{m - live happily}

ten on 10, September

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Mon, 30 Sep 2013 01:27:00 +0000

I really don't have the time to be doing this, but tomorrow is the last day of September.
Whoa dude!
Here's what the tenth looked like for me this month...

1. I got to take a two day class on levy rates for work, yay! Farting around with hand-held slow shutter and the fountain in front of the building during a break.

2. Usually I come home for lunch and let the doggie out, but since I was on the other side of town I treated myself to a sandwich & soup at San Francisco Sourdough before the lunch rush hit.

3. Mailed a pile of packages to clients, love getting stuff sent out.

4. Kicked off my shoes, and when I walked back by I noticed the light they were in. Photo session on the floor with my shoes, yes!

5. Loved on this guy....loving on one of my teddy bears on ~~the guest~~ his bed.

6. Things are starting to die back in the yard, these blooms are still hanging on!

7. This is my favorite favorite corner of our yard, at my favorite time of day.

8. Cory is home! Tucker is the greeting crew! We recycle!

9. The beets! Borscht is on the menu :)

10. More farting around with the light at sunset. It's amazing how much the position of the sun changes during this season.

11. aaaand an extra, just since he's so dang handsome! (and that bokeh is yummy!)

currently...

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Mon, 16 Sep 2013 02:47:00 +0000

watching the computer screen, and my eyesight go from f/11 to f/1.8

drinking water, lots of water.

signing up for more and more business; feeling of awesomeness and "holy-crap!" at the same time.

teaching ourselves how to be efficient at running this photography business thing...

wearing tank tops in mid-September, it's been hot around here, kind of ready for some more fall-like weather.

eating whatever we can pull together for dinner, meals haven't been too thought-out lately.

enjoying saying good morning to the dog, who has recently claimed the guest bed (and all the bedding) as his own.

thrilled to see our images printed and in the hands of happy clients.

washing lots of bowls from the batch of tomatoes from the garden Cory canned earlier today.

excited to shoot the wedding we've got coming up next weekend. Pumped!

~~reading~~ thumbing through my magazine subscriptions that pile up since I don't have time to read them.

laughing with clients during sessions is the best.

feeling so grateful that my biggest "problems" are good problems to have.

believing in ourselves.

loving what life is throwing at us right now!

ten on 10, August

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 01:51:00 +0000

Oh, Hello September! You are shaping up to be one of the busiest months, ever!
I suppose I should catch up on August before I get so far behind there's no looking back.
I kind of forgot about the whole ten picture thing on the tenth this month, but the 10th/11th fell on a weekend and since I've always got a camera handy, I was able to find ten images between the two days to make it work.

1. Lightning storms and fires seemed to be the main event for several days. When a storm comes, we chase it down with our tripods.

2. This was one of the loudest storms I think I've ever seen, er heard.

3. Good morning from the garden. The morning after all that rain is the best time to pull weeds. These two were still working on waking up.

4. The morning light is great for taking pictures too! Our veggies were just starting to set on.

5. Tomatoes & cucumbers starting to grow out of control.

6. We dug up half of our taters. I can't even describe how much better a home-grown potato is than store bought...mind blown the first time we grew them three years ago!

7. no caption necessary, love him ♥

8. Lunchtime...grilled chicken wraps with tzatziki made from our cukes, yum! That orange cream soda hit the spot too.

9. My crazy little rose bush going for it's second bloom of the season.

10. Cory harvested some veggies...and grilled the squash to have with dinner.

Aaaand that's it! So un-exciting, it was totally one of those "dog days of summer" weekends, and looking back it was kind of perfect. Onto the craziness of September!

Walking Miles & Miles for Boobies

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Wed, 21 Aug 2013 01:06:00 +0000

My Mom is at it again…training for her fourth annual Susan G Komen walk. 60 miles in 3 days as an effort to fight breast cancer. Last year her little crew traveled to Washington DC to participate, this year they’ll be hitting the streets of Seattle on September 20-21-22 with pretty pink glittery tutus! (this was totally her idea, and she’s just a little bit excited about it!)

No donation is too small and if you’d like to show a little ”support”, head on over to her fundraising page. Proceeds go to fund national research and public health outreach programs. This is a great way to support or remember a friend or family member that has been affected by cancer.

Thank you, thank you!
My mom thanks you!
Your mom/grandmother/sister/daughter/wife/aunts/nieces/all the women in your life thank you!

currently...

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Thu, 08 Aug 2013 02:59:00 +0000

watching the sun sink behind the hills earlier and earlier, summer is getting shorter.

drinking cucumber basil lemonade, sometimes spiked.

signing up for another booth in our local wedding show this winter.

teaching my other half how important it is for me to get a good night of sleep.

wearing cotton dresses after work, everyday.

eating simple & delicious food off our new Weber grill.

enjoying what we can of our busy summer.

thrilled that we might get some of type of harvest from our pathetic garden this season.

washing laundry only on the weekends.

excited to be talking to 2014 brides.

reading feedly.

laughing at our silly little doggie and his crazy antics!

feeling overwhelmed, but like we've totally got things under control.

believing we'll find ourselves the perfect new house + yard.

loving that I have the most awesome life & business partner, he makes my days better ♥

Ten on 10, July

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Tue, 16 Jul 2013 17:00:00 +0000

As I was uploading this months group of ten shots, I realized the theme of this months story is fruit & Tucker.
Starting at the end of the day and working backwards this time, here we go...

1. When it's not windy (as shown), we're loving spending time outside. Don't judge my dead grass...unfortunately we haven't had irrigation water for about a month now so we're using house-water, which means we've cut back on the watering time and it's hard to keep up with these 95-103° days.

2. We circled the block on the way home from Cory's Mom's birthday get-together (notice the party-bandanna!) for an extended car ride...love him! ♥

3. Apricots are here!

4. Tucker helping pick or mean dog-mom? You really can't beat perfectly ripened fruit still warm from the sun, fresh off the tree!

5. Yeah, those peaches were good too! (...and plums, and an early apple!) Yes, I'm totally rubbing it in!

6. I said back in June, that I was pretty excited about my hydrangea this year...here it is!

7. Trying to keep that garden watered! Looking forward for a massive amount of beets!!

8. Work.

9. Spoiled dog on the bed! It was too hot for him to be outside for long when I came home during lunch. He doesn't know yet that he'll be going for a car ride to visit some of his favorite people (and get put in a tree!) Pretty ruff day for the pooch...

10. On the way to work...C makes me a muffin + fruit + coffee to-go every single morning.

That's it for July! Trying to get through some more photos to share what we've been up to this summer (it's been a busy one!)

Cherry Pickin'

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Wed, 03 Jul 2013 05:44:00 +0000

It's been a rough year for cherry farmers in Washington. Lots of rain, and now hot weather which means lots of damage and splitting. Much of the fruit is being left on the trees because it isn't worth the cost and effort of picking and then sorting and packing in the warehouses and be shipped to consumers all over the world.

Despite the damage, the crop is a good one from the weather we had earlier this spring, which makes things even more devastating. Big firm cherries, I don't think I've ever tasted them so good!

Lucky for us, we have access to a prized cherry tree, and I don't really care about a few blemishes and splits...they all taste just the same.

We raced against a big dark rain cloud that was making it's way over us to harvest our small bounty.

Yum! The first stone fruit of the summer...next up are apricots, then peaches & nectarines! We're so lucky (& spoiled) to have all of this almost outside our back door.

Ten on 10, June

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 05:42:00 +0000

Here's my June edition of this monthly project, all pictures taken on the tenth day of the month. I could have told a better story of the day, and I wish I would have included an image of how our garden is growing at the moment, but here goes...

1. Good morning pup! He sleeps on his own bed on the floor beside me, but around 5am he's started this habit of whining and pawing at me to climb under the covers, and I'm a sucker...

2. We shot a wedding on Saturday, and had a family session on Sunday, so we're editing like it's our job - oh, wait...

3. While Cory sat in front of the computer editing, I sat in front of my sewing machine (and it felt so good!) The binding is ready to go on, and I am in love with how this one is turning out!

