things we have, things we don't.

haves :

+  a new house that does NOT smell of moldy basement
+  a pantry that holds all of our kitchen stuffs (a feat, you should know)
+  one possibly broken nose
+  the biggest brightest bedroom painted the loveliest of light blues

have nots :

-  the mother fucking internet.  and it is KILLING me.

places to go.

sometimes when things get crazy i just want to drop it all and travel.  to china, brazil and mt.everest ... or you know, to wherever.  and with that we dive into the actual move, none of this a few boxes every trip stuff.  internet turns off in the old house and on in the new (fingers crossed at least) TOMORROW, so hopefully our bed and my press will there by then.

{images from national geographic found via pintrest}

knitting.

with really giant needles and chunky yarn. 

{images here via a merry mishap}

the move = the yard sale.

because apparently we did NOT get rid of enough stuff when we scaled down for the 500 sq ft nest.  we are all set* for our yard sale tomorrow.  it's supposed to be as warm as 52 out there.  we'll have hot chocolate.


now, i'm off to plaster this little town with posters ....


* if all set means we have a pile of clothes but haven't even gone through any of the other rooms - including the attic - then yea, we're all set.


it sleeted, we gave up before we had even started, and stayed in bed.  now we have to find place to take this stuff.  because we are not moving it. 

sparkle face.

for the holidays.

{from ren rox via abundance}

the move.

we're moving! again! erm, yay?! it's just down the street and around the corner ... into a *maybe* ridiculously large, recently restored, very old home.  i'm not sure how i feel about the largeness of it all, but i'm in love with these things :

+  it won't leave the musky odor of mold on everything we own.

+  on the second floor there is the most amazing bathroom (original sink/tub/toilet set, complete with black and white tile from way back when).

+  my office is quadrupling in size.

+  we are chucking our ikea malm bed (you served us well, and lasted three moves, but that paint job i gave you really cheapened/ruined you) and are replacing it with the fancy sleigh bed we found in mas' parent's basement after they moved from avl.  you should know i am also planning on sanding the sleigh bed and staining it black ... which might be cause for some concern due to my past experiences, but i'm much older and more mature now.  plus it's made of ACTUAL wood and i would use sandpaper and real wood stain, not floor paint.

+  our washer and dryer will now perform magic tricks (i LOVE a nice washer and dryer).

+  knowing that the day after we move everything in and paint the walls, we will get a phone call letting us know that we are moving to japan - this summer.

+  also knowing that it is very nearly too late to receive such a call, landing us in the new house for a whole year, and then freeing us up to live wherever in the world we want ... which might be japan, but more likely somewhere like, um, say .... california?

+  walking the half block to our most favorite restaurant ... as opposed to walking three.

+  not having to worry that our landlords (not so) secretly hate us for not purchasing this house.

and then there will be the things that i will miss, as with all houses that become homes :

-  our insanely large fenced in side yard and our insanely large not fenced in backyard (frances will miss the fence the most, or maybe it will be us, at midnight, in the rain, when we can just throw her out the door anymore).

-  being 15 seconds from the public library.

-  the weird eight inch gap between the bottom of our bedroom door and the floor.

-  the attic, that allows us to store all sorts of things we DO NOT need.  it certainly is easy to just leave them alone and not have to see them ever.

{image found on abandunce due to following a link from color collective}

joining forces.

over the weekend mas came up with (what i think is) THE BEST IDEA EVER.  he wanted to, and actually started blogging over at the {not so} urban foodie.  i think he might be using this writing for what is now a joint blog, mostly as a motivational technique.  you know, since i've not exactly been on top of that shit.  though it doesn't matter, i'm happy to take him as my co-author (obvi), and am actually pretty pumped for him to offer up a different view on the food we eat, because honestly the two of us approach things from completely different directions.  for example he would never break down into tears while trying to plan a menu and i would not be happy eating pasta every night.

so, that's it, a hopeful new life for that nearly dead fish of a blog that is the {not so} urban foodie.  i can't wait ... it's gonna be FUN.

come darkness.

i'm in love.  head over heels in LOVE with these scarves by MAV.  i wish i could somehow convince my brother, who lives in portland, to love them as much as i do and go and VISIT them.

honestly i'd thought i would never get another.

but here i am, lusting, again, and for a while.  mas *might* even be considering.

{amazing brush strokey tattoos by amanda wachob}

winter.

over the weekend, there was snow, for about five minutes.  and then, it turned into sleet, stopping altogether the next morning. and the sun came out.  but it did not warm up.  and now we are bundled in flannel sheets at night and winter coats during the day.

mas has a surprise day off today, so we are starting a joint project that has nothing to do with packing our shit and moving three blocks away.

{image}

drusy.

i used to have a ring like this. that was, until, i left it on a sink while washing my hands and walked away for a second.

{ring from dollybird}

flags.

i'm not what you would call a flag lover, so the fact that i've been thinking about these for the past week or so, says something.  something like i would really, REALLY, like that american flag hanging in our house.

