Not So Domestic Goddess

My new house doesn't have a dishwasher. Anyone who knew me questioned whether this would be an issue. Dishes are perhaps my least favorite chore. I would rather give a cat a bath before lifting a dish rag. However, I refused to even consider the thought of this being a problem. The rest of the house was just so perfect. How could I let a little detail like easy cleaning stand in the way of my new home?

I was going without in other areas that seemed much more severe. No wireless Internet, no cable, no microwave, and a washer and dryer that required me to go outside and around the back to an exterior basement entrance. A dishwasher was the least of my worries.

It came as a surprise to many that not only was doing the dishes by hand not even close to being a problem... I actually liked doing the dishes. For whatever reason, I began to find it relaxing. There have been many instances of baking days or large meals, where I insist on doing the dishes myself. Allowing my friends to get on their merry way (before I was a strict believer of the cook/ clean trade off... "I cooked, you clean").

This week it finally occurred to me why I've become such a fan of the once dreaded chore. I had candles lit, designer soap in the sink, a tall glass of wine beside me, and Gaga singing me on. This wasn't cleaning. This was my new form of therapy. And thanks to the fun dish gloves given to me as a gift (this things merely looked cute on the shelf before) doing the dishes was nothing more than pushing some soap around in the sink.

I have no idea how long this cleaning delirium will continue. But I've decided to enjoy every last pot, pan, and dish until the end.

Are you there summer? It's me, Carina

Since moving back to the PNW, there have been few things more frustrating in daily life than the crappy weather. I've been told these last two years are merely a fluke. However, I have my doubts.
If this is indeed the case, this transient can hardly hold still long enough to wait out the rain with the "hope" of sunny days to come. I fear for my sanity, as I'm beginning to show signs of a Seattle (Tacoma) local. Just this past Friday (our warmest day of the year so far... with a record 70F), I blasted my car's air conditioning and left the house without my token grey sweater. Gasp!
Luckily, the warm sunny weather did not last long, and I was back in my cloudy, overcast comfort zone by Saturday.
Since, however, the temperature has remained a steady 65ish thoughout the weekend, I was able to accomplish a handful of summerlike activities such as weekend crafts and grilling out.

For your viewing pleasure, enjoy:

I spent most of Saturday up at Paine Field at an airshow for work.
Unfortunately for my family, it only strengthened my desire to start
flying ASAP

I've driven by the Dream Lifter many times, but have never been close up on foot.
I was really hoping for a tour... but a couple shots will suffice, I suppose.

I have my first obsession with Tacoma: A food co-op called Tacoma Boys...
this bunch of asparagus was a mere $2.50 and will probably
provide us with side dishes all week. I also happened to
purchase three bottles of wine for $10... AH-mazing!



Sunday evening grilling is a family affair





A little garden pruning



GrillMaster Flex 

 

 It seems almost criminal for me to have this $600 grill... an inherited piece of furniture from the last move. I was happy the moving guys were smart enough to hook up the propane tank for me, otherwise this bad boy would probably just sit through the summer looking pretty.



  

My weekend project was to create frames to display all my metro and train tickets from my trip in Europe last fall. I found this two large frames featuring smaller displays and thought with some fabulous craft paper, they would be perfect. I love how they turned out! Unfortunately, now I can't find the tickets... so they'll sit empty until the tickets are found or a new trip is booked, whichever comes first...

Adding Injury to Insult

A shorter update on my state of hot messness...

If Tuesday's fun little adventure wasn't enough to keep me on my toes, yesterday taught me that I should, in fact, never be left unattended.
It was the first day that I was feeling better in a week and I was determined to make the most of it. I scrubbed, waxed, polished, tanned, plucked, and styled my way back to my normal self. I had a handful of things to do in the city and was so happy to get a  break from my cabin fever.

Perhaps it was the fact that I was wearing shoes for the first time in four days, or the fact that my house hates me... But as I decended our stairs, the wedges that I was wearing caught the stair wrong and I completely lost my balance and fell down half a flight.

It would have been an entire flight of stairs, except that they curve halfway down. Instead, I broke my fall by landing on one of the larger angle stairs and my legs popping out through the banister. I looked just like Alice when she gets too big for the white rabbits house.

Winded and in shock, I made sure I could move everything. Then I simply began to laugh. This week has been so ridiculous, I'm not sure what else can be thrown my way (a quick trip down the stairs was not what I would have guessed).

