lazy monday

Happy Memorial Day!

Do people say that? I suppose they do. I did do a little special something today, by sending a  postcard to the troops through Let's Say Thanks! It's not much, but having two brothers in the service taught me that any mail is uplifting while they are away from everything they know and love.

Other than that, it was kind of a lazy day. We slept in, still recovering from two nights in a row of partying with friends in Sacramento. Eric and I did hang the hammock this morning (yay!!), and finished irrigating the garden with a drip line running from the soaker hose to the wine barrels. Its a really neat and tidy little system!

Oh! While tending the garden, I was pulling up some weeds and re-situating our little rock border.  Remember my little special lady from last week? Well,I accidentally found her tiny home! She dug out a pretty deep but small burrow underneath a rock.  I saw that she has a bright white sac of eggs in there before she quickly huddled against it. I feel so bad that I disturbed her. Eric and I tried to put the rock back, being sure she can get back out to hunt. I hadn't seen her in a few days- I'm glad to know she wasn't made into a critter's lunch like I had feared!

There is also this little mama Wren that made her nest in the eave just above our bedroom window.  I'm sure you have heard the song of a wren and just didn't know it was them who made that sound, but its one of the most beautiful and distinct calls I have ever heard. Anyway, today, we heard little chirps up there! More little springtime babies in the garden!

Throughout the day, we put to use some of the kitchen gadgets Eric's grandmother sent us home with when we visited her last week!  We made waffles for breakfast with a really cool Belgian Waffle Maker!

Really fun to make, and nice to have something different from the usual for breakfast!

We decided to do a little barbeque for dinner, since everyone else was probably doing the same on this three day weekend. We used the mandolin that we have both always wanted to slice up some zucchini for the grill!

And lastly, we used one of my new favorite kitchen toys- this little oil sprayer! I never ever would have bought one for myself, but it's seriously awesome! We made oven fries, so I got to coat both the zucchini and potatoes with a little olive oil mist! It saves so much oil and mess to have one of these little things!

This was a perfect day to spend recovering from too many nights out. Gardening, cooking, cleaning, and now, cuddling. Hope you guys had a great holiday weekend!

xoxo


Update!!

We had a little wounded raccoon eating the cat food outside for a while now. The last few nights, however, he has been replaced by a wounded skunk! The skunk seems to drag its back right leg, but I don't see a wound! So sad. I moved the cat food higher up, so now I'm just watching it struggle to get up to it. I feel so bad!! :( I think I'll cave and put a little bowl out where he can get it....

grandmother spider

Woke up early to start getting the drip and soaker set up in our little garden.  The lavender is just beginning to show a little purple, and random seeds are peaking out, anxious to meet the sun.

 I think today, I will go buy some companion plants, as a lot of our little babies are getting eaten up by some unseen pests!  So frustrating to grow something from seed and watch it be gone in one day. Urg! I did make some organic aphid spray which seems to have worked. I haven't seen any aphids in a couple of weeks. But something else is snacking on the lettuce, cucumber, flower babies and basil.  I do have a little helper in the garden when it comes to insect control:

Do you see her?

What about now?

There she is! I've been watching her grow right along side of the plants for a month or so. Every morning, she accompanies me while I water. She watches over the little plants, probably controlling the larger insects since she's such a big gal. I've been trying to identify her- maybe a "wolf" or "sac" spider? She doesn't run, just sits patiently amongst the plants (unless the drops of water get a little too close!). She is so amazingly big and beautiful-I feel so blessed that she made our little garden her stomping grounds.

who wears short shorts?

Yesterday, while recovering from my dental visit, I decided it was high time to get my little Singer Simple sewing machine out, and relearn how to sew. I stitched Eric a brown corduroy "manbag" in one of our first years together. It was horribly constructed, but we were both proud of my accomplishment. Then he wanted it lined with this really beautiful blue and brown paisley patterned fabric Ive carried around with me for years. That was a little too challenging. I set my machine aside while I jumped into the sea of school, only now re-surfacing to do some fun challenges rather than purely stressful ones.

