she sleeps with her tongue sticking out. When she woke up the other day part of her lip was stuck up elvis-style AND her tongue was sticking out, so I couldn't help but snap a photo:

I also picked up Bossypants from the library since it's been all the rage to read according to the blogs on my googlereader. As if reading that wasn't enjoyable enough I've added having some delicious fresh blueberries & grapes with a bagel and almond butter/apricot jam. Yum!

I've been spying this dog carrier on Amazon. It's a totally extravagant want, but it would be so amazing to ride to breakfast and have Huey in the basket (Mimi would be far too terrified/anxious) Plus it matches my bike, clearly a sign I should have it, right?! We've been enjoying the lovely pacific northwest summer by riding out bikes into Alberta for breakfasts, and it's reminded me why I love living here so much.

PS: If you get a chance you should read: THIS. I related to this post so much.

2011-08-09T17:10:00.000-07:00

To follow up my last post, here are some blogs I've been reading and wanted to share -

- My lovely BFF Larissa gave me a simple idea for a delicious dinner!

- Julie's airstream is seriously drool-worthy, I have dreams about selling most of what I own and living in an airstream!

- My lovely friends bought us a Dutch Oven as a wedding present, and I think I'm going to try this as my first use of it!

- I just saw that this cookbook is coming out. I love Isa's recipes, and I can hardly wait to add it to my cookbook collection!

Symbols.

2011-08-09T17:03:00.000-07:00

So here I am writing my first official blog as a married lady. And although I don't usually use this blog as a political voice, those of you who know me well know that my decision to get married was a big deal. But not for the reason the average person may think. I've known since about month 3 of our relationship that Colin and I would spend our lives together. For me, it was more about wondering if I was contributing to a society that only embraces heteronormativity. Could I reconcile my own beliefs and having a wedding ceremony?

When I made the decision with Colin to have a ceremony, there were certain things that I wanted to hold true in our ceremony to make it a unique commitment. First, there would no talk of two people joining their lives and becoming one, by marrying Colin I did not become a part of him. Instead, we are two people who both love each other as individuals. Together, we make a team that works together, that needs both people in their entirety in order to make their union work. I don't believe the foundation of marriage is gender, instead it's love. Although some of our own beliefs about marriage may not have been conveyed in their entirety in our ceremony, I'm okay with the fact that we made sacrifices to keep the peace with some of our more traditional family members that were in attendance. I wanted our day to be a celebration with people who loved us.

On a ligher note, if you made it through my ramble, maybe you noticed something when you first started reading. Yep, I cut off ALL MY HAIR! My sister cut it to a chin length, but I pushed it a step further and got a longer version of a pixie cut. I took a chance and went to a salon that does walk-ins, and I walked out with a Bieber-Meets-Soccer-Mom, but after some scissors in my bathroom+pomade, I ended up with something I liked. I'm excited to be free of the weight of my hair, it's a symbol that marks a new beginning!

Sneak Peek

2011-08-03T18:48:00.000-07:00

We have probably over a month before we get wedding pictures back. But our super awesome talented wedding photographer, Ben Tapper, posted a few. I absolutely love them and can't wait to see the rest!

So if you are in the market for a photographer, I can't recommend Ben / Endless Wave Studios enough!

I'm married!

2011-07-31T22:35:00.000-07:00

The wedding was a grand success! I wouldn't have changed a thing. I'll write more about it as everything settles down. But for now I'll leave you with a quick snapshot that my friend Carmen took -

I'm getting MARRIED!

2011-07-25T15:22:00.000-07:00

It's the final countdown. People are driving/flying in starting today and it's starting to feel real. I have so many little things left to do, but I know they'll get done. I can't wait to share the pictures with you all, and hopefully get back to regular writing post-wedding.

welcome home!

2011-07-12T11:32:00.000-07:00

Hello friends! Yes, July has been a quiet month on the blog, but mostly because it's been anything but that in my daily life. We moved (or rather are moving) for the first part of this month into a lovely duplex. Then at the end of this month is my much anticipated wedding day! It has mostly involved Excel spreadsheets, midmorning freakouts, and way too much Taco Bell eating.

This morning while I was distracting myself reading Mint, I read about an asparagus tart that looked amazing. I popped over to the original website and fell in love with Not Without Salt. It's such a lovely cooking blog. Although it's not vegan, it certainly gives me plenty of inspiration!

I promise once the house is a bit more unpacked I'll post some pictures.

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer. Portland has decided to take a break from summer and have a little rain today. That's okay, my garden could use it :)

Photo Dump!

2011-06-30T08:52:00.000-07:00

Well, we are back into our (box-filled) home preparing to move. But I first wanted to share some pictures from the fabulous engagement party my family threw me. It was complete with delicious vegan cupcakes and a piñata! The kids had so much fun with it, but Colin was the winner for making it explode (and my dog-nephew, Jack, took care of ripping the rest of it off)

Here are some photos of the piñata fun:

We snuck away during part of it to have my dear talented friend Jade snap some photos of us.

Alright, back to packing. We get the keys to our new place on Friday!

guest post.

2011-06-27T10:07:00.000-07:00

I'm back from my vacation in California, and I guest posted over at my dear friend Larissa's blog, check it out here.

Moving, Wedding and Vacations, oh my!

2011-06-18T06:59:00.000-07:00

etsy print by ChEngel

Next Wednesday we leave for California to visit family and attend our engagement BBQ. I am excited to see family and for the vacation I am less excited for the 90+ degree weather that's supposed to be happening. But, I guess it will make me love Portland even more while I am gone! I admit, I am also excited because I get to visit several of my favorite thrift stores. There's nothing like a wedding and a new place to motivate you to find fun new treasures to decorate with.

Speaking of moving, we picked up boxes from my lovely friend Lehua and I can now officially start packing! It's something about having your house invaded by cardboard boxes that make you feel like it's real. I keep telling Huey & Mimi that in two weeks they'll have their own little yard. But, neither of them seem to be catching on :) Alberta Arts is such a lovely neighborhood. I am thrilled to have an excuse to explore a new part of town with new resturants and cute shops. Also, Back to Eden is not too far from our place, which means coconut ice cream milkshakes will happen more often!

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend! If you have any fabulous moving tips, feel free to pass them along :)

I can share!

2011-06-14T15:36:00.000-07:00

for sale as a print from "spreadthelove" etsy shop

I got the callback this morning, so I can finally share! We are moving! Don't worry Portland-lovers, not out of Portland just to a different part of town. Yes, some might call me insane for trying to plan a wedding and move all in the same month. But that's just the way we roll. :)

We found a darling duplex that hadn't made it's way onto to Craigslist yet (Which is good for us, because the rental market here is INSANE) It's got all of our "wants" like a washer and dryer, backyard, vegetable garden, wood floors, and a lot of character! I wish I had pictures to show you all, but I don't yet. Our move in date is July 1st. So until then, you'll have to wait in anticipation!