4. The only picture I took of the yard, but I'm pretty excited about all the hydrangea blooms we'll have this year.

5. Blueberries, fresh from his grandpa Bob's garden. YUM!! (Cherries are ready too!)

6. As if clicking the shutter 2000+ times in the last two days weren't enough, we had our monthly photo club meeting at Ohme Gardens.

7. We were pretty shutter-bugged out, but we played with different techniques, and flash, and grabbed for some lenses each of us don't typically use.

8. ...and practiced patience with my AI-servo button in the wind.

9. If I were a fairy, I'd choose to live here.

10. The sun sunk down, and we headed home (and got to work editing some more photos, and corresponding with clients...and then Tucker woke me up again the next morning...)

Tuesday on the patio...

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 04:30:00 +0000

Relaxing in the sunshine, mid-eighties.

Listening to the trickle of the fountain...and those bleepity-bleep doves!

Enjoying some Cougar gold cheese & Walla Walla wine.

Grilling pork chops & asparagus (man, we so need a bigger charcoal one!)

Wishing I had more time to spend in my garden.

Preparing to shoot a wedding on Saturday!

Lounging in the too-long grass (I bet he'll have it mowed by the time I get home for lunch tomorrow).

And of course, that cute little doggie...I just can't get enough of him! ♥

ten on 10, May

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Sun, 19 May 2013 19:05:00 +0000

Over a week late again...please excuse me, May has been pretty jam-packed so far (and things aren't slowing down at all in June!) This month, the tenth was on a Friday, here's what it looked like...

1. Cory walked into work holding a mason jar filled with peonies for me to enjoy for the day...and I did!

2. you should know that one of the items he loads into his pockets every morning is a pen, and that I have a "check your pockets before throwing them in the hamper" rule...

3. food bag, "to do" bag, dog bag & purse, cooler, clothes, and swimming gear...headed to Chelan for the night.

4. driving driving driving with the whiniest little doggie...he knew where he was going!

5. puppy dog nose prints and dead bugs on the windshield.

6. Lake Chelan ♥

7. Tucker and I paddled, Cory swam between buoys (he's training for a triathlon). Then C & T went out for a paddle, and I noticed how bad I need a pedicure (sandal weather sure snuck up fast this season!)

8. We ate dinner, then built a fire and watched for shooting stars.

9. ...and hand-held one second exposures while throwing flaming sticks (and joked about how much fun this rather nerdy little experiment was).

10. ...and drank wine by the fire using flip flops as coasters...and enjoyed the peacefulness of the lake at the end of an unseasonable warm week.

Tags Popped, Mind Blown

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 02:45:00 +0000

I had started this post at the end of February (yikes!)...about a song that was gaining popularity at the time and back when some people may not have even heard it yet, but now it seems kind of old and you just can't get it out of your head, but I still kind of love it!

Whyyyy Cory was watching the Thrift Shop music video in it's entirety, I still haven't quite figured out, but what he found at the 3:33 minute mark blew my mind! Seattle's Macklemore is in a Bayliner (on Lake Washington?) from Bob Feil Boats & Motors....effing*awesome!

There is a little yellow decal on the window that you would never know what it said unless you knew what the logo looked like. I had Cory bring one of the vinyl decals home for reference...

And here's another shot, from inside the boat...

Too funny! We have no idea where that boat came from or who's it is, just a total coincidence that Cory was clicking around on YouTube while eating his cereal in the morning.

My apologies for the explicit lyrics, but I know you just can't resist that catchy tune...

If you haven't seen the short film of their newest hit, check out that one as well.
A couple of noteworthy things...
-- the dog sledding part in the beginning was shot in Leavenworth, the hour before my mother-in-law went for a ride at the same place!
-- one of the directors is Jason Koenig, who was a couple years ahead of me in high school.
-- That pirate ship is rad!

ten on 10, April

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 05:06:00 +0000

I realized it was the 10th of the month already, and I had ten photos to take and post around 4:30 this afternoon, so not much thought went into the set this month. I grabbed the camera and snapped these when I got home from work. If I were a cheater, I would post ten from the 9th (because yesterday was totally a better day!)...but I'm not, and today was a fine day too!

1. love self portraits...one from the bedroom, and the other with windy hair in the shadow of the dogwood tree (that is going to be looking gorgeous in about a week!)

