Currently >>

If you follow me on Instagram, then you've probably seen most of these photos, and if you don't follow me on IG, then why not? JK, dears, you do what you feel. ;)

I am officially on summer break from work. This also means I have a lot of catching up to do. Well, self-imposed catching up, but the ideas have been piling up nonetheless. I feel like I've been neglecting this space a bit lately, so I'm excited to have more time to play here. I was also way behind on blog reading; last night I had over 300 unread in my reader!

I also feel like I've been neglecting my living space, since we've been in this limbo of are we moving/are we not. We are frustrated with our current place for sure, thus the desire to move. But since it seems unlikely that we can make that happen right now, I really want to get on with the business of making our space work better for us in the meantime. And boy, do I have ideas! More ideas than money, unfortunately, but I'm excited to see what changes I can make. I'm sure I'll share some of my progress here.

Photos // wisteria while I walk the dog // a caterpillar on the sidewalk // the sun peeked out on our hike yesterday // I dyed my hair black! // Piko rolling in the grass // measuring spices to make an Indian pilaf // vintage goodies from an old friend // heron in the sound

Anticipating // Andy is leaving for a work trip for the next few days, and I think it'll be good time to get a jump start on all of this catching up I'm talking about! Although I'm not looking forward to the drive to the airport this afternoon in rush hour...blerg.

Feeling // Cold. It's 49 and drizzly out right now. What the heck, summer? Where u at? I've got the space heater out, and the wool socks on. 

Contemplating // Attending the Schoolhouse Craft Blogger Summer Camp. It looks like a couple of interesting panels, and I've never attended any of these kinds of events before. Anyone else out there going?

Excited for // I am excited for so much right now. In the short term, I'm excited for a little trip to Minnesota next week to see friends and family, and also to teach yoga this Saturday. Say whaaa? Yup, I'm teaching yoga again! I'm just teaching one small class of mostly people I know to get back into the groove, but I hope to expand my teaching over the next several months. It feels so good to be back sharing something I love. :) 

Loving // One of the girls I work with just got married, and her photos are gorgeous! She made a breathtaking bride, and her photographer, Carly Bisch, is very talented. Check out the beautiful set on Carly's blog!

Whew, so glad we're all caught up now! I caught up with and cleared out my blog reader this morning, and now you're all caught up on me. That's a lot of catching. Hopefully I'll catch you back right here, soon. :)

shanti >> sondra

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InstaTrip >> Spokane

I'm guessing when most people hear "Spokane," they don't think "romantic getaway." But for us, it was perfect. Long car ride to somewhere random + pizza + fun bar + cheap hotel is our idea of a great time. We celebrated V-Day a little early, Andy and Sondra style...

I love windmills - so dramatic! // holding hands + paws in the car // heart shaped pizza // awesome juke box

The impetus for the trip was to get a heart shaped pizza from a place near and dear to our hearts ; Rocky Rococo. It's essentially fast food deep dish, but it is SO good. Rocky's pretty much only has locations in Wisconsin, but they used to have a few in Minnesota and we have fond memories of spending a few Valentine's Days there as young'ns. It's near and dear to our hearts, and when we discovered they have one location west of the Mississippi River and it happens to be in Spokane, that was enough for us. It was every bit as amazing as we remembered. Oh, and side note. I eat a mostly vegetarian diet, but Rocky's is on the exception list. :) We ended the night at a great bar with a stellar juke box, and a delicious French Gimlet.

great beer name // chai along the riverfront // totem pole in the park // snoqualmie pass

Yesterday, we walked around the Riverfront downtown, which reminded me a lot of Minneapolis. We also hit up a thrift store and ate some great burritos before hitting the road. For us, the drive is half the fun. We love hitting the road with a pile of podcasts and watching the wide open spaces roll by.

It was a short and sweet trip, and now it's back to the grind. Do you have any special Valentine's Day traditions? How about anti-traditions?

shanti >> sondra

Looking at Stars >> Will Give You Vertigo

I found this quote today, and it pretty much sums up the last two weeks of my life. I know I've been saying it on here everytime I've blogged recently, but life has been crazy! I think it's finally settling down into "good crazy" now, though. Our stuff is mostly unpacked and our house is starting to feel more like a home, we've explored our neighborhood some, and our refrigerator now has food in it.

Here are a few phone pics from moving day (I'm @instasondra if you'd like to follow daily!). As you can see, Mitz was not a happy camper. Car trips are DEFINITELY not his thing. He was better than he's been on other trips though. I wish we did have a cat who liked the car. I'd love to drive around with my cat on the dashboard, wandering around the country, and camping here and there. Ahhhhhh...the life. Anyways, back in the real world, we moved on the day of the blue moon, so here is my shot of the moon watching over us from the Oregon sky as we made our way north.

