Happy New Year's Eve

Happy New Year's Eve everyone!  Are you making any resolutions?  I don't usually but this year I am feeling the need to push myself at the end of my college experience.  So I guess mine would be more like goals for the next six months.

• I am taking Nike literally because I have to "Just Do It".  There is no more planning, just making it through each school and nanny day.
• I resolve to fulfill each task on my planner, even though some of those tasks require extra time at the library or wearing exercise clothes to school so I can't justify missing pilates.
• I resolve to end the 'poor me' monologues (which play too often in my mind) and to focus on what's good about my life right now.
• I resolve to take both actuary preliminary exams before my graduation date, so that I can walk right from the graduation stage into a new situation.
• I resolve to wake up, and to get dressed and ready on purpose.
• And, (this one's the hardest one!), I resolve to accept the rain.

Enjoy your New Year's Eve!

Trying to be Seasonal

As per my obsession with de-cluttering (very New Year's-ish right?), I had a hankering to box and bag up my summer clothes and store them until the weather lightens up.  By doing so, all my winter clothes are visible and choosing an outfit has become less of a drudgery.  Seeing only the winter options cleared up why I've been getting so annoyed with my closet.  I was missing a few key pieces (i.e. skinny jeans!), but I've got a black pair and a denim pair now so don't panic.  The situation is rectified.

I can now see my winter style better which consists of boot-cut jeans, cords, skinny jeans, an assortment of long-sleeve tees and camisoles, a few sweaters and wraps, rain boots, walking tennis shoes, flats, a few jackets and scarves, and one very cute blazer.  I really don't stray too much further than this especially since every day from here on out will be a strategic battle against the rain.  December was amazing and so dry but I think the rain is finally upon us.

Here is a view from my walk up Hawthorne today.

Adventures in Minimalism Part II

To be honest, I don't love my bedroom, but updating it is naturally the last thing on our shopping list.  Someday, in another place, we'll actually have a bed above the ground!  Pardon the "airing of my dirty laundry" and welcome to today's project!  There is no other possible way of arranging the furniture in this room (trust me, I have spent way to much time thinking about it), but I am on a de-cluttering kick.

BEFORE

AFTER

The last two posts are turning out to be my favorite because the differences are so slight, you could make a game of trying to find them.

 

Adventures in Minimalism Part I

Over the break, I went to a friend's apartment and was impressed with how put together her apartment looked without having very much "stuff".  Since I moved in, I have been adding and adding with not enough editing, so Daniel and I took the opportunity to rearrange a little when we took our Christmas tree down last night.  This is what we came up with.  I don't know if it qualifies as minimalism but there is definitely less clutter.

Oh...and I can't help giving you a 'before and after'.

BEFORE

AFTER

Haha...it ended up being a poor before picture so you can't tell that much, but moving the piano and taking away a lot of the decorative items is where the real difference is.

Merry Christmas Adam!

We are missing our families a lot this holiday, but we are so grateful to get to take care of some wedding details.  For the next six months, I will have full-time school, extra nanny shifts and the actuary preliminary exams are finally upon me.  Daniel will be his usual busy self working overtime.  There is no wiggle room for wedding plans but we are getting to do so much in these two weeks.  But we truly do miss you family!!

That said, we are also getting to thoroughly enjoy this Christmas weekend.  Tonight we tried "chocolate shots" at the Heathman, and saw "The Descendents".  Tomorrow we'll have friends over for dinner and drinks.  Remember how I wanted to start entertaining?  My first go at it is tomorrow night and I couldn't be more excited or more jittery.  I've checked my grocery list so many times!

Oh, and Merry Christmas Adam everyone!  (Although I find the whole Adam before Eve thing a bummer).

A New Tradition

Getting a yearly Christmas ornament is something I have always wanted to do.  It's just something a little extra meaningful.  Daniel and I thought of getting one this year but it then we didn't know where to go so we forgot about it, but then we were just walking and window shopping on Hawthorne today and we saw the perfect ones.  (We had to get two to make up for last year of course :)).

 This one is in honor of the most obvious and hilarious Portland obsession.  I think Fred and Carrie said it best.  If you haven't discovered Portlandia yet, click here.