Pizza Deliciousness!

2011-06-13T12:06:00.000-07:00

I am horrible at waiting! I am anxiously waiting to hear back from someone and it's supposed to happen today or tomorrow. Once I do I'll share the exciting news (No, it's not a baby!)

We bought a tomato and strawberry plant from New Seasons yesterday with our gift card that I won over at Your Vegan Mom. I also tried someone of their delicious premade pizza dough and whipped up this last night:

Yum! Daiya cheese, green peppers, olives, and Lightlife Sausage. If I made it again I probably would use a little less Daiya on my half (since Colin liked the Daiya/Pizza ratio)

Speaking of delicious local veggies, I am loving this poster!

I also really love this jumper dress, although I admit I might also like it because her tattoos make it look extra cute!

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

Watercolors & Painted Toes

2011-06-05T13:09:00.000-07:00

Still househunting! I'm not used to such a competitive market. So if you happen to be a Portland landlord who wants to rent a 2+ bedroom house with wood floors for $1350 or under feel free to contact me! I offer cute animals, superb baked goods, and the ability to garden :)

In other news, today on a break from studying I decided to do a little watercoloring of product packaging. I've been totally inspired by Handmade Love. I can't remember the last time I busted out watercolors (Grade school?) I am not used to working with a paintbrush at all and have to try to learn how to get control over it again.

In honor of Portland's summer weather finally showing up, I busted out the nail polish and had a bit of fun with my toes:

Well it's back to studying as my final is this Wednesady. I am so ready for a summer break. Although I'm not sure how much of a break it will be with wedding planning and moving. But, at least it will be without biology homework!

Neglected

2011-05-31T11:56:00.000-07:00

Oh little blog, you've been so neglected!

Between wedding planning, house hunting, and preparing for finals my life has been going nonstop right now.

A quick update:
- I've been enjoying the new explosions in the sky album.
- I love these shoes, there's only one pair left and it's in my size (Destiny?! I think so!) On a more practical note, I've been contemplating these for my wedding.

I've been wearing my hair curly, but I'm getting fed up with frizz. I've tried various products with no luck. Anyone have any favorites?

Bacon, foe or friend?

2011-05-17T10:52:00.000-07:00

These last couple weeks I've totally been on a cooking adventure. I made made first "soup" and ventured into "fake bacon." Anyone who knows me might find this amusing, since I really don't like regular bacon (yes, I know this is blasphemy to some people) But ready? I really like fake bacon. It has a slightly different texture, but still the same good salty taste. We used Turtle Island Tempeh Smoky Maple Marinated Bacon. While other Tofurky products have not made the cut, this one totally did and made a killer sandwich. I tried Veganaise (Which actually smells exactly like mayo, it's creepy!) as well. I know, look at me, Ms. Adventurous! The result was this killer sandwich on a pub bun made by a local Portland company:

My second accomplishment was this slightly modified Vegan Dumpling Soup. I followed this recipe, but added a boiled potato chopped up as well as some frozen peas and carrots. Oh my gosh, seriously amazing. Perfect for the rainy days that are still creeping in here in Portland.

In other non-cooking news:

- I saw the book "World of Geekcraft" in person at Crafty Wonderland, and am totally in love with it. It even has it's own website here! You can download one of their projects (pow! zap! magnets) via PDF at the Craft Blog.

- Has anyone who's gotten married recently used an Amazon registry? We did it in addition to our Target registry. I liked that it has a universal capability so you can add stuff from any website.

Friday the 13th!

2011-05-14T10:32:00.000-07:00

So normally I don't do anything special for Friday the 13th, but someone on facebook shared that a local tattoo shop I like was doing $13 Friday the 13th tattoos. They had two sheets of flash to pick from. Those of you who know me, know I've been slowly building my sleeves. All of my tattoos so far have been pretty well thought out and hold a lot of personal meaning. But, I sort of wanted to add a few pieces that were just fun. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to. I found an amazing shark piece of the flash sheet, and thus my shark 13 piece was born on my arm!

You can see more (including my shark!) on Icon Tattoo's blog here.

It did leave me totally stoked about adding to my sleeves. I am already planning up my next piece (well, I've been planning for awhile) I'm really excited and can't wait till I have the finances to do it!

Interior Inspiration

2011-05-10T13:00:00.000-07:00

I love the picture of above for so many reasons. My Mom is rocking a really cute outfit (I love the headband) but if you look a little closer, you'll notice some gorgeous vintage furniture in the background. I wish it was still around!

Today I am hanging out in the bedroom. I find that this is the room that gets most neglected design-wise. I brought the dogs in here (They are normally gated into the living room) and am just spending some time in here. I feel like I need to figure out what sort of theme/feeling I want in here. As much as I love the romantic/crisp/white-themed bedrooms, I want something more functional (Hello, cat fur all over white duvets) Does anyone have any favorite bedroom-inspiration pictures? Send them my way!

So far this one and this one are my favorite (Can you tell I like that mustard-green as an accent color?)

Which, I think I may have mentioned it before, but I am totally in love with Pinterest. It eliminates the need to have a cluttered computer full of interior/exterior inspiration pictures, instead I can just track them on here. Follow me?

Monthly bills

2011-05-02T19:19:00.000-07:00

Although I have previously posted about money, I thought I'd share about my system for monthly bills. About twice a month I fill this out to keep track of my bills. I put it some place visible (usually that means by my "office corner") so that I can have it in sight as I go through the month. It's a great way to remind yourself, and not to miss important bill due dates.

I normally have a composition notebook that I make a chart in of my bills, but lately I've decided to class it up and make something a bit more aesthically pleasing.

In the spirit of giving, I decided to share it with all of you as well (click on the image below to be taken to my Flickr, which will allow you to download it in it's original size)

Oops!

2011-04-28T18:27:00.000-07:00

In my last post, for some reason the original video I uploaded didn't upload all of the video. But I edited it (a few times) and now finally have the whole video. So if you watched it and it ended abruptly, that's why, you can check out the full version here!

To make this boring apology/edit post more exciting, a picture! It's from today when Colin and I went shopping. It was our first real day off together in quite awhile. I picked up these lovelies on clearence! I love the little anchors, so cute!

dialect video

2011-04-28T12:32:00.000-07:00

Edit: For some reason original video is not all there (it's a couple minutes longer) so I've reuploaded it and it now has the full length video. If you watched the previous video and wanted to see the rest (I left you with a cliffhanger, ha!), just skip to 1:30.

After seeing Beca do this (and a couple other bloggers in the last couple weeks) I decided to jump on the bandwagon! You'll have to excuse my tragic bangs, that's what I get for doing this after going on my "power walk" this morning :)

If you do it too, comment here so I can see. I've found these really interesting, I love all the differences based on where we live...

