Oh the weather outside is frightful . . .

. . . but the fire is so delightful.

Six more days till Christmas, and less than that till friends, family, and great food.

I can't wait!

Getting Hitched

One of the most wonderful people in the WORLD is getting married on New Year's Day.

My beautiful best friend, Summer is marrying the equally wonderful Greg on the first of January. I couldn't be happier for them, or more excited about the big day, as I have the honor of being Summer's Matron of Honor! Summer's sister, Sydna, is the Maid of Honor and Summer picked wonderful bridesmaid's dresses for us. No horrible pea green monstrosities here, just a beautiful, flattering dress that I can't wait to wear! Over the past few weeks, I've been able to be a part of the wedding festivities, including a shower in Franklin Springs and her fun, and funny bachelorette party in Athens.

The bride and her bridesmaid's with Sydna's wonderful bow bouquet.

Me and my Sum.

The bachelorette party at Cali & Tito's in Athens. So much fun!

So, so, so excited for the New Year for so many reasons, but especially for the beginning of a great marriage.

I love you Summer.

Currently Reading . . .

The title of this post is a lie. I've actually finished reading this book and have moved on to it's sequel. As the picture shows, I've recently finished reading Ishmael by Daniel Quinn.

David and his mom have suggested this book to me multiple times, but for some reason I always put it on the back burner and chose something else. I am SO GLAD that I finally made time for this book.

The story is about a modern author who feels disillusioned with the current state of the world. He feels that he and the rest of the world are being lied to, but he doesn't know by whom or what the lie is. One day he sees an ad in the paper:

"Teacher seeks pupil, must have an earnest desire to save the world. Apply in person"

The narrator answers the ad only to find himself in a room with an overwhelmingly large gorilla named Ishmael. Even more surprising than being in a room with a gorilla is when the gorilla begins to communicate telepathically with the narrator.

I know this sounds kind of weird, but stay with me.

The narrator decides to look past the fact that he is able to communicate telepathically with Ishmael (which suggests that the reader must also suspend disbelief) and proceeds to have a series of discourses about the origins of our culture and about what Ishmael describes as the reason things are the way they are.

I'm really glad that I decided to finish this book before doing a post about it. About halfway through the book, once I had delved into Ishmael's explanations of what drives the two cultures described in the book, the Takers and the Leavers, I began to feel as though the world is spiraling out of control and that there is no way to fix it. I felt that the book was telling me that we've passed the point of being able to heal the planet and that this dismal fate is all due to our unwillingness to see ourselves as ONE of God's creations, a helper in taking care of the earth, rather than as the creation that has the right to destroy any other creature or environ, mistaking wants for needs. After finishing the book, I still agree with the second part of the above statement, but Ishmael's final lessons in the novel reveal a possible course to changing the way we view our role in the world. I ultimately left the novel feeling hopeful, yet concerned.

There is so much more to the book than solely what I've mentioned above.

The author provides a wonderful explanation of the agricultural revolution and our culture's movement away from the more sustainable methods of food gathering, such as the hunter/gatherer tradition, and many, many others. He also discusses the correlation between an increase in food production and unrestrained population growth. I had never really thought about those two together in the way that the author presents them.

This novel has changed my perspective on so many ideas. I don't want to misrepresent the ideas in this novel. The above thoughts are merely my interpretation of the author's words. I wanted to share my thoughts on this novel, because I feel that generating dialogs about ways to improve the life of the planet must be one of Quinn's goals in writing the novel.

I have started the sequel to Ishmael called My Ishmael and it is equally as thought provoking as it's mate. Once I get a little more into it, I'll try to remember to do another post.

I hope many, many people will read both books.

Happiness is . . .

Once again, it's been WAY too long since I've done a Happiness is post. The past few months have been both fun and stressful, but as alway, I have a lot to be happy about.

Soooo, Happiness is . . .

1. a family who always takes the time to make you feel like a princess on your birthday.

