February In Review.

Hello lovelies. Do you know that this place makes me nervous? I never know what to say or how to say it anymore. I feel overwhelmed and typically when that happens I procrastinate. I want to share with you, but I get scared. So, with that in mind I am going to attempt something slightly different. This month I am going to give you the review in several installments.

I took a lot of pictures today, but this is the only one that came out "share-worthy." This adorable little kitty is from the Lovely Lisa Solomon. As a matter of fact, February was full of AMAZING gifts from the most INCREDIBLE people. Definitely more photos coming soon. Hugs. xox=vv.

Sold Out.

Hello lovelies! I want to quickly thank everyone who purchased a Shy Monsters Coloring Set from Mahar Drygoods. They are all sold out again, which is fabulous! Thank you Amy and Robert!! There should be more on their way soon, but the amount will be limited. Hugs. xox=vv.

I Hear That They Are Almost Gone.

Hello there Lovelies! I almost forgot to tell you that the Shy Monsters Coloring, Journaling, Story Book is available again at Robert's delightful Mahar Dry Goods.

These photos are from his site. Aren't they wonderful? Speaking of wonderful, a big thank you to the delightful Amy Karol who mentioned the available sets on her beautiful blog today! You are a real doll! Have a wonderful day lovelies. xox=vv.

Oh Yes. There Have Been Many Projects This Month.

Have I shared them with my favorite lovelies yet? No. I am a naughty naughty blogger. I will try to add a few of them to the monthly update. In the meantime, I apologize.

I am sharing this with you though. You may or may not remember my painting for my grandfather last year. Well, this is technically it's companion piece as it is a birthday painting for my grandmother. They are similar in their sparse design, but not in their themes.

You may feel free to laugh at it heartily. All I ask is that you try not to laugh so so loudly that I can hear you all the way over here in Washington. Thank you lovelies. Hugs. xox=vv.

News & Reviews.

Oh hello again lovelies! Oh boy, am I ever behind with my January review. Oh my goodness, I apologize! You only have to wait a moment more (I know these reviews are just sooo exciting) because I want to share some nice news with you.

First of all, February 4th marked the first anniversary of the vegasandvenice blog.

Secondly, we put an offer on this one bedroom one-and-a-half bath condo this morning and a few hours later we had mutual acceptance! I am very superstitious (dunno why) so IF we close it will be in a little more than three weeks. Yay! I feel positive that there will be more about that later. Now, lets start the January review.

Sadly, we will be leaving this lovely view behind. What could be better than the city and the mountains and the ocean? Talk about a million dollar view. This is the Space Needle from my pillow. Conveniently, I did not even have to lift my head to watch the fireworks on New Years Eve, which was nice because I was already asleep.

I am starting to see a theme with this whole "review" thing. Trees. Apparently, I take a lot of tree pictures because they always show up in the monthly review. I did not even know I liked trees so much.

Do these pictures even need explanation? Probably not. Cute sleeping Charlie Pup and his grumpy one-eyed side kick (who is really not so much grumpy but instead quite cuddly).

These are from the Press condos in Seattle. We had a great tour and a nice visit but decided it was not the right place for us. Lovely, but not the right place.

Sadly, we felt the same way about the Decatur. It was a bit too far from our desired location, but I loved the view.

You know what else I love? You. Thank you for all of your support. I am sorry that I could not finish this post last night (I wasn't feeling so great). We watched Marie Antoinette and cuddled which was very, very nice. I send you all some of our extra cuddles. xox=vv.

Mending.

Oh gosh and golly Lovelies! I am sorry that this update has taken so very long to post. I am running a bit behind. Our bed has been my constant companion as I recover from a back injury. This post is evidence that I am on the mend. I hope to post a January-in-review shortly.

Until then, here is a little postcard I made, oh goodness knows how long ago. It was promptly sent off to the charming and delightful Mrs. Dawbis as part of an on-going (I don't know how I got so lucky) postcard trade. I am soo terribly pleased that we have become friends.
 

Please know that you are all in my hearts and in my thoughts. I appreciate every kind word that you have shared with me. I have not forgotten them and I look forward to responding to them all. Hugs. xox=vv.

