Sunday, May 20, 2012

slow motion

this time next week, we'll finally have the keys to our little house and my bigger-than-expected tattoo will be finished.  today i started the repacking process by taping up two boxes.  of bath and body works candles.  that's about all i can do right now.  so in honor of what is sure to be the longest two weeks of my life until we move, here are 10 things i'm most looking forward to in regards to living in our house.

1) no more waiting outside in the wind and rain for ella to poop!!!  even though we had a house in new orleans, it had no yard, so i've spent the last 5 years taking ella up and down stairs, out in the rain or boiling sun, and patiently waiting for her to defecate.  our yard is the size of a thimble but that's plenty of room for a tiny dog that i can now shoo out the patio door and go on about my bidness.

2) a garage!  matt and i will be able to park beside each other...no more street parking!  no more dusting snow off the windshield or waiting for the car to defrost!  a luxury i've never known.

3) a microwave!!!!  no more reheating leftovers in the oven (or not reheating leftovers).  no more melting butter with my blowdryer (not my brightest moment...)

4) a closet big enough for our clothes!!!!!!!  i still have so many clothes in boxes getting more and more wrinkled as i type. really grates on my nerves, but SOON! they shall be neatly hung in our walk-in closet.

5) watching tv and movies on a couch!!!!  matt and i watched dexter and a little breaking bad from the discomfort of our daybed.  it was not enjoyable and serial killers and meth lords should be enjoyable!

6) a kitchen i can bake in!!  with an oven that doesn't have the temperatures on the knob worn off so i have to guess at what temp i'm baking at.  the one time i baked cookies, it was a frownie face.

7) using OUR washer/dryer!! while our 70s appliances have successfully cleaned our clothes, nothing can be done while the washer is running because it's so.loud.  too loud for tv.  too loud for sleep. LOUD.

8) i can use my sewing machine!!!  i've been pinning the crap out of sewing projects that have had to be put on hold. until now.

9) have i mentioned how excited i am to sleep in a real bed with my husband again?  we've slept in separate beds for 5 months.  FIVE MONTHS.

10) cutting our commute (almost) in half!!  it takes btw 45 minutes and an hour to get to work...i get up at 6 and rarely make it to work before 8:15.  a shorter commute means more time at home, which means more rest, which means no more sleeping all weekend thanks to my lesion-infested brain.  which also means, finally having the energy to find a church and maybe make a friend or two.  we still don't know hardly anyone here. :(

i'm not one to wish time away, but i really really want the next two weeks to zoooooooooom by...

Monday, May 14, 2012

portland eats: whole bowl

i may have mentioned before that i have the luxury of working about 2 blocks from a food cart pod (a pod is a just a cluster of food carts...there's far too many scattered throughout PDX).  it's a really great pod, too.  i frequent the BBQ cart (crazy good potato salad), the waffle cart (monte cristo waffle?? yes pwease) and the frying scotsman...home of craptastic fish and chips.

but lately i have been OBSESSED with whole bowl.  it's the simplest concept: brown rice and beans in a bowl with avocado, salsa, cheddar cheese, sour cream and...tali sauce.  aka "crack sauce."  PDX is obsessed with it and rightfully so.  it's a garlicky, lemony, mustardy, tangy, orgasmic sauce that coats all the yumminess in the bowl.  DELICIOUS.  and suprisingly guilt free (gotta have the sour cream, though).  i've been known to make 2 meals out of one $5.50 bowl of nomners.  so it's healthy, cheap, and filling.  *does cartwheels of joy...
p.s. their motto is "it's like eating a hug."  SO.TRUE.

there's about a bajillion food carts in p-land (approx 650) but right now, i can't get enough whole bowl.  even though there's carts that serve escargot and brisket and chicken and biscuits...i'm obsessed.

we also tried an ice cream cart, fifty licks, sunday and it was YUMNERS.  i had the coconut lemon saffron sorbet.  balls of amaze...

p-land has amazing food.  don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

sunshine...on my shoulders...

makes me happy...

i posted a comment on misti's blog and realized i actually have enough to say to make a post.  i'm drinking berry beer and it's delish.  that's worth a post in itself.

now that we have a house, i've gotten to go to a furniture store and actually buy stuff.  first time, we bought a couch, a mattress (an ammmaaaaazing mattress i have yet to sleep on) and a bed.  saturday we went back and ordered two accent chairs so guests won't have to sit on the floor.  i found the responsibility of picking out furniture both intimidating and exhilarating.

sunday afternoon, it was 65 and sunny, so we took ella to walk around a quaint little neighborhood in the northeast and get ice cream.  THE.BEST.STRAWBERRY.ICE.CREAM.  please come to portland and let me take you to salt & straw.  their strawberry balsamic ice cream is amazecraps.  it's like strawberry ice cream with big juicy globs of strawberry jam mixed in...nom.

ella took a 30 minute crap on the side of the road.

a lot of stores and restaurants in p-land leave big water bowls outside their shop doors for ppl walking by with pets.  i think that's so adorbs.  ella doesn't drink in front of people so she's never made use of one.

today, it was sunny and 72 this afternoon, so i left work for a few minutes to sit in the park across from my work.  since we get so much rain, when the sun is out, every single person in p-land is out.  it's bonding.

i love having a spring time!!! so many shades of green, pink, purple, red, orange...spring time is a happy time.

i shaved off part of my fingernail in the shower tonight.  i know, right?