2. the back yard from the garden...I love this place! (I'm pretty sure the dog does too!)

3. white bleeding heart...I need more of these!

4. hello happy rhubarb!...you made a delicious tart/pastry thing for dessert last Sunday, a lovely topping for vanilla ice cream during the week, and I'm predicting strawberry-rhubarb pie this weekend.

5. oh you pretty little daffodils...I'm enjoying you inside & out!

6. and my african violets are happily blooming on my kitchen windowsill again!

7. banana-nanna-nannas...this pair will be perfect in smoothies Saturday morning
(and since I wasn't feeling super creative behind the camera, they made a decent subject)

8. I've been working on a quilt...it's chevron and all kinds of orange, and it's all for ME!!
(this is the first that I haven't made to gift to a little babe, and I'm a little bit excited about it!)

9. Tucker!!...this is his perch where he waits for Cory to get home from work.

10. ...and then I started on dinner.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 17:42:00 +0000

I have a few more green-themed around the yard pictures to share for St. Patty's Day.
It's so nice that the days are staying lighter longer, hello Spring! Tucker and I have been going outside for a game of chase around the yard when I get home from work. Last Friday I grabbed my camera and captured a little more springtime popping up (along with a little selfy photo shoot with the pup).

♥ him!

Daffodils & chives - wheee, stuff is growing!!

The buds on the dogwood tree are beginning to swell (I love the show this thing puts on in a few weeks!),
and that rhubarb is just-a-growin'!

Froggy, hiding out, enjoying the view.

Lavender & roses, beginning to do their thang.

He eats birdseed. Seriously!

And brings walnuts from the neighbors tree to the back door. Thank you.

It was Friday, and some of Cory's home-brew cider was calling my name.

My little love bug, loves to give kisses. ♥

Ahhh, my favorite "room" in the house!

Looks like we're going to have another one of these beautiful days (hopefully with no wind!) We're headed out there to get a couple things done, along with a little spring cleaning around the house. And of course, corned beef & brussels sprouts (sooo much better than cabbage) for dinner!
Have a lucky day!

ten on 10, March

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 05:01:00 +0000

I'm back with another group of 10 shots from the tenth of the month, March edition.
We took a Sunday drive up Rock Island Grade, ran some stink off the dog, and did a good job dirtying up the truck.

1. he loooves to run! he's so fast!
(love that all four paws are off the ground here)

2. three awesome things about this one...1) I spy greenery on it's way 2) I love the geology around here! 3) this was literally 10 minutes from our driveway, awesome!

3. me thru his lens: 7D, 8-15mm f/4

4. c thru my lens: 5DMKIII, 50mm f/1.2 (*we snapped both of these at the exact same moment)

5. we also had an old 20D converted to IR a long while ago...we blew off some dust and brought it along for fun too

6. somewhere out near Waterville...

7. dirt.ball. before getting a bath.

and a few from around the yard...
8. we are going to be eating strawberry-rhubarb pie in no time!

9. the weather has been so warm and pleasant this week, plants are waking up, and I'm hoping for some hydrangea blooms this season.

10. and my primroses are coming back!...I suppose I should clean them up a bit.

Lake Chelan Winterfest

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 03:25:00 +0000

Since spring is upon us, I figure I'd better get these ice-cold photos posted before more time slips away from me!
I took these during Winterfest in Chelan back in January, while Cory was away for the weekend on a snowmobile trip. I was lacking the motivation I needed to tackle my "things to get done while he's away" list, so I grabbed my camera and went to check it out. Since he was off having fun, I figured I'd have a little too!

There was ice carving (those guys are serious!), a slide made from ice, bonfires on street corners, lots of good food, and plenty of shopping to be had. I would have liked to see the polar bear plunge and fireworks later in the evening, and there were some really great wineries participating in the wine walk...definitely marking our calendar for next year!

