Fall Wish Tree

Once again, I must state the obvious...
I LOVE CENTRAL OREGON!!!!!

Among many other things, one reason is access to tons of Wild Manzanita, which has the most wonderful spiky branches, making excellent decor for all seasons. I've been feeling thankful these days, so a thankful tree like Cassie's has been on my mind. A quick search on Etsy yields page after page of branches, painted in a rainbow of hues, for a very pretty penny.
A quick run on my favorite trail with my favorite furry workout buddy, yields miles and miles of free branches, in any size and condition I choose!!!
Can I get a woop woop up in here, cause I love it!!!

Here is a manzanita bush in the wild! When the branches die, they get a beautiful, gnarled shape!

 

My prize! 

Once we arrived home, I gave the branch a few coats of white spray paint, and placed it in a mason jar with white decorative rocks I snagged from the Dollar Tree. 

Using a large heart hole punch, a normal hole punch, and some fishing line, we punched out 45 hearts in Fall hues, and strung them up! Piled in a leaf shaped bowl, they now live on the dining room table, so friends can write what they are feeling thankful for as soon as the thought hits! 

 

Its looking so pretty, especially covered in all the silly serious things we are all thankful for. 

This one is my fave, obviously. Hub better be thankful for me!

This project is kind of a double whammy. Our original idea for this tree came from a twist on a money tree for our wedding. We don't particularly like the idea of a money dance, but we wanted a small 'fundraiser'. We plan on putting it on our gift table, with a photo of Cruz under it. It will  be our wish tree, and people can write a wish and clip some cash onto hearts, and then place them on the tree. We will be donating half of all money we receive to the Canine Cancer Research Facility that wrote off a lot of Cruz's treatment expenses. We figure its one way we can remember our little buddy.

So what do you think of my cheap'n'easy craft?! I love it, its so simple and very pretty as well!! What are you thankful for these days?

Lazy Sunday's

Well, hi there friends!
It seems winter is finally starting to show its face around here! I know all you East Coasters have been wallowing in the white stuff, I hope cleanup is going smoothly for you!
After a long(ish) Fall, today we have recieved our first visible snowfall in Central Oregon!

Here we are looking at Pilot Butte, the dormant cinder cone in the middle of our fine city.

Had the capture the date, just in case I somehow forgot, or ever needed to know again... yeah...

So James, the furry kids, and I are enjoying a mellow day at home. Daylight savings has made us so much more productive. I'm baking a pumpkin cake with a recipe from Pinterest. Only two ingredients, I like the sound of that!

Cash is growing like a little monster weed. He climbed on my legs and fell asleep a few days ago...

 

Despite his razor sharp teeth and tendency to greet everything with his teeth, he is an awesome little pup, and learning really quickly. 

In house news, the living room is all painted, and I think I might attack the guest bathroom next. Hmmm... all the supplies are out, why not right? Here is a little sneak peek of the living room, its made such a change! I'm going to clean up later and take pics, so stay tuned!! 

 Gah!! Wasn't that peanut butter color horrible?!!!

Hope everyone is warm and cozy like us and enjoying the weekend!! I'm starting to feel the holiday spirit!! 

Lining up our duckies

Top o' the morning to you friends!!
Just popping in with a little WEDDING updating!!
A couple weeks ago, James and I took the pups up to Hood River for some venue hunting! You may remember back when I posted about my inspirations for our day, how I raved about Hood River and the winery I was especially excited about visiting?!

Yeah...
It was a total bust. No offense to the venue, but they were entirely unprepared, and most importantly, unprofessional. I am still in shock about the whole venue hunting experience, really. I sent out 10 emails the first day, all pretty much the same, outlining what we were looking for and noting that we wanted a dog friendly venue, for around 130 people. Out of those 10 emails, I got 5 responses.

Seriously now.
You'd think that people who I am prepared to write checks to for thousands of dollars would be a little better at follow up?!!!
Anyways, now that I've got that rant out of the way, on to the fun stuff.
We found our venue, and it is PERFECTION!!