2. getting over the stress of moving, being sick, and general business by building lots of fires in our fireplace and cuddling.

3. tapioca pudding

4. counting down the days till your best friend gets married. ( just 25 more days, Summer!)

5. the light in December

6. the air in December

7. realizing that instead of sitting in an hour of traffic on my way to work, I can take public transportation and relax, read a book, and cut my commute in half. thanks MARTA!

8. reading books that truly change the way you see the world.

9. laughing until my sides hurt when David got a clothespin stuck in his hair.

10. decorating for Christmas, listening to Christmas music, watching Christmas movies, Christmas parties, Christmas treats, Christmas giving - I. love. Christmas.

imaga via marthastewart.com

image via coastalliving.com

The end of November

Well, David is finally beginning to feel better. He still has a cough, but is rid of the pneumonia. He's trying to take it easy, but with the end of the semester approaching, he's back to living in the studio. He got better just in time for me to get sick. I went home to Toccoa for my 25th birthday last weekend and while I was there, I began to feel not so great. Then Monday came around and I felt AWFUL. It's not the flu, thank goodness, but I feel like I have pretty much all of the symptoms of the flu, minus a fever. I have a horrible cough, and an accompanying headache, general body aches and congestion. This has been going on since Monday and I can't seem to shake it. David and I are now running our own personal pharmacy. I'm taking Tylenol severe cold during the day and mucinex at night. I tried the honey and lemon juice, but I can't stomach all that sweetness, so I'm sticking with cough drops. By the way, every time I take Mucinex, I picture those horrible commercials where they dress snot up in people clothes and have them talk about moving into my sinuses. Gross. I have a lot to do this week and I would REALLY like to feel better so I can actually do it, but as of now I feel like sleeping for a week.

Even though I felt horrible this last week, I had a great time with my family for my birthday and David and I managed to host Thanksgiving at our new house in East Point. It was lots of fun. Here are the pictures from all of the festivities:

For my birthday, my mom decided that I was princess for a day.

She took me to get a massage, we got a manicure and pedicure together

and she made me take pictures in the princess tiara and sash she made for me.

I love my mom! She's the best at having fun.

After a relaxing day, my mom and my brothers took me to dinner and then to see New Moon.

Here we are, waiting in the line with all of the tweens.

After the movie, which by the way was better than the first, but still not right, we went home and ate yummy coconut cake. You can see my dad's birthday present to me in the background. We gave him the option of seeing New Moon with us, or staying home to do a month's worth of mine and David's laundry. As you can see, he chose the laundry.

Just a few days later, we had the Dunns and the Cates over for a festive family Thanksgiving.

David and Dewey did an excellent job carving the turkey . . .

The Dunn boys posed for a photo on our back deck . . .

We all got together for a Dunn family picture . . .

My love and I stopped for a hug and a picture . . .

Donna and I realized that we match . . .

The boys threw the football in the backyard . . .

Grandmom made a cameo . . .

. . . and we had a WONDERFUL night.

Bleh.

I know I haven't posted in what feels like a very long time. Here is my excuse, or excuses, really.

1. We just moved again for the third time in one year; that equals four different houses we have lived in in ONE YEAR. The thought alone makes me feel tired. With David consumed with school, that left me to do most of the packing and unpacking. I hope this house will be a winner. I guess it has to be for at least the length of our one-year lease! We're really liking it so far. . .

2. I have been working more hours at my current job at SPANX. Which is great, but means less time that I'm willing to sit in front of a computer once I'm home for the day.

