Lazy weekend

I have enjoyed a super lazy weekend. Yesterday, Ben and I lounged around in the soaking pool at Kennedy School, then went out for drinks and dinner. Today, Ben has been feeling a bit under the weather (he has a mild cold, but to hear him tell it, he is extremely sick with the flu), so aside from yoga class and a trip to the grocery store, I have been hanging out at home today. It has been nice to have a couple of low-key days.

Here are a few pictures from the last week or two that put a smile on my face:

These tights were a Christmas gift from my sister-in-law. Aren't they great?

Chai tea in my favorite mug

One of my Valentine's day gifts from my guy:)

Instagram: Chinese Garden

I visited the Lan Su Chinese Garden today. This lovely place (said to be the most authentic Chinese garden outside of China) is right in the middle of the city. In the 7 years I have lived here in Portland, I had never visited the garden, until today. I heard that they were offering free admission this week to celebrate the new year, so I decided it was time to check it out. This ended up being a great way to spend my morning. I took my time meandering through the garden, taking lots of photos (mostly on film), and then enjoyed some delicious jasmine pearl tea in the teahouse. I really appreciate places like this, where you can find a bit of peace and serenity in the midst of a busy city.

The inscriptions above the entryway say "read the painting" and "listing to the fragrance". They explain that this is to "remind us to look for meanings and use our senses in new ways."

I hope you find something beautiful to relish this weekend!

ps - this is what I came home to:

It seems that Kya (one of our dogs) was pissed that I wouldn't let her go with me, so she spent her time knocking over the laundry hamper and piling up all of my clothes on the floor. She can be so spiteful sometimes!

Instagram: Happy Holidays!

I hope you all had a wonderful day! Merry Christmas!

The most adorable wrapping paper around:)

Kaitlyn (my "little sister" through Big Brothers/Big Sisters) and I decorated this gingerbread man last week. She had so much fun!

Cheers!

Follow me on instagram (kristin_fm)!

Instagram: shoes!!! (and an APB)

One of my friends is looking for the Two Wheeler Shirtdress in a size 12. If you have any leads or have one you are willing to sell, please please please email me (lovelyapidae@gmail.com). Thank you!

Here are a few instagram shoe shots from the past week or so. Follow me on instagram (username = kristin_fm)!

I hope your first day of December was wonderful!

Instagram: happy hour, pumpkins, and a vet visit

I am getting so excited about the Anthropologie sale this week (check out Effortless Anthropologie for more info)! I despise black friday shopping (can't stand the hype/craziness/crowds), but I am actually planning on making it to my local store first thing friday morning. I will be there when they open, hope that I find a few things to make it worthwhile, then quickly head back home to go back to bed!

Here are a few of my instagram photos from the past week or so. If you use instagram, follow me (kristin_fm)!!!

We decided to check out a new place in our neighborhood called The Old Gold. We went there for happy hour. The beer was good, but I wasn't super impressed overall.

On another evening, we decided to have happy hour at home! I found this book at anthropologie - we have discovered quite a few really great drinks, thanks to this book.

Not too long after these pictures were taken, we had some delicious pumpkin pie to devour:)

Sweet Zander hanging out at the vet's office. It was time for his annual exam and vaccinations. He looks pretty calm in this photo, but in reality, he was anything but calm. He gets SO anxious and worked up when he has to go to the vet. It was a rough day day for him (he was abused at his last home, and as a result, he is anxious and gets really bent out of shape over vet visits and such). He is lounging on the couch right now, dozing and snuggling with Ben, so I think he has fully recovered from his appointment:)

An OOTD from last week.

Ben and I spent a good part of the weekend painting. We are re-doing our bathroom. Next weekends project = new tile floor!

Instagram: dinner date, tuileries, and fall

UPDATE: After getting a few complaints that people were not able to comment on my posts, I have decided to switch over to Disqus (from IntenseDebate). Here's hoping the problem is fixed! If you have any advice/suggestions about this kind of thing (technical problems with commenting systems), please let me know. If you have problems commenting, please email me (lovelyapidea@gmail.com). Thanks!

Here are a few of my instagram photos from the past week or so:

Ben and I went out to Andina for dinner recently. They have the best cocktails! My favorite is the Sacsayhuman (habanero pepper vodka shaken with pureed passionfruit and cane sugar,
served up with a sugar rim and a cilantro leaf garnish). It is perfection!

We get the grilled octopus every time we visit Andina. It is delicious!

Since we were celebrating our 2-week anniversary, we had to get dessert:) This is the mousse de valle y selva.

Oh how I love fall.

I spent hours making this pull-apart pumpkin bread. Yep, it was worth it.

Shoes make me happy!

My OOTD from today. I saw this dress/cardi combo when the dress first came out (on Molly, I believe). I've had it in my head ever since. Today was the day to make it happen!

Instagram

I am still getting my wedding pictures together. We've had some camera/picture issues to deal with - my film camera malfunctioned, so the 3 rolls of film I took were totally blank, the person that took pictures with my digital camera during the ceremony did not really know how to use it, so most of those pictures are blurry, and the person that was assigned to be our "photographer" for the night also had a camera problems. So, I'm still rounding up pictures that other people took, editing the ones that we do have, and trying to get a decent little collection together.

Part of me wishes we had hired a professional photographer, but I have to remind myself that that is not what we wanted. I am not a fan of spending hours standing around posing with various family members and different combinations of people, while everyone else enjoys the event. I wanted to be there experiencing the wedding/party, not posing for awkward pictures the whole time (I do realize that there are many wonderful photographers out there that take beautiful, non-awkward wedding photos, but that option wasn't readily available to us in this tiny NC town). So, all of that to say that I will have more wedding pictures to show you very soon!!!

In other news, I am loving instagram right now (instagram is an iphone app that allows you to edit and share photos - it's way more fun than its sounds:). If you enjoy instagram too, follow me! You can find me by searching for my username, kristin_fm. For those of you who don't follow me, I thought it would be fun to show off some of my instagram photos from the past week. I may make this a weekly (or biweekly) feature.

We visited the pumpkin patch last weekend with friends. I LOVE going to the pumpkin patch!

I never leave the pumpkin patch without a caramel apple:)

An OOTD from last Sunday




I've been spending lots of time with these lovelies in the past for weeks



On my morning coffee run one day this week

Pumpkin ale! Ben and I went out for lunch/beers last Saturday to celebrate out 1 week anniversary.