cookoorikoo blog

i wasn't happy when i began reading jess walter's beautiful ruins. It's set in Italy, near cinque terre. i have been suffering from some serious wanderlust the past month or so, daydreaming about trips we've taken, trips we'd like to take. so, cinque terre has already been on my mind and now i was aching for it.

the mere mention of monterosso al mare early in the book and I was there in my head, holding hands with shawn while running down the train platform to meet friends from chicago. before we said hello we told them we were going swimming. Immediately. and we did. we'd been there a few days before our friends' arrival and had found a totally deserted beach just a quick, steep hike down from the town center in cornigila. we'd swam every day since. it was paradise.

i remember eating swordfish cooked in lemon and tossing the bones to a nearby clowder of cats trying desperately to make sure that everyone knew the drill. we did and so they ate good that night. 

the alleys smelled like rotting grapes. that sounds gross but it really wasn't. It was mid-harvest and everywhere we looked, grapes were strung up in doorways and between buildings, and piled high in buckets and tubs. i loved walking through town around 5:00 pm, the setting sun would hit the hung grapes, intensifying their smell and making them glow.

i remember drinking jug after jug of blood orange juice because shawn discovered there was such a thing as blood orange juice and that it was quite tasty. blood orange juice, bread and cheese. every single day.

so, i wasn't happy. because although we will be taking a Trip this year it probably won't be to cinque terre. so, heartache. then, i remembered that week we spent there ten years ago and i was happy. blissfully so.

also, the book is good and that always makes me happy. 

a stuff my friends make edition

kateri made these while sitting on my couch. i got to see this magic happen up close and personal and they are awesome.

silver lining earrings

over at letter writers alliance, there's a nifty free stationery design that donovan designed.

you're so lucky stationery

the ladies at ureshii introduce some lovely new designs. this is my favorite.

scooter dress

diane kept showing bits and pieces of her new plush line on instagram. i was dying to see the final product. i was not disappointed!

sawyer the grumpster

lillyella is back! yay, nicole! <kermit flail>

chain gang necklace

new They Might be Giants! 

(via lucky jackson)

yeah, you know who you are. happy international women's day! keep kicking ass!

here's a few things i've been enjoying online:

• i watched this last week, told shawn to watch it and then watched it again. i kept meaning to post about it but you know, didn't. in the meantime, its made the rounds - showing up on a few of my favorite blogs. its a good way to spend 14 minutes. watch it:

• this interview with cheryl strayed is pretty great.
• the stories from the last back fence pdx are online. this one sort of knocked my socks off.
• a lot of people i know have been having a rough couple of weeks so this struck a chord. and made me smile.
• this post by mandy on xojane was fantastic. and exactly what i needed today.
• then there's this sweetness:

i loved this book. the main character, wren, survives a car accident in which her boyfriend dies. she struggles with how to move on and retreats to her father's house deep in the woods of the northeast to try to get a grip. its a quiet book, much like the forest in winter, but packs a punch. 

occasionally, my inner 13 year old forces me to read a true crime novel. they are almost entirely unsatisfying. when i first read about people who eat darkness, i was certain this book was different. it was. a page turner from the introduction on, it tells the story of lucie blackman, a young woman who disappears in tokyo in 2000. i don't know that i can recommend it just because true crime really isn't for everyone but i definitely enjoyed it (but was glad when the book was over.)

flappers, the supernatural, speakeasies, murders, and the museum of creepy crawlies. i loved this book. kind of a lot.

i started this last night and stayed up way too late reading. 20 years after tara martin disappears, she knocks on her parents door on christmas day, looking barely a day older than when she left. those she left behind, particularly her brother and her ex-boyfriend, wrestle with her story that she rode off on a white horse and all the accompanying emotions her reappearance creates. i really can't wait to see how this ends.

here's a bit of what's been going on around these parts:

1. wizard world portland. shawn was asked to peddle his pixelparty wares at the first wizard world in portland, sort of last minute. we thought it could be fun and potentially profitable so we busted ass and did it. lots of hours spent building up inventory, working on display and getting ready for a totally fun, not so profitable show. we made a little money, which is always nice and we have a lot of inventory so shawn can now just concentrate on making new things, which is awesome. plus, really, so fun. 

