Greetings…Here’s a Few New Cards

I was really happy with how this set of thank-you cards came out for a friend. I created them using one of the stamps I had made from my doodles (seen here), red ink, and red glitter.  Very simple but I think quite ideal in their simplicity, for anyone who likes mushrooms that is.

The card below a made for a the same friend who need a card for her friend who was getting married.  I’ve been playing around with the small champagne bottles for a bit and loved how this came out.  Again simple but I think it suggests celebration and elegance.

What do you guys think?

Have a great Hump Day! x

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Home Sweet Home

I feel so grateful to have such a wonderful home. It may only be a smallish two bed, two bath apartment but we have made every inch of it ours, and for the first time since leaving my parent’s house I have a space that I feel so comfortable and truly at home in.  Throughout college I moved too often, and was too static with my schedule and social life to create a home for myself, but as I got older and life evolved, the need for a space which I could retreat to, and feel safe in, became necessary and natural.  Also, this is Bill and my first place together.  In the short few years we have lived here our lives together have become more bonded.  Our relationship has faced the challenges and beauty that accompany sharing a home and life, but it has only grown stronger.  Within the walls of the wonderful space we have created, our most treasurable times together are held.  All that aside, I just plain love having a place to decorate, and having a boyfriend that likes to help make the house look awesome.   It’s a fun process finding ways to make it unique and perfect for us.  While we both dream of a backyard, a bigger kitchen and more windows (our place lacks sources of natural light sadly), this place is ours and that makes it everything we could ask for.  And in the wake and on going burn of the fire west of here, I  have felt a heightened sense of thanks for what we have, so here is a homage of sorts to my home, paid threw a few pictures I took while enjoying being there with my little family.

{newest globe added to our collection}

{need a light?}

{a peek at the bookshelf adorned with vintage glasses}

{our comfy couches may lack style but for now they are ideal for two pets to lounge around on all day, and the denim holds up awesome to kitty claws}

{fridge fun)

{a little green}

I would also like to say thank you to everyone who commented on my last two posts and sent their concerns and good wishes to our community and to Colorado.  My thoughts will be with all those directly effected by wildfires this summer and with those fighting to keep all safe. Thank you again for your support!

High Park Wildfire 2

{view from our Horsetooth Reservoir campsite last Tuesday evening looking towards the east bank}

{picture taken by onlooker standing on the east side of the reservoir as the High Park Fire approaches the west where we stood less than a week before} (found here)

Today to write about anything else seems impossible.  The High Park Wildfire has consumed the mountains west of Fort Collins, mountains that I, like all who call this part of Northern Colorado home, take great pride. The beauty and uniqueness of our geological surroundings, have always felt to be a gift, a presence of something more wonderful and more powerful, yet incredibly stable and simple, which offers itself to you with each sunset and every sunrise.

Last night Bill and I walked to City Park around midnight with Rock and sat on the top on the same hill from where I took pictures on Saturday (here) and watched as flames visibly creeped over the hills to the west of town where Lory State Park lies.  The points of orange light grew, and even from our distance you could see how the flames fed on the earth, glowing and undulating close to the ground then exploding into pockets of bright yellowy orange, knowing this was where the flames picked up momentum, as the spots of light move closer together to form one scar of fire on the hillside.   We could only watch for so long it being so late, and the smoke settling so heavy in town.  It was an unnerving and surreal image.  This morning the smoke is so thick you can’t see the foothills at all.  I can’t decide which made me more uncomfortable and disturbed.

I can only think of the love I have for our winding, wooded canyons, with spectacular views of snow peaked mountains, and picturesque horse farms that lay along back country roads which lead toward the deep, rocky cut that runs east, the Poudre River, flowing quickly and aggressively over large boulders and around sharp bends.  Here, where trails were explored, campsites discovered, memories made while seated in lopsided inner tubes that were questionable at best when headed into a clustered of exposed low water rapids, I have always felt connected.  As a military brat I think there were many times this was a hard feeling to achieve, and something I maybe craved without even being aware of its importance.  Fort Collins, and the mountains I feel just as at home in, have in many ways shaped who I am and how I view life.  The appreciation I carry with me for this is great, and I feel honored to have been given so much, for so little in return.

And all this is not gone, just marred and charred under the severe stress of Mother Nature and an awfully hot and parched landscape.  Currently I feel like I’m mourning the loss of pieces to something I love dearly, and though I know in time nature will rejuvenate itself, the mass amounts of lives and homes that found comfort and solitude here, may not.   I feel selfish for mourning at all when so many families and individual’s have lost more than I can begin to imagine.  But this is our home and I share the pain with my neighbors.    Currently the fire burns on, I can hear helicopters and air support through our cracked window, reminding me of the hundreds that are offering themselves to fight this fire and save our communities with every resource available.   I hope that the worst is over, and I hope the wind and heat don’t make firefighters’ already daunting task more impossible.

