The other day I was walking my neighborhood and there was  a bush full of fresh blackberries, ripe for the pickin’.   Here in WA blackberries are like weeds, so most people pass them by.  Being a CA girl, I can’t.  I picked my handful, so I didn’t totally have to embarrass myself by filling up my shirt and walked home.  On the way home I was planning all I could make with my bounty…scones, pies, tarts, crisps and then I came to a cool refreshing smoothie.  Was going for some instant gratification.

Out came the blender and I had myself a refreshing drink, while I got ready to go out with friends.  Now, I was just browsing my closet and set my drink down, while I was selecting an outfit. Here is the thing about my closet, I have curtains hiding everything, so when I pulled out my dress the curtains knocked the smoothie.  Down came the smoothie all over my curtains(white ones) and all of my clothes…on top of already being late, I now had to soak my curtains and my clothes in the tub!!!  Moral of the story…don’t get too proud when you live off the land, you will be knocked down and humbled!!!

So it has been awhile…sorry:(  Didn’t think it would be such an emotional and physical journey to move myself to Seattle.  In the past months I have moved out of my storage unit, moved my stuff in a horse trailer to downtown Seattle (lots of stares on that one), refinished every piece of new furniture(i.e. thrift shop/craigslist finds), sorted through all my worldly belongings that have been in storage for 16 months and much much more.  The journey…

Blessing #1 in the move..they were going to refinish the pavement on the day I was going to pack up my storage unit but because it looked like it was going to rain(really?!?! there was probably a cloud or 2 in the sky) they postponed the repaving, so the moving process could begin…guess the blessing before this all was that my dad could come down and move me:)

Here we are Beverly Hillbillies style (one of my favorite garage sale finds is holding us all together…iron head board for $15)

I took all my “precious” cargo up to WA myself.  Couldn’t let my 6 lampshades out of my sight or my huge sailboat painting!  All lampshades made it safely and unharmed.

My succulent garden got exiled to the trunk, which didn’t prevent the bugs from crawling up to the front seat.  Had a life flashing before my eyes experience in the rain in San Francisco as a spider decided to crawl across my windshield…almost crashed the car…still don’t like to think about it.  If it wasn’t so dangerous, I would have taken a picture.

Well after a couple weeks of crashing at a very generous friend’s house(and her great fiance!) I was able to find a home for little teal suitcase.  My mom decided to treat me to this dreamy beachy blue, so we got in before moving day and painted away.  I did decide on this color after trying to mix my mom’s leftover paints…ended up with 5 gallons of puke green…long long story but had to dry it out in a massive plastic tube for 3 weeks in my kitchen…so fun.

Before the madness ensued…

Trying to organize my life into piles…I swear some of it went to goodwill…

Kitchen it the middle of the painting process…think I see my my make-up brushes that I decide to clean in the middle of all this…smart.

Now I only show you this(truly this is bearing my design soul) so you can be inspired to take a crazy space and make harmony because living in this was driving me insane!

I don’t recommend refinishing/painting every piece of furniture in a 435sqft apartment…thankfully the paint stayed on the drop cloth…security deposit still intact;)  Enjoy my humble befores and look forward to the big reveal!

Related posts:

1. Moving on…
2. One Year Anniversary!

Those of you who know me, know that I am a sucker for lemonade.  If a restaurant lists “fresh lemonade” I have to try it or if I see a lemonade stand I have to stop.  I can’t stay away! I remember on my road trip making a u-turn in Richmond, VA to support some young entrepreneurs…boys with freckles, so cute!  It may have only been Crystal Light but it was still refreshing on a hot humid southern day.  They know humid in the South!

This version of lemonade, I invented the other day while visiting my dad and we decided to clear out the fridge and finish the 3 different types of salsa we had leftover from a party.  Those salsas deserve their own blog entry…so good…salsa, another weakness!  Anyways, this is a combo of strawberry lemonade and limeade with some sparkling water thrown in…since I am obsessed with sparkling water at the moment.  Please adjust to your own preference of sweetness:)

Springtime Strawberry Lime-Lemonade

by Lana Morisoli

Ingredients

• 10 Strawberries
• 3 Lemons
• 1 Lime
• 2/3 cup sugar with 2/3 cup of water
• 3 cups of water
• 1 bottle of Pellegrino

Directions

1. Put the 2/3 cup of sugar and 2/3 cup of water in a microwaveable bowl and microwave for about a minute.  You want the sugar to fully dissolve in the water.  Once that is done you can add a couple ice cubes to cool it down and place in the fridge until you need it.
2. Juice the lemons and lime.  Take the juice of the lemons and limes and blend it in a blender with the strawberries.  If there isn’t enough liquid, you can add a little bit of water to help it along.
3. Now it is time to add it all together.  Take a large pitcher and add your sugar water, juice blend, 3 cups of cold water and a bottle of Pellegrino.
4. Add some ice to some glasses and enjoy with your friends! Preferably outside under a flowering tree:)