I later asked my friend Megan if there was a mark or a bruise on my back, as the place that I landed was really starting to hurt. She pulled me to a mirror and showed me my back. I have a "tramp stamp"  of a ring of flowers in the middle of my back, and the bruise/ red mark is right smack dab in the middle of the ring. Might as well be a bullseye.

Seeing how swimmingly this week is going, I can only imagine what today has in store for me. Chances are it will be somewhat unpleasant, but make for another great story to share.

Quarantined… literally.

This past week has kind of sucked. I’ve been sick for the past five days. Like really sick. What first appeared to be the stomach flu has turned into something else of a mysterious viral like situation that prohibits me from venturing farther than 20 feet from a bathroom at any given moment.

I’m not the kind who’s used to being sick in the manor that it’s all consuming in your life. A cold here, a migraine there… I usually work through it. This has been different. Not only has my stomach decided to turn itself inside out, but I have been unable to eat essentially anything for the last five days either. Crackers and Gatorade, though fantastic for the waistline and preparation for bikini season (if Seattle ever gets one again) is very boring on the palette. The fat girl inside me is really missing her food!

I’ve also been extra emotional out of shear frustration for not getting better and not being able to leave the house for what seems like an eternity.

On a side note, Louise, the kitty who recently entered into her lady cat-hood, just came home from the vet yesterday after getting fixed. Because we live in a zoo with three stories, the vet instructed us to keep her removed from the other pets and off stairs for two weeks. We’ll be lucky if that lasts through the weekend. Regardless, we’ve set up a little red tent for her in the office to recuperate and rest.

This afternoon, I groggily made my way to the office to check in on the little miss. Closing the door behind me so Gatsby wouldn’t barge in, and Louise wouldn’t break out, the knob on my end of the door fell off. This isn’t the first time it’s happened. Actually many knobs on many of our doors fall off. In fact, most doors don’t really close at all in my house (more on that in another post...) This is, however, the first time its happened when I was on the wrong side of the door and home alone.

As I realized that I had just locked myself into the office, panic fell over me and irrational emotion-filled tears promptly followed. Katie wasn’t coming home until nine! I had just gotten off the phone with my go-to personal medical advisor (my mom) who told me I was close to dehydration and if I wasn’t careful, might find myself in the hospital. A vision of me passed out on the floor next to a stitched up cat came to mind. I even briefly considered re-hydrating myself with her bowl of water.... briefly.

Twenty minutes passed and I finally noticed a laptop was in the office (thank goodness we have four computers in the house!) And so began the panic emails. I sent an email to every address that Katie had ever owned begging her to call her parents to drive all the way in from Renton to come let me out... Thirty minutes later when there was no response, it dawned on me that maybe she wasn't in front of her computer all day like many of us are.

I wondered if any of the doors or windows were open around the house. As this idea began to develop I realized that not only was I not wearing a bra or shoes, but had failed to brush my teeth or shower and probably looked like the walking dead. Since I was more desperate to get out of my captivity, I swallowed my pride (thank goodness this is Tacoma) and popped out the window screen. After tightrope walking along our white picket fence (the office stands over the basement driveway and is therefore nowhere near the ground) I hopped into our lawn and began my reconnaissance of trying to break into the house. It's times like these when you have an ironic appreciation for how secure your house really is. Without breaking an antique window, there was no way into the home except back through the window I had previously escaped from.

By now a good hour and a half had passed. I was trying not to think about my panic of being locked in the office the rest of the day and set out to get some work done. It was when I finally cleared my head, that ideas for breaking the lock came to mind. I didn't have any tools with me, but all my sewing supplies are in the office. Using a pair of sewing scissors (super spy style), I fit them into the slot where the knob was supposed to be and miraculously opened the door.

It's funny, despite my relief for freedom, the quick success of my efforts was a little anticlimactic. Not that I had visions of news coverage, balloons, and welcome camps à la Chilean Miner's rescue... (and Gatsby was pretty happy to see me out)... it just made me feel a little dumb that the simple solution hadn't occurred to be two hours prior.

I spent the rest of my afternoon of freedom avoiding the office and drinking plenty of fluids. Though I'm still sick there's nothing like locking yourself in a room to remind you that it could always be worse.

