things in excess

1. i totally promised myself i would finish this weeks, months, maybe years ago...and i will, one day. i'm literally t-minus 60 pages, and i can have some salander closure in this life. until then, i'll make this the excuse of my ongoing sunday beach mornings with phil. crime/mystery/romance/etc. literature is best read from the lounging position, on a folding chair, surrounded by sand and shells.

2. plantmania is what i would call it, if there is such a thing; i see them, want them, justify purchasing them, love them, replant them, trim them...talk to them...is this bad? i mean, plants are good for your immediate environment; they create cleaner airer, they're SO pretty, they let you nurture something, they give you second or even third chances (sometimes you have long weekends, they understand, they're patient like that). i think i'm justifying again.

3. phil and i have been eating tons and tons and tons of fruit. i mean, bananas, strawberries, tangerines, grapefruit, etc. you think this would be about the time we whip out the juicer, but no, it continues collecting dust on our counter. 

4. i just love this guy to bits. (side note: does it look like he's about to say "pull my finger? heh.." if so, that's inaccurate.  he was actually saying how excited he was about pizza. maybe that translated into "so i'll point at you, b/c i love you just like i love my pizza pies. you're both consistently awesome." that's my take.) 

it's about time, weekend

dinner on the porch with my sweet.

la jardin

my little garden brings me joy. i'm such an old lady.

all good things must come to an end

in the past few months i have been so anxious and excited to move out of our current apartment into our new, better, more spacious apartment; our new place is central to both of our offices, it's affordable, it has a killer porch, it's tucked away in a wooded area, it has multiple huge closets, vaulted ceilings, 3 bedrooms (a master, an office and a guest bedroom be so luxurious), and really almost everything i would want in a dwelling. our official move date is the 18th, and though i haven't packed a thing yet, nothing up to the past day or so has tapered my enthusiasm.

yesterday, however, i found myself getting sentimental and mopey about leaving. in reality, phil and i have spent two of our married years here (2 of 3). we've experienced a roller coaster of emotions and life events, and even though we always knew it was an impermanent fix, it's been home. soon we will be gathering up all of our things, and i'm pretty sure they'll fit our new place just fine, i know from experience that they'll never fit together quite the same.

here are my (very ordinary) favorites, right here, right now:

my only orchid (it's still alive!)

my tiny garden

the brushes

my sewing desk

a shim shame sheree of sewing and craft tools

the receipt from "the dress"

a bench in the bedroom

                    my favorite duvet cover

my grandmother and uncles

a flower soap drawing i made a few days ago

i tied these to balloons our first valentine's day

from a fun afternoon, these are taped to the outside of the bedroom door

phil's journals on our coffee table

a group of adorable coffee mugs i thrifted

i'll take anyone's unloved fruit (lemons, compliments of sam)

nodoz was crucial for our spice rack

we still have vhs tapes

a wind chime from the lew family trip to the obx

phil's bike

keyboard

this little keypad has gotten a pounding lately

cameras, cameras everywhere

one of our guitars

the light that's never worked

they play in the sun all afternoon, sort of

and sleep too

i wanted lights on the porch; phil spent 2 hours hot gluing them up for me

tripple the fun

when: last weekend (right?)
where: the torchia's!
details: my feelings on pizza and cute couples are "the more the merrier!" this night involved 3 pizzas, two adorable couples (ryan and ashley & kristin and kevin), wine, beer, some girl chat, an icecream run, and wall insulation (phil to the rescue)! it was the night that almost didn't happen (for me at least); in the midst of trying to get ready i burnt part of my hair off with a straightner, stepped in some(other dog's) doo, and took off from home without the three mounds of pizza dough (my item to bring). luckily, i got with the program. and, i really couldn't have asked for better food or better company. a lovely evening, for sure!

paula dean never fails

it could be all the butter, it could be the southern accent (and it's likely both), but i'm totally memorized by paula dean, as is phil; perhaps it's that she kind of reminds me of my grandmother, with some mrs. claus mixed in. i think my grandmother's thoughts and philosophy on life could be summed up pretty easily: 95% of life's problems can be solved with a baked good. the other 5% with diamonds. just one reason i love her.

after purchasing a ton of peaches at c&l farms, that went from ripe to super-ripe seemingly in minutes, a cobbler became necessary. this recipe was a complete winner, and because it was so simple, i'll likely use it a ton in the future. also, it stores well. i opted to have it for dessert, and breakfast the next morning. followed by tums and lots of water.