I'm ready for spring.

The sun was shining for a moment while I was photographing my newest creation, and then it was gone. It was nice while it lasted.

Hope on Foster after all

For those of you familiar with Portland geography, I have been living in the Foster/Powell neighborhood for a few years now. I bought a house in May of 2004 because the house was cute and the neighborhood was still affordable (granted, sketchy in pockets.) It has managed to feel like home.

You can imagine my satisfaction when an amazing restaurant finally popped up within short walking distance from my home. Bar Carlo, I am in love.

Self serve Stumptown coffee, big windows, savory food. It brings new, added pleasure to my weekends. Quality of life has improved.

Even better, it has opened my mind up to brick and mortar jewelry/art/craft business dreams. I am tired of the Corporate rat race and the politics.

I want to live the dream. Come'on Foster Road. Show me some love.

Etsy Love: Shannon Gerard

I am now finally coming to terms with the fact that I don't write often enough about some of the hidden gems I have come accross on Etsy, and that needs to change! As a result, it's high time that I give one of my favorite Etsians, Shannon Gerard, the public praise she deserves.

A few months back one of her zines made it to the front page of Etsy, for which I am extremely greatful. Otherwise, I may have never found her. It was the artwork on the front cover that drew me in. I know exactly what that hug feels like. After reading the description in the listing for Hung 3 (Lonely Tylenol), I knew I had to have it.

Not only is her artwork beautiful and her humor sincere, her writing is absolutely gorgeous. I saw myself in this story. She captured every emotion perfectly.

Beyond her seemingly limitless talent, she has a shop on Etsy: shannongerard.etsy.com.

It's good for the heart. Take a peak.

Don't be a cheap ass bastard.

I just found out Quasi is playing a 5 dollar show at Dante's on 11/15, this upcoming Thursday night. Thats right, *$5.00* show.

When does that ever happen? Never.

Don't pass up a good thing.

Oh my, Sunset Rubdown on Tuesday!

I cannot wait! I feel like an antsy schoolgirl. I can say with utmost confidence that this is my favorite band. My heart fills up everytime I think of them.

I am also relishing in the fact that the majority of the world still does not know of them...which is a terribly selfish thing to do. Don't get me wrong, I do wish them the greatest success. But for now I have the cozy feeling that it's my little secret for the time being, the wonderful stretch prior to them becoming famously popular and forcing me to suffer through another crowded show at the Crystal.

But for now I can snuggle close to the stage and drink in their amazing sound and trick myself into believing that it's all for me.

If you don't have their new album, Random Spirit Lover, buy it now. If you have absolutely no idea who I am talking about, start with their first recordings.

Tuesday! Hawthorne Theatere. My heart might implode.

Family Harris

When staying in Chicago, be sure to pay a visit to the Harris family. These folks do family well. It was such a great treat to watch this unit in action.

You two are fantastic parents. I really can't imagine anything more wonderful.

Watching one of my oldest friends with a child is confusing for me at times. I feel perpetually torn between wanting children and fearing motherhood. And wanting motherhood, then fearing children. I am ready one day, and a complete mess the next. It's very confusing.

Max is an absolute delight. He is one of the most beautiful people I have ever let eyes on. Making him smile is truly fulfilling. And scary.

My birthday came early...

At least gift wise. My birthday isn't until September, but I have been obsessing over these rings and couldn't take it any longer. I had to take the plunge. They were crafted by the truly amazing Brooke Medlin of gemmafactrix fame. Oh, how I adore her work.

I feel like I am a fumbling freshman in the jewelry world, while she is the ultra cool senior...the one with the amazing hair and killer fashion sense. You know the one.

Brooke, you're amazing, ... and I can't wait to wear this fantastic creation!

It's Negative!

I don't have cancer, and it's about time my family experienced a biopsy with happy results.

I've been wearing a bra practically non-stop for 192 hours, and I will tell you that sports bras worn for that length of time will make you want to kill.

Once the healing is over, I am seriously considering going braless for the rest of the summer.

New in the shop...

I have an obsession for these speckled vintage glass beads... They aren't easy to come by, so if you spot them anywhere, let me know!

Surgery

I finally took the little bugger out.

Or had it taken out, I should say. I've had a strange lump in my breast for years, and my suspicion is that it had something to do with a decade's worth of birth control pills. It used to come and go like a traveling visitor, but eventually it would just stick around to make everyone nervous. I had been really hesitant about having it cut out, mostly for the sake of vanity. I am a little embarrassed about that since it makes me sound trite, but my breasts are NICE. Really nice. If you saw them, you'd understand.

So eventually I came to my senses and decided that I needed to approach this thing just like anything else. Deal with it, get rid of it, and move on. I've been pretty good about confronting my fears lately and being honest with myself. It's not in my nature to let the bullshit pile up, and I realized this shouldn't be any different.

So on 6/21, I said goodbye to the strange little ball of denial that had taken up residency my right breast.

Surgery was a new experience. It felt futuristic, like an Aldous Huxley novel...but cozier. I enjoyed the sweet complements dished out by my crazy nurse, and the magical "warming blanket." It was a little private little hot air tent for my body, like a little fire at my feet... like my favorite line in En Gallop.

It was over before I knew it, and recovery hasn't been too bad. I haven't seen my right breast yet, it's mummified under layers of gauze, but I know its there quietly resting and healing. Despite the scar, no matter how strange, I know I did good by her.

Now I wait for the biopsy results. Wish me luck.

Sunday - Lov.li Craft fair!

Come say hello! I am very excited about this venue. Well, it's fair to say that I love every craft show that I get the opportunity to be a part of. It's a great way to meet new talented artists, plus trading with these folks is fun!

See you tomorrow?

