.:Meet the Ritchies:.

Oh my goodness, we had SUCH A GREAT TIME in Seattle this weekend!  So many stories, so much laughter and all of it while spending time with our amazing and beautiful and inspirational friend Annalisa!  Thank you, thank you, thank you for showing us the glorious city and we are excited to come back and do it all again!  I plan to post tomorrow with more specifics, but tonight, quite frankly – I am too tired!  So I will leave you with a teaser picture (I ended up with 258 total pictures taken, with the help of Claire and Annalisa), this was taken at the Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe on the waterfront.  Enjoy!

I know, it's both hysterical and frightening all at the same time...

Little Miss V has done ballet since she was four years old and she truly has a ballerina’s spirit.  The studio she attends classes at is called the Center for Movement Arts here in Portland.  We eagerly await her annual recital each Spring, where she gets to perform all the things she has learned the year leading up to.  And what is especially exciting this year is that she is not only learning ballet, she is also getting some experience with jazz, tap and modern dance!  Which means she will be performing several different dances at the recital this year, totally going to be fun to watch!  Today they let the parents come into the studio the last five minutes of class to watch their children, and sneak a few pictures if they want, so Mark did just that.  Enjoy!

Can you spot her? She's in the back row, middle (the one with the super cute short hair!)...

...

Saturday morning while I was putting on my makeup, I remembered a makeup tip that I had seen online from Rachael Ray.  She was having a makeup tip-off between two different “makeup experts”.  One tip was to use lip balm as a primer for your eye shadow so it would last all day long without creasing (like mine tends to do).  So I go in and dig out my lip balm from my purse, go in the bathroom and apply liberally to each eyelid.  I then spend the next five minutes trying to stop my eyes from stinging and watering.  Turns out, you should only try this with Chapstick brand lip balm.  Whatever you do, DO NOT USE BURT’S BEES.  Which happens to be my favorite kind of lip balm and the kind I used that day.  Lesson Learned.

Claire and I sold concessions at a 7th & 8th grade girls basketball game this evening to earn money for Outdoor School.  We did pretty good but I realized that my hopes that Claire would take an interest in basketball, flew right out the gym door.  Those girls are brutal! The would squish her like a bug.  There were girls falling, elbows flailing and knees bouncing off the floor every 30 seconds.  It was craziness!  Not to mention they were all twice the size of Claire.  I’m afraid she only appears big while standing next to her shrimpy mother.  Especially now that she is wearing the same size shoe as me and borrowing my hoodies.  In my eyes, she’s a big girl.  But next to those girls she is a wee one.  So thankfully, she has no desire to play the game of hoops beyond our back yard.  Phew!

Did I mention I discovered that it is possible to stay in your bubble in the Super Mario Bros game?   I found that out the other night, Mark battled the boomerang throwing dudes (i don’t know their names, did you think I actually would?) as I floated quietly along behind him.  It was nice

I’m sure by now you’ve noticed the new banner at the top?  Thanks to my handsome web designer (who is also my husband) for updating it this evening.  I’ve been excited about adding this to our site and I plan to still modify the cartoon in the middle every now and again, but probably won’t be happening once a month as before.  And the About Us on the righthand sidebar!  Yay, it’s becoming more and more like a real blog every day!

We are going to Seattle this weekend to visit our beautiful friend Annalisa.  We have not seen her since our wedding, nor have we ever made it up to see her in her current home city of Seattle.  We are so very excited!!  Don’t worry, I will definitely be taking lots of pictures and blog about it upon our return!

And so I will bid you good night, and leave you with this wonderful “food art” that Mark did with our leftover condiments from dinner.  Thanks to Claire for insisting on taking pictures of it before devouring his pickle nose.  Have a great Tuesday!

I think he looks like his name would be Borg...don't know why I feel that way...

xoxo

Yikes! Okay, so obviously this week was a little more hectic than I had orginally figured, and this post is a few days late… BUT it’s here, nonetheless.

First of all, I would like to say THANK YOU! to those who came and celebrated with us on Tuesday finishing out little Miss V’s 4 day Birthday Extravaganza! As my Mother put it “you have such a great circle of friends who would come out on a Tuesday evening to celebrate!” … And I could not agree more! So thank you, our darling friends and family. You are all so special to us!! Cheesy, yes. Am I serious, absolutely! I believe V enjoyed every moment and I’m afraid we may have set the bar high for the next one (which will be double digits!!). Here are some pictures from the evening:

...