Never in my life have I seen so many squirrels as I have in Portland.  In fact, if you recall, one even posed for me!  I think we couldn't have found more appropriate ornaments and how very Portlandia of us to celebrate this city with replicas of a bird and a squirrel!

Wedding Bliss

Today I bought my wedding dress.  I thought I would just go and look around but then I tried on the dress that felt and looked perfect.  Plus...it was a Vera Wang dress on clearance, and... Daniel's reaction when I came out in it was priceless, so I brought it home.  I only tried on four dresses:

...and the winner was #3!  The fourth dress was a Greek goddess look that I had seen online, and although I liked it a lot, it didn't feel right for a picnic wedding.  After trying on the fourth dress, I put dress number 3 on again and it felt so right.  It met all my criteria: sleeves, under $1000, and no poofy-foofy-ness.  I love it, and knowing what I will wear has helped set the tone for the other details.

(We had to use the Christmas tree as a background because all our walls are so white!)

I know there are a lot of pictures here for one dress and it might seem obsessive, but I missed having my mom and sister with me so this post is dedicated to you girls!!

Collage Day 2

Here are my finished projects from today...I mean, almost finished.  I want the dresses trio to say "Peace, Love, Vintage" but haven't figured out how I want the text to look yet.  I think I am ready to take a break from paper!

P.S>  I'm going wedding dress shopping tomorrow!  Can't wait!

Collage Time!

I have taken on a few paper craft projects to get through my winter break.  Here is a sweet trio for a nursery (not mine!) and my "antique piano".  My apartment has its share of paper craft art (click here to see my home projects), but I thought I could keep myself busy and use these as gifts or maybe set up a seller's account on etsy.  Either way, they were fun projects!

And All Through the House

Boredom gave way to a little holiday cheer today.  I took seven buses and went to two post offices, a button emporium, a paper store and finally the grocery store to accomplish my errands.  In the end, I made a hot cup of wassail for me, jars of wassail mix for coworkers and friends (not quite finished), had D's presents wrapped and under the tree and other gifts ready to ship tomorrow!  It has been quite a bustling day but I am so glad I was able to keep busy.  Happy holidays!

P.S.  If you haven't had wassail, or it's been a long time, I found the recipe here.  Drink up!

Save Me!

Aaaaahhhh! Save me from Christmas Break!  Enjoying it lasted only as long as the weekend and since then boredom has set in somethin' fierce.  So don't judge me when I break open my Probability and Financial Math textbooks tomorrow.  Although watching TV and playing Spider Solitaire is awesome, I don't think my self esteem can withstand an all-out 3-week veg.

All About the Scarf

A friend of mine posted this video on facebook the other day and it has transformed my fashion world.  I am a jeans and t-shirt girl when I am on the run doing school and nanny duty, but adding a scarf instantly dresses up a t-shirt.  So grab a scarf and try these out!  And if you don't have a scarf yet, go spoil yourself.  The cashmere and silk varieties can get crazy expensive, but there are many beautiful and very inexpensive scarves out there.  It's also a way to go pattern crazy and still keep your style.  Have fun!

Why My Northwest Adventure Might Be Temporary

This post is not intended as a pity-party or a sympathy search.  But it isn't all fun and games living in the Northwest and no one is less happy than my joints.  Two years ago, in my first winter living in Portland, I went home to Salt Lake City for Christmas.  While I was home, I noticed an itchy bump on my pinky finger that I thought was a bug bite.  Within weeks of coming back home to Portland, the bump had swelled into an inflamed knuckle, and one by one the rest of my fingers followed suit (sparing my thumbs).  I wasn't in school, but I worked at a hotel and typing was so so painful.  Sometime around February, I started waking up with my hands disfigured into a fist and so much pain that it brought tears.  They would have to be soaked in hot water and massaged out before I could start the day.  My health insurance was so bad,  and doctor's sent me to specialists which drained my health savings account super fast.  I remember being stressed and scared, thinking that I would have to move back to Utah because I couldn't afford these medical bills.  The doctors prescribed prednisone, but it made me nervous so I "unprescribed" myself.