My dialect video

Say these words:

Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught

Now answer these questions:

What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?
What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?
What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
What do you call gym shoes?
What do you say to address a group of people?
What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?
What do you call your grandparents?
What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?
What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
What is the thing you change the TV channel with?

bunnies!

2011-04-24T10:17:00.000-07:00

I don't usually do anything special for Easter. Today will be spent helping my friend pack and then getting a headstart on some studying for class. But I do love an excuse to look at cute bunny-themed stuff,

1) tea towel from etsy shop: fuzzy mug ($13)
2) bunny pillow cushion from etsy shop: cactus and cottontail ($44.02)
3) what's hoppenin' tee from mod cloth ($49.99)
4) rabbit ear salad mixers mod cloth ($14.99)

Other fun stuff to check out:
- I'm loving this Vintage Ballroom Wedding
- Perfect for a baby's room or a midcentury themed living room, I'd gladly add this to my collection.
- Indoor vertical garden? Looks like an amazing modern art piece!

MIA

2011-04-21T11:31:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I haven't posted in so long. Really, I blame it on my Biology course. I can't believe how much work it's been. Well, I can. I knew it would mean increasing the amount I studied, but I feel like I've become a full time student again (just for one class!) It's challenging me in a whole new way, but most of the time, I really like it!

However, to make matters worse, I really feel like I'm coming down with something. I've got the aches, I'm cold, and feeling overall pretty crummy. But I'm still in denial. I have my first exam tomorrow. I cannot be sick!

To visually catch you up on my week:

1) almond crossaint and diet coke while studying @ urban grind
2) beautiful potted plants to embrace spring on our porch!
3) my kitchen creation of orange tofu and peanut noodles
4) how we spent last weekend!
5) my friend lehua's cute little puppy, Eddy
6) huey and i enjoyed the sun outside earlier this week by lounging in the grass

Weekend Check-in.

2011-04-16T18:47:00.000-07:00

Inspired by Larissa's cute photo of her and her pup, here is Huey & I. Yep, a photo of my dog sticking his tongue out at you (Ok, he was giving air-kisses to my iphone)

I finished my wedding invitations officially today! Well, that's not technically true, as we are still waiting on 12 addresses. But they are assembled and there is a giant stack waiting to be taken to the post office on Monday.

I'm getting excited to register for the wedding. I think we are going to stick to just registering at Target. It's a central place that most everyone has access to. We might consider doing Crate and Barrel, or an Amazon list as well. We'll see.

Hope everyone has a lovely rest of the weekend!

Ready for Spring

2011-04-15T23:08:00.000-07:00

Isn't the cat graffiti adorable? I found it on a jog last week...

Speaking of jogging, I'm attempting to increase my exercise. I am committed to get more regular with jogging, and I really have enjoyed listening to This American Life each time I go. It keeps me distracted from my tired body but not so much that I don't get to enjoy my surroundings.

I'm also getting a trial pass to a local gym here. They offer a lot of fun-sounding classes and Colin's work qualifies us for a discount. We don't have a lot of spare money, but it's worth sacrificing for, especially since I know it so directly correlates to some of my back problems.

I've also fallen in love with Sephora again. After a spendy trip there I replenished my makeup bag and inspired myself to have fun with eye shadow again (Although my brows could use some love)

Hope everyone has fun this weekend. I'm heading over to check out Stumptown Comic Fest and possibly Record Store Day.

Site News.

2011-04-12T13:59:00.000-07:00

I decided to make a button for my sidebar for people to grab, it will be permanently posted there, and here it is below as well:

ps: If you have any problems with it, please let me know!

House Highlights

2011-04-12T13:25:00.000-07:00

This little chihuahua is one of my all time favorite thrift store finds. It's been the subject of funny videos and I think adds a bit of flair to our living room. It's probably 12-14 inches tall when sitting, so it's about the size of Huey!

Next up is my little gnome. I think I picked up this guy at Target. Gnomes totally remind me of my Nana. Although she's passed, I think of her everytime I see one. She used to have them hidden all around her yard and as a kid I would try to find them all.

Lastly, my obsession with brassy animals started fairly recently. My Dad is bringing me a girafee from my Grandparents house that I'm pretty excited about. I'm hoping this little collection will continue to grow!

Pinterest and Huey

2011-04-06T07:59:00.000-07:00

Are any of you on pinterest? I've been using it to plan out our wall of art, you can see my current plans on my board here.

I couldn't help but post this picture of my dog, Huey. His facial expression is totally the "Mom, why are you bugging me?!" He's nestled in his new bed from Costco in from of our wall heater.

sneak peak!

2011-04-01T00:40:00.000-07:00

So today I worked on table center pieces, I whipped up this with the lady& circle graphic via graphic fairy (an amazing resource!)

It's just the rough idea, I want to change it up a bit (have some sort of perimeter on it to enclose it) But it is exciting to start planning some of the little details.

ps: Those who know me well, know I am a total Target-addict, and I want these lovelies so bad! They were out of my size at the store, and I am half tempted to Target-hunt until I find them.

Staying Motivated

2011-03-28T19:00:00.000-07:00

This week is going to be a tough one. It's filled with doctors appointments and it's the start of classes. I'm having a hard time staying motivated and getting stuff done. I end up pushing it till "later" in the day, well, "later" never ends up coming. I wish I could find a way to motivate myself better.
I am starting my first science class for the first time in awhile (It's been five years!) It's going to be an eye-opener for me, and I'm hoping I love it as much as I did five years ago.
I'm loving the "ovaries" in a jar from this etsy seller. I think they'd look amazing on a shelf of neat vintage trinkets. Check out the rest of the shop, amazing stuff!!
The Oregon rain is starting to get to me. I find myself dreaming up fancy vacations we can't afford. Mostly, I miss the beach. Anyone else dreaming up exotic vacations?

Weight Check-in

2011-03-26T11:26:00.000-07:00

First I'll start off with the awesome report I pulled up this morning on MFP:

So last July on my birthday was my breaking point. I put in the photos and was like ... Well, I said some obscene words. I couldn't believe how much weight I had put on. Before Colin and I got together I bounced around between 125-130lb. 130lb was a little healthier for me, and that's what I stayed at for year one of our relationship. Then between bouncing around on medications, and putting on the "newlyweds" (or rather "newly moved in together") weight, it just added up.

Medications can do powerful things to your body, and then I probably did another 20lb of "I can eat just as much as my boyfriend" pounds. Suddenly, I was not the girl who could eat anything and stay relatively thin. I was overweight. Not just a little, but like fifty+ pounds.

Here is one of the most uncomfortable bloated looking photos of myself in that depressing July (But sidenote, my trip to Tahoe was really awesome! hah!)