She's so sweet, she actually takes the time to read the card first...

Auntie Andi picked up this awesome Bird coin bank from Presents of Mind on Hawthorne.

Mmmm...chocolate cake...

Claire was keeping track of the gifts for thank you notes, while Evan chilled in her lap...

Rollerblades!

She's ready to go! Good thing Mark has a pair also, they can roll together.. I prefer four wheels under each foot myself...

xoxo

image courtesy of www.nintendo.com

Mark picked up the Super Mario Bros. game for Wii last night.

It was sort of like a journey back in time, reminding me that I was never very good at video games when I was younger. We didn’t have a Nintendo when I was a kid, so I would play it at my friend Tawna’s house, because she did (while simultaneously eating Doritos and chocolate chip cookie dough). And I spent the majority of the time watching her play because I had run out of lives while she was still going strong.  Hey, she owned it, so she had way more practice (that’s what I would tell myself to ease the pain).  It’s fun regardless, and last night all those great memories came flooding back.. especially as I sat watching Mark play because I had run out of lives and he was still going strong (my, how some things never change)… But! Nintendo has taken pity on those of us (me!) that cannot last as long as their friends, and you can do a “continuation” and start back into the game with renewed vigor! Thanks Nintendo, you’re the best!

Here’s a little bit of what you would have overheard from us while we were chucking fireballs and laughing until we cried (well, I think I did most the laughing… you would too if you watched me play)…

“Quit pushing me!”

“Why do I always have to be following right behind you?”… “Well, I am sort of.. the leader”

“Wait, you stand back”

“Can’t I just play the rest of the game inside my bubble?”

“Yeah, but that was then… this is now”

*******

Happy Tuesday! Stay tuned for a post later this evening after we celebrate our sweet little 9 year old Veda on her special day!!

xoxo

Veda will be turning 9 on Tuesday so this weekend she hosted five of her friends for an ice skating, pizza eating, slumber party extravaganza! It was great fun and I am happy to report that Mark and I survived to tell the tale! Haha… no, really it wasn’t that bad. They were great girls and we enjoyed listening to them give advice like “If you put the word Idiot on every blank in a MadLib, it’s really funny”… and their excitement when I presented them with heart shaped pancakes for breakfast, because apparently their own Moms don’t do this (insert serious fist pump in the air dance). Here are some pictures from the afternoon/evening/morning after…

Ice skating

teamwork...

homemade cards...

are the best!

birthday cupcake from Saint Cupcake

Veda was so excited to get this book! Check it out here..

...

Rudy enjoyed all the extra loves...

monster hand tattoos from Christmas..

I love how crisp this picture is…

and even a game of Hoops!

More birthday celebration to come… we are having another get together on Tuesday, her “actual” birthday.

xoxo

Some funny valentine’s…

...

check this one out here…

on the inside: I'll be in my room crying.

check this one out here…

This sounds a lot like our experience, but we have dinner reservations for 7:45pm so it's not that bad...

check this one out here… they also had some really funny Christmas cards and I’m sure the other holidays are covered as well.

Lastly, here is a picture of Claire wearing some pretty funny heart shaped glasses from Claire’s at the mall (which she likes to call “my store”).

Happy Valentine's Day!

xoxo

Purse by appetite

On Sunday my friend Kira and I went to a little shoppers gala called Bargain Hunting 101 at the Crystal Ballroom. It was a collection of local designers and boutiques selling their wares at a discounted price. Most the vendors were giving a small-ish discount, too small to really feel like any sort of discount. But there were a couple that had such wonderful things that I would have even paid full price for it… I picked up this awesome purse (only in different colors) by Appetite, check them out on Etsy!

Giant Dwarf Rosette Fascinator - The Swan

This A M A Z I N G fascinator by GiantDwarf on Etsy (have I mentioned how much I love Etsy?). I love the softness and the contrast against the model’s black hair. I need to get back to making my headbands, it was very therapeutic.

