what happend to my little city?

Finding a house was a long road for The Morning Man and I.

We moved to Portland at the end of June 2015 (almost two years ago! eeek!).  We decided it was too much to try to buy a house when we first got to Portland.  After spending a pretty penny on the move we thought, "hey, let's see what neighborhoods we like before settling down in one"...cute right.

I hadn't lived in Portland since 2005, and even though I had come to visit about twice a year during my 10 year stint in Chicago, I never quite grasped how much Portland changed.  It has grown up and spread out and whether you want to blame it on Californians, or IFC's Portlandia, or just call it inevitable, it is no longer the affordable hidden gem that it once was.

So there we were saving up money for a wedding and a new home, looking up houses at a price we were sure we could afford and dreaming of the great future we were on our way to building for ourselves... then we met with the mortgage broker. wah wah. Thankfully instead of telling us what we could afford by bank standards (36% of your monthly income?! - no way!), he based the number off of what we decided we could afford per month, and it turned out our dream number wasn't based in any sort of reality (seriously, my greatest advice for anyone wanting to start the home buying process is - find out what you can afford first!). 

With our new realistic number we set out to find our new home. This is where "oh wow Portland got expensive!" and "awww, how cute you thought you could afford the nice neighborhoods" comes in.  The housing market is booming here, and the affordable properties keep getting pushed further and further to the outskirts of Portland where many native Portlandians would never consider. But with each offer came a no and each no lowered our standards and diminished our musts, so we started to look into the never-will-I-ever neighborhoods. 

If someone told me even two years ago that I would be buying a house past I-205 I would have thrown back a hearty laugh complete with an eye-roll and a slight look of disgust.

It took a full year, but on February 15th, 2017 we heard those 4 words:
Your offer was accepted.

And with that came the end of a long road.  Of course, that long road took a sharp turn into a longer more disgusting and agonizing road that neither we nor our realtor could imagine...

doodle day

Today's doodle is a pencil/pixlr combo:

This doodle is based off a photo from Keiko Lynn's instagram.  She is one of my favorite people to doodle (see here and here).  She has a blog with great make up tutorials and outfit posts, and I just love her style.

When I use pixlr I save my doodle as I go (since it's online if the site crashes everything you've done is gone), so I decided to put together a little gif....

doodle day

I don't know about you guys, but this cold weather (here in Chicago it's been in the 40's and 50's) is giving me terrifying flashback of last winter.  It's only September and I already want to make a blanket cave and huddle down for the winter.

today's doodle is a combo of post-it drawing, highlighter, and pixlr:

doodle day

TGIF Y'All!!

Here's a post-it note doodle to kick off your weekend:

doodle day

Yay it's Friday!

Here's a little doodle I drew from a photo I found on one of my favorite blogs...

doodle day

Wow it's been a long time since I've posted a doodle.

I can't believe it's almost August!  This year is just flying by and each moment feels so busy but when I take a step back it doesn't seem like anything is getting done.  I recently took a look at that "goals" post from the beginning of the year, and although I have barely accomplished or started any of them (i.e. none, not a single one) reading it reminded me not to feel so guilty when things don't happen the way I planned.

I still do want to create photo albums of the last 4 (almost 5 AHHHHH!!) years with The Man, and use my studio more, and exercise, like, at all, and I can, and I will, but I'm a lazy procrastinating couch potato and I just have to take it one step at a time.  Trying to do everything all at once is overwhelming, and then nothing gets done.  So here's the first step back into being productive.....

Goal #3 - Post one doodle a week:
Today doodle is the classic combination of pencil on post-it:

easy peasy mac and cheesy.

stufest 2014!

Happy Birthday Daddio!
and a Happy Stufest to all!

By now most of you should know what I'm referring to (just in case you don't you can look here, and here).  These are the days to celebrate the Stupendous Stu Flint! Grab a frosty beverage, find a sunny spot, lay back and do absolutely nothin'!  Doesn't that sound like a fantastic way to spend the day?

Most anyone who knows my dad, knows what a wonderful man he is.  No one could ever compare to the sweet, loving, hilarious and amazing talented man who raised me (sorry Morning Man).

I'll never be as good a lyricist as my dear ol' dad,
but here's a little ditty for the man who made me me:

A wiz in the kitchen
His baked goods are bitchin'
He has comforted me
Ever since I was wee
His stories are the best
To have him I am blessed
He's my dad, that's what I said
We're connected in the head

I love you so so much, and though nothing can beat last years surprise, I hope you know how much you mean to me.

doodle day

Last night I downloaded a random (and of course free) drawing app onto my iPad mini (an awesome Christmas present from my dear ol' mom and dad). It's was so much fun to mess around with while I was watching terrible TV!  I think I've found a new time-sucker!

This one started as a doodle of a doughnut then morphed into a straw-hat-wearing-folky-man...and a doughnut.

blogaversary

Happy 3 Years!

This past weekend was this blog's 3 year anniversary, so I just wanted to pop in and say… 

Thank you for continuing to come back, even though, more often than not, I leave you with nothing new to see.

I really appreciate your support.

Have a wonderful week y'all.

doodle day

Whenever I have a free moment I try to doodle, whether it's using a pen, pencil, paint or pixlr.  So I thought I'd start a new weekly post called "doodle day" where I post a quick drawing: cute, funny, strange or otherwise.

Hello you!

We're almost through the week!
Just keep hanging in there:

HA! :)

doodle day

Whenever I have a free moment I try to doodle, whether it's using a pen, pencil, paint or pixlr.  So I thought I'd start a new weekly post called "doodle day" where I post a quick drawing: cute, funny, strange or otherwise.