It's called Vineyard View Bed and Breakfast, and is located about 3 miles from downtown Hood River. The owners, Dave and Soma, are extremely friendly, and most important, professional! They were actually the first people to respond to my email, if that says something! The cost of the venue is very reasonable, and includes much more than any other place we looked at. It has a peek-a-boo view of Mt. Hood, which was one of my major requirements in a venue.

When James and I walked up, Soma was working in their beautiful organic garden, with their 3 year old son! For some reason, that scene really resonated with me, and I instantly knew this would be the perfect place for us to get married. I am all about the family : )
Here is a link to their slideshow, which shows some examples of weddings they have hosted in the past. One thing that Dave, the owner said was, "We aren't a wedding mill." I LOVE that!
One of the other venues we visited totally was! It was interesting as we toured around that place, hearing the host TELL us how our wedding would be. Such a turn off, at least for James and I.
But we are feeling very confident and satisfied with our choice, and are looking forward to watching our dream come true!

In other wedding news, we also decided to hire a wedding planner! Donna Cole, of Pearl and Roses Wedding Planning, is a wonderful woman who I've known for over 10 years! James and I have a lot of contacts in the events industry, so a full-blown planner was not exactly what we wanted. However, Donna has proven herself for so many others, and I completely trust her judgement. We went with her Roses package, which is more of a two weeks before planner, and most importantly, day-of! I want absolutely no worries for me, James, or our families on the wedding day, and I know Donna will make sure that happens! We have our first meeting with her next weekend, and are really looking forward to it! Check out her FaceBook page for more pretties and tons of inspiration!

Finally, we have also decided what to do for favors! I know this sounds a bit early in the process, but our gift to our friends and family is going to  be a labor of love, literally!!
Our dear friend, Paul Arney, started his own farmhouse style brewery here in Bend earlier this year. It is called the Ale Apothecary, and will  be a very small venture, specializing in barrel aging. Paul has known James and I since the beginning of our relationship, and has seen us grow together. His family is amazing, and his wife and I actually share a birthday. Its meant to be.
So a few weeks ago I approached Paul with the idea of James and I brewing a beer, which will be conditioned for the next 9 months, and then packaged for a favor at our wedding! He was all about it! We are going to get a used oak barrel, which has previously housed whiskey or wine, just for our beer! When our beer is done and packaged, the barrel will be ours to keep! We are actually going to us it as our guest book, and have people sign the barrel, which we will then lacquer and keep at our home!
Confused?! Its going to be amazing, just let me assure you.
Its so nice to have little pieces coming together, now its finally feeling real!
And if you're interested in seeing what else I've been loving, check out my Pinterest Special Party board! 

Sorry for the wordy post, I  have a lot to say and not a lot to show in images. But stick around, its going to keep getting better!

Tricks and Treats!

Happy Halloween my friends!! In this house right now, its more like HOWLoween!! Baby Cash is doing awesome, and Sammy is his usual self, not wanting to share his toys or food, but sweet nonetheless. Lots has been going on around here, starting with our friend Ash and her contractor hubby Ken staying with us!!!! Ken has some crazy motivation, and decided he was going to re-paint our great room!! WOW!! This is a project I've been wanting to tackle for ages, but I am a shortie and I hate pulling out the ladder so its been on the back burner. Not anymore!!
Remember when I challenged myself to make over our living room a few months back? Painting over the peanut butter (yes thats really what the paint color is called... shoulda known better...) was a major priority.

This picture is pretty true to the color of the paint. Peanut butter, literally. And now... its going bye bye!!!!!!!! Ken has finished cutting in, and James and I are off to buy more paint (Behr Gobi Desert in Eggshell), and I think we are going to get hardware for our kitchen cabinets too!!! Ahhh! So much fun its killing me! I am in shock over how much the new paint color changes the room. The orangey (not a real word) oak cabinets are popping off the lighter wall color, and I sort of like them now?!! What has come over me!?
I love how a small change like new paint colors can steamroll into a mini makeover of a whole room!

