Sunday, March 29, 2015

Snapshots

Hello there all,

This week was busy, and I am so thankful that I had a weekend to mainly spend spring cleaning. It was nice to get stuff done around the house that I've been meaning to do, and I kept pushing off. Enough about that: let's look at this awesome week.


I thought it was literally impossible for this aisle in Goodwill to look like this. Usually, I see half of the toys in the middle of the aisle with a child banging on something.



I have this thing with rocks. In case you couldn't tell by this post. Everyday, I was walking by this cutie pie and wanting to take him home with me. On Friday, I finally snatched him.



This week, The Mister and I went bowling together for the first time ever. For those of you that don't know, I am atrocious at bowling. I mean really. I am awful, but this time around, I broke 100 for my second time EVER! Oh man, I am moments away from turning pro.



For those of you that read the blog every so often, you probably recognize these beauties. They are some of the most comfortable shoes that I have ever worn. However, the day that I took this photo, I had to lay them to rest because they both got holes in the same spot on the same day. How strange is that?



Guys, I pretty love murals. This beauty is just off of Foster.



Bought this cutie pie bird for a quarter at one of the best estate sales ever.  
Side notes: Look at how cute my nephews are in the background! Yes, that is a Darth Vader helmet on top of my CD rack. I painted that handsome gnome. And the red bust? Well, it is the famous Red himself: Karl Marx. 



Spring cleaning and spring redecorating!



Found this happy guy on the Max. Made my afternoon ride a little better.


This week, I had dinner with two of my favorite people, Annie and Robert, at Torta-landia (great name, right?). Dude, the food was amazing. Seriously, it was so good. It also had a pretty wonderful vibe that we all really dug.



With no car these days, I really notice a lot more on foot that many people don't see in their car. For this reason, I love that I am car-less. This bike rack is a great example: elephant wearing a top hat tape and a sticker that says "Drinking the Kool-Aid: 'Drinking the Kool-Aid' is a figure of speech commonly used in the United States that refers to a person or group holding an unquestioned belief, argument, or philosophy without critical examination. It could also refer to knowingly going along with a doomed or dangerous idea because of peer pressure. The phrase typically carries a negative connotation when applied to an individual or group." So random!



The Mister and I just love this place. Look at how cute it is. Plus they make pretty wonderful milkshakes which is always a win in our book.

Later days,
Autumn

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Thankful Thursday: Vacations

Hello there all,

I think that we can all holler a big "AMEN!" when it comes to being thankful for vacation. No, I am not on vacation, but I put in for a single day off for a long weekend in April. AND I am Ecstatic. There is something about having a day off with an adventure that makes the other days move so much smoother. It gives you something to look forward to. Every time I have a mini-vacation coming, I notice how much better and smoother work flows when there is a reward for all of that hard work at the end of the tunnel.


It is so wonderfully timed because the Mister and I are very much in need of a mini-vacation, and here it comes! What are we doing? No idea. Where are we going? No idea. Where we are going is not the exciting part. It is just that we are going somewhere. We want something simple, close-ish, but we also want it to actually feel like we are getting away for a bit. 

Vacations are good for the soul, and they are necessary to keep going. The Mister and I were trying to kind of hold back before our trip to South Carolina in a couple of months, but we were in need of a day off about a month ago. So, we are finally getting to making it happen!


We want the place to be within Oregon/Southern Washington. Anyone have suggestions?

What are you thankful for today?
-Autumn

Monday, March 23, 2015

Snapshots

Hello there all,

Get a look at how amazingly awesome of a week this was.


Maybe a cupcake will help? A cupcake will always help. I am seriously smitten with Hungry Heart. They have delicious coffee, pastries, macaroons, and the shop side is wonderful. We have been there three times within the last week to get breakfast (and bought pastries for other breakfasts). #obsessed?



The Mister and I ventured out with our friends Amber and Jon to play trivia at The Bitter End on St. Patrick's Day with Geeks Who Drink. We were so close to winning (lost by 2 points), but we got recognition for being the most festive. I mean our team was "We Will, We Will Shamrock You!" How good is that? The picture is from here at the Geeks Who Drink blog.



Rocking my new favorite skirt. Don't you just love that feeling when you wear something brand new that you love?



Playing around with watercolors some more. I did some other stuff, but I made this guy for one of our gallery walls. I just need tons of art on the walls.


Gotta love Goodwill hauls especially when you buy a game that is brand new and costs almost as much on Amazon as it did for the whole haul. Epic yarn bunches, cutesie new curtains, two new games, and a children keyboard that has a meow setting. Every house needs a keyboard with a meow setting. You don't have one? Well, this is awkward. You should probably work on that and not share it with others. I don't want you to be embarrassed.



We finally got around to seeing Interstellar. My mind was blown! I legitimately thought the movie was going to be long and boring, but I was pleasantly surprised. Also, it was so fun to learn all sorts of other science-y things afterwards. Science constantly baffles me, and I think most of it is magic (just kidding...sorta).



This is a bialy breakfast sandwich. No, it is not a bagel sandwich. It is a bialy. What is a bialy?  Was I the only one that was unaware of this food thing?


Later Days,
Autumn

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Thankful Thursday: The Sky

Hello there all,

I'm about to get real crunchy on ya'll. Today, I am thankful for the sky. Lately, it has been this beautiful blue that makes me all smiles. However, we are all so lucky to have this ever changing palette of colors laid in front of us. It brings us epic shades of pinks, oranges, red, purples, blues,blacks...The sky always has a surprise in store, and it never fails to deliver on epic-ness.


