i'm going to hollywood

After lots of planning, hours of packing and preparing, and quite a few $$s, we're just about ready to go on vacation! Tomorrow morning at the wee hour of 3 a.m., the boyfriend and I are headed to Hollywood. We'll be road tripping it down there in the new car and expect to add at least 2,000 miles and 40 hours to the log.

We'll spend Saturday celebrating the lovely Vaanty and her groom Dan. Then time at the beach, a comedy softball game, a picnic at the observatory, the Hollywood Bowl, Jurassic Park at the cemetery, and lots of other adventures. Then we head to Yosemite for the boyfriend's family reunion. {I'll be meeting this side of the family for the first time, so wish me luck!} After four nights in Tuolumne Meadows, we'll head home and back to blogger land.

Have fun this week without me, friends!

{I know... I'll miss you too.}

bye bye bea

It was my 18th birthday and I was shopping at the Roseburg Mall {which is just about the saddest mall that has ever existed. just look at their website...} and got a text from my mom. "Meet me outside, got a car for you to look at". Little did I know, the car she wanted me to look at was my birthday present. All mine. And my middle name, Ann, was coincidentally on the license plate. It was love at first sight. I filled it with balloons, drove it all around town, and named her Beatrice {Bea for short}.

Bea and I had a lot of good adventures together. I even basically lived in that car for one summer. And at one point, Bea could hold every object I owned in the world, and she did. I packed up all my belongings {after purging nearly everything else} and Bea drove me down to Hollywood. She made it through the grapevine and stayed strong through all the LA traffic. And when I was done with that adventure, she delivered me safely back to Portland.

Last weekend, I sold Bea. Part of me misses her dearly and part of me is glad that another person, one of my dearest friends, will get the chance to enjoy her for awhile. She's a good ride, that Bea.

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A disclaimer-- the photo of Bea getting towed was from over two years ago but it's the most recent one I've got, sadly.

And one more very important thing-- I got Bea from my friend Mark, whose birthday is today. Everyone who is reading this should think good birthday wishes for him, because he rocks. Happy birthday!!

why I blog: a six month recap

On Saturday afternoon I went to the June Portland Blogger’s Meet-up in the beautiful community room at Atwater Place. {A big thanks to Jenni Bost for organizing and Adi Edlen for reserving the venue} At the meet-up, we discussed the purpose and the goals of our blogs. Everyone’s varied quite a bit. Some were out there to promote their business, others were out there to share ideas and experiences with a lot of readers, and others {myself included} were just out there to tell our story and *hopefully* put a smile on people’s faces from time to time.

At the meet-up, we were also put to the challenge to take a photo that best represented our blogs. I think that my photo, titled a teenie tiny kiss, pretty much sums up the purpose of my blog: to share a teenie tiny glimpse into my wonderful life. I hope that I’ve done a good job of showing all the love, happiness, and funny moments over the past six months. I’ve loved connecting and reconnecting with friends, family, and all the new readers too. Thank you, thank you, to everyone who has helped make this creative outlet so much fun for me. Three cheers for another six months!? I sure hope so.

xoxo

the boyfriend has the MEng

Last week at this time I was running around the house frantically checking things off the to-do list. Clean bathroom, check. Make guest bed, check. Slice strawberries for lemonade, check. Trust me, you don't want me to bore you with the rest of the list. But hey, there's a lot to do before you host 40 people at your house!

Last Saturday I was so blessed to have so many family & friends stop by the house to celebrate the boyfriend's graduation from Portland State University with his MEng. {I know, it sounds a bit like a skin disorder, but really is quite an accomplishment!}

There was an awful lot of bbqing, laughing, bean bag tossing, beer ponging, baby holding, and house touring. I couldn't think of a better way to spend a Saturday, even if it took a week of preparation and week to clean up.

