Cori Kindred's Journal

beside the garden wall

cori kindred — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:45:08 -0500

j and i got to spend new years weekend with some lovely friends in seattle, and on sunday we visited the gorgeous vounteer park conservatory, my new favorite place in seattle and such a relaxing, fun way to ring in the new year.

i feel like i don't have much to say because my life these days is basically just working and being pregnant, but both are going well (especially since i've discovered maternity tank tops / camisoles!). i'm actually really loving this stage - a belly big enough to be obviously pregnant (instead of possibly just bloated) but not too big that it's awkward, and our little guy is moving around all the time, which is so much fun. still working on a name for him though...

hope your new year is going well!

{ stardust ~ hoagy carmichael }

it's getting better and better

cori kindred — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 22:13:43 -0500

just got back from iowa, where we told my family the gender of our little baby, so now i get to announce that...

* * * it's a boy!!!!! * * *

i'll admit, i was surprised. i grew up surrounded by girls (i have 4 sisters and 1 brother) plus the three of my sisters who have kids each had a girl first. so we're breaking tradition, and i'm so excited. plus i really love green and blue (no pink for us!). now we just need to come up with a name! we're wanting something unique, so we'd love any ideas.

that sweet fortune (top pic) was one i got after dinner the night of the design*sponge book signing (where i did the photo backdrop) ~ seemed like a good one to hold on to. the middle shot is a polaroid i took yesterday flying back to the lovely green northwest (from the lovely brown-right-now midwest). and the bottom shot is of a vintage baby shirt i found at an estate sale. isn't it adorable?

hope you're having a lovely week. (it's a boy!!!!)

{ beautiful boy ~ john lennon }

everything echoes a new song

cori kindred — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 20:39:44 -0500

i wanted to do a little *thankful* post before we take off for the holiday weekend. so here's the short list:

~ you. your comments and support and enthusiasm over our happy news seriously blew my mind. i felt so much love and i sent all of it to this tiny baby, who you can see in that top pic - it's curled up upside down. so little and cute! and yes, we do know what it is but we're waiting to announce it until we tell my family in person tomorrow. which leads me to the next thing i'm thankful for...

~ that i get to see my family tomorrow! well sadly not my entire family but more then i've seen at one time in way too long. it'll be a crazy madhouse with kids and pets and tons of delicious veggie food and i. cannot. wait.

~ this extraordinary little being in my body (i can feel it moving around as i type!) and the amazing guy i'm lucky enough to be sharing this experience with. i don't talk about him much, but i've gotten to see jeremy interact with kids (it's actually his job!) and he's so great with them. he's seriously drawn to them like a magnet, it's so much fun to watch. i know he's going to be the best dad and i'm so glad we're taking this journey together.

hope you have a *wonderful* week!

{ to be surprised ~ sondre lerche }

a big {little} announcement

cori kindred — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:55:08 -0500

it's true, my sweetie jeremy and i are having a baby!! this is definitely what i'm most looking forward to in 2012 :) and another reason (besides the new full-time job) i've been so mia lately. i never understood why some women seem to disappear during the early part of their pregnancy, but now i do: the priorities are eating, being exhausted and whatever really, seriously can't be ignored (work, grocery shopping, more eating and more being exhausted). but i'm feeling really good now (back to a regular meal schedule) and getting more energy back every day. and my little bump is getting bigger and we're so excited for the end of april when our little one will be here. good things are happening!!!

ps ~ we're planning on having a home birth and i'd love to hear any success stories or suggestions!

pps ~ congrats to bethany, the winner of my 2012 polaroid calendar giveaway! contact me with your info and i'll get it in the mail to you.

her eyes as clear as centuries

cori kindred — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 15:54:05 -0500

my brand new 2012 polaroid calendars are finished and for sale in my shop! last years' was such a success i couldn't wait to create another version. it took a while (between the new full-time job and, you know, life) but they're finally finished and i'm so happy with them.

printed on the same amazingly gorgeous high-quality matte paper, it's bound at the top (so there's no hole to distract from the image) and is much bigger than last year's (that was a common request so i was happy to comply): 7"x11" with the images being 6.25" square.

i love them so much i'm giving one away! just leave a comment telling me one thing you're excited about for next year. in my next post i'll announce the winner and the thing i'm most excited about for 2012... (don't worry, if you go ahead and purchase a calendar then turn out to be the winner i'll refund your money :)

hope you're having a wonderful november so far!