Welcome to the Jungle

Gatsby's been mentioned many a time here on Trim, but what you may not be aware of, is by moving in with Katie, Gats and I also moved in with her two cats, Fergie and Louise. Katie and I didn't give much thought ahead of time to combining our pet households. I had been taking Gatsby to see the cats since he was a puppy. The three of them were very used to each other, and since Gatsby has a tendency to resemble a cat more than a dog, we thought the mixed family would not be an issue. We never anticipated what would await us.



A typical working morning

The three thousand square feet of home hardly seems big enough for these three stooges. Most days it feels as though we are pet hoarders and living with 10 animals. Perhaps it's because none of the pets care to spend their time outdoors. All their energy is reserved for chasing each other around the house or following an owner. Whatever the reason, at all times, all three animals are no more than six feet from apart each other. They're like a walking Bermuda Triangle, just waiting to suck you in, never to escape or be heard from again. At 6:00 you can forget about accomplishing anything other than feeding this farm. Their meows and howling barks are enough for you to drop whatever you're doing and cater to their hungry whim.

The constant fur collection is a whole other can of worms. Fergie is a white long haired puff ball. Her fur shedding alone could be collected and spun into enough yarn to clothe a small village in Russia for the winter. Combined with two other long haired pets, and two blonde long haired owners, and not a day goes by that sweeping, dusting, or lint rolling is not an absolute necessity.

As if these fun times were not enough, a couple weeks ago Louise decided to add another adventure to the home. Her petite size was a little misleading, and before we knew it, our little lady "became a woman"... Four days of constant howling, purring, and muttering at all hours of the night was enough to drive us crazy. It wasn't, however, enough for us to learn our lesson. Fast forward two weeks: a couple days ago, I made an off-handed comment to Katie that I was concerned we may be cycling back into her kitty time of the month again. Katie (who will never live this down) reassured me that she was just lonely from the two of us being gone all day and in search for some affection... (oh, was she ever). This time around it seems to be worse. She's awake for more hours, muttering louder, and it seems to be lasting longer. She's acts more desperate for attention than a Real Housewife. Katie and I started having pet dreams every night from the constant meowing, and for two days now, I've seen random alley cats hanging around the yard. This coming of cat age experience is truly a first (ok, well now it's a second) for Katie and I both.
I would have never thought that these three characters would create such an animal house.

To anyone who comes to visit, I apologize in advance and can simply say, "Welcome to the jungle."

Bed to the Room

The bedroom revamp began months ago when I found this article as inspiration. Though the timing of my redecoration raised a red flags to some (I admit, painting everything black and charcoal is certainly not the sunniest of color schemes), I think the concept is coming along swimmingly.

The thick white trim and huge windows in the house definitely offset the otherwise dark and dreary palette. Complimentary colors of gold, pink, and robin's egg blue don't hurt either.

Here's what it all looks like at the present:



Chosen textiles for curtains, pillows, and chair



Chair BEFORE



Chair AFTER






This dresser is the next to be redone. It was painted once before, unfortunately the coral pink has since outgrown the color scheme in any room. I think I've finally decided on a very pale teal blue, with a strong black outline



The beginnings of a picture wall, and my prized vintage dress form found while volunteering for the Goodwill Gala Fashion Show

 In addition, the other half of the draperies still need to be made and the pink pillow covers sewn. I'm just about there!

Globalization

Rachel Zoe featured these little gems on her site today. Considering the long talk Katie and I had yesterday about whether Wisconsin and Illinois are actually connected (for those of you scratching your head at this too, they are... a lot... WI is the state directly on top of IL), studying up on my geography is probably not a bad idea.

And what other way to do so than fashionably? The globes featured by R Zoe were created by ImagineNation.

Remind me to share with you about my run in with real life superhero Phoenix Jones, I imagine this globe might be right up his crime fighting alley

I think with a little creativity, some Elmer's glue, a flat surface globe, and decoupage finish, these wouldn't be too hard to recreate on my own. A stand alone globe would be a perfect addition to the library. Stay tuned, hopefully this DIY project comes to fruition!

Holiday Decor 2010

Even though our furniture has hardly been unpacked long enough to gather dust, it's time to start thinking about Christmas decorations! Thanksgiving is also appropriately behind us, and the housewarming party is just around the corner.
Since Katie's not a huge fan of clutter, she's happy to take a back seat in displaying seasonal knick knacks and let's me create the holiday decoration strategy for the house. Though nothing has been trimmed so far, I'm loving the use of simple metallic shades like gold, platinum and silver. I found some great ideas from Martha for both trees and outdoor adornment.