Sew New.

Hello Lovely Lovelies. Oh how I have missed you! Slowly, but surely I am re-emerging. You know how that goes! Well, we settled in to our new space before New Years, but there is still a lot of newness to encounter and resolve. Finding a place to sew was a small challenge. I quickly discovered that our little side table is just the right height to sit at the end of the bed. Luckily, I can still reach the foot pedal!

So, two projects were accomplished. 1. A mixed cd and cover for a lovely friend (who shall remain nameless at this time) and 2. A new inner and outer cover for my herbal ice pack. They were both off-the-cuff projects which I liked because of their simplicity. I hope that you like them too. Hugs. xox=vv.

November & December In Review.

Hello again Lovelies. I found some pictures from both November and December. I hope you like them.

This beautiful snow came shortly after we put the house on the market. Six inches of lovely white snow! The whole world seemed strange and exotic. Walking Charlie by the nature reserve at the end of our street we could hear the trees crack and groan as they were overtaken by the ice.

November was a particularly nerve wracking month. Our house went into escrow and my stomach went into knots. I thought that buying a home was a tumultuous experience but I now firmly believe that it is not half as bad as selling one. I took these photos while I stood waiting in the cold for a very thorough house inspector to complete his work.

On the 22nd of December our escrow closed and we left our first home for the big city. It was some-what bitter sweet. I know the house is in very good hands though, and that makes me feel better.

In November we also lost our beloved family car. It belonged to my great uncle, my grandparents, my step-mom, my aunt and finally my dad before he sold it to us. This is a picture of it moments before the donation company towed it away. We brought a new car into the family which has turned out to be the perfect city car. We named it Link. Charlie likes Link.

Everyday things became less mundane from the front seat of our new car. Isn't it interesting how that happens? How your perception is altered by the smallest changes in your environment.

In the last few weeks though, our entire environment has drastically changed. We love it and we are adjusting well. It has the strangest mixture of feeling completely like home while at the same time feeling completely foreign.

We celebrated New Years in the most mundane way though. We had a tennis championship on our Nintendo Wii. My mom (who was visiting) won by a land slide even though it was all completely new to her. She decided to leave her job to become a tennis pro and is now sponsored by Nike. True story.

This last group of photos are somewhat random. A quick project in our new space, a glimpse of our new kitchen and lastly the most beloved contents of our security deposit box. Hugs. xox=vv.

Life Seems To Move Forward.

Oh lovely people, how I adore you! I have missed you so. Life has been awfully hectic here as I am sure it has also been there. I am afraid I do not have a photographic December in review. I am not even sure we took any pictures in December. If I find some I will post them shortly.

In the meantime, may I share another scan with you? I found these letterpress calendar cards at Anthropologie. They were half price and at little over a dollar a piece I thought that it would be a great way to assemble some framed art for our new place.

We are currently living in an apartment on Capitol Hill, while we look for a condo. We really love the area and want to be as close as possible to our current location.

I am delighted to be back online. I have so much that I want to share with you. Hugs! xox=vv.

Thirteen Days.

Hello Lovelies. I know that there are more important things going on in our lives right now, but I thought I would share this with you anyway. Last Sunday, we excepted an offer on our home. The buyers have asked for a rush close, so in 13 days we may be moving to the city.

We are of course in the middle of escrow and hopefully everything will go smoothly. Currently, we have nowhere to go and home full of things we need to sell or otherwise get rid of.

If we get to the advanced stage of buying a new condo we are hoping for a 500 square feet studio downtown, which should be quite a change from our 2100 sqft home with a 500 sqft garage studio and 7400 sqft lot (most of which is backyard).

Hence, our moving cards (above) created by William Heath Robinson for his 1936 book How To Live In A Flat. "Washing Day" "The Garage" and "An Artistic Way of Hiding an Unsightly View" are my three favorites. Aren't they cute?

So, we will continue to be in a state of flux for a while. I am thinking of you all and miss you. I apologize for the delay in communications and please know that I am always extremely appreciative for all of your kind words, your sweet support and your overwhelming inspiration. Thank you a million times! Hugs! xox=vv.