She's a Gypsy

I love this hat so much I have half a mind to create all my outfits based around it.  Unfortunately that gypsy-bohemian style isn't necessarily my natural tendency, but I certainly love playing around with different styles.  I suppose some could say it's inconsistent, but I like experimenting with trends and styles.

I only got a couple photos of this outfit because I was approached by a woman who started talking to me and asked me to take photos of her.  She seemed kind of normal at first, but as our interaction went on I started realizing she was a little "off."  I didn't want to be rude, so I took some photos of her and showed interest in her (bizarre) tales.  She asked to have some prints and, kind of in an effort to free myself from the situation and move on to finish what I came to do, I agreed to meet her later that night to give her a couple prints.  At the time I mostly just agreed as it seemed a finale to the interaction and I could finally leave and go home, as the sun had gone down by then and I'd lost my light.  But then I started feeling bad.  She was a little, or maybe a lot, crazy... but I didn't want to be another person in her life to blow her off.  I don't know how people have treated her in the past, but she seemed like the kind of person who probably gets blown off by a lot of "normal" folks as just some drunk, crazy drug addict.  I don't know if she was actually any of those things, but people pass judgement on people without knowing the whole story all the time, so I suspect she'd had more than her share of unkind interactions with fellow human beings.

dress/forever 21 :: hat/courtesy of lulu's :: top/vintage :: necklace/handmade

I showed up at the coffee shop we agreed to meet at and she didn't show for 30 minutes, so I left.  I saw her on the street corner as I drove away so I turned around and went back.  When I walked up she was screaming at someone in the coffee shop and she came out bewildered when she saw me.  She'd thought another girl was me, and was a bit confused.  Anyway, I gave her the photos and she seemed happy to have them.  The whole interaction contained so much bizarre-ness, with all her odd stories and behavior, and the whole situation in general.  It's funny because she's definitely the definition of a modern gypsy and there I was dressed as this caricature of a vintage gypsy.  We both got outfit photos that day.

Super Green Smoothie

Dan bought some spinach the other day, as well as some juice, and I knew there was some frozen fruit leftover in the freezer, so it was prime time for a delicious smoothie.  I love how you can't even taste the spinach when you put it in a smoothie, even though I do love spinach.  It blends seamlessly in and all you taste is yumminess!  Even though it looks like you're drinking swamp muck, it still tastes great.  I remember the first time I saw an Odwalla Superfood smoothie, I swore that it couldn't possibly taste good and be that green color.  Of course I was wrong and they're incredibly tasty.  

What you'll need:

Two ripe bananas

Handful of Frozen Fruit (or fresh!  I used mango, strawberry and peach)

Handful of spinach

~1.5 cup of Juice (I used mango)

The fun thing about smoothies is that you can basically throw in anything that might taste good.  I had a bit of applesauce leftover that I threw in.  This recipe makes about 2 servings.  You may need to add a bit of water to get the right consistency.

The Smallest Family Member

My little brother made this short video of Little Bit the other day.  I thought it was so cute, and it made me miss home and the little bitsy doodle.  She's turning 15 (fifteen!!) this summer, but she's still a spry old gal.  I think her vision is probably getting worse, but she can still keep up with Simon who's only two years old!  I feel like a dog is such a great part of a family.  I can't wait until Dan and I are in the position to get a pup of our own.  If it was up to me we'd get one tomorrow, but Dan is the voice of reason, and probably for the best.  I can't lie, I'm more excited for the day we get a dog than the day I welcome a child into our family, haha!  I'm sure that will change once that day comes, but for now I've got puppy fever much more than baby fever.

25 before 26 // an update

I thought I'd do a little update on how the 25 before 26 goal list is coming along.  I've done about 10 of the 25 and there are a few of the 25 I don't really want to do anymore.  But there are quite a few I would still like to accomplish!  Right now life is such that just accomplishing the day-to-day necessities takes almost all my energy, but hopefully I can squeeze in a few more of these goals before 25 comes to a close.

________________________________________________________________________

1. Become a Homeowner // nope!

2.  Have a regular fitness regimen //  I was really good at this up until April when I got my new job.  Dan and I were climbing almost every day and also doing other workouts occasionally and bike riding. I've sort of fallen off the wagon but the last two weeks I've started being more intentional about getting back into the groove.

3. Watch classic horror films // I kinda just put this one on randomly, spur-of-the moment.  I don't really plan on doing this one anymore.  Instead I've shifted my focus to getting Dan addicted to Doctor Who.


4. Start a Coffee Shop // While I have all the gear ready to go for this one, finding a location that a) I feel passionate about and b) finding a location that isn't already disgustingly saturated with coffee shops, has proven difficult.  I'd still like to do it, but I'm waiting for the right time/space.


