Sneaking

As I was looking around flickr today, trying to find some inspiration for this, I came across this photo by one of my favorite flickr-people-finds. I thought it was slightly appropriate after last nights post and the comment that was left on it. Perhaps I just have a strange sense of humor. I actually honestly wish I had antlers sometimes, it would make carrying things around so much easier and I would be so much less likely to forget things.

Anyway, I have to say that it is strange to have my parents back in the house (although it is their house, so it does make sense). They are light sleepers so if I am up and about after they have gone to bed I have to sneak around where ever I go. Normally, I like to sneak, but when there is an actual reason to... well it can get a little tiring. Like right now, I am really hungry, but I know that if I get up, go downstairs, search around the kitchen for something to eat, come back upstairs, eat, and then brush my teeth again; that I am bound to wake someone up. I'm just not stealthy enough for this. I guess this means I really should give up any hope of becoming a spy.

Darn.

There is something exciting happening tomorrow though! My brother is coming home to Bend to live. Now I'll have someone to go on adventures with when Shawn is busy doing something stupid (like working... who does that?). Not that I ever really go on real adventures anyway, but I like to consider anything I do an adventure, so having Dillon here simply means that I will have someone to help entertain me whenever I am bored. Anyway, in addition to this, I am going out to sushi tomorrow night, hopefully... and maybe doing something with Shawn at some point? I'm not exactly sure, planning out days ahead of time isn't exactly my forte. Oh, dear, I almost just made a really crappy band joke with that last comment, it's time for me to sleep.

Macarons

This is my version of what I was talking about yesterday... they are amazingly delicious, and some don't look all that bad... perhaps, with some training, I could become a French pastry chef after all.... Not that I have any desire to do that right now, but it is good to know I have that option.

I don't think anything else I say is going to have anything to do with macarons, do I ever really stay on subject on here? This is sad, I'm asking myself questions and answering them. I think I need to sleep... there are lots of signs right now that I need to, like that my eyes can't completely focus on my computer screen or that anything I try to read does not remain in my mind.

There are a few things that I wanted to talk about, but I don't remember them right now... Can you tell I'm tired? I'm afraid this is going to be a very stupid sounding post... oh well. Earlier tonight, probably because it was 80 out still when I was riding my bike home from work at 10:30, I had a strange desire to go swimming (or really, skinny dipping, oh so scandalous, I know). Unfortunately this isn't really an option right now. I also really want to go camping, darn it! I am also really glad that I am currently spending my time in what is technically a desert (so there is no humidity to make the heat even worse) and also missing the horrible heat wave hitting Portland right now.

I think the final thing I have to say is: Who calls someone Moose? That is so random. I am so horribly random when I'm tired. I'm going to sleep.

Frenchness

Despite the fact that a part of my family heritage is French (and French-Canadian as well) after today I do not see my career as a French pastry chef taking off. I have yet to see how everything turns out, but I decided to try my hand at making some macarons. I've just seen them way too frequently in the past few months (like here, here, and here) even if they were just hiding among other things, they looked delicious and as Bend doesn't have any French bakeries that I know of, when this showed up (yes I know that is the same link as the one above) I just had to try and make them. I think my working around sweets has made me much more interested in learning to make them than just eating them. Or maybe I just wish I was a better baker and cook... or maybe both. I don't really know but I will let you know how they turn out. It will be pretty interesting.

Lavender

I think I forgot to mention a major part of my weekend yesterday... not that anyone cares... but, I cleaned the entirety of my parents house on Sunday. Yep, that really has nothing at all to do with what I was really going to talk about... oh random tangents, my mind could take me on so many strange and wonderful adventures (and it seems that it often times does).

Anyway, back to Lavender. The plant, not the color. I mean I have nothing against shades of lavender or purple, I just am not crazy about them anymore after spending a few years with a room entirely covered in those shades. Anyway I think that lavender may be one of my favorite plants. Ever. It is so simple and pretty and smells so nice and attracts so many happy little bumbly grumbly bees (I do not know why I call them that, but I always have). Yesterday while I was watering the veggies I decided to cut myself a few stalks now that the lavender is actually in bloom. I cut a few just before it bloomed and they dried over the edges of my jar (hence their weird shapes up above), but now I have pretty blooming lavender sitting on my bookcase in a jar and it just makes me happy to look at it.

I also am happier with these photos of the lavender than I have been with anything else I have shot lately. It just tells me I need to relax and take my time but still follow my impulses when I am taking pictures.

Wow, I am a really rambly person. I'm sorry if I'm boring you.

A lazy Monday

For some reason the past couple of days I have been sleeping in even later than usual. It's a habit I need to break because it leaves me tired from getting too much sleep. It's always seemed strange to me that you get tired if you sleep for too long.

