RED locks & BOLD frames {kate}

Where is this?

2012-01-24T11:00:00.000-05:00

Where is this?! I need to be there.

weekly rundown

2012-01-20T15:55:00.000-05:00

i thought i might do a fill in the blank post again this week but Lauren and family are welcoming little miss Fern Winter. i wasn't so sure about the name Fern, not that it matters at all, but with the middle name Winter, well i just love them together. congrats!

just three pictures this week via instagram... linking up with Jeannett at Life Rearranged

so how was your week? i'm not sure where mine disappeared to, but i'm thankful it's the weekend! i need some sleep. i started reading The Hunger Games, and i've been reading it in to the late hours of the night. it's so hard to put down!

my boys

i'm debating whether i should invest some mulah in elise's blog 2.0 workshop. i got really geeked about the idea at first, but then i started to debate if learning wordpress design would actually improve my blogging direction (skills, regularity. "mission"). i need to keep considering this. i need to decide if i want to actually be a blogger or just enjoy blogs from an outside perspective.

packing up christmas last weekend.

just over 300 days until it's to unpack it all!

i am on pinterest. finally. i played around with it tuesday night. i'm excited to use it collect all the blog posts and beautiful images i've bookmarked over the last two and half years, or so, in a more visual way. and also revisiting those bookmarks to see what may be projects i'll actually do! do you pinterest? is pinterest a verb? have you found lots of images with no original source? in my first 10 minutes i found two.

smitten kitchen does it again, yummm!

scallion meatballs with soy-ginger glaze & carrot sesame miso soup

links:
a reaction from the oatmeal to SOPA/PIPA.
how cute would this little plant be for a vday gift. they have a hot stuff one too, hehe!
i love this dress, The Dainty Squid: what I wore; a modern little red.
two gems from meg this week.
pretty food.
you can always count on Bright.Bazaar for some great color!
BASIL. PESTO. HANDMADE. ah, kinfolk. you're delicious. it's far, far to long before we have any basil that looks like that that can be made into pesto. i've only ever made pesto in the food processor, so i'm kind of excited to try this.

Do you mean what you say?

2012-01-17T11:00:00.002-05:00

dazzling

MLK

2012-01-16T07:30:00.001-05:00

thelittletiger:

apsies
King said in an interview that this photograph was taken as he tried to explain to his daughter Yolanda why she could not go to Funtown, a whites-only amusement park in Atlanta. King claims to have been tongue-tied when speaking to her. “One of the most painful experiences I have ever faced was to see her tears when I told her Funtown was closed to colored children, for I realized the first dark cloud of inferiority had floated into her little mental sky.”

VIA ACHE [cosmic]

life, cats, blanks, linking up.

2012-01-13T14:52:00.001-05:00

linking up with lauren

& for the first time with

jeannett at life rearranged for instafriday

via miss lisa.

1. The last thing I ate was delicious leftover pasta that Matt had made last night. It's a variation on his chicken, sundried tomatoes, artichoke pasta that I was so afraid to try the first time and now I adore. He subbed sausage for the chicken because that's what we had. mmm mmm mmm.

2. The last song I listened to was the last song on this playlist from meg. I've listened to this quite a few times. My favorite song of course is this.

3. Using the letters in my name I can spell ate, take, at, eat, teak. KATE

4. If I had to dress in one color for the rest of my life I would pick probably blue or black. maybe purple..

5. If you were to look in my bag right now you'd find wallet, gum, iphone, notepad for lists, receipts and coupons, lists, a ticket from the Grand Rapids Griffins game, touch screen gloves from Matt in the best limey mustard color.

6. When I finish filling in the blanks I'm going to go home for the weekend! Ah, the first full week of work back after a long break is so rough. Ready for this weekend!

7. My all time favorite song to dance to is oh probably something very 90's and very high school dance-y.

and now for:

our newest picture from the hockey game

this cat looks like this, always. she is ridiculous.

it took me forever to read this book. i'm not even sure i liked it.

bacon chocolate, yes please. it's delish.

my lovely package arrived from melissa. love it!
i plan to share what i received over the weekend!
but seriously, that cat paper cutting - you know it's going to be good!

Craving: a bloody mary Seeing: SNOW Loving: snow, matt, sleep, the kitties, the weekend

Mindy Gledhill

2012-01-03T16:46:00.001-05:00

You know that pretty Winter Moon album that's been floating around, well apparently she, Mindy Gledhill, doesn't just do Christmas music. lucky us!

I'm loving this song after hearing it on a DVRed episode of Bones last night.

And this one is just adorable as well. I'm swooning.

reflection and resolution

2011-12-30T23:57:00.000-05:00

I love this time of year, the end of it. It's a time for reflection and resolution. love. it.

source

I thought I had done pretty well on my list of resolutions but it seems that I only managed to cross run a (baby) triathlon, make ~~and stick~~ to a budget, clean up and keep my computer organized (and blog reader) and make more lists. So that leaves me with seven overlooked resolutions...

1. Take an academic course.

2. Sew (crafty goodness!).

4. Get a tattoo (or two).

5. (Look into) taking piano lessons.

7. Compile Grandma's recipes and history of my house.

8. Spend more time outside off of my list.

10. Stick to a cleaning schedule.

That's okay though, I had a pretty damn good year. It was spent training for the triathlon, loving Matt and the kitties, and friends and family, eating and drinking lots of good food and drink.

I'm taking a smaller approach to 2012's resolutions. Last year I separated my word, balance, from my resolutions but this year it is a resolution of it's own. Expanding on balance and looking at my list of 26 things before 27, which I have yet to post, where I saw a lot of the word "conscious" I chose intentional. The word struck a chord with me while reading this post from Kyla.

"taking a moment to savour the little moments that knit everything together can slow down time to a stand still." -miss roma

As I work to have more balance in my life with health, good food, laziness, excitement, solitary time and friendship I want to be more intentional with that thought process. I don't want to feel overwhelmed, but consider my decisions and the alternatives thoughtfully.

I'll carry this word with me through 2012 and while tackling these four resolutions.

lose weight. get fit. but seriously, lose a serious bit of with like a final goal of forty to fifty pounds. whew! it's going to take some serious work and i'm glad (very, very, glad) to have matt along with me to get this done.
save at least $3000! and be more financially responsible. this year i learned to really budget and next year i need to learn how to SAVE and not over spend.
be on time. i tend to be a tardy to things and all this achieves is stress. seriously, i'm an adult. it's time to be timely.
develop solid communication skills. i feel awkward in ~~some~~a lot of social situations and i'd love to be the person who always felt comfortable and could put others at ease.

source

That's it. That's all she wrote. Four goals for 2012.

tips on resolution making and keeping:
elsie. no meat athlete. today's letters.

talking about resolutions, reflections and things for the new year:
kelle (home in michigan!) plus a birthday post. rachel investing in 2011. gentri lee's fun goals. a recap of a full and lovely year from ashlee. a look back from lisa leonard. the lovely couple of today's letters 2011 review.

one little word:
cherish. up.

2011-12-24T18:30:00.005-05:00

my milk toof

wrapping & shopping & kitties

2011-12-23T13:14:00.001-05:00

It's here now, Christmas eve eve.
It brings four Christmases, lots of family, 11 days off, celebrating the new year! I can't wait!

exciting things are taking place today like...

wrapping all the gifts and taking care of this mess.

hanging out with these kitties.

can you see our tiny stockings in the back?

we'll be filling those with treats for the first time.

and grocery shopping for tapasChristmas.

Have a wonderful Christmas Eve Eve

& enjoy the celebrations!

magical

2011-12-22T13:08:00.000-05:00

dazzling

2011-12-21T13:40:00.000-05:00

Have yourself a merry little Christmas / Make the Yule-tide gay

From now on / our troubles will be miles away.

lane / white / snowflake

festive penguins

2011-12-20T12:58:00.000-05:00

festive penguins

a holiday evening

2011-12-14T16:33:00.000-05:00

Last night I spent some of the evening writing holiday cards, sniffing this candle (my favorite scent!) and drinking egg nog.

dazzling / original

It was lovely.

Lulu thought so too.

Do you send Christmas cards? Would you like to receive one? I'd love to do a swap!

this time of year.

2011-12-12T10:07:00.000-05:00

dazzling

on repeat:

2011-12-08T15:07:00.002-05:00

pumpkin cookies!

2011-12-06T22:46:00.000-05:00

You know Rachel Wilkerson's a-mazing pumpkin margaritas?! If you've made them you'll remember!

