Forgive the design humor.

A co-worker sent me this and I just had to share it. For you fellow type lovers, check this out. So awesome!



Lyrics are available on the youtube page.

An epic visit.

We're resting a bit easier knowing that Kell's parents are again safe and warm at home after last week's visit to Portland. Weather delayed their homecoming plans but, in spite of the travel woes and frigid weather, we had a truly wonderful week together.

Our tour included an exploration of Powell's, freezing at Multnomah Falls, a lovely dinner overlooking the Willamette, a tour of dad's boyhood stomping grounds in Washington, their survival of a rather frightening and bruise-inducing fender bender (thank you, sweet angels, for directing a safe outcome for all! and for upgrading the rental car...that was a bonus), and some rigorous movie watching.

[kell demonstrating his super science techniques on the "this is where we work" tour]

[city lights as seen from our table at the Chart House]

[classic northwest lush-ness on the hike to the falls]

[awwww....cute! and COLD!]

An eventful visit! And so, SO great to have family share our home. We loved every minute. Thanks for making the trek!

Blessings.

We enjoyed a truly wonderful Thanksgiving on the coast...just the two of us. Ate until our bellies threatened to burst, holed up in a sweet ocean-view hotel room, indulged in hours of movies, watched the waves crash and the foam blow down the beach, talked to our families by phone, and counted the millions of things we have to be thankful for. We are so very lucky.


Now home and tucked in with a cup of hot chocolate, I'm ringing in the season right by watching my favorite holiday movie, Little Women. It came out during Christmas of '94 and I remember going to see it with my mom; it's been on my short list ever since. Everything about this film is beautiful. I especially love the opening credits.

Tomorrow we'll decorate the house for the holiday. In the meantime, our love to all. Here's hoping your Thanksgiving was one to remember.

By the seat of my pants sewing.

Just made a few pillows for our recently-created guest room (hint, hint...come visit!)

These should have been quite simple, but since I continually insist upon making patterns as I go (planning just takes too long!), they're the product of a several-hour, late-night sewing session. Luckily, I'm pretty happy with the result...otherwise all that hair-pulling would be for nothing!

As the mornings get chilly.

As the leaves fall and the rain sets in, we look to start our day with an extra bit of comfort...and that's when we turn to oatmeal.


I've promised my favorite oatmeal recipe to a good friend of mine for months now and thought I'd post it here so that all of you could add it to your breakfast arsenal. It's beyond easy and makes good use of my favorite kitchen accoutrement...the slow cooker. We got one for our wedding and had no idea what to make with it until my wonderful father-in-law (who also happens to be quite an amazing cook) gifted us with "Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker." This recipe is on page 238 and falls right after such culinary wonders as Chocolate Almond Cheesecake and Poached Pears...all in a slow cooker! Brilliant. I highly recommend the book for any Christmas list.

From "Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker"
Old-Fashioned Apple-Raisin Oatmeal
Serves 6

1.5 c. rolled (old-fashioned) oats
4 c. cold water
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 medium-sized cooking apple (I use whatever I've got in the crisper), cored, peeled, and shredded
3 Tbsp. raisins (sometimes I toss in some dried cranberries too)
1/2 c. granola, or to taste

Comine all ingredients except the granola in a lightly oiled 3.5-4 quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours. Then, simply wake up, wipe the sleep from your eyes, spoon yourself a bowl of breakfast, sprinkle with granola, and voila! Couldn't be easier.

Wishing everyone a Tuesday full of Thanksgiving blessings. I hope you all have something fantastic planned for the upcoming holiday. Cheers!

Pedal power.

[image from www.cyclechic.co.uk]

Sometimes playing "follow the links" lands you in some pretty magical places. In fact, a session of said random clicking just introduced me to this beauty. Does a cuter helmet exist!? I doubt it. Makes me want to dust off my neglected bike and take her for a spin.

Campus walk.

Happy weekend wishes to you all!

That he may never doubt my love.

I got tickets to this last Sunday. And I have to say, it was truly AWESOME. The Oregon Symphony was incredible and I walked away with an entirely new appreciation for video game music. The Kingdom Hearts bit was definitely the highlight for me. (Kell's would be much harder to pinpoint.) We had a blast. And needless to say, the husband was in heaven.

welcome winter.

Listening to rain colliding with the roof and streaking the glass (it's heavy enough to be accompanied by thunder -- a rare treat 'round these parts), burning some candles, baking brownies, and getting ready to sew. Not a bad Saturday.

All the while treating myself to a private David Gray concert since I missed his Portland show this week. Kell had to teach, and I couldn't imagine going without him. We've made a tradition of going to see David Gray together and his music always reminds me of our college days together. Kell's responsible for my David Gray penchant. He introduced me to the greatness of David Gray's vast collection when everyone had just barely discovered "Babylon." This one always brings me to my knees. So beautiful.

The new album is a bit different, but equally great (ignore the Rolling Stone review), a taste of which is embedded below. (And seriously, I think every man should dress like this daily...love those pink cuffs and face scruff.)

Leaves underfoot.

For those of you who wished for a more holistic look at my Halloween hippie get-up, I've uploaded another pic to my last post.

In much more exciting news, happy November. For those of you who live in Moab, don't forget to re-elect Mayor Dave tomorrow!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is big in my office. B-I-G. There are potlucks and costume contests. Skits and awards ceremonies. So to truly demonstrate my team-player-ness, I chose a costume that matches the carpet. I'm pretty sure my skirt was made the same year this lovely wall-to-wall was installed.

A testament to good teachings.

Random? A bit. But I just had to document. For my mother and posterity. So that both may know that my teenage "little" brother did indeed take notes in my mom's "how to be a good house guest" lessons.

