“Live today. Not yesterday. Not tomorrow. Just today. 
Inhabit your moments. Don't rent them out to tomorrow.” —Jerry Spinelli

One of my favorite ways to unwind and have fun is to spend a day with my cousin Lorinda. We finish each other's sentences, we know when the other needs to eat or have more coffee, if we're shopping we know exactly what the other will love. There is no better thing than a best friend/cousin (frousin!).

Our new shoes. Lovely, lovely. Last week I went to Sole Obsession and went a little nuts. I got the cute little black Merrells and I picked up the green and gold J-41s (now Jambu) because she has been wanting them for a long time. (I also picked up a couple pair of flip-flops...necessary you know).

No day would be complete without a trip to Starbucks. We had too much fun with the self-portraits...there are a few that we have promised never to show another living soul (of course).

And finally. The important stuff. Cake. Lemon-blueberry chiffon. It was heavenly...We ate that piece in less than 8 minutes (how we know this is not important, what is important is that we do know how fast we ate it...).

So very thankful for this girl, my cousin, my best friend.

I love spending time with Lorinda. Celebrating our family, our friendship. She loves me for who I am - my faults, my fears, my idiosyncrasies - and she knows them all...

Life is good.

Celebrate: Coffee. Starbucks.

"A cup of coffee is a miracle. It's what can be. Tell me something that can simultaneously be warm and comforting and invigorating." - Dave Olsen (Starbucks)

I don't know if you know this about me...but I really do love coffee. You know on facebook where you can see the top words you use in your status? Mine is coffee (sorry to my family, friends...). And I truly do love Starbucks. A lot. I like their mission, their trade practices, how they give back locally and globally. I also like their coffee. Yes I do.

So, one of my favorite places to sit and read a book or write in my journal is Starbucks. It is also one of my favorite places to sit and chat with friends.

Last summer I started this Starbucks album. Since I spend so much time there I have quite a few pictures. It isn't complete - probably never will be.

*the cover*
painted black with a sleeve on the front.

*first page*
oh. I love sleeves or bras as my friends and I call them. Isn't it more fun to say "I want a bra for my coffee" than a sleeve?
Come on. You know it is.

*inside*
photos, "bras" and fun

*another little inside glimpse*

This album is fun because it is filled with my friends, my family, my coffee. It uses scraps - no need to be matchy-matchy.

I like that Archer enjoys Starbucks like I do. He's turned into kind of a coffee snob (ooops!) and definitely prefers Starbucks to other places. When we go places we try to take a picture at Starbucks (send it via phone to Lorinda! she loves it) and print one for the book. We have pictures from Washington D.C., Indiana, Gig Harbor (all exotic locales)...sometimes we forget...the picture you can see above is from our local store. Fun times.

So friends, if we are out and about and a Starbucks comes within my sight you know I'll want to stop (please let me) and get coffee (I'll be a better person for it) and I might take your picture and add you to my book...

Celebrate what you love! Coffee! Starbucks!

“The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover is yourself.” - Alan Alda

December is here. We are fully ensconced in the holiday season. My hope, my goal, my wish is to complete a daily December album and figure my blog could be a vital tool in fulfilling that goal. So, in honor of World Aids Day I went to my neighborhood Starbucks and bought two coffees (one for my sister - I am an awesome sister) and donated a whopping ten cents to Project Red. My favorite Starbucks coffee blend to have at home (besides VIA) is the RED blend.

Happy December friends!

"Set out each day believing in your dreams.
Know without a doubt you were made for amazing things." - Josh Hinds

As Archer set out on his first day of high school I thought of this quote that appeared in my in box awhile ago. Of course I told it to him and he rolled his eyes, but I hope, as I share these thoughts with him, that somehow they will sink in and he will go out there and continue to be the best Archer he can be.

And, because mom was more nervous about his "big" first day than the child, I treated myself to a few cups of love. Pumpkin Spice Latte and Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin - ah, YUM! (coffee cup, muffin cup...therefore cups...yes?)

On the cup it says, "We don't just want to make your drink. We want to make your day." Well Starbucks you have (helped)! Thank you!

Happy Wednesday friends!

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”- John F. Kennedy

Today I am thankful for:

Lorinda - my cousin, my best friend, the "big" sister I never had. We understand each other, we always have fun together, I can talk to her about anything. She gets me. I have known her longer than I can remember - she was two and a half when I was born. What a treasure to have someone who has known me all my life who is not only a relative but a real, true friend. I love this girl!


