Then somehow we went to the rose garden.
Then somehow we watched TV all afternoon and enjoyed adult beverages. Turns out, Eddy took the day off.
Friday, September 30, 2016
Hookey
We had this Thursday recently where we decided that Eddy might work from home that day for fun. That somehow turned into the idea that we would run some errands in the morning and then he could work a little late in the evening. Then that turned into a trip to the Italian Festival and then out to lunch.
Then somehow we went to the rose garden.
Then somehow we watched TV all afternoon and enjoyed adult beverages. Turns out, Eddy took the day off.
Then somehow we went to the rose garden.
Then somehow we watched TV all afternoon and enjoyed adult beverages. Turns out, Eddy took the day off.
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
My New Favorite Quilt
Remember when I made my favorite quilt ever and I swore it would be the best thing I ever made, ever? Well, like, a week later I found a pattern called circling swallows (with many variations on that name) and all that changed.
Time for quilting.
Here it is all stuffed up pretty and ready hang out on the sweet bench we built in our entryway.
New favorite quilt. Until, like, tomorrow.
I used this paper piecing pattern by Pretty Little Quilts. Just look how freaking amazing this block is!
Time for quilting.
Here it is all stuffed up pretty and ready hang out on the sweet bench we built in our entryway.
New favorite quilt. Until, like, tomorrow.
Friday, September 23, 2016
We Like Twilight
It's taken me awhile to admit it to myself and then even longer to admit it to the world at large, but we like Twilight. Just the movies. Not the books. Let's be clear.
I mean... it's a movie series about vampires and werewolves and hilariously exaggerated teenage emo-ness. The movies are not as anti-feminist as the haters let on. There are even ways in which I feel that they're empowering for young girls. Not perfect, but not entirely toxic. Additionally, this article says I am a genius for liking Twilight, so that pretty much settles it.
The soundtrack is also filled with your favorite tragic hipster music. Ugh. So good.
Most importantly, though, all of the movies were filmed in and outside of Portland! That means ROAD TRIP TO SEE ALL THE TWILIGHT THINGS!
We started out with breakfast at Carver Cafe in Damascus, OR.
Above is a shot from the movie. Look! We sat right where Bella and Charlie Swan sat! We also parked our Subaru right where Bella's orange truck was parked in that shot.
The restaurant mostly still looked just the same as it did during filming with a few small changes including this awesome Twilight corner. Also, they do a mean chicken fried steak and eggs.
The exterior of the restaurant had not changed a bit.
On the way to our next Twilight spot, we stopped to enjoy our favorite Columbia Gorge overlook just for kicks.
The sweet peas were in bloom,
and the view pretty much can't be beat.
If Carver Cafe hadn't changed much since shooting, the View Point Inn was a bit of a different story. The View Point Inn was actually one of the places I was looking forward to visiting most. It's breathtaking in the movie and I was hoping it was going to be this quaint little hotel/restaurant.
Turns out, it burned in 2011.
This is what it looks like now.
Here's a shot from the movie of the gorgeous room where they have the dance floor for the prom.
This is what it looks like now.
Pretty sad. Did I mention that we had to do a super lot of trespassing to get these pictures? Trespassing was sort of the theme for the day.
Bella's house was still in good shape. There's a totally reasonable sign outside about how you can feel free to take pictures from the road, but as long as you don't be weirdos at the family who lives there.
From the movie:
It looks just the same!
We also drove out to St. Helens that day, which is where most of the Port Angeles shots are filmed. We saw this sweet mural, which was painted by the film crew.
You may notice another mural, which presumably was already there.
These pictures are from the parking lot where Edward saves Bella from some real rapey a-holes using his shiny mom Volvo.
Here's the alley where the rapey a-holes were creepers.
Here's a shot from our trip of the front of the building used for the Thunderbird and Whale bookstore in the movie (which I was intensely hoping was a real place).
And here's the same building in the movie:
Now it's a law office? Maybe? Hard to say since it's pretty overgrown and there's a punching bag on the back porch with the back door swinging wide open? It was a little tresspass-y to get this picture as well.
I thought our Twilight adventures were over for the time being, but on a trip to visit our friends Dave and Dana a few weekends later, we decided to take a quick side trip to the high school where the exterior shots were filmed for the fictitious version of Forks High School.
We parked our Subaru right where Edward parks his mom Volvo. Just look at him be sad with that fancy mom car.
How could you not love these movies!?
Our dog peed right where Bella almost gets hit with a van.
So now you know. We like Twilight. Kind of a lot. Did I mention this trip only covered the first movie?
I mean... it's a movie series about vampires and werewolves and hilariously exaggerated teenage emo-ness. The movies are not as anti-feminist as the haters let on. There are even ways in which I feel that they're empowering for young girls. Not perfect, but not entirely toxic. Additionally, this article says I am a genius for liking Twilight, so that pretty much settles it.
The soundtrack is also filled with your favorite tragic hipster music. Ugh. So good.
Most importantly, though, all of the movies were filmed in and outside of Portland! That means ROAD TRIP TO SEE ALL THE TWILIGHT THINGS!
We started out with breakfast at Carver Cafe in Damascus, OR.
Above is a shot from the movie. Look! We sat right where Bella and Charlie Swan sat! We also parked our Subaru right where Bella's orange truck was parked in that shot.
