Saturday, March 29, 2014

mini adventures


right now i'm sitting on the couch, listening to & watching the rain outside while eating two slices of toast from trader joe's & wearing my sweatshirt from my alma mater. it's such a cozy day & i hope to have a sewing afternoon today after church : )

i've been thinking about all of the mini adventures i've been having lately. even though i've been kind of feeling down (a lot sometimes) about not finding a job, i'm actually loving my life right now. i love having the free time to just do things i want to do. i often get to visit miguel, meet lizzie for coffee, or just spend a few hours crafting. anyway, i just wanted to share a few photos from the mini adventures i've been having.

1. (see above photos) the donut shop around the corner from my house is moving in a few months. i'm so sad. i have fond childhood memories of my dad bringing home a pink box of donuts once in a while on friday nights. so, one friday night my parents & i visited it one last time & picked up a dozen. i just love the pretty pink packaging they come in. (i think i'll start a #prettypinkpackaging collection.) my favorite donut is a tie between glazed old fashion & maple old fashion. delicious!

2. as you know, i've been looking for a full-time job. i went to a job fair for the first time. it was a good experience! employers were asking for resumes & business cards, i got a call back, etc. anyways, on the way back home (it was an hour & a half away...) i stopped in the town where miguel works & met him for his lunch break at the european deli we both like. it was so simple, but pretty perfect.

while i was waiting for miguel to go on his lunch, i passed an indie theater that was showing the grand budapest hotel! i was so so excited. it was really hard to find places that were playing that film near where i lived. so i had to see it. after we had lunch i said goodbye to miguel & bought a ticket for the next showing. i had never been to the theater by myself before, but i kind of liked it! it somehow made the film so much more personal? i don't know how to explain it, but it was such a good experience & definitely an adventure! (the movie is fantastic by the way!)

 3. alisa & went biking together. i biked 5 miles. the bike-a-thon is in a week & i would like to bike in it again, so it's a good idea to start practicing! alisa took me to a place i've never been to before & we biked around a small lake & then watched the sun set. it was really a great afternoon. we packed up our bikes & then got italian food.
 4. miguel & i have decided that panera bread (with it's unlimited coffee supply, good food, & free wifi) is our new home. we spent four hours there one night drafting & job searching. it was really quite perfect.
 5. this photo was actually taken by miguel. it was while we were on our photoshoot! miguel & i were asked to model for a local photographer's new ad campaign. we were flattered & agreed. if you are friends with either of us on facebook, you would have seen the sneak peek of five photos. we will be getting a cd with all of the photos in three weeks, so when i get them, i'll be sure to share them!
 6. miguel & i love to find new places to eat in his city. i had heard of this pub many times before, but never went there as i thought it would be too expensive. however, after looking at the breakfast menu, it turned out it wasn't too bad. so we decided to go there for brunch. the pace was decorated so lovely, the english food was amazing, & the bathrooms had tube signs & everything just made me miss england & nicola! i asked miguel, "can we go here whenever i miss england?" & he said, "yeah." & i said, "good." so it looks like we will be back! haha.


 7. before i was comfortable driving to visit miguel, i used to take the train to visit him. now, it has been a while since i last took the train, but this last time i visited him, it turned out that i took the train back home. i usually love taking the train - i get to sit back, relax, & enjoy the scenery. but this time the train was stopped on the tracks before my stop for almost an hour. i had this view (below) the entire time & i'm not complaining : ) love the green grass!

 8. my mom & i have been on a plant kick lately & have been traveling to all of the local nurseries & farms, looking through their plant collections. she brought me back three succulents from her recent trip & bought me this pink tipped succulent from the local farm. it's so unique looking! while i was there, the farm cat was so loving & such a good model ;)



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Wednesday, March 19, 2014

climbing


things have been pretty good lately. i've been going to a lot of community events centered around art. my city has a new art scene that is thriving & it is really exciting. i've been working on a zine on crafting. once it is finished, i will be dropping off at at the new independent bookstore for it to be distributed : ) more news on that as it progresses!

i found a coffee shop that does latte art in the next town over & i've been back twice already.

miguel & went a couple of days ago to visit his family. it was fun! i got to help make chile rellenos, pick up his niece from kindergarten, & meet his new niece who is super cuddly. he took me to a big park that he use to go to when he was younger & had fun climbing trees ;)

i'll be going to a job fair on friday. i'm honestly kind of nervous. i really need my resume to be looked at because it's getting me nowhere & they will be having people there to look at it for free. i'm going to pull out my slacks & try to look professional. i have to pick out what i'm wearing tonight as i'm packing to go visit miguel tonight. wish me luck!

