Showing posts with label Builders and the Butchers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Builders and the Butchers. Show all posts

10.26.2010

cinnamon

As the weeks wind down and D(elivery)-day approaches, I'm trying to keep up with increased work responsibilities while also enjoying the last remnants of my pre-child social life.  Last week held two nights in a row of rowdy concert-going.  We caught Foals at Doug Fir on Thursday night along with my coworkers Nikki and Emily, and Jesse's friend, Danny.  Surprisingly enough, I was deemed DD for the night, but still managed to have a good time despite my pregnant sobriety.  At one point, both Jesse and Danny each brought me a soda.  I felt like a princess.  Other highlights included seeing the singer from Spoon in the crowd and then witnessing a dressed-to-the-nines hipster chick falling off a couch she was trying to climb over (the 4" heels didn't help).

The next night we hit up the grand opening of a new location of Dr. Marten's on Burnside.  The Builders and the Butchers were playing (odd scenario) and free food and beer were offered.  The beer ended up consisting of 2 oz. samples in tiny plastic cups and the "food," if you can call it that, was a platter of crustless watercress sandwiches.  Bite size.  The place was packed, as you can see below.  Certainly provided for interesting people watching.  (See if you can spot the band.)


Toward the end of the show Emily (what a trooper!) joined us with her three friends, Erin, James, and Jaime.  We determined that more food was in order, so we set out into the streets of downtown on foot.  I had mapped out various food carts that were supposed to be open, but that was a bust.  Instead, we found ourselves at Mother's, dining on decadent Chanterelle mac & cheese and laughing up a storm about performing test procedures on willing (read: paid) volunteers in nursing school.  Scary stuff, I tell you.  I remarked that the evening felt like the "olden days" - those in which Portland would draw us in for hours and we'd aimlessly wander the dark, curious streets.  It was a good night, particularly with the last minute addition of Voodoo Doughnuts just before the rain started to fall.

Other than that I've been preparing for a Halloween bake sale I organized at work, which is to occur this Friday.  The event will benefit two non-profit organizations associated with my employer.  I've never organized anything like this before, but it's been a worthwhile experience.  I can't wait to see what my volunteer bakers will come up with!  I'm still trying to finalize what I'll be making in my home kitchen - likely bags of fudge and jars of homemade granola.  I'll do my best to complete my preparation in an organized, photo-ready fashion, camera in hand.

Here are some miscellaneous photographs in the meantime.

Oliver's green Halloween glare

This is where we live - isn't it beautiful? 
Our resident Red-Tailed Hawk is perched at the top of the tallest tree. 
We love him.


And lastly, a belly progression.  I'm sitting at 33 weeks now and am even bigger than the last picture here.  More to come later, I'm sure.

5.19.2010

taking notes

Have any of you heard about the amazing Giveaway Day events on the Sew, Mama, Sew blog?  Holy smokes, what a dream for me (have you noticed I'm a contest junkie?)!  If you visit the blog you'll find three hyperlinked lists.  Each list contains a TON of blogs that are participating in Giveaway Day and are raffling off sewing supplies, handcrafted items, or both.  I estimate I entered at least 200 of the contests!

I obviously didn't submit my blog for the event, but I'm interested in doing a little giveaway.  I'm curious what people would like to see given away though... You can browse back through my blog to see the projects I've worked on, but I'd also be more than willing to try out a new idea.  Feel free to comment with your suggestions, or else I'll just figure something out on my own!

I actually did a bit of sewing recently, but I can't post photos of the item yet.  It's sitting at home, waiting to be wrapped up in a birthday package.  It was nice to pull the cover off my sewing machine finally - after weeks and weeks of unproductive laziness.  Now I've got my eye on this tutorial and maybe this one, and I'm interested in making curtains for Chloe's room.

Secondly, browsing through the photographs on my cell phone always helps to remind me what I've been up to since I wrote last.  I was happy to come across this beauty:


That's right, one of our favorite local bands, The Builders and the Butchers, will be playing a handful of presumably FREE shows in the Portland area this August.  I highly recommend that if you have the chance to check these guys out, that you do.  Need a preview?  Here's a video of a song from their most recent album.  Oh man, they are so good.

10.31.2009

books books books

It's Halloween! I'm decked out in my Builders & the Butchers crow shirt and Audubon crow earrings, feeling good. I'm musing over my conversation this morning with my stepdaughter who turned 8 today. She told me an elaborate story about the time her dad accidentally decapitated her at the beach. She was really mad at him. As my dad (an extremely proud new grandpa) says, she is a delight.

So... I've been entering a lot of contests lately. And by a lot, I mean a lot. I won an essay contest through work a few months back and it got my sweepstakes competitiveness raging. On one hand, I sort of feel like spending hours entering contests is a waste. On the other hand, you WIN STUFF!

Last week Jesse called me at work to let me know that a big package had arrived from Simon & Schuster publishing company. I was too curious to wait, so I had him open it. Inside was a letter saying that I had won their summer reading contest! I won 7 books worth almost $150 including:

  • Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner
  • Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisenberger
  • Full of Life by Nancy O'Dell
  • Mommywood by Tori Spelling
  • My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
  • The Love of Her Life by Harriet Evans
  • The Lovers by John Connolly

Okay, not exactly the kind of books I normally like to read, but free books is better than no books!

In other book news, I've started work on my "Pay It Forward" books. It has been too long since I built a book, but I've found that the skills are relearned quickly. It helps that all my supplies were recently categorized and stored in an easily accessible fashion. Here's a sneak peek at the first of the 6 books I'll be constructing.