Happy weekend!  This tree is one of our new favorite things in the neighborhood.  Actually, it's two trees growing together.  The color combo is stunning...even better in real life, of course. 

Priorities.

I feel like lately the majority of my posts have started out with an apology for my absenteeism. So, to mix things up, I don’t have any apologies today. I’ll simply say, I would have rather been blogging. I promise you.

I hate blogging out of sequence; it feels like ridiculous time travel. But, this story is from last week.

Anyhoo, one evening last week I had a sudden and immediate need for two things: Doritos and Sour Patch Kids. I feel like the word “craving” doesn’t properly describe my immediate food needs. A craving sounds like something that might just pass with time, or it could even be confused with hunger in general. This was a need, and virtually impossible to ignore. After seven years the live in knows the drill. From the time the need is communicated we’ve got about 10 minutes to get the goods before things turn really ugly.

He grabs some cash, shoves it in my pocket, and we make the three block walk to Safeway.

Once inside I head straight for the snack aisle and he wanders off down another aisle. I grab the Doritos {Cool Ranch – they were out of my fav, Salsa Verde} and then grab the Kids, and head back to find the live in. And I found him…with a shopping cart full of fruit, and milk, and other day to day needs. I looked in my pocket – he had grabbed $7.00. I looked down at the Doritos - $2.49. I looked down at the Sour Patch Kids - $2.49 {of course I got the extra-large size}. I did the math. I looked at his groceries. I was mad.

He ushers me over to the self-check out aisle and basically says let’s see how much everything adds up to. Not embarrassing at all, by the way. So I ring up the Doritos – my first priority. Then my Kids. Then his three precious oranges. We were already over our $7.00 budget. He tells me to take off one of the oranges. Again, not embarrassing at all. {Deleting produce items at the self-check out isn’t exactly easy either.} We were still over the limit. So – and this still hurts – he tells me to take off the Kids. I delete it, he grabs the smaller pack instead, and we make our budget. Keep in mind he still had bananas, milk, and one orange he had to go return to the shelves.

I am pretty sure the Safeway employee who was manning the self-check out station was judging our nutritional priorities when she saw the Doritos and Kids make the cut, but the milk and fruit had to be returned.

Oh well…she probably wouldn’t understand the live in and all of his fine qualities either…

This!

This is why I love living in Portland. Absolutely love it. This gentleman was spotted outside our loft window and I had to snap a picture.

Loft Bedroom: After

Done! Yah! Like I said, it’s just a minor facelift but I still love the change.

I decided to keep our lamps and shades…mainly because I couldn’t find replacements I liked better, but also because the new ones I came across were out of the budget…by miles.

I’m pretty proud of the artwork grouping above our bed {although it’s tough to see details in this picture}. I’d also like to make mention that I put up the frames all by myself…not an easy task, especially when eyeballing for levelness and using a meat tenderizer for a hammer.

1.2.3.

A few things:

1. Sorry for the lack of blogging lately. Real life has gotten a little busy. I do have lots of stories for you, so hopefully over the next few days I can share some.

2. I am almost ready to take my “after” picture of our bedroom. I just need to patch up all of the old {and some new} nail holes in the wall, and steam the bedding. Yes, I am going to steam the bedding – its linen and it looks terrible wrinkled. The live in does not support this behavior but I holding strong that the 10 minute investment will be worth it.

3. I applied for a plot in the new community garden at work. It’d be an urbanites dream, so I am crossing my fingers it works out. If we get it, we can start planting in May…

Loft Bedroom: Before

This is a really bad photo, but you get the idea...

Refresh

I’m in the middle of gathering ideas and inspiration for a very minor update to our “bedroom” area of the loft. It’s looking a little tired and needs a fresh look. We love the wall color and our bedside tables but everything else needs a little refresh. {I’ll post a “before” picture for you tonight so you can see what I am talking about.} I’ve already ordered bedding from a few different sources, but I’m hoping to do everything else on a…(shied the eyes if you’re sensitive)…budget.

During my search I can across this loft. I die! Oh what I could do with some serious space like that...

Ties for The Live In

I’m thinking the live in is going to need a sweet Liberty of London tie when they come to Target this month. He does love him some ties.  Plus I'll need some of...oh, everything else from Liberty...

{image}

Baseball

Well you must have had your fingers crossed extra hard for us because not only did we dodge the rain during the baseball game, but the weather was amazing. I made the live in keep his glove “at the ready” during the entire game for fear of getting nailed in the head with a baseball. I think he felt a little silly about it, especially when trying to eat, but that’s just the love he rocks for me…