23 goals // add a mile each month

At the beginning of the year I jotted down some goals for 2013. They range from "Make cheese at least once" to "go to NYC" to "get a new tattoo". I'll share about them here as I accomplish them... something to keep me accountable.
One on-going one that'll run throughout the year is "Add a mile each month". So I started with running one mile 5-6 days a week in January, upped it to 2 in february, and come friday it'll be 3. These are the easy months, talk to me in july or august... yikes! I think this will be a really good plan for me. I've been a runner since I was a teenager but mostly just 3-5 miles a day so i'm looking forward to getting a little more accomplished in my running.

To be honest, I haven't been working out super consistently since this time last year.. i was running and doing workout dvds here and there but over the summer and through fall and winter i was having some health issues (extremely nauseous 24/7, super fatigue, bad stomach pain) and working out worsened it so i just gave it up completely until i got things sorted out. It's mostly gone now except for the occasional nauseous days but overall, i'm feeling a MILLION times better.

Running again has been great, i'm pretty out of shape as far as my lungs are concerned but 7 months off will do that to you. I've also been doing ballet beautiful 3 times a week (which is AMAZING by the way) and stretching 20 minutes a day (trying to get my flexibility back but my ballet days... we'll see how that goes!).

Hooray for getting to be active again! Does anyone else want to do this "add a mile each month" with me??

to the mountain...pt.1

On monday we headed 60 miles east to play in some snow. We drank some overpriced nasty coffee at timberline lodge. Punched the powdery snow (its really satisfying, you should try it). Trudged through tons of deep snow until my toes almost froze off... tip: rain boots keep your feet dry but not warm. 

We had originally planned to go sledding or renting some snow shoes but we weren't dressed appropriately... we were so cold! (next time!)

So instead we just walked around and admired how beautiful everything looked. That sounds lame.. but when you aren't used to seeing that much snow you do some serious admiring.  

It's amazing how often i forget how close we live to such beautiful places... I like these reminders.

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!