I found this pic when sifting through my iPhoto folders this evening and it makes me grin. It was taken just after putting my bro on a plane headed home after his week-long visit to Portland this summer. I was at work before I drove him to the airport, but when I arrived at my apartment, I found that he had folded and stacked all the linens on his guest bed. How stinkin' sweet is that!? I love it.

Just had to share the smile.

French knots and such.

It all began because I needed a case for my new camera. And really, a cute blue camera deserves so much more than your run-of-the-mill black nylon pouch, don't you agree? So I decided to make one.

Now, I typically reserve the embroidery energy I have in my fingers for quilt patches, but I was feeling particularly crafty this weekend and decided to branch out. A friend was re-learning the french knot so that she could sew eyes on a ridiculously cute hand-knit bunny she was making as a gift and I thought I should join in the lesson. And then, something happened. I couldn't stop! I can't say I saw this coming, but I think I'm hooked on hand-work. It's incredibly relaxing (the perfect complement to a great night of TV) and, quite frankly, it reminds me of my mama.

Here's the result:


In other news, the photos below are for my dear cousin who lives in Southern California, a place that's quite lovely, but seriously lacking in colorful fall foliage. Here's a taste of Oregon in October.

Need some pep in your step?

Take a listen. These guys are great and I haven't been able to get them out of my head. Note to my fellow Portlanders...they'll be at the Doug Fir next Wednesday night. Anybody want to go?

Welcoming a wee one.

I mentioned a few posts ago that we were recently blessed by a new niece in the family. She's pretty much the most adorable thing I've seen in forever and, as you'll surely agree, such cuteness is most worthy of a quilt. I can't think of a better excuse to sew.

Special thanks to my mom who happened to be in town when the quilt-making ensued...without her the binding would not be nearly as neat!

And congrats once more to the proud parents & awesome big brothers. That little girl couldn't have been born to a better family. We can't wait to see you guys again!

One perfect day...

Let the holiday crafting begin!

An affection for life jackets.

Perhaps it's because I'm still processing the whole thing. Perhaps it's because the experience was so stinkin' awesome that I don't know where to begin. Or, perhaps it's simply because I've been a little bit lazy when it comes to blogging. My hunch is that a little bit of all three reasons could account for why I've not yet told you about our river rafting adventure of last month.

I could begin our Cataract Canyon tale by recounting the pre-trip swimming lessons that my dear friend was kind enough to give me in an effort to make me more comfortable with the idea of water in general (Thanks, Kylie!) Or, I could tell you about how I was so terrified that my knees went weak when we were loading the boats. There's also the part about how I hugged my life jacket the whole first day of flat water and counted birds to keep my mind off of the whole 'floating down a big body of water' thing.

But that would only be part of the story. And in the end, it's such a very small part.

The stories that stick in my mind are more of the "I can't believe I did this but it was so totally AWESOME!" variety. The deer and river otters. The sky-scraping cliffs that hugged the banks. The unbelievably soft sand at our campsites. The azure sky during day, the bats at dusk, and the stars that fell on us as we talked at night. The swim in the confluence of the Colorado and the Green. The sound of the river as we drifted off to sleep. And the food, holy hannah, the food!!!


By the middle of the trip, I was feeling decently OK about this whole 'being in the river' thing...OK enough to try my hand at a run through rapid #10 in the inflatable kayak with my new cousin-in-law, Sarah. We paddled a perfect run, which warranted much applause and fanfare from the supportive crowd on shore. It was the resulting confidence that then led me to swim said rapid in my life jacket (which was named "Shark," by the way)...you can guess that this exercise was less-than-intentional, as Sarah and I took our second run sideways and ended up more out of the boat than in. This is where I could also tell you about sacrificing my shoes to the river god. May they rest in peace at the bottom of Lake Powell.

We were gifted this adventure by our good friend Arlo (who also served as our guide, along with his brother Obe) on the occasion of our wedding, and were joined by several of our college friends who also received the same generous wedding present. I can't thank those friends enough for their kind and steady support as I faced my fear head on. Much appreciation to Arlo and Obe in particular...they were consumate professionals and, even when the waves were crashing in my face and the panic was pulsing through my veins, they somehow made the whole experience amazingly fun.


(Warning: completely unsolicited testimonial ahead that might make Arlo blush...if that's possible.) If you have any inclination to float the beautiful rivers of Utah, I can't recommend SGRE enough. They are truly the best of the best, and it shows. From the customized meals to the vast knowledge of natural history, to the uncanny ability to turn an unfounded fear into a totally fun time. Top notch, I tell you. Check out their blog for some sweet deals.

The only drawback? My camera remained buried in a dry bag for most of the trip so I don't have many photos to prove my experience. Drats! I did however manage to get a pic of the charming gent in circa 1988 sunglasses though!


All in all, a total blast that might even warrant an encore at some point (though not at high water...that's where I draw the line.)

Your daily dose of design geekery.

This is so fun. Photographer/designer David Friedman took 20 well-known logos that were originally designed using Helvetica and created a version using Arial (the audacity!) as well...can you tell the difference? I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that I missed two. I challenge you to do better. It's incredible how similar some of the letterforms are!

A few more.

[looking up at the Seattle Public Library from the street]

[the "heart" of the Seattle Public Library...their meeting room floor...super trippy]

[hotel lobby light fixture]

Having a blast with my new birthday present camera (thanks, honey!) and making some great new friends at UCDA. Great Utah representation at the awards show...congrats to Utah Valley University, Brigham Young University and The University of Utah. Beautiful work!

The Emerald City.

In Seattle for a conference and got to play tourist for a bit yesterday. The above come from Pike Place and the main library. No time to write, as I'm off to my first conference session, but I'll post more as I'm able.