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We’re getting domestic up in here. Cooper and I are preparing a home cooked meal for some friends who just had a baby (congrats J&L!). Actually, I should say Cooper is cooking the meal because he is the one who has done all the work so far. I’ll take photos of the final outcome but here’s what’s cookin’:

A tart pastry.

Massaman curry (smells soooooooooooo good! I wish this was scratch and sniff. Instead it looks like bubbling barf).

And while Cooper cooks Ali will clean. Thus, it is only appropriate to wear an apron.

Take note that the fake skin area is actually padded boobage:

My mom gave this to me. Yes, this is what a Beckord mom gives to a Beckord daughter.

Yes, I just posted that. I found it on one of my favorite blogs, The Jealous Curator, who found it on Couture Boudoir by cristey rowe.

Guess what this is:

I bet the top two guesses were 1.) a straw bow tie and 2.) pasta.

Nope. It is a Swedish scrub brush.

Now guess how often I use it.

Answer: Never! It is decoration on my desk. Scrubbing anything is last on my to do list….especially not with a special straw brush direct from Sweden. Some people buy knick knack souvenirs from trips to far away lands. I buy scrub brushes I’ll never use.

cabbage. I ate a lot of cabbage tonight. Just straight up raw cabbage. I wish I had a garden so I could grow some cabbage. I think cabbage is beautiful. Cooper and I are slightly thinking about moving up to the NW. I bet I could grow some great cabbage there. I would have to have a garden first. Oslo would have to learn not to dig up my garden. Yes, this is what is on my mind tonight. Deep thoughts. cabbage.

I really love the 5th of May. I really love getting a call from my boyfriend to say that as he is out walking he dog he came upon a mariachi band outside our building and I must come down to watch. I really enjoy the Spanish language. I really enjoy margaritas. I think I’d really enjoy a rhubarb margarita. I really enjoy good corn chips that aren’t too salty. I really enjoy carnitas (slightly on the dry/crispy side). I really enjoy festive celebrations. I really enjoy Mexico.

I also really enjoy the beauty of tomatoes. Especially heirloom tomatoes.

I also really enjoy watching C-dawg eat a massive, festive plate of nachos during our private Cinco de Mayo party (i.e. Cooper, Ali, Oslo). Enough nachos for 10 but eaten by 2.

In unrelated events, we “trimmed” Oslo’s massively long and thick ear hair the other day turning him into one shaggy looking dog. Actually, he looks more like a mullet dog now with long hair on top and short hair on the sides. Anyhow, we accidentally nicked his ear in the process so he has been hanging his head on the side of the nicked ear and shaking his head vigorously all day. Poor duder. I guess we learned our lesson. The only plus: he wanted to spoon with me for a good hour today after work.

This weekend was momentous in more ways than one. I wish we had even more photos from our “main event” but there was so much going on it was nice just “be-ing” without a camera in hand. What might a German Maifest and a group of Beckords have in common? Joy and elation. I am “in my element” at the German Tourist Club in the Oakland hills…seriously! Just see why:

Dad in Lederhosen:

Beer!

Family!

Dancing! (side note, my dad went REALLY REALLY REALLY fast…we were going so fast he had to take a brief break and as you’ll see we don’t make it through the full song)

Accordions!

It may have been exhausting but it was worth every moment.

(Also, reminder to self, you ate a sausage you’ll never forget. This does not mean anything inappropriate…you really did eat a sausage and it was a fantastic moment.)

Oh, and another highlight: going out for Vietnamese food after the Maifest…with a dad dressed in lederhosen. Yes, that is how we roll.

It is 5:04 and all is well.

Although Emeryville has a few downsides (i.e. I’ve heard more gunfire here than anywhere else in the East Bay…mom, you didn’t just read that) there are certainly some pluses: 1.) A population of only 8,000. 2.) Lots of creative folk in a small stretch of land 3.) A Berkeley Bowl we can walk to 4.) Free furniture right outside our door. In my building people put their old goods out in our hall and Cooper and I snatch ’em faster than you can believe. Some good stuff too! We are totally those neighbors who peek outside our door every five minutes to see if there is something new (well, not really but kind of). The dresser above came from said hall and except for a different dresser Cooper and his bro/pa made the above dresser is one of my favorite pieces in our loft. Anthropologie-esque but free. We don’t really have anything in it yet but I’m sure that will change soon. Oh! And when we got it it was full of toys in one of the stuck drawers. Jackpot!

Great courtship night last night. We went out for BBQ and whiskey! (I love whiskey, C-dawg loves bbq). Funny thing though: Cooper ordered a salad and I ordered a plate of meat. That is what you call yin and yang (I think). BBQ, whiskey followed by Mexican hot chocolate for dessert. happy.

Last night I suited up to take the dog for a walk. What does a weak weak weak gal from Colorado do to gear up for the California outdoors? She wears: leggings, jeans over the leggings, a tank top, a sweater, a down vest (her security blanket), a long wool coat, a fleece scarf wrapped around her head, hideous looking gloves with a hole in one finger, socks and Uggs. The full get up deconstructed:

So yes, that is a total of 10 pieces. Four layers on my torso. Two layers on my legs (not including granny looking undergarments). The temperature outside: 50 degree. WEAK!

Today marks year #9 in our “courtship” (ha, I used the word courtship).

A photo of us circa 2001…such babies!

This was actually the jean jacket I wore on our first date…ahhh memories.

So today I realized at around 5pm that I hadn’t showered since Sunday (today is Tuesday) and I was full of filth. Luckily I don’t get out that much so I can’t get too dirty, but still it was gross. I thought, why not take photos of this filth? So I did.

Cooper looked over at me taking photos of the dirt on my shirt and just shook his head in disgust. So, I thought to myself, “Allison, this is disgusting…don’t keep of record this…” Luckily, a dog popped in front of my camera to draw my attention away from my filth:

And for a dog who HATES anything related to camera gear (i.e. he always runs upstairs and hides whenever we pull out a camera) we had a breakthrough moment. He posed:

And posed! (side note: on occasion I call Oslo “Judy” for no good reason. Here he is doing a “full Judy” pose just for me)

Then he got tired and took a nap…but he let me get real close with a camera in his face!

His nap didn’t last long….the next thing I knew he was spinning circles with Cooper (side note #2: this is not dog abuse…he has these great spin moves and loves it when Cooper spins him):

Untitled from Ali Beckord on Vimeo.