pink nostalgia

a lover's knot

Hey y'all,

So, I quit wearing my wedding ring when I moved out of the house last February.  That was the only ring I wore, so it felt weird to not have anything on my hands.  I didn't miss the wedding ring, I just missed something.

I wanted a new ring, a signature ring - something that I picked out myself, something that represented me.  Like Carrie's Carrie necklace in SATC.  Inexpensive, gold, grounding, and meaningless without creating nostalgia behind it.

I bought a medium-sized amethyst ring last spring and test-drove it for a week or so.  But it wasn't right.

I found this one in a magazine for $175 and almost justified it.  Then I found this one for $13 and clicked "add to cart" immediately.  In girl-math, that's 74% off and therefore almost free!

It's simple, dainty, classic.  And I love it.  In fact, it's inexplicable how much I love it. 

And then it hit me...

It's just like my very first ring.

My aunt BB gave me this ring when I was in elementary school.  It was my first diamond, and I wore it proudly for several years.  Around February, I briefly considered wearing it again, but alas it's way too small.

And now I've come full circle, pun intended.

thanksgiving, y'all!

I would've posted this two hours ago, but I was busy bellyaching on the couch.  : )

This was my first Thanksgiving to host.  I've been bopping around from excitement for three days!  J's family totally let me run with it and were helping at every step.  

For my first turkey ever (Babe, I'm buying my first turkey!), I used this brine (Babe, I'm brining my first turkey!) and this cooking method (Babe, I'm roasting my first turkey!).

J started to carve the turkey...

...and then carved his thumb instead.  Whoopsie!  But it all ended well, and no blood on the turkey!

And the turkey was amaaaaaaaazing.  Make this turkey.  Do it.

Plus I made cranberry-pomegranate sauce, creamy mashed potatoes, and cornbread stuffing with apples and sausage.  Ethen doesn't like potatoes, and he had two helpings of the mashed.  And J had thirds of the stuffing.  And I mean thiiiiiiiiirds.  : )

Who, ME??

And we had ham, sausage (three kinds), green beans, homemade-from-scratch mac 'n cheese, sauteed Brussels sprouts with bacon, corn on the cob , gravy, and crescent rolls.

AND that was AFTER we snacked on lil smokies, trash, and stuffed celery.  Oh yeah, and Alex made the tea.  

And Ethen ate toast.  ; )

Ughhhh, my belly hurts.

AAAAND we had dessert.  Pecan pie, lemon pie, and my now-famous cheesecake.

I loved making my own cranberry sauce and making a savory non-traditional stuffing.  I beamed over my turkey.  I teared up when J prayed before the meal (and again hours later when he quietly told me that this was his best Thanksgiving ever).  

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!!  : )

this is my kitchen: part 5

Part 5: The family kitchen.

This is my boyfriend's my new kitchen.

This is the kitchen of biscuit casserole, of impromtu slow dances, of cleaning up the entire kitchen as soon as dinner is done, of ice cream, of Alex hopping up on the counter and asking if he can help with whatever I'm making, of correcting homework at the bar, of brownies.

This is a kitchen of picky-eater challenges.  A simple, "That actually looks pretty good...I'd probably eat that," from Ethen merits a huge conquered grin from me.

In this kitchen, I'm a terrible cook.  I forget to set the timer for the pasta, I forget to defrost the green beans, I turn the oven to the wrong temperature, I burn the cheesecake.  Seriously?!  It's embarrassing.  It's like I keep getting distracted by someone stealing kisses...

BUT, the three boys think I make the best sweet tea on earth, so it all balances out.

This is the kitchen where trust is earned and courage is gained.  This is the kitchen where I'm not allowed to isolate myself by putting in my headphones, and the TV isn't turned up when pots and pans are banging around.  This is the kitchen where I sit on the counter after a hard day while Jason cooks me my favorite pasta.

This is the kitchen I will burn dinner in.  ; )

This is the kitchen I'll host my first Thanksgiving in.

This is the kitchen that makes my heart burn in the best way.

