HOLIDAY '13 RECAP - INSTAGRAM

FRAMED GIFT FROM HUBBY / 2013 ORNAMENT

     The framed gift was from a super cool new gift boutique in Newberg, Pulp & Circumstance. In full disclosure, Dan went there and picked out something entirely different and this is 1 item that we exchanged for. The actual gift he gave me was a necklace with a carved wooden bird. (Big points for putting a bird on it, and even bigger points for trying to buy me a present in a fancy stationary/gift shop with a toddler in tow, but it just wasn't something I would have actually worn. I will not suffer fashion to avoid hurting my husband's feelings. And really, he had no hurt feelings. He honestly said "I had to be quick! I had Raine!")

     The ornament was from a gift shop here in Carlton. I picked it because not only was it pretty...It lights up! That seemed fitting because Raine was so into THE LIGHTS! (MOMMY! THE LIGHTS!) this holiday season. ;)

RAINE & THE GINGERBREAD HOUSES / DONATION CARDS

     There is one business in particular in Carlton that is always fun for Raine to pass the shop windows on our way to the coffee shop every morning (GIANT HORSES! POODLE FIGURINES! FROGS ON THE SIDEWALK!) During the holidays Raine was extra enchanted by their festive items. GINGERBREAD HOUSES! GIANT SILVER PLASTIC SHEEP! NATIVITY SCENES! Not to mention a life-size retro SANTA outside the front door. Unfortunately, it is not a shop 'for minors.' There is wine tasting, just as there is wine tasting in practically every business in our town, so no toddlers. ;)

     I raised some funds and collected gift cards to send to five families in Washington that were affected by the tornado. These were the beautiful cards by Rifle Paper Co. that I bought and had the total pleasure of mailing the donations in.

CHRISTMAS MORNING / HOLIDAY BREWS

     It was absolutely hilarious to watch Raine open presents this year. He thought it was the most exciting thing, and yet was still a little bit unsure of it all, and what was happening exactly. He STILL doesn't know how to grab a present and just rip into it, despite three Christmases and two birthdays. But once you get the unwrapping started, he will certainly help finish! After his first few presents from Santa (including this clearly AWESOME Hungry Caterpillar puzzle --way to go, Santa!--) he started grabbing the presents from under the tree and proclaiming, "For me! For me!" After several more presents from family in Illinois, he started running around the room in utter excitement and stopping at the tree and screeching, "I am here! I am here!" And he would repeat grabbing presents and shouting "For me! For me!" Dude was jacked UP on Christmas! Ha!

     A favorite holiday brew of mine was Fireside Chat spiced ale by First Amendment. I also enjoyed one of Dan's gifts to me, the Experiment Ale (with Oregon marionberries) by Harvester, which was a welcome treat as I had changed by Christmas to a gluten-free diet. Additional seasonal brews we enjoyed this season were: Deschutes Jubelale winter ale

10 Barrel Pray For Snow winter ale

Fish Fish Tale Organic Ice Breaker winter ale

H.U.B. Abominale winter ale

Ninkasi Sleigh'r winter ale

Portland BlackWatch cream porter

 Widmer Brrr ale

Stone Smoked Porter with Vanilla Bean*

*Dan's favorite ;)

DINNER BY LORRI / RAINE'S FIRST SNOW

     The weekend after Christmas, we enjoyed celebrating with Lorri and Carmen in their new home. She pulled out all the stops to give me a beautiful, satisfying gluten-free dinner. :) We had slow-cooked pulled pork with barbecue glaze, smoky black eyed peas, and gluten-free ham biscuits with a homemade honey orange butter. Raine was a huge fan of those biscuits and butter and I have to say, after two weeks of no baked goods (going gluten free) it was the BEST Christmas present for me. :) They were delicious!

     Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, Yamhill County saw a half inch of beautiful snow for one day. :) Roads were frozen and it was hard to drive anywhere (we don't salt in the Northwest) but the scenery was worth it. Raine woke up that morning and was excited by the sight of snow. It was certainly new to him. He is very good at telling me what we are dealing with each morning, weather wise... I enter his room, turn on the light, and open his curtains. He proclaims: "Fog!" (Sounds like "F*#!*") "Raine!" "Sun!" And that day, I taught him, "Snow!" We are looking forward to our trip this weekend to Illinois when he can actually play in real snow. ;)    

The Perfect Home

We have spent the last six weeks looking at houses and it has been a tremendous test of our patience, communication, and faith in the hope that we can find the right home for us and our family.

It all started with a listing for an incredibly rad mid century modern ranch in central Beaverton. Photos boasted a stunning post and beam style with walls of glass, restored hardwood floors throughout, and an updated kitchen with stainless steel counter top and bamboo flooring. Despite a lackluster location situated adjacent to a major commercial intersection and neighboring lots of car dealerships, we made the call and requested our first viewing. We didn't even have our financing approved yet but we were starstruck! Despite the enthusiastic listing, it still needed more work (especially updated energy efficient windows!) and at the top of our price point, we weren't interested in being the ones to provide the muscle (er, checkbook.) We were bit by the house bug, though, and finalized our financing so we could get out there and really look at more places.

I don't think we thought we would end up looking at as many houses as we did...

 

 

In as many cities as we did...

 

  

 

With as many different styles as we saw...

 

 

There were some definite NOS. There were some maybes. There were ones that I fell in love with but couldn't convince Dan it was right. Or vice versa. (Oh the domestic disputes...) And there were some that we both felt were THE ONE and put offers on. A total of FIVE of those. One didn't work out after the inspection, another didn't feel right after a couple of rounds of negotiations, and two went to other buyers who outbid us. But finally, FINALLY, one special little one became OURS today.

And I don't have a photo of it.

;-)

It is still being built!

It is a lovely little gem in Carlton.

We are beyond happy and look forward to beginning this new chapter of our lives...!!!

Stay tuned!

8 Years of Newlywedness. Hurray!

 

From hubby...Only letterpress for his lady! Lark Press, PDX.

Dinner at our favorite local restaurant, Sawatdee.

Baby Rocco watches TV with us.

Picking up El Cranko Cranky Babe (but still super cute!) from Matt & Gayle's.

Starflowers from hubby & my card to him ~ Encanto Press, PDX.

On tap.

I Have a Little Boy Turning One Soon...

...So I am totally obsessing over his first birthday party!!!

My original vision was an Eric Carle and balloon themed party, but my invitation concept didn't work, which led me to consider the entire theme a catastrophic failure. I am putting it on hold until next year. I am sure you have all seen the invitation idea that I found; it has been pinned a hundred million times! The helium balloon box invite from On-Hand Modern (orignally posted July 2010).

I did my research and discovered that the invitation pictured above isn't practical. This was a water balloon, which will only hold the helium for a few minutes. So I did my own experiment. I found a party store that has balloons and had them fill a small (regular) balloon for my experiment. Next, I took it to UPS and asked if I could ship it. We found a small box the perfect size and they gave me prices for shipping (USPS $5 for 3-5 days and UPS $11 for 1 day delivery). It has been hot here in Oregon lately so I wanted to see if that would affect my boxed balloon and necessitate the 1 day shipping. There wasn't even time to test it. The balloon didn't even stay afloat for more than a few hours in our living room. :( I couldn't really troubleshoot a way for helium not to escape the balloon, and I didn't want to go bigger with a bigger box in hopes a bigger balloon would last longer. It was already adding up to be pretty costly.

Once I realized that the balloon idea wouldn't work out, I decided to start from scratch. I gave up my whole Eric Carle themed party concept. I set aside my matching invitation I had designed that used images and text from Raine's Eric Carle flashcards and Up Up I Go growth chart. (It didn't seem as fun without the balloon rising out of the box with it.) I gave up my bright, primary colored decorations with lots of helium filled balloons. And away went the food concept...A little bit of everything the Very Hungry Caterpillar ate.

I decided he only turns 1 once, and that is probably the only time I can still treat him like a baby. So then I considered doing a Peter Rabbit theme. I found this cute little invitation on Etsy, but then OH MY GOODNESS THERE ARE SO MANY POSSIBILITIES ON ETSY. LOL.

Fast forward three hours.

I ended up with invitations that I think are completely unique. I don't know what sort of theme they create...Maybe none at all. But I think that's OK. His party will be sweet and celebratory and I will give myself the luxury of not worrying about a theme this year. ;) I ordered the invitations yesterday. They are so delightful; I had to share:

Thank you so much, Etsy shop Emily Isabella! ;) 

Next I need to determine what time of day and what food to serve. I think we will try to have everyone meet outside in our condominium community's common lawn next to the pool. Is it too much to open it up for pool use? I'm not really thinking I want a "pool party," but I know it will probably be hot and the kids (ranging in age from 1 to 16!) would love it. How do I incorporate pool time into such a little party? I don't know how long Raine will last in the warm sun with all of the commotion before needing a big nap!?

An outdoor party gives me less to worry about in terms of decor, so I think I will just try to find some nice vintage table cloths and have some flowers out with the food. 1 challenge might be finding a square cake stand for his cake. (I have a NSM's banana cake in mind for his first bite of cake, and it is only offered square.) I also kind of want to hire a photographer because I want to enjoy the party and not be worrying about taking photos.

Much to think about! (And don't even get me started on all of the toys I want to buy him). I have a couple of days to decide the time before the invitations and stamps arrive in the mail. After that, it is T Minus 7 weeks! Yea!

Artist of the Month: Mandy Greer

[Chandelier, Sculpture, The Wolf Prince and The Parrot Princess installation, Priceless Works Gallery, Seattle, April 2004. Photos from Flickr profile]

I came across Mandy Greer while checking up on exhibitions at the Portland Museum of Contemporary Craft. Her undergraduate study included a B.A. in English and B.F.A. in Ceramics from The University of Georgia Athens, and an M.F.A. in Ceramics from The University of Washington, Seattle.

