This weekend:

--RT's art show

--Snow day

Home

Finally home after 14 days, three cities, two continents.  Fun trip but it feels delightful to lay on my couch and hang out with my animals.

Summer so far

Highlights:

• Eating so much watermelon, and delicious cherries
• Movies on rainy nights
• Lightning storms
• Tie dye projects
• Hanging out by the creek with friends
• Walking to the coffee shop for chats
• Pool time
• Lots of reading

Lowlights:

• People leaving
• Car problems
• Job/money/life stress

Housekeeping

I love looking through sites like this to see what's been archived and is available for viewing on the ol' internet.  Found this one today--despite the intriguing title, I can't even quite figure out what it's about.  Home economics, I think?  Like, housekeeping and stuff?

A Few Things

Feeling these things these days:

• This article
• Mountain living
• Healing herbs (getting way into the hippie shit here, I know)
• Projects around the house--kinda wanna try canning and making my own cleaning products
• Reading...just finished this (love Margaret Atwood)

Back to Basics

With the help of this trusty book, here's a few things I'm planning on doing this summer:

• Cut back on unnecessary expenditures, especially clothes
• Related, pare down to an essential wardrobe that includes only things I always want to wear
• Sit in the grass
• Read lots of books, slowly
• Go swimming (a pool will do, but a lake or a river would be fun)
• Learn about goat husbandry--I want a goat!
• Eat good food that's good for me
• Get creative--I'm thinking sewing, dying clothes, making terrariums, etc.

Cabin fever

Photo by Andy Liffner

Photo by Tom Bies

Photo by David Gagnebin-de Bons and Benoit Pointet / DGBI

All photos from Dwell.

Strut

I'm trying really hard to feel like this today (from Kids in the Hall, of course).

On my list

To go: Lapland, from the Life archives

To buy: the perfect sandals, from JCrew

To sew: Cynthia Rowley pattern, from Simplicity

Cocktails

I like a good cocktail, and I even have a pretty good bar set up at home (shaker, decanters, etc).  The only problem is that I never actually have any booze around with which to make said cocktails.  I'm going to try to remedy that, starting with the Savoy cocktail book and this recipe:

Dubonnet Cocktail (from here)

1 oz. Dubonnet Rouge

1 oz. Dry Gin

1 dash orange bitters

Combine in ice shaker; shake. Strain into martini glass and garnish with twist of lemon.

Collection #1

I've been picking up old books at thrift stores over the years.  Here are two of my favorites.