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1.  The best surprise ever would be if someone had invented a publicly available teleportation machine before this weekend and I could have stayed home and had a mostly relaxing yet productive weekend but also spent a couple of day eight hours away in Houghton with family. It mostly would have been the best surprise ever so that I wouldn't have stressed over the decision for weeks beforehand. I felt 50/50 the whole time.

 

2.  I'm feeling a bit removed from memories so I'm having a hard time thinking of my most favorite memory .

3.  The hardest, but most worthwhile thing I've ever done was moving to New York and being on my own for 18 months. It was hard because I was alone. It was worthwhile because I was alone.

4.  The best part of my day is the downtime in the evenings when Matt and I get to hang out, sometimes we veg hardcore, sometime we make dinner together, but we're together laughing about something, usually the cats. 

5. Something I like that most people don't is ranch dressing on my pasta & rice, no doubt.

6. Something I am willing to fight for is peace & quiet & calm in my home.

7.  Something you might not know about me is my house had an ant infestation on the porch. It was the in the top 10 the bug guy has seen in 10 years and 3,000 houses. TOP 10.

good morning, these cups makes me nostalgic for new york.

Seeing: sunshine and a quiet house. thankful. the yellow pages that guiltily remind me i did not get a property line survey lined up for next week.

Making: 

Watching: three episodes of Glee, earlier today. I think three is my max.
Hearing: songs in my iTunes, i'm trying to clean out the music I don't like.

Quoting: 99% of life is mundane, so it's important to remember to enjoy the everyday.  -Amanda's dad.

Anticipating: Matt getting home and deciding what to do with the rest of our day, out and about or lazing about. and then the rest of our weekend. I have a to do list to tackle.

Loving: this lazy day. i needed it.

Feeling: ready for a shower.

 

 good afternoon, making the switch from coffee to beer on a holiday weekend.

elise's summer vacation book.
sheen is making jealous of summer foods that grows in (not even) June and not October!
beca of tumbleweeds will be featured on fab in two weeks, i can't wait!
Koubachi gives your plants a voice, I downloaded this app as soon as I discovered it! thanks swissmiss.
After reading this it was fun to see this Marc John's illustration a few blogs down. It's so true. I'm also basically allergic to "big talk too."
Um, yes: Win A Free Wedding!
There is some serious stamp love and developing going on out there.
This. Gorgeous lady. (bonus, a new blog to follow!)
Great cover. I was so proud to be supporting President Obama on my car that day. Reading Meg's reactions on twitter really brought it home too. (one reposted on the blog)

15 Great Tips for making a marriage last 15 years remember this gem too.
already prepping for the holiday season. 
I've never paid for a photo app, but I'm excited to try out VSCO cam after Amanda Jane's recommendation.

I'm going to need to remember this. This is a great post about working with vendors. It annoys me to now end that there are only two Michigan vendors on A Practical Wedding, and both over three hours away. I mean there have to be vendors out there, close by, that align with a Pactical and sane wedding. Right?! I mean, I hope so. I certainly concerns me.... side track.  So, I love that they end with:  

And if you find a vendor that totally has APW values but doesn't know about us yet, do us all a favor and have them apply for the vendor directory! Trust me, we all want to know their details.

Read more: http://apracticalwedding.com/2012/05/how-to-hire-wedding-vendors-photographers-caterers/#ixzz1vuuIUteM

good day, spent the day reading blogs (the reader had gotten out of control once again) and posting links here. 

the cats embraced the gloriously lazy day as well.

SPRING planning

Right now we have snow on the ground, and I am SO over it. Honestly, I think I've been over it since November. It's been a LONG winter to say the least. But it's officially spring now and I think it's time to start planning a garden, a vegetable garden.

This will be the second spring and summer in my home. I'm excited to get my hands dirty again and learn from my mistakes. Last year I planted tomatoes, basil, yellow peppers (one yellow pepper!), lavender and mint. The tomatoes took over the bed with the lavender and mint, so those were pretty much lost.