I love the use of buckets to group gifts under the tree

Notice the garland over the china display. Simple, yet so elegant!

With the addition of little white lights, this children's tree would even be worthy of
a main attraction in the living room.

Though the style and color scheme don't quite match the house, this set up from coco + kelley was too great not to share. The spread was designed with a bachelor pad in mind, however I think this would also be fabulous for anyone with a love of retro glam.



Come see the house on Friday to see what trimmings made the cut!

Happy decorating everyone!

Dream Living

Ever since I picked up this month's Country Living, I haven't been able to stop dreaming about Lizzie Carney's home which was featured in a piece called "Living Large" (insert irony here: her place is only 1000 square feet). It hosts all the elements I LOVE in a house - Vintage charm, unique fixtures, a splash or two of pink, and tons of texture.

I love her unique usage of rooms. Instead of assigning her bonus room to an office or guest room, she's opted for an uber indulgent oversized closet. Heart!

She turned her basement into cellar storage and a formal dining room. This is a perfectly romantic setting for hosting a dinner guest or five. And a smart alternative to using up prime living space on the main floor for a room so infrequently enjoyed.

Move over apartment! This is my inspiration for the next place I call home.

Lately

A brief update on life so far in the new year:

• Still job hunting. It's the worst. There seems to be no "spot" for me. Too qualified, wrong skill set, tons of other applicants... I'm dizzy over the whole process. In addition to networking and hitting the pavement, I've been tossing my own business ideas around. It's nothing that will bring in income, yet, but at least it will keep me busy and working towards a bigger goal.


• Gatsby is officially no longer a puppy. He's well into adolescence. Nick and I are working hard to ebb his new (and unwanted) behaviors. It's such a test of patience on our end. We start one-on-one training to focus on some of these issues on Friday. Sit, stay, and be cute.


• Nick's job is keeping him pretty busy these days. He's working longer hours and traveling more. It's helped me to appreciate our time together and not take it for granted.


• Crafting continues to abound at the apartment. I wanted to redecorate the main room, but was limited to a budget. Thanks to some inspiration from Love, Natalie, I got resourceful and recovered most of our throw pillows, spray painted a bunch of old frames, and handmade some new decor. Pictures to be posted once everything is completed. I'm calling the new look "Lodge Chic" ;)


• After watching Food Inc and the Oprah special based on the documentary, I've changed our diet to mostly vegetarian and am shopping as local as possible. I can't wait for the farmer's market this spring. I'm also trying my hand at growing my own veggies by turning one of our outdoor decks into an urban garden of sorts.


• Finally, I'm one whole month into P90X. I'm proud of the commitment Katie and I have been able to stick to. Without her, I definitely would not be working out everyday. We've battled through a back injury and sinus infection and are still working hard for our "beach body." I see some improvements physically and can definitely tell that I am much stronger. Two more months to go!

Turkey Day Recipes

Last year I was responsible for the entire menu on Thanksgiving. While I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, it was a TON of work. Due to time and energy, I also had to simplify some dishes I otherwise would have made from scratch (stuffing, yeast rolls, gravy).

This year, Nick and I decided to nix the travel and stay put for in Seattle for a whole 15 minutes. We're having Thanksgiving dinner with some friends in Belltown. Our hosts are providing the essentials, and everyone else is bringing a dish or two to contribute.

Since there is less to prepare, I'm excited to focus on some great side dishes. I wanted to share them here since they have been family and friend tested and approved.

My appetizer: Bacon-wrapped sea scallops (because everything wrapped in bacon is awesome).

It's based on a Rachael Ray recipe:

Make a marinade with about a 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar, a couple dashes of agave nectar (brown sugar, molasses, or maple syrup also work... just something to sweeten and thicken the marinade), a small splash of truffle oil (a little bit goes a long way!), fresh garlic, diced, salt and pepper.

Pat scallops dry. I like to get the bigger scallops and cut them in half. Soak scallops in marinade for 10 minutes.

While they are in the marinade, take bacon slices (I prefer to get maple or peppered bacon) and cut them in half.

When scallops are ready, wrap each in one slice of bacon, securing with a tooth pick. Bake in a slotted broiling pan for 5-6 minutes on each side.

For a dipping sauce I take 1 1/4 cup of olive oil mayo, 1/4 cup Sriracha chili sauce (found in the Asian food aisles... the one with the green top), fresh lime juice and chopped cilantro.