3. David has contracted the flu. I hate the word "contracted", but it's late, and my mind is not willing to think of another word at the moment. We're not sure if it's H1N1. We don't think so since his fever is not as high as what it's supposed to be with H1N1. Neither of us have had the flu in a really long time, so we had forgotten how dreadful it is. I'm pretty sure that if you offered to put David out of his misery right now, he might say yes. He's passed out twice, once hitting his head on the side of our bathtub. He has the worst cough I've heard in a while (it's one of those horrible coughs where it just keeps going and going till you're eventually gagging). His body is so achy, I can't even touch him without him wincing. It's pretty much hell. I'm trying to be a good doctor and keep him full of liquids and Vitamin C and make sure he gets enough protein and rest, but I feel kind of helpless as far as being able to really alleviate his pain. I'm running on four days of no sleep and I feel like I'm running out of steam. We're trying to be really careful and keep a safe distance so I don't get sick, but it's excruciating, because all I want to do is cuddle and hug and kiss him till he feels better. I know David is really stressed out, because he has missed three days of school and now feels really behind - and he doesn't seem to be getting much better yet. On top of it all, today was the marathon and half marathon we were supposed to run. David trained so hard for this race. We were both so excited about running. Of course he would get the flu the week of the race. It figures. We talked about heading to the race for me to run, but decided that it might not be a good idea in terms of keeping me healthy. We feel like I have to be incubating the virus, and we were afraid that running 13 miles might be too much for my immune system. Plus, running on four days of no sleep would have probably resulted in me curled up on the side of the road, crying. This all adds up to a less than ideal couple of weeks.

Bleh.

Our New Addition

No, I'm not pregnant. The new addition I am referring to is a new bed. At this point in my life, a new bed is more exciting than a new baby (If you had to sleep in our old bed every night, you would understand).

For the past year, at least, David and I have not had a sound night of sleep. Let me outline the reasons why:

1. Our bed sags in the middle, so we are constantly on an incline, which means we are in a constant state of rolling towards the center.

2. Our bed creaks. If you move your head, it creaks. If you scratch your nose, it creaks.

3. Our bed does not absorb motion, at all. If David blinks, I feel it on my side of the bed.

I think those reasons are sufficient evidence. Our bed is slowly trying to kill us. It's chosen method: sleep deprivation.

So, I think my mother-in-law finally got tired of talking to the zombies that had replaced her son and daughter-in-law, because she bought us a lovely, lovely pillow-top bed.

I'm pretty sure we won't be receiving birthday presents for the next several years, which is more than fine with me. The rest I experienced my first weekend on the new bed is sooooo worth it!

Our new bed received a makeover, as well. We bought a comfy duvet cover and pillows at IKEA. Now we just need to move to our new house, and the bedroom transformation will be complete.

(I forgot to mention that we are moving, again. Four times in one year - I think that has to be some kind of record. Our new house is bigger and younger - we're pretty excited.)

Anyways, back to the bed . . .

In the past, we dreaded bedtime, and every morning, we couldn't wait to get up.

Now, we have trouble getting out of bed. It beckons us to sleep a little longer.

It's beyond wonderful.

Just wanted to share our good news.

Don't worry, we'll be sending out Christmas cards of us and our new bed. Maybe we'll even get one of it on Santa's knee. Yes, it's THAT special.

Thanks to the best mother-in-law, ever.

John Granen Photography

I am in love . . .

with a view from the lens.

SHELTER did a post today about neutral interiors and posted this pic from John Granen's photography website. I was immediately drawn to this photograph - the light, especially where it hits the vase of flowers, the simplicity of the room, the painted brick wall, and of course, the gorgeous headboard - so I decided to head over and peruse his work.


http://www.johngranen.com/

His interiors shots are AMAZING.
His photographs encapsulate everything I want my home to be - modern fixtures with more traditional accents. His perspective is perfect.
I can not wait till the day when my architect hubbie can make all of these beautiful images come to life in a home of our very own!

Huh?

I consider myself very open-minded when contemplating fashion trends. I often think certain trends are tacky, unflattering and painful to look at, but I in general, I just make a mental note to avoid said trend and move on.
However, since moving to Atlanta, I have become aware of a trend that it so preposterous to me, I feel the need to voice my concerns here in the hopes of being able to gain peace and move on.

***Note: I am not sure how behind I may be in noticing this trend. I could be months or years behind, but I have only noticed it since moving to downtown Atlanta. Forgive me if this is old news.

