Thursday, September 30, 2010

the great northern: a coastal drive

Brookings to Newport. 5 hours. It poured down rain the whole drive. First stop up the coast- Bullards beach in Bandon.

I heard that there were cool stacks of rocks there to photograph. I didn't find them. It was super windy, so we left and continued up the coast. We stopped at Seal Cave, but it was raining so hard that all the seals were hiding- not worth the $20 entry fee. The wind blew our umbrella inside out as we were running across the puddle that was supposed to be the street.

Next stop was Newport. We stayed at the La Quinta. It reeked of mildew, I made Danny take me to the store so I could buy some air freshener. It was there in our hotel room that we found out that a town in our state was on fire. 100 homes had been evacuated, some had started to burn. Some of our relatives live there- so we sent our love and hopes for the rain to go to them to help put it all out.

The next morning we went to Pirates Plunder- a pirate store and antique mall. It was so awesome! Look at what we found:

I also found a $5 vintage sewing machine (not antique, about 70's), a milk glass vintage juicer (wahoo!) and a teeny tiny blue mug.



Newport to Portland. 5 hours. On the way, we drove through Tillamook county- beautiful drive. We stopped to tour the cheese factory- they have wonderful squeeky cheese.




Next stop, Cannon beach.



Beautiful, foggy, rainy.



We found some bunnies, hopping around, eating grass. They were a cute little surprise.



On our walk back to the car, I found some flowers.






Next was Astoria, home to the Goonies. We were starving, so we grabbed a bite at the Blue Scorcher- an organic vegetarian bakery cafe. It was delicious. I wish we had more time in Astoria, it was a cool little town. We walked up the drive to the house, snapped some photos, got scratched by a cat.







Astoria is beautiful.

And that concludes the coast. Danny was a little bit irritated with me that I didn't ever mention that we were in fact driving the entire Oregon coast on this trip. I didn't realize it myself. Annnndd, I tried to show him the route I had planned many times before we left, but he said, "no thanks."

Did I mention that I can't drive stick?
Or that we took Danny's car?
That is not an automatic?

Hell, I'd be a little irritated too.


2 hours later, we arrived in Portland at the Jupiter Hotel. It was just perfect. See?


Picture an old motel completely remodeled with Ikea everything. Even the glasses and plates in the restaurant.





The next morning we ate at Pine State Biscuits. Delish.




Onto exploring the town. First we went to the Portland Japanese Garden. So tranquil and quiet. Beautiful.





And HUGE spiders in their webs everywhere. Euuughhhh.



The zen garden was amazing.


Then we went to the Museum of Contemporary Craft. I got inspired by an installation piece I saw there- all about that in a future post.



Then we went on to Powells bookstore- my favorite, where I pleaded like a 6th grader for some Halloween children's books and some used copies of my favorite books that I have lent out and never gotten back. We got "Goodnight Goon" and "The Runaway Mummy", parodies of "Goodnight Moon" and "The Runaway Bunny". Very cute!

I made Danny drive me to all kinds of fabric shops (can you believe it, I didn't find a thing! Of course none of them offered fat quarters) before we went to Podnah's pit BBQ for dinner. Danny ordered a 1/4 rack of ribs, and I got the pulled pork sandwich. I got what I ordered, but Danny got a full rack. He was very full when we left.

Oh yeah- and Danny bought me a new iPhone- but that's another post.


The next morning before heading out, we ate again at Pine State Biscuits. This time I had a egg and sausage sandwich- ohhhh so delicious! Danny just had a biscuit and jam- meat overload from the night before!

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

the great northern: the wedding

Salt Lake to Reno. 7 hours. I slept for 4 of them. The drive was ugly and boring. Our hotel sucked. The bed was awful, the smell was unpleasant. We avoided the million buffets teeming with food poisoning, and opted for In-n-out. Mmmm. We were so bored that we went to bed early, so we could get up and on the road early.


Reno to Brookings. 8 hours. Ugly and boring turned into pretty tree lined roads and rain. Our hotel was perfect, it smelled fresh, (kinda like bananas though) and the bed was cozy. We ate at a sushi place, and happened to run into the bride and groom- so they invited us to join them. It was nice getting to spend some downtime with them before the wedding.



The wedding day was wet. It was warm enough- just grey and rainy. The many steps down to the beach were fine, back up was killer. The wedding dinner was delicious, the beach house stunning, just like the bride.







Love that smile. You wait your whole life for that smile. And it was so amazing to be there, to see it in person.



Rosey protecting the fish from the rain. So cute.



