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.