Author: Crystle

Maker, doer, and nomad.

Wall Art from the Archives

~ Crystle ~ 13 Comments

I’ve got six months of gestation left before this kiddo comes. I don’t even know what we’re having yet but as far as I can tell from the sonograms, it’s a human. Whew! That being said, I’ve been thinking a lot about (gender neutral) baby room stuff. I know, gag. The baby room decor from major baby retailers has left an emphatic scowl on my face. I’m just not impressed. Aside from basic linens and an essential item here and there, I’ve decided I really don’t want to pull decor straight off a shelf. Goodness, I’m already way over thinking this…

In an unrelated turn of events, I went through all my old photos from the last 5 years last night. I have boxes upon boxes of film negatives, data CDs and prints from my earlier years of film photography. Scavenging through the photos, reliving my early college days was more fun than I thought it would be. But I thought to myself; what am I supposed to do with all these images?

Then it hit me. Why not pull some of my favorite nature prints from those old backpacking trips and make them into wall art for the future baby’s room? They’re certainly gender neutral enough! Suddenly my archive browsing brought on by boredom had a direction.

I’m still pulling prints from both the film and digital archives, but so far these are some of my favorites. I really like the soft light of the outdoors from a Colorado trip I took awhile back. I may take some filters to them in Lightroom or edit them otherwise. Not sure yet, but I’m sure I’ll be too excited not to share when the end product is at hand.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on which images you think might look nice either enlarged or on canvas!

TO THE PERSON WHO STOLE MY SUNDAY NEWSPAPER COUPON INSERTS AND WEAKENED MY FAITH IN HUMANITY:

~ Crystle ~ 11 Comments

Why’d you do it?

Didn’t you know I needed those? Was this just a crime of opportunity? Did you see my opulent Sunday Paper and think to yourself ‘why should they have all the deals and not I?‘? Didn’t you think I would know trouble was afoot when I saw my Sunday Paper open and disheveled on my front step? Hmm? Hmm? And why did you take only the coupon inserts, leaving the store ads (which also have some stackable coupons, you dum-dum) and the front page article on bullying? Oh, I know why. It’s because you’re a jerk. 

We’re an up and coming family, starting to take couponing seriously. Didn’t you know that? I’m pregnant with my first child, watching the calendar days tick by, week by week, Sunday paper by Sunday paper, planning like a good consumer until my Baby arrives…and don’t you know, diapers aren’t cheap! And, sometimes, with proper couponing, toothpaste is free. But you probably DID know that, since you STOLE MY COUPON INSERTS. That’s my free Colgate Total that you’re enjoying. Stop that!

The Sunday Paper is only like two bucks, and there’s a convenience store literally 500 yards from my front step. Couldn’t you have just gone to the store like a proper adult to purchase the paper? Of course not. Because, why buy the cow when you can get the coupons by stealing them.

What wonderful manufacturer coupons were in those inserts that I will never know about? What glorious deals are you cashing in on at my expense? Do you cackle maniacally at the check out stand when using your ill-gotten coupons? I want to know. I deserve to know the truth.

Do you know me? Or worse, do I know you? Do you watch me from behind the Cheerios end cap at the store and snicker when you see me pay retail price? Are you stacking my coupons on double coupon day? Dear, God. You are. You are a monster.

Where do you draw the line with your injustices? You know this is a gateway crime, right? Next up you’ll be stealing my basil plants and bicycles. Then my baby, right from my womb, you freak!! … Alright, alright, it probably won’t go that extreme, but if I find out you’ve been eyeballing my amazon deliveries…I will find you. And I will press charges. You will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, gangster.

Rest assured.

AND A BRIEF NOTE TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH:

Hey guys,

So, this coupon insert theft ring. Where were you guys? I mean, I know it’s labor day weekend and all, but how was nobody watching? It’s even in your group name, ‘The Neighborhood Watch’. Why would you call yourself that if you’re not going to watch the neighborhood and keep trouble at bay?

There’s a Coupon Insert Thief on the loose, we need to be on our toes, bros! You won’t be laughing when YOUR coupons are stolen.

Thanks,

Crystle

So I hope you’re happy, Coupon Thief Mastermind.

Just know that when you use my coupons at the register, that God and your sweet old nana (who maybe died a long time ago) are watching you. And they are not pleased either.

Scornfully,

Crystle

POST SCRIPT:

I have considered the possibility that these coupons were never inserted in the first place, but sometimes, when you have a lot of time on your hands like me, it’s a little more fun to let the imagine run wild.

Portland[ia]

~ Crystle ~ 8 Comments

Maybe the first trimester of pregnancy wasn’t the best time for me to visit neighbor-city Portland, OR. I thought I was feeling up for exploring Portland’s haunts and eats, and for the most part I was. What I did not bargain for was pod after pod of aromatic food trucks. Normally, you’d find me in a child-like state of giddiness at the prospect of eating any number of international foods from the same parking lot, but not this time around. Anyone who has had first trimester nausea (or the flu) can attest to how the mingling scents of a dozen international foods can make your stomach lurch.

After baby is born, or even as soon as the second trimester, we hope to go back to Portland so we can give the food trucks the chance they deserve. We saw some trucks, safely from our vantage point on the other side of the street, that looked pretty worthy. I feel terrible that my husband had to pass on this essential Portland pastime on my behalf.

We were 100% set on visiting VooDoo Doughnuts on this trip, but the downtown crowds were unrelenting. Instead, we headed over to VooDoo Doughnuts Too, their second store, where we chowed down on Maple Bacon (a favorite of Anthony Bourdain) and VooDoo Donuts. It was rich fun. For some reason, the sweet scent of fresh Doughnuts wafting in the Portland air was invigorating. It seemed to be the only scent that pulled my nose upward and lightened my stride. Pregnancy is weird, lemme tell you.

After an afternoon downtown checking out local shops and street performers, we were ready to head to the outskirts to see how “rich folk”  (a term coined by us poor people) lived in the early 20th Century.

At the Pittock Mansion I couldn’t help gasping at the detail of the marble staircases, drooling over the custom puzzle-piece flooring, and gawking at the ornate ceilings that adorn the entire home. It’s also worth noting that in the early 1900s, those affluent enough to afford it had something all of us can covet: breezy sleeping porches. I’ll take a slice of that luxury, any day. But they can definitely keep their ‘card rooms’, scary dolls, and fainting sofas…those are artifacts I have no use for.

If you have the chance to check out the Pittock Mansion in West Portland, you ought to. It’s perched up on an Uptown Hill that offers a beautiful panorama of Downtown Portland.

Plans are in motion for our next two-hour road trip south to good ole Portland. Until then, we’ll catch up on some back episodes of Portlandia…whose stereotypes of Portland hipsters are absolutely spot on.