The Artist's Way: Week 7

Goals of 12 week program: 

1. Learn to be gentle and positive with and about myself

2. Start habit of morning pages that will carry on for life

3. Break down the liver's (like to live, not liver like thing my generation abuses) block

Week 7: Recovering a Sense of Connection 

This week was all about letting yourself connect to your creativity. It's not something that is forced but drawn out. This week was about risk and not having to be perfect at something the first time you try it. This week also had a section on how to use jealousy as a map to what you want to do and who you would like to be instead of a road block.

My Favorite Quotation:

Trust in yourself. Your perceptions are often far more accurate than you are willing to believe.
- Claudia Black

Sometimes this is a good thing, and sometimes it's horrible. Sometimes your perceptions are negative about situations and people you don't want them to be negative about and so you tell yourself you are overanalyzing and nit-picking when really a feeling that strong is nothing but right. I've been through it so many times and each time I still question it. But this time was the last of debating with myself when something hits my gut in such a way.

Favorite Task:

Create one wonderful smell in your house

I recently bought the Taylor Swift perfume, Wonderstruck. It's delicious. The perfume came with this scented thing and so I hung it in my room and it makes me happy every time I walk in the door.

Check In:

1. Morning pages: 6/7

2. Artist Date: 

I took myself to get my current favorite meal at Boudin's then went to Yardage Town and a quilting shop to start asking questions about my quilt project. Afterwards I took my sewing machine out and taught myself how to thread the needle and the bobbin. I also purchased the PDF version of the original manual so I can learn more stuff.

3. Instances of Synchronicity: 

Not that I know of.

4. Other issues:

Personal matters, struggling with gut feelings versus oversensitivity and insecurity... Not enough quality me time because any time I was alone I was worrying about someone that didn't deserve it. Still don't know what is coming out of the morning pages. May switch to pages before bed. They'll get done then. 

xoxo

It's time.

Found this over at Dani's blog, Sometimes Sweet... beautiful.

The Real Christmas List

Now that Thanksgiving is over I think it's time to tell everyone what I want for Christmas!!! I mean, you're all getting me something... right? 

:) 

Well, if you are (coughcough family coughcough) then here's what I'm looking at:

J. Crew Factory, Two Pocket Chambray Shirt

Nixon Kensington Watch

brown strap, gold face 

American Eagle Boyfriend Cardigan in dark gray/black

or other chunky cable knit shade of sweater in a shade of gray

Steve Madden Pammyy Pump in black

Steve Madden Candence Boot in Cognac

Enzo Angiolini Tanen Pump or something almost exactly the same

This exact record player, I don't want ANY other! 

More memory for my computer

This book

Canon Rebel T3 with 18-55mm lens

120 Color Negative film

PX 680 film packs

PX-70 film packs

I'm sure there are other things but that is what I can be specific about right now. Gift certificates to Target, Forever 21, and Nordstrom would also be accepted with a smile and a big hug. 

That are you wishing for this holiday season?

xoxo

The Artist's Way: Week 6

Goals of 12 week program: 

1. Learn to be gentle and positive with and about myself

2. Start habit of morning pages that will carry on for life

3. Break down the liver's (like to live, not liver like thing my generation abuses) block

AAAND I'm halfway through!!!

Week Six: Recovering a Sense of Abundance

Money, money, money. The excuse we use the most, the issue that causes divorce the most, the guilt that looms over our heads. Money. 

People want more of it, people hate it, people think you have to do everything but bleed to get a lot of it. Sometimes it creates battles and wars, ruins families, friends and lovers. Money. This week is about finding a healthier relationship with money by understanding the one I have now. I need this, but it's not going to be easy.

The week I have to track every penny I spend. UGH! Well, now's a good time to start #12 on 25 before 26!

My Favorite Quotation:

... you want to maker some art, make some art.

I like the no excuses simplicity of this line. There were other, seemingly deeper sentences that I underlined but this one seemed the best. I tend to make things more complicated than they need to be. That's one of the reasons I'm not good at riddles. One of many I'm sure. :) But the truth is, you'll find a way if you really, truly want it. So want it, and do it.

Favorite Task:

Make new changes in your environment.

I did this because it had to be done, not necessarily because it was a task. Honestly I do this kind of thing a lot anyway. But as you know I moved, and this was my first week back, and so instead of just throwing everything together in my room like usual I decided to give it some thought and actually put some of the art out that I framed. I like the set up a lot. When nothing else is right at least I can look around my room and think it's cute.

Check In:

1. Morning pages: 6/7

2. Artist Date: 

Nope... ugh

3. Instances of Synchronicity: 

Can't say I remember anything.