We threw our wishing stones into the ocean, thinking of our future.



Gorgeous!



Danny & I in the rain by the sea...





I got to see people I haven't seen in ages, it was fun to catch up with them- and to introduce them to my husband.

I love that about being married. "this is my husband, Danny." I love saying that. I hope Beth likes that about being married too.


It was super foggy the day we left, but fog in the trees is breathtaking.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

b's quilt

Here is the quilt that I made for my friend Beth for her wedding. I did it in her wedding colors- orange and aqua. It came out so wonderful- I was a little sad to give it away!





This cute orange dot is my favorite of the orange fabrics.


This is my favorite one out of the blue fabrics.


And here is the label. With a cupcake, of course.

I heart you Beth and Patrick!

numbers

hours of driving- 43+
hotels- 7
cities visited- 11
photos taken- 800+
triple d diners- 3
oz's of dr pepper ingested- 196
beaches- 5
days of rain- 6
underground tours- 1
fresh honey crisp apples- 4
days away from our kittens-10
pounds gained- ?!?
times we got lost from google maps lame directions- 7 or so
amazing restaurants eaten at- 12
goats fed-3
miles driven-2,419+

Monday, September 27, 2010

rag-a-muffin boutique

We are finally doing it! My mom and I are having a craft boutique, and you are all invited!


Visit the event web page here.

I hope you can all come!

Sunday, September 26, 2010

fantastic news...

So while I am battling writers block, and trying to plow through the 800+ photos we took on our trip, I wanted to tell you all some great news.

First, I made my very first Etsy sale this weekend.

Second, the wonderful gal that bought it is the actual designer of the fabric.

whoa.

I couldn't be more flattered, or more surprised!


I used the "Felicity" line by Emily Taylor for Riley Blake. You can find the apron here, on my Etsy site.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

going on a little vacation...




Danny and I have been waiting for this trip all summer!

We wanted to go on a fun road trip- but couldn't decide when to go. My friend Beth that I have known since high school is getting married this weekend at her mom's Oregon beach house. Since we were going there anyway, we decided to make it a longer trip and drive up the Oregon coast, then to Portland, and onto Seattle, then home. 10 days of hanging with my man, eating great food and being by the ocean.

See you all later!

(with tons of photos and stories!)

Sunday, September 12, 2010

uhhhmmmm...

...have you heard of this?

ashleymadison.com

Life is short. Have an affair.

100% guaranteed.


A website offering you a "safe" way to have an affair. Here is a quote from the websites FAQ:

Having an affair is a risky proposition. There are many obstacles to overcome and you always face the risk of getting caught.

It's probably a good idea to seek relationship counseling and work out your marital problems before you attempt an affair. Getting caught can bring on many undesired repercussions and will probably result in ongoing mis-trust between you and your partner or divorce.

Serious consideration should be given to all possible outcomes. Please choose carefully.

Whatever. People are crazy. In this day and age, I guess I shouldn't be so surprised, right?

Sheesh.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

van's quilt is finished!

Baby Van is now 4 weeks old!

So for his one month birthday, I gave him the quilt I made him...



I just finished binding it on Wednesday.

And there are a lot of photos so you can see just how crazy I went!


Since his daddy is a fan of all things traditional, (and by traditional I mean tattoos) I found some Sailor Jerry designs and made them into wool felt quilt blocks.



The swallow blocks took me the longest- about 8 hours each!






Dread Pirate Robins, of course.











Storm's a brewin.















Every quilt made as a gift needs a label.

(Really I just want him to remember how crafty auntie Jessica is.)



Holly at Elaine's Quilt Block did the machine quilting. I love the waves she did!

(She does this freehand, you know.) Amazing.



I fell in love with this fabric- it's what I based the whole thing from! It's also what is in the big blocks that are in between the detailed blocks.



For the binding I used my leftover strips from the tiny squares. It ties it all perfectly together.


When I finally sewed this all together, it was so off! And I kinda freaked out- but my mom saved the day and fixed it for me! Thanks mom!

I loved every minute of every month this took me to make. I know that Nan, Mike and baby Van will cherish and love it until it falls to pieces. (And then I can make a new one, right?)

While working on each block, I could just picture Mike as a father making up some of his famous stories for his son's bedtime...and Van will always remember those stories because he has something to hold onto, forever. I can't wait for that kid to grow up! And yet, he is growing too fast! We just saw him last night and he has some chub in his cheeks!

Wow. I'm a little choked up realizing that this is finished.

Definitely a masterpiece.