Tag: Living

Monday Ponderings

Hmmm… just a collection of thoughts on this Monday afternoon.

On savoring life: 

As I mentioned in Friday’s post, I am really psyched about the future. However, I know that once my feet touch Californian soil my heart will ache for the life and friends I have now. So, Friday night my girlfriends and I went to Wichita for a bachelorette party for our friend Lisa. (She still has a month until her big day, but perhaps we can stretch the festivities out longer?)

Last week, we got together with a couple from our church and played board games and let our dogs chase each other for a couple of hours. Tomorrow, Doug has his last show (yes, this will be the last one) with I Heard A Lion (if you’re in the Wichita area please come to Rock Island Live for the show) which is very bittersweet as the band has meant a lot to us for over a year and a half now.

I’m keenly aware that sometimes the things I do will be “the last time” I do them as a resident in my town. While I try not to get bogged down in being too sentimental, I do like this way of thinking. I guess anyone could live like this every day, since we don’t know if we will even be gifted with a “tomorrow.”

So, for the blog, I think I’ll do a few retrospective posts on this house, our garden, and time with friends.

On decorating: 

I am beyond psyched to have another blank slate to decorate! We are getting rid of a significant amount of furniture in the next few weeks and will have to make do with bare bones until we figure out income sources in California. We might have to scrape by for a little while, but I eagerly await saving up for a new couch to complement (NOT match) our vintage gray couch, buying a bed frame, and maybe coming up with something new and different for our dining setup. I’m trying not to buy the cart before the horse, but we will be so close to an IKEA it’s hard not to lose myself in their catalog. Not to make it sound like all I’m excited about is shopping. I’m really looking forward to using our furniture, art, textiles, etc in new and interesting ways! The brown dining room curtains may make their appearance in the bedroom, the green vine curtains could be in the kitchen! Who knows, really, since I have no idea what my apartment will be like yet!

For the blog, Look for some hypothetical inspiration boards in this vein!

Once we settle on an apartment I’ll do a post about floor planning, making different pieces work in different rooms, AND my pallet installment will be getting a creative second life (it came to me in a stroke of inspiration!)

What kind of thoughts are occupying you lately? 

Maystagram

I took some awesome photos on our Canon this weekend but I need to find/make some time to edit them before I can put them up here.

You know what takes NO time to edit and upload? If you guessed a dump of May Instagram photos, you’re right. Let’s call it a “month in review.” Note: These are but a select few of my May instagram snaps. Let’s just say I’m addicted.

During the first half of the month, I hung out with Lisa a lot. (Did you know she just opened an Etsy shop?) I also spent time with Mosey, of course. He’s my constant companion :) I also got an unexpected present from my sister!

During the second half of the month, I got a haircut, we visited my uncle’s farm in Oklahoma, then slowed things down by playing my favorite video game Top Shop (like a Engrish version of Monopoly). Also, I finally got in some good reading, and some much-needed rest.

What have you been up to? I really am interested, you know! This ain’t a one-way conversation! 

Great Weekend!

Well, Friday I promised to come back and let you know if I did anything particularly interesting… Some of this is interesting and some isn’t but… here goes! Those who follow me on instagram have seen all of these photos… but now the whole story shall be revealed…

Friday, during the day I tried to clean my gunked-up coffeemaker with water and vinegar but I didn’t stick around to see the cycle through and somewhere between noon and 5:00 pm the whole thing got ruined. The carafe had boiled dry and I don’t know what else happened. Couldn’t tell anything was wrong from appearance though, so I poured water into it to flush any residual vinegar flavor, and the water just gushed out of the bottom of the machine and I had a major clean-up on my hands. The old machine (pictured above) got tossed in the trash and a new one was acquired at Target later that evening. We got a much cheaper one, less painful to replace in a few months, since the water here in town is so hard it’s very tough on appliances it’s silly to invest a good one. I found this out the hard way.

 

Friday night, Doug and I went to a special event in downtown Hutchinson where many of the shops were open until 9:00! (Note to big-city-dwellers. In small towns, stores being open past 6-ish is a BIG DEAL.) It was the perfect opportunity to experience some stores I’d never set foot into before! From hair salons to cowboy gear, there truly was a store for everyone. There is a cute cooking store called Apron Strings and an amazing retro toy store (which has toys from the 60s, 70s, 80s, and yes, 90s). It was cool to see some “new” old toys like Olympic Gymnast Barbie (so many hours spent trying to get that unitard back on). The toy store also had an amazing Lionel train collection in the back.

Saturday morning, I had a staff workshop then I scooted across town for a party the likes of which you only see online. Except I got to live it. My friend Kellory threw a garden party brunch for my other friend Lisa’s wedding shower. We had a full meal and the weather was perfect!

Saturday evening, to honor Cinco De Mayo, we had a meal at On The Border (yes, we drove an hour to get Mexican food even though there are Mexican restaurants here in town) and retired to Katie’s patio to get devoured by mosquitoes. I was pretty weary from being surrounded by people since 8 that morning, so it wasn’t long until I had to retreat home to the comfort of my bed and company of my pooch.

Sunday after church we swept and mopped the whole house, a terrible task I related to back in last Thursday’s post. It still smells fresh when we walk in and we know we’re healthier for it. So, win. Also, my friend Libby and I explored a half-million dollar house on the market here in town, pictured above. This house has four stories (this includes a finished basement) and semi-secret passageways. In another town it would go for a cool million, so anyone who wants a Victorian fairytale house for half the price, consider a transition to the small-town life. Except I don’t want to be the person who has to get all the heavy weight-lifting equipment out of the top floor.

Last but not least, since it got a pretty good reaction on Instagram, here’s a quick shot of me. I’ve gotten new glasses in the last month-ish. My hair is getting lighter because I stopped dying it like a year ago.  I guess I like seeing pictures of my favorite bloggers, so here’s one of me.
If, in fact, I am one of your favorite bloggers, all I have to say is “aww shucks.”

What did you do this weekend?