Road trippin'

Our family recently made a road trip and we (Hannah and I) took a lot of pictures!

(It's what we do.)

I thought I'd show you some quintessential Portland sights.

I'll blog about why we went in my next post, but for now... enjoy.

 

 

moody skies and tall trees frame the city.

 

industrial exterior... because excellent coffee is serious business.

 

artistic vibe beckons you to linger.

 

 as does the heavenly aroma.

 

 crazy concoctions worth waiting in a horrendously long line for.

 

a peak at the Willamette River.

 

another exceptional coffee house.

 

a bit of nature in the midst of a hustle-bustle city.

 

 a call to stop for a moment.

 

old stone buildings

 

 juxtaposed with modern skyscrapers.

 PSU

 

 

 this is the city's motto. 

 

 and it is! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The sink skirt

Ta da

 

I can't decide if I like it or not.  It is lined just like the valences, but I'm thinking because of the thickness of the fabric (2 layers) it doesn't slide easily on the tension rod - so while it may look cute, it doesn't function quite like I expected.   :-/

I have two options, I suppose:  1.) buy a trash can with a lid, and place it elsewhere and not under the sink.  Also expect to wash the curtain often, as it will get quite dirty.

OR

put the doors back on and touch up the paint every now and again.

I'd love to hear what you think.  Do you like doors or the skirt?  

Before (with doors)

 

 

After (with sink skirt)

 

A summer concert

I had been looking forward to this concert for months. 

I have two bands that are my all time favorites.  They are my go to when I need a lift for my soul.  Switchfoot is one of them.  (I'll tell you why in a minute.)

 

All four of these bands are Indy.   (That's my music style preference.)  I had never heard of Colony House or Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors before.  I didn't know what to expect from them as you just never know with opening bands.   They were both really good. 

Did you know that Caleb and Will Chapman (sons of Steven Curtis Chapman) and friend, Scott Mills make up Colony House?  They are making their own sound apart from their dad and its a good one.  (btw, I've always enjoyed SCC!)

Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors has a rockabilly sort of style. They have a nice variety of easy/mellow along with upbeat songs, and their lyrics are quite thought provoking.  We bought their CD.

It was a very warm, sunny day, but as evening approached, the temperatures cooled, and it was perfectly pleasant. 

It was an outdoor venue - so all seats are lawn seats.  You bring your beach chairs or blankets to sit on.   Or if you are young...you stand the entire time in the "mosh pit".
Matthew was front and center with some friends who met him there.

Here we are... not in the mosh pit.  :-)

Switchfoot. 
"The dream would have been to be a pro surfer, but that didn't work out, so I'm in a rock band."  - Tim Foreman (bass guitarist)

 

Even though I went for Switchfoot, NEED TO BREATHE did not disappoint.  They have a folk sound to them.  I love how the banjo and the harmonica really add depth.  They have a unique sound and I like that.  We already owned this CD and this CD.

 

 They definitely put on a good show!  The best part though was when Switchfoot joined NEED TO BREATHE on stage just before the last song.  WOW - both drummers were so in sync, the guitarists were having a ball together, and they belted out the song, "Brother" - it was a.ma.zing!

. . . . .
 

So why do I like Switchfoot so much?  Beyond their music style is what they believe and what drives them.  I don't feel like I could do them justice with trying to summarize, so below are some quotes from either Jon, the lead singer or Tim, his younger brother. 

 

“Entropy is one of the laws of thermodynamics. It’s a physical law that says everything in nature is moving from order to disorder. In our lives this same principle is at work. As time moves on, things break down as we make mistakes. This is the ‘letdown’ every person experiences because of sin. For Christians this concept doesn’t end there because we realize God’s ‘beautiful’ mercy and grace restores the order in our lives.”

(result...  the song "The Beautiful Letdown".)

 

“Change. The desire to see change in my own life and in the world around me. I think that the element of change is what inspires hope. And love might be what inspires change: God’s love for us and our love for those around us. Things have to change; our world is in desperate need.”

 

“If you truly love someone, you’re going to be pure because true love comes from God, and God tells us to remain pure. That’s good enough for me.”

 

“Your pride is such a venomous animal and it pops up its head everywhere. You can never kill it, but you can be aware of it and you can beat it down the best you can. That’s the most dangerous thing when it comes to love.”

 

“Darkness cannot cast out darkness. You need a light for that. Fear cannot cast out fear. You’re gonna need hope for that… death warrants more death. But I believe life wants more life and I’m convinced that the greatest weapon we’ve got is LOVE! And maybe, in a world full of fighters, in a world imploding with hate, maybe to be a lover, you gotta be a fighter. Maybe that’s the biggest fight, the only fight worth fighting, the fight you’re gonna be in for the rest of your life.”

