Zephyr Blog

the one where i paid very close attention.

2012-02-07T21:03:00.000-08:00

.::images: anatomical drawings by Leonardo Da Vinci::.

i was completely physically exhausted for a minute today. {it's funny how exhaustion comes in spurts for me, it's like one minute i couldn't possibly move another muscle... but then i have to and the day goes on until the next time exhaustion sets in} back to today. i was beat, and the squirrels were busy doing something fun in the other room so i dramatically let myself fall face first into the center of my bed and all of it's pillows and blankets. it felt like magic. like i was nearly lifeless but could still feel and it felt good. it felt like there was no possible way i could make my body move, even a little bit. but my brain was still awake and saying to me "sarah, go clean up dinner. did you leave the oven open, sarah? hey you, it's only eight pm and your kids are still awake. get up!" and then there was this little moment, where without trying i was paying very close attention to myself, and all in the very same instant my body said "i'm not budging!" and my brain said "i'm getting you up!" then i twitched, the absolute slightest but strangely noticeable twitch, and i felt this tiny moment where my brain and body were in disagreement.

my body won the dispute, but not without consequence. i noticed my heart rate was a bit fluttery and my limbs felt antsy, it was as if they couldn't figure out why they hadn't listened to my brain. my body felt sort of stressed, i wasn't really relaxing anymore. this makes sense as my brain and body are usually quite cooperative with one another. and now here i am, all caught up in how i just completely captured this funny situation. it was weird. and sort of awesome.

i would love to know if anyone had ever experienced this or something like it?

the favorite soup

2012-02-02T21:53:00.000-08:00

most chilly fall/winter days you can find this soup at our house. we all love soup and this is a definite favorite, so i thought i'd share.

the ingredients:

two-three tablespoons olive oil, two celery stalks, three small zucchini, one whole yellow onion, three (decent size) cloves of garlic, three-four cups (or two cans) of diced tomatoes with juices, two cups (or one can) kidney beans rinsed well, two cups (or one can) canellini/white-kidney beans rinsed well, two-three cups of vegetable broth, sea salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes.

the how to:

(first) warm the olive oil in a soup pot & chop up the celery, zucchini, onion and press or mince the garlic. cook/sauté these things over medium heat for a little bit. when the onions start turning translucent and the celery and zucchini become tender-ish it is time to add more ingredients. (next) add the tomatoes, beans and broth. continue to cook at medium-medium high heat for 15-20 minutes or so to let all of the flavors... i almost typed collide, but that sounds weird... you know, to let it all come together and turn into soup. (lastly) add the sea salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes to taste (it's not intended to be a spicy soup, one or two shakes of red pepper flakes just make it a little extra good).

eat it with:

a panini (as shown above) or toasted garlic bread, or any other way you like to eat bread. definitely eat it with bread. sourdough is my favorite!

sometimes...

2012-01-26T22:18:00.001-08:00

... your backyard can be the perfect little getaway.

... this rain that i often wish would go away surprises me with the beauty it leaves behind.

... a single afternoon can take all the stress and worry that's been cluttering up your brain and put things back into perspective.

... i just need to stand very still and quiet, take a deep breath and get swept up in the good.

my heart is cartwheeling.

2012-01-12T20:49:00.000-08:00

i don't think i could possibly be more excited about this.

yep, i am definitely the most excited i could be.

hey it's december twentyfifth!

2011-12-25T15:02:00.000-08:00

happy holidays!

wishlisting

2011-12-12T14:02:00.000-08:00

one. two. three. four. five. six. seven.

things that are sweet:

2011-12-04T21:35:00.001-08:00

saying i love you in stop motion.

saying i love you with a cookie.

also, cookies.

sweet d. she's extra super-duper sweet.

holding hands.

bedtime stories.

backseat cuddlin'.

counting down.

2011-12-04T20:50:00.001-08:00

{photo found here}

14 days from now my sweet d will be nine years old, 21 days from now we will be celebrating christmas, 28 days from now it will be two thousand twelve, and 147 days from now i will turn thirty. all of these things are going to come and go faster than i want them to. time is sort of running away with me these days and i think i'd like it to slow down. yeah, that would be nice.

today is december first.

2011-12-01T17:43:00.001-08:00

this morning we finished making & hung up our advent calendar. this afternoon we gathered and stacked 7 wheel barrow loads of wood for the stove. this evening we are baking cookies and possibly watching all of these movies. you can come over if you want to.

to make a long story short...

2011-11-30T21:43:00.000-08:00

...a lot has happened in the past 3 months. now there's an outrageous understatement, here are the highlights. on august 28th jake's dad was offered a job in eugene, oregon and by the end of september they had moved away and we had moved to their farm. which is not in portland, but it is just outside of portland so my heart/sanity is still in tact. that was an awful lot of moving and major life changes crammed into 30 days. we spent the bulk of october and november recovering, getting settled in to our new lives and visiting eugene a lot. halloween and thanksgiving fit in there somewhere, they were both fun and good. that didn't sound very convincing, they were i promise! very fun and good. i suppose that catches you up, more or less.

how about a few extra photographic details? ok, let's!

(1) we packed up all of our things (2) and traded our sweet little antique apartment in the city for a sweet little farmhouse in the country with this enormous and beautiful backyard. (3&4) i've found that there's a pretty clear difference between what i wear in the city vs the farm (5&6) and now i bake. a lot. (7) in this kitchen that is too cute to be a kitchen.

consider yourself sufficiently-ish up to date.

dinner talk

2011-08-03T19:19:00.000-07:00

"if my finger tasted like my favorite food... i could bite it off and eat it, then barf it back up later and smoosh it back into the shape of my finger and then bake it so it would be stiff and glue it back on my hand. and then i could do it all over again."

