"it's a bird!'

A clip from one of my favorite shows: Arrested Development... Have a Happy Thursday!

i heart dogs

If this doesn't make your day, I don't know what will.

(photo courtesy of my buddy Blaine)

as promised...

Hello lovelies! Well, with a night to myself I find myself sitting here with a nice glass of wine and a few episodes of The Office and plenty of time to finish up about our weekend in Washington!

So those of you who know Jared know he's not big on getting gifts, regardless of the occasion, be it Christmas, his birthday, whathaveyou. So this year I took a different route. As opposed to telling him I wouldn't get him anything for said holidays, I threw out the option of us going away for a weekend together and having that count for the next three gift-giving occasions. 

He agreed. And happily so!

Our weekend mini-break at Skamania Lodge is Washington served as a catch-all gift and was, in a word, perfect. I don't think either of us really realized just how long it had been since we'd both slowed down and let us catch up with ourselves. 

Since Jared only had a half day of class on Saturday we decided now was the time so off we went! Winding our way out of Portland-proper we got onto 84-E and started our way into the Gorge. For me, the Columbia River Gorge holds a lot of sway - the first time Jared and I spent time together after meeting was hiking up Multnomah Falls (I guess you could call that our first "date" even though we didn't really realize we were in fact "dating" until about a month after we first hung out), and some of my favorite memories have taken place throughout that area of our state. 

After a quick stop at Burgerville, Oregon's (ahem, superior) answer to California's In-N-Out (and with a chocolate-hazelnut milkshake in hand, yum) we pushed eastward until we crossed over the river at The Bridge of the Gods which took us into Washington. It was just a short drive on until we came to the turn-off for the lodge and boy howdy, were we blown away!

It is a stunning place and God made for us the most beautiful day we've had up here in the Northwest in weeks. As we walked up to check in we were both prepared to be in the lap of rustic luxury. "I don't think I'm allowed to stay at a place like this!" was all Jared could muster as we sauntered into the lobby where we were met with the immediate heat of the giant fireplace in the middle of the gorgeous sitting room. We made a mental note to stake out a couple of the very inviting rocking chairs near the hearth, we dropped our bags off in our room and headed straight outside to walk around the grounds while the weather was, mercifully, perfect. 

Of course, it is January in the Pacific Northwest so there was a bite in the air which made it easier for us to head back inside and saddle up to the little bar for a drink to warm up. It was nice, just getting to sit and sip and talk. That mindset followed into dinner where we sat at our little table watching the end of the Purdue game (Boiler up!) and munching on some Dungeness crab laced entrees. After dinner, Jared's  work/school schedule caught up with him and he passed out pretty quickly leaving me up watching the show Hoarders on A&E (addicting!) until I too fell asleep. 

Now my plan was to sleep in but again, with a severely tweaked schedule Jared was up at 7am, showering and ready to go for the day. So I woke up and we went down to the lobby, grabbed some coffee and curled up in those lovely rockers by the fire and just sat. It was so nice. The perfect reason to get up early. To have it my way, we'd would wake up every morning and do just that. 

Of course, though the sight of the morning fog rolling across the mountains was feeding us in ways no food ever could our tummies began to grumble and breakfast began calling our names. So it was back to the little restaurant for delicious french toast, eggs and bacon. Again, the theme of the weekend being "perfect", this meal was no exception. 

Though we only had about 24 hours there, we did manage to catch a bit more time in front of that fireplace before heading back out. It is so wonderful to just be able to spend time with the person you love and have no other obligation other than to be together, even if only for a short time. 

We are truly blessed!

Before heading back to real life we took one more detour and continued east to Hood River, Oregon to visit Cathedral Ridge Winery. It was a sweet little spot with more gorgeous views and some tasty wines to boot! 

But like any delicious dream, the weekend wound down and it was time to wake up again. But that was just fine because it meant I could now dive into that comforting world of memories and start to relive some of the highlights in my mind.