Just so you know, you'll have a bunch of leftover pumpkin after you strain out what need for the margs. I didn't know what to do with it... but then I started seeing recipes for pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Pumpkin* chocolate chip cookies? mmm. Sign me up!

I combined these three recipes... Streaming Gourmet's Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies / Just Bella's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies / Rachel's Pumpkin Up: Butterscotch Pumpkin Cookies. I'm not sure why I didn't just go with one (probably, because I wanted to feel bloggery. food blogger, with recipes and action shots, I. am. not. oh well), but the cookies are pretty fantastic so I'm not going to complain.

Be sure to check out the recipes above and here is my varition!

WET INGREDIENTS
3/4 granulated sugar 
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened 
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract  

DRY INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder 
1 tsp baking soda 
1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger

Add ins of your choice. Walnuts may be good. Today I did chocolate, butterscotch and white morsels!

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F.

2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add pumpkin and beat well. Then add eggs and beat well. Finally add vanilla and beat well.

3. Mix together dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture, about 1/3 at a time and mix well after each addition. Fold in the chocolate chips with a spoon or spatula.

4. Spoon batter onto cookie sheets that have been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray or lightly buttered. Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Let sit for one minute after removing from oven. Then cool on wire racks.

SUBSTITUTIONS!:
NO EGGS?! 1/4 cup applesauce & 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
NO BAKING POWDER?! 1/4 teaspoon baking soda & 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

I'm taking these to our THIRD Annual Cookie Day at work! mmm. There will be all sorts of goodies.

*I'd say 80% of the time I type pumpking.

It happens to be a yummy fall beer.

blogging + Christmas music

2011-11-28T11:29:00.000-05:00

Sometimes when I'm not quite sure what to blog about I find myself wandering through posts I started way back when. There are around 70 or so and some are over a year old. It's a little bit of nostalgia, and I like it. Sometimes I'm able to develop them into post, other times they are just a thought that does quite go where I expected.

Back in September 2010 it was about finding my blogging voice, whether that's sharing a bit of what's been going on in my life (that's not my life, obviously, but I found it inspiring) or making sure you see these fun videos! I thought to myself, just because I'm late to the {blogging} party doesn't mean I can't have a great time. And I am, I'm quite enjoying myself.

And without further ado... let's get some Christmas music up in here!

It's that time of year when the world falls in love, every song you hear seems to say Merry Christmas, may your new year's Dreams come true.

And this song of mine in three quater time wishes you and yours the same thing too.

deck the halls

2011-11-27T21:45:00.000-05:00

soooo pretty.

such a mess!!!

Decorating for the holidays is such a delight with the boxes you get to open, the color on the tree, the decoration - once they're in place.

Of course there is the time inbetween when there are boxes all over the house and it's doesn't seem like it will end.

We're takling the tree one box at a time, one night at time.

I can't wait to share the finished product.

It will be a winter wonderland.

THANKFUL

2011-11-26T13:20:00.001-05:00

As I {st}rolled through my reader this morning I enjoyed reliving many Thanksgiving celebrations and taking note of what others are thankful for. So before I start gushing about how excited I am for Christmas-time I decided to take a moment and share what I am thankful for. 

I'm thankful for my wonderful boyfriend Matt who bought me a glass blowingworking groupon, rode with me two hours to Dearborn, drove when I couldn't handle the lights anymore (bad reflective glasses?), was ready to just kill three hours waiting for me during the class, then drove us back home staying patient even when my shotty navigation kept taking us out our way. I'm truly thankful for all that he offers me and the love he brings into my life. 

Last year I did a bit of sharing what I was thankful for each day on blog posts in November. I'll bring that back next year for sures, because as I was trying to remember all that I am thankful for on Thursday it was hard to list everything.

Here is my list from last year. I am thankful for my cozy home. amazing, creative people like those who've made these videos. my orange boots. [not being afraid of color, wearing five different, solid blocks of color today. maybe too much of good thing.] hope. dreams. adventure. hope. this new beginning. a fresh start, the perk of a monday.  the sunshine streaming in. warming my heart and home! feeling whole and goal filled! having hair that i usually don't hate.

I did a quick search of my blog and found these things that I shared my thanks for, Lauren at the little things we do does a good job asking you to fill in the blank of what your thankful for the whole year through.

I am thankful for new  love, family, the holiday season, a great meal, my wonderful home,  sweet kitties, a good job, loud laughter, ridiculousness, friends,  honesty, caring, silliness, happiness and seeing the beauty of everyday. 

I am so thankful for the love and support I have in my life. The good health of [most] everyone I care for. I'm thankful that I'm strong on my own as well. 

The best things catch me by surprise and then I'm thankfully reminded how beautiful the world is.

Today I am thankful for an  hour long chat with intelligent co-workers from a different workgroup.

This is my list from this past Thursday 2011:

Thankful  for: Matt, family, kitties, friends, sleeping in, good food, my health,  coffee, the Olympics, apple cider, the holiday season, laughter, family  and friends x2, tights, color, travel, my job, football, dog shows ;),  music, television, sunshine, snow, oranges, apples, hot showers, a roof  over my head, the silly kitties, and once again Matt! That's a ton of  stuff, and I'd come up with more but it's time to take a hot shower and  put on some tights and spend the day with Matt and his lovely family  celebrating all that we are thankful for!!

What I'm trying to say is, there is SO MUCH to be thankful for.  
Life is good.

Matt + Movember

2011-11-22T08:53:00.000-05:00

I feel like it's grown even longer since this picture was taken Sunday.

My good sir has earned $220!

Traverse City // Mission Peninsula // November 5 & 6

2011-11-20T00:05:00.003-05:00

Traverse City // Mission Peninsula // November 5 & 6

You know it's going to be a good weekend when your waiter says, "I don't normally say this, but you know you guys are ordering a lot of food, right?" Oh, we knew it and it was and it was so totally worth it.

This weekend was total decadence. As much as we loved the food there's no photographic evidence, but here it is in drinks and scenery.

2 lads winery

the views at 2 lads

A walk. The colors were STUNNING.

Thankful for micro-climates!

We're adorbs. per ushe. ;)

The Jolly Pumpkin

Right Brain Brewery

Bowers Harbor

Finally, the view from our room at the Tesoro Inn a beautiful, contemporary bed and breakfast!

questions & senses & links

2011-11-19T23:10:00.000-05:00

link up with lauren

1. A nervous habit I have is probably avoidance on annoyance. When I'm nervous I'll either avoid the situation or get annoyed that it hasn't been resolved. (If they'd just asked me...)

2. Something that makes me sad is when other people are sad.

3. Today I am thankful for a productive afternoon. We finally took care of our leaves, picked up my sewing machine, bought an iPhone, Heather's Restaurant for dinner, and Tim Horton's doughnuts for breakfast tomorrow! Now tv and veggin'. A Happy Saturday.

4. My favorite room in my house is the living room. It's where we fort, where we eat, where we snuggle, where we tv/movie/read/mac. That room gets a lot of love and we love it. I wonder what Matt's favorite room is and why... his answer: "My favorite room is the living room. That's where I can relax. If we were to get a comfier chair, it might be the library."

5. I can't stand not knowing how best to respond to a situation or how I should act in the first place.

6. If I had an extra $100 to spend on whatever I wanted today I would save it for our annual Christmas shopping trip that's just two weeks away!!!

7. The last person I hung out with was, well if you don't count Matt...it was my bowling team, Split Happens, Thursday night. I was mediocre. It's all about the social wellness!

Craving: Apple Cider, crisp and refreshing.

Making: an advent calendar for December. I hope it comes out as I picture it.

Watching: Criminal Minds, backed up DVR.

Anticipating: the iPhone 4s making it's way to me.

Loving: the holiday season is here! don't you love that the holidays are there own season.

Feeling: ouchy, I have this sharp pain in my shoulder from a pulled muscle and there's no good way to soothe it.

Links

incredible map via hooray

Stop Motion Jelly Beans via Creature Comforts

Snuggling Kitties

Spreading Good Messages

Don't Miss Sweet Paul Holiday

some really great and sweet things in gifted

Package Pals - What I Sent!

2011-11-17T21:24:00.000-05:00

Is it a pile of stuff sitting on the living room table?

(not that ever happens)

Is it a Christmas gift for someone over seas?
(subtle reminder to my Croatian readers)

NO! NO! Silly, it's...

brought to you by the sweet (and patient!) blogger Gentri Lee!

(how great is that name!)

