What I'm Loving..

It's Thursday, so it's time to share What I'm Loving..


Breakfast at Tiffany's.

I love this movie, always have. I could watch it every day and not be bothered by it. It's a classic romantic comedy, and it pulls at my heartstrings every time I watch the ending. Of course, Daniel isn't all that thrilled about it (he thinks the character Holly Golightly is superficial), but I just love the ending so much, and the character Paul Varjak is so appealing to me for some odd reason. One of my favorite quotes from the film:

Holly Golightly: "I'm like cat here, a no-name slob. We belong to nobody, and nobody belongs to us. We don't even belong to each other."

It's probably one of the few romance movies I truly enjoy. I am not really into "chick flicks," but the ones that I do really enjoy are usually the old classics.

We haven't set up cable yet at the new place, so we have been watching a lot of movies lately. This one is definitely one of the better ones to watch snuggled up on the couch.

That brings me to..

Pearls.

I love pearls. I have several different pearl necklaces, and a few different pearl rings, and some bracelets. During my wedding I wore my mom's pearl necklace that her brother (my uncle) Edwin gave her many years ago. I also have a ring with 2 pearls in it that I shucked out of a single oyster (at a pearl jewelry party), they are twins. I chose to make it a ring because I am a twin (me and my brother are twins), so I wanted a piece of jewelry that symbolized that (and I don't wear earrings, so that was not an option for me). I have been wearing my pearl rings a lot lately, they remind me of summer for some reason. There's nothing like a nice long pearl necklace to go with really any outfit. Pearls are classic and timeless accessories.



Pink nail polish.
Really any shade, but lately it's pretty much been a shade of coral. It's a popular color this season and it's also another one of those classic shades. Nothing like a mani and pedi by the pool!



Up&Up (Target brand) hand sanitizer.
I take a bottle of this with me pretty much every where I go. It's nice to have especially after making purchases somewhere or if you can't immediately wash your hands after touching something questionable..it's also just nice to have for safety. Of course I wash my hands all of the time (probably more often than most), but I always feel more comfortable having a bottle of hand sanitizer in my bag.

Autumn

I can't wait until Autumn.

I know it's still July, and Autumn is still several weeks away, but it is by far my favorite season.



Fall brings memories of going back to school, apple picking, Halloween/trick-or-treating,
pumpkin carving,
baking pies, cooking/eating Thanksgiving meals with friends and family, walking outside in the perfect weather-wearing boots, scarves..the leaves changing colors and falling from the trees, raking up those leaves and jumping into the pile..warm apple cider, harvest festivals in small towns..





Probably one of the bigger things that reminds me of Autumn, now as an adult, is my wedding. I married Daniel on November 15, 2008. It's hard to believe that this year will be our 2nd anniversary. It seems like just the other day we were planning our wedding, and while I am so happy to be married, it was sad no longer having that to plan. But I am looking forward to the other things we are slowly planning together, even if those things are way far off into the future.

Now that we are in a townhouse, I am looking forward even more to Fall. We'll have trick-or-treaters this year (we never had them before in our apartment). We'll be able to put our pumpkins on our front steps..not that that is a big deal or anything important, but it's the small things like that that count at the end of the day.

Fall to me really brings in the start of the holiday season, and I love the holidays...just another thing I look forward to every year.

Today's Lunch

My new Friday threads are going to be about lunch.

Today's lunch came from the Black Sheep here in Richmond, VA. It's a little local restaurant with a very fancy menu. The sandwiches are delicious..

http://www.theblacksheeprva.com/

Christal and I called ahead and then walked over to pick up our lunch. It's a good thing we ordered it to go, because the place was packed (it's small enough to begin with). I loved looking at all of the decor in the restaurant, it was very low key & simple, but also something about it gave me a really good feeling.

I ordered the Prodigal Son sandwich.. it's mesquite smoked pulled turkey with tangy bbq sauce & apple slaw, on a buttered & toasted onion roll. It was delicious! It was from the Lunchbox section on the menu, so I ordered broccolini for my side, it was sauteed with garlic, olive oil, and crushed red pepper..it was amazing. I think I'll be making a lot of broccolini at home!

