weekend adventures 30

Yay for long weekends! We did a lot more relaxing then exploring and having various adventures... but I do have some imagery from a last minute Saturday wine tasting.

friday night
After work we headed to Salem to meet up for dinner and some drinks with Pats old friend Jimmy who recently moved there from Gresham, making him much easier to see. We ate at a total dive, but they had pretty good cheap food. My side salad had goldfish crackers on it though, which I thought was a little odd. First time for everything I guess. Have I mentioned that my boyfriend is a nerd? After dinner we went back to Jimmy's place where the boys proceeded to play to original Halo game for several hours. I brought my laptop with me for this reason. Thank you fuckyeatattoos, Skype, and Megan Guenther for providing my friday night entertainment. Conveniently enough we were able to sleep at Pats Mom's condo in town for the night.

[[ i finally bought a bottle of cupcake wine to enjoy, coincidently it does not go that well with cupcakes. ]]

saturday
Pats Dad offered us his old really nice BBQ since he had bought a new one. So in the morning we headed over there to load it into his truch. Of course it started pouring down rain right when Hayden and his friend got there to help, but it was a pretty successful endeavor. Spur of the moment Pat decided that rather then heading home we should head over to Carlton to get some wine and taste for the afternoon. This turned out to be a pretty good choice since there were special events going on for Memorial Day weekend that involved lots of yummy cheese pairings. Four silly things: 1) We met an older version of a girl names Meesh we know. 2) The older woman who carded me was literally shocked when she saw how old I am. 3) I think Pat is the only person in the history of wine tasting to do it in an Ironman shirt. 4) We saw a really nice Audi R8 that Pat was super excited about and made me take pictures of.

[[ windy roads. carlton. ironman. cheese. postcards. cake. yum. barking frog. the drive. ]]

[[ sweet ride. ]]

sunday
It was awesome to wakeup knowing that we pretty much had a second Sunday the next day, so we took our time with everything. After breakfast we eventually made our way to one of the furniture stores in town to look at couches and bedroom furniture. But alas, there was nothing to be found. The search continues. We met up with old roomate Rory for a goodbye dinner at B15, as always. Their food and beer is always delicious and hard to pass up. That was pretty much it. We all went back to the house and watched some old episodes of the Chapelle Show, and then went to sleep.


monday (sunday part II)
I FINALLY slept in. I mean really slept in. Until 11... Pat was really nice to leave me alone too when he woke up much earlier. After I got dressed and everything I found him in the front yard scrubbing the crap out of the BBQ. Did I mention before that though very nice, it was extremely filthy? I cannot even believe what a huge difference his hours of work made on that thing. It looks like a completely different grill. I cannot say I was much help. Sorry love. I know he really takes pride in accomplishing tasks like that though. Once we move we can see that thing in action! The rest of the day was made up of the living room and Marvel movies, per Pat's request. Nothing too eventful.

[[ our newly cleaned new bbq. ]]

semisweet

So happy it is Friday! Today was rough... Pat had some people over last night for a BBQ and I drank and stayed up waaaay later then I ever should have. I am pretty sure I just looked like a disaster today. Pat said I make looking like a scrub look good, thanks babe. One thing that pulled me through the day was the semisweet mocha that two of the girls at work surprised me with. One of them said that she was not sure if I would want something super sweet, or only partially sweet, but that my personality was only semisweet so that is what she went with. I absolutely agree with that! I loved it.

Super random visual, but, there has been a hand written "dirty/clean" sign posted on the dishwasher at work for months and it has been driving me insane, so I finally made a new one today. Go me.

[[ signs. grainy images. i was bored. ]]

We do not have a ton of plans lined up for this weekend yet, so I will see where it takes me... Regardless I am extremely thankful to have Monday off for Memorial Day!!!!!! Happy weekend!

one

As the weather gets nicer (if it ever does get nicer for more then one day intervals), I try to run more of my errands by foot instead of driving around. Wednesday afternoon I was picking up some posters for work and decided to walk since it was only a few blocks away and it was actually fairly nice outside. There is a certain alley that I always cut down... one of buildings is painted cyan and I love the contrast against the surrounding brick buildings. 

Last December I discovered that one of the walls of another building had been spray painted with the lovely little image below that I spoke about here. Yesterday I discovered that the artist, who signs their name only as "one" has changed the design to the second image posted below. I wonder how many of these switch ups I have missed throughout the winter? 

I am extremely interested in following along now to see what changes have been made. I tried to find some information about the artist and project but came up with nothing... my curiosity has been stricken. 

[[ 12/2/2010. ]]

[[ 5/25/2011. ]]

midweek inspiration 15

I found these a while ago when I was browsing around on Etsy... They are lovely simple little illustration of birds, and women, and puppies, and mermaids rendered in charcoal and pastel by Samantha Battersby. You can find them in Matou en Peluche, her shop.