 I didn't harvest these until October. I hope some of my veggies are ready before then this year.

I'm hoping to plant: zucchini, cherry/grape tomatoes, full size tomatoes, peppers, basil, lemon, garlic, string beans, mint, rosemary and I guess that's all. Bay City is in Zone 5B, limiting some of the things I can grow due to a short summer, but I don't feel like my list is lacking. I didn't plant until the first week of June last year, after we went plant shopping on Memorial Day weekend. It's a late start.

I'm looking at different websites for seeds, and I'm kind of overwhelmed. Michigan Bulb doesn't have any of the veggies I'm looking for, except garlic. The Seeds of Change website has all the things I'm looking for, but I'm intimidated by the number of seeds they send you. I could get 25 THOUSAND basil seeds for just eleven dollars! As I started shopping the site more, I found that the zone hardiness was published in the catalog but not online. I also realized/remembered that we have several fantastic nurseries around this area, and it would be best to support local businesses. Now I'm wondering if they are open and selling seeds to plant yet. I think I'll have to do some investigating.

I love the idea of this tomato trellis, one of the things I struggled with last summer/fall was harvesting my tomatoes before they rotted or having them fully ripen because the weren't getting enough sun or were too close to the ground. Maybe this trellis would solve that problem?

Another element of my yard adventure this spring and summer will be getting familiar with my new ecomposter.

It's no longer in the living room, but it's still not outside due to the (stupid) snow. We have started a little compost can in the kitchen. It's going to take a long time to fill up this guy!

I guess I just wanted to get some thoughts in place about all of my yard projects. It's going to be fun to learn how to grow my garden and my green thumb!

Oh, and I'm already making a note to plant bulbs this fall, for early spring beauty in twenty12.

reflection

F antastic, E njoyable, B eautiful, R ed, U nique,  A dventurous, R ejuvenatory, Y ou and me

 

Fantastic, Enjoyable

 For the most part. I had a wonderful dinner party with fabulous friends, learned I could fall for someone, enjoyed snuggles with said someone and had a fantastic trip to Chicago. (the highlights)

 

 Beautiful, Red

Yes. Had an absolute blast decorating for vday holiday, making ridiculous hearts for my cats to wear and a handmade valentines day card.

 

Unique, Adventurous

Certainly. I'd never been broken up with before by someone I was falling for. I'd never adventured in new parts of Chicago (Renegade Handmade, Friars, etc). I threw my first dinner party and decorated my home with hearts (that are still on the front door - in June!)

Rejuvenatory

No. I got hurt and that threw me off. I was all wrapped in ideas and plans and daydreams. I didn't write much, I don't think I took time for myself. So no, plans of rejuvenation fell through.

 

You and me 

 Sigh. We had some good times, some real sweet times. I think he might have been the perfect first person to fall for as I started this dating adventure. We had ideas and talked a lot, but in the end it didn't work out and I understand why. It was fun to think though. 

 

myself, art journal, yard

 

myself

so wrapped up in myself. this was a yucky prediction of the future. i think i related everything that happened in may to me. how ever unrelated to me it was. this may be something i struggle with for  a long time. but i'm learning. 

 

art journal

nada. i did buy some supplies and thought i would start a bit late. didn't follow through. but just like with style school. i can do it another time when i'm feeling more crafty and creative.

yard

success! i've had so much fun working in my yard. everyt time i go out there i realize how much work we've done and how much work we still have to do. it really is a wonderful yard and so fun to work in. over the years (yes, it will take years!) it will really look fantastic and more like my yard! 

 

  so. while i didn't not have the month i expected in february or may (or march or april) it was something. i learned things. absolutely. thank goodness. because what is life without learning? and that's truly all i can hope for. 

"It’s only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth — and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up — that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elisabeth Kubler-Ross (via)

 

ps. i'm in the mood to write, so i might as well post back to back. i might even write another one (or two!)