Check in

Where is your mobile phone? Right in front of me.  I still really love my iphone.  Really.


Where is your significant other? Oh, well isn't that a good question.  If you might know, please tell me.


Your hair? In a ponytail.  Still wavy from it being curled yesterday and in a bun all day.


Your mother?  Randomly texts me to tell me she loves me and is praying for me.

Your father?  Is always mentioning that I need to write a book.  He slips it into conversations  all the time.  I must say it's completely flattering that he thinks that I can write that well.

Your favorite thing?  I'm trying really hard not to be so attached to things.  But I would say that my silly iphone is my favorite right now.  


Your dream last night?  Had a house in it that I've dreamt about before.  There are two different houses that I dream about repeatedly.  

Your dream goal?  Write a novel.  My dad thinks I can, so why not?  

The room you're in?  My little corner bedroom.  It's messy with craft supplies right now.  

Your church?  Just added another service on Sunday evenings.  I'm helping teach pre-school.  It's spectacular.  

Your fear?  Well, if I was really brave I would tell you my real fears.  But I'm too scared to.  They are too personal.  


Listening to?  Pandora on shuffle.  I've got my stations finally tuned by now.  Right now:  Harry Potter soundtrack, Seabear, Hillsong, Transformers soundtrack and Dean Martin.  I do have to keep skipping Christmas songs though.

Where do you want to be in 6 years?  Exactly where the Lord wants me to be.  Where that is, I have no earthly idea. 

Where were you last night?  At home.  Watching Dr. Who for the first time.  I'm a real party girl, huh?

Something you're not?  I am not ridiculously talented at one thing.  I'm average in many things, but it would be fun to be really good at one thing.  

Where you grew up?  In a loving home where I played outside under two 60 yr old oak trees and a forest beside me. They are all gone now.  It's truly sad.  

The last thing you did?  Painted on fabric.  Craft-ing night.  

What are you wearing? Pajama pants, a zip-hoodie I wear when I paint (it's ugly) and my favorite warm/cozy slippers.
 Your TV?  Just finished showing season 2 episodes of The West Wing.  The first two episodes of the season are two of my all time favorites.  It's a great show to craft to.

Your pets?  Non-existent.  I wish, wish, wish I could have a dog.  No pets allowed here.

Your computer?  Is back up and running after a devastating virus.  But Photoshop is still having some issues.  I miss it....

Your mood?  Content in my crafting coma.  

Missing someone?  My friend, R.  I've been REALLY missing her. I hate that she lives so far away.  

Your car?Just got vacuumed out today. 

Something you're not wearing?  Clothes I would go out in public in.  

Favorite shop?  That I can actually shop at?  Target.  That I dream about being able to shop at?  Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Ruche and a dozen vintage shops in Etsy.  

Your summer?  Is going to involve a lot of gas cans and hauling of gasoline.  

Love someone?  Yes.

Your favorite color?  The shades of blue in the twilight sky.  

When is the last time you laughed?  While watching the West Wing.  It's hilarious. 

When is the last time you cried?  Oh, goodness, I get chocked up all the time, so probably sometime today over something silly.

on this last Friday in March

The ivy growing on the side of my house is charming to me.
I'd love to have it cover the entire thing.
Just seems "cottagey" doesn't it?

I bought myself flowers today.
Just seems appropriate.
Ranuculus.
Because the colors are perfect
and they are so twisty and wild-like.

I found the most amazing photos in a book I got at the library.
The photos from the 20's and 30's especially.
Those dresses and shoes and hair.
I wanted to buy those dresses immediately.
And don't get me started on the hats.

The book was about Charlie Chaplin.
It was a type of photo journal of his life.
This one just struck me in its absurdity/normalcy.
A man reading the paper.
He just so happens to be reading it in a bath tub full of water
on a break while filming.
Don't you love his waterlogged suit and the reflection.
I can't stop staring at it.

It's a fantastic book.
Truly.
Especially if you like the golden age of Hollywood.

Happy weekend, all.

xoxo,

Cottage Girl

Dread

I really want to get to that point where I don't hate it.

Will it come?

Will it come soon?

Like tomorrow?

day of reckoning.

Today was the long awaited day.  

I would be completely lying if I said I had been patient.  

I was not.  

I've been dying to see it since the moment I heard the movie rights were sold years ago.  

(I read the book back in 2008)

And then even more when I heard that she was going to be Katniss.  

