.another 6 months.

hello lovelies!
it seems that another 6 months has flown by!

i am back down to working one job now, doing some massage and creating on the side.  i handmade, bought locally or re-homed most of the gifts we gave this christmas, my garden did so ridiculously well that i could not even keep up with the tomatoes!  let see . . . i traveled a bit - went to thailand, back east for a visit, down to southern oregon to see family . . . mostly we've had non-stop visitors since moving in to our new place last May.  it's been fun being NE PDX's most hospitable bed and breakfast.  i am also now the proud co-captain of my roller derby team, the Heartless Heathers for the 2013 season.  we are about to have our season opener in a few weeks - and i am so proud of how hard we have all been working this pre-season!

so, this was a big HAPPY NEW YEAR jumble update . . .

i will close by plugging a few facebook pages i've started.  the first is Bird on Wire Handmade (which i may just change to TJLoves).  here you can find my lovelies as i create them until i get that etsy shop.

the second is Hudson TShirts. a place where you can become a fan of our alaskan malamute Hudson and the  tshirts that bear his face.  hudson tees were a creation between myself and my dear collaborator, the fantastic textile designer and superhuman whitney. . . the first printing of shirts were a fundraiser for the man-friend and i to raise gas money to move back to the PNW . . . now tees are being printed so that hudson can leave his "print" on the world for years and years to come.

lastly, i've updated a few of the mixed media bars on the side ...  more on that to come.

for now i leave you with a few photos of my life since i last posted:

 strawberry rhubarb jam with rhubarb from my front yard

 an example of how my tomato plants took over the plot- they actually got much worse than this

 the man-friend and i celebrating our 8 yr wedding anniversary in sun river, oregon

 my 31st birthday float trip down the sandy river.  photo by corinne krogh

 climbing with friends at smith rock in central oregon

 at the top of the angles' rest hike in the columbia river gorge with my sisters in sept

 at the highest elevation a person can hike to without technical climbing gear on mt hood oregon, with my leaguemate Roller Eclipse

 my travel companions at the loi krathong festival in chiang mai, thailand this november

an example of what you can get when you shop from hudson tshirts

 my boy in his christmas sweater

the heartless heathers celebrating their win against seattle's hometeam the sockit wenches last month

i've missed you all!  what have you been up to in my absence?

.cell phone shots of the dog.

love this little butthead of mine.

.giveaway: spring cleaning!.

to celebrate having 10 followers, i am going to do a simple giveaway. it's just a collection of things from my own craft room that i pulled together while doing some spring cleaning. the items include: a pretty sequined mask, a paper flower, a grow your own dragon!!, an iron on british flag, some stick on tattoos, some glass beads, a hair decoration/comb made by ME!, some vintage flower patches, and a few cute pins. i might add more to the final package, but this is the bulk of it right now! just a few little cute things to help you get creative in your future crafting projects.

to enter:

leave a comment on my blog about what sorts of projects you are planning to tackle for spring cleaning (one entry)

become a follower of my blog (second entry)

blog about this giveaway (third entry)


the lovely winner will be drawn and announced on Wednesday, June 2nd!


alright, now i am off to take the pup to the park to go swimming! it's hot here and he's still got part of his winter coat on. i keep telling him to take it off.

.dog park.

o

after going out to breakfast at our favorite breakfast place with my man-friend, hudson and i spent a good amount of time at the dog park with the fantastic Phury (another of my derby girls, sadie (her dog) and caleb (her roommate's dog).

we followed that up with a trip to trader joe's (dog treats in the car!!!) and the h-bomb is now sleeping soundly at my feet. he's pooped. his 6 year old self can't quite bounce back as fast from hours of frolicking like he used to. sweet thing.

{all photos taken by phury}

.happy birthday hudson!.

our big fluffy ball of energy turns 6 today!

how has he celebrated so far? by sleeping, taking a few walks, and barking in his sleep.

good times :)

.6 yr engage-aversary.

i forgot to post yesterday that it was our 6 year anniversary of getting engaged! Six years ago, yesterday, my special man-friend and i went on a picnic in golden gate park, san francisco (we were there for spring break). he was insistent that we find the shakespeare garden (on of my favorite authors) and though i didn't understand why it was so important to him and was just focusing on how hot, hungry and suffering from allergies i was, i humored him and we finally found it. we settled down for a nice picnic of things we had picked up from local corner stores along our walk through the haight/ashbury district of SF while we made our way to the park. the details of how we arrived on the subject are a little fuzzy . . . but i do remember him producing a ring (how in the WORLD he had found time to design and purchase this ring without my knowing is beyond me!) and say the words "will you marry me?" (the hardest words any man will ever say, according to him) . . .