In the end, I can now think of a greater gift to give because we both got to experience the present and now we have these memories that will last a hell of a lot longer than any thing we could have given each other. And that's pretty wonderful, I think. 

owl

Got a sweet em-mail from dad the other day, thought I'd share this truly amazing experience:

"...last night on the way home from shooting, coming up the hill just shy of home, something came out of nowhere, hit the Mustang in a flash. I drove up the hill till I could turn around, and came back down to see something small laying on the pavement. Turns out...a small owl had managed to fly into the car, and was laying there very stunned. I saw that it was breathing, so I nudged the little fellow with my foot and he/she got on its feet and with wide eyes looked at me, swiveled its head a few times...and just sat there. So, I squatted down and had a chat with the little owl for a minute or so. When I determined that "owl" was getting it together...I nudged it again, very gently...and in a heartbeat little owl spread its wings, and really in a magical way, rose up right in my face with powerful little wings, pretty much silently...and meshed into the nighttime sky. This little owl was so sweet looking that I really wanted to pick him/her up...but thought better of it. All in all...a remarkable experience. This little owl was very pretty, and with those eyes, well... wow!"

(photo courtesy of Daily Squee)

circa 1905

Oh my goodness... I would wear this every. single. day.

(photo reposted from Erstwhile Jewelry Co. via A Cup of Jo)

the pacific n o r t h w e s t

Multnomah Falls from 84 E

Mount Hood from Pittock Mansion at sunrise, 22 January 2011

View of the Columbia River from Skamania Lodge

Logs for the roaring fire in the lobby

The most incredible fireplace... With the most incredible rocking chairs... Which we sat in... Most incredibly

Us.

Our new favorite place in Washington

Sunday morning in the Gorge

Wind Mountain in the foreground with Dog Mountain peeking up behind it

Morning fog

Lounging by the fire

The photos simply don't do it justice but it's getting late and I'm completely knackered (though apparently not enough so that I can't throw some British slang at you!) so I'll let these do the talking for now. We woke up at about seven o'clock this morning to have a cup of coffee by the fire before breakfast (and snag the prime seating in those rocking chairs) but I'll do a proper rundown of Jared's and my weekend at Skamania Lodge in Stevenson, Washington when I catch back up on sleep! 

Hope everyone had a beautiful weekend!

knob creek

"Will you post this on your blog? I want to give a shout-out to your dad."

Dad, this is from Indy to you... Note the bourbon ball!

(photo by Lauren Morton-Farmer)

shredding

So today was Day 1 of my attempt to follow Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred. It's a workout based on the concept of differing levels of cardio, strength and ab routines. I read about it on this blog I found via Yahoo! and thought I'd give it a go. I'm coupling it with my regular routine of a minimum 3 days a week at the gym along with a daily yoga routine. After this first attempt, I can already tell it's going to hurt being alive when I wake up in the morning. Jillian is kicking my butt via DVD but it's exactly what I want. The only downside is that living on the second floor of someone's house makes for difficult jumping jacks and running in place. Hmph. Oh well. 

Wish me luck!

(photo courtesy, once again, of my iPhone)

party hat

"The hat looks happier than he does."

-Jared on Kamdyn's apparent feelings about being at a birthday party

(photo courtesy of Andrea via Jared)

this too

This one just makes my heart smile. 

(photo courtesy of Two Sarahs)

hi how are you i'm fine

I'm in love with this print. 

(photo courtesy of The Big Harumph)

alexi murdoch

The sun is trying so hard to peek through the clouds this morning at work while we have this little break in the rain (it's barely sprinkling right now, incredible) and it's been the perfect setting to listen to Alexi Murdoch. His album Time Without Consequence is so calm and touching. I especially love this song.

Have a happy week everyone!


(image from cover of Time Without Consequence)

rides a bike

How adorable is this photo of Ginger Rogers? Just one of many great pictures of classic movie stars on bicycles from this Tumblr. 

(photo reposted from Rides A Bike via A Cup Of Jo)

toto, we're not in california anymore

I'm one Oregon driver's license away from being a full-fledged Oregonian!

(photo by Lauren Morton-Farmer's amazing iPhone)

paulo coelho

An old friend from college posted this amazing excerpt from the novel The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. It's called "The Secret of Happiness" and is absolutely beautiful. I've never read anything by this man but based on this quick reminder of one of the most important things in life, I think I know what I'll be looking for next time I decide to get lost in Powell's. 

