This is my baby love. He's a little sad in this picture because I'm not in a super kitty cuddle with him. He doesn't know how work or school or errands or friends or family or travel or chores or gym could be more important than bed. And most days, I kinda agree with him! And while I can't be spending everyday in bed with my boy, it makes us both happy whenever I do!
I am loving these rolling baskets. They are so pretty and old-world but still so functional. They don't come cheap, but if you consistently use them I bet they are an investment that pays off. I try to walk to complete as many errands as possible, and I sometimes bring a cart when I go to the farmer's market... so it would be silly of me not to buy one of these beautiful baskets, right? OK, I am trying to justify spending a couple hundred dollars on something I don't really need. Instead of going into basket debt (which I'm sure does not fall into the category of "good" debt), I'll just have these on my happy blog. But I'm keeping my eyes peeled for a bargain basket!
If wicker isn't your thing, go for a more industrial look with an aged metal basket. They are equally pretty and chic! But they are hard to come by, so if you want one, plan on spending a bit of time scouring ebay, etsy and other resale sites. I found a beauty, but hesitated on buying it because the price was a little out of my range, and it was bought by some other lucky shopper.
Today is Valentine's Day--a day to take a few moments and tell your sweetie how much you love him...it's also a Monday, and who has any moments to spare on a Monday?! So this year, Matty and I celebrated V-day over the weekend. And it was a good one, so good in fact that the whole thing earned a sopt on my happy blog. Bear with me, this detailed post might be sappy. But that's what Valentine's Day is all about!
Saturday morning got off to a healthy start, when Matt dragged my booty out of bed early and we headed to the gym. We did some couple-y stretches and tossed around the medicine ball. You know, couples who get strong together belong together! (I sat here for 5 minutes coming up with that one...).
After our workout, we headed to the west side because I had a little surprise for Matty. We got to the park early enough to enjoy the breakfast we packed, al fresco, and then I led him to our secret destination...
Archery Lessons!
Why on earth would I take Matt to surprise archery lessons? First, because it's awesome. Also, because it's free, full of friendly people, a way to learn a practical life-saving skill, a great work-out, and oh-so romantic. Normally, the park has free archery classes and shooting practice on the weekends, which is what I planned on- but Saturday there was an additional event. The entire archery range was booked for a midieval festival, and swarming with folks decked out in ren-faire style garb. This should have meant that Matt and I were out luck- since the range was closed to the public- but the friendly men and women from the land of Lyondemere welcomed us with open arms. We felt pretty special, since lots of other commoners were sent away, and since we got one-on-one lessons! Matt was a natural, and I wasn't too bad either. We both agree that it is something that we want to do again!
The archery lessons were only a part of the afternoon in the park. Like I said, we were welcomed by the Lyondemerians and before we knew it we were ushered into their "court", where poeple told stories, handed out awards and announced upcoming events. The Baron and Baroness brought us forward and gave us welcoming tokens...and then the whole group gave us 3 cheers. Hip, hip Hazah! It was a little embarassing (we didn't really know what was going on) but it was great fun and I am loving the unexpected these days. Everyone there was happy, sharing the same imagination and doing something they all love. It was probably the nerdiest thing I have ever witnessed, and I couldn't get enough of it. Well, I guess I did get enough of it, because we slipped out before the spinning and the harp concert- but we (I) might have to track this group down again. Seriously.
Matt and I left the park (after watching a doggie obstacle course competition) and headed to meet friends for a little lunch and shopping (See previous post "Out with Charlie). We spent little time in the actual stores because it was such a warm sunny day. We walked and visited and ate- and when we parted from our friends, Matty and I headed to Whole Foods.
Whole Foods should probably get its own entry on the happy blog. I know, I know, it's just a grocery store- but there is something wonderful about it. I love all of it's free-range, organic, whole-grain, snobby, gluten-free, overpriced, free-trade, goodness! I could easily blow a month's rent in one visit. In fact, I think we left with one bag full and it cost us 80 bucks...but it was worth it. We went home and had a healthy feast from their delictable deli. And I stocked up on cruelty-free beauty products!
The night ended on a super high note. Yup, a free movie on TBS. I was flicking around, with no idea what I wated to watch and the cable gods sent me the perfect movie. Richard Gere, with flowing locks and no trace of an accent played Sir Lancelot to Sean Connery's King Arthur in First Knight. If you missed this mid-90s period piece, and you have a soft spot for painfully corny tales of knights in shining armor, you should run out and rent it today. Parts are action packed, parts are romantic and so much of it is hilarious and uber-cheesy. Plus, there are one or two decent archery scenes... so it went perfectly with the day's theme.
