Category Archives: Beauty

Day at the Farmer’s Market!

Good evening!

My sweetie and I had the best kind of day today – we got to spend the day with our friends, Amy and Leif, which we hadn’t seen in almost a year. After finally getting to their place, we had gotten lost a few times, we started our day together by heading out to a lovely little cafe for a delectable breakfast. We spent the morning just catching up, and filling each other in on what has been going on with ourselves since we’ve last seen each other.

After breakfast, we headed over to the local farmer’s market. The Lane Country farmers market, completely blows ours in Salem away. It is more the 3 times as large, and it has such a bigger variety of booths, farmers, entertainment, and just more of EVERYTHING to see!!

Aren’t Leif and Amy just adorable?? They are so much fun to hang out with, they are so in love, and optimistic that it is just contagious!! I am sure that Jason felt that too!

My sweetie and I had so much fun walking around, playing, looking for treasures, and all sorts of lovely things to take pictures of!

There was so many delicious looking vegetables! It really gave us so many ideas for our little raised garden that we are planning on building for next Spring’s planting season.

Plus the many varieties of fresh, and colorful fruit and berries!!! Oh, makes me want to get a batch of freezer jam going!!

There was all kinds of honey, but this one in this little corked jar, was just the cutest!

And this artisan bread was hard to resist, and isn’t it just picture perfect? Smelled divine too!!

and let’s not forget all of the lovely flowers that the vendors had for sale. They were such a great value. Amy bought a large bouquet, and when she got it home, she was able to split it among 4 vases! Such a great deal, and they add such a personal touch to anyone’s home!

I ended up getting a simple pair of sparkly earrings, that were just too perfect to pass up, some  fresh cucumbers, and a small lavender plant – one of my FAVORITE plants!! I can’t wait to get it potted and watch it grow!! After going to the farmer’s market, Jason, Leif, Amy, and myself all headed across town to visit the Scandinavian Festival. I was able to get a lot of pictures of that too that I will be able to share with you tomorrow!

So, as I go finish my night out with my sweetie…

Have a FABULOUS evening!!  😉

A Beautiful Day!

Good evening!

I have been down and out for the last two days with a headache that just doesn’t seem to want to quit. So, instead of dwelling on that, I thought I would go back and pull out some lovely pictures that I had taken while out on a walk one morning!

Thanks for sharing that with me. It makes me feel better – I am exciting to be getting up out of  in the morning. You see, my sweetie and I are heading to out to spend time visiting with friends that we haven’t seen in almost 2 years! I just can’t wait! We are going to meet for breakfast and then head out to the farmer’s market – doesn’t that sound delightful?? I am looking forward to getting some lovely picture to be able to share with you!

Have a FABULOUS evening! 😉

Long Day!

Good evening!

It has been a long day today! I stayed home from work today with a killer headache that just won’t seem to take a hint, and leave! So, while I have been seemingly stuck on the couch today, I have been seriously thinking and day dreaming about my little farmhouse!!

My Fancy FarmhouseI know that it will be here someday, but I have decided that even though I live in a small condo in the city with my husband, and two long-haired chihuahuas, I should still be striving to create my dream of a farmhouse lifestyle NOW!

RIGHT WHERE I AM!!

USING WHAT I HAVE!!

I am not sure what that means just EXACTLY yet, but it gives my daydreams new meaning!! How can I incorporate some of that into my life right now? Hmmmmmm…very intriguing!!

As I go and figure outwhat that means…

Have a FABULOUS evening! 😉

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Long Day!

Good evening!

It has been a long day today! I stayed home from work today with a killer headache that just won’t seem to take a hint, and leave! So, while I have been seemingly stuck on the couch today, I have been seriously thinking and day dreaming about my little farmhouse!!

My Fancy FarmhouseI know that it will be here someday, but I have decided that even though I live in a small condo in the city with my husband, and two long-haired chihuahuas, I should still be striving to create my dream of a farmhouse lifestyle NOW!

RIGHT WHERE I AM!!

USING WHAT I HAVE!!

I am not sure what that means just EXACTLY yet, but it gives my daydreams new meaning!! How can I incorporate some of that into my life right now? Hmmmmmm…very intriguing!!

As I go and figure outwhat that means…

Have a FABULOUS evening! 😉

Tags

An Evening of Decor & Fashion!