 

See the other kitchens here.

nachos.

During a regular Monday night dinner...

J (really milking it): Ohhhh yeahhhh.  Look at this bite.  This is the perfect nacho bite.  It doesn't get better than that!

me: The only thing that could make that bite better is a dab of sour cream...

[Everyone looks at Alex because he used up the rest of the sour cream before anyone else could get any.  J casually steals a tiny bit from Alex's plate.]

J (now reallllly milking it): OHHHHH YEAHHHHH.  Now THAT is really perfect.  You should take a picture.  I've never seen a better nacho bite!  

me (looking through the lens): That does look good.

J: Here, let Alex photobomb this nacho shot.

[Alex leans in, then Ethen photobombs Alex's photobomb.] 

J (finally taking his bite): Mmmmm hmmmm!

Ethen: We should have these more often.

: )

blog your heart

Stephanie has blogged her heart, and I'm joining in.

I usually like to blog my heart when my heart feels heavy, but I'm feeling pretty light these days.  Here we go, with minimal editing and zero filters.

I'm tired of talking about the divorce.  I'm tired of waiting for people to adjust and get over it.  Queue doom and gloom music - duhn duhn duhhhhhhn.  Last week, a friend told me she was sorry to hear about it.  I wanted to shout, "That was months ago!  Get on board!!"  It happened.  Parts of it sucked.  It's done.  Next.

That said, I've had two school acquaintences, and I mean we-were-in-the-same-fourth-grade-class and did-we-maybe-go-to-prom-with-the-same-group-of-friends? acquaintences who have messaged me on Facebook with encouraging "get it, girrrrl" divorce-related sentiments.  These made my day multiple times over.  From women I barely know!  I need to reply a second time; I don't feel like one thank you was enough.

Nevermind that the women I've prayed with haven't said one word to me.  Oh, and by the way, I'm still on your mailing list for your side-business...

Okay, really moving on.

I haven't been scrapbooking craving time by myself lately because I've been busy doing other things - painting, organizing (yay!), relaxing.  It feels kind of weird, like I feel like I should miss it more, like it's not right to be content in my life without all of these other hobbies going on.  I love it but I don't miss it yet.  I'm not really sure that makes sense as it's written.  Sorry.

Speaking of feeling light (I just reread the first paragraph), it feels weird!  I come home, and everything is picked up.  There are no dishes in the sink.  J has already unloaded the dishwasher.  The bed is made.  There are no shoes on the floor.  I don't trip over anything.  I don't have a vice around my gut that makes me want to retreat.

AND, I'm learning to talk.  I used to express complaints, hurt feelings, suggested solutions, etc., and then nothing happened.  Nothing changed.  So then I approached this relationship with NOT expressing, because you know, it won't change anything anyway.  But that's when I get into trouble.  And then I just tell J (and I'm working on it with a few other people, too) how I feel, and something changes.  It feels amazing to be loved like that.

And speaking of love, I'm in love multiple times over.  I could not have predicted where my life is right now, but it's really sparkling.

Selfies taken in San Antonio, and then George said something funny.  : )

You can read my other "hearts" here and here.  Interesting time capsules.

it's in the bag

I finally bit the bullet after three and a half years.

I bought a camera bag.

I had put off buying a camera bag because 1. they're pretty expensive, and I would always think, "If I'm going to pay that, I should just make it myself."  (But let's be honest, I was never going to make it myself.)  And 2. I'm very picky and have a hard time deciding on all-time favorite color schemes and fabrics.

I found MainStreetCamera on Etsy.  Their prices are really good, so I just dove in.  My initial request was answered within three hours!  Jenn and I had multiple conversations (I had in mind exactly what I wanted) about modifications and fabrics.  One of the fabrics I wanted was discontinued, and Jenn sent me two similar fabric pics within minutes.  And I sent Jenn exactly what I wanted, additional pockets, additional ruffles, and the fabric that should be on each piece of the bag and strap.  I mean, I was specific.  No wiggle room.  ; )  Although come to think of it, we never talked about thread color...