our engagement photo taken by adam white (no website to direct you to, sorry)

both wedding photos also taken by adam white

i have photos from the actual engagement day and week, but this all went down in the prehistoric times before digital cameras were all the rage. this means, i'd have to scan them on to my computer before being able to post them. they are ancient. 6 whole years. :)

to celebrate our day (we aren't really the kind of people who celebrate every mile marker - i.e. first kiss, first date, etc, but the man has been busy with school so it was nice to use this as an excuse to spend some time together), i was first presented with a surprise boquet of my favorite flowers DAFFODILS! this was fantastic because it has finally started to be nice here in RI, after a winter of snow and gloom and this last week straight of rain . . . the days are suddenly sunny and warm. not sure how long it will last, but i love it! so, daffodils totally remind me of spring and the huge bouquet totally helped to bring spring inside the house!



then we went off to one of our favorite breakfast restaurants, nick's on broadway where not only did our waitress recognize us (she's a regular at the restaurant where i work), but we got cat called from the corner by some of my derby girls! ha ha!

we both built our own omlettes and split some french toast. i had pineapple juice (yum!) and he had coffee. afterwards, we both had to get to work . . . but it was nice to have connected for a bit in the sunny morning.



next big mile marker? hudson's 6th birthday is next week!

.good day.

new-ish mural on the street where i met the man-friend for pizza (this was taken by ME back during the last time it snowed)

today i slept in, watched LOST on my laptop, met the man-friend for lunch (subsequently received free pizza- yes!), had a great walk in the sun, bought some cute leg-warmers for my sister's new baby, drank my first iced americano of the year (yum!), got a new straw cowgirl had for my HUGE head, took hudson to the dog park, finished planning my garden, planted the first round of seeds in my starter tray, set some beans to soak for a nice batch of vegetarian chili tomorrow, had some dinner, ordered some goodies from neo hippie mama, and am now about to get ready for roller derby practice!

whew.

i do have some awesome photos to share with you . . . a fun announcement about an art show i have a painting in, and hopefully a GREAT announcement about what home team i have been placed on for the providence roller derby and what my derby name will be (still narrowing it down . . . and still accepting ideas, PLEASE give me your ideas!).

so, hopefully i'll fit some of that in tomorrow before or after work at the massage studio.

for now? off to practice giving good solid hits, checks, blocks and whips at roller derby practice.

.my love and i.

so, i will totally devote an entire post to the meal, but the man-friend and i went out to the most delicious, vegan, 6 course, aphrodisiac dinner at the garden grille on valentine's day . . . mmmmm!!! best part? mushroom "calamari" with chili oil. afterwards, we took some awkward photos to try to commemorate the fact that we actually got dressed up and spent some time together.

I think there is an elephant stalking us . . .

the best shot we could get. we need our own personal photographer!

valentine shoes fancies

we have hardly had much time together lately since he's been studying for his exams. BUUUT, as of last friday, he is officially ABD for his PhD! this means he wont be spending every waking hour of his life cramming information in to his brain - only 40 hours a week. this also means that he and i will get to (hopefully) spend some more time together. we are looking forward to a trip to NYC pretty soon and, even sooner, breakfast together tomorrow morning! i love him.

speaking of spening all his time studying, this is what you get:

an 80 pound alaskan malamute who squeezes himself underneath your desk because he loves you and wants you to play with him instead of study.

sad face. luckily, now that the man-friend is done with his exams, he and the H-bomb will get to go hiking more often! maybe they'll let me tag along when i'm not at work? (i feel like i am aaallllways at work!).

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this weekend was nuts. a friend visited from out of town, REI president's day sale, valentine's day, several birthday parties, celebrating the ABD status of a certain man-friend, lots and lots of working, sleeping and eating . . . needless to stay tomorrow's day off will be sublime. on the agenda: sleeping in, breakfast with the man, bottling up some kombucha with juice, cleaning the house, organizing my life, roller derby practice. oh and did i mention lots of relaxing? yes. that's definitely on the agenda.

.domestic friday.

