Category Archives: Creativity

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!!!

An Aunt Dimity Kind of Sunday!

Good evening!

I have having a really good Sunday!!

I am reading the first book in the Aunt Dimity series, by Nancy Atherton. The first book is called, Aunt Dimity’s Death. This was one of the series that was left to me by my Grandma Kay, and I have to say, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE it!!! The book is fun, and the premise is interesting. Matter of fact, the character reminds me so my of my sweet Kay, and even her lovely cottage in the English country-side reminds me SO MUCH of the sweet, homey vibe that I always felt out at Kay’s beach house.

Here is the book description from the inside of the cover:

When Lori Shepherd was a little girl she used to lie in bed at night with a stuffed rabbit named Reginald and listen to her mother’s stories of the indomitable Aunt Dimity, who lived in far-off England. But now Lori is a newly divorced, down-on-her-luck grownup, her mother is dead, and Lori’s long since realized that Aunt Dimity was just a character in a comforting bedtime story.

Or was she? One day the bedraggled Lori is summoned from the latest of her dreadful temp jobs to the Dickensian law firm of Willis U Willis. There Willises Junior and Senior inform her that Aunt Dimity was indeed a real person–a very rich real person who’s just died and left Lori a respectable bequest. Unfortunately, there’s one catch: Lori must visit Aunt Dimity’s English cottage and find a secret hidden among the treasure trove of letters written by her mother and Dimity over the four decades of their friendship.

What begins a fairy tale in a improbably cozy setting becomes a mystery–and a ghost story–as Aunt Dimity’s gentle spirit leads Lori on an unotherworldly quest that Dimity could not fulfill in her own lifetime. And for Lori, Dimity’s bequest is even greater than she dreamed, as she discovers that in this life, true love can conquer all.

I am almost done with this first book, and I happened to get my hands on Aunt Dimity’s oatmeal cookie recipes, so I decided to make them for my sweetie today. They are very light, fluffy, and cake-like!! I HIGHLY recommend giving this easy recipe a try! I got a copy of this off of Nancy Atherton’s website. 😉

beth’s oatmeal cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Makes approximately 6 dozen cookies.

1 cup butter or margarine
1 cup granulated sugar
2 jumbo eggs
5 tablespoons raisin water (see below)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup raisins
2 cups water
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

In small saucepan, combine raisins with water and bring to boil; lower heat and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Set aside to cool. When cool, reserve 5 tablespoons raising water, then drain raisins in colander.

In large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and raisin water and mix well. Blend dry ingredients into creamed mixture. Add nuts if desired. Add raisins and combine well.

Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto greased baking sheets. Bake 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown and firm on top when touched with your finger. Cool on wire racks.

DELICIOUS!!!

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! 😉

Another Short & Sweet Post!

Good evening!

I am going to keep this post short this evening! My sweetie and I have just gotten back from the play The Underpants, put on by the Pentacle Theater. It was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!! and we had an ABSOLUTE MARVELOUS TIME!!!

While I go off to dream about the amazing fun and laughter that Jason and I have shared tonight, here are some pictures from this play!

If you ever get the chance to get out to this little theater, I would highly recommend it!

Have a FABULOUS evening!! 😉

Monday Night Date Night!

Good evening!

Jason and I have been having some trouble getting some quality time together, so to make up for it, we decided that we would do a Monday night date, and man did we ever have fun!!

First thing we did was head over to the Wild Pear downtown to have some dinner. Jason introduced me to their French Dipped sandwich, and OOH-WEE!!! That was soooo good!! The au jus was SIMPLY LIP-SMACKINGLY GOOD!!!

Jason was patient enough to let me stop and take a bunch of pictures of this bank, which just also happens to be my favorite building downtown. I will make sure to share those pictures tomorrow. What I do want to make sure I point out today is just how LOVELY this purse is that Jason is carrying – it just brings out his eyes!! HAHAHAHA!! What a good hubbie!! 😉

There are so many beautiful little hidey-holes downtown that are absolutely PERFECT for taking a nice picture in!! Jason is standing next to a gigantic vine arbor that grows inside one of the alleyways downtown! I just LOVE how beautiful it is, and isn’t my sweetie so adorable?? Man, I really love that man!! 😉

After walking a little ways, we ran across Jason’s FAVORITE coffee shop. Unfortunately it has closed, and Jason is still really blue about it!! It really was a cool little place, it is a shame that it closed!! 🙁

Oh, but onto brighter news!!! Jason and I happened to be walking by the Pentacle Theatre’s ticket office, and we decided to go inside and see what was playing this Friday.

We saw that it was “The Underpants” written by Steve Martin, one of our favorite funny men, so Jason and I picked up tickets for this Friday night! We both are SOOOO EXCITED, and just CAN’T WAIT!! 😉

Next Jason and I stopped to get something cool to drink together and while we were just chatting it up, I realized that I had lost his attention. “UHMM… helllooooo! I am up here!”

Oh, yes! That is right Mr. Man – you have SOOOO TOTALLY been caught!! LOL!!

We had such a nice time this evening – we really needed that! We both have been spending so much time taking care of others that we somehow forgot that we both need to be tending to each other too!! So, we are making a concerted effort to make sure that we are doing just that – and man, what a GREAT TIME we are having too!!

Have a FABULOUS evening!! 😉

Motivated!

Good evening!

This morning I stumbled across this quote that I haven’t been able to get out of my mind all day.

“What you can do or dream you can do, begin it, boldness has genius, power and magic in it.”
~Johann von Goethe

There are so many odd projects laying around the house that seriously need my attention, and I know that I need to spend time crossing each one off of my list! But, right now, the big project is Jason and I are participating in a large garage sale this Saturday. This is the perfect opportunity to clear out a lot of the miscellaneous stuff that in all honesty Jason and I haven’t seen in years!! We spent a few hours this evening going through boxes, and it was so energizing to let go of all of that old stuff. It is true what they say about stuff literally weighing you down, mentally! I am learning to believe that is true.

Ok, confession time!! I might be just a bit of a shop-a-holic (ok, Jay, stop laughing!!). Ok, I’ve said it!! I don’t think I go too crazy money-wise because I pay myself first, pay all of my bills, I have a nice retirement fund and a savings account, but where I think it is really starting to hurt me is in my living space. We live in such a small condo, and it seems that no matter how much stuff I have leaving this place, I just seem to fill the new space with almost twice as much stuff! (That might be a slight exaggeration, but I am sure not by much!)

My biggest areas I have problems with this is books, and fashion!! I can’t pass up a good book, ESPECIALLY if I can find it for a FABULOUS price! and ANYTIME I find a cute dress, or other clothing item that makes me feel good, I just snatch it up – and sometimes in multiple colors!!! This is really starting to become a problem! I would like to tell you that I could stop anytime I want too, but I find that I use shopping to sometimes fill a void that I can sometimes feel in myself. Like something I am needing and I am hoping a certain book, or a certain top will somehow fill it. Crazy, I know! I hear myself saying it, and just think,

“SNAP OUT OF IT GIRL!!!”

Sad, I know!! I am hoping that our garage sale this weekend will really help me make a serious dent in all of the “STUFF”!! I am a little nervous that I am going to be making my hubbies head spin by how fast and how much stuff is leaving this house! I am being seriously RUTHLESS in what goes and what stays!! If we haven’t even seen in since we moved in here 5 years ago, why the heck do we have it still!! Now, there are some memorabilia that I have a different set of rules for, but for the most part, that only pertains to things like cards, and photos, which don’t take up a lot of room in this house!! Thankfully!!

And, if my sweetie and I are going to stay in this condo a few more years, then I owe it to the both of us to make every effort to turn it into our home, and not just a stopping point – like a sad hotel!! Now, a GLAMOROUS HOTEL??? I am SOOO there for that, but not what we have been living in up to this point!!

Also, I have realized today, that I have so much extra home decor and what nots that I could actually start an online home boutique. Don’t think I am not seriously contemplating that either!! That has always been one of my dreams, and this quote above is making me thinking that I just need to get brave, and open my own boutique!! How cool would that be??!!

Oh to dream out loud!!

That would be BLISS!!!

Anyway, I am going to head up to bed for the night, and dream of my new clutter free home!!

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! 😉

So Long Borders!

Part of the LOOOONG line at Borders!

Good evening!

Well, it is official! Jason and I went to Borders this evening, and it already is nothing like the safe haven that we had come to know and love. The coffee shop, Seattle’s Best, is already closed, the chairs are all stacked and put away, and the books are just an ever-loving mess!!! You had better have known what you were looking for and where in the general area you were going to find it, because staff people were hard to come by. Then when it was time to finally check out, the line wrapped all through the store it was QUITE INSANE!!! You would think that people would NEVER be able to purchase a book again!! The “sale” prices that we thought would be coming out today, really never materialized. Most everything had a mere 10% off, which meant that I am going to be doing some waiting before I go there looking for some great end of business deals. The staff did say that they were hoping that they would be open through September, but really, whenever the merchandise runs out, that’s about it!

So, this is it. No more Borders. There seem to have been a lot of people running around feeling a lot like I am:

“Now what?”

“What do I do now?”

“I can’t believe this place is closing!”

You see, in Salem, Borders is more like a community center. People stop there, of course, to read and purchase books, magazines, music, and DVDS, but there are also groups that meet there every evening, and to come enjoy the live music during the weekends. People stop by to grab a coffee and catch up with friends, do some studying, spend some time people watching, or to come practice some sign language with other like-minded individuals, not to mention some of our most memorable times of midnight release parties of special books like and of the books from the Harry Potter series, or the Twilight Saga DVD releases.

Good times!! 😉

I heard one woman say,

“Now what am I supposed to do with my weekends?”

That was pretty sad, but she is kind of right. Besides going out to eat, or going to the movie theater there really isn’t much in the way of entertainment in this community. It is going to take this small city some time to recover. Who ever thought that the one and only true book store in Salem would EVER close???

It might be time to look for a new stomping ground. It’s something I am going to have to seriously consider.

Anyway, I am going to go spend some quiet time with my sweetie!! Until tomorrow…

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! 😉

An Evening at the Arbor!

Good evening!

I am in the middle of a very lovely weekend, and instead of spending too much time telling you all about it so far, since I can tell you about my weekend in it’s entirety, with tomorrow’s post. I thought I would just share some pictures of this little shop that I visited today in downtown Salem. This place is called The Arbor.

When I walked in they were playing some of my favorite music that just makes you want to be all things Parisian!! After listening to the music for a few minutes, I finally realized why it sounded so familiar, it was the soundtrack to Somethings Gotta Give – I just love that movie!!

Anyway, this shop is a feast for the senses, and although I can’t share the scents, or sounds to you, I can share some of the beautifully imagery!

Enjoy!