recent photos

1. so much yellow
2. margherita pizza with arugula (and pino noir rose!) at ken's artisan
3. she found the one sun patch in the apartment
4. more signs of spring
5. stained glass
6. rifle paper cards
7. practicing my calligraphy strokes
8. pink trees!
9. grapefruit mimosa at tasty n sons
10. penny and drew, being adorable

pop of yellow

these are birthday flowers from my coworker. i never (ever) keep fresh flowers in the apartment because i'm one of those people who lets my cat dictate my life completely, and most plants are poisonous to our little feline friends. but such a thoughtful gift prompted me to let go a bit, so i snipped the ends, put them in water and set them atop our highest shelf (which happens to be in the kitchen, so it gets pretty decent light).

the bright pop of yellow, especially with our green wall as a backdrop, brings such joy into the space that i think i'll keep up with a weekly bouquet of something colorful and beautiful. as long as penny doesn't figure out how to get up there, that is.

scenes from instagram

1. goat brie, roasted figs, honey, thyme and arugula on whole wheat

2. my two favorites

3. kyle, stacking rocks

4. beautiful fall day for a hike

5. cards from spoken for

6. me, at the pumpkin patch on sauvie island

7. pumpkin ice cream

8. 900 pages of murakami kept me occupied while i was sick

9. uno mas for dinner (try the queso taco!)

10. drew, loving his caramel apple

penny

taking up the entire loveseat. what a diva.

scenes from instagram

1. ice cream at oui presse
2. terrarium
3. chris and i at the mississippi street fair
4. white rose kombucha
5. house-cured lox and creme fraiche on spelt bread from little t american baker
6. cactus and candle
7. ceviche and my handsome date
8. penny, stretching it out
9. rose macaron from pix
10. kitchen counter 

currently loving

1. this lip balm. i've been using it for about a month and it's life-changing! also, my sweet grams, who sent me valentine's day kitchen supplies. 

2. made from sugar, hemp milk and coconut milk, this vegan salted caramel sauce is unreal. i want to ladle it over everything.

3. the greensicle from sip. i woke up embarrassingly hungover on sunday morning, so drew graciously brought me this magical smoothie. it made me feel human again.

4. my little nugget. even though i love her every day. even though she's sitting on the kitchen table in this picture, leaving hairs that will undoubtedly find their way into my food at some point.

the perks of being a blogger

after being on the library waiting list for months, i gave up on getting to read this book anytime soon. then, it magically showed up at our apartment. the perks of being a blogger. and having a boyfriend who reads your recent posts. who has amazon prime free two-day shipping. let's see what else magically appears if i post it up here on my little corner of the internet... does amazon carry cats? i think penny needs a feline friend.

friday

today's song is one that makes me happy because i'm trying to stay positive! i called the vet yesterday out of concern for penny's worsening asthma attacks and we have to bring her back in today. they are concerned about fluid in her lungs, which they referred to as a "death sentence". they also warned me that the visit is projected to cost around $500. at the risk of sounding dramatic, penny is truly the love of my life, and i want her to outlive me so i never have to know what it's like to lose her! yep, definitely just reached crazy cat lady status.

that grandma sense

i can't wait to be a grandma someday. most of the time, i already act like one. i have a bad back, like to wear large knitted sweaters + typically get into bed before most people go out to party. but regardless, i can't wait to have that sixth sense that grandmas tend to have (they somehow always know everything all at once).

between my stomach troubles, back to school anxiety, and discovering that penny has feline asthma (yes, there is an inhaler for cats called the aerokat), i've been feeling a little overwhelmed lately. yesterday, i came home to a package on my doorstep from my grandma containing the cutest old framed photograph of my parents on their wedding day + me as a youngster. the attached note read, "thought you would want this to warm your little home in portland". how did she know? how could she tell that this cute old photograph was exactly what i needed to cheer me up? must be that grandma sense.

scenes from the weekend

this weekend began with a lot of congestion, sneezing, and general lack of ability to move out of bed. on sunday, just as cabin fever was reaching a breaking point, drew and i finally started to feel like ourselves again. this coincided nicely with the arrival of chris, who just finished being a man of the sea (he worked on a cruise that toured the columbia river + docked in portland bi-weekly). it's been fun having him here on and off all summer, and i'll be sad to see him go back home on wednesday. last night, i also had to (reluctantly) say goodbye to mary, who is moving to brooklyn to start an exciting new job. i'm going to miss her dearly, but we had a proper send off with delicious wine + pizza at the globe.

1. sunflowers at the farm stand.

2. smoked salmon, gouda + scallion frittata made for brunch.

3. gorgeous cherry tomatoes.

4. penny, being weird.

5. fun string lights.

6. chris and drew enjoying a bucket of beer.

7. chris and i.

8. pesto, tomato and goat cheese pizza with sauvignon blanc.

9. mary and mike (and a ghost man).

feeling nostalgic

today, this song came on + it instantly tugged at my heart strings a little. 

my senior year of college, i had the pleasure of living with two of my favorite friends in a charming victorian house in willimantic. allie, my crazy parasite loving roomie, would always bust out into spontaneous dance parties. she'd put on the above song (or party in the usa...) while we were getting ready to go out, in the middle of breakfast, or when we were doing homework. didn't matter what time of day, we always had to stop what we were doing and start dancing like idiots. 

i know it's cheesy and cliche, but i will think of that year fondly for the rest of my life. it's the year i painted my room my favorite color, which ended up being a terrible decision because it had a glow-in-the-dark quality about it (but i loved it regardless). it's the year i discovered what i wanted to do with my life, worked my ass off, and got into graduate school. it's the year drew and i decided that we were going to move across the country together. it's the year i worked in a cute little coffee shop and ate my weight in bagels and spent many nights drinking wine with friends. it's the year i became a mom to a furry little kitten named penny. most of all, it's the year that i lived with a bittersweet understanding that i was never going to experience anything else quite like it again.