4. Other issues:. 

Too much time on piccsy and tumblr. Oops. :/

xoxo

Portland Love: Blossoming Lotus

Portland Love is a series in which I take to the streets of Portland, eating at new places, shopping at new shops, smelling old books and doing my best to not get too wet without the use of an umbrella. It's my way of falling in love with this city over and over again while sharing it with you. Enjoy! 


Just in case you are wondering... I have moved away from Portland. I had to decide if I was going to keep posting these or throw them out, but the ones I had left were still so good, I figure if you're ever visiting Portland or live there and haven't visited these places it might be of help. So from now until the new year I will be posting one to two Portland Love posts a week.

:)

I'm not going to lie, this was the first place I went after I thought about the Portland Love concept. Obviously I put on the back burner for a while and sometimes forgot about it. But now, here it is.

Blossoming Lotus changed locations between my living times in Portland. First it was in a yoga center and that's where I fell in love with the food. I think they wanted to grow from being just a little side cafe into a real restaurant though. At least that's the impression I got when I first came to the new location.

Blossoming Lotus is all vegetarian and has a lot of raw/live options. I went to, and fell in like with Blossoming Lotus a couple of times in the old location, usually getting a bowl of brown rice, white beans and kale with peanut sauce. I didn't stray from that order this time either. I'm a creature of habit.

I can't say I remember what Nicole ordered, from the picture it looks like a salad but it may have been noodles... all I know is that we both loved our dishes.  Isn't that what really matters?
Oh yes, it was a daily special.

As long as I'm being honest here I'm going to say I liked the place better when it was in the Yoga Pearl building. They had vegan soft serve which was so delicious... SO DELICOUS. I also liked how it was kind of hidden and really casual. 

But times change and I understand their move was necessary as they became more popular.

My only problem with dishes like this is that I will keep eating until I am very uncomfortably full because I know in an hour or two I'll be INCREDIBLY hungry again. Other than that, it was delicious. A cooking goal of mine is to make kale like they do. After that this dish should be easy to make at home.

I highly suggest this place or the one that took over in Yoga Pearl. 

You can find them here:

Blossoming Lotus

1713 NE 15th Ave
Portland, OR 97212

The place that took over the old space:

Prasad

925 NW Davis St
Portland, OR 97209

xoxo

If you have a place you want me to check out feel free to leave me a comment or email me!

The Artist's Way: Week 5

I've been a tad behind on these, I'm currently on Week 8 in real life... oops. So I will be posting an extra one or two this week to catch up. 

Goals of 12 week program: 

1. Learn to be gentle and positive with and about myself

2. Start habit of morning pages that will carry on for life

3. Break down the liver's (like to live, not liver like thing my generation abuses) block

Week Five: Recovering a Sense of Possibility

This week is about forgetting limits you put on and around yourself. Sometimes the brain holds onto staying stuck because it is less scary then having ideas and then having to work hard for them. It's also about taking away the idea that there is only so much you can get out of life and yourself. In believing that there is so much possibility it becomes easier to relax and work. Yes, you can relax and work at the same time. :)

In this chapter Cameron also explains the need for downtime. No guilt, pleasureful downtime. Do what you want, it may not SEEM like it's helping anything but there are definitely many benefits. 

My Favorite Quotation:

... pray to catch the bus, then run as fast as you can.

I like this part of a sentence because it tells you to pray but it doesn't tell you to leave everything to the prayer, it also tells you to work for it. Don't pray to win the lottery without buying a ticket. Not saying you will automatically win if you pray and buy a ticket, but it sure would be hard to win without it. 

Put in the time, put in the effort, consult with your creator and/or higher power and go from there. 

Also:

You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm.
-Colette

I should have this tattooed on my forehead. Or maybe I'll just make a big poster of it and put it over my bed. Now there's a though. I like this because for so long I have been afraid of people saying I am wrong, or foolish or immature or running away from something. So afraid that I either stand still or do something even more foolish than the original thought. Who cares? Go at it with all you've got and if it doesn't work at least you can say you tried. Definitely needs to be more of this in my life. So what if some people laugh and others shake their heads, some of the greatest accomplishments were said to be pipe dreams.
Enjoy yourself.

Favorite Task:

Ten items that I would like to own that I don't are...

1. record player

2. car

3. canon rebel

4. weighted key board

5. acoustic guitar

6. beautiful quilt

7. perfect fitted blazer

8. chambray shirt

9. jeans as awesome as the ones I had during the Epicentre days

10. brown boots

Of course I was excited about this one. I can find things I want all the time. But I wanted to get more specific here. Think of things I have been wanting for a while, like a long while that are beautiful and functional. I've always lusted over weighted key keyboards. I've always wanted to learn how to play the piano, and guitar. A beautiful quilt was inspired by one I saw at Urban Outfitter. I didn't love the orange in it though so I decided I'm going to have to keep searching. The jeans were magic, I hope to find some just as good in the future, brown boots are going to help my wardrobe become the best that it can be, as are a couple of chambray shirts... A car will help me get around, a record player has been on my mental list for years.

