Well..

I was going to start out this post by saying sorry again for my absence..

but then I decided that I need to stop doing that. If I am able to blog,

then I will and if I can't because I'm busy living my life, then I won't. Easy, simple. 

I'm not going to feel guilty whenever I think about this thing,

knowing I haven't updated in a while. Done. :)

Here are a bunch of random things that have been happening
as of late in a list because I don't feel like
using complete sentences.. hehe. :)

-busy with work(s)
-in September, my love and I celebrated 6 years together

-my sweet friends, Chelsea and Brandon, got married -- and I danced for hours

-remembered, partook in and celebrated a few High Holy Days

-got a perm.. yes, I really did
-became very afraid of the perm
-perm relaxed.. A LOT
-fell in love with the perm and became a little too obsessed
-friendsies visited and stayed with us :)
-moved from brewing sun tea to hot tea
-have been successfully shopping, cooking and eating vegan for the past month or more
-feelin' well, eatin' well
-my love is moving to a new position in his job in two weeks
-listening to Christmas music for the past week and a half (I can't help myself)
....
I think that's it. :)

Before I go, I wanted to share this video. I am a huuuge lover of music
and one of my favorite musicians is Feist and she just so
happens to be coming out with a documentary in the next week or so.
I'm pretty excited. Very excited. Are you?

Hi guys.

You know the feeling you get when you've been away from blogging for so long
that it makes it harder to come back to writing again? Well that was me,
for close to two months now. Unacceptable. I'm sure that I have been long forgotten, but
I hope that you will take me back... whoever you are. :)

We have lived in our little pink house for a little over a month now and we are
in heaven. We love it so much more than I can say. We are
pretty settled in, still hanging pictures on the bare walls but things are
coming along. The picture above was taken over a month ago and since then,
we have gotten a big area rug and hung some pictures on the walls. I'll
have to update with new pictures soon. So much has happened
but all I can say is that we are so so happy with where we
are. If I could extend my arms and wrap them around this little house,
I would immediately. I feel so blessed by what G-d has
given us and I don't want to take it for granted, not even for a minute.

I have decided to compile a short list of what has been going on in the past couple
of months:
we moved (obviously)
dinners in the backyard
Mal and Jonathan stayed at our house for 3 whole days
Paul turned 29 :)
BBQ with great friends
countless nights spent out on the porch
Dad's birthday dinner here
Father's Day in Claremont
Cheese Cave opening (and many visits since then)
bocce ball in the backyard
enjoyed the air conditioner
summer school (bleh)
spent the day in Los Feliz, ate at Alcove
family visited
went to Vegas for the day
4th of July BBQ fun with friendsies
Claremont farmers market every Sunday morning
and finally found a home church where we regularly attend every Saturday morning (!!!)

And that about sums it up. :)

It's a beautiful Sunday, the farmers market was nice this morning and we
decided, instead of spending the rest of our day inside, we are going to go to the beach.
I hope that you are all having a great weekend. I'll be backkk.

Afternooning

Freshly squeezed strawberry lemonade. "Yummy in the tummy" as my grandma would say.

Agenda for the weekend:
-Going on a date tonight with my Love. We're going to see Babies (please watch the trailer if you haven't already)!! I feel like I've waited forever for this to come out. :)
-Lily's 3rd birthday party. <3
-Packing for days and days.
-Hang out with some good friends.
-Watch Paul write his 15 page research paper (that is due Monday - oye).
-Finish reading my Real Simple magazine.

That's it. Happy weekend. :)

I'm growin' some scallions in our kitchen and they are coming along! This picture was taken 2 days ago..
you should see them now. I'll try to update on these little babies. I'm proud of them. Grow grow!!

I have not been a good mother to my blog child.

Has this been the longest lull in my blogging history or what? I think it's been days... weeks even? Yikes. Well geez, a lot is going on. I finally have pictures to post from our anniversary trip and pictures of food and recipes to put out there but for now I will start with just a short update. April and the start of May have been filled with work, school, Brother's 22nd birthday (gaijadgadfhi!!), hang outs, a tea party, concerts, a trillion loads of laundry, Mother's Day and.. oh yea.. we're moving! The latter is the most exciting for me. I cannot describe the feeling or say it enough. We aren't moving far, not far at all actually -- 6 or 7 blocks away to be exact. :) We will still be living in Lincoln Park Historic District but instead of living in a 1 bedroom duplex, we are going to be living in a 2 bedroom house (built in 1930) with a big backyard, a porch (!!), garage, ranunculus in the front and a big beautiful quiet street. I am going to do a separate post once we move in because I am just that excited, if you couldn't tell. We prayed diligently for our future home and G-d blessed us beyond what we could have imagined. We so don't deserve it.

