Hiking with cows

Although we live in a very urban area, we are pretty lucky to have a lot of regional parks close by. This weekend we headed to a new (to us) park, Chabot Regional Park, which is in the hills just south of where we live. It was overcast and sprinkling rain so it wasn't surprising we didn't run into many people on the path. A few hikers and mountain bikers here and there, but but mostly just us. 

That is until we rounded the corner and stumbled upon this mama and her calf just off the path! 

I wasn't sure what to do, as I haven't run into a lot of cows in my life. For some reason my mind jumped to mama bear with their cubs (what? i know) so I walked out of the way to not disrupt or taunt the mama. Don't mind us...we'll snap your picture and keep walking. 

That's when we realized there wasn't just one but TWO calves! Clearly this mama has more to worry about than us walking by. Funny side note: when this second calf stopped nursing to look at us, it had milk ALL OVER its face...unfortunately we didn't capture that!

As we continued on our way we ran into the rest of the herd, cow-pies and all. 

There had to be at least 20 of them! Apparently I've been in Oakland a little too long because I was so excited to have run into all these cows. That is until we were walking through the herd and two were wrestling (I guess), which startled the rest of the crew. I didn't think they'd stampede us, but I was honestly a little nervous. That's when we stopped taking pictures and move along. We also refrained from mentioning that we were headed to In&Out Burger after the hike!

See ya later spammers and wealthy foreign diplomats

I feel like I've been on the run from spam for years. First it was my AOL account, Chell42467, which I had forwarded to my Colorado.edu address so that I wouldn't lose any precious connections I might have made on AOL (ha!). In addition to school emails, during college we had a theta email group that allowed you to send important emails to the whole house (ex: girls, if you make a mess in the tv landing clean it up. your mom doesn't live here.)   I was happy to leave those emails and all the forward garbage from my AOL account behind when I graduated. Although I was sad to leave my college email address, I was excited to enter the real world of email and signed up for a free yahoo account.

I've rocked my yahoo email since college. It's crazy to think of all the emails that have been sent and received from that email address. Photos, recipes, juicy emails, online statements, airline confirmations, random forwards and the everyday correspondents with family and friends. I have a lot of them saved in folders appropriately titled. One of my favorite folders "brian" contains all of the emails from the first few months we knew each other and only communicated via email.

At the recommendation of several friends and B, I signed up for a gmail account. I've used my gmail account for over a year (maybe even two), mainly for blogger and twitter, but couldn't seem to make the switch. As I checked my yahoo email this morning, deleting spam and junk mail (again) I was inspired. Today's the day...I'm ripping off the bandaid and going to gmail full time.

When I mentioned to B I was finally going to make the switch today he reminded me of when he made the switch two years ago. Here is the email he sent out to his contacts:

Friends,

It goes without saying that this is truly a sad day for me and the entire email community. After years of relentless emails for Viagra, Cialis and wealthy foreign diplomats from Madagascar offering a 10% cut of $13,358,169.25 for my bank account information, it is with the deepest regret that I must say, the spammers (and terrorist) have won! It is this 26^th day of January 2009 that I will officially be retiring the hotmail* email address.

I will be hoping for greener pastures and less erectile dysfunction Spam with a new gmail account. I have chosen the ultra original email address of firsrname{dot}lastname{at}gmail* I know this must be tough for some of you that have come to love the hotmail, but this is much tougher on me. I think of the countless hours I have spent\wasted reading and sending worthless forwards, that time I will never get back.

As I push the send button on the hotmail email address for the last time, I listen to Europe’s “The Final Countdown”, and one single solitary tear rolls down my face.  

Brian 

*actual email addresses have been removed for obvious reasons!  


He cracks me up! With that, I'm also saying SEE YA LATER spammers! And wealthy foreign diplomats...you can take your requests up with my gmail spam filter. As I make the switch, tips and hints for gmail are welcomed!

hip, hip, hooray!

I feel fortunate to be surround by awesome people - family, friends and coworkers. I am continually inspired by these people and hope I inspire them too! I wanted to give a little shout to two ladies who deserve a hip, hip, hooray and a thank you for continuing to inspire me.

{jnelly}

In the summer of 2007, Jessica followed her heart and moved to Portland, OR. I was lucky enough to drive out with her in the filled-to-the-brim truck. Her move (and a few other things) inspired me to pick up my things are try life on the west coast as well. Even though we were in different cities, it was always nice to know someone understood what you were going through (and was in the same time zone!).

After three years of helping keep Portland weird, Jess decided it was time to move home. As we all know, this economy is not friendly for the job seeker. Jess took a leap of faith by accepting a temporary position to move back. Within a few short months she scored a full time position (with full benefits) at the Children's Hospital! 

hip, hip, 

{paper: carolyn gavin greenhouse, cricut: jubilee}

Jnelly, aka Janelle, has always had an eye for art, design and style. It's no surprise her degree is in Interior Design! When the housing market tanked, she was let go from her Interior Design position. As a way to make some money she used those talents to open an Etsy shop and start a photography business. 

Jnelly's most recent accomplishment was turning her business into a LLC. That's right, she's officially official! Big step, lots of paper work but I know it will be totally worth it. I look forward to watching Jnelly Photography grow. Someday maybe we'll be in the same city...she can be the photographer, I'll be the wedding planner and "on the side" we'll make cards :)

hip, hip, 

{paper: carolyn gavin greenhouse  , cricut: jubilee}

Passport Required

Today marks ONE MONTH until Melissa and Parker tie the knot in Tambor, Costa Rica!! They have planned a small destination wedding with immediate family and close friends. The wedding will take place on the beach at sunset...how awesome is that? 


I've never been to Costa Rica, but I've heard so many great things. In addition to the wedding and time with friends, here's what I'm picturing our trip to look like:

{jnelly}

{style me pretty}

{style me pretty}

Perfectly fitting for their destination wedding, Melissa and Parker created Passport wedding invitations from the website Beach Wedlock.

The inside of the invitation includes all the important wedding details in the layout of an actual Passport. It's so clever, I love it!

This was also a good reminder for me to check my passport to make sure it hasn't expired. Good news - I have until 2015 (phew!). Over the next month I will be continuing to workout, finish up a few fun details I'm helping with and figuring out how to pack within a 26 lbs weight limit (not a typo). Costa Rica here we come!

a dose of lovely

With Valentine's day just around the corner, the blog world has been all a flutter with crafts, DIY projects and decorations. Here is a dose of some of the lovely things that caught my eye.

My favorite part of Valentine's day is, no surprise, making and sending cards! Paper Source has cooked up some festive card ideas and is sharing the recipes here.

{paper source}

{sparkle power}

I LA LA LOVE this cute poster, but not quite as much as I love these felt hearts! The first set were stitched with love by the Inspired Honey Bee. See the how-to here and her whole love filled mantel here. 

{inspired honey bee}

These felt hearts were created as a Save the Date magnet. The tag could be used to write something like "i heart you" or be just as cute with no tag at all! 

{city cradle design}

Perfect for any day of the year, this little print is especially cute for Valentine's day decorating.

{a little lovely, via eighteen25}

eighteen25 has done it again...charming subway art that you can download for FREE!

{eighteen25}

Lately I've been on a bunting banner kick, but I'm loving these unique heart banners. The first is made out of fabric. I love the dimension of the hearts! 

{how about orange}

This one is made from photo strips.  It could also be made using 
patterned paper and still be lovely.

{scrappergirl, via eighteen25}

Here's a clever gift idea....turning a 6 pack of soda into a 6 pack of candy and snacks.

{naptimejournal, via tatertots and jello}

What first caught my eye was this "you are hot" tea bag label.

{tatertots and jello}

Then I realized there was another tag AND a lovely wrapper for the whole tea bag! 

I heart this.

{tatertots and jello}

For all the bakers in my life, how cute are these paper treat bags? Sweet treats for the sweetest day. My mouth is watering now just thinking of a heart shaped chocolate brownie! you can download the image here to print and add to your own treat bags!

{twig and thistle}

I am a fan of cloths pins and clear treat bags,
so of course I loved this sweet combination of the two.

{no biggie, via tatertots and jello}

I am also a fan of cute little take-out boxes.

Make your own Valentine's treat boxes using these FREE fortunate for you tags!

{eighteen25}

Unless otherwise noted, links for all of these project can be found beneath each picture! 

Grilled

Over the weekend we were graced with gorgeous weather and the company of my dad and step mom. We had a fun weekend and really enjoyed having them in town!

Since it was the first time they met B, my dad mentioned more than once he had some questions for B. While he may look like a crabby guy, I knew he was mostly joking and wouldn't really grill him.

I was right, no hard hitting questions. The only heat B really received was for his lack of culinary skills. I love to cook so most of the time I don't mind making dinner. Clearly the 'rents picked up on something. They asked if we'd thought about getting a grill. 

When we moved into our apartment last summer I really wanted to get a grill. Although we're in an apartment, we do have a small back porch, (emphasis on the small). With bigger items like a couch, area rugs and more, a grill fell to the bottom of our list. 

 
While driving around Saturday they suggested we swing by Loews. Next thing you know we're all looking at grills. There are a lot of awesome affordable grills out there, but given our small space it was a little tricky. We also didn't want to get a petite grill, because sooner than later we'd like to get a house with a yard and wanted a decent size grill we can have for a few years.


At our second Loews stop we found the perfect grill - the Master Forge small space gas grill!

 That's right, it was practically made just for our small patio. I love that it looks like a beefy grill but the sides can fold down to look like a small fry, if necessary. We were fortunate to receive this grill as an early birthday present (our birthdays are in May). We also got a grilling pan for veggies!

 Look at that: he's grilling, sipping a beer, smiling...life is good!

Bay Area Welcome Bag

Today my dad and step mom arrive to the Bay Area for a long weekend. We are happy to have them visit! You might be thinking, hmm wasn't your mom just there? Yep, welcome to parent weekend number two (this weekend will also be the first time they'll meet B...dun, dun, dunnnn). We love having visitors, not only because it makes us feel popular, but we enjoy playing tour guides around town. 

While in town, they will be staying at a hotel near by. While I'd love to have them stay with us at our huge house one bedroom apartment, I think we'll all be more comfortable. It's always nice to have a little something extra at your hotel, so I put together a very Bay Area welcome bag for them. All of the items come from California, with a large majority coming from Berkeley! 

Included in the bag: 

Bison IPA (Berkeley and because its a bison, which my dad will totally appreciate - go buffs!) 

apples (wherever apples are grown in CA) 

Blue Diamond almonds (Sactown) 

ScharffenBerger chocolate (Berkeley) 

peanut butter cookie mini Luna bars (Berkeley)  
bottled water 

I put all the items in an old Anthropologie bag and tied it up with a golden gate greeting (as seen in top photo). Here's an up-close of the greeting card. Bridge photo taken by B, aka Brian Adams  as my dad says (in reference to Ansel Adams).