twenty-sixteen nablopomo

oh. hi.

kind of dropped off after day 23 of nablopomo, but 23 out of 30 isn't so bad. right? right. i'm not going to blame Thanksgiving because I don't like glorifying busy, and my holidays really aren't that busy (don't hate). I just kind of switched off my internet brain after leaving work the day before and it ended up being a much-needed break.

since we all love lists here's what's happened since then:

ate turkey with the family & celebrated my brother's birthday

watched tons of movies & did a lot of homebody-ing (slippers, sweatshirts, hot tea & lots of blankets)

finished my November Pilates challenge! and have since done nota-whole-lotta exercise :/

Christmasing: lights, tree, shopping!

started doing Sashiko stitching

it snowed once and it was glorious to watch

got some fresh bangs cut and I love 'em

this week in coffee

the Moore Cafe in downtown/Belltown-ish Seattle is not a new place for me. but having Pac-Man swimming in my cup is new!

new year's resolution no. 1: rollerskate more

 

tonight's the Super Moon, the brightest moon since 1948 which won't occur again until 2034. unfortunately for tonight, I live in Seattle under a giant blanket of rain clouds and can't see it so how about we go rollerskating instead?

mystery mondays: Murder on the Orient Express

a despised billionaire, a famous detective, a train who's tracks get blocked from an avalanche, a murder, and multiple motives: in this 1974 Agatha Christie adaptation you get to know many characters quickly, in tight quarters, and somehow it works. I won't provide a spoiler, even though this movie has been out for over 40 years.

it's one of those a-crime-within-a-crime stories really, featuring an all-star cast, with Albert Finney as our dear Poirot. he does a fine job, albeit a little over the top, of portraying our eccentric detective, who he himself is a little over the top. (personally, David Suchet will always be my ideal Poirot.)

the film stars Lauren Bacall, an overbearing chatterbox, Anthony Perkins, Jacqueline Bisset, Vanessa Redgrave, Michael York, Ingrid Bergman who won best supporting actress, and who doesn't love Sean Connery (or a good mustache for that matter). I highly recommend this movie for a great fall or winter whodunnit if you haven't already seen it.

Jake and I are huge mystery fans, especially Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie stories. so weekly I  plan to share details of some of our favorites, as well as some we have yet to discover.

back in the saddle again

Gene Autry style (not Aerosmith)

dusting off the cobwebs and galloping right into another year of Nablopomo.

She Explores

Giant Sequoia National Park

after almost one year, I am still unabashedly thrilled to be a part of the She Explores tribe of women. Gale Straub, founder, has created a remarkable community for women who love the outdoors. the photography and stories are gorgeous.

two weeks ago She Explores opened the doors to the Artistry Shop where you now can purchase work from these talented women right from the site. so go check them out and get the Christmas shopping (camp)fires ignited!

me at the Washington Tree

black & white

>>broke out the nibs tonight<<

currently:

buying this for my father in law but wanting to add 2 to cart

listening to Ziggy Stardust on repeat

planning an art challenge for December (maybe January)

making the gingerbread popcorn recipe from Treasures & Travels

small business Saturday

Fisherman's Terminal

today I went to Constellation & Co. located at Fisherman's Terminal to pick up my first Christmas gifts of the season. this shop has gorgeous hand-made cards and prints made by the owner. they also collaborate with local artists providing unique jewelry and gifts that are all gems.

another small business I supported today is Edgevale, an outdoor apparel company from California. all of their products are stellar, not to mention designed and made in Cali. I may have ordered the Campfire pants for myself.

water, water everywhere

 

 

so many great books adding up on my reading list. here's a 'lil sampling I'd like to get...after I'm done Christmas shopping, of course.

grateful

Huckleberry Basin at Mount Rainier

thankful for my sweeny, my partner and best friend Jake. this week marks our 18th year together and we love each other more each day.