The restaurant mostly still looked just the same as it did during filming with a few small changes including this awesome Twilight corner. Also, they do a mean chicken fried steak and eggs.
The exterior of the restaurant had not changed a bit.
On the way to our next Twilight spot, we stopped to enjoy our favorite Columbia Gorge overlook just for kicks.
The sweet peas were in bloom,
and the view pretty much can't be beat.
If Carver Cafe hadn't changed much since shooting, the View Point Inn was a bit of a different story. The View Point Inn was actually one of the places I was looking forward to visiting most. It's breathtaking in the movie and I was hoping it was going to be this quaint little hotel/restaurant.
Turns out, it burned in 2011.
This is what it looks like now.
Here's a shot from the movie of the gorgeous room where they have the dance floor for the prom.
This is what it looks like now.
Pretty sad. Did I mention that we had to do a super lot of trespassing to get these pictures? Trespassing was sort of the theme for the day.
Bella's house was still in good shape. There's a totally reasonable sign outside about how you can feel free to take pictures from the road, but as long as you don't be weirdos at the family who lives there.
From the movie:
It looks just the same!
We also drove out to St. Helens that day, which is where most of the Port Angeles shots are filmed. We saw this sweet mural, which was painted by the film crew.
You may notice another mural, which presumably was already there.
These pictures are from the parking lot where Edward saves Bella from some real rapey a-holes using his shiny mom Volvo.
Here's the alley where the rapey a-holes were creepers.
Here's a shot from our trip of the front of the building used for the Thunderbird and Whale bookstore in the movie (which I was intensely hoping was a real place).
And here's the same building in the movie:
Now it's a law office? Maybe? Hard to say since it's pretty overgrown and there's a punching bag on the back porch with the back door swinging wide open? It was a little tresspass-y to get this picture as well.
I thought our Twilight adventures were over for the time being, but on a trip to visit our friends Dave and Dana a few weekends later, we decided to take a quick side trip to the high school where the exterior shots were filmed for the fictitious version of Forks High School.
We parked our Subaru right where Edward parks his mom Volvo. Just look at him be sad with that fancy mom car.
How could you not love these movies!?
Our dog peed right where Bella almost gets hit with a van.
So now you know. We like Twilight. Kind of a lot. Did I mention this trip only covered the first movie?
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
Old School Dog Pillow
One of my favorite things about moving or redecorating is making tons of quilted pillows. It's the perfect excuse to make lots of small projects that only take a day or two to make. Sometimes it's much more fun than slaving away for weeks on a larger project. Immediate gratification!
I've been eyeing this pillow pattern for some time.
It's a free pattern by Denyse Schmidt and it's super simple (except that I'm terrible at gussets and am not totally happy with my finished product.)
Here are all my cute fabric squares.
I made one side pink and one side green.
Here's the finished pink side.
And the green side.
Even though I wasn't 100% pleased, he was still cute. He lives on our mantel now, which I'll show off once I finish our mantel quilt (which may be never since it's a super ambitious project!) So soon. Soonish.
I've been eyeing this pillow pattern for some time.
It's a free pattern by Denyse Schmidt and it's super simple (except that I'm terrible at gussets and am not totally happy with my finished product.)
Here are all my cute fabric squares.
I made one side pink and one side green.
Here's the finished pink side.
And the green side.
Even though I wasn't 100% pleased, he was still cute. He lives on our mantel now, which I'll show off once I finish our mantel quilt (which may be never since it's a super ambitious project!) So soon. Soonish.
Friday, September 16, 2016
Portland Staycation
Eddy decided to take a day off a few weeks ago so we could do some Portland area tourism. We actually started the party the evening before with a trip to one of our favorite dinner spots.
The next day we spent just a crazy amount of time wander Powell's City of Books.
In the afternoon, we drove up to the Columbia Gorge to what has become one of our favorite stops, Portland Women's Forum State Scenic Viewpoint.
We also stopped by Vista House
aaaaaand neglected to take a picture outside the building, which is beautiful.
We had lunch at Multnomah Falls Lodge.
Which is much prettier in person than on the placemat.
Did I mention it's the second highest year-round waterfall in the United States? According to that placemat, that is.
We walked up to that bridge that looks real small in the previous picture.
10 points if you can spot Eddy.
Probably my favorite thing about the Lodge, though, was this informative sticker from the ladies restroom.
Did you know that Multnomah Falls was featured in the Twilight Movie? Stay tuned for more Twilight later this month. Bet you thought you would never hear me say something like that!
The next day we spent just a crazy amount of time wander Powell's City of Books.
In the afternoon, we drove up to the Columbia Gorge to what has become one of our favorite stops, Portland Women's Forum State Scenic Viewpoint.
We also stopped by Vista House
aaaaaand neglected to take a picture outside the building, which is beautiful.
We had lunch at Multnomah Falls Lodge.
Which is much prettier in person than on the placemat.
Did I mention it's the second highest year-round waterfall in the United States? According to that placemat, that is.
We walked up to that bridge that looks real small in the previous picture.
10 points if you can spot Eddy.
Probably my favorite thing about the Lodge, though, was this informative sticker from the ladies restroom.
Did you know that Multnomah Falls was featured in the Twilight Movie? Stay tuned for more Twilight later this month. Bet you thought you would never hear me say something like that!