Loving Lately

Podcasts. I never miss an episode of Young House Love Has A Podcast, Happier With Gretchen Rubin, Fountains of Carrots, and Messy Parenting. My favorites probably being the last two. I love Fountains of Carrots' book club episodes - The Blue Castle was such a charming story! And I feel like their episode discussing The Crown vs. Victoria was pretty much made just for me. Messy Parenting is hosted by a Catholic couple with ten children. They share SO much wisdom in every episode! Podcasts make cleaning bathrooms and doing dishes infinitely more enjoyable. 

Take Up And Read. It will come to an end once we have a baby in our room again, but I've actually established a pretty good habit of waking up before our kids for some quiet prayer time. Claire's hiking accident inspired me to make this a much bigger priority. Being quite pregnant helps too, because when my alarm goes off in the morning I usually have to use the bathroom very badly or I'm just so uncomfortable that I spring out of bed quickly. I have been absolutely loving the Take Up and Read Catholic bible journals, written by Elizabeth Foss and a whole team of wonderful ladies.

Well Read Mom. A lovely friend started a Well Read Mom's group at our parish this fall. It is such a fantastic program! I'm a decent reader (usually averaging two months a book) but it's so nice to have a book club dedicated to reading more high-brow literature than I would usually choose for myself. The first selection was Gilead and the second is O Pioneers! which is actually free to download via Kindle. I fit most of my reading in at the gym, although in the bath (with lavender epsom salts) is my very favorite and occasionally I can sneak a few pages in the late afternoons while my kids are happily occupied (always accompanied by some chai tea.)

Read Aloud Revival. Their themed monthly picture book lists are the best! At the beginning of each month, I sit down and request them all from the library (checking the comments too for even more ideas). Then we have quality picture books waiting for us when we visit each week, simple as that. They also have some great chapter book suggestions, but I've found more recommendations from Everyday Reading (her mom's blog is great too!), from browsing homeschooling curriculum, and from awesome friends like Rosie and Bethany.

Funny TV Shows. We watch a lot of sitcoms - The Good Place, Brooklyn Nine Nine, Last Man on Earth, The Middle, The Goldbergs, Fresh off the Boat, Black-ish, American Housewife, Speechless. That really does sound like a lot, but since we watch them all on Hulu without commercials, it's only about 3.5 hours of television a week. Laughing together is such a great way to end the day! We do make an exception for one drama, Madam Secretary. We enjoy it so much we even watch with commercials on the CBS website. Out of all of these, we would most recommend The Good Place. One of the main characters actually reminds us a lot of our pastor, which makes it even more humorous. The first season is on Netflix if you'd like to catch up!

British Period Pieces. Well, you can probably guess that I'm super, super excited for the second seasons of The Crown and Victoria this winter. Somehow I haven't gotten into Poldark though. I'm very intrigued by Outlander, especially since I've read several of the books, but I've heard it's almost as graphic as Game of Thrones. I'm really looking forward to seeing these four films, all being released this fall - Viceroy's House, Victoria and Abdul, Goodbye Christopher Robin, and Breathe - although I'm betting I'll have to wait for them to come out on video. 

Fall Reading & TV

Caitlin:

Today Will Be Different, Maria Semple. This is the second book set in Seattle by the author of Where'd You Go Bernadette. All the jokes about the Pacific Northwest are definitely a big part of why I enjoyed this book. Although the main character is not religious, a large portion of the plot settles around Seattle hosting World Youth Day. What's not to love?
To All The Boys I've Loved Before, Jenny Han. A cute high school romance recommended by Janssen from Everyday Reading. I started dating my husband in high school and this book made me fondly remember that time. I also read the equally enjoyable sequel, P.S. I Still Love You, and am eagerly awaiting the final book in the trilogy to be released this spring.
Belgravia, Julian Fellowes. Of course, I had to read the creator of Downton Abbey's latest novel. It takes place in London during the 1840s, when the mansions in the exclusive neighborhood of Belgravia are being built. The plot centers around old money - those moving into these homes - and new money - those who got rich building them. This novel is just as soapy as Fellowes' ITV miniseries, with just as tidy of a happy ending, but I certainly still enjoyed it.
The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah. This is a story set in World War II that's perhaps just as famous as All the Light We Cannot See and certainly recommended to anyone who loved Anthony Doerr's novel. Although the prose is nowhere near as beautiful, I found the story of The Nightingale grabbed me even more. I immediately loved the main characters and just had to know what happened to them, which is why I neglected as many responsibilities as I possibly could and finished this in twenty-four hours.   

