52

40 days of fasting are officially over! and it was SO GOOD for me to do, along with our entire church. but this morning, when kaia woke me up at 5:30am, i was very very very very pleased to break out the most important item in my kitchen. and it's been brewing all day! the first pot was regular breakfast blend, but all the pots after have been decaf. mmmmmmmmmmmmcoffee!

51

dear my neighborhood library,
thanks for being free and sufficiently entertaining. it may look like only twenty minutes to you, but to me it's a lovely afternoon outing.
in literary love,
kaia's mommy

50

(sorry to the faint of belly). 27 years of never needing stitches....the streak is over! and i don't even have any kind of a good story. there almost isn't a story at all. i took this photo just prior to being called back to a room in urgent care. honestly? the tetinus shot i had to get has caused more trouble...my foot only hurts if i press right on top of the wound, but my arm is terribly sore.

also, appreciate my sparkly converse....fantastic right?

49

this christmas my husband decided to use the 75 dollars from his parents ALL ON CHOCOLATE. i'm not joking about that. worst part? he's SUPER SKINNY. it's so unfair. mostly all of the candy he got is not so appealing to me. but i have a thing for rolos. he thinks i don't know where he keeps them, but i do. in the top drawer of the desk in his "sports room." and i've been thinking about them a lot...3 days of fasting left...

48

third favorite thing from my hometown...see that smiley face inside my freezer? there's this place called Smith's Bakery, and they make these FANTASTIC smiley face cookies. every once in awhile my grandma will ship some to me. i'll eat about three right away, and freeze the rest. i've been holding on to that one for about 15 months now (stop judging).

47

there are only a few things i miss about my hometown (bakersfield california). it's considered the country music capitol west of the mississippi. our claim to fame? buck owens. the hot spot? buck owen's crystal palace. i know, right? super glam.

anyway, the thing i miss most is in and out. but second favorite is this little place called "dewar's." they make ice cream which is good. but the stars of their show are their FAMOUS chews...they make peppermint ones, peanut butter ones, probably other flavored ones and, most importantly, CARAMELS. you cannot believe the deliciousity of these things. so anyway, my BFF brandon just went back home (we both grew up there, now both living in portland) and he brought back AN ENTIRE BOX OF CARAMELS!!!!!!!!!!

down side? on day 34 of a 40 day fast......do you know how hard it is to know there are CARAMELS in my posession and NOT eat them?!?!

46

i LOVE my neighborhood. just enough outside the "big city" portion of town, but perfectly close to be convenient and fun. our neighborhood is on a large lake, and the homes are gorgeous! our little townhouse (not on the water) is, by far, the least impressive home in the entire chunk. i like to walk around the lake a few times a week to get some fresh air, exercize and time to catch up on podcasts. the house pictured is my DREAM house. it's hard to tell in the darkness, but it's so super beautiful. the driveway that loops around, the colonial columns, the beautiful fountain...there's a huge wraparound porch on all three levels that overlooks the lake.

heaven forbid if that house ever goes on sale i'll be hounding my husband to buy it. i can't imagine we'd ever be able to afford it...

45

know what i mean?

44

i needed some peace. i found it.

43

i just don't understand though, was i supposed to honk and then they'd pull over and we'd make the exchange on the side of the road?

42

if "home is where your heart is" then these girls are my cozy cottage.

41

my gorgeous friend katie has been teaching me how to make cards. you wouldn't believe how amazingly talented she is at it. and when she tells me precisely what to do, i can do it nicely. but when i've tried to invent my own card, they've come out looking kinda terrible (most of the time.) so i'm pretty sure this is the most successful i've been at inventing and executing my own card. it's real basic, but it's not ugly! you can't tell in the picture, but it's a sparkly lollipop above the word "happy" and the flowers on the right are also sparkly.

40

it's a lame submission...i know. to make up for it's lameness, i'll give a lovely prize to the person who can identify the most products. hey, it's fun. what else have you got to do in this precise moment? well, what else that gives you a lovely prize?

39

this is kaia helping me do the laundry from our whirlwind trip!

38

the best part of the trip for me (shhh, don't tell the bride) was that my BFF from high school lives in houston, and we haven't seen each other since we graduated ten years ago. it was INSANE and surreal to see her holding my kid!!

37

you have to understand how awesome this picture is. because, the husband would NEVER wear pink, and he would certainly NEVER dance. but, since he was a groomsman, he had no choice. this picture is priceless.

36

that's my new sister, the one looking flawless.

35

at the bridesmaid luncheon. i was an "honorary bridesmaid" since i was singing in the wedding and couldn't stand up on stage. somehow, this excludes me from the cute gifts. i'm not bitter though.

34

a friend of mine suggested i borrow her portable dvd player for the trip. let me just say; I HAVE NO CLUE HOW WE WOULD'VE SURVIVED SEVEN HOURS ON A PLANE WITHOUT IT!!!!!!!!!

33

hi bloggers! i'm back from my trip to houston (did i forget to tell you i was leaving?) and i've got six days to catch you up on!

march madness is coming through portland, and this is basically the greatest thing that's everhappened to my husband and his friends. they bought their tickets almost a year ago, waaaay before this scary recession. anyway, the tickets arrived just before we left, and he said it felt like that scene in "fever pitch" when jimmy falon gets all those tickets. so i took a picture.

32

31

Q: in the absence of a food processor, can i make hummus in my crappy blender?
A: a resounding, lumpy "no"

30

(getting caught up)
favorite things week-day 7

i like wine. any wine. i'm not particular. the cuter the bottle, the better. yep, i'm that kind of girl.