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Saturday, March 15, 2014

two year anniversary trip

 miguel & i took time off of work this past week & took a little trip to guerneville, ca to celebrate our two year anniversary that was last month : ) we took advantage of a travelzoo deal & had a fantastic time at boon hotel & spa. we had room nine & it was such a nice room!
 we got there late & there was a little note to us & a gift bag with a bottle of wine, wine tasting passes, & a $50 spa voucher. everything was so personal & lovely.

 we were so excited to be there! we went out to the main street in the little town, trying to find a restaurant still open. we found one that had live music & had pizza & ravioli & chocolate lava cake. the lava cake was super delicious. then we made it back to the room & just relaxed watching food network.

 morning came & i slept really good for not being in my own bed. (this bed was so comfy!). i started a fire in our in-room fireplace & just enjoyed the great design of everything.

 the shampoo & conditioner were really nice. i loved them! so, miguel bought me a bottle of each to take home ;)
 the owner of the hotel delivered our breakfast on a tray. it included french press coffee, biscuits with jam, orange juice, & fruit with yogurt. simple but delicious!

 we spent the morning just relaxing in bed & sipping coffee.
 we checked out of the hotel & it was time for the exploring to begin. we drove less than a mile north to the armstrong redwoods. these redwoods are so beautiful & majestic. the photos don't do them justice.


 by around 1pm we were getting hungry again (ok i was getting hungry again) & we decided to find a place to eat in town. we stopped at big bottom market. i just loved the look of this place!







 then we window shopped a little & hopped in the car to make our way through a couple of other towns, stopping along the way whenever we pleased, until we reached our dinner destination.
 we weren't exactly hungry for dinner around 7pm (because we were eating along the way!) & miguel had some homework to do, so we stopped in starbucks & he sketched while i watched parenthood (i'm so addicted to that show now by the way!). it was just so perfect. the whole trip was so relaxing & nice.
we finished the trip at rosso pizzeria for dinner as a part of restaurant week. we then made the long journey home. such a good trip!

Saturday, March 8, 2014

quiet times

hello there. march has come to this new year so fast. before i know it i will be off to thailand! i've been booking hotels/guest houses & flights to different parts of thailand (so cheap by the way - for $100 my sister & i have round trip tickets from bangkok to chiang mai round trip, for both of us, together.). i'm also in the market for an internal frame backpack & have my eye on a couple.

life has been relatively quiet lately. & i've liked it that way. it helps me fall in love with the little things that i may have otherwise missed. i've been spending some time in the yard, cleaning, mowing, & planting. on days that it is raining i love just curling up in my bed, looking out my window & listening. 

miguel came to visit one day last week & he took me out for breakfast at a cute cafe & we just sat there enjoying each other's company. he was staring at me the way he stared at me on our first date - a mixture of awe & amazement. we then went back to my place & just cuddled up, playing computer games on his new laptop & then getting chinese food at his favorite place in my city. it was such a simple day but i loved every minute of it. 

we leave on our anniversary trip tomorrow. i'm so excited : ) it's just a bummer that i just caught a cold. oh well. a little cold won't stop me!

also tomorrow, i am teaching my mom's scouting group how to make terrariums! they will be using mason jars & moss & little figurines. i have a feeling they will turn out pretty cute : )

miguel called me from target yesterday just to say that he felt weird going to target without me because we always go together. i haven't been up to visit him in a while & i think he's missing me. awww ;)

ok, those are all of the little tidbits of my life i have to share with you for now. i hope you have a lovely weekend!

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