Saying Goodbye

This weekend we lost our beloved dog Norman. The grief in the house is palpable. I know some may be confused as to why we would mourn a pet so much but he was far more than just a pet. He was our little man.

 Norman filled our home with love and laughter and snuggles. Oh so many snuggles. When Daniel and I adopted him from the Seattle Pug Rescue five years ago I couldn't have imagined how much he would become the center of our house. With him gone it feels so empty here.

Everything reminds me of him from the pillows he loved to smash down until they were just right, to the yard we made sure to find just for him when we bought this house.

I was looking forward to Oliver and him growing up together. Being playmates and nap mates and for Oliver to see the joy of caring for someone other than himself just as we did.

I'll end with this PSA before I dissolve even more heavily in to tears. Xylitol, a common sugar substitute in things like sugar free gum and candy is EXTREMELY toxic to pets. Even one stick of gum can cause death if eaten by a dog.  For a pug who loved to eat, the cake I made and unthinkingly left on the table was too much to pass up. So please, if you have dogs, just keep the sugar free cakes and candies out of your house. I wouldn't want anyone else to go through this.

We buried Norman outside Oliver's window so we can say goodnight. Oliver probably won't remember him but we definitely won't forget.

Gold Mining and Family

Last weekend we took off to La Paz Mexico for a family reunion. Daniel's family has a pretty strange (and fun) past. Way back, Daniel's grandfather bought a gold mine in Baja California (near La Paz) . Daniel's father, aunt and uncle grew up at the mine living in a house out in the desert.

When Daniel was young his parents took him and his sister there for months on end.

They would pitch a tent in the old building and camp out under the stars.

You can even still see the wall where they marked their heights going back to when Daniel's father was young.

It had been 20 years since Daniel was last at the mine but this year everyone came together and made a vacation out of it. We spent one whole day their checking out the house, the mine, and playing in the arroyo (which of course included posing with some surprisingly shaped flora).

The best thing was getting to spend time with Daniel's cousins and aunts and uncles reminiscing about their youth. 

The mine never really produced any gold but it did produce quite a few fond memories from every generation. 

Now my height is up on the wall officially adding me to the legacy. Who knows, maybe we will bring our children out here some day to experience the fun.

Cheers!

Happy Halloween!!

And a big Happy Birthday to my Dad! We had a great time seeing everyone this past weekend (more on that to come)! I just wish we got to visit more!

The Lamp Post Exhibit at the LACMA

Vacation Photo Dump: Part 3 (and final!)

I've been nursing a migraine the last few days so not much is getting done around here. I blame the shock of going from non-stop sun to pouring rain. Seriously Seattle, Spring starts next week! Yesterday we had snow flurries, hail, pouring rain and blinding sun all in the matter of 30 min. It was crazy. So let's bask in a few more sunny pictures while we wait for the weather to turn.

This last set is a bit of a hodge-podge of pictures from my parent's house and the Huntington Library gardens. First off I should introduce you to the cast of characters that currently inhabits my parent's home.

There is Bubba- our rescue Pit Bull. He is the sweetest and stupidest dog I know.

And Nacho. My older brother's cat who now lives with them.

The Guinea Fowl- Or as I like to call them, the not-chickens.

Are they not the ugliest birds you've ever seen? Not only are they ugly they are insanely loud, but they are good at eating ticks and weeds (and everything else). My Dad enjoys them.

He also has two Peacocks that are currently dating.

 Well... he thinks they are dating, she could care less. Normally they have the run of the ranch too but they are worried she would run off and try to find a better mate. Sorry girl, this is as good as it gets.

If you've never seen a peacock showing off before it is quite the sight. It is also quite noisy. He rustles his feathers at her and they make the strangest sound. I'm looking forward to when he molts. Dad is saving the feathers for me. Now I just need to figure out what I'm going to do with them.

When we were at the Huntington Library we spent most of the time in the desert area with the succulents. I was playing with my fixed focal lens so I got some great detail shots.

We also managed to get to the Chinese Garden before we it closed. I wish we had more time there but it was beautiful.

Wouldn't this make a cool bathroom floor? Give me a bag of rocks and 10 years and I might be done.