Floral Tee by Alternative Apparel

I love the simplicity and quiet elegance of this floral t-shirt by Alternative Apparel. I have been realizing lately that as our bodies get older, and things start to get a little less … um, how should I put this? … a little less firm… or harder to hold in I guess… anyway, I’m sure you get my drift here… A more flattering shape is to wear a top that is loose fitting towards the waist but still accentuates the positive, which I think v-necks are brilliant for this. And I am a sucker for the elbow length sleeves. I do not like 3/4 sleeves much because it makes my wrists cold… haha, that’s funny. And the cap sleeves tend to make arms that aren’t completely tone look flabbier than they are. (Can you tell I’ve been very harshly judging my shape lately?) But the half sleeve I think is juuuuuuust right.

Jane tall cuff boot by Frye

I have been coveting a pair of over-the-knee boots for about six months now, but I have yet to find the right pair that is both affordable and/or in person. I have a hard time ordering shoes off the internet because I am always so bummed if they don’t fit once I get them. And it’s really hard to judge quality through a picture. But if I wanted to spend the amount of money that these babies require, I would most definitely make an exception. *swooooooon*

Marriage.

My husband. I heart him. I love being married to my best friend and I am looking forward to many happy years ahead.

Happy Valentine’s week everyone! Spread the love! xoxoxo

Dear Monday,

I am having a hair crisis.  First of all, my hair just frustrates me more mornings than it makes me happy. And as soon as I get home from work I throw it up in “the bun”.  It’s becoming a constant.  My head doesn’t even hurt anymore when I do it.  Usually pulling my hair back, or wearing a headband or even sometimes if the bobby pin is just a millimeter too thick, it causes my head to ache.  But now, apparently, it’s desensitized.   Also, my red is fading but I’m not really wanting to keep it red.  I am wishing I would have given blonde more than six months, because when I see pictures of last summer all I can think about is “why didn’t I keep the blonde going?”.   *sigh*

My hair is the longest it’s been since I was a senior in high school and I am not ready to cut it.  I just need to get more adventurous in the styling arena I guess.  Or start wearing hats.  Which, don’t get me wrong, hats are one of my favorite accessories!  Mark’s cousin George came over yesterday and watched the Super Bowl with us, and when he was donning his hat to leave he said the most glorious three words a woman wants to hear!  hats dot com.  What?  You thought it was the other three words?  hee hee.. I guess it is Valentine’s week but no, he’s saving those magical words for someone very special some day, I’m sure of it!

Anyway, I guess I should go.  But if you have any advice on how to style my “do” without screaming obscenities at the mirror in the morning, please send them ASAP!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Ritchie

Our nephew Hunter will turn 2 years old on Monday (which is also my grandpa Brooks birthday!) so we celebrated this weekend.  My brother and his wife just bought the most beautiful home in Eastern Oregon I swear!  It is spacious and has tons of windows and just feels like “home”.  It was a great party with lots of family and Hunter was having so much fun opening his presents!  He was very animated and really appreciated everything he got, at least that’s what I think because he literally “oohed” and “awwed” over each gift (and even the card in some cases, because Elmo is awesome!).  Here are some pictures…

He had his birthday mohawk going on!

Sorry this is upside down, but the colors are so pretty!

Blowing out the candle...

Hunter and Wyatt

...

Hunter and his beautiful mama Amanda!

Nephew Wyatt who will turn 6 in May...

My cousin Chet and his gorgeous family, wife Natalie and munchkins Kade and Kallyn

Sibling love! This is our standard pose, and my brother always tries to look like he's being tortured or something!

Papa Ron and Hunter

haha... I just have to brag that I'm the TALLEST in this picture... that's pretty sweet since I'm only 5'3"! (My mom, Claire, me, my Grandma and my big Sis)

Birthday Boy!

*****************************************************

I also took some pictures of the sleepy little town that I grew up in, called Arlington.  I am a country girl at heart, it helped that I was raised in a town of just over 500 people, where community and pride were very important.  Our school mascot was the Honkers.  As in, the Canadian Goose.  This is great, because there are a lot of geese in that part of the state.  However, I was a cheerleader and walked around with the word “HONKERS” printed across the front of my uniform.  Do you see what I’m saying?  Yes, anything would have been better than that.   So here are some pictures of my hometown, enjoy!

...

...

The cafe in town, which I worked at in high school, as did my mother and my aunt when they were in high school...

H-O-N-K-E-R-S, Honkers are the very best! .. haha...

We hope you have a great week!  Talk to you very soon!

xoxo

love. love. love.