[[ illustration from the etsy shop. ]]

scallywags

Last night we went and saw the 4th Pirates of the Caribbean movie, and I have to say I quite liked it. In my opinion the story in the third one began to spiral out of control because there were so many different plots and character developments going on within the one story. This one is much more simple, back to basics I guess.

It feels sort of like the first film was its own story, the second two were one story, and this is now starting a new adventure. It was left completely open too... I seriously wonder how many of these they are going to make!? They have pretty much proven that the only person they need on board is Johnny Depp and the series can continue. Perhaps they are having a battle with Harry Potter?

I really liked the introduction of Mermaids in this one, possibly because I wanted to be Ariel when I was a little girl. Another notable part is when Jack Sparrow and Barbosa are on the shipwrecked ship looking for the chalices and the camera draws our attention to a scene recreated from the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland. It involves a heavily adorned victorian bed surrounded by jewels. In the bed is a skeleton holding a magnifying glass that allows the viewer to see his enlarged teeth... sound familiar? I love how they did this in the first movie as well in a few different scenes. I wonder if there were nods to the ride in the second films I missed?

Here are a few screen shots from the film:

[[ screenshots from imdb.com ]]

Also I found this image of Astrid Berges-Frisbey, the actress who plays the mermaid Syrena, at the screening of the movie. I love her earring... I cannot tell if that is some sort of weird piercing or if it is just the jewelry (more likely) but I really like the look of it!

glad that's over with

Oh man this was an interesting weekend... As I mentioned last week I got my wisdom teeth pulled last Thursday and I have to say it was not AS bad as I thought it would be. I was really really nervous about the IV and the fact that I would be asleep during the procedure, but the Dr. did a really good job with the IV process and as soon as I calmed down from that it was over really quickly. I must admit that when Pat left the room before they started everything I did get a little teary eyed. Surprisingly they had a hard time getting me to actually stay asleep though, and after I woke up I was immediately completely coherent when I was expecting to be in a daze for the rest of the day like everyone else told me. I did have a hard time walking though which was pretty entertaining. Anyway, as easy going as Thursday was I was in a lot of pain by Friday and super swollen! I think that was my least favorite part... and the fact that I still cannot eat solid foods yet. Applesauce is my new favorite, I would not have survived the weekend without it!

Thank you to Pat who took care of me the whole weekend even though he had a busy work schedule! I would have been such a mess without you love.

[[ morning sunrays in the backyard made me feel better about thursday. ]]

stupid wisdom teeth

Tomorrow I am getting my wisdom teeth taken out (all four) and I am NOT looking forward to it at all! I have been putting this off for a long time because I am super stubborn and really did not want to deal with it, but as it turns out at this point I really have no choice. I am totally freaked out too!! :( It is not that I have a problem with needles, but the thought of an IV really freaks me out, not to mention being put to sleep. Johni would be making fun of me so much right now for bring a wimp!!

For my "last supper" we went to Block 15, where else, and I had a delicious turkey burger, fries, and their new apricot beer (I always get the fruit ale, and I am never disappointed). It was delicious and I am super full... I guess that is a good thing since I will be stuck eating mushy foods for a while.

I am stocked up on girly movies (just bought Ever After and Clueless), mushy foods (pudding and soup), and am as prepared as I can possibly be for the impending chipmunk face. Hopefully Pat does not make fun of me too much. Wish me luck. I'm scurrrred!

[[ my wisdom tooth and pictures from dinner. ]]

[[ new old movies to add to my very very small dvd collection. ]]

((( Be back in a few days when the drug induced coma wears off )))

weekend adventures 29

Last weekend we went up to Brasada again, but this time with Pats whole family since his mom got back into Oregon from her six month hiatus in Palm Springs. I have to say, it is a lot more relaxing over there without high strung parentals and a new born baby... but it is always nice to get away. I cannot wait for some warm weather over there! I really want to be able to sit by the pool again... well, once I get a new bathingsuit(s) that is.

[[ images snapped sunday night. it is so beautiful there! ]]

friday night
Me, Pat, and Hayden drove over the pass right after work and a few hours later were at the house, in comfy clothes, and making drinks and dinner. Pat's mom and step dad were not supposed to show up until the following morning, so we were all very surprised when they walked through the door around 10... Me and Pat had a conversation earlier that day where I asked him how long he thought it would take for his mom to comment on my pale skin, (something she ALWAYS does... it seems hard for her to grasp the fact that not only do I have naturally redish hair, but that we all live in Oregon where the sun never comes out to play). Not even two minutes in, "Oh my god! You are so pale! Have you been hiding in the cave with Osama?!" ... Thanks Lori. I tried to remind her that she lives in the desert where it is 100 degrees year round, but she was not buying my reasoning. Its ok, I am used to it.

saturday
Pat's step brother Chris, his girlfriend Mandee, and their son Maddox got to the house around lunchtime, so we all met up for some food at the restaurant on the property. What is kind of nice is going there so many times in the winter that the server remembers me and Pats names, and does not bother to card us. Good service. Plus, they have really good food. After that we all just kind of hung out, played some games, and had some drinks. Me and Pat won scrabble thanks to a "triple letter tile" and my discovery of the word UZI within our letters. Thank you Pat for playing so many video games?