As I was driving home, I had to pull over at Chelan Falls to get a good view of the sunset.
I tried to sneak closer to a gaggle of geese, but I spooked them off.
While I was driving up, I couldn't really believe that I was venturing out to do something like this by myself (so random!), but I ended up having a really great time, and it was so much better than procrastinating on my list.

ten on 10, February

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 03:44:00 +0000

I'm a little late getting these posted, but did snap the shutter (at least) ten times back on the tenth of February.
Here's what our day looked like...

1. A lazy morning, soaking up the sun while keeping an eye on the back yard, (such a ruff life!)

2. out running errands together, we stopped for a practice photo shoot at a park, always fun!

3. borrowed a dump trailer from a friend, and used the back-up camera on the truck to hitch up for the first time since it was installed, (sweetness!)

4. bulbs are starting to sprout...you have no idea how happy this makes me!

5. We got a few things cleaned up around the yard, and loaded piles & piles of rock into the dump trailer. It felt so good to get out and get a little dirty!

6. I repotted a house plant that had long outgrew it's old one, hoping it's happy in its new home.

7. One of his favorite things is to get chased around with his blankie...such a goof!

8. Every single one of these rocks has been hand-plucked out of our yard at some point over the last 4 years, and we still have more piles to get rid of! This doesn't even do the pile justice.

9. I love it when you know it's time to go inside when it starts to cool off after the sun goes down. We always seem work until it's dark enough for the sensor light on the patio to come on.

10. ...then come inside to get cleaned up, make dinner, and do some laundry (because it never ends, and we were too busy doing other things all day.)

ten on 10, January

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 07:11:00 +0000

I remembered about this idea for a once-a-month project later in the day while Cory was cooking dinner. As if I don't have enough going on trying to prepare for our first wedding show on Saturday, I picked up the camera and told myself I'd snap 10 photos to post here tonight. I'm going to aim for following through with ten on the 10th of each month.

here's January...

1. he's made dinner every night this week so I can focus on getting projects for the wedding show crossed off the list.

2. "I will put on my cute face and do tricks for cheese!"

3. these blooms brighten my day in the middle of winter.

4. wedding dress hangers, priced and ready for brides to buy! (crossing fingers)

5. our logo, in vinyl, on glass...LOVE!!

6. boxes are packed with all the little details & decorations for the booth.

7. 30 (or so) apple crates that will line the perimeter of our booth (looking forward to getting rid of the pile in my living room).

8. a polaroid from Christmas & more vinyl are a happy new addition to our entryway.

9. week-old flowers from Cory for starting my new job last week.

10. lots of work in the evenings for our little booth this week...trying to keep up with the daily stuff.

2012 Wrap-Up

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 01:06:00 +0000

knock, knock....anybody home?

Just dropping by to blow off some dust, I know it's been a while.
Life seems to have gotten a little bit too busy to sit down at a keyboard every now and then to write about and choose pictures to share. I don't know what my blogging plans will be for 2013, but I thought I would at least make one last appearance before the new year and get everyone up to speed on what the latter part of 2012 looked like for us....

Our garden grew and produced just the perfect amount of produce for us two Farming Feil's.

We did some canning (jam, beets, tomatoes, applesauce), and froze some (hubbard squash, roasted tomatoes) to last us through the winter months until our next bountiful harvest.

We (and when I say "we" I mean Cory) documented how it grew by taking a "Garden Cam" picture almost every single day, between 6 & 7 pm from the exact same spot on a little bracket he built on a stump. I made a time lapse slideshow of all the images from May 20th to October 28th...a little bit boring, but kind of funny to see the weeds growing between the raised beds then all of a sudden they are gone, and the occasional appearance of myself or the dog. It still amazes me that it all starts from tiny little seeds in the spring.

Cory got a brand-spankin-new truck. The 15-year old red "Chevy Rumble" was good to us, but with 250k miles it was getting tired and we were ready for an upgrade.

The "new car smell" didn't last long due to several weeks of smoke from wildfires sparked by pretty amazing lightning storm that burned and burned and burned over here.

The air quality in the Wenatchee Valley rose past unhealthy to hazardous, but our ashy crops had to be harvested...

We were cooped up inside for the nicest weeks of the summer.

Cory ran his first half marathon! He trained and trained, either running or riding his bike all summer long, and he ran the entire 13.1 miles in under two hours without stopping to walk, which was his goal when he first decided to sign up.
Great job Cory, I'm so proud of you!

