Happy Holidays

I am going to Bend tomorrow for Christmas and so will be gone for a few days. Happy holidays everyone!

My cats at my parents' house playing with the paper we use to wrap

the ornaments. I think this picture is from a few years ago, but

they will probably do the same thing this year! 

Solstice

Happy winter solstice! The solstices are always some of my favorite days. They feel like holidays (and I would definitely have a solstice party if I had anyone to invite to it), but they also feel much more natural since they are based on the cycles of nature, and for me that makes them more spiritual than the rest of the holidays. Don't get me wrong I love Christmas, etc. just for different reasons. So let us celebrate and have a merry winter!

Remember paper snowflakes? I hadn't made one since....well in fact I can't remember the last time. They are so simple and delicate and fun to make so I decided to revive that craft from my youth. I had to look up the proper way to fold the paper online, but after I did I had oh such a nice time making them. They are a perfect winter decoration, and it made me feel like a kid again! (Ok I usually still feel like a kid, but this brought back specific nostalgic memories).

 

 

I also decided to have a go at another craft which Vanessa demonstrated on her lovely blog and you too can learn how to do it there. It is an interesting material made out of fused plastic bags. I sewed mine into a small bag and am planning to give it to one of my friends for Christmas! It is so fun, and such a wonderful way to recycle all those old shopping bags (of which I have an overwhelming amount). 

 

 

Shoes And Libraries

Yesterday I found the cutest shoes at Goodwill. I already have a pair of ballet style flats in gold and they are one of my favorites, so when I saw these and they fit perfectly I simply had to buy them! Oh and they were only four dollars which was also a plus.

Aren't they cute? I just love them! Yes I am a girl that loves shoes, among many other things. One of the other things I love is libraries! (How bout that segue?) I love libraries so much that I am in the process of applying to grad school for library science right now. I spent most of the day today writing statements of intent and working on applications. It is a complicated and stressful process (at least for me), and it is easy to get down about how I might not get in, or might not get enough financial aid to go......but then my mom sent me the link to this blog and a certain post with pictures of beautiful, interesting, and strange libraries and it inspired me. Here are some of my favorite photos, I would love to work in any of these places!

 

 

Amazing! And the others are pretty much just as wonderful. For the entire post go here.

Row Houses, So Cute!

These adorable row houses are at Roche Harbor (I know it seems like all my pictures lately have been from there, but I have lots of photos from a trip there that I want to post, so there will probably still be more to come!) I don't have much to say today, other than I got the cutest pair of shoes which I will share tomorrow. Anyway I think these houses say enough on their own.

And isn't the view lovely? I definitely would not mind living there, in fact I would murder someone (well probably not, but you get the idea) to live right on the water and be able to see the sailboats coming in and out of the harbor on sunny days. I think I will just pretend that is what is outside my windowpane right now instead of cold, drizzly, gray, rain.

Fairies, Leprechauns, And Alice

I don't know about anyone else, but I am a huge dork and love cheesy, made for TV miniseries. One came out a while ago which I loved and now own on DVD (and am watching right now as a matter of fact), entitled "The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns." If you enjoy fairies, leprechauns, other magical creatures, Ireland, Irish Music, or stories of forbidden love, then this movie is for you! Yes it is slightly cheesy, but in my opinion that is what makes it so great. I don't know why, but this song, which was in a scene of the movie, always made me feel fuzzy inside.

More recently, a new miniseries came out on the Syfy channel called "Alice." It is a reinterpretation of Alice In Wonderland. In fact it is very different, almost futuristic, with parts based off of the original Alice. Needless to say I loved this one too! It has some fun well known people in it (Kathy Bates and Tim Curry), and also some lesser know actors that were wonderful. I thought the girl who played Alice was good and the guy who played "Hatter" was my favorite! If you are a fan of such things as well, you should definitely watch it!

The Colors! (and apple juice)

I was watching Martha recently and she shared a wonderful product that I thought would be so fun to receive. It is a colored pencil of the month club, every month you get sent a set of colored pencils, and all together there are 500 different colors! They are each beautiful and creatively named. Is it just me or is getting something in the mail each month so great! (I was once in a tea of the month thing and it was so exciting to be surprised with a new tea every time). Anyway to check out the pencils go here. Wouldn't they make a splendid gift for someone like Miss V. whose birthday was on Friday? Or any other artist? Or anyone at all for that matter? I mean who doesn't like colored pencils!

