[sharonpdx]

christmas 07

so, Portland had a white Christmas. that's so neat.   snow is such a big deal there that i received text messages from three different friends spending the holiday in PDX telling me about it...  truthfully, the December 25th snowfall really wasn't much - the text I got at 5:00 said the snow that had stuck earlier in the day was already melted by then - but it looks like they're in for even more tomorrow; forecasters are saying three to seven inches in the Portland area.

Christmas Day in San Diego, however, was a slightly different story.

by the way, this is what happened last time they got three inches of snow in Portland.

seriously, that was filmed last January just a few blocks away from where i was living at the time, by someone standing on the roof of a friend's apartment building. you can see the outside walls of PGE Park clearly.   i remember that day well ... by 10:00 a.m., they were requiring chains on the 5 freeway, and by 1:00 in the afternoon my office had decided to send us all home.  i wasn't even a year out of Colorado at that point, so of course before i packed up my stuff i had to send an email to my friends there, telling them we were shutting down for three inches.

festive

my apartment's finally tricked out, holiday-style ... because of some renovation-related stuff i won't bore you with, my xmas stuff was moved to a different storage unit for a few weeks - but late last week, it was freed.  i lit some red candles, put on some Christmas tunes, and decorated my tiny tree. 

the tree topper's a silver snowflake ornament from Bath & Body Works ... the gold aspen leaf was a present to myself before i moved from Colorado. 

i got the crab holding the wreath on a business trip to Baltimore a few years ago, and the knitted sheep hanging at the bottom is something i picked up at Wild Oats earlier this month.  the tree also bears a bell and, though you can't see it from this angle, a pickle ornament, both from Suzanne from her trip to Germany. 

the elaborate gold ornament (up close photo below) is the annual holiday ornament of my favorite American museum, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, that i purchased on my whirlwind visit back in December 2005.  and the soft red frame ornament, holding a photo of Doug & I, was a gift to me this year from Doug's mom's dear friend Kathy (as was the cross-stitched saying by the door).

      

heading to San Diego on Monday to celebrate with the family.  the top 5 things on my to-do list this just-before-the-holiday weekend:

• bake cookies
• wrap gifts
• hit the PDXEtsy holiday solstice fair
• laundry
• pack!

What's your top 5 for this weekend?

stuff + things

a smattering of things i've wanted to share with you this week:

tim burton is planning to direct + produce an adaptation of Alice in Wonderland.  can you imagine the Jabberwocky as seen through the eyes of this guy?  fantastic.  [though, i can't imagine being more scared of any Jabberwocky rendition than the one from the 1985 TV version, which is, incidentally, my all-time fave.]

you have got to check out poppytalk handmade, a "monthly online street market curated by poppytalk to showcase, buy, and sell handmade goods of emerging design talent from around the world."  if you're looking to add to your etsy.com favorites and/or meet your buyhandmade.org commitment for this holiday season, you absolutely cannot not click on that link. 

conceivably the most important 20 minutes you will spend in the next year lies right here, behind this link.  seriously, it's the Story of Stuff.  it's about what goes into our having all the stuff we have ... and the impact of having all that stuff on us, on people we don't know and will never meet, and on our future.   i honestly believe that everyone - children included - needs to watch it.  [honestly, yes: it gets a little preachy.  suck it up and get past it so you can listen - and pass on - the real nugget of truth:  that we truly, actually, really can't continue our current "cycle".]

i know, i know.  it seems a little hypocritical to be posting about an online store AND a preachy video about reducing consumption.  i'm still reconciling it myself.

 

celebration

it was a wonderful night at the Horse Brass Pub on saturday.  lauren made cupcakes; i told her i love white cake + vanilla frosting, and she told me that was the WASPy-est cake she'd ever heard of.  hence the sprinkles.

seriously, it was a great time.  zach + janelle [aka the reason we got to go to maui] were there, and tiffanie's new friend ian came down from vancouver, despite having met us once already [brave soul!].   emmy + johnathan were there - and as usual, the celebration of one event got emmy planning another [you know i love you for that].  BT made it, and ben + ziggy met my friends for the first time - i introduced them with, "you haven't met these folks before, but you've all met their dog."  the wine bottle you see in the background was a dog sitting gift from them.  [the dreidels came from lauren, in the cupcake box.]

   

and there were unexpected gifts, too ... a backgammon game from joe [which we need to learn how to play], and a beautiful handmade purse created by erica [from her + ravi;  photo soon].  but it was all these faces [& more!  sorry, forgot my camera!] that reminded me i'm a very, very lucky girl indeed.

   

    

[ok, cheesy part over.  more photos here.]

the night also marked our last event with kynthia as a portland resident ... she's taking off on adventures too numerous to name.  we'll miss her dearly - and we're so excited for stories. 

you say it's your birthday?

yep.  #29 has arrived.

this morning, Heidi picked me up & drove me to work, 'cause it turns out you aren't supposed to have to take the bus on your birthday.  and, when she arrived, there was a latte in the car with my name on it.  a super-sweet way to start the day.  and, she & jen insisted on taking me to lunch today.

and, my sister picked out for me the most spot-on, super fantastic wristlet [small purse with a strap to wear around your wrist] - it's deep ruby red patent leather with just the tiniest logo.  it's gorgeous.  honestly, when i was trying to find examples online of what i liked, i didn't see this one - but if i had, this is the exact one i would have asked for.  amazing what a sister can know about you.

and, tonight, i'm celebrating at my favorite restaurant in Portland with my favorite guy in Portland. 

but, even though it's my birthday, i shouldn't get to have the all the fun - so, here's a present for you:     

 
hee hee.  photos from Maui.  if you want to see more, click here.  it was an amazing trip.