La Dolce Vita

Good evening!

OK, so I had better get with the program and get a posting out there tonight! This evening, I have been feverishly going through decorating books, and fashion magazines. I am not exactly sure what I am looking for, but I know it is time for some slight modifications to my immediate world around me – namely my living room decor. I am bored with it. Which, when I think about it is not too surprising! I have always been very nomadic in my life, moving from place to place to place, and we have lived in our condo for 5 years, which may be longer than I have lived anywhere!! Well, I am bored with it all! My favorite thing about moving all the time was that moving not only gives you the opportunity to go through all of your belongings and decide what is important to you and what isn’t, it also forces you to redecorate for each new place you move too. I LOVE decorating, and I kind of have a natural talent for it!

I would LOVE to be able to house all of my books in one room. I have more than 1200 books, so that, right now is a problem, because space is rather tight!! All the same, I have just ordered my new Ikea catalog for some storage/creative use of space ideas, and I am dreaming about what this living room could be!

I would love to see this room have more seating, and a much more comfortable couch for visiting with company AND for cuddling up to watch movies!! I would like it to be in a more neutral color, so that I can decorate with throw blankets and pillows, and easily change them on a whim – whenever the mood strikes! Having a red couch has been fun, but if I had given it some real thought, I would have preferred a neutral-colored couch with a red slipcover!!! That way I would have had some real versatility!

Alkemie

I love the idea of being surrounded by books, art, and music. Being comfortable in your space, but at the same time, have a sense of plushness, and sophistication – all while being able to cuddle up in a blanket with a good book, while your bare feet are thrown over the arm of a chair! Simply divine!

Alkemie

I also LOVE the idea of some more versatile lighting in this place. I have a few lamps in this room, and in the Winter I utilize the glow of candlelight quite a bit. I know that someday, when we are in our actual house, then I will have a chandelier in our living room, and it will be very chi-chi-fab!!! I can just picture it now! 😉

Alkemie

Anyway, I am going to put together a design board for my dream living room, and then modify that so that I can have my “dream room” on a smaller scale for this place, so that even though my sweetie and I have to be here for a couple of more years, it will still feel like home – at least for now!! 😉

Alkemie

Have a FABULOUS evening!!!

Nesting on a Saturday Night!

Good evening!

I am having quite a lovely evening at home hanging out with my sweetie! I am busy running around the house, nesting my little heart out. Redecorating, reorganizing, arranging fresh flowers, and generally just having a GREAT time!! I feel like I am totally in my element right now!!!

Jason and I went to lunch with a friend of ours, and then the three of us went to the movies and watched Captain America. Good movie, by the way – Captain America was EXTREMELY HOT! 😉 I can’t wait to see the movie, The Avengers next Summer. There is something about the idea of Stark, Thor, and Captain America in the same movie – YUM!! Ok, so apparently I revert back to a teenage girl at a moments’ notice! 😉

After dropping our friend, Don, off. Jason and I headed over to Borders to see if there were any good deals to be had, which I am happy to say that there were. 😉 I did pick up a few books, but I didn’t stick around at all because it is not longer “my” Borders. I think I will make one more pitstop in about two weeks or so, there are a couple of literature books that I am really looking forward to adding to my collection, but if I can get them at a better deal, then it will be worth it to me to wait for it!

I wanted to tell you that the pictures this evening are all taking of my favorite building downtown. This building is the building that houses the US Bank downtown. It is called the Ladd and Bush Bank building, and was built in 1867. Isn’t it lovely??

As I finish toodling around the house tonight…

Have a FABULOUS evening! 😉

Drive in the Country!

Good afternoon!

My sweetie and I had the very fun excursion out today!

Well, where to begin? I woke up early this morning, and I spent some quiet time reading my favorite blogger magazine. It got me inspired to go out and take some pictures, and so I talked to my sweetie and we rounded up the girls, and we all went out for a ride out through the countryside.

I thought it would be fun to share some pictures of our outing with you!

The first thing we did was that we decided to head out towards farmland so that we could day dream about our little farm that we hope to have someday!! I think Jason is thinking actual farm, and I am thinking a large cottage with a small plot of land to go with it, but this drive helped use verbalize some of each of our dreams and wishes for our dream home!