To see this and more original artwork 

from the site go Here. 

On a totally unrelated note, I am obsessed with Simply Apple Juice, it is so delicious and really does taste like an actual apple. It just has a crispness that is unbeatable. It is a little more expensive than regular, not as good juice, so sometimes I buy it for myself as a treat. If you have never tried it you are definitely missing out!

More Hotel Photos And A Sweet Little Garland

So one of my new favorite blogs to read recently belongs to Vanessa Valencia. She posted a wonderful idea for the sweetest little garland made from cotton balls and embroidery thread. It was so cute, and I already had the materials, so I decided to give it a go! Here are the pictures of how it turned out (my camera is not the best so sorry about the blurriness).

 

Don't you love it? I do! And I am too poor to buy any Christmas decorations so all I had was the lights until this adorable garland came along to liven things up. Thank you Vanessa for sharing your creative ideas and encouraging others to try them! If you want the directions on how to make this just go here.

In the last post I shared some pictures of a cute bathroom in Hotel De Haro at Roche Harbor. I have more pictures from the hotel to share today!

This is the outside of the hotel.

You can only kind of tell from this photo, but the

upstairs floors were wildly slanted, it was so funny!

I guess that is what happens when you are really old,

it was built in 1886.

 

 

This was left exposed so you could see the old

original walls of the hotel.

This tree outside was so pretty!

Well that is all of the hotel, we weren't staying there so I didn't get any pictures of the insides of the rooms. However, I do have many more pictures of the gardens and other things from the trip which I will probably post soon. It is cold and I don't have many fun things to take pictures of now, so I will just keep sharing old fun pictures that I never got around to posting over the summer!

I Wish I Was The Moon Tonight

Sometimes I get wrapped up in things, maybe a little too much? I don't like to think so, but I guess it could be so. Mister B says I hate change, but that isn't true, I don't hate all change, I just have a hard time letting go of things that become tradition to me. They become important parts of my life, things to look forward to. It seems that I will have to give up more and more of these things, especially when I move away to grad school next year. Yet, at the same time, I can't wait to move. I yearn to explore new places and experience new things; to move somewhere warm, somewhere that is more me. I guess I just need to learn to let go of some things, and focus on what is to come! It still makes me sad, but dwelling is not the answer. I just wish I were the moon (by the way the title of this blog is the title of a great song by Neko Case), then I could get some perspective. Or if only I was bird and could have a good fly, that would certainly clear my head. It is hard to be pulled at by both roots and wanderlust at the same time.

Well enough of this silly introspection. I shall go make some tea to help cheer me up, and not just because it is the genial beverage, but also because this particular kind has herbs in it that help lift your mood. I will leave you with some pictures of an adorable bathroom in an old hotel at Roche Harbor on San Juan island. We went to Roche Harbor for the Selene Rendezvous (which is where all the people with same kind of boat as us, a Selene - who coincidentally is a moon goddess, meet and hang out). Anyway I have lots of photos of lovely things from that trip which I will post slowly, but surely.

 

Cute House!

I walked by this house in Portland and just had to snap a couple pictures. Isn't it fun? I love the colors, and Victorian style is my favorite!

Garden Dreams

I know it is only December, not even Christmas yet, but the cold and wintery weather is starting to get me down already. Certainly it is sunny today, but that doesn't mean it is warm. Oh Summer why must you leave every year? To recapture the feeling of warm weather I decided to have a nice cup of tropical flavored tea...


mmmm it smells so fruity and delicious...


and as I sipped I started to dream of a drink I had on another day, a much warmer, more beautiful day...


frolicking at a fairy garden party. Would you care to join me as I try to recapture those fuzzy feelings? Well then come along, there is the entrance to the magical garden now!



Follow me down the garden path....

maybe we will catch the fairies dancing. Was that one? I thought I saw something....

maybe they are sitting down to eat...

or taking a nap in their bower bed...

or their cozy cage.....


nope, not there. Perhaps they are hard at work in their workshop?


Or out making the flowers grow?


Or playing on the swings in the trees?



I can feel them watching, are they hiding in their little fairy house by chance?


Wherever they are they are certainly flitting about, sprinkling their magic fairy dust on this wonderful garden. Maybe if we make a yummy drink it will entice them to come out and play!


Well now it is time to go I hope you had as much fun as I exploring the garden. I know I will daydream about it again soon! Just follow the path to the exit....

All garden pictures are of my friend Toni's lovely garden.