Sorry I disappeared over the weekend, I was busy watching bicyclists go in circles at dizzying speeds, working on one of the busiest days of the summer so far, sleeping, watching movies with Shawn (I've given up on the nickname idea, that is just silly), floating the river, playing horseshoes in the dark and finding fellow lovers of Pushing Daisies (which if you didn't know finished out it's second season in May and June... Why didn't anyone tell me? Oh, well I will find out the ending tonight). Sounds like a pretty boring weekend, but I think that I have come to love summer, much like this sweet girl down in California.

I wouldn't say that I never liked summer, it just isn't my favorite season, I definately prefer autumn or winter, give me cold weather that I can bundle up in and enjoy a hot cup of tea without feeling ridiculous. However, I think that summer is finding a new place in my heart. Despite that I am beginning to think my skin is biting itself I keep finding so many random new bugbites on me and the near 100 degree heat. Yes, this summer is making me reconsider the feelings I had for the season of sun before, maybe it's just that this year I am actually doing all the fabulous things I have always wanted to spend my summer doing and making new friends along the way.

Whatever the case I have to say that the colors of summer will probably never be my favorite, and that it will probably always make me long to be living in a beach house that is painted something similar to the colors in this photo. Perhaps I'm crazy, but a faded seafoam green cottage on the beach... sounds perfect for a summer getaway.

Snow in July

Last night I dreamt that it snowed... IN JULY! I was so happy about it and excited that when I woke up to find the normal July heat, I was slightly disapointed. But I have the winter to look forward to! Although, it doesn't snow in Portland, which is a little disapointing, but I will find a way to some snow at some point, I know it.

These photos are from a trip I took to visit family in Idaho for Christmas a couple years ago. They're actually some of the first photos I took with my digital SLR.

Dress-Up

I love raiding my mother's closet. We are similar sizes, though her legs are a bazillion times longer than mine (as are most people's). Tonight I found a couple of things that I could not help loving. These sailor pants which are, I admit, too big for me but so adorable I could ignore it if I somehow end up with them in Portland, no idea how that would happen... and this faded pink polka-dot ruffly blouse... I am sighing just describing it. I also found a plaid button down shirt and a belt that reminds me of the ones I fell in love with recently. Sorry if you seem to be missing some clothes when you get back, Mom.

Oh, and excuse my bad photos and modeling, please.

Chitter Chatter...

Chitter Chatter, all these secrets started giving me the shivers, plain and simple broken down...

I have a line from a Death Cab for Cutie song stuck in my head. I think it is very true though, the more secrets I have the colder I get... really, life is just beginning to get to me a little bit. I think I need something pretty and new (or at least new to me) I will have to keep my eyes peeled the next few days.

Have a nice weekend, everyone!

Color Post #3: Yellow

What says summer like the color yellow? It's the color of sunshine, of flowers, and of lemonade... yum. I must say, I love rooms that are painted yellow, they are always such happy rooms. I think that yellow is my favorite color right now, it's definately at least near the top of the list, and as long as it isn't neon, it doesn't matter the shade.

I've been shooting a lot of film lately so there will be lots of pretty pictures from lakes and such things soon, hopefully.

Why I gave up wanting to be a poet

The inside of my mind is a mysterious place,

It is full of many things I would rather not see.

There are ghosts of past lives and the monsters that wait to be released

And there are dreams of golden meadows and bubbling creeks,

Beside the memories of happy times passed and of woes the remain

And seem, to my heart, stain.

There have been a lot of different thoughts floating around my head lately, I'm not sure where my life is going right now and that bothers me and excites me at the same time. I think that the problem is I don't know what it is I truly want and when I look around at those I am surrounded by here, well they all know, they all know what they want. And now you know why I gave up wanting to be a poet.

PS This photo is by Lorena Arance. I love her photos here and here and what she had to say here. I completely agree with her on everything in regards to photographic processes. And she just seems like a lovely person.

Summer Dreams

Oh how I wish days like today were typical for my summers. I went to one of the many lakes up the road with Ess (that is the nickname I came up with) and got burnt and eaten alive (over 50 bites in one hour - I didn't think it was possible before today). After that we went back to Bend and watched movies all night. I must say, if everyday could be spent at the lake I would be happy as a clam.

Delicious

This morning, something rare happened. I woke up hungry. I am not the kind of person that likes to eat in the morning but I woke up wanting oatmeal and then I realized that I had fresh strawberries too. This resulted in a delicious breakfast of two of my favorite things being combined into one. Oh yummy goodness!

Berries, Berries, and oh, yeah, berries!

