shannon leith :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: photographer of everyday life based in pasadena, california

renovation. our kitchen is in our living room.

pink house

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Wednesday, July 14, 2010

so the pink house is in a bit of a transformation mode. the kitchen floors were disgusting, and our really nice landlords have decided to have them re-done. it only took 6 months of asking, and i am so jazzed about it. they're taking up the linoleum and refinishing the wood that was underneath.

the whole house smells like wood stain and polyurethane, which is rough when you work from home. its also hard to have the stove and fridge in the living room, and to not be a believer in microwaves. i've been eating out for every meal and its getting annoying to not be able to eat anything in my own house. on top of that, we have no air conditioning. stagnant, hot, polyurethane filled air. awesome. cosmo is staying at the neighbor's house. they have a cat, but i think that a cat is less of a threat than deadly vapors. mmm?

so, all of that wraps itself up into me being a bit stressed out. the whole kitchen is on tables, surrounding me as i type, and i'm still in my yoga clothes from this morning because i had to do the whole out-for-breakfast escapade..... and now its lunch. so i have to leave again.

this is how my brian and heart feel:

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

what's exciting though is the anticipation of MONDAY WHEN IT WILL BE DONE.

what's also exciting is the great dish photos i'm getting to add to my collection which i am hoping to launch very soon. and by launch i mean frame.

3 comments so far

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blythe says:

!!! life change.

you should try out some raw food recipes. :)
wait, do you still have a fridge? or is it turned off?

(07.14.10 @ 01:14 PM)

valerie says:

Cosmo is having a great time down here listening to Frank Sinatra...

(07.14.10 @ 03:28 PM)

Marilyn Paul says:

hi Shannon, sounds like your situation is worse than ours. When we get to our new house in "5 more sleeps" (remember saying that when you were a kid!, then we will throw stuff into a box, take it into the house from the RV and that's about it. At first we will need clothes and food - everything is already there. Love this easy kind of moving. Your's sounds frustrating, but it will beautiful soon! love ya, gr ma

(07.15.10 @ 11:56 AM)

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cosmo puts himself in time-out.

pink house

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Friday, June 25, 2010

cosmo has the opportunity to fly wherever he wants, but he usually chooses to perch on some random object and look at the wall for 15 or 20 minutes. he'd do this all day if i let him. why doesn't he fly in circles, eat the food that's laying around, or play with his toys? why does he choose to isolate himself and look AT THE WALL?

hello cosmo, you're free buddy.

8 comments so far

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Jen May says:

That's hilarious!

(06.25.10 @ 01:42 PM)

maemae says:

no. 1 i love the colors in this pic.
no. 2 this is the funniest thing ever.

embrace, cosmo.

(06.25.10 @ 03:25 PM)

teri says:

sooo funny. thanks for the laugh! your bird reminds me in many ways of our bearded dragon lizard, malduney, who will remain in the silliest positions for hours. yay for quirky exotic pets! :)

(06.25.10 @ 04:24 PM)

shannon leith says:

ha! teri........ so funny!!

(06.25.10 @ 11:04 PM)

Claire says:

HA! I love it.

(06.28.10 @ 11:20 AM)

Jeanette says:

Thank you for your sweet words!
You really made my day

I love your blog, your photos and Cosmo ;)

(06.29.10 @ 01:48 PM)

maren mcmillan says:

that is sooo funnnneeeee

(07.05.10 @ 04:10 PM)

Suzanne says:

Gosh, that is so darn funny and cute!

(07.08.10 @ 10:32 AM)

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aw,

pink house

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Monday, June 21, 2010

okay, he wins the quirky cute YOURE MELTING ME award.

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Jennifer Hood says:

This is sooo precious! i want one!

(06.21.10 @ 05:56 PM)

Shannon Garcia says:

Oh my goodness. I miss my tiels... what a great photo :D

(06.21.10 @ 09:43 PM)

jennifer young says:

oh my! such a cutie! lovin' the head tilt!
j.

(06.22.10 @ 12:57 PM)

elizabeth says:

I ADORE this photo! it's fabulous!

(06.22.10 @ 10:06 PM)

Stefan says:

agreed!!!

(07.01.10 @ 11:48 PM)

Ronnie says:

Awesome, love it!

(07.03.10 @ 01:45 AM)

maren mcmillan says:

god .. he is soooooooooo cute

(07.05.10 @ 04:12 PM)

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my mail life lately,

pink house

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Friday, June 18, 2010

the mail lady now comes around 12:15 instead of 1..... which makes the most exciting part of my day happen forty-five minutes earlier. i love this. i have considered going down to meet her since she does provide me with the best substance ever: my mail. i think i'm at least going to write her a note or something. especially since i spy on her as she walks up in her USPS shorts and mail bag, listening to her ipod and hopefully loving her life.

anyway.

today my neighbor val yelled up in my window: you have a package!

i literally ran downstairs,

to find TWO PACKAGES.

glory.

one from blaire, who sends me a present every month as an ongoing birthday present (WHAT!)

one from my friend rosanna's brother phillip.

blaire's june present for me was a sugar holder from her work. i love it.

i now need to go get some sugar packets somehow.

phillip,

he gave me a box of maple seeds.

which i am just realizing at this second are placed perfectly next to the maple syrup jar which i transformed into a vase. life is nice to us, mmm?

honestly just taking a nice deep breath right now and saying THANK YOU GOD! for such great people in my life. yes, i receive the delights of today.

thank you blairey,

thank you phillip.