She was so accommodating, sent me a photo of the fabrics together, and gave her opinion on a few things we should change.  She even relisted ALL of the details in the custom order listing so I could double-check everything before I purchased it.

The turnaround time was less than a week, and it shipped exactly when she said it would.

And I MEAN!  The mix of grays and whites and creams with a pop of pink??  Love love.

happy silver

Every autumn for the past several years, my dad has gone on a big golf weekend to San Antonio with his golf guys (I was going to say "golf men," but that sounded funny for some reason.).

This year, his golf trip happened to fall on his 50th birthday, and he asked if Mom and I wanted to meet him down there for a celebration.

Of course, I said of course!

And he's so funny, because he said, "If you want to check your calendar and get back to me..."  And I said, "No checking needed!  I'm in!  Awesome idea!"  And at least 4 other times between the initial invite and the actual weekend, he asked if I would still be able to make it, if I like the idea, if the driving would be okay, etc.

Dude.  It's your 50th birthday.  I'm there.

We had a really amazing dinner at Morton's Steakhouse.  My lobster bisque was incredible and so rich that I'm ashamed to tell you that I didn't finish it.  But look, part of that was because I knew I had the braised beef short rib with jumbo sea scallops coming.  The scallops were the best I've ever eaten.  The surprise of the night was my horseradish mashed potatoes.  They had just enough kick to make you sit up straight but not enough to activate your sinuses.  

Oh, and the other surprise was that our waitress brought a lemon souffle for the birthday boy. 

We had so much fun just doing what we do, which is basically 1. eating, and 2. cutting up.

Whose great idea was this, anyway??

Happy birthday, George!!

the gristmill

On our way to San Antonio for George's birthday bonanza, Mom and I met up in Gruene for lunch at an all-time favorite of mine.

It was kind of fun to meet up in a new town, scanning the streets for her and trying not to spoil the fun by sending too many "where are you?" texts (Ha, the downside of meeting up in a new town is that neither one of us knew how to get back to the interstate when we left!).

It was Mom's first time at The Gristmill, so I was absolutely tickled pink that this was our view.

This is the other of the two places that I'll order onion rings as an appetizer.  You can't really blame me, right?

I ordered the only thing I've ever ordered from The Gristmill: the beef tenderloin salad.  Nomnomnom nomnomnomnom.  Mom ordered the Gruene country club sandwich.  My only regret was that I couldn't finish more of her remnants, but believe me, I tried.

One of the great things about Mom is you can convince her to order dessert (or not order it, depending on how determined you are to stick to your diet that day).

Yes, not one, but two.  Because there are two of us.  And sharing one dessert would be silly.

The pecan pie wasn't as good as last time.  : (

There were some fun and rowdy ladies sitting at the table behind me.  They remarked how huge the brownie was (Mom's) and claimed the leftovers when we were gone.  As we left the table, Mom cut up with them and said, "The dessert was really good!  It's all yours now!"  No judgement!

The good thing about stuffing my face five times over is that I wasn't really jazzed about our subsequent shopping trip.  Don't get me wrong, I was happy to be there.  But I learned: more money on pie = less money on clothes.  Right.  That's good girl-math for ya.

Shoes, on the other hand, are a different story...

sweet dreams...see ya there

Ahhhh, scrapbooking.  I've missed you so!

Please be introduced to my new favorite page of all-time.

About the photos:

When we were first dating, I sent Jason a phone photo of me snuggled up for a nap.  The next day, he sent me a phone photo of him snuggled up for a nap.  His photo is very dark - you can barely make out his face.  But it makes me smile every time.  I love that he "plays along" and replies with my same sweetness.

Now about the title:

We've had this snippet numerous times including texts and phone calls:

me: Sweet dreams.
J: See ya there.

Sometimes he says, "See ya in a minute," a sentiment he picked up from his Pappy.

And about the scrap stuff:

Sigh.  This page is so gorgeous.  It's such a romantic pallet.  I can't get enough of mixed grays right now.  Stephanie has inspired me to use doilles.  And I had been saving that lace ribbon for something special.

