Things To Watch

I am always looking for interesting things to watch on Netflix Watch Instantly, and love seeing other's recommendations. Here are some things I watched recently and loved. 

 

Page One: Inside the New York Times 

Both my parents work for newspapers, so they have a special place in my heart. This is a really interesting look inside the NYT during the decline in printed news. It also discusses the wiki-leaks scandal and the role of newspapers in publishing sensitive material. There is some pretty serious language in this (fair warning).

If A Tree Falls The Story Of The Earth Liberation Front 

This was an interesting look at the organization that has been classified as eco-terrorists. It was interesting to feel sympathy for people that caused millions of dollars of damage. Anyone who likes Whale Wars will like this documentary. I thought it was well done, but it does show some serious police violence (again fair warning). 

Inspector Lewis 

I absolutely love this show. It is a PBS Masterpiece program and the first few seasons are on Netflix. It is set in Oxford, which is one of my favorite cities in the whole world. It is much more reserved than most of the U.S crime shows, but I absolutely love it. The setting is just gorgeous. 

Have y'all found anything recently on Netflix that you really enjoyed? I would love to hear your recommendations. 

Lazy Friday

I am so relieved it is Friday. Asha made it through getting fixed yesterday with no problem. She was super groggy and sleepy all night. Usually she is up and ready to do at 8:00, but today she slept until 11:00. As I result, I slept till 11:00. Her surgery went well and she hasn't been licking her incision which is great. I did cry when I dropped her off, but was pretty much fine or the rest of the day. She looks so silly with her stomach shaved. She has so much fur that without it she looks half her size. 

 I am linking up with Lauren at The Little Things We Do for Fill In The Blank Friday. 

1.  My first memory is getting surgery on my thumb when I was three. I remember waking up from the anesthesia and being very confused about the giant bandage on my thumb. This is perhaps a very strange first memory, but it is still quite clear in my mind.  

2.  My first love was books. I know this question probably refers to men, but my love affair with reading is considerably longer than my love for my husband. Books have always been a sacred escape for me. Some of my favorite moments last year were the days when I would be the first employee at Barnes and Noble. Walking around the bookstore when it was still dark outside and seeing all the books. I think that there is something wonderful in the fact that no matter how life changes, the books stay the same. However, your reading of them changes as you move through life. That duplicity is awesome to me. 

3.  My very first favorite color was blue. I think I have always loved blue

4. The first time I really felt like a "grown-up" was when Lane and I had to fix the car soon after we got married. We were sitting in the repair office and I called him my husband. It was such a domestic task; getting the car fixed with my husband. 

5. The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is let Asha outside and feed her. She is my alarm clock. She gets up with Lane at 6:00 and then wakes me up at 8:00 for play time. I usually make tea and browse my news sites. 

6. The first CD (cassette tape, record, etc...) I ever bought was probably N'Sync or Backstreet Boys. 

7.  My first car was I drove my parents Toyota Previa for a few months, my first real car that was mine was a 2001 Volkswagon Jetta. I still drive it today.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Self Indulgent Picture Post

Yes this post is almost completely pictures of Lane and I from Saturday night. These pictures have been such a comfort to me in the last few days. It makes me want to do a whole other photo session before he deploys. 

  

I love my little family 

We didn't save any of our cake, so I made some paleo carrot cake muffins. We had a carrot cake for our wedding cake, and these were the closest I could get. 

To make the background I hung three strands of patio lights from nails at about 6.5 feet high. I used floral wire to secure the lights to the nails at each juncture. There were three babies over plus Asha. I didn't want the lights to come tumbling down. I already had the Mr. and Mrs signs from the wedding and simply printed out a quick "I Love Her" "I Love Him". This set up was really really easy and made for some adorable pictures. 

Wednesday Lovin

Happy First Wednesday of Fall! I am linking up with the lovely Jaime at This Kind of Love for What I Am Loving Wednesday. 

1. My wonderful husband. I have been lucky that communication has been good since he left. They are leaving for the field soon, so we will enter radio silence. I have been constantly looking through all the adorable pictures we got on Saturday night. I am so grateful to sweet friends for taking them for us. 

