News Flash:

There are Goodwill stores in this country where you can pay for stuff by the pound.

I recently placed all apartment decorating on hold until I remembered this little secret. Today I purchased

2 large vintage suitcases (one is a tweed Samsonite)
3 picture frames
1 5 X 7 matte
1 muffin pan
1 cake pan
1 12 hook rack (for the entryway)
2 forks
2 large plates
7 hanging files

... for less than $15.

I'll have to head there for my new fall wardrobe if I keep up all this good cookin'.

Today we had some serious rain. As I scurried the few steps home in the evening rain with our sheets, the sound of the laundry door smacking the back reminded me of the bathroom doors at my favorite summer camp. Something about being in this part of the country has made me very nostalgic. I'm a kid again, and this is good.

On not having a job:

"Heeeelll yeah. This is a great place to be unemployed."

Um, YEAH.

Simplicity

I knew learning to make food would come with a lot of triumphs but I didn't know they'd come in such easy packages. Hashbrowns. Avacado. Egg. (& hot sauce, for the adventurous).

Of course, there are still about a million logistical things that I don't know how to do. For instance, I'm typing this hunt and peck style because I caught a piece of my finger while ferociously grating the potatoes. It's always those little cuts that bleed like hell.

Tip #1: Potatoes grate faster than cheese so move your fingers OUT OF THE WAY.
Tip #2: Don't grate potatoes to let off steam.

market finds

hearts.

I'm still astounded when I turn the corner and get an eye full of mountains. The 65 degree mornings and evenings sandwich an 85 degree afternoon. Bliss.

In an attempt to embrace the seasons upon us I've purchased a crock pot. I'm also pretty sure that this recipe is perfect for fending off the summer-is-ending blues. Perhaps this year I'll happily embrace fall. All of my actions suggest this possibility. I've made banana bread and shrimp and corn chowder, and Jethro made a whole five quarts of chili. I'm craving hot apple cider and PANTS and even sweaters. (Notice I didn't mention COATS or snow BOOTS or the death of my lovely friend, Sunshine.)

When the leaves change I might lose my mind. I just found an Asheville website that provides a "Fall Color Report," complete with a list of suggested scenic drives to observe.

And last but not least, here's a blog that I love.


This post is choppy but it gave me an idea. I'm going to start a series of posts called 4 Things. Randomly when I get the urge, I'm going to post four things that have made me happy, intrigued me, inspired me or just made me feel goooooood. Feel free to join!

home sweet home

 

  

I love the way the dining area turned out. The table is from IKEA, and folds flat if desired. We got the chairs surprisingly at Big Lots - $90 for the pair, a mark down from $250. And we all know how much this lady likes a good deal.

I'm also super happy with the picture arrangement in photo #1. I bought the photos from a vendor on Granville Island. They are supposed to be greeting cards but I bought them with the intention to frame them. IKEA helped and sold me all four of those black frames for $8. Hooray.

"Between the ages of twenty and forty we are engaged in the process of discovering who we are, which involves learning the difference between accidental limitations which it is our duty to outgrow and the necessary limitations of our nature beyond which we cannot trespass with impunity." -W. H. Auden

Vancouver - Victoria - Seattle

     

Downtown Vancouver. Well, some of it.

Grouse Mountain - You can see downtown Vancouver.

Thrill. Beauty.

Mom!

Granville Island

Victoria, B.C.

Butchart Gardens, Victoria, B.C.

  

 

The original!

 

With the exception of the one that she is in, my mom took all of these photos with her point and shoot. We ate a Canadian favorite, poutine (french fries, gravy, curdled cheese), with joy... and our eyes closed, went ziplining, explored, slept in hostels, walked, shopped, wined and dined.

I love my momma.

             

HOME.

I told myself 50 times that I was going to document the decorating of our apartment and you know what, HA!, I didn't! I literally got the camera out once, took one single picture and then stuck my head so far into the cleaning/unpacking process that I didn't come out for days. No, really.

Well, we have the internet again. Whew. My "internet to do list" (which consisted of things I needed to look up or take care of online) was getting a bit hefty.

So despite the fact that you aren't going to be able to see a total before and after, I figured I'd take pictures just so you could see the progress. We don't have much on the walls and there is still plenty to do, but here she is!

I will say, this space is so magnificent. WARNING: Although I reaaaaaaly wanted to, I tried not to "tidy up". I figured that perhaps this way the end result will look even better. Experts call this the Botox effect; if you make the "before" picture as terrible and under-exposed as possible, the "after" picture will show drastic signs of improvement. I'm kidding about that first part.

 

letter from my grandmother

The beginning of the letter talks of simplicity -- card games with out-of-town friends, polka festivals, canning pickles. Today I meditate on the happiness found in simple activities.

Life is slow. I'm jobless, not enrolled in school and vastly happy with what I will be able to accomplish during this transition. 

For me, there are two kinds of books. There is the "bathroom" variety, which can be leisurely picked up every few weeks. And then there are dive books, where despite all attempts to slowly engage, all life must halt until the back cover meets the front. I love both of them.

Although I consider myself a reader, it has been months since I've picked up a book for pleasure. As for many, the security I find in books is not paralleled elsewhere and reading has released a dormant calm within.

Reading represents my desire to slow down and do what I like to do. That doesn't mean I'll forget responsibility. It just means that I should not let guilt and expectations sway my choices. And you know, when I'm too old to do things, go places, climb, swim and fall over laughing, I won't feel sorry for myself.

north of happiness

I am proud to announce that Jethro Waters (my charming, strong, considerate, hunk of a boyfriend) is a published author.

Jethro diligently worked on this book between full time work AND full time school. He spent many hours hunched over drawing, locked in his room with yellow walls in Indiana. Coffee was never far and neither was his imagination.

"south of ordinary" is ultimately a project made up of dreams and passion.

To purchase, go here.