By marinading the scallops, you get a richer sweet flavor. The sauce provides a citrus kick to round out the dish.

Side dish: Cranberry Relish

No one really likes the canned cranberry sauce. It's probably the most ignored meal accessory at the table. My mom introduced me to an alternative that is much fresher and great as a tangy alternative to the canned variety.

In a blender or food processor, combine one bag of cranberries (make sure they are not frozen, a lesson learned from last year), half a can of orange juice concentrate, orange zest, and some splashes of brandy or brandy flavoring. This year I updated the recipe a bit by adding fresh ginger, 1/4 cup of ginger ale, and some agave nectar to taste. Blend on the chopping setting. You want the consistency to be coarse. Add chopped walnuts for more flavor and texture. They also help to thicken the relish.

This is a super fast and easy recipe. Also a great one to make ahead of time!

Last, but not least, although I'm not making a turkey this year, I wanted to share our family recipe. It's a tad unconventional, however, cuts the cooking time down by a couple hours and creates a delicious main dish!

Turkey in the Sack:

This recipe first came from my grandparents. Ironically, Nick's mom has been using a similar Turkey in the Sack recipe for years. She's the only other person I know of who makes a turkey this way.

Combine 1 tsp. pepper, 2 tsp salt, 3 tsp paprika, and 4 tsp. hot water in a bowl. Set aside. Using 1 cup of peanut oil, coat the inside of a paper grocery bag completely (be thorough). Pour leftover oil into spice mixture. Rub mixture all over thawed turkey (both inside and out).

Place turkey in the sack breast side down (as the white meat tends to be the driest part of the bird, this forces the juices to run down through it). Secure sack tightly with staples. Bake 10 minutes per lb at 350F.

Use caution when opening the sack.

Essentially this method steams the entire turkey, and the spices give it its color. It's a healthier recipe and much less work, since no one needs to constantly check on the progress and baste.

Happy eating and happy napping!

Confessions of a Crazy Cat Lady

A couple weeks ago, I mentioned on Facebook that three kittens had found their way underneath my back steps. I would compare this morning's discovery with the way a child feels on Christmas morning. From that point on, I was obsessed.

In the following weeks, I set out daily food and water, consulted with a vet on how best to domesticate them, pinpointed both parents, created tuna trails which lead back into the backyard, analyzed each kitten's traits and behaviors, and successfully drove my boyfriend crazy with constant chatter of the latest developments of each cat... "I think one has an eye infection, his tear ducts are overproducing... Do you think they will be safe in this thunder storm? It may scare them... Nick! Nick! Come quick! The orange one just yawned!"

Early on there would be long stretches of no cat sightings. This past week they have been in the backyard everyday and sleeping on the porch every night.

I'm a little torn with where to go next. They are no more comfortable with people than a few weeks ago, which means I doubt they could ever be house cats. Is it possible to get each one fixed and let them go back into the neighborhood? I just keep thinking to myself, what would Bob Barker do?

In the spirit of the Trailer rule to name all pets Biblically, I've named the twins Cain and Abel, and the orange one, Ginger (which had a better ring to it than Red-Headed Stepchild). Living up to their namesake, Cain and Abel don't get along too well. One is always playing with the Ginger while the other is hanging out with mom (like I said, I'm a crazy cat lady)

Seriously, can you blame me for being so obsessed? Look how adorable they are!

Say Cheese!

My new camera came yesterday. I am SO excited! I've been in suffering using mainly my iPhone for months now. Technology has a funny way of crapping out on me at very inconvenient times. My last camera made this move two days before my trip to NYC. Awesome.

Almost everyone I know/ blog stalk with amazing pictures owns a Canon. Still, I made sure to do some research of my own. Amazon had some great deals and of course is excellent with providing user feedback. I decided on the Canon PowerShot. This arrives in perfect time. Kim is visiting this weekend and Nick's 30th birthday bash in Kentucky is next week.

Of course, I had to break the camera in first...

Check out the detail and color quality! It's love at first shot <3 br="br">
Sidenote: I had a little Sex and the City inspiration for carnations yesterday. Typically they rank with baby's breath as my least favorite excuse for floral arrangements. But all one shade bunched closely together remind me of lace.

"I hear they're making a comeback"

There's a "color accent" feature on the camera. I'm not really sure what it's use will be, other than taking pictures of my messy kitchen

 

 

Rain Rain Go Away

So, remember how I said it's been gloomy and wet here lately? Here's a clip of what exactly I meant by that. And I just missed a huge thunder clap after turning off the video.