So, there are a couple of very different things I feel like talking about tonight. The first are berries. Holy moly! I love all berries and today was Wednesday which means the Farmer's Market was out here in Bend. I recieved these strawberries from a friend in exchange for a milkshake at work (ok, so they work with me and it was their day off, I wouldn't normally exchange like that). Anyway, they were kind enough to let me have a couple of their yellow raspberries as well. I had never had one before today. I have to say, I think they are better than the red ones for sure.

The other thing I wanted to talk about is a little project I began working on today. Hopefully, it will bring some happiness to some people's days when it is all finished, but first I need to get folding and tag-making. I'll share more about that when there is some more done.

Well, that was it really, I am looking forward to this weekend. It should be a good one, I just have to get there first.

Laundry

You can call me crazy or a neat-freak, I'd have to say that they are both true at least some of the time. And you can call me these things because, well, I love laundry, and laundry rooms. I know that is a little strange. I think it is because of the light, I'm not much of a morning person (I'm up early today because I had to drive my parents to the airport and will shortly be going back to sleep) and it seems to me that laundry rooms have a perpetual morning-light-ness to them. I love it. It helps that clean clothes are also one of my favorite things as well.

Something

So, I went with my dearest and oldest friend on a little night out and I am really in love with the outfit I wore, so I am sharing that tonight. Oh, and I am awful at taking pictures of myself and really have nowhere to take them here, so they are really sucky, sorry. I know that is a little boring, if anyone wants to hear about anything in particular, let me know. I'm off to bed now, I have to get up super early tomorrow... should be interesting.

Some beautiful drawings for a beautiful day

I don't remember where I first heard about Mia Nolting, but I know that I love all of her drawings. In fact I have one as my computer's background right now. I have been meaning to talk about her for quite some time, but have had so many other things to talk about that it somehow got pushed to the back of my mind. Anyway, I decided that these drawings really matched the wonderful day I had today.

The Weekend

My weekend was filled with family, cars, allergies, and happiness. I'm not sure if I feel like elaborating right now, but I think I will, just because I'm not going to be able to sleep for a little while and need something to occupy my time (oh, the joys of insomnia!). Anyway, this weekend was my great-grandparents's 70th wedding anniversary! Now that is something to aspire to! Anyway, this means I headed over to the valley (I'm sure most people have no idea what I'm talking about when I say that), for their party. While I was there I also visited my grandparents who own the adorable car that I will say more about at a later time in the first picture. I spent my favorite time of summer days, twilight, in their beautiful garden and snapped a few pictures between my sneezes and sniffles. Today, after driving home, I went to see that certain someone, who I need to come up with some kind of short, easy nickname for on here. Anyway, we spent most of the day together just getting to know each other better, I think that is the best part of any relationship, just sitting and talking with someone for hours without having to worry about anything and learning things you wouldn't otherwise learn. He also lent me a copy of Alice in Wonderland which I have been meaning to read since I was about nine, so I will now, finally, be able to take that off my list! I hope that everyone else in the world had as good of a weekend as I did (I already know of a few people that didn't, but I'm hoping they are the only ones).

Oh dear!

Ok, so I lied, here I am, later the same day, posting again, but after this, I really am going to take a bit of a break. I just wanted to let anyone interested know that I posted some new postcards in my Etsy shop. Please at least take a look.

Thanks!

Invitations

So, as I mentioned here, I am planning, way in advance for my birthday which is still over a month from now. This morning I made some invitations. Just thought I would share them. I think I may disappear for a few days, I need a bit of a break.

Review of the Day

I'm sure that someone out there, that reads this (does anyone read this? I'm not exactly sure) will be disapointed that I did not take a single photo today. I carried my camera around and didn't turn it on once. Oh, well, I still had a wonderful day, and in case you're wondering (once again I'm not sure who "you" would be) things seem to be heading in the right direction.

On another note, I am in love with these clothing designs by Mina Perhonen. Aren't they gorgeous? I wish i could have each one, I especially love the fabrics which are designed by the same person behind the entire line.

Happiness

I am posting early today because I actually have a lot of plans... sort of... well, it's a lot for me. Anyway, these are more pictures from my recent film batch, they are evidence that I should not bring my film camera when it is dark out, I just end up taking really blurry pictures. However, I like these two a lot, so maybe it's a good thing I do stupid things. In case you are wondering (which I'm sure no one is), today my plans are to see Public Enimies and then perhaps go get tea, visit the farmer's market, and sit in the park with a friend of mine (who may become more than a friend in the future, my fingers are crossed). I will of course bring my camera along to share my lovely day with everyone. I hope that you have just as wonderful a day!