I am also thankful for Gingersnap Lattes from Starbucks - the replacement for the Gingerbread Latte. It is so incredibly yummy! Anyone who knows me knows that if Starbucks messed up this replacement drink I was going to blow a gasket and I have to say - it is fine, good...wonderful, delicious - so it is ok - go have one! Just a little recommendation - I always get half syrup in my drinks (2 pumps in a grande) and light whip - the drinks are plenty flavorful with half the syrup and everyone deserves a little whipped cream (just get non-fat milk!)....

Let the Holiday Coffee Season begin! Enjoy!

cute Thursday

I thought you may like a few "cute" pictures for this almost-Friday!

Um...CUTE! I found these little witch duckies when I was in Bellevue.
What happens sometimes is when you make orange hot chocolate and you look at the cute ducky sitting there just minding its own business is this. You think "now this ducky wants to swim in my orange hot chocolate" and the ducky says "take my picture." And you do because really if a rubber ducky talked to you you would probably do whatever it said. Which is how this cute picture came to be!
And the little ducky's friends they sometimes get sad because they are too big to go swimming in orange hot chocolate, but mostly they are happy. And when you look at them you are happy because...really...look at those faces!

(tall, standing lamp is my oldest Halloween decoration. He was my mom's and was a fixture at Halloween - my mom's favorite holiday. The pumpkin bucket was mine when I was a child. It still has my name, in my mom's handwriting on the bottom -love that! The mugs are adorable and from Starbucks last year.)

And then...You wake up on a chilly, September morning only to notice a sweet kitty looking longingly at you from outside the back door. You open the door because "oh poor kitty has been outside all night with the big bad nighttime outside scariness" and the kitty runs in eats and curls up on a chair and falls fast asleep. Then your son thinks she is so cute that he tucks her in before he leaves for school with his favorite fuzzy blanket (because she isn't fuzzy enough) and she sleeps and sleeps and sleeps (and has been for the past 3+ hours).
Sleep tight sweet kitten (who isn't a kitten anymore...but she is MY kitten so I can call her kitten if I want especially since she doesn't know her name...whatever!).

a bit of Bellevue

Now that I am well...made a quick and full recovery (thanks for asking!) I thought I would share a few pics that I took last weekend in Bellevue.

This one is from the parking lot of Bellevue Square. The moon was gorgeous. I love Bellevue Square and the surrounding area. I just love to walk around...looking in shops that we don't have way up here in the north! :)
The view from the hotel room was FANTASTIC! Really does it get much better than that? (can you read that sign? blow up the picture make it bigger! Can you guess where I went right after this was taken?)

One of my purchases from Bellevue Square. I am not a big jewelry person. I always have simple earrings on and I basically collect bracelets, which I wear infrequently (but LOVE), and I do wear necklaces on occasion - the simpler the better. Love this one.

That's it for now. I am going to try (TRY) to get back into a better blogging schedule soon. Fall is in the air and I can feel a renewed sense of order in my life (can you feel it? I hope it is real!)...

Have a fun Friday!

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Autumn!

It seems like the beginning of autumn starts at different times for different people. Cheryl looks at the opening of Bellewood Acres as a signal of the upcoming season. My cousin Lorinda sees September 1st on the calendar and it is autumn in her book - out come the decorations and yummy zucchini bread. Others celebrate the solstice on the 21st or count the 22nd as the first "official day."

Me? The beginning of autumn presents itself at one of my favorite hang-outs. Hmmmm....I wonder where that may be. When I see that sign "Pumpkin Spice is Here" my heart does a little leap for joy and I know without a doubt that autumn is around the corner...Just waiting with mild weather (which we have had plenty of actually), changing leaves, pumpkins, lovely scented candles and a change of decor.


I had my first Pumpkin Spice latte (grande, 2 pumps, non-fat, light whip, a little nutmeg please) with my cousin, Lorinda today. Delightful. (And you know what Pumpkin Spice means right? It means that Gingerbread is right around the corner! Yay!)

So, tell me...I would love to know...What signifies autumn to you? A date on the calendar, a trip to an apple orchard, pumpkin bread? Do you have any beginning of autumn traditions? Anything at all you would like to share at the beginning of this new season? Please share.