Grown Up Snow Days

This week, we finally had our FIRST snow day of the year.  Last year, we had so many snow days that I started to dread them for a couple different reasons:

1.  I was still a temporary employee so I didn't get paid for snow days
2. Once the snow day is over, you have to survive the snow on the ground for the next few days.  Curling up in a warm house on a snow day is fabulous -- BUT walking to the metro or bus stop in slushy snow and ice the next few days is NOT fun.
3. I enjoy SNOW but I do not like cold.  Having so many snow days meant it was a really cold winter!

However, after a winter of just a little snow and NO snow days, I was so ready for a day off! It's been a rough couple weeks - and a day at home with my sweet guy was such a treat. I wish we knew our neighbors so we could have them over on snow days. We have a few friends in the neighborhood, so maybe if we have another snow day, we can plan for a wine night....or maybe we can sit in our PJs all day (oh the luxury of deciding HOW you want to be lazy....) We don't have kids and although I like to think we are young, we aren't exactly college students, so our snow days are usually a bit grown up: not much sledding, snow man building, etc. --- although if I lived near Dupont Circle, I would definitely participate in the snow ball fights that happen every time there is a big snow.  In a few years, we will have munchkin(s) to bundle out and take out to play, so for now, I enjoy getting to just look at the snow from my window!

We may have another snow day tomorrow (what a waste for a Saturday!) The first rule of good snow days is that they MUST occur on a work day!!  For those of you in non-snowy regions, here is a little primer on how to properly enjoy a snow day! (Could be added: hang out with friends or roomies.  We only have a few friends in walking distance so we are a bit more limited)

Grown Up Snow Days are for......

Cooking a REAL breakfast (aka, not toast, cereal or oatmeal!)

Most week days, breakfast is simple.  We usually save warm, homemade treats for holidays or lazy weekends or brunches with friends.  Since SNOW DAYS are relaxing, I make a hot breakfast every time there is a snow day and even if it is just pancakes from a box mix, it feels special!  We often make Monkey Bread when it snows -- but it is so FATTENING and I am trying to eat healthy foods, so I cooked low fat French Toast instead.  This sounds like a real recipe - but it's not. I just improvised with healthier versions of the ingredients. Essentially, I made french toast out of light bread (2 pieces for 80 calories), egg/egg whites, skim milk, vanilla, and 1-2 TBSP of sugar.  To cook the toast, I used cooking spray and a tiny bit of "fake butter" (aka, butter spread) in the pan and then topped with a tiny bit of powdered sugar! (Dave added some syrup to his)  For using light ingredients, the toast turned out pretty yummy! Definitely a bit more special than the oatmeal I normally eat!

Taking obligatory southern "oh look, it's snow!" pictures

Yankees, forgive us. We didn't grow up with a lot of snow - maybe 1-2 light snows a year and one big snow every few years (and big to us is nothing like what Boston is getting). So, when it snows a lot, we take pictures. We have to document that we have actually experienced winter weather.  Now, I will admit, last year, after the first couple snows, I quit taking pictures (because I was such a local then and snow was no big thing, ha), BUT since this was our first snow day of the year, I definitely had to snap a few!

Coffee and Reading

Dave gets cabin fever.  He almost always wants to walk in the snow to a coffee store to get a "fruity coffee" (ie, flavored special coffee that you can't just brew for yourself at home).  I am not always as eager to get out, but I am usually convinced. Who can resist a little reading and coffee?

Binge Watching on Netflix/Hulu

I think we watched 5 episodes of Brothers and Sisters Tuesday.  I can't help it - with no obligations, it's so easy to just keep going through a season!

Trying a NEW recipe for dinner

I almost always try a new recipe on a snow day! It's often a soup, stew or chili (because it's cold outside, duh!!)  I don't get off work until 6 and by the time I get home, it's usually between 6:30 and 6:45 (and sometimes later if I have to work late on a project) - so our week night suppers are often a rotation of tried and true recipes that we can make quickly or pull out of the freezer.  I always love the excuse to look up a new recipe on a snow day!  This time, we tried Emily Bites' Spaghetti and Meatball Soup -- a fairly healthy easy soup that I will definitely make again! Actually, Skinnytaste also has a recipe so next time I may try that version!

Why I really loved this soup: hearty enough to be a meal, shredded veggies mixed in with noodles so that Dave actually ate the healthy stuff, turkey meatballs (not beef), easy to make, gives you the feeling of a big bowl of spaghetti without all the calories.

Chores.

Honestly, we did not do too many chores-- tidied the kitchen a bit and folded laundry.  I hung up a few clothes that were lying on the guest bed.  But, when you start to feel too lazy from a netflix binge, it's good to move around and do a little work so you can pat yourself on the back for being productive!

Wine

Wine + TV or a good book + a blanket ---while it's snowy and cold outside? This is a no brainer. We had no wine in the house, but Dave had to make a run to the grocery store Tuesday night to pick up snacks for an Architecture meeting the next day-- and he had good enough sense to snatch up a bottle of wine (one more reason to love him!) Wine is always a good snow day addition!

How do you enjoy your adult snow days???

Making our house a HOME: Master Bedroom Daydreaming...........

As I mentioned in my last post, one of my February goals is to tackle the remainder of our bedroom. Fortunately, we have the big items already -- only the fun stuff really needs to be added!

A little description of our bedroom. It is gray, white and yellow with some modern inspiration and a little deer influence (pillow, print, etc)  I will let you guess which of us brought the modern touches and which one loves deer :) We have a gray fabric heading, white bedspread and gray, yellow and white pillows with a mixture of light wood, gray and white furniture.  The floor has a gray and white chevron rug.

Things our bedroom has:

• furniture (2 dressers, bookcase, wardrobe, bed, desk, night stands)
• bedding (white, gray, yellow)
• lamps (2 gay lamps, 1 white)
• a few accessories ( a grouping of black and white wedding pics, a vase, framed pictures)
• rug (gray and white chevron)

Things the room still needs: A LITTLE MORE PERSONALITY!! 

• wall decor  -- some type of racks or ledges, framed prints and pictures, a center piece for above our bed
• a jewelry rack
• a desk makeover or possibly a new desk
• possibly - a couple trinkets/accessories to sit on our dressers/bookcase - but I don't like the too cluttered look and I like when these trinkets come over time, so this may be something I wait on -- mementos from travels, special memories, etc.
• painting/hanging the antler monogram I already purchased and hanging the white faux deer head

Here are some of the little "touches" I have been daydreaming about.....

(1) A few picture ledges - with photo canvases, framed prints, vases, trinkets, etc

Ikea has great cheap photo ledges - so I may be making a trip to Woodbridge, VA soon (it's our closest IKEA, 30 miles away....and I have been told by an authentic TEXAN that their Walmart sells Bluebell ice cream, so I could really make this a little morning trip, ha!)

(2) A painted antler monogram above our bed

*I have a wooden antler monogram already (ordered it when it was half off) but I have yet to paint it. I am leaning towards all white or maybe white antlers and a gray initial

(3) A hairpin leg desk

We inherited Marley and Bech's dining room table (which seats 6) - so our cheap Craig's list Ikea table has been re purposed as our desk..and I have been itching to give it a makeover. I love the simple look of a hairpin legged desk! We could possibly stain the top of our table and add hairpin legs. Or, for not much more, we could buy a cheap hairpin leg desk from Walmart (both Walmart and Target have cheaper mid century/modern lines now)  Although I would prefer to do the desk makeover, our table is a bit too big to be a desk -- we don't work from home, so our desk doesn't need to be big enough to seat a family of four! For that reason alone, I am leaning towards to Walmart desk (or some other cheap version) in order to save a bit more space in our room.

(4) An antler jewelry rack

I need a jewelry rack for above my dresser- and we might as well stick to the deer theme. Plus, most jewelry racks are boring and this is adorable.

(5) Fun prints/artwork for the walls and picture ledge.

(6) A white deer head

I actually already bought a faux deer head like this half off online.  I thought it was bigger than it was, so my original plan to hang it over our bed was swapped out for the monogram antlers.  However, I like the idea of placing a frame around it or mixing it in with other artwork somewhere else in the bedroom.  A fun modern twist on the traditional mount.

