Homemade gifts

Steve and I went to visit our friends in Santa Ynez a few weeks ago and I wanted to bring something that we could all share. Rather than the usual wine or beer, I decided to bake some breads! I wrapped them in some twine and made some cute tags with some craft stuff I had around the house. This idea really got me thinking how easy and fun it is to make home-made gifts! Not to mention it makes our house smell SO good!! So instead of the usual Christmas gifts this year, ya'll might be getting some baked goods!!

Friday Favorites - Oooh Dominos!

Tonight, instead of making dinner for the 8th night in a row, we're going to get crunk on our favorite pizza at Dominos! Is it wrong that all I thought about today at work was oozing cheese and buttery-garlic crust?

Cheers to Friday, pizza, and rain!

Hoofsie

As most of you know, I am up on my feet, walking around in sneakers! FINALLY! The doctor made me some orthotics for extra support and I am guessing I'll be stuck in tennis shoes for the next couple of months. But, all is well and I am feeling decent! Only decent because since being in shoes (one week now) there have been three incidents that make me nervous:

1) Saturday I put my orthotics in some work-out shoes (soft shoes with an open top and a strap across the top), and I spent all day cleaning the house in my shoes. At the end of the day, I took them off and the top of my foot where the opening in the shoe was was BULGING. I mean, HUGE. It was very unnerving because my toes were wrinkled up as if they had NO blood in them at all, and all of the blood was in a big ball on top of my foot. It looked like a golf ball inside my foot. I'm not even exaggerating.  I iced it and put it up and it took a couple of hours to go down. SCARY!

2) Yesterday at work my ankle started to hurt and it was pretty swollen when I got home from work. My foot didn't look bad but it was painful to walk. I am guessing that my ankle just isn't used to all of the stress.

3) Today I went to physical therapy and the therapist noticed a strange bump (like the size of a pimple) on my lower scar and noticed the scar was a little bit pink. He told me to watch it and make sure the area surrounding the scar doesn't get too red or swollen, or hurt to the touch, which are signs of infection. The scar has remained tender but it doesn't really hurt. It worried me a little but I figured I'd just watch to see if the bump gets worse. When I got home today, I took off my shoes, and cleaned up the kitchen for about 10 minutes standing in my bare feet. Here is what my foot looked like afterwards! 

Umm, HELLO! My entire foot is RED. I sat down to put my foot up and within minutes the redness went away. What is wrong with me???

Anyway, here is a look back at some photos since my 80-day post. 

March 5th - cool tape!

March 11th - sitting and standing

March 16th - sitting and standing

March 16th - first time in shoes coming out of the dr's office

March 19th

Love Letter Sunday

I always have a difficult time throwing away notes and cards when there is something sweet written inside. I love that most of these letters are HAND written when these days handwritten letters are so rare. I've been stashing these gems for years and I've decided to showcase them here on my blog for all to see. These thank you notes, birthday cards, valentines, postcards, and my personal favorite,"letters just because" are so special to me and I hope you enjoy reading them.  

***

Seattle Be Mine

Our trip to Seattle for my brother's 21st birthday was exquisite. The perfect vacation really. We spent a lot of time walking around, eating good food, drinking, and sleeping. My mom planned the best birthday party in the hotel room before heading out to see the Drive-by Truckers, (or as I liked to call them, Dirty Mother Truckers) at the Showbox downtown Seattle. We drank yummy wine, snacked on delectable cheeses, and topped it off with Guinness cupcakes! 

Unfortunately, I didn't plan my night well and drank a few too many cranberry vodkas early in the night, along with a jager bomb that I promised to do with Philip to honor his bday. I made it until about 11:30 and had to cab it home with Ryan, where we bought junk food from the hotel store and shoveled it into our faces just so we had something to soak up the alcohol before bed. Anyway, I heard the show was great! And my mom and I have matching DMT t-shirts to prove the night was a success!