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jennifer young says:

i love snail mail! such lovely surprises you received!
j.

(06.18.10 @ 02:45 PM)

tiny twig says:

i hope you marry phillip. that is the best present ever.

(06.19.10 @ 07:09 PM)

jasmine says:

this is such loveliness, and you are, too!

(06.20.10 @ 10:53 AM)

blaire says:

every time i discover an item with a slight crack or chip in it, i quickly bring it to a manager who inevitably says, "toss it." to which i reply, "may i have it, instead?" "uh, sure. i guess." "yes!" i think you will soon have one place setting-worth of everything we use at the restaurant, as i have begun searching for imperfections on every item i touch.

(06.20.10 @ 09:37 PM)

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garden party,

pink house

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Friday, June 18, 2010

i've been meeting with a group of girls from my church every thursday night.

we had a garden party in my new backyard oasis last night,

celebrating our year together.

monica made spring rolls,

which made us all feel like we were in a gourmet vietnamese restaurant.

but really we were just at the pink house,

hanging out,

trying to figure out how to juice limes without a citrus juicer,

and enjoying our last night as an official group.

for me, each of them has helped me transition to pasadena and i'm thankful.

transition is hard and the consistency of our weekly time together has been so good.

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Hollie says:

I sooooooooooooo love this.

(06.21.10 @ 10:33 AM)

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ha,

pink house

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Tuesday, June 15, 2010

a few days ago Cosmo did a lap around the living room and then landed on my desk. his cage is right beside my desk, so you'd think this would be normal, but it has taken him three months to realize this is an option. he stood there kind of stunned. no clue what to do next. i guess he stood there long enough for me to get my camera and take these. we were both sitting there, stunned, looking at each other. AHHH! LIFE!

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Michelle says:

You are so awesome - AHHH! LIFE! I totally have urges to scream that aloud, with a huge smile, of course! Oh the little things...

(07.07.10 @ 09:40 AM)

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freshening up. a cosmo photo,

pink house

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Monday, June 14, 2010

whenever i feel awful i take a shower.

emotionally awful....

physically awful....

i'm about to cry awful....

showers cure all.

today i needed to have a shower and so i did,

and everything wasn't magically better but it definitely helped.

i'm also going to go to Dance Jam tonight with my friend Jessica,

one of my goals for 2010 is to dance.

shower and dance.

maybe it should have been in the opposite order, but for me i needed to a) shower, and then b) dance.

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Lehua says:

Tell me how it goes, the dancing :)

(06.14.10 @ 05:37 PM)

Jessica says:

Me too! But, I'm revising the list just a little: A. Shower before you get here in a half hour. B. Iced Coffee. C. Dance. Perfect plan!

(06.14.10 @ 05:58 PM)

Erin says:

I do the same thing. Showering just works.

(06.14.10 @ 07:26 PM)

Greg Leith (alias, DAD) says:

plus, they are FREE!

(06.14.10 @ 08:40 PM)

shannon leith says:

the shower was great, but DANCING RULED!!!!!!!!!!!! guys! it waqs the best.

(06.14.10 @ 10:12 PM)

Anonymous says:

dance on!!

(06.15.10 @ 07:36 AM)

Marilyn Paul says:

Get this, Shannon. When I was in highschool my Mother wouldn't let me go to dances (or even "dance" in the house) because it was considered evil. All they were doing back then was the Avalon, waltz, polka, two-step----come on Mother! So, be careful, Shannon! This might be the start of your road downward to ...... GR MA :)

(06.15.10 @ 09:55 AM)

Marilyn Paul says:

Get this, Shannon. When I was in highschool my Mother wouldn't let me go to dances (or even "dance" in the house) because it was considered evil. All they were doing back then was the Avalon, waltz, polka, two-step----come on Mother! So, be careful, Shannon! This might be the start of your road downward to ...... GR MA :)

(06.15.10 @ 09:56 AM)

Marilyn Paul says:

sorry about two of the same things. It says that my answer has been posted and I go look and it's not there - where does it go??? Now I see it two times. NUTS. Anyway, I forgot to tell you that it was my BROTHER Art that I was going to the dance with - not even a date! She really really pitched a fit and I never asked again and never did go to a dance. ENJOY. I used to stick tacks to the front and heel of my shoes and tried to do tap dancing when no one was watching or listening. I wanted to feel music - besides listen to it!

(06.15.10 @ 12:25 PM)

Lindsay says:

Shannon,
Please let us know how the Dance Jam goes - this sounds amazing! I love to dance and so support this being a goal of yours for 2010 - woohoo!

(06.15.10 @ 08:53 PM)

Lindsay says:

OK, just saw that this was written Monday and you loved the dancing...so good to hear! I may have to try it some time!

(06.15.10 @ 08:55 PM)

shannon leith says:

Lindsay.
it
was
amazing.
honestly, if you ever want to come i'd love to meet you and bring you.
it was one of the most freeing things i've done in a long time.
my biggest challenge was to just feel the music and let my body move.
i had to keep telling myself there was no rules.
ahh!
so good to just move and be and let loose.
highly, highly, HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!
go!!!!!!!!

(06.15.10 @ 09:46 PM)

jasmine says:

oh my goodness. dance, dance, dance! I am a firm believer in dance mending all things negative. PS. I am not a bird person, but I heart cosmo!

(06.20.10 @ 10:45 AM)

Hollie says:

i took a shower after reading this.
thank you.

(06.21.10 @ 10:32 AM)

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