I love this time of year. I know Christmas is totally over commercialised but I love any occasion that brings my family together and gives me an excuse to get together with friends. Plus it's cold and you get to bundle up in layers, sip hot beverages, eat cozy food, attend holiday partys, and the lights! I adore all the twinkling lights. Plus, I just love giving gifts.
Today is going to be a busy day. There are presents to be wrapped, gifts to be made, treats to be baked, a house to be cleaned, and a luggage to be packed. Tomorrow I'm heading home for the holidays and I'm SO EXCITED. We are driving and we're supposed to hit some snow so that should be interesting. And fun!
I'm so looking forward to: sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee with my two moms, playing Barbies with Vetty and dinosaurs with Eli, Rock Band with my sister and brother in-law, getting matching BFF tattoos with W and M, seeing my dear friend Nicole for the first time in a very long while, eating real Mexican food, and soaking up as much sunshine as possible.
My good friend Summer really out did herself this year with an old-fashioned holiday cocktail party. It was really one of the most lovely gatherings I've ever been to, filled with tiny finger foods, mounds & mounds of cookies, fancy drinks, laughter and good people.
So much for frequent updates, eh? We've been in Portland for nearly 4 months now and I haven't updated once. There are many reasons for this but the main reason being, this move has been quite difficult for me. I'm just starting to feel adjusted. Not settled by any means but a little bit more at home. I miss my family more than I could ever put into words. When we decided to make this move I knew that leaving my family would be tough, but if I knew just how hard this would be, I may have never left.
Family aside, Portland is a great city. Our relationship started off a little rocky (it was the city that stole me from my family after all) but things are getting better everyday. I love it as much as I hate it, but I can't deny the beauty of it (and it's good food.) Summer was HOT and mostly spent getting situated in our my home (which I love, btw) and learning my way around this grid-of-a-city. My mom and sis came to visit, I flew home a few times for birthdays, Jo and M came to visit. Things to keep me busy, things to keep me from breaking down. I'm sure by this time next year, after experiencing my first true winter, I'll welcome Summer and the heat with open arms and be out there with the rest of Portland, riding my bike in shorts and sandals.
For the first time in my life I'm experiencing season change and Fall is by far my favorite season in Oregon. The trees look like they're on fire, mounds of crunchy leaves everywhere, and the air is so crisp. It's been raining quite a bit but Portland and I are still in our honeymoon phase so I don't mind it. I'm still finding romanticism in dreary, wet days, and novelty in rain boots, coats, and umbrellas. I'm sure it will fade but for now I'll continue making rainy day mixes, splashing in puddles and sitting on the porch, drinking coffee and watching water fall from the sky. It's starting to get cold and although it's not miserable, it's definitely teetering between what is comfortable and what isn't. Do they make Winter For Dummies? And if so, I need it.
I was reading my old livejournal today and it's awesome to look back and see what I was doing 5 years ago this day (sick with a cold, planning out my Irma La Douce costume and editing wedding photos) or 8 years ago this day (walking around Balboa Park, eating burritos at Pokez, and vintage shopping.) But I have no record of the past year and a half and it bums me out. I'm going to try and document it here, in a public space so my family and friends can read along.
Now, if you ever followed me while I was blogging on LJ, you know I'm a big fan of lists, especially the Good Things list. So here it goes:
Good Things - My workout at the gym today: Started strength training, followed with cardio and oh man, I love it. Let's hope I don't get all obsessive (my nature) and become one of those super buff women. - Thrifting 2 adorable anthropologie tea cups for $3 that I coveted for months but couldn't justify spending $18 each on - Spending our anniversary in Seattle: went to Bodies:The Exhibition (which was fascinating and totally gruesome), went to Blackbird in Ballard, Elliot Bay Book Co. and to North Bend, Washing to visit the Double R Diner used in Twin Peaks - My mom coming to visit for her birthday in a little over one month, starting the count down now - Weekly Skip-Bo nite at Summer's house tonight (and pumpkin carving!) - Halloween everything, my favorite holiday - Rowland S. Howard's "(I Know) A Girl Called Jonny" - This: Danzig <3
My husband and I are packing our things and moving to Portland, Oregon in just a few days and as a result, my life has been in a total state of disarray. My days have been slow-going, dragging along at a snail's pace but I have so much to do. Our cable is disconnected and all of our records and dvds are in boxes, so I've been occupying my time with the following music videos.
Expect frequent updates as soon as I get settled in our new home. :)
Also check out these videos if you get a chance (embedding is disabled or else I would have posted them here.)
Wingate Paine, to me, is everything I love about being a woman. His photography pays homage to women in this incredibly soft, gracefully erotic, yet virtuous manner. Makes me wish I was a woman in the 1960's. That, or a photographer. So inspiring!
An excerpt from Paine's Mirror of Venus co-writen by Francoise Sagan and Federico Fellini:
For a woman the time/is often the time./
After the time,/it is sometimes the time;/
but before the time, it is never the time.
I'm off to work but when I get home, I'm picking up my camera and heading out into the world to snap a few photographs.
I made this little movie for my husband William and I also bought him some pretty swanky shoes. (Don't watch if you don't like super cheesy love stuff.)
In return, I was spoiled rotten: my dream shoes and a bag I've been lusting after for months.
Vintage Yves Saint Laurent!
He also surprised me with this amazing little jewelry box.
But I must say my favorite part of today was this card from my husband.
And taking care of these four tiny hearts. I am fostering them (I work at an animal hospital) and they are just a few days old.
This has been one of the best V-Day's that I can remember. And not because of the material things (although that doesn't hurt) but because I've been able to stay at home all day and take care of the wee tiny cats with my love and watch movies, eat dinner in, nap on and off.
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