(7) POSSIBLY - a new white duvet cover

This is a big POSSIBLY.  I bought a really cheap duvet cover last year and it seemed to not stay on the comforter very well and we took it off. But, I don't think we gave it a good enough try, so I am going to pull it out of the closet, iron it and place it on our comforter with safety pins on the ends to hold things in place.  Eventually, I will splurge on a nicer one, but I am hoping I can put that off for awhile.  If my salvage project does not work, then I will start looking for a new cover.

Here's hoping this BEDROOM INSPIRATION post lights a fire under my booty to get to work! My goal is to finish about 75 percent of what I have left.  Considering 2 of my 7 goals include items I already have - and 1 goal is just a possibility, I should be able to make a serious dent in my list....that is, if I can quit being so lazy when I get home from work. (D*mn you, Netflix, sweatpants and comfy blankets.....)

5 Reasons Why I Love PARENTHOOD

D and I binged watched Parenthood last year on Netflix and then picked up with the last season this fall.  It is generally my favorite show of the week - and though I love a lot of comedies (Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, etc), I can't help but love this family drama and think that it's probably one of the best shows on TV.

Tonight is the last episode -- and as embarrassing as it is, I am mourning the end! I have fallen in love with the Braverman family and am not ready to say goodbye! I will have to find another show to fill the void.

Here are just 5 of the reasons I love this show:

(1) It's about a grown up family: Matriarch and Patriarch, their kids, and their kid's kids.

There are tons of family shows about young kids, teens, etc. but only a few family dramas dealing with grown up kids and their families.  This is the stage of life I am in, so I guess it's relatable.

Truth is, things are different when you grow up.  You have to learn to do what's best for your family and still try to respect your family.  You have your own schedule, but still try to stay close to parents and siblings. You witness these characters wading the same waters -- balancing family with extended family, working to stay close, disagreeing with siblings, etc.

(2) The characters are believable.

These characters face a lot of drama - but everyday drama that many Americans face like divorce, job loss, kids making poor decisions, unwed pregnancy, cancer, aging, kids with disabilities, marriage problems, infertility, adoption, etc.

We all understand at least one of these problems...unlike problems featured on other shows like being the President's mistress (Scandal), being caught between an American small town and fairytale land (Once Upon a Time), spending years plotting revenge on the people who took down your father (Revenge), being artificially inseminated on accident and becoming a pregnant virgin (Jane the Virgin), being switched at birth and reconnecting with your siblings (Switched at Birth), dating a presidential candidate(Brothers and Sisters).

FYI, the above listed are all shows I watch or have watched, so I like them, but sometimes, it's nice to watch a show that includes realistic challenges that either I or people I know and love are facing.

(3) The show provides hope amidst disappointment.

You've got two free spirit wild child siblings and two type A goody two shoes siblings. But, both the good siblings and the wilder ones make mistakes....as do their kids.  Although their mistakes have consequences, no mistake dooms a character.  It is challenging, but every poor choice on the show is survived and maybe even overcome.

(4)  This family loves each other.

This family is imperfect and like most families, sometimes just a little dysfunctional.  Sometimes they get into each other's business and say harsh things, but whenever difficult times come, they have each other's backs.

These days, its easy to portray the broken family.  It creates drama immediately which makes the writer's role a bit easier at times.  But, its much more difficult to create an entertaining show that reveals the complexities, ups and downs of an imperfect but loving family.  I think that's why so many people loved this show: we crave a happy but flawed family.

(5) The show has a proper ending

I hate when shows get notice halfway through the season that they will no longer be on air, so they try to tie up the loose ends in a few short episodes -- or even worse, when a show ends for a season and doesn't air the next season, so you never got a proper ending or goodbye.

I also dislike when a show goes on too long and doesn't end on a good note (like How I Met Your Mother, one of my favorite shows of all time that lost some of its charm in the later seasons....)

Parenthood is ending in none of those ways.  We have a proper goodbye, a whole season to watch and mourn and celebrate and see how things wrap up.  The show is ending before it started dragging on -- and because the writers and producers knew it was going to end, the show is not ending abruptly with huge question marks and unanswered questions.

I am sad to see the show end but I am glad that it is ending properly!

So, is it just me - or is anyone else mourning the ending of Parenthood? And, any suggestions of shows to watch to fill the void? 

Little Updates

Just a few updates on this COLD boring Tuesday.... some little nuggets I have not shared on this blog!

