happy thanksgiving!

happy thanksgiving everyone! today was part two of our roadtrip to portland, with a safe arrival here in oregon. we started yesterday afternoon, leaving san francisco at 4. actually, let me revise that statement. we left our apartment at 4...we left san francisco at about 5:30, so yes, that means it took us 1.5 hours to drive a distance that would have taken me about 30-45 minutes to walk. we decided to sedate the kitties which turned out to be a wise choice, especially since our trip ended up taking us about double what it should have. the cats were unhappy in their carriers, then they calmed down, then they freaked out, then i put them in one carrier and they calmed down for a bit, but once we actually started moving they were REALLY unhappy. i was trying to follow the vet's recommendation/safe route by keeping them in their carriers (in case we got into a car accident, there would be a much lower risk of losing them) but that didn't last. first stuart made me panic because he started panting and his paws were clammy (who knew that happened in cats) and then ben busted out of his carrier--while i was holding it shut.

brandon and i decided to just go with it (and we needed to calm stuart down) so we just let them out. i was in the backseat with them, and brandon was driving. at first they meowed a bit and wandered around to check things out (i was wondering when those so-called sedatives were supposed to kick in--we were well past the 1-2 hour mark the vet said it took for them to kick in...our cats must be in that population that "fights" the effect), and then after about 20 minutes they decided they weren't dying, stu's paws cooled down and he wasn't panting anymore, and they settled in for the rest of the ride to redding. ben slept most of the way, while stu was a little more restless, but he was calm.

after our night in redding, we packed up the car again and headed out early this morning. we relied on the leftover effects from yesterday's sedative (the vet said it works for a day, and that seemed to be the case). they were very well behaved, with the exception of one panicked meowing/car exploration outburst by ben for about 10 minutes (i was mostly afraid he was getting sick), but other than that they were great. ben slept in the carrier (he wanted to be in there as long as the door wasn't shut) for 99% of the drive, while stu rotated from the rear window to my lap to my feet to the other carrier about every 15-30 minutes...

beautiful mt. shasta during sunrise

at one point stu decided to join ben...in the small carrier. ben was thrilled, as you can see

the fog had settled into the valley, making it look almost like a lake

stu checking things out

typical positions



the backseat arrangement

after arriving in portland, we settled in and had a wonderful thanksgiving meal. i hope everyone was able to take a moment and reflect on that they are thankful for as we enter this holiday season, and that you had a wonderful day, whatever you were doing.

tomorrow i think we're heading to powell's bookstore...i can't wait!

swooning

a little birdie (aka edyta, my wedding photographer) passed this link on and i have to say i fell in love with the jewelry, and one necklace design in particular...of course, the bubble. i couldn't even decide which finish i liked most so i had to include them all...and a cute pair of earrings...

(images courtesy of brevity)

here is a blog that goes along with the creator of brevity. are these jewelry pieces not so adorable? also, check out the paper goods section on the brevity store website. there is definitely a goldmine of christmas gifts on these websites...i can get my act together, throughout the next few weeks i'll be posting interesting/unique/fun finds that i stumble upon (or that are passed on) just in time for holiday shopping...

more weekend photos

a few more photos from the weekend

meeting keagan

this weekend i met my newest little cousin, keagan, at his baby shower/meet-and-greet. he was born 3 weeks ago, and 3 weeks after claire. both babies were extremely well behaved, and it was really nice to hang out with family. i will be uploading more pictures soon, but here are a couple from saturday...

little keagan

thanksgiving prep

so for thanksgiving this year, brandon and i are taking a "family roadtrip" to portland...the reason i say family is because...well...brandon and i are bringing the cats this year. we couldn't find a cat sitter, so we're packing up the boys and bringing them along. we will actually save money by driving instead of flying, and it will be an adventure--this is the stuff memories are made of, right?

as a precautionary measure, we got the boys some collars with i.d. the store i went to was out of plain little round circles to put their name on, so they ended up with...dog bones. it's actually sort of fitting since they act like dogs half the time. they didn't like the collars at first, but it seems like they're used to them now. i also threw in some shots of play time...it's tough to get good shots at night of the boys flying through the air

stuart louis

benjamin buttons

claire update

this weekend was busy but fun. brandon and i had the privilege of getting to dine at the chez panisse cafe (which was absolutely amazing) on saturday with family. work on the weekend was not exciting, but we did get to see claire, which was super nice because it had been two weeks (a lot happens in two weeks when you're that age!). she slept most of the time while we were there, but i did help give her a bath, which was pretty cute.


pass the baby around

cat update

as i think i've mentioned in the past, sometimes i feel like i have dogs instead of cats. we can't leave them alone for days like you're supposed to be able to do with cats, they come when they are called, occasionally play fetch, and they follow us around, and as i've also mentioned in the past, they BITE the furniture--not claw at it, but bite. ben was biting his bed the other day and, um, dragging it around the dining room.


stuart, on the other hand loves champagne/sparkling wine cages almost as much as i love the beverage itself, which means we make a great pair. he can play for hours with the cage. i tried to get a picture of him carrying it around in his mouth, but he was trotting too quickly for me, which is actually quite impressive--stu is not really a quick one.


these cats really are ridiculous...

ny [day 5]

our final day in new york we just had a couple things we wanted to do--see the new york times building by renzo piano, and to go back by grand central station during the day. after that, we headed back to the hotel, grabbed our luggage, and headed out to the airport.

all in all, we had an amazing trip. we were so thankful that we were able to take this mini-vacation. thank you to everyone who gave suggestions/well wishes, etc. we made some great memories while we were gone, and we're looking forward to our next trip.

after we touched down, we gave chris a call to let him know we had arrived. he then picked us up and drove us to the bishop allen concert at the independent here in the city--the three of us had a great time! the concert was so much fun! the band was really happy and the music sounded great...by the time we got home, brandon and i literally collapsed on the bed. it was a full but fantastic day.

ny [day four]

on tuesday, brandon and i spent most of the day just wandering around the village/chelsea/meatpacking. our morning started out at the grey dog's cafe, where we settled into a cozy cafe for some coffee, food, and a crossword puzzle.

after we filled up, we began our wandering. for some reason i was really caught by signs/notices/logos...

the bottom left sign reads: "sanitation: this vehicle violates n.y.c. parking regulations. as a result, this street could not properly be cleaned. a cleaner new york is up to you!"

we enjoyed the beautiful sunshine and brisk air and meandered through the cozy streets

somewhere along the way i stumbled (not literally) upon this

yeah, i have no idea either.

we walked a ton, ended up back at the hotel for a little rest, and then worked up our energy to head back out for our drink at morimoto. after morimoto we went to the world trade center site and then over to the brooklyn bridge for a stroll. in the interest of my feet not falling off completely (by this point our feet were thrashed) we only walked halfway. after all, the bridge is pretty symmetrical, right?

the rest of our day in photos...

does this look like lite brite to anyone else besides me?