Oh hey belly pudge!

At first the weight came off quickly, now it's slowed down. Since July I just tracked my calories, learned how much I could eat and stay around the recommended calories. Now, I am 18 pounds down, and it's time to instill an exercise plan. But first, here I am 18 pounds lighter (not sucking it in this time, ha!) in the same outfit:

I still have another thirtyish pounds to go. But, I'm hoping with instilling an exercise routine the weight loss will begin to pick up again. So that by my wedding (July 30) I can be comfortable in my body again and feel good!

Hair Style

2011-03-24T23:00:00.000-07:00

The shortest I've ever had my hair:

and now the longest:

I commited about a year and a half ago to grow out my hair for the wedding. And grow it did, it's now past my shoulder nearing the elbows. My goal is that before my sister leaves after the wedding that she can cut it for me. I have no idea how yet. But a lot less length for sure.

Messy Braids

2011-03-24T11:42:00.000-07:00

Today was totally a day for messy braids. I never feel like they turn out quite right. But I added a little bow up on the side and seemed to help finish it off.
I really want to try making the potato pierogi with caramelized onions recipe from PPK. I love potatoes and when you throw in the dough, my heart melts a little. If I am ambitious I might try it tomorrow on Colin's last day off.
I've started trying to jog again and am all about trying to come up with fun/silly playlists. Usually I rely on some bad 90's music, and anything poppy/catchy. This weeks had Tegan & Sara, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, 90's No Doubt, Rihanna, and The Faint. Yeah, it was a little all over the place. If y'all have any recommendations, feel free to throw them my way!

Animal Introductions

2011-03-22T11:22:00.000-07:00

This morning I saw the New York Times posted Reader's Photos/Stories of their pets. I loved flipping through them all and decided to post my own on here. If you aren't a huge fan of animals, you might want to skip over the post. But for those of you are, and haven't heard our little "pet family" story, here it is:

Holden was our first cat. Colin and I had only been living together for a month or so before we got her. We happen to be in this tiny town that Colin serviced for his old job as a merchandiser and decided to stop by the shelter. We had planned to get a short-haired dark colored cat. But, destiny had other plans for us. Shortly after arriving at the shelter Holden reached out her paw as I walked by. I lifted this fluff ball out of the kennel and heard the loudest almost motor-like purr, it totally won my heart over.

In coming home, after a vet visit we learned Holden was actually a "she" but her boy name stuck. She also learned how to come to a "kissy" noise. So whenever we were in the apartment if I made that noise she would come running (she'll still do it!) She is playful and sweet, but as she's grown older has gotten fiercely independent. But she still will let one of us lift her up whenever a bug comes in the house so she can see it (She LOVES bugs!) Her second favorite thing is kettle chips, yep, salty potato chips!

Gatsby was our next addition. She wasn't a "planned" pet, but she had a pretty sad story. My Mom called to tell me this cute little cat had been eating dog food off her porch. She was pretty sure she had been abandoned after her owner had died. So one evening she caught her and we met up with her and took her. So there we were with a cat who HATED the car. She screamed the entire way back to our apartment. I remember looking at Colin panic-stricken, like "What have we gotten ourselves into?!!" We let her in the apartment and she immediately hissed at Holden and went and hid on the highest shelf we had. We kept them separated for a few weeks and eventually introduced them slowly. It took a few years, but they are buddies now.

Gatsby got her name because we kept on my literary theme, and figured we were gender-neutral when it came to cat names. As she's grown she has gotten extremely affectionate. Her favorite spot is wherever my macbook is (which she sees as a cat-warmer) Her adorable (bad) habit is to drink out of water glasses, she sticks her paw in and then licks the water off of it (So watch your glasses for cat litter specks!)

We had just stuck with two cats for a couple years, when we really started to get the itch for a dog. We started brainstorming which sort of dog we wanted, maybe a small lab mix or border collie mix. Maybe a little dog, but nothing Chihuahua like, we hated the snappy/shaky qualities. We couldn't quite convince ourselves to take the leap though. We had just settled into Sacramento in a new apartment (that was pet friendly) and were jealous of all the other pet owners who took their cute dogs around for walks. Then one day, my Mom, Aunt, and Grandpa had come into town for a jaunt to Ikea. On the way there we got lost, and saw this little black speck running in the road. I immediately thought, "oh my gosh! it's totally a cute little lab mix, my dreams are coming true!" But as it got closer, I lost sight of it. My Mom opened the door and in popped this little Chihuahua.

He totally bonded with my Grandpa and mostly ignored me. But as the day went on, he came over to check me out. I texted Colin a picture from the least Chihuahua-looking angle I could (Which he saw through) and we left it up for discussion when he got off work. So there we were that night, with this little tiny dog debating whether or not we should keep him. We were leaning towards no, and decided to sleep on it. Huey slept in a pile of clothes next to the bed, but that morning, climbed into bed onto Colin and started licking him. Not too much, but just enough for a "Hello!" and from there - the rest is history. He totally won our hearts over.

Huey has totally busted our Chihuahua stereotypes, he loves sunny spots and well, any sort of food. He is very social, and loves other people and animals. His best friend is Gatsby. He wins over pretty much anyone who comes to our house (even the Chihuahua haters!)

We had begun toying around with the idea of having a second dog after we had Huey around a year, year and a half. We thought it would be fun for him to have a playmate. We had originally thought of getting a dachshund (My sister has one) But had held out. Then one day, my Aunt called me. Someone had found a dog on the side of the road in a box, and they were trying to find a home for it. So we shuttled on over, and saw this tiny little dog that was literally all legs. We were really leaning towards not a puppy, but Mimi was just too stinking cute. Colin picked her up, and I think from that moment on she was pretty much a Daddy's Girl.

Mimi is by far one of our smartest pets. She gets bored easily and seeks out trouble. She's been our "rebelous" teenager, but this little lady had a huge heart. She makes you work for her trust, but inch by inch she's been giving it to us. She's tested out patience, but made us both better pet-owners. I think she has been, by far, one of the best preparatory tools for having a child. Huey was such an easy dog, that we both felt like pet-parent-champions! Mimi has made us rethink that, we have to work really hard to be good pet-parents with her. She still has some room for improvement, but she has made her self a cozy spot in our home, and taken the last spot of our "pet" family.

Playing Pretend.

2011-03-21T16:09:00.000-07:00

That was me playing dress up, I think I was probably around six years old. That doll in the stroller was what I received for Christmas after I asked for a "little sister." I have my favorite outfit on, and red lipstick courtesy of my Mom indulging me for some "Grown up makeup"

Today I'm feeling sort of bummed out. The decisions I have to make are weighing on me, and I'm feeling pretty tired from it all (and this headache creeping up from my shoulder blades isn't exactly the mood-lifter I was looking for)

I'm still working on my trusty to do list (with scrubbing the mold off the window sills being #1 priority right now) but first, I think me and my partner-in-crime are going to take a nap to try and wake up with a better attitude.