ONE

 Check out my blog post on Joy at my friend Emily's blog, The Orange Slate. She's doing a great little series on Joy where she asks others about their views on Joy, so check out all the posts. It's been interesting for me to see what other people have to say on the topic and read their tips on being joyful! I think you will be encouraged by their words! I am hoping she wraps it up by answering the questions herself (Emily, hint, hint...)

TWO

 I never introduced you to my new nephew.  Meet Baby Gil. He's two months old now and tall, dark and handsome -- okay, maybe not tall yet. but definitely dark and handsome.  His hobbies include making serious faces, gifting us with the occasional smile, pacifiers, eating and staring at random objects and pictures on the wall (is he an art lover? maybe!).  

I put off posting about him until my sister posted, but then I forgot! I've gotten to hang out with him 3 weekends and its safe to say that I am already in love.  I am counting down til Christmas vacation where I will have two full weeks of time with family, most importantly time with my nieces and nephews! D and I seriously have the cutest nieces and nephews ever, on both sides of the family -- it'll be a pretty high standard for our "one day" kids to live up to!

The day Gilly bean was born...

Sleeping Beauty

He is kindof a serious little dude, but his smiles are pretty great too!

And, just for fun, here is a picture of Gil's big brother, Jack, in his Halloween outfit because who wouldn't want to see a picture of this cute monster????

Stay tuned because in February I will have another little niece to introduce!

THREE

As I said, we are taking a break from apartment decorating to enjoy the Holidays.  The apartment is at least presentable enough now, but I still have lots of fun things I want to try -- and as always, our bedroom will be the last to be decorated, but I am determined to actually decorate it this time as opposed to slapping a couple pictures above our bed and calling it "done" in our last place.  As we continue in January with the slow process of decorating, I promise to do a home tour or something similar, but until then, let me show you my favorite wall in my favorite room in the house. 

I LOVE our Gallery wall....and I must admit, I am quite proud of how it turned out.  Our wall is fun and a huge focal point -- plus. it has bits of D and me mixed in.  (I'll let you guess who supplied the deer head.....)  It also has some prints and pictures we acquired together...representing this first year of marriage.  The wall keeps growing and I know it will probably change a lot over the years.  Sure, gallery walls are really in style at the moment, but they feel so homey, especially when you mix in personal pictures and sentimental pieces, so I hope that even when it's not as trendy, our home always has some type of gallery wall full of family photos, kid's artwork and pictures that remind us of places we love!

I am even thinking of fun ways to add to the wall at various holidays.  For Christmas, I think I may place a Santa Hat on the reindeer and add a tinsel garland, just a fun way to make our home's focal point more festive! Anyone have any fun ideas?

FOUR

Exactly one month ago, my sweet D turned 30 and we celebrated all day long with breakfast at Ted's Bulletin (our favorite), presents, shopping, time with his parents, dinner and drinks at Copperwood Tavern (another favorite) and his annual "Better than Sex" cake (which is basically a chocolate cake made even more fattening with whip cream, condensed milk, caramel and candy topping)  It's been his birthday cake of choice since long before I met him - and since we rarely make big desserts like cakes (usually just cookies, brownies or other individual items), he usually only gets to enjoy the cake once or twice a year!

Since October was such a busy month of guests and settling in to our new place, I blogged only 3 times and never posted on D, his birthday and how much I adore him.  So, in short tribute, let me say that I am very blessed to get to do life with such an amazing guy.  I will never quit being happy that he was born 30 years (and 1 month) ago and even more so, I will always be grateful he chose me. He's such a godly, loving, funny, hard working, sometimes goofy guy and I loved being able to celebrate him last month and will work harder to make sure he knows he's appreciated each and every day of the year. Here's to the next 30 years -- hopefully full of more happy moments than tears, lots of growth, designing several cool buildings, many travels and adventures, tiny children running around a cozy home - and maybe a few gray hairs :) I am excited to do the next 30 years with him!