After reading Nikki's blogpost, I decided that my first sewing challenge would be to shorten these high-waisted denim shorts I got at a thrift store a while back. I loved the pleating and the color and fit- they even have a little triangular cut out in the back! The problem was the length of the shorts. Almost to the knee! So flattering:

 Yikes, right?  Well, I did it.  I cracked open a beer and dusted off the machine- watched some tutorials on threading the bobbin and needle. I was so please! My plan was to hem them so they had a half-inch cuff, but....well you know that phrase "measure twice, cut once"? I measured once, and cut once. Needless to say, there was no room for a cuff, and hardly anything to be left to the imagination in these babies.

Of course, I will need to wear tights with them to keep my buns from spilling out the back, and I would lie to take them in a little bit on the sides...but pretty cute make-over, I think! I hope to do more projects like this throughout the summer, but we'll see. I know the river will beckon soon! Have you guys been doing anything crafty lately?

mustard colored shirt,shoes, shorts: thrifted

orange floral shirt: urban outfitters

tights: gift from eric

necklace: crimson and clover


xoxo

when you smile

Just wanted to share how hilarious I look right now-

Half of my face is numb from getting three fillings this morning. I'm trying so hard to eat my delicious curry leftovers that I made last night for dinner.
I always remember people telling me the sound of the drill bothers them. It never bothered me before, but today...yikes! It was pretty painful for the first time in my 9 fillings history, and the sounds actually did make it much worse. Ugh. Hope you guys are flossing...


xoxo

summer lovin'

Well folks, its over. The semester, that is! I feel such a great sense of relief! We had already sold a couple hundred dollars worth of textbooks back..and  now, its time to live life again!

my boy <3

Things I plan on doing with my spare time:

-First and foremost, I must destroy all evidence of taking any classes this past semester. Not really, but I have got to clean up all of my many, many many pages of notes that have been scattered all over the living room for months as I prepared for the hurricane that is finals week. These scraps will find a new purpose after I happily toss them into the recycling bin. Binders will be retired, and calculators will lie around, unused once again without a math class to support them. Pencils reserved for sketches rather than reworking formulas. Everybody wins!

(don't worry- this mess is now under control

-Besides just cleaning up the papers, I want to deep clean the whole house for the first time in months. I started today already. Im talking dusting,vacuuming, organizing cupboards, scrubbing the shower, going through books and clothes and donating what I know I don't need. I am ready to get everything out and start again. I guess I am a little behind most folks when it comes to spring-cleaning... also, I hope to continue with my plan of bringing a donation every time I go out thrifting. Checks and balances, you know. Trying to avoid clutter and live minimally to some extent.

 - Take some photos with our Canon F-1. We went on a wonderful road trip to Santa Barbara, riding bicycles with our friend Marion in the sun, along the beach and downtown. We took so many photos, and even got some when we hiked some hot-springs on the way home. A perfect setting! Unfortunately, the film never unwound- I guess we loaded it wrong, so we never actually captured any photos! Urghhh! I was so upset...that was the last time we touched that camera. Well, I am ready to give it another try!

I won't deny that the T2i is an amazing camera though...

 -Get the garden going strong! I meant to wait for school to get out before starting the garden, but I couldn't resist! It was a perfect excuse to avoid studying (like we know the last half of my semester was all about). So they are out there, little ones on their own for the very first time. Of course, after I got everything in, the temperatures dropped. We covered everything with boards and pots and bags- anything to keep the impending frost off. Everything survived, thank goodness. However, the tomatoes almost drowned because all of the torrential rain we have had the last couple of days...
Anyway, looks like the storm is finally, yet slowly drifting away. The sun will return full force, and I want to set up a drip-system for the plant babes while we are gone in Houston in a few weeks. Actually, I just plan on planting new things, and starting more seeds,  re-potting house plants and turning the compost pile all summer long! I think friday, Eric is going to weed-eat. It's getting ridiculous out there! [Don't worry- we are going to try to avoid the poppies!]

little lettuces, all in a row.

happy beans!

i think thats the compost back there?

