Shoe Belly

Danskos,


meet Ophelia.

But be careful, don't get too close, she might eat you.... twice.
She won't enjoy it for too long though, she'll be sick for days, and won't get out of bed...

Let me introduce you to the craziest sport I have ever witnessed, and our newest weekend pastime: Cyclocross. Just because running and cycling wasn't hardcore enough on their own, some crazy europeans created cyclocross where participants ride round and round a 2 mile course as many times as they can in 45 minutes. Oh, and there's obstacles they have to jump over, mud pits they have to ride through, and stretches of sand and tall grass that they have to run through with their bikes thrown over their shoulders. And to top it all off this is just a fall/winter sport, so they get extra excited when it is cold and rainy out, like it was this morning...I think it's because they get extra muddy and feel tough. This morning was Ross's first race, and as far as entertainment value for spectators, cyclocross is hard to beat. My neighbor Emily (our other neighbor Paul was also racing today) and I split our time between the mud pit and a certain log in the road where more than one cyclist took the jump a little too steep, resulting in nose-diving forward flips.

Paul and Ross finished 35th and 37th respectively, not bad for a first-timer.

It feels like fall has arrived, for reals now. I made my first batch of chai for the season yesterday, and just because I couldn't resist, I made some cookies to go along. Yum!

AND...the latest addition to the liquor cabinet arrived yesterday. Our dear friend Elliot designed the label for the new Roundhouse Gin bottle (along with some creative collaboration and design workshops with Ross). Way to go guys, I think it turned out great!

Ross is busy busy making a big pot of chili...perfect to go along with gin and tonic!

I made these cute little business card holders the other night. I'm loving the purple and green right now...and the little orange button is just the right touch. Best of all these took all of about 10 minutes - I can't wait to make more with even more colors and embellishments.

Things I like about today:

• It was nice and crispy fall this morning when I took Ophie out, which inspired me to wear my mocassins and new 80's school boy striped cardigan
  
• I just made a date with Julie to take a walk on Friday...yes we have to make dates for these things, very lame... although she did use the word  "autumnal" in her acceptance email to the walk date, not-so lame
• It's now 5:43 and I think I am going to leave early (shock and surprise all around, I know), and I bought a new jar of cherries last night which means there's a really good chance that a manhattan is in the very near future
• A rep brought in some of the really good candy apples today to wish us "happy fall". You know the ones, they have about an inch of caramel on them and lots of goodies stuck on, yum!
• I started a new bag last night, I am using a big chocolate linen fabric memo from the library at work and my old bathroom curtain for the lining, which means the bag is either totally free or recycled (which is just as good right?) I can't wait to get home and rev up the sewing machine!
  

I spent all day yesterday with the lovely Tams. Our goal was to fix up her husband Matt's office for a big blowout party they are having this weekend, and after 2 trips to the local hardware store, 3 cans of paint, a marathon run for accessories through Target, I would say that we were successful. Since I had to leave while the paint was still drying I didn't get to snap any shots of the finished product, but Tam never fails to photograph the goods, so stay tuned.
She also took a look at some of the jewelry I've been working on and convinced me to get out there and try to sell some of it. She has a had a lot of success with her Etsy shop, and I think that I might give it a go as well. I think my goal at this point is to have something up and running in about a month - I want to get a good inventory before I open the store, so it looks like I'm somewhat legit. Here's some of the goodies I've been working on...





The hardest part right now is coming up with a name. I would like to find something that could grow into a business name, if things go that direction. It would be great if it could work for jewelry, accessories like purses and things, and maybe work for interior design too - in case I decide to do freelance work in that department too. So here's the deal, I need some help. I came up with some words that I like, or that I think relate to me and might be able to be worked into a business name. Here they are:

• my nickames: ducey and ruby
• nest, domain, adorned, accoutrements, bella, loot, goods, purple house, creates or creations
• something to do with hecho or mano - handmade in spanish
• something like encanto - glamour in portuguese
• a better, more creative way of saying finishing touches, or the little things...

I don't know, writing those out now they all sound really lame... I need some creative collaboration!

One of my very favorite catalogs came in the mail recently. I love looking through the incredibly stylish and well-placed pages for fashion, jewelry, set design ideas that I can never afford, but provide great inspiration. I've seen this necklace before at Anthropologie, and it keeps catching my eye so often that I think I have to give it a try. (yes, I realize, this is shameless rip-off happening right now). I'll keep you posted on how it goes...

