Last Day

We officially said goodbye to our first apartment on July 31st. It was a bittersweet day, not only did I emotionally part ways with my job and coworkers, but I came home to this empty space after finishing up an 11 hour work day. Seeing the bare walls and empty shelves was a little too much for my already fragile state and I broke down into a heaping pile of snot and tears. It didn't help that Pig attempted to climb the ladder to the loft when it wasn't secure and it nearly crashed down on her, causing her to hyperventilate and wet herself. She was a shaking mess when I got home, not the best situation to add to our already stressful night.

We finally managed to pack up the last few things laying around and hauled the mattress on top of the truck. We piled our apartment keys on the counter, took one last tour of our soon-to-be-former-place, and headed out (all the while sobbing of course). I miss our little apartment so much, don't get me wrong, not paying any rent ain't that bad, but there was just something about that big old spooky building that I loved. We're staying at the squeeze's rents' home in Buxton until our move, a big 'thank you' to them for housing us!

They have a beautiful home with gorgeous gardens surrounding every nook, plus, we exchanged the mattress in the spare room for our own mattress (I <3 you memory foam) so our temporary living situation is pretty darn good. We've been so busy organizing things/seeing friends/soaking in Maine that I almost forgot I had a blog. 9 Days!

Heights

Have you ever been in a hot air balloon?? I haven't. I've thought about it before, but half of me is utterly terrified of heights, while the other half wants to bite the bullet and experience skydiving. Unfortunately the scared half is mainly the dominant half and the thought of jumping thousands of feet out of an airplane gives me anxiety. You'd have a hard enough time just getting me to stand at a shallow ledge. 

I was making my way back to my car downtown after running an errand and this bright orange hot air balloon just popped out from behind a building. I was a little confused at first at what it was, hot air balloons aren't something you see around here, but the second I figured it out I grabbed my phone to snap a pic. It was gone pretty quickly, hot air balloons move a lot faster than I had imaged. Maybe floating up into the sky in a big colorful bubble wouldn't be that scary, perhaps a hot air balloon ride should be added to the bucket list!

Ta Da

So like I promised, here they are! Take note of the spectacular job the squeeze did cleaning up the wall and meticulously painting in those purple squares behind each painting. 

The show on Food Network, Taco Trip, did their interview of Taco Escobarr last week and the episode will air in October! The squeeze's contributions to the restaurant, i.e., the outside sign and 10,000 chili pepper lights strung from the ceiling, and my paintings will be on cable TV, how exciting! We probably still won't actually be paying for cable in October as we've gotten used to surviving off Hulu Plus and Netflix, but I'm sure we'll find some way to view the episode.

Keep your eyeballs peeled! 

Bear

A couple months ago a friend reached out and told me his brother just passed away. He said he saw some of my paintings online and wanted to know if he could request something to commemorate him and their mother that passed not long before that. He told me his brother went by the nickname 'Bear' (which I think is hilarious and awesome), and that his mother loved owls. I promised him after I finished up my big "Taco" project that I would hop right on it.

I browsed the web for pictures, drawings, and paintings of bears. Black bears, polar bears, grizzly bears, you name it. I just needed something to help me figure out what to paint. I came across a sketch of a big goofy smiling bear and it was perfect. I'm sure with a nickname like 'Bear' you gotta smile a lot and have a hearty laugh. I pictured in my head what would happen if a cute little poofy owl planted itself on the bear's head, how would he react... he would probably lean his head back and chuckle.

I asked the squeeze to impersonate the bear in that moment, just to see what he would come up with. We both grabbed our sides laughing as he let out an honest and cheerful 'huyah huyah huyah!'

We both crack up whenever we look at the painting, I hope it brings my friend the same joy and entertainment it's brought us (I made sure to snap several pics so we could refer back to it if we need a good laugh)!

Big Dog

That's basically what I thought I saw on the highway the other day. It obviously wasn't a big dog but rather a huge horse sticking his head out the window enjoying the highway ride. It would have been hilarious if his tongue was sticking out and his jowls were flapping everywhere. Horses are essentially huge canines you can ride, right? Except with a dog you don't have to worry about losing a toe, or five, if they misstep.