My dad was our guide on a successful fishing trip on the Puget Sound. We said good morning to the city, watched a beautiful sunrise, listened to breakfast with the Beatles, ate pastries, and reeled them in!

I made another baby quilt for a super special little babe. Each one I make (see: my first, quilt for Kane, & Wise Owl), I love more than the last. They are a lot of work when you sit and look at the finished product, but for some strange reason I love cutting up fabric into tiny little pieces and sewing it all back together again.

We're both still taking a picture every day as a way of documenting the everyday, and as an exercise to sometimes think outside the box and improve our photography. When Cory bought our 8-15mm fisheye lens last year, I told him he had to use it every-single-day for 365 days...and he did, always at 10mm, for 366 days since it was a leap year.

I've been documenting all of the happenings in our lives this year in a Project Life album. I'm thinking of it more as a journal, and a vehicle for getting some of the 1000's of photos we take printed and into some type of album instead of living forever in the computer.

That makes my main focus on pictures (and a place to store memorabilia), which has let me keep things simple. I always include the dates of the week (Monday thru Sunday, so our entire weekends are included in the same week spread), and a little bit of journaling about highlights or happenings of the week. For the most, part I've been able to keep up without feeling too overwhelmed about 52 two-page spreads.

I'm not using the traditional 12x12 format, instead I stocked up on several different 8.5x11 page protectors from Amazon and I just choose the layout I want to use that week. I do plan on continuing with Project Life in 2013!

I lovey-love my 5DMK3, we've gotten to know each other pretty well over the past several months. It feels almost like an extension of my arm. We keep crossing things off our equipment wishlist (awesome!), but there seems to be more stuff adding onto to the bottom of the list.

Our little tiny photography business, f2 Photography is starting to bud!  In addition to little family-ish stuff here and there, we shot a really fun first-annual run/bike race, Lock-n-Load, for some friends in Seattle.

Also, we are getting ready to participate in the NCW Bridal Premiere on January 12th!

Our garage was a brewery for hard cider this fall.  Cory's great uncle Jack had some apples from his orchard pressed at Orondo Cider Works, C added some yeast, and let the fermenting begin. Of course there was more of a science to it, but after several weeks of adding this and that during different stages in the process, we were ready to bottle. After bottling, it had to sit and age for at least a few weeks...I tasted my first sip of the finished product last night, and I thought it was really really delicious!

Tucker!! Tucker is good. He's got quite a personality, and sometimes attitude, and he knows that he's got our hearts wrapped around his little paw...how can they not be?!

Ummm, we took a Christmas card picture! Big news, right?! I wasn't quite sure how I was going to top the Rudolph nose of 2011, but the "Peanuts" idea just kind of came to me one day, (and then a lot of work went into making it happen). ~~Tucker's~~ Snoopy's doghouse prop was built out of wood from old pallets with a platform on the backside. I sewed his scarf, thrifted my blue Lucy dress, ~~Cory's~~ Charlie's green flannel is LLBean and I ordered the hat somewhere online, the little Charlie Brown tree was borrowed, and we hauled a generator up the snowy mountain to power the lights.  My styled shoot turned out exactly as I had visioned and planned! I am now accepting idea submissions for our 2013 card, thank you.

I'm sure there are some gaps, but I think that just about sums up what we've been up to over the past few months I've been absent for.

I'm trying to figure out a better work-flow for all the pictures we take on personal + professional levels, how to document our lives and keep memories, as well as the clients that we interact with...and have it somehow flow through this space to share with everyone (...as well as keeping up with chores around the house, having a little bit of fun every now and then, a new full-time day job).

On January 2 I'll be starting my new job at the Chelan County Treasurer's Office where I'll be able to use a bit more of my accounting smarts. All of a sudden four and a half years have passed with KeyBank (my, how time flies!) and this awesome opportunity came along that I had to snatch up.

I'm in between the two jobs this week, and it's kind of like a Christmas vacation! I'm working hard on crossing things off my long list of to-do's, and getting our booth ready for that wedding show in a couple short weeks, but still making a little time to play. Yesterday we loaded up the snowmobiles and dove up Blewett Pass for our first ride of the year...