Adam: 

The Boys in the Boat, Daniel James Brown. I finally got Adam to read this wonderful book, made even better because it's set in Seattle. It's about the very inspiring crew team at the University of Washington - you don't have to know anything about rowing to appreciate their story. He's not quite done with it yet because he spends most of his free time playing the piano, but will hopefully finish before it's due back at the library. It may have already been renewed three times...

Family Read Alouds: 

Gooseberry Park, Cynthia Rylant. The only book on this list that I didn't read at all because Adam read this aloud to the girls before bed each night while we were on our trip to Canada last summer. He says it's about a dog who saves a family of squirrels after a winter storm. It was actually one of his favorite chapter books from early elementary school.
The Milly Molly Mandy Storybook, Joyce Lankester Brisley. A charming collection of stories about a little girl's adventures in her early twentieth century, incredibly quaint English village. I'm so glad I found it on the Read Aloud Revival book list.
The Children of Noisy Village, Astrid Lindgren. By the author of Pippi Longstocking, this series centers around the hilarious adventures of six Swedish children - three families living on farms next door to each other. This was Claire and Maggie's favorite read of the fall.
Happy Times in Noisy Village, Astrid Lindgren. Well, actually, maybe this was! I think the children's escapades are even more hilarious in the second book of the series. There are several more books about the noisy village, but these are the only ones readily available in the United States.
Merry Christmas From Betsy, Carolyn Haywood. The four reprinted Betsy books were the first chapter books we read aloud to the girls last year. Carolyn Haywood wrote many more, a few of which are available through our library. This is a collection of Christmas stories taken from all of the books, perhaps the most memorable being the time Betsy's baby sister arrives on Christmas Eve and is thus given the name Star.
Saints For Girls, Susan Weaver. Maggie's godparents gave her this compilation of vintage saint biographies for Christmas. It doesn't really count as a chapter book, but we read about a different saint before bed each night until we settled on a longer read aloud. Spoiler alert: Charlotte's Web!

Television:

The Crown. I eagerly anticipated this show since I first learned of it. I think we watched three episodes in a row the night it came out! Adam agreed to watch it with me and enjoyed it much, much more than he expected. Our favorite episode was the one about Churchill's portrait, but there were so many moments we loved. The trip to Africa and the coronation were particularly beautiful. The only part we didn't buy was the end of Princess Margaret and Peter Townsend's engagement, which makes sense because that's not actually how it went down. I'm very excited that Matthew Goode will be playing her husband in the next season. And I loved reading Bishop Barron's take on the show.

Madam Secretary. We caught up on the first two seasons of this show on Netflix just in time for the third season premiere. Now we have to watch it a week at a time, with commercials. First world problems! We love the McCords' marriage and escaping into a world where all the world's diplomatic problems can be solved in forty-five minutes. It's the optimistic opposite of Veep, which we also love. We watched Designated Survivor over Christmas break - we didn't enjoy it nearly as much but we really, really want to know what happens.

The Good Place. Oh, man, this sitcom by Michael Schur, the creator of Parks & Rec and Brooklyn Nine Nine, is seriously the best. Ted Danson plays a celestial being who works as an architect and designed a new neighborhood in "the good place," where only the most worthy humans end up in the afterlife. Kristin Bell plays kind of a jerk who somehow got there by mistake. It's just so hilarious and well done - I really hope it gets renewed for a second season!
This is Us. I have been watching this one on my own while sewing and editing photos and such. It's definitely not Adam's type of show. Basically, it's like Parenthood except way better and with less talking over each other, but if you don't want to cry at the end of every episode, it's probably not the show for you. 
Bunheads. I'm glad I watched the Gilmore Girls revival on Netflix (definitely enjoyed Emily's story arc the most, then Lorelai's, then Rory's) but I'm mostly glad that it introduced me to Bunheads. It was created by the same writer, Amy Sherman-Palladino, and stars Kelly Bishop, who plays Emily, as well as many of the character actors from Gilmore Girls. Kirk returns as a fantastically pretentious barista. It's about a ballet studio in small-town southern California and sadly lasted just one season. You can find the episodes for free at Free Form, which is apparently ABC Family's edgy new name.
Speechless. This is a sitcom about a family with a child who has cerebral palsy. The actor playing him really does have cerebral palsy. It seems very true-to-life while also being very, very funny. Minnie Driver is particularly great as the mom fighting for her special needs child. We've also enjoyed American Housewife, another new ABC sitcom, although perhaps not quite as much.