This farm was my absolute FAVORITE of the day! I could completely see us refurbishing this one and moving right in. Well, minus the two bulls that were in the front yard – EEK!! 😉 If we ever have any animals, besides dogs, we agree that we could handle chickens – WE THINK! 😉

One of my favorite things about the country is all of the different textures that nature has to offer! It is like an amazingly intricate quilt! I am just in awe of God’s amazing-ness!!

I love that these homes are all tucked far from the road, and a distance from each other! I bet you could run around naked outside here in the evening, and no one would even know it. Ok, maybe not me, I am neon white after all. I am sure that I would look like a crazy, fat beacon running like a crazy-person in the night!!! Wouldn’t that be a sight??? LOL! 😉

Isn’t this vineyard just lovely? The Pacific Northwest is becoming known for their wineries!! and even though this isn’t the berry orchard that Jason and I dream of, there is a small part of us that think a little vineyard would be very romantic too!! 😉

Aren’t the cherries just picture perfect??? I picked these up at a little farmer’s market while we were out on our drive!

Here is one of those bulls I was telling you about earlier. My sweetie was brave enough to take a picture of for me. (I ran back and locked myself into the car!!) I was sure that if I got too close to the fence that it would somehow break through the fence and bite me or something!! LOL!! Jason and I both got a good laugh over that one!!! (but secretly I’m still a little sacred!) 😉 I didn’t want the bulls to get angry, thinking we were stalker-paparazzi or something!! 😉

This wheat wasn’t swaying in the breeze AT ALL!! I have never seen wheat hold SO STILL before!! I had a moment of, “Wouldn’t it be fun to run through this wheat field?” Until Jason reminded me of snakes. “Hmmmmm….no thank you!!” (How exactly am I going to make it out in the country??? 😉

The day was hot, clear, and absolutely BEAUTIFUL! 😉 These small purple flowers practically sparkled under the noon-day sky! I just HAD to stop and snap a picture!! 🙂

Here was my second favorite farm house of the day!! It looks like it needs some love, and I am sure it is haunted!! My friend, Chris, swears that all old buildings are haunted, and I am SURE she MUST be right about this one!!! 😉 Even though, it is still a very pretty haunted house!!! 😉

These colors are just so vivid, this rich, lush green against this deep blue sky. It was quite spectacular!!

Oh, and to top of our lovely drive, Jason took me to this little farmer’s market, that I had never been to before, and they had the most delectable strawberry shortcakes! They were sinfully delicious, made with ice cream. I had never had a strawberry shortcake made with ice cream before! and the fresh strawberries just finished this perfect desert off! They were pure goodness!! YUM!!

Man, what a GREAT day!! I had so much fun visiting with my sweetie, seeing the great outdoors, all while hanging with my girls!! I can’t wait to see what we do tomorrow to beat the heat!! I will keep you posted!! 😉

Have a FABULOUS evening! 😉

Gotta Dance!

Good evening!

I have gotten home from my belly dancing class this evening, and I am still really jazzed!! I have to tell you, it is such a happy class! It is hard for me to go there and not have an absolutely great time!! I know you must be sick of hearing me say it EVERY SINGLE WEEK, but I just LOVE BELLY DANCING!! and you know what, I think it isn’t just belly dancing anymore, I think I just love to dance!!!

Who knew??

I have never been a terribly physical person, I have always excelled at things that involve your mind, and thinking, or a talent like music, or the arts. Dance, which yes, I realize is also an art, I had just never thought it was something that was ever going to be in my repertoire, and I SO LOVE IT!!

Dancing has literally changed me.

It changes the way I see myself.

It changes the way I think about the future and what I now think is possible as opposed to what limitations I had previously placed on myself!

For the first time in my life, and I mean EVER, my inside and outside are starting to become more congruent!! They both are finally HAPPY!! I mean truly, unadulterated, no facade H-A-P-P-Y!!!

I wish that I had the opportunity to provide every single person out there to have this euphoric feeling that I am feeling now. I am convinced, now more than ever, that this feeling is the feeling of joy that is placed upon you when you are doing ANYTHING that honors your authentic self!! For me, right now, that is dancing, for you that might be cooking, singing, drawing, writing, sewing, walking, or whatever!!

