Back in NY

I am relieved to be writing this from the Watertown Starbucks next to my favorite person. I made the drive back from Virginia Saturday morning, and arrived around 3:30 to our gorgeous new house. I am completely in love. The house is amazing and I can't wait to start all sorts of projects. We already made a run to Lowes so I can start priming tonight and painting tomorrow.

The summer weather did not quite follow me north. I have traded the 86 degree Atlanta for a 46 degree Watertown. However, the sun is shining and I have my gorgeous new place so I am happy.

As a substitute for Sunday Art, here is my all time favorite summer song. The Traveling Wilburys is made up of George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and Roy Orbison. They were a kind of super-group/collaboration and have some amazing songs. My favorite is Handle With Care. 


The beginning of every summer at the lake was marked with this song. We would start playing it at a specific point on the high way so that it was just ending as we pulled in. I really don't know what it was about this song, but from about the age of five I was obsessed.

Been beat up and battered round
Been sent up, and Ive been shot down
Youre the best thing that Ive ever found
Handle me with care
Reputations changeable
Situations tolerable
Baby, you're adorable
Handle me with care
(chorus)
Im so tired of being lonely
I still have some love to give
Wont you show me that you really care
(bridge)
Everybodys got somebody to lean on
Put your body next to mine, and dream on
Ive been fobbed off, and Ive been fooled
Ive been robbed and ridiculed
In day care centers and night schools
Handle me with care
Been stuck in airports, terrorized
Sent to meetings, hypnotized
Overexposed, commercialized
Handle me with care
(chorus)
(bridge)
Ive been uptight and made a mess
But I'll clean it up myself, I guess
Oh, the sweet smell of success
Handle me with care

Y'all should definitely check out more of their songs. I hope that summer has arrived for other parts of the country. As for me, I am just hoping it won't snow again. 

Summer Concerts

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I haven't used polyvore in years, but felt inspired to put together an outfit for summer concerts. Lane and I have tried to go to as many outdoor summer concerts as possible. I love tailgating before hand, hanging out with a huge group and just generally enjoying all that is summer. 

We have gone to Brad Paisley a few times and saw Toby Keith on September 11th 2010. The place was practically exploding with patriotism. I would absolutely wear something like the above outfit to a summer concert. Sometimes sandals can be risky if it rains, but I am assuming the weather will be perfect. We are going to see Blake Shelton in July, and I think this outfit would be adorable.

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Any fun summer concerts y'all are planning on attending? Happy Weekend! 

High Five Friday

Whew, this week has been a whirlwind of activity. I am linking up with Lauren at From My Grey Desk for High Five For Friday.

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1. My new Cobalt blue flats. I got them at a fantastic sale in Decatur. I tried them on earlier in the week but didn't buy them. I kept thinking about them so eventually went back and picked them up. I am actually thinking that I will wear them with my dress for the Squadron Ball. I am wearing a white dress I previously wore to Lane's Ring Figure, and think they will be a fun pop of color. 

2. I went through all my old formal dresses to bring with me back to Fort Drum. Some I will keep to wear later, and others I will just donate. It was so fun to travel down memory lane looking at these dresses. 

I look about twelve in this picture but that pink/black/white dress still fits. I wore this to our formal the night before high school graduation. It was a really fun night, and I thought this dress was the coolest thing ever. 

Oh man he was so cute in his high school uniform. 

3. Lane shot expert on his first try getting at least 36 out of 40 targets. They are about to start EIB so I am very very proud of him. 

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4. We yet again got dinner from the Whole Foods Salad bar last night. I am pretty sure I could happily eat their salad bar every day. 

5. I am grateful for the chance to see so many people that I love in the last week. However, I am so excited to get back to Lane tomorrow. 