Claire and Maggie have been obsessed with Clifford this fall, finally breaking their very, very long Daniel Tiger streak. On that note, though, I loved this interview with Mr. Rogers in which he tells Daniel's very surprising origin story.

Wee Britain

I really love that Claire's preschool is in our suburb's walk-able downtown area. Except for biweekly trips to Costco, I like to leave our car at the preschool, load the little girls into the double stroller, and walk to all of our errands. When we're popping into multiple stores, it's much easier than buckling two kids in and out of car seats. It's also the best way for me to seamlessly incorporate exercise into my day, like Adam riding his bike to work. Of course, it doesn't hurt that there's completely gorgeous fall foliage around every corner at the moment.

For our first couple years in Seattle, we lived in a two-bedroom apartment in this area. Now we live in a rental house closer to Adam's work and our church. I love living in our current location and I feel like we have the best of both worlds with being able to walk to all of our errands, since we're downtown three times a week for preschool. Within walking distance of the school there's...

- the library, the post office, and the bank
- Trader Joe's, the regular grocery store, and the drug store
- a park and two indoor playgrounds
- a thrift store, a craft store, and a toy store
- lots of other fun stores like Half Price Books, Ross, and World Market
- the outdoor mall where music class is along with the Gap, Macy's, etc. and a covered play area
- a plethora of bakeries and coffee shops should we feel like indulging (although we really shouldn't!)

Across the street from Trader Joe's is this block I've affectionately named "Wee Britain" after a hilarious Arrested Development episode. There's the Three Lions Pub, where you can enjoy a pint while watching soccer, rugby, or cricket to your heart's content. The British Pantry is the place for all your tea needs (bags, biscuits, towels, cups, pots, you name it) as well as British candy and foodstuffs. Lastly, there is Neville's Restaurant, your spot for a plate of shepherd's pie or fish and chips. Walking by just makes me happy!

P.S. Another quirky favorite in town is The Root Beer Store, where you'll find over a hundred brands of root beer and specialty sodas.

Summer Reading + Fall TV

Caitlin:

All The Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr. A poetic, engaging book that lives up to all the hype. I feel like I need to read it again to really appreciate every beautiful sentence. I loved listening to the Fountain of Carrots podcast episode on the book and reading Bishop Barron's review. I tried to read his memoir, Four Seasons in Rome, next but only got halfway through before it was due back at the library.
The Secret Keeper, Kate Morton. My very first Kate Morton novel, set in WWII era London, although it also jumps around to the 1960s and the present day. I stayed up until midnight to finish and totally did not see the twist coming at the end. From what I've heard, most fans agree that this is her best work yet. I think I'll have to read more to find out!
The Knock Off, Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza. When Modern Mrs. Darcy published her summer reading guide, I immediately went to Overdrive to place everything on hold. The Knock Off was available right away. It's about an editor fighting to keep her magazine from being turned into an app. If you loved The Devil Wears Prada, this will be right up your alley. Except this time the older and wiser editor is the good guy in the story.
Eight Hundred Grapes, Laura Dave. This was the next novel that came available from Modern Mrs. Darcy's guide. It's a love story set on a winery in Napa Valley. I didn't enjoy this nearly as much as The Knock Off, but it was still a pleasant read overall. I read it while sitting in the back of the van with Betsy while driving to my parents' house and it certainly wasn't a bad way to pass the time.
The Cuckoo's Calling, Robert Galbraith. These mysteries are actually written by J.K. Rowling. They center around a London private detective, Comoran Strike, and his assistant, Robin. The first in the series is about a supermodel's suicide. Or perhaps murder? I'm not really a murder mystery person, but I was intrigued because of J.K. Rowling and figured it's good to branch out sometimes. 
The Silkworm, Robert Galbraith. The second mystery in the Comoran Strike series is about the publishing industry and the unusual murder of an eccentric author. It was considerably more gruesome than the previous mystery. I started the third in the series, but it was about a serial killer and even more gruesome. Way too much for me! I stopped after the first chapter.
The Collapse of Parenting, Leonard Sax. I heard many, many good things about this book. I don't think a title in the parenting genre has generated so much hype since Bringing Up Bebe. Honestly, I didn't quite see what the big fuss was all about. He makes a lot of great common sense points, but nothing ground breaking. Maybe that's the whole point? With all of my children under five, I'm probably just not the target demographic.
Better than Before, Gretchen Rubin. I love Gretchen's Happier podcast and listen without fail every week, but when this book came out last year, I just couldn't get into it and slogged through the first half. I'm not sure why because I really enjoyed The Happiness Project and Happier At Home. I didn't have data on our trip to Canada and it was the only book already downloaded onto my phone, so I picked it up again while nursing Betsy. I guess I was in the right frame of mind to appreciate it this time, because I quickly flew through the second half of the book. Weird.