Here are a few post-move pics from the last week. Seattle is an amazingly beautiful place. Lakes, mountains, pine trees...I love it! The space needle shot is my view from bus stop when I go to/from work, and the last shot is an outfit I wore to work this week.

I suppose if my life was to change drastically, this was the week to do it. From ages 5-22, this would be the first day of school this week. And since I'm married to someone in academia, our schedules still very much revolve around the school year. I think no matter how old you get, there's something about this time of year that makes people feel that strange mix of excitement and anxiety that is ushered in with the Fall. We all long to put on sweaters, curl up with hot beverages, and otherwise retreat inwards.   It just feels like change in the air; even the leaves can't help themselves and change! I never realized what a powerful effect the change in seasons had on me until we moved to California and didn't have them anymore. Our connection to nature is so profoundly deep...I love it.

I should be back to posting full force this next week. Tomorrow we're taking our first Washington adventure and heading up to Bellingham. Yay! I hope all you souls out there are enjoying a lovely weekend...

shanti >> sondra  

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Somebody >> That I Used to Know

Hola, amigas! (or -os? Probably not too many...) I have just returned from a weekend of over indulgance -- eating too much, drinking too much, and not moving my body enough. It was a blast though, as a very dear old friend and her boyfriend came up from L.A. to see us and the sights of NorCal before we move along in a few weeks. It was a lot of fun playing tourist one last time before we leave, eating at our favorite restaurants in San Francisco and watching the fog roll over the Golden Gate Bridge and across the city. I haven't taken any pictures off my camera yet, but here are a few I snapped with my phone that sum up the weekend pretty well:

(From L-->R, T-->B)
Grapes in the vineyard> Tasting sparkling wines at Mumm Napa> Dahlias in bloom in Golden Gate park> Beautiful wire sculptures at the De Young Museum> Sweets and treats at Bouchon> Delicious fresh watermelon cocktails at Urban Tavern

I'm ready to resume my regular life and schedule, but alas, that is not to be this week (probably not for many weeks, unfortunately). We're leaving this afternoon to go up to Seattle to look for an apartment! Eek. I can't believe it's time to finally make this whole move thing a reality. I really hope we're able to find a place that we love in a neighborhood we like. We've always had good apartment karma though, so hopefully it holds up this time around. I've just never had to go to a new city that I've never even visited and had to view, decide on, apply for, and get an apartment within the span of a few days. So, yeah, a bit nerve-wracking, but I'm hoping for the best. And I'll definitely keep you all posted! I'm working this afternoon on putting together a few posts to keep this baby afloat while I'm away, but I might be a little quiet with comments and whatnot. We're driving to Mt. Shasta this afternoon and camping there and doing some hiking tomorrow morning, then driving the rest of the way. I'll be sure to get lots of pictures to share here when we get back! Keep your fingers crossed for us that we find a nice place...! :/ 

shanti >> sondra

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At the Beach >> In Instagrams

Yesterday, Andy proposed that we take a late afternoon trip out to Tomales Point. We had gone out there a few weeks ago and had a really nice hike along the coastline, so even though I had a ton of stuff to do, I packed up my stuff and we were off.

About two hours into the drive though, we both realized that it was further than we remembered. But we were past the point of no return...we decided not to go all the way out the end of the point as we had last time, but we settled for the first beach we found and explored there a bit instead.

I had never touched the ocean until I was 26. 26, people! That's crazy, even to me. I had seen it out plane and train windows in my European travels, but never actually touched it until then. Well, when you grow up in the Midwest, your chances to get oceanside are few and far between. I've made up for it in spades since then, though. I've been to a handful of Central American and Caribbean countries, lived on the San Francisco Bay for a year, went to Hawaii in March, drove along the coast of New Brunswick and Maine, and have been all up and down the California coastline since moving here two years ago.

I'm not quite an ocean person yet. It's the immensity of it that makes me uneasy. But I think it's growing on me. I think we still may become good friends yet! The sound of the waves crashing in and out; it reminds me of Lake Superior. I could sit on the beach and listen for hours. I'm glad I'll still get more opportunities to commune with the ocean with our move to Seattle. Plus, we'll have mountains, too! The best of both worlds. :)

The beach here is cold and windy, but it's refreshing when you come from the inland heat and stillness where we live. It's a place to slow down and experience the world through all of your senses. Do you have a place like that? It's always nice to get away on a Sunday afternoon.

Are you on instagram? You can find me at instasondra if you want to see more of my day to day pics.

shanti>> sondra

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