it's raining non-stop and we're camping at home

This is what we've been doing for the last two nights and we are not getting tired of it! It is pretty cold and miserable outside, the rain doesn't want to leave our town, my feet are constantly wet, and I could write a big long story about how we were trying to get to work the other day... BUT we have a house tent now! 

We came from work yesterday and realized that there was nowhere to go without getting all soaked, and nowhere we actually wanted to be in this weather, so we should stay at home! I love summer, and I want it to be hot and sunny again, but I have to admit I loved the idea of pulling on my fluffy red socks, making hot chocolate with mini marshmallows, cuddling in a big pile of blankets and pillows, and watching a show on Netflix. Let's pretend it's November just for a few days!

We built a tent, filled it with everything soft and cozy, turned on the Christmas lights, played with the Photo Booth on the laptop and listened to the rain hitting on the roof. Sonya bunny loved the camping experience the most: she kept reorganizing our blankets, moving the pillows and digging everywhere - it's very funny to watch her, I actually should make an Instagram video of her next time!

Last time we camped indoors was 2 years ago, also in June. It happened in Moscow and we shared the tent with my cat Sima.

So, my camping stats as of today: indoor camping = 2 times; outdoor camping = 1 time, in the backyard. We have to do something about it this summer!

summer picnic and a bunny

Wearing: silk top//thrifted; skirt//ASOS; sandals//GAP

It's Monday, but we didn't want to say good-bye to the weekend fun, and after work headed to a park for a picnic. It was very simple: just the essentials like mint tea, homemade banana bread with nuts, cheese, our soft blanket and a camera. We went to Memorial Field park next to the lake and just a short walk from our house. 

We settled under three big trees in a sunny spot, cut the bread, and then suddenly noticed our old friend munching on white clover right next to us! We first met our neighbor bunny rabbit in March and since then we've seen it almost every day under our window in the backyard or just hopping around nearby. The last week or so we lost sight of it and were even slightly worried - what a relief it is to know that the bunny found its way to the green park and it looks just as healthy and happy as earlier this spring! I really wish we could just have it and take care of it, but I guess it's a pretty smart and adventurous bunny.  It seems to enjoy freedom.

On another note, I'm testing Photoshop Elements tonight -- so far so good. I've been using Photoshop for the last 7 years and we've always been great friends. As you may know, my other laptop died last month taking down all of my programs and files. So now I have a new start with a new mac, empty hard drive and zero applications. Before getting a subscription to Photoshop on the cloud, I decided to use this period as an excuse to test some new programs and products, so I got Photoshop Elements and Lightroom. Anyone use these programs? What do you prefer?

Bunny fabric

This is Ben. Our bunny fabric arrived! I used Spoonflower to print it and I was really hoping it wouldn't be pixelated. I wasn't sure if the resolution of the image I used was going to be high enough, but it turned out great! It was Katie's birthday (when I made the card and fabric) and our anniversary this month, so I was also really glad it got here quickly. I can't believe how quickly our first year went, it really seems like it's only been a few months. It's definitely been the best year ever. Katie is my bunny, so we're going to make a bunny pillow case for her!

And now that I know it turns out well, I think we'll probably make more patterns in the future.

lately

♫ ♪ Alpaca Sports - Telephone

I went a whole week without opening my laptop! It wasn't planned at all, and I was checking my email, Instagram and Twitter on the Iphone, but after a whole day at work in front of a big screen I couldn't find a big enough excuse to spend the rest of the evening online. I missed it, I had things I needed to do but I felt more like going for walks, meeting with old and new friends, gardening and eating out. 