And a Canon Rebel has been an idea for so long, but always put off because of the price.

Check In:

1. Morning pages: 6/7

I have no found the page and a half truth point yet. I sometimes start with something deep and stray, sometimes I end with truth. Sometimes all three pages are just the random things and to-dos running through my mind. 

2. Artist Date: 

I took myself through the Avenue of Giants AND to see City and Colour in San Francisco. I was not sure I was going to see the show, I thought about skipping it and heading home faster but I took a second and thought about it and realized that I had been looking forward to that show since before it existed. And San Francisco is one of my favorite, happiest places on Earth. I like it far better than Disneyland. 

In the Avenue of Giants I stopped a couple of times to take pictures. Gorgeous, gorgeous, peaceful place. Very serene. 

3. Instances of Synchronicity: 

While it may seem small I did find myself some perfect jeans this week. Yup, American Eagle had some jeggings on sale and they fit great. They seem tight but they don't hurt my stomach, they don't bag out in the butt after being worn multiple times. Glorious!

4. Other issues:

I'm still not sure I am doing any of this right. I came home to find that some of the job opportunities I thought I had weren't there anymore. That happens to me sometimes. I want so badly to show certain people I've got things all ready (not to mention myself) and then a stick gets thrown in the gears. I'm staying strong though and pushing on looking for other things. No time to feel sad, just keep on moving. 

xoxo

Happily Wasted

This week has been interesting. Some really good, some eh. I'm tipsy typing right now... just tipsy, I haven't had to correct anything yet. But today I'm happy and I guess that's all that matters.

Movies/Shows Watched
The New Girl - Episode 5
Saturday Night Live

Listened to
We Found Love (On repeat, can't stop)

Read (or currently reading)
The Artist's Way
One Day

Money Drunk
Strange Angels and Betrayals

Favorite Posts/Articles
My friend is a teacher and she blogs... she posted a speech that I (anyone) can relate to about plans 
About facing your fears, DIY around the house style

xoxo

Today I started my new adventure with my sewing machine. A little background, this was a birthday gift on my 12th birthday, or maybe it was my 13th, I feel like it was a big one. Point is, at the time I wasn't as curious and excited about sewing as I am now. So while I took time to let my interest grow (years clearly) Cindy used it to make curtains and then it sat for a bit. 

Recently I saved it from it's lonely misery with the hope of using it. This machine traveled with me to Chula Vista and then to Portland and now it is back again. Did I take the time then to learn how to work this thing? Nope. 

Today that all changed.

The first steps weren't much, I learned how to thread a bobbin, then thread the needle and then make it all work together. I'm not going to lie, there was some frustration once I started testing my work on two pieces of scrap material. I think the thread tension wasn't right and I eventually fixed it as much as I can with what little knowledge I have at this point, but there is still much to learn.

I bought a copy of the owner's manual so when I get the download link I will be printing that and reading it... maybe even learning more.

Eventually the plan is a quilt or five.

I'll keep you updated.

xoxo

Both yesterday and today I have felt a little off, there's a number of reasons why but very few things that I can do to fix the mental state. Days like these require a few things.

They are...

Sleep:

Yesterday I found myself in bed at 8pm, and I was asleep by 9. I didn't wake up until 9 or 10 this morning... enough sleep, check.

Friends:

I met up with Señor Brows for lunch in La Jolla. We went to lunch like old times, except this time he went back to work and I didn't. We sat, I made sarcastic comments about people driving by and talked about the differences between "hanging out," "dating" and other labels. He felt lucky to be a part of a generation that was more straight forward than my own. He figured it would be confusing and frustrating to not know what intentions were... um yeah. Should I have been born like 5-6 years earlier because I really couldn't tell him why we as a generation do this. The only thing I could think of is that people don't like the idea of commitment and want freedom so they call it hanging out instead of dating. Dating is too seeerious. Ugh, whatever. Spare me. 

Here's the thing, if you are "hanging out" with someone and the thought of them "hanging out" with a member of their desired sex (gender) in the same way that they are "hanging out" with you makes you a tad upset then you aren't "hanging out" you're interested and you're dating. Doesn't have to be super serious, it just is what it is. Let's call a spade a spade please. 

Now if you're just sleeping together then you know what's up... but the line can be blurred now between just sleeping together and hanging out. How convenient for commitment phobes. (Normally I would say guys but that's just generalizing isn't it?)

End rant.

Books:

After lunch I headed north and stopped at Barnes and Noble in Del Mar. 

I found a magazine and a book and then headed north to meet up with Brian and Spencer (see I do talk about you guys here) at Pipes. 

