Oregon Coast Engagement 2010

3 years ago today Paul showed up at my apartment early in the morning with his Art Institute backpack and told me to get up we were going somewhere. Me not being a morning person was pretty grumpy about this… I threw on some old comfy clothes, and jumped in the car. Paul drove and drove and when I finally started to wake up I realized we were on our way to the coast. When we finally arrived near Cannon Beach Paul parked and we walked along the water until we came to a quite clearing where there was an old shipwreck of some sort. Paul got down on one knee and nervously pulled out if his backpack a beautiful ring that he picked out all by himself… I had no idea. I just remember immediately dropping to my knees, giving him a huge hug saying YES!!! and then putting on the ring. We sat on the beach and watched the sunrise and then drove into a cute little village and spent the day together. It was amazing! One of the many best days of my life since Paul has been in it.

Yachats

When I was growing up going to the beach either meant driving a long way to the depressing cold Washington Coast squished in between my brothers who couldn't sit next to each other in the car because they fought... or it meant boarding a plane and flying to a tropical paradise in Hawaii. So it is no surprise that when Paul invited me to the Oregon Coast when we first started dating that I wasn't exactly excited about it, other than being able to spend time with him. Well I was completly wrong! I love the Oregon Coast and all it's cozy beach splendor. Which is why I am super excited to travel to Lincoln City during summer break with my Mr. 

Paul and his family introduced me to a little town called Yachats and were nice enough to let me tag along on multiple family trips. It is a gorgeous little town and the perfect place to unwind and relax. One of my favorite places there is The Drift Inn a super cute little restaurant it has little umbrellas hanging all over from the cieling. I am not sure how many times we have been there since but I do know it was the perfect most romantic place to spend our honeymoon and I look forward to all of our future trips there to come. 

2011

2009

2011

2009

2010

There is this song I really love and I am kind of embarassed to say that it is by The Used (I guess that was my rebellious phase) I like it because it paints a picture with words and the picture looks a lot like Yachats to me...

Blueberry crumble

My Mom just gave me two huge bins of blueberries (Thanks Mom!) that being said there are a whole lot of blueberry recipes being made at my house right now. This one is especially good, Blueberry Crumble you can get the recipe HERE I love baking them, the whole apartment smells like fresh berries! ~ LOVE ~ I know I have said it time and time again but I cannot wait until fall-time I am already getting excited for Thanksgiving and Christmas baking projects... for now I guess I should finish my giant tubs of blueberries. Stay tuned for more baked goods. 

oh and try this! ....

Demonstration Garden Walk

Paul and I took a walk to the Master Gardeners Demonstration Garden in Bellevue today. I guess we wanted to get some inspiration for our little patio garden and future gardens to come. You can check out the Demonstration Garden HERE plus there are pictures of the pretty flowers below, I love the white and purple one it looks like paint was splatterd on it. I decided to go with a bohemian look >>> I guess that fits the garden theme right? I definatly need to find some more head wraps. 

Hope you enjoy the flowers and I can't wait until we have pumpkins and sunflowers to show off this fall!

christmas blueberry jam

So I have totally been thinking about fall-time and Christmas a lot lately! In that I am super excited for brisk cold air and pumpkin spice latte's. What can I say I like to plan ahead. This summer I learned how to make jam (the hard kind not freezer jam) and I made a bunch so if you are family members you will probly get a jar from me. If you survive then well this can be the start of a new tradition. Really, making jam is not that hard if you want to try for yourself just follow the directions below. Oh and if your looking for a great place to get blueberry's check out my post from last year >>> Larsen Lake Blueberry Farm. 

Directions:

1 Thaw and drain blueberries.
2 Crush blueberries one layer at a time.
3 Combine 3 cups crushed blueberries and lemon juice in a large saucepot.
4 Stir in Fruit Jell pectin.
5 Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly.
6 Add sugar, stirring to dissolve.
7 Return mixture to a rolling boil.
8 Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly.
9 Remove from heat.
10 Skim foam if necessary.
11 Preserve It...
12 Ladle hot jam into hot "Ball" 8-oz jelly jar to 1/4 inch below rim.
13 Wipe jar rim clean.
14 Place lid on jar and tighten band, just until a point of resistance is met.
15 Process 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner.
16 Cool for 12 to 24 hours.
17 Remove bands.
18 Lids should be concave in middle.
19 Yield: About 6 half pints.

horse people

A little while back I did some photography of my parents and our horse Graf Top II it was really fun and I think they turned out ok for being a ameture photographer. 

quick sketches

I have been sketching alot lately getting prepared for a drawing class I am teaching in the fall... here are a few farm animals I used for my class poster.