Now I know you all that live in the land of clean air don’t think seeing a mountain range is unusual but in Southern California it is a rare occasion, so I had to take a pic.  Plus the hills are green, which is really unusual…tomorrow they could be golden.  Of course this picturesque moment was captured while sitting in rush hour traffic.  Perfect way to start off a 17 hour drive.  Though, I was treated to In-n-Out after we got out of it, so it was worth it.  My taste buds have been dreaming of that meal, since I pointed my car south.

I volunteered to take the 10pm to 2am shift of driving, which included driving though the first mountain pass with snow flurries.  Once I was done, I crawled in the back seat and awoke 4 hours later to a snow covered Colorado.  A little different than my last trip here.  By the time we reached downtown Denver the little bit of snow was all melted…at least we got it for a moment.

Of course, I was able to find the Rocky Mountain Design Center on the road…these places just seem to follow me.  Couldn’t stop but there was an antique store across the street, so I was tempted!

Heading towards the Rocky’s today for a road trip with some friends.  They are wanting to move there, so I figured I would impart my vast knowledge of Colorado(one trip) on them and tag along for the ride.  Really, they just wanted an extra driver but I will tell myself that they really wanted my company and stellar road tripping skills!

Can’t wait to see what the area  looks like in April!  Was there in June last year, so it was just getting green.  Also I am dreaming of this amazing kitchen store in Boulder…and all the amazing food…again always thinking about my next meal!

Related posts:

1. 1000+ miles in the night

Well purple was the color of the week…saw it everywhere.  Started when I got the photos from the last wedding that I worked on.  This bouquet is one of my favorites.  Love the organic arrangement with all the combination of textures.  Always amazed with how the photographer can capture the day.  Jealous of those skills.  Have to shout out a thanks to Christopher Wren for making it all look so good!  Check out my portfolio for all the photos…these are just my favorites:)

How cute are Tirtzah and Santiago! Love how clean the white tie looks on the white shirt…classy:)

Tirtzah had this great concept photo with branches draped with crystals and large globes.  What was great about these arrangements, was that we were able to transport them to the reception site and get double use out of them.  So romantic looking…this girl loved anything that sparkled!

To highlight Tirtzah’s favorite dessert, I made a flower cake for her…completely made out of real flowers!!

Of course, I was captured in the moment cutting the cake for the guests.  Thank goodness, you couldn’t see the stress on my face…gotta keep calm:)

The next purple moment was from my trip to a garden show in the UVillage.  I have been wanting to participate in one of those organic co-op farms and Full Circle Farm brought some produce to show-off at the show.  The purple kale was speaking to me…cook me, cook me.  When I finally have an address, I am signing up for this beautiful produce to be delivered to my door.  Can’t wait!

Purple was the color theme of the breakfast I attend this week for Washington Women’s Employment Education organization.  I expressed an interest in getting involved in an organization up here and one of my business group colleagues invited me to a breakfast about WWEE.  I have to say I was dragging when I had to get up early to make the breakfast but saw the most amazing purple sunrise over the Cascades on my drive and it was all worth it.  Little did I know how inspired I would be by the stories of the women, who change their lives through the training they received from WWEE.  Can’t wait to see how I can get involved with the work they are doing!

Then I was walking the dogs I am dog sitting and found a purple egg.  The building I am staying in must have an Easter egg hunt going on because once I found my purple egg(filled with Nerd’s…I had to look) they were everywhere…very hard to miss.  Made me remember the days of searching for eggs with all my cousins…our parents made it soooo difficult to find the eggs but there was sometimes cash in them, so it was worth the hunt.  I have a lot of money hungry cousins:)  Makes me want to get a cute dress for Easter…might have to be purple!  Happy weekend!

So I started writing this post about where I want to be this weekend, which is Austin, TX for the South by Southwest Music Festival and my sister, who is just about to graduate WSU, is texting me.  I tell her that I am working on a blog about Austin and she is like, “Who is Austin?”…like I am dating a new guy and haven’t told her about him.  Had to inform her it was actually a place not a person, scared that she might be moving to NYC in a couple months.  Don’t know if she will survive with geography skills like that…jk.