Mosaic of Me

I saw this fun mosaic game on another design blog, and I was intrigued...
So, here's the deal... you answer the following 12 questions about yourself (my answers are in parentheses after each question):

1. What is your first name? (amanda)

2. What is your favorite food? (sushi)

3. What high school did you attend? (fairview high school)

4. What is your favorite color? (lime green)

5. Who is your celebrity crush? (jimmy fallon)

6. Favorite drink? (coffee)

7. Dream vacation? (safari)

8. Favorite dessert? (key lime pie)

9. What do you want to be when you grow up? (kate spade)

10. What do you love most in life? (creating)

11. One word to describe you? (free)

12. Your Flickr name? (ducey)

Wanna play?: Type your answer to each of the above questions into Flickr's search. Using only the images that appear on the first page, choose your favorite and copy and paste each of the URL’s into the Mosaic Maker (3 columns, 4 rows)... Enjoy!

Midwest Madness

I am sitting in the terminal at the Madison airport, ready to go home, but my plane is delayed another two and a half hours. So what do I do? Feverishly type out a blog post and check Facebook updates on my blackberry. Which begs the question how did we ever survive before wireless technology? I've been away since Wednesday this week, three days in Dubuque, Iowa, checking in at the lovely Hotel Julien, and then spending this weekend in Madison with my fabulous friend Sara. Sara drove over from Minneapolis and we had a really fun relaxing girls weekend. I am always thankful for old friends when I see her. It seems pretty easy to lose touch with people during this transition filled decade we call your 20's. Its comforting to know that I have people out there in my life who have seen me through so much already that nothing seems as big of a deal as it does on my own.
It was really fun to see the hotel this week. Things are coming along! The jobsite is a bustle of activity as everyone is working hard to get ready for the first wedding scheduled in November (we're hoping that the bride doesn't have to wear a hard hat down the aisle, at this point its anyones guess). I can't wait to walk though the hotel when the renovation is complete, it's been such a big project I think it will feel like a really great accomplishment.
Alright only 2 more hours to kill now...

I'm in recovery. Yesterday I went to my first hot yoga class - I'm totally hooked now, but man they're not joking around with the heat! I feel like I got a full body exfoliation. This afternoon I decided to go on a run, I thought maybe that would help with my sore muscles...well it didn't. In fact I might even be more sore now than I was before. Last year this time I had a goal of "becoming a runner". I wasn't really sure at the time what that was going to mean in my life, I just knew that I didn't want to be that girl who was sucking air every time she picked up the pace a little. I think I can successfully say that I am a "runner" now, some days more than others, but I just signed up for my first 5k race. (I know, 5k, big whoop to all of you marathoners, but you have to remember the little people every once in a while, and a 5k is a kind of a big deal). A couple of the girls at work and I are going to run the Race for the Cure. One of our big wallcovering manufacturers is sponsoring a team, so we decided to join up. (if anyone is interested in donating money, the company is raising money, just click the link below)

http://www.komendenver.org/site/TR

In the meantime, I just baked some delicious looking bread, I better get at it before Ophie finds it.

My little old laptop has sat unused in my closet ever since London, when it just stopped powering on one day, until two weeks ago when I decided to take it in to the computer hospital to get fixed up. I left it there in the trusting hands of the computer tech, my eyes wide, feeling hopeful that I would one day again have a computer of my very own. I've been counting down the days, doing finger exercises, getting myself ready for all of the blogging, music downloading, picture organizing that lay ahead. I called on Friday and they said that it was almost ready, call back again tomorrow. So yesterday, I called again and spoke to my dear friend at Data Doctors, who asked me if I was sitting down, he had some bad news. My laptop was beyond repair. He said that he tried everything, there was nothing he could do.
He walked me through everything that he had worked on, and I have to give him credit, he was amazingly thoughtful and sympathetic, given the fact that we were discussing a piece of machinery. And then it happened, I actually started crying, right there on the phone with computer repair-man. I know it's totally ridiculous. I think though, there were larger emotions at play, and they seemed to manifest themselves towards my laptop at that moment. I've been working through some hard stuff lately, and somehow I thought this was going to be a step in the right direction for me, a step towards pulling some loose ends in my life together. I just feel like I keep hitting road blocks, and they all seem to be expensive road blocks, considering I just spent $200 to basically recycle my laptop. I'm not sure who was more upset though, me or Ross, when he realized that this meant that I would still have to borrow his now and then (he's not one for sharing...)
I started reading "The Geography of Bliss" last week. I guess you could call it a mix between a travel commentary and a discussion on the age-old question of happiness, and why some people seem to be happier than others. It's a great book so far, and if nothing else it is giving me a lot of food for thought.