Here's the scenario:
It's a beautiful fall day and David and I are headed to Perimeter to price a new mattress (really, really excited!). We're driving down Boulevard when I start to notice several young men dressed in a similar fashion: t-shirt or tank, jeans, and tennis shoes or boots. Simple enough. As I watch them, I notice that something about the way that they're walking in connection with the positioning of their jeans is not quite right. A closer look reveals that their jeans are positioned below their rear ends, completely independent of their waist or hips.
An even closer look reveals that as these guys walk, one hand is free to do as it pleases, but the other hand is required to hold up the denim. And I don't just mean that every now and then the hand must linger in the hip region. As long as these jeans are on, the hand is there, staving off the possibility of the jeans falling to the ankles and these young men falling face first to the pavement. These jeans aren't even necessarily baggy. Some of these guys were wearing skinny jeans - sagging below their rear ends.
How do these guys exist like that? How do they go grocery shopping? How do they answer their cell phones while simultaneously carrying something?
I started posing all of these questions to David as we were driving. I think he was amused with my exasperation, because he only smiled and listened as I went on and on with my musings.
I think the answer is, that while these jeans are on, life is about making a statement, not functionality. I'm not quite sure what that statement is, but that's not the point.
It's ridiculous.

I started thinking about why this trend bothers me so much, and I think it's because I don't get why a person would voluntarily hinder their ability to function for the sake of "fashion".
Then, in a moment where I felt like I was the wheelchair girl on the "truth platform" in Mean Girls - "I don't hate you because you're fat. You're fat because I hate you." - I realized that I was getting my panties in a knot about something I have done before.
I remember when David and I went to NYC last fall, I was so excited to go shopping and get some fun clothes to wear on the trip. I wanted a fun pair of heels, so I picked out some ridiculously high, but oh so pretty Michael Kors black patent peep-toe heels. I love them, but in moments of honesty with myself, I have to admit that I still have trouble walking in them - they're 5 1/2 inch heels. On one of my favorite nights in NYC, David and I had plans to go to a great sushi dinner and then a Broadway show. I put on a cute outfit and then donned the heels. David gave me an "are you serious?" look, but said nothing and we left. This was not our first night in the city. I knew we would be taking the subway and walking and standing a lot. I was able to last about 15 minutes looking like a normal person. Then David had to lend me his arm for support. Then for the rest of the night, I walked all over the theater district looking like I had escaped from a hobbling.
Since then, my ability to walk in these heels has improved and I plan ahead if I know I will be walking or standing in them for more than 30 minutes or so (trusty flip-flops in the bag), but am I not doing the same thing as these saggy jean-wearing men? I'm sacrificing a bit of comfort to take part in a trend.
And I realized, I don't feel silly or odd when I put on my cute shoes, and I don't think people are oggling my footware with looks of puzzlement or dread. So, I'm sure these guys feel completely normal when they put on these below-the-butt jeans.
I guess the point is, the whole incident has helped me to reach the conclusion that I would like my life to be a balance of functionality and fun. Sometimes functionality will take precedents over fun and vice versa - I didn't function very well in those Michael Kors heels in NYC, but it sure is entertaining to look at our pictures from the trip and laugh about that night. It was fun to be a 5'7 version of myself walking the streets of Manhattan!
Now that I have mediated my internal dilemma, I just have to figure out how to find that balance every day.

Note

. . .

It's true.
Even when you're busy filling your mind with architecture.
Sometimes, especially when you're busy filling your mind with architecture.
Basically, always.



image via jaime ibarra + weheartit

Running Love

David just returned from his first 18 mile run of his training schedule for this marathon. He ran it at a 7 minute 26 seconds pace. I'm so proud of him. We got no sleep last night and the heat decided to pick back up. So all things considered, it was a pretty good pace. Just a few minutes over the qualifying time for the Boston Marathon.
We really, really hope he can qualify, because we've been trying to decide where we want to go for our 4th anniversary this Spring, and the Boston Marathon falls really close to our wedding date.
I've never been to Boston, but I really want to go. It's one of David's favorite cities in the US and he's been dying to go back, so this would be perfect!
Here's the shot I forced him to take post-run.
He's a good sport to let me chronicle his training!