In closing, I will leave you with a pile of cuteness in the form of new pics of Cash, and some old Halloween shots of James, Sammy and I.

Cash is growing FAST and will be 10 weeks old on Thursday. He loves laying in the sun and gnawing on rawhide chips.

Here is Sammy at our old house downtown 2 years ago. Our fence was wrought iron with flames on it for real! And James, being the 12 year old trapped in a 30-somethings body, loved impaling a pumpkin on the fence.

Our anniversary is November 11th, so one year we had a pimps and ho's theme party for it. Such a good time. These pictures explain it pretty well. Except they don't show James red pleather pants... Memorable, let me tell ya!!!

 

This was 2009, I was a saloon girl and James was a dead cowboy. He lost that awesome western hat that night. A worthy sacrifice. 

And we finish with 2010. We both had to work that morning, and everyone at work dressed up. My man LOVES painting his face. It gets better every year. 

 

As you can see, we have a dead chef, an 80's workout instructor, me - a ladybug, David Bowie, a panda, Taylor Swift, and Sean Waak (an old bartender). Good times, I love these people!! 

Hope everyone has had a safe and enjoyable Halloweekend!!! Be back soon with pics of our updated kitchen and great room!

An Impromtu Family Expansion

Call me crazy. I know it, James knows it, we are all ok with the situation. 
Remember back a few months ago when I posted about our fur baby Cruz? Well its been about 8 months now since Cruzie passed away, and we have had a lot of time to grieve and recover from our loss. Our agreement was to not get another puppy until:
A) We returned from our long trip to Canada

B) It was just worked out

Now everyone knows, life has a way of making you work, instead of things just working out.  Not many people know this, but we have tried to get 3 different puppies since we returned home and they all fell through.
But somehow last Wednesday the starts aligned, I drove 9 hours round trip with Sammy to Roseburg, and returned home with this little monster. 

World, Meet Cash!!!! 

He is an 8 week old Rottweiler/Pitbull mix, but we think he might have some boxer in him as well. We rescued him from a group called Saving Grace, located in Roseburg, Oregon. After James spotted him on a rescue website, we immediately called the shelter to find out if he was still available. Low and behold, he was the last in the litter and still there! After an all day adventure, we made it back to Bend around 5:30pm, (I left at 8am, ugh, long day), and started our new life!!

 

While Sam seems to be slightly skeptical, the boys are getting along extremely well so far. Cash was a little skinny when I brought him home, so I invested in some high protein puppy food to put some meat on his bones. He is VERY food motivated, I imagine he is still used to having battle his siblings for his share, so we are slowly working on that by making him 'sit' and wait for his food. We also feed him small portions at a time out of our hands, so he gets used to our scent on his food, which will help in the future with food dominance issues. 

We took a trip up to Hood River for venue hunting this weekend, and the boys came along. Cash got to meet my parents three Malteses, as well as Sophie. That was quite an experience, a 5 year old and an 8 week old puppy, but it was overall quite successful. 

 

As puppies do, he sleeps often, and bites anything he can get his mouth near. We've been keeping a toy nearby at all time so we can correct his biting by giving him something that's ok to chew on, and he is catching on super fast.  He is great at riding in the car, and is getting used to crate training. Potty training is coming along as well. 

Yesterday he got to play in the truck for a while as James and I prepared to take a quick bike ride. 

We are loving him!!! Don't get me wrong, it has been quite a ride already, but we are on the right track to raising an awesome pup! He still has to get two  more shots before we can really start taking him places (the parvo risk is still very high!), but the next one is next week, so time is flying already.
I'm just feeling super thankful that life decided to finally 'work out', and bring us the puppy we've been waiting for.

So what do you think of our little mush-mush? Adorable? Want to steal him? I figured. Hope you all are enjoying Fall and getting ready for Halloween!!! I want to be Nicki Minaj...

Thankful in Fall

Once again, the oh-so-wonderful Interweb has informed me that today is Canada's Thanksgiving. As you may have noticed from our frequent trips to Whistler, and our recent engagement on a white mountaintop in Canada, we are pretty big fans of our neighbors to the North.