~ sweet d

craft days are good.

2011-07-13T08:57:00.000-07:00

the squirrels and i have been reading the new guest posts on katie's blog, written by her super sweet & stylish daughter, hope. last week hope posted a great tutorial for making very pretty headbands, yesterday we gave it a try... (we needed some good mama/kiddo creative time together, life has been too hectic and stressful lately) ...and we had the most fun making headbands (and messes) together!! now we have so many pretty things to wear in our hair. thanks for the tutorial hope, you are awesome!

red, white & blue

2011-07-04T14:45:00.000-07:00

happy fourth of july! we had a very fun & festive third of july yesterday and are off for round two today. hope we're not the only ones having this much fun!

a lesson in sophisticatedlyness.

2011-07-01T09:38:00.000-07:00

by sweet d.

one should always wear a properly trimmed, turquoise mustache.

a photo

2011-06-29T10:00:00.000-07:00

sweet d, having a cuddle with her mama at the park.

a photo

2011-06-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

sometimes squirrels get sad. always they are cute.

a photo

2011-06-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

i found this sweet lil bunny thrifting the week before we moved. he's for a certain lil bedroom of a certain lil man... wait, i've said too much already! :)

a photo

2011-06-26T10:00:00.000-07:00

it takes five keys to live at our new place; one for the building front door, one for the mailbox, one for our front door, one for the gate to the backyard and one for the storage room. that is a lot of keys, but i don't mind.

did i mention...

2011-06-25T10:00:00.000-07:00

... that our new place is right up the street from slappy cakes? cause it totally is. like, we could walk there easy. the photos below are from our first morning at the new place. there were way too many boxes in the kitchen (and also no food) to cook, and we felt like celebrating our first day here. so, we had a family breakfast date at our favorite breakfast place.

we were meant to live here, there is no doubt about it. that last photo is of my drink that morning. it's called an ambrosia and it was the best drink ever. house-made coconut vodka, hibiscus syrup, fresh squeezed oj and bubbles (champagne), yummmmmm!!!

i'm still here...

2011-06-24T13:39:00.000-07:00

... and still unpacking. the length of time it is taking us to get settled in has officially become ridiculous. but in our defense it is summertime and there's fun to be had, plus life and busy-ness keeps getting in the way. we'll be settled in someday. here are a few things we have done at our new place this past week:

{1} i claimed a space in the cupboard for our tea cups & coffee mugs. the hooks are for my most favorite ones. {2&3} the squirrels took a bath in the new claw-foot tub, and they loved it! {4} we built some drawer units for extra storage under my desk. storage is something that our new place is lacking, we're really having to exercise our creativity to find a place for everything. {5&6} we finally graduated from the "ordering pizza every night during the move because there's no possible way to cook and there's no time to leave the house" stage of moving to the "cooking meals in our new tiny but awesome kitchen" stage.

and here are a few things we've done not at our new place this past week:

{1} we ventured down the street to the belmont food carts and ate the world's best french fries (i mean it) at lardo. {2} i rested my exhausted and aching self on a very pretty blanket while the kiddos played at a nearby park. {3&4} we took the squirrels out on a boat for the very first time! they had so much fun, can't wait to do it again.

oh, we also went to movie madness the other day and stayed practically all afternoon. what an amazing place and right down the street from our apartment. not only does it have every single film, television series, music video, documentary, etc. ever made, it's a film history museum full of costumes and props from the movie (not replicas). so awesome.

it's been a pretty good week. i sure do hope the sun comes out to play this weekend!

unpacking.

2011-06-16T15:46:00.000-07:00

there is no way around it. everything that was packed up has to be unpacked now that it's here in our new place. moving has really brought to our attention how much stuff we have. too much. as i'm unpacking i keep having these little daydreams of selling nearly everything, moving into an airstream trailer and taking this show on the road. sounds exciting, no?! though i have to admit, unpacking all of these boxes is a little exciting too. getting all settled in to this new place that we are loving the crap out of so far, it's pretty fun. a lot of work, but fun. we've hardly made a dent in the mess that is unpacking yet, but the silverware drawer is done! and this afternoon my sweet friend erin and her two kiddos came over to visit and brought us our very first housewarming gift. isn't it pretty?!! i know just where to put it.

the yard sale was a success, we were able to find new homes for everything we were offering and the best news, i kept my pretty sofa! turns out i had room for it after all. we loaded up the last few things from the old house, cleaned it up good and left the keys last night. that was a little hard. walking through it for the last time i became pretty emotional, i found myself touching every countertop, window sill and railing one last time. i stood in the empty living room and had a good cry, remembering all the fun and roommates and changes that we've had there. driving away was hard, it was my favorite house and i will miss it. good thing i'm so in love with this new place and looking forward to all the fun and goodness to come.

better get back to it, these boxes aren't gonna unpack themselves.

we're having a yard sale tomorrow!

2011-06-10T16:51:00.000-07:00

here's a look at some of what will be available. {i am feeling a little sad that my sofa doesn't fit in my new living room. it's such a pretty and super comfy sofa}. come by and say hello if you live close. i can chat and yard sale at the same time, to be honest i'm not well if i'm not multi-tasking! better get back to the packing and cleaning and organizing and pricing and and and...

packing & distractions.