As soon as he got back and started stretching, David had me play one of his favorite songs for him. It's by his favorite band, Yo La Tengo. I love this song. It makes me think of David and it makes me happy.

A few days with the fam

David and I headed up to Toccoa this past weekend to visit with my Aunt Brenda and Uncle Doug (that's my dad's sister).
I was so excited when my mom called two weeks ago to tell me they're coming into town AND we're having a big Dunn family reunion in Hartwell.
David had LOTS of school work to do, as usual, but he was wonderful enough to set it aside for a day to come visit with the fam. We had so much fun seeing my aunt and uncle. The last time we saw them was almost four years ago at our wedding. I love being reminded of how funny and fun they are and how much I love and miss them.
They brought a bag full of Dunn family photos with them and let me go through them and choose which ones I wanted to take with me. The bag was full of photos of my grandmother. There are photos of her as a baby all the way through photos of her as I remember her, as an older lady. Also, there are some pretty amazing photos of my dad from his college days. He had a full head of curly, long hair - I hardly recognized him! I'm so excited to start scanning them into our computer. I'm sure I will be posting some of the photos on here!
Saturday night, David had to head back to Atlanta to get started on his work, so I kissed him good bye and started missing him as soon as he drove away.
Before he left, we snapped a couple of shots with my aunt and uncle.



Sunday was reunion day! Well, first Aron and I got up at 7:30am and went for a 4 mile run in the rain. It was one of the best runs ever, and I'm so grateful to my big brother for getting up with me. After our run, we got ready and headed to Hartwell in the torrential rain, praying that it would let up, as the festivities were to happen in an outdoor pavilion. Luckily it did let up, and turned into a drizzle - great for outdoor gatherings, also great for inducing new heights of frizz in my hair!
The food was awesome, and seeing aunts, uncles, and cousins was even better!

my mom and my great aunt Marie

me and my little brother

all of the Dunn cousins

Daddy and Aunt Brenda with their uncle Louie

my great uncle Stuart (on the left) with his farmer friend
I have so many great memories of visiting him when I was little.
I never got to meet my grandfather, Stuart's brother, so I always
imagine that my grandfather must have been exactly like Stuart is.

The reunion was wonderful. Family is such an interesting concept. I have lived within 40 miles of pretty much all of the Dunn family members for my entire life, yet I only see them once every 4 to 5 years or so. I have so much fun when we all get together, yet it so rarely happens. I don't know why extended families aren't as tightly knit as the primary family. Or maybe some are and mine just isn't. I do however, plan to stay better connected with some of my favorite cousins. And the internet is such a great tool for keeping in touch with people you don't see that often. Thank goodness for Facebook and email!

Since I'm only working part-time right now, and my schedule is really flexible, I decided that I would spend a few days in Toccoa helping my mom get all of the closets purged and organized. Boy, was it a job. I worked for at least 7 hours a day, Monday through Wednesday, but the closets look great! In between cleaning, I got to spend time having fun with my family.
We played games and talked. On Tuesday, after a very long day of work at the hospital, we surprised my mom with a birthday celebration complete with a delicious strawberry cake.


On Wednesday afternoon, Dawson and I had a brother-sister outing together. I took him to Seneca to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, which was actually pretty good. Then we went to dinner together and spent the night talking and having fun. I miss my little brother. It was nice to spend some time together, just me and him.

Thursday morning, I headed back to Atlanta via Amtrak. Aron took me to the train station at 6:00am and I took the two hour trip back to Atlanta to find David waiting on me with a big hug and a kiss.

It was a good trip.