My challenge to you this evening and for the rest of the week is to get out there and find an activity, ANY ACTIVITY that honors who you are on the inside – the best of who you are capable of being, and if you feel like sharing, please fee free to let me know in the comment section what that activity might be for you! You’ll never know who might come along and read what you have written – you just might inspire someone to get out there and find THERE OWN PERSONAL activity too!!

I look forward to chatting with you some more tomorrow! Until then…

Have a FABULOUS evening! 😉

The Many Faces of Happy!

Good evening!

Man, WHAT A GREAT WEEKEND WE HAVE HAD!! Whew! Sorry for shouting, I just had to get that out of my system!!!

Well starting at the beginning, Friday Jason and I went over to our friends’ Rachel and Kevin’s, who we hadn’t seen in the LONGEST TIME!!! We met up, and the guys cooked us girls a very healthy barbecue dinner of grilled chicken and vegetables! YUM!! (YOU GUYS ROCK!!!)  After dinner, Jason and I had fun playing with their adorable daughter, Alyson, the four of us spent the next few hours catching up and playing a very competitive, and comical game of Apples to Apples. I am happy to announce that although Kevin won first place, I am very happy to announce that I came in from last place to snatch up second place!!! We had the most AMAZING fun, and I can’t wait to get together to do that again soon!!! 😉

Saturday I met up with my girlfriend, Dawn to do some second hand shopping, at a place called Big Gals Consignment, why the heck haven’t I been shopping in that place for years!?!?!? It is AMAZING!! Clean, high quality clothes at a REALLY, REALLY great price!!

Anyway, after our trip there, we went to another place to see if we could find the perfect wedding dress for Dawn, and we weren’t having too much luck, that is until we finally decided to go to Nordstroms! It was not 5 minutes after describing her dream dress to me, that the sales lady brought in EXACTLY what Dawn was looking for!! It looks stunning on her, and made her light up with happiness, AND it was the BEST PRICE!!! WIN! WIN! WIN!! – I was VERY GLAD to be a part of that!!!

Before we left Nordy’s, I had to head over to the MAC counter to pic up something, you know me and how much I am a MAC girl!!! The lady who was helping me there had the most stunning eye make-up complete with gold glitter, and the most amazing false lashes, so Dawn and I decided to make an appointment to come back the next day and have a makeover ourselves with an emphasis on a smokey-eyed wedding look for Dawn, and a diva-like dramatic eye look for myself, both looks including learning how to apply false lashes!

We then met back up with the guys downtown for a nice lunch over at the Wild Pear, which has THE BEST FOOD!!! I had to mention that, because I am going to share pics of that place later in the week – their decor is STUNNING!! If we doubled the width of the place, I could just live there!! I am just sayin’! 😉

So, today was the day of that appointment and Dawn and I headed over there to get our new looks done, we were so excited, and Sammy was there to entertain us and take all sorts of pictures for us!!! I would like to say that everything went perfectly, but that would be too perfect wouldn’t it. Let’s just say that Dawn and I both had two different people doing our makeovers, and mine was phenomenal and Dawn’s was, well…let’s just say that we are going to schedule another makeover for Dawn again, but this time with my sales lady – Lacey!!

Even though things didn’t go exactly as we had planned, we had a lot of fun, and after getting back to Dawn’s place, where both Errin and Jason were busy visiting and watching movies (oh, did I mention, our makeovers took a little over 2 hours???) We fixed Dawn’s makeup, applied makeup to Sammy, which, by the way, made her look like she was 25, so that was kinda freaky – but you’ve gotta know that Sam LOVED it!! 😉

After begrudgingly leaving Errin and Dawn’s so we could head home and get some laundry done so that I didn’t have to go to work naked tomorrow (you are welcome Chris and Julie!!!) Jason and I picked up a little something for dinner, rented and watched Red Riding Hood, which was a little lackluster in all honesty. All-in-all I think that has been one pretty GREAT two and a half days!!! We have had a ton of fun, and Jason and I are really blessed with really great friends, and even more blessed that we get the opportunity to spend some quality time with them!!!

Anyway, Jason and I are getting ready to head upstairs for some quiet time before going to bed this evening!! If only EVERY weekend could be filled with as much friends and fun as this one has been, I think our lives would just BUST AT THE SEAMS with JOY!! 😉

Have a FABULOUS evening!! 😉