2011-06-08T20:04:00.000-07:00

{1} i started the packing (progress!) but then i realized the tape i had was rubbish (not progress!) so i made a trip to the nearby hardware store (working toward progress) {2} where i made a new friend (distracted) {3} good tape vs bad tape, visual proof (distracted) back to packing and cleaning up as i go (progress!) wanna know something about packing and cleaning? it's kind of boring or at least monotonous... which is really just a fancy way of saying boring. {4} but labeling my cabinets with talking sticky notes makes it just a little more fun! (distracted again) {5} back to packing; this is one of my favorite things, a bunny wall-mount bottle opener. (progress) the kitchen packing is coming along quite nicely. hope i don't pack up anything we need in the next 3 days! {6} and lastly, what's packing without a mimosa or two?! this also makes it just a little more fun :)

i'm a little all over the place... i'm pretty sure this is how i always am. let's hope it makes me more, um... interesting!

the 4 little photos at the bottom there are sneak peeks of the new place. {1} the kitchen counter tops {2} this is what all the doorknobs look like!! {3} so much pretty tile in the upstairs bathroom {4} one of two built-in cabinets in the dining room. there is a lot of pretty in this place and i cannot wait to get settled in! just a few more days... and in the mean time, more packing & distractions.

pretty things from the past few days.

2011-06-06T21:46:00.000-07:00

{1} flower growing out at the farm. {2} sweet d in her new thrifted cardigan. {3} freshly polished nails on the prettiest day so far this year. {4) new green dress from katie's reloved clothing shop, i've already worn it twice, i love it. {5} tiny vintage infant bathing suit. i couldn't resist... gotta find a baby to wear it!

the weather has been extraordinary the past few days and things are looking up. we found a place to move yesterday, found out it's ours today and it's a pretty great place. we are super excited. tomorrow i'm going to try and get some photos and this sunday we move, whew that was a close one! guess i better get packing.

happy national donut day!

2011-06-03T11:11:00.000-07:00

we made donuts for breakfast. mini cinnamon donuts with coconut sprinkled on the tops and they are gooooood. everyone should have at least one donut today, it would be a disservice to the day if you didn't.

it's one of those impossibly beautiful, magical sunny portland days today and we have no intention (once again) of accomplishing any of the things we're supposed to accomplish because we wanna play outside all day! if this house doesn't pack itself we're in big trouble.

master procrastinator.

2011-06-02T12:43:00.000-07:00

it's a mess around here. big time. we've got packing and new house finding and grocery shopping and laundry to do... but instead we're playing dress up and the squirrels are making me up worthy of a rupaul's drag race runway challenge. we'll get to that other stuff... later.

speaking of messes, i'd bet these kiddos of mine could out mess just about anyone, they're like tiny blonde haired tornados every day, all the time. good thing they're cute and funny.

today i fell in love...

2011-05-31T22:02:00.000-07:00

... with a twenty-three thousand dollar chair. yes, you read that right. the hans j wegner papa bear chair. maybe you already know of it. i feel a little embarrassed that i didn't before today, seems to be rather famous. i think it is positively perfect.

a dilemma.

2011-05-28T18:54:00.000-07:00

i have owls. so many owls, everywhere. i have been collecting them for years and i love them. this is not my dilemma. the trouble i'm having is deciding whether or not to pack them today. i'm having a little trouble getting going on the packing because of the general stress of moving and the fact that i'm extremely easily distractable/distracted... this afternoon i realized that there are little owls everywhere and they would be so simple to pack away and upon completion i would feel like i'd really accomplished something because there would be so many empty spaces in the house... but then i realized how much i would miss them for the next few weeks, between now and getting moved and un-packed. maybe i should pack something i don't love or look at as much, like extra linens or the junk drawer.

i can't stop...

2011-05-28T13:23:00.000-07:00

... being cold. would give just about anything to feel warm for a minute.

... stressing majorly about not being able to find a suitable place to live and running out of time.

... not packing because i'm too worried about where we're going to be un-packing it all.

... singing jump (for my love) by the pointer sisters, in my head.

... eating these...

my new favorite snack. organic brown rice cake (lightly sea salted) topped with justin's maple almond butter (go buy this right now if you don't already have some. it is a magical food, get it!!) and organic strawberry preserves. so yummy i almost don't feel stressed. almost.

we took a little drive...

2011-05-26T21:45:00.000-07:00

... from portland to salt lake city, to visit my family.

so it was more than a little drive, nearly 800 miles more. but it was fun. we left around 11 pm and drove straight through the night so the squirrels could sleep. we arrived at my folks place around 10:30 am and everyone was still at work so we took a looooong nap and were ready to play by the time everyone got home. i didn't take many photos of our time there, but i did get these while jake was driving. they're in chronological order. {1} 5 am, somewhere between portland and slc. {2} 5:30 am, idaho is flaaaaaaat and dry. {3} brownies make you drive better. {4} semi truck. {5} more flat idaho and blue sky. {6} road trip cuddlin' {7} mama takes a turn driving. {8} sleepy squirrel starting to wake. {9) pee stop! {10} stylish squirrel with attitude. {11} looks like idaho loves us. {12) 9 am, entering utah. {13} the wasatch front, moments from our destination.

it was a good trip, apart from the weather. every single day except the first and last was filled with rain and/or wind and/or thunder and lighting. so all of our fun outdoor summer-y plans were traded in for alternate indoor plans, but we still managed a few evenings out back around the fire and some rainy walks through the city. we thrifted a handful of treasures which i'll share soon and ate at the best mexican food cafe EVER! {mara's, on the corner of gentile and main street in layton, in case you're in the area} we got in 10 days of good family time and the squirrels played with their cousins every day until they ran out of energy. then last saturday night we loaded up the car and said our tearful goodbyes and made the drive back.

now we're home and we have 3 weeks to find a new place to live and get moved, yikes!! time to un-pack so we can re-pack everything.

my tiny circus.