It's in the light and the air

Every year, around mid-September, I start getting butterflies in my stomach. I can see and feel a difference in the light and the air. When the butterflies arrive, I know that Fall is coming!
I think the butterflies are a result of my extreme obsession with and adoration of all things Fall.
I've checked out several of my friend's blogs, and it looks like they have the feeling, too!

In anticipation of the coming season, I thought I would do my first Fall post.
As mentioned several hundred times before, I love lists, so I thought I would do a combination "Happiness Is" post with a rundown of my loves for Fall.

So . . .

FALL Happiness is:


1. the best weather: breezy, crisp, with a slight chill in the air that slowly builds to perfection
2. holidays: my two favorite, to be exact. Halloween and Thanksgiving (this is excluding the mother of all holidays, Christmas, of course)
3. Fall fashion: cardis, scarves, blazers, cords - everything in nice, rich hues.
4. Fall colors: nothing is better than sitting in the park surrounded by the beautiful reds, yellows and oranges of Autumn
5. camping: blankets and pink noses, huddled around the campfire, drinking hot chocolate - pretty much perfect
6. watching Fall come to the city
7. running without dying of heat exhaustion or freezing
8. the food: caramel apples, the return of soups and other cool weather-friendly meals, and Thanksgiving dinner - minus the turkey!
9. birthdays: 5 of the 9 members of my family (the Dunns and the Cates) have Fall birthdays
10. the best reason of all: cool weather = lots of cuddling with David!

Now for my Fall loves . . .

J Crew is tormenting me with their amazing Fall looks. Every year, around this time, I start drooling over the catalog and website.
Luckily, I have a lovely husband and mother who saw fit to contribute a few key pieces to my Fall wardrobe.

Like the toothpick ankle jeans and cords.
Finally, a jean I don't have to get altered!
I love the fit, the rinse, everything. Plus, I thought they would be hard to breath in, but surprisingly, they're not!

They look great with a cardi or blazer, a bright scarf and ballet flats or heels. I love having simple pieces that can be switched around to form dozens of looks!

I'm sure as October approaches, I'll have much more to say about Fall fashion, food, crafts and general happenings!

sidewalk image via simply photo
clothing images via polyvore and kaboodle

Might

For the past several weeks, I have been training for a half marathon that I plan to run in November. I feel that I should preface this post with an explanation of my relationship with running.
I played soccer all through middle school and high school, but I was only average; never great.
I ran as much as my position required of me, but never more. I'd say that the most I ever ran at once was probably 3-4 miles. I have never considered myself a runner. Once college came, I would run a few times a month, for no more than a couple of miles and only because I had probably eaten something I felt guilty about and wanted to "run it off".
Then I met David, my hubby and fitness role model, and my health and exercise regime totally changed. I started working out and eating MUCH better. We have become pescetarians and I have seen my weight go down and my health and energy go up.
Yet I have still resisted running. Which is no simple task when you're married to a running enthusiast like David, and that's putting it mildly. Running is more than important to David. It's his means of meditation and re-centering. It's helped him maintain his sanity during these early stages of grad school.
I see all of the great things running does for David, but for some reason, I have always felt that it couldn't or wouldn't be the same for me.
I have always regarded running as an exhausting, lonely sport. You run and run until your lungs feel like they're going to explode, and if they do, you'll die all by yourself because you're probably running alone on some long solitary road.
So a couple of months ago, David started talking about a marathon in November that he wants to train for. I told him he should sign up for it. I'm very supportive, just non-participatory.
Then I was visiting with some of my girlfriends and they mentioned that they are going to train for the half marathon of the same race. I started thinking about how much fun it would be to run with all of my friends, so on a crazy whim, I decided that I should train for and run the half marathon, too.
I started my training at the beginning of August. My training schedule is nice, it's slow and builds up very gradually. My first week went great . . . and then I got sick. I had to take a week off from running and I was worried that those seven days would deter me and I'd give up on my goal. But I didn't. I started back the next week and have kept going.
Last weekend, while David was slammed with schoolwork; I headed home for a weekend with my family. That Saturday I was scheduled to run my first six-mile run - pretty much the half-way point as far as mileage goes. I thought that I might blow it off in favor of spending time with my family, a legitimate excuse, but I pushed those thoughts aside and told my parents about my run and suggested that we all go to the track Saturday morning. I don't think anyone wanted to get up early on Saturday, but my family loves me, so they all got up and we headed to the track.
I was really nervous about my run. It would be the first time in my entire life that I had run six miles at once. I know some running buffs out there would probably scoff at my apprehension, but six miles is a big deal to me.
My mom and dad walked together while my older brother, Aron, ran and my little brother, Dawson, rode his scooter and jogged alongside us for a few seconds. I got ready to sink in to my six miles.
The run was really hard. It was a hot day, and the track is not exactly a stimulating place to run. Plus, the constant turning is not too friendly to the hip area.
I can't express how nice it was to have my family there. My dad would announce my current lap as I ran past him, and my mom and brothers had a water bottle waiting for me when I needed it.
I really wanted to quit at about mile four. But as soon as I thought about it, a quote from one of my favorite books/movies came to mind. I love the scene in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory where Charlie's pessimistic grandfather is telling him that no one is ever going to get to go into the chocolate factory and Charlie feels so defeated. As he is going to bed, he leans down to say goodnight to his grandmother and she whispers "Nothing's impossible, Charlie."
I don't know why that line means so much to me, but it became my mantra that day, and has been ever since. I looked at my little brother, watching me run and I wanted to show him and my family that I could do what I had set out to do. That it might be hard for me, but never impossible.
And I completed it. It was a horrible run, as far as my mile time goes, but I completed the run and reached the half-way mark of my training.
So how do I feel about running?
I am still very green on the running scene, so I'm not to the point yet where I crave the actual act of running, but my spirit has been uplifted, so I continue to run. Running has allowed me to understand that the only limits that exist in my life are the ones I place on myself. It's been a hard year, for a lot of people and it's nice to know that something like running can provide a little encouragement.
So here's to the second half of my training. I know if I stick to the program and look to people like my David and my family and friends for support, it's going to be a great run.

p.s. in case you can't tell, it's impossible for me to do a post without an accompanying photo.
Here's one from the vault.
Two of my favorite people in the world. This lady ran a half marathon with David just a few months after giving birth to her first child. Love you, Krista!
Thanks for the inspiration.

Another Fun Weekend

Janie and Adam came for a quick visit this weekend.

Friday night we went to eat at Fellini's - a great pizza place, where apparently, the love story of Adam and Janie began.

ah, love.

(Janie, I will be sure to mention this time around that in the above photo there is in fact, no pizza on the table yet. Just me and my love, but not on the table, in chairs.)

After yummy pizza we headed to the Braves game.



Adam and Janie usually force us to ingest some form of junk food when they come to visit;) Sometimes it's Dairy Queen and Dunkin Donuts, and other times it's Sonic banana splits and a bag of Reese's Pieces. Friday night happened to be gummy worms, Raisinettes and Krispy Kreme donuts. The boys ate theirs before we made it to the stadium, but I shoved mine in my purse for later. This is what resulted:

flat and delicious!

One sugar coma later, we sat through rounds and rounds of "the wave". A group of kids in our section was intent on generating a successful wave. I'm not sure if this is from round nine or round nine hundred.

We made it all the way to the ninth inning and then the rain came. Lots of rain.


We took cover and the boys were kind enough to walk through the rain to get the car.
What great esposos!

The rest of the night involved more food, lots of laughs and a 3am bedtime.
We love when Adam and Janie come to visit!

In other weekend news . . .

Janie and Adam hung around for a little while on Saturday.

Amy and Nathan came to visit and see the casa.

David and I had a great, cuddly date night including our favorite Mexican joint, a fun movie courtesy of our new favorite place for rentals - Videodrome, and big bowls of chocolate ice cream.