I've been equally anticipating and dreading this day.  Anticipating that the story would be honored and the filmmakers would treat it with respect.  Dreading that it would be turned into some cheap Hollywood big budget nightmare.  

So...the verdict...

Loved it:  Stanley Tucci was perfection as always.  He's one of my top faves and didn't disappoint one bit.

Loved it:  Gale.  I was always rooting for Peeta, but they played Gale perfectly in this one.  Exactly how I remembered his character in the book (although he looked more like the Peeta than I had imagined than Gale.)

Loved it:  Elizabeth Banks nailed it.  As did her costume department.  

Loved it:  the district was pretty close to exactly how I imagined it.  

Loved it:  Woody as Haymitch?  Oh, yes. 

Loved it:  Dear Peeta.  While the actor wasn't my favorite, he did a fine job with the character.  Those scenes in the cave by the river were pretty much exactly as I pictured them.  

Loved it:  Sweet Prim.  You had to really understand Katniss' love for Prim to believe why she did what she did.  And, by golly, that little girl did it with such limited screen time.  She made you really feel her fear of the Reaping and Katniss' love for her too.

Loved it:  And then there was Rue.  She was absolutely, positively adorable.  So perfect.  So perfectly Rue perfect.  

Loved it:  Jennifer Lawrence was exactly as amazing as I thought she would be.  This scene with Cinna was it for me.  Her terror.  Her hands shaking.  Her eyes.  Oh, my.  I was mesmerized (and let's not count out Lenny, who completely surprised me in his fantastic-ness.)

I want to see it again tomorrow. It's almost harder knowing what's ahead now.  I know the next two won't be as good because the books themselves weren't as good.  But you better believe I'll plunk down $10.50 to go see them.  Wow.  

Well done, Lionsgate.  Well done.  

so lazy

A photo from a few days ago.  The fog that has enveloped us for the last week.  No joke.  It has been foggy like this every day until about 2pm when the sun is finally able to peak out.  Such a strange thing.  It's like we really do live in Brigadoon or the Forbidden Forest.

The photo is from a few days ago because I have done absolutely nothing today.  Nothing but watch old episodes of  The West Wing (season 1), lay around and watch videos on youtube.  A real productive day.  Me = lazy.

Signing off to accomplish something productive, and then head to church.  My church just added a 5:30pm service.  Strange to not head to church first thing on Sunday morning.  As we can all see, I don't do well without structure.  I tend to waste way too much time.


side note:  The West Wing.  I really think the first 3 seasons are some of the best TV ever produced.  The writing and cast are almost too good to be true.   I get obsessed with it every so often.  If you've never seen it, do yourself a favor and get to know Sam, Josh, Donna, CJ, Toby, Leo, Charlie and Mr. President.  

It's about time

Can't wait to stare at those clothes.  

That decor and furniture.

Those hair styles and accessories.

And watch Betty go all crazy like she always does.

It's back!

my day

Today necessitated a few choice photos.  Here's a quick run down of my day.  A day in camp life, if you will.  

#1:  It was my boss' birthday.  We really like to celebrate it.  Usually it heralds office olympics.  But this year, we are all obsessed with the Hunger Games movie that is coming out this weekend, so we decided to go see that instead (next week).  We didn't want him to think we forgot that today was his big day, so we decorated his office with a wreath, cake, a birthday banner and the dummy we used for last year's office olympics.  He loved it.  Or we like to think he did.

#2.  It was dinner club night.  The most wonderful night of the week.  The girls watched Finding Nemo tonight.  (ps...Finding Nemo is quite astounding in wide screen HDTV.  Wow.)

#3:  Dinner club was outside tonight because it was so beautiful.  After dinner was over, we meandered over to the campfire pit my roommate built at our house this past weekend.  It was a perfect night for campfire chats.  Truly.

#4:  This was the delicious treat we had for dessert tonight.  Pioneer Woman made it on her show.  It's a banana slit down the middle, filled with chocolate chips and peanut butter chips and wrapped in foil.  Bake at 350 degrees until everything is melted.  Then eat and try not to make "mmmmmm" noises the whole time.  Oh, good gracious, this thing is heavenly.

#5:  The rule in the cottage is if you cook, you don't do the dishes.  It's a great rule.  The girls wanted to help tonight.  I couldn't take how absolutely adorable they were, so I had to take a photo.


