and 3 months later... i'm back

here's an update on my life this past three months. i'll make it quick because, let's face it, my blogging endurance is not at it's finest...


september: channeling julia child... boeuf bourguignon

october: halloween partaaaaaay

november: seattle and portland

december: the girls' visit & merry christmas

i'll talk to you soon :) i promise.

home again

we had a wonderful family vacation to seagrove beach. sb has been our go-to-destination for the past 15 years or so. it is such a wonderful area and the beaches are beautiful. all of the little beach towns are fairly close together, so it is really easy to town-hop for shopping, beaching, eating, etc. on our way down there, we heard the weekly forecast and it looked very very dim. rain. every day. for the next week. but somebody else had different plans in store for us... it rained ONE morning. that's it. the rest of the time was sweet, sweet sunshine.

on the one morning that it did rain, mom and i went out for a walk and got caught in the downpour on the way back. we finally got back to the condo and looked like we had entered the most intense wet t-shirt contest ever. we felt pretty hardcore.

highlights:

1. reading beachside. finished twilight and started the fountainhead. talk about opposites :) i've been telling myself i'll read the fountainhead for some time now. and despite the fact that i was semi-intimidated by it, so far i really like it. i'm about 250 pages in and going strong.

2. "the blue giraffe". a fabulous art and jewelry shop in neighboring watercolor, fl, which singlehandedly inspired me to PAINT PAINT PAINT!! by far my most favorite shop in that area. www.thebluegiraffeon30a.com if you're interested.

3. angelina's pizza. this little pizza place stole our hearts on our very first trip to seagrove. they make the best pizzas around, and have such a cozy atmosphere. nothing fancy, just good food. we ate there twice this time :) on our first night... and our last.

4. man vs ocean. on our last day, the ocean waves were especially sizable. nothing compared to hawaii or anything, but big enough to toss you around and knock the girls loose from the swimsuit top... at one point, our entire family was out there, trying to bodysurf the waves and/or just survive getting hit by one. SO MUCH FUN. and then... we spotted another family riding the waves nearby... a family of s t i n g r a y s. so we "calmly" made our way back to our safe, comfy towels and continued our sun-soaking regimen.

5. quote of the trip. "i had no idea i was so cool!" -dad

so here i am. back in memphis. happy to see my cat, zoe, but wishing i was still on the beach. one thing i have to comfort me is a LOT of reading choices that i collected today. of course i still have the fountainhead, which i plan on diving into after this post. at borders this afternoon, i bought 2 magazines, metropolis and vogue. architecture & design and fashion. fabulous!! i picked up the memphis flyer at lunch with the fam at the bagel company, and i have a new women's health that rachel so graciously housed for me while i was out of town. my goal is to stay motivated for a bikini body even though my beach vacations are over for this year. i am also going to make an effort to actually READ the magazines i get, instead of flipping through and only looking at the pictures. there's interesting stuff to be learned and i intend on doing so.

it is good to be home. there's something comforting about your own house, your own spaces, that even vacations can't compete with. yet without the existence of both, each would lose its meaning. i am so thankful for a wonderful family to share that vacation with, and a wonderful place to come home to.

another vacation!! so soon!!

so on friday, i'm leaving work early to head south with the fam... seagrove beach, here we come!! this has been our beach vacation spot for many years now, and we thought it was about time to revisit and reconnect. we'll be spending friday night in birmingham and then driving the rest of the way on saturday morning. we'll be there for ONE WHOLE WEEK!!! YAY!!!! here are just a few of the things i am looking forward to:

pool-side afternoons

shell gazing

walks along the beach

swimming in the gulf

the red bar

fried shrimp and hush puppies

springtime in memphis

springtime is here!! three things i want to do RIGHT AWAY:

one. go to the botanic gardens and feed the koi fish!

two. go to the "blossom - art of flowers" exhibit at the dixon gallery.

three. play another round of golf with my dad!

happy birthday weekend to me :)

it has been a fabulous day. the weather is un-freakin'-believable and i cannot believe that less than a week ago there was 6 inches of snow on the ground. i am sitting in our backyard blogging. on the deck, with the dog by my side. how incredibly lovely.

sean is taking me out for my birthday tonight (my bday isn't until sunday) to the tower room, which is at the top of this building:

yes, please! we tried to do this restaurant for valentine's but, as you can imagine, reservations filled up quickly.

earlier, sean's sister and her boyfriend came over for a couple of drinks. we sat out on our back deck with the dog, the cat, and some beer and had a grand ol' time. it truly feels like spring... and that makes me immensely happy :)

i love birthdays that flank the weekend, because then you really get several days to celebrate. tonight is our romantic "just the two of us" night, tomorrow is girl's night (i think mollie fontaine's is the plan), and sunday is family night (special dinner, cake and ice cream! yay!). I LOVE IT. maybe things will change as i get older, but i love birthdays and i loooove making them last as long as possible.