{image credit: ME!}

yesterday was a GREAT day at the massage clinic! totally positive experiences all around. i LOVE my job.

also, i feel totally suuuuuper productive today. i got up early (ok, ok, 8:30 is early on my day off!!), swept and vacuumed, washed the dishes, brewed a new batch of tea for our homebrewed kombucha, did an hour of yoga, sent my sister some sketches for her tattoo, walked the dog, blended up a delish smoothie, did two loads of laundry, hit up target (totally had to buy whip it!), the craft store (to get some things for finishing some necklaces i am working on), the sporting goods store (i needed new wrist guards for derby), mailed a few surprise valentine's packages, made a batch of granola, and cooked up a yummy dinner of polenta and mushroom sauce for the man-friend and i.

phew.

now? off to see a friend play at a fundraiser for local non-prof west side arts and then to see sweet mary bee at her cd release party!

busy day!

tomorrow starts my work week. i don't think i'm ready.

.smooth.

remember how i said i was going to make a kefir smoothie? well. i did and it was delicious. so yummy, that i had to share!!!

kefir is a delicious fermented, cultured dairy product. it is sort of like yogurt in a sense because it has live cultures and is super good for your immune system. but it is more of a beverage than yogurt (more liquid of a consistency). read this for more awesome info about kefir, what it is, what it does, and why you should love it.

here's how i made my smothie. a sort of DIY tutorial, if you will.

i started with a blender/juicer and added chopped up organic mango, organic banana and some organic frozen berries.
then i added some flax seed meal {about a TBSP}
flax seed is a great source of fiber and healthy fatty acids. adding a small amount to smoothies is a great way to add fiber to your diet. i also use ground flax seed meal as a substitute for eggs when i am baking for my vegan friends {heat 2-3 TBSP of water with 1 TBSP of flax until it takes on an egg-like consistency. this = one egg}. read this article for more about the awesomeness of flax.
anyway, after adding the flax, i added some local honey {local honey is GREAT for reducing seasonal allergies read this short article for more info on the benefits of local honey} , poured in the kefir and blended it up! it was pretty purple with bits of delicious mango floating in it! the banana and frozen berries gave it a great texture. the honey made it sweet like dessert, but really it was a great big helping of good-for-you fruit and cultured dairy!
remember to compost your fruit and vegetable scraps! {and pay no attention to the dog-hair balled up on my kitchen floor. i sweep EVERY DAY! malamutes are just fur-factories}.

there you have it! my nutritional overdose of information. that smothie was delicious. and served in an alaskan amber pint glass {procured fair and square from the summer i lived in juneau, ak}. my favorite beer, mmmmmm.

----------

spent the morning working in the massage studio and then ran errands in the FALLING SNOW after all my clients left. hit up the bank, post office, grocery store and . . . urban outfitters and details {a local socks/tights/legwarmers shop . . . they had a winter sale! legwarmers for $6!!!}. urban outfitters is weakness of mine. i got m ward's album "hold time" on vinyl for $4.99!!! yummy. i also picked up some arnica gel and homeopathic tablets . . . roller derby practice made me a little sore last night . . . remind me to tell you about "blood and thunder" sometime. so fun!

.recovered.

{photo credit: my man friend}

roller derby practice last night was the BEST EVER! it was so fun and challenging and awesome. i am spending today {my first day off in a while} recovering and prepping for my day at the massage studio {tomorrow} . . . as well as prepping for tonight's practice. i heart arnica and my joint salve(ation) from neohippiemama's etsy site. sooooo good for sore muscles!

so, while doing my research for my clients and designing a new coupon for an upcoming open house, i have been exploring cover lay down. this awesome site all about folk music covers! so cool to read about some of my all-time favorites as well as to discover new ones! favorite find of the day? j tillman covering townes van zandt. epic.

anyway, the H-bomb (my pup, hudson) is wishing i was paying attention to him. and my tummy was wishing i was feeding it (mmmmm, off to make a kefir smoothie!) . . .

.friday fancies.

pretty proud of my outfit today. got this new skirt on clearance for $5 yesterday. yessss.... i only buy things resale or on clearance. i just can't afford to be buying things shiny and brand new and full-price. but anyway, i knew it was a good choice when i was fixin' the hair and the man-friend walks in and says "hey cute girl!" so full of win.

hudson, however, is NOT impressed:
we got him that stuffed duck for christmas and he's already broken the squeaker. now he uses the duck as a pillow. so cute! i LOVE that he doesn't rip the stuffing out of his toys. he is actually really gentle with them. carries them around and grooms them. sort of like they are his babies. he's so special. we love him!

