XC Skiing

Joe and I went cross country skiing today up on Mount Spokane! It was really fun, plus its a good work out. Nice to get out and see the snow, and go for a nice drive in the country. Looking forward to more XC ski trips this winter! We both did way better this time than we did last year, I had properly sized equipment which made a huge difference and Joe is getting the hang of it. It's really different not having any edges while you're turning. For two days off we've packed alot in. Yesterday, we went and saw Adventures of Tintin in 3D which was really fun, they did a really nice job with it, felt just like the books. The Tintin books were some of my favorites growing up! Looking forward to re-reading some of them. It was snowing afterwards, it felt like a real life snowglobe outside, huge flakes coming down and all the lights on. We walked around downtown and then had dinner at Luigi's which was a whole different experience. Good tiramisu though!

New Finds!

Have been doing lots of thrift store shopping, antiquing and well, just general shopping recently. I need to take a little break from it. Which shouldn't be too hard since I go back to work tomorrow, for five "12s" which equals no time to go shopping. And probably not much posting either, we'll see, just finished painting our kitchen today (YAY!) so maybe some pics of that soon. Absolutely love the new color, it's brighter and more cheerful than dark hunter green. With all that said, here are some pictures of my new finds! (Be warned, there's a bunch...)

Little end table from the Antique Mall in Edmonds, and my newish book on top, a birthday present from my mother in law. (Can you find the cute kitty in this one?)

Little two tray server I found at Value Village. This is after it got a nice bath. Trying to decide if I want to paint it or not... (also shows the old kitchen color)

Another Value Village find that is already mid-makeover, this is now a definite before. :)

New scale from the Antique Mall, I love it! My friend Jenn spotted it, she has such a good eye! Also, the white pitcher is a birthday present from her. (Thanks again!)

This is the whole corner, finally filling out a little. The little retro highchair I found at Northwest Christian Thriftstore for twenty bucks! I love the color and it is the perfect spot for my "stereo system". (and no, I'm not trying to send any messages by buying a highchair). The red cookbook stand on the bottom shelf is also new, found at the Seattle Value Village for a few bucks, super heavy, which is awesome, we use it all the time now.

This is also a before picture. A GIANT embroidery hoop. The after will have to wait until later...

And lastly, just a pretty sunset picture. Taken out at Fishtrap area off of I-90.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Posole Night

Well, I took a mini-vacation from the computer the last couple days which was nice. Sometimes, it just seems like I need a break from the constant electronics everywhere. Anyways, we had a nice evening today. Made a huge pot of posole, a Hispanic soup (recipe was from the most recent Bon Appetit magazine). Probably not the most authentic but it was delicious, warm and filling. After, Joe made a fire, we got to relax and catch up with friends and have a nice cup of tea!

Found the Jarritos for 30 cents each at Safeway! I like mine mixed 1/2 and 1/2 with sparkling water. Such fun colors!



The last two pictures are of my clean kitchen and newly painted frame and Katie Daisy art! I've been admiring all her lovely art on pinterest for a while now. Last week, I found a box of her greeting cards at TJ Maxx and immediately knew I was going to frame one of the mini versions for my house! Love how it turned out!



It's CLEAN!! = super happy!! (and this is not just a picture of the clean part... the whole kitchen, dining room and living room are clean!)
P.S. A big thank you to Mark and Rachel for helping with the kitchen after dinner!

Conversation Between a Girl and Her Cat Malcolm

This is how I imagine my conversation with my cat went this evening - that is if he could talk.

Malcolm: Hey you, hey you, hello? are you listening?

Girl: What?

Malcolm: I'm bored. Come play with me.

Narrator: Girl walks over to the carpet, and throws one of the cat's mice for him to play with. Cat looks   

   indifferently at the mouse...

Malcolm: Hey you, you're boring. I wanna go outside and play.

Narrator: Cat walks over to the door. 

Malcolm: Hey, let me out. Hey. Come on, let me out already.

Girl: Alright, fine go outside. Be safe. Look both ways for cars. Don't stay out all night like you did 

   last night. Love you.

Narrator: Girl gives cat a hug and lets him outside.

Brief Intermission:  It's cold outside and the ground is covered with snow. Girl is inside cleaning the kitchen. Eventually cat comes back to the window

Malcolm:  Hey you! Hey you, will you let me in? It's COLD out here! Please!!

Girl: So you want back in huh?

Malcolm: Come play, come play!

Narrator: Cat walks back over to the rug, meowing annoyingly. Girl finally stops cleaning and walks over.

Girl: What do you want?

Malcolm: Obviously, I want to play! Duh... That's why I'm rolling around on the carpet and trying to attack your hand.

Girl: Alright, alright.

Narrator: Girl picks up the cat's new favorite toy, a fake fishing pole with sparkly fish on the end and waves it about, the cat goes crazy trying to catch it.

