***abbytryagain***

on bees

If you read this blog, chances are you are a lot like me-and if you are like me you probably get Martha Stewart Living (a big shout out to my mother in law, Lesa-thanks for the subscription).

     Have you seen the June issue? There's a big spread on bee related things and I am just freaking out about it!  See, me and bees go way back....

     As you know by now, I grew up Mormon and the honeybee is a huge part of our/their culture.  The Mormons identify with honeybee, which they sometimes refer to as "Deseret". There's a whole bunch that I could get into-but to sum it up-they admire the industrious, hard working bee and Utah is even known as the beehive state. (Yes, I did my fifth grade state report on Utah).

    My brother was deathly allergic to bees, and it always intrigued me to know that at any moment-something so tiny could take him down. One of my first memories is of him-swollen on the couch, sisters hovering over him-panicking and yelling that he'd been stung. He's since grown out of that allergy-a fact which also is strange to me....

     And then there's my sister Allison, who's collecting those vintage beehive ceramic pieces. Every time we saw one-my mom would buy it or talk about buying it for her.

    So this article has once again piqued my interest into the world of bees.

Bee boxes are more than beautiful:

(photo taken by blue star drop)

(photo taken by plucky tree )

(photo by mistubako)

I love it, too, when honeybees make their own, wild nests somewhere-like this:

(photo by Max )

I remember once my Dad found one somewhere and took his grandkids to go see it....funny

I'm not even going to get into how cool I think Vintage bee smokers are....just look them up on ebay.

Here are my two very favorite bee related photos, both by Shari

bee boxes

those bee boxes

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Do you have anything bee related to share?

like magic

I must admit, I can be stubborn at times.  I can be especially stubborn when someone tells me "Oh, you would just love that!". Whether it is a movie, a side dish, a clothing line, a town or a store-I've been known to be a snob. But the older I get, and the more I share with others-the more I realize that yup-some of you bloggers have got me pegged!
    Case in point-Andrea had mentioned many moons ago via a flickr comment-that I would love  a store in Portland's Pearl District named Cargo.  Now, it's not that I didn't believe her-but I went to the website and it seemed a bit bright for me-I tucked the thought of it in the back of my mind and just kind of forgot.

     Yesterday, while out and about with my Mom and my sister-we stumbled upon the store. The beautiful old brick warehouse was festooned with bright lanterns, sunny metal chairs were lined up at the door and elaborately painted wooden doors were propped up against the outside wall. Um...yeah...Andrea-I loved it!

    My Mom is my perfect shopping partner. Not only do we have similar taste, but we both love to oh and awe over all of the details. You know what I mean, right-for example
"Oh my gosh, look at the floor-it is just so gorgeous-Oh my gosh look at the way they displayed all of those lanterns-Oh MY GOSH!"
     That is pretty much how it went down.

The giant warehouse is packed to the brim with goodies, I think there is even an upstairs-but we couldn't even venture up there-we were so overstimulated in the best way.

Cargo is one of those places that is pure magic. Even if you don't feel like shopping, or it's grey outside or whatever-I can't imagine walking in here and not immediately being happy.  Even things I wouldn't normally bat an eye at were so beautifully displayed it was hard not to love everything.

Tucked inside cargo is a lovely little boutique called Matisse . They feature a very well edited selection of clothes including my favorites Velvet, and Free People as well as a new favorite Neesh . I will be going back there, I am sure!

Thank you Cargo, for brightening my day!

Cargo
380 NW 13th Ave
Portland, OR
11-6pm 7 days a week

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happy mother's day

Mom's in town so I am lucky.  I love you, Mom.
Sights from this week:

peeking in windows and loving it, the simplicity, the wood, the dogwood

Kenny & Zuke's twice in one week, yes my tummy hurts but I still love it

lilacs at Lindee's and everywhere else for that matter

a rhubarb and strawberry tart from solstice cafe

arriving at my sister's house and finding a hummingbird inside!

great thrift shopping in Bingen, Wa

breakfast at Betty's

a beautiful view from sister's guest room

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downtown

Yum.
What? Yeah, you heard Kenny & Zuke's wasn't so hot? hmm...
I'm confused, because it was the best salad I've had in Portland, everyone else's plates looked stellar, the service was phenomenal, the menu was precise and CUTE, the building and windows just gorgeous...hmmm...so good!
Yeah, Kenny & Zuke's, I love you-I really, really do.
Especially your proximity to Canoe  which gives you 15 bonus points!

Other downtown sites:

Thanks for hanging out, Katie!

three years

I've been blogging for over three years-here are some highlights:
-sewing
-knitting
-eating
-stamping
-carving
-new cameras
-old cameras
-deaths
-births
-books, many books and magazines
-birthdays, holidays, anniversaries
-uncertainties
-thrift shopping
-Japanese Store loving
-self portraits
-Disneyland
-beaches
-going home
-new movies
-old movies
-new friends
-food, did I mention food?
-great comments
-lots of spam
-a booming etsy shop
-quitting side businesses
-three jobs
-one apartment
-lots of clothes
Thanks to all of you-reading, writing, lurking-I know I can be flaky-sometimes posting multiple times in a week sometimes just a few times a month-but that's me. I'm on a journey of figuring out who I am and who I want to be-thanks for helping along the way!
Cheers to three years!!