I remember a couple years ago I visited a friend out-in-the-middle-of-nowhere Bridgton, his family had a single huge Clydesdale with his own fenced in area set up in the front yard. He.Was.Massive. I've always wondered if animals can smell fear, if they can then I probably reeked to him. I was terrified of being so close to an enormous animal, it felt like I was standing next to a dinosaur (or what I image standing next to a dinosaur feels like). My cautiousness (or fear, call it what you will) came in handy when he bumped into me and nearly crushed my foot, I jumped back but he still managed to step on the edge of my shoe and squashed my baby toe. I had a pretty gnarly bruise for about two weeks.

I'll probably just stick to actual dogs, preferably smaller ones.

Holy

They must have named their establishment Holy Donut because it's the closet thing to heaven that us mere mortals have on this good earth. But really though. If you've never had the opportunity to try a Holy Donut, make a trip to Portland, Maine, or have someone you know in Portland ship some to you. I don't know if that's legal or not but I would worry about the minor details later. This particular beauty is their pomegranate donut *insert Wile E. Coyote with tongue hanging to the floor* Did I mention that these are potato donuts? And for their sweet potato donuts they use actual sweet potatoes? 

Oh lawd. 

The potato makes them have a cake-like texture instead of that typical dry and crumbly stuff you so often find yourself biting into. The two shops in Portland are open for a good chunk of the day, but they tend to close once they sell out of donuts... which is very often. I am unfortunately stuck at work all afternoon so I won't be making any Holy stops today, but rest assured we will be taking some with us once we start our journey! I'll probably look into this shipping donuts things as well...

Tacos

Guess what I'm doing right now? A happy jig because I finally completed the Taco Escobarr wall commission! I know, you're probably raising an eyebrow thinking these look familiar and that I'm not on my game today. They are the same paintings from a previous post, but I had to add three more; the scorpion, arrows, and shrimp, so technically you're right. It's a huge relief though, not to mention I'm looking forward to not having wooden boards littering our living room floor. I also can't wait to see them up on the wall at the restaurant! It'll be a nice feeling to leave something behind that's memorable in our hometown, I'm hoping it gets a lot of positive feedback from taco lovers and margarita sippers alike.

What's your favorite? I'm partial to the skull, because, well, I love to draw dead things. That sounds a lot more morbid than I mean... I just love skulls.

The squeeze is going to help out and bring the wall they will be hanging from back to life, it's been displaying several varieties of artwork for First Friday over the months and as a result looks like a slice of Swiss cheese. It needs a lot of TLC and spackle to say the least. So after some filler and a fresh coat of paint, up they go!

I will definitely take a picture of their final resting place (pun intended) once everything is set up.

Sweet Dreams

Oh to be a cat! I was up bright and early the other day getting ready for work when I saw this mush ball passed out on the chaise lounge. I tried to tip toe my way over to snap a pic and ended up tripping on the ladder to our loft (we move it at night so Pig doesn't climb it and jump on our faces while we sleep), and catapulted myself across the room. 

Did she even flinch? No. I pulled myself together noisily and stood over her and took this photo. Again, not a flinch. She could practically pass for a slab of deli meat she was so motionless, with the mere exception that you could hear her snoring (more like cat wheezing but you get my point).

Oh to be a cat.

I wonder what they dream about. Do they dream? They must dream. I wonder if she is dreaming about her big adventure to Texas. Probably not. I can dream that my cat has self awareness, can't I?? If she could talk she'd probably say 'Ma, you're crazy.'

Sweet American Summer

I feel like this picture does a pretty good job of summing up one aspect of summer, delicious cold sweet summer treats! Did I mention how much I love that we can walk from our apartment to any spot our hearts desire?? (I know I have several times, it's a rhetorical question, let me bathe in the glory that is downtown living!)