Dress time!

2011-03-18T16:46:00.000-07:00

In making a point to eat a bit more healthy, some of my clothes have gotten loose/fit strangely. I don't really have the money to go run out an buy a new wardrobe, but I did indulge in two killer deals at the thrift store, meet my spring flower dress & plaid tennis dress:

Loving on the built-in's.

2011-03-15T14:31:00.000-07:00

A couple days ago, I made an ambitious list (see here) And as usual I got a little obessive and distracted and only accomplished doing the dishes and some other minor tasks. Convinced I'd get back on track this morning I started with something fun, the built-in's in the kitchen.

I'll admit it. I feel totally guilty. Here I had begged and whined that I didn't have ANY cool built-in's in prior apartments. Finally, my wish was granted, and I totally abused them. I didn't let them live up to their potential. In fact, they were ugly. Here's an embarrassing before shot:

Don't stop following me just because I have ugly built-in's. I promise, I made it right today! I feel like this picture is from one of those shows where you are convinced the mess/ugliness is staged. Nope, it's not, that's 100% pure clutter mess from us. To make matters worse, a couple weeks ago Colin had a coffee explosion. He sets the timer at night so he can be woken up with fresh coffee, and somehow the pot wasn't sitting in it right and it got over EVERYTHING, down to the bottom shelf cookbooks. In a panic that morning I bleached the crap out of everything and threw all the crap back on the shelves. Since then, it's sat.

First I established what I wanted the shelves to be and what had to remain there. The most useful things on the shelf that must remain are that basket third shelf, which is the home to all things dog/cat (flea meds, brushes, treats etc.) and the (coffee stained) cookbooks. In true TLC-show fashion, I then ripped everything off the shelves and scrubbed them down again with a combo of cleaners and magic-eraser.

The magic eraser didn't do anything (Such as disappointment, since it has been magic with other accidents) but, so it goes, I'm not going to bother repainting it white since we will only be here for another 2-4 months. Plus, my ~~crappy~~ busy property management clearly loves slathering paint all over shelves. This poor guy really needs to be stripped and repainted (nicely) But, that's way out the realm of things I would do here. Maybe in our old house in Sacramento, where our Landlord actually cared about the property, and we worked together. But, I'll stop rambling, here's the exciting AFTER shots!

So I got rid of some of the excess crap on there, and then grabbed some of the extra decor I had from other areas of the house (My hutch was getting a little crowded) The top shelf has the deer that were my Nana's and an etsy print with a couple tiny vintage glasses. Second Shelf: vintage spice jars, vintage grammar prints framed, and a couple of old brass owls. Third Shelf: Metal spice jars from ?, most used cookbooks with a little 1/4 cup pitcher I found thrifting. Bottom Shelf: dog basket reorganized, overflow cookbooks. Oh, and a bonus shot of the coffeepot cleaned up with one of my favorite cards (framed) I picked up from Little Winter sale in Portland, and a silly little cat figurine.

Florence

2011-03-14T12:43:00.000-07:00

At the end of last year I blogged about a photography project that I was starting, I am horribly behind in scanning and am just now trying to catch up. Yesterday I came across this photo of my Nana, wasn't she gorgeous?

THE list.

2011-03-13T15:12:00.000-07:00

Today marks "CLEANING DAY" on my schedule, and I feel like the list is never ending! In honor of it being cleaning day, the image to the left is a print for sale from BellyBabies. There are some other adorable ones that would look amazing in a nursery.

It's another rainy dreary day outside today. I know that I signed up for this when I moved to Oregon, but I am aching for a vacation to somewhere sunny. I think the easiest fix will be to try to plan a quick getaway sometime later this month or April to California to see my family.

Reading over at Door Sixteen, made me want to come up with my own cleaning list, so here is ~~today's~~ the next several day's "list." Some of it I may have to enlist Colin's help which means it might get pushed over until Wednesday. But my goal is to complete at least one room a day.

The List

Kitchen

- Finish dishes in sink and put away

- Wipe down counters and scrub oven

- Sweep floor

- Organize and decorate built-in

- Clean out and scrub inside of fridge

- Clean up the outside of the fridge

- Organize the bulletin board

- Organize the inside of the cupboards

- Wipe down windows

- Find creative hiding spot for Imac box

Bathroom

- Wipe down sink, mirror toilet and shower

- Organize shelves (including the pesky makeup basket)

- Sweep/clean floor

Bedroom

- Change cat litter

- Put away all clothes

- Organize tops of dresser

- Make up the bed

- Pick up all remaining items on floor

- Clean up nightstands

- Deal with the closet

- Sweep floor

Living Room

- Vacuum couch

- Organize entertainment center (including drawers)

- Clean up coffee table & side table(& oil)

- Organize under the credenza

- Deal with items to charity & that awkward stack by TV

Office Nook

- Clean off organize desk & prepare for 2nd chair for Colin

- Organize Ikea Cubes

- Clean up bookshelf

- Deal with magazines (donate or discard)

- Organize Art Supplies

Lists.

2011-03-12T19:13:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been feeling like my to-do list is on overload. (The cute to-do list pad image is from boygirlparty and is for sale here by the way!) With my wedding coming up in July, graduate/career decision looming, and the possibility of moving (not cities, just living quarters) life has just seemed sort of chaotic.

Speaking of weddings, this wedding posted on Once Wed totally made me ooo and ahhh the entire time I looked through the album. The brides vintage vogue style dress is adorable and their handmade touches throughout the wedding are beautiful.

Even though it doesn't feel like Spring most days here in Portland, I've fallen in love with the idea of wearing more dresses. I bought this one at Target the other day. Until it gets warmer I'll probably be pairing it with a long sleeve tee and leggings+boots, but at least it will feel a little bit more like Spring.

This weekend I'm going to order the supplies to make my wedding invitations. I am beyond excited! I haven't decided on all the details yet, but I've come pretty close. I'm hoping I can have them all put together by the end of March so they can be in the mail!

Monday Pick Me Ups

2011-03-07T16:04:00.000-08:00

After being in a slump yesterday, I found myself wandering through the aisles of Fred Meyer this morning and picking up a a bottle of sparkly nail polish. It makes me laugh and feel like a kid again to see the sparkle down on my finger tips.

Hope everyone is finding a way to cure themselves from the Monday blues!

Friday Link Wrapup

2011-03-04T16:26:00.000-08:00

- We've spent quite a few of our days this week at various doctors, which attracted me to this NYT article on Housecalls.

- I made this surprise cake for Colin earlier this week in attempts to cheer him up. It reminded me of a Texas Sheetcake. So amazing, full of frosting and goodness.