2011-05-05T12:21:00.000-07:00

i received these tiny vintage circus figures for my birthday last week. i love them more than i can say and i

cannot wait to get moved so that i can find the perfect place to display them. in the mean time i suppose i'll

just have keep playing with them :)

{thank you traci, xo}

if you're in the salt lake city area...

2011-05-05T10:47:00.000-07:00

... next weekend, you should check out the GO Expo!

the Get Outdoors Expo was put together for people and families who are

passionate about living a healthy, active and adventurous lifestyle.

i'll be there, and i can't wait!

my mama works for ODEE, the company who is putting the expo together,

so if you're in slc, go and support her!

The Expo is at the Southtown Expo Center

Friday, May 13th from 12:00 - 9:00 pm

Saturday, May 15th from 10:00 am - 9:00 pm

Tickets are $10 for adults, children 12 and under are free!

{click here} to buy tickets

{click here} to visit the facebook page

{click here} to visit the website

{click here} to read an article about the expo by the local paper

music monday

2011-05-02T20:36:00.000-07:00

whaaaat?! i haven't done one of these in um... forever.

well i couldn't resist today because one of my very favorite bands, wilderness survival, announced that you can download the entire discography for FREE from their website.

so go! download!! enjoy!!!

photos above are album covers, in chronological order: stereotypes and types of stereos (2005), pisces son heir he's rising (2006), we were 21 in '03 (2007), on belay belay on (2010).

today...

2011-04-28T22:31:00.000-07:00

... was my last day as a twenty eight year old.

i realized that i'd grown rather attached to being twenty eight.

i haven't quite decided how i feel about being twenty nine, yet.

we spent most of the day cleaning house and doing laundry in prep for a

showing that they scheduled first thing tomorrow morning. rude!

but tonight, we saved the day with a sarah's favorite food date. we have the best ideas!

first, my favorite veggie tacos in the whole wide world, from por qué no.

and get this, they told me i was lucky i made it in this week because it's the last week

that they'll be making these tacos!! phew! that was a close one.

after dinner we had dessert at ruby jewel.

i don't even like ice cream folks, but these guys make magic and put it in a fresh waffle cone.

the girl who scooped mine, must've been able to sense that my birthday was near because i ordered

a double scoop, and she handed me this 7 scooper and said "sometimes you just gotta go for it!"

i love her.

it was a good day.

love at first sight...

2011-04-27T22:12:00.000-07:00

{found here}

i think my book shelf wont be content until it has one of these resting upon it.

hey guys it's bedtime...

2011-04-26T22:54:00.000-07:00

... let's make cookies!

these are so good it's crazzzzzzy!

and just in case you might like to try to make them too, here's the recipe:

- oatmeal peanut butter pecan chocolate chip bedtime cookies -

1c. organic whole wheat flour

1c. organic buckwheat flour

2tsp. organic baking soda

1/2tsp. sea salt

1c. organic peanut butter

1/2c. unsalted butter (at room temp)

1/2c. organic applesause

3/4c. organic brown sugar

1tsp. vanilla

1tsp. organic molasses
2 eggs (or egg replacer)

1c. organic rolled oats

1/2c. organic, unsweetened shredded coconut

- preheat oven to 350˙ and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

- whisk together flours, baking soda & salt. set aside.

- cream together peanut butter, butter, applesauce, sugar, vanilla & molasses.

- beat in the eggs.

- gradually mix in the flour.

- stir in oats and coconut.

{add chocolate chips and/or pecans if you like}

-spoon onto cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes.

- enjoy!!

side note: when i use butter and/or eggs they always come from local farms with pasture-raised/free-range,

organic fed, hormone-free animals. if you were wondering :)

eggs!

2011-04-24T21:08:00.000-07:00

the four of us finally got around to dying some eggs today and they turned out so pretty.

we only made 4 colors this year, green (spinach leaves), purple (purple cabbage), red (beets), yellow (orange peels & tumeric). these squirrels have a lot of eggs to eat now!

happy easter.

oops, i forgot to mention...

2011-04-22T11:42:00.000-07:00

... i finished smelly's birthday knit last sunday.

not in time for her party sad to say, i bit off a little more than i could chew

with her cake and other party preparations.

but it's hers now and she loves it!

here are a few squirmy,

i don't want my photo taken i want to get back to playing dress-up with delaney

photos. better photos and pattern info to come.

{click images to view larger}

i also knit a rug and it's my new most favorite ever rug!

i started with a vintage bed sheet, cut it into a *trillion strips, connected the strips & made a

giant ball of torn fabric "yarn"

then i followed this pattern.
it was quick and simple. my only complaint is that i had to take a break after each section
because my wee hands would start to ache and cramp from the weight of the fabric and size of the needles.
all that is forgotten now that i have my most favorite ever rug!

*i'm sure it wasn't actually a trillion strips, but it was a lot!

happy earth day.

so excited!!!

2011-04-22T11:18:00.000-07:00

Trailer 3

we're going to see this today.

I CAN'T WAIT!!!

farm squirrels.