We're really excited about what the New Year has in store for us!
Thanks to everyone for staying loyal and checking back in here every now and then.
Happy 2013 to you!

Walking for a Cure

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 23:17:00 +0000

Hello All! I can't believe it was over a month ago already that I was talking about our first harvest of tomatoes. I think I will have a little update in the next several days with what we've been up to over the past few weeks up shortly. In the meantime, if you could please show your support and help my Mom out with her fundraising efforts as she trains and prepares to walk in her third Susan G. Komen 3-Day walk for the cure.

When she isn't walking all over town, tracking her steps & distance with her trusty pedometer, she's quite the fisher-lady!

In 2010 & 2011 she and her team-mate Betsy, trekked all over Seattle training and participating in the 3-Day, in an effort to fight to end breast cancer. This year, they have decided to travel to Washington D.C. October 12th-14th to walk 20 miles each day for three consecutive days! Click here to read more about the event, then head on over to her personal page to make a donation.

Tomater Time!

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 03:55:00 +0000

It seems like we've been waiting forEVER for these beauties. I'm going to have to bake some bread for open-faced sandwiches and get the canner out soon so we can taste summer all the way through the winter.

We Be Busy Busy Busy

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 02:38:00 +0000

The last few weeks have flown by! I feel like I have lots to share, but not much time to sit down and write it out, or go through the pictures to show it. So here's a recap, because (lets be real), I won't get to posting about each of these individually...

Our garden is growing! Mainly the squash patch. We've got hubbards, pumpkins, acorn & spaghetti squash. Something happened to the two zucchini plants and they stopped producing a couple weeks ago. I don't mind not having to think of a different way to eat them every other night, but I really don't want to have to buy them at the grocery store. Tomatoes are ripening quickly, I'm sure I'll be getting my canner out soon. Beets & carrots are making their way onto our dinner plates, we have a steady supply of cucumbers, and I don't think the beans are too far behind.

Tucker also enjoys munching on fresh veggies, and looking cute (as always).

I co-hosted a bachelorette party for Becky, (my cousin's beautiful bride as of this past weekend), at the end of July.

A great group of gals spent the weekend at Lake Chelan, we went wine tasting, and of course there were lots of hand-made details to tie into my nautical theme.

Lindsay & Casey came to visit for a couple days. We did some boating (Casey learned to wake surf!), and we watched the Summer Olympics like they only happen every four years.

We went on an excursion to Cashmere to get out of the house and break in a new camera that Cory surprised me with. Hello, full frame :) I love you!

I chopped off 12 inches of hair for Locks of Love. This is my third time donating, and it feels so good to have it all gone and know that it's going to a good cause.

Cory got the ol' Monte Carlo out of the barn out back, cleaned it up, licensed & insured it, and we showed up at Becky & Aaron's wedding rehearsal in it. It's been kind of fun to cruise around in.

Even more impressive, is the car Cory's Grandpa showed up driving at the shop...a 1929 Franklin. Seriously, this guy doesn't mess around! He's 91 years old, and he tinkered with an 83 year old car long enough to get it running.

Then of course, there was Aaron & Becky's wedding. It took place in the middle of an apple orchard, and it was gorgeous...and 102 degrees! I wasn't really able to lug around a bouquet and a camera, so I left the picture taking to the professionals, and they did a mighty fine job!

I keep thinking things will slow down after [insert name of event here], but the calendar just keeps filling itself up...which is a good thing! I just feel like I've been running on empty for several weeks now, and I need a breather. Oh, and it's been hot. Really, really hot. I think what I really need is a break from the heat, like 10-15 degrees would be great!

I'll quit with my complaining now- I have dinner to make, ice cream to churn, laundry to fold, and the dog wants to play...

Our Back Yard | Number Two Canyon

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 05:28:00 +0000

A couple weekends back, Cory ran a 10K race in Chelan on Saturday morning. He came home and rested for part of the day, then we decided we had to get out of the house and do something. A trip to the gas station and grocery store was better than nothing, so we headed out. As we were driving down the road, I had a craving for a slurpee (it was HOT!), so we pulled into Seven-Eleven, and as we were getting back on the road to the grocery store we got to talking about going for a short drive. Before we knew it, we were driving up Number 2 Canyon Road out of Wenatchee.