High Park Wildfire

Our beautiful summer skies have been filled with smoke and ash the past 2 days as the High Park Wildfire just west of Fort Collins grows.  Watching the expanse of the fire grow from a small plume to the large cloud of smoke encasing our town has been eerily surreal and puts my stomach in knots knowing that homes are being consumed and our precious foothills are being scarred terribly by mother nature’s flames.  Today I was planning on sharing photos from a recent camping trip up at the local reservoir, an area that now, one week later, has been threatened by heavy wind carrying the fire south, forcing an immediate evacuation of the area’s residents and visitors yesterday afternoon.  Sunday at work several friends and costumers came in after being evacuated from their homes, emotions tight and confused by the absolute quickness with which the fire moved.  From feeling safe at home, to smoke filled rooms minutes later, flowed by Sheriff’s knocks and 10 minutes to say good-bye to almost everything they called home.  Pets and loved ones and a few photo albums packed up, driving away as flames exploded on nearby hillsides.  Others shared stories of witnessing the fleeing of wildlife, in herds running away from the encroaching fire, towards Fort Collins, fearful in flight mode.  Some barely made it out, as evacuations higher in the canyon came too close for comfort.  A co-worker’s girlfriend watched as fire ignited a case of propane tanks, driving away just as the explosion fueled the flames near her home.   All these people are in safe places now, with loved ones in town and close friends, so I am thankful for officials’ efforts in evacuating threatened neighborhoods as quickly as possible, because it seems that with this fire every second counts.  Today I just wanted to send my thoughts out to all those displaced and leaving their homes behind, victim to the ferociousness and unpredictability of this fire.  I hope for the safety of all putting such brave efforts into fighting this fire both on the ground and in the air, I can’t begin to imagine the terrain and conditions that have to be tackled while facing these flames.  I have faith that the Fort Collin’s community and government will continue to step up and offer every resources we have available while facing one of the worst wildfires this area of Northern Colorado has seen in years.   More information on the fire can be read here or and update will be posted here.

{the following photos were taken around 1:15 on Saturday afternoon in City Park}

{at this point the fire was at about 8,000 acres}

{the smoke has been traveling as far as Nebraska}

{these last 4 photos were taken yesterday around 7pm in front of our place}

{air help, a helicopter en route to fill up on water}

{last night the fire was at 20,000 acres, this morning it has grown to 37,000}

Afternoon Cruisin’

{thrifted Mossimo dress, Loft sunglasses, old earrings, vintage Tom Maccan shoes, crochet flower brooch made by my friend Rose}

We took an evening drive out to Bill’s dad’s house, tucked back in the foothills, for dinner with family.  It’s always such a refreshing, relaxing drive, just listening to our favorite music and enjoying each others company.   Something about driving on open backroads, taking in the scenery and the fresh, warm air with the windows down, that makes me feel so free and peaceful.

{a very special handmade gift}

Frozen Avocado Margaritas

It has been hot here the last few days and according to forecasts (which I honestly pay little attention to but often get updates from others while working behind the bar) it is going to stay that way for a while.  Our pets lounging habits prove to be the first indication of the arrival of the heat, sprawling themselves belly up on the floor in front our window fans, followed by my insane cravings for all things, fresh, fruity, and cold.   On one of our recent evenings off together I whipped up a quick batch of Avocado Margaritas to accompany the warm evening and the heat  of our jalapeño packed dinner.  One of my best friends had been raving about this margarita that she had while visiting Austin but for some reason we never replicated our own recipe (actually I think she did once or twice, but I sadly wasn’t there).  Now that I’ve had one I think I may me hooked. The avocado lends its creamy butteriness to the tart base of a margarita so perfectly, resulting in a flavor and sweetness that reminds me of key lime pie.  Enough talking about this delightful cocktail, because really once you’ve tried it, it’ll do all the self promotion needed to get you hooked too.

Ingredients (for 4 drinks) :

-4oz silver/blanco tequila

-2 oz triple sec

-fresh lime juice (I used the juice from 3 medium limes but you can add more of less depending on how tart you like your margs)

-2 oz cilantro-lime simple syrup (I make this at home and will do a tutorial soon, but you can use a basic simple syrup like this)

-1 avocado

-2cups of ice (I find ice ratios can be tricky so I always have extra on hand to add more if the consistency is to watery for me, I like thicker icy drinks)

-lime rounds/wedges for garnish

All the ingredients get added together in the blender and then blend away!

And because it was just the two of us, and these tasty guys can sneak up on ya, we saved the rest by freezing it in mini dixi cups to have as tiny late night treats or poolside.

Enjoy x

Hey Shorty

{thrifted shorts, noble u top, thrifted purse, sunglasses and silk scarf, dolce vita shoes, earrings a gift from mom}

I’m really picky about shorts.  There is a certain length I’m comfortable wearing, you won’t see me in hot pants, but if they are too long I feel they make me look shorter then I like to think I am.  I found a few pairs that really like while thrifting a week or so ago, and I’m happy to have added them to my summer wardrobe.  While dresses and skirts are a summer staple for me, windy summer evenings on the Front Range often require keeping things wrapped up in order to avoid an inevitable wardrobe malfunction/flashing.    So now, whenever the afternoon breeze rolls in, I have few perfect pairs of go to shorts that help flatter my frame, while keeping my legs appropriately  covered.

At 5’2 I’m always looking for ways to add a little extra height, and I love the way these Dolce Vita wedges help my height while making my legs look longer, especially when I’m wearing shorts.  And though some days a wish I had sky high legs, I really love being short for many reasons.  I fit very comfortably in small spaces, I rarely feel cramped when flying, even in economy, and I can always make myself taller with a great pair of heels.