this and that

this:
i've never been much of a flower girl. i would always hint at josh for anything other than flowers on special occasions but lately, i'm totally enamored by them. These $4 tulips from trader joes must have converted me. I want to branch out (pun?) and put some bouquets together myself... who am i?
At the very least I decided to get flowers once a week while i'm grocery shopping.. it's makes the house (and me) so happy and for $4, why not??


and that:
i have some pendleton clutches hitting my shop soon. I've been using my prototype for over a month now and i loooove it (can i say that about my own stuff?). they'll be up for sale in March as well as some other clutches/bags. What do you think? Like it?




Josh has tomorrow off so we're headed to play in the snow on the mountain. We haven't seen snow at all this winter so i'm really looking forward to it. I also plan on watching way too many episodes of parenthood, i'm still trying to get caught up so i've been binge watching. its.so.good.

Currently..

Watching: Parenthood! I spent a bazillion hours sewing this week trying to get ahead on my work and watching tv shows while doing so helps keep it fun. I started parenthood a few days ago (after many recommendations) and i'm now in the middle of season 2.. i know i'm late to this party but its SO GOOD. At this rate, i'll be caught up by next week. i hear this latest season was really good??

Listening to: Hero by Family of the year (listen here).. i'm a tad obsessed with them right now. and of course i'm always listening to taylor swift...call it guilty pleasure but she'll always be one of my faves.

Making me happy: my recent rifle paper co. haul (seen above)... i had a few gift cards to spend and rifle is always an easy choice. i'm especially happy about the calendar, it's been on my list for awhile.

Thinking about: How much I have to catch you all up on. Nothing big at all... just little things here and there that i keep wanting to talk about but real life is swallowing up all my time. I'll get to it soon... 

Excited about: being completely caught up on my store orders. for the first time since i opened a year and a half ago i have zero open orders. it felt so good to see that number. now i'm taking a little breather and working on new stuff the rest of february.. can't wait.

Hope your monday wasn't so bad! 

Inverted aeropress (video)

My sweet friends got me an AeroPress for my birthday a couple months ago and it kinda changed my life. I've always made french press at home but this makes far and away the best cup of coffee you could make at home (or at shop, really!). It makes a smooth, rich cup that is SIMILAR to an americano or espresso drink. It's super quick too, usually 2 minutes from beginning to end. I've even hooked my family and friends on it. And now I sound like an infomercial but I swear i'm not, i just like it a whole lot. There a couple different ways to brew aeropress coffee and I've tried them all and this was my favorite.. so i filmed it! I shot and edited it completely alone (which was harder than it sounds) so please forgive my hair falling into the shot. We'll just call that artsy.. or something! 

It's affordable and you can get it from amazon here! Watch the video below and let me know what you think: 

Inverted aeropress from Abi Porter on Vimeo.

Instructions:

Weigh out 20 grams of whole beans. Grind it a bit finer than filter drip (but not espresso fine)

Use the funnel to transfer the grinds to the aeropress. Pour hot water (200-205degrees or just a little cooler than boiling) into the aeropress going about half way up and start a 60 second timer. After thirty seconds, give it a stir and place the plunger on. After 60 seconds, press the plunger down for 30 seconds. Remove the aeropress, open the cap and push out the filter and grounds (easy clean up!). 

I always add a touch more water or half and half, since it makes a pretty strong cup but its also great without it. Try it both ways!

p.s. Making videos is my new obsession... i just love it so much. And I hope you'll enjoy it too!

a little fox dress

Hello! I'm doing a small run of these baby fox dresses and they are up for preorder of my website now! They might be my favorite baby item i've put in my shop to date, I think i actually squealed when i finished it. This is a very limited edition print so they wont be around for long but i have about 10 left! Size 3 months to 3T!

You can buy them here!

just for fun

Back in September I did a just for fun photo shoot with my friend Mal and I'm just now getting around to editing and posting these.. I'm kicking myself for that because I like them a whole lot. Better late than never though right??
I'm so glad she agreed to it.. She was exactly what I had pictured in mind for them. I love love (love!) doing creative shoots like this just for the heck of it... it's so refreshing! I'm challenging myself to do more like this... i say once a week!
You can see the rest of them on my photography blog, here!

on a beautiful mess today.. plus our bedroom

Hello! I was over on A beautiful mess today sharing one of my favorite spaces in our new home. You can hop on over there to see more photos and hear a little about it! Thanks to the ABM team for having me!




And since many of you have previously asked, the ceramic fox figurine was from target. I got it for my birthday in November and it has since sold out but i'd check your target just in case, i LOVE it.

And here's the current state of our bedroom.. i'm pretty happy with it for now (but the trim is killing me...)





I moved my editing office into our bedroom because I knew I would be spending a whole lot of time doing that and I wanted to keep it separate from my sewing space since that area can already become easily cluttered and busy. This space in our bedroom has made me SUPER productive.. I love it. Though a plant in the pot and some billy balls in the vase would be a good idea.. its very white right now ;)

2012 in review

January - josh went to new zealand and i stayed home and worked and worked and released a bunch of new designs and items.



February - i started getting more photography gigs and baby lumen gave me ultimate baby fever. (she still does by the way..)



March - we moved to a new place in Portland and had a blast exploring one of the coolest areas of the city. (And i made this little bubble tea video)




April - Spring shop update happened, i took lots of photos just for fun (need to do this more..) and for work (michael+chelsea's engagement)




May - i ate at salt and straw too many times and made my own beet ice cream






June - We celebrated Josh's 29th birthday, stayed busy with photography (thats baby buckley), and adopted Leia






July - It was a busy one! I launched the LITTLE vanilla&lace line, we got a vitamix (!), cold brew coffee was my life saver since i was working very long days to keep up with orders and photographing people. And we took a quick road trip to idaho!




August - We spent lots of time going on walks and at the park, and spent the hottest day of the year with friends and a pool





September - we took trips to the coast and to sauvie island, i made a little pillow, and launched the Fall/Winter collection.


October - Took a month away from the internet! But we moved (yet again) to a new house so i'll include this one (oh! and josh started a new job!)




November - we celebrated our 5 year anniversary and also my birthday!




December - We decked our house with christmas stuff, went on christmasy dates and to christmas parties galore. It was the best christmas yet..


It was a pretty special year! Thanks for following along...