We are graced constantly with something new and beautiful: rainbows, fun cloud shapes, differing shades of colors. The beauty of the ever evolving sky is just...overwhelming.


Then there is a night time sky with aurora borealis, stars, constellations, planets, moons, galaxies. Not only is the night sky beautiful, but it is also a wonderful way to gain perspective in life. When you start to realize how small of a unit you are in such a grand scale, the gruesome problems in life seem a lot more bearable.


Here's to the sky and all of the beauty it constantly gifts us. Keep on rocking sky, and I'll keep daydreaming in your glory.


Crunchy rant: done.

Granola-y,
Autumn

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

DIY: Pac-Man Bookmark

Hello there all,

Have you ever heard this song before? Well, I am sorry, but it is good to know that I'm not the only one that has heard that ridiculous song. It is kind of awesome though in a really bad way. So bad it is good kind of good stuff. I have to admit that I am guilty of having Pac-Man Fever. With the need of a better bookmark teamed up with my lurve for Pac-Man, I developed a pretty neat-o/nerd-o bookmark. For quite some time, I have been intending to make this bookmark. However, I decided to amp it up a bit and make something a little more me.





What You'll Need:
  • Tacky Glue
  • Darning needle/embroidery needle
  • Embroidery thread
  • Pen
  • Dark blue sharpie
  • Ruler
  • Iron
  • Scissors
  • Felt pieces: pink, blue, red, yellow orange, yellow, black, and white
What to Do:


1.) Cut out a black rectangle measuring 4.5 inches x 4 inches. Fold the rectangle in half hot dog style (rectangle should appear to be 2 inches x 4.5 inches). Iron on the fold to seal the fold .





2.) On one of the 2 inch edges, complete a blanket stitch along the side with embroidery thread and a needle. Only complete this on one edge. You should be able to open it up slightly, so it looks like the above picture.


3.) Cut out 2 Pac-Man ghost shapes from the pink, yellow orange, blue, and red from their felt pieces. Cut 2 Pac-Man shapes from the yellow felt piece and 8 small round white pieces (for the ghost's eyes). Use the tacky glue to attach all of the pieces onto the front and back of the black felt. Glue each ghost piece (and their eyes) onto the felt and Pac-Man himself. After you glue the eyes onto the ghosts, you will need to use a blue sharpie to draw the pupils onto the ghotst's eyes.



4.) Read your heart out and mark the page with your nifty new bookmark. You place it on the corner of a page and wrap the page inside the bookmark by placing the page inside the flap of the bookmark.

Happy crafting,
Autumn





Monday, March 16, 2015

Snapshots

Hello there all,

This week has been busy. Don't I always say that? Doesn't make it any less true.

Here is the epic-ness in review (most of it has no documentation).

One of my favorite little shops (It's a Gift) teamed up with a a cupcake food cart and reformed into a newbie place in Montavilla. This muffin is seriously the best muffin that I have ever had. It is a cinnamon pecan muffin. Visit them at Hungry Heart Cupcakes for delicious baked goods, nommy coffee, or cutesie gift ideas. Seriously, this place is so cute.

For Pi Day, we went the route of Pie Milkshakes at Shari's because the Mister does not like pie.

Neat-o project that is coming to the blog soon.

Been playing with watercolors. I have just been kind of seeing how colors blend and all that.Look at how cute this hummingbird turned out.

We have gotten a bit obsessed with games lately. Over the weekend, we were exploring downtown Gresham and came across this new to us game place. Pretty excited to go back for more tabletop games.

Creative field trips are my favorite. Thrift stores and antique shops fuel the creative juice fire.Everything can be made into something new and fabulous.

Just being a ham...as always. I'm a puppy in this picture...obviously.

-Autumn

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

DIY: Photo Garland

Hello there all,

Awhile ago, I was inspired by this photo garland by Natalie of Natalie Creates, and as I have an incessant urge to turn everything into a garland. I mean everything. I have already posted this and this. Sad thing about this is that these are not the only garlands that I have made since I started this bloggy guy here. Why do I love garlands so much? I think that it adds a bit of playfulness and whimsy to your space. I pretty love whimsy.

Enough with the blabbing, let's do this!


This is our family/friends gallery wall. Now that I see it on here, I cringe because there totally needs to be a frame on the bottom left. Add it to the to-do list! However, you get an idea of the EPIC photo garland 

What you'll need:
  • string
  • decoupage
  • scissors
  • pen
  • paintbrush
  • ruler
  • pretty paper
  • fabric
  • photos, postcards, etc.
Here's how to make the magic happen:



1.) Pick some badass paper, trace the shape of the clothespin on this badass paper x 2. Then cut out those shapes.



2.) Use your handy dandy paintbrush to apply some decoupage onto the clothespins, place one of the paper cutouts onto the clothespin and place some more decoupage on top of the paper cutouts. Do this to the front AND back of the clothespin. Sidenote: this alone is fun to do for magnets, chip clips, etc. Makes life a little brighter.

3.) Cut string the length that you want the garland and then cut 1.5 inch x 25 inches. Fold the strip in half (hamburger style) behind the string.





4.) Bring the two ends up over the string and through the loop that is created by the fold. It should look like a crazy bunny hat when your done. If it isn't bunny-ish, HOP to it and try again.

5.) Pull tight!


6.)  Alternate one of the fabric strips with the clothespins for the length of the garland and place your b-e-a-utiful pictures throughout the garland attached by the clothespins.

7.) Marinate on how awesome you are and how awesome life is.

Happy awesome making,
Autumn