It was great to participate in package pals with such great bloggers!

"From Michigan to Idaho (the mitten to the potatoes!!) a goodie box full of great etsy finds, some sweet treats and a few more surprises made it's way to my package pal Karly! It was fun to break out the kraft paper and finger knitting and share a bit of myself with a new pal."

Here are a few more snaps of the package I sent off to Utah:

Ardent Sparrow ring / Colette Paperie coaster / Anista Designs envelope

the box was lined with different scrapbook papers & once contained a 4x6 frame and photo album I sent off the picture frame with the list of all the goodies in it!

plum disco beads / finger knitting via me! / isavirtue notebook

Lemon Heads / Red Hots / a disposable camera! / Jones soda lid with a secret message ;) / a note

All wrapped up and ready to head to Idaho!!!

(hey-oh)

And off she went.
Isn't sending and receiving mail the best?!

my {semi} grown up Christmas list

2011-11-16T09:49:00.000-05:00

I've got Christmas on the brain my friends! And why not...

I'm sure you're anxiously awaiting a holiday gift giving list from me, I guess you don't even have to buy these things for me!

Tattly Subscription

a fabulous 10x10 print from Alicia Block

YOU SAY / CITRINE / STAR LIGHT

crazy elephants tee

MNKR

nostalgia

2011-11-14T13:56:00.000-05:00

I broke out my old Babar pillow case the other day.

Matt came home with his Transformers sheets soon after.

We're adorable.

elephant

2011-11-13T14:09:00.000-05:00

opulent

Fill in the Blank Friday

2011-11-11T13:42:00.000-05:00

link up

1. My favorite new blog of the moment is A Practical Wedding, it is a smart, modern community of women who share their thoughts on weddings and life. There's a new feature called Reclaiming Wife that's probably my favorite. {Thanks for the recommendation Iris.}

2. Somethings I am thankful for {are} the seasons in Michigan, even when they end to soon or last too long. Yesterday we had a peak of snow, just a few flurries and I got excited for the coming winter. I'm really loving on fall this year so I don't want that to end just yet, but I do hope we have a lovely winter come mid-December-mid March. That'd be ideal, although impractical.

3. Something that made me laugh this week was goofing off with Matt yesterday, my hands were pretty and cold and he was quite warm. I laughed hard. It felt good.

4. An item that is currently on my wish list is

5. I am excited about the coming holiday season. I love that Christmas/Thanksgiving is basically it's own season. Not fall anymore, but not quite winter. Being excited about this could have something to do with receiving my She & Him Christmas CD & Mittens!

6. If I were a color I would {still} be orange because it's bright, bold - you get it.

7. My favorite way to spend a chilly fall day is by snuggling up under the blankets with cozy sock and something warm to drink!

Craving: a restful nights sleep.

Seeing: fall sunshine. I love sunshine.

Smelling: the memory of the smell of chocolate in the entry way of the Jolly Pumpkin.

Making: a hearty spaghetti for dinner tonight! mmm.

Watching: All of the shows on our nearly full DVR. We knocked out the Good Wife last night. I'm thinking Walking Dead tonight.

Quoting: It's that time of year / When the world falls in love / Every song you hear / Seems to say
Merry Christmas / May your New Year dreams come true

And this song of mine / In three quarter time / Wishes you and yours / The same thing too

Anticipating: A relaxing yet productive weekend.

Loving: Matt. aw.

Feeling: headachey, that's no good. more coffee? yes please.

1,000 Ship - Rachel Platten

2011-11-10T15:30:00.000-05:00

The sun is out now, shining bright, but today the first flakes of the coming winter season fell.

I saved sharing this video for that day. Doesn't the snow in the city look lovely?

Happy first snow friends.

they're here!

2011-11-08T12:08:00.000-05:00

and they're better than these...

dazzling

a loVe story

2011-11-06T11:11:00.007-05:00

Evey & V

“but you cannot kiss an idea, cannot touch it, or hold it… ideas do not bleed, they do not feel pain, they do not love… And it is not an idea that I miss, it is a man… A man that made me remember the Fifth of November. A man that I will never forget. ”

Valerie & V/Evey

“It seems strange that my life should end in such a terrible place, but for three years I had roses and apologized to no one. I shall die here. Every inch of me shall perish. Every inch, but one. An inch. It is small and it is fragile and it is the only thing in the world worth having. We must never lose it or give it away. We must NEVER let them take it from us. I hope that whoever you are, you escape this place. I hope that the worlds turns, and that things get better. But what I hope most of all is that you understand what I mean when I tell you that, even though I do not know you, and even though I may never meet you, laugh with you, cry with you, or kiss you, I love you. With all my heart, I love you. Valerie.” movie still.

Valerie & Ruth

“I met Ruth. The first time we kissed, I knew I never wanted to kiss any other lips but hers again. We moved to a small flat in London together. She grew Scarlet Carsons for me in our window box, and our place always smelled of roses. Those were there best years of my life.”

remember, remember

2011-11-05T11:05:00.002-04:00


revolution.

"Remember, remember

The fifth of November

The gunpowder treason and plot.

I know of no reason

Why the gunpowder treason

Should ever be forgot."

Fill in the Blank Friday

2011-11-04T11:00:00.000-04:00

Just blanks today my dear readers. I have a monthly goals post in the works but it's not quite ready. HAPPY FRIDAY! I'm happy, happy it's the weekend.

1. My favorite thing about this week was/is this upcoming weekend and the surprises it holds for you dear readers and Matt and maybe myself as well.

2. Colder weather makes me ache for warm beverages and blankets and happy for snuggly cats and Matt. <3

3. Three things that make me terribly happy as of late are torturing Matt about this surprise weekend, planning the surprises, Matt himself.

4. If I could only wear one kind of shoe for the rest of my life, I'd choose Mary Jane's maybe, they're my go to shoe.

5. My personality type is INFP, it suits me I think. My strengths are learner, adaptability, maximizer, positivity, & input from the StrengthsFinder 2.0. Those definitely fit me.

6. I have a serious problem resisting pretty much anything gluttonous right now. I'm insatiable. le sigh.

7. My favorite color to wear is green or purple or orange or gray. :)

Blanks via the little things we do.

Matt + Movember

2011-11-02T13:00:00.002-04:00

Matt will be growing a MOVEMBER mustache & I'm backing him as mo'sista {their term not mine}, pledging $10 a day until he shaves it or December 1.

I think he'll be working towards something like this...

but with a 'stache obv'.
It will be very piratey from what I've seen.

I've been following Uncrate since last Christmas time. They feature fancy cars and tech stuff and crazy cookbooks and other stuff like fish hotels! I think we'll join their team since it's just us. It will be good to be part of a bigger something. Oh and here's Matt's mo space.

thankful for: my involved man

Movember

2011-11-01T13:00:00.002-04:00

via Something's Hiding in Here

Are you participating? Is a man in your life? I'm curious to see if Matt will. He was kind of gung ho a few weeks ago, less so now that it's actually here.

Not quite sure what it is? Neither was I.

"During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces, in the US and around the world. With their Mo’s, these men raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and other cancers that affect men." -movember

Again via Something's Hiding in Here, "if you know someone who's looking for a faux stache to help support their mo-bro tell them to visit our shop - from now until november 30th we'll be donating 100% of the profits from our mustache on a stick to movember."

thankful for: the efforts for raising awareness for men's health

Happy Trick or Treating

2011-10-31T18:00:00.000-04:00

Cat vs. Human

adventures of skeleton cat

2011-10-31T13:00:00.000-04:00

what have you done to me?

Hey Sam, can you help me?

Oh. No. I just. can't. I don't. understand.

Ugh. I give up.

We are not talking.

Halloweekend Sunday!

2011-10-30T13:00:00.001-04:00

Here we are just one day before the final day of October, and the day that is Halloween, and I haven't shared my sweet {and scary!} decorations yet. So here we go...

dining room: table v1 / spider web table runner / buffet / table v2 / spooky window / glittery skeleton

living room: fully decorated shelf / basically what it looked like before / indian corn

porch: aaaah! scary cat / spider / spider web

It's a pretty great time of year!!!

Look at that color.

Anniversary Retrospective

2011-10-29T13:22:00.000-04:00

Our anniversary was at the beginning of October, but since we were busy with festival Matt waited until the next weekend to pull this celebration together.