{ born at the right time ~ paul simon }

we were wild and living

cori kindred — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 18:52:49 -0400

finally got a chance to make some new *magic* rock collections! my favorite is the one in the square taupe box with the gold accent - perfect for fall. oh wait, i changed my mind. i love the one in the black box with the gorgeous blue on the bottom of the geode. that one is perfect for winter. ok, i love them all.

it's beautiful and sunny here in portland today (yep, i said sunny!) so i'm going to get out and enjoy it before that precious sun disappears. have a wonderful weekend!

{ palomino ~ mates of state }

i hope you'll find the sea

cori kindred — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 21:12:02 -0400

i'm back! i know, i disappeared there for a bit, but here i am, alive and well. i decided that i was tired of being a starving artist (not literally, thankfully) so i went and got myself a real grown-up full-time job. yep, that's where i've been for the last month. which i must say, running two etsy shops and making big messes in my studio might be a lot of work, but it's been a while since i got up before the sun on a regular basis. it wears me out! i'm still learning to balance my stuff with this new job, so it's something else i'm working on. and thanks to my kind friend bree, i got to spend an amazing, relaxing weekend with my lovely girlfriends on the coast (that's sweet chelsea taking a pic of the ocean in that middle photo) ~and i took some polaroids! oh it's been way too long...

hope you're having a great week!

{ i sing, i swim ~ seabear }

wipe you clean with dirty hands

cori kindred — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 16:27:04 -0400

what a lovely, sunny, hot holiday weekend! it's getting to the point where every nice day in portland is like a favor. the first summer i lived here it was rainy by now and i was more than a little heartbroken ;)

i just listed two new styles of *12 things i love about you* mini-books in my shop! a pretty floral / polka dot and a lovely blue stripe (both are vintage wallpaper). i also re-listed the map-covered mini-books. these are still my absolute favorite gift to give. nothing makes you appreciate someone as much as sitting down and spending time thinking up a dozen or so reasons you love them. seriously, i'm always surprised how lucky i feel afterwards just to have this amazing person in my life. it's a good feeling!

that top photo is a polaroid i took last weekend, hanging out at gas works park in seattle at sunset. great memories with some good friends... have a wonderful week!

{ spanish sahara ~ foals }

i will play awhile here

cori kindred — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 18:12:59 -0400

well hello there! it's been a lovely, crazy few weeks but i'm hoping the beginning of september (!) means things will start to calm down a bit. my boyfriend jeremy and i did a 5-day backpacking trip through the gorgeous olympics, then my awesome, beautiful niece was here for a nice, long visit, then i took a weekend trip to seattle and vancouver, bc with chelsea and jenny. whew! i'll write more when i have time, but for now you can read about one of my favorite new spots in vancouver (thanks to chelsea).

hope you're having a great week!

{ butterfly nets ~ bishop allen }

every night we'll watch the stars

cori kindred — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 13:57:13 -0400

last weekend my boyfriend j & i took a little road trip to gorgeous hood river, oregon (an hour east of portland through the columbia river gorge - that first photo is of multnomah falls which is on the way) to do the fruit loop - a 35-mile circle through the valley at the foot of mt. hood of orchards, farms, wineries, etc. it was amazing! my favorite was the lavender farm. bees humming, flowers everywhere (not just lavender) and the smell! definitely the best smelling place i've ever been to.

from the farms we ended up buying cherries, apricots, blueberries, grape tomatoes, tomatillos, green and purple beans and homemade strawberry jam. which was perfect because next we did a pretty ridiculously hard hike up part of mt. hood, and we had delicious snacks to bring with us. it was worth the work though, because the view at the top (of the trail, not the mountain) was of mt. saint helens, mt. rainier and mt. adams. gorgeous!

and now it's back to work until this weekend which i get to spend with my awesome niece (who i haven't seen since christmas). i can't wait. hope you're having a lovely week!

{ paris ~ friendly fires }

ps - my rock collections were featured on all the mountains yesterday!!!