Christal ordered the USS Brooklyn sandwich. It's jerk bbq'd chicken on a toasted french baguette, with shredded cabbage, roasted banana ketchup, and peach chutney. It looks so good (it is good), and it has just the right amount of kick to it. Her side was deviled eggs.

Anna also got the lunchbox Prodigal Son, but she ordered deviled eggs for her side.

Adam Richman from the Travel Channel's Man Vs. Food was there, the episode aired recently. If you've never been to the Black Sheep, now is the time to go. I am sure since the episode has been aired, they are going to get tons of more customers.

Paper Towel free

For about the last year, we have been pretty much paper towel free. Back when we were moving, we did buy some paper towels to help with cleaning up the old apartment (so we could get our full deposit back, which we did). Daniel used to always use tons of paper towels, and I thought it was always such a waste. I always hated going to Target to get household items (what JB calls household expendables), and tossing a pack of paper towels in the cart. Such a waste of money! They are expensive (when you add them up after time it's ridiculous to see how much is spent on stuff like that), and you might as well be wiping up spills with actual dollar bills. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating..but paper towels really bother me.

If I am at someone else's house, no problem. I can deal with paper towels, in fact sometimes I might even prefer to use them (especially if you don't trust if that towel in their bathroom is actually clean). Maybe I'm a little paranoid, maybe I'm crazy. Sure, I'm a hypocrite too, in a way..but back to my point..

Since we went for so long without using paper towels, once we got them during the move, Daniel got "hooked" again. He uses them all the time. We haven't bought anymore, we are down to one roll, and I don't plan on buying anymore. Daniel says he thinks we should keep using them, but I disagree. He doesn't realize how much they add up over time (since I'm the one usually shopping for the household expendables).

The main thing about paper towels is how bad for the environment they are..and contributing to our already overfilled landfills. It's a shame to use something just one time and toss it in the trash can..I feel guilty every time I do that.

I have always liked the idea of cloth napkins, placemats, etc. My mother-in-law Fayth has used them since I have known her (and way before then too..and she's also ALWAYS used reusable (canvas type) grocery bags, way before it ever became a fad a few years back). I found this blog today about cloth towels: http://www.fiberfarm.com/2010/07/going-paper-towel-free

Those towels are so cute and would be so easy to make and keep reusing. It would be a good idea to start using these, and I'll be able to take better care of our regular kitchen towels (since I have been using those instead of paper towels).

There's also green paper towels: http://letsgogreen.biz/pages/paper/papertowels.html

But I think I would rather just cut them out completely.

What I'm Loving..

The last few weeks have been a serious blur, but I'm still trying to make these Loving threads on Thursdays.

This week we are still getting things settled in the new apartment. We also had company over the weekend and earlier in the week, and lots of other things happened in between.


I'm loving summer concerts with friends! Juan David and I saw DMB earlier this week and we had a blast. I hope to go to more concerts before the summer officially ends.


My coworkers! Old and new. They are just all around great people to work with, and hang out with.


Bob the turtle. Daniel found him in a river in Georgia many many years ago. He has traveled and moved around a lot, too. We brought him home with us in 2006, and have had him since then. At our old place he was in the office, but now his tank is set up in the nook area at the new place, so he gets a lot more attention, sunlight, and moves around a lot now.


The beach..the concert this week was at Virginia Beach and I could totally smell the beach air when we were there, but couldn't see the beach! I definitely want to go back soon and spend a day at the beach. It's been a long time.


Signs like this one. I took this photo downtown here in Richmond..I'm thinking of having it or another like it enlarged and printed on canvas so we can have a nice piece of original artwork above our couch. I really like this one but I'm not sure about it yet.