Some days are awful.  Some days are trying.  And some days remind me why I love it here so much that it hurts. We take the good with the bad and trust that the Lord will give us exactly what we need when we need it.  Learning to wait and not freak out over that whole when thing is always the challenge.

The last 2 days have been a little....just....well, I don't even know how to properly explain them.

I was never ever one of those types of people who dealt with stress well.

It seems to completely over take me. I spend lots of time reciting scripture and praying. It's my defense mechanism.

And then my mitro-valve decides that it would like to get in on the fun and it feels like I'm having a heart attack for most of the day and especially when I lay down to go to sleep.

So, I'm signing off to go read the Word for a while. The Psalms are sounding good right about now.

high seas

I think I need this for my wall.
No, make that, I absolutely need it.
Tall ships = my obsession.

This one is kinda sweet too.

Both prints are from lovelysweetwilliam on Etsy.  

magnolia in sprintime

The colors in the flowers of a magnolia tree in the springtime are just too much.

I can't even take how beautiful they are sometimes.  

I want to live in their colors.  

Taken with my iphone today on an adventure that I will share soon.  

weirder in some ways

(the sunrise during my morning jaunt this morning.  it was spectacular to say the least)

Two days ago I realized that I only had one month left in my "early 30's."
One month.
Thirty short days.
And then, my mid-thirties would be barreling down upon me like a runaway train.

Now, imagine if you will, what you thought your life would look like when you were in your mid-thirties.
Got that picture there?
What does it look like for you?
I'm sure you have(had) one.
Everyone does.

Yeah, I could see mine too.
Funny thing is though....now that I'm staring down those "mid-thirties" dead in the eyes,
my reality doesn't meet up with my imagination in any sense of the word.
Nope.
Not one tiny bit.
In most ways it's much better.
In some ways it's little weirder.
In almost every way, it's completely different than I imagined.

These last few months I've found a few things that I would like to change.
I found a few things that I would like to be better at.
Improve upon.
Fix, if you would.

And since there is no time like the present, I did.
It feels good to make yourself change.
Change for the better.
Challenge yourself.
Stop wallowing in "exactly who I am right now."
Live.
Be.

Here's to stepping outside of your comfort zone.
Cheers.

gardening my brains out

So we have been having the most perfect spring weather here.  And perfect spring weather just makes a person feel alive, or at least it does to me.  Kinda like I'm stretching and looking around at the world around me like it's brand new all over again.  I can't get outside enough.  I can't stare at all the green things enough.  I can't soak up the sun enough.  

Happy sigh....

We had a very mild winter 'round these parts which means that most of the ground didn't freeze.  Which also means that the weeds have over taken ever surface imaginable in my flower bed.  It's been a daunting task to get it back to a flower bed that actually looks like a flower bed, not a weed-fest separated by a few oyster shells.  Thankfully, I love weeding, so it's been quite enjoyable now that the weather is warm and delightful and it's light outside until 7pm.  (glory, hallelujah for the time change!)

I've been spending the evenings after work, for at least an hour, weeding away and listening to this.  I'm at the really good part at the end.  The part where Harry learns Snape's story from his own memories in the pensieve (one of my very favorite parts of the entire series).   The part where he uses the resurrection stone and sees his dearly departed.  The part where Mrs. Weasly takes care of business when it comes to Bellatrix Lestrange.

It was at such a good part tonight that I couldn't stop.  I just kept weeding my brains out listening like I hadn't read this story 15ish previous times.  Cheering on my favorite moments (out loud).  Moaning over the sad moments (out loud).

I thank you, HP, for making my gardening even more enjoyable.
I promise this won't be the last time we spend together in book #7.

#3

Tonight is for watching Scrubs and starting painting #3.

Weekend colors

We are just at the beginning of everything bursting out in spring blooms.  My favorite time of year.  When the trees have the new/bright green.  The cherry blossoms are everywhere.  The tulips and daffodils and magnolias.  It's my absolute favorite.

This particular tree is outside my office.  It's old and twisted and the perfect shade tree.  In the Fall it turns golden yellow.  Right now it's covered in these bright pink fuzzy blossoms that turn peach in the afternoon sunlight.

I found this DIY online this weekend and decided to pull out my paints.  I had some canvas left over from another project.  Love it when I can make something without having to go buy any supplies.

While painting this one, I got an idea for 2 more so they can all hang together.  Almost finished #2.  It was so fun to pull out those colors and paintbrushes.  It's been a while since I have painted just for fun.