Cute Baby Shower Gift

I will eventually get my blogging schedule back on track, but here we are again with a 10:00 post. Here is just a quick post with some adorable books that I LOVE for baby shower gifts. They are the Babylit series which adapt literature into baby books. I have given these to multiple friends, and they have all loved them. They are really sweet gifts for anyone who is a book lover and having a baby. Some of them are counting books and others focus on colors. I think they are adorable. Here  is the link for the Pride and Prejudice book on Amazon.

Has anyone seen these or given them as a baby shower gift? 

24 Hours of Blackout

I am still in Atlanta at my parent's house. Our router wasn't working yesterday morning, and I spent almost two hours trying to get it fixed. Bless my parent's hearts, but they are not the most internet savvy people in the world. It shocking because my mom is practically a professional blogger. (She has an online column for the newspaper). We finally have internet and I can reconnect to the world.

My Siblings

 My Whole Family (minus the husband) 

I have been driving my siblings around to their various activities and getting a sense of what the life of a soccer mom is like. Braving Atlanta rush hour traffic to take my brother to tennis is not something I want to do on a regular basis. I have had a great time with my family but am so excited to get back to my husband and NEW HOUSE! This is the first Wednesday I have missed Oh How Pinteresting since I started this blog. The lack of internet gave me more time to read and chat with my mom. I read a few books and relaxed around my beloved Decatur.

This weekend I attended a wedding and a funeral. The wedding was such a joyous occasion and celebrated two lives joining together to move forward as one. Sunday there was a funeral for a guy I grew up with. I haven't been to a funeral for someone my age, and it was devastating. He will never have the chance to get married and celebrate with his family. After the funeral, my family went out together and spent a few hours just hanging around and talking. I cherish moments like these. I am living so far away now, and will rarely have the chance to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon with my family.

Art For The New House

I am a huge believer in the importance of art in your house. I love collecting new pieces, especially from meaningful places and times. 

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I have already talked about the paintings of my dear family friend Walter Cumming. This painting is very similar to one that was given to us as a wedding present and depicts the swimming dock at my parent's lake house. This was also the site of our reception. I have such amazing memories of coming here as a child, and now of celebrating my marriage with family and friends. 

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I am obsessed with this print. Although my pronunciation of Atlanta or ATL is not nearly that southern, it is such a fun piece. I am definitely planning on adding this to our walls at some point this summer.

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I saw this print in an Atlanta shop this week and fell in love. I love the colors and it is gorgeous in person. Red bird Ink has such gorgeous work. I think this would be perfect for the bedroom or in a collection of wedding pictures.

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I have lofty aspirations of making something like this for our bedroom. I want to make one for each of the two poems read at our wedding. I think that I could manage the distressed look with sandpaper and a hand sander, but not sure about the frame around the outside. I love decorating with poems or sayings that are meaningful to you. Having the poems from our wedding would be such a lovely reminder of the joy and love we felt that day.

I am always on the lookout for great prints and art for our house. Pinterest is always helpful, but I will also just search random phrases on Etsy to see what comes up. I have also purchased gorgeous greetings cards and framed those as wall art. Places like Papyrus have amazing cards that work just as well framed on the wall. 

I would love to hear where others find art for their homes. I am always looking for new ideas, especially those that work while you're on a budget. 

Sunday Thoughts

I had the most amazing time celebrating a dear friend Rebecca's marriage yesterday. We drove up to Chattanooga and then just came back this evening. It was a beautiful and simple wedding which had gorgeous details. Since the wedding was early afternoon, she brought in a coffee and doughnut cart for guests. It was a unique approach that I haven't seen. I know food trucks are a growing trend with weddings, and I loved the coffee and doughnuts. They also had other finger foods and tea. We went out to dinner afterward and had amazing burgers at Urban Stack in Chattanooga.