We've heard of this road, but just never ventured up it, and this late afternoon seemed like a perfect time to go explore. The road quickly got steep and rocky, but we saw some neat rock formations, and kept climbing the mountain.

Stopped to consult the gazetteer just to make sure we were on the right track, and figure out where we might be coming out at. Always good to know where you're going...or not!

Oh, yeah...and we happened to have a camera with us, we never really leave home without one. Since our little drive was totally on the fly, we didn't go back for other lenses, so we were stuck with the 40mm that was on it, which let us enjoy the drive a little more, and take a little less pictures. But of course we still stopped for a few :)

Also, I wasn't really dressed for a drive up a mountain with pit stops to explore a little bit...but that didn't really stop me either.

The ruts in the road got bigger as we got closer to the top of wherever we were headed.

We finally reached the top, and figured out where we were. This is the view of Blewett Pass from above with the Enchantments way back there.

We snapped a few photos, then thought we'd better get headed back down. Since we left home thinking we were just filling up the gas tank and getting some groceries...we were starting to get hungry and there was a little doggie waiting for us at home.

The road down the other side was a lot nicer than the road we had taken up. Glad we decided to go on this little adventure.

Now we know where Number Two Canyon Road puts you...in Cashmere, where a Rusty burger totally hit the spot since it was getting late, and we never did make it to the grocery store.

So awesome that places like this are basically in our back yard. I think we drove something like 25 miles round trip.

Wise-Owl Quilt

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 04:57:00 +0000

Some good friends of ours, the Wise's, are expecting a little one. I ordered some owl fabric and bought some coordinating solids, cut it all up into little pieces, and sewed it back together. I'm just a little bit in LOVE with how it turned out...

I've been wanting to make an isosceles triangle quilt for a while, so glad I did!

I did double parallel line quilting on the diagonal sides of the triangles which gave a diamond pattern to the minkey fabric I used for the backing.

Also really happy with how the binding turned out. Getting better at mitered corners, and keeping the edges from doing this wonky wavy thing.

Now I only have one queen sized one to ~~finish~~ start & finish, along with a throw for the couch...crazy quilt lady!

Light around the yard

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 04:16:00 +0000

I explore the yard with a camera in hand about once a week, documenting how the garden is growing and what things look as the summer season moves right along. I was inspired by Elise's photo walk post the other day, and her prompt: light. Last night I took my weekly garden photos during that magic hour of the day, this time with light in mind.

All photos were shot between 7:04 & 7:16pm // Canon 7D // 40mm 2.8 // manual @ 100 ISO.

Saturday: a boat, wine, & pizza

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 18:25:00 +0000

We didn't have any big plans yesterday (just the dozen or so projects I've got to get wrapped up in the next couple weeks), so when Cory was asked on the fly to go deliver a boat to Moses Lake, I went along for the ride.

The short drive seemed like a fun little adventure.
I love the fields and fields of farmland, the Quincy corn is growing...

On the way back home, we stopped at the Jones of Washington tasting room. Whenever we drive past this place it's either early in the morning or late at night, so on the way back from our Saturday afternoon drive we had the perfect opportunity to stop and check it out. The place was packed, and the wine was good!

As we drove back home, a big black cloud was moving in, and we got sprinkled on a little.
**we've had the craziest weather around here lately!

Grilled our favorite pizza for dinner. I'll have to share this recipe sometime soon, OMG it's sooo delicious! There was about 15 minutes of silence while we chowed down...

...and enjoyed the sunset, and drank some of the wine we had brought home with us.
The rest of the evening was spent on the patio, throwing the ball for the doggie, and sorting through some of the many many pictures we've taken recently, with lots and lots of citronella candles & bug repellent (because I refused to back down to those little mosquitoes, and let them chase us inside)!

A pretty good Saturday! It seems like we've been so busy with plans lately, it was nice to have a fly by the seat of your pants kind of day. Today, I must get to work on some of those projects though. Happy Sunday!