that's how i roll

i had the best day!! well, maybe not the best, but it was pretty damn good. lately i've not only been waking up early on the weekends, but i've actually wanted to do so. on days when i desperately need the sleep (i.e. post-2 am bedtime or after slightly too much vino) i can definitely  s l e e p  as long as necessary. but i find that i don't really WANT to do that anymore. if i can accomplish x y and z before, say, 1 pm then i feel victorious and unstoppable. 

so today went something like this:  i woke up at 8:30 or so and read a little, did some sudoku, feed zoe, and strategically contemplated when i should wake up sean. this is a delicate process. wake him too early and you could get the evil eye... but wake him too late and he will start the day feeling as though he's already behind. i've got a 2 out of 3 chance of screwing it up, but i've gotten good at reading his sleep "mood" and can fairly accurately predict the best time to interrupt his beauty sleep. 9:00 we made breakfast. and by we, i mean me. bagels and eggs scrambled with fat free ham and cheddar cheese. delicious. 10:00 field trip to starbucks with sean and paul, then back to the house to enjoy. 11:00 i did some emailing, facebooking, cleaning, and kitty cuddling before grabbing my grocery list and heading to superlo. 45 minutes and $77 dollars later, i'm at home and having a tumultuous inner dialogue about whether or not i'm going to go for a run. i beat myself and decided to go for it. 1:45 it was definitely cold outside today- was 37, but no sun and a slight wind made it much worse. it was torture for the beginning. i kept thinking "i should have worn a hat, or another shirt, or put some vaseline on my lips" but eventually i warmed up and really fell into a groove. 3.6 miles in 33:07. not record-breaking, i know, but i was proud of myself. 3:30 i spent the afternoon at my parent's house, where i read my new book (which after only 15 pages i ADORE- i'm sure this book will have a post all it's own in the near future) i was told there'd be cake, essays by sloane crosley, drank some wine, 5:00 gave my mom a facebook tutorial (yeah, my mom's on facebook!!), 6:00 had dinner, 7:00 dessert, and 7:45 watched some of the SAG awards.

now here's the highlight: the following conversation took place as my dad was preparing to make dinner. i was so amused by this that i had to write it down immediately. i will most likely tell this story every chance i get for the next week or so. hopefully i can just continuously meet new people so i can just keep on telling it.  

dad: "you'll never guess what i found at the store- i had to search everywhere..."

mom: "ooo-what!?"

dad: "thick spaghetti!"

mom: "eww, i don't like thick spaghetti"

dad: "well that's just too bad. that's how i roll."

and i'm spent.

happy birthday, mom

mom and dad, memphis botanical garden

possibilities!!

SO. in addition to whatever trip sean and i take this spring, there is a very real possibility that i may be going to california to see my family! yay! this is my mom's brother and his family.  they've lived in california my entire life, so we really don't see much of them. they have 4 kids, the youngest of which is still six years older than me. 

they live in palo alto, just outside of san francisco. i swear that palo alto is my perfect place. perfect weather, perfect scenery, PERFECT EVERYTHING. without being repulsively perfect. aside from trips into san fran to see my cousins and do tourist things, we usually spend lots of time in p.a. eating, visiting, looking at my aunt's artwork and walking around stanford university.

side note: stanford is MY university. i am a huge fan of anything they do, mostly because it is such a beautiful place. i wish wish wish i had gone there for college. but 1. they don't have an architecture program, and 2. i'm poor.

recently, my uncle and family built a house in carmel-by-the-sea, ca. we had been to their previous vacation home there, and around that time they were putting together plans for building a new one. i'm not sure if we would go down there or not - i guess it all depends on the amount of time we have. but i sure hope we do. it, too, is A-mazing.

side trips from carmel include:

monterey bay (fantastic aquarium with the cutest little sea otters EVER!!!

and big sur. quite possibly one of the most beautiful coasts in the U.S.

and after all of this build-up, i REALLY hope i can go. i think i have the vacation time, so it really depends on flight prices. yesterday, i found a rt ticket for $250. and that's not bad, but if i can get something better, i'm in for sure. 

i have done this trip countless times, and it's amazing how it never gets old. 

i'll send you a postcard :) hopefully.

Emilia Ceramics

sean and i are enjoying some much needed lounge time. i cannot remember the last time we've spent this much time just being with each other. it is completely wonderful. zoe is relaxing on the striped chair in our room, sean is busy downloading music and movies, and i've gotten a chance to catch up on some of the blogs and websites i love to browse. 

this brings me to tonight's topic of choice: 

emilia ceramics.

my cousin emily has started her own business, which completely revolves around her passion for art, travel, and culture. she very well may be the only person i know who has managed to actually turn her recreational interests and passions into a career. and i find it SO inspiring. i've included some of my favorite piece from various collections, but there are so many fabulous things on the site, you must visit it yourself.

www.emiliaceramics.com

Set of 4 Espresso mugs

Detail of Espresso Mug

Planter - Mexico

Tequila Set - Mexico