(photo courtesy of Paulo Coelho)

when i was younger, so much younger than today

Indy and I were cute little things, weren't we?

(photos courtesy of our camera-happy parents)

edward sharpe & the magnetic zeroes

A friend of a friend recently posted this amazing cover of the song "Home" by Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes and it is so cute it makes my heart just melt.

(photo courtesy of Standard Social)

are we not drawn onward, we few, drawn onward to new era

Palindromes are fun! I say this here on day two of a ten day stretch of palindrome dates (1/10/11-1/19/11) which I think is pretty neat. I can remember (albeit vaguely) learning about this phenomenon in grade school and being immediately fascinated, looking for them everywhere. I searched words, phrases, dates... My favorite was always "racecar". Today it's "kayak" because, let's face it, "kayak" is a funny word. 

Anyway, I thought I'd mark the occasion with two of my other favorites. The first you've already passed by (as always, grateful for Andrew Bird and his musical genius), it's a beautiful song, worth reading the lyrics to. And the second is this fun little tidbit a friend once sent me.

Hope everyone is having a lovely January! 

snow drifts

Also, as I sit here at work thinking about the supposed impending snow in our forecast and how grateful I am to have the next few days off to hunker down, I can't help but imagine what it must be like to see a snow drift the size of a small house (as my Indianian has assured me DO exist) and jump into it full-throttle.

Oh, what joy!

(photo reposted from The Sartorialist)

miranda hobbes, esq.

My cable's been on the ftritz lately so, per my M.O., I've been watching DVD's over and over and over again. For those of you who remember me as a wee little thing sitting on my old grey, red & black quilt watching Disney's Pinocchio this comes as no surprise. I can watch the same thing over and again without losing zeal (something I inherited from my grandmother, no doubt).

Anyway, as a devoted fan of Sex and the City, I decided to work my way through all six seasons for the umpteenth time and I realized that of all the characters, Miranda, the type-A lawyer lady extraordinaire, is my favorite. Not neccessarily for the character herself (though her antics irritate me the least when it comes to the four gals on the show) but because of Cynthia Nixon.

Throughout the run of the show I have consistently found myself loving her acting style and ability to inhabit the life of her character. And, not to be confined to HBO, whenever I see her in other roles I find myself enthralled by her. Even her tiny role in Amadeus got me all a twitter (sidenote: if you haven't seen Amadeus, what are you waiting for? It's amazing, enough said). Another portrayal to be admired is Ms. nixon as Eleanor Roosevelt in Warm Springs.

With a very distinct style and cadence to her voice (I also just love to watch her speak for some reason... I have a thing for the way people form words and how their mouths speak, I don't know why) I have decided that while I'm definitely not a "Miranda" (I actually don't really think I'm too like any of the SATC quartet) I have a certain adoration for Cynthia Nixon and her ability to set the screen on fire, be it ever so humbly.

(photo by unknown source)

"happiness is a warm puppy, an umbrella & a side of french fries."

My title today comes from the mind of Charles Schulz, the man behind Charlie Brown, Snoopy and, me personal favorite, Linus. Now I don't know much about his life beyond the Sunday funnies and my favorite holiday specials, but this philosophy seems about right to me.

I've been think a lot about this concept of happiness lately (clearly) and how vital it is to our lives. Maybe it's that little Pollyanna side of my personality, but I am happy. And I know it. This idea has been in my head since high school when my history teacher Mr. Szmidt posted a quote for us to discuss one day.

The words were familiar enough - "If you're happy and you know it clap your hands." He did this every day, Mr. Szmidt did. We'd all walk into class after lunch, still bloated and breathless from dodging the seagulls that swarmed the quad hoping for dropped bits of pizza crust or a forgotten french fry (here's where Charles Schulz's umbrella begins to make more sense), and pull out our notebooks. Keeping tracks of daily quotes may have seemed tedious to my classmates, but for me it was my favorite part of the class period.

Sure, there are others that have remained in my mind, but this one in particular is something I try to remember every day because in so many ways, this concept could become as integral to keeping us alive as breathing. Why? Because with everything keeping us moving so fast, making our lives "easier" and seemingly more disconnected (I'm one to talk now having just purchased an iPhone, ha), it's important to stop and think about things. To allow ourselves the time to slow our breathing and realize the present moment and stay in it for a minute or two.