I attempted to run off the ice cream with my first 5 miler of my 1/2 marathon training program.

David's mom came to visit and took me out to lunch while David finished up his studio project.

AND we picked Natalie and Josh up from the airport and had a little midnight birthday party complete with mini strawberry shortcakes for Natalie!

It was another fun weekend amongst the many fun weekends we have when friends and family come to visit!

Friday

Time for friends to come and visit. It looks like a Braves game and general good times are on the agenda. I'm sure pictures will follow!

When I was a little girl . . .

. . . I would have been obsessed with this book:


After all, I am the child who wore my pink, sequined ballet costume three or four years in a row at Halloween, insisting that I was a fairy princess.
I hope our child is into fairies, because boy or girl, when we have children, I will own this book and force my child to look at it with me every night!


(the book is available at Anthropologie)

My Food Obsession

I know everyone is not a fan of beets, but I happen to LOVE them.
I love them steamed, roasted, chilled and yes, even pickled.
They're messy to prepare and their vibrant hue seems to stain just about every inch of me when I'm peeling them, but they're delicious!
My current beet obsession has taken the form of a roasted beet salad. It's incredible!
The salad is composed of roasted beets, red onions, toasted walnuts and goat's cheese on a bed of Boston Bibb lettuce (our preference, but arugula or any other green is good as well) with a lemon-olive oil dressing. Yum!
This is pretty much what it looks like, minus the tomatoes, but those would be a nice touch:


It's healthy and delicious! Try it.

image via italianfoodforever.com

Oh, I know.

Just a brief post.
Some quotes to think about.

Falsehood is easy, truth so difficult.
-George Eliot

Truth is our element.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Two of my favorite authors.



And some lovely flowers to brighten the day from absolutely beautiful things.
Her florals always make me happy.

We Live In Burrrrnesville

We spent our last week before David starts Fall semester visiting the Asheville area with our friends, Jonathan and Milan. Jonathan and his parents were kind enough to let us all stay in their amazing mountain home.

We spent the first day driving to North Carolina. We stopped in Asheville and walked around the downtown area. Asheville's architecture is beautiful.






We had dinner at a great little seafood pub. Then we headed to the mountains.


Jonathan showed us around the community and then took us to the neatest tree house, ever! It's on the top of the mountain.


It's several stories with a little living area at the top. It had a little bed and a little iron stove and little shelves. I was pretty excited.


After the tree house, Jonathan took us to his home where we watched the sun set from the porch.


Day two began with beautiful morning mist.


We lazed around, went for lunch at the mountaintop clubhouse, and then . . . I got to hold Cornelius the albino corn snake in the clubhouse nature center.


After lunch we took a short hike that had to be cut short because of the oncoming downpour.
We spent the rest of the evening looking at the views and playing air hockey and pool in the clubhouse game room.



On day three we spent the morning in a pretty little "secret" park. It had a working water wheel, a little pond full of rainbow trout, and beautiful flowers.


Then we headed back to Asheville and toured the city and had yummy cupcakes!





We did a lot of walking - I was tired.


We decided to take the scenic tour home, on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It's pretty amazing. It has the best views of the Blue Ridge Mountains I've ever seen.


The sunset was unbelievable.


We decided to resume our hike on our final morning.
Milan decided not to go - I think she must have caught wind of some plan Jonathan and David hatched to murder me. The path on the old growth forest loop was the path from hell.
It started out innocently enough.


But then it began to get a little too vertical for me.
This is me about to have a heart attack.
Nice plan, you two.



At least we got to see some amazing views and I counted the hike as one of my runs for the week - I promise, it's not cheating!


We loaded up the cars and headed back to Georgia. These three start school tomorrow. I feel like this was our farewell tour for the next four months. I don't expect to see them between the hours of 8am and 9pm, but maybe I will just have to tag along during studio time like I did this summer. Thanks again Jonathan and Milan for a great weekend!