Adam: 

America's War for the Greater Middle East, Andrew Bacevich.

The Knowledge: How to Rebuild Society in the Aftermath of a Cataclysm, Lewis Dartnell.  

All I know is that Adam found both of these non-fiction titles fascinating and constantly peppered me with interesting facts while reading them. He spends a lot his down time playing piano, while I spend a lot of my down time feeding a baby, hence the large disparity between us reading-wise this year.

Together: 

The Awakening of Miss Prim, Natalia Sanmartin Fenollera. This novel was originally published in Spanish, but takes place in a tiny French village. It's part love story, part conversion story, and part treatise on the Benedict Option. So many beautiful passages on marriage and the Catholic faith! We'd both highly recommend it. It's the next Fountain of Carrots book club pick - I can't wait to hear Haley and Christy's insights.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts 1 & 2, J.K. Rowling and Jack Thorne. Of course this wasn't as great the original stories, but we found it really fun to slip in the wizarding world again. Since it's a play, we read it aloud together, which is probably a large part of why we enjoyed it as much as we did. We'd definitely love to see the play if it ever comes to Seattle. (I've heard rumors that Hamilton is coming in 2017!)

  

Read Alouds: 

Beezus and Ramona, Beverly Cleary. I read this to the girls while driving to my parents' for Memorial Day weekend. We'd already read the first two books about Ramona, which take place during her kindergarten and first grade years. We went back in time to read this one, which is told from Beezus' point of view when Ramona is in preschool. The next book in the series is about heavier stuff, like her dad getting laid off, so we'll come back to Ramona in a few years.

A Bear Called Paddington, Michael Bond. I read this one aloud while driving to my parents' for the July 4th weekend. Adam and I both missed out on reading Paddington growing up, so we enjoyed the escapades of this little marmalade-loving bear from darkest Peru just as much as our girls did.

Adam read "Gooseberry Park" to the girls before bed each night on our Canada trip. They were sharing a bed for the first time and reading aloud really helped settle them down. He hasn't quite finished that one yet, but next on the docket will be "The Milly Molly Mandy Storybook."

Favorite Shows: 

Watching funny shows together at the end of the day just makes us happy. We look forward to new episodes of The Middle and The Goldbergs the most, followed by all the shows on Fox (Brooklyn Nine Nine, New Girl, Last Man on Earth) and then Black-ish and Fresh Off the Boat. Jane The Virgin and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend aren't technically sitcoms (actually one's a telenovela and one's a musical) but they're both absolutely hilarious. This kinda feels like a lot, so I was surprised when I figured out it clocks in at under four hours, which is really just a little more than thirty minutes a day.

We watched the first episode of This is Us. We'll see if we, and by that I mean mostly Adam, stick with it. It's definitely in the Parenthood and Friday Night Lights vein. Adam's really just a comedy kinda guy when it comes to something he'll be tuning into once a week. Any other new shows we should check out?

We're also working our way through past seasons of Madam Secretary on Netflix. We're pretty obsessed. Like every other female in America, I'm really excited about the new Gilmore Girls movies and "The Crown" miniseries on Queen Elizabeth coming out in November.

