october 14, 2013

I slept in today.

The last three weeks, I have been working two jobs. I have had my 9-5 office job on Mon, Tues, Thurs, and Fridays. On Wednesdays and Saturdays, I have been training at a local boutique in McMinnville. As of Wednesday, I switched full time to the boutique, where I am the new store manager. It is a crazy story as to how I ended up there, but I'll save that for another day.

Today I paid bills, did laundry, caught up on scheduling appointments and correspondence, and bought a fall wreath for our front door and rain boots for Raine. That is pretty much it. Now I am waiting for Dan and Raine to get home while I catch up on last night's episode of Revenge. ;)

I am truly astonished it is already the middle of October. After I last posted a few photos of Raine in honor of his 2nd birthday, we celebrated with a party and then I caught a plane to Illinois the next day. For two weeks I stayed with my parents, and then Dan and Raine joined me to see other family and friends. After I got back from Illinois, Ally and Marc came for a (fabulous) visit, and then I started training at the shop. What a whirlwind! {Expect a few recap posts!} Now my birthday is in four days, Halloween is just around the corner, and then Dan's parents are visiting in November. Soon we will be sitting around the table with friends offering our thanks. I love this time of year, and as usual, I am trying to slow my mind down and notice all of the beauty and details.

TWO

Warming the House

Raine is snoring softly in his crib and Dan is multi-tasking cooking dinner and writing thank you cards to our friends who came to our housewarming party two weeks ago. There is laundry to fold and projects to attend to, as well as so much dust accumulating in those little nooks in each room... But! I would really love to sit and write just now. (Bless Over the Rhine and the double album that arrived by post today, for it moves me to relax and reflect.)

We found a perfect wreath for our front door the morning of the party at the Yamhill Lavendar Festival.

I was a bit caught off guard by how little I felt I had accomplished at decorating or preparing our new home after having lived there two months. A few days before the party, I felt the urge to drastically decorate! But really. There is no time! Putting up fences, hanging art, hanging curtains and painting walls will come eventually. That is the joy I look forward to in living in our home...Making it ours slowly as the days go by. The overall fact is that we are in what I like to call the "two full-time-working partner domestic marathon" and there are diapers to change, work hours to log, a high maintenance dog and cat to attend to, peanut butter to wipe off what seems like every surface, and a million errands to run in between. ;-) I have to thank Char for all the cleaning she did while baby-sitting Raine. And I did my best to make things look presentable: hang some art that had been sitting on the floor, tidy up, and put out some fresh lavender for our guests.

We were thrilled to have quite a few guests despite the fact that we now live a little further west than the rest! Standard commute for folks was 45 minutes, and one couple drove all the way from Sandy, which is at least an hour and a half. One particular guest I will refer to as "the guest of honor" because it was Dan's mom, Char, all the way from Chicago. :) We asked guests to sign our guest book in the entry. While unpacking from the move, I found our wedding guest book from 2004 and the empty pages in the last half seemed to be asking for fresh signatures... We received some cards and gifts, two beautiful orchids, and more than a few beverages to fill our fridge and wine shelf. Everyone was so sweet and generous! I have to say the most clever gift was from Josh and Mary. They brought a crumble pie and the pie plate itself was for us to keep. Great idea! And speaking of a crumble pie...The food was the best part! Another friend, Melissa, also brought a dessert, fruit salsa with baked cinnamon chips, and we savored those leftovers for a few nights after the party! :) The theme of our "spread" we provided for our guests was "Carlton." I really wanted to show off all of the fantastic artisan food and beverage businesses in our little town. We had bread from the bakery, handmade chocolates, specialty jams and sausages, and of course, local beer and wine! ;-) I supplemented some chips, veggies, cheese, and other items from Trader Joe's because I am not perfect and did not have the time to shop various farms or make my own crackers from scratch with local grains, thank you very much. We don't actually have a TJ's near Carlton, so I had to drive to the one in Lake O after work Friday afternoon. It made for an hour drive home, but it was worth it to know we were serving items that were GMO free and generally free of extra additives/preservatives etc.

*Chocolates and bark from Honest Chocolates*

*Pesto and heirloom tomato bruschetta made form baguettes from Carlton Bakery*

*Carlton Farms sausages with dipping mustards*

My favorite part was offering a little jam tasting. I bought some crackers and cookies from T Joe's and the lovely ladies at Republic of Jam gave Char proper pairings for everyone to taste. (My favorite was the tomato & fennel, and not only was it outstanding on its own accord with the pita crackers or pretzel sticks, it was fabulous with the spicy sausage!) See a complete list of jams with pairings and recipes below. Of course, Dan and Char did all of the actual prepping and cooking, while I made sure my overall concept was executed perfectly and presentation was *lovely* down to the last detail ~ cute little note cards to describe each offering. LOL.

*Dan's figs & goat cheese wrapped in Carlton Farms bacon. You wouldn't know it but we also had options for our vegan friends. ;-)*

The Spread (*Vegan):

Figs & goat cheese wrapped in bacon (Carlton Farms)
Assorted quinoa/bean and sweet potato/corn chips with guacamole*
Greek salad bites with feta, tomato, and olives
Assorted chocolates and bark (Honest Chocolates)
Grilled sausages ("Smoked Bratwurst" and "Louisiana Red Hot") and dipping mustards (Carlton Farms)
Pine nut pesto and tomato bruschetta - without cheese (Carlton Bakery)*
Fruit salsa with baked cinnamon chips (Made by Melissa!)*
Assorted hummus and pretzel bites*
Sea salt pita crackers & smoked tomato fennel jam (ROJ)* (No link to that jam...Sold out! Next batch up in 1 week! ;-)
Rosemary raisin crackers & rhubarb rosemary jam (ROJ)*
Ginger cookies & apricot reisling jam (ROJ)* (Jam is currently sold out!)
Coconut cookies & pineapple vanilla clove jam (ROJ)*
Assorted brews from Fire Mountain Brew House*
Assorted wines from Cana's Feast Winery*

And you can see all photos from the party here.