Sunday we all had a hard time getting out of bed, but made it down to Pike's Market by 11:00 or so. Just in time to watch the fish throwers and grab a juicy burger at Pike's Brewery. Steve bought some mangos at the market that made it all the way home safe and sound! And of course we all enjoyed hot cozy coffee on a cold rainy day.

The next day we ventured downtown again and took the monorail to the Space Needle. On the way there, I had an eyelash in my eye and as I was trying to remove it, my contact came out!! My mom gave me her eyedrops and I was able to get it back in but it was still bugging me. I went into the bathroom and looked more closely and my contact was ripped!!! It would be an uncomfortable view from the Space Needle but I had no choice but to suck it up (and whine!) Ryan and I went to the top while Philip and Steve went to a record store instead. Although it was windy and cold up top, the view was phenomenal and worth every penny. 

We made our way to North Bend to take a tour of Phil's worksite at Snoqualmie Falls. We also got to see where my parents are living now. It is the coolest little spot ever..back in a green mossy forest with a river running right behind them. I would love to hole up in the camper while listening to the tip tap of the rain and the rushing river. 

The waterfall at Snoqualmie Falls was impressive to say the least. Phil's project is equally as impressive with cranes, giant pipes, and lots of blasting of hillsides. My mom got us a hotel room at the Salish Lodge and Spa. One of the prettiest places we've ever stayed. We enjoyed drinks at the Attic (their cozy bar), burgers at North Bend Bar and Grill, and then  chatted fireside while sipping on yummy bevs. Overall the perfect ending to a wonderful vacation. 

Thank you so much mom for planning everything and making it a memorable trip. We had SO much fun and we can't wait to come back!

Friday Favorites - Orchids

My aunt Cathy gave me this orchid last time she was visiting. The blooms are bursting with a gorgeous purple color and everytime I come home, my eyes are drawn to it. I love orchids because they are so intricate and delicate but they last FOREVER! At least in our house they do. They love our sunny living room and all the plant friends nearby. I imagine that the orchids and Steve's pepperoni plant are best friends by this point.

Love Letter Sunday

I always have a difficult time throwing away notes and cards when there is something sweet written inside. I love that most of these letters are HAND written when these days handwritten letters are so rare. I've been stashing these gems for years and I've decided to showcase them here on my blog for all to see. These thank you notes, birthday cards, valentines, postcards, and my personal favorite,"letters just because" are so special to me and I hope you enjoy reading them.  

This "letter" came from my Italian friend, Franci who interned at our work over the summer. We became good friends and here is a letter she wrote to me last August. I love her English!!

"Sometimes you don't really know how but some people become important and you are one of this for me now. I can't believe that into two weeks maybe we don't see anymore! We don't even know, maybe it'll happen and we'll meet somewhere.......anyway I promise I'm not going to forget nothing we shared! I hope you're having a great time with your bestfriend......maybe watching "the new moon" :-)!! I'll send a message tomorrow morning if I can come downtown.....I really wish so I'll try to figure how.....hopefully! Franci"

Friday Favorites - west elm

My new favorite place to shop online for home decor is west elm. I like almost everything they have which could get me into trouble! Luckily I am a guilty shopper so it takes me ages to decide what to get and I wait for it to go on sale. I've bought bedding for bot our master bedroom and the guest room so far, but my list of wants keeps growing!! 

master bedroom bedding

(pillow from CB2.com)

guest room bedding

I like the simplicity of west elm. They make it easy to decorate in neutrals and then add pops of color which is my intention. I think most of their decor fits the theme, "country living with a modern tone" that I am trying to go for.  

Hopefully one day everything will eventually come together and I will have the loveliest house ever! Here are some more things I love and hope to buy!

a dresser for the master bedroom

gorgeous rugs

dining room table

matching entryway table

This post is about alcohol

 



Love Letter Sunday

I always have a difficult time throwing away notes and cards when there is something sweet written inside. I love that most of these letters are HAND written when these days handwritten letters are so rare. I've been stashing these gems for years and I've decided to showcase them here on my blog for all to see. These thank you notes, birthday cards, valentines, postcards, and my personal favorite,"letters just because" are so special to me and I hope you enjoy reading them.