Our (very brief) Snow Day

Sorry East Coast people... we have just not been getting any snow up here. Until last week. For about 12 hours. We finally got some snow. But it was gone in about a day. Didn't even get to stay home from work as, predictably, the city proper was not impacted very much... but the 'burbs had some pretty nasty icy roads for a while.

Extra socks and hot cocoa pretty much saved the day. After work I made Greg make his famous steel cut oatmeal for dinner. And then I hid out in my jammies and read a book. 

And that was how I handled our teeny tiny snowpocalypse 2011.

Washi Tape Idea book

If you are ever in Seattle and you are a stationary, copic marker or gel pen nerd and/or like cute Japanese things, you must visit Kinokuniya book store (next to Uwajimaya) in the International District.

Two words: washi tape.

I have previously sung the praises of this fabulously cute patterned masking tape, but in case you were unaware, prepare to be enabled.

Unsurprisingly, Kinokuniya bookstore sells books (in addition to all kinds of Asian magazines, books, manga, stationary, music, etc). Some of the books are in English, but the majority are not. But let's face it. When it comes to art/inspiration books, mostly, we just care about the pictures.

So I happily snagged this cute little washi tape inspiration book because of the number of color and project ideas that lay within. (If you google washi tape inspiration book, you can see that there are all kinds of options. If you are interested in this one, I think you can call Kinokunya and order it shipped anywhere. ISBN978-4-05-404387-9)

Check it:

I really liked the variety of projects and examples of different patterns of tape used. I am so totally inspired by this book right now. Even if I can't read the instructions. ;)

What's inspiring you today?

The weekend lens

As I write this, giant chunks of snow are throwing themselves to the ground outside. I am glad to be cozy and indoors right now. My dinner plans include homemade oatmeal and hot cocoa. Something hot and toasty, anyway. I do not get along too well with the cold temperatures. Up here in the Northwest, we haven't had a bit of snow in the city since November. Until today.

And just when this last weekend was so lovely, too.

Let's recap, shall we?

My first project was trying to remove the musty stink from a typewriter I had to rescue from the Goodwill. It's case was not salvageable, but I was moderately successful at cleaning the typewriter itself. Aside from some lingering mustiness, it works extremely well. And it is quite shiny. I gave it a new ribbon and am letting it air a bit more. Cute, isn't it?

The weather was so delightful, I actually got to wear my old peep toes and a new spring dress. And so bright and sunny it was hard to take photos, actually. The cherry tree was pretty happy about it though. 

Days like this always make me want to get out of the house and go exploring. Preferably with a camera or three in tow. So that's what I did. I got out of the house and down to Fremont to visit Deluxe Junk, a very cute second hand shop (that by some miracle) I had not yet previously visited. 

Once I got down there, I pretty much had to smack myself for not going before. I mean, if there was one best gathering place for TLR cameras at really good prices in Seattle, well, this place was clearly the best one in the city. They had typewriters and such too, but having dealt with a musty old typewriter already that day, I was content to just admire and browse. And fondle the vintage suitcases. And maybe play with some in-store TTV action.

After that I walked around for a bit, and then on impulse, bought a teeny tiny PB&J pie. It was yummy. 

It was a very nice day for a good walk, and on the way down to the river, I just may have stopped at the Fremont Sunday Market and snagged myself a sky blue vintage metal document box. 

And then I played around with my old Anscoflex. Without a contraption!

And then later, I met up with the boy for some additional coffee and beach walking.

Yeah.. It was pretty great.

It's going to be a pretty tough week at work, so I'm glad I took all these pictures to remind me of the good times in life--the weekends. :)

Craftiness Pending

Just some peeks of a project I've been working on.

Waiting for the okay for a go live.. so hopefully I'll be sharing more info soon.

Hope your weekend was nice and/or crafty. :)

Coffee Print Winner

Random.Org says that lucky commenter #3 Elisabeth Costa is the winner of the cute coffee print from Stephanie of the livingroomfloor. 


Please email me your address info (just use the contact button up top on the blog there) and Steph will send you the yummy print. 


Thanks for commenting everyone! If you missed out and really want one, she's running a special that includes free shipping for any print right now. Check out her etsy for more details!


Happy Saturday!

A sign of Spring

There is a cherry tree in front of my house. I love this tree.

Every morning on my way to work I check it to see if the little buds or flowers are growing. Later in the summer I check on the cherries, or just admire the deep red leaves. It's cheerful. And I miss it in the winter time when the branches are cold and bare.

Here in the Pacific Northwest we tend to have a warm spell right before a cold snap, and then spring truly begins. As you can tell from that photo, that's about where we are at right now. For example, yesterday was 50 and sunny and gorgeous, and today was cold and rainy with some snow flurries.

Anyway. I took this photo this morning. I really love how blown out it is. (Because my camera couldn't handle the grey sky and do a macro--but it works for me).

It makes me happy, because it's just potential. Blossoms are going to be happening soon. The warmth will return soon.

I can't wait.

p.s.


One more day to enter Steph's giveaway below! I will draw the winner tomorrow night Really loving hearing your coffee stories! :)

Because it's true

My awesome friend Stephanie of The Living Room Floor is an amazing graphic designer and she's recently designed a line of prints for her shop that showcase some really fabulous typography and interesting quotes. This one is my very very favorite.

You know why.

Because she is nice and sweet and generous, she is letting me give a copy of this print away to a lucky commenter.

Tell me how you like your coffee in the comments and on FRIDAY I'll pick a random winner. Sound good?

And, okay, I suppose if you don't like coffee you can leave a comment too.
But you have to tell me how we can convert you. ;)

Everyday Romance

The internet is full up on lovey dovey valentines' nonsense today. So I decided to add to it a bit. 

Greg and I don't hold much to the idea of ONE super awesome lovefest celebration day. (WARNING MUSH ALERT) We generally ascribe to the philosophy that every day should be a celebration of our feelings for each other. And so for the most part, we just have lots of little moments that show how much we care. And I think that means more romance, overall. 

This will also be our 11th Valentines Day together, so quite honestly, I think our plan of getting Vietnamese noodle bowls and renting a movie sounds pretty awesome and romantic. So, not a lot of roses or boxes of chocolates or sparkly jewelry happening here, but I'd rather get those on some other random day. :)

Anyway... Thought I would test out some new javascript functionality by putting in some images from our everyday dates that haven't yet made it up on the blog. 

Click for gallery view. Pretty cool huh? 

(sorry RSS readers, I don't think it works unless you are actually at the site)

Anyway, in whatever fashion you do or don't celebrate the feast of St. Valentine, hope you have a great February 14th. 

Hugs and Happy Monday.