Autumn Touches.

Here are some Autumn touches around our home!

Remember this wreath from last year?

I think it's aged well! The leaves are (unfortunately)

really brittle now, but I'm hoping it

will last another couple years, especially considering

how much of a hassle it was to make it! ;)

Halloween on the brain.

We are in full swing Halloween-Season, and I can't help but think about carving pumpkins (one of my favorite smells!). Here are some past pumpkins!

I did the tree and the crappy little one in front.

My husband did the face.

Another Abe pumpkin.

Do you know who this is?

This was from 4 years ago...SCARY, huh?

This guy only got better, the older he got!

(Another Abe creation)

Last year's pumpkin, by Abe.

He loves his dog!

A couple years ago. That is our friend Alex!

Also carved by Abe.

My favorite season is right around the corner.

*Warning: I'm going to swear in 3....2....1....

the wall color (very similar) that I chose for our bedroom.

Fuck Spring cleaning! Nothing inspires me more than autumn. I don't know if it's because it's my favorite season, or because the impending doom of WINTER is upon us, but nothing gets me MORE amped up to do house cleaning/organizing/decorating, than this time of year. I think it's the combination of the most awe-inspiring season and the thought of having to be stuck in a dreadfully decorated house that gets my juices flowing. Every fall I always end up making several trips to Goodwill to get rid of clutter (I don't want to be stuck inside with it for 4 months!) and doing house projects before the cold weather sets in. This year: I'm making Abe move the curtain rods in our living room/dining room UP to where they should be. The previous people left the curtain rods, so that's what we've been using, and we haven't bothered to move them because the walls of this 1917 house are lath and plaster....meaning it's a bitch to hang anything in these walls! BUT the curtain rods are hung at exactly the worst place possible, going against every design rule, and I can't live like this any longer. Abe said "You've lived like this up until now!" (because he doesn't want to help me move them, but what he doesn't realize is they have bothered me since we've lived here.)

Also, the upstairs bedrooms need a lot of help. More so our room, than the guest room. (the guest room is mostly used for my shoe-storage, and has a comfy futon (oxymoron?) in there for guests. Our room needs new curtain rods, possibly new curtains (if budget allows)...but really, and most importantly, it needed a new paint job. I'd LOVE to start painting tonight, but I doubt Abe wants to sleep with paint fumes, so I'll wait to start my latest project tomorrow. Look for updates soon!

Oh, and I guess I'll have to do a future blog post on our garden too, now that it's harvest season...

*all photos are from pinterest.

This rustic "Americana" style is definitely

Abe's influence on me...but I find myself

evolving past this style (still love it, though). 

This super masculine style is also Abe's influence on me.

Especially the weird scary stuff. (We have a lot of that

in our home right now).

The above bedroom is something I have been admiring

for months. Feminine, but not girly, modern, but 

not stiff. 

A Trip Down Memory Lane.

5 Years ago, today, Abe & I got married on the rainiest and coldest August 18th in 10 years (and

now 15 years). Ironically enough, I didn't see myself getting married at the tender age of 24, it was NEVER my life plan to marry so young. If you were to have asked Little-Girl-Me, I would've told you I wasn't going to be married until at least 27. Being independent, I had no problem with being single for a long time, or even forever. But...when love finds you, you cannot escape. My fate was written when Abe & I saw each other in a mutual friend's basement, for their 15th birthday party (we were both 15, too). Soul Mates.  Even more ironic, is that I didn't even believe in the notion of marriage when I got married. I got married to appease my father, and society. I thought it was just a stupid piece of paper. (In my mind, I had already committed to Abe when we started dating at age 20.) What I didn't ever think about, (which is the most ironic thing of all) is that by getting married (To Abe) I had set myself free. Marrying a man that loves you unconditionally, and

someone who is kind and caring...and not at all controlling (ie, growing up with my father, who's nickname is Hitler) afforded me the most freedom I have ever had in my life. That saying "Love Will Set You Free?" It's true. That saying of meeting your soul mate and you "Just know" (when you're in love) is also true. Also, I should note this: even though my juvenile 24 year old self didn't believe in marriage, (and by that point Abe & I had been together nearly 5 years), I now whole-heartedly believe in marriage. In fact, I believed in it shortly after we got married. There is a certain feeling of "settled" that happens after marriage, after you have publicly declared and committed your love to one another. I think other married couples can attest, but it's like crossing a threshold (or jumping the broom!) and suddenly the angsty, painful, relationship, tormented love goes away. I'm not saying we haven't completely stopped arguing, but it's just different now. (This is also why I believe that everyone should be able to have this feeling. Everyone.) All that being said...I don't regret it. It was worth it, and continues to be worth it. I am one of the more fortunate people that I know...I have love and I have freedom. Happy 5 Year Wedding Anniversary to my Soul Mate.