Dave Matthews Band

Juan David and I went to see DMB last night in VA Beach..it was so much fun! I am so glad we got to go together; since we have known each other one of our major connections always was DMB. I'm sure I'll post more of an update later, but here's the setlist:

Dave Matthews Band VA Beach 7/20/2010

Minarets
Pantala Naga Pampa
Rapunzel
Big Eyed Fish
Warehouse
Stay Or Leave
Seven
Say Goodbye
Funny The Way It Is
Everyday
Shake Me Like a Monkey
Dancing Nancies
Crash (Into Me)
Corn Bread
Don’t Drink the Water
Squirm
Granny
Digging A Ditch (tease)
You and Me
Ants Marching

Sister
Time Bomb
All Along The Watchtower

What I'm Loving..

This week's What I'm Loving post..


Flowers! My new boss brought me flowers yesterday from her garden. I put them on my windowsill at our new townhouse. They are so pretty and remind me of the zinnias my dad used to always grow in his garden when I was a kid.


Nana cookies! I made these for Jahnissi for her going-awake Bake-Off. She requested Nana cookies, and I thought cupcakes would be fun to make. I used red cake decorating gel to make the cherries, white frosting, and purple and pink sprinkles. I also made her some VCU themed cupcake Nana cookies. They were a hit!


Flip flops, especially the cheap ones from Old Navy that come in every color imaginable. I bought several pairs earlier in the Spring when they had them all for $1. What a great deal!


Deluca Gelato is this cute little gelato place in Richmond and it is sooo good! Anna and I went after our cooking class this week and I got the pistachio gelato. It is the closest thing to real gelato from Italy that we have here in Richmond..and I am definitely going back! They are great!


My sister Bonnie! This is a photo of us, I am in the sunglasses. We have been sisters since I was born in 1985. I have always looked up to her and still do today. She is 6 years older than me, and growing up we always did everything together. I am sure I was the annoying little sister back then (and probably still am and will always be), but she is the best sister anyone could ever ask for.


My nephews Joseph and Adam. Natalie is my oldest sister and these are her 2 boys. Joseph just turned 12 on 7/14, and Adam is 5. Adam is starting kindergarten this year and Joseph will be in 7th grade..it's crazy how fast kids grow up. Daniel met Joseph when he was a baby at 2 years old. Both of my nephews are pretty good kids.

We've moved!

We are completely moved now. We rented a U-haul truck on Saturday and moved all of our stuff and furniture over to the new place. My dad, nephew Joseph, Fayth, & Tom were all there to help us move.

Later on Saturday we moved Dr. Wily over to get him acquainted with his new surroundings..he was a little scared of the stairs at first but I think he is used to them now. Last night he was upset over something (I think it was a combination of the move and then the catnip present he was playing with Sunday & Monday all day), so he wasn't acting right and had an upset stomach. He is okay and happy now though, and Daniel has been off work today so he got to spend more time with him and keep a close eye on him to make sure he is okay. Sunday I spent most of the afternoon cleaning the old apartment, and that night we moved Bob over. He has a nice set up too in our little nook area at the new place, so he will get more attention now.

We turned the keys in at the old place on Monday, and we did a walk-through inspection, everything passed and was approved-Yeah! So we'll be getting our deposit back plus interest on all of that.

Yesterday after work I unpacked a lot of stuff, the kitchen is just about finished. We actually made dinner in it last night, so it works. I have also done a couple of loads of laundry already-the washer and dryer are huge! We still have a good amount of boxes stacked along the side wall in the living room, but all of the furniture is in its place. Most everything in the boxes we packed belongs on a shelf or in a drawer or closet, so once everything is where it belongs the place will be great looking.

I want to hurry up and finish unpacking so that I can start decorating! I have so many plans for each room, so it'll be fun to be able to hang everything up and make it our home.

Photos to come!

Tonight is my first cooking class at university of Richmond! It's for the culinary arts program certificate I am planning on earning through UofR. Yippee!

What I'm Loving..

This week has been hectic..returning home from FL after a busy family weekend/4th of July holiday..still packing and getting ready to move..and other things..but I am still going to share what I'm loving right now:




My Nanowrimo 2009 novel. I wrote it in November 2009 for National Novel writing month, and I passed the goal of 50,000 words. I finally ordered my free proof copy of my novel the other day and I got it today! It's crazy that it's actually in physical form! I'm a novelist! :)



Our new home! We just signed the lease and got the keys today, and my husband carried me over the threshold. It's our first new place as a married couple together. Our old apartment we have been living in since before we were married..we have a lot of memories there, including when Daniel proposed to me there and bringing home Dr. Wily (our cat).




