little kitchen.

We are moving out of our place in Irvington after a little over a year here.

It's OK though, we knew we would...

only then we thought we'd be headed for Japan at the end of this month!

Instead, a grand tour of Europe in two...

I'll miss my little kitchen.

But not the little part.

fill in the blank friday.

(This is not our room. Via Apartment Therapy)

Thanks Lauren for another great FITB Friday! Can't wait to hang out soon!

1. The last thing I do before going to sleep is kiss Andy three times .

2. When I can't sleep I turn over, and over, and over. Kind of like a dog But a cute dog!

3. The first thing I do when I wake up is in the summer, listen to the birds chirp right outside the window and the squirrels run across our roof. In the winter, hit "snooze" .

4. When I'm tired I am pure joy to be around. You sense the sarcasm?

5. My dream bedroom would be bright and airy during the daytime and cozy at night. Lots of windows to wake up to the sun! Hardwood floors, my big down comforter. I would like new pillows. I have the most comfy bed ever so I wouldn't change anything about that...And my color preference changes all the time and right now I'm in transition between tastes, so I don't know about color.

6. If I could wake up anywhere tomorrow morning it would be EUROPE already!! Time is dragging till our trip.

7. The longest sleep I've ever had was when I got stuck in the Atlanta airport during a tornado/hurricane watch and had to stand in line all night for a new ticket to England. My aunt called my cousin who was attending Auburn at the time, so I got a shuttle out there and slept in her dorm bunk bed for a looong time. Oh, I also slept forever when I had the swine flu. (I DID have the swine flu, Andy!! He doesn't believe me.)

8. I sleep on my stomach or side, but I try to sleep on my back because apparently it's healthier...but it hardly ever works out.

9. When I sleep, I like to wear a tee shirt .

10. My bedtime is usually between 10:30 and 11:30 .

Paris City Notebook

Our landlords/friends gave me a "bon voyage" gift tonight after a lovely dinner at Belly:

The Moleskine Paris City Notebook.

Ahhhh. I'm in love. Now I want them for all the cities we'll visit. I might sneak a few dollars from the savings bin for this one...or go back on my adamant denial of any birthday gifts this year (14 days!)...

coast trip part II.

We had a lovely weekend in Brookings with Andy's family earlier this month in celebration of his grandma Jean's 80th.

It was my first time being at a "full" family gathering; I have spent time with everyone, but just never all together in one place. It made me thankful to be a part of such a wonderful family.

Everyone gathered at a little motel near Smith River, and since we rented out all the rooms, it was like our own private "estate." Each family had a separate studio or one-bedroom, and Andy and I stayed with his parents and sister on a futon that was surprisingly comfy!

In the back, lawn covered the cliff overlooking the ocean, a perfect retreat for when the wind picked up down by the water. Two benches were set up right on the edge for relaxing and taking in the views...

A stairway led down to the beach, which we had mostly to ourselves the whole weekend....

and had driftwood fires both nights and a softball game one afternoon...

with s'mores from the largest marshmallows I had ever seen....

and the first night, we roasted hotdogs and sausages over the open flames. Yum.

And everyone was content...

and the kids had the time of their lives in the "fort"...

and with their s'mores...

and the next day, a fresh tuna was filleted and made ready for the grill...

which turned out to be the best grilled fish I've ever eaten, rivalling maui, with fresh peach salsa, salad, roasted potatoes, and bread...

and good company...

and once again, happy kids!

Grandma's gift was an album full of pages that all the families had made. It was ginormous and so touching - Jean is a "cropper" who always has her camera ready and can scrapbook for hours on end. It was the perfect gift.

And the dog who put up all the cuddling and chasing was much loved by the kiddos...

and there was plenty of space to be silly...

and to blow bubbles...

and then back down to the beach for the last sunset and bonfire before heading back to real life...

a good weekend.

Chloé Boots.

Don't even ask what I was doing on Net-a-Porter. I so wish.

But these Chloé boots are gorgeous and I know I would wear them every single day. I'm thinking Monica in that Friends, The One With Monica's Boots, where she bought the really expensive boots and they were so uncomfortable but she had to wear them to make it worth it...

That would not happen with these.

Lily's Birthday

Remember Lily?

She turned O-N-E earlier this month.

Her mamma threw her an amazing party, attending to each little detail. Some of the ideas and inspirations were found at TomKat Studios, but she put her her own stylish spin on it.

Friends and family from all over the states came to celebrate and eat two kinds of cupcakes.

Why didn't they have this kind of stuff when I was little? I am a little jealous.

Check out more pictures at her auntie Jen's blog, Wuthering Iris.

"I didn't know this was going to be a GIRL party..."

first coast trip of the summer.

Night 1. We stopped to camp overnight on our way down to Smith River for Andy's family reunion. I almost don't want to share where this spot is...but I will...in Charleston, Oregon at Riverside Park, tent spot #42.

We also decided we need to start collecting some basic camping gear. We borrowed a tent and campstove from our friends, and only had a little flashlight. We had to buy a lighter at Fred Meyer on the way there! But we do have a stovetop espresso maker, and I think that's pretty cool.

Paris.

Instead of staying in a hotel, which would severely limit our eating options, I found a studio apartment on Craigslist Paris. It took me about a week to find it, but from the reviews I'm sure it will be worth it...I hope. You never can tell until you get there. One good sign is when you can talk to the owner directly, instead of going through an agency. Monsieur Camus, the owner of this place, seems young and friendly.

So, this will be our home for the week in Paris, in the 11e,

not far from Le Marais.

(courtesy slowtrav)

We are beyond excited about this one! Especially the kitchen. It's so mignonne!

kitchen morning.

I'm in the kitchen this morning, getting ready for a coast trip kicking off on Thursday. We're heading down to Brookings to celebrate Andy's grandma Jean's 80th birthday, but since it is so far from Portland we're going to break it up into two trips. I somehow secured a very sweet last-minute beachside camping spot in Charleston, so we'll camp on Thursday night and finish the trip on Friday.

We're also going to stop at Kookoolan Farms in Yamhill to pick up some milk for the weekend - we don't want to have to go all the way out to Eagle Creek and then back the other direction to the coast....so we'll make a stop along the way to a new and exciting place! We're so addicted.

My activities this morning included :

Getting lentils soaked for Kimi's Simple Lentil Salad

Soaking spelt flour for Kimi's Spiced Blueberry Coconut Muffins

Mixed up a new sourdough starter, very sadly mine died a while ago.

Soaking chicken livers in spiced rum for Chicken Liver Pâté.

Booking a place to stay in Cambridge. Should we stay near Christ's Pieces or by Butt Green?

In all this self-imposed busy-ness, I also really miss my little sister today.