{blurry} dinner table overview / lots of planning / demolished sushi / oreo stuffed chocochip cookies / books* / the most important part of the fort that wasn't. forts are hard. what's the secret? / pumpkin margaritas

all of the things Matt did for this night were things that we'd enjoyed together over the past year. i absolutely loved it. good job bebe.

*I asked Matt "what would David Foster Wallace have thought of this combo?" He said, " I hope he would be proud."

daily values...

2011-10-26T13:00:00.003-04:00

I ran a 5k, then another. I swam/biked/ran a triathlon. I bear crawled my way through a fit camp. Then I stopped. I wasn't getting active 2-3 times a week but I kept eating like a champ and enjoying summertime brews and late night glasses of wine. Finally, I got on the scale at the beginning of this week and I'm up 10 pounds. Weight can be just a number, I know that. I barely lost anything during my six months of fitness and I was looking fierce ;), but my clothes are not fitting as well as they should be.

Instead of pledging to track all of my eats every day, like I wrote out as a goal at the beginning of the October and tend to be inconsistent with, I'd like to challenge myself to eat the recommended servings of vegetables and fruits per day. Maybe it will curb the over eating, or at least I will have a good, solid, nutritious base.

Here they are, the daily goals from the USDA for women 19-30 years old, as you know I am 26.

vegetables 2½ cups / fruit 2 cups
(make half your "plate" fruits and vegetables)

grains 6 ounces (1/2 of which are whole grains) / dairy 3 cups / protein 5½ ounces

Today I've had a banana, pomegranate juice, a handful of spinach (purple green monster!), Oatmeal with fruit and nuts. I'm on the right track, two fruits and one veg with vegetables in mind for lunch x2.

ps. This is how this post started.... a long time ago, over two years. So random.

I read about the One Dollar Diet Project. I appreciated their efforts for surviving on one dollar a day as so many people do in this country. One of the sacrifices they noted early on was a lack of the daily nutrients that we need.

It got me to thinking about how many people actually eat the recommend daily fruits and vegetables. I know I don't. I eat more fruit than I used to and definitely make efforts to get in yummy veggies, but my carbs and fats tend to be higher than needed.

good people.

2011-10-25T13:00:00.001-04:00

As a generally happy girl it's surprising that sometimes I can have such an annoyed, grumpy disposition. It's something that I struggle with. All of the sudden I'll realize, oh, I was really short with that person. I wish I could have been a bit more patient. Why did I have to respond so negatively? I mean, obviously, I'm better than all of these people. So why can't they just get it? Then we'd all be happier Seriously this is how I feel I act. Do you struggle with this?

On the flip side, I have a story about people who were gracious and friendly. On Friday I was running to a local market to pick up some things for our family get together. Matt was making brussel sprouts with bacon and maple syrup. mmm. As I'm heading to check out a woman and I arrive at the lane at the same time and I let her go ahead, her angle was better. When she saw me, she was very concerned that she'd cut. I assured her she had not. She explained that was shopping with a friend and wasn't sure where she was. When she realized that the friend was still shopping she insisted I move ahead of her in line. Thank you, thank you.

As soon as I got in line I realized I'd forgotten the apple cider I was craving. I asked the check out girl if they had some in stock, yes they did, but at that point I was blocked in on all sides of the aisle. I was going to have to leave with out my cider. Then the boy ahead of me, checking out with his mum, offered to go get me a gallon. Yes, yes please, I would love if you did that.

It was a good afternoon.

& just because

anxious sparrow
dear blank, please blank
Sapling Press

orange

2011-10-20T13:00:00.001-04:00

PoppyTalk
How lovely is this orange collection from Creature Comforts?

yellow

2011-10-19T13:41:00.001-04:00

all from previous posts on my blog. can you believe i didn't take a single picture yesterday?

oh colour week how i fail you. ;) maybe tomorrow.

Poppy Talk

hello fall colours: red

2011-10-19T09:16:00.002-04:00

How and why do I always miss the start of color week?

I love colour week.

I didn't take any pictures Monday, but I have this funny, red tinged one from Sunday. Thanks kitchen.

I am going to eat your face.

It will be fun to be on the lookout for photos simply based on the colors they capture over the next few days. Yellow here I come.

reminder via hula seventy

swept away

2011-10-17T13:08:00.002-04:00

What is this movie? Is it Amelie? I need to see it.

ache

squash & stout

2011-10-16T22:34:00.000-04:00

One of my Fall goals was to learn what my favorite type of squash is. I made it to the farm before it closed on Friday to pick up a nice variety to bake up this weekend. I picked acorn, butternut, spaghetti, sweet dumpling and turban. Here's the experience in photos.

olive oil, salt & pepper - ready to bake {350 for an hour or so, til tender}

flipped them over, one half didn't fit. whoops.

oh, the turban? the turban is a monster. i couldn't even begin to get into that sucker.

no worries, he makes an even better decoration.

ready to taste test. squash info...

and the winner was:

the acorn!!

I found the acorn, butternut and sweet dumpling all quite delicious and I'd be happy to cook any of them again. Matt made the final decision of the acorn as the winner.

I cooked up a yummy pasta, sans the chicken sausage and obviously with squash instead of pumpkin.

topped with cheese, yes please.

yummy salad with spinach, apples, pecans, raisins, baked squash seeds, blue cheese. balsamic/olive oil dressing.

Before you go, one more thing. Squash takes about an hour to cook and it was time for beverage.

Another choice to make, this time which stout to enjoy.

I picked up these two Rogue's Chocolate Stout and Rip Tide's twisted merciless stout last weekend at Cork & Ale where Matt bought his bottles for brewing.

I went Rogue and was quite happy with my decision.

Arrow Shapes from Pugly Pixel

dazzling luxury

2011-10-15T20:58:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I mentioned how much I love dazzling luxury.

It's a tumblr full of a beautiful images. enjoy.

And sometimes she posts kitties and you can't go wrong with that.

kitty

breakfast UNKNOWN. lavender. roses UNKNOWN. cafe UNKNOWN. Rue de Barigue. coffee. sparkler. je t'aime UNKNOWN. sparkler 2.

it's Friday!

2011-10-14T13:00:00.000-04:00

hello hello! design / via swiss miss

1. The most selfless thing I've ever done is escaping me. Maybe I'm not a selfless person. I am, I just got nothing for you.

2. When it comes to working out I am trying to establish a lifelong routine. I've learned that I'm better off when I have someone to hold myself accountable to, a friend to swim with, classes with teachers that motivate me.

My October goal of "Work out three - four times a week, plus at least once with Matt." is going ok, I've worked at least once each week but not at all with Matt. I'm thinking this weekend I'm going to change that. You ready buddy?

3. A woman should always, I've got to go with Lacey's here, respect herself. "You can't expect someone to respect you if you don't respect yourself."

Did you know it's domestic violence awareness month? I've found making jokes about it is a great way of letting people know. Which sounds worse than it is. I happen to have this giant bruise from giving blood last week (10 days and counting) and so I tell people Matt and I are doing an experiment to see if anyone notices my "injuries" because it's Domestic Violence Awareness month. People roll their eyes and laugh, but then they know.

4. I wish I could sleep in until I was ready to wake up and then I'd get a few chores done around the house, then head to work, but still get out before it was dark out or in the summer by 5 or so.

5. A best friend is the person who knows all the good and bad and weird things about you and it makes them love you even more because that's what makes you you.

6. I can't get enough of whining that it's not Fall-like yet, soon to be replaced by whining that I'm too cold.

7. This weekend I am cooking squash if I make it to the farm on time, making sundried tomatoes (see below), finishing up my Fall clothes transitions, rethinking my Halloween decorations (see inspiration below), CLEANING!, watching the Michigan State v. Michigan game, watching the Tigers try to beat Texas, more vegging and watching the tube while hanging with my love, blogging, reading, probably seeing parents, and that about sums it up.

hopefully there's lots of this.

{which is weird to say because I used to be a Michigan fan. It's questionable I'm sure to change sides, but I'd rather root together than have a split household. Each of us would have to claim a cat as a fan of their respective team. That'd be hilarious. Michigan's fight song is still better.}

Blanks via Fill in the Blank Friday

LINKS

Matt & I were featured on Free Crappy Portraits: film festival. so silly. Aren't the internets great?

There's some serious Halloween/crafty/Fall inspiration popping up, with just 17 days until that spooky night. oragmi bats, festive wreath made of ties, impressive mantle (from Rachel D's link up), holy crapy how beautiful is this family and the photos from Arrow & Apple? I've definitely found a new blog to follow.