There you have it. My vacation I wish I was still on. I've been having trouble getting back in to the swing of things but I'm hoping once my head stops hurting I will be more enthusiastic.

What's inspiring you all right now? Maybe I can siphon some of your enthusiasm for myself.
Cheers!

Vacation Photo Dump: Part 2

After seven blissful nights in Rincon we headed up to Southern CA to see my family. It was a short trip (only two days) but it was great seeing them. I love being home. It is so quiet and peaceful. And the stars, my lord the stars are amazing.

We spent Saturday visiting the Gamble house in Pasadena and then we took a detour to the Huntington Library. I had only ever read about the Gamble house so I was really excited to take the tour and see inside. Unfortunately they don't allow photography inside but really that is ok since they had restored the original lighting to it's 15 watt glory. Not really the best for pictures. The outside was amazing enough.

It was built in 1908 for David and Mary Gamble of Proctor and Gamble. The entire place took 10 months to complete and cost 50,000 dollars (which is 1,197,871.70 now). Daniel hates when no-one gives the inflation adjusted values so there it is. 


The house is seriously huge. My house was built 4 years before and you can tell it was the cheap inexpensive version of this house. There are so many great aspects to the design of the house. I loved the front door

and the fact that every door had a screen door which is amazing if you think about the era.

Here it is lit up from the inside.



The whole house is paneled in teak which is insane.  With those 15 watt bulbs it is amazing no one went blind it was so dark inside, but, they made up for it with a ridiculous amount of windows. The other really neat feature of the house is that all of the furniture was made specifically for the home by the builders. Apparently it cost them $10,000 to furnish the place (or $239,574.34). Can you imagine having furniture that was actually meant to fit in your home instead of having to try and find things that fit? The possibilities are endless. 


Oh my, and the kitchen, it was huge!





It had a butler's pantry, a pastry room and a screened in porch for the servants to eat on (complete with Stickley furniture if you can believe it).

Basically the house was a Craftsman lover's paradise. It made me all excited to get working on our house again. I drooled over all of the built in storage and wood floors. You can check out more photo's of the house here or go on the virtual tour. If you ever make it to CA and are in to this sort of thing you should definitely take the time to see it.

Tomorrow I'll show you pics of the Huntington Library and it's gardens. Between the Gamble house and that I am pumped to get more done on our house! I love inspiration.

Anyone else tour historic homes for fun? We were the youngest people on the tour. Though I grew up in a Craftsman, they have a special place in my heart.

My childhood home

Cheers!

Merry Christmas!

From our family to yours!

Shipping Out

Getting everything shipped out to get there before Christmas! Hope you all aren't as behind as I am. 

Cheers!

My Second Favorite Holiday Tradition

Last week I shared with you our first holiday tradition: our advent calendar. This week we finished our second holiday tradition, constructing gingerbread houses. This is our fourth year making our houses from scratch and it was exciting as always. We have used the King Arthur Flour recipe every time and it makes the best construction gingerbread. For those of you who haven't made your own gingerbread houses, construction gingerbread is neither tasty nor soft. It basically bakes up like really good smelling cardboard. That's a good thing, you want strong walls to hold all of the candy you will be putting on. The recipe comes with a house template but we like to make our own. This year we were really ambitious (perhaps to our detriment). I chose to make a model of our house and Daniel designed a Tahitian stilt house.

The first step for construction was making our template. It helps to see how it will all go together if you are making anything intricate.

Kitty decided she wanted to help too, much to Daniel's amusement.

 Thanks Honey Bunch.

Normally house making goes pretty smoothly. This year however we both hit a few snags...

Needless to say Daniel's original design plans fell through (as did his roof and a few walls). Like the candy cane brace in the back?

I had a few mishaps as well but basically pulled though in the end. I didn't manage to get the overhang on the roof right but otherwise it is fairly close to what the top level of our house looks like only much shorter (and minus the candy of course).

I even included the covered front porch, painted floor and all. What house would be complete without two little gingerbread residents?

And a secret peek inside- our Christmas tree in the front room.

Even if there were a few flops this year it is still a great tradition. We made up some mulled wine and spent the day with quite the candy high. All in all, I call it a success!

Cheers!