you look like gold to me

Déjà vu

2010-06-01T16:13:00.006-06:00

I spent the day back in my old office in Huntsville...pretty much exactly the same as I left it.

Monday

2010-05-17T09:39:00.002-06:00

from thx thx thx:

Happy Day to all the Mamas!

2010-05-09T12:23:00.001-06:00

Thank you for your patience, teaching, support, and unconditional love.

Weekend Want-tos

2010-05-07T16:18:00.001-06:00

First Friday Art Walk on Sante Fe
Boulder Farmers' Market
Take the pup to Doggy Day Camp
Catch a yoga class
Colorado Chocolate Festival
Hoe down at Amy's
Brunch at The Market (I want this: smoked salmon, herring in wine, shrimp
salad with a bagel and cream cheese and fresh fruit...and maybe a chocolate muffin)
Get a library card and check out some books
Listen to You & Me on repeat
Dream of Paris

Reading list

2010-05-07T12:51:00.001-06:00

Images via Tattered Cover

A dressed up sidewalk find

2010-05-07T08:05:00.000-06:00

Before:

After:

via Stay Forever Sunday

What a great way to repurpose an old metal filing cabinet!

You & Me

2010-05-05T22:34:00.000-06:00

Want to pack your bags
Something small
Take what you need and we'll disappear
Without a trace
We'll be gone gone
Moon and the stars will follow the car
Then when we get to the ocean
Gonna take a boat to the end of the world
All the way to the end of the world

Oh and when the kids are old enough
We're gonna teach them
To fly

You and me together
We can do anything, baby
You and me together
Yes, yes
The two of us together
We can do anything, baby
You and me together
Yes, yes

You and I, we're not tied to the ground
Not falling but rising
Like rolling around eyes
Closed above the rooftops
Eyes closed, we're gonna spin through the stars

Our arms are wide as the sky
We're gonna ride the blue
All the way to the end of the world
All the way to the end of the world

Oh and when the kids are old enough
We're gonna teach them
To fly

We can do anything, baby
You and me together
Yes, yes
The two of us together
We can do anything, baby
You and me together
Yes, yes

We can always look back at what we did
Always the memory of you and me, baby
But right now it's you and me forever, girl
You know we can do better than anything that we did
You know that you and me, we can do anything

You and me together
We can do anything, baby
You and me together
Yes, yes
The two of us together....

-Dave Matthews

Speaking of babies...

2010-05-05T11:26:00.002-06:00

from Ohdeedoh:

The Best and Worst Places To Be A Mother

We were not surprised to read that the United States wasn't near the top of the latest 'Mothers Index' of best countries in which to be a mom - but we didn't expect it would rate so low. This is the eleventh annual index put out by Save the Children to measure women's and children's health and well-being around the world. Have a guess which mothers have it best?

As if their silken, blonde locks and ski slopes weren't enviable enough, Norway tops the index of 160 countries followed closely by Australia, Iceland and Sweden. The United States was ranked at number 28 right behind Croatia. What puts our ranking so low within the tier of more developed countries: maternal mortality rate (one of the highest in the developed world, 10 times higher than Ireland); under-five mortality (a child in the U.S. is twice as likely to die before their fifth birthday than a child in Singapore); limited access to preschool (only 61% enrollment); and stingy maternity leave policies.

You can read more about the report at Save the Children.

Photo of Norwegian road crossing: Flickr member Wrote licensed for use under Creative Commons.

Babies

2010-05-05T08:46:00.002-06:00

Last night the St. Anthony Health Foundation in conjunction with the Denver Film Society’s Women+Film program hosted a Citywide Baby Shower at the Starz FilmCenter to benefit Bloom, a comprehensive prenatal care program for teens created by the Certified Nurse-Midwives at St. Anthony Central Hospital. With a donation, we were treated to a reception and an early screening of the film, Babies.

Babies simultaneously follows the lives of 4 babies from around the world: Mongolia, Japan, Namibia, and San Francisco. It was interesting how different and yet similar their lives are. One baby lives in a yurt on the plains of Mongolia and another in a hut in Africa, but they both share the same look of pure joy when they stand on their own for the first time.

If you find babies adorable and entertaining, then watch this movie (it opens this weekend). If you don't really enjoy them, then you should probably skip it. Have to say though...these babies were pretty funny.

Change

2010-05-04T18:38:00.001-06:00

from nadi amy:

that about sums it up!

in mandarin, the characters for the word 'change' are a combination of opportunity and danger.

I heart Monday presents

2010-05-04T14:59:00.002-06:00

Last night, Danny surprised me with this fetching little bauble from Freshy Fig....a vintage ball and chain locket (Get it?? Ball and chain. HA!). I've been wanting a locket for a while, and this one is simply perfect. Now, I just have to find some teeny tiny pictures to hide inside.

Weekend Recap: Visitors from the East

2010-05-03T11:53:00.002-06:00

We had some lovely guests over the weekend...Danny's sister, Mel, and her husband, Arthur! We were worried about the weather going in as they were predicting rain, but the universe listened to my request and actually gave us really nice weather overall.

Friday started with a trip to the Denver Biscuit Co. I had a terrible time deciding what to get...really wanted to try the Strawberry Shortcake, but ended up going with the Schooner. Delicious! A warning: breakfast here might require a nap following your meal.

That night we went to see In the Heights. Loved it! The energy in this musical is phenomenal. The music is great. It's just so much fun. Highly, highly recommend it! Mel gave me the original cast recording, and I plan on listening to it all afternoon. Here's a taste...

Saturday was full of cocktails, yummy food, great friends, a punching bag machine, and late night pizza. A really good day and a great night.

We had so much fun with Mel and Arthur and really wish they lived closer to us. Come back soon!

Spring Fever

2010-04-29T00:52:00.000-06:00

I am obsessed with yellow right now. Specifically yellow flowers. Etsy has become a very dangerous place...

from annyyca

from yarntwisted

from Flauxers

from 5andUnder

from ArtmadeByTammy

from ferrindeloach

from qipieces

from LittleCharm

from LucyGooseyCreations

The Horse Boy

2010-04-28T12:25:00.003-06:00

Last night, Danny and I went to the Rocky Mountain PBS Community Cinema event at the Starz FilmCenter. Community Cinema is a free event, open to all that gives a sneak peak of an upcoming episode of PBS’s documentary series Independent Lens, followed by a panel discussion. Its goal is to start conversations, at the event and following it.

Last night, the screening was of The Horse Boy. The Horse Boy is about a family with an autistic son named Rowen. They discovered that the only time Rowen was calm was when he was on the back of a horse, so they decide to do something crazy...they go to Mongolia, the place where horses were first domesticated, in search of shaman healing. The movie follows their journey, both physical and emotional.

The story was incredibly moving, and the strength of the parents (and any parent of an autistic child) left me without words. As simply a woman who is planning to have children, I was on the verge of tears throughout the entire screening. I was imaging being in their place...the lengths you would go to as a parent to help your child...the emotional ups and downs...the desperation....the strength...the hope....I literally have no words. I can only hope that if something like that happened in my life that I would find the strength somewhere.

The panel discussion following the screening was equally as fascinating. It was made up of a shaman healer, a representative of the Autism Society of Colorado, and a DU professor who studies hipotherapy and other animal therapies. First of all, I found it so interesting that there is a practicing shaman in Denver. But, one of the most shocking facts revealed during the discussion is that Colorado ranks 51st in the US for funding for people with disabilities. The majority of Autism Society of Colorado's funding comes from private donations, and awareness is key. Did you know that autism is an epidemic? According to the CDC, 1 in every 169 eight year old children in Colorado have an autism spectrum disorder. Chances are that you know someone who has a child who falls within the spectrum.

The whole event left me wanting to do more and do something to raise awareness, even if it's a small thing (like talk about it here). PBS is going to broadcast The Horse Boy sometime in the month of May, so check your local PBS listings for the date and time. It's a wonderful film and such an inspiring and deeply moving story.

And, if you'd like to make a donation to the Autism Society, then do it! Donations are crucial in the Autism Society's ability to serve the autism community, and even a small donation could make a big difference in someone's life.

Circle of Life

2010-04-26T13:33:00.002-06:00

For my 10th birthday, I invited boys to my party. We were going to go to the movies, and because boys were coming, I picked a movie I thought they would like (I can't remember which). Surprise, surprise, the boys didn't show which meant we could go see the movie I really wanted to see - The Lion King. I had already gotten the soundtrack and knew the words to all the songs before we even got in the theater.

Weekend Recap: Not too much

2010-04-26T07:48:00.008-06:00

We had a relatively lazy weekend. We had a decent amount of stuff go on during the week and have company coming next, so we decided to take the opportunity to get plenty of couch time.

Friday night, we went to the Denver Theatre Company's production of Othello. It was performed in the Space Theatre of the Denver Performing Arts Center, and it was a perfect setting for this play. It's a small theater in the round with raised seating all the way around, so the stage itself is in the center. Instead of looking up at a stage from an auditorium, you are watching from above and get the feeling that you eavesdropping on the characters, not watching a play. The performance was excellent (much better than my last Shakespeare experience). John Hutton who played Iago was wonderful, as was everyone else down to the actor who only had a few lines. This is a long video, but here is a collection of clips from the play to give you a taste, and if you're in Denver and have a chance before it closes on Saturday, go see Friday night, we went to the Denver Theatre Company's production of . It was performed in the Space Theatre of the Denver Performing Arts Center, and it was a perfect setting for this play. It's a small theater in the round with raised seating all the way around, so the stage itself is in the center. Instead of looking up at a stage from an auditorium, you are watching from above and get the feeling that you're eavesdropping on the characters, not watching a play. The performance was excellent (much better than my last Shakespeare experience). John Hutton who played Iago was wonderful, as was everyone else down to the actor who only had a few lines. This is a long video, but here is a collection of clips from the play to give you a taste, and if you're in Denver and have a chance before it closes on Saturday, go see Othello.

Also well-worth mentioning is the costuming. This production was set at the turn of the century instead of the typical Shakespeare time period, and all the costumes are made specifically for the play. The costumes of the female characters were beautiful, and as a lover of clothing, I was always excited for a costume change so I could examine detailing of the new piece. I'd go see it for the clothing alone. It makes it that much more that the performance was so good.

And, a hilarious video of how the story would have been different if Desdemona had had a sassy, gay friend...

Saturday started with some coffee and cheesy potato goodness (mmm....) and was followed by some movie and tv watching which lasted for about 6 hours. Saturday night we headed to Sobo 151 to watch the Avs playoff game...and that's all we'll say about that except that Sobo 151 had great food and was a lot of fun.

Sunday, we made it out of the house by 2 to catch a showing of Waking Sleeping Beauty which was about how basically every one of my favorite childhood movies came into existence. I came home and told Danny that we would have to have a Disney movie marathon. He wasn't as excited about the idea as I was...

And, that was our weekend. Not too much although we did actually leave the indoors at least once a day which is pretty good for a lazy weekend.