Does Austin have a hurricane season?

If April Showers Bring May Flowers

Why is it raining so much in March? The past couple days have been gloomy. With a lot of time spent indoors, I'm beginning to contemplate my Spring cleaning projects.


House:

• Finally organize the utility room
• File cabinets for my office, I need to a method of keeping my work and home projects separate from each other
• I'd like to be more involved in the yard. I'm thinking of starting a garden back there. I've never really had a green thumb, so this may be a tricky goal for me. I'm searching long and hard for my inner Martha

Me:

• It's time once again for a bit of a new look. I wonder how bangs would go with shorter hair? If it could magically look like this, I'm on board!

• I want to do some sort of detox cleanse. I'm thinking maybe the Master Cleanse. I tried this before a year or so ago and lasted a mere three days. My mom has a crazy liver cleanse too, it seems like a bit more fasting than I'm up for

Life:

• Work feels normal again. I think I've found as much routine in this job as I'll ever have. It's also provided me with more spare time than I expected (no commute time on the days I work from home)
• I want to finish my sewing projects. The dress pattern I bought in WA has been cut out, one step in the right direction
• Cooking and baking more! Yummm, now I just need to know more people in Austin to share the food with ;)
  
  Today's smorgasbord blueberry raspberry chocolate chip muffins



• Which leads me to joining groups... a running group, church group, and maybe community college classes (photography, sewing, French?)

Rugrats

I've complained about the neighborhood kids to most people I know with ears. I can't remember if I've mentioned them on this blog yet. We live in a somewhat "colorful" neighborhood. You might call it "up and coming" or going through a revitalization. Emphasis on not there yet. There are a lot of kids who live on the block. Actually, I think the 10 or so I usually see/ hear reside in only two of the houses.

At any rate, from the day we moved in, they've been wanting to come over. At first it was to see the house, play in our backyard, and then, any reason to knock on the door. Once Nick even let them in to use our bathroom! (apparently their's was broken) I actually hide sometimes when I'm working from home when I see them approaching. It's not that I have anything against kids (ok, well, I'm getting better), it's just that these are the dirty kind whose parents never know where they are... SUCH a pet peeve of mine. If you have them, be responsible for them!

Since winter, the kids haven't wanted to come over as much. It's colder, and I told them they couldn't come over after dark. Then this morning I noticed this:

and remembered that someone whose name I'll not mention, but it happens to rhyme with "kick" taught the kids how to squeeze through the gate rods one day when we couldn't remember the combination lock to the door. Seems like they like to use that trick on days that we aren't home at all. It also looks like they have grown a lot over the holidays.

The funniest part about this is that the gate isn't even locked right now. Our house has some funny foundation issues which prevents us from using the front door. Since we have to go in and out the back door all the time, the lock is just hanging there and the gate can easily be opened.

Homeward Bound

The NW was VERY cold last weekend. It actually snowed twice while I was there. Everyone was pretty bummed, it's been a long winter and they are ready for the warmth. I, on the other hand, had yet to see any white flakes. Working a retail schedule kept me in Austin the entire winter, which means I was thrilled to have the leftover snowy weather.

It's supposed to look like a snowing scene, somehow the flakes didn't feel very photogenic.

It was also great to spend a day with Lindsay in Lebanon. Two seconds in the door, and it felt like old times. Just like teenagers, we went to dinner at Red Robin (have you ever noticed how many times the servers sing their birthday song? I counted 6 within an hour), played around in Target, and gabbed for hours eating cupcakes and drinking tea.

Just your typical mall rats, trying on things we have no intentions of buying. The matching snow lodge sweaters were tempting though...

This hat needs some Kanye sunglasses



I just HAD to document this. Fanny packs (or belt bag as they are described here) are officially back, and if Target is carrying them, they must be mainstream.

Remember this guy? He's now a bonafide full time indoor family member at my parent's house. Jeff started coming around again too, although he's still an outdoor addition.

The downside to my chilly Washington weekend was that I froze the entire time. I've had this issue before, I just don't seem to know how to dress in wool anymore. I was happy to return to warmer Austin, only to find rain and 40 degrees here too! It's been so wet, our back yard is entirely flooded. I think I woke up two or three times from the thunder and loud rain last night. spooky.