- Last night I made this tater tot casserole. I made a few changes, like cheddar-style Daiya instead of mozzarella. But it was seriously, amazing! I'm not a huge fan of casseroles, but I could gain a few pounds from this delicious meal.

[picture featured snapped by me at our eye doctor visit]

Vegan Eats - Kettleman Bagel Company

2011-03-02T10:58:00.000-08:00

Kettleman Bagel Company
2200 NE Broadway
Portland Oregon

I love me some carbs, and this place makes me seriously happy. For the vegan portion of the meal, you can top your bagel with tofutti, veggie tofutti, hummus, peanut butter or jam. Yes, the tofutti cost is a little high, but not so much that you can pass on it. I peeked at their lunch menu and drooled over the Ross Island Veggie offering (4 veggies, with the option of one being hummus) on a bagel. Ambiance was unusally hip for this part of Broadway. A nice design inside, and despite some hate on Yelp, the service we got was awesome.

I'd show you pictures of our bagels, but we wolfed them down in a matter of minutes, they were delicious and we were starving!

Other notes - they serve Diet Coke (for the caffeine/chemical addicts like me) and Stumptown Coffee!

Duvet Love.

2011-02-27T21:08:00.000-08:00

I was making the bed the other day and realized I really hated this whole "Full/Queen" combination issue. I hate that everything's switched over to that, because the combo is really too small for a queen. I love Colin, but he is a blanket-hogger. For the sake of our relationship (and my cold legs) I'd love to get a king-sized downcomforter from Ikea to replace our current queen.

I will admit, the idea a new duvet cover is totally making me giddy, because it would give me an excuse to finally snag this gem from Crate&Barrel:

The only downside is it would mean we would eventually have to replace our curtains since we currently have a leaf-pattern from Ikea that wouldn't match at all. All of this is insanely out of our budget, so it's most just a dream for now. My best bet is to slowly collect stuff and piece it together as we have the money. First, I'll keep spying over at C&B for when the clearance out that duvet!

fill in the blank friday

2011-02-25T17:56:00.000-08:00

1. I am currently obsessed with finding a new duvet cover .

2. Today I am stressed because, Colin got some bloodwork back that was alarming. We're not quite sure what it means fully yet, and will find out more in the future. But, I'm a worrier. .

3. The age I am is 25 and the age I feel is a lot older. I feel young because I'm not in my career and I'm not afraid to laugh like a kid and dance like crazy to my favorite cheesy songs. But I feel old because I have a lot of grandma-like habits .

4. My favorite place is any of the hikes we do in oregon, there's something about being surrounded in the pacific northwest hiking areas that just brings me peace .

5. Something I have been procrastinating is laundry .

6. The last thing I purchased was groceries at trader joes .

7. The thing I love most about my home is it really represents us. i put a lot of effort in to have little touches everywhere so that where we live looks like us .

see the original blanks here!

Kettle Corn Goodness.

2011-02-24T22:55:00.000-08:00

In high school, my friend Dana used to pop kettle corn and eat it with my sister, Arlene. I hated the smell of it, and thought it tasted disgusting. Fast forward to earlier this week and Colin brought home this bag of Kettle Corn from Fred Meyer. I made him promise not to breathe on me and he popped it open while we played Mille Borne.

On a bathroom break from the intense competition, I found myself waiting for Colin and bored. I saw the bag just sitting there and decided to try some. Needless to say, Colin walked out to me totally stuffing my face with it. He laughed at me and said, "I thought you hated it?!"

Alright Kettle Corn, I'll admit it, I like you, but only cooled in a bag.

Huey's Famous!

2011-02-23T17:53:00.000-08:00

Baby Huey!

Huey got featured on a blog!

Go check it out and look around, Christine's blog is adorable.

our meal.

2011-02-21T21:28:00.000-08:00

our meal in four pictures

1. recipe from the kitchn
2. trader joe's frozen shelled edamame
3. olive oil, sea salt, fresh pepper (colin's half), garlic powder & roasted
4. the other half of our dinner: tj's roasted corn, tj's organic black beans, daiya cheddar, lettuce, & salsa.

Flats.

2011-02-21T09:29:00.000-08:00

Colin and I had a date on Saturday. We rarely do "dates" on the weekend (I hate crowds!) But we made an exception and headed over to Laurelhurst Theater. We got our pitcher of Diet Coke, and Jokerz bar (From Whole Foods next door) and watched:

And for the record, it was a great movie! But what I really wanted to write about was Maggie's flat in the film, it was seriously gorgeous -

A beautifully designed set, with just the right amount of chaos to make it look like an Artist's living space. You can get the full tour of her "apartment" here!

Photos above from: eyeprime, and www.casasugar.com

Long hair boredom.

2011-02-20T23:17:00.000-08:00

I've been growing out my hair for the last couple years in preparation to do something fun for my wedding. But, honestly, I was getting really bored. Danielle, over at Sometimes Sweet, swooped in and saved the day with the Milkmaid Braids tutorial.

She then asked for photos for those of us who attempted it and posted it over at her blog tonight. I'm there on the top row. All the braids turned out so lovely on everyone! Here is a closer look at mine:

Vegan Eats

2011-02-20T10:43:00.000-08:00

When we moved to pretty much the mecca of vegan eating, I decided I really should keep track of the places we eat. I know that for me, Portland is almost overwhelming of it's options. I moved from a city that had just a handful of places that were vegan-friendly. So without further ado, I present: vegan eats.

This will be a frequently edited list of vegan places I've discovered in Portland. Yes, there are many vegan resources on the web for Portland (one of the best obviously, stumptown vegans). But, I figured if I was going to write about it on here, I might as well do it in an organized fashion.

As I update, I'll make a new post, but I'll always link it to this original post. Note, most of the places are not exclusively vegan, but offer at least one vegan option. This list right now is just a small list of places offering vegan eats that I want to try, it has lots of room to grow! I also separated out food stands. As the list grows I'll implement further organization.

