summer house

salutations
from
portland
summer
diggs.

Traveling On

We're Leaving

Raise your glasses please into a toast

For we are many hometown ghosts.
Let it spill all over the floor.
What the hell are you saving it for?

On June, July, August, September.
Let's drink 'em all, I don't want to remember.
These have been the best years of our lives.

It's a shame my dear,
There's no room for lost years.
So we're leaving, we're leaving tonight.

You look lovely lying wasted on your bed,
Staring at a photograph of you and your best friend.
They said make a cross over your hearts,
And we'll swear we'll never drift apart.

It's a shame my dear,
To be leaving you here.
But we're leaving, we're leaving tonight.

Oh my heroes, my brothers, where have you gone?
There is something in the air, something is wrong.
Where is my father, my mother, my sister, my lover?
Have you all gone over to the other side?

It's a shame my dears,
There's no room for me here.
So I'm leaving, I'm leaving tonight.

~DeVotchka~

Listen here.

Kids Are Odd.

Most awesome kid quote from my 3 yr old at work today...
"My tummy is telling me I need to watch a movie."

thE YEar of the tiger.

Greet the Tiger!
Have a great New Year Jan. 1
& a happy Chinese New Year on Valentines Day.

Happy Birthday Grandma Vicki!

Merry Christmas & Happy Birthday to pretty much my most favorite person in the universe.
I hope you are spending this holiday with your husband.
You made magic happen at Christmas.
I am reading your memoirs.
You are missed!
XOXO
aLiNa

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like...

Merry Christmas!
XoXo

The Morans

Five Minute Craft

I bought $5 sale necklaces and t-shirts at Urban Outfitters this week, and I loved the beautifully photographed price tags that were attached.

I was determined to do something with them
because their simple content made me smile
as if they were everyday quiet moments.

I just tied them together (the more knots the better) with a rainbow thread and called it good.

You could also make a Christmas mobile by cutting out birds from old Christmas cards that may be lying in a box in your office or by folding them into origami birds and hanging them.

Make Your Roses Last

I had long stem roses that lasted a long time which were starting to droop. To extend their beauty without the wilted look, I cut the tops off and stuck them in a low bowl with fresh water.

I think it looks pretty on a warm night in from the blizzard.

Little (Pyro) Girls

Questions I had to answer at work today:

(In reference to a flash light substitute to light the inside of our pillow/blanket fort)

Q: Can we just use this fire thingy? (lighter)

A: NO!!!
Fire is not a toy and using it with pillow forts would burn your house down.

Q2: How about this? (Lit candle)

A: No!!!
Fire is not a toy and using it with pillow forts would burn your house down.

The Sound Of Vinegar Fizz

We're coloring eggs tonight from two coloring kits we had last year. We are aiming to color vibrant eggs so we only used vinegar and doubled the tablets in each cup.
I love the smell and noisy fizz that are involved.

Sprouts!

Just two or three days after planting them, my radish seeds have sprouted! They remain the only ones and they may have come so early because the heater vent is right above them on the wall. In the morning, Aaron and I saw two sprouts and by late afternoon, this is how many came through the surface.

Garden Update & Palms

There is a really quaint Greek family run grocery store called Pete's Fruit & Vegetables near my work, and I stopped in and grabbed some fresh palm leaves for Easter.

I ended up turning them into a temporary curtain with ladybug thumb tacks just for kicks and now our living room has a jungle feel to it.

I planted two more trays of veggie seeds and STILL have leftover seeds. These trays have a greenhouse lid so I think the seeds will be quick to sprout. I can't wait to see them come to the surface.

It's almost Easter!

Have a sunny-side up & eggciting Easter everyone.
I think I can spot my dads 'stache in there.

Seedlings For The Garden

I am trying an experiment with halved toilet paper rolls & a paper egg carton.

I hope they stay together through the light watering. We ran out of t.p. rolls, so I bought two bio-degradable trays for more seedlings because I still have a ton of seeds to plant.

Hopefully they do well. It has been snowing quite a bit for April, so I am keeping them inside. I wanted to log my progress as this is the second year I've had my own garden and I want to learn from the mistakes that will most likely ensue. I have learned little things throughout my life from watching my mother plant hundreds of living things over the years.

Aaron and I have started a compost bin where we deposit non-meat food waste as well as brown cardboard waste.

Wish us luck!

Annivers-er-er-sa-ry!!!

We had made it two years on March 24th.
What a fun journey

In Love With These Volcano Candles

So
yummy

I had been wanting one for a long time and Jonathan got me one for my birthday.
Thanks Joe!