----------

in other news, i am being punished for making the most kick-ass dinner last night! the man-friend is SO FULL that he is making me WAIT for our friday breakfast outing until he is hungry. it's been . . . 13 hours since we ate dinner? and he's still not hungry?

it WAS a good dinner. i bought some rustic, sourdough olive bread from the local bakery. i sliced it open and topped it with grilled tempeh, swiss cheese (from non-hormone treated cows) and popped it in the oven to get all melty and toasty (both of those adjectives are REAL WORDS dispite what the man-friend might say) . . . when it was finished we topped it with fermented, raw cabbage (kimchi, or saur kraut) - at least an inch thick- and some organic thousand island dressing. put the top on that sandwich and you've got a vegetarian reuben to DIE FOR. pair that with a side salad of baby spinach, pecans and bleu cheese . . . you've got a delicious, nutritious meal . . . and apparently a meal that will cause some people to not be hungry 13 hours later.

-----------

as long as we are talking about fermented foods, here is a great article about the benefits and history of fermented foods. in short, fermented vegetables (in the meal above this includes the tempeh, the kimchi, the cheese, the sourdough bread and possibly the relish in the dressing) are beneficial because of the awesome healthy yeasts, bacterias, flora and fauna that they can add to the delicate ecosystems in our digestive tracts. this helps the food we eat to be more easily digested and it helps our immune systems to ward off any unwelcome visitors.

as i continue to educate myself on the topic i will be able to provide better information. for now, read the article i linked to above and read up on the topic for yourself. i'd love to hear what you have to say!

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so, i hear the man-friend coming up the stairs . . . maybe that means he is FINALLY hungry and we can go to our favorite breakfast restaurant. check it out: julian's.

----------

oh, one last thing, for those of you who LOVE the fleet foxes, check this out.

.it's the little things #1.

ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the first installment of "it's the little things." these posts will contain small lists of little things that make me happy.

yessssssssss!!!!!

#1) compost makes me happy! i LOOOOVE fresh fruits and veggies and greens and herbs (esp from the farmer's market and from my OWN GARDEN). and I HATE throwing away the beautiful nutritious left-overs (peels, cores, ends, etc) after i've chopped up the goodies and put them in my belly. it makes me so happy to take those brightly colored odds and ends and put them in my cute ceramic compost bucket (with a charcoal odor filter) to later take to the garden so they can return nutrients to the soil for next year's gardening expedition.

#2) this guy makes me happy! my bearded man-friend. he makes me coffee in the mornings, and often ends up being the one who has to take the smelly compost outside. :) he walks our pup every morning without complaining (even though it was MY IDEA to get a dog). he loves me through the ups and downs of life and the ups and downs of ME. he's been constantly by my side even when it was the hardest choice for almost 9 years. what adventures we've had! what adventures are yet to come!

#3) farm fresh eggs make me happy!! these are from zephyr farm in cranston, ri. the eggs are always so colorful and lovely - i almost don't want to eat them. but when i DO i find how much more amazing they taste than store-bought eggs. plus, how awesome is it to know that the chickens these eggs came from are NEVER CAGED and live in pastures! so great. also awesome? the fact that this farm is SO CLOSE by that i can go visit any time to meet those darn wonderful gals (the chickens that is) myself!

#4) hudson makes me happy! he's our 5 3/4 yr old (6 in march!) alaskan malamute. it's been amazing for the man-friend and i to learn to take care of a living mammal together . . . totally a challenge and there are definitely days that are harder than others. imagine living with a 3 yr old who weighs 80 pounds and has teeth and claws and sheds cotton ball sized clumps of fur all over your house? i say a 3 yr old, because malamutes are known to have very stubborn temperments. but they are also SO FUN and LOVING and SMART. hudson has definitely taught us a thing or two about love and sacrifice and consistency . . . and so much more. he definitely changed our lives for the better when we adopted him back in sept 2007.

#5) rice milk lattes make me happy!! since i am allergic to soy milk and i can't really digest regular milk too well (makes me all clogged up, ew!), rice milk lattes are where it's at for me. sadly, NO ONE in the state of Rhode Island believes in offering rice milk as an option in their coffee houses . . . so i am stuck drinking americanos until the man-friend can fix our espresso machine. while we were home in OREGON for the holidays, i had 3 GLORIOUS WEEKS full of delicious, steamy, rice milk lattes (like the one pictured above, purchased and consumed in the sellwood area of portland, oregon). sigh.


there you have it. the first installment of "it's the little things!"

what are some little things that make you happy!??!