So I just looked back at the first post on this blog and it was a list of things I wanted to do: 

1. keep up a blog of (at the very least) my craft, food and life adventures (oooh! DONE!)
2. write a book or novella.
3. frequent the library. It will be my studying "home base" as I usually fall asleep when I study at home.
4. take more pictures!

It's so interesting to go back in your own personal time and realize how things and you change. Hopefully there have been changes anyway. Good ones preferably.

Looking at that list now I can say that I've sort of accomplished each goal.

1. did really well with the blog for a long time. Not so much recently, but I can still count this goal as done!
2. hm. ok, so I never did this one, but I'm going to count writing, recording and performing songs as a semi-victory on this one. I mean...if you add up a bunch of song lyrics you could make a novella right?
3. yikes, ok didn't really do this one either....but I did join a book club and I have read a lot of books. That and there's no library near me...or one that isn't creepy anyway. So.....
4. done! Hindered by a broken camera for a while, but a new one has been purchased and lots of pictures have been and will be taken with my phone.

Make excuses much? yes, yes I do.

Paper Brain on 95.5fm

Yesterday Mike and Duncan headed to the studios of 95.5fm to play some tidbits between segments. Despite being sick, Mike sounded as delicate and angelic as ever. 

To listen to the broadcast check out the link below!

Paper Brain BFT 10-29-09

Portland Fashion Week

So it's been a long while. I have no excuse other than it was summer, nice outside and I was just plain lazy. But seeing how it's fall again, I'm back in school, the band has more shows and I'm busier in general with obligations that aren't strictly "social activities", I should be a bit more consistent with this thing. Makes sense. 

This last weekend I was offered a VIP ticket to one of the Portland Fashion Week shows which I hastily accepted. Here's what I saw

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have to say I wasn't really impressed. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I thought, a city like Portland that thinks of itself as so alternative and forward-thinking should have some pretty innovative fashion designers. At least the theme was sustainability. 

Where I lurk

My google reader is pretty impressive and it keeps growing every day. There are just so many awesome blogs to follow! I thought I'd highlight a few of my favorites here and, thankfully, they all update their sites much more often than I do. ha!

One of my favorites. I particularly like the before and after section and have tried a few of the DIY projects myself. 

Great place for interior decorating inspiration (you probably figured that from the name already). This blog covers all design styles, so there's eye candy here for everyone. 

I love this blog. It has great design ideas as well as fun sections like "the daily eat" and "picture it". 

This site as well as If the Lampshade Fits are both lovely and hilarious. I love that she has no problem calling out ugly design and ranting about it. The pictures are absolutely lovely and I've gotten many design ideas from them, she obviously has a good eye. 

Like the name suggests, a blog about cool and interesting stuff. I always find stuff on this site to forward to friends, always interesting and fun. 

Sexy People

Looking through this website brought back some memories (well...not the one with the ninja turtle in it)...

Elena Kalis

Amazing photography by Elena Kalis

New Beginnings

I honestly thought this little guy was going to die on me (see how it's propped up by a bent paperclip. ha!), but suddenly he perked up and even sprouted a little friend! You can't see on the pic, but there are even more buds on the stem. 

It kind of makes me think of our lives. Things can get pretty rough, we can almost fade away, but - somehow - we pull through and end up with even more than we had before. Sometimes we're just left with little buds, but if we nuture those they will grow. 

I didn't intend this post to be so sappy, I acutally was just super excited to see the tiny friend growing. ha!

Weekend Projects

So this weekend I left the house only to pick up supplies at Home Depot. My mission: build a custom closet and paint, paint, paint!

The closet only took a couple of hours. I did have to do a lot of the cutting of the wood myself, otherwise it would have been a 30 min job I think. 

Unfortunately it's impossible to get a shot of the whole thing without taking the doors off and I was afraid if I took them off I wouldn't be able to get them back on. The shelves in the middle are IKEA and the rest is commercial grade particle board that I really should have taken the time to paint. It's not pretty, but it's so much better than the one, long, wobbly bar that was there before. Unfortunately my ceilings are low so the two bars on the left are a tad too close together, but again, a huge improvement. 

The painting I don't have pictures of yet because I haven't quite finished the bathroom yet, but I should have time for that this weekend. 

garden!

So I finally planted my garden this weekend. My mom came over and we cleared out the blackberry vines and planted the starts. There's corn, chives and basil in the back corner. Squash in the cage (last year the squirrels ate all my squash before it could get any bigger than a peanut). 

On this side are pole beans, parsley, oregano, onions and tomatoes. The marigolds around everything are to keep out pests. 

I finally clipped the chickens wings so they can roam the yard while I'm working in the garden. They had so much fun they were actually purring! The one in the foreground is taking a dirt bath. It kind of looks like she's having a seizure, but she was in chicken heaven. 

Wednesday giggles

via roboppy