(Result... the song Love Alone is Worth the Fight.)

 

“My faith, I mean, that’s such a personal aspect that a lot of times, of course it’s going to come out through the song. But at the same time, I’m not a religious salesman. I feel like God doesn’t really need a salesman, and what these songs are are simply my interactions with this life and learning. I guess the bottom line is the songs are really honest, you know what I mean. That faith is going to come through. If the listener is looking for it, that’s definitely a part of it.”

 

“We really want our songs to be a vehicle to challenge people to think about what matters most in this world, encourage them to make an impact in big and small ways, and to lead people to Christ.”

 

Switchfoot is a surfing term that is used when a surfer changes their foot position on the board and goes the opposite way. It can also mean to gain a new perspective or new insight.

 

. . . . .

 

When I get the chance to work on a project it's usually when my Littles are down for some quiet time.  I put in ear buds and listen to music while I work.  I find that it is then that I have really been able to hear the lyrics and I've been so blessed.  They often make me think of a Scripture or a parable that correlates, or just contemplate God and His character, and yet it's creative and artsy.  I don't know.  I just really, really like them. 

Plus... they surf!  

. . . . .

"Our music is tied to the sea, born from the struggle, looking for hope because hope belongs in the dark places. I want our songs to be the songs that open the door of soul. to look at a story bigger than ourselves."

 

.

What did I just do?

I am reminded of a lyric from an old song from the Newsboys,
"I dunno what I was thinking when I just pressed 'Send'".
Anyway, that's how I felt when I pressed the button to connect my blog to Google+ only to find absolutely everything changed including my comments section. 
What was I thinking and why didn't I read more closely? 

I spent way too long trying to figure out how to revert back to the original blogger profile, thinking that would also revert back to the blogger comments.  I did figure out how, but the Google+ comments were still enabled.  Grrr.  Not only did I still have Google comments, but now I didn't have a Google+ dashboard to work with. 
After doing a Bing search and reading a few sites, Eric finally found the answer for me.
(It's really nice to have my System Administrator in house!)

I am posting a screenshot here in case you have done the same thing and feel stuck.

 

The first thing I had to do was go back to using my Google+ profile. (not the one from Blogger.)

 

(The top right corner  - in the gray strip - tells you which profile your blog is using.)

On your blog dashboard - click on the Google+ tab. (See on the left in orange.)

The screen should look like this.

 

 

Make sure the check box is UNCHECKED for using Google+ comments. (I circled it in red for you.)

 

I had actually successfully unlinked my blog from Google+ so that check box was NO WHERE to be found! 

When I clicked on the shaded gray area below my photo and name with the blogger symbol (which said link blog to Google+) then the check boxes showed up. 

 

So - your blog must be linked with Google+ in order to have that check box option.

 

I apologize to my readers for any inconvenience my stupidity has caused you. 

Would you help me by leaving a comment so I can confirm I really fixed the problem.  (I suppose a lack of comments might be a clue too.)

 

Anyway, happy blogging and... commenting.  :-)

 

 

Life lately

So this is what LIFE looks like for us lately.

 

#Skills

Look who learned to ride a bike!

 

 

Like nobody's business. Way to go, Abbie.

 

#Whimsy
Hannah was in the mood to bake a cake.  She made this one from Pinterest.  Doesn't Earl Grey and Vanilla sound so good?  (She substituted the Namaste gluten free flour blend.  I thought it tasted very good, but I didn't really taste the Earl Grey - so would use stronger steeped tea next time.)

#CountryLiving
This is what greets Daddy each evening when he comes home from work. 
Country girls clad in shorts... and rubber boots.

#Indecision
I may have rubbed off on my hydrangea bush.  Should I bloom blue?  or maybe pink?
Oh, I don't know...

or maybe lavender and blue all in one.

#sadness
This weed is called horsetail.  It is invasive, stubborn and very hard to eradicate! 
It has mixed in with the hydrangeas and now I've seen a few in the garden. :-(

 

#Excitement

Eric has entered a longboard race so we are making a road trip to Portland.  He did a trial run down a nearby road - he clocked at 17 mph! 

 



#gardengoodness
We planted only romaine lettuce this year and it has done very well.  I am able to harvest big bags worth a couple times a week.  The beets are doing really well too.  This was the first batch, there are still more to come.  Next year, I need to put in two rows of beets.  We just picked our first cucumbers too. 

 

#parties

A baby shower for Henry

 

That cake!

A graduation celebration for this special girl friend.

 

#Surviving the heat

A couple of day trips to the river with friends.  A very refreshing respite from the heat.