Acme Donuts - 2929 SE Powell Blvd

Back to Eden - 2217 NE Alberta St

Bay Leaf Restaurant - 4768 SE Division St

Bella Faccia Pizzeria - 2934 NE Alberta Street

Black Sheep Cafe - 523 NE 19th Ave

Blossoming Lotus - 1713 Northeast 15th Avenue

Chaos Cafe - 2620 SE Powell Blvd

Cup and Saucer - 3000 NE Killingsworth (multiple locations)

Dick's Kitchen - 3312 Southeast Belmont Street

Dots - 2521 SE Clinton St

Dovetail Bakery - 3039 NE Alberta St

Hammy's Pizza - 2114 SE Clinton

Hot Lips (multiple locations)

Hungry Tiger Too - 207 SE 12th Ave

Jam on Hawthorne - 2239 SE Hawthorne Blvd

Junior's Cafe - 1742 SE 12th Ave

Kettleman Bagel Company - 2200 Broadway

Laughing Planet (Multiple Locations)

Laurelthirst Pub - 2958 NE Glisan St

Le Cookie Monkey - 3015 SE Berkeley Pl

Liberty Glass - 938 N Cook St

Mississippi Pizza - 3552 N Mississippi Ave

No fish Go fish - 3962 SE Hawthorne Blvd

Papa G's - 2314 SE Division St

Paradox Cafe - 3439 SE Belmont St

Pepinos - 3832 SE Hawthorne Blvd

Portobello Vegan Trattoria - 1125 SE Division St

Red and Black Cafe - 400 SE 12th Ave

Sizzle Pie - 624 E Burnside

Sweet Lemon Vegetarian Bistro - 4888 NW Bethany Blvd

Sweetpea Baking Company - 1205 SE Stark Ave

Thai Food Cafe - 833 N Killingsworth Ave

The Bye and Bye - 1205 SE Stark Ave

Tin Shed - 1438 NE Alberta St

Vege Thai - 3272 SE Hawthorne Blvd

Vegetarian House - 22 NW 4th Ave

Vita Cafe - 3023 NE Alberta St

Voodoo Doughnut Too - 1501 NE Davis St

Wild Abandon - 2411 SE Belmont St

Food Carts

Biscuit Bike - 3315 SE Hawthorne Blvd

Bro-Dog - SW 5th Ave and SW Stark St

Chili Pie Palace - SW 3rd and Washington St

Dreamer's Cafe - SW 5th St

El Nutri Taco - 8438 SE Woodstock

Homegrown Smoker BBQ - SW4th and College

Lickity Split - NW 10th and Hoyt

Lucielle's Balls - 43rd and Belmont

Native Bowl - N Mississippi Ave & N Skidmore St

Off the Griddle - 4926 SE Division St

Open Heart Cafe - 23rd and Alberta

Oregon Ice/Soupworks - 3221 SE Division

Potato Champion - SE 12th Ave and Hawthorne Blvd

Shelly's Garden Burritos - SW Broadway and Yamhill St

Sip (Vegan Milkshakes!) - 3029 SE 21st Ave

Son of Flavour - NE Fremont St and N Mississippi Ave

Sonny Bowl - 430 SW 3rd Ave

Taqueria Los Gorditos - SE 50th Ave and SE Division

The Ruby Dragon - 4233 N. Mississippi

TREATmachine - 20th and Morrison SE

Whiffies - SE 12th and SE Hawthorne Blvd

The Details

2011-02-15T14:54:00.000-08:00

my current hair

potential wedding hair

I'm utterly blessed to have a sister who does hair. I don't have to mess with trying to find a stylist I trust to do my hair for my big day. All I have to do now is try to decide what I want to do with my hair. The four photos above are ones I've saved from various places on the web ages ago (Sorry I have no credits, if you know where they came from, please comment below!)

I have a REALLY amazing hair piece with bleached peacock feathers I bought a couple years ago off of Etsy. Other than that, no ideas. I know part of what will help me make my decision is what dress I get. But, I can't really go dress shopping until June. Right now, I've been dropping at least 2-5lb a month and I don't want it to fit funny, so I'm waiting till pretty much the last possible moment to buy something.

Now that we've sent out the Save the Dates it really does feel real. I'm getting nervous making Excel spreadsheets left and right. It feels like there are so many details left to plan, and such a tight budget. But I'm lucky that Colin is a superstar who is willing to take on a large portion of the planning.

In other news, my Mom is coming to visit!

I'm so excited to show her around my new city, I think she'll love Portland!

Remake.

2011-02-12T20:10:00.000-08:00

Our room in our last house in Sacramento.

I miss having a bedroom I loved. Okay, I don't miss those fingerprints on the mirror (It's beyond me why I didn't wipe that down before this picture) Not being able to paint the walls here has been killing me inside. I thought about doing it anyway and just painting them back white when we leave. But, we are now talking about moving this summer, and four months isn't long enough to justify it. So this weekend I'm dedicating to falling in love with my bedroom again. Expect some before and afters next week!

Reality sets in...

2011-02-12T11:32:00.000-08:00

Colin and I made the decision to send our save the dates out via e-mail (and refer them to our wedding website) because it made sense. We are planning and paying for a lot of our own wedding, and we are on a really tight budget.

I designed this as our save the date:

I've roughly planned the invitations as well. Without giving away too much, they will be the inside of a book and involve library cards (old school!)

Flooding gmail and sending out the save the dates really made it feel like it was happening. I'm excited, nervous, and about a hundred other emotions.

Cleaning.

2011-02-06T12:31:00.000-08:00

Today I'm going to power through and get a bunch of cleaning done around my house. But, I'll confess, I am a total list-maker fanatic! I am putting one of my own "Cleaning lists" up here so you can head over to my flickr and download a copy for yourself if you too are motivated by lists.

Plus, who doesn't like to put a little check through a heart-shaped box when you finish a chore?

Quicken Master!

2011-02-05T17:25:00.000-08:00

Inspired by Kathleen's Money Matters post, I decided to create a pie chart of our household budget. I wish it weren't so bleak, but with two students in our household, money is tight!

Our groceries, eating out, and entertainment money is all taken out in cash. So at times it will vary how it will be used (sometimes we'll spend more or less on entertainment depending on how social we are feeling) I am a religious Quicken user, and reconcile our account at least twice a week.

We racked up some debt with a major dog surgery, medical co-payments, a computer, and a car transmission & repair (for a car I don't even own anymore!) We made the decision to downsize to one car, and we do have a car payment. In moving to Portland, we decided that one car was totally feasible. And in fact, when Colin doesn't have to commute to the suburbs for work, we will most likely sell our car eliminating our car payment entirely and transfering that money over to paying off the rest of our debt.

When we moved to Portland, we only had a rough idea of what would be making financially, and the place we rented is a little on the high end for our budget. But this summer we are hoping to pick a place a little bit cheaper, and ease up our budget a bit. I used "utilities" pretty liberally, and it covers our car insurance, cell phone (we have no landline), internet, and gas/electric bill.

Things will continue to be fairly bleak for the next two years, but after that we will both be in our careers. I'm hoping that we can get rid of the rest of our debt, then we will only be left with student loans.

Simple Living

2011-02-05T16:34:00.000-08:00

Colin sent me a link to this article about an Oregon couple who downsized to 100 possessions. Check out the link, because the video+written interview was really interesting as well. It was totally thought provoking, trying to think what I would chose as my 100 possessions if I had to downsize.

This sentence stood out the most,
"Taking a step back from materialism helped me understand the big picture," she says.

