my week in pictures 73

monday 10/6 - sunday 10/12

Last week was definitely a stressful one without much sleep, unfortunately, as we continued our endless venue replacement hunt. One of these days I will post all about that struggle.

On Saturday morning we grabbed my little sister and then headed to my moms place to celebrate the life of my grandma Norma with family. It was a really emotional day for everyone, but nice to see some of my aunts and uncles from California. My stepdad put together a really nice slideshow, and my aunt Debby created a book of her recipes that I am really excited to check out once the holidays roll around (especially the best sugar cookies ever). I promise promise promise I will be writing a post all about my grandma soon, I just haven't felt like I had enough time or a clear enough head to get through it yet, and I don't want to rush it. She deserves more recognition than that.

In the evening we met up with Pat's "little sister" downtown, and then stopped in Lompoc before calling it a night and heading to my dads place to sleep.

On Sunday we met up with Megan and her little sister for brunch at Slappy Cakes in Portland. I had been wanting to try that place for a long time, and it was so fun (and delicious)! We got a ton of ingredients, and ended up making both sweet and savory pancakes while playing with our food the entire time. Once we were done we said our goodbyes and drove my sister back to Corvallis where we checked out the house she is living in, before stopping by Block 15 (because we always have to) for a snack (and beer), and then checking out a newer brewery, Mazama, on the way out of town. We got home just as the sun went down and both passed out super early, exhausted from the quick weekend trip.

[[ working from hammock. more venue hunting... rainbow while heading over the pass. celebrating norma jean. my grandma's recipe book that i am definitely going to be using! a good place for a pooch to sit. a quick stop at lompoc. slappy cakes! decisions decisions. all of our toppings: bananas, bacon, mushrooms, goat cheese, chives, homemade hazelnut spread, chocolate chips, cinnamon creme fraiche. savory pancakes and sweet pancakes. making pancakes! i accidentally made a beard... oops. bathroom sister photos. starberries! viking? a short visit to b15 for some fruit beer and nachos. checking out mazama. sunset views on the drive home. ]]

perspective & recent events

Last week was a rotten, no good, very bad week (not simply a day, as the story goes, although one day was a major contributor).

Pat was gone again for work, in Canada this time, so we were hardly even able to communicate with each other. I was sick with this horrible rattling cough and sore throat combo that I brought back from New Orleans. Both of my ears were completely plugged and I had so much head congestion from multiple plane rides home that I thought I was going to burst. Work was extremely hectic and demanding (naturally, after being gone for a week). The weather was cold and icy. Oh yea, and I got in a car accident on my way to work when I slipped on some ice and slammed into a truck, totaling my precious little black Subaru. (Me and ice are not friends).

Things were looking pretty down last week. 

I'm not going to lie, I cried. A lot.

[[ poor little subey - the damage. ]]

Although we now have a major car situation to deal with, and I am still in mourning, this week is already infinitely better because I picked up Pat from the airport late Sunday night and got a long awaited hug before we made our way home and talked about the weeks events. The power of a single hug is truly amazing.

Recently someone posted this little quote on Facebook, and though I normally do not repost these types of things, I found this one relevant to my current situation.

I promise to try my best to think positive. Its true that a car is just a car and I, somewhat miraculously, came out completely unscathed with not even a scratch on me (as did the other driver involved who's truck came away with only a dent). And for that, I am extremely grateful. Keeping things in perspective is absolutely essential.


RIP little black Subaru (2006-2014). 
We had many great memories and adventures together, and its going to be really hard to replace you. (Yes, I'm talking to a car... I am a very sentimental person). 

[[ heres a super old school/awkward picture of me & pat shortly after he first got the car. i have no idea what im doing with my hands... ]]

san jose :: part 1

So, remember a REALLY long time ago when I said that I had a bunch of pictures to post from various trips me and Pat have taken... Well, I am finally following up and working through some of them, starting with the most recent vacation we took and working my way back in time to Seattle in March. No promises on when Vegas and Seattle will be posted, but hey, San Jose is a start... 

In September me and Pat met up with my Blechman family in San Jose for my cousin Ashley's wedding. I am originally from San Jose, and although I have been an Oregonian for most of my life, it is always very nostalgic to be able to go back and see my family, and this time I was able to show Pat some places from my childhood as well. 

I will be breaking up my trip in to three posts starting with days one 
and two. 

thursday (9/12) :: day 1
Since me and Pat had to make a connection flight in Portland and then jump down to San Jose, we decided to leave on Thursday afternoon so that we were not rushed to get to the rehearsal dinner Friday. We finished packing up our bags in the morning, cleaned up the house, and then headed to the airport around 1pm. One we hit PDX we scooped up a seat at Gustav's and relaxed with some lunch and a drink or two while we waited for our flight.

After our three hour layover and short flight we were in San Jose picking up our rental car and heading for my grandparent's place on Communication Hill. It was nice to be able to spend some time catching up with the two of them more or less one on one since we hardly get the chance. We were pretty exhausted after all of the traveling, so we called it a night pretty early.


friday (9/13) :: day 2
We got up in the morning, got dressed, gathered up our things, and ate some breakfast. Bagels and lox, of course. I also rummaged through some fantastic old photos of my grandparents and their parents, which I always love getting the chance to do. (These are pictures I took with my phone of old pictures, so some of them are a little glary/fuzzy, but I couldn't resist posting some gems).