Have you heard of A Place To Call Home? It's like Downton Abbey, except set in Australia after World War II and it's soooooooooo good. You can watch it through Acorn TV on Amazon. They're airing new episodes in Australia at the moment and I can't wait until the next season is available here. Be forewarned that it will make you look up airfare and fantasize about visiting Australia one day!

Treat Yo Self: Birthday Edition

Now that Adam's birthday is over, we can move on to talking about mine, which is almost exactly a month later. Of course, I have already done plenty of thinking about how I should spend my birthday money. I've narrowed it down to three options: 

Madeline Diaper Bag from Lily Jade

I would love a new diaper bag. I used a black Skip Hop bag for my first 2.5 years as a mother. The purse worked absolutely fine, but I'm just feeling kinda blah towards it at this point. Six months ago, I switched over to a faux leather tote that I impulsively purchased for $30. It's falling apart now and I haven't loved the completely open top, allowing for the girls to dig through my stuff constantly. The Madeline seems like the perfect diaper bag - zipper closure, plenty of space, real leather for durability, options for over-shoulder, cross-body, and backpack wear. Oh, and not bad to look at either! The downside is the $280 price tag. Ouch. 

Hunter Huntress Rain Boots

I've lived in Seattle for almost three years and somehow don't own a pair of rain boots. Needless to say, I often lament this fact. The problem is that I have calves on the, um, athletic side, so I need wide calf boots. Hunter sells them, but the $150 price tag is a quite steep. I'm confident in their quality and know they'd last for many years, but, whew, that's a lot to spend on shoes I would only wear a few times a month. Then again, I'm really not loving my current alternative of cold, wet feet. 

Marie in Candy Dots from Rey Swimwear 

I contemplated purchasing this swim suit for my birthday last year. Instead, I went with a cheaper tankini and skirted bottom combo. It's fine, but it doesn't have the coverage I'm really looking for up top. I love that you can have real bras added to the suits from Rey Swimwear, not to mention the fact that they're cut more modestly to begin with. Maybe since I still want it a year later I should take the $130 plunge? Although we don't have any big beach trips planned for this year, just the normal trips to the pool and the lake. We'll most likely take another beach vacation next year, so I could always postpone the purchase of a nicer swimsuit until then. 

A couple of other items that have caught my eye lately...

- Hardcover editions of the two Anne of Green Gables books missing from my collection. 

- The world's prettiest cake stand and mixing bowls. 

And, just in case, you're wondering, I would never say no to a Le Creuset dutch oven. 

Okay, guys, help a girl out. What would you do? 

Seven Quick Takes: Fall TV Edition

I love the changing leaves and Trader Joe's pumpkin palooza as much as the next girl, but the best part of fall? The return of all my favorite TV shows. Adam and I always end the day vegging on the couch with a show. Okay, and a prayer. But first, the shows:

 1. Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Andy Samberg's cop show has us laughing out loud more often than any other sitcom on the list.

2. The New Girl  

Still not sure why Nick and Jess broke up, but we're sticking around. 

3. The Middle 

We are huge Everybody Loves Raymond fans and Patricia Heaton is just as hilarious here. It's definitely the cleanest comedy on television.

4. Once Upon A Time 

We binge-watched this over the summer and it's the only drama we watch together. Should be interesting watching it in real time instead of on Netflix!

5. Parks & Rec

Super excited about the final season of our favorite, favorite show. Super sad we have to wait until January for it to return.

6. Parenthood

Okay, Adam won't watch this with me. His biggest complaint is that everyone's always talking over each other. Maybe it hits to close to home, with his own family of five siblings? It's my go-to ironing show.

7. Downton Abbey 

 Another one Adam won't watch, but I'm convinced this will be the year he gets into it. I may perhaps have my ways of watching this along with the Brits....

Honorable mentions: The Mindy Project and Modern Family. I don't love them, but it's nice to have something on in the background while sewing, etc. 

Go see Jen for more (edifying) quick takes! 

Five Favorites: Board Books

1. Where's Spot? From about nine to fifteen months, Claire absolutely loved lift-the-flap books. This is a classic and taught her a bunch of animals sounds to boot.

2. Brown Bear, Brown Bear. This was the first book Claire begged us to read over and over again. She would literally cry when we reached the last page.