2. The incredible weather we had on Tuesday. It hit almost 70 with gorgeous blue skies and a light breeze. I had a wonderful day with my adorable puppy. We headed to Petco to get her nails trimmed and filed, which she was not so happy about. As a reward she got a few raw hides and we headed to the Starbucks patio to bask in the sun. Asha has always been so good at restaurants, but lately she has lost that ability. Luckily, her good behavior returned yesterday. 

3. I have already started working on my NTC goals. I'm not sure I've written them here, but I have a few things I want to accomplish while Lane is gone. 

1. Finish the bar stools. This means sanding and painting them. 

2. Work on kitchen decor. I have so many project ideas for the kitchen, and I haven't started any of them. 

3. Finish my writing desk. It just needs a few coats of paint. I haven't decided if I want to paint a design 

4. Watch the new season of Inspector Lewis

It feels good to get items crossed off my list. I have so many things I want to finish. and they might as well get done while I am bouncing around my empty house. 

4. I went running! It is a complete miracle, but I didn't die. I jogged 1.8 miles on Monday and another mile on Tuesday night. I was talked into running a 5k in three weeks. Another girl on my street is a new runner like me, and we plan on running together. We are going to run it slow and steady. 

My husband is going to kill me for letting her on the couch

5. I love my puppy Asha. In all honesty, I am terrified of her getting fixed on Thursday. I don't want to leave her in the crate at the vet. I hate the idea of leaving her at all. I teared up dropping her off to get her nails trimmed which took a grand total of five minutes. I don't think I am over protective. I have no problem with her playing rough at the dog park or when other dogs push her around. I am getting all choked up just thinking about her being scared and alone at the vet. This isn't a happy "What I Am Loving", but I have just been so consumed with how much I care about my little fur ball this week.

Happy Wednesday! 

First Year Gifts

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Thank you for all the love yesterday! I am so excited to continue to talk about our anniversary and how we celebrated. The traditional first year gift is paper. We decided that we would rather get one gift together rather than each buying each other something. We purchased an embosser from paper source with our new address in New York. 

VIA Paper Source

I really think this is the perfect choice for us. I love that we can continue to purchase new plates throughout our lives and keep a record of the places we have lived. It is not strictly paper, but I think it absolutely counts a paper-ish gift for our first anniversary. 

 

This is the style we chose. I like the larger single monogram in the middle. Our address barely fit, but we squeezed it in. 

I am so excited to use our embosser on all our Christmas cards this year. What did y'all do for your first anniversary gifts? I have seen so many cute ideas on blogs and of course Pinterest I am already thinking about our second anniversary which has the traditional gift of cotton. 

One Year

On September 24th 2011 I walked down a very long aisle wearing a very long veil and married my best friend. I can't believe it has been a whole year since that day. I know a year will feel like no time at all when we are old and gray, but for now it feels like we have already grown so much.  Here are some of the lessons I learned from the first year of marriage

Separate sinks is so very important. I don't have to deal with the post-shaving facial hair in the sink. He doesn't have to deal with the fact that I can't keep the toothpaste out of the sink basin. 

The little times become the best times. Lane comes home for an hour after PT and an hour for lunch. On the days I don't work I love being home for these little breaks. I still get so excited and get butterflies in my stomach when I hear the garage door opening. 

Merging finances is hard. 

It has been nine years since we first met and I am still crazy about him. Although I am thrilled for our first wedding anniversary, I am almost more excited to celebrate TEN years together next year. 

Lane is out on the west coast for training so we had a small get together Saturday night to celebrate one year of marriage. I set up a quasi photo booth and made some cute signs. I have so many awesome pictures from Saturday night that I will post later. I am a little sad that he isn't here, but I am grateful that we will have the holidays together this year. 

I hope everyone has a fantastic week

Friday Doubles

I just got back from a quick trip to dog park with my adorable puppy. Now I am happily cuddled up on the couch. I am going to be overly greedy and link-up with two different bloggers today; Friday letters and Fill in the Blank Friday. 

Dear Weather, Please stay exactly like this. I am loving the mid-50's days with cooler evenings and mornings. It has been crisp and just gorgeous. Hopefully the North Country will stay like this for another month. 

Pier 1

Dear Pier One, Why do your Halloween decorations have to be so cute? They have these adorable owls that I want desperately. Sadly, they are a little out of my decorating budget. I hope there are some left by the time their fall clearance rolls around. 

