The Dirty Life.

Currently, I'm reading The Dirty Life. It's a story about a woman who suddenly finds herself uprooting everything she has been her whole life, falling in love with a rustic farmer and starting a farm from scratch with him.

Now, I've found myself, more often then not, totally relating to her, the situations she finds herself in and the path she chooses to take. I'm not exactly on a path like hers, I'm actually following that path in an arcing fashion.

Source.

I was raised more on a farm then not (meaning I did farm-esque chores and had more of a farm life then any other kid I was friends with. I know how to clean out animal pens, identify types of chickens by their egg color and clip wings while I don't know how to play Super Mario, I couldn't name more then two cartoon shows and I wouldn't be able to name all the charms in Lucky Charms). Some of the stories the author tells remind me of times on my parents land, the ridiculous things I've done in the name of 'farming' and what I plan to do with my life.

As much as I've tried to fight the farmers life, it's buried deep inside my soul. I have come to terms with the fact that I will spend the rest of my life somewhere within the vicinity of farming. Lucky girl I am, in my attempts to push myself further into urban life, I've found myself smack dab in the middle of a (really good) relationship with a guy who, at some point, wants to join the over-all wearing, straw hat totin', hoin' kind.

Fresh from my parents garden.

But I must say, reading this book has made me miss Oregon. I was walking to work this morning and I had some crazy deja vu about walking down the garden at my parents house, the familiar crunchy-squelch of the wet, muddy grass covered in half frozen leaves. The dogs running on ahead, occasionally barking at a squirrel who thought it was safe to exit the apple tree. I thought about opening the chicken coop, shooing squawking hens off the nests and carefully putting warm eggs in a tub. 

As I sit here, remembering the feel of the air, the smell of the grass and the sounds surrounding me, I can also imagine the scoffing my parents just be doing right now. It's hard growing up doing different things then all your friends. Of course, when I was 12 the last thing I wanted to do on a Saturday morning was clean out the rabbit run, shovel chicken crap or help stack wood, but as I'm getting older and moving to all these different, mostly more urban places, I miss those days.

The garden after my sister's wedding.

Maybe it's the time of year, with winter coming and the holidays close behind. I think I miss the warmth of the wood stove in my parents' kitchen, the smell of baking bread, the familiar puddles of warmth in bed as the hot water bottle heats the covers. I miss the tinkling of the front gate bell and the twinkle of the lights from the house shining through the holly tree out front. I miss my dog, Chasey, sleeping on her strangely over-stuffed yet too small for her dog bed and the silky soft cat who I swear will probably never die sneaking into the kitchen unnoticed by the dog to curl up on the chair by the wood stove.

It's so weird the things you miss as you get older.

Fall Week: School Supplies

I think we all can agree that our favorite part about going back to school was getting new school supplies. There was something about receiving that school supply list in the mail. I'd pour over it for days before my mom would take us. Picking the right binder was utterly important. 

Lists.

Here are some school supplies that I miss getting every year:

Pencil Box.

I think pencil boxes were one of the most important parts about starting school. The pencil box and the binder really set the tone for back to school. Man, remember when the pencil box became uncool and suddenly the pencil pouch was in? My world was over. 

Love!

New coloring supplies will always make me a happy person. I don't care how old I get. I will always love coloring!

Must Have.

For a long time, I only wanted the 5 Star binder. It was chock full of cool secret compartments, zippers and fun pencil holders. But as I got older, I changed back to the standard three-ring binder...mostly because I could keep things in the sleeves on the cover and totally personalize it! 

Jan Sport.

For a while, my sister had a green Jan Sport backpack and I wanted nothing more than to copy her. But over the years, my taste in backpacks changed...a lot.  From the standard bag, to a fancy bag with tons of different pouches to one shoulder bags. I wonder where all the old backpacks go to die...By college, I was fully into totes bags. But that's standard because you just have to carry so much!

What are you favorite school supplies?

Fall Week: Sweaters

Today I want to talk about my favorite article of Fall clothing: Sweater! I know I posted about sweaters earlier this summer but I think it's okay to bring it back. I know all you ladies (and possibly gentlemen) are excited about sweaters too!

Warm.

The perfect weather for me is sweater weather. It's when it's warm during the day, usually jeans and a tank top fo t-shirt suffice. But once the sun hides behind buildings or clouds, it's time to put a sweater on. These nights, they are Fall.