3. Goodnight, Gorilla. There's not a lot of text in this one, so you have to ad-lib most of the story, but the illustrations are just great and Claire's always found it hilarious.

4. Anything by Sandra Boynton. It's so hard to choose a favorite - Moo Baa La La La or the Going to Bed Book? Maybe Hippos Go Berserk or Barnyard Dance? You really can't go wrong with Sandra.

5. Magnificat bibles and prayer books. Before bed each night, we read a page from the Gospel or Bible for Little Ones and then say a couple prayers from one of their "my first prayers" books.

Bonus - pretty books! I'm always excited to find the Mini Masters series at the library. Each little story features a different artist's most famous works. In my opinion, the Cozy Classics series is far cuter than the Baby Lit books. I like the idea of distilling the story into twelve simple words more than attempting to apply it to colors or opposites. And the adorable needle felted illustrations certainly don't hurt!

I've spent a lot of time reading board books since Claire arrived and I've come across a few that I'd really rather avoid. Like books for older children that have been reprinted as a board book. Just putting it on cardboard isn't going to magically get a baby to sit through an Arthur story. Leslie Patricelli's Huggy Kissy is definitely in the running for the worst board book on the planet. I can't get with the baby talk. I'm also not a big fan of counting or alphabet books that just list completely random objects without any sort of story or rhyme. I'm looking at you, Olivia. 

Linking up with Hallie for Five Favorites! 

Recent Reads

I mentioned yesterday how much I love my Kindle. I've been spending lots of time on the couch, feeding a baby, these past few weeks and my Kindle has been getting lots of action. Since Maggie's arrived, I've read the following books:

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty 
Where'd you go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
The Time of my Life by Cecilia Ahern
The Little Way of Ruthie Leming by Rod Dreher
The Sinner's Guide to Natural Family Planning by Simcha Fisher
Pope Awesome and Other Stories by Cari Donaldson

As you can tell, I like "chick lit." My favorite out of this bunch was "Where'd you go, Bernadette" because it has a lot of hilarious observations about Seattle which I really related to.

I also really like memoirs, especially when they're written by bloggers I admire. My favorite out of this bunch was "The Little Way of Ruthie Leming" even though Adam's the one who reads Rod Dreher's blog. But you'll need tissues for this one!

I have a few books going at the moment. I just started "The Rosie Project." I somehow became in charge of picking the autumn read for mom's group at church and went with "The Temperament God Gave Your Kids." Adam and I are reading "Brideshead Revisited" out loud to each other before bed. And I'm still plugging away at "Saints for Catholic Moms" in hopes of finishing before the end of the year.

What have you been reading lately? My list is getting shorter and shorter but my middle of the night companion shows no signs of kicking the habit, so please share!

Favorite Cookbooks

These are my two favorite cookbooks:

They are very comprehensive and filled with simple recipes. I have tried many recipes from each and have yet to find one that we didn't enjoy. I am kind of the opposite of a pack rat and don't like keeping cookbooks around that I only use one or two recipes from.

Of course, also at the top of my list, are the Pioneer Woman's two cookbooks! Another recent favorite is The Cowgirl Chef, which combines my two loves - French cuisine and Tex Mex.

What is your go-to cookbook?

Four Years of Blogging

 I started this little journal four years ago, as a sophomore in college. I worked in the computer lab and discovered blogs as a way to put off doing my homework! I love that this corner of the internet has been there to document getting engaged, studying abroad, getting married, graduating from college, welcoming our first child, and moving to Seattle.


{image via}

I thought I would use this four-year blogiversary as an excuse to introduce myself. You already know the basics: I am married to my high school sweetheart. He's a software engineer and I stay home with our sweet baby girl. We're Catholic!

But, allow me to elaborate:

I am on a one-woman crusade to bring Chick-fil-A to Seattle.

My idea of a good time is a leisurely trip to Target or Trader Joe's.  

Ironing is my favorite chore because it's the only one that involves watching tv.

Being organized and schedule-oriented is crucial to my sanity. I have a slight obsession with 

storage containers and have been diagnosed as a Martha Stewart fiend.

I love sending and receiving real mail. Countless times, Adam has heard all about how sad I am that our children might grow up in a world where thank-you notes no longer exist. 

If I could win an imaginary sweepstakes, it would involve a trip to London with a chance to meet Sophie Kinsella and a Boden/Cath Kidston shopping spree. 

Besides my parents and siblings, I know there a few more folks out there reading this silly diary of mine. I would be forever grateful if you also introduced yourselves!

P.S. Maybe for year five I can convince Adam to do a vlog?

House Envy

Life is pretty darn good over here and I honestly have nothing at all to complain about, but I have found myself coming down with a serious case of house envy. You see, most of our high school friends are homeowners already thanks to the awesome Texas real estate prices. Most of our new friends here in Seattle also have an abode to call their own because they're a few years older than us and are therefore passed the saving up period we're in now. 

Housing prices here are crazy, so we'll be in that savings period for quite a while, although hopefully we can rent a home in the next couple years. Focusing on the blessings of not having a mortgage sounds like a better plan than just pouting about it, right? There are plenty of things I love about our 800 square feet, but today I'm feeling lots of gratitude for the fact that I can vacuum the entire place without moving the plug.

Oh, strategically-placed outlet in the hallway, I will miss you dearly one day.

Dishes Decisions

We didn't register for dishes or china when we got married. I didn't want to hastily decide such an expensive and long-lasting purchase at the ripe old age of twenty-one.

Over the summer, I thought I had reached a decision and wanted to started collecting Fiestaware. But, I have been second-guessing myself ever since it was publicly proclaimed.

I finally realized that I am way too indecisive about dishes to limit myself to just one pattern. When we stopped at the Pottery Barn outlet over Christmas break, we invested in twelve nice white dinner plates.

And I can layer those with all the fun, colorful side plates and bowls I love so much. Here are our everyday dishes:



Side plates from Cath Kidston and latte bowls from Anthropologie.

{Side Note: If you ever feel like ordering something from Cath Kidston, do it over the phone rather than online. My order was $25 cheaper than I expected it to be!}

I'd love to eventually collect lots of holiday-themed side plates. Just for the major holidays, of course. I don't want to go overboard and have special plates just for Memorial Day.



Right now, we have Christmas side plates from West Elm with more festive latte bowls.

Next on my list are these babies, to break out for family birthday celebrations.



Cute, right?

Friday Night Lights

{image via}

Over the past week, I devoured the final season of Friday Night Lights. Adam even got sucked in and joined me for the last few episodes.

I just can't express how much I love that show. Of course, I love the Texas-ness of it and all the little details that remind me of home, like how the characters are always touting drinks from Whataburger.

But, my absolute favorite part is Coach and Tami's marriage. So realistic and not at all like what's usual portrayed on tv.

It looks like I won't have to say goodbye forever, though, because a movie is in the works!

Shoe Lust

Natasha's cute post earlier today got me thinking. I am very, very, very boring when it comes to footwear. 99% of the time, I wear these three pairs.



Black flats, brown flats and gray converse. I buy a new pair of each every year when Famous Footwear is having a sale.

Of course, I do have a few more pairs that I break out occasionally. Sneakers, heels when it's absolutely necessary and a real ugly pair of winter weather shoesies.

Lately, I have been on the look out for a pair of colorful flats to wear with black dresses and such. I think my true love, Boden, has answered the call.



Yes, I know they are moccasins and not flats, but aren't they beautiful? And how often do you find shoes in turquoise and coral, my two favorite colors of all time?

Alas, they are still almost $60 and I am positive they would be vetoed by my cheap {and wise} husband. But maybe if I proclaim my undying love for them publicly he will come around?

Celebrities

Have you met anyone famous?

I met Jane Seymour {aka Dr. Quinn} at a benefit when I interned at the Houston Holocaust Museum. I got to shake Jon Bon Jovi's hand when I was in the marching band at Pitt and we played at Notre Dame.

Our friend Christina got to sit next to the First Lady at dinner during her graduation from West Point. It was a little weird seeing pictures of Mrs. Obama pop up on my Facebook newsfeed!

If I could share a meal with any celebrity, I would want to meet Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. I wouldn't mind if Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph joined us too.


Tina & Amy in Baby Mama.


Maya & Kristen in Bridesmaids.

Actually, to be honest, I would be way too nervous to have lunch with my favorite actresses. I'd really prefer to just watch them through one of those sneaky double-sided mirror things.