This morning we wanted to go on a road trip to see alpacas and to hike to the waterfalls.. but we got caught up in a strong rain which made us turn back. By the time we got home it was sunny and we just walked in the neighborhood, took photos of the blooming cherry trees, met a very nice old lady, and had milkshakes at Dub's - a local diner kind of place full of kids and teenagers: some with their parents, some on the dates or with friends. Now it's very quiet in our apartment, you can only hear me typing this post and Sonya bunny running and jumping across the room. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

our neighbor is a bunny rabbit

The other day while Ben and I were driving home we noticed a white rabbit under a fur tree on our street! We stopped and carefully got out of the car, coming closer and closer, but it didn't even care! It didn't try to run away, it actually hopped towards us and let me feed it with grass while Ben snapped a photo. Then Ben went on an investigation knocking at the neighbor's doors trying to find out who was missing a bunny.  Meanwhile I took a few dozen closer shots. 

Ben was told that some people a few blocks away own two bunnies: a black one and this white one - they always let them wanter, people catch them and bring them back, but in a day or two the bunnies are on the streets again. It made me kind of sad.. there are dogs and cats walking around, we saw big raccoons on our street a night before.. I just don't feel like it's safe to let a bunny outside without any help. We drove by a little bit later again but the bunny was gone, probably it moved on to some other backyard. I hope it's OK. Am I becoming a crazy bunny lady? hahaha It reminds me of this video. I promise in my case it's not that bad yet. :-)

6 months old baby bunny

Sonya really likes it here at Ben's parent's house: so many carpets! She doesn't like the sleek wood floors in our apartment as much. Since there are other animals in this house, we have a schedule for everyone: first Sam dog and Uno cat eat, then Sam goes outside, Uno sleeps in the other room, and the bunny comes out for a walk. At first she just runs in circles around the couch and sprints between the rooms but eventually she calms down and lets us pet her. She's such a cutie pie. 

Sonya bunny

Our little bunny is 3,5 months old now. She grew a lot since we got her but she's still really fluffy and super cute. I posted a photo of her on Facebook the other day and one of my friends shared it and wrote: "Russian kitty!" -- haha it's a bunny and it's from Idaho! 

We had to go to a vet yesterday because we were worried that Sonya hasn't been eating much recently. The vet thought it might be because her teeth started to grow and it makes chewing hard food not comfortable for her. If this is the case it should end soon and Sonya will eat well again. I really hope so and till then we're giving her extra soft food. Other than that she seems alright: she jumps around, plays with everything in the room and tries to chew things. 

Bunny hop

I've always been a nerd, I'm currently learning to make simple games in Javascript with the HTML5 canvas and wanted to share this first little bunny-hop game. Click on the screen to use it. Press the right and left arrows to hop back and forth, and the up arrow to stand. You can still hop while standing.


I think I'm going to make it rain carrots that you can collect but I haven't gotten that far. I'll put it in the page footer and you can check back later to see how it comes along :-)

- Ben

more baby bunny photos

It's been less than 2 weeks since we got a new bunny, 

but it feels like she's been always living with us. 

Little Sonya is very sweet and funny: 

she runs in circles when she is on a walk, 

throws her dish when she is hungry 

and often makes a cute bear face that cracks us up. 

Life is so much better with a little furry friend.

baby bunny

Meet Sonya bunny! 

We got her on Sunday. 

She is 2 months old today. 

We are in love.

International Tourism Day!

This is what Ben made for me for this holiday. Love it!!

and here's who we met at the fair

This fair was so much fun! We saw bunnies, chickens, turkeys, goats, sheep, cows, ponies and even llamas! I'm a huge animal lover and visiting fairs/zoos/farms is one of my favorite things. Especially now while I'm so far away from my little pet bunny. I can't wait to have her here soon! Awww.. well, back to the fair... :-) It's the second fair in my life - the first one was three years ago in Bozeman, Montana. The Bozeman fair was more entertaining: it had a ferris wheel, a little space ship, cotton candy.. The Sandpoint fair is more about animals in different barns. I loved it, but it seemed a bit quieter here. I certainly missed cotton candy. It's a must for me, but there wasn't any. One of the cutest things that we saw at the fair were dwarf goats! They are adorable! And overall sheep and goats were so much fun - they make such crazy sounds. :-)

I'm glad we went to this event, I wish it were held every weekend, there were no cages for the animals, just a big field for everyone and lots of cotton candy.

Haha, and guess what S and F on the last photo stands for!