Training

It's been about four months since I signed up for the Escape From Alcatraz triathlon in San Francisco.  I can't believe it's this weekend!  I'm slowly feeling everything coming together (whether I like it or not) for this Sunday's race. Zach and I are going to visit Nana for lunch in Los Altos on Saturday and the next morning it's race day.  I'm thrilled to have my family there for support!  Zach, Jeannie, Ben, and Mariah will be watching a water logged girl from Idaho drag herself out of the bay, scramble for her bike, and if all goes well, finish in her sand covered running shoes.  Wish me luck!

In the meantime work is a pleasant distraction from race day jitters....

Last Day on Baldy

This past weekend brought temperatures in our valley to the 60's!  We skied in the morning and then we worked in the yard in the afternoons.  A little bizarre feeling to be in ski clothes one minute and shorts the next.

Baldy's last day was yesterday and we managed to soak up the sunshine with our friends Matt & Davina.  It seemed the entire town was on the mountain in some sort of costume eager to show off their winter white legs with bikinis, feathers, or short-shorts.

Photo of Matt Walker by Zach during a back country tour this did on Saturday.

Winter isn't quite over for Zach yet.  He is going on a four day mountaineering course in the Sawtooth mountains this weekend.  I will be at home working or in the yard.  I've already started to put away some of the winter stuff in the garage and swap out for summertime goods.  I'm excited to start my garden this year and we are hoping to expand on our success from last year!

Lucy & Briggs

Our dear friends, Megan & Justin, were surprised (ten weeks earlier then expected) with their twins, Lucy and Briggs.  The babies were both under 3lbs and have been in the NICU ever since March 5th!  A lot of time and events go by for babies that small and I'm happy to report that all are doing well when I visited last week in Boise.

We know they still have until mid-May when they get to come home to Hailey so our thoughts and love go out to them!  Congratulations Stevenson's can't wait to meet your little ones!

xoxo

Portland Visit

I spent the last four days in Portland, Oregon visiting my little sister, Erin, and her new home town.  She moved there a little over three weeks ago to pursue work and school.  We had a lot of fun exploring Portland together and all it's creative outlets.  When thinking back to what we did I would have to say the first thing that stands out in my mind is the food!  We went to so many delicious and different eateries it was always exciting when mealtime rolled around.  Organic, fresh, local, delicious!  It was everywhere.  The Co-ops, nautral food, organic restaurants, and farmer's markets, made it so easy to eat well.

Another thing that stands out is the Green Design.  Portland is known for it's forward thinking environmentally friendly building, design, and remodeling.  There are so many outlets and opportunities to do the right thing for the environment it is more normal than unique in this little city.  One of my favorite new resources for building materials has to be the Rebuilding Center in the Mississippi District.  Doors, windows, cabinets, lighting, hardware...you name it and it's all collected from former homes and gathered for your disposal.  I would love to have closer access to this store!  And the best part is that it is directly across from the best Mexican food restaurant, Porque No!  Homemade guacamole, tortilla chips, and sangria make for a delicious lunch. 

But I digress, I should probably go in chronological order of the events.  The first day of my visit we spent meeting her roommates, visiting Powell's bookstore (a Portland favorite), shopping, a job interview, happy hour, and a baseball game with the Portland Beavers vs. the Sacramento River Cats.  I think we were more interested in the silly mascot then the game...or maybe that was just me.

The next day was started with a free introduction to kettle bell at a gym called, Spinach, in downtown Portland.  Erin, her two friends, and I got a personal class which has proven to leave us all sore (and a little bruised) but very happy with this new form of exercise.  Then off to a farmer's market (Portland has plenty to choose from) near Portland State University where Erin will be attending this coming fall.  That afternoon we went to another baseball game at University of Portland (UP), where Erin's boyfriend, Nik, is an alum.  That night was a trip to St. John's Pub a McMenamins theater which is a restaurant/pub/movie theater where you can do all three at the same time in a rustic restored building.  Fun and cheap and they are all over the city :)

Sunday Erin and I had a nice six mile run in Forest Park, a large park across the river from her house and then cleaned up for brunch at another great eatery called Tin Shed in the Alberta neighborhood.  An hour wait seemed well worth it after we each had a delicious meal.  While waiting I toured around the neighborhood and found a great sewing shop that rents machines by the hour and offers free help to anyone that needs it, a fabric store, and a knitting store.  I was in crafting heaven :)

Some shopping and more touring of Portland that afternoon and then out to a neighborhood pub called, Leisure, to meet up with more of Erin's friends. 