My Post About Being Busy

Good Lord, things have been BUSY. Since I posted that we had found a house, I can't even begin to describe the level of busy-ness I have been operating at. I still could have found time to write, but I honestly was not making it a priority.

My priority has been keeping my sanity.

Part of maintaining my sanity has been "To Do" lists like this one. The week after we moved, I had four pages like this one (front and back). I had to keep everything organized somehow. By now I can't even make a list. It is too overwhelming. Not because there is even MORE stuff to do, but because I already spent all possible energy and used up all of my superwoman brain cells. There is nothing left. I don't know how or when I get a recharge, but I am hoping it is soon...

Here is what we have been up to...

We celebrated Easter. This involved friends and food, presents in Raine's Easter "nest," bubbles, more food (including cupcakes) and more bubbles.

We went back to Illinois for a visit. There was a lot of playing to be had for Raine with his cousins, and then we had our fair share of food and beverages, and lots of time with friends and family.

We packed a lot for our move. We tried to pack a little bit every day. Raine liked to pack and then unpack, pack, unpack, repeat.

We finalized paperwork on the house and made several trips out catch glimpses as it was built.

We had it inspected and then had a new homeowner orientation with the builder.

We signed a lot of paperwork and closed escrow.

Then on Saturday May, 4th, we moved in!!!

We tried our best to help all pets adjust to the new house. This included training Rocco to use a doggie door. We crossed our fingers that he would use it while we were away at work throughout the week, so we wouldn't have to come home to accidents all over the new hardwood floors and carpet. It took about two weeks until I felt completely comfortable leaving him alone. Now he uses that thing like a BOSS.

Hobbes made some surprising trips to the vet, racking up ridiculously large bills. He had two teeth removed and was diagnosed with Hyperthyroidism. He has to eat expensive prescription food now, of course.

Rocco also has had to have some extra vet visits and tests. Most notably in just the last week, he has developed what we believe is Lymphangieasia, which is causing protein to leak out of his intestines. He started medicine yesterday and I am working from home this week to monitor him until we can get him back to the vet on Thursday and have his blood checked again to see where we are at. If he has stabilized on the medicine, there is hope we will have him around a couple more years (as we will continue to treat it with a prescription diet). If he does not stabilize, we will have to help him get more comfortable and say goodbye in the next two to three weeks. We are stunned and sad and nervous.

Immediately after we moved, we spent a week cleaning the crap out of our condo. (This included Mother's Day. However, before Raine went to the baby-sitter and cleaning commenced, I did get to have a groovy little breakfast en plein air with my boys at Henry's Hot Breakfast. And hubby gave me roses. Sigh.)

After listing the condo, we waited for six agonizing weeks to get tenants. Just as I was about to lose my shit, we found them. I just gave them the keys Monday. HALLELUJAH.

In between all of this, I have tried to attempt to baby step my way into tackling major changes with my daily job and special projects, including the business I want to start. The short of it is that nothing much has changed. ;) I am still at the same day job and it is still very stressful and even less ideal now that I live 30 minutes away. My plans to amp up posting and content of this blog has failed, but I did finally gather together my goodies for my side project, snail says. It is in early prep stages and I will not be formally launching it, or making any sort of announcement, necessarily, when it is up and running. The plan is to leak it on Pinterest eventually, when I reach a certain point in the content level (which I think is scheduled for late August or September). LOL. I wish I could tell you more, other than ... It will basically chronicle Dan and I's love letters and creative tokens of affection during our courtship, which was ten years ago this month. This is the only time I will likely mention this project because I want it to happen in a space exclusive of this blog, with it's own organic possibilities.

And, the business. It is forming. I have a P.O. box, email address, and company name with a blog/web site and Twitter account. It is in such early stages I hesitate to share details but if your really want a peek, you can get a glimpse here.

OH. AND AS IF THIS ALL WASN'T ENOUGH. I have also poorly attempted to be a super sister and super daughter and help and/or stay on top of (at least) my mom's medical progress. More about that at another time, because there really is no simple way to recap that.

ABOVE ALL, THOUGH. 

I have been falling in love with our home and our new town, as well as the greater community and county we now live in. I am beside myself with peace and joy having at last found my elusive Oregon roots. They are reaching deep quickly and finding nourishment here. I look forward to what they produce.

Remember This

“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And, if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost.”  -Martha Graham

I have been pondering lately what makes me unique and what my greatest "gift" is. 

What is yours?

Beach Day: Short and Sweet

1.) Two hours due west.

2.) Reach the beach and run straight for the ocean. Live it UP, people!

3.) Check out the sand. What is that all about!?

4.) Meet a super nice dude with a super cool kite.

***

5.) Play chase! 

(Caught!)

6.) Explore beach artifacts with little Mr. John Deere as my assistant.

7.) Family photo. Oops Rocco ran for it.

8.) Shop. Send postcards to the grandmas and grandpas. Eat crepes. Play at the playground.

9.) Back for one more look.

10.) Cry because we are so sad to leave.

11.) Strong coffee for mama and daddy.

12.) Hit the road, Jack.

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!