A thought

2010-04-16T09:20:00.003-06:00

(Via Marvelous Kiddo)

Another reason I'm glad we moved - our health

2010-04-15T08:36:00.002-06:00

Jeri sent me an article yesterday that explains that there has been a significant rise in the obesity rate in the US over the last 20 years.

Obesity is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater. BMI is calculated from a person's weight and height and provides a reasonable indicator of body fatness and weight categories that may lead to health problems. Obesity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, certain types of cancer, and type 2 diabetes.

Alabama has the second highest rate at 31.4% (eeek!). The only state that has a rate lower than 20% - Colorado.

Way to go, new home!

Free School

2010-04-14T10:16:00.004-06:00

I just signed up for a free (yes, free) cooking class called Vegan! Vegan! Vegan! (Baking, Meal Planning, and More). Since my flirtation started, I'm always on the lookout for recipes and ways to learn more about vegan cooking, and free makes it even better.

The reason the class is free is because it's being offered by the Free School Denver.

Free School Denver is a grassroots education network free of monetary obligations, censorship, and hierarchy. We strive to educate and enrich our community through the accessible exchange of skills, knowledge, and expertise. We invite you to join us, and take part in our shared quest for freedom in education!

Pretty great idea, huh? I'm signed up for the cooking class next Monday, so I'll let you know how it goes!

Easter Weekend: Art & Theatrics

2010-04-13T11:45:00.003-06:00

What a wonderfully wonderful Easter weekend we had! We actually did nothing Easter related except for having Good Friday off and wearing springy clothes, but anyway...

Friday started with dropping the kid - I mean, pup - off at daycare. Then the husband and I walked over to Tattered Cover for breakfast & coffee and a few hours of peaceful reading in big wingback chairs surrounded by thousands of books. After we got our morning fill of reading, we grabbed our bikes, and rode over to the Denver Museum of Art. We randomly stopped for lunch along the way at Pints Pub which we learned has the largest selection of Scotch outside of Britain; they, also, brew their own beer and have good food - all in all, a great find!

I had never been to the DAM, so I was really surprised to see the entire Civic Center Cultural Complex. There's crazy architecture, old architecture, and large art installations. Loved it!

(photo via Tufts)

Although we didn't get to see everything, what we did see at the DAM was wonderful. It was the final weekend of a an exhibit called Embrace! which involved different artists transforming the unique spaces of the building into works of art, so I was really glad we made it in time to see it.

After the museum, we rode home to pick up the pup. I have to share the adorable report card that she got from daycare. Too much cuteness!

We dropped her off at home where she immediately passed out on the floor (didn't even make it to somewhere soft), and then head to a dinner party which involved wine, red snapper, homemade mac and cheese, carrots, and banana pudding. Mmmm....

Saturday was pretty lazy, so we'll skip to Sunday. Accompanied by Knox and Rachel, we went to see the Easter matinee of Cirque Dreams: Illumination which was craaaazzzyyy!

After the show, we went to Sushi Sasa for an early dinner. If you don't know this yet, I LOVE sushi! It was the perfect end to a seriously fabulous weekend.

We're Famous!

2010-04-08T12:00:00.003-06:00

Our lovely wedding photog, Allison, just launched a blog and a brand-new website. I love photography blogs! So many beautiful pictures of happy people. She did a post about wedding cakes, and our cake was featured!

I've, personally, always thought our wedding was feature-worthy, and I'm glad Allison agrees. We're famous!

Flirt

2010-04-08T10:53:00.003-06:00

I am a flirt. Hold your comments, please, because I mean a vegan flirt. My name is Nicole, and I have been flirting with veganism.

For the past year or so, I have cut down on the amount of meat I eat. In fact, most of the time, I go for the vegetarian choice on the menu instead of the burger or chicken breast. After watching some coverage of Food, Inc. and the like, I decided to do some research into vegetarianism and veganism.

I picked up The Kind Diet, Alicia Silverstone's vegan cookbook. The first part of the book is a discussion of veganism: how she arrived at being vegan, the cruelty of the meat and dairy industry, the health benefits, etc. I've always heard rumors of the benefits - clearer skin being one. But I hadn't really thought about how kind of strange it is that we drink the milk of other animals. In the animal kingdom, that's not normal. I also didn't know about the research being done into the relationship between dairy and cancer rates. We are told that you have to drink milk to get calcium, but according to The Kind Diet, the calcium in milk actually makes your body use more calcium than you're ingesting. It's actually been a huge marketing campaign by the milk industry (similar to the "A Diamond is Forever" campaign started by De Beers). You can get great levels of calcium from so many other things - greens, almonds, sesame seeds, soybeans - and their calcium is actually more readily absorbed by the body.

While veganism really intrigues me, two major things will prevent me from becoming truly vegan.

Sushi
Cheese

I cannot happily live without these two things. But that I have made some changes. At home, I've cut out out all animal products (except for cheese and seafood). No eggs. No milk. No butter. If I'm out, then I look for the vegan option. I believe that every little bit helps - me and our planet's animals. Although I don't label myself as anything, I guess at this point I am closest to a pescatarian (occasional vegan), but I make no promises; we'll just have to see how this goes. For now, you can just call me a flirt.

A Sibling Getaway

2010-03-11T13:42:00.007-07:00

My brother and sister both came to visit for a loooong weekend last week. We had a blast! Here are a few highlights:

Yummy sushi dinner on Dad, all the way from Tennessee (Thanks, Dad!)

Wandering around downtown

Our first ever NBA game - Nuggets vs. Pacers

2 days of skiing/snowboarding on fresh powder in beautiful weather

Ice butt

A cute puppy face

Curling!

A fun joke on Mom :)

Can't wait for the 2nd annual Sibling Getaway!

My Cupcake Contribution

2010-03-04T08:59:00.009-07:00

Since I was 12 years old, March 4th has always meant one thing - Meg's birthday.My friend loves her birthday and has spent her life making sure that everyone around her knows when it is. What can I say? She loves a party! In honor of her birthday, she collected her favorite cupcake recipes over on Musings from the the Front Porch. I decided to contribute my new favorite.

I have recently began flirting with veganism (more on that later). When I mentioned this to Meg, she was very concerned about losing the ability to bake since most cakes and cake-like things tend to require eggs. I was intrigued when I saw this recipe on Manifest Vegan and decided I had to try it out and report back to Meg. I am happy to report that they are SO GOOD and totally vegan! The cake is so light and fluffy. Make these. You will not be disappointed.

Chocolate Filled Vanilla Cupcakes (via Manifest Vegan)
makes about 18 cupcakes

Ingredients

Cake:

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup melted vegan margarine
2 cups almond milk (or your fave non-dairy milk)
2 tbsp vanilla extract
3 cups flour (either “all purpose” flour or a Gluten free flour mix… be sure to check and see if the mix needs to have xanthan gum added)
1 tsp baking soda
4 tbsp vinegar

Frosting:

4 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 cup cocoa powder
7 tbsp almond milk
2 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup Earth Balance margarine

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line cupcake pans with liners, or grease and flour pan.

In large mixing bowl, combine melted margarine and sugar until well mixed. Add vanilla extract and baking soda. Alternate adding almond milk with flour until all has been incorporated (if using gluten free flour, mix by hand about 50 strokes, or about 1 minute on medium speed with mixer). Gently stir in vinegar one tablespoon at a time. Mix well.

Using a measuring cup or something similar, fill cupcake liners about 2/3 of the way full with batter. Bake in preheated oven for about 17- 20 minutes, or until knife inserted into center of cupcake comes out clean. Let cool on wire rack.

Now, make icing:

Combine confectioner’s sugar and cocoa powder well. Mix in almond milk and vanilla. Mix in Earth Balance and then whip until light and fluffy.

Once cupcakes are cool, you are ready to fill. You can use that special tip on your piping bag, or if you don’t have one of those, that’s okay. It’s easy!

First, take your cooled cupcake:

Next, take a sharp or serrated knife and cut out a spot on the top, and set the top aside. I like to cut a cone shape out, so I don’t accidentally cut through to the bottom. Then I cut the very tip of the “cone” off to make extra room for the frosting. You can use the handle of a spoon to push the cake to make a slightly larger hole.

Now, take a small spoon and scoop a little bit of frosting up and fill the cupcake with frosting. Make sure to level it. It doesn’t have to be perfect, though.

And now, replace the top. It’s okay to push down slightly to get it to fit… this cake is super spongy.

See, easy, huh? Now just pipe or use a knife to spread on the rest of the chocolate frosting and your done!

Store in cool place in covered container. :)

Happy Birthday, Meg! Have a drink on me!

Short escape to Silverthorne

2010-03-02T12:20:00.001-07:00

Although I had never been, I recently became obsessed with going snowshoeing. It seemed like a great alternative to skiing which I haven't fallen in love with quite yet. Sorry. You still get to be outside in the beautiful snowy mountains and get a great workout at the same time. So, when the opportunity arose to go to Silverthorne for a couple of days and go snowshoeing, I jumped on it!

We went up on Saturday, and I was blown away by the views from the cabin.

We spent Saturday relaxing and reading in front of the fire. I got a little obsessed with a giant book of crossword puzzles but managed a long enough break to take a much needed nap. Scarlett, of course, loved the fire.

Sunday morning, we got up early and got ready for some snowshoeing (!). We suited the pup up in her jacket and boots and got our snowshoes on.

The cabin backs up to a national park, so once we were ready, we just headed out the backdoor. Pretty convenient, huh?

I have to say, one of the best parts of snowshoeing - and by best, I mean funniest - is that if you fall down and try push yourself up, you're actually pushing down on 3-4 feet of snow, so you just sink. Watching someone fall and try to get up is hilarious! And, by the way, I laughed more than Danny did. Just saying.

The views the whole time were beautiful. We were surrounded by amazing mountains and untouched snow.

Although we never found the road or path we were supposed to find, we had so much fun. Scarlett had a blast too (She slept for about 16 hours once we got home). I'm really looking forward to snowshoeing again. Hope it's soon!

An Education

2010-02-23T11:04:00.002-07:00

The snow was falling Sunday afternoon which can only mean one thing - go see a movie! We are lucky enough to be a short walk away from the Starz FilmCenter which is a lovely seven-screen independent moviehouse and the home of the Denver Film Festival in the fall. Funnily enough, it always seems to be snowing when we go there. We're not sure if it starts snowing because we decide to see a movie or if we decide to see a movie because it's snowing...

Sunday we went to see An Education, and I am now in love with this movie. Its 95% on Rotten Tomatoes and 3 Oscar nominations are definitely justified. The movie is about a 16 year old girl living in England in the 1960s who is working hard to get an education so she can go to Oxford when she meets a charming older man who shows her a different life. The movie is beautiful, and the acting is wonderful.

Also, the fashion in this movie is to-die-for fabulous. Seriously. Dying.

(When I go to Paris, this is what I'm wearing.)

Go see this movie.

V-day Weekend Sum-up

2010-02-19T09:54:00.001-07:00

I realize Monday would probably be the appropriate day for a weekend recap, but oh well. You'll have to settle for hump day this week.

Our weekend started early. A day early and early in the AM. Our friends, Drew and Stefanie, came in to visit, so we took Friday off to hang out. Their flight came in at 7:30. WHAT? That's usually when I wake up, but Drew and Stef are worth it, so I woke up at 6 (Who knew it was so dark at 6?) with little to no complaints. On the plus side, I got to watch an episode of Saved by the Bell: the College Years while I got dressed.

First things first, we got brunch (it was 7:30 AM afterall) and came up with a tentative plan for our day. After dropping off their bags at our place, we grabbed the pup and walked over to REI. Drew and Danny both came away with nice ski/hardshell jackets that were on sale (score!). Next, we hit up Falling Rock Tap House for a late lunch and some really good beer.

Not too far away, we found Great Divide Brewery and made it in time for a tour and happy hour. After a short stop at home to pick up our friend, Andrew, we walked across the street to the Pepsi Center for an Avalanche game which they won - yay!

Saturday started with - big surprise - brunch (did I mention we really like brunch?). We did a bit of wandering and shopping on Broadway, found a great sale at Fancy Tiger, and had some ice cream. For dinner, we decided to get dressed up and take Drew and Stef to Jax which was oh-so-good.

Sunday, we gave our guests something they'd been really wanting - Snow! It didn't snow too much, but it was beautiful. Because of the snow and cold temps, they got to witness the pup getting suited up to go outside and watch her make a big scene about wearing booties.

After ogling the falling snow, we did what we do best and headed to - say it together - brunch. Our brunch destination this morning was Duo in Highlands which I highly recommend. Their weekend quiche is always amazing, and I don't even like eggs. I love their coffee too. Mmmm....We hit up a couple shops on Tennyson before heading home to help Stef fit all her purchases in her suitcase. She, of course, had nothing to worry about as I am an expert packer.

Before heading to the airport, we decided to try out the Cherry Cricket which boasts the #3 burger in the country. I can tell you that they have an excellent green chili cheeseburger, awesome chili cheese fries, and yummy fried mac and cheese bites. Can you tell we like food?

We had such a great weekend with Drew and Stef which we always do. We miss you guys already!

Possibly the easiest meal ever

2010-02-08T11:40:00.000-07:00

This meal has become my husband's all time favorite which is perfect for me because it's oh so easy to make.

Slowcooker BBQ Chicken Baked Potato:
1 chicken breast per person
1 bottle BBQ sauce of your choice
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 potato per person

Place chicken breasts in a slowcooker (they can even be frozen). Pour about half the bottle of BBQ sauce and the Worcestershire sauce into the slowcooker. Cover, and cook 3 to 4 hours on High or 6 to 8 hours on Low. Shred the chicken and place back in the slowcooker. Add some more BBQ sauce if needed. Cook on Low for another hour. To serve, place shredded chicken on baked potato. Top with cheese and sour cream.

This makes me so happy

2010-02-04T11:12:00.001-07:00

Musings from the Front Porch

2010-02-03T08:51:00.000-07:00

My friend, Meg, recently started a wonderful blog called Musing from the Front Porch where she talks about being a first time homeowner and all that it entails...from decor to cooking to lessons learned. She just featured our Denver loft on her Style Spying. Check it out here.

Also, here's a video tour of our place.

A New Adventure

2010-02-02T12:57:00.003-07:00

As far as this blog is concerned, I have been MIA for about 6 months (oops!). There was a major change in my life that sucked up all of my time. In those 6 months, we sold our house in the South and moved out West to Denver. It was a whirlwind!

Colorado was a place that Danny and I had thought about moving to several times. It felt like a place that we would love, but with the timing of life and jobs, it just didn't work out. Then Danny started working for a company based in Denver, and he started coming out all the time. All the time. Last March, I came with Danny on one of these trips, and we really fell in love with the city. We decided to set a lofty goal for ourselves: we would move to Denver by the end of the year. We went back home and continued our daily lives with some talk of our goal but no real steps toward it.

Then a few months later, we took our first small step. We traded in Danny's rear-wheel drive, 2 seater convertible for an all-wheel drive WRX wagon. All-wheel drive is an important thing to have when you're dealing with snow and ice. My car lease came to an end, so we turned it in. Moving with one car would be much easier than with 2. Step 1...that wasn't so bad.

The next step (and it was a big one) was putting our house on the market. Talk of this went on for weeks until I finally took the plunge and emailed our realtor to set up a meeting. That really got the ball rolling. We put the house on the market. There was no turning back now.

The next thing that happened was something we weren't expecting - the house sold 10 days after we put it on the market & the buyer wanted to close at the end of September which was only about a month away. Ah! "Did that really happen?" was a common phrase for the next few days and even weeks. We obviously hoped to sell the house quickly but not that quickly!

We were ecstatic that we were able to sell our house so fast, but with closing at the end of September that meant we were moving to Denver in a few short weeks and didn't have a place to live when we got there! Luckily, Danny had a business trip scheduled in September, so he was able to extend it & look at places. He found a wonderful place with help with our Denver realtor and signed the lease, all without my even seeing it. Good thing I trust my husband's taste...

The sad part of all this excitement was that we had to say goodbye to our friends and family a lot sooner than we had been expecting. The next few weekends were spent hanging out and saying goodbye to our friends and to the South. It was bittersweet, but we were so excited about our new home & our friends and family coming to visit us there.

So, at the end of September, we set off on our new adventure, and we're loving every minute of it!

Lazy Sangria

2009-07-16T09:36:00.003-06:00

I came across this on Rachael Ray's blog, and I have to share this because it's so yummy (or yum-O, I should say). Say hello to the world's simplest sangria. All you do is mix the lemon-limeade with your favorite red wine, and voilà, you're done!

Lemon-Limeade:
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (I squeezed 4 lemons)
3/4 cup fresh lime juice (I squeezed 5 limes)

In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and 1 1/2 cups of water over moderately high heat; stir to dissolve the sugar. Just before the mixture comes to a boil, remove from the heat. Stir in 3 1/4 cups of cold water, then pour into a pitcher. Stir in the lemon and lime juices and refrigerate.

Open the red wine of your choice (I used Ménage à Trois) and mix the two together over ice. I really like the way it looks when you pour the red wine over the lemon-limeade. Pretty, isn't it?

(image via rachel ray's blog)

New to the blog: Captilization

2009-07-16T09:05:00.002-06:00

I have decided to start using capitalization. Online, I tend to forgo capitalizing. I'm not sure why or where this started because in actuality, I am a huge grammar freak. But, for some reason when I'm online, I can ignore the lack of capital letters although I cannot ignore a misused pronoun or quotation mark (don't even get me started on quotation marks). Anyway, I have decided to stop disappointing Mrs. Martin and Mrs. Andrews who taught me so well and follow my grammar rules.

Welcome to the blog, capital letters. We're glad to have you here.

ahhh....

2009-07-10T12:54:00.001-06:00

(via homesweethome, via maluna)

hope it doesn't rain.

movies i really want to see

2009-06-27T17:39:00.006-06:00

away we go

500 days of summer

paper heart

funny people

food, inc.

adam

the time traveler's wife

borrowed: awesomespaces

2009-06-25T11:57:00.002-06:00

(via home sweet home, via awesomespaces)

what i was wearing wednesday...to work & to paint

2009-06-25T10:43:00.002-06:00

june 24, 2009, originally uploaded by goldtome.

june 24, 2009

shirt: anthropologie, on sale
jeans: gap, $10 on sale
shoes: shoe carnival, $5 on sale

this shirt has little apples on it, and i love it! i really like the way these straight leg jeans look with my tall peep-toes. i think the shirt cost $30, so not a bad cost total on the whole outfit, huh?

landscape

2009-06-25T10:08:00.000-06:00

landscape, originally uploaded by goldtome.

monday's outfit

2009-06-23T08:21:00.005-06:00

june 22, 2009, originally uploaded by goldtome.

june 22, 2009 detail 2, originally uploaded by goldtome.

shirt: Target
belt: thrifted
skirt: thrifted, $3
shoes: Kohl's
bracelets, shades: Forever 21

we went to the artist market at lowe mill saturday, so i had to make a stop at karma rags while we were there. this skirt was one of my purchases. it cost a whopping $3. i was pretty excited about it, so i had to wear it right away. hello monday's outfit.

under the boardwalk, down by the sea

2009-06-22T07:37:00.000-06:00

well, strike the "under." we were on top of the boardwalk.

while we were in southern california for jen's wedding, we spent a day wandering around huntington beach. my mom & her friend, brenda (seen below), actually grew up there, so there was lots of reminiscing. the weather was gorgeous; it was a little cool that day, but it was clear (as in smog free), and the sun was shining.

a wedding AND a baby

2009-06-20T07:51:00.002-06:00

this time two weeks ago, my family and i were in southern california because my cousin, jennifer, was getting married! the big day was june 6th, and it was lovely...lots of love and lots of sunshine; both of which are clearly evident in the picture below.

the ever adorable john, nephew of the bride, served as flowerboy. there was some concern by his mom, stacey, that guests might think he was the flowergirl given his long, blonde, curly locks, but i think his tie (of course, removed as soon as he got to the end of the aisle) set the record straight.

the wedding location was small and intimate. we hung around there a while after the ceremony waiting for our family photos with the photog, so in the meantime we snapped a few of our own. my little brother and i almost have the same hair color in this picture. almost.

sometimes it scares me how much i look like my mom and that i never noticed it until a couple years ago. isn't she pretty? this bodes well for me (and danny).

immediately after taking the following picture of jen & lee and getting excited because i could tell how great the next pictures would be, my camera flashed a mean little red light at me telling me it had no power left. that's the problem with a camera battery that lasts forever; you forget to charge it at all.

danny was at the wedding too, by the way. unfortunately, he didn't make it on ~~film~~ the memory card before the camera cut off (my mom took some pictures, but she's kind of slow on the upload). we did manage one poor quality camera phone picture which i promptly made danny set as his iphone background (to make him that guy). shockingly, he hasn't removed it yet.

now, for the second half of the the title of this blog post: a baby. the beautiful family below is going to be welcoming a new baby in december! i am beyond excited. seriously. beyond. john's going to have a little brother or sister in a few months! have i mention that i was excited?

it was definitely a great weekend for our family - a wedding and a baby all in one weekend! congratulations and excitement all around!

seems that us girl cousins are grown ups now...how weird.

over the rhine

2009-06-19T09:25:00.004-06:00

if you're not regularly listening to over the rhine, then you are definitely missing out. danny and i were lucky enough to be able to see these guys perform at the ryman auditorium, and amazing isn't a strong enough word to use to describe their performance. it literally took my breath away and left me lost in the beauty of the music and karin bergquist's voice.

have i convinced you to listen to them yet?

you can listen to their latest album, the trumpet child, here.

new york, new york

2009-06-16T13:28:00.001-06:00

it's a wonderful town! the bronx is up and the battery's down! the people ride in a hole in the ground! sorry, musical lover coming out in me (on the town, in case you're wondering)...

our long weekend in new york was fabulous (of course)! we got in wednesday night & met husband's boss for drinks at the hotel bar (how nyc). after getting over the shock of it being my first time in the city, boss insisted that we go out and wonder the city. we walked up and down 5th avenue...went into the apple store which is open 24 hours...and then stumbled up on this:

a movie set! see the incredibly bright light? it was the set of the sorcerer's apprentice staring nick cage. now, we had never heard of this movie, but it was still pretty cool to stumble upon the filming a movie in new york city that had a large portions of 5th shut down. we jokingly made references to the scene in disney's fantasia called the sorcerer's apprentice (you know with mickey and the brooms), but it turns out that's exactly what the movie is...a live-action version...weird, i know.

thursday, we all had to work for most of the day (boring). we finished up in the afternoon and somehow ended up in east village at a random comedy club where we made up 4 the 6 audience members required to start the show. we saw 5 comedians as part of the show, and i'd say 2.5 were actually funny. despite danny being called a serial killer who was planning on killing me later & his boss being named as "the guy who drives the van," we had a great time. here's art & danny taking their turn at the mic.

that night, we had dinner at sorella which i highly, highly recommend. the chef is emma hearst, and after eating at her restaurant, i am in love with her. it's completely nondescript from the outside; a wooden grate covers the window, so you can't see inside.

once you're inside, it's lovely. the roof is all glass; i'd love to see it in the daytime. we ate the table in the corner, and played musical plates with every dish so that everyone got to try everything. you can hear more about the food from the chef herself.

jeri arrived after dinner (yay!) and met us at mcsorley's which is nyc's oldest continuously running saloon. abe lincoln drank there, and when you order beer, you have 2 options - light or dark.

after that, danny and i wandered around rockefeller plaza & peaked inside the today show studio which i was super excited about (yes, i know i am a big dork)!

friday, danny, dave, jeri, and i all spent the day together. after lunch (i had half of a very large pastrami sandwich), we took the subway to the museum of natural history which is HUGE. we saw dioramas that look real (moose are really big, btw),

dinosaurs,

and meteorites.

we left the museum and walked right into central park where we relaxed and people watched for a while before dinner.

one of my demands of the trip was to have good sushi for dinner one night as we lack exceptional sushi where we live, and nyc did not fail me. we ate at blue ribbon sushi, and it was amazing!

even though we all agreed that we couldn't eat another bite of anything, it was decided that we definitely needed desert. frantic text messages calling for a late night desertery were sent out & juniors was sent back (thank you, mel). below you can see danny's piece of devil's food cheesecake which is actually cake and cheesecake all rolled into one. amazing! go there. go there now.

saturday, danny and i met his sister, mel, and her husband, arthur, for lunch & then headed for the met. it was fabulous! i was way too engrossed in the art to spend time taking pictures, but below is the greek & roman sculpture garden which leaves you with the feeling that you could almost be convinced that you traveled back in time and were walking through the atrium of a roman house.

after the met, we met up with mel & arthur again for an italian dinner followed by an off-broadway show which i won't mention by name or describe...

on our last day (tear), we had a yummy lunch at a ben's kosher deli and finished out the trip by heading up to the top of the rock for views of the city. i will never get over how huge this city is or how wonderful it is that there is a massive park in the middle of said massive city.

thanks, new york! we'll be back again!

update: puppy time

2009-06-16T12:10:00.002-06:00

via allegro cardigans:

Started at 4 am this morning. So far 4 girls (2 brindle 2 black) and 3 boys (all brindle). One of the black girls is marked just like daddy, except her slash is on the show side instead of the off side. All the rest are flashy and evenly marked so far.

#8 is another brindle girl, with beautiful markings and bright brindle.

#9 is another black girl, gorgeous markings. Slow to start, so good thoughts as we rubrubrubrub.

9 puppies! way to go, lizzie!

puppy time

2009-06-16T07:29:00.001-06:00

via allegro cardigans:

Started at 4 am this morning. So far 4 girls (2 brindle 2 black) and 3 boys (all brindle). One of the black girls is marked just like daddy, except her slash is on the show side instead of the off side. All the rest are flashy and evenly marked so far.

yay for lizzie and her puppies! i can't wait to start my job as puppy socializer!

you say it's your birthday; it's my birthday too (yeah)

2009-06-15T18:33:00.007-06:00

saturday (the 13th) was danny's birthday, and sunday (the 14th) was mine. we're convenient like that - back to back birthdays. we celebrated by having a deliciously wonderful meal at the melting pot which lasted approximately 10 hours.

we spent the rest of the weekend being as lazy as possible. danny got me a wii active, and i can't wait to try it out (i had to wait due to the word "lazy" used to describe the weekend)!

so, in honor of the anniversary of the birth of the hubs' (i don't know where that came from), i wanted to take a moment to say how much i love him. he makes me incredibly happy, more than i can even say. everyday i think about spending the rest of my life with him, and it puts the biggest grin on my face. i mean, just look how cute he is!

diagnosis

2009-06-12T12:35:00.002-06:00

via wikipedia:

excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is characterized by persistent sleepiness, and often a general lack of energy, even after apparently adequate night time sleep. Sudden involuntary sleep onset, and microsleeps are common complications. EDS is one of the two forms of hypersomnia, the other being prolonged nighttime sleep.

Some persons with EDS are compelled to nap repeatedly during the day; fighting off increasingly strong urges to sleep during inappropriate times such as while driving, while at work, during a meal, or in conversations. As the compulsion to sleep intensifies, the ability to competently complete tasks sharply diminishes, often mimicking the appearance of intoxication.

desperate otters turn to cute-based crime in the struggling economy

2009-06-10T10:17:00.003-06:00

Desperate otters turn to cute-based crime in the struggling economy

guess who else likes to eat at five guys?

2009-06-10T08:36:00.002-06:00

P052909PS-0352, originally uploaded by The Official White House Photostream.

a happy journal

2009-06-02T07:24:00.003-06:00

i read a suggestion that at the end of each day you should write down your happiest moment of the day. a sort-of happy journal. in doing so, you'll be reminded of what truly makes you happy (and therefore unhappy too). i find this idea so lovely that i'm determined to do it myself. i haven't decided whether i'll share my moments here or pick up my own happy journal. i'm sure etsy has some fabulous ones...

home

2009-06-01T10:33:00.003-06:00

we are home from the oh-so-big apple! we had so much fun & didn't stop the entire time (hence the current exhaustion). i'm pretty sure we didn't go to bed until at least 3 every night. we walked A LOT and ate A LOT (hoping that the former canceled out the latter) including really really good sushi, late night pizza, and kosher deli sandwiches. we went to the met which was amazing & the natural history museum which was so so huge. hung out in central park. saw the filming of a nick cage movie. rockefeller plaza (today show!). off-broadway play. little bit of shopping. top of the rock (did you know nyc is massive?).

details (and pictures) coming soon.

for the rest of may

2009-05-27T07:47:00.002-06:00

if you need me, you can find me here:

awkward family photos

2009-05-26T12:28:00.004-06:00

um...yeah...

via snackgirl:

I know! I know! It’s awkward because they’re too matchy-matchy.

more @ awkardfamilyphotos.com.

today's fortune cookie

2009-05-22T13:35:00.004-06:00

"you will move to a wonderful new home within the year."

also, my lucky numbers: 43, 55, 26, 45, 7, 10

i want to go to there

2009-05-22T12:13:00.000-06:00

via home sweet home

borrowed: "it's windy... be careful"

2009-05-21T18:52:00.004-06:00

i just read this post over at urban grace interiors & i have to share it. get ready to laugh.

----------------------

This morning I had a doctor's appointment... everything went well. Doctor wrote me a prescription for an antibiotic to (hopefully) kill this never-ending sinus infection. So, post-appointment I drop the prescription off at Publix and decided to kill the 20 minutes devouring a Cinnamon Crunch bagel at Panera.
With my husband in tow we head to Panera. Let me preface this story by telling you that we've been having gale force winds this week.

Got out of the car at Panera, headed towards the front door... when all of the sudden out of nowhere, a massive gust of wind took the bottom of my cute little black fluttery skirt all the way up around my neck.

Panic.

I fumbled around for what seemed like 20 minutes trying to grab the edges of the skirt... couldn't find them... they were flapping in the wind so fast I could not get my hands on them. So, plan B I dropped my purse, hoping it would grab my skirt on its way down and help me out.

My purse falls in the open position and everything within it went everywhere.

I screamed.

I still had my skirt up around my neck.

I likely screamed again.

I finally got a hold of my waistband and yanked it down.

Yes. Not only did my skirt come up in the wind.

But then I managed to pull it off in an effort to solve the problem.

Brilliant!

Chance was walking ahead of me (I'm sure because he was racing to get the door for his pregnant wife), when he finally turned around there I stood in the parking lot with my purse on the ground, all of its contents all over the place and me standing there with my skirt half way between my waist and my knees.

He said "what are you doing!?"

I was mortified. I did a 360 to see if anyone was watching. Then laughing, blushing, and sort of wanting to cry I walked into Panera.

I dang sure needed that Cinnamon Crunch bagel now more than ever.

A man was peeking out of his booth... laughing hysterically. Hey gave me a wink and mouthed "oops!" my way. I guess "oops" is better than a thumbs up? I'm not sure.

No one else would look my way.

I was wearing the panties that last time Chance saw me in asked: "Does Mimi know you stole her underpants?" Mimi is my grandmother.

my (current) masterpiece

2009-05-21T14:37:00.000-06:00

there may have been some help from spirited art. maybe.

from the depths of my closet

2009-05-21T11:32:00.000-06:00

a pair of shoes! i've had them for years, but i don't think i wore them once last summer (for some unknown reason). i found them lurking in the back of my closet last week & thought, "why the hell haven't i been wearing these??" they're cute & go with just about everything. i love rediscovering clothes i already own!

slight addition: sugar free lifesavers butter toffee

2009-05-21T10:00:00.007-06:00

i am addicted to these things. there are probably hundreds of empty wrappers covering my desk. but they're sugar free, so that means they're actually good for you, right? like a fruit or a vegetable.

completely unfair

2009-05-20T11:45:00.004-06:00

i'm not even sure it should be legal to have this view. unless, of course, it was my view.

via sweetiepie

this is not a love story

2009-05-20T10:09:00.003-06:00

happy 1 week, baby braden!

2009-03-10T10:43:00.007-06:00

my friend, tara, had a baby last week! little braden scott was born march 3rd at 9:40, weighing in at 7 lbs. 8 oz, and he is a whole week old today. he and baby mama are doing well.

check out those pouty lips (he gets those from his mama). he's just so cute!

i'm going to denver!

2009-03-03T10:07:00.001-07:00

danny has a business trip to denver next week & i'm going to meet up with him at the end for a 3 day weekend in the mile high city. i'm excited!

back from the woods

2009-03-02T21:23:00.008-07:00

through the rain, wind, and snow, danny and i have returned from our weekend minimoon into the woods. i think we may have picked the weekend with the wildest weather (how about that alliteration, huh?), but it was still so much fun & we had a really great time.

we woke up friday morning in huntsville to the sound of rain (great), so we took our time driving down. we took the scenic route that the gps took us on & the stopped for lunch at dad's barb-b-que which was unlike anything i'd ever experienced. no, i'm not talking about the food although it was good. i'm talking about the concept of the restaurant...this place is like sonic but indoors. each booth has a menu with a phone attached. when you're ready to order, you just pick up the phone, and then a waitress brings you your food at the table. i couldn't get over it. have you ever been to a place like this?

here's danny getting his last bit of email and internet before the self-imposed cutoff from the world.

friday night was filled with heavy rain, winds, thunder, and lightning striking the mountain around us. when we woke up saturday, it was like we were in a cloud, but we got a 4 hour window of now rain! we were able to get out and hike a couple of trails before the afternoon rain started. i got to wear my new hiking boots! it was a good thing i got them too because parts of the trails were under water. we even climbed around a waterfall & had to ford a couple creeks. the boots really served me well (as did my other bits of new valentines day outdoor gear). the rest of saturday was spent lounging around napping, eating, and/or watching season 1 of buffy...yes, the vampire slayer (a christmas gift from mel and arthur).

sunday morning we woke up to a park ranger knocking on our door encouraging us to get off the mountain as soon as we could & this:

a blizzard of white. we considered "accidentally" getting snowed in, but in the end, reluctantly packed the car and made our way slowly down the mountain.

good bye cabin and all your snow (and privacy)...

weekend nutrition brought to you by
baked penne with meatballs
mocha chocolate chip muffins
hot 'n spicy chex mix
nestle toll house mini chocolate chip cookies

this young house

2009-02-26T15:50:00.006-07:00

don't you just love a good before & after?

i've seen this young house mentioned on 2 different sites today, so i had to check it out. they've done a great job with their home. if before & afters of their house aren't enough for you, they also have pictures of other rooms that they've helped redesign.

something is rotten in the state of denmark

2009-02-23T12:43:00.001-07:00

last week, huntsville was lucky enough to be one of the stops of the american shakespeare center's stark raving sane tour. they did 3 performances: comedy of errors on wednesday, hamlet on thursday, and rosencrantz and guildenstern are dead on friday. stef and i went to hamlet thursday night, and gosh, do i wish i had gone to all 3 nights. it was amazing!

a couple of notes about how american shakespeare center (asc) plays are performed...they try to make the experience as accurate as possible. first, the lights remain on through the entire performance which means the actors can see the audience and interact with them (there wasn't any electricity when shakespeare was alive...duh). also, they utilize doubling. a shakespeare play could as many as 40 characters, but the traveling troupe of the period wouldn't have had more than 15 actors. so, the actors of the asc play multiple roles.

the performance thursday night began with a funny song involving all the cast members that recapped the story of hamlet,the prince of denmark, so the audience would know the basic story of the play. then they began the play, and simply put, it was excellent. it was so well acted. i put myself in the mindset of someone in the audience of the globe theater when the play was performed for the first time.. watching hamlet try to uncover the source of the stench in his country of denmark while contemplating life's big questions. i was carried away by the terrible feeling of loss and betrayel, the hilarity of the jokes and jabs, the fear caused by ghostly visitors, the intrigue, and the end-of-your-seat suspense of the last scene.

now, i'm obsessed. i'm dying to read hamlet & i want to watch all of kenneth branagh's shakespeare movies. i'm making plans to visit the alabama shakespeare festival in mobile to try to satisfy my shakespeare craving, and i hope that the performances live up to the standards set by the asc. if you hear that the asc is coming to a city near you, make the time to go out and see at least one of their performances. you won't regret it.

(did i mention that hamlet was super cute? that was an added benefit :)

a february minimoon

2009-02-19T10:17:00.002-07:00

believe it or not, the husband and and i have been married for 5 months as of last week. we're going to hit that 1 year mark before we know it! the past 5 months has been a lot of fun and pretty busy. we traveled to san francisco in november, we spent thanksgiving in ohio with family, we spent christmas with family in cookeville, we had dozens of people (literally) come stay with us over new years, and we've had some friends and family come visit us in between. also, we acquired a house guest in november, and while i'm more than happy to give him a place to stay for a while (not forever), it's quite an adjustment to share our house with someone else. even if he's not actively hanging out with us, he's still in the house, so it's like danny and i are never alone.

it has begun to feel like danny and i hadn't been alone in weeks, so we decided we should get away for a weekend, just us and soon. we decided on getting a cabin in a state park somewhere and to do some hiking (use some of the cool stuff we bought over valentine's day weekend). lucky for us cheaha state park had a cancellation for the last weekend in february, and we snatched it up! the cabins are just one room, but they look nice and woodsy.

i'm so looking forward to the trip. fingers crossed for nice weather!

v is for v-day

2009-02-18T14:52:00.007-07:00

hope everyone had a lovely hearts and kisses day. danny surprised me with my first real biking jersey, & i got him a piece of art for his office.
the words are actually the words of our wedding ceremony put into a word cloud using wordle. i love it. so much, in fact, that i made one for myself. :) then, being the hardcore romantics that we are, danny and i spent the day spending all our money on hiking gear (we got new boots!) & ordered take-out for dinner.

the v-day events continued on into last night when we went to see the vagina monologues at vanderbilt med school in nashville. all of the performers were either med students or doctors. one woman was actually a dean.

the vagina monologues are amazing. every year around valentine's day, groups throughout the country put on performances of the monologues & raise money to help women. if you've never seen it, look for a production near you & definitely go see it. it shouldn't be missed.

but, this wasn't just some random production. this production was directed by my best friend, yamini! not only did she dream up the idea to do a med school production on her own, organize it from start to finish, cast it, and direct it, she also performed a monologue (all while being a 2nd year med student). she did such an amazing job! she couldn't see my face during the performance, but i was beaming the whole time. i am so proud of her and the work she did. yay, yamu!

have you ever....

2009-02-06T13:02:00.000-07:00

here are the rules: bold the things you’ve done, add one more, and then post on your blog.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (does Rock Band count?)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo...um, yeah, all the time
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch...i have to constantly reteach myself how to knit
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train...iowa to cali
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied...is this possible? ;)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke...proud to say my friends i were told we were the worst ever heard
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia...how about visited a russian?
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt (helped)
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car (does leasing count?)
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Married your best friend
111. Walked among the ruins of the Roman Forum

i tag jeri & my sister.

i am in love with kate winslet

2009-01-29T12:13:00.004-07:00

i am. plain and simple. she's gorgeous, and she seems so real, down to earth. she doesn't play into the "i have to weigh 80 lbs. to be hot" game which is a wonderful example for all women. women have curves & it's not a bad thing. kate really knows how to show hers off too. her recent fashion choices have been perfect. on top of all that, she's an extremely gifted actress, as the recognition for her work this year clearly shows. i'm dying to see"revolutionary road" and "the reader." i guess i shouldn't say after just admitting that i haven't seen the movie yet, but i'm pulling for you, kate! let's go oscar!

the ground has shifted

2009-01-20T22:02:00.001-07:00

as of noon eastern today, we have a new president. i have so much confidence in president obama. he knows that he's not perfect & that he will make mistakes, but he is smart enough to try things and if it's not working to adjust his path (unlike our previous president). his inauguration speech was full of hope but also reminded americans that we have to do our part too:

"For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies..."

"...What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship."

one of my favorite parts:

"As for our common defence, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more."

*cough*....unlike our previous president. as i'm rereading his speech, i realize that i could keep pulling quotes out until i will have actually posted the entire speech, so i guess i'll stop. you should read/watch it again. it's good.

so, to sum up...i can feel the change. there has been a shift & if we all work together & support our new president, i think our country can be a better place. i have never been prouder to be an american.

here's scarlett's version of obama's hope poster. she's excited too. :)

HUG @ Hudson

2009-01-19T16:45:00.013-07:00

the HudsonAlpha institute for biotechnology is located right outside my office window, so i basically watched it go up & have been dying to go inside. friday i finally got my chance. every quarter the salesforce huntsville users group (HUG) meets at different area businesses and this time it was HudsonAlpha's turn.

when you enter the buildling, you walk into a full height glass atrium.

did i mention that there are offices that jut out into the atrium & that some of their own private balconies?

a major focus of the institute is collaboration, so you will find sitting areas and chairs throughout the entire buildling. there are, also, white boards on random walls in hallways where someone could put up a problem & the next scientist who walked by could contribute his/her ideas or maybe the answer. the front of the atrium has multiple chair groupings and these fabulous white floorlamps that look like oversized table lamps.

the back of the atrium has tables and chairs for eating after you grab a snack from their cafe which btw, is open to the public. i grabbed lunch there after the meeting & it was pretty good.

the first floor also has a library named after mark smith (founder of adtran) and meeting rooms which is where my meeting was.

HudsonAlpha is a pretty amazing place and not only architecturally. the building is divided into two parts. the left side of the building houses small for-profit biotech businesses while the right side is the nonprofit portion which is home to labs and research.

there are about a dozen for-profit companies currently housed within the institute. (all using adtran ip phones, i should mention). we got a tour through open biosystems. they sell genes, dna, antibodies, and blood to researchers & they deliver within a couple days. they have a room full of huge freezers kept at -80 where the different strains live until they're needed.

education is extremely important at the institute. they have an education center where they have classes for all ages, from little tiny kids to adults. the institute works with area elementary schools, high schools, colleges, master programs, and community colleges to host on-site programs, distance programs, & internship programs (with a for-profit business or non-profit). they have teamed with calhoun communicty college to develope a 2 year program to earn an associate's degree in biotechnology. their point is that biotechnology affects everyone, is accessible by everyone, and is career path anyone can go down.

so, the research side...amazingly, the institute is the new home of rick meyers. meyers was a professor and chair of genetics at the stanford university school of medicine and director of the stanford human genome center. yeah, stanford. he's now the director of the institute & doing genomics-based research to discover new treatments and tools for improved human health.

other investigators are working in personal medicine while others are studying it at the population level. and, you've gotta love the signs outside each of the labs...

it's really really interesting stuff & it's all right here in little ol' huntsville, alabama.

p.s. april 25th is dna day (in case that's not already marked on your calendar) & HudsonAlpha is going to be giving tours of the facility.

home improvement: a work in progress

2009-01-16T15:43:00.001-07:00

way back in december, i bought curtains for our bedroom. well, we finally hung them up, and we love them! they instantly made our room feel cozy and warm. we also picked up some drawbacks for each window but haven't gotten them up yet....so no, danny, the curtains will not always be drawn to allow for maximum sleep-in time. and yes, i realize we need bedside tables. and a headboard. i know.

i guess maybe i had been watching too much hgtv, but i decided last weekend that our master bath needed some minor improvement. nothing major. just a few little tweaks. danny successfully replace the old faucets with new ones (below).

and the rest....well, we're not quite finished yet, but maybe tomorrow?

apparently, i'm in the wrong profession...

2009-01-05T09:32:00.001-07:00

according to the jung career indicator (yes, i am working hard), i am most suitable for the following occupations:

counseling
psychology
education
management
politics
science
computer programming
physician

a look back at 2008

2009-01-05T08:23:00.001-07:00

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
marriage

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? i don't remember if i made any resolutions last year...i can't remember any in particular. for this year, although i hate to use the word resolution as it seems to doom you not to do what you plan, i'd say i'd like to continue to be healthier, eat better food, less laziness, and more blogging.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
yes! on december 7th, jennifer & jm welcomed baby kaya into this world. she's adorable!

4. Did anyone close to you die?
no which i am very thankful for.

5. What countries did you visit?
aruba!

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
clothes from anthropologie

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
guess i would have to go with that whole wedding thing for obvious reasons

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
successfully planned a ceremony & fabulous party for 100 people.

9. What was your biggest failure?
failure is a really harsh word. i don't know if i'd rank anything i've failed to do as a failure...unless someone would like to point something out to me.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
no, nothing serious.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
danny's wedding gift. a beautiful, warwick bass.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
scarlett

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
sarah palin

14. Where did most of your money go?
please see #5 and #7

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
lots of excitement this year...when my clothes were too big for me, wedding & all the family/friends/fun that came with it, honeymoon, marriage.

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
golden by my morning jacket

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? happier
b) thinner or fatter? thinner
c) richer or poorer? richer (joint assets ;)

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
reading. mountain biking.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
work

20. How did you spend Christmas?
danny and i went to cookeville & spent time with our families. we had a big christmas eve dinner at my parents' house with his parents & sister & brother-in-law and my family. it was wonderful! then we spent the rest of the time eating and sleeping.

21. Did you fall in love in 2008?
i fell in love with mighty leaf vanilla bean tea & bandito's fajitas and veggie taco salad.

22. What was your favorite TV program?
tough question...i'm not sure if i could pick just one...i guess my top 2 are the office & 30 rock

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
hate is a waste of time.

24. What was the best book you read?
the secret life of bees

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
over the rhine

26. What did you want and get?
an extremely happy year

27. What did you want and not get?
a part time job that pays me a full time salary

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
let the right one in

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
we have a lot of june birthdays: 13 - danny, 14 - me, 16 - andy, 17 - dave, 18 - stef. so every year we do a joint birthday celebration of some sort. this year we had a june birthday party (complete with ice cream cake) at drew & stef's. i turned 24.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
if the people i love lived closer to me

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
boho chic?

32. What kept you sane?
danny - he's very good at it.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
jeffrey dean morgan

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
gay rights. right to choose. the whole presidential race got me pretty stirred up.

35. Who did you miss?
papa

36. Who was the best new person you met?
kaya. she's definitely the newest person i've met.

37. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
Watchin' a stretch of road, miles of light explode.
Driftin' off a thing i'd never done before
Watchin' a crowd roll in. out go the lights it begins.
A feelin' in my bones i never felt before...
Mmm... people always told me. that bars are dark and lonely
And talk is often cheap and filled with air.
Sure sometimes they thrill me
But nothin' could ever chill me.
Like the way they make the time just disappear
Feelin' you are here again. hot on my skin again.
Feelin good a thing i'd never known beforeWhat does it mean to feel?
Millions of dreams come real
A feelin' in my soul i'd never felt before... mmm...
And you always told me.
No matter how long it holds me if it falls apart
Or makes us millonaires. you'll be right here forever.
We'll go thru this thing together
And on heaven's golden shore we'll lay our heads.

wedding recap: friday rehearsing

2008-12-03T12:47:00.003-07:00

after the trip to the courthouse, we headed up the mountain to the lodge where the wedding and reception would be held the following day. some key wedding party memebers were still in transit, so i went over the details with cheryl, friend and coordinator extrordinaire. i gave charlie her flower girl basket;she collected leaves and nuts, so she could practice dropping things on the ground. eventually, everyone arrived & we were able to do a couple run-throughs...i won't say that everyone really knew what they were supposed to do, but at least they had a general idea & cheryl took good notes.

while we were doing the rehearsal outside, a group of people were setting up for an even being held at the lodge that night. the lodge was full of autumn decorations including mums which was a key item we had yet to purchase. my sister spoke with the woman in charge & asked if we could have the mums and a few other things for a donation to her charity (can you tell she negotiater for a living?). deal!

by the end of the rehearsal, i was reaching my wit's end. i knew the questions and answers were important, but everyone was asking me some kind of question..."what time do you want to cut the cake?"..."what time do you want to leave the reception?"..."what time should i get here tomorrow?"..."when do you want to do the first dance?"..."is it okay if i wear this?"..."what should i wear?"..."you asked for a wooden sign, do you still want that?" i couldn't take any more. i was tired of being the only one who had answers, so after that moment, i was done with questions. i told people if they weren't sure of something to either ask someone else or make it up. i honestly wasn't a bridezilla kind of bride, so i was fine with whatever they came up with. that moment was my only "freak out," and i was totally fine once my no-more-questions decision was made.

from the lodge, my maids of honor, flower girl, and mother of the flower girl, and i made our way down the mountain to the small nail salon i go to to have our nails done. yes, even charlie. she picked a fabulous shade of yellow for her fingernails & gabbed away with while the rest of us took our turns.

next on the schedule was the rehearsal dinner which was held at a local mexican restuarant, casa blanca. we convinced them to let us reserve the patio for the 50 or so people we were expecting. it was so much fun! we had our closest friends and family there, & they were there to celebrate us. it was wonderful.

one favorite moment that was not at all embarassing was when my dad made everyone (yes, everyone) stand up and introduce themselves & explain who they were in relation to the bride and/or groom...there was speech giving. some of which was helped along by some margaritas beforehand. my little brother gave a very sweet speech that even got him a little choked up.

my sister gave one too, in the style of a lawyer presenting to a jury.

an unintentional effect from her speech was that part of it made danny's grandmother feel like she had to stand up for her family & me a little taste of the threats my siblings (who really love danny) had been doling out to danny...oops. my maid of honor, natasha, gave a wonderful speech that i'm sure was lost on some family members, but it meant so much to me.

all in all, a basically perfect night. from there, it was off to gather all the stuff we needed for the next day & head to the hotel to rest up for the big day!

wedding recap: friday legalities

2008-11-25T09:25:00.004-07:00

friday was a very very full day. it started with a trip down to the court house to make this whole thing legal! you see, the state of alabama does not recognize wayne as someone who can perform a legal wedding, but it was very important to us to have someone who realy knew us to perform the ceremony. we didn't want some random judge or minister, so we decided that we would get legally married the day before our ceremony.

i don't know how many people couples getting married usually take with them to the court house, but we had a crowd of 10 people plus us. danny's dad was, of course, in jean shorts and a heather gray t-shirt, my brother-in-law was on crutches, and there were about 4 cameras going around. our group felt that every moment had to be documented...including filling out the paperwork. :)

my sister was the first to burst into tears and demand a tissue during the legal ceremony. parents soon followed.

what would a wedding be without a reception? we headed across the street to sam & greg's to celebrate with some pizza and gelato. yum!

wedding recap: thursday

2008-11-25T08:39:00.004-07:00

our wedding weekend began the thursday before the wedding. my parents, little brother, and "aunt" brenda (my mom's best friend since childhood) were the first to arrive. we immediately hit up bandito, a diet staple in our world, & then spent the afternoon finishing up last minute projects. my sister, her husband, my 2 aunts, wayne (our friend and officiant), and brett came into town that evening, and it was so much fun to have everyone together and feel the excitement building.

kevin, aunt jeannie, & aunt lady

dad, brenda, & mom

me & wayne

jim, sister, & brett

i am in awe

2008-11-10T21:44:00.006-07:00

i have been out of town this week for business travel and then vacation, so i have had the chance to write about the political happenings of the week. i was going to post something the night of the election day, but i fell asleep watching cnn into the wee hours of the morning (yes, i am officially a news junkie). so, wow, i am in awe. despite the fact that i have been incredibly hopeful and the polls assured me i was right to be, i was still surprised when obama won. when things have been going the way they have for the last 8 years, you just get to expect to have the rug ripped out from under you whenever you start to feel like change might be coming. but, this time, change did happen. barack obama is our new president.

this is such an exciting time in our history. i had never been so excited to vote. i could actually feel the change when i voted. it is huge that we have finally elected our first black president, but i also think we have to make sure this doesn't turn into a completely racial thing. obama would have won even if he hadn't been black. he won because of his ideas and the change he represents. i am so proud of my country. we have embraced the future & i truly believe things are going to get better. america will be better.

there are still a couple issues that i do feel the need to address.

#1 - despite having an uncommon name, obama is an american citizen. believe it or not, someone's status message on facebook was calling this into question. this floored me; i thought i was missing out some joke. i wasn't. for the record, obama was born in hawaii which is a us state. in fact, he could not be elected president if he wasn't born in this country.

#2 - proposition 8 passed. other propositions banning same sex marriage were passed in other states this actually makes my heart hurt. these propositions are culminations of hate. HATE. why do people want to deprive people from their right to be happy? gay americans are entitled to equal rights as citizens of this country which means the right to marry whomever they chose. this is a constitutional issue. it IS unconstitutional to not allow gay citizens to get married. there is no question about it. none. your beliefs about whether being gay is a sin or not or if gay people make you uncomfortable is not the issue.

have we forgotten that fifty years ago it was illegal for blacks and whites to marry? this is the same kind of mistreatment. i hear people use the argument that if the majority of people believe in a ban, then that's what we should do, but they seem to have forgotten that it is the government's job to protect the rights of minority. 150 years ago slavery was legal & the majority of people in the country believed it was right. should we have therefore not had the emancipation proclamation? black people were treated like second class citizens and that is how the country is treating gay americans now. if they want to marry, f'in let them! it does not affect anyone else besides the two people entering into the marriage.

#3 - this is related to #2, but if i hear about protecting "traditional marriage" one more time, i'm going to throw up. protecting traditional marriage? really? do heterosexual couples really protect marriage and make it sacred? are they really such good examples? half the heterosexual couples who marry divorce. is that protecting it? if britney spears can get married, then why can't the gay couple who has been committed to one another for 50 years?

#4 - arkansas passed a proposition that denies the right to adopt to unmarried people. this prop was created to target same sex couples who wish to adopt and raise children. i actually heard the argument that gay people shouldn't get married because they shouldn't have children because a child has to have both a mother and a father. so, according to this argument, when a heterosexual couple divorces or a parent dies, we should take the children out of the home because they shouldn't be raised by only a mother or only a father. that is ridiculous. families come in all different sizes and shapes. a family is love, not specific roles for each member.

we have some work to do, but we're on the right track with a new president. we can do it, but we all have to work together. we are the united states of america.

a video clip

2008-10-31T09:40:00.000-06:00

if you listen closely, you can hear danny choke up a bit...which really helped my tears, let me tell you.

sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters

2008-10-28T13:28:00.004-06:00

we wanted our sisters to play a role in our wedding. we decided early in our wedding planning that we'd love for them to do a reading as part of the ceremony. funny thing is that we forgot to ask them about it until about 2 weeks before the wedding...oops! luckily for us, they both agreed. we wanted them to pick their own reading b/c we wanted it to have a special meaning for them as well as for us.

my aunt captured a clip of part of my sisters's reading during the ceremony. she chose love by roy croft:

I love you,
Not only for what you are,
But for what I am When I am with you.

I love you,
Not only for what
You have made of yourself,
But for what
You are making of me.

I love you
For the part of me
That you bring out;
I love you
For putting your hand
Into my heaped-up heart
And passing over
All the foolish, weak things
That you can't help
Dimly seeing there,
And for drawing out
Into the light
All the beautiful belongings
That no one else had looked
Quite far enough to find.

I love you because you
Are helping me to make
Of the lumber of my life
Not a tavern
But a temple;
Out of the works
Of my every day
Not a reproach
But a song.

I love you
Because you have done
More than any creed
Could have done
To make me good,
And more than any fate
To make me happy.

You have done it
Without a touch,
Without a word,
Without a sign.
You have done it
By being yourself.

Perhaps that is what being a friend means, after all.

danny sister chose to read an excert from owl sight by mercedes lackey and larry dixon:

A joining is a partnership, not two people becoming one. Two minds cannot fuse, two souls cannot merge, two hearts cannot keep the same time. You are two who choose to walk the same path, to bridge the differences between you with love. You must remember and respect those differences, for they are part of what made you come to love in the first place. Love is patient, love is willing to compromise - love is willing to admit it is wrong. There will be hard times; you must face them side by side. There will be pain - but pain shared is pain halved, as joy shared is joy doubled.Now you will no longer fear the storm, for you find shelter in each other.

Now the winter cannot harm you, for you warm each other with love. Now the darkness holds no danger, for you will be the light to each other's path. Now you will defy despair, for you will bring hope to each other's heart. Where there were two paths, there is now one. May your days together be long upon the earth, and blessed with joy in each other.

a wee bit o'celebration & new hair

2008-10-27T15:07:00.000-06:00

because our wedding was small and out of state, we weren't able to invite a lot of our extended family and friends. so, we decided that after the wedding, we would have a casual reception in cookeville in order to celebrate with the people who weren't able to come. it was important to me that they knew that they knew how important they were to us & that we wanted them to be included in the celebration. so we whipped out some invites that resembled our wedding invitations

and divied up food between our moms & voila - a party is born. we had it at my grandma's house & had a good amount of aunts, cousins, and friends show up. it was a lot of fun. lots of food and lots of chatting. it was so great to see everyone.

in other news, i have taken my first step in my go-crazy-because-i'm-married-now plan. i colored my hair last week. i was pretty nervous/excited going into it. i have never had my hair professionally colored before. i've only colored it once in my lifetime. i have always been afraid that once i start, i won't be able to stop...which is probably true b/c it was so much fun & i love it!

i was also going to cut it short but decided that it could be too much change to do the color and length all at once. so i started with the color & just trimmed and thinned, bangs included. the change in length might be happening soon though...

they're here!

2008-10-27T13:01:00.003-06:00

the professional photo photos are done! allison took 469 pictures. crazy. i can't post any here because of copyrighting, but you can view a slideshow of some of them. they're great! allison is a great photographer & great to work with, btw. we get 4x6s of all of them which we're going to pick up this week. then we're going to try to pick some to get bigger prints of...that decision is going to be very very hard....

bon bini!

2008-10-14T09:01:00.002-06:00

(that means welcome! in papiamento..the language of aruba)

we had an amazing time on our honeymoon in aruba. we spent 7 days not working and not planning a wedding. it was wonderful. we left early monday morning and flew with a plane full of newlyweds on a 4 hour flight from atlanta to aruba. one couple in paticular caught my eye - a couple wearing bride and groom tshirts. yes, that couple. and guess who got to sit next to them on the plane? danny! the bride actually woke danny up to ask him what our wedding colors were. oh yeah. i think danny really enjoyed their conversation. ;)

we were greeted with champagne as we checked into bucuti (resort).

we immediately passed out once we got into our room. the first night we ate a little restaurant within walking distance from bucuti called pizza bob's....very good food & danny's first taste of the local beer, balashi.

we went downtown one day & had lunch at iguana joe's. we had some awesome spinach/artichoke dip & danny had a dish that was basically just cheese & a very good mojito.

we wondered around downtown for a few hours. there are lots of jewelry stores and designer shops.

we managed to find a grocery store where we stocked up on some hot & spciy chex mix, combos, crackers, gouda, diet coke, and balashi which were our staples throughout the entire week.

we rented a jeep another day and explored the island.

we drove from one end to the other. we drove to baby beach which is a sort of lagoon where local moms bring their children to teach them how to swim. we stayed on the less crowded side & danny went snorkeling.

a huge portion of the island is a national park, so we drove all over the park. we even did a little bit of off-roading to get around some fallen rocks

and then almost got stuck in the park, but we eventually found an exit & made it back to bucuti.

one evening, we took a sunset sail down the coast of the island. we met a couple from long beach. it was beautiful & the sunset itself was amazing.

we went horsebacking riding at rancho notorious another day. we went on a 2 hours ride through the state park to a cliff overlooking the ocean. there was only one other couple on our tour with us, so it was basically like having a private tour. me and pocohontas (my horse - awesome, huh meg?) took up the back of the line & definitely moved at our comfortable pace. when we got to the ocean, we took a short break & then we got to gallop through the sand (just me & danny and our guide...the other couple was too scared). it was so much fun.

the rest of the time was spent laying at the beach, eating, or sleeping. we spent a lot of time just laying around the beach and relaxing. the sand on their beaches is amazing; it's so soft and white. the water is gorgeous.

i have never seen water that color before. we had perfect weather the whole time. it rained one night, but the sun was shining by the time we got up for breakfast.

the food on the island was really good. we didn't have a bad meal while we were there. madame janette's was beautiful with very yummy food. wacky wahoo's was recommended by a girl who worked at bucuti & then we ended up seeing her there! wacky wahoo's had the best seafood i have ever had. it was all cooked perfectly. perfectly. just about every one of my meals contained some kind of refined carbohydrate...pasta or croissants...so good! we did end up at taco bell one night. it was late & everything was closed. it was a great experience though. danny ended up speaking way too fast for the guy working the window...he rattled off our order & the employee's response was, "...yes....hello." danny had to start all over. it was hilarious.

i also discovered a very yummy drink called a brown lady. it's like a mudslide but with coconut. it was basically a chocolate smoothie with alcohol. yum!

sadly, we had to leave eventually...we were told to get to the airport 3 hours before take off, so we got there four hours early & then ended up having to wait an hour for the delta desk to open (they were precise about that 3 hours), but we were the first ppl in line when the desk opened! we had to go through mutliple security check points & then had to get our shoes thoroughly cleaned because we went horseback riding. luckily, my suitcase did close again after being opened. we landed in huntsville around 10 &, of course, immediately went to pick up the pup from jeff & heather's where she'd been staying.

we had a fabulous trip & would highly recommend a visit to aruba to everyone. it was really hard to adjust to having to go to work the next week...hell, it still is.

one month!

2008-10-13T13:32:00.003-06:00

believe it or not, today is our one month anniversary. danny and i have been married for exactly 30 days. it's hard to believe that much time has passed. of course, a week of it was spent on the honeymoon & the next week was spent adjusting to not being on a honeymoon anymore. it's been a very good 4 weeks & we're enjoying the whole husband/wife thing. :)

still no professional photos yet but hopefully soon!

i've got a new last name

2008-10-01T10:04:00.001-06:00

i realize it has been weeks since my last post, but i had no idea how busy and exhuasting the weeks leading up to the wedding would be. i couldn't concentrate on anything. the only thing i could think about was what i needed to do before the wedding. but we survived with no major mishaps & i now have a new last name!

the wedding was fabulous. the ceremony was wonderful. i think we really succeeded in having a wedding and ceremony that was truly us. the entire weekend (starting thursday) was so much fun. it was amazing to have almost all the people i love and care about in one place at the same time celebrating our marriage. i mean, really amazing. everyone was there for us; everyone was willing to help and actually wanted to help. it was so sad on sunday when everyone had to go home...i've been trying to think of a way for everyone to live in one place, that place being wherever i happen to be. guess maybe i need to start a commune?

weddings are surrounded by so much love, and i just want to take a moment to thank everyone who helped with planning, setting up, crafting & assembly, moral support, time, thinking, food, wine, coordinating, baking, shopping, keeping me calm, and making sure we had the very best wedding weekend possible. thank you.

stocking the bar before we walk down the aisle

2008-09-06T21:18:00.001-06:00

a few weeks ago, our friends were sweet enough to throw us a shower. well, officially, it was not called a shower in order to prevent a freak-out by the boys...it was deemed a pre-wedding throwdown which went over much better.

the theme of the throwdown was stocking the bar which if the great friends and food weren't enough makes for a very fun party! stef made the invitations. so cute! complete with a little poem.

the spread...

rachel who provied the location for the party

josh, rachel's husband, & an excellent stirrer.

stef taking pictures of her own.

audra and patrick working on their mad lib.

dave who is incapable of looking normal in any picture i take.

the lovely jeri who made a very yummy salad for the party.

cake!

we played a "how well do you know your fiance?" game...danny and i were not good at it (uh oh!), but i won! i got the most questions right. go me!

and the result: a filled to capacity home bar...

i still haven't sent thank yous for this party (i'm a slacker, i know), but i can't thank our friends enough for throwing this party for us. they went to a lot of trouble and planning to make it happen, and it makes us feel so loved. it was so much fun to have so many of our friends in a room together. it gets me that much more excited about the wedding and seeing all our guests. weddings result in so much fun!

i know...i know...

2008-09-05T09:31:00.004-06:00

it has been a while sine i've posted anything. i have been a blog slacker. there are so many last minute things to remember and do that any free time i have isn't really free time b/c i'm thinking of all those things. i can't believe the wedding is a week away - 1 week. it's so crazy. i can't believe it's here, but i am so excited!

my parents came down for a few days last weekend (danny was off gallivanting with his friends in canada - slacker) to help me with wedding stuff. my mom and i had lunch with cheryl on saturday to see how many things i had totally forgotten about, and i am very happy to say that nothing was a shock, unlike some of my previous lunches with cheryl. our big project for the weekend was table runners. i had bought some random pieces of fabric and had no idea if i had enough for all the tables or what i was going to do if we didn't. turned out that i had exactly, exactly how much fabric we needed. mom worked on those while i started on a couple other projects, and they turned out wonderful! i couldn't have done it without my mom. she was such a huge help.

mom also brought me my something borrowed and what could be considered my something old (i'm pretty sure i'm going to have multiples) - a beautiful antique beaded evening bag that belongs to my grandma and a handkerchief that belonged to my grandpa who passed away. i realize it's just a handkerchief, but it means so much to me to have something of his with me on my wedding day.

i'll share some other accomplishments with photos in upcoming posts, but i'm not going to promise dates, just in case.

things we have left to do:
pick up favors
pick up danny's suit
pick up mums
material for chuppah
earrings for the bride
programs
scrapbook guestbook
compile must-take photo list (any requests?)

a flower for my hair

2008-08-19T16:42:00.003-06:00

i got my hair clip from brasspaperclip in the mail yesterday & it's fabulous! it's really even better than its picture.

also, if you are considering purchasing something from her, do it! she is so great to work with and got the clip to me incredibly fast. i purchase it friday & received it monday. i can't wait to wear it!

creating a little piece of art

2008-08-19T06:23:00.000-06:00

now, that everyone has received his/her invitation, i can talk about them!

my beautiful friend and maid of honor, amanda, is a wonderfully talented artist who deals with a lot of different medias, including printmaking. when i started thinking about invitations, i realized how special it would be if they were small pieces of art designed and created by a great artist and my best friend. they would mean much more to me than if we had just found some online and ordered them from a stranger. lucky for us, amanda agreed and was kind enough to give up a few days of her time to make them.

amanda decided that screenprinting was the best option. screenprinting is a printmaking technique that creates a sharp-edged image using a stencil. the first thing you have to do is get paper. it comes in huge sheets that you then have to rip down to the size you want your paper to be.

something i found in the art building that i found amusing given the huge task at hand...

next you have to have a design which we didn't have going into it. i searched through magazines and books while amanda ripped the paper. then manda sketched and played around with ideas. at the end of day 1 we had paper the size we wanted but no final design.

we finally decided on a design we loved. next manda had to transfer it to the special red transparent paper that is used to create the screen or stencil. each color you want on your print has to be a different screen, so we did several. next, you need to chose your colors & in our case, we had to mix them which took some trial and error. we decided on a color for the background and started that run.

to actually print, you attach your screen to a sort of arm that lets you raise and lower it. you put your piece of paper on the table and line it up with the stencil on your screen. you pull paint across the screen which is called flooding the screen, lower the screen flat to the table, and then pull the paint across again. that final pull is when the paint actually goes onto the paper. this is done to each piece of paper individually & we did 120 prints...with 6 different colors...that's a lot of flooding...

after each run, you have to let the prints dry before you can start the next. here they are drying.

combine the paper ripping, designing, paint mixing, and drying time with the fact that each invite has to be touched 6 times meant a lot of time was spent in the print shop. we were there for 4 days. the final day, we were there for over 12 hours. but it was all worth it when we saw the final product.

we put a backing on the invites once they were finished. although the recipient doesn't realize it, almost every backing was different along with each print being slightly different.

i LOVE how they turned out. i love them all together with the backing and the envelope. i love that each one is individual and is a piece of art. i love that amanda loved me and danny enough to give up an entire weekend to create these. hope you love them too. :)

"mine is this big"

2008-08-18T19:05:00.004-06:00

i just got back from an awesome weekend! my friends took me to the beach for my bachlorette party. we went down thursday after work and unfortunately had to come back on sunday (boo!). my picture-taking only involved taking one picture of each of the girls & that's it.

amanda spent all of thursday in the car in order to spend the weekend with me. i hear she builds killer sand castles.

yam spent her beach time tucked safely underneath an umbrella borrowed from the lam family.

natasha flew from chicago to the great state of alabama to spend the weekend. she was definitely our most dedicated tanner.

stef finally got to wear her super cute red shirt from anthropology on the trip, and she made me some very yummy cookies.

jeri drove us all down to the beach and back...12 hours of driving. in return she got some well-deserved child-free time sitting on the beach.

i also managed to snap these two pictures of our sleepers...

this trip was so much fun. these girls really are my closest friends, and it meant so much to me that they were willing to travel long distances and miss work and class in order to spend the weekend with me. they really made me feel loved, and i love them too.

thanks for a fabulous weekend, girls....maybe a beach trip should become an annual thing...yes?

updates

2008-08-11T21:37:00.003-06:00

it's getting close! 33 days until the party. can you believe it?! it's kind of strange. 52 confirmed guests so far. there has been lots of wedding to-do fun this past week to catch you up on.

cake! we met with stephanie of sugar baker's on wednesday to eat some cake and make some decisions. just as a reminder, you can see our inspiration cake here. she had lots of cake flavors and homemade buttercream and fruit fillings...yum! choosing what the layers would be was the first time in all of wedding planning that i have seen danny make a decision within seconds and feel strongly about the results, so i didn't argue...chocolate cake with cappaccinno chocolate buttercream icing, red velvet with a cream cheese/buttercream hybrid icing, and yellow cake with chocolate buttercream...and now my mouth is watering.

dress! friday evening i had a second fitting with allison at allison anne bridal alterations, and my mom was able to come! it was the first time she had seen me in the dress & it was the first time i had seen the dress actually fit (please ignore my face)...

it's not quite ready to be picked up, so i have another fitting next monday. if everything is perfect then, i can take it home with me...scary! (i am still without shoes though, so if anyone sees any fabulous shoes with a 1.5-2 inch heel, please let me know! i need earrings too, so be on the look out for some gorgeous chandelier earrings too...)

suits! saturday we went back to mens warehouse to shop for suits for my dad and brother. the same salesman who helped us with the groomsmen's suits was there, so i felt like we should work with him again, right? he didn't remember us! i said, "yeah, we were in a few weeks ago & bought suits." nothing. then he thought he remembered us & he had us confused with someone else! oh well. he did help us find a suit for my dad, a suit for kevin, and a tie for dad. then mom and i found a tie for kevin and danny's dad at stein mart. success! i'm loving how they all go together without being matchy-matchy. here are the ties so you can see:

left to right: groomsmen, danny's dad, danny, dad, and kevin

hair! saturday afternoon i had a hair trial with marnie at perfections, a salon in madison. someone on theknot messageboards recommended her, so i gave her a call. she sounded super nice on the phone & i was not disappointed when i met her in person. she has a great personality. the purpose of this appointment was for us to meet each other & for her to get used to working with my hair, so the hair itself isn't finished & wouldn't look exactly like this on the wedding day.

as it is, i want to change a few things. i want to do fewer loops & i'm trying to decide whether it should be lower or not? like mrs. toucan's hair below. thoughts?

i decided that i definitely want something in my hair. i found this one from brasspaperclip (same shop where i bought the flower girl basket) that i love & will look perfect with my dress, don't you think?

thanks ginger!

2008-08-11T17:35:00.001-06:00

the veil decision is a big accessory decision for a bride. birdcage? long? fingertip? none? plain? lacey? so many choices!

my sister wore a fingertip veil at her wedding. i struggled with what i wanted to do in the veil area. did i even want to wear one? should i wear hers? although it's good luck to wear the veil of a happily married woman, i decided that i wanted to wear a different veil than my sister's. i had fallen in love with the cathedral length veils...

(melisa jill photography)

(pootiekin's knot bio)

so, after i decided on the kind of veil, i started searching online. you can spend a LOT on a viel, and i didn't want to...and i'm pretty sure i succeeded. i found a cathedral length, cut-edge veil on ebay from ginger4wedding for a whole $18.44, including shipping. i don't have a picture of me in the veil, but here it is in the seller's picture.

i can't wait to see everything together :D

what if

2008-08-05T18:49:00.000-06:00

dog not included

2008-07-30T12:36:00.003-06:00

two days ago, a white box with black letters arrived on our doorstep...our first wedding gift! danny asked if we needed to wait until the wedding to open it, but i told him it was okay if we opened it now. :) what was inside this magical box that came from crate and barrel? a muffin pan, cake pan, and cast iron skillet. we've never had nice kitchenware before, so it's very exciting! danny's response was to, of course, ask when i would putting these new items to use...

here is scarlett hanging out with the new stuff. you can see the excitement on her face.

(thanks leah & dan!)

joey wins a prize!

2008-07-22T15:55:00.000-06:00

if you remember, we are planning on having a polaroid guestbook. one possible issue has been the fact that polaroid killed the polaroid film format this year. i had seen film for sale online and in store, but i hadn't seen any cameras in store & the ones online were kind of pricey for me. this afternoon i decided to post on our company classifieds just to see if anyone still owned one that i could have or borrow. a few minutes after posting, joey from marcom called; marcom has 10 polaroid cameras! 10! no more worries on that front! i do, of course, owe joey a prize since she totally hooked me up, so i'll have to come up with something good. now, i better hurry and buy film before it's all gone!

mullins is taking all my money

2008-07-22T15:46:00.004-06:00

we gave mullins our deposit today for rentals...plates, flatware, glasses, tablecloths, etc. the deposit wasn't so bad; it's the total that isn't so much fun. after paying the balance, i will either have a new found appreciation for the value of tablecloths or a new-found hatred for them. we even got the cheapest option! oh well...in the words of tony soprano, whatcha gonna do? it'll look nice, right?

the exciting part of this is that it was our last deposit! unless i've forgotten a major task, we are done booking vendors and giving deposits. on to all the little stuff that's going to drive us crazy. :)

happy wedding

2008-07-21T09:17:00.000-06:00

danny has always loved warwick basses. four years ago, he fell in love with one in knoxville - a fretless corvette. it was gorgeous with a solid wood body and the lack of frets meant the bass sounded like an upright. hours of our lives were spent visiting the bass at guitar center, but he never bought it because like all things we want, it was way too expensive.

fast foward to 2008. when we were in knoxville a couple weeks ago, danny and the warwick rekindled their love. danny came home obsessed with getting one. last week, he sent me a link to an ebay auction. he had a found a like-new fretless warwick corvette for a great price, but before he could buy it, it was gone. someone else snatched it up before he could. he was so upset about it. he talked about it for days. what he didn't know was that i was the one who bought it. :)

three days later, a large box appeared on our doorstep. i assured danny i had no idea what it was. maybe someone sent us a wedding gift? i told him to just open it up and see what it is. danny opened the box and discovered his perfect, dream warwick bass inside. i don't think it has left his side since then.

it really is a gorgeous instrument. the body is made from bubinga. when i first saw in college how much he loved it, i thought, "maybe one day when we get married, i'll get it for him as a wedding gift," and i managed to do it without his having any idea whatsoever. a perfect surprise and in his words, "the best wedding present ever." now, he just has to learn how to play bass without frets.

(click to enlarge)

rsvp status update

2008-07-20T21:18:00.002-06:00

we have 12 confirmed guests. :D

the men have suits!

2008-07-20T20:58:00.004-06:00

the men have suits! we thought this was something we were going to have done last weekend, only to find out that the local s&k could not get us all the suit sizes we needed. so we were back to square one.

this afternoon we decided to check out mens warehouse. with help from tony, our wardrobe stylist who almost broke my hand during the introductions, we found two nice charcoal grey suits. we decided to get one style for danny & have the groomsmen wear the other. tony is going to mail jimmy and scott's suits to knoxville so that they can try them on at their local mens warehouse and have their alterations done.

here is danny's:

huge check! we also got some other things done this weekend:

#1 - i have a hair trial appointment scheduled for august 9th. the stylist's name is marnie & she sounded great on the phone. she's, also, willing to come to us which would be really nice for the wedding day.

#2 - i have an alterations appointment this friday. hopefully i will have a bustier by then.

#3 - we officially have a rehearsal dinner location. the restuarant doesn't normally let you reserve their patio on the weekend, but they're going to let us!

let's hear it for productivity!