Calling off the jam

I have to admit, I really enjoy roller derby. Sure, there's been a lot of hype about it, and part of me wanted to reject something that the counterculture poster children would be so ready to latch onto. After all, there was the reality show, the Maxim articles, in addition to the fact that the entire organization's uniforms could be supplied by Hot Topic...

But hey, I love my brother...so Hot Topic can't be THAT bad.

I think what I love most about Rollerderby is that music plays a huge role. I feel like I am in the early 80's, drinking my beer on metal bleachers, checking out all the tail. Popular hair band and glam rock tunes are pumping at all times... It's a game with a soundtrack, and that I can respect.

Come to think of it, the only time I can remember honestly getting into a basketball game was when I was watching Hoosiers with it's lilting score at a cinaplex with my dad. Give me a little Eye of the Tiger, and I become a raging boxing fan.

Eric has a theory that there are music fans, and there are sports fans. While there maybe varying degrees, the graph looks something like this:

...and because of my obsession with Japan

I had to give these earrings a Japanese name.

Japan!

The day is drawing near. I have wanted to go to Japan since I was a young girl. I started learning the language at 14 years old, but I've never had the opportunity or good fortune to go, until now.

The good news is I have the language stuck somewhere in the deep recesses of my brain. I have funny dreams where I speak pigeon nihongo, and my verbs are conjugated into elaborate endless droning.

City life with Bonnie and Driscoll, what could be better? I can't wait to experience Tokyo with two of my favorite people in this world. A few days into our trip, Eric and I are breaking away from Tokyo to Kyoto for 3 days, with a day trip to Hiroshima thrown in there somewhere. I am going to eat lots of fish, drink lots of sake, and sing karaoke like crazy.

I promised a good friend that I would figure out the following sentence:

Sumimasen, bendingumashiin wa bishoujo no andaawea doko ni arimasuka?
(my) translation: Excuse me, where are the vendingmachines which have the beautiful girl's underwear?

If I've got that sentence right, I’m in good shape.

Little Man Syndrome

It's an epidemic, and one that I have little patience for.

I'm in the process of trying to sell my car, so I decided to give it an overdue wash. After a long day of work, I drive past my house and head up to 82nd, a little piece of hell in it's own right.

About a block before the car wash, a big Pontiac juts out right in front of me forcing me to slam on my breaks. Then, half way out in the road he just sits there as I try to move around him. I glare at him as I pass.

After following me to the exit, and through the carwash, the guy actually has the nerve to pull up next to me at the vacuuming station, get out of the car and confront me while I am minding my business, disposing of nasty melted lipgloss and other strange debris.

The man is a good 4 inches shorter than me, and for those who don't know it, I'm not exactly a tall girl.

littleman: I can't believe you, don't you accept it when people make a mistake?

He proceeds to yell at me for giving him a dirty look, and I begin to tease him for having that bother him so much that he had to follow me into the parking lot and talk to me about it.

I tell him he doesn't know me or what I'm about, or what kind of day I had. He’s lucky that a dirty look is such a great offense. He says he doesn't care what I’m going through, so I chide him about being such a big man, defending his pride at the carwash.

He walks away and I go about my work, but he comes back. He tells me to act my age (not sure what he thought that was) and I tell him, Fine. I'm sorry, so sorry. I apologize. Now walk away littleman, walk away.

My hands were shaking. If I was a guy, there would be no way in hell he would have had the balls to get out of his car. I was so upset once I got home. I just don't understand. And littlemen usually like me. Me and my perfectly placed RACK.

Monterey Bay

Last week Eric joined me on a business trip to Salinas. We stayed in Monterey and while I gave presentations about the future of inbound call strategy for HSBC North America, Eric explored beach culture. We stayed through Saturday and Eric and I visited the Monterey Bay aquarium, something I have been meaning to do for a while now.

This was probably my last trip to Salinas for a very long time. It was wonderful to spend it with the only person who could find it cute when I get weepy during the last few minutes of an episode of Ghost Whisperer, even though I didn't watch the whole episode and had absolutely no connection with the characters.

On our last day, we caught a hideously entertaining musical act. You can watch it here. Notice that I used the word "hideous."

Damn, these went fast.

I've had one of those days that makes you feel like you really need a nice pat on the back. My answer? Shameless self-promotion.

Scandinavian kitch, straight from the source.

I just bought this amazing recycled army bag from a lovely woman in Amsterdam. Her bags are wonderful.

Do yourself a favor and take a moment to pay a visit to Katrina Kaye's shop.

She just had a baby and should be listing new items very soon...

This is everything.

When the other shoe drops...

Is it because I am always quietly waiting for the other shoe to drop that it inevitably does? Am I being punished for being a pessimist in optimistic sheep's clothing? And why do these things always occur in threes? Can anybody answer these questions for me?

Things have been going great for me lately…amazing in fact. My jewelry business has been picking up steam, got a great promotion at work, and I have been really happy lately. Maybe I was getting cocky, a little to fancy for my britches, and so the universe decided to intervene...

This morning was exceptional. Woke up earlier than I have in months, made myself some coffee, and felt like I had a real handle on things. That’s when my iPod slips from the case and falls face flat on the kitchen floor. I picked it up and heard little ipod sprinkles bouncing around inside. I turned it on, it made a crunching noise, and gave me this look asking, “Why did you take me for granted. Why?”

Let's see. What else happened today. Oh ya, Found out my dad has melanoma and re-confirmed that my ex-sissy/boss is a moron.

That about covers it!

If I had more time on my hands...

I would make these little eggies. Bonnie-chan, project time!?

There is an adorable shop on Etsy where a woman creates crochet patterns for items that make my heart flutter, anapaulaoli - check it!

2007 off to a good start

Things are in full swing. In order to keep idle hands busy while I miss my good friends in faraway places, here's some of the pretties that have found good homes this week: