Around Here – Spring Edition

Around here:
-we’ve been going to farmer’s market, every week, for strawberries and organic veggie starts for the garden (and I got the market basket of my dreams) and fresh made Popsicles and to stare at peonies
-I spent almost a week working from home with the pets while recovering from a cold that made me sound like I smoked a pack a day
-Ramsay has been ordered to lose six pounds, so we’ve been going on lengthy (aka three miles…he has short legs) walks on sunny evenings and discovering new paths and delightful neighborhoods
-we’ve been gardening up a storm (pics to come). My husband has a lovely farmer’s ran happening and my shoulders are already freckled. We’ve got lots in the works for backyard projects
-the Rose Festival Medallion Hunt was brought back this year, so we’ve taken up family treasure hunting in the last week. No success yet but I’ve found lots of parks in Portland that I want to explore

Spring makes me (and most other native Oregonians) feel alive in a way that doesn’t even seem possible in the winter. I love the sun. I love cotton jersey dresses from the clearance racks at Target and Old Navy. I love sandals. I love the smell of Home Depot, where we go weekly (seriously, if they could bottle it, I would either huff it or wear it as perfume). I love the petunia planter I put together for the front yard in an old fireplace ash bucket. I love the dog’s happy face after a long walk.

I am happy and I am healthy and there’s so much summer ahead!

Life, Lately

I was looking forward to a delightfully relaxing Saturday, and that’s just what I’ve gotten today. First of all, I slept in until the absolutely horrid time of 11:30 (I don’t think that has EVER happened before. When I woke up, I was pretty sure I was dying), when my husband finally came to check on me and inform me that I had missed almost the entire Hawkeye game. Then, a trip to the biannual library book sale. If you know us, you know that we have amassed an insane collection of books. We NEED a library, but right now we are surviving with five or six bookshelves packed to the gills, along with a few more boxes full tucked into the garage somewhere. We managed to only spend $18, and we found a first edition of The Fountainhead. I thought Shayne was going to pee his pants in excitement. Then, a trip to Home Depot, which seems to be our new weekend haunt, and a dinner at McMenamins. Now, HGTV, laundry, and snuggling with the dog on the couch. I love it.

Life lately has been delightfully hectic. We are still getting rooted down in our home, and are finally getting started on some projects to really make it our own. Up until now, it has felt pretty much like a rental, as we haven’t painted, upgraded, or really done anything with the interior. We spent most of our summer outside, throwing together enough of a vegetable garden to get some kale, tomatoes, and bell peppers. Now that the real Oregon weather is returning, it’s time to turn our focus indoors. Shayne has been laying plywood flooring in the attic, so that we can clear some boxes out of our garage. We’ve picked a new front door that actually has some style. We have paint colors picked for downstairs (I’m excited to get that project going, the colors are bold, and I look forward to sharing photos). And, with all the HGTV we’ve been watching, we are getting grand visions of knocking out walls and expanding our master bedroom and etc. etc. etc. But we are taking it slowly. Trying to, anyways.

Exercise-wise, I’ve been failing. I did go on a little run the other day, and survived, and hope to do it again this week, because I’m sick of my pants being tight. There’s a new Planet Fitness going in near our home that we are debating joining up with, because I still haven’t been able to bite the bullet and pay for another CrossFit membership (and Shayne won’t let me buy a rowing machine and put it in the garage).

I’ve also become somewhat of a Goodwill maven. I’ve always been a little grossed out by Goodwill, but there is one near our new place that is both clean and awesome. Also, it’s like someone with my identical body measurements goes there weekly and drops off barely used designer clothes. I have scooped up three pairs of designer jeans for no more than $12/piece, plus a lot of cute shirts, AND an accounting book I had been looking for. I can spend hours there. I’ve been good about not buying new clothes, so I hope here instead

I’ve also been cooking more, since we are trying to save money by eating out less (ignore the fact that I mentioned we went out to dinner today). Here’s some of my latest meals: