(almost) official.

sorry for the lack of posts. a 70-plus-hour workweek followed by a weekend of moving and (trying) to be lazy do not equate to a highly-motivated me.


h has officially moved in, nearly everything but signed the lease now. some things i welcomed with open arms (amazing new bed) and others... well... big sigh. ( ; my office has been converted into a "man-cave," but not to my dismay. although i originally scoffed at this idea, it proves to be an EXCELLENT place for me to put all of the things that don't "match" the rest of the decor, plus is like a room that h can feel like is his own in a house that has already been decorated by a super-type-a woman. a huge big-screen tv, exposed brick walls, a bathroom, a couch and recliners, soon to be a fridge, and now there's talk of a bar... 


after a long day of cleaning, moving, trying to watch football, and more moving, we made heidi's broccoli cheddar soup with some disclaimers - ours looked nothing like hers... it looked more like panera's version. we used sharp cheddar, frozen broccoli cutlets, and we left our broccoli and potatoes chunky. we mixed in some flour and cream to thicken it. and served it with some cheddar jalapeno bread. what a great fall sunday dinner in front of football for our first night of being roommates! 


i'm super looking forward to thanksgiving dinner with my girlfriends tomorrow night! so excited we'll all be together...! 

crazy pup.

thankful.

just in case you needed a little realization that life is bigger...

 

bigger than my industrial job.

bigger than delayed planes and trains.

bigger than my designer jeans.

bigger than deciding what wine to drink with dinner tonight.

When I heard the news,
My heart fell on the floor
I was on a plane on my way to Baltimore
In these trouble times its hard enough as it is
My soul has a known a better life than this

I wonder how so many can be in so much pain,
While others dont seem to feel a thing
Then I curse my whiteness,
and I get so damn depressed,
In a world with suffering,
Why should I be so blessed?

I heard about a women who lives in Colorado,
She built a monoment of sorts behind the garage door
Where everyday she prays for all whom are born
And all whose souls have passed on
Sometimes my trouble gets so thick
I can't see how Im gonna get through it
but then I'd rather be stuck up in a tree
Then be tied to it

There is so much more.

I don't feel comfortable with the way my clothes fit
I can't get used to my body's limits
I got some fancy shoes to try and giggle away these blues
They cost a lot of money but they arent worth a thing
I wanna free my feet from the broken glass and concrete
I need to get out of this city
Lay apon the ground stare a hole in the sky
Wondering where I go when I die
When I die.

[there is so much more - brett dennen] 

rainy days.

it's nasty out here today... makes me glad that i flew back from ithaca last night instead of today! they've even closed some of the schools east of us... 

i'm sad that v & i can't go out for our morning walk, and she's sitting her moping around all day, but i love listening to the rain on the skylight above the steps. i'm curling up in my favorite cuddly sweater, my warm slippers, with a cup of hot cider and enjoying an hour or so to myself this morning (yesterday was a long day) to plan out some craft upcoming projects: 

• a fabric covered cork board (mine is plain menswear fabric) for my necklaces which are currently in knotted balls in my jewelry box with some fabric covered push pins (of funky fabric), of course
• plotting where i can find a headboard to repurpose and fabric to make a funky fabric covered headboard for our soon-to-be empty 2nd bedroom
• cinderella inspired buttons for a scarf and hat set for my favorite 4 & 1/2 year old for xmas (all i can find were these)
• make vintagey christmas ornaments like the ones farbs had on her blog a few weeks ago
• figuring out how to make gloves like these delightful fingerless ones! 
  
• and finishing up some christmas presents in the making... 

...back to work... have a great day! ( :

i love letterpress.

i saw these books at barnes & noble and i am in love. i know this sounds ridiculous, but they would perfectly match the colors of my bathroom. h would call materialist. i would call me perfectionist. they are $10/each.

could not put this down.

 

a few weeks ago, h & i both had a bookstore craving. we love books. we love reading books. we love having a book collection. we don't, however, enjoy spending money on books. we have gotten most of our books from yard sales, thrift stores, or (our favorite) crazy used bookstores like capitol hill books in southeast dc. we happened to both have gift cards for barnes & noble (or nobles if you add the letter "s" to absolutely everything like i do), and decided to waste the good part of an afternoon just browsing. (even though i went in with a list - i knew what i wanted well ahead of time.)

after LOVING the glass castle, it was only natural to pick up half broke horses by jeannette walls as soon as it came out... (& after i read this review from the ny times).

...and not put it down until completed. i read this book this week in my travels to ohio and south carolina, and finished it in about 4 hours. my only complaint was that it wasn't longer. it was WONDERFUL. all i could think about while i was reading it was that i wanted to be lily casey smith. i really did not want this story to end! lily was a rancher, a teacher, a wife, a cowgirl, a mother, a hardass, an unbeatable poker player, a schemer, a cowgirl, a pilot (almost), a survivor, a great daughter and sister, a home decor enthusiast, did i mention cowgirl, and above all, a realist.

there were some really good quotes about life lessons in the book as well.

• "god deals us all different hands. how we play 'em is up to us." -lily's dad
• "only difference between a traitor and a patriot is your perspective." -lily's dad
• "teaching is a calling, too." -mother albertina
• "when god closes a window, he opens a door. but it's up to you to find it." -mother albertina
• "i was teaching them things they need to know, which made me feel like i was making a difference in their lives. i never met a kid i couldn't teach. every kid was good at something, and the trick was to find out what it was, and then use it to teach them everything else." -lily
• "nobody's perfect. we're all just one step up from the beasts and one step down from the angels." -rosemary

sigh. first things first. nice pair of cowgirl boots, please!

[long overdue] champaign/urbanna update.

i had the most wonderful food & friends experience last month in illinois. two restaurants in particular deserve some shout-outs - the courier cafe (photos above) in urbana & the red herring also in the urbana/champaign area. 

les & i went to the courier cafe for saturday breakfast. the decor was the cutest and the food was great! i had potato pancakes and les had a traditional eggs & potatoes breakfast with some dark chocolate coffee (mmmm...). 


just as she explained here, les started out telling me that the red herring was similar to our favorite college restaurant, the little grill in harrisonburg, virginia (just a peek at their website makes me wish i was there right now!), and honestly, she couldn't have been more right! les, machel & i went for lunch. it was a little different than the little grill, but the food was on par. if i could get the recipe for their falafel, i would be in heaven! 

i should also mention that les is the expert hostess! her apartment was super cute, equipped with the cutest decor. i loved her shabby chic bedroom rug & shower curtain (she always gets the best finds)!  

 

i love her style & loved hanging out & seeing her new location! bottom line: i can't wait to go back!