pizza muffins!

well, i've done it again - pinterest has really egged me on to bake some new, fun, and totally unhealthy things. tonight, it was homemade pizza rolls. which really just turned into pizza muffins. (am i complaining?). they were delicious, however they were also the second recipe i've tried in the last two days that has left me wishing for more. (in this case, i don't really mean more pizza muffins, just something more complex). they were pretty irresistible, nonetheless, and now i've got something to snack on while wilson and i snuggle up to watch sister wives (strange addiction). if these looks tasty enough to try, here's the recipe! 

pizza roll/ball/muffins!

i know how he's feelin'

<3

cinnamon, pumpkins, and red red leaves

hello, dear friends. as always, it's been awhile, but i'm here nonetheless.
almost two months after patrick left, i'm finally feeling settled into this new (however temporary) routine. i'm cuddling up in my little apartment with my snugglepup, burning fall scented candles, baking baking baking, and trying as hard as i possibly can to influence the falltime gods to come on and hurry up! the cooler mornings and evenings have made a huge difference in my oh so easily persuaded emotional weather radar. but somehow the afternoons are still making me sweat! not so great for giant wool blankets and hot tea. but oh well, i must be patient, because as soon as it starts to snow, i'm going to wish it were june again. (oh! june! i can't wait!)
meteorological ADD.
well, seeing as it's always hard for me to sum up weeks of my life when i take so very long to write (sorry anna-the-blog-watcher, but better late than never, right?), i'll just show you what i've been doing...

watching it snow/hail/rain for what i thought would be the earliest winter yet (thank goodness it proved me wrong)

buying new glasses! nerd alert!

burning bunny hutches (sans bunnies) with my seester

making REALLY good indian food

i mean REALLY good

talking as often as possible (which is fairly often) with my outrageously good looking husband

stamping and crafting with my new antique alphabet stamp set!

again...baking. lemon drop tea cookies

watching my puppy get cuter and bigger and cuter and bigger

and CUTER

knitting! i have finally picked my needles back up and started some really stinking cute projects :)

ta-da! some of things which cannot be photographed include, but are not limited to:
1. incessantly searching for a job that seems not to exist
2. applying to graduate school in hopes of a job and some money falling into place between now and january
3. driving. A LOT. between keeping myself busy (lots of CVS trips?) and job hunting, good ol' rita the subie has had her fair share of travel in her first few months with me
4. running. A LOTTER. having signed up for a 10K run in san francisco in november, i've been running all over the place (and in lots of circles) to get ready for it. i'm hoping to be ready for a half marathon by february, so this is a great place to start! and it's for mermaids!

Oy vey....

It's been months. Literally: week after week after week. But I guess delayed is better than never. So much has changed as Summer has dwindled its way into the beginnings of Fall, but all the transition and movement has seemed to pan out well so far. Patrick has officially left for his second tour in Afghanistan. I have posted his address at the end for the few of you who read this and might find the desire one day to send him a note. Or a package of skittles. Or a photo of something colorful. He would appreciate any and all of them. Meanwhile, Wilson and I have moved into the studio apartment beneath my brother and sister-in-law's house while I hunt and apply for jobs. So far, the mission has been as difficult as I had imagined it would be, but I have had two responses from the 150+ jobs I've applied to. If things work out as planned, I'll have one interview for a Publications Production Manager with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland and one for a Marketing Assistant with a River Preservation Organization in Hood River, Oregon. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

As far as the small pleasures in life, things have been a bit hectic for me to be able to stop and enjoy myself. I'm not liking this very much and keep reminding myself to sit back and relax, enjoy the mountains, my lovely family, the fresh air, and my downtime while I can. Thankfully, an amazing weekend is in store for the 30th, 1st, and 2nd, when Anna and I are making the adventurous trek to San Francisco to see my dear friend Aubrey, her new downtown flat, and some excellent bluegrass at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in Golden Gate Park. I am thrilled. It's been far too long since I've explored the city with either one of these golden friends of mine and similarly far too long since I've gone exploring. I truly cannot wait.

My heart has been aching at its usual persistent "deployment pace" these days, and my heart mates have (as always) come through as such an amazing support system for me. Kristine and I talked a lot this week about letting things go, giving our fast-paced brains, our strained hearts, and our tired bodies a break and appreciating what is in front of us. Her patience and persistence through e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. is such an inspiration to me and I was so grateful for her understanding.

New friends have been just as much of a blessing these days, as I finally connected with the fiance of one of Patrick's friends/fellow Marines from his new platoon. Besides being freakishly similar to me in a strange amount of ways, Monica has quickly found a soft spot in my heart with her uplifting personality. We're set on training together (long distance, seeing as she is from Illinois) for a half marathon in the spring. She wanted to come out to the West Coast for a visit anyway, so a goal and some motivation for a healthy distraction has been awesome!