I'm so happy it's finally Friday!

This weekend is for cleaning, tidying, organizing and just generally turning our pig-pen of an apartment back into a home!

doodle day

Whenever I have a free moment I try to doodle, whether it's using a pen, pencil, paint or pixlr.  So I thought I'd start a new weekly post called "doodle day" where I post one of my drawings: cute, funny, strange or otherwise.

I’m still in a octopus-squid mood.  They’re so fun to draw!

Speaking of my nails, sorry for the lack of a mani on Monday.  My nails are clean and plain right now.  It feels weird but every once and a while I need to give them a break, that and we’re driving to Cincinnati Thursday for a wedding and I don’t want my nails to be old and chipping by the time we’re dancin’ at the reception on Saturday.

in 2014

This past week the blog-world has been filled with resolutions, fresh starts, and a can-do attitude.

I've never been one for making resolutions, they're too easy to break.  People always choose too huge of a task, and for some reason the word resolution feels like it comes with a deadline, as if all your statements need to be finished and wrapped up nice and neat by the end of the year.  There's too much room for disappointment.

But for the past week I've been doing some reflecting.  After reading at least 20 resolution posts from all those can-doers, I've been inspired to make a little list of my own.  I still won't use the word resolution, but I think "goals" has a good ring to it.  It's more of a desire to achieve something greater, as opposed to a commitment to finish some self-improvement by December 31st.
(I know these are arbitrary definitions I just created, but it's my blog, so go with it).

So, here's my list, some are pretty cliche, but that's ok with me:

• Drink more smoothies - This summer I started to drink a smoothie for breakfast almost everyday, it felt so great! I started loosing weight, and the eczema on the back of my neck went away for the first time in 10 years. Then the winter hit, and I just can't seem to wake up in time (that, and drinking ice when it's -17 outside doesn't sound appealing most days).

• Get the studio organized and usable - The second bedroom in our apartment is supposed to be a creative space, but instead it's been the hodgepodge/storage room for the past year and a half.

• Post one drawing a week - I started "doodle day" a while back and I really want to get back into it. It doesn't have to be fancy, or finished, or even good for that matter, just as long as I'm being a little creative once a week, and creating more material for this blog.

• Work on one project a month - Speaking about being creative, I have so many projects and ideas I've wanted to start for years now. I need to stop waiting and making up excuses (like the messy studio) and just go for it.

• Plan an exercise routine with The Man... and stick to it - Here's the cliche.  The Man has been talking about doing P90X together for some time now, and I've been fighting it, (because the idea of working out everyday for an hour sounds like living-hell to me) but after spending Christmas in Hawaii and seeing too many pictures of ourselves in bathingsuits -mid winter- I think it's time to go for it.

• Create photo albums of the last 4 years - This is something I've been wanting to do for years.  I love how easy it is to take digital photos, but there's something about flipping through the pictures of a photo album that scrolling through iPhoto can not duplicate.  As a kid my favorite thing to do was to sit and look through the albums my mom had put together (mostly to find pictures of myself), and now that we have a real computer that can handle me uploading all our pictures since 2009 I'm going to do it.

So, there you have it.  Maybe I'll be able to stick to these, and maybe I won't, but just telling you about them will give me the push to start at least a few.

Happy New Year,

Keep warm and safe,

Love,

Me!

doodle day

Whenever I have a free moment I try to doodle, whether it's using a pen, pencil, paint or pixlr.  So I thought I'd start a new weekly post called "doodle day" where I post one of my drawings, cute, funny, strange or otherwise.

Today's doodle was drawn with pen and pixlr:

doodle day

Whenever I have a free moment I try to doodle, whether it's using a pen, pencil, paint or pixlr.  So I thought I'd start a new weekly post called "doodle day" where I post one of my drawings, cute, funny, strange or otherwise.

Today's doodle was drawn with pen and pixlr:

 This is how sad all of my plants look these days.  I guess green thumbs aren't genetic.

doodle day

Whenever I have a free moment I try to doodle, whether it's using a pen, pencil, paint or pixlr.  So I thought I'd start a new weekly post called "doodle day" where I post one of my drawings, cute, funny, strange or otherwise.

Today's doodle was drawn with pen:

I've wanted to paint silk scarfs for about 3 years now and I almost have all the supplies. 
How would you like to wear this pool doodle around your neck?

doodle day

Whenever I have a free moment I try to doodle, whether it's using a pen, pencil, paint or pixlr.  So I thought I'd start a new weekly post called "doodle day" where I post one of my drawings, cute, funny, strange or otherwise.

Today's doodle was drawn with pen:

flower cat is purrrrrty

doodle day

Whenever I have a free moment I try to doodle, whether it's using a pen, pencil, paint or pixlr.  So I thought I'd start a new weekly post called "doodle day" where I post one of my drawings, cute, funny, strange or otherwise.

Today's doodle was drawn in pixlr:

 bunny mountain!

doodle day

Whenever I have a free moment I try to doodle, whether it's using a pen, pencil, paint or pixlr.  So I thought I'd start a new weekly post called "doodle day" where I post one of my drawings, cute, funny, strange or otherwise.

Today's doodle was drawn with pencil:

doodle day

Whenever I have a free moment I try to doodle, whether it's using a pen, pencil, paint or pixlr.  So I thought I'd start a new weekly post called "doodle day" where I post one of my drawings, cute, funny, strange or otherwise.

Today's doodle was made in pixlr:

 Let's go glamping!