Dear Box Jumps, My hip flexers and calves hate you. Really really hate you. 

Dear Black Wool Pants, Thank you for fitting again. I know we haven't seen much of each other since high school, but that is all about to change. 

1.  Something I am very proud of is: This is a popular question recently. I am proud of my marriage and the fact that I finished my education before I got married. 

2.  My favorite thing about myself is: my ability to talk to anyone. 

3.  My favorite color for fall is: The color red of the leaves as they change. 

4. Something I've been learning lately is: Good things come to those who work their asses off for them. 

5. A book I am reading now/have read recently is: Rules of Civility by Amor Towles. 

6. My favorite Pandora Station is: Oh this is a tie between my Adele station and my Lord of the Rings station. One or the other is usually blasting while I clean or blog. 

7.  This weekend I will: Celebrate my first wedding anniversary a few days early, spend time with Lane before he leaves and relax. 

Happy Weekend to All! 

Anniversary Weekend

Last weekend we stopped by Thompson Park to enjoy our cider and doughnuts. The weather was gorgeous and our friend snapped a few pictures of Lane and I. I am so excited to get some new pictures of us together. Especially since Lane is leaving this weekend and our 1 year anniversary is Monday.

. I am bummed that he is missing our anniversary, but I am trying to look on the bright side. He will be here for Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. I know so many women that have had their husbands miss their children's births or multiple holidays. Our anniversary is not the biggest deal in the whole world. 

Speaking of pictures, I am been planning what kind of pictures I want to take before Lane leaves to mark our first year of marriage. Here are some of the ideas I have kicking around from Pinterest. 

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 I know I am going to use my gorgeous chalkboard to write something about one year. I am not sure if I am just going to do a big numeral 1 or write something too. I am really excited for these pictures and think that they will be something I hold onto for a long time. I love the idea of having one every year to look back on. I will definitely have to get Asha in at least one. 

Perspective

This link has been floating around Facebook, but in case any of y'all haven't seen it I wanted to share here. In 22 pictures it tells the love story of Danielle and Taylor and the sacrifices they have both made. Here are a few of the pictures from the Buzzfeed site. 

I have thought about being in this situation for as long as Lane has been in, or even planning on joining, the Army. I can't imagine the kid of sacrifice that Danielle has had to make to support Taylor through his recovery. She deserves a giant parade in her honor just like he does. 

The Chive, a website I look at occasionally and my husband loves, has been supporting Taylor and Danielle since his accident. They posted pictures last week of Taylor's homecoming back to Iowa. I love seeing all the people lining the street and celebrating Taylor's recovery. 

Y'all should definitely go take a look at these. I would like to think that I would be as supportive and steadfast as Danielle if I were put in this situation. 

Definition of Supportive 

If you want to read more about Taylor and his journey, here is his website. I am completely blown away by the photographs on all these sites. They display such perseverance and heart within all the pain and challenges. 

A Very Apple Themed Weekend

This was Lane's last weekend here before he leaves for training, and I wanted to make the most of it. Saturday we loaded up and headed to Mexico, NY to go apple picking. I have a strong attachment to Mexico because it is also where we picked up Asha. Our destination was Behling Orchards to pick crisp delicious apples. The place was packed when we got there, but they had tons of people directing traffic and giving directions. 

We picked Courtland, Macintosh, and Honey Crisp apples. The prices are really reasonable and we had a blast. You take a tractor out to the orchard and to get back too. The weather was perfection and I am so glad we didn't wait to go. Besides apples, Behling has honey, pumpkins and loads of crafts and fall activities. Any of my Fort Drum readers should definitely make a trip down there. 

Asha was very good and waited in the car (with the windows open) while we were picking apples. She got some apple when we got back as a treat.

Now I have a bowl of apples sitting pretty on my counter. 

On Sunday we did our normal get coffee and go to the commissary routine. Then we headed south of town to the Burville Cider Mill. This place has been around for a while and is famous for their cider and cider doughnuts. We got some cider and met some friends at Thompson Park to enjoy the gorgeous weather. 

Today is hot again (boo) but I am looking forward to the fall weather. I am already thinking about going to pick out pumpkins and decorating for Halloween.