Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Allie


One night in May of my junior year of high school, my best friend Katie and I were at the soccer fields.  We were hanging out and talking with friends when this precious little tan puppy came running up to us.  We oohed and ahhed over her and then realized that she belonged to our friend James.  His dog Sport just had a litter of puppies, and he was bringing this little girl to the fields in an effort to find her an owner.  Well his plan worked.  Before the night was over, Katie and I had the sweet little puppy in the car with us, and we were on our way to Bruno's to find some food. (it is important to note here that Katie and I had been trying to convince my parents to let me get a dog for a good six months and they were not caving)  So we leave Bruno's with several things of canned dog food (which in of itself shows that I don't know anything about puppies), and Katie drops us off at my house.  At this point, my mom is asleep and my dad is out of town, so I put the precious little puppy on the screened in porch and leave a note for my mom on the back door.  I had a rather sleepless night, worried about what my mom was going to say; I was a goodie two shoes and going against my parents was not usually in my nature.  But I knew if they only saw this precious little puppy they would fall in love too.  So I wake up on Sunday morning and my mom has not seen the note or the puppy.  So I break the news to her and she immediately goes out to this little bundle of love.  And as predicted, she falls in love!  She says that I can keep her as long as Dad said it was okay.  I knew then that we were home free because if Mom said yes, Dad would too!


Allie was the best puppy.  She let me hold her and snuggle with her (at least when she was really little) and she was there to lick away the tears when my first real boyfriend broke up with me.  When I left for college, she became more of Mom and Dad's dog, but she always remembered who brought her home!  She was always good to bring a smile to my face and loved being chased more than any dog I have ever seen.  She lived 11 wonderful years, but today she went home to doggy heaven.  I am so glad that she gets to run and play like she used to and that she doesn't have to be blind anymore.  She was a wonderful dog and will be missed, but I know she is much happier running on the streets of gold.  Because as we know, all dogs go to heaven! :)

Friday, February 4, 2011

Winter Essentials


There are two items that are getting me through this crazy winter we are having.  I had a very wise friend (thanks LeeAnne!) tell me back in October that I needed two things to survive the winter up here, and boy was she right!  I am completely covered for any type of weather: rain, snow, ice, slush or wind.  I feel quite invincible when I put on my puffy coat and Hunter boots.  I mean seriously, I can walk through anything.  I don't have to be that person sidestepping the puddles; I just plow right through them!  And with a 55 lb. dog that likes the snow, I am glad that one of us has tall boots to conquer the knee high snow build up.  Also, don't even get me started on how the jacket insulates me from all cold.  It is quite amazing that I can walk around in 10 degree wind chill and not even feel cold because my jacket and the attached hood work like magic!  


Hope you have a great weekend and are somewhere warmer than NYC!  I have a craft project up my sleeve, so be on the lookout for a tutorial next week.


**Pictures from Brooklyn Industries and Hunter Boots.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Skyline


When Sarah was in town a couple of weeks ago, I took her the few short blocks from our house to the waterfront.  She got to see one of the main reasons I love living in Brooklyn versus Manhattan, the skyline.  I only have to walk five blocks to get one of the best views in the world.  Sarah lives in Boston and loves a big city at least as much, if not more than me, and when we walked upon the view she expressed my feelings to a T.  She said that some people think that you can't beat a mountain or ocean view, but that one of the most beautiful views to her is a city skyline.  I couldn't agree more.  There is something beautiful, energizing and exciting about seeing the buildings rising to varying heights and standing solid right next to each other.  I find a cityscape mesmerizing.  


I remember the first time I drove through Atlanta after moving away from the big city to Charlottesville.  It was night, and Mitch was driving.  We hit 75/85 South right when it curves around downtown, and I was like a kid in a candy store.  By the time we were through downtown, I had turned around in my seat to soak in the view as long as I could.  There is just something amazing about the twinkling lights of the buildings against the dark sky.  I don't know how this girl from Dothan, Alabama became a city girl, but she did!


Saturday mornings are family walk time.  We usually get up and take Bo for a long walk or to the dog park and then swing by our favorite pastry shop for a coffee and a croissant.  We decided to head down to the pier this past Saturday, and I took a few pictures so you can see the view and all of the snow!


Does anyone else get excited by cityscapes as much as Sarah and I?







Friday, January 28, 2011

Just Call me Martha!




I have been out of commission with a terrible head cold for most of the week, but before I got the plague, I was busy becoming the next Martha Stewart.  My mom has always been a great sewer, so naturally, she tried to pass that along to me when I was living at home; however, it never really stuck.  She even offered to buy me sewing lessons for Christmas one year in high school, but I never took her up on the offer and I cannot tell you how many times over the years I have kicked myself for that.  Last year, I expressed my newfound desire to sew, and low and behold my mom bought me a sewing machine for Christmas!  I broke it out this week, and I was so proud of myself for using the manual and setting up the machine myself.  It took me FOREVER, but it was so gratifying when I sewed that first stitch!  I almost couldn't believe it when the machine actually made a straight stitch!  And my sweet husband brought me home a beautiful gerber daisy to celebrate the accomplishment. :)


I hope you enjoy the weekend!  We have a lot of plans to clean house and relax.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Happy Friday!

I just wanted to wish everyone a wonderful weekend!  Do you have any big plans for the weekend? We are in for a pretty low-key weekend, but I do have a few things on the agenda.


We are joining discipleship groups at our church, Resurrection Presbyterian, and we have our first monthly gathering of all the groups tonight.  The discipleship groups will be gender specific and will be a supplement to the home group, or bible study, that we are already attending together each week.  The discipleship group will give us a chance to have accountability and prayer time with about three or four ladies or guys that go to our church.  We are both really excited about these groups!  Also, if you are ever in New York on a Sunday evening, we would love for you to join us for our church service. 


We are also headed out tomorrow night to meet up with some of Mitch's co-workers at White Rabbit.  We have never been, but it looks as though there will be dancing involved...which is always fun!  I'll let you know how the place turns out.


I am hoping that on the way to and from these events, I can convince Mitch to stop in at a couple of my favorite stores, like:
Whisk
Moon River Chatel
Cat Bird


Happy Friday everyone!


P.S. My sweet friend from high school, Heather, featured our blog on her "Feature Friday" post.  Check it out here!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

2011 Reading List


Do you love to read?  As long as I can remember, I have LOVED to read.  I have been known to screen phone calls and not the leave the house if I have a good book in hand.  They have a way of transporting you to a different place and you feel like you are living right along with the characters.  I remember going to the library with mom during the summers or at the start of Christmas break and checking out five or ten books to read....and reading them all and sometimes going back for round two!  


My reading tapered off during college, and I didn't really get back into it until one of my closest friends started a book club.  It was just what the doctor ordered, and I am back into the groove of reading again and love it!  During book club, Emmaline told us all about Goodreads.  It is kind of like Facebook for reading.  You sign up at www.goodreads.com and search for and mark books according to the status (i.e. read, currently reading or to-read).  After you have this set up, you search for your friends and you can see what books they are reading or want to read and their thoughts on them. It is a great way to find book suggestions from people you trust.


Now that I have talked your ear off about reading, my list for 2011 is below.  I made a goal to read twelve books this year, which is why my list is twelve deep.  With all of my subway riding, I am always in need of a good book.


1.   The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
2.   Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
3.   Outlive Your Life by Max Lucado
4.   Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
5.   Love & Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs
6.   Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
7.   Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow
8.   Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
9.   The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
10. A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken
11. Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner
12. Unashamed by Francine Rivers

What book do you really want to read this year?

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Our Kitchen

While this is not the whole house, it is my favorite room in the house.  In Williamsburg, you practically have to build your own kitchen, so as you can see, we (and our parents) have put a lot of love into this room.  I hope that you enjoy it as much as we do!  Oh and you get a sneak peak out our hallway.  It will be a work in progress for a while, but it is shaping up wonderfully.



The fuzziness of the embedded slideshow bothers me, so if it bothers you too, you can follow this link to the actual flickr site.