roughing it. by orange

s'mores. crackling fire. smokey air. all mixed with the soothing voice of Iron & Wine...perfect camping trip.

i have not had the pleasure of camping in quite some time...maybe 5 years or so. and the last time...let's be honest...don't really remember much due to the keg that was present. this past weekend the husband and i and some of our dear friends packed up the cars and headed to the Washington coast to go camping. oh how i love camping!! oh how i have missed you!!

some of my favorite camping moments:

- you know you are camping in the northwest when you go to the ocean coast beach in july and you are laying out in a lawn chair in pants, gym shoes, long sleeve shirt, hoodie, rain jacket and a beach towel...over you...like a blanket.

- flip cup. i really think my college experience seriously lacked some due to not playing this fun game. it is fabulous.

- s'mores. delicious. enough said. perhaps that is why i consumed 5 in one night...oops!

- picture of everyone trying to kick their heels together like a leprechaun on the beach.

- husband's parent's golf ball toss game. basically you take this goal-like thing (with three sections) and throw a rope with two mini golf balls attached to the end of it to try and get the rope to wrap around one of the sections. each section is a different point value - the person to get to 21 first wins.

- the beach town of ocean shores. there was a store with a shark entrance. literally you walk through the shark into the store. full of shark gear, of course.

- salt water taffy.

- catch phrase. this game is perfect by the campfire.

an inspiration: here's to happiness. by violet.

10 things that make me terribly happy.

1. swimming in the lake.

2. uncontrollable giggling.

3. early morning drives, a good soundtrack and a big cup of coffee.

4. trying my dad’s gourmet meals.

5. 30 rock.

6. that uninterrupted smile when you feel smitten.

7. a campfire, a cooler full of beer, a sunburn and a hoodie.

8. morning coffee with mom, watching breakfast at tiffany's.

9. clean sheets.

10. sitting on a deck during a warm summer night.

for more amazing lists and the story behind this inspiration, read this.

*** photo compliments of abless on flickr. ***

cowboy take me away. by violet

it’s only Tuesday and i already have a very bad case of the mid-week blues! disclaimer: i love my job i love my job i love my job. BUT it’s Tuesday!! and it’s kind of sunny! i can't help it.

in true orange violet fashion, i have created my very own laundry list of PLEASE MAY I GO HEREs. cause really- we're all about fostering the make believe worlds floating through our heads!

Sayulita, Mexico. never been, but i know people. and they’ve been. and along with this picture, that is all the convincing i need.

since mexico is far away, i’ll take the back patio of El Camino in Fremont. preferably with a tall, charming and romantic accessory. shoot, a date, alright? i’d like to be on a date.

Eclipse Bookstore, Bellingham. hands down, my favorite place to spend a rainy day. i smells like cedar, you can see the bay from the deck and there is a beautiful collection of old books in the front of the shop. i even found a first-edition copy of “grapes of wrath” tucked away in the piles. my dad was very happy come Christmas morning!

i have a crazy weird hankering for a campfire. not just a little backyard escapade, but a real- honest-to-god-beer-in-hand-friends-circling-up-roasting-marshmallows-kind of fire. preferably in Eastern Washington, the night before a concert at the The Gorge. sidenote- their line-up sucks this year.

i’m not embarrassed to admit this last one. not even a little. but, i wish i wasn’t finished with Twilight so I can curl up on the god forsaken bus and head home. by the way, if you’re at all an obsessed pre-teen like myself, you’ll be happy to know this girl has THE BEST Twilight gossip and updates. just saying…

now. tell us- where would you rather be?