getting our hike on...

Some shots from our woodland stroll this weekend (Yellow Springs, Ohio)
I don't know why they call it the Yellow Springs, when it is so obviously orange. I don't think Orange Springs has a bad ring to it. In the founding days of the region, it was believed that the springs had special healing powers. A hotel was even erected next to the Spring to accomodate all the visitors to the magical waters. I suspect that it might help with anemia, as it tastes overwhelmingly of iron.Rodger becomes one with the trees.

sometimes i cook

the makings of my veggie bean chili.

leftovers from sweet sentiments

Feels like my life has been on hold for the last week. But it's monday, and life goes on. Beautiful things are blooming, and I have to keep moving.

in memory of

We use to go on walks together. Sometimes we'd go to the park in the summer and dip our feet in the pool. We never got in, though. She was afraid of the water.

She use to make me alphabet soup. She'd test the temperature on her wrist. I always found that funny.

She had a serious love of buffets.

In all 92 years of her life, she never learned to drive.... I wonder what her carbon footprint looked like?

I would buy her Gerbera daisies on special occasions or when something sad happened. I think that's why I like them so much.

She always complimented me on whatever I was wearing—particularly my shoes.

Today I bought a cute pair of heals to wear to her wake. I think she would have liked that.

my art room is new again!

I've been married for 2 years now. Naturally we're getting a lot of questions about when we're going to have children. So to dispell any of those suspicions or rumors, I redecorated my art room (which is the only spare room in our house). Take that speculators!

But seriously, I just wanted to get organized, and have a space that motivates me to be creative. I have some personal artistic endeavors in the works, and I hope this new space kicks my butt into gear.

Here's the room as it was shortly after we moved in, 3 years ago:
after, of course:
I eventually want to paint the drawers on that desk white...I still have a couple of items in the room that I'm going to show as a before/after. So, stay tuned!

we went rollerskating

the weekend was in its infancy

discard pile

the nights are getting more walkable...

i splurged

I can't ever get out of Target without spending at least $50. It's just the way of things. I've been buying the new Orla Kiely home items in random pieces. So cheap for Orla, yet not so pocketbook friendly for the girl on a budget (i mean, $7 for a mug, and $15 for a 4 pack of napkins. really?). But I was hungry and stressed, and my defenses were low. I gleefully purchased 2 new mugs and the cutest bowl. They're both pretty darn happy looking in my kitchen!
And just as I thought I had spent all I could on that cold Thursday night, I got a gander at these little beauties.
I almost bought a pair months ago online, but was too lazy to order them.

my life is now complete.

half way to sixteen

texas dreaming

It's official! Our three-headed monster of a friendship will be whole again, in just 44 short days. We're going to Austin!

I can't stop smiling! I can't stop using exclamation points! Things are looking up.

Here's some pictures from my last excursion to this awesome city (just to keep me in the mood).
(This is my alltime favorite photo)(actually this is San Antonio)(I really did take this at the Austin Airport)

mirror/dash

Anybody who new me when I was a teenager would remember that I was obsessed with Sonic Youth. While my classmates were writing things like "I <3 Bone Thugs 'n Harmony" on their notebooks, I was scrawling things like "Kill Yr Idols" on my Chucks.

Kim Gordon was such an inspiration to me at this time. She was strong, and different, and frankly, she kicked ass. I still deeply admire this supremely awesome woman. So, naturally I was really geeked to hear that she came out with her own fashion line at Urban Outfitters! Seriously. And I thought she had already reached the pinnacle of cool.

The line is called Mirror/Dash, and you can buy her stuff here.

i'm not having the kind of day that dreams are made of

i'm mourning her, and she's not even gone yet.

nervous doings

So, I had to get up super early this morning. I'm having a CT scan at 7:30, and I have to drink contrast material at evenly spaced intervals (while eating and drinking nothing else). I've drank the stuff before, but let me tell you, it is nasty. It might say "Vanilla Smoothie" on the bottle. It might have a cute little picture of a vanilla flower, and a soda shop glass filled with vanilla ice cream goodness. However, they can't disguise the fact that I'm ingesting barium, and it tastes like bland liquid vanilla yogurt.

Okay, maybe I'm a little anxious. This is going to be my third CT scan in as many years, and I know it doesn't hurt (since it's without the injectible dye), but hospitals always stress me out.

Last night I couldn't settle down. I flitted around the bedroom doing everything I could to avoid laying down, and having to think about the upcoming medical test, and crazy work day that will follow. To burn off some of that nervous energy, I put a lot of thought into my outfit for the morning. In fact, I made a scale (headless) model of myself. Yeah you should witness my creative brainpower when I have something serious to apply it to!Then, just because they're cute, I took some pictures of the pugs.

they're here! they're here! they're here!

They're in! Well, sort of. The Flex Notebinder from my new Everyday line for Target is on the shelves (at least at the Dayton Mall location). It was a very pleasant surprise, as I wasn't expecting to see it until mid March. The full line includes an Expanding folder, Advance Notebook, Flex Notebinder, and 9 1/2" x 6" Notebook. Once I get pretty samples of everything, I'll take a nice family shot, and share it.

For now, here's a guerilla-style in-store shot of my new lovelies. The color is a little off in this photo. The red notebook is much less orange in person.

mom turns 50!

My mom celebrated her half century this week. We had a family party for her tonight at my Aunt & Uncle's house. She got two cakes this year, since it was a big birthday and all.
Here she is text messaging while we all try to sing Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday, Mom!

got my hairs did

I did it! I made the chop, and I absolutely LOVE it!

getting ready

I just wanted to show off that, after 25 years, I finally figured out how to put an outfit together.

valentine's day at the museum

it was a good day.

hairiness.

My hair is getting really long, and I actually like it. What I don't like is spending 10 precious minutes in front of the mirror every morning, with one blood-drained arm precariously angled over my head holding a blow dryer, as I will it to just please dry so I can go eat my Cheerios and check my email.

I'm also a little saddened by my stance on adventure that I've taken about my hair in the past year. I use to cut and color it every 3 months or so. Once you'd get use to me looking one way, BAM, I'd change it up. Red and shoulder length one week, pixie-length and black with blonde streaks the next. It was great.

But unfortunately my hairdresser, who is much more free spirited than I, up and moved to Seattle to be awesome. So as she hob-nobs with Indie Celebrity-dom, I have become just another Ohioan with boring hair. It's my natural color for Christ's sake! And that's mousy-brown!

It's time for a change, my friends, and it comes in this form (the cut not the color):


Hells yeah.