2011-04-21T13:56:00.000-07:00

on tuesday d & e learned how to drive a tractor, talk about a day to remember.

e went first...

then it was d's turn...

then e was ready to go solo...

look at her go! she was so confident and drove with impressive control.

not to mention style, how many girls do you know who drive tractors in ruby slippers?

we even recorded a little video.

pretty hair.

2011-04-20T14:08:00.000-07:00

by complete accident my hair ended up looking quite pretty today.

it was one of those, just throw it all up as quickly as possible without even looking

because the "do" you were going for really didn't work out and you're already 5 minutes

late getting out the door, sorta things. not bad, eh?!

the third photo is truest to the colors, the others were just too pretty to not include.

p.s. tonight we are going to see the grateful dead movie and i'm so excited!!

bits of our weekend.

2011-04-17T16:07:00.001-07:00

hello kitty waffles for birthday morning breakfast.
cake with smelly's face, charlie's face & milo's face.

finding creative uses for balloons.

getting a mostest favorite new sweater with a little early birthday money.

being 6 so far.

2011-04-15T09:10:00.000-07:00

i'd say we're off to a pretty good start.

nana called first thing to sing happy birthday,

she opened a few gifts from the three of us,

got all dolled up with her new make-up kit,

and we're about to have hello kitty waffles (her mostest favorite) for breakfast.

a perfect morning for the best 6 year old smelly cat in the world.

a birthday knit & a little crochet.

2011-04-14T17:14:00.000-07:00

tomorrow smelly will be 6 and this will be her birthday sweater.

(it's actually a cap-sleeve tunic)

i'll share more photos and pattern details once it's finished.

oh, and last week i crocheted this tiny baby gnome hat for a very special

little man who is going to be terribly spoiled and smothered with love.

just so good.

2011-04-12T22:31:00.000-07:00

Otis Redding - Hard To Handle Vidéo pacifique84800 sélectionnée dans Musique

daily photo:

2011-04-08T18:24:00.000-07:00

the sun cam out today and so did the ladybugs.

it has been spectacular.

we've been outside nearly all day,

playing, picnicking, lawn-mowing...

i think i'll go back out now.

daily photo(s):

2011-04-04T23:07:00.000-07:00

trying on hats at ikea.

raise your hand if you knew they sold hats at ikea.

they sell cheese too!

choices.

2011-04-03T19:36:00.000-07:00

i've got a birthday sweater to knit for my favorite almost 6 year old squirrel...

... and i need to choose a color.

they look so pretty together, perhaps something stripy?

thoughts??

music love

2011-04-02T17:00:00.000-07:00

swedish sisters, johanna and klara söderberg, have fast become one of my new favorites.

i don't fall hard for many new(ish) bands, but i can't seem to get enough of first aid kit.

i think it is such a sweet thing when artists have the imagination to pair a

pretty song with an equally pretty video. this one is so lovely.

visit their website to download a free live session they played on a sydney radio station.

the big black and the blue is the new album and i love it all.

a new bun, yay!

2011-04-02T15:58:00.000-07:00

i love braids, we already knew that.

if my hair isn't braided in some way, you will most likely find it in a bun.

i also love buns. a lot.

i always wear mine a little off to the left, always.

this morning my bun & my braid decided to play together.

fun was had by all.

the de-sarah-fication process has commenced.

2011-03-30T15:25:00.000-07:00

the fella and i were sans kiddos last night and after eating our most favorite dinner

at our most favorite place, we decided it might be a good idea to start getting

organized/prepared for our upcoming move (even though we don't know when it is).

we started by deconstructing the living room wall:

first we took everything down, then removed tons of nails and screws,

then patched tons of holes and finally re-painted the wall.

before:

after:

it looks sad to me now.

when i sent a few photos to my mom she said, "you de-sarah-fied it!"

here are a few close-ups of what used to hang on the wall.

it was all pretty wonderful.

{click on images for a closer look}

let's go to the park!

2011-03-27T18:48:00.000-07:00

we had a very fun & eventful first week of spring break.

with the house on the market we are constantly getting kicked out of the house for

hours at a time so it can be shown to prospective buyers. this is terribly inconvenient.

what do you do with 3 little squirrels, that doesn't cost a fortune when you can't be home

and the weather doesn't accommodate playing outside?

you play outside anyway!

and if you're lucky like we were this past week, the sun might even sneak out a time or two

so you can take your jacket off and run even faster!

we also got to see tangled at the bagdad for $1 per ticket,

built stuff with marshmallows,

pulled a tooth,

camped out on the living room floor,

ate lunch at laughing planet,

baked tiny cornbread,

went treasure hunting at value village,

had birthday ice cream (the best in the whole world) with uncle jesse,

and went grocery shopping, twice.

these girls were born to play together, best-est friends and if you ask them they'll

tell you they're sisters. it's pretty wonderful.

daily photo(s):

2011-03-26T17:48:00.000-07:00

new eyes.

aren't they lovely?!

holy crap.

2011-03-22T11:19:00.000-07:00

these are soooo good, it's a problem.

i don't like chocolate. i never have. i especially don't like dark chocolate, it's far too chocolate-y.

turns out, if you add coarse sea salt and turbinado sugar to the dark chocolate

and then cover an almond with it... i will eat them until i die.

seriously.

daily photo:

2011-03-22T11:03:00.000-07:00

pretty hair.

stormy weather.