I love the way her installations and sculptures are saturated with monochromatic color schemes, textures like string and cloth, and cross-pollinated themes of domesticity, fauna, and spirituality. They are like frozen glimpses of dreams, suspended and trailing in out of realistic and subconscious images.

"Mandy’s work presents her own elusive interior narratives remade into archetypal tales. These “fairy” tales transcend the personal by mimicking theatrical illusions and tapping into a collective mythology of imagery. By using animal and hybridized forms made up of the flotsam and jetsam of the thriftstore domestic, Greer shoves the viewer into a vivid yet sometimes inexplicable world with the meaning always on the tip of one’s tongue. Her installations attempt to wrap around and contain many paradoxes; the collusion of homeliness and glitz, hunger and indulgence, love and violence, the decorative and the meaningful, the diligence of the handmade and slovenliness of the animal realm. Every surface and stitch is laced with the hope that exhaustive labor holds the promise of the transformative power of Spectacle." (Quote from Greer's Blog.)

Geer's Flickr photos
Greer's personal blog and official web site
Greer's MyArtSpace profile
Details for Greer's upcoming Dare alla Luce exhibition at Portland Museum of Contemporary Craft

Fuego & Calendars

["The Gas We Pass" by Shinta Co, I Love You Braille Necklace, and Sofa Pillow T-shirt]

Yesterday I discovered a great store IN THE MALL. I'm picky, so that says a lot. I'm not a big fan of national chains (although I certainly shop the hell out of Target). If you go to the mall to buy a gift, in general you are looking at clothing, candles, Hallmark nick-knacks, and calendars. (Yes, it's that time of year when the enormous calendar booths descend upon the masses...I already have mine picked out--I traditionally get a William Wegman with the adorable Weimaraners. There are always at least 2--one of adult dogs and one of puppies--and the puppies usually win my favor. This year, the choices are:

[Family Calendar, Man's Best Friend, and Puppies]

...but this year, I'm leaning toward the family calendar with the stickers. Stickers! I'll let you know. As an aside, this is not the ONLY calendar I get for the new year. I have a bit of a calendar fetish. Already I have an Egg Press offset printed desk calendar and a letterpressed wall calendar waiting to be used--chosen for that combination of antique and modern that I love so much! We also usually receive a ridiculously funny calendar from Lorri & Carmen at Christmas. Year 1 was "Extreme Ironing" (I have to giggle at the memory of it) and this year was "Nuns Behaving Badly" (find similar here). In the yoga corner of our bedroom, I placed the new calendar by papercut artist, Niki McClure. Each portrait has a single word I meditate on. I've already started using it for this purpose, so I'm in October 2009 while I do yoga. The word is "Mother." There's more. I also have to get the new miniature calendar by Jill Bliss and Saelee Oh for their unique artistry:

[2009: Gathered Together]

[2007: Farm Life]

Oh my heck. I just realized how big of a tangent I went on about calendars. I haven't even finished; I haven't even got to planners and datebooks!)

The orginal point was: I like Fuego. It has a unique and fun selection of T-shirts, cards, jewelry, books, scarves, hats, toys, etc. It's small and a little trendy, but I picked up some fabulous items; A magnet I'm sending a friend and adorable cards to frame for the future-nursery. (Photos later. Haven't I given you enough eye candy for one post?) This is a great spot to hit for stocking stuffers, too. The web site doesn't feature as comprehensive of a selection as the store does, but it gives you an idea. Sorry midwesterners. For shopping the store, it's at Clackamas Town Center on SE 82nd.

Decorating: Zen Retreat & Pet Closet

This is a lovely parlor-turned-zen-retreat that I keep meaning to share. It's Lorri & Carmen's entry room to their home & Lorri just redecorated what was a formal dining space to a more casual spot for relaxation. I wish I had a picture of the before....It was beautiful with a clean, white, classic look--So the change was drastic! Isn't it great? My favorite aspects are the wall color (brave Lorri!), the Buddha fountain, plush rug, and trunk-like stool.

I've had the decorating bug myself, but we aren't in a position to carry out any major work that I would like to. So tonight? I redecorated the pet closet. Oh yes. Rocco, Hobbes, and I sat down and discussed color swatches, what they hoped the space would achieve for them, and how to make it a bit more Martha Stewart so I wouldn't mind cleaning the litter box everyday. The result?













A hand-knit catnip-filled fish dangles from the doorknob and inside, Hobbes' pink litter box (a gift from Auntie Gayle) with brand new litter--Feline Pine! (We're going for a more environmentally friendly litter. I hope it works because I'm tired of coughing and having a headache when I scoop that clay stuff in his box.)























Top shelf: Feline Pine, kitty bubbles by SmartyKat, Bitter Apple anti-chew spray. Middle shelf: Egg Press dog and lion illustrations, baskets with grooming tools and another hand-knit catnip-filled toy by George. Bottom shelf: Brown bags & a scooper, royal lion illustration by Sukie, box liners, Pure Ayre odor-eliminator spray, and the Dog Owner's Manual. (I also used craft paper to add color to the back of the wall.)