So anyway, that's what has been keeping us busy and crazy these past few weeks. Our living room is full of boxes and I can say that I am definitely ready to be settled in.. but not for a couple more weeks. I vow to blog again very very soon with pictures and all.

Oh.. um p.s. The new house.. it's pink. Like powder pink. And before you make a face, I love it.

Spring Time

I love spring time and all of the blooming flowers that it brings. Our peach
and apricot trees have budded and blossomed in our backyard, along with
the pink and red camellia trees on the side of our house. It makes life
feel new again and with the new season brings a new list of goals,
hopes and dreams. For this season, I pray for..
...a refreshed attitude and frame of mind.
...a simpler, less materialist life.
...more late night drives with my husband.
...a thankful attitude for the jobs we possess.
...more of Jesus everyday.
...our time to be spent reading and creating new things.
...lots of deliciously cooked dinners.
...a clean house. :)
...more walks in our neighborhood and naps in the park.
...lots love and time to be shared with our family and friends.

(photo via waterproofvalentines)

One.Five.TwoThousandTen

Paul should be home in approximately one hour. He picked up 20 extra hours at work this week (which totals to 60 hours - yipes) and I am trying to be a good wife by making sure the house is clean, dinner is on the table and that I am dressed in my sweetest apron as he crosses the threshold. Real Simple's orange chicken with bulgar pilaf (sub quinoa for bulgar because the grocery store didn't have it, darn) will be served on our dinner table this evening and I hope it turns out just right. I am really trying to commit to my "2010 try to achieve" list this week (one week at a time) and I am doing that by staying in tonight and cooking for the two of us instead of going out. Feels good. :)

Another way that I am sticking to my list is by taking a picture everyday. So for today's picture, I give you this: my new favorite pillow. This was gifted to us by Mallory and Jonathan for our Christmas present and I couldn't be more thrilled about it. Here it rests on our couch and I look at it fondly every time I enter the room.

The little sign in front says "de Partee" (!)

I wish the picture could be better but as we know, the photo booth camera is going to have to have to cut it until something better comes along. Is this not the cutest thing? I have a lot of love for this little pillow. Please excuse Tootsie's behind, she was not willing to move for the photo. Happy Tuesday. :)

One.One.TwoThousandTen

I'm here at this new destination and I like the feel of it. I love having something new to work on and look at, so I am bringing in the new year with lots of new things and new improvements. Last night was New Years Eve and Paul and I spent it with some of our closest friends - singing loudly, laughing until our sides ached, dancing, hugging and kissing. It was a really great way for us to end the year. I can't believe 2009 is over. Did it fly by for you like it did for us? In looking back on all the we did, it blows my mind. Tomorrow is mine and Paul's one year wedding anniversary.. u n b e l i e v a b l e. I can't really put a feeling into words other than saying that my tummy flutters when I think about that day and thinking about what I was doing right now, one year ago. I saw my parents a couple of days ago and my dad asked me if it felt surreal thinking back on a year ago and seeing and experiencing how quickly it came and went. My dad has always said that time goes by quicker the older you get and I always listened but never knew quite grasped what he was saying. He talked about how their first year of marriage flew by for them and how the years following seems to go quick too. Now that I have grown up (just a bit), I know what he is saying. And it is a slightly eerie but at the same time, comforting feeling to be in the same place that my dad was in years ago.

So let's see... I'm going to make a quick list for what I would like to see happen in this new year. This isn't a resolution list, just a strive to achieve list. :) I've never been really good with resolutions. Here we go, I would like to..

...become a stronger woman of G-d.

...take more walks.

...read more books.
...buy fresh flowers weekly.
...write more hand written letters.
...wear my apron everyday.
...love Jesus more.
...make sun tea in my backyard.
...maintain a healthier lifestyle.
...stay home in the evenings more with Paul rather than us going out.
...craft a little bit everyday.
...bake flowerless cakes.
...travel!
...make handmade gifts for family and friend's birthdays.
...make more chicken tortilla soup.
...light more candles.
...take at least one picture everyday.
...grow closer to the L-rd everyday.
...finish all of the projects that I start.
...love my husband more (which isn't hard to do).
...make the bed at least 3 days a week.
...get control of my road rage (yipes).
...get more exercise.
...blog 1-2 times a week.
...help someone in need.
...spend more time with my grandma.
...love more.
...become a better wife, daughter, sister and friend.

I hope that everyone had a fun, safe New Years Eve. I am excited for 2010 and all that it will bring. And for now I leave you with this, of course it's Sufjan Stevens. I guess maybe he sings the theme song of my life. I love how he writes, how he sings and his creative ability. I hope you enjoy the song. Happy New Year and love to you all. :)