Summit of Whistler

The wonderful weather phenomenon known as an Inversion

So here is an abbreviated list of things I am thankful for at the moment.

- Canada, and all the wonderful memories we have made there.
- Our hobby of mountain biking and all the amazing places it has taken us.

- James, the most incredible person I have ever met. He keeps a smile on my face and in my heart, and I love him more than anything else in this world.
- Sammy... oh Sammy. How could I not be thankful for you? My partner in crime, my best friend, and my furry son.

- My friends, you all make my world go round. I tend to surround myself with people who inspire me and make me happy, and you all exemplify that. Love you!!! 

-Of course, my family. My parents are amazing people who support me in my decisions, and love without judging. I am proud to be their daughter. And my little brother, Tom, and new sister Sophie. You two are amazing and I am so thankful to call you my siblings. You can always put a smile, or smirk, on my face. 

 

- My job. Many people can't say this about their place of employment, so I think it is worth mentioning. Not only do I love my job as it is described on paper, I love my co-workers, my bosses, the customers I get to encounter on a daily basis, and all the fun places I get to go while representing my company. GABF anyone?

There are many, MANY more things I am thankful for, but this list is pretty much a constant. Life is pretty damn good. And speaking of GABF, I was planning on doing a 'what I learned while on a bender in Denver' post, but that title pretty much explains it. The trip was wonderful and full of fun and beer drinking. Lots of beer drinking. We will leave it at that. 

Sammy and I are off today to do a little exploring in the woods, and a first DIY project for the wedding. It will also be used to kick off our fall decor around the crib! 

Stay tuned for fun and thankfulness!! What are you feeling thankful for this October day?

Hot and Steamy Pile of ...

Inspiration and excitement people!!!!!
Can I get a WOOT WOOT up in here?!!!!

Many things have been going on around here since we returned home from Whistler, where my handsome and wonderful hunk of man sauce proposed to me. So happy. So many things to do!!!
Here is where the issues begin.
I am leaving again (sad/happy face) on thursday for The Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado. Don't be fooled, I am SO excited for this trip, and the opportunities it presents me with. I even blogged about it once.
I am just so excited to start planning our special party, and this is a tiny block in my process!
But enough complaining about things that aren't real problems, onto the goods!

If you didn't catch my last post, I gabbed about some of the things that are inspiring me while moving forward in the planning process of our wedding. One oh-so-important thing I forgot to mention was my initial inspiration for the whole theme, which is woodsy and rustic, but chic and playful!

You may remember this picture from a few weeks ago when Sammy and I visited Tumalo Falls on our day off.

 

It is a carving James and I did back in 2008, when on a hike with Sammy. I love that we can still visit it, and plan on incorporating elements that relate back to this in many aspects of our wedding. 

In other news, I made a recipe off of Pinterest. 

I spotted in on Michelle from Decor and the Dogs page, and immediately repinned that shiz...  

It is called Tortellini Spinach Bake, and reminds me of grown up mac and cheese. The bomb digs I tell you. The recipe is available here, and I highly suggest you try it, tonight. 

Forgive me, but I have no pictures of our process. We had some friends over, and I was too wrapped up in wine and wedding talk to document for you. I do have a few tips though!!! 

James, being a chef, pretty much took over the sauce aspect of this. We may have added too much flour, because after baking the dish, the sauce had pretty much disappeared. I suggest going light on flour if you like a saucy dish. I also may have added too much lemon zest. The flavor was great and bright, but I am a cheese lover and it overpowered the creaminess I was looking for. Next time I might sub white cheddar for the Parmesan, since I like a sharper cheese flavor. Anyhow, between the four of use we managed to put down most of it, and I'm sure James will handle the rest while I work tonight. 

So whats new in your world bloggie peeps? Sorry for the random info dump, but I had to share the nonsense banging around inside my brain. Planning a wedding is like a sickness, and wedding magazines are the classiest smut I've ever laid eyes on. Seriously. 

Stay tuned for more GABF news! Wish me and my liver luck!