I suggested ice cream on one 80+ degree evening, the squeeze had never been to Mount Desert over on Exchange Street so we happily made the trek out. On a side note, he was very upset to learn that they never took the obvious opportunity to call it Mount Dessert Desert Ice Cream. Anyway, they have two other locations in Bar Harbor, apparently President Obama ordered their coconut ice cream once when he visited our great state and they continued to sell out of it afterwards. Coconut is one of my favorite flavors ever, touché Mr.Obama. 

Neither of these are coconut though, these days I've coconut-ed myself out. The bottom scoop is their Maine Mint and the top is the Coriander Blackberry Ripple Streusel. The mint was my favorite, and despite my love for neon colors I was very happy this wasn't some crazy psychedelic green that mint flavors usually are. If I recall correctly I think one of the girls behind the counter said they mixed actual mint leaves throughout it, yummmm.

I love summer for everything it has to offer, and binging on local ice cream shop stock is right at the top of the list.

Vines

One of my favorite things about Portland are the old buildings that make up the city, some of them have been here for so long they've turned into something straight out of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Seeing vine encased facades like this is not uncommon, even our apartment is half green! The morning of the squeeze's birthday we walked up State Street, a long stretch of uphill road lined with large brick buildings similar to this. 

The squeeze and I both stopped and examined the massive green vine monster. I asked if he wondered whether or not the structure of the building had been compromised over time due to the little vines making their way over and through it. Neither of us knew. Some of these buildings have been here for 100+ years and are still standing strong, despite mother nature's green touch.

Regardless, I love the way it looks. It would be interesting to live behind the walls of one of these heavily decorated buildings, just look at that window, it's practically enclosed! In the winter it's a lot less lush looking and a lot more creepy with just the bare vine stems clinging to the walls. I wonder if we'll see this down south?

29

That's how young the squeeze turned on Thursday, happiest of birthdays to my other half!! I wanted to do something special since this will be the last birthday for either of us that we'll get to celebrate before we move (until we come back to visit of course!). All of the squeeze's friends helped me out and gathered together at The Saltwater Grille for a surprise dinner. I couldn't have asked for a better turnout; the weather was perfect, the sunset was beautiful, the company was awesome, and of course the food was delicious. So much success!

Afterwards we walked over to the dock sitting perpendicular to the restaurant and spent some time on a huge boat, courtesy of one of the squeeze's friends.

Thank you for being you! You are the kindest, most selfless human being I have met and I feel so lucky that you picked me to share your days with. I hope 28 has been an awesome year, I can't wait to spend 29 with you on a new adventure! 

Hugo

This is Hugo, a friend's kitty. I was given the honor of babysitting (petsitting? Cat feeding?) little Hugo over the weekend while his owners traveled up to Acadia. I am fortunate enough to have a kitty who eats only when she's hungry, meaning I can leave her bowl full and unattended at all times. Most other kitties though, like Hugo, need to be fed accordingly or they will become fat or choke on their food in an effort to swallow it all at once. Silly cats. 

My first feeding visit I opened the door to no kitty greeting me, unusual for Hugo since he likes to try and escape. I walked up the two flights of stairs to get to their apartment and still no kitty *Uh oh*  I searched their place, yelling his name and still nothing. I stood silent for a bit and from the back of the apartment I heard the saddest little 'mew' you could possibly imagine.

Hugo got himself locked in the closet. Good job Hugo. I sent my friend a photo of him fleeing from the dark space, I think she scolded her boyfriend because it was he who wasn't paying attention and shut the door on the cat. I stuck my head in to check if he had made a bathroom out of their clothes, the coast was clear!

He hovered around me the entire time I was there, probably thought he would be a closet cat for ever, who knows what goes on in their heads. Needless to say, the second time we came back to feed him he was the nicest to me he'd ever been. I'd like to think of myself as a sort of cat whisperer, but I think at that point Hugo just associated me with food so he was looking forward to my visit.

Silly cats.

Sunflowers

I grew up a major tomboy, and now in my 20's I still prefer leggings instead of pants and flats instead of heels. But sometimes a girl's still a girl, and I'll be damned if being a tomboy prohibits me from loving flowers and girly lattes. These days I'm a lot less boyish than I used to be, I have mastered the cat-eye look and even occasionally use hair spray (this is quite a big deal since I've never in my life used any hair products).

