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!