[[ old photos my grandparents have collected: my grandma and her parents at the beach in 1970. my great grandparents and from left to right, uncle steven, auntie sherry, and my dad at the beach in 1970. my grandma and her father on her wedding day. my grandma & grandpa all dressed up. my beautiful grandma. my handsome grandpa at the beach. a photo of my grandma as a child with her parents claire and sam dubrow and brother gary. my grandpas parents sylvan and lenora blechman. unknown wedding portrait. what i think is a hamsa symbol on a very old small book. claire dubrow's obituary. a toddler picture of my grandma. ]]  

Around 1pm, my dad, step mom, and sisters arrived and we all sat around and visited for a while before me and Pat grabbed our things and left to go check in to our hotel, which was right up the street. We figured with everyone being there it would just be easier than fighting over couches to sleep on. By this time it was getting fairly late, so we changed our clothes and headed over to Kirgin Cellars Winery in Gilroy for Ashley and Jake's rehearsal dinner, which we really appreciated being invited to so that we could spend a bit more time with everyone.

The setting was beautiful and extremely casual, in fact, the venue even allowed Jake (who is a chef) and his Grandpa to cater the event themselves. Dinner was definitely homestyle cooking, and it was delicious, especially the soup that came out first, and the meatballs. I also had fun exploring the vineyard with Pat and my little sisters, and catching up with my aunt and cousins the night before the big day. After it got late family started slowly trickling away from the event, and eventually me and Pat said goodnight and made our exit as well to get some rest.
(I love seeing those rolling brown hills).

[[ a few pictures from the rehearsal dinner at kirgin cellars. ]]

my week in pictures 25

monday 9/30 - sunday 10/6

Last week we definitely spent the majority of our time working on the house. I think this will be the general theme for a while. On Friday night me and Pat went to see Steve Martin play his banjo at the amphitheater, but more on that later. My mom and step dad had also agreed to come in to town to help us with some of the bigger projects around the house (like repairing/replacing some of the carpet), so we met them for dinner after the concert, and proceeded to spend the rest of the weekend working around the house.

My mom also brought me all of these bins that had been sitting up in her attic since I went away to high school, which were highly ridiculous and entertaining to go through. Not only did I find notes passed back in fourth about boys, old "comic strips" and "magazines" that me and my friends used to make in middle school, hilarious birthday cards/raps from my friends in high school, and a ton of old art projects, but I also found part of a Malibu Rum bottle... which I would have thought I would want to have in college, but I guess I placed it in one of the bins instead for safe keeping. I am going to need to post some of these glorious items in the near future...

Anyway, here are some pics.

[[ the pretty mountain view on my drive to work. the house coming together. froggy friend hanging out in the garage. sketches and ideas. steve martin concert. projects in progress. some of the treasures i found in my high school bins: hot dog straw, ice cream poem, school dance pic, sad note from little sister. a beautiful sunny sunday fall afternoon. ]]

going going, back back, to cali cali

(Ridiculous title, but I couldn't help myself...)

Tomorrow me and Pat are off to California again, this time for my favoritest cousin Ashley's wedding!! I am really excited to see everyone, go to the wedding I have been looking forward to all summer, and spend some quality time in San Jose, my original home town! My goal is to even take Pat to Santa Cruz for a day. Fingers crossed that we have time.

[[ me and ashley circa 1990ish. i can't believe this girl is getting married!!

The only issue with yet another out of state adventure is that I still have pictures from Seattle, Las Vegas, and various hikes around Central Oregon to finish editing, write up, and post!! Man, I am a real slacker this year... I know I don't have a ton of time yet, but I am thinking getting all caught up is going to need to be an end of the year goal. So, there you have it, by 12/31/2013 I WILL have all of my Photo Adventures up on the blog.

happy birthday babe!!!

Happy Happy Birthday to my favoritest person on the planet! Love you babe! Glad to see that you held on to your style after all of these years... I hope that you have a glorious brew filled guys weekend!  ♥ 

[[ pat stylin back in the day. ]]

dress up

March 14th was my cousin Nicole's 29th birthday, and I dug up this little ditty to post on Instagram for her. I am not sure what year this was, but if I had to guess I would say I was probably in third or fourth grade and we were playing dress up at my grandma's bridal store Trudy's in San Jose California. I have always loved this picture. Once again, Happy Birthday to my beautiful cousin Nicole. :)

[[ me and nicole playing dress up at grandma's store back in the day. ]]

happy halloween!!

I know we won't get any trick or treaters at our place this year due to its poorly lit "dead end" street location, but that does not mean that me and Pat won't be enjoying some candy ourselves and holiday related movies. We may even drink a little pumpkin ale...

Meagan recently posted a picture of her dressed up as a bee, which reminded me that I had a very similar picture... so, I found mine and put them together. :)

[[ meagan as a bee (~'98). me as a bee (~'89). ]]

((( I will post the rest of our costume pictures from the weekend Thursday & Friday )))

happy 18th baby sister !