>>Happy Thanksgiving<<

cut & paste

>>a walk in the woods before I get my pecan pie game on for tomorrow<<

closet space is overrated

...unless you want to fill it. that's right, I said it. I'm going to take this moment now to warn you that this is not a "minimalism" or "organize your closet" post. it's quite the opposite actually.
an ode to the full, beautifully messy closet.

don't get me wrong; sure, we all have things in our closet that probably should not be in there (Chucks with holes in both heels, high school soccer jacket, bridesmaid dresses). I will also admit that cleaning out your closet is a somewhat liberating process, and that the end result can in fact feel pretty great. but there are also those other moments, like when you realize that a certain new plaid jacket would look great with my old red jeans I no longer have and are living somewhere in Buffalo Exchange or (gasp!) someone else's messy closet. giving away items that I can't get back kills me. so, to all you shoe and clothes hoarders out there, this one's for you. after all, it is a collection.

I never know what to wear - via Catherine of Wolf Eyebrows

pattern greatness via Sara Waiste

my closet contribution shortly after picking up this vintage mushroom gem from Beats & Bohos

Eclectic-vintage-shop feel closet, swoon

Dylana Suarez's closet is multiplying! I love that it literally is growing out from the original closet.

Mondays

I was going to write my first whiny post. instead, here's a photo of the hottest day of my life: Death Valley.

Zabriskie Point in August

sidewalk art

 

I've always thought Campmor magazine was the J Peterman of the outdoors. also, packing tape image transfers are fun!

Birch Box

signing up for a monthly Birch Box has been the best ten bucks I've spent in a while. it's a lot like getting a Christmas stocking every month filled with fun little pampering treasures. except it's in a well-decorated box that's perfect for holding your stuff.

the summer months' boxes packed more punch for me with lotions for sun-kissed skin and dry shampoos. my November box was a mixed bag for me. the gamble is also part of the fun - not knowing what you're going to get and the bonus of getting products you never knew you needed or loved.

the enemy of art is the absence of limitations - Orson Welles

Pinewoods Campground, Kettle Moraine SF, WI photo credit: Jake Fritzler

NaBloPoMo stands for National Blog Post Month involving a blog post a day for one month. on day seven I began to realize that starting a blog for the very first time via 30 consecutive posts feels a bit like jumping right into the deep end without swimmies.

luckily I can swim. I had always wanted to try blogging, yet I'm doing it without much planning and lotsa short deadlines. but I love goal-oriented challenges, love 'em, and this one was my way of making myself stop being fickle and face the dragon. just do it, don't think. thinking will come later. this is okay for me because, well, I'm an overthinker.

so please bear with my tinkering and occasional awkward content flow. oh, and bad jokes, sorry those are here to stay. nothing I can do about that, it's hereditary.

Raw. Vegan. (definitely) Not Gross. ice cream sandwiches

ginger cookie & chai ice cream sammies!

this dessert was absolutely delicious, and I actually can't wait to make them again. for the chai tea I used Tazo Vanilla Caramel Chai, other than that no ingredient changes were made. I did use the oven as I don't own a dehydrator (yet) and the results were perfect. I also like that it's really a fairly low maintenance recipe to whip up, given you have a food processor.

now if you haven't already, go check out Laura Miller. I'm a huuuge fan of hers - I love her photo shoots, her show Raw. Vegan. Not Gross. (even though I'm only an occasional vegan) and looking forward to seeing what's in store for her new show With Laura Miller on Tastemade.

small scale

going through my journals recently I noticed that a few of my favorites were always small, particularly two moleskines and this journal - one of my all-time favorites that I picked up at Fischberger's Variety in Milwaukee a couple years ago. sidenote: that store is my playground.

anyhoo, that left me wondering: is that because I'm limited to small pages that I fill them better? was it just timing and those were some of my favorite time periods? (nope!) is it just the journals themselves? (maybe. I do love this small 'lil fatty!)

slices on slices

the #weeklyfoodphoto challenge theme for this week is "slice" (verb or noun). so many great places you could go with that. I took it to sandwich town featuring the classic grilled cheese: Grand Central Bakery Como sliced bread and Colby Jack cheese. nom.
food photography challenge hosted by @paolacthomas