Tomboy qualities also include ridding the apartment of any spiders so the squeeze doesn't have to, rocking my work hoodie until he says it's no longer acceptable to be this casual, being in love with my WRX and talking to it like she's a person, swearing like a dirty sailor until the squeeze also says it's no longer acceptable to be this casual. I think I clean up pretty nicely though when I have to be presentable to the public eye.

That being said, the squeeze knows me all too well, and if he brings me sunflowers and a skinny vanilla latte from Starbucks I am pretty much putty. How can you not love that combo, just look at this photo, doesn't it instantly cheer you up??

Perhaps I'm just easily pleased. Not a bad thing I guess. I'll take a dozen roses, a rally car, and a latte please!

Boxes

So many more of these boxes are in our near future. I can't believe it's almost July, JULY! I don't love packing, I don't mind it I guess. It's almost relieving to go through one's stuff and get rid of the things that clutter your life. We have to put lots of things up for sale on Craigslist too, oy vey. I'm still trying to sell my neon wheels... that has proven to be rather difficult. Basically we still have a lot of loose ends to tie up. 

The bittersweet moment when our apartment was being shown and a check was written right on the spot proved to be a little overwhelming. On a more positive note, the soon-to-be-new-tenants loved the way we arranged our apartment and pressed us if they could have a few of the items we plan on selling. I guess that means we have a desirable living set-up! 

Pig looks ready to help in this photo, I guarantee you when the time comes she will not be so thrilled. I love moving! - Said no one ever 

Home

I tried to get a good angle of our apartment building but it's kinda hard on this street due to all the cars passing and trees blooming. You can really only see a third of the building here... we're the second floor on the left hidden behind the leaves. It's a beautiful large brick structure with bits of gothic style, what was once supposedly a single family dwelling is now a 16 unit apartment building. Like I said, it's huge! 

I did a little Googling and came across this black and white photo of when the building was relatively new. If we're speaking in house years though I don't think the building would be considered "old" today, built in 1924 it's not even a 100 years old yet. When we moved in last year it had just celebrated its 90th birthday. We know of some recent history in the building, but I'm sure every home has some skeletons in its closet. The squeeze and I both agree that this has been our favorite apartment either of us has lived in, what a wonderful first place this has been!

I know nothing we find in Austin will have the charm like the buildings in Portland do; from wonky floors to temperamental showers, fake decorative mantels to enormous bay windows. I will miss the massive brick walls we have and the loft above our bed, the crooked kitchen cabinets and the sink that sounds like it's choking on water. It will be a bittersweet farewell when we say our goodbyes to our spooky house.

Giant

Do you have any idea how difficult it is finding a gently used bicycle? Scratch the gently used part, any used bicycle?? At least in the southern Maine area it was like trying to spot a polar bear in Florida. Usually I stick to gift cards or a bottle of Courvoisier for all father related things, but this year for his birthday my dad exclaimed he wanted a bicycle. I scratched my head at this... does he even know how to ride a bike? If he does I've never witnessed it.

So one Sunday afternoon, the squeeze and I picked up my dad and headed to Portland to go bike shopping. I figured the city out of all places would have a plethora of used bicycles to choose from, I see dozens of people cycling on my way to work every morning. What a crazy assumption that apparently was. We stopped at about four or five bike shops all over the city, and nothing. You heard me, nada, zip, zilch, nope, diddly squat. In fact, one of the places everyone mutually recommended, Port City Bikes, literally had nothing but tires kicking around in their shop.

I planned ahead in case this would happen and got a general idea of what the least expensive new hybrid bicycle would run me. That number is $400, we're talking an entry level beginner bike with no (literal) bells and whistles. Either I've been in the dark about bicycle prices because I haven't owned one since I was 13, or my frugal family genetics have me avoiding expensive hobbies. Now I know how people must feel when they shop for new cars after having the same Honda Accord for 15 years.

I told my dad if I catch it collecting cobwebs that he'll never hear the end of it. The squeeze was kind enough to buy him a bicycle helmet, with my dad's consent we picked him up a neon yellow one. I have to say I'm super excited about that in itself.