2011-03-21T11:44:00.000-07:00

jake's family lives on a small farm in washington and we love to spend time there.

this weekend we had plans to go and have a calm, relaxing few days together, just take

it easy because a few of us were feeling a little under the weather...

speaking of weather, ours has been on the erratic side of care recently and we woke up sunday

to impressively strong winds. watching the trees move was kind of exciting at first and then

unsettling once you realized just how much and how fast they were moving.

an hour or so into watching the wind, jake went outside to bring up some wood for the stove

when he saw that one of the giant locust trees in the backyard had fallen over on top of

the chicken coup. this is the part where our calm relaxing day turns into a lot of hard work

and a house full of exhausted people. so, not exactly what we'd all had in mind, but

it was still a pretty great day, no people or animals were harmed and the damage to the coup

is so much less than it could have been if the tree had fallen a few inches differently than it did.

as far as falling trees go, we got pretty lucky.

and in the next week or two, we've got a LOT of wood to cut and stack!

daily photo:

2011-03-19T15:45:00.000-07:00

best bangs ever.

this is max, a horse the girls like to visit when we go for walks.

he has the greatest hair i have ever seen on an animal.

daily photo:

2011-03-17T20:05:00.000-07:00

channeling r. buckminster fuller...

... as we built towers and houses out of marshmallows and toothpicks.

this was such a fun (for us and the squirrels) and inexpensive project.

a new do.

2011-03-17T12:34:00.000-07:00

her hair is hijacking this blog.

daily photo:

2011-03-16T15:12:00.000-07:00

having fun with pancakes.

we had someone coming to see the house this morning between 9:30 and 10:30,

which means we had to be out. a family breakfast date seemed like a perfect idea, and

we hadn't been to slappy cakes since last september which is just far too long!!!

it was so yummmmy!!

daily photo:

2011-03-14T00:23:00.001-07:00

i'm a very fortunate girl.

being loved suites me, like crazy.

plus, i got my christmas earrings in finally and turquoise back

in my hair so i'm feeling like a real girl again.

daily photo:

2011-03-10T10:13:00.000-08:00

my beautiful smelly cat. she has style far beyond her 5 years.

i'm slacking a bit in the daily photo department...

life gets hectic, and you find yourself spending all your free

time on the telephone with banks and real estate agents, getting nowhere.

it's not fun, don't do it.

i visited my uncles yesterday. they purchased a new camera and some lenses

which prompted us to plan an all day photography date extravaganza.

i think i'll be back on track after that.

when it's cold outside...

2011-03-04T13:39:00.000-08:00

... just turn on the oven!

we made experimental oatmeal-coconut-pecan cookies,

and they are yummmmmy!

here's what we used:

1 cup of whole wheat flour

1/2 cup of buckwheat flour

1/4 cup of almond meal

1 tsp of baking soda

1/2 tsp of sea salt

1 tbsp of cinnamon

2 1/2 cups of oats

1 cup of shredded coconut

1 cup of butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup rice milk

1 tbsp of lemon juice

1 tbsp of vanilla extract

1 tbsp of molasses

and here's how we did it:

first combine the dry ingredients,

then mix the butter and sugar until light & fluffy,

then add to that the remaining non-dry ingredients and mix well,

then mix in the dry ingredients.

scoop out onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake

at 375˙ for 10-12 minutes.

oh, we also baked shrinky-dink charms!

isn't she cute?!!

hope we're not the only ones having fun and keeping warm today.

my dream hair

2011-03-01T17:18:00.000-08:00

{found here}

i like rings

2011-02-28T15:20:00.000-08:00

especially the stacking variety,

and these...

photos 1 & 2: odette new york - photos 3 & 4 elephantine

two days ago, i made this one. sweet, no? i think so.

hedgehogs, a new love.

2011-02-27T09:52:00.000-08:00

i keep seeing them everywhere i look, here are a few of my favorite etsy finds.

i think a new collection may be in my future... i hope owls and hedgehogs play well together.

the real ones are good too.

my best friend {at my third school} in the 7th grade had a pet hedgehog, he was the sweetest thing.

i had another friend when i was in high school who also had a pet hedgehog.

he liked to climb up your pant leg to cuddle, it was pretty adorable.

i wonder how the kitties would feel about a funny little prickly thing running around the house...

{click on images for source}

daily photo:

2011-02-26T19:39:00.000-08:00

a new dress.

i love this fabric so much i could scream!

and it fits like it was made specifically for me.

daily photo:

2011-02-25T14:16:00.000-08:00

"hey smelly, can i take your picture?"

i like her.

i also like the claunch monochrome film that came when i updated my

hipstamatic app. it's taking rather lovely photos.

daily photo(s):

2011-02-24T20:10:00.000-08:00

it snowed today in portland. twice.

it wasn't much, but it was ours.

and the sun was shining all afternoon.

it felt wonderful to be outside.

we built a tiny snowman on the deck and a small snowman in the yard.

we used nearly all of the snow we had, but then more came later

so the yard looks pretty again.

hey, remember february?

2011-02-24T20:00:00.000-08:00

ummm, no. not really.

well, wait. there was valentines day, that was fun. i remember that.

oh, and there was that one 24 hours where despite being sicker than

i have ever been sick, ever! i patched holes, touched up paint, cleaned,

organized and de-junked the entire house so it could be photographed

and put on the market for sale. so i guess i remember that too...

but the rest is a blur.

we have been so sick. f o r e v e r.

it started with smelly, in the last week of january. it was like the spawn of

the flu and a terrible chest cold. a week in, she still had it and so did sweet d.

coughing, congestion, high fevers, aches, pains, exhaustion, restlessness.

this went on another week or so, then things started looking up.

we were feeling a little better, enough so that we even ventured out.

we were able to make it school for 2 days that week. and then came valentines

day, we had big plans and apart from me waking that morning without my

voice, things were looking good.

well, i made it to dinner time with no complaints apart from my missing

voice when all of a sudden, much like a ton of bricks, i was overcome by this

chest cold/flu hybrid and more than once i mistook it for the cold hand

of death shoving me mercilessly from this life.