Isn't it funny how the old bathroom and the new bathroom are the same layout? I love it! :)




That brings me to Dr. Wily. He is the coolest cat ever-and he is turning 5 on July 10th!! I can't believe our little kitty is already 5 years old. I remember when we rescued him and how he clung onto my shoulders as I carried him while we brought him home. He was so cute and tiny back then, and he's still cute! He's just precious and I am so glad he is a part of our lives.


I'm also loving the weather! We had a little bit of rain an hour or so ago, but it's gone now. We needed the rain for sure, but the sun is shining and it's in the 90's today (it's been in the 100's all week it seems), so it's really nice outside!

That's all for today..I'll post some more next week.

Back from FL!

We got back from FL late Monday/early Tuesday. It was a nice trip, but there was a lot of rain. Not regular FL rain, either, it was stormy rain because of the storm in the gulf.

The big birthday bash was a success, and we had a lot of fun spending time with everyone. The party on Saturday had over 60+ family and friends. We celebrated Nana's 80th, and also 2 of the great-grand daughters' birthdays (Desiree's 8th and Whitley's 3rd), and Franc's girlfriend Beverly's birthday as well. There was a ton of food and cake, and we sang happy birthday to pretty much each person there at the party..it was a lot of fun. Lots of time in the pool, watching the World Cup games (GO GERMANY!!!), and there was a soccer ball pinata for Desiree's friends.

On Sunday, Daniel, Jonathan, Peyton, Georgia, Paige, and I all went fishing for a little while..we had to get out of the house we were cooped up in all weekend, while there was a little break in the rain. The guys caught a couple small fish, and Paige caught a couple as well..we threw them all back. Later on Sunday we all hung out at TaMem's and Uncle Scotty's house, and the Brown bunch all got together and sang family songs..then had a dance party. Crazy but fun!

On Monday we did go to the beach for a little while, in between the raining. We went to Honeymoon Island, which was really cool because the entire beach was covered in shells. TaMem, TanteAngie, Peyton, Masie, Daniel, and I went. We could have spent all day there, but we had to get back to the house to leave for the airport. We did gather some shells though, I will take some photos of those after the move & after I wash them all.

Some highlights of the trip:


Beverly's birthday cheeseburger cake-it was actually really good and not as much frosting as it looks!




GO GERMANY!! Daniel & JB wore their Germany 98' WC jersies from their Uncle Ernst.


Daniel & Nana :)



The Brown bunch singing and dancing.


Siblings fishing


Me fishing


Girls fishing


Brothers fishing.



Honeymoon Island..tons of shells!!!



Clouds in the sky flying home.

What I'm Loving...

Just wanted to make a quick 'What I'm Loving' thread before I head off to FL for the weekend.





My dymo labeler. It has come in handy during all of the packing we've been doing for the move. We have a lot of boxes from friends that we plan on returning to them, so I have labeled each box with their name...also labeled those boxes with the contents. It makes it so much cleaner and more organized, too. (yeah, we wrote on most of our own cardboard boxes but that's okay)




I'm also loving Florida, and I'm not even there yet! I am hoping for awesome weather while we are there, so we can spend plenty of time on the beach.




That brings me to the beach. I love the beach! Any kind of beach, too. We love to go to Fossil Beach and hunt for shark teeth and other fossils. We spent our honeymoon on Venice Beach in Florida, and we also spent a lot of time on Casperson beach looking for shark teeth (it's the shark tooth capital of the world). Virginia Beach is also pretty nice..it's nice living so close to DC, the mountains, and the beach!! Virginia has pretty much every type of setting. So, yes, I love the state of Virginia too.




That's all for today. We have to head to the airport soon. I will post photos of things I love later.

Have a wonderful weekend and Happy Independence Day everyone!