.christmastime.

my city of roses. what a beautiful, rainy, sweet, creative, loving city you can be.

this is a mural that is repainted every year. every year, i get my photo taken in front of it.
this is my favorite place on earth. there is nothing like the beauty of the oregon coast.

GLUHWEIN!!! a german christmas market (weihnachtsmarkt) tradition. we found some at new season's . . . think: sweet mulled wine. tastes like christmas.
the oregon countryside in klamath falls. we stayed here for a few days with the man-friend's family. it snowed. we went on family walks. it was peaceful and lovely.
the man-friend's family on our walk.

one of my favorite shots of us at the coast.

majestic mt hood over the city of portland, oregon.

peace was found in the rose-test gardens above the city.
all the happy rice-milk lattes a girl could want!!!!

so, there are just a few shots from our trip. it really was wonderful. now we are back in full-swing of life in providence. waitressing, massaging, babysitting, roller skating, crafting, living, walking the pup, eating, growing, sleeping, etc. i hope to make more time for blogging, but if i have to choose between that and sleep . . . well, you understand.

but my long term goal really is to be more crafty and open my etsy site!!!

you are welcome to ask me about that more and keep me on my toes!

.tj loves: august and after and CKP.

{image credit: corinne krogh}

my dear sweet cori at august and after has started her FANTASTIC photography website CKP!

she is a LOVELY lady with a beautiful life and fantastic dreams for the future. she and her husband and their cute puppy live in asheville, NC and are building a sweet life together.

go check out her goodies at her photo website now!!!

.30 day journal challenge day 3 and cover.

so i finally made the cover of my journal for the 30 day journal challenge. i created the drawing and cut it out and used mod podge to glue it on top of images i cut out of an (gulp) anthropologie catalog . . . i really like how it turned out (except for the wrinkles from me being too hasty with the mod podge.

i also completed prompt #3 -
Journal Prompt Number Three: It's always nice to share with someone why you love them. Today, I want you to draw a picture, doodle, sketch, of a person who you love, or admire. Then, write that person a letter telling them why they mean so much to you!
i chose my sister, miss D. she really is a fantastic person! the more i get to know her, the more i really admire her and respect her. she is about 6 years younger than me, but we get mistaken for twins sometimes :) i take that as a compliment. we really weren't close as children, growing up in a house so full of people and having such a big age difference . . . but after i finished college and she started coming up to visit me from time to time, we started being friends (rather than just big sister and little sister) and it's a totally new and lovely dynamic.

she is currently living in juneau, alaska and have the adventure of a lifetime (as is usual for her). this fall, she and a few friends are traveling to Ireland to participate in wwoof and i hope to be able to join her!

you can read more about her adventures at her blogs here and here. she's the bees knees.

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right now i am listening to a johnny cash vinyl and getting ready to work on my journal prompt for today. then we'll be heading off to watch the final game! are you a fan of the celtics or the lakers? me? i am in it for the pizza, the beer and the company!

.tj loves: sister photo shoot.

while i was in oklahoma, my sister {miss TC} and i had a sweet little badminton photo shoot together. these photos were some of my favorites.

.hello there.

this is part of what i've been up to . . . sorry i've been m.i.a. hope to have some time to myself again soon.

.well hi!.

so . . . i'm back from oklahoma. and let me just say:
i
love
that
baby

she is SO AMAZING!

i am completely in love with her! she has such a great little personality. she is happy, content, loved, smart, growing, learning, beautiful, healthy, has GREAT parents, and GREAT aunties who love her :)

the entire week was simply incredible. i mostly enjoyed just being able to relax. i've been so GO GO GO GO GO GO lately that taking an entire week off from life in rhode island was lovely. we spent a lot of time sitting on my sister's front porch, walking the dog through the friendly neighborhood, meandering down to the local coffee shop (the puppy was welcome inside with us!), laying on the floor staring at the baby, eat ice cream and watching ridiculous movies like only sisters (or good friends who are just like sisters) can do. there were no alarm clocks (except when we had to drive to oklahoma city for my little sister's college graduation), no work shifts (at least not for me), no hectic crazy life intruding on the simple life of sleep, feed baby, feed ourselves, clean the kitchen, take a walk, sit on the porch, enjoy the sun, wander through a thrift store, peer at the stalls in the farmer's market, curl up on the couch, and do it again.

it was re-energizing to say the least.

i came back to rhode island more calm. a bit more tan. the man-friend said i looked good. relaxed. sun kissed. healthy. happy.