-For my tequila collection, I will need to get some margarita mix and get the hammock hung. Instant bliss. Oh, and Eric got me these wonderful cookbooks for my birthday last year. I have never made them before, but I really want to make tamales! I heard you need a lot of hands, so....ladies? How 'bout it?!

-Redesign my blog to be more photo friendly. That is going to be a project and a half, and Im nervous to mess up a good thing...but its on the agenda. Eric might be able to design a blog for me in the future so it can be completely custom. But hes getting a lot of business right now, so I told him to keep it on the back burner.  Check out some of the sites he has made recently, here, here,and here! And he just finished this one! So many favorites. He has a blog too called The Lucre. You should check it out if you haven't already.  Make sure you click the arrow on the left when you get there, to see his past entries. He creates some wonderful things.

-Craft! I dug out my craft supplies tonight, and my mind is racing with ideas. I also found my octopus I never finished embroidering. I'll have to show it off sometime once it is completed.

  Okay, seriously sorry about all the rambling. My heart is feeling so much bigger than the space my body has for it. Its bursting at the seams. My soul is on fire! I'm just happy to be happy again. I don't know how these classes do it to me. I start off in love, and the next thing you know, I'm clambering for air and I hate everyone and everything. How does Eric put up with me?



xoxo

hello again, hello.

Alright, once again, I have become distracted from studying. This is one of my last two days in order to cram as much stuff in my head as I can for Tuesday (where I will take a chapter exam, turn it in and get my final exam, turn that in and go home to complete my take home final by midnight. This teacher must hate his students,right?!) I know how much time I need to put in, but I can't keep my focus.

I need to write because.... I am so excited! My best friend in the world is moving back to California! I wrote about how tough school is and how badly I miss her before, here. Ohhh she will be here by the coming weekend! And at the perfect timing, too. School will be out for the summer. I have been daydreaming about our old days of summer, dewy, sunburned skin, crusing around the windy roads in her old Volvo "Gus"  with the breeze in our hair and something silly playing on the stereo.  We often went to Coloma to stop by the Argonaut for a slice of cherry pie and to stockpile on old timey candy and Jone's sodas. We loved to explore Two-Feather's Trading Post as well as the local cemeteries, taking dramatic photos in thrifted vintage wedding dresses. Other days, we would go just to dip our toes in the snow melt river, watching the ducks float downstream. Skipping stones. Marco's Pizza and pitchers of beer and some music! Summer in Coloma! Ugh, I can't wait. Fuck!

And I also cant wait to get back onto one of the crafts Ive been working on. I found it at Honestly...WTF, which is one of my favorite blogs to follow.  Check it!

I've got quite a few made, hanging about our house, but Im hoping our backyard looks something like this for a gathering this summer.  Alright, enough of the daydreaming. I have a lot of things to memorize here!



And regarding my title, this song is how I feel about all this news.  Dramatic? Yes. But also awesome? Debatable, but I say of course!  And  I want Paul Tomei to sing it at Karaoke this Friday!

not studying, round two.

Here I am again, nearly a month later. I got caught up in the whirwind that is the last bit of the semester. I have a final tomorrow in my least favorite class, and Im teetering on the edge of a B, slipping towards a C. I have come to terms with recieving a C in the class. First one in 6 years! Im just happy to be out of there, and have a break. Live some life...reconnect with Eric, the guy I love/live with, but hardly see?

I did pretty well with not studying today. I transplanted a lot of plants that I was saving for after the semester was over. I made a big curry dinner, and cleaned. I watched an episode of Glee and the Colbert Report. I just really can't focus anymore. Is that ridiculous? I have a final tomorrow, and I cant sit for one night, studying over the things I have learned the past 5 months. I feel nuts. One more week, and I will be going crazy [in a good way]. I signed up for one class in the Fall, and I am already panicking about it being like this again. I kind of want to take a long break and just work and play house. Is that a bad idea?

Just wanted to give an update, so any readers could know that I am not dead, officially, although I feel that way sometimes.Just need to hold on a little longer...