Back to my desire to be in Austin, TX.  Had BBQ last weekend and it brought me back to listening to live music in Austin while eating ribs.  Not a bad way to spend a Sunday.  For the last week Austin has been flooded with music lovers checking out the 2,000 bands that are featured in South by Southwest.  Pretty much wherever you can fit a stage, there is someone playing their tunes.  A music lovers paradise and a bbq lover, which I am.  The people watching must be amazing.  Tonight, Broken Bells, who have my new favorite song, The High Road, are playing at Lustre Pearl.  If I leave right now, I could make it but unfortunately I don’t have an extra $1800 to drop on a last minute ticket:(

Also my lodging option, girlfriend Gina, has moved to Antarctica for the year…yes I said Antarctica.  She is the true adventure traveler.  When all is said and done she will have been living there for 14 months…crazy woman!  I think I might have to add Antarctica to my bucket list…though I probably am not tough enough to get accepted.  Do you think they have down pillows down there?

I guess I will have to stay in Seattle this weekend and enjoy the sunshine here.  Going to listen to some live music tonight, so I will have a beer while I am there and dream that I am actually in Austin.  Maybe next year I can go with my sister, who thinks Austin is a boy.

BTW: Coffee featured above is Jo’s, which has the most amazing Ice Coffee…must stop on your trip to Austin.  Also Hey Cupcake is right across the street, so you might as well go there too!

Related posts:

1. Catching Up: Out of the South and into the Land of the Yankees
2. Sights: Bean in chicago

Clockwise {Green Leaves, Annapolis, MD; Painted Chair, High Point, NC; Fern, Costa Rica; Stone Statue, Costa Rica; Chartreuse Flowers and Gifts, Philadelphia, PA; Green Door, Richmond, VA}

A little bit of my favorite green photos from my trip in honor of Saint Patty’s Day!!  Love being a redhead on this day!

Well I can’t believe that this day has come but I have officially been on the road for a year now…can you say crazy!!!!  I wouldn’t have thought when I was packing up my room in Newport Beach, CA that I would be living with those same clothes for a year.  If I had, I might have packed more and I would have probably left my sewing machine home for the first leg.  Don’t even want to think how much gas I wasted by carting that sewing machine around 12,000 miles.  Too much math for me!  It is funny for a girl that loves her things (I mean I am in the business of furnishings), how much I have really enjoyed the freedom of traveling so light.  It has helped that I have a storage unit to dump off all my “can’t live without” items that I found on this journey or friends that will take in my finds until I have a home.  Right now a huge sailboat painting that I couldn’t live without ($17, you couldn’t even buy the frame for that) has found a home in a good friend’s master bedroom.  They don’t seem so keen on giving it back to me but they might have to sooner than later.

It seems that with anniversaries, you reflect on where you have been and where you want to go next.  If I had tried to plan this year, it could have never turned out the way it did.  I really learned that it pays to be flexible and just go where the opportunity opens up.  A very hard lesson to learn when you are a planner.  One of the biggest surprises of this year, is that my traveling adventures all around the world to find the next place to live, lead me back to Seattle to be near my family.  For someone who rarely gets homesick, I don’t understand where this desire came from (my dad’s guilt trips might have sunk in) but I am here and taking on all that the Pacific Northwest has to offer(there is more than just rain).  Now that I am stationary, I will be able to share all finds from my travels, the places and shops you must visit, the food you won’t be able to pass up and how life is going in Seattle.  Before I begin all that, I will share a collection of some of my favorite pics from this year…don’t be jealous:)

So I have just been in town long enough to have dental surgery(lots of fun) and do a load of laundry.  Not wanting to plant my feet too long, I am now on my way to tour the west coast.  I have to hit 2 weddings, 1 bachelorette party, 1 high reunion and all family that lives along the way in a month.  I am ready to put some more miles on my car and all my audio books are ready to go.

The view from our safari lodge.  Felt like we were living out Swiss Family Robinson.  Sunsets were gorgeous and the lightning was like nothing I have ever seen.

The cloud forest.  Need I say more.

The vegetation was amazing and some of it almost looked alien like.  These colors are straight out of fabric books I use.  I know where their inspiration came from now.

There were bugs everywhere.  Everywhere.  My new perfume was “OFF” and I have a story about a frog and my hair but I am still getting over the trauma, so I will wait to share.  Here is one crawler I was able to capture(no caterpillars were harmed in this photo).

Went to a restaurant that was designed around an airplane that went down during some resistance that the USA assisted in…details are foggy but loved the floor of the aircraft.  Would love to design a metal door with this pattern.

Being the foodie that I am, I couldn’t pass up the spice tour.  With my collection of vanilla beans and cinnamon, I am a happy girl now.  This is part of a cinnamon tree where they have scraped off the bark to make cinnamon.  Love nature!

Related posts:

1. Long road out of California: San Francisco
2. Long road out of California: San Luis Obispo
3. Out of CA: Vegas here I come