the time i was almost crafty

the view from my bed

I've decided there has to be a point when you have one too many empty frames hanging in your apartment. It's the first thing I see when I wake up (see above) and the first thing I see when I open the door (remember this). I've also had this box full of stuff that Todd and I have collected (tickets, playbills, postcards, room keys, random pics, etc) over the years that I've been trying to figure out what to do with. It seemed like such a waste to keep in a box. So I figured why not kill 2 birds with 1 stone?

I think it turned out good enough. Thanks for the inspiration Switz. 

While I'm blogging bragging about being crafty... I am actually pretty excited with how my jewelry case turned out. I don't wear jewelry much, but I actually really love my jewelry. I have so few pieces, that each piece has a story behind it (and most were given to me by someone for a special occasion). In an effort to wear it more often, I decided that I needed to get it out of the box in the bathroom cabinet and out in the open where I'll see it. I've picked up a few old school suitcases from estate sales (despite Todd's many complaints that they're junk) lately and I finally figured out what to do with one of them. It was actually pretty simple. I just covered cork board (from Office Max) with scrap cloth (from the Crate and Barrel outlet) and glue gunned it to the inside of the case. I used t-pins as hooks, hung it over my closet door with a ribbon and  "tada."

a weekend in Tahoe

the departure:

miraculously we all were able to take off friday. 10:30 and away we went.

the wheels:

we all pitched in and rented a great car! it proved quite entertaining- i think i might want one. 

the joint:

we got a two bedroom suite right at the bottom of gondola at heavenly. it was pretty much that. heavenly

the peeps:

(no picture)

Todd, Kiera, Kristen, Pat(rick)

Jake and Elisha

the scenery:

friday's activity:

hearts- or an attempt at it

phase 10- or phase 4

fantastic mr fox- or bedtime

saturday's activity:

i rode the lift (at kirkwood) to snowboard (jake and elisha too)

todd rode the gondola (at heavenly) to hang out in the lodge (pat and kristen too)

sunday's activity:

kristen, pat, and i won big! todd had fun. 

we all learned something:

todd- you can't walk behind the roulette table

kristen- no cell phones at the table

pat- there is a min you have to lay down at the table to get chips (not to be confuse with the min of the hand)

me- you can go to the bathroom without losing your spot at the table AND no pictures of the chips in the casino

we didn't look like a bunch of beginners or anything. 

the catch phrases:

win, win

vroom, vroom

push, push

the drink of the weekend:

the best thing about our the place we stayed was the full kitchen (dishwasher and all). the first thing we did was grocery shop. we made a huge pot of delicious and aromatic cider (thanks to my family for introducing it to us over christmas). it was definitely a crowd pleaser 

the song of the weekend:

we listened to it almost a million times. still not old... yet.
a close second:

the human nest

Last weekend I was itching; itching for a getaway. Todd was on board. So after a little research, tiny bit of planning, and a whole lot of spontaneity we were off!

It started with the drive. We couldn't have timed it better if we tried. We hit the cliffs right at sunset which made for the most gorgeous drive along the coast. (Not to mention, we had a very exciting 49ers game blasting on the radio to entertain us).

The drive ended at Treebones Resort where we had reserved...

Which is literally a human bird nest...

at the top of a hill...

 right on the coast...

looking straight out on the water...

It was incredible. One of the best ideas we have ever had!

The first morning we woke to watch the sun rise.

Surprisingly cozy, we loved cuddling up in the nest! (The nest itself was nice and roomy and came with a decent "mattress" pad and pillows. The million blankets we brought to stay toasty didn't hurt either).

However, Big Sur has so much to offer even we couldn't spend the entire weekend in the nest.

We spent a beautiful day at the beach- sunbathing (that's right sunbathing in January!), snacking on cheese, sausage and crackers, reading books, watching the surfers, playing in the waves, jump roping with kelp, collecting rocks, and of course listening to the waves.

Before heading back to the resort we went for a quick hike to some waterfalls.

The next day we "hiked" some more.

The Treebones Resort itself is actually very cool. In addition to the nest they also have campsites, treehouses and yurts.

The entire resort is "off the grid" meaning they have their own water system (tank and well), septic fields, and fire suppression system. They generate all their own power and use the exhaust heat from the generators to heat their pool, hot tub, and radiant heated floors in the main lodge and bathrooms. With no cell service or internet, it felt amazing to be completely unplugged! So peaceful and relaxing, I even finished an entire book!

The water was delicious! Each day they would put out different waters at breakfast- cucumber, lemon, mint, orange, etc.

The lodge felt very communal. Each morning they served breakfast to everyone staying at the resort in the lodge. They also had a couch and fireplace with boardgames you could play. We met some other interesting couples in the hot tub each night. What made the resort really great were all the little details.

The ceiling in the lodge

A chair swing in front a rock fountain

The bathroom counter made of wood

An amazing trip! Can't wait to go back.

another visitor, yet a drastically different post

For New Year's my cousin, Emi and her husband Stu came out to visit for the weekend. Trips with Emi usually make for good pics, so I knew this would be a perfect time for me to work on implementing my goal to take more pictures (especially since she signed me up for instagram).

(vintage shrug- incredible. every last detail down to the claws)

cuz necklaces

I may have gone a little overboard. Can I say happy medium?