Bright green Brussels sprouts.  Until about 2 months ago, I thought I hated these little guys.  I hadn't had them since I was a kid and for some reason, remembered hating the way they tasted.  My mom randomly made them while I was home in January and now I can't get enough.  Maybe my tastes have changed.  Who knows.

My favorite way to eat them is tossed with a little olive oil and lots of kosher salt and then roasted in the oven.  And they should get a little crunchy on the outside.  Yum.  I want some more right now!

I was actually at the store looking for running pants, but I spotted these colors and knew I had to at least try this little tank on.  It has the cutest top part, but the colors are what stopped me dead in my tracks.  And then when I noticed that it matched my fingernail polish, I just had to snap a photo in the dressing room.

Yes, I bought it.  It was only $12.99.  And I think I would pay $12.99 just to look at those colors for a while.


Maybe one of these days, I will take a photo with my actual camera.  One day....

Happy weekend to you

Watch out for those sheep.

Anyone else excited for Tim Riggins in Space?

This weekend.  

Finally.

list of verbs

MAKE:  Made these cards this past weekend.  Can not claim any creative license over them as I found the idea on A Beautiful Mess not long ago.  I skipped the tea dying though.  They turned out really well though, I think.

READ:  I've been trying out Google Reader (on my desktop) again for all my blog reading.  I use the Bloglovin' app on my iphone, but it's not my favorite.  I've been using My Yahoo for years to keep track of all my blogs, but I think I might be ready for a change.  (yes, I still use Yahoo and I love it.)

I'm also reading The Water Wars right now as well.  Slowly.

LISTEN:  This song by Taylor Swift and The Civil Wars from the Hunger Games soundtrack.

The video was really pretty too.  I loved her white dress.

I'm also in a battle with itunes.  It drives me insane and I'm still super sad about loosing the wonder that is Zune.  Apple needs to step it up in the software department.  Itunes is the worst!

EAT:  A friend and her hubby had me and my roomie over for dinner the other night.  Ethiopian food.  Yum, yum, yum.  Plus it was eat with your hands and who doesn't love that?!

TAKE:  I realized that I haven't used my camera in over a month.  It's been straight iphone photos since the middle of January.  It's been fun to step away from it for a while, but I'm starting to miss that beautiful thing.  Time to drag it back out and take some real photos.

I have been taking at least one iphone photo every day for almost 2 months.  I really want to do it for an entire year. A whole entire calendar year full of photos and memories.

SMILE:  Making me happy: number one....the folder in my DVR titled "Masterpiece Classic" which contains the last few parts of Emma and all of Downton season 2.  It's the one folder I beg my roommate to save from her vicious deleting.  I'm right in the middle of a second viewing of Downton and I'm happy to report it is just as magical.

Making me happy: number two....the two orphans that my parents and I support have been matched with forever families.  This continually brings a happy gleeful grin to my face and heart.

Making me happy: number three...A dear friend who only has the TA between her and her brand new sister.  Any day now!  I can't get over the excitement that surrounds this blessed little girl.  It is a story to treasure.  

PONDER:  "For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things."  Ps. 107:9

glorious dog

It was the best hot dog I've ever eaten in my entire life.
And the bun of perfection that went with it.
And 4 different (there were about 15 to choose from) mustards.
I dream about those 15 mustard flavors sometimes and curse myself for not buying some.

I ate this hot dog in Leavenworth, WA.
Just realized that I didn't really talk about the day I spent in Leavenworth.
It's was like going to the Germany Pavilion of Epcot.

I must publish this now and stop staring at that glorious dog.
It's making me ridiculously hungry.

for the love of travel

I've been home for a month now.
About 5 weeks.
And after 3 months of traveling and exploring, I am missing it.

I keep looking back at my photos of my adventures.
So many great memories.
So many wonderful moments to treasure.

I blame my parents.
Travel agents.
Lovers of travel.
They are always planning trips.

I don't have any plane tickets waiting to be used or big plans on the horizon. 
But there is always the promise of the next adventure right around the corner.

It would be outstanding if  it included one or more of the following:

a sunset hike to Delicate
Princess Castles
going thrifting with The Bro
laughing hysterically on the Tower of Terror
a burger eaten in the warm sunshine at Red Mill Burgers
iflying
watching the stars come out at the Windows
singing along in the boat in Splash Mountain

No lengthy post tonight because...

....I'm watching this for the 523rd time.

It's an addiction.