FIVE

It was 20 degrees when I woke up today - in November, pre-Thanksgiving and a month before Winter "officially" arrives.  I think it's safe to say that we are in for a cold winter....and as much as I don't love winter, I am hoping for lots of snow. If it is going to be cold, then it might as well include some days off from work. I am currently crossing my fingers and sending up prayers for a snow day in December.  Last year, we had our first snow in December and enjoyed a day in sipping hot chocolate while watching holiday movies with the Christmas tree lit.  It was the closest to a WHITE CHRISTMAS that I will ever see! November will end a busy couple months of guests and travels, and after all that busyness and fun, I could use a lazy snuggly Christmas-y snow day, preferably on a Friday or Monday....who wants to join me in my noble snow day prayers??

Lots of Changes: Settling In and Recovering

Settling into Work

A fellow blogger recently asked me if I ever found a new job -- and I realized that after sharing some about my job search journey over the past year, I never shared the good news (so sorry!)  This summer, I got a promotion at the Government Affairs/Public Relations firm where I worked last fall and spring...moving from a temporary position to a permanent one! Thanks for all the good concern and prayers as I looked last spring!

This June, I was in the process of interviewing other places when the head of PR approached me about working in his department.  An associate was leaving later in the summer and he wanted me to interview for the position.  I was able to start working in PR at the end of June, but it took a couple months to get all the details worked out and make me official.  (August Recess where most of DC shuts down slowed down the process tremendously!)  I did not share this wonderful news earlier out of superstition and fear that things would not work out. I had many set backs over 9 months of job searching-- government shutdowns, job opportunities falling apart last minute, etc. so as silly as it sounds, I did not want to jinx things by announcing it to the world.

Then, when things became official, I forgot to share with y'all because I had been in the position for a couple months so it wasn't really "NEW" news for me!

I am having to learn a new field and how to use my skill set in the PR world. There was definitely a learning curve at first. I tend to like the policy/government affairs side of things better BUT working at this particular firm was always a goal of mine (since law school) and it's exciting to be here full time, even if it meant switching departments.  It's also nice to have an office with a door I can close again -- and have a little corner of the work world that is completely mine! Once we finish settling into the new apartment, I plan to decorate --- aka, add some pictures and artwork to my office! I have the perfect set of Jackson, MS prints by Thimblepress that I want to hang to remind me of my Mississippi home while here in DC!

**Note: Although my job search was difficult, I was so blessed to have a temporary (although it turned out to be not so temporary) entry level position.  I know so many people are not even that fortunate and I never want to portray that my short bout of semi-employment is nearly as difficult.  I had never spent much time thinking about how unemployment can affect you not only financially, but emotionally and physically as well (Seriously, I had so many headaches and knots in my back -- I think Dave is relieved that I am fully employed because I don't ask for backrubs as much!) We often don't think of others' battles until we have a short glimpse of that trial ourselves, but now, I feel my heart, prayers and hopefully my actions will reflect more concern for those that are out of work.



Settling into our Apartment

I loved our location last year, so it's no secret that I moved to the new more spacious but more suburban apartment kicking and screaming. Honestly, had I been single still, I would have chosen location over space, but I know that what is best for us and our family is having more space and more storage -- so that we can have a guestroom/study, maybe one day a nursery-- plus we can actually have all of our clothes fit in closets AND more comfortably host guests, etc.

My two criteria for moving was (1)the apartment must have a patio or balcony and (2) we must decorate the new place  and make it our own. Our last place was never fully decorated -- partly because of lack of money and partly because of lack of space to do projects (Seriously, where in a 625 square feet and no outdoor space do you paint a piece of furniture??) Now we have more of both money and space and are tackling projects and decorating our space a little each weekend. Dave does not always love this "project mentality" but he mostly humors me since it was our agreement.....and since we will likely live in this apartment until we can afford to buy a place, I think we both really want to feel like this place is our home -- even if we put it together piece by piece!

We already had a couple friends in the neighborhood and have made a few more, so slowly but surely, we are settling into suburban living. I promise to show more pictures when we finish, but until then, here are a few snapshots of the projects we have been busy with around the house!

We've added a little fall decor to the apartment, particularly at the dining table.....

I've painted several pieces of furniture including this bookcase for our bedroom...

We started putting together a gallery wall because I am currently obsessed with gallery walls... BUT the wall already looks different as we have added piece and sadly we had a frame break when it fell!

Our guest room was probably the simplest room to decorate and is therefore, the most complete! I still have a couple small projects for the room, but it's the most presentable room we have -- which is good because we have TONS of fall guests, yay!

A little living room decor with a fall theme.....

Recovering

Now that life has some normalcy (but is it ever really normal?), I have felt an extreme need to just recover. Recover from job searching and rejections and leads that did not follow through. Recover from a first year in DC that did not exactly go as hoped or planned. Recovering from things that can't be helped like shutdowns and bad economies and hiring freezes.  Recovering from hurt feelings and disappointments. In the process of job searching, you receive help from many people (including some that you don't even know well) but you also have some people who you thought would be more willing to help but don't volunteer to help you out. You have a lot of dashed hopes when jobs seem that they will work out but then fall apart! Also, when moving to a new city, you have some groups of people that include you immediately and some that don't. My only tip to these situations is to focus on the many many kind people, show a little grace to others and to remember how this stage felt so that you will be a good friend to others facing similar circumstances!! (Seriously, I want to be that annoying person who sends out other people's resumes to everyone in my email list, ha!)

For me, recovering has also meant working to let go of frustration that DC did not immediately turn out how I thought it would  -- or how it had been in the past. Remember, I spent 3 summers living and working here and had previous experiences in this city in which to compare our life.  Where we live, where we go to church, friendships, neighborhoods may look different than I originally wanted or imagined it would, but different does not mean bad. Ups and Downs, we are making our own little life here.

When things finally worked out with my job, I took a sigh of relief and realized just how stressed and worried I had been for several months. It has almost been a comfort that we have lots of little projects around the house right now. It has been nice to throw myself into something and spend more time around the apartment and spend a lot of time with Dave, rather than busying myself away from home.  Also, it was also very fitting that as the job situation worked itself out and we moved to the new apartment, we were able to go on vacation to Toronto and enjoy time together, celebrating this happy (yet challenging) first year of marriage and DC!


I love living in DC and am glad to fill a bit more settled here... until the next challenge right? I feel God doesn't ever let us get too settled, because change, frustration and waiting must grow and improve us in ways that can't be achieved without their presence in our lives. But, for now, I take a deep breath and thank God for the breathing period - to settle, recover and enjoy my many blessings....and to pray for those that still feel unsettled in areas of life - career, relationships, family, location.  Hopefully, as this time of moving, settling in and recovering comes to an end, I will be a bit more frequent poster on this blog!

Cooking my way through Bread and Wine

I loved the book Bread and Wine -- short essays/stories on love, family, hope and community - and how it all often happens around the table.  I grew up in a family that usually had home cooked meals and ate our meals at tables (for the most part...that became less consistent when we were in high school and had ballgames and play practices, etc.) We still enjoy sitting around the table whenever we are all home for a holiday or visit -- and usually, our request is for a cookout (What can I say? Southerners through and through.....)

This book challenged me to think about how I want mealtimes to look in our family (both now and with munchkins one day....) Dave and I cook most of our meals, but we don't always sit down at the table...part of this stemmed from necessity as we did not have a dining table for the first 4 months we lived in DC and it's been covered in boxes for the last month. Although we do usually sit down for dinner, it is often at the couch -- and I want to change that. Goal for the new apartment -- more meals at the dining room table.

And, hopefully, our dinner table can be the type of place that feels safe for our family - a place to unwind, laugh, vent after a long day at work; a place to hear stories of kindergarten, tests, soccer practice, art projects; a place to say evening prayers and discuss the Sunday sermon; a place to set out candles and grocery store flowers for our anniversary dinners and date nights after kids have gone to bed; a place for Saturday morning pancakes and pajamas; a place to decorate Christmas cookies and eat as many toppings as we can while decorating; and a place to blow out birthday candles and make wishes as each year goes by.

A childhood birthday

29th birthday -- if you compare the two birthday photos, apparently 

my mom's cake decorating skills improved as I aged :)

Saturday Morning Pancakes (my husband's family 

has a tradition of Saturday Pancakes)

Sweet Nephew decorating Cookies 

I also hope that it's a place that feels safe to others...that it's a place for church visitors to come eat Sunday lunch; a place for girls in dress up clothes to gather for tea parties; a place where family and friends stay up way too late catching up when they come to town; a place for teenagers to laugh and eat pizza and drink way too much soda; a place for those who can't go home for the holidays to come spend it at our house; a place for our kids to bring friends home from college; a place for wedding showers and baby showers and all type of celebrations; a place for girls nights and bottles of wine; a place where people feel free to cry, laugh and share.