All that, was just day one. We celebrated on Sunday too!
Sunday got off to a sleepy start, but then we got dolled up and headed for Malibu winery for wine tasting, music and dancing. Neither of us had been before, but we were excited to have a peaceful, relaxing, wine-filled afternoon. The drive to the winery was long (especially since we got a little lost:) but it was beautiful. Once we got there, we saw that there were lliterally thousands of people waiting to get in. We parked and hiked half way to the entrance and decided to scrap our plans and come back another time when it might be less crowded. But we did take a moment to snap a picture overlooking the Santa Monica mountains-
Now, without plans and in the middle of canyon country, Matt tried to throw together a plan B with his trusty iPhone. He got the lay of the land and then decided to just drive, and see where the day took us. See? We are all about the unexpected these days!
We ended up dining in at Dukes in Malibu. It was a beautiful evening and we had the perfect table overlooking the ocean. We watched sea birds, paddle-boaters, surfers and then a lovely sunset...and I got my wine!
After our fabulous and romatic meal, we headed for home and spent the rest of the evening singing duets. A couple we even recorded (just for us). Our jam ran the gamut- we sang a few country tunes, a couple of our favorite folk songs and even copied the most iconic pop duo of the 1970s by singing our own rendition of "I've Got You Babe". (Matt had to be talked into that one, but then he embraced his inner-Sonny!)
All in all it was a most wonderful Valentine's Day weekend. So much love, so much fun, so much happy! Valentine's Day has been called a bogus holiday made up by florists and greeting card companies to make money, but it's not the case for us. No cards, no flowers, no chocolates. Just a lot of smooches and giggling, spending time out in the wonderful weather, visiting with friends, snuggling with kitties, singing songs and eating food...and, of course, midieval archery lessons.
And since I didn't get my Valentine a card, I thought I'd share this one with my Matty- inspired by the cheekiest romantic of all, Charles Darwin :)
Thanks for being my love, Matt. And thanks for making my Valentine's Day, and all my days, so happy.
Happy Valentine's Day to the rest of yous. May you spend your day/week/year with those you love most!
I finally got to catch up with some of my favorite people, aka Charlie and his family. Due to the holidays, busy schedules and a nasty cold that took its turn with each of us, it had been way too long since we all got together. But last Saturday we took a little time and spend a lovely afternoon shopping and playing.
We started out at the Farmer's Market, and after a bit of browsing we got lunch. Charlie was a very patient boy as he waiting for our salads and paninis (which took for-ev-er, but were very tasty). He definately likes to people watch (like his mom) but gets a little fussy once he starts to get bored (like his mom :-)
We stopped into a few shops but Charlie didn't find too many things to buy. He considered getting one of the full length mirrors from the Nordstrom's men's department, but it wasn't for sale. Too bad, because it really entertained him for a while. Before we left, Charlie made friends with a friendly purse salesman with a fauxhawk.
After all this shopping we all needed a little outdoor break. Matty and I stole Charlie away to the grassy area by the dancing fountains and forced his parents to wonder around a bit on their own. The three of us played--first pulling up tiny fistfulls of grass and then a spirited game of pass the yellow ring. Charlie was a little disturbed by Matt's beard. He played with Matt fine, but he didn't want the beard too close to him, and he recoiled from touching it. (I think Charlie's reaction motivated Matt to buy and use beard clippers, which he did later Saturday night!) Charlie and I did some jumping--I held him and he did half the work and I lifted him the rest of the way up, up, up. Boy does that get him smiling! But I do not have his stamina... it was quite a workout for my arms and shoulders. No wonder Charlie's parents are in such good shape!
Soon Charlie's mom and dad joined us on the grass, and I took this picture of the whole darling family. Charlie is such a lucky boy to have these two for parents, and they are pretty lucky too. As Matt and I said as we drove home, they don't make babies any sweeter than Charlie!
As if I don't have anything else I should be reading! But it's a little too up my alley for me to ignore, and I'm tired of people asking me if I've read it yet! I have a feeling that I will love it... or that it will upset me. I'm glad its out there, don't get me wrong, I just don't know if I'll enjoy looking at my favorite fantasy world through legal eyes. Only one way to find out!
