inspire me.

Today was cold, wet, long, and rainy. Everyone I encountered seemed to be in a melancholy state of mind. It's as if we've lost Fall here in the great pacific northwest and have moved directly into winter. As I walked though downtown, it was obvious we were all grieving autumn. I forgot my umbrella. What was I thinking? My hair was dripping wet, I was cold, I wrapped myself tighter within my coat but couldn't escape the chilling Seattle mist. I looked up and saw nothing but gray skies and clouds and I thought to myself, "Oh please, this is going to be such a challenge for me, please be o.k during this long, colorless winter." I started pacing faster down the streets, making my way though the hustle and bustle of downtown. Then I heard it. I heard something magnificent. Someone was singing. And what a beautiful voice they had! He was singing, loudly. And in French. And it was beautiful. He had a green umbrella and he inspired me. As the streets began to clump with people with their umbrellas I noticed myself standing in the middle waiting to cross. The gal next to me started to hum along, like she knew exactly what song he was singing. The person in front of me began to sway. I couldn't help but think, "Oh my word, is this real!?" "Is this REAL life?" "This is far too poetic and beautiful to be real. Oh my goodness. How lovely." Here we all are. Complete strangers, standing in the rain waiting to cross an intersection and we're making music together. Right then and there, I knew that I would be o.k and a wide grin stretched across my face. I knew I could make it through this change as long as I stay inspired. Inspired by music, art, and literature. Inspired by those I love. Inspired by mother nature and even the everyday people I see at crossroads and intersections.

So thank you, to the gentleman with the green umbrella. For reminding me that inspiration can come in even the smallest forms.

picture of gene kelly, singing in the rain

xo, michelle

Almost...

Holy cow! I cannot believe we're nearing the end of October! Today, someone asked me what date it was and I quickly replied, "It's October 21st." I paused, looked up at the ceiling and yelled, "Oh my goodness, IT'S OCTOBER 21ST!" Where did the time go!? It must have been all the pumpkin goodness, it clouded my mind. ;) Speaking of, I've been a bit obsessed with these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. A friend of mine made them and I've been in love ever since.

I just love this time of year. October ushers in some of my favorite holidays. Dan is a big fan of the 4th of July. Mainly because that means lake time with the family in Montana. :) But me, I'm a Christmas gal. I love the decorations, the songs, the family get-togethers, wrapping pretty little packages in paper and string and not to mention the food! But maybe I'm getting ahead of myself.

Halloween is so much fun but this year seems a little off. Normally we have our costumes all ready to go come the 1st but we've been so busy that we've kept putting it off. And now, Halloween, right around the corner and we don't have costumes. Any grand ideas?

My little sisters birthday is towards the end of October and she loves having Halloween themed birthdays. All the kids dress up in fun costumes and my mom makes a feast of cute little Halloween inspired treats. Last year she made witch fingers and little eyeballs made out of fruit. Here are a few fun things that I stumbled upon, aren't these marshmallow bones adorable?

all images taken from www.marthastewart.com

Happy Halloween!
xo, Michelle

Happy Friday!

It's finally here, Friday! After what seemed like one of the longest weeks of my life, I'm so thrilled the weekend has finally arrived. With that being said, the fact that I'm getting older really hit me this week. Remember when you were younger and you could just call a friend and hang out? Do you remember impromptu sleepovers? Well, I do. And let me just say that the whole "hang out" process is w-a-y different these days! I find myself whipping out my schedule to see if I can pencil anything in. Since when did I have to start penciling in fun? A sign of the times, I suppose.

I'm really looking forward to this weekend and today has already been such a wonderful day! I had lunch with one of my cousins whom I hadn't seen in a decade. Literally. It's been that long. So it was absolutely brilliant being able to catch up with him and see what all of the other cousins were up to in life!

Dan and I are having a movie night to kick off the weekend. I love going to the movies. There's just something about the smell of popcorn and sneakin' in red vines that makes me happy! ;) Shhh, don't tell on me! :)

Now what's going on Saturday, you ask? Well, I'm super stoked for Saturday. Saturday has been a project in the making for what seems like months! Remember that whole, "can we pencil that in" conversation? Yup, that was Saturday. And I'm so happy it's almost here. My very talented friend is starring in a play and a group of us have been trying to coordinate all of our schedules to find a day where we can see her perform. And that's tomorrow. Dinner and a play. What more could you ask for on a Saturday night?

I hope everyone has a fun and exciting weekend!

xo, michelle

Mondays...

So I'm one of those rare people who is totally o.k with Mondays. I know, crazy right? To me, Monday feels like a fresh start. And I like to pretend I'll be more productive and do more fun things than I did the previous week. Maybe it's wishful thinking? Who knows? I try. :)

This past weekend was lovely. Dan and I had a much needed date night and now I'm obsessed with trying to figure out how to make one of the dishes we had! I tend to do this. Often. So beware. If you ever go out to eat with me, I'll probably spend most of my time getting overly enthusiastic about spices. I get this from my mom. Hands down. She does the exact same thing.

We also got to participate in some honey production! Super neat! As long as I've loved honey, I've never seen it harvested. My Uncle Allan keeps bees and kindly let a small group of us help with the harvest. I'm just so amazed with the whole process. Did you know that one little bee produces only a teaspoon of honey in it's lifetime!? Crazy, right? Our final weigh in was at 40 pounds of fresh, raw honey! That took a lot of bees. ;) Oh, and did I mention it was the best honey I've ever had? I'm planning on putting it on anything and everything I can. Honey toast in the a.m, peanut butter and honey sandwiches in the p.m and maybe top it off with some honey tea? What, too much? ;) Here are some pictures from my iphone to illustrate the honey extravaganza. Hope you all have a wonderful week!

xo, michelle