Arrow & Apple

I follow Sheena from the little red house because of her beautiful photos, yummy foods she cooks up for her sweet family. This week her I am. post stirred controversy, and I have to give her props for sharing her Mormon faith. I'm not a religious {apparently, I don't even know how to spell it} person in the slightest and consider myself agnostic, but I think what she shared has a space and a weight that I wanted to share with you. Religious or not, be kind to yourself and others.

I am glad that Sheena blogs. Today she's sharing her senses, and I'll be happily making sundried tomatoes thanks to the reminder. I am also stealing the senses prompts.

SENSES

Craving: the Mandarin House sesame chicken we'll be having for dinner. mmm. It's going to be such a good food weekend.

Seeing: fall colors vibrant on the trees.

Dazzling Luxury

{I have a whole post planned about how much I love this tumblr.}

Smelling: the imaginary delicious aromas of pizza I decided we should make this weekend. I'm thinking tomatoes, zucchini, onions, squash, bell pepper. reminiscent of this.

Making: sundried tomatoes, squash smorg, fried eggs for toast.

Watching: football, Knocked Up, Parks & Rec

Wondering: Are you enjoying my blogging? I've done it every day this month.

Quoting: "I have looked down the long days of our lives together, she said & in all directions, there is no future without love" -storypeople

Anticipating: A relaxing and productive weekend. I had been planning to go away, but forgot to actually make the plan, so it's like we have a ton of found time and I hope to make the most of it.

Loving: that today is the first day I'm wearing tights. hello Fall.

Feeling: chilly but ok with it. I need to invest in some legwarmers.

There is something I really love about this post. Sharing bits of life and what I'm excited about.

Stuffed Pablanos

2011-10-13T13:00:00.001-04:00

I've been posting a lot about cats and "geeking out" so let's switch gears for a post. Food. Let's talk about food.

I really love to cook but until yesterday I'd taken about 10 days off. The summer is winding down and dare I say it, I'm tiring, only tiring I promise, of tomatoes and we still have a ton. We also have had a ton of pablano peppers and I hate to admit it, more have gotten thrown away then cooked.

It was time, to get back in the kitchen and pull together a yummy meal with some of those peppers.

zucchini, bell pepper, sun dried tomatoes {later added fresh cherry & grape tomatoes}

Oh, but here's the thing I didn't tell you. I worked out after work yesterday, so Matt actually made dinner.

Thank you, thank you baby.

Pablano Peppers baked at 425-350 (425 seemed to hot and blistered the peppers) stuffed with quinoa, zucchini, bell pepper, sun dried tomatoes and fresh grape/cherry tomatoes.

Baked for only 20 minutes or so.

homemade pesto aioli from BLTs Tuesday night, delicious on the side.

A glass of Redwood Creek, of course.

It wasn't the best meal ever and it takes a bit of time to make with the chopping and the quinoa and the baking, but it was complete and good and used our yummy pablanos.

Recipe here. {Gojee!}

tiny sweatshirt

2011-10-12T13:00:00.003-04:00

This is a kitty in a sweatshirt. I'd really, really, really like sweatshirts for my kitties, or maybe some kitten mittens.

via (original source unknown, please comment if you know)

dialect meme

2011-10-11T13:00:00.000-04:00

How do you say roof?

First I saw Katrina from pugly pixel and then Leigh-Ann from Freckled Nest participate in this fun dialect meme. I knew it was something I wanted to join in on, but I kept putting off because normally when I'm in the blogging mood I look a bit, ahem, disheveled. I'd take a picture but I might scare you away. ;)

Without further ado my dialect video, followed by an introduction. The intro is a minute long and a bit rambley but fun, of course.

To play along:

Say these words:

Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught

And answer these questions:

What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?
What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?
What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
What do you call gym shoes?
What do you say to address a group of people?
What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?
What do you call your grandparents?
What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?
What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
What is the thing you change the TV channel with?

Katrina has a list of a lot of other bloggers that participated, check it out.

Now for the introduction...

lucky kitty glass

2011-10-10T15:42:00.000-04:00

Hello Mr Awesome...

Tonight brings us another episode of How I Met Your Mother. Do you think he will ever meet her? I'm not sure. I think he will continue to just Mosby up the Lily & Marshall story. That is something Matt likes to refer to when we watch. I'll have him find some links to share just what that means.

In addition to a Marshall & Lily only story, I think I'd enjoy a Pam & Jim only story.

I'm really posting this to ask you a question or maybe ask a favor. Have you ever seen these kitty drinking glasses? They're the lucky Chinese cats you see in Asian restaurant. There's one at our favorite sushi place, and I think they are Japanese.

If you didn't notice it...

So... Chinese lucky drinking glasses, any leads? Thanks friends.

PS. A funny story. When the scene first started I noticed the glasses right away and had already rationalized to myself that we really didn't need these and we might never use them. Then Matt noticed them, looked at me and said, we need those. Do you see what they are?! :) I love him, no doubt about it.

Resemblance

2011-10-09T11:58:00.000-04:00

Lulu

Serious Cat

Do you see the resemblance?

They're available for a discount on fab.com right now... and every so often they offer a special invite. If you haven't already joined you'll get a $10 credit if you click this link! They're available for about another 24 hours.

a few more...

one week of summer

2011-10-08T14:33:00.001-04:00

Finally bringing you the rest of Ali Edwards a week in the life. You can see my first post here. I brought more images than what you see below together in a book. It was fun little project. I'll share that soon enough. ;)

(Week in the Life //all the other days)

NUMBER OF PHOTOS Monday : 45 | Tuesday :12 | Wednesday : 7 | Thursday : 30 | Friday : 24 | Saturday : 2 | Sunday : 10 | Monday : 55 | Tuesday : 4 | Wednesday: 7 Total Photos: 196! woah

Tuesday: breakfast/love/snacks | Wednesday: killer hill (shut up and bear crawl) | Thursday: fun fruit/sushi/beer/choosing/demolished | Friday: packing for two/so much to do/road trip!/beverages/blueberry martini | Saturday: waiting/hitting the water | Sunday: our view/vacation love | Monday: our morning view/upper peninsula (lake michigan)/waiting/site seeing/the mighty mac/self portrait | Wednesday: crazy clouds.

fffriday!

2011-10-07T14:30:00.001-04:00

Remember when I said it wasn't Friday without filing in the blanks and then I stopped. Well, here we go again. A good set of blanks from Lauren on this summery Fall Friday.

1. Something popular that I just don't "get" [are] those sweatpants with words across the butt, tacky.

2. Something unpopular that I secretly love is my new found love for wearing athletic pants to the grocery store. I figure if I'm wearing to work out in it's okay to wear them to buy milk and such, on separate days of course. I find it amusing when I have a 5k or tri t-shirt on and I'm about to eat a totally gluttonous meal, cracks me up.

3. When I've had a bad day I either take a deep breath and move and find something to make the day better or I wallow. Usually it's the wallowing.

4. I'd prefer coffee to tea any day.

5. Something that makes me nervous is angry people, for reals. Also, I think I'll always worry that people don't really like me. I know, I know if they don't it's not worth my time but honestly, there's not much about me that you shouldn't like. So do it.

6. Something worth fighting for is love and honesty.

7. When people think of me, I hope they think I am kind, funny and loving.

FIVE links for your Friday:

As you know I'm basically a fan of everything that miss Meg puts out there. She celebrated a birthday this week in her traditional eloquent, reflective fashion.

New Marc Johns, What birds do when we aren't looking

I continue to love what Kinfolk Mag is all about. The Stable Cafe is beautiful.

Curly Girl's Marmalade has some serious cuteness out for Halloween. I need to step up my Halloween decor efforts.

HOLY FREAKING MOLY CUTENESS!!!

Emotional Striped Cat / Snoring French Bulldog / Serious Cat

I think the one in the middle is kind of me, but of course I don't snore. ;)

The one on the right looks SO much like Lulu. I love it. It might deserve it's own post.

They're from Fab.com, Precocious Pet & Monster Prints from Christopher Rozzi is an artist and comedian based in NYC. His adorable print collection is aptly named Tiny Confessions.

It's True

2011-10-06T13:42:00.000-04:00

cosmic

You'd look snazzier in shades from Tumbleweed:

Enter to win a pair of sunglasses at www.talesofatumbleweed.com!!

This is entry for me so the competition is steep. ;)

These Peewee Herman Inspired Wooden Sunglasses are my fave.

You could steal them from me here.