All in all, I am feeling so very lucky and learning to take every day as it comes. I have been able to hear from my husband more often than I could have ever imagined, and his "closeness" when he can't be close has eased so many heartstrings. Sending love out into the universe tonight, for anyone who might need it.

my sweet boy

SGT Rowe, Patrick S
3/7 Lima Co HQ PLT
Unit 41570
FPO AP 27-1570

READS!

goodreads.com
goodreads.com
GOODREADS.COM
!!

garb

after resting comfortably in a pool of stagnant fashion water for some time, i've recently (probably due to the sun and glowing skin and happiness and DEFINITELY due to pinterest) felt an itch to shop. on top of this new found urge, i've been really trying to redefine my closet space. rather than shopping cheap, practical, quick, easy, i've refocused to cheap, practical, and FREAKING CUTE. taking just a little more time to think through an outfit, or a versatile section of wardrobe has already paid off. anna and i wandered a few thrift stores yesterady afternoon, and already, i've come up with some real gems!

my favorite find: new slim straight 514's

$4! and they cuff like gold

and now, of course, i've got a running wish list:

Ralph Lauren leather belt

Topshop t-bar sandal

Tilly's floral fedora

Delia's utility shirt

Topshop lime textured snood



JCrew denim shorts

homebody

ahhh, sweet home.
i am soaking up the mountain air these days, enjoying friends and family that i usually don't get to see very often. i even got lucky enough to match home-travel dates with Amb! it has been wonderful to lounge by the pool and sip coffee with her for extended periods of time.
i made dinner for my parents the other night, a delicious garlic pesto chicken pizza. amazing! it was even wonderful leftover the next day!
other than putsing around, enjoying the cooler days and the open space (filled with more than dirt & cactus), reading and lounging have been high on my list. i have a few more coffee dates this week, and then it's off to shop for wedding dresses on saturday! wee!

such a stud.

delicious...

daddy!

noodles and pins

well, well, well.
life is outrageous.
all of the time.
and mostly, that's excellent.

our trip home was so wonderful! we had a close call friday night when we were finally getting close to home-P's 1st Sgt called at midnight as we drove through merced with 2 hours to go to tell us that there were two missing radios and that the battalion was to report to formation at 0730 saturday morning. Needless to say, hoards of marines had already flown home for their 96. After a long night/morning of worrying that we'd have to turn around and go back, it was finally decided that anyone further than 300 miles could stay where they were. phew! it would have been so terrible to go back with less than 4 hours of rest.

on a positive note: Wilson got along so well with all of his cousin-dogs, and probably taught them a little something too:) Patrick and i had such a wonderful time with our family, and couldn't stop talking on the drive home about how much we missed being close to all of them! we are so blessed with such supportive and enjoyable people, it's always especially hard to drive away again.

i also got to spend an awesome morning with my oldest and dearest friend Anna on monday. she brought her golden retriever Henry and we walked the dogs, and took them swimming (Wilson was a champ!) We had bagels and shared coffee over lots of catch-up chat. it was lovely!

Henry & Wilson

our fourth of july was spent BBQ'ing at Roweheadquarters with all of those lovely people, fireworks and Dave's tri-tip included! we stayed at Grandma Letty's cabin in Lakemont, so the two of us wandered down to the lake on saturday night to watch the fireworks that i remember so vividly lighting myself a few years back. it was such a relaxing couple of days, and we were so bummed to be back in the hot desert!

the little mini-fireworks:)

the caterpillar Wilson and i found on our walk

Reggie's Reggie-sized bone

swimming time...

an attempt to recreate the first shot to see how much he's grown!

lion yawn

dorks.

desert rainbow!

our food tasting went wonderfully, our engagement photos were SO fun to take, and i can't wait to see the rest of them!

spending the day packing up most of that life to drive it another 9.5 hours north to hang out in the mountains for a month while P is off training in the miserably hot desert. despite the high temps lately, we had a killer thunder/lightening/rain/flash flood storm for a few hours yesterday afternoon, JUST in time for the hubby to get off early and come home to calm me and the dog down :) it was probably the most exciting thing that's happened since we've moved here, which says a lot about how little there is to do.

cloudy mountains

watching the storm come closer

our flooded yard

water water water

anyway, back to the grass and the trees and the rivers tomorrow morning, where Wilson can recommence his dog-playing practice, eat some leaves, and romp all day long! i'm looking forward to spending some time up there with family and friends during the Sierra Nevada's best time of year (in my opinion).
i'll have plenty to do between coffee dates, book reading (will be much more enjoyable when i'm not sweating all over the place), a beautiful friend's wedding, some dress shopping of my own, and plenty of trips to freezing cold water. it's going to be fantastic!
in other news, during our photographic expedition this last weekend, my friend Amber turned me on to an incredible website: pinterest. the whole site is dedicated to dog-earing/bookmarking/saving/loving/compiling photos of everything you could possibly love. it's best explained as a bulletin board, where you "pin" your favorites. i have 7 boards already :) it's hopelessly addicting, but incredible for anyone who wishes they could tear out the pages they find online like they do with the ones in their magazines. all good things.
so i'm snacking on some spaghetti, clicking away on some wonderful pieces, and preparing myself for the marathon of packing ahead.
sending love out to all of you!

on the way home from the vet...