Thanksgiving one year with family and friends - 

I've always been known to invite others over...and 

sometimes my last minute additions stressed my mom

out but it always worked out!

Our meager thanksgiving set up this year in DC

The Christmas table being set at my parents one year

It probably won't always be the same table. It certainly won't always be the same home.  And, as it happens now, sometimes these communal meals might take place in the living room or on the patio or curled up in pajamas with trays in bed (anyone else grow up with the occasional birthday breakfast in bed?) - but hopefully, the feeling created is the same. This is a busy, rushed, sometimes harsh world we live in, but for this short (or long) time each day, we sit down and this table and refuel - both physically and emotionally. (And you are welcome to come refuel with us!)

A NON TABLE meal: during the fall months, we spend a lot 

of meals in the living room, around the TV with tailgate snacks!

Another great aspect of Bread and Wine was that it included 20+ recipes that related to the stories she was telling. I have decided to make it my goal this fall/winter to cook through every recipe. (Something tells me my husband and our friends won't have a problem being my taste testers) These recipes vary from casseroles to soups to main dishes to desserts. Some recipes are healthy and some recipes are oh so deliciously not healthy.

And, while I am cooking my way through these delicious recipes, I plan to blog about these delicious foods, how to make them and whether we enjoyed the final results! I'm already two recipes into this challenge (both were amazing) and I can't wait to share!

(In case you were wondering (and you know you were...jk), my 

dream table would look something like this -- modern, hairpin legs, 

Eames-like chairs...so simple right? Yep, but super pricey!) And 

no worries, I would hang artwork on the walls!

News!

Well we have some big news….

No, we aren’t having a baby.

We are moving the middle of next month –and no worries folks, just to a different DC suburb, not moving away. It’s a few more metro stops out – in a nice little safe suburban area, but definitely not full of nightlife, restaurants and shopping like we are used to. (Although in less than 5 minutes, we can walk to a Trader Joes, Whole Foods, a few casual restaurants and 2 coffee places so I assume I will survive suburbia). Most days,  I’m a bit torn on how I feel about the move. Many days  I am not thrilled about it – because I love our little area of the metro DC area which is technically a suburb, but just as urban as DC.  We can get to many places in DC quicker than some people in DC can get there. I love urban living – walking to the Georgetown waterfront for Saturday morning coffee, evening strolls by monuments, being close to the movie theater, restaurants, bars and shops. Our first apartment seemed the perfect compromise for our first year of marriage – splitting our commute (Dave works in suburbs) and living in a safe yet urban area. Plus it was our first married home – full of happy memories, laughter, a few fights, maybe a few burned dinners, celebrations with friends, but mostly just the ordinary blessings of finally living together, day in and day out.  I love(d) our first little corner of the Capitol and it will indeed be sad to leave.

But, what we don’t like about our first place: less than 650 square feet – which might be doable except we have no closet space in our older building. Dave and I really like each other but living somewhere where you both can’t fit comfortably into the kitchen at the same time and you don’t have any private space is difficult. It’s made even more difficult when guests come and we fit 4-5 people into a 1br >650 sq. ft. apt. We basically wake our guests up (who had to sleep on the couch) when we get ready for work in the morning . Also, we lack some basic amenities like a dishwasher and central heat and air (I have learned that many in DC do not consider these basic amenities. Growing up in Mississippi, I would not have survived with the tiny little wall AC unit we have currently!!)

So although I tear up about leaving our neighborhood pretty much 2-3 times a week, we are eager to gain amenities like central heat and air, a dishwasher, 2 bedrooms, almost 250 extra sq. ft, a patio, a pool, CLOSETS! It will be nice to have our families visit this fall and have a proper room to place them in! And like most urban people, we discovered that the only way to get more space for a price we could afford is to move further out. I’ve gotten a few snobby comments about moving further away from DC, but we have to do what is best for us. In all honesty, it’s not that far, just a short metro ride away. I love to host gatherings so I hope we can still do that on the weekends – cookout on our new patio anyone? Not to mention we have a couple friends in our new area....