(was that dramatic enough? i was going for very dramatic. seriously, it was bad.)

about 5 days into it for me, i start to feel better... out of necessity i think as both

of the girls had got it AGAIN!!! you can't be a sick mama squirrel when your

little squirrels are sick. you just can't, even when you actually are.

it's been a month now, that one or the other of us has been ill. we are

so so very sleepy and stir crazy and ready to be better. i'm nearly there, though

still cannot find my voice. smelly is nearly there as well, just a few little coughs

throughout the day. sweet d still has a little way to go. she is mostly better during
the day but it all falls apart at night. we just want one full nights sleep.

pretty please?!!

**the photo above is our nest. we built it out of quilts, cushions and pillows in the
front corner of our living room so we would have a quiet, comfy, pretty place where we could
rest or calm down or read a book or feel less cranky about being sick. we've been spending
an awful lot of time in the nest these days. so glad we have it.**

happy valentine's day

2011-02-14T10:12:00.000-08:00

we made heart-shaped scones for breakfast,

and have plans to love the crap out of each other all day.

we also have plans to make more paper heart ornaments,
and valentine collages for the grandmas & grandpas,
then later the squirrels have a friend coming over to play,
drink tea, decorate sugar cookies and eat homemade-
heart-shaped pizza for dinner!!

it's gonna be the best valentines day ever.

{here's a little extra sweetness: yesterday smelly came home from a walk to the park with a bouquet of daisies she'd picked from the grass. she handed them to me and said "here mama, these are for you and jake because you're in love." my heart did a cartwheel.}

daily photo(s):

2011-02-10T16:32:00.000-08:00

smelly's first ever loose tooth.

it's the bottom-center-left one.

there are no words great enough to explain

how excited and grown-up this makes her feel.

something good

2011-02-09T21:48:00.000-08:00

only 6 days away.

2011-02-08T17:33:00.000-08:00

the squirrels have been counting down to valentines day.

it's a very exciting and romantic holiday with hearts after all.

this print would make a lovely gift for someone you love.

so pretty.

we are planning a little valentines day tea party.
little girls in dresses, cutting out hearts, decorating sugar cookies,
sipping tea... should be sweet as can be.

what are your valentines plans??

daily photo:

2011-02-07T20:36:00.000-08:00

family dinner date at bay leaf.

they make pretty things out of vegetables.

tonight was the first time all 4 of us got out of the house in two weeks!
the squirrels caught a nasty chest cold that brought along
some of it's not-so-charming virus pals and boy were they ever
determined to stick around and make sure none of us got any
sleep or had any fun. smelly caught it first and is better now.
sweet d caught it worse, which is usually how it goes, and she's not
quite kicked it yet... but well enough that we could get out and eat
some delicious food that someone else cooked and cleaned up!

daily photo:

2011-02-06T22:48:00.000-08:00

"and there's sarah, wearing her dork hat."

daily photo:

2011-02-02T17:03:00.000-08:00

sweet d, the wicked witch of the house.

future make-up artist? perhaps.

daily photo(s):

2011-01-30T22:09:00.000-08:00

what a pair.

makes my heart all warm and gooey.

daily photo:

2011-01-29T22:47:00.000-08:00

"these are for you, because i love you"

~smelly cat

daily photo:

2011-01-28T18:20:00.000-08:00

i've got a squirrel who loves braids as much as i do

turn and face the strange.

2011-01-27T18:11:00.000-08:00

i like change.

or at least i used to,

before it got mean and started pushing me around.

leaving me feeling listless and damaged.

i am experiencing an overload of significant life changes, most of which don't feel particularly exciting or adventurous. i wish i could say that i am handling it all very gracefully. i wish there weren't so many things taking longer and weighing much heavier than i was prepared for.

this morning my mama told me "you're just pushing a lot of shit uphill right now" (which feels very accurate) "but you're strong, and you'll make it to the top sooner than you think." (which made me feel a little better).

things will turn around, i am certain.

i'll get back to that girl who loves change.

maybe i'm not as far from it as i think.

i embraced a little change today...

i changed my last name.

hello. my name is sarah marin moore,

and i am growing up.

daily photo:

2011-01-27T16:53:00.001-08:00

the sky was magnificent today.

daily photo:

2011-01-26T20:35:00.000-08:00

best buds.

smelly cat & riley-roo

daily photo:

2011-01-25T16:49:00.000-08:00

little me.

this photo makes it harder for me to say "i've never liked soda."

i seem to be holding that squirt pretty tight and close.

and i think my face reads something like,

if you try to take this from me i'll give you a knuckle sandwich and look adorable doing it!

talkin' to sweet d while i do the dishes...

