Update

Hello blogspot world.

I'm wondering if anyone comes to this little page anymore. Probably not many of you, as I hope you're stopping by my tumblr blog to see what crazy shenanigans me and the handsome one are up to.

Thought I'd give you a little summary of the past few months:

1. Visited a lot of cities for work: Minneapolis, Chicago, Denver, San Diego,Seattle and Dallas

2. Spent a wonderful two weeks with friends and family over the holidays in North Carolina.

3. Met so many WONDERFUL new friends in San Francisco... people that will remain in our lives for a lifetime.

4. My best friend Natasha and her boyfriend Scotty moved to San Francisco.

5. We got a new apartment that we just love love love.

so there you have it... lots of stuff going on... keep up with us daily at www.withoutmelissa.tumblr.com


LOVE TO YOU!
M

Little trail of bread crumbs...

I've been blogging a little differently lately.
My literary hero, Jack Kerouac would be very proud
of the stream of consciousness writing that I have been creating
over on my tumblr site.

sometimes I have 15 little thoughts that I want to share with you.
but not a single big, well defined idea that I feel comfortable putting on a page.
so i got started with this new "micro blogging" site.
and i have to admit it is quite addicting.

I'd really love for you to stop by.
See what I'm doing today.
See what was on my mind yesterday.

Visit my Tumblr site here

Love,
M

In Pictures

There a little bits and pieces of our tiny home
that no matter how many times I pass by them,
they bring me an overwhelming sense of warmth.
I grabbed the camera and made my best attempt to document them for you.
So that you could perhaps, feel the same.

Let's start in our kitchen.
My best friend Natasha came last week and said this was her favorite spot.
Brent and I both had to agree with her.
The big oversized window is almost always open (although not in this picture)
and we can peer down on people as they walk down below.
Every now and then when I'm cooking dinner, I'll hear someone below say....
mmmm, that smells good!



Ahh! My fruitbasket! Isn't it the greatest shade of blue?
There is this old kitchen store on Divisidero, stocked to the ceiling
with old metal mixing bowls and cast irons pans,
delicate wedgewood cake plates and dented egg beaters.
I found this little beauty there and brought it home.
I wish it was full of fruit, but due to an always open (screenless) window
the fruitflies have found us,
so all the peaches and strawberries reside in the fridge for now.


All these birds! They're everywhere you look in this place. on the shelves, on plates, hanging rom the ceiling. Even our salt and pepper shakers are birds! This picture has two very special pieces to me. The alphabet block once served as a make-shift leg on my mama's fried chicken pan. I found it in the bottom of the box, and the mere sight of it made my mouth start to water! The little yellow plate has a story I'll save for another day. Lets just say, when I purchased it online I thought it was a dinner plate. Oh the adventures of ebay!


Well, I've got plenty more pictures to share. But I'll save a few for another blog tomorrow.

And on a completely separate note. I got a little overzealous with a box of blonde hair dye recently. I turned myself yellow and had to get the professionals to fix it:


Love to you all!
Melissa

Vinyl and Glass

we stumble upon everything.
the best restaurants,
the sunday farmer's market...
and today,
the once a year flea market that wraps around the perimeter of alamo square.

i bought bobby pins with old buttons glued on the ends.
our visiting friend, heather, bought old pictures in even older frames
and then, we found something we've been searching for for months.

a portable/ all in one record player.
an old 70's audiotronics classroom model.
we played the kinks, and van morrison, and bob marley, and muddy waters.
it was the sound we were missing in our little haven.

the crackling, organic sound of music.
there is something so visceral about it.
I caught Brent and the pups resting for a moment
and grabbed the camera to capture it.
I think Brent has had it up to here with my "videoing"



Earlier this week we visited the Chihuly exhibit at the De Young museum.
It was one of the most beautiful collections I've ever had the pleasure
of experiencing.
Absolutely magical.
A literal interpretation of Fantasia.

Here are a few of our pictures:

Right on Baker, Left on Grove.

Last week as we walked home from the grocery store
with canvas bags full of groceries slung over our shoulders.
I realized that in a collection of only forty odd days
we have been reshaped into new beings.

In the morning we rise and throw back the lace curtain
to see if our eyes opened before the restaurant across the street flipped
the sign in the window to {Open| Abierto}.

We wait for the elderly lady with the gray poodle to walk by
and we always nod and smile as she tells us the same story every time
about how that little dogs helps her get exercise despite her arthritis.

we think of as many similes as our brains can concoct
to describe the way the fog rolls in off the ocean.
like a quilt over the city streets, like the thick froth of my morning coffee.

we read the paper. and carry cash in our pockets because
every little hole in the wall restaurant here requires it.
We buy fresh flowers every Sunday
and save glass bottles to use as vases.

We have become accustomed to the sounds of living.
To the slamming of truck doors and the whirl of the street sweepers.
The metal ching ching of the zero emission buses connected to the wires above
and when someone starts yelling on the sidewalk, at nothing and everyone,
just because they can,
we rarely look up anymore.

This change....
it is such a dynamic and curious transformation.
The things happening to us.
Bound by the knowledge that brought us this far
and at the same time,
Affected to the core by this new impetus and
ten fingers full of unfamiliar experiences.

I like the way it smells at the very top of the park.
I miss my best friend.
I've never eaten so many peaches in my life.
I don't miss driving a car at all.

~M

things to share.

I wanted to post a picture of the yellow rose on our window sill.
Everything about this picture speaks to me.
The rose was taken from the unruly rose bush that covers the front of our building.
Everyday new roses in white and yellow and occasionally pink,
burst forth to greet me as I return from grocery shopping or a walk with the dogs.
They are a hopelessly joyful addition to my daily routine,
and occasionally, when there are plenty of them blooming,
I'll snag one to bring inside the house.




Another picture I thought I'd share,
Brent and I took our scooter (that I've named "Scootie Blue")
up to the highest view in the city, Twin Peaks.
It's a nice drive from our house, a curving, hilly climb
through residential neighborhoods.
We passed little corner grocery stores, flower shops and cafes.
When we reached the last climb to the top,
I was giggling the whole time and chanting "go, scootie, go"
because we have a really small scooter and it was chugging as best as it could
to get both of us up the hill.
The wind is incredible at the top. It feels almost as if it could lift you up in the air.
In this picture you can see one long strip of road right where my head is...
that is Market St, the lifeline street of San Francisco.



Love to all of you!
Melissa

Brent Cooks Dinner!

So Brent took it upon himself to whip something up for dinner last week,
and he looked so cute in there stirring a pot that I had to document.

For your viewing pleasure, Chef Jordan makes dinner: