Weekend Roundup

Friday:
-Sleep in
-Coffee and a bit of reading
-Bit of TV
-Lunch
-Rearrange office furniture
-Clear out some junk from spare bedroom
-Grab dinner with Josh
-Eat Chipotle and watch TV
-Retire to office while Josh and Matt make loud music
-Read Sixties by Linda McCartney and marvel at her photographic skill
-Listen to The Fireman, CSNY, and some Chem Set
-Start my 500 piece Revolver puzzle and watch 2005 Pride & Prejudice while Josh naps on the couch
-Drag Josh and myself to bed

Saturday:
-Rearrange freezer to accommodate meat delivery
-Mom picks up her portion of the meat order
-Coffee
-Work on puzzle some more
-Eat leftover Chipotle
-Get ready
-Head to Clif & Duane's for Lila's 1st birthday party
-Party with the peeps, sliders, beer, cake, fun
-Back home
-Upload, edit and post pics from party on Flickr
-Make roasted potatoes and broccoli with grass-fed steaks for dinner
-Wash and put on new bed skirt, flip mattress
-Hit the hay

Sunday:
-Sleep in
-Menu plan and grocery list with coffee
-Clean house
-Shower and quick snack
-Borrow truck from John & Ann, pick up spare bedroom mattress from Steph & Rodney, drop at house, and return truck
-Grocery shopping
-Laundry
-Frozen pizza and more puzzle work while Josh plays Ghostbusters
-Bedtime

Faeries

The house that backs up to ours has a bit of a "wild" back yard. Lots of green that kindly blocks the view of one house from the other, especially since we have a 9 foot window in our living room. That is one perk of their lack of highly controlled landscaping. But my favorite perk occurs around 6:00 or so in the evening, when lots of little butterflies flit around through the growth, playing games of tag. I can't get enough of it, it's like living in a magical woodland. I feel like I get to watch little faeries playing in the forest every day!

Greatest Night of My Life

Again, no exaggeration, the McCartney concert was the greatest night of my life. It was filled with joy, gratefulness and emotion. Thirty-five songs, new and old favorites, including a Buddy Holly cover he only played because it's Texas. I teared up when he came out on stage, tears slowly rolled down my cheeks during "The Long and Winding Road", followed by a steadier stream during "My Love" and "Here Today". And then when he played "Calico Skies" I was a sobbing mess, holding on tight to Josh's hand. I will never, never, for-as-long-as-I-live-and-breath, forget seeing Paul McCartney sing the song that I walked down the aisle to. It's transcribed deep within my heart.

Weekend Roundup

Friday:
-Sleep in
-Breakfast and coffee
-Work from home while watching Pride & Prejudice part II and Lost in Austen
-Shower
-Grab some Chipotle with Josh
-Eat and watch a little To The Manor Born
-Read
-Bedtime

Saturday:
-Rise & shine
-Sweep off porch ceiling
-Trim ferns in front flower beds
-More Lost in Austen, officially re-obsessed with Mr. Darcy
-Edit and upload photos for dining room art
-A bit of What Not To Wear
-Run errands, bust at Half-Price Books and Old Navy, but get new bed skirt at BBB
-Clear out two boxes from spare bedroom while watching Concert for George
-Jason stops by to pick up shelf and old office chair
-Grab some grub
-Eat and a couple more episodes of To The Manor Born
-More concert viewing while finishing up sorting stuff
-Hit the hay

Sunday:
-Sleep in
-Make meal plan and grocery list, reload iPod shuffle
-Clean house while checking out "Electric Argument", and listening to "Memory Almost Full" and "Flowers In The Dirt"
-Shower
-Grocery shopping
-Unload cargo, tidy kitchen while Josh orders pizza
-Start laundry
-In-laws and cousin Evan come by for visit and pizza
-Empty dishwasher
-Embarrasingly, more Lost in Austen while Josh mows the yard
-Finish off To The Manor Born
-Finish laundry
-Bedtime

Saved

Tonight we're going to see Paul McCartney. There is no possible way I could express my excitement and anticipation through a little blog post. I often say The Beatles saved my life, and people probably think I'm being silly or over dramatic. But I'm not. When I was 14 I fell into a big pit of despair. That was my first episode of depression, and it was terrifying. To be 14 and think that you're losing your mind is a very scary experience. I stopped going to school, cut myself off from all my friends, didn't do, or care, about anything. And it was like that for months and months. But in the fall of 1996 The Beatles Anthology came on television. I had loved The Beatles as a kid, but they had somehow slipped out of my head as I grew older. But now I remembered how much I had loved them, and I had something to care about again. I listened to the music endlessly, watched their movies repeatedly, and read every book about them I could get my hands on. They really were a net that caught me in my free fall. And through the years they've continued to buck me up. And tonight I get to stand with my husband and my best friends and see Paul McCartney.

Oops

Haven't been here in awhile. Sorry. I had a very nice weekend, mostly to myself while Josh was out of town with Back In Black. Finished Northanger Abbey, went to a photography class, ate pizza that Josh won't eat with me, made popcorn, watched Metropolis, and so on and so forth. It was lovely, but I was glad to have Josh back home Sunday. And then most of the past two days have consisted of me working from home in bed. Lady problems have knocked me for a loop. But, I'm feeling better and just in time too because tomorrow will be quite a day. The toppermost of the poppermost, shall we say.

Smile

Yesterday I really needed to exercise. I hadn't in...well, awhile. I'm still taking the stairs up in the morning and down when I leave, but that had been about the extent of my physical activity. So when I got home from work yesterday I was determined to make myself do something. I just couldn't muster the energy to do all my silly crunches and lunges. The thought then occurred to me that I might take a walk. I loved walking around our old neighborhood, chocked full of cute bungalows. I hadn't been very excited about exploring our new neighborhood yet. But yesterday I changed clothes, popped my ear buds in, and hit the pavement. Within a minute of being on the street I realized I had a huge grin on my face. I was filled with joy for walking! I truly enjoy walking and never realize how much I miss it until I finally get my butt out the door again. It helps that the extreme heat seems to have broken- our 10 day forecast doesn't have a triple-digit in sight! And I was able to really appreciate our new neighborhood too. A lot of cute houses, nice yards, and pretty plants. I so often spend time thinking about stuff from the past that I don't enjoy the things in the present. I should enjoy my new neighborhood from now on, instead of regretting leaving my old one. I got some exercise, sun, relaxation and a little personal improvement- not bad for 30 minutes, huh?

To Catch a Thief

We watched To Catch a Thief on TV Sunday afternoon and the scene in the flower market made me yearn for a big vase packed with carnations! Alas, the offerings at Central Market yesterday were pitiful, so I haven't been able to fulfill my wish yet. Sigh. I love a big bunch of ruffly carnations!

Weekend Roundup Quickie

Busy day today, so here's a general glimpse at what this weekend was like:

-Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp: all excellent. Several fights breaking out right next to us: less than excellent.
-Reorganizing closet, Manhattan Murder Mystery, and All About Eve with a side of homemade pizzas with Holly.
-House cleaning, magazine reading, laundry, Chipotle, To Catch a Thief and welcoming Josh home from his first weekend tour of duty with Back In Black.

That about sums it up people.

D-Day

Dylan Day that is, Bob Dylan Day! Today I'm going with our friend and Josh's bandmate, Jason, to see Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, and Bob. This will be my 7th Dylan concert, but the excitement and anticipation never seems to lessen. And I'm really excited to go with Jason, because he's a big fan but has never seen Willie or Bobby. Going with people who have never seen him before helps keep the concerts fresh. And Bobby is playing a lot of songs from the new records, so I'm guaranteed to see stuff I haven't seen before. So excited!! Dylan is one of the greatest storytellers of our time and I love the yarns he spins.

A Balanced Wardrobe

I've been trying to work a bit more on all those New Years Resolutions that I seemed to have promptly forgotten about by Groundhogs Day this year. And one of those resolutions that I was carrying into 2009 from the previous year was to improve my wardrobe. I've definitely made some strides, but lately looking in my closet had become a frustrating thing. I felt like I was lacking some key things to make my wardrobe work for me. Revisiting an article I had kept from a past issue of Real Simple, The Essentials of a Well-Balanced Wardrobe, I made a list of things I felt were missing from mine. And then this weekend Stephanie, Holly and I hit the stores (with a Gap/Old Navy/Banana Republic 30% off coupon in hand) to try and fill in the gaps. Followed the shopping excursion up with a few calculated online purchases the next day.

Basics bought:
.T-shirts- I lacked a lot in this department, and what I had was wearily worn. I got three v-neck short sleeve tees in gray, black and navy and three crew neck long sleeve tees in white, black and gray from the J. Crew outlet. All of them were on sale, so it averaged out to a mere $10 per tee! I followed up with the additional online purchase of a crew neck short sleeve tee in white from Gap, as they were out of my size in white at J. Crew.
.Chinos- After going to FIVE Gap stores on Saturday and not finding my size at a single one of them I had to throw in the towel and order the khaki chinos that I love from their website. I had these same pants in a gray, so knew that this cut was exactly what i wanted to replace my old khaki pants in need of retirement.
.Denim Jacket- I didn't go into the day with this item on my list, but I have avoided wearing my denim jacket for quite sometime. It fit me poorly and was in a wash that I no longer thought remotely attractive. I found a new jacket that seemed to be a vast improvement at a good price.
.Sweater- Gray and white argyle sweater, not really a basic (unless you're me and love argyle as much as I do), but it reminded me of a J. Crew sweater I coveted from a previous season. How could I resist?
.White button down- I ordered a short sleeve version of the classic white button down shirt. The one hanging in my closet was a whopping 12 years old. Seriously overdue for retirement! I have a long sleeve button down which I may also need to replace, as the fit is poor and I of course didn't return it in time after originally purchasing it. I might be able to have it altered, an extra button and a little nip in the sleeves might fix things.




















Left to buy:
.Tennis shoes- I need a new pair of black Chuck Taylor's and want to get a white pair as well this time. I love my chucks and wear them constantly!
.Straight leg jeans- I've got a nice pair of trouser jeans, a couple of pairs of skinny jeans, and a few pairs of boot leg jeans. I think a pair of straight legs would round everything out well.
.Pencil skirt- I could use one in denim and one in another color/material.
.Black pants- I own no black pants. Aren't I breaking some sort of law?
.Jewelry- I own very little jewelry, so I really need to work on this area.

Additionally I think part of the reason I feel confused when I look in my closet is it feels like it lacks cohesion. I'm going to try and rearrange everything by color this weekend, and see if that makes a difference for me.

Weekend Roundup

Friday:
-Sleep in
-Breakfast
-Clean house
-Shower
-Finish reading Teacher Man
-Grab some Chipotle with Josh
-Eat and watch some Arrested Development while the storm moves through
-Hit the hay

Saturday:
-Up early
-Cereal and coffee
-Get ready
-Shopping and lunch with Holly and Steph at Grapevine Mills
-Score loads of tees at J. Crew Outlet and goods at Old Navy
-Great pant hunt with Holly, failed
-Grab some Schlotzsky's for dinner
-More Arrested Development while eating
-Surrender to big fat sinus headache, take ibuprofen and benadryl
-Climb in bed and watch Netflix movie, Because I Said So
-Remember how much I love Diane Keaton and fall asleep watching Manhattan Murder Mystery

Sunday:
-Sleep in late due to benadryl
-Leftover Chipotle for breakfast/lunch
-Make menu plan and grocery list
-Place online clothes order
-Grocery shopping
-Put groceries up and start laundry
-Clean and prep veggies while watching A Mighty Wind
-More laundry
-Put slipcover on living room chair
-Shower
-Homemade pizza for dinner and finish Manhattan Murder Mystery
-Finish laundry and ironing
-Bedtime