I'm the luckiest.

this week's secrets

I'm on week three of my juicing-and-CSA-vegetable-eating kick. Although I've washed twice as many dishes as usual, I'm feeling healthier and I'm a lot happier when I look in my fridge. So far from the CSA I've gotten: loads of strawberries, walla walla sweet onions, green garlic, kale, garlic scapes, butter lettuce, spinach, mixed lettuce, baby swiss chard, radishes, red leaf lettuce, snap peas, bok choy, and carrots. The best part is, we haven’t wasted any vegetables yet! {except the radishes…because who really eats radishes anyway?}
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The other morning I say to the boyfriend, “wow, I think this is the most dressed up I’ve ever gotten for work.” His reply? “um, honey. Your zipper is down.” Feeling really confident, you guys.
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Along the same lines, I wore black skinny slacks and a comfy-flowy blouse to work last week. A coworker told me in her sweetest voice, “don’t you look comfy today!” I responded with a question. “Thank you?”
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I keep forgetting to fix this one pair of heels that I don’t wear very often. I think I’ve glue-sticked the heel cap back on at least four or five times now. I’m sure you can conclude how effective my glue-sticking has been.
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My favorite pair of slacks has very small and unfortunate bleach stain on it. Everytime I wear them I have to fill the spot in with a black sharpie. I just haven't been able to part with them.
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{This week’s secrets are making me think that I need to re-evaluate my wardrobe...}

the big apple

It was a Monday night and I hopped on a red eye flight to NYC. Promptly upon arrival at my hotel, I put on some comfy shoes and hit the streets for some sight seeing. To follow was coffee & breakfast at Bryant Park, walking and shopping along 5th Avenue & Broadway, catching up with my long-time buddy Merlin, visiting the recently opened 9/11 memorial, eating delicious bahn mi in Washington Square Park, and then seeing Blind Pilot at Webster Hall.

Wednesday - Friday were work conference days, but I managed to squeeze in a few non-work activities: Avenue Q, Mortified, a New York slice with a dear friend, duck noodles at Momofuku, and the Natural History Museum.

I got almost no sleep while I was there, still have blisters on my feet from all the walking, and almost missed my flight home, but I wouldn't change a thing about it.

I <3 NYC!

summer essentials

It is just about summertime here in Portland, and you'll definitely find me rocking a few of these things below. Roxana and I linked up for a summer style post, so check her post out too!

BRIGHT LIPSTICK

FUNKY NAIL POLISH

SUNDRESSES

SUNGLASSES

SUNHATS & FLOWERS

bathroom before and after

BEFORE

AFTER

Well, I think it is safe to say our bathroom is about 20 times better than it was before. We started by scrubbing the entire bathroom from floor to ceiling. Then we installed a ventilation fan and our handy electrician friend and the boyfriend installed a new switch and outlet {so I can plug in up to four curling irons now!} Next up was prepping, taping, and painting. We chose “Serenity” by Behr. Then waiting, and waiting, and waiting some more for the paint to dry. Put it all back together and there you have it, a sparkly, new bathroom..with great ventilation! 

off to the concrete jungle

I’m feeling awfully spoiled right now, as I am about to hop on a plane to NYC for the second time in a year. Last time to celebrate the boyfriend’s birthday; this time for a work conference. Although I’ll be working the majority of my time there, I’ve managed to squeeze in time to see a couple friends, visit the 9/11 memorial, see a comedy show, go to a concert, and see an off-Broadway show. Aw, the big apple. Yes, I am awfully spoiled indeed. 

happy birthday, zachary

Today is little Z’s 4th birthday. I can’t believe how quickly the years can pass. It was just after his first birthday, which his foster parent’s graciously let my sister and brother-in-law hold at their home, that he was adopted into our family. He’s got a sweet as sugar personality and is handsome to boot.

I love you, kid. I hope that with each birthday you’re more and more aware of just how much this family loves and cherishes you.

xoxo, Aunt Teenie

juice for june

{allrecipes.com}

It's June 1st, do you know what that means?

Pre-vacation juicing month begins today!

I just bought a juicer and I'm planning on substituting juice for one meal each day until vacation starts on June 29. Tonight I'm sipping on watermelon-lemon-cucumber-celery-cayenne. Tomorrow for breakfast I'm having banana-pineapple-apple. I've got 50 lbs of fruits and veggies on my kitchen table...hoping that translates into a few less lbs for me. Wish me luck! And send any favorite juice combos my way.