5. Do Vlogs/Webisodes // Hah!  Nope.  I think I'd rather make little pretty films, rather than vlogs.  Maybe I'll try to make another little film before 25 is done.

6. Sew Dresses // I've sewn one dress so far (and a skirt)!  It's extremely frustrating to sew in our house as there is oh so little space to do pretty much anything.  I'm hoping we move somewhere with more room once our lease is up.  I've had a pattern and fabric for my next dress for months but just can't get the energy up to do it!  


7. DIY Headboard // Nope.  I do still want to do this, though!


8. Paint my Dresser // Again, nope.  I had an idea in my head of what I wanted to do to it, but now I'm not sure!  

9.  Publish a book // No... :(  I could at least get started though, right?  


10. Make at least 2 new e-courses // I made one!  I'd like to make another (less intense and more fun) e-course, though.  Maybe something cute and crafty.  I'm in the process of updating INDIE, too!


11. Learn more about espresso // I haven't learned more about espresso, but I've learned a bit more about alcohol, actually!  I've been helping Dan learn about different liqueurs, beers, drinks and such for his job and it's been fascinating!  The history and craftsmanship of alcohol is really amazing.

12. Take a photography class // I'm taking Arrow & Apple's The Study of Light e-course, so I guess I'm in progress on this one!

13. Read more books // I've read a couple of books this year.  Not as many as I'd like, but Dan's got a couple that I want to read, so I should get started on a new book!

14. Organize our house // ugh.  I think this one is as good as it gets.  It's still not as organized as I'd like (our desk is constantly buried in papers and mail), but for the most part it's clean and organized.


15. Travel with Dan // we haven't really traveled that much.  We went to AK for Christmas, and have been to Sequim to visit my parents.  No big travel plans scheduled though.  We're saving up for a big trip to Ireland or something next year!


16. Get a tattoo // nope

17. Cut my hair // did it!  Of course, now I'm growing it out again, but whatever!

18. Join a rock climbing gym w/ Dan // Totally did it. 


19. Create a photo book of our wedding photos // I'm planning on getting this done by Christmas.

20. Learn how to make cocktails // Learning we are! We got a great book full of cocktail recipes and for a while we would get a different liquor every time and try out new recipes.  We're trying to build out our repertoire and bar currently.

21. Loft our bed... // not gonna happen.


22. Get awesome albums on vinyl // we've got some, but not very many.


23. Host fun parties // we've had a few fun parties here at the tiny house.  Mostly we've had some great backyard barbecues! The inside of our house isn't that great for entertaining, but if we move, I'd love to move to a place better suited for having people over!


24. Go on a Winne trip w/ Dan and go hiking // we've gone hiking but no Winne trip yet.  We're on a pretty tight budget right now, so taking out miss gas guzzler hasn't been on the priority list yet.  It'd still be fun to do an overnighter or something though!

25. Pay off debt // workin' on it!

Unexpected Excitement

Warm evenings.  My favorite.  It's so soothing to walk through warm air.  The breeze doesn't nip at you, it just reminds you how warm it is.  It's so crazy to me how quickly time is passing these days.  It's nearly August and we only have about a month and a half left of summery weather before the rain sets in again for another nine months.  I've realized that I actually love those first couple months of rain and  chilly weather.  It's new again, and I get to start wearing layers and having fun with fall style.  Plus, there are so many holidays to get excited for.  One after another, really.  Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years... and then there's nothing fun until summer comes.  I think I'm going to have to schedule a big vacation out of state for March every year, because that's when I start to lose it.

dress/courtesy of lulu's :: shoes/minnetonka :: top/courtesy of free people
shades/vintage :: necklace/courtesy of peerless charm :: photos by Dan

Last night Dan & I went out downtown with some friends and it turned into one adventure after another!  We started off by playing arcade games down at Dorky's Barcade (which is seriously a genius idea.  Beer & pizza + hundreds of arcade games= awesome).  Then, one of our friends really wanted to do karaoke, so we moved along to the Varsity Bar & Grill, which I'd never been to before, and it turned out that not only was it karaoke... it was Rock-a-roke!  If you're not familiar with "rock-a-roke", it's the same as karaoke, except you sing along with a live band on stage!!  Way more fun!  I sang some Amy Winehouse and then did our wedding first dance song– Son of a Preacher Man!  After that I thought the night was over, but nay!  Our friend wanted to go out dancing and knew of a couple clubs downtown so we went in one and danced our asses off for a bit before closing time.  I now have a theory that clubbing is a winter activity, not one for warm and humid summer nights.  I'm pretty sure I was drenched in sweat by the time we left.  It was a super fun night though!  I always enjoy those nights where I'm just along for the ride and end up having a bunch of fun experiences unexpectedly.