Well guys, I've got my work cut out for me this summer. I ran a 8:09 mile pace on Saturday! So much for pushing for the 8:30 pace this summer. I haven't been running with a watch lately which is why my estimate was so far off; I just judge the quality of my runs by how I feel. Guess I'm feeling better than I thought...and I think those spin classes are paying off too. I'm not positive but I think this is my 5K PR. My pace was such a surprise to me because (of course) I forgot my... Read more →

I’m not sure of the exact cause but I’ve gone from needing lots of motivation to go for a run to seriously looking forward to running. I’m running 2-3 times per week now, about 3 miles per run.It’s a very welcome change. It probably has to do with the longer days (I hate running in the dark), lack of IT band pain, my rockin’ iPod playlist, and being able to get into a more consistent routine now that Chris isn’t so busy. Whatever the cause, I’m hoping to stick with it. To keep me motivated through the hot summer months... Read more →

There are so many things that I really love about where we live. I love our house, with its tall ceilings and room for huge art work… our open kitchen/great room... the natural light... and our cute backyard. We also have awesome neighbors! Ok, not those neighbors. But we know two other awesome young couples on our street (including fellow blogger Erica, who lives next door. Hey neighbor!). They’d never threaten us with the hell’s angels! We also have other couple friends who are distant-neighbors; they live just down the road. Plus, our neighborhood is safe and quiet. We feel... Read more →

Since the weather is heating up here, it seems like an appropriate time to talk about…deodorant (if there’s ever an appropriate time). Lately I’ve been trying to transition to as many natural body care and home cleaning products as necessary. I have no idea why it took me so long but I’ve finally discovered all the amazing natural body care products out there. Given my vegetarian/vegan eating habits, commitment to composting, and buying local and organic it seems like I would be just the type of person to be using natural care products. I was thinking about this and realized... Read more →

And it is awesome. So funny, I wrote about how badly I wanted a Prius almost exactly a year ago. And I'd been dreaming of owning a Prius for a few years before that. I even found a dark grey one, like the picture in that post! Thank you for enduring all my posts about wanting a Prius and saving up! I ended up buying a 2008 Prius with 85,000 miles for $15,500 from a colleague of Chris's. It's so nice, it feels like a spaceship compared to the Volvo! I think we got a good price and it was... Read more →

It’s been awhile since I first gave a run-down of our financial info. Since then, I’ve started a new job and we’ve been able to sock away some more money into savings. I’ve updated all the information in the original post so check it out! Read more →

Now that Chris is on summer break (yay!) and the hot weather is rolling in, it’s really feeling like summer. [Note: I wrote this post this weekend but just yesterday we had a fabulous thunderstorm that really cooled things off. Crazy spring weather!] So this past weekend I dusted off one my new(ish) favorite recipes: watermelon salsa. I had this at a friend’s house last summer and was immediately in love with the sweet and spicy flavors and surprised at how well watermelon makes a salsa. This recipe is so easy and perfect for your first summer potluck. Watermelon Salsa... Read more →

This weekend I hosted a morning of crafting at my house with two lovely girl friends. We each worked on a different project – knitting, sewing, and recipe organizing! For snacks I made a vegan version of Smitten Kitchen’s Perfect Blueberry Muffins (by using vanilla soy yogurt and adding a bit of almond milk instead of the egg). Holy cow, SO GOOD. And they didn’t betray their vegan-ness at all, they were just plain good. If you need a go-to weekend muffin recipe, this is it! For something to sip on, I used the leftover rosemary syrup that I made... Read more →

Guys, the blog design workshop I'm taking is amazing! If you currently use Typepad or would consider moving to Typepad I cannot recommend it enough. And Katie Price, you were right! I'm totally geeking out on coding and love it. It's like a fun math puzzle where the answers make pretty pictures. I love being able to customize to my heart's content. And you may have caught the hint, since the blog design course I'm taking is only for Typepad blogs rising/shining will (eventually) be moving! And I'm so excited. Right now I'm using Squarespace for my blog and although... Read more →

My office/sewing room in one of our spare bedrooms is far from done but it's nearly functional, which is all I really care about right now. Hooray! But first we have to start at the beginning. It pains me to show you the before pictures because the room was embarrassingly messy. But let's get it over with so you can see the progress: That's some real life folks. *shudder* Let's (quickly) move on... We made a lot of progress on cleaning out the room a month or so ago. We donated so much stuff; love getting rid of stuff we... Read more →