Bucket

I am 27 years old, and work for a policy-advocacy non-profit in Portland, Oregon doing development and communications. I am using my english degree and ignoring my german degree, but that's okay! I also am Senior Fiction Editor for a literary magazine - The Adirondack Review. It doesn't pay enough to be my day job, but I love it!

I am an avid reader and writer. I started keeping a book log almost four years ago and I wish I had started doing it much sooner! I have kept a journal for about 11 years now and making time at least every other day to write something is crucial for me.

I spend my weekends hiking, backpacking, camping, and mountaineering with my husband (got married June 18, 2011!). It's part of the reason we moved to Oregon - we love the outdoor opportunities out here! I'm originally from Detroit, Michigan - no mountains anywhere close.

I am obsessed with fitness and physical activity as well. During the week, I'm at the gym or outside jogging or rock climbing (we have an awesome indoor rock gym!) virtually every day.

Below is me snow camping near the three Sisters volcanoes in central Oregon - a typical weekend!

ducks, Noah's ark, German, stationery, map postcards, notecards, journals, word puzzles and games, logic puzzles, the number 4, Girl Scouts, fencing, books, The Beatles, German beer coasters, papers for card making, extremely fine line pens (005) in all colors, e e cummings, books, tea, handmade envelopes, naked mail

handmade notecards, zentangles, journals, papercrafts, geometric patterns, handpainted or handdrawn inchies

I do a lot of mandala style zentangles. Here are two I made for a swap:

I do more intricate zentangles too but am more picky about swapping them as they take so much time:

I make notecards featuring people or animals and love to make christmas cards. My style has been described as "potato people", "egg people", and "cutesy south park." Here's an example:

My favorite color is yellow, closely followed by pink/red. I love yellow and pink together! Though I love red just as much as pink, I don't like red with yellow - reminds me of McDonalds...

I also like green quite a bit and really like multi-colored items.

As far as shades, I tend to prefer bright, vibrant shades and jewel tones. I like pastels - especially yellow and pink. I'm not too excited by earth tones or darker shades.

I like black, chai, and red teas - flavors always welcome! I enjoy flavors like vanilla, chocolate, caramel, any sort of nutty flavors, and I love coconut. Fruit flavors are hit and miss - sometimes great, sometimes not.

I don't care for herbal or green teas.

Just got married on June 18, 2011 and it was WONDERFUL! In September we spent just over 2 weeks in Greece for our honeymoon.

Most recent outdoor pursuits:

30+ mile circumnavigation of Crater Lake - talk about beautiful!

Mt. Adams attempt - and success! I'm 2 for 3 on this climb now!

20-mile hike and bushwhack in Goat Rocks.

Trail MAGIC (hiker feed) we put on for thru-hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail.

-Hello Kitty, kawaii, Disney, Diddl, any other recognizable characters (though I do like cute, if it's unique rather than marketing!)

-Vintage (unless it's used postcards), Victorian, ephemera, steampunk, etc...

-Gothic stuff

In no particular order:

yellow and pink

outdoorsy/natural

adventure/mountain/active outdoors

ducks

Noah's Ark

all things German

writing/journaling

books/reading

Handmade paper flowers - I'm interested and would love to see some examples!

I love making note cards and love to see homemade cards from others.

Any postcard with a map - especially one that isn't easy to come by (like a historical map, a map of a small town, or some sort of themed map). Beyond maps, I like the typical tourist postcard - with a scenic view, photo of a city or landmark, etc... I prefer postcards sent naked - with a message and a stamp!

I also enjoy USED vintage postcards - the older the better.

I like stationery that I can use for sending mail to penpals. I mean real letter-writing stuff, not computer stationery.

I like your handmade zentangles and paper cuttings.

I also like to receive unique googly eyes, brads, non-flat stickers, and fun papers for card making.

Tea!

Books, book recommendations, book talk - check out my Goodreads (link above) if you want to know what I'm reading, what I have read, and what's on my to-read list.

Empty journals I can fill, especially handmade.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Engel Sind Schwarz und Weiss, Der Vorleser, The Solace of Leaving Early, A Tale of Two Cities, Midnight's Children, The Once and Future King, Joseph Andrews, Cat's Cradle, A Prayer for Owen Meany, A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Gilead, Ada, Tinkers, One Hundred Years of Solitude

I prefer literary fiction, short stories, biography, memoir and well-researched, well-written history and social science. I am interested in book reviews and recommendations. I don't like most genre fiction (like romance, mystery, thriller, etc...) and I don't usually like series fiction.

As for poetry, I love beat poetry (especially Ferlinghetti), Langston Hughes, and ee cummings.

Favorite authors: Henry Fielding, Salman Rushdie, Barbara Kingsolver, Louise Erdrich, Kurt Vonnegut, John Irving, Julian Barnes, Carson McCullers, Marilynne Robinson, Vladimir Nabokov, Charles Dickens, Paul Harding