Now I'm trying to decide what would be on my list, and I might come back and post later this week once Ive decided. Something to think about this weekend!

(photo at top from www.afreshstartorganizing.net)

Six Month Countdown!

2011-01-30T21:20:00.000-08:00

DECEMBER 2004

Today marks six months till my wedding. I can hardly wait!

The picture above is from one of the first "official" dates we went on. We wanted to be silly and do an nontraditional pose so we posed in the bathroom.

bloglovin

2011-01-29T13:24:00.001-08:00

Although my heart still belongs to google reader, I know lot's of people have converted to bloglovin, here's my link:

Computer Biography.

2011-01-29T13:06:00.000-08:00

photo from Computer Museum.

Growing up with two parents who were in the technology industry meant that we always had an (Apple) computer in our house. I spent many hours of my youth illustrating ideas from my overactive imagination on Kid Pix and playing Mavis Beacon (What can I say? I was a nerdy kid) I remember my Dad going onto AOL and playing funny sound bites, but only a few, because AOL minutes were expensive and limited.

When my parents seperated, my Mom paved her own way by buying an Acer (PC) Oh the betrayal! But I quickly adapted. I spent hours on AOL (Because they finally adapted to an unlimited minutes plan) in the "Kid Chatrooms" This was far before 20/20 specials, and the internet wasn't nearly popular enough to have child predators lurking in every chatroom. I met some great friends (One who I kept in touch with all the way through the early years of college) and spent most of the time exchanging bad poetry and Christmas wish lists.

By the time I hit high school, I ended up with my own Dell in my room. It was then then that I got my first external cd burner. Oh the excitement! This led to my first boy crush and I exchanging endless mix CD's containing our favorite Jimmy Eat World & At the Drive-in tracks.

It wasn't until college that I finally went back to my roots, and got a Mac Mini after my Dell suddenly died without warning (And me being the immature college youth I was, had not backed up anything) A couple years later, thanks to some student loans, I welcomed a Macbook into our family. Since then, I've never looked back. I've gotten iPods, iMac, and an iPhone. Our house oozes Apple presence all over it.

I hadn't thought much about any of this until I had a conversation with friends over the effect of technology on youth. Most of the younger kids of my generation have only known life with constant computer use & internet access.

What about all of you? Has your life always involved computer access?

Design Story

2011-01-29T09:22:00.000-08:00

Have you all heard of Design Story? It's like Gilt for amazing design products. I wandered over there because Rifle Design had some stuff on there,

You can join, here is an invite: https://www.designstory.com/invite/allison_blakeley

Full disclosure: If you use my invite, you ~~and I both~~ (If you purchase something, I get the credit as well) get an instant $10 credit. Win-win!

Date Night.

2011-01-22T20:34:00.000-08:00

Colin had been planning a date night since earlier this week but it kept getting put off, until finally today we made it happen. He attempted to keep most of it a secret (But I a horrible when it comes to secrets, I always try to guess!)

He took me over to Laurelhurst Theater and we watched "It's kind of a funny story" and enjoyed Go Max Go candybars (Yum! Vegan candy heaven!)

I have really missed being able to just eat a candybar when we go to the movies, and we found these at Whole Foods. They tasted so amazing! Most mainstream vegan candy is.... less than stellar. But these tasted like homemade versions of mainstream candy. We had Mahalo and Jokerz, gotta love being able to split them in half and steal part of your love's! (Luckily, he didn't mind sharing and splitting one bit!) Plus, the Whole Foods is right next to the movie theater, so I think we found a new tradition!

Motivation

2011-01-18T18:10:00.001-08:00

As I've mentioned before I've been tracking what I'm eating over at MyFitnessPal and sometimes when I'm looking for inspiraiton, I go onto Modcloth and pick out some cute girly clothes that I'd like to wear once I get down to a weight where I feel a little more comfortable in my own skin.

These two are what motivated me today:

Clarity.

2011-01-18T17:11:00.000-08:00

My mom stumbled on one of my old drawings and told me she wanted to frame it. I insisted I at least clean it up a bit.

Here's the original

and the one I fixed up yesterday. I just wanted to make stronger lines, color it in via computer, and replace the writing

I've just stopped drawing in the last couple months. With my health stuff flaring up I just couldn't find the motivation to do it at all. But, finishing this project makes me realize how many skills I've lost due to not drawing daily (drawing lines on the computer have become so shaky again) So I think I'll try to start incorporating it into my daily routine again.

fill in the blank friday!

2011-01-14T08:23:00.000-08:00

1. I feel happy when i'm doing something outdoors with Colin. when I'm with my family. when my dogs make me smile by doing something silly .

2. I get silly when i start making cheesy jokes. i just start going, and i can't stop! .

3. Something that makes me sad is watching someone i love get hurt .

4. Something that makes me annoyed is forgetting my glasses .

5. A time that I've been truly surprised was i can't remember! but it's probably my fault, since i am horrible at waiting for surprises (i always try guesses!) .

6. I am so thankful for colin. he takes care of me when i'm feeling sick, comforts me when i'm sad, and takes an earful when i want to babble about something i've learned .

7. I feel loved when people do small/little gestures for me. it's those little touches that mean the most to me .

You can take part here!

glasses have arrived!

2011-01-13T16:28:00.000-08:00

It's official, thanks to Warby Parker I can see again!

Weekend.

2011-01-10T12:32:00.000-08:00

My weekend was great. I admit, the weekends that Colin has off (He works every other weekend) inevitably are some of my favorites.

The highlight, was Sunday morning when I woke up and decided I wanted to go on a hike. I woke up Colin and let him know of my mission and after a few yelp reviews, we headed over to Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge with two pups in tow:

It was really chilly! But we bundled up the best we could (Although, lesson learned, wear a layer under jeans when it's cold out!)

Toward the end of the hike, we passed this amazing mural:

Afterward we headed over to Hungry Tiger too and got some "burgers" and fries to finish off our date. Although we were both too hungry to stop and grab any photos there.

Hope everyone elses weekend was just as fun!

fill in the blank friday!

2011-01-07T00:28:00.000-08:00

{photo via}

1. Winter is taking some getting used to! oregon winters are different from northern california ones .

2. Summer is something i'll look forward to. i won't miss the 100+ all summer long weather i was in last year. .

3. If it were summer instead of winter right now I'd get rid of all these layers i'm wearing! open the windows, and spend a lot more time outside. .

4. My favorite thing to do in winter is snuggle on the couch and watch a good movie with my love .

5. My favorite thing to do in summer is long walks with the dogs & my love .

6. The ideal outfit for a sunny summer day is a simple light top with a skirt, or maybe even a sundress. .

7. The ideal outfit for a frigid winter day is layer layer layer layer. yes, generally around 4 layers of clothing. oy! .