This page lives on my nightstand, so even when "see ya there" isn't the last thing I hear, it's still the last thing I read.

go pink or go home!

A snippet by way of introduction:

me: When do you want to paint the scrap room?
J: As soon as you pick a color.
me: ...This weekend?
J: Sure.

I mean, it's that easy.  : )

I was deciding between a great medium gray and a pink.  Then I bought a gray table to use as a scrap desk, plus I have Audrey on a gray background, plus I wanted pink, and this seemed like a good time to risk it.

I wanted a pink that was unmistakeable and unapologetic but with enough purple in it to not look like bubble gum or Pepto.

Here are the top two - Valspar Quartz Pink (left) and Valspar Simply Lavender (right).

And the winner is...

Simply Lavender (with a flat finish)!  Hey!  Go big or go home, right??

Jason and I cleared everything out of the room, then I taped and painted the bottom trim while he rolled and finished the top trim.  We arranged and rearranged (and rearranged and then one more time back over here) the furniture and hung everything on the walls.  In. One. Day.  [Ha, and with no bickering!]

It's funny - when you hang out in the room for a while, you don't really notice the pink anymore, especially in the daylight.  But then you leave and come back, and it's like, "Whoa!  This room is PINK!"

And look what I spied the first pink night:

Edited to add: Jason and I agreed when we visited the room at lunch today that it's very purple and not overwhelmingly pink at all.  We wondered if we had been wrong to make so many pink jokes.

the 31 list: #23 & 30

#23 dress up

I love dressing up, love having pretty pretty dresses that I'll only wear once.  (In fact, I still have one party dress in my closet that I've never worn plus another one that was shamefully underutilitzed...)

I tried on about two dozen dresses as potential black tie wedding attire.  This one was the one.  I felt sophisticated and feminine and confident.  And ha, I couldn't stop looking at myself in the mirror.  My dad would tell you that's a common occurrence.

 

#30 see something magical

When better to see something magical than at a wedding?

It was really cool to see the bride and groom smile and beam at each other.  It was a heartwarming-awww-they're-in-looooove kind of thing.  The decor was gorgeous.  The food was delicious.  And there was that glow, that static, that smittenness in the air.

And I had a magical time.  J and I danced ALL NIGHT.  I don't really dance when there are people around.  In my kitchen by myself - yes.  On a dance floor in front of a hottie you're trying to look cool for - no.  I've sat out and felt lame at many a school cafeteria, sorority function, and dance battle.

But J makes me confident and bold, so I danced.  All night.  He was pulling me onto the floor, and then I was pulling him onto the floor.  I made him laugh.  He sang to me.  And it was magical.

And it was magical that my feet didn't start to hurt until we left the reception (wearing brand new 3" heels!!).

Aaaaaaand, J's sister said I'm "such a good dancer!"  Whaaaa??  And she's intelligent with great vision!  Have I been wrong all of these years??

the 31 list: #31 do something crazy

I fell in love.  Really fast. 

Crazy.

goodbye, waco! i hardly knew you!

After living in Waco for 13 years, I'm moving on to smaller and better.  : )

I sometimes do feel like I hardly know Waco.  There are greasy spoons I've never tried, parts of town I won't venture through, and I still have to consciously think of how to get from downtown back to Bosque.

I'll roll through every once in a while for a few things: Eggs Benedict from Cafe Cappuccino, Spice, where I purchased this dresser and a new scrap table, and Pad Thai PLUS Pad Preow Wan from Bangkok Royale.

I thought it would be harder to leave my city.  But I don't crave the shops and restaurants like I thought I would.  I'm glad to be further from Baylor who jam-packs the city multiple times per year.  So that just leaves the people.  I already said goodbye to co-workers when I switched jobs.  Many of my friends fell away by way of not showing up throughout the divorce.  That was disappointing, but it makes it easier to walk away.

A few of my hard-core girls helped me send off the apartment, carpet-picnic style!

They will definitely be worth a few trips for.  Sigh.

The key has been turned in!

It's time for a new season!