pretty winter garden decay

Due to the massive distraction that was our wedding, I severely neglected our garden last season. In fact Brock actually forbade me from spending time in the backyard on the weekends. Probably for good reason. Here's how the week would go...

Monday night, me freaking out about number of things on my list for wedding, Tuesday tired from work, overwhelmed, drinking wine on couch to relax self, unmotivated to do anything (due to 1/2 bottle of wine), by Friday state of panic because I'd completed exactly nothing in the space of a week. Saturday morning: gardening time!

See, so that's what your other (often better) half is for... to remind you that you were nearly in tears all last week because you had so much to do (but refused to do anything), so it would seem reasonable that you should take Saturday and Sunday to make a teeny bit of headway with the wedding project. NOT spend the entire weekend weeding and mulching and taking pictures in the backyard.

Hrrrrmphf.

Anyway, he was right, and now the vegetable patch is a brambly rotting jungle along the back fence. But in the early morning light, it's kind of beautiful.













The squashes won't stop coming. These were waiting for us when we returned from Australia. And there are still a few more on the way, though we'll see how they do with the recent cold and rain.

Luckily now I'm allowed to get back out in the dirt and start over for next season. This year we're doing raised beds. Yay, projects!

lust-worthy leather pants

I don't normally post photos from the Sart, because you know, EVERY SINGLE ONE is fantastic. And yes, he makes me hate my closet, want to become a french woman, grow 5 inches, etc etc. But for serious, these pants are insane. I need them. I think they might complete me.



Where would one find such pants? I had an epiphany. CUSTOM-made. duh. I mean of course. You can't possibly find pants this fantastic and made of leather unless they were made especially for you. Must plan trip to Paris in order to purchase such pants from master tailor. Okay, no. But maybe someone in LA makes custom leather garments? I will report back.

photo from the Sartorialist, obv.

DIY gocco thank yous

part of our rather luxurious stay-cation (after we returned home from mammoth) included serious craft time. Most importantly the thank yous. I want to write them, I do. And our present-givers/wedding-goers definitely deserve them, but it's such an long slog to get through them all, trying to make each one personal and not totally robot-like.

At least we have them printed:







And to tell the truth, I'm getting sort of tired of our wedding designs. It's much more fun to make something new and different, like our new years cards! which came out perty cute. I shall post those soon. It will be my reward for signing the last thank you.

(jenna's calligs, of course)

our wedding: the ring bowl turned ornament

Confession: I had a ring bowl made. But we didn't use it. It's just that I love Paloma's Nest too much to pass it up. We didn't have a ring bearer or flower girl, instead Brock's brother and best man carried the rings in his pocket. It seemed a little awkward to make a 29 year old guy carry a teeny ceramic ring bowl down the aisle, you know?

And from the beginning, I knew we'd mostly be using it as an ornament on our tree. My parents have an "our first christmas" ornament on their tree and I've always kind of liked the sentiment.

I had the Shakespheare quote that we used on our programs and in our ceremony stamped into our bowl. I like that it doesn't say our names or our wedding date or any traditional wedding-y thing. Instead it's just a pretty, handmade reminder of our wedding and our vows and the awesome time we had that night.



love love love Paloma's Nest. And I promise this is the last Christmasy post.

hwy 395...

a perfectly beautiful vintage road trip, no matter how many times we take the drive.









I've been up and down this stretch of California at least once a year (mostly more) since we moved back to this thoroughly excellent state when I was 5. It took me a long time to appreciate the Eastern Sierra, in it's old time desolation and dirt and pine and peaks, but now i just ADORE it.

Also, if you have an iPhone, and you don't have Camera Bag, you are missing out on the most excellent application/activity/photo medium/car trip game ever invented. I can't control myself. Everything must pass through Camera Bag. Everything.

Happy New Year all!

slopes

with iphone. but i think they need to invent a case-thing with a wrist leash for taking pictures on the chairlift.

Isn't there something just inherently 70's about skiing? Maybe it's the childhood memories of my parents in their orange and brown gear, rocking the skinny skis and aviator glasses.

snow and lights

Little snow lanterns on our deck railing in Mammoth... pretty.







I love nestling into our living room up here at night, drinking wine, making big dinners and playing games. OH and getting back into legit blogging mode. Most everyone else seems to be on holiday but I've been so absent, this time is perfect to catch up.

I'm getting some wedding posts together for the curious. fun.

recycled wrapping (mostly)

Inside-out grocery/shopping bags tied up with pretty ribbon and butcher's twine = wrapping paper that makes me feel less guilty when all the presents have been opened and the recycling bin is full. Inside-out unless there are good graphics to be used, like the Spacecraft bag we lugged home from Melbourne. Couldn't resist the festive red dots.



And for spice, super easy tags punched from the papersource catalog and backed (using studio tac) with more grocery bag paper so there's a place to write.

It's amazing how much more comprehensive your craft supply area becomes post-wedding. Makes the last minute wrapping crisis much easier to handle.

merry belated xmas

So things were a leeetle bit crazy leading up to Christmas this year, due to a truly extraordinary feat of procrastination from yours truly. But we did get our house in order which always makes me happy when I get home from work and it's dark and cold. I love having lights on around the eaves, and on the tree. yay christmas decors!



look, it's our funky little house! all dressed up for December. I couldn't resist taking a picture a few weeks ago once I had it all cleaned up and ready for Sunday evening wine drinking and perusing of Gourmet/catching up on emails/spending QT with the computer.







And a few vintage ornaments from my grandma's collection that my mom gave me for my shower. Something about Christmas that makes vintage pretties a necessity.

I hope everyone had an excellent Christmas, if you celebrate, and an excellent few days of general relaxation if you don't.

We're in Mammoth now for a little snowboarding and general lazing by the fire. Everyone should laze by the fire for a few days during December, me thinks.

the other kind of photobooth

I'm kind of torn. We set up a photobooth for my company holiday party on Thursday night... okay WE is the wrong word. I had nothing to do with it. I was busy with the crudite and cheese platter and mixers for the champagne cocktails, but you know, WE as a company set one up. ANYWAY. It's pretty f-ing fun. And now I'm thinking is this better than real photobooth action? I like the teeny pictures from real photobooth but I like the artistic freedom that this allows, you know? we had pictures with people doing handstands and sitting on the tops of ladders. it was pretty good.

I'm not going to say who, but it's highly possible that SOMEONE had 1-2 too many ddlllrinkity-ddllrinks.



Disclaimer - we DID have a professional photographer friend set this all up for us with nice lighting, etc. But I think some wedding photogs can do this too.

Also, after your wedding, every party/event must be executed with wedding-like attention to detail. Which is not always efficient or necessary. You've been warned.