Every wedding I attend makes me think about my own now. Hearing my friends say those same vows makes me overly emotional. Marriage is such a huge thing to promise someone, and I have such hope and joy for my friends. I can't help but reflect on my wedding and that inspired the poem for today. One of our readings was from Khalil Gibran's The Prophet. I love the sentiments in this poem. To me, it highlights the importance of the individual within marriage. Our other reading was Carry Your Heart With Me by e.e Cummings. That poem is my favorite, as evidenced by the name of my blog. These two readings have different ideas of love and marriage, but I think it is important to have a balance between the two in any relationships.

Love one another, but make not a bond of love:

Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.

Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.

Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf

Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,

Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music. 

Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.

For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.

And stand together yet not too near together:

For the pillars of the temple stand apart,

And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.

I tried to think of what piece of art best represented Rebecca. She and I met while studying abroad in Verona, Italy. She is a wonderful person, and perhaps one of the best representations of true Christianity I have ever met. She is so loving, forgiving and full of grace. I immediately thought about Michelangelo's Pieta in Rome. It depicts Mary cradling Jesus after the crucifixion. It is beautiful and also heartbreaking. 

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I was lucky enough to see this statue in person in Rome. It is even more breathtaking in person, and anyone who visits Rome should be sure to go to St. Peters to see it. 

Quickie Post

It is almost 11:00 and I just got home from a fantastic wedding in Chattanooga ( more on that tomorrow) but I saw this video and HAD to post it. 

This is Katy Perry performing at the U.S Naval Academy. She chose one lucky sailor to reenact this famous picture. 

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I love the crowd's reaction and think it was so nice that she went and did a show for them.

It's Friday and I'm in Love

It is time for High Five Friday with From My Grey Desk. Here are my favorite parts of this week. 

1. I read Tina Fey's Bossypants on the plane home yesterday. It was brilliant. I laughed so hard I got looks from other passengers around me. I then tried to suppress the laughter which resulted in shaking/ convulsing while tears streamed down my face. It is such a good book. I love her sections on Photoshop and her recounting of the Gov. Sarah Palin impression days. If you haven't read it, go run and get it immediately.

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2. My D.C trip was spectacular. I got to eat all my favorite things and see all my favorite people. It was so nice to pretend I had my old life for a few days. I went to visit my old office and they were so nice and happy to see me. It makes me feel good that I can maintain those connections even though I am now far away. I also got to visit the House and Senate Galleries to watch speeches and debate about amendments. The political science part of my was geeking out.

3. I had dinner and coffee with my dad last night while we waited for my sister to finish volleyball practice. We had two hours to just chat and remember old vacations and stories from my childhood.

4. Bad T.V time. My friend's DVR was stocked with the last few episodes of Revenge and Once Upon a Time. I got caught up on all the drama and deliciousness.

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5. The weather! Oh man it feels good to be warm. I got sunburned walking around Georgetown on Tuesday and it was the happiest I have ever been about being burned.

I hope everyone has had an equally enjoyable week. Today I am soaking up time with my family and heading to a Piedmont Park Arts Festival. 

Lessons From Real Simple Magazine

The only magazine to which I regularly subscribe is Real Simple. This month's issue is one of the best in a while. There was an incredible story about creativity by A.J Jacobs. One of the best lessons I took away from the article was fact that most of the bests artists were extremely prolific. Picasso created thousands of pieces of art, and some of them were not that great. The important thing is to keep trying, to keep expressing new ideas.

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I think that there is so much pressure to appear perfect. From our clothes to our houses everyone wants to look like a magazine shoot. When looking at models, we have to remember that they take a thousand pictures and can pick the best one for the magazine. So many houses on Pinterest have been styled and designed by professionals with unlimited budgets. I believe that we can create gorgeous houses without those budgets, but we have to be willing to take risks and try lots of designs. We have be willing to try something, see that it doesn't work but still try something else.

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I love Real Simple because they have articles like this. If you aren't a regular subscriber, I would highly recommend picking up this month's issue. There are great cleaning tips and the wonderful Jacob's story.

