And there was a photobooth and a candy bar and lots of my family and old, old friends I haven't seen since I was a kid. And there was cake.
We are flying to San Diego, a town (okay, a city) with almost a lifetime of personal history for me. My cousin is getting married and it's been far too long since the Js hung out with the Valli side of the family.
I am fully embracing the shift into fall: a new season brings new temperatures, new routines and now, a new look for my blog. Here is the photo that inspired my more seasonal banner.
I am spending some time on my shop again now that fall has made her arrival known to my brain. Some cloudy days have appeared here in Portland, pumpkin images are on Pinterest and I've seen a Halloween costumer or two here and there. I made a new banner and put up some of my favorite fall images. I am so inspired and there is free shipping right now through my lab. I am thinking some fall greeting cards may be a good addition to the shop! Stay tuned...
Good morning! I got an unexpected birthday gift this morning -- the discovery of Gojee. Gojee is a recipe site that is powered by bloggers. This means the photography is stellar and that is enough to suck me in for hours. Apparently they have an algorithm also so the more you use it, the more the recipes will be tailored to your tastes.
I made myself a big fat pinboard to celebrate my birthday today, filled with treats and flowers and pretty things that make me happy. Like cake, a big yummy blue cake for us September Virgos.
I cannot say happy Monday as I woke up to a hacked email account and messages from dear friends and family that they received evil spam from me. Then we discovered that due to a dire lack of vacation time, we cannot go to California for any of the holidays. This is a big blow emotionally and makes the impact and reality of moving very real.
But let's think about happy things as this day nears an end. I got to visit the Columbia River Gorge this weekend and see my dog swim near a waterfall. I also got to go creek walking with my boys and Betty and we gobbled up delicious wild blackberries warmed in the sun.
Hello! In the past week, I have visited the ER with my son for the first time (he is fine after a five foot fall from his bicycle at the skate park, but he sure scared us), primed and painted our garage, unpacked four boxes in my office, had insomnia till 4:30 a.m., watched my son cut his own hair the night before the first day of school, and taken a class about how to can tomatoes among other things. I also made some Artist Trading Cards after a girlfriend mailed me an article about them with some she made.
I have seen ATCs all over Etsy and the blogosphere for awhile but never made any before. It turns out my trusty gouache set makes a perfect stress-relief companion while I'm on hold with banks for my day job!
Have you ever made an ATC? I see what all the fun is about, I mailed off two sets already to my friends. If you want some, leave me a comment and I'll send you some next week. :)
Nana is here visiting and we are all so happy. This weekend we are going to venture beyond the city limits and visit the Oregon coast for the first time. Being a (mostly) California girl, I have started to have twitches for the sand and ocean.
Hi Friends,
It has been a long week and I am very grateful it is finally Friday. I have been having a lot of problems with my back due to my desk so all week I was a little obsessed with figuring out how to resolve it. At home in California, I had two desks and so I got rid of one of them for the move. Well, I rarely sat at the one I decided to keep and it is about 3" above normal desk height. After three weeks of working at the wrong height, my back and shoulders were in trouble. I found a chiropractor last week and that is helping a lot and Wednesday night I found a solution at IKEA of course that will hold me over for quite some time.
On Tuesday, a little dream came true for me. I went to a canning basics class at the Portland Homestead Supply Co.. I discovered this place shortly upon arriving in Portland and immediately signed up when I realized they offered classes.
Canning can be intimidating when you read about but our instructor, Cara from Modern Preserves had a calm, reassuring manner about it all. No need to fear, especially with sweet Belle the goat near!
So, if you want to learn to can and preserve the wonderful bounty happening right now, I would be remiss if I didn't tell you to hop on over to my dear friend Green Bean's amazingly timed canning set giveaway! I know I am entering because I want to be very prepared for Aug. 31 when I'll be at Portland Homestead Supply Co. for their tomato class.
Yes, I had intended to have this be a regular feature on Thursdays but then life got in my way.
I recently ordered new Moo cards because I finally ran out of the last ones. I see I got those almost two years ago, hopefully I run out a lot faster this time. Unfortunately the lens I used to photograph my last Moo cards broke during the packing mayhem. Sad, but true. So I couldn't get as sharp of a focus this time but still, I am loving my new cards.
So I am trying to get back to my routines and my personal creative dreams. I want to seriously start building my business in what is left of 2011. I know I do not have hours per day right now to devote to it, but I want to spend a little time each day doing something, anything to stir up the energy! Like Michelle always says, 15 minutes per day lady!
I can hardly believe today is our last day at our beloved school. After three years there, with the same teacher no less, it is going to be quite a goodbye. The Noodle would have moved on to a different classroom next year, so a transition was coming even if we stayed. Leaving California makes it all the more bittersweet.
The perfect diversion from packing has brightened my day today! The newest issue of Sweet Paul Magazine launched this morning.
These are two images that grabbed my eye right away. One is about summer salads and the other is about dyes you can make from supermarket items. Fun!
It is not feeling summery here in the Bay Area yet so I haven't been feeling the summer vibe all the way. I am looking forward to July when all the craziness subsides and there is some leisure time in my days again.
Art for the big-hearted, radiant woman who is ready to immerse herself in beauty.