{flags by michael leon}

business card, part two. (the better part)

nice of me to milk this one business card into two postings, don't ya think?  anyway check out the back.  it's a qr code, and my latest obsession.  i've been pressing these in different colors to see what works and what doesn't (maybe that will be the third post in a series of what should have only been one).  anyway if you people out there with iphones don't yet have quiqr, i would recommend it.  i mean, i'm littering the world with enough of these business cards* to justify the download ... and maybe even purchase of the iphone.

*i've actually used a qr code for more than just myself ... a few other techy boys actually.  girls you need some qr code love too!

five years.

i've had the exact same business cards for FIVE years.  it was time for a change ... in fact it's very nearly time for more than just a business card change.  next up the website, which will be fun, or hell, i can't quite decide.

alaska.

mas has never been, but i have.  and while i think we are tied at 46 states a piece, i might be able to convince myself that booking a trip for this summer might not be a bad idea, you know as long as we swing through south dakota* ...


{images by christopher baker for martha stewart living}


* one of my four states not visited ... which sucks because WHEN ARE WE GOING TO GO TO SOUTH DAKOTA?! the other three we share ... and they are: oklahoma, arkansas and rhode island.  although now that i think about it, maybe mas hasn't been to idaho either?!  oh i might be on to something here.

cevd plus a heart.

that would make it 5 rings.  would that be too much?

{from catbird via daily candy}

fall into winter.

since it stays decently warm where we are these days (i.e nothing really below 32) i have a feeling that i'll continue to live in the same five items i've been living in for the past month ... only maybe add a coat?

{1. j.crew cardigan  2.  steven alan button down  3.  j.crew toothpick cord  4. smartwool socks (seriously there are NO BETTER)  5.  clarks wallabee - beeswax  oh and i found the coat on esb's pinterest, it is awesome, no?}

pinterest.

where just about everything i've found on the internet has been hiding for the past few weeks.  OBSESSED.

two things.

for me, for winter.

{l.l. bean signature boot, sandra juto wrist worms}

the food, it's moving.

because i started a stupid food blog about 8 months ago and left it floundering while turning ppp into just that.  not the case anymore, the food stays in it's place from now on ... at least mostly.

{image from marina ekroos via i love widfox}

weekend.

i think we are going to make peanut butter cups and chocolate chip cookies tomorrow morning.  then who knows what, but i'm thinking it might involved flannel shirts and the outdoors. 

{image}

backpack.

by makr.  and while i'm at it, can i have the ipad case too?

office supplies.

i wish i had not come across this little shop.  you see we, are moving in just a bit more than a month and my office is being upgraded from it's 5x7 nook to a complete room with space for tables and desks and the press.  which means, obviously, more room for stuff.  but you see, i don't need more stuff, or do i?  i definitely don't need any more washi tape, definitely ... right?

{terrier, tape, dispensers}

i've found my cape.

and honestly, i didn't even know i was looking for one.

here

it was crazy.

my mom and i headed north for a quick girls weekend.  we went to dc and attempted the rally to restore sanity/fear.  but, neither of us are too fond of crowds, and we left after standing in line for t-shirts and spending about an hour staking out our territory and being smushed out of it.  there were just too many people and there was an incident involving a bathroom break that resulted in the two of us scraping along strangers giving us dirty looks for a good 20 minutes - separately.  yes, we should have known better, and yes we left before it started.  we went straight to good stuff eatery and soothed our frayed nerves with cheeseburgers and french fries (what else would you expect?).  but dc was wonderful and it was fun to take a road trip with my mom, because the last time we did that i was 14.

chicago.

i'm going to say that being back on the east coast is good for a couple of reasons, but so far one of the best is being so close to chicago.  we've been back twice in the past three months (three times in the past year) and with those two trips we've spent about two month's rent on food - which was obviously  so. completely. WORTH IT.

this time it was the publican for delicious food and beer, sultan's for falafel, fox and obel for eggs bene and oatmeal, the wormhole for a honey latte and peanut butter mocha, mercadito for tequila drinks, and veerasway for scallops and chutney.  our last meal was argo tea at the airport, which i guess ranks only slightly below potbelly at the airport (and really since it was morning, argo was much more appreciated).

we also saw friends, went to A WEDDING and walked for hours.  oh, oh i finally made it into the boring store! which was (shameful, i know) there while we were residents, i'm so embarrassed i never bothered to figure it out.  but we went and it was awesome.

arrows.

i would like a wall of them.