Pinterest Wednesday

Hello Wednesday. I am having a great time in Arlington and excited to head home to Atlanta tomorrow. Today I am linking up with Jamie at This Kind of Love for What I Am Loving Wednesday.

 I am Loving seeing my friends and enjoying all the aspects of D.C life I have been missing. I had Sweet Green for lunch and stopped at Red Mango for frozen yogurt.

I am Loving the warm weather down here. I wore a sundress today and it was glorious.

I am Loving the fact that I will see my family this weekend.

I am Loving the fact that we get the keys to our house on Thursday. I am so tired of temporary housing and can't wait to unpack.

I am Loving my husband for moving all of our stuff out of storage without me.

Link Up number two is with the always wonderful Michelle at The Vintage Apple for Oh, How Pinteresting. I hope y'all can handle more home decor posts.

Today I stopped into Anthropologie, Crate and Barrel, West Elm and just generally imagined that I had an infinite budget for decorating.

Pinterest- New House

I love this color palette. The lamp is such a great shape. I have become obsessed with frames with large white matting. Ikea has some cute and very cheap versions. 

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I love these West Elm kitchen towels. The patterns are so bright and cheerful. We have a red color scheme in our kitchen, so those red towels would be perfect. 

Pinterest- New House

I love this gold mirror and the hydrangeas. This room is so fresh and light. I love all the plants and think they add so much to the room. I am going to get some succulents and other easy to care for plants for the house.

Pinterest- New House

I love these Anthropologie hooks. They would be adorable in the front entryway. I want to get WELCOME  but am trying to find a cheaper version. 

Pinterest- New House

I still love the chalk board trend. Some people have done an entire wall in chalk board paint, but I think I want to do something smaller like this. It would be so fun to change the message for parties or just with the seasons. 

Pinterest- New House

Our bed is a dark wood with crisp white bedding. I love the look of this room, but the blue walls are probably out of the question. We can paint the house, but only if we want to repaint before we move out.

Pinterest- New House

 I love this gallery style wall, and it also has the larger matting that I love. I am in major nesting mode, and can't wait to get all my belongings out of boxes. 

I plan to unpack like crazy for a few weeks so we don't lose motivation. I am afraid if we put it off, stuff will just stay in boxes for years. We have to fight our inner pack rats and make sure we go through everything. 

I would love any tips about unpacking or setting up a house for the first time. 

Arlington Fun

I made it safe and sound to Arlington. The road trip was easy and relaxed. I got Lies That Chelsea Handler Told Me on audio book and it was perfection. Hilarious stories and a Venti Iced Chai were all I needed to cruise the six hours to Northern Virginia.

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 I got more and more excited as the thermometer started to rise. Y'all, 85 degrees has never felt so good in my life. After a few months in the frozen tundra, this warm weather is amazing. 

This warm weather has made me think about swim suit season. I have seen some adorable swim suits that other bloggers have posted, and am definitely inspired. I need to get a one-piece for those times I don't want to be showing too much skin. Events with Lane's unit for example. 

I love this one from Target. 

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Does anyone else feel like they need to cover up more when they are going to a work related pool/beach/lake event? 

Living Room Inspiration

We are only days away from getting the keys to our house. Although I am hundreds of miles away, I am constantly thinking about the upcoming decorating. The living room is one of the most important rooms in the house. This is where we will entertain as well as settle in for relaxing evenings at home. We have a big over sized white chair, and are getting a dark brown leather couch. Here are some of my ideas, all from my New House board on Pinterest.

Close approximation of the couch, and the chevron pillow is perfect. 

Over sized white chair.

I love how calm and peaceful this room is. I love the pops of color on the coffee table. 

I want to get some really fun pillows to tie the room together. The walls will be white, and I am not sure if we are going to get a rug or not. My plan right now is to pick one or two accent colors to use with the pillows and window treatments. I love the idea of navy blue or emerald green. 

I LOVE this pillow. I think this with a few navy patterned pillows would be beautiful. 