Have a lovely Thursday. I'm pretty ready for it to be Friday. Matt's had secrets in the works this week, since our anni was last Sunday. I'm supposed to stay out of the house until 7ish tomorrow. Can't wait to see what he has planned.

beast

2011-10-05T11:46:00.000-04:00

too funny!

October Goals

2011-10-04T13:29:00.000-04:00

FALL 2010

It's been a while since I've done a monthly goals post, and I'm in the mood. So here we go!

one . Work out three - four times a week, plus at least once with Matt.
two .. Track my eating habits again. Make some improvements.
three ... Drink more water.

(Can you tell I'm feeling a little frustrated with some body/health issues issues after a couple of months of slacking?)

The first day didn't go so well. Gosh darn El Mex, but I admit, it was totally a conscious decision.

four .... Celebrate the Fall season fully with apples, squash, cider, leaves, and Halloween. October's a pretty great month, eh?

five ..... Do a serious "Fall" spring cleaning. Keep the house picked up and start sticking to a cleaning schedule. (I wrote one last December. I need to put it into action, for reals.)

six ...... Budget. I'm pretty excited, for two months in a row I've not overspent my goal amount! woot! This month I'd really like to keep it up. I need to really step up my efforts to save.

seven ....... Keep cooking. I've really enjoyed cooking these past couple of wees, months?, and as the fresh food starts to diminish I'm afraid I'll lose my inspiration. Squash and trying new recipes should keep me in the kitchen though.

Do you write out goals for the month? Are you good at sticking to them? (look at me putting bold questions at the bottom of a post, feeling very bloggery.)

Saturday at the Masonic

2011-10-03T12:56:00.001-04:00

great films / new shoes / beers (that brought us together) / leslie sisson

Sunday \\ Anniversary love.

Actually...

2011-10-02T11:38:00.002-04:00

Remember these?

"i'm kate and matt is my wonderful boyfriend of nine months. we met through hell's half mile film festival film programming and ended up as a couple after making out on a stage {actually...} during the festival. it's pretty out of character for both of us. our favorite activities are drinking beers (or wine), eating, watching too much tv and joking about our cats lulu and sam . i'm so glad we all found our way to each other."

Oh yeah, that happened.
Thank you, thank you. Free Crappy Portraits

Q. How was Hell's Half Mile?

A. Oh, good... Actually, I made out with a boy on a stage.

Happy one year Anniversary babe!!!

Disclaimer: We actually made out on a two step stage in an empty room... There was no cheering crowd, although I do believe our fellow programmers were cheering on the inside when they found out the festival brought us together. ;)

HHM Block Party

2011-10-01T11:38:00.000-04:00

the backs of Rider Strong & Alex Barreto / staying dry / I only have eyes for you

Where We Started / HHM

2011-09-29T14:09:00.002-04:00

This delightfully awkward photo was taken a year ago this evening.

This is where we started.

Matt and I had been programming (picking films for Hell's Half Mile Film & Music Festival) together for the past six months, but this was the first time we had more than a short conversation. Actually, I thought he was kind of a jerk. Sorry babe.

I think if we hadn't talked during the Block Party we wouldn't have felt as comfortable talking during the Filmmaker's reception Saturday night and we would have never... Actually, that's the story for Saturday.

Like us on Facebook / buy tickets & All Access Passes!! / visit our site.

September 29 - October 2, 2011, the sixth year of Hell.

Kate's Recommended Film Viewing Schedule:

Thursday

5-8p Opening Night Street Party Washington St.

8:15p Maria My Love*** @State

Friday

6:00p Featured Shorts*** @State {Q & A w/Rider & Shiloh Strong & Alexandra Barreto lead by ME!}

9:00p Color Me Obsessed*** @State {Q & A w/Gorman Bechard, Jan Radder, Lynn Mancinelli lead by Matt!}

11:00p Eye of the Sandman*** @Masonic {bring your eye patches!}

Saturday

1:00p Shorts Program 2*** @Masonic {Q&A with Hard to Come By director lead by me!}

1-2p Filmmaker Panel*** @Planetarium
2:30-3:30 Microbudget Filmmaking w/Gorman Bechard*** @Planetarium

3:30p Rid of Me @State

6:00p The Lake Effect*** @State

8:30p Girlfriend*** @State

11:00p Boy Wonder @State

5-7p Filmmaker Reception* @Masonic is where I'll be.

8:00p Music Festival** @Masonic

Sunday

12:00p Shorts Program 2*** @State

2:00p Shorts Program 1*** @Masonic {Q&A with Spirit of Isabel director, Robert Butler lead by me!} /Didn’t make it to opening night? See Maria My Love*** @State

4:00p The Scenesters @Masonic/Took a break during previous screenings? See Featured Shorts*** @State / Rid of Me @Planetarium
7:00p Fordson: Faith, Fasting, Football*** @State

**Music Night

One AM Radio

Leslie Sisson

Empty Orchestra

The Crooked Trees

*All Access Pass Holder Only

***Filmmakers in Attendance!

25 filmmakers will be in attendance, including Rider Strong - "Boy Meets World, my ass! Boy meets YOU!" via

wrap me up

2011-09-28T12:46:00.001-04:00

Mar Mar Co. /via

Yesterday I proclaimed it is fully fall here in Michigan. Tonight, I'd like to be wrapped in this lovely blanket.

fun stats and facts

2011-09-27T10:09:00.005-04:00

I love learning about my blog Stats.

Fun fact: On September 16th the Barilla Babies post tied with my Teach for America - Essay post for most pageviews ever.

TFA - Essay / barilla babies Babies have now surpassed TFA by 13. :)

is a virtue recently posted about how readers find her. I thought that was fun to read, so I'm doing my own.

kate monthly - I think you're looking for the Seattle Lesbian, but thanks for visiting. I am liking the idea of posting my monthly to do's again.

5k/triathlon playlist - I loved them. Did you? Still need to do a race recap

katie daisy - I've gushed about my love for her prints for sures. I hope you find your way to her shop, The Wheatfield & blog.

go find yourself - This crazy quote filled post is something that I would star and save for later myself. Obviously lots of others do to. I hope you do find yourself.

I'd like to declare it fully fall, friends.

Nan Lawson Good Cheer Deal & Fab

2011-09-26T12:14:00.006-04:00

Sharon Montrose / The Animal Printshop

"The animals photographed for this series are real live animals, raised (and most rescued) by loving and dedicated animal keepers and handlers who care for them as their own and ensured their welfare while being photographed (in studio or outside at the facilities where they live, then photoshoppped into the backdrop). Through this series, we help support organizations devoted to animal rescue, educational programs, and nurturing wildlife."

I made my first Fab.com purchase yesterday and how cool that it was for a good cause. It finally kicked off making purchases for a terribly naked wall in our living room.

Earlier this year I bought a good cheer deal from oh, hello friend for Nan Lawson's etsy shop.

Nan Lawson has such a great variety of prints. At first Matt was leaning towards the characters, and I was leaning more towards something sweet.

I'm Sick of These Dolphins / A Couple of Mugs In Love

I'm not sure what you'd consider what we did pick, but we like it.

This stag fits well with the owl above, and will bring a bit more masculinity into myour colorful, (my) girly living room. I have to give Matt props, he never complains about the girly-ness. I just want to blend our two styles, vintage eclectic and quite modern.

Thanks to the discount of the good cheer deal {there are still some left!} we were able to get a second piece. This one is for the bedroom. I narrowed it down to these two...

And Matt chose....

Hell's Half Mile Film & Music Festival

2011-09-25T13:24:00.000-04:00

My March - October Tuesday's are spent as film programmer for the Hell's Half Mile Film & Music Festival, and all of that work will be coming to a head this weekend!

Like us on Facebook / buy tickets & All Access Passes!! / visit our site.

September 29 - October 2, 2011, the sixth year of Hell.

Kate's Recommended Film Viewing Schedule:

Thursday

5-8p Opening Night Street Party Washington St.

8:15p Maria My Love @State

Friday

6:00p Featured Shorts @State {Q & A w/Rider & Shiloh Strong & Alexandra Barreto lead by ME!}

9:00p Color Me Obsessed @State {Q & A w/Gorman Bechard, Jan Radder, Lynn Mancinelli lead by Matt!}

11:00p Eye of the Sandman @Masonic {bring you eye patches!! Q & A following film}

Saturday

1:00p Shorts Program 2 @Masonic {Q&A with Hard to Come By director lead by me!}

1-2p Filmmaker Panel @Planetarium
2:30-3:30 Microbudget Filmmaking w/Gorman Bechard @Planetarium

3:30p Rid of Me @State

6:00p The Lake Effect @State

8:30p Girlfriend @State

11:00p Boy Wonder @State

5-7p Filmmaker Reception* @Masonic (I'll be here, enjoying delicious beers and reminiscing with Matt since actually... this is our anniversary!)