I had only seen the baby once since he was first born and he looked way different already. It is kind of crazy how quickly babies change. Having the baby around also reminded me how happy I am to NOT have one of those right now! They are our age and have a six month old, no thank you. Maybe later.

[[ uncle patrick and maddox. it is hard to get a clear iphone picture of a wiggling baby boy! ]]

sunday
We went into Bend so that Pat could get some nicer clothes, slacks and such. It was weird to go shopping and not actually do any shopping for myself... I sat patiently outside the dressing room and brought him additional sizes and what not. Let me just say, Pat looks very very good all dressed up, so I did not really mind. :)

After most of the day we headed back to the house for dinner and to open the birthday gift Pat and Hayden bought their mom. A bottle of Silver Oak wine from 1986! It was sooo good. Granted, I only got a tiny bit of it. I guess that is what $120 ish will get you. Having decided earlier to stay over Sunday night and drive home in the morning, we stayed up late playing cards and drinking delicious bottles of wine. The sun actually came out too after raining all weekend long, and I got to take some pictures of a beautiful sunset and double rainbow action.

[[ silver oak 1986 cab. super saturated cork. entertaining myself while shopping. gifts from lori. playing canasta. ]]

monday morning
The morning was rough, I so did NOT want to get out of bed. Everything there is too damn comfortable. Eventually with no choice we got on the road and drove through every type of weather, including snow! I could not believe that it was still dumping snow on the pass!! It is almost JUNE! Then it was back to the grind.

double whammy.

This is a crazy week, and I am really not looking forward to it. I worked a half day today after driving home for three hours from Brasada. Everything with the wedding invitations is coming to an end, so I have been working on those nonstop to ensure that they are printer ready by tomorrow, so that they can get done by the end of the day on Wednesday. I have to get everything done that I normally do in a full week at work by the end of the day Wednesday as well because Thursday and Friday I will be in bed heavily sedated. Dastardly wisdom teeth. I also volunteered to do something for my little sisters Grad Night in a few weeks, and that has turned out to be way more trouble than it is worth at this point. So needless to say, I am feeling stressed. There is more, but I will save that for another time. From here on out my months are jam packed.

[[ double rainbow i tried to catch sunday night. ]]

technical difficulties

Blogger is having some major technical difficulties. I managed to get some of the posts I had been working on up and running (finally), but it would not allow me to post anything yesterday, and I do not really have time to mess with it today. So, that is it for this week. Hopefully everything will be resolved by next week.

((( random image time )))

[[ salvador. ]]

midweek inspiration 14

So, this is super random, and really nerdy too! Ah! It falls under midweek inspiration because I could look through this for hours.

I do not fully understand what sparked this sudden remembrance of a favorite childhood book, but it popped into my head today out of nowhere. Dinotopia. If my memory serves me correctly, it is a essentially about a utopian world where dinosaurs and humans coexist in a victorian esc. society (1800s I believe). Though I do not remember details of the story, I do remember spending hours looking through the whimsical illustrations and "scientific sketches" created by author James Gurney. I briefly remember the creation of a pretty horrible TV spinoff that came out far past the point that I was interested in the subject, but the book itself is pretty awesome. They could do some sweet cinematic things with a real budget, just sayin.

I really want to buy myself a new copy asap, but I will have to sit on it for a while, since it is close to a hundred dollars and I have other expenses to worry about currently. I think the original might have even been my dad's copy that I would steal from him...

Do you know what this book is too? Pat has no idea, he thinks I am insane.

[[ imagery from the book. from google images. ]]

pancake breakfast

Sunday the 4th me, Pat, and Tony went to support our roomate Rory at the Volunteer Firefighters Pancake Breakfast. Surprisingly it was a lot of really good food for only $5, so Pat and Tony were very happy. I was mainly excited because I got to play in the firetrucks (and it was sunny outside). I of course snapped a few pictures while we were playing around.

[[ the boys scarfing down their breakfast. playing in the firetruck. rory looking legit. posing. ]]

brief weekend adventures hiatus.

My weekend adventures posts have been suffering a little bit lately. Though I did have some weekend adventures last weekend I somehow managed to end up with no imagery what so ever due to camera malfunctions... To very briefly summarize, we went to our friends Brad & Alia's engagement party Saturday night, and I went home for Mothers Day Sunday, and I wish that I had pictures to post, but that just isn't the case.


