sshhhhhhh..... silent sundays: beautiful island evenings

crafty shtuff: christmas swag

Over the Thanksgiving week and few weeks following there was heavy winds hitting the island. These winds brought down a lot of tree limbs. From the first moment I saw these wayward bows all I could think was "nice swags". 

This week while my parents were visiting we scavenged around collecting limbs and got our swag on while watching A Christmas Story.

Best Christmas movie ever!

Why is there nature all over my floor?!

     Limbs, check! Floral wire, check! Burlap ribbon, check!

Getting the arrangement just right before wiring it together.

Mom's swag to take home to Yakima.

I hung my swag with care on the sliding door entry.
I just used a suction cup to hang it.

It was a pretty easy crafty session since I used the ribbons in my craft stash. We even had enough to make two more to give to my neighbors Tim and Peggy. Spreading Christmas cheer sure is fun!

kitty shenanigan's: naughty kitty

Doris was caught in the act of messing with the Christmas tree!

Playing the roll of cute cat next to tree, Doris!

Do-de-do... I don't think anyone is watching.

Hiiii-ya! take that naughty Christmas ornament!

HA-ha... I didn't even get caught. Just sitting here looking cute by the tree light.

thankful for washington apples

Thanksgiving was spent in Yakima with my parents. I had a turbulent weather filled journey there the Sunday night before. The ferry ride actually started to make me seasick. The winds were making the seas very choppy. I was blasted with heavy rain till I hit Snoqualmie Pass where the rain turned to snow. Needless to say I was thankful to arrive in Yakima. 

I've never been a fan of my home town. But damn do we grow wicked apples (and pears and hops)! While I was home I visited Johnson Orchards which is near by our home. I came home with boxes of apples and pears galore!

Johnson's my go to for fruit in Yakima.

Public fruit sales since 1904.

Tons of apples and pears!

Now that I'm home to my island I've already started baking with and plan to juice these gems. I made Martha Stewart's Rustic Apple Tart from the Everyday Food cookbook(probably my most favorite cookbook!) last night for a dinner with friends. The tart was ruthlessly devoured.

island life: barrel tasting

San Juan Vineyards had it's 8th annual holiday barrel tasting Saturday & I made it to the last half of it with my friend Magda. Woo Hoo! 
I must be honest this was my first visit to our little island winery. I have driven past it hundreds of times. I'm glad I finally popped in, it was fun. 

My trusty tasting glass for the evening.

The lil' chapel at the vineyard looks west as another
 gorgeous day ends.

The Vintner using his thief to get the wine out of the barrel.

Why yes, I would love some... Thank You!

The Vineyard even pays hommage to their neighbor,
Mona the camel.
She has both a red and white with her adorable mug on it!

Cow & Pig update

I'm so sad to say that SJI's beloved duo Cow & Pig have been stolen. This makes me so sad. 

I hope they are returned home soon.

moving mayhem continued... finding sanctuary

Life in the new pad has been filled with adjustments & tests of patience. My housemate has moved in with way more belongings then I could have ever imagined. When you live in a 600sqft home minimalism is muy importante! Needless to say claustrophobia was setting in. 

Instead of having a melt down from the chaos in the house I chose to nest in my bedroom so I could have a sanctuary. 

Awhile ago I had purchased Umbra Snap Frames but had not had the right art to display in them. As we all know, I love shoes, so when I found the Shoegazing notecards I knew I'd found my art!

Frames + Notecards = easy art installation!

A bit o' trimming and the notecards slid right in. 

Done!

I threw them on the wall like a Polaroid should be!

Sanctuary has not been totally acquired but it's getting darn close!

island life: no work? i'm going hikin'

Fall and winter is the islands "off season". As the tourists dwindle so does my work at the spa. Today was the first day of no work so far. I took advantage of the sunny fall day to go hiking. I rambled around an area that I have not been before, it was gorgeous. 

Seriously, a perfect day.

Sunny mossy knoll.

Mushrooms are sprouting up!

Fall is all over the place. 

Hey there Canada!
(the mountains in the distance)

sweet lil' finds

Hurray for days off with friends! I had breakfast with Claire & Noah this morning at Rocky Bay Cafe. With over stuffed bellies we went treasure hunting. 

I found the platter and needles at the local thrift shop for $1 each! 

Now I can build manly fires! 

The matches & note tags were found at my favorite FH shop, The Sandpebble. It's a challenge to find something I DON'T like in there and to not buy everything. I think I was pretty succeful today leaving with adorable yet useful items. 

ghosts in the p.o. box & purple soup

It's Halloween. 

My friends and I already dressed up and went out on Saturday. I brought back Effie Trinket for that night out (I even won $50 for my costume).  Since the festivities were finished I decided to stay home and hunker down with The Avengers and have fun cooking. 

Spooky Netflix package brought me The Avengers & Mom sent a fun card!

What's more fun than cooking something average, like soup, in a fabulous color?!  I love buying the purple cauliflower at the farmers market but I normally just add it to pasta or steam it as a side. I've been loving warm hearty soups with the cold rainy weather. The epiphany of making cauliflower cheese soup with my purple cauliflower was very exciting. I used a mash-up of cream of vegetable & cheese soup from my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.

Purple cauliflower & Beecher's Cheese soup

Steaming the Cauliflower 

Puree the cauliflower and add the rest of the ingredients

Mixing it all together for some purple Halloween soup fun!

Lunch is served. Purple soup with grilled cheese & sungold tomatoes. 

The best news of this colorful experiment.... It was sooo tasty! 

sshhhhhhh..... silent sundays: anacortes antiquing

moving mayhem...

I moved out of the duplex over the hangar to a new home.  I hate moving, but there is also something wonderful about the opportunities of someplace new.  I like the fact that this move took me from Cessna Ave to Forrest Dr, it even sounds homier. The lack of airplanes taking off and landing is first on my list of why I love my new home.  Second, beach access to Mitchell Bay and this beach is sandy which is not the norm here on San Juan.  

Packing up.

Not so helpful helper #1.

Not so helpful helper #2.

Doris is packed.

It is always a new challenge in space planning when moving into someplace new, guess my degree in interior design has been a good investment... Especially when you move into a smaller space and have to make room for a housemate to boot!

Loads o' shtuff... Oh, thank goodness there's the alchohol!

Where to Start?! 

I don't know, mom?!

Best place to start...

With one exhausting trip to IKEA and several nights of furniture manufacturing there is now a place for everything. 

My not so helpful assistant...

It's coming together. 

But still alot to do to feel homie...

Too be continued...