*all photos by our dear friend John Killian.

My cousin (and Ring-Bearer) Pillip.

He thought it was a pity to have to tuck

his nice tie into his jacket.

*Note the temp.

There may or may not be a beer hidden under my

bouquet. There may or may not have been

"Rage Against the Machine" blasting in that Jeep.

This is probably the happiest picture of myself

that I've ever seen. Dork.

My favorite.

Walking down the aisle with my father.

After the ceremony.

Is he thrilled? or just drunk?

Netty's (on Abe's parent's property)

one of the most beautiful places.

I didn't cry for mine & Abe's

first dance, but I sobbed for the

Father-Daughter dance.

I've said this since I was young,

my father is both the hero & villain

of my life story.

Just a snippet of our reception....I changed out of my dress.

BOOK REVIEW(s):

I know I am slow to jump on this bandwagon, but now that I have hopped on, I am looking for a way to hop back off! I'm very glad I did not pay money for this book, one of my dear friends (who bought just this one book, but did not continue to read the rest of the series) sent this to me in the mail. I might've smacked myself in the head had I supported this "author." Why I think this book is horrible: 1)my background being I was an English Lit. Major at UW. 2)Not only is the writing very basic, elementary, horrid, atrocious, but 3)This Brit doesn't know what the F she's talking about! (Imagine I said not F, but the actual word, bc that is how offended I am.) What I mean by they don't know what they are talking about: 1)the dialect. There are so many blatantly British phrases in here, that the writing seems either old fashioned or just plain weird. "I think I will have a shower." Having grown up in the Northwest (and near the setting of the book) no one says that here. We say "Take a shower." or "She was quite fond of Jose." (isn't that just drippppping with Britishness? You just want to say it in a British accent!) Furthermore, the actual places she has picked are real, but then the street names are totally bogus not to mention zip codes, in other books this might be okay, but since the writing is already so unbelievable, I think this author is just being lazy about research. You are realllllllllllllllly stretching it lady. REALLLLY. (oh and besides the obvious of a 20 something year old bazillionaire NOT named MARK, that dates a chick from WSU  VANCOUVER? Really? Why not at least WSU Pullman? That is far more believable. Why didn't the author mention that the main character's roommate partied waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too hard in all the private schools she attended to go to WSU Vancouver? (I'm not saying this to dis WSU, I would say the exact same thing about UW Bothel or Tacoma!) Like, really? 

Long story short: If you haven't jumped on the bandwagon, don't bother. The only reason why I did was because I recently found myself sitting around a campfire with a bunch of ladies who had read the book (and were making fun of the books), and I had no idea what they were talking about and found that I was the only one to not have read the books. Now I think all the girl's who loved the books are deprived of internet porn and more tragically: good books. What has this world come to?

The book I read just prior to starting the atrocity I already reviewed (above). Going from reading this to Grey- was like drinking a glass of fine wine and then taking a sip of vinegar. This book, is one of her more "harder" books, I would say it is closer to Poisonwood Bible, than anything else she has written (but The Poisonwood Bible was MUCH darker than this book). My favorite hers still being "Animal Dreams." But true to Kingsolver's style of writing, the visual descriptions in the books will bring you to your knees. Absolutely breathtaking imagery. She is a wizard, and knows it! What else is there to say?

Midsummer Hike.

I asked for a much-needed vacation/hike trip and boy did I get it! We went to Mildred Lakes, and all the reviews are true. To go on this hike is to be a true masochist. I always thought that I might be a masochist, but after this hike trip, I realized that I am actually NOT. But it was beautiful, as you can see by the photo. There is no other place in the world that is beautiful in the same way it is here in the PNW. 

...again, it's been a while.

One of my favorite quotes, along with a photo I took

from last weekend. It was a wonderful time.

Here is a link to my business page for more photos.

I swear I'm going to get better about updating this blog.