Then in April, Daniel and I went to Utah again and when we got back, the inflammation stopped.  Phew!

Doctors thought it might be a virus because I'm so young, but it comes back every winter, so my theory is that it's the weather.  I haven't been back to see a doctor for it because there's nothing they can really do so I just try to minimize the pain.

Right now it is hitting two fingers and the joints in my toes.  I have found that dry heat works best so I keep my apartment toasty, my feet always covered (love these moccasins), and I always wear gloves when I'm outside.

You can see a little swelling in my left index finger, but I am hoping I can be proactive to minimize damage.  That first year took a nasty toll and when I put my hands and toes in hot water, the damaged joints turn purple.  Its scary to be 25 and to think of having joint damage, but I draw courage from my Grandma Jean and my Grandpa Nielsen.  They both learned to face the days challenges despite pain and they both did it so gracefully.  I hope readers, that you see this post not as "Poor me" post but as a way for me to share the richness and depth of this thing called life.

Final Frenzy

Just finished studying for fall finals!  I had my final exam for Women's American History today and I'll take my finals for Physics and Statistics tomorrow.  I am so happy to be done studying, but tomorrow still feels heavy.  I am nannying as well so it makes for an eventful day.  I can't wait until tomorrow night when I can finally take a deep breath and celebrate the upcoming three weeks off!  Another quarter down, and another milestone! (pardon the !!!'s...I'm allowed to be this excited...)

Wedding Dress Drama

I am going to schedule an appointment for trying on wedding dresses in January, but I am having a hard time knowing what I want.  To me the day is less about my dress and more about family getting to see each other and eat good food.  Honestly, no one is really going to remember my dress... However, I don't want to just brush it off and get something I don't really like.  A big foofy dress would not make sense for such a family wedding, but most of the dresses are big, poofy, and a little snow queen.  I don't want anything too formal.  I love the style of this dress...

...but I haven't seen anything like it.  Plus, I refuse to spend very much money on a dress for one day.  Arrggh.  Below are some dresses that I kind of like and are on budget.  Maybe it will be magical when I try them on.

(hoping I can add cap sleeves to this one...)

A Grateful Post

I have seen these "grateful" posts floating around on other people's blogs ('tis the season), and today I am feeling overwhelmed with gratitude so here's my version.

I am grateful to nanny for the sweetest family in the world.  I wasn't "on duty" today but due to some randomness, I got to see them, and even though seeing them culminated in a minor fender-bender, I cherish the time I get to hang out with those boys.

I am grateful for Daniel.  I guarantee my life would be 100% different without him.  I don't know that I would have had the courage to get back into school or even to stay in Portland.  He really is my best friend.

I am grateful for my family.  I was so lucky to grow up the way I did, and to get to be born to my parents, to have six incredible siblings, to go to my grandparent's school and be so close with extended family.  Now I am blessed with the most adorable, sweet nieces and nephews.

I am grateful for school.  I complain about studying sometimes when I feel stressed, but I really miss it when I go on break.  I can't believe Christmas break starts Friday!...but I'm grateful for that too.

For Education's Sake

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I have to give a shout out to going to college.  In our consumer-obsessed society, too many of us enter college with the aim of making more money when we graduate.  But it turns out, college is insistent that you learn stuff (awesome stuff) and those that don't have a fire for learning burn out.  But what if we were more passionate?  What if we went to college without all that pressure to state a major with a high salary connected to it.  Then we wouldn't just fall in line with our parents' world, the one where the job types are already prescribed and we are destined to think we are destroying our environment and the Democrat/Republican split personality is a natural way of thinking.  I hope my generation will stop thinking about dollar signs and start getting curious about the way the world works.

'tis the season

It feels a little more like Christmas on Hawthorne today!  We went to get our Christmas tree tonight.  We got it from the market down the street (Kruger's), and Daniel carried it all the way home.  I offered to help, but was glad he wouldn't let me because I was busy trying to get feeling back in my fingers.  It has been so cold around here lately!...but it's hard to be mad at the cold once you get your tree up.

So Happy Holidays readers!  I hope everyone is taking advantage of the experience, the smells, the sights, the anticipation.