It was a great trip and I'm already sad that I won't be eating another fantastic meal with my sister today.  Thanks Erin for being a wonderful hostess!  Looking forward to coming back!

PS- I borrowed a few photos from the internet because I didn't have my usual professional (Zach) with me. 

Gus-tavus

Nick & Jean's new puppy, Gus, is growing!!!  

He came over for a visit the other night and it was a good chance to get him side-by-side with Lucy (his half-sister) to see the similarities.  Notice the white stripes behind their front shoulders. 

Here's a picture of Lucy at her first vet visit.

Brightened My Day

Zach sent me this picture this afternoon of Lucy in the Sun Valley Ranch field.  

Just brightened my day and thought I would share.  

Pond Skimming

Any idea what this is?  Think of the hot-dog skiers from the 70's wearing hat's and swimsuits.  Yesterday, we decided to check it out first hand at Dollar Mountain.  Locals were lining up to see if they could ski, snowboard, or skim across a 50 foot pond.  Surprisingly, most made it but there were quite a few who didn't.  The sudden cold water had to be a shock to the system as a crowd cheers you on.  The costumes were in full force and Zach took some photos to document the fun.

Home-made Table Runner

I had this idea in my head to make an Anthropologie like table runner for my sisters birthday.  It had different fabrics stitched together with trim in perfect symmetry for the table.  With my new sewing machine (that I got for my 30th birthday from my adoring husband) I thought this would be a cinch!  That's when I realized sewing in a straight line isn't as easy as it looks.  At least for me!  But regardless of my bumpy journey to finish my table runner I think the final gift for my sister is filled with love and home-made character.  That's what everyone say's when it's uneven and lop-sided right?

If your up to a challenge or an easy project depending on your sewing skills, here's the steps I attempted.

Step one:  Find fabric scarps in color schemes that coordinate.  I went to our local fabric store and bought 1/2 yard scraps that they put aside for people.

Step two: Cut the fabrics down to approximately 12" wide strips by 24"long.  Fold them over (to make double sided).

Step three: Layout your fabrics in order of you would like them to be arranged.

Step four: Sew two sides of the cut/folded fabric strips (inside out) so that one side is left open. Then reverse the fabric to right side up.  Similar to making a pillow case. 

Step five: *This was my biggest challenge.  Sew all your fabric strips (right side up) in order of your desired layout.  I sewed two together at a time and then sewed two sets of two together and so on until I had my seven pieces all in one long strip.  My down fall might have been this process because getting them all to line up perfectly was not easy with my crooked sewing.

Step six: With your unfinished table runner take trim fabric to finish the edges.  Again, I have to admit I attempted this with blue fabric trim and then realized I am not that good at sewing to keep everything in line.  Hence, I found my new god-send, iron-on hem tape (Wrights).  A genius friend to those of us that lack proper sewing skills.



Step seven: Once you finished trimming your good to send your gift off to your sister with an apology note for the un-uniform characteristics of her new table runner.  Wha-la!

Happy Birthday Addie!

I hope you can find some use for this table runner.  Dress up for the girls?

Gondola Birthday

Yesterday, a group of girls celebrated Kelley Sinnot's birthday by eating lunch at the Roundhouse restaurant.  The restaurant is a historic Sun Valley landmark that was built in the 30's.  Normally, it wouldn't be a big deal to go out to lunch but being at the Roundhouse you have to take a gondola ride to the restaurant which in street clothes feels really fancy ;)  Even though I have ridden the gondola before in ski clothes, somehow lunch in an old log cabin at 8,000+ft. felt special.  We had fondue near the fire and ate Carol's (Kelley's mom) delicious chocolate raspberry cake!  Such a treat for a Wednesday.  It took a little longer then I had planned but it was a great chance to do a 'touristy' thing in our own town. Most of the girls skied the rest of the afternoon but I had to head back to the office.  It's a hard life ;)