Sorry for the silence this week... it might continue until Monday with how busy I have been. i will get back on track to finish up san diego soon...
promise.

In the meantime, I wanted to take a very brief brake from work to wish a Happy Happy Birthday to my baby sister Meagan who is 18 today! 
Love you Mamushka!

[[ my favoritest really real sister. ]]

omg my baby sister is graduating ??!!??

When I was eight my little sister, and first sibling, was born. A lot has changed since then with my family dynamic, considering that I am now somewhere in the middle, and literally a "red headed step child". As much as I love my big crazy confusing family and all of my sisters, Meagan is still my only true sibling and I love her dearly.

Since she is my baby sister I can hardly even fathom that she is graduating high school this weekend! The same high school (mind you) that I graduated from eight years ago and remember fondly. It is hard for me to even believe that it has been that long for me. Half of my "best friends" I don't even keep in touch with anymore, but for a while there they were the most important thing in my life.

Of course what really weirds me out about the situation is that both Meagan and Jenna are going to college in California next year to join a Tumbling and Gymnastics Team. Though Jenna has been in college for a year (still weird), I can't believe it is Meagan's time as well. I mean, it was after all towards the end of Freshman year that I began talking to a certain someone whom I am now engaged to. Looking back we seemed so little, but at the time we felt so grown up. I wish both of my little sisters the best of luck next year, and to Meagan Paige, I really hope that you are MUCH more behaved than I was as a Freshman... for reals... like... seriously...

[[ little meeegan growing up (she might now like that one from 2007). ]]

And check this out... pictures of me and Meagan both playing Powderpuff Football our Senior years. Ha! 

[[ me and meagan, both 17. ]]

Love you mini me!

new year, new resolutions

Goodbye 2011. Hello 2012. 

[[ check out this awesome super old picture i found of me and my grandparents on nye. ]]

Last year I posted some New Years Resolutions, and I have to say I did not even come close on a lot of these. Although I was able to accomplish some (1/4/7/8/10), I outright failed a few (2/5), and a couple are still works in progress (3/6/9). With that in mind some of my new resolutions will be overlaps from last year.


new years resolutions // 2012

1. Save $$$ money! 
Open a savings account and start putting it away for future vacations, and for a wedding someday.

2. Go on trips together
Last summer we went to NYC, I would like to be able to go on more real trips like this with Pat to various states, or maybe even to some new countries. This goes along with saving money.

3. Wake up earlier !!!!!
This is one I did not succeed with last time at all, I seriously need ten more minutes in the morning and I will be good to go. Hopefully I can get it together this time.

4. Finish the Wicked series
I know it doesn't sound like much but I have been putting off finishing the book me and Johni were on for over a year now. Since the author just came out with a final novel, I figure I should probably wrap the series up once and for all.

5. Try a spinning class, or two, or three, or fifty 


6. Start printing out all of my pictures
Make my NYC album, and one with pictures from college.

7. Work on website/Flickr account


8. Take a trip down to the desert


9. Etsy shop by Christmas


10. Paint a Johni Tree

omg i'm 25?!

Hmm, where to begin...

Last night when I got home from work I was feeling a bit depressed about my impending birthday. It is a weird feeling to be getting older and no longer appreciating it, when for your entire life it is the one thing you desire. Me and Pat have been so super busy this summer that we did not get around to planning a big joint party like last year and I was feeling a bit bummed out about it. It seems like Quarter Century is such a big one and it was almost like it was not even being acknowledged. That is part of the problem with having a midweek birthday as well, though I do have somethings planned with friends for the weekend.

BUT

Then I began to consider it from another angle. I am 25 today, and in my 25 years of life, I have accomplished so much to be proud of, and have so many great things in my future to be excited about. Not only that, but there is really nothing more I could want right now. Sure, a raise would always be nice, or a trip to Europe... but I have all I could possibly need and 24 was a pretty good year for me. I think I will save the specifics for a little 24th year recap, but the gists are: An amazing boyfriend/bestfriend/fiance. A wonderful family. Great true friends who I love very very much. A real job. A side career. a home of my/(our) very own. A sense of self.

And in terms of being a year older and not too excited about it... thank goodness all of my friends (but three) are older than me, I am not the oldest child in my family, Pat has a year up, and everyone at work has several... phew, back in perspective.



I do not have many childhood pictures at the moment because they are lost in the mountainous landscape that is my parents garage, but I did manage to wrestle some up for my little post. 

((( by the way. above is my picture from my profile. the little bunny stuffed animal is one i have had (and still have) since i was a baby. i took it everywhere, even loosing one and having a replacement purchased and concealed to look like the old one by a crafty grandmother (i saw through that by the way). it is appropriately named bunny-bunny )))

 

[[ grandpas guitar. exploring. me & dad. pouting. grandparents backyard. looking awesome. halloweens. onsie/garfield slippers. preschool picture. me & dad at disneyland. messy eater. holding babies. ]]

((( stay tuned for my 30 before 30 list i hope to start crossing off soon. i will be posting this sometime within the next few weeks after i finalize it )))