D.C., Days 2 & 3

We've been going, going, going for a solid 5 days now so I've barely had a chance to check my email, much less post. I have 386 unread items in my Google Reader queue and somewhere around 500 pictures to go through. Here are some of the pictures I've gone through so far.




I'll post today's list a little later tonight. And more pictures from days 4 & 5 soon.
xoxo

D.C., Day 1

Helloooo. Well, our first day in D.C. has been mostly travel. By the time we got to D.C. and got checked into the hotel, it was already mid-afternoon and we were starving. We found a place right down the street from our hotel and ate, and then it started raining! Awesome. We eventually made it to Target to get a few things we left at home (shampoo, hairspray, etc.) and now we're in the hotel, eating dinner. So, this isn't a very interesting post. I barely took any pictures today.

From the plane:

From our hotel window:
We're staying in Alexandria. That tall building is the George Washington Masonic National Memorial. I'm not sure what that means, exactly, but it's right outside our window. But take a closer look!

Zoomed in, from our hotel window:


If you look really hard, you can see the Washington Monument, too. Exciting stuff.

I'm not sure what tomorrow's plan is just yet. We're here for 7 days, so we're in no rush. We'll see what the weather does tomorrow. For now, I'm going to prop my feet up.
xoxo

In Pictures

Our weekend, in pictures.

We went to the Statesboro Farmer's Market. We bought freshly baked sourdough bread, homemade raspberry muscadine jam, homemade Gouda cheese, carrots, asparagus, onions, and some stone-ground grits.


Then we went to the Habitat Re-Store where I found this on vinyl for $1. We got it home and it's pretty scratched, but playable... mostly. Then we went to Metter to the "Another Bloomin' Festival."
We took an impromptu road trip to Alma to see the house Chris' Great Grandparents lived in. This is it.
Sunday we looked at this alot:

And did quite a bit of this:Be back with other exciting things in a bit!
xoxo

Weekend at the Beach

Chris and I went to St. Simons this weekend. Here are some pictures...

They're pretty much all dark. It was before a storm. The whole day was gray like that.

(Actually, I think Chris took this picture.)

I love these next two. It was crazy- you could see the reflection of the clouds perfectly in the water. One of those weird things.

This one was taken in the cemetery at Christ Church. Lots of pretty flowers to see. This one had fallen off a tree. I'm pretty sure there were bugs in it.

We took three pictures like this, I think. This wasn't the best of him (though it's perfectly nice) but it was the best of me... I win. Also? Wow. My hair looks super red in this picture. We look like a pair of ginger kids.
An obligatory shot of the lighthouse. You can't see from the picture, but there was a couple up there and I had to wait forever for them to walk around to the other side so they wouldn't be in the shot.
Then Chris started taking pictures of me. He's been working on his photo skills. Even though I don't ever really like pictures of myself, these are quite nice.
There was this crazy "sand weasel" thing (we made up the name) that scurried under the little pier right before this. That's why I'm looking over. There's another shot (that will probably never see the light of day) of me just as I saw it... my mouth is wide open in shock.

Not terribly crazy about this one.... it looks like I have "grandma arms."
This one isn't in focus exactly, but I still really like it. I think he was playing around with composition... and all the buttons....
And this is the casino. It isn't really a casino... it has nothing to do with gambling. This is where our wedding reception is going to be!
Just up the steps is this atrium. Isn't it gorgeous!?

I love the brick archways. I wish we were going to be using it at night, but it will be mid-afternoon. If you walk back out those steps, you can see the ocean and the pier right in front of you. I'm so excited about it. Chris is too... can't you see him skipping in the picture?Okay, that's all for now. Goodnight.

Guilty Pleasures

I know, I know! I've been MIA for a whole week! I've missed you blog-land. I've missed you more than you know.

I've had no time to blog, my dear friends, no time at all......

Okay, that's a lie. I've had plenty of time, I've just been doing other things. With Christmas peeking out from behind the corner at me, staring me down (almost accusingly) I should have been working on Christmas gifts like the insane, super-obsessed crafter that I am. Instead, I have been lost in the world of books. The teenage fangirl vampire book world, but still. Let me explain.

I have always been one of those people who just gets pop culture. I was an MTV kid right from the start. I even know that the very first video ever played on MTV was "Video Killed the Radio Star." I'm full of random trivia like that. I don't really miss much. As I get older, I'm slowly figuring out that kids have weird taste. I mean, really.... Hannah Montana? High School Musical? I don't really understand them, but I didn't miss them altogether.

Now, a couple of months ago, in a letter (yes, an actual letter, postmarked and everything), Callie asked me if I'd read the Twilight books. I didn't even know what she was talking about. I'd never even heard of them. A quick Googling revealed that they were apparently the "cool new thing." They even made a movie of the first book. I suppose Callie thought I would have read them since I'm so very obsessed with Buffy the Vampire Slayer... it being my very favorite TV show and all... and Twilight also being about teenage vampires. I guess most people don't get that my love for Buffy has alot more to do with the writing and the witty diologue than anything else.

Anyway, I was really only marginally curious about the whole Twilight thing. I dismissed it as silly vampire books for "tweens." I didn't know anybody who had read them. I mentioned it to Jessica, ex-roomie and Buffy comrade. She knew about as much as I did, that it was the "new thing" and that 14 year old girls were going crazy over it. But when she came to visit the night before my birthday and happened to have the first book in the back seat of her car after she'd read it that week, I decided to give the whole thing a try.


A week later, I've read all 2500+ pages of the four books and seen the movie with Jessica. Ha! If you know me well, you should know that it really doesn't take me long to get into something. So, what's the verdict you ask? Twilight is not the new Harry Potter. It's not the new Buffy. But it sure is fun. And what else can you really ask from a book? Just a little time away from real life.

Twilight is my newest guilty pleasure... even if it does mean that I have the same literary taste as a 14 year old girl.

Now, I'm off to pack for this year's round of Christmas hopscotch. First to Jasper with Chris' family, then to Tignall for mine, with lots of holiday baking in between. Mmmmm..... peppermint bark and homemade marshmallows. I can't wait.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like....

Well, you know.


After Thanksgiving, Chris and I drove to Jasper where his parents live to spend a few days. If you don't know, Jasper is in the foothills of the North Georgia mountains. It's beautiful up there and they even have four seasons! The leaves change colors and everything. Here in Statesboro we only have two: hot.... and Christmas.

We we went driving up through the mountains on Friday afternoon and we took these:
On Saturday night, we put up the Christmas tree... which was a big deal for me since this was the first time I'd helped Chris' family put up the tree.

Here's me with my family-to-be putting the ornaments on:

The finished tree:

A blurry-but-still-good picture of Chris and me in front of the tree:

All this holiday cheer must have rubbed off on me. Apartment 22B is now a Winter Wonderland.

Chris' mom made me this wreath for my door:

I got a doormat at Kmart for $2.99:

And then I got a tree. I've never wanted anything but a traditional green tree with clear lights, but something hit me tonight and I went for the white one. And I must say, I think it's beautiful.

Fluffing the branches is hard, mentally-demanding work:

Chris helped decorate:

Pretty, glittery ornaments:

We're very proud of our work:

A pretty glowing tree is so much fun to walk around the corner to. It makes me smile every time. The only thing missing is a star. I couldn't find one I liked enough at Wal-Mart or Kmart. I'll try Hobby Lobby tomorrow, but for now my tree is star-less, which I don't really mind all that much. It's my tree and I love it.

Happy Tuesday to all.

PS.... check back tomorrow for new crafting goodies!