8:00p Music Festival** @Masonic

Sunday

12:00p Shorts Program 2 @State

2:00p Shorts Program 1 @Masonic {Q&A with Spirit of Isabel director, Robert Butler lead by me!} /Didn’t make it to opening night? See Maria My Love @State

4:00p The Scenesters @Masonic/Took a break during previous screenings? See Featured Shorts @State / Rid of Me @Planetarium
7:00p Fordson: Faith, Fasting, Football @State

**Music Night

One AM Radio

Leslie Sisson

Empty Orchestra

The Crooked Trees

*All Access Pass Holder Only

25 filmmakers will be in attendance, including Rider Strong - "Boy Meets World, my ass! Boy meets YOU!" via

buy me things

2011-09-25T11:11:00.001-04:00

Merriweather Council

I'd love a K+M for Matt and I.

Our anniversary is next weekend.

It will be a busy weekend with Festival but we were at the Masonic yesterday, and I think it will be nostalgic and sweet to be thinking about where it all started.

Eight Seasons

My plans last weekend for a major Fall switch and house clean kind of fell flat. The decorations are mostly out, but the house is quite dusty and the clothes are still packed away. Anyway, unless I have some treasure hidden away that I don't remember, I'd really like a new Fall purse. The one above will do.

Both of these items were found via oh, hello friend's Yellow Week big giveaway! It's open until... well I'm not sure but it says she's drawing the winner the 28th. So until then I guess.

holy zucchini

2011-09-20T11:43:00.001-04:00

I'm obviously slacking on my 30 day photo challenge... but here's something fun FOOD!!!

holy zucchini

When I received this giant zucchini from a friend I decided I couldn't just do something simple. So, I found four different recipes to try, and it worked pretty great.

huh, It looks like a squash. Oh, that's right it is.

so. much. cutting. (and this is just for the first dish.)

mango marinated zucchini spaghetti

On the left ~~beetroot~~, zucchini & apple salad

On the right fresh garlic and oregano zuchhini via gojee.

no eggs to bread with? use apple sauce!

(the applesauce was a nice bridge between the apple salad and this dish)

zucchini chips

mango marinated zucchini spaghetti

fresh garlic and oregano zuchhini

~~beetroot~~, zucchini & apple salad

zucchini chips

I think we'd make them all again, one at a time.

ducks & oats in a jar

2011-09-13T20:42:00.001-04:00

Since I'm a day late, I'm going to combine day six & seven into one.

I don't actually remember this, but I love this photo of my grandpa & me. A memory of a memory, if you will.

a train of thought from yesterday--

My peanut butter jar is nearly empty. mmm. > I hate getting sticky hands from trying to scoop out the last of the peanut butter. > Oh, didn't I read cooking something in a peanut butter jar? > I know it was on Rachel's last post {pretty, damn funny. go watch.} > Right, PUMPKIN IN STABLE CONDITION AFTER BEING HUMPED BY BLOGGER > They were talking about something called OIAJ, pumpkin OIAJ at that. What is that? > Oats in a Jar, okay. I think I've seen them mention that over on Lifehacker... I didn't realize it was worth humping a pumpkin or 286,000 Google results. > Okay, what's the deal? Do they cook super fast or... > Wait. HOLD UP. You simply pour your oatmeal into a Peanut Butter Jar...? > There is a serious use of exclamation points related to this. I repeat, you simply pouring your oatmeal into a mostly empty jar of peanut butter, 48 instances in once case. > But, ok. I like peanut butter. I like Oatmeal. I'll give it a shot. > I'll report back tomorrow. > I may never be the same.

Well...here it goes...

hmm. That can't be good, bending the plastic with the hot oatmeal?

My life is definitely the same. I'm a little more blogger-y, having experience OIAJ. I'll do it again, before the jar gets quite so low. But I think life will be normal.

Have you had oats in a jar?

someone i love

2011-09-11T10:30:00.001-04:00

My current favorite picture of us.

Hope we took lots more this weekend!

colors

2011-09-10T10:28:00.000-04:00

I love me some color, picking one color would be super hard.

purple, orange, gray, yes please.

clouds

2011-09-09T10:22:00.000-04:00

Renegade Chicago 2010.

Matt and I are heading to Chicago right now, visiting Kayleigh & Brent, hitting up Renegade and enjoying friends.

what i wore

2011-09-08T10:23:00.000-04:00

This is me last fall, October 11th to be exact, all ready to go on my big first date with Matt. It's been almost a year now, and we're as happy as clams.

There's actually a pretty funny story that goes with this. I was all set to wear jeans and a nice top, but then I mentioned to some guys at work that was what I planned to wear. They freaked! No, no, no you can't wear that. You have to step up your game, you know you like this guy. Wear a dress. All of our marriages started when our wives wore dresses on our first dates. We remember it. They were adamant.

So I wore the dress.

And 333 days later it's so good.

self portrait

2011-09-07T10:22:00.003-04:00

Sweet Lacey in Love (really, truly in love these days) is doing a fun Photo Challenge, and I thought I might play along.

Lacey / via Jenni of Story of my Life / originated here: Oh So Lovely:

So here we go:

I don't think I've ever posted this picture before. It was taken in June 2009. I had just moved home from New York, just bought this car that I'm sitting in, and had gotten caught by a boat on the way home. I love the reflection in the in my sunglasses of blue sky and big truck, the colors I'm wearing and my relaxed smile. I lost those glasses shortly after this, sad days. It's very summer, very Michigan, very me.

beautiful videos

2011-09-05T21:54:00.000-04:00

a ROOFTOP picnic {via kinfolk}

with a sweet JAR of JAM {via bright.bazaar}

Plum Jam from www.carlpendle.com on Vimeo.

Music Monday

2011-08-29T13:05:00.001-04:00

The Avett Brothers - Murder in the City

Birthday BLT

2011-08-27T14:32:00.000-04:00

I set out to make Matt a yummy BLT using his birthday bacon!

Looks pretty good, eh?!

Notice that pesto? Can you spot an avocado?

It evolved into something even better. A PABST sandwich.

pesto, avocado, bacon, spinach, and tomato! mmm

Fillin'em In

2011-08-19T09:41:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday.

Today is my first Friday at work since May 20th (I think). We work extended hours Monday - Thursday through Summer and then have Friday's off. It's great to have Friday's off but I'm not as productive as I should be during those days. Usually I say, "f- this shit, I'm watching Supernatural." So it's been nice to go back to productive afternoons after work even if it means working Fridays.

I’m very much looking forward to this weekend. We have yummy dinner and drinks at a fantastic house this evening with some family friends. Then tomorrow we’ll celebrate my friend’s daughter’s third birthday, but first I hope to get some cleaning and organizing done around the house. Maybe a bit of yard work too. Sunday we’ll either be heading to Ann Arbor to the Arbor Brewing co for lunch (a Groupon, of course) or sticking close to home. Either way it’s going to be overall a relaxing, friend filled, productive weekend. Kind of the best.

Fill in the Blank Friday

1. My idea of pure perfection would be a kitchen filled with delicious foods and infinite cooking patience and inspiration, loved ones gathered around a table laughing til they peed and enjoying a full stomach.

2. Trust & honesty makes the world go 'round. (I'm not sure it does, but that sounds quite respectable.)

3. If it weren't for work I'd be at home working in the yard and reading under the tree. (ahem, see above. Maybe not.

4. Bloggers are so completely inspiring and my favorite ones really know how to share their lives and make me smile.

{I've decided I'm going to go through the 155 blogs (and feeds - groupon, airfare watchdog, etc.) I subscribe to and while doing a blog roll for my blog describe why I follow each one of them. I think taking a critical look will help me lower the number of blogs I follow and appreciate them more.}

5. If I had two dollars I'd buy you and I each a Peace Tea. mmm. I'll take Cylon, which I love extra because it sounds like an alien.

6. I'm glad it's Friday because Friday means the weekend and what's not to like about that.

7. Something I'm excited about is Matt's birthday next weekend. I need to finish planning and I hope to make it a really special weekend for him. He's not big in to the birthday's (his), not that I'm surprised. I know what I have so far he will love.