2011-01-25T14:46:00.000-08:00

she:
hey, ya know that part on ramona and beezus where she washes his car
and he gives her a hundred bucks?!

me:
yeah.

she:
could that really happen because i want someone to pay me a hundred
bucks to wash their car!

me:
i don't think that's very likely to actually happen, but if it was...
i'd wash a car for a hundred bucks!

she:
me too! i'd do ANYTHING for a hundred bucks... except swimming
because i'm still not that good at it, but anything else.

me:
would you eat a bug?

she:
oh gross, no way!! all those gross and hurtful and painful things,
i wouldn't do, geeze! but anything else.

daily photo(s):

2011-01-20T17:48:00.000-08:00

one of the very best gifts ever.

making garlic salad and coloring my hair just got a whole lot easier/lovelier.

swatch

2011-01-19T22:32:00.000-08:00

this is recycled silk/wool that has been stashed away for years, waiting for me

to knit it into the perfect sweater. i am equal parts excited and nervous to be using it.

i have always been an impulsive, experimental, impatient knitter. not terribly good at following detailed instructions (this applies to my life in general, not just knitting). not terribly good at reading everything there is to read and knowing everything there is to know about knitting. not terribly good at sticking with one thing until it's done, before starting another and another. and not terribly good at knitting test swatches (you could see how these pretty much go against my whole knitter personality, right?!).

so here you can see, i have knit a test swatch. it's not the actual first-ever swatch, but close. and i knit the swatch because this sweater i'm about to begin (as well as many other things in my life as of late) has me feeling all different sorts of indecisive and hesitant and completely thrown off my game. it's rather frustrating in fact. and what's worse is it's really not helping me get things back on track.

p.s. i thought/said the word "swatch" enough times during the construction of this post that i began to question whether or not it was a real word. i looked it up in the dictionary and i googled it in relation to knitting, just to make sure.

daily photo:

2011-01-19T16:16:00.000-08:00

sweet d. she is extraordinary.

daily photo:

2011-01-18T14:53:00.000-08:00

today we played with a dragon.

he breaths fire, but is safe to kiss.

daily photo:

2011-01-17T22:43:00.000-08:00

portland, my love.

last week i knit...

2011-01-17T13:12:00.000-08:00

... two lovely recycled cotton dish cloths.

i used this pattern, but made mine a few inches smaller
because i find large cloths a bit cumbersome.

these are a gift, so i've bundled them up quite prettily
and will send them off today.

daily photo:

2011-01-16T12:59:00.000-08:00

this is me, last week, in my favorite "makes me feel cute" outfit.

daily photo:

2011-01-15T20:00:00.001-08:00

me and jake, before we were me and jake. golden gate bridge.

daily photo:

2011-01-14T20:19:00.000-08:00

i learned to braid around age 5 and i've been braiding my hair ever since.

this is me, last summer.

but they're so pretty!

2011-01-13T18:59:00.000-08:00

why must all the pretty shoes be so expensive?

these are perfection.

found [here] via [here]

also, i finished my first book of 2011! already!! this is very exciting for me as i am just taking reading up again after a verrrrry long hiatus. i wasn't expecting to finish this book until eh, march... so yeah, pretty exciting! now i've got to find another book.

daily photo:

2011-01-13T18:43:00.000-08:00

my niece, rowynn. a miniature, version of my brother. plus a bow.

she oozes cuteness.

daily photo:

2011-01-12T16:41:00.000-08:00

smelly and me, summer 2009.

i would wear this every day forever.

2011-01-11T21:56:00.000-08:00

{source}

or at least most days forever.

and i want these moccasin boots so bad i might cry.

i've decided to try out a few new things on the blog...

one of my goals this year is to take more photos. to help me do so i'm going to try to post one photo every day. some may be photos i find elsewhere that inspire me, but i'll try to make most of them photos that i took. i am also going to try to post a weekly knitting update, with what i've worked on during the week plus photos. this blog used to be all about knitting and i'm going to bring a little of that back!

starting tomorrow.

i've been oh, so quiet...

2011-01-10T15:30:00.000-08:00

... but life has been quite the opposite.

i nearly went mad as well as losing many-a-nights sleep
knitting gifts in november and december.

(i have almost no photographic proof of this which makes me sad)

it seems i'll never learn to start earlier in the year,
the procrastinator in me always wins.

i had the most fun knitting washcloths with recycled cotton,
they all turned out so pretty and useful.

i also knit beer huggies and regular hats and gnome hats
and this sweater for sweet d's 8th birthday.

we spent the first 2 weeks of december in utah,

visiting my family for the first time in two years.

(i'll post more about that later, lots of photos to share!)

it was such a wonderful visit. we went to see the nutcracker ballet,

for the first time ever, and it was even more beautiful and entertaining

than we imagined it would be.

when we got home we celebrated sweet d's birthday.

8 is big (even though she's little) and very grown up!

we had 2 thanksgivings and 4 christmases,

all packed with so much goodness and so many wonderful people.

we decorated our christmas tree with mostly hand made ornaments and garlands,

and used a new thrifted ($4) afghan as a tree skirt.

jake's grandparents gave us tickets to see the radio city rockettes
live show for christmas, and that was an experience we will never forget.
so much fun!!!

we watched movies and made art and played with friends and baked a lot.
i blew out a tire on my car and had to replace all four.
we had a quiet but lovely new years. i went with my friend to get her first tattoo!
i started reading a new book that i'm really loving,
and i haven't stopped knitting washcloths yet.

i think we did a pretty good job of finishing up two thousand ten.
in true procrastinator fashion i hadn't quite caught on to the idea
that it is no longer two thousand ten, but better late than never i suppose...

happy two thousand eleven (10 days late)!

i felt like i was six again today...

2010-11-03T15:52:00.000-07:00

... and it was exactly what i needed.

thank you makenzie, mikayla, riley, amy, jake, elliot and delaney for
a perfect afternoon.

delaney, i'm so glad you started throwing leaves at us today!