Happy December!

I *heart* fall

Autumn came a few days early

The rain came yesterday in Portland, which leaves me a bit conflicted and confused about the seasons.

This has been a strange summer by my measures. It began pregnant, on bedrest, and with countless hours spent wondering what to do with my time before my baby girl arrived.


Two days into the summer, she came to us.


I hardly recognize that girl now.


Now, after buying a house, packing, moving and unpacking, doing some finishing house projects and cleaning up the messy backyard that came with the house, heading back to work, caring for 2 kids and a husband, and all the day-to-day routines that comprise my days (and nights too!), I seem to to have missed the summer days that August and September brought my way.

In my mind, it has been autumn for the past three weeks. I was shocked every time I wandered out of the house in jeans and a long sleeve t-shirt to find it was 85 or 90 degrees.

Even though I missed berry picking, camping, tanning, swimming in a lake, and many other summer adventures this year, I guess I've been a little bit ready for the season to change and I didn't even know it.

So I was pretty excited when Addison asked to get out his umbrella out of the closet and wanted to wear his new boots to go for a little walk in the rain.







Autumn, here we come!

weekend of sun

Wow. Some sunshine in my life goes a long way toward making me a happy girl.



This weekend felt like a different world. Partly because of the sun and all that it brings out of this city and the people in it who all patiently (or impatiently) waited out the long, grey winter... Barbecues, shorts and short sleeves, mowed lawns and gardening, drinking cold drinks and playing games on the lawn, cats stretched out in windowsills, children riding bikes, frisbees...

Plus, the return of old friends from days when there was less responsibility in our lives, when we spent entire days lazing about together, being silly and talking about nearly nothing important, playing video games late into the night...

And then there are the things that are new in our lives, that combined with the old, just make everything the way its supposed to be, and oh-so-right... precocious, beautiful children, talk about our careers and the things we're experiencing in our diverse lives... and of course, you know you've all grown up a little when the side dishes at your potluck grow up past bags of chips and store-made potato salad into green beans dressed in a white balsamic vinaigrette, strawberry-mango crisp, grilled salmon, and other delectable morsels.

Oh spring, disguised as summer, you have been a blessing this weekend.

into spring

Addison and I planted sunflower seeds in these empty eggshells on Friday and are watching them daily to see when they will reveal their green little sprouts to us!

Oh spring, you are full of new beginnings and opportunities!

Dear Snow,

I love you, really I do. We've had tons of great times, and your presence is speckled throughout my childhood memories. You're an old childhood friend who's never visited me in Portland until now!



I grew up in a small town where getting a foot or three of snow at once was not uncommon (the photo is not a good example of the deep snow, but trust me it happened a lot). My siblings and I had our own personal sled run in the "woods" about 500 yards from my house, and I have packed many a snowball, made many a snowman and built a dozen snowforts complete with secret compartments for storing "ammo." Those were awesome times, snow.

But right now, you and I need to have a talk. I was so excited to see you when you dropped in for a bit last week. It was even more fun when you decided to spend the night on Friday and stuck around for me to take my son on his first sledding trip on Saturday. But let's be real. When you start inviting your discourteous, freezing rain buddies over and make a mess of everything, its really just time to go. You've extended your stay and we just can't host you anymore. In fact, if you keep this up, you're going to keep me and my family from being able to be together on Christmas, and that's just not cool.

So please, let's keep this friendship that we've got going, and take your leave for a little while. You can come back again in January, ok? But next time, leave that freezing rain behind.... got it? He's kind of giving you a bad rap.

I'm glad we talked about this, snow. Thanks for listening.

Update: We all made it to my mother's house safe and sound, and have been thoroughly enjoying the three feet of snow accumulation and icicles on every house....some reaching all the way from the roof to the ground! Pictures soon... Merry Christmas!

On the first day of Christmas....

Wow, what a week!
We've had:

• 10 inches of snow,

• took 9 sled runs down the hill, (which satisfies list item #3!)

• I made 8 calendars for my girlfriends from little brown pen,

• watched the winter weather forecast for 7 days,

• ate 6 cupcakes between the 3 of us today (guess who ate three all by herself),

• made 5 quarts of soup,

• enjoyed 4 holiday parties,

• survived 3 snow days,

• enjoyed a VERY rare evening staying up til 2am,

• and now am mother to 1 toddler who turned 3 years old today!

enjoying

We are so lucky here in Portland to have farms all around the city for year-round weekend trips to pick berries, flowers, and enjoy fresh local produce, outdoor concerts, witness beautiful weddings, and families enjoying each other's company.

This past weekend it was my own family enjoying one another and bringing home varieties of squash, apples, avocados, pickled beans, cider, and of course, pumpkins for carving.



We enjoyed a little tour of the farm animals doing their signature barnyard performances right before our very eyes, like pages from a storybook.



But I think my favorite part of the trip was capturing little bits of magic with the camera,



and watching others do the same.



I love having this blog and sharing bits of my life with you all. Thank you for all your comments and encouragement (and tips!) during these first two months!

xoxoxo

Autumn, I love you.

I adore this pairing of photos that Joanna posted yesterday!

































The colors are delicious!

Today, I can finally see the evidence of autumn's arrival... rain, falling leaves, cold weather, and everything in my house expanding due to the moisture (from dresser drawers to puzzle pieces!).
I think I'm finally ready.

Things I love about autumn:

• getting cozy
• cooking with hearty, harvesty foods and making soups, breads, and slow cooked meals
• heavy blankets at night
• Halloween!!! (I adore costume parties... why don't they happen more often?)
• This pumpkin patch, complete with corn, hot cider, popcorn balls, pie, and the Maze!!
  

What do you love?