Do you think they'd be cracking jokes the whole time? Or would they just complain about their husbands like all American girlfriends?

Harry Potter

Halloween 1999. Allie and I are dressed as Hermione and Ginny.

On Saturday, Adam and I went on a little morning date. We grabbed chicken biscuits at Chick-fil-A and chatted about Harry Potter.

The first Harry Potter book came out when I was nine years old. My dad used to read them out loud to me and Allie every night before bed. It took forever to read them that way, but we loved it. We constantly discussed how Harry would save the day in the end.

As we grew older and the books grew longer, we started reading them ourselves. Of course, we would only buy one copy, so we always fought over who got to read it first!

Thirteen years later, the last installment of the Harry Potter movies came out. After breakfast, Adam and I went to see it. Did you know movies at AMC are only $5 before noon? It's a little weird going the movies at 10 a.m. but totally worth it.

We loved the movie and were sad to see it end. Do you hope J.K. Rowling writes more books? We certainly do. Adam hopes she writes a completely new series, but I hope she writes about the children of Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione.

Fiesta

We didn't register for china when we got married. Actually, we didn't even register for dishes. Our current dishes are a plain white set my deal-scoring mom found on clearance at Kohl's.

At twenty-one years old, I couldn't handle picking out the dishes we would have for the rest of our lives. Well, that might be a little bit of an overstatement. But, still, it was just too big of a decision.

Now, that I'm a year older and wiser, I think I've decided on our forever-or-at-least-a-very-long-time dishes.

I want to start collecting Fiestaware.



I looooove color. I'd love to have twelve place settings - two of each color of the rainbow. I know there are seven colors of the rainbow, but just go with it people.

Wouldn't it be so fun for kids to get to pick out what color plate they wanted for dinner each night? But maybe that would be too complicated and each kid would have to pick a color and stick with it.

It will take many, many birthdays and Christmases to amass my collection. But I'll get there one day!

Life Uniform

Work has been pretty slow today, so I've been amusing myself with polyvore. Have you ever tried it? You can make fun outfit collages. While I was playing around with the site, I started thinking about how I want to have a personal style that's comfortable, classic, and colorful. I put together little collages of what I'd like my "life uniform" to look like.

My winter uniform:

My summer uniform:

You will never see me wearing skinny jeans, pencil skirts, short shorts, or two-piece bathing suits. I'm all about figure-flattering and modest clothing. True fact: Unless I'm at the gym, I always wear a camisole underneath my t-shirt. I'm weird like that.

Although Adam has probably never once thought about personal style, he also tends to choose comfy, classic and colorful items. He wears mostly button-downs & jeans in the winter and polos & chino shorts in the summer. And gray converse. They're our favorites.

You will never see Adam wearing striped polos or v-neck shirts. Both make him look super skinny and he doesn't need any help in that department.

We mostly shop at Target and Land's End Canvas. Adam also has a few things from Old Navy, Gap & Threadless and I have a few things from Ann Taylor Loft, J. Crew & Anthropologie. If money was no option, all our clothes would be purchased from Boden. Their stuff is right my alley.

P.S. Today is my birthday! Thanks for having me twenty-two years ago, Mom and Dad!



Especially Mom, since she had to go through the whole labor thing. Love you guys!

Drama, Drama, Drama

Together, Adam and I are all about sitcoms. We're all over shows like Seinfeld and Arrested Development. But when I'm watching something on my own {usually while I'm ironing or working on a craft project} I love a good historical drama. Romance, cute accents, pretty costumes - what more could you want?

My favorite feature films:



Pride and Prejudice.



The Young Victoria.

My favorite miniseries:



North and South.



Emma.



Downton Abbey.



Upstairs, Downstairs.

I'm currently watching:



Lark Rise to Candleford.

I checked it out from the library because I didn't want to take over our Netflix Queue. I love our library. It's one of the things I will miss most about Pittsburgh when we move away one day.

I am loving Lark Rise so far. I am especially loving that there are four whole seasons of awesomeness!

P.S. Adam doesn't like to admit it, but he is a fan of historical dramas as well. The other day, I was ironing while watching an episode of Lark Rise. He was reading First Things online. He slowly migrated over to the couch and watched the rest of the episode with me!