Before we started packing, I took a few photos…basically I wanted to document and remember our first happy little home…..and to show you readers our first little love nest. I kept putting a "where we live" post until our place was perfect, but now I have no choice! We never finished framing and hanging all our pictures, buying new pillows, etc, painting furniture, but we did at least set up a home – imperfect and tight, but a home.  One of the promises Dave made is that if I moved, we would tackle a few projects a month until our apt is fully put together. Home improvement cost money (and time) so we have to spread our projects out, but I hope Dave is excited for a few months of furniture painting, frame shopping, Ikea hacks, etc.

So, here folks, is where life happened for us this first year….

You walk in our apartment and their is immediately a small hallway/entrance area that houses a little art, a bookcase, a coat closet and tiny linen closet and leads to the bathroom on the right, the bedroom straight ahead the living/dining/kitchen on the left.

the hallway...

The cross picture was a gift from my friend Kristen at Thimblepress (If 

you have read my blog long enough, you know I am huge Thimblepress 

fan - and a huge Kristen fan) I have several prints, scarfs and 

even my wedding invitations/programs/etc) 

cheap bookcase decorated with some MS and DC art!

the bathroom on the right...

Blues and Grays - tried to work with the colors!

the bedroom straight ahead....

We had "His and Her" dressers - mine used to be white "pre-move" as 

opposed to white with scratches all over it! I intend on painting it 

gray once we move to the new place...one of my many projects!

 I love our bedding but as far as night stands, we kind of just used what we had. 

The table on the right is really an end table for our living room but I 

didn't have room and the small dresser on the left will likely be painted to go in 

our new guestroom. I'll be bargain shopping for some new "his and her" nightstands-
and a lamp for my side so I can keep reading when Dave wants to go to bed!

basically the only wedding pics we've hung!

the living room/dining room/kitchen to the left....

**The Living room was my favorite room. First off, it had multiple authentic mid century pieces which I love! It also had blues and greens and geometric patterns.  It reflects us better than our any other room in our tiny apartment.  Finally, this room was the closest to being completely decorated - it had some art, the most color, the largest number of photos - and it's obviously where we spent most of our waking hours. We still have a a few pictures  to frame for the next apartment (and maybe a few pillows to buy) but I am glad we have most of the furniture/decor for this room so that at least one room in our new place can go ahead and start feeling like home! (My mom, lifetime mover, taught me that trick -  get one room unpacked and mostly set up first, so that when the rest of your house seems chaotic with picture frames lying against the walls and boxes unpacked and packing peanuts everywhere, you can walk into the unpacked tidy decorated room and calm down!

Don't you just love that rug?

The green ottomans in the corner serve as extra seating for 

parties - and one houses my nephew's toy box! (notice how our closet on the left 

doesn't even go all the way the ceiling-- as I said, crammed for storage!)

I call this wall our "Mississippi" wall -- all Mississippi prints and 

3 Mississippi artists (including my brother in law)

Our little "bar" -- I thought we had a better picture than this. Sadly you can't see 

the "I love you more than biscuits and gravy" sign on the left wall---it's a special 

sign because it was the breakfast bar at our wedding!

Our wedding invitation - notice the crack in the glass -- yep, put that

 on my project list for the next place!

and the dining room/kitchen...

So, I never took pictures of this room before I began taking pictures down and packing up (oops). Currently, the dining room serves as packing station as you can see in the picture below.  So, to give you a small idea, I am including pictures from thanksgiving -- we had a packed house and a fold out table, but you will get the idea...we also used this room as a workspace (you can see our desk and bulletin board in the left corner!)  I did not get any pictures of the kitchen, but no worries, the kitchen is just a kitchen. I never decorated it - because how do you really decorate an apartment kitchen without changing fixtures, etc. Our kitchen was separated from the dining room and living area by a partial wall (which as you can see, we stacked appliances on...hey, what did I say? NO STORAGE SPACE)

Packing Central

Living Room, Dining Room and a the kitchen entrance... (The metal tub 

on the floor was just temporarily there, it held cokes and beers)

Two tables set up for Thanksgiving - plus a desk that served as a buffet, ha!

It sure is tiny, but it's been a happy home. And, after several apartments falling through, we were so blessed to have this place work out.  Lots of wonderful memories here!