Sweater Closet.

I think this season I'm most excited that what I consider the "Oregon Hipster" is becoming all the rage. What's the "Oregon Hipster" you may ask? It's the Wellington boot, flannel shirt, bulky sweater, rain coat wearing outfits. Oregon loves it's bulky sweaters. Like these:

Thick Sweaters.

I love the three sweaters around the outside of this picture!

Sweater.

Sweater.

This outfit is perfect for Fall. I would probably change out the tights for leggings or maybe a pattern pair of tights? But the big, bulky sweater, that's my favorite thing about Fall!

Do you like sweaters? What are some of your favorite articles of Fall clothing??

Fall Week: Fall Beverages

Alright, so I kicked off Fall Week with some awesome memories but now it's time to move onto one of my favorite things about fall: Hot Beverages!

Pumpkin...mmmmm

Growing up on the West Coast, Starbucks was the hub of all things Fall for me. I loved going to Starbucks to study or to meet friends. The smells inside were warm and the music was always jazz or holiday tunes. I loved sitting inside and looking out at the bustling world. Memories of Thanksgiving shopping. pumpkins springing up everywhere and seeing kids with their new backpacks come flooding back when I smell a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte. One of my favorite things on this planet. 

Cocoa.

In a close second to the Pumpkin Spice Latte is a warm mug of hot cocoa. Who doesn't like cocoa?! Now, as an adult, I enjoy my cocoa with a little splash of something more adult, like Bailey's or Kahlua. Nothing says Fall like curling up at night with my sweety, a blanket and a cup of cocoa watching the leaves fall off the trees.

English Breakfast Tea.

Second place is a tie. Both cocoa and English Breakfast Tea make the list. While I also love Earl Grey tea, I prefer the taste of English Breakfast the best. It will always remind me of my family, of being home and of being warm. Even when I drink it in the summer, I'm always thinking of family, home and fall.

Hot Apple Cider.

Lastly, hot apple cider makes the list. Honestly, I prefer the smell of apple cider to the flavor but I know a lot of people love this warm beverage so I put it on my list. There's something so soothing about the hot apple taste mixed with cinnamon and sweet. I think it's growing on me.

What Fall beverages didn't make my list? What are your favorites? 

Fall Week: Memories

Summer is winding down. The ice cream trucks are becoming few and far between. The sun leaves the air warm for a while, but once it goes down the air becomes cool. Every night doesn't smell like barbeque anymore, the hot dogs and corn of summer have gone away. It now smells like new pencils and paper.

The end of summer is always bittersweet. By September 1st I'm ready to leave my short shorts behind and cover my legs for the winter. I'm ready to be cold outside and not inside because the AC is on too high (still something I consider a summer crime). I'm ready to drink hot beverages without sweating. I'm ready for holiday decorating, holiday parties and all the perks that come with the holiday season.

My sister, my mom, my dad and myself.
End of the summer swimming at
 Kah-Nee-Tah Indian
Reservation.

Fall also brings back memories of school. Not just the blissful faux-adulthood of college, but of high school, middle school and even elementary school, however the memories are becoming few and far between these days. Fall always brought a budding social life, new challenges and, even better, new things. The smell of new text books, the noisy buzz of classrooms, the crumpling of paper and exchanging of favorite reading material.

The days of Fall I miss start back when I was little. Back when my sister and I went to the same school. Holcomb Elementary, which was located literally around the bend from our house yet we never walked to school, held my whole world. Each fall came the early hours, the grumpy breakfasts and the ever loved waiting for the school bus. 

My sister and I with our chickens.
Spring brought chicks, fall brought fresh eggs!

Each morning my sister and I would stand at the front corner of the porch which overlooked our road. We could see the bus as it stopped to turn onto our street. In this moment we would run out the gate and line up at the road. My mom always watched from the front door, usually hiding enough to not be seen because it was early and "she didn't have her eyebrows on." These morning are my favorite early memory. In my memories, it was chilly, foggy even. We could see our breath on the air. On the mornings closer to Thanksgiving and Christmas, we would sing. Do you remember the old Fred Meyer commercials? Home again for the holidays, my favorite time of year, yes, it's so nice to come home. My sister and I would spend the few minutes standing together on the porch to sing that song. Fall, to me, are these mornings.

My sister, me and my Grandma (Always in her best furs)

What fall memories do you have?