I promise I will have some for you next week, but in the meantime, here are a few pictures I snapped earlier last week of us doing some yard work in the fleeting sunshine.

[[ trees in the front yard. loki. flowers in bloom. the boys. ]]

cinco de mustache

Delicious Mexican food and black berry Margaritas? Yes please!

I found this appropriate. A nice little ditty I put together last year of 

me and Megan. Just ignore the fact that the "sombrero" is not really sitting 

on her head...

[[ happy cinco de mayo! ]]

((( i may or may not have asked someone at work what the date was earlier... wow. i have a lot on my mind. )))

midweek inspiration 13

As June is quickly approaching we are finally starting to get some fleeting glimpses of warmer days in this drizzly Oregon town. Its about time. Funny how weather in the low 70s can bring out mini skirts and sundresses here.

Photography by Alice B. Gardens captures the feeling of the carefree spring/summertime. I want to live in her photographs! The series of carnival pictures are my absolute favorites! Especially the first two of the carousel. I really need to get to the fair this summer and take some pictures for myself.

[[ all images from alice b. gardens flickr. ]]

smash putt

Two weekends back I went to this... thing, called Smash Putt with some of my friends Friday night. If you want my sorry attempt at a description of the event, check out my weekend adventures post from yesterday, otherwise, I will let the pictures try to do the talking.

[[ almost traditional mini golf hole. our balls: "flip flops turn me on". tiff at "the stank hole". infinity. white wine and a hole in one. sign. the driving range. poses. megan and tiff spinning the wheel. hand stamps. ]]

Get it yet? Me neither...

weekend adventures 28

Since I slacked a bit last week, I will be posting two weekend adventures this week from the previous two weekends. This segment is from the weekend of 4/22-4/24, which I spent in Portland with friends and family.

4/22 - 4/24


friday
I rushed up to Portland after work, ran into my dads house, changed, and me and Megan speeded downtown to meet some friends at a thing/place/event? called Smash Putt. My dad tried to ask me what I was doing and the only way I could explain it was like so: "It is like a traveling interactive art show with mini golf downtown in an old abandoned building... but it is also 21+, so it is like a bar as well... except I don't think it is like real mini golf, I think you like.... destroy things?" Obviously I was not very clear ahead of time, and to be honest, I still can't think of a better way to describe it! Hopefullythe pictures and video will help out a bit. It was me, Megan, Tiff, Jason, Tiffs best friends Ashley Mellott, and Ashley Peterson as well as Steven her fiance. After the "Mini Golf Apocalipse" we went next door to Marathon for a drink, but everyone was spent and wanted to go home... so me and Megan ended up at McMenamins to finish off our night.

[[ smash putt mini preview, more pictures to come tomorrow. ]]

saturday
April 23rd was my dads 50th birthday! So I spent the entire day with mi familia. It was really fun. My family is always entertaining... especially when we have misadventures because we get completely lost trying to find the restaurant we are supposed to be meeting my parents at on the boarder of Oregon and Washington. Me and my sisters found it eventually, though it took about an hour. It was also gorgeous outside!!! I am always sceptical when the weather men announce a sunny and warm day based on how things have been going lately. So I ignored their judgement and wore shorts, boots, and a long sleeved top... it was HOT! It got into the mid 70s, which, for Oregonians who have not broken in to Spring yet, is a bit warm. The restaurant was on a dock right by the water and though I was sort of boiling, I loved the rays on my face. I think I even got some new freckles. After a much shorter drive home, me and the littles changed and headed to grab some frozen yogurt and sit outside as much as possible. I even let Meagan, my little sister with her permit drive us. Surprisingly Jenna, the 17 year old Senior freaked me out more driving on the freeway.

[[ images from lunchtime on the water. sisterly silliness. i am so pale! ]]

saturday night
Family came over for a BBQ. I spent most of the night leading up to dinner trying to make my dads favorite cake with the wrong ingredients (thanks to my step mom who didn't seem to think it would make a difference), well it did. I never got the frosting right after well over an hours worth of attempts. Like my mom said, that cake is a pain in the ass! But, it is a secret family recipe from my Grandma Trudy, so I am bound to figure it out eventually. We also decorated some Easter eggs and played Horse.

[[ easter eggs. birthday dad. ]]

sunday
Yes technically it was Easter, but I was more excited about the fact that Pat was coming home from Canada in the afternoon! I pretty much had some breakfast with the family, helped decorate a disaster of a cake, and then took off to PDX. I decided to park and go inside to wait at the gate like people do in movies. I did not have a sign, but I had a big stupid smile on my face and so did he when we spotted each other. :) We grabbed his bags and went out to eat a German-ish restaurant named Gustav's. I would have never thought that so many people go out to eat on holidays... but that place was packed. A few beers for Pat later and home we went.

[[ gustavs with pat. my first fondu. german beer. ]]