Jar of Hearts - Christina Perri

2011-08-18T13:21:00.000-04:00

This song came on this morning, and I was nearly in tears. Her voice is so powerful. I love this song. Thank goodness Stacy Tucci shared her with the world.

the original dance:

Billy and Kathryn

Christina's live performance:

Allison and Neil

I promise this isn't becoming just a SYTYCD blog.

hello there

2011-08-08T09:57:00.000-04:00

I've been scarce, no doubt.

Overwhelmed with the blogging world maybe. Unwilling to come down from our sweet little vacation, that could have been three days longer.

I'm here though. Thinking about where I want to take this blog and the blogs I read. Do I post these same thoughts every month?

I have posts in mind. Hopefully I'll get them to you soon.

You can see some of my favorite posts of the past here.

You can see a variety of instagram/week in the life/summer shots here.

Finally, I'll leave you with my girls, Sasha & Melanie, the BEASTS of So You Think You Can Dance. I called it from the very beginning. This week is going to be so good.

Matt

2011-08-02T08:23:00.000-04:00

This is Matt's standard, "Really a picture?! Ok."

I think it's adorable.

We're off soaking up some Great Lakes!

Happy Tuesday.

miniVACA

2011-08-01T08:19:00.001-04:00

Piggybacking off our amazing family trip, Matt and are spending Monday and Tuesday up in the Mackinaw area. Our goal is to find a hotel with a balcony and a view of the bridge.

We'll be computer free. I'm so looking forward to it. I think sometimes my brain starts to buzz from the electronics.

cheese

2011-07-31T08:51:00.007-04:00

Ringing in 2011.

We've been known to "do the shit out of some cheese."

So obviously I enjoy Jo's, of A Cup of Jo, cheese features:

Cheese Pairings . Stinky Cheeses . The Perfect Cheese Plate

She actually has quite a cheese history on her blog.

I can't wait to try some of theses cheeses. I have one picked out already for our November mini-anni-vaca, but I can't tell you because Matt reads the blog. I'll be sure to post about post cheese goodness.

"Wrapped in cambium cut from the spruce trees on the farm and washed in lambic" Holy, that sounds amazing. It's a Winnimere by Jasper Hill Farm. Mentioned on the Splendid Table. Want to take a road trip? We'd have plenty of time to plan, this cheese is only available from January to June.

Sometimes posts that I'm excited about, like this cheese feature, don't come out sounding like I think they could. Any suggestions to improve that?

Every Summer

2011-07-30T09:07:00.001-04:00

Sometimes it's gray and chilly.

Sometimes it's hot and sunny.

There are always some sick dance moves.

And some awesome hair.

(but no Josh, after a solid 15 years the kid's decided to opt out. weird. :)

Today is our annual, amazing boat trip on the Cheboygan Chain of Lakes (you can get almost all the way across the tip of the mit.

I can't wait.

It's not Friday without Filling In the Blanks.

2011-07-29T11:01:00.001-04:00

1. My favorite color are orange gray and purple, equally.

2. My travel destination of choice is a cottage on the lake, fires in the evening, reading in the morning occasional dips in the lake. At least that's what the plan is for Monday and Tuesday. :)

3. My favorite food is sushi is up there for sures, Santi's tacos, a good spaghetti. I could never pick just one.

4. My happy place is my home, especially when it's clean.

5. My favorite saying is Always look on the bright side. / Be eccentric. / Be inspired. / Follow your heart and be your funny self. -Karine Dupont slogan. This is so me.

6. My dirty little secret is well.. you don't really want to know that.

7. Something friends might say about me is that I've got quite the happy disposition. Sound about right friends? Or that I'm really boring. ;)

now you. /linking up with Lauren

Paris Fashions

2011-07-27T07:21:00.004-04:00

Five years ago to celebrate my graduation from Delta my mum and I took a wonderful trip to Paris. I was so nervous about to wear I worried about for months beforehand.

This was my birthday outfit, twentyONE baby.

Jordan of Oh, Happy Day recently posted about a look for Paris, and it looks like I was on on the right track. (It's Paris, classic fashions probably don't change too much.)

linking up with Pleated Poppy.

ps. I love Gemma's sweet French cat.

day one {monday}

2011-07-26T09:00:00.000-04:00

three things

2011-07-25T17:23:00.002-04:00

I had a huge spike in blog views this week and I was trying to figure out why (linking up for What I Wore Wednesday?) Two things I geeked out about... THREE people checked my blog from an iPad. jealous. And Croatia...Do you know who's from Croatia?

Luka!

Who, oh my goodness!, is apparently playing Dragan Armansky in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo!

Check out the amazing new poster.

Shabby Apple Outfits!

2011-07-24T17:12:00.000-04:00

Shabby Apple did a fun contest on their facebook, create a collection of their items in honor of their sale. I couldn't do just one, so I did three!

dress.shoes.key.cameo

Purple shoes = purple tights, with the bugle boy dress.

I love the idea of the layered necklaces. When I first picked them I didn't realize they were from the same line.

dress . necklace . shoes

i love the circus feel of this dress. i'd love to see it with bright blue shoes.

kind of like this combination from dainty squid.

dress . shoe . earrings

And of course a dress from the Manhattan line.

I've loved the Washington Square park dress since I first learned about Shabby Apple.

today is the day

2011-07-22T18:52:00.001-04:00

We didn't get a chance to watch the film last weekend because Matt and I wanted to watch them all again. We timed it poorly. Can you believe we procrastinate on things we actually want to do? But...

(image via warner bros / via)

Today is the day, the day we finish the Harry Potter series. The end of an era. (dramatic much?!)

HPDHp2 here we come.

anxious.

one day - the last post (for now)

2011-07-21T08:57:00.001-04:00

I like weddings.

Echard Wheeler Photography /via

I picked out my dress style five years ago. I picked out my shoes five months ago. I picked out my photographer a year ago. but I don't have a ring. I do have a man. I bet he has a plan. I want to have plan. I worry every time I think about and start to plan one day, I ruin a bit of the special time that planning will be.

Since falling in love with Matt and watching our relationship grow my "one day" talk has ramped up. I tend to be half planning all of the time. I feel like maybe it's come across as I'm more excited about the "big party" than actually being married to Matt. and that's something I need to fix.

I told him the other day that I wanted to stop talking about it until it was actually time to plan because that would make it more special. I really can't wait, but I want to wait. I want to have every bit of excitement that comes with the planning. This is my declaration, my blog pledge, no more talking about any big parties or one day occurrences until there's a ring on it.

Echard Wheeler Photography /via

This post was also inspired by Rachel's Lessons: Lesson #91: Learn more about weddings and marriage and figure out why you want to get married. on it.{I'm putting Sex at Dawn: in my cart as you read. In the comments Jes said, "I talked to him seriously about it and told him I want to get married TO HIM and not just married to say I was married." This is so true. I dream of a wedding, not excessively, but I think it will be such a fun time for everyone. Matt recently quoted someone, everyone thinks their wedding's special, and really it's just another wedding. sad. The weddings I see and dream about are so much more. They really are special for everyone. I certainly hope mine, one day, can carry that.}

Ben Blood Photography /via

Lesson #92: Think about why you’re not married. {I'm 26. In thank the baby Jesus that I didn't get married young and to my first boyfriend. We might both be dead now. Then I was busy with school and living in New York and then moving home. I know why I'm not married. Honestly, I'm not sure I expected to find that person, the one that I would marry, in the ninth person I dated last year.}

and particularly Lesson #93: Don’t joke about weddings; talk about marriage!

yep this one applies too, Lesson #94: Just be patient.

Really, I don't need much more than this to make me happy.

birthday girl - what i wore

2011-07-20T06:04:00.004-04:00

This is my first time linking up for What I Wore Wednesday. {Which, to clarify, is not what I wore ON Wednesday, honestly I was confused why people were posting multiple outfits, but what I wore of note FEATURED on Wednesday.} I think it's a good reminder to take some time to feel good about what you're wearing {most} days.

I had a couple of opportunities to feel quite special during the week before my birthday.

This is what I wore for the big dinner Matt took me out too. We had basil bloody mary's and the best crab eva! Now I want to basil in everything.

Special shoes.

Early when Matt and I were dating (like ~~talking on the phone~~texting after the first date) I told him I had some clothes in my closet that I needed someone to special to take me out to someplace special so I could wear them. This was one of those dresses. Early on Saturday I was cleaning out a closet and came across these shoes that I had almost forgot I had, They were the only reason this dress worked as well as it did.

This is what 26 looks like.