i came back and said "i'm not ready to jump back in to this!" which is ok since i didn't have to work for a few days (starts tomorrow!! aahh.!!). instead i slept, had breakfast with the man-friend (including stumptown coffee that my sister, miss R, brought for us from portland when she flew out to see everyone in tulsa too), spent hours in the garden, went and visited some friends, drank tea, did laundry, split a bottle of wine and ate homemade pizza while watching arrested development, read ("animal, vegetable, miracle" by barbara kingsolver) and caught up on my email inbox.

i think i'll be ready to set my alarm clock and put in a few good days of work now. lord knows my bank account could use it ;)

i promise i took a million pictures. esp of that baby.

but my computer is BROKEN (sad face). so when it gets fixed, i'll be loading all those photos up and showing off that beautiful baby. my wonderful family. the progress in the garden. the fun photo op my sister, miss TC, and i had while in oklahoma city last week.

good times.

what have you been up to while i am away?

.miss E.

{photo taken by my big sister, miss S}

sorry for the lack of interesting posts . . . i've been preoccupied as i get ready for my trip to tulsa, OK to meet this sweet little lady. miss E. my big sister's new baby. that's right ladies and gents, i am a first time auntie!!! SO EXCITED TO MEET THIS CRAZY BABY GIRL! she's gonna be part pirate, part spice, part sweet, part imp, and ALL PARTS love love loved.

i leave Wed morning and get back the following Wed. This will be the first time I'll see my sister since last June and the first time i'll see the rest of my family since Christmas (they are all flying in to OK at the same time for a different sister's grad). don't worry, i'll get plenty of photos.

WEEEEEE!!!!!

.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 :)

.three things.

number one: my computer is broken. hopefully the man-friend will fix it tonight.

number two: my sister had her baby!!! i am completely in love with her. she makes me dizzy. they live all the way in tulsa . . . . i've booked tickets to fly out and see them, but not until the end of april. AAGGHHH .... it's too far away!

number three: the man-friend and i have been spending a lot of time dreaming about our future lately . . . how we want to buy land and start a non-profit, commune-type, farm, eco-education center, etc . . . we ran across this parcel of land in oregon wine country that seems perfect for the dream. too bad it's available NOW and we wont be ready for it for YEARS to come. sigh. add it to my wishlish. also, add these dogs to my wishlist. they are bread to live with and guard goats. so. cool!

.strong and brave.

photo taken last june of my sister's and i at our big sister's wedding. we haven't all been together like that since . . . can't wait til we all get to be together again!

my big sister is about to have a baby . . . any day now. she's due tomorrow. this is the first grandchild in our family, the first great grand child in our family and my first time becoming a real-live auntie! i am so excited! my sister has been so strong and brave through it all. the only thing i am sad about is that she lives so far away (tulsa, OK) and i am stuck on the east coast (in R.I) and can't be there. i've missed her whole pregnancy.

i do have tickets to fly out to see her at the end of april. but. that's april. sooo far awayyyyy......

i can only send her encouragement and support from afar. we've been talking on the phone a lot more lately and this has been awesome. i feel like we've become closer the last few months and gotten to know each other better. having 6 sisters like i do, it's hard to be close to all of them. especially since i live so far away from them all.

i've also been sending her tons of little packages full of books and clothes and silly things for the wee one. what else is an auntie for anyway?

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anyway, i've been slammed the last few days and hope to play catch up today. it's raining like it's the PNW and will continue to do so all week. i secretly love it. i'm rained in with the pup and some tea. time for laundry, checking the kombucha, possibly braving the rain to hit up the grocery store (car is out of comission so this would include walking in the deluge) so i can make more granola, waiting for my seeds to arrive for this year's garden, working more on some art projects i've started, studying my roller derby rules for our upcoming assessments and prepping for tomorrow's day at the massage studio. phew. what a day off.

hudson spending his day relaxing with me while it rains outside

i also have fun news about a recent purchase i've made!! it's funny how little things can make me so happy! i'll post a blog of photos soon . . .

.loves.

.jacob white {photo credit: ME}.

i have this friend. he's one of those friends who felt like family almost immediately. he's one of those people who doesn't waste time on the unimportant stuff, but gets right down to the dirty broken truth of things. we don't get to see him much since we live on separate coasts . . . but when we do, it is precious time. we get right to the important conversations. we open a bottle of whiskey and pick up a guitar or two. we ask the questions no one wants to ask and we answer them honestly. this man is a good man. a true lyricist. a heart of gold. he has a natural ability to see people, to make music, and to express truths in unique ways.

he's started a new music project called mount saint elias. give it a listen. and if you are in the Portland, Oregon area keep checking his site for tour dates. if you go, please let me know . . . i wish with all my heart that i could be there too.

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currently listening to my new M Ward album on vinyl. delish.