These are such fun patterns, and would bring in white and a bright color. We need to find a coffee table and figure out the window treatments. The basics are there, now we need to find the fun pieces to bring the room together. 

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. I think that y'all can expect lots and lots of house posts this week. I am thrilled to visit family and see a good friend get married, but the house will be on my mind. 

Sunday Art

Well hello Sunday. We are headed into Syracuse for lunch and Lane is starting his next tattoo. I am continuing on to D.C tonight, but wanted to do a quick post with some art that I have been loving this week. I have loved Monet's Haystacks for years. I used to go to Chicago and see them at the Art Institute.

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I think there is something wonderful about these paintings. Monet would paint the same subject in multiple lights and seasons. The same haystack looks remarkably different depending on the light. Although he is famous for the water lilies, I like the haystacks better. 

Hail and Farewell

I attended my first Hail and Farewell last night. It was held at a gorgeous lodge type building on post. Lots of guys from the squadron were there, and I got to meet some of the people Lane will be working with. All of the new guys were hailed, and the Colonel made a very funny speech about Lane and welcomed us to the unit. His wife gave me a yellow rose and the squadron pin. One tradition that I was NOT prepared for was the yellow garter. In Cavalry units, the wives are presented with a yellow garter. In fact, Lane had to put the garter on me while everyone cheered us on. We are all supposed to wear the garter to the squadron ball in June.

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High Five Friday

This week flew by, and I am linking up with Lauren at From My Grey Desk for High Five Friday.

1.  I am 99% sure I will be employed this summer. The Vice President of Academic Affairs loved me, and they all said how excited they are to bring me on as an Adjunct Professor. I may also work as an Academic Adviser   which would give me more steady hours. This is such a relief as I was terrified that I wouldn't meet my goal of being employed by May. I feel really proud of myself for how diligently and tenaciously I have searched for a job. 

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2. My workouts were awesome this week. I was having some knee issues earlier in the week, but I did squats yesterday and they were great. I should be dead lifting over 100 lbs in less than two weeks! 

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3. I made amazing ginger garlic shrimp on Wednesday night. Our little point and shoot camera is still not working, so no pictures. I made the sauce by simmering ginger, garlic, half a tomato, and olive oil for about 30 minutes. Turned it up to high, threw in the shrimp and cooked till done. Lane devoured it in less than five minutes and asked if there was more.

  

4. I read a TON this week. I went on a Philippa Gregory kick and finished The Lady of the Rivers plus a few others. I am reading The White Queen right now. I love her books because I can get my history fix, but still feel like I am just reading a novel. 

5. Lastly, I am so freaking excited to be going to two of my favorite places; D.C and Atlanta. I am going to see some of my favorite people and soak up the warm weather. 

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Tumblr Loving

Man I have just not been able to keep up with today. I woke up tired, and it hasn't improved. A really great yoga class and large latte haven't helped at all. One of my goals for this year is to do more yoga. It is a really great balance to the weight lifting I have been doing with Lane.

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There was another job fair on post today. There were a lot of the same employers as the one I attended last week, but some new opportunities as well. I made a few good connections, and pretty much cemented working at the local community college this summer. Ah, I can't believe I am going to be a teacher!

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Has anyone seen the Texts from Hillary Tumblr? I posted a picture of her a few days ago doing work in the back of a C-17. Clearly I wasn't the only one who thought that she looked like a boss. Here are some of my favorites: 

 

 

And in perhaps the greatest meeting of two memes ever...

 

Sadly, the founders of this tumblr have decided not to continue. Secretary Clinton actually met with them and  sent in her own contribution. They have decided to stop while they were ahead. I love finding clever tumblrs like this. Another funny one is Kate Middleton For The Win. ( I am clearly having a major Crush-On-Kate Week). I would love any other fun tumblrs y'all know about and think I should check out.

 Happy Thursday!