This was a life-altering thought to me, especially in high school when I was at my least happy point - always stressing about college applications, grade point averages, math class, chem lab... You get the idea. At the time I could look back on the past and think about happier moments (which is what helped me get through the, er, less happy times) or, my go-to way of coping: faking it. For a few years there part of my morning routine included these weird sort of pep-talks to myself in order to put on a good happy face for the rest of the world as I headed into the quagmire of high school. Oy.

Anyway, back to my point... Mr. Szmidt told us to really think about what made us happy. And when we found ourselves happy about something, to stop and enjoy it right then and there. Not to breeze right past it and just use it at a later date to boost our mood, but to take it in and BE HAPPY IN THE MOMENT!

What a revelation!

So fast forward eight years to now and, like my mother (and proudly so!) I appear to be walking around with carnival music playing in my head (thank you Sean for coining that, it's funny because it's true) Although in my case, it's not so much carnival music as much as Frank Turner or the likes. And do you want to know why? I'm happy.


Really, truly, over-the-moon, slap-her-to-snap-her-out-of-it, honest-to-God happy.

I admit, it took me a while to get here and with more than a few bumps along the way. No matter - those trials made it worth it and all the sweeter in the long run. And now, as I've said in the past, often I could just cry, it's so wonderful. Not to say that there aren't the troubling moments, but on the whole, what's the point in being anything other than happy? And I'm not talking about faking it now either because if I'm not feeling happy, that's okay too. I'm just saying that more often than not, I have an honest smile on my face and try to share that with the people around me. And I don't think it's unrealistic either, or that I'm living in a fantasy world. I'm merely focusing on what God has given me and being thankful for it.

Every. Day.

On that note, I've started doing something these past few months that I believe is adding to this level of outrageous joy. Each day when the pure moment of realization happens (and it does happen, you just have to be open to finding it) I stop, think about the moment I find myself in, and thank God for it. Thank Him for everything He has given me and for all the good things, people, everything in my life. Sometimes I even thank Him for the not-so-great things because even that is part of the great give-and-take of it all. Because without the bad, how could we recognize the good?

It's weird though because while this doesn't seem so unrealistic to me, others seem far more... I don't know... Pessimistic about it. Like it's so hard to find happiness. The current issue of Real Simple magazine is all about happiness and yet in the Letter-from-the-Editor, she writes about how she basically accepts that happiness is fleeting and that it's not something attainable on the grander scale unless you work hard at it, and how if she didn't take small steps to really find it on the small scale, she'd be in a grump most of the time.

What?


The whole thing had the complete opposite effect on me and left me feeling so sad for her. That she had to work so hard at it made me wonder what her life must be like. I mean, true, I'm not dealing with the stress of being a major magazine editor but still... Damn.  On the flipside, one article in the issue gets closer to my reasoning.

Anyway... I've gotten pretty longwinded here so I'll wrap it up. I'm grateful for everything and everyone in my life because you're all part of what makes me happy and I know I wouldn't be in this place (literally and emotionally) without you.

So thank you, I love you and I wish happiness for all of you. And if there's nothing else making you smile today, try this!

(photo of Kamdyn by Lauren Morton-Farmer)

some people get it

“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.”

- John Lennon -

(photo credit unknown)

love, ire & photo

Aside from the literary delight you're currently enthralled with (er, here's hoping anyway!), I also have a slightly-less-verbose blog where I post some of my photos... When I remember to that is. Anyway, if you're not in the mood to read even the shortest paragraph, head on over to Love, Ire & Photo. I posted some of my favorite shots from the past couple months, I hope you like them!

(photo of Mt. Hood by Lauren Morton-Farmer)

us

After an incredible dinner with some of your best friends, the only thing to do is curl up on the couch with the one you love most.

baby boy!

I had had these in a previous post but found that only my Facebook friends were able to view them. So here we go, take two! I present for your viewing pleasure - as well as your daily dose of cute - Mr. Kamdyn Michael, in all his three months of glory!