2. making crazy new things. like the necklace below. i keep seeing mass produced things and reimagining them with yoyos. i have to say, its fun and i'm totally loving the what i'm making. 

3. editing the book. back in november, i just wrote. sat down at my computer everyday and wrote. tried not to use the backspace key, never reread what i'd just written. there were days i knew what i'd written was going to need some serious work. i also came to a point when i was writing when i knew that something i'd done in an earlier chapter was going to need to be completely rewritten and that i was going to need to add a chapter or two. the writing program i use, scrivener, is really nifty and let's you leave notes for yourself. i left a lot of notes. so, i'm going through, chapter by chapter, fixing typos here, run on sentences there. my goal is to make it readable.  i was working on a chapter the other day that was an embarrassing hot mess. its took me 5 or 6 reads to figure out just what i was trying to say. its hard work but i'm sort of enjoyng it. well, i'm enjoying the story i've written. that seems like a good sign.

4. tap dance. still at it. there are many things that i enjoy doing that i'm always working at - making things, writing, baking. then there's tap dancing. i've been thinking a lot about malcolm gladwell's 10,000 hour rule and realized i wouldn't mind spending 10,000 hours tap dancing. not one bit. mastering something simply because it makes me deliriously happy seems like an excellent idea. i'm actually going to start taking two classes every week and setting aside time every day to practice. because, well, how else do you get this good?

5. hanging out with kateri. having her here in portland is fantastic. she's moved into her own adorable place now but she's still only 2 miles away and twice now she's stopped by and ended up staying for dinner. yeah, pretty awesome.

I ran to this today and oooooh, yeah. this is my new jam.

my mom pointed out that i hadn't been blogging. yeah, yeah. i know. i had big plans to start blogging again. and then... stuff, life, editing my book and a serious need for sleep happened. but i'm feeling caught up so this week will be the week. i've actually got a bunch to share so i should do that. this week. seriously. until then, i dare you to not dance to this song. i triple dog dare ya.

its been a long time since i've had a good wardrobe malfunction. i'd like to think that i'm little older and more together but i'm sure it has more to do with the fact that i wear pajama pants half the time. not getting dressed for work everyday reduces the odds. it also means i'm out of practice. things that would've been on my mental checklist when leaving may not be so obvious anymore. my sartorial spider sense may be tingling but i ignore it. as i said, out of practice. like last week when i said to shawn as i was leaving to run errands, "i think these tights are done." 

yes, shana, those tights were done. they were done being tight. they were done being tights. they just wanted to fall to the floor and find their way to hoisery heaven. which is exactly what they decided to do. at the library. 

the elastic at the waist was going. i was having to pull them up more than usual as i set out on my errands but whatever, i'd get my errands done quick, go home, take them off and hopefully toss them. i say hopefully because i have been know to put seemingly unwearable tights in the laundry and then absent-mindedly put them on in a pinch. i wish i could say this hasn't happened more than once. i wish. 

i knew what was happening to these tights was different when i got out of the car to go into the library. i was wearing a short skirt and it was a bit breezy. i adjusted myself, thought i'd fixed it, and went on my way. i walked into the library and the person sitting behind the front counter gave me the once over. 

in addition to wardrobe malfuctions, i am also used to judgy stares from library staff. if i prayed to saints, my patron saint would be "our lady of perpetual library fines." you know, if i wasn't jewish. 

anyway, that's why it didn't register completely that i should be praying to our lady of droopy tight until i was walking across the crowded lobby to the hold shelf and glanced down at my skirt and legs. the crotch was below the hem of my skirt. below the hem. oh my god. i tried to appear nonplussed as i approached the hold shelf. i got into the stacks and wiggled and writhed back into my tights. i took a deep breath, grabbed my books and went directly to the self checkout. the backside of the self checkout station. the side facing the wall. i figured if it happened again, well, i'd rather flash the wall than the entire room. and i did. oh yes i did. then, i flashed everyone driving down SE 39th as i RAN to the car.

once in the car, i readjusted and thought the situation was under control. so great was my confidence that i stopped at the weekly flea market at the eagles' lodge. the situation? so not under control. but i did buy some nice baubles for $3. 

the worst part? climbing the steps to our front door while buses and bikes and dogwalkers and kids walked by. mortified. at least i was wearing cute undies.

i have hopefully learned my lesson. hopefully.