A couple weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending a Thursday night gathering with 4 independent entrepreneurial women in the Boulder area. My friend Michelle had just put in her notice at Commarts and has struck out on her own as a freelance architect. Turning an ear to the constant comments she receives about the state of the economy and the overload of freelance architects in Boulder, she is trusting her instincts and following her dream. In our company that evening were three women who I felt somewhat in awe to be sharing a bottle of wine with. A Washington DC economist, a Denver developer, and a woman who has had too many impressive careers to be identified by any of them (it took her 4 hands to count the many hats she's worn during her working career, though they included job titles such as "politician and head of the board for this and that for the New York City Governor", "astrologist", "mother", "outward-bound leader" and most recently "highly sought-after business analyst and public speaker" for large and small companies nation-wide). Having just turned 67, she was a wealth of information and life-knowledge. I joked with Michelle on our way home that night that next time we see we're going to bring a little tape-recorder with us because everything she said was something I wanted to write down and remember. The most memorable concept for me that came up that evening was the idea of renewing and re-creating ourselves throughout our lives. "The universe abhors a vacuum," she said. Once we open ourselves up to the possibilities of other ways to live, other jobs, other relationships, it's amazing what we will encounter. She compared it to the trim-tab on a boat. The trim-tab is so small in comparison to the size of the boat, yet the tiniest adjustment to the trim tab and the direction of the entire boat changes. Such as it is in life also. As women, we are meant to create, to give life. Maybe that's why we get so enthralled in creative activities, in learning new skills. We (hopefully) are always re-creating ourselves as well. I think about my grandmothers in this aspect, one who returned to playing violin and joined an orchestra in her seventies. The other who is 83 and is the head of the historical society in her town. Even my mom, who has taken leadership positions in her church in the past few years. It makes me excited to think about all the things that I can, and might, do. To be aware of the ways in which I am evolving. How I may pack up one part of my life and start something new. Or how I may stay put, and build.
What a treat it was to meet these women and be a part of Michelle's life as she undergoes this transformation, this change of direction.

Morning View

I woke up to this lovely rainbow this morning... I think it'll be a good day

Look Familiar?

I got my haircut last week, and on a whim, I had her cut bangs. Now, everytime I look in the mirror I feel a little bit like I'm looking at my 5-year old self. What possessed me to do this, since the style was such a smash the first time around, I'm not sure.... needless to say, I'm adjusting...

Beatrice and Woodsley

The other night my fabulously stylish friend Tamara took me to the hippest new restaurant in Denver, Beatrice and Woodsley. Tam stumbled across this little gem while shopping for her cute new green shoes on S. Broadway - there's no sign outside because the owner wants you to feel like you had found this secret treasure deep in the woods (or deep in the heart of the "vintage section" of Denver).

The restaurant is based on a love story - the story of Beatrice, a California descendent of French wine family, and how she met her lumberjack, Woodsley. Now I know what you're thinking, barf, bad chick flick....and I would agree, except that the space is so whimsical and fantastic that you can't help but be swept up by its magic. The menu includes a fabulous array of French and Californian wine, delicious homemade appetizers and house-cured meats, and fun oldy-time cocktails. The lounge is made up of tree stumps for tables, chainsaws intersecting the bar, lanterns hanging from the ceiling, a rain-chain for water at the bathroom sink... the list goes on. All in all, it was a fantastic mid-week escape with good food, delicious wine, lots of eye candy, and rich conversation.

The Latest

The best part of having Fridays off is that I get to spend time at the used bookstore. Ok so maybe that's not the best part, but it's a perk, nonetheless. My latest little gem is the Namesake...I highly recommend it - it's one of those books that you want to read slower so that it lasts longer.

I'm getting really excited about going to New York. A week from tomorrow we'll be on our way!

Yellow Love

I love this room...

Friday

I made some really delicious cakes today. It was the Oldroyd summer birthday celebration tonight, and true-to-form, Ross and I were asked to bring the booze (my dad's only birthday request was to have gin & tonics). I was feeling creative though this morning, and decided to tackle a layer cake with fruit.

I had to make a bunch of them, since I only have 4" cake pans, and the first attempt turned out looking more like the leaning tower of pisa. But, I perservered and I think they turned out lovely...all until Ophie ate one off the counter while I was outside. That dog does love her carbs!





I ran errands with my mom this afternoon, found some incredible finds at Target, and played in the garden with Lia tonight (who by the way just learned how to wave and how delicious shoes can taste).

Return to Blog-land

Everyone keeps asking me whatever happened to my blog. Well, all I can say is, nothing. Nothing really happened, I just had nothing to write about. But, here you go. I'm gonna try again. Stay posted. Ross is shaking his head. He wants his computer back.

Ophie-Wan Kenobi