It seems like in the last year or so I have been introduced to a couple of different vidoes that are really sweet and beautiful--and I thought I'd post them here in case anyone who checks out my blog hasn't yet seen them.
I have very deep-rooted beliefs regarding how humans interact with non-human animals-- which I don't want to get into here. But in a nutshell, I believe that we are not that different from each other and that we owe the creatures we share this planet with a great amount of love and respect. I know that most my beliefs are not adopted by the mainstream, but it is nice to see that once in a while something comes along that can pull on the hearstrings of just about any viewer. These videos do that, and the fact that they are so popular online tells me that people are hearing the message. We are more alike than we think.
The videos are pretty self explanitory, so I won't go on and on about them. I hope you find them moving!
PS: This last one has awesomely cheesy music! I advise you to crank up the volume, or mute it all together, depending on your mood.
It's addicting! I only had 3 pictures of myself on my laptop, hence all the repeated poses. Next time I nee to get a picture that clearly shows my face (none of these worked!) so that I can do the cool facial recognition ones--like the Sphinx and a witch!
My boy is sick. He's got himself a cold. And, of course, a cold needs soup. A while back I was sick and posted on this very blog that I needed some Thai soup to ease the pain - to which my loving husband responded that I should go walk to the Thai restraunt and get myself some! Lucky for Matty, I am so much nicer than that.
I saw him sniffling and coughing last night and decided to whip up some matzo ball soup. Which, for you who may be unfamiliar is really like chicken noodle soup with 'bready' balls made from matzo meal in it. But, being vegetarian, my matzo ball soup is a little different...in that I exclude the chicken. I make sure to add extra carrots, celery, parsley and a few whole wheat noodles to a rich vegetable broth. And what my soup lacks in poultry it makes up for with balls. Lots and lots of balls.
The soup, paired with a steaming cup of Theraflu, a saline nasal rinse and some night time decongestants, seemed to help him a bit. He's still sniffling, but I have a feeling he'll be all better for tomorrow's Super Bowl.
On my 'must visit' list: the San Juan Islands. They look so beautiful. I can imagine myself chatting with Orcas as we sail to Friday Harbor. Then, after resting in my quaint B&B, going out for an afternoon hike amidst the woods and waterfalls. And later playing through the lavender fields before watching the sun set over the water. Dream vacation. ahhhh.
My parents used to have a macrame owl hanging in the living room, as any good 1970s household should. He was put away (or given away, or thrown away) somewhere in the mid-80s, so my recollections of him are fuzzy. I remember being a bit fascinated with him- the intracacy of his knots, the long amber beads that made up his eyes, the way the his claws clutched a wooden branch. I used to grab his tail and twist it so that the whole owl, anchored by the branch, flipped up perpendicular with the wall- sometimes I would leave him like that, because it looked to me like that's how an owl would prefer to sit. Other times I'd flop him all the way over so his beaded eyes hit the wall, back side forward, like he was in time out. Oh, we'd kid each other like that all the time! And on the rare occasion that I ventured into the living room after going to bed for the night, he would scare me with his stillness and his mad expression. Quite a complicated relationship, really...
I searched online to find a picture of an owl similar to the one my parents had in the house, but it could not be found. Maybe, it's because I don't really remember it acurately. Childhood memeroies are notoriously skewed! Or maybe, he really was one of a kind, and he can't be found in a google image search because my folks haven't posted his picture online. I might try to dig through some old family albums next time I visit the homestead to see if he shows up in any backgrounds, as now my curiosity is peaked!
The picture above it the closest I could find to what I remember. It's from a great blog called the Nearsighted Owl that has quite a few posts on owls- handcrafted owls, kitchy owls, vintage owls- as well as lots of other fun stuff to check out. http://www.nearsightedowl.com/
And in my search, I also found this that there's a whole site dedicated to the Macrame Owl...Who knew? http://www.macrameowl.com/
So I have a feeling that Macrame owls are making a come back. Why, just last December I spotted one living in my friend Aimee's cabin in Tahoe. Why shouldn't there be one living in every house? Especially houses with kids- why deny the little ones from having their own owl friend to mess with and be frightened by? I'm 31 years old, and I still cherish every moment I spent with mine. ;)
This Londoner didn't know what to do with her growing collection of vintage tea cups, pots and other china, so she decided to start renting it out for parties!
What a cute idea... those Brits want everyone to be able to host a lovely tea party!