Now we just need to slap a tiny basket on the front to house a little dog.

Old Port Fest

A benefit of living down town? Everything is within walking distance! For starters, it was gorgeous out yesterday, the perfect t-shirt weather. We strolled through Portland, heading towards the hustle and bustle of what was the 42nd annual Old Port Festival. Cars were congested at stop lights left and right while trying to find their way into the heart of the city, it's always quite a mess getting there this time of year. Like previous years, the festival was swarmed with people. Swarmed isn't even a good way of putting it, it was more like flooded with people. There's your typical fair food like popcorn, fries, cotton candy, but thrown in the mix are always local foods. You can buy hand-made t-shirts, jewelry, soaps, artwork, cutting boards, you name it. There's face painting, rock climbing, pony rides, live music, and even a ferris wheel. Portland may be the largest city in Maine, but it's still tiny compared to the likes of New York City or even Boston. That being said it is a whole heck of a lot of festival to cram into the streets of downtown, but they still manage to orchestrate it every year.

After we checked out every booth and took in the aromas of all the foods, we decided to head somewhere that hadn't been attacked by tourists yet. Out by the ferry that makes its way from Peak's Island and back and near the massive whale wall, is a dock that looks out to the Casco Bay Bridge. We sat with our feet dangling over the edge, black raspberry ice-cream in hand and smiles on our faces. What a wonderful way to end the Old Port Festival.

I've never been a big fan of saltwater, I don't like swimming in it and sometimes during foggy weather low-tide can sting your nose, but this view is something even lake lovers can appreciate. Portland will just be that much more special when we visit back.

Loft

This has got to be one of my favorite pictures. The squeeze took this within a couple days of us moving into our apartment, Pig had just discovered the loft and out of the sheer excitement her pupils took over her eyeballs. We opted to keep our bed on the floor and the loft as a means of storage since we really had none, but ultimately it kind of turned into Pig's own room. When the ladder goes up, so does she. Since we keep all of our bedding and blankets up there it's quite the sweet spot for a little cat.

I told the squeeze it made me a little misty-eyed having to move her again, especially since she's taken such a liking to the ladder/loft setup, he (always) optimistically replied that when we get a house some day we'll just have to put ladders all over the place for her to climb.

I am definitely OK with this, In fact, the idea of having a loft has really grown on me. Some day!

S'mores

All that talk about s'mores while at the fire pit made me a little s'more crazy. Since we don't have approval for a fire pit in our living quarters, and I don't want to risk exploding marshmallows in our microwave, I opted for something a little more accessible. S'mores Oreos! This was actually the first bag of Oreo's I've ever even bought. Apparently the 'Limited Editions' cost you the same price but only come with 3/4 the amount of Oreo's as the regular kind do. What a jip. 

So were they good? Of course they were good, they're frickin' Oreo's. I guess this was the first time they didn't have a regular cookie shell, but rather a graham-cracker/cookie hybrid. Did they taste like s'mores? Not really. Only s'mores can taste like s'mores. That being said, does one pick strawberry flavored candy because it actually tastes like strawberry? Definitely not. Unless you live in a place where strawberries taste like whacked out psychedelic sugar bombs (I'd probably try them).

If someone reads this and senses my desperation for s'mores please help, when you get a craving like this it doesn't go away until satisfied. 

SOS

Skulls and Roses

I can officially and happily say that I finally finished the painting project our friends commissioned me to do.

*breathes huge sigh of relief*

I always feel like I have a million and one things looming over my head to begin with, so when I added this project to the list I was a little overwhelmed. But that's how I am by nature, easily overwhelmed. So one day at a time I chipped away at it, only in the recent past couple of days did I really tackle it full force. I turned into a little couch monster covered in paint, I took over the whole living room with my neon acrylics and take-out food. But alas, it is done! I know you're probably thinking 'hey, those are pretty simple images to get all hot and bothered over,' and they are. But I'm painfully a perfectionist, so sometimes things take a little longer.

Here's to the next project!