(That was a couple of weeks ago.  It's much cooler now, though heat is due to return... yay)

 

Ellie's catch-and-release treasure

 

 

#Doggie Sitting

Had these sweet sisters for a time while their owners were on vacation.  Matthew affectionately calls them "his dogs".  (Do you suppose these girls dream of being  Huskies when they grow up? Ha)  I think it made us all miss Otis just a little bit more.

 

These are the lazy days of summer - no real schedule or routine - fun with friends.

Hope your are having fabulous and fun summer days.  
:-)

Finally, a decision

 I think I am the most indecisive person I know and I definitely over-think things.

 

I love farm houses, and I love beach cottages.  We have a very small family farm (if you can call a few dairy goats and a garden a farm), and we no longer live at the beach in a cottage (but oh, how we'd love to.)

 

Dilemma #1:  what is my style?

clean and uncluttered... this I know.

 

 

Our house has a few querks (as all houses do), but the one that is the most challenging is that the great room is flanked by bedrooms.  Because of that, there are few windows that provide natural light in this area. 

 

Dilemma #2:  How should I add color to the kitchen?

What to do with a boring white wall?

(Actually, I am thrilled with this white wall.  Eric recently painted it white for me.  Fresh and clean.  It was a golden yellow, which was fine, but it was time to brighten things up, and I am happy with this white.)

 

Dilemma #3:  If not paint, then what style window treatment would work best?

a.  We don't need them for privacy.  We look out onto acres and acres of forest.

b.  It is cloudy and rainy here a lot, and sometimes, just down-right dreary so I don't want to cover over what little light we do get from our limited windows.

c.  I want low maintenance.  (No dusting of mini blinds, thank you very much. And long panels on the slider will only get messy from little sticky hands that pass by.)

d.  I want (need?) a change.  Previously I had made some black and white toile valences.  I really liked them, and they went well in the space, but now that the wall is white - it was a little stark in spite of the bucolic scenes.

 

My dad (who is a retired interior designer) thought Roman shades might be a good option.

 

 photo credit

If we had French doors instead of a slider, then maybe.  But again, we don't need privacy, but we do need light.  In the end it wasn't quite right.

He also suggested a valence sort of like this style.  It's made by attaching it to a covered board, and then hung by L brackets.  (I do really like this look.)

photo credit

 

It's a nice clean look, but because of the way it is put together, it can only be cleaned my vacuuming the dust off.

 

Dilemma #4:  There are what seems like endless possibilities and so much to consider!

 

We did decide that a valence would work best.

I found myself with an opportunity to make a trip to the fabric store with my "seamstress" daughter (and no Littles).  I really just wanted to go to get ideas and see if I could get some inspiration... anything!

Looking through the pattern books, I found this pattern by Butterick.  Our light fixture and the knobs and pulls on the drawers and cupboards are brushed nickel so a curtain rod in that finish would blend well.

 

The curtain is held on by rings that have clips on them.  I really liked that instead of a cutesy, gathered, style.  Still casual and very fun... and easy to clean.

 

Dilemma #5:  I have no coupons, and I am NOT paying full price for this pattern!

So with the a little figuring and my phone calculator, we purchased 3 yards of fabric, and 3 yards of a lightweight lining, and no pattern.  (by the way, it is the saddest day ever, when you discover all the coupons you have - have expired by one day. )

Hannah scored this sheet from Goodwill with me in mind.  She knows me so well.   We planned to use this.

 

But I didn't want to just use aqua and white. (I know, shocker!) but come January and the cold of winter, and very gray days, I need warm colors to help cheer me.  (me - overthinking again, except for it's true.) So we would use the aqua and white for the contrast.

 

I love this cheerful, whimsical, multi colored fabric.  It reminds me of these Anthropologie dishes.

I was afraid the two patterns might be a little busy and fight for attention.

 

I decided to sew a bit of 5/8" ribbon down the seam where the two fabrics meet.

 

Here's how it looks.

 

I think the ribbon made a huge difference and a finished look.

As it turns out, I have enough fabric left over that I am going to make a kitchen sink curtain. (a sink skirt instead of doors.)
I'll be working on that as soon as I buy another spool of ribbon. 
We'll give it a try and see how we like that instead of cupboard doors.  Hoping it will look both farm-housy, and beach-cottagy.   Instead of the clip rings, I will use a tension rod.  It will save space and money.  Best part is I already have the tension rod from the toile valences we took down.

And remember Hannah's jewelry board from this post?  Well, it wasn't working quite as she hoped so she gave it to me. (far right in the photo.) Chicken wire removed, frame painted aqua, and the back sprayed with chalk board paint.  Ready for a sweet sentiment.   Now, if I could only decide on one!