Wednesday, April 29, 2009

note to self:

remember to plant more bulbs next fall.

This amazing tulip brought to you by Jane Brocket's garden. I love this one, especially!

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

if you're bored, you're boring


yanked from Walyou, found while looking for something esle.

shadow project by Color Me Katie

Do you follow the blog Color Me Katie? It is one of my new favorite blogs. Katie is an artist and photographer living in Brooklyn and she does some of the best projects. Stuff that looks simple, but really isn't as simple as it seems and all of it never fails to put a smile on your face.

Her most recent project is making shadows for people from paper and then taking photos as people pass by them at the right time, so that they are lined up to be their shadows.

Perfection. I wish I lived in Brooklyn so I could run into these around town. More here.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

vintage sewing cards - free downloads

I know these have made a bit of the blog rounds, but I wanted to point them out to you in case you missed it. doe-c-doe made some adjustments to vintage button and trim packages and then made them free for you to download and use on your packages.

Such a great idea and so cute, especially for a sewing theme present!

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

yesterday and today


  • Yesterday I stayed up too late pouring over the new Harney and Sons Tea catalog that I got in the mail. I love their tea and the catalog has some interesting information.
Lots of new stuff I want to try, some incredible and expensive rare teas, too. Someone I know in the internet world says he loves the white vanilla grapefruit tea. I may have to try that next.

This mid-summers peach tea is great with a bit of sweetener. I wonder how it will be in an iced tea. I think I may find out soon.

  • Yesterday it was sunny and warm here. After work I went by one of my new favorite places, the frozen yogurt shop. I got blackberry and coconut. I then came home and sat in my backyard (which sadly is really just a driveway with some plants around) and let the sun soak in. I closed my eyes and the breeze came and the warmth covered me and I ate some great blackberry and coconut frozen yogurt.
I have been missing Whidbey Island pretty much since I left there last summer. It was just the best. Lately I have also been craving this amazing huckelberry ice cream I had there. It occurred to me yesterday that sitting in the sun here at home, the breeze blowing, frozen berry treat in hand - it all felt very similar to the island. And although I don't have the great view I had there, my mood is still elevated and I still feel a bit of that vaction feel. A good thing for me to remember - it isn't all about where you are, but about what you take the time to do.
  • Yesterday I put some of my new lovely finds on The Cedar Chest. More to come.
  • Today I did some cool things at work. I love that smart people out there create great websites that can help me create html pages and functions without coding.
  • Today is Earth Day. To the Earth, I say, "Thanks for being such a great host. Your home is lovely. I am sorry we haven't been the best guests.
  • Today is almost over. I started this entry many hours ago.

Monday, April 20, 2009

so close

I am excited that the local strawberry harvest is right around the corner. I am expecting to want to eat strawberries all the time for a while. Oregon berries are pretty great.

Seeing this post about Strawberry and Vanilla Charlottes on the beautiful food blog Tartlett only made me less patient. Take a gander. Recipe here.

I love it when desserts have names like Charlotte and Madeline and Fool.

Friday, April 17, 2009

waiting

print by porterness paper goods.


The spring so far has been so fickle. Rain and hail and sunshine often all within a couple of hours. I like the surprise of it. For some reason Spring always makes me think of Christopher Robin running around the 100 Acres Woods with rosy cheeks and dearest friends, making sure to stop in the cozy home of Pooh for some tea and honey.

Although today is grey and rainy, reports are that it will be in the 80's this weekend. It will be nice to see the sun, although most of my plans so far involve being indoors.

I am heading off the Annual Webfooters Vintage Postcard, Photo and Ephemera Sale this weekend. Looking through boxes of old papers and photos is something I enjoy doing. It is crazy all the stuff that you can find. I am always overwhelmed by how these little paper items, meant to be temporary, have lasted over 100 years.

Being at a postcard sale like this isn't much different from a zine sympoisum or a record swap - both things I have been to many times. It is the kind of event I love - one room filled with lots of people who all love the same things. They show what they found, they talk about their interests and people are happy to share info with each other.

Speaking of zines, also on the list this weekend is to work on my page for the Entry Point compilation zine that Nicole Introvert is putting togethre for International Zine Month - which is July in case you were wondering. The idea is to write about how you got into zines. I am having trouble getting mine to fit on one page. You can find out more here.

I also only got halfway through my list of zine things to do last weekend. I need to do some more work on that.

Something else you Portlanders can do is head out to the Stumptown Comicsfest this weekend. Lots of neat stuff to see there.

I will make sure to get in some time to enjoy the warm weather, too. I hope you all have a good weekend!



Sunday, April 12, 2009

Easter Greetings


Here is a shot of some eggs the Mister and I dyed last week. I hope you all have a nice Easter. I usually don't really do anything for it. But, I like the eggs and candy and decorations. The Easter Bunny dropped off a basket last night filled with the best Easter candy ever - Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs and a pretty gold rabbit and even some lottery tickets! What a sweetheart.

Well, I have slept in late. I stayed up too late last night reading a pack of letters I got at a rummage sale and researching the people online. It was very interesting. More about that soon.

Today I need to work on zines, packages and laundry. But, right now, I think I will make some french toast with this Brioche bread I got and drink some Breakfast in Bombay tea with milk and sugar. Should be good. Have a great day!

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

april already



Although I have been aware of myself yearning for the arrival of warmer spring weather, the fact that it is April still has taken me by surprise. Really? April already?

I have not been engaged in many craft or zine projects, but have mostly been doing computer stuff, posting on The Cedar Chest and organizing around the house.

Last weekend my mother came over to Portland and we went to my favorite new place to eat Jade. After amazing food (french fries in truffle oil! Salad rolls with tofu!) and tea (breakfast in bombay), we made our way to the huge fabric store. I was looking for fabric to back the quilt she made for me.

Last fall I told her that I wanted her to make me a quilt for my birthday and Christmas. I gave her a lot of fabric and she added a lot. I saw the finish product on my bed on Saturday and I am so excited for it.
Here are some extra panels. As you may have guessed my room is yellow and green. It was really hard finding some fabric for the back. We have both been looking for a few months. I am really picky. I finally settled on a yellow gingham. I think it will be classic and not look as dated as some.

My mother is very talented, as I wrote in this post here. My quilt is going to look so good!

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