{via seesaw}

PREVIEW!

ok, so that project i've been working on, well here is an honest to goodness sneak peek!  the site and the shop and the blog and the twitter will be running full force next week, but for now DASH+fin is just being introduced into the big scary world of kids stuff (we are launching as placemats, but there is much more tableware to come in the near future ... plates and bowls and goodies ... oh my.). 

a little project.

read more about it here and here.  oh and HERE of course.

mixed feelings.

while i am head over heels for that giant shoulder bow, i'm slightly concerned that it only comes in 4 sizes as a dress like this should FIT.  i would absolutely be willing to try it, say for the wedding we have coming up in two weeks?  although it is bird by juicy and i have a slight hatred of juicy (it's just that those stupid sweat suites continue to pop up and they drive me nuts, much like uggs.)

oh oh OH.

maybe i could have both?  i would promise to cherish them.

{confetti system necklaces}

apparently i eat and work - and that is all.

and since i can't quite (though ALMOST) share my work, i'm settling with sharing my food.  because recently it has been delicious and abundant.  like our bbq dinner from 12 bones while we were in asheville a couple of days ago.  also i may have finally perfected our salty chocolate chip cookie recipe, which i will happily share before the end of the week.  it's one for keeping, i promise you.

cake.

over the weekend mas and i had one of the best slices of chocolate cake ever.  it was magical.  it was from the french broad chocolate lounge and it was the highland mocha stout cake.  the cake was rich and moist with the perfect taste of the stout, and the frosting, oh my.  it was the quintessential butter cream.  i can still taste it.  so when i was catching up on my much overdue blog reading and saw this post over on design*sponge i thought i might just have to save this recipe until i have the time to make it.  which will hopefully be soon, because honestly i could use a piece of good cake.  right now.

{image from katie quinn davies via design*sponge}

we paper people should maybe pass these out free.

because the world (at least the american english speaking world) needs to figure this one out, like now.

{most excellent bag by sapling press available here}

it was 80 hours.

it was 16 hours in a car, a stop over in connecticut, an introduction to fall.  it was our most favorite people having our tent set up when we arrived (ok not our tent obviously but a much bigger, sampley-er kind of tent).  it was our most favorite people and their friends having shiners waiting for us in the morning when we finally rolled out of our sleeping bags.  it was the constellations, eli "paperboy" reed, alberta cross, rubblebucket, dr. dog, the super secret project, ampm, adeem, the tan vampires, sean bones, the walkmen, !!!, and javelin (the last two being my faves though sean bones, dr. dog and adeem put up a good fight).  it was a party under a bridge, a ton of tents and sleeping next to a very calming river.  it was some sort of gluten-free concoction of deliciousness called buckle.  it was another 17 hours in the car (stupid rain) and three cheeseburgers in three days.  it was the catching up mas and i hadn't had in the two months since our last road trip and it was the seeing of our favorite people.  it was the nor'easter and it was wonderful. 

ps - fall has maybe hit eastern north carolina ... i say that with a fair amount of trepidation, but it's in the low 70's at the moment and it is noon.

a weekend away.

well shit, if three days out of the house (two of them being honest to goodness WEEKEND days) can turn a monday into a day like today, then maybe next time i will just consider not coming home.  especially when home is rainy and i don't have boot nearly as amazing as those.

{image via}

why don't we have two of these?

we tend to live in small places in small towns.  we don't like for things to get too big, it leaves too much to clean and too much that is never lived in.  so, what is the point?  that being said we also have four bikes between us, and if i had it my way it would be at least five*.  anyhow they all live out in the shed because we have nowhere inside to put them.  that could change.  our pretty bikes could be hanging on our walls under our pretty books or pretty flowers or pretty sculptures.  i like this very much. 

*two mountain bikes, two road bikes and i long for one of those cruisers everyone is talking about these days, unfortunately our small towns are not very bike lifestyle friendly.  they tend to be 20 miles from the grocery or in the south where people seem to want to kill you (just don't see you) if you are exercising in public.

{bike shelf by knife & saw via cool hunting}

perhaps it's time to add another to the collection?

Fuji Instax 210 Wide Format Instant Camera at the Photojojo Store!

a little something i've been working on.

it's almost time to tell you exactly what these images are of, ALMOST!  the big day will be sometime during october, but for now, you should maybe get excited.  i mean i'm getting excited!  very, very excited.

wall bubbles.

because the lack of indoor green we live with is starting to get to me.

{wall bubbles from flora grub gardens via poppytalk}

happiness comes from a neckline or a shoulder harness.

and not from a kind of, not exactly what i wanted, really that is a what you call a trim(?!), haircut.  it's back to a bun and not long hair for the next month (or two or six!).  THIS is why i should have waited until i was back in california, i know.

ok, so it will grow back.  and it's not horrible, just awfully short ... kinda thinking i should have just gone ahead and chopped it.  i mean what is the point of not long/not short/somewhere in the odd blunt middle hair?

{rachel comey jackpot top via creatures of comfort; shoulder strap/jacket/skirt bibhu fall 2010 collection}

stripes.

just keeping to a theme for my new fall wardrobe, you know stripes.

{1. st. james via j.crew  2.  ray-ban square aviators  3.  leather jacket by line  4.  alexander wang striped boatneck dress}