The End.

Work Space

Yay for a newly organized work space! Since apparently I'm trying to kill time today, thought I would list all the updates to my work space! I'm finally making some progress in here... it's so much easier to get motivated when your stuff is all in place. This picture is of the organized side (still have a few more corners to tackle). I thought this might be more interesting to all you crafty ladies out there than my organized fridge :), hence two posts in one day.

1. My made over frame is now holding photos so the pictures aren't cluttering up my work area.
2. Metal bin I found for $2 at Value Village, holding paints, paint palette, glues, other crafting stuff I use regularly but not scrapbook specific. Love this one because the sides are straight.
3. New laminate board from Home Depot, cut to size, which gives me a little cubby in the middle to stash stuff, infrequently used stuff in the back and cute containers up front, plus my paper cutter.
4. All time favorite blue glass mason jars, storing twine, ribbon and bling from an old candelier.
5. Kitchen organizer from old apartment, fits my 2 photo boxes up top and my paper container below. Everything slides out easier without having to move everything else.
6. Wire hanger that used to hold ribbon (that didn't work out so well, the cat unraveled it all). Was about to pitch it yesterday, then decided it would look cute covered in scraps (inspired this lampshade made by Ashley here). Painted some mini clothespins and voila ~ a clip up organizer!
7. Garage sale basket, holding yarn, finished cards, and other bits and pieces.
8. Little laptop case I found on sale at Pottery Barn that I use to store my *Smash book stuff, so it's all ready to go when we travel.

Clean Fridge = Ridiculous Post

It would not be an exaggeration to say that I'm super happy we finally cleaned out our fridge. ... and no, I'm not going to gross you out with any before pictures. Just some proof that it's done! We cleaned, we organized and then labeled the shelves and pockets on the doors! For labels, I just used green masking tape, a sharpie and some deco scissors, may do something better when we figure out which categories work well for us. We also designated a shelf just for leftovers, since we've been trying to cook more in bulk so there is food for lunch the next day at least. 

Here it is all clean and organized...


And the funny find of the day, apparently we have enough hot sauces for their own dedicated bin... is that crazy or what? Like father, like daughter. Maybe we should start a 'Bring Your Own Hot Sauce' rule for family dinners...

Mission Gallery Wall

I love all the gallery walls you see everywhere these days. I got permission to make a gallery wall in our mini-hallway. Right now, I'm in the "collecting stuff for the wall" phase. The only thing I had so far was framed picture of the VW van under a tree, originally posted here. After seeing various versions of state art on Pinterest, I decided to try making a painting of Washington state. I didn't want a solid color though, more of a blended, watercolor look. A trip to Joann's later, I had acrylic paint in 3 different colors of blue and 1 green, a 99 cent artist palette, a 50% off canvas and a little brush. A little down time one afternoon this weekend and I got it finished. Nice to have fast projects! I really like how it turned out, exactly what I had in mind! The photo doesn't look quite the same, but you get the idea.

When we were done at Joann's, we stopped by the Antique Mall in Edmonds. What a neat place! Packed full of cool stuff! I found some fun vintage postcards, one of Southeast Boulevard in Spokane and one of Madrona Park in Seattle. Will be repainting some frames for these, but thought I'd share pics of the postcards, they're kind of interesting! (You can tell my desk is kind of a mess too... started reorganizing last night, hoping to finish up today, or tomorrow)

Cafe Vivace

Just back from Seattle, had a wonderful weekend. Saw a bunch of Joe's family, our friends. Celebrated two birthdays, went antiquing and shopping with the girls, fit in some scrapbooking and got to sleep in and relax! Today on our way out of town, we hit up Cafe Vivace, initially introduced to me by my friend Jenn a few trips back. Probably my all time favorite coffee! So smooth, and not bitter at all. Anyways, hope to be back with more pictures soon, hopefully will have some decent light tomorrow.

Love madelines, should make some soon!

Pretty foam art!

Featuring - Kimberly Taylor

Kimberly is a fellow Washingtonian with an amazing photography blog. She is also hosting an amazing giveaway today! If you love gray or ruffles, you will love the purse she is giving away. Head over to her blog "Around the Table on Blackberry Farm" and check it out!

Be Back Soon...

... so I've been busy working on projects and busy with my real job too. It's been fun working in the ER the last two days, but a new kind of stress is always more tiring. Makes you have to think a littler harder when you're working a different floor than usual. Totally different pace. But a nice change of pace for a few days. I became a nurse because I loved the ER (way back in the day), ended up getting sucked into the world of ICU nursing. Anyways, got a couple days of R&R now, should be nice!! Hopefully, this weekend, I'll get around to some pictures... who knows, might just sleep for a few days though. :)