More Friends... and a fun Camera:

Spencer found my polaroid camera in my overflowing purse and took a couple of pictures. I may have startled him on the first once because right after he pressed the button I yelled "what are you doing!" and grabbed the photo. This impossible film really can't see light until after it has been developing for at least a minute I think. Cat like reflexes.

Brian

Spencer and Brian

Me

We do this from time to time (meet up at Pipes, not picture taking), they go surfing and I sit on the sand pretending to watch them. I don't pretend that well though, honestly from where I sit I really can't tell who is who and I usually have a book with me so I read. Sorry guys.

So today was somewhat similar except we watched the surf and Spencer (aka Bambi, call him Bambi please he loves and prefers it) deemed the waves crap and Brian, ever the optimist, figured they could catch at least one or just sit in the waves for the sunset. 

I thought I wasn't going to stay, the wind was a bit chilly, but they talked me into it with offers of pea coats and only 30 minutes. 

It really didn't take them long to get in and out of the water. I wasn't cold at all. Probably because I was wearing three, oh no, four layers (tank, long sleeve, hoodie and pea coat). 

We were all hungry, me because of the strenuous hike up the stairs, them from the waves or something, and so we recreated our friendship history and went to Rudy's for dinner. The only thing missing was Nicole, Brian's then girlfriend, now fiancee. Ohhh fancy, fiance. 

Projects:

Now I'm at home and I just finished attempting scanning pictures (other than those above) in but the scanner is being really weird and so I had to give up after lots of downloads and installs and uninstalls and such. 

I'm not sure what the rest of the night will entail. We all know I get rowdy on the weekends (or ever). Probably work on a baby blanket I need to finish, she is in the hospital now getting ready to go into labor... (yay! congrats!) 

I may watch a movie I've already seen 2-10 times...

Or I'll fall back on the norm of reading.

Possibilities = endless.

I'm still not quite out of the weird mental place I've been inhabiting for the past couple of days but if I'd stayed in my room all day today I would most likely be 10 times worse. 

What do you do to get rid of the off feeling?

xoxo

Happily Wasted

Obviously this week was about settling in back home. Had the concert in San Francisco on Sunday night, drove 9+ hours Monday to get from San Francisco home (with stops and such) and immediately started unpacking and putting together a couple of cheapy furniture things I bought to make my room work. I worked for hours to get a bunch of stuff unpacked until I could barely keep my eyes open. 

Tuesday was about taking the car back, napping, reading, applying to jobs online and finishing the unpacking process while making my room look nice. I'm pretty proud of what I came up with. All I have left is to make a quilt for the bed (you know, no big deal) and hang some pictures. The quilt might have to wait a bit.

Wednesday was taking care of Grandma day. She's been having a rough time lately, well both my grandparents have been, so Wednesday was about taking care of that, getting food with my siblings, watching a movie with my sister (Easy A) and reading before bed. Thursday was about getting dinner with my brother and watching a movie (Zombieland) with him. Friday was coffee with lovely friends then surprising Dad at his work, then tracking down the movie Valentine's Day (Target, Best Buy then finally Fry's) because I was determined to watch it. Yesterday tested some muscle strength. My mom got a sleep number bed and let me just tell you, those things are created out of layers and layers of heavy stuff. Then my sister and I made cookies. 

Today was oh so fun and there will be a post on it I'm sure. I decided I wanted to go to a beach and walk around because it was absolutely GORGEOUS outside (huge benefit of San Diego) so Mom, the sibs and I went to a pier and hung out for an hour then got some food and last I went to lovely friends' house (the ones I had coffee with on Friday) for dinner. 

It's been a great first week back.

Now, to find a job...

and a car. 

Movies/Shows Watched- 
Easy A
Zombieland SNL with Emma Stone
Crazy, Stupid, Love.
Valentine's Day
Country Music Awards
The New Girl Not the newest episode, but the Naked one
Mumford and Sons Unplugged

Listened to:
Taylor Swift
City and Colour
Low - Murderer  City and Colour covered this song at their show and it was awesome and amazing and I wish I had a copy of their version. But this version is just as haunting and beautiful too.

Read (or currently reading)
The Artist's Way
One Day
Money Drunk

Favorite Posts/Articles
Ruby's cute birthday party!
Some wedding pictures at Delightfully Tacky 
New to me blog that's quite pretty!

xoxo

The Homecoming

1. First stop in the Avenue of Giants

2. Gorgeous, can't fit the trees in the shot

3. The wonder

4. A split tree

5. A rainbow, which started as two half rainbows then as I was driving the second rainbow disappeared and the first one turned into a full rainbow. I don't think I've seen a full rainbow in several years. Wish there had been a perfectly placed view point for that.

6. San Francisco's coast

7. Golden Gate Bridge

8. Camera Obscura

xoxo