Date Night with my Hubby

After a long and tiresome work week I was so glad to get to spend all of Saturday with my hubby.  We ended the night with a date night to our favorite restaurant in Atlanta; it’s called Two Urban Licks.  It was such a wonderful day and really helped melt the stress of my week away.  

Identity Crisis

The youth group I work with just wrapped up a 10 week series called Identity Crisis.  It was a great series that drilled into how we see ourselves, how we see others/others see us, and how God sees us. 

Recap:

• God defines who we are
• The Father chose us – The Son redeemed us – the Spirit secured us
• We are Saints/Priests vs. Celebrities
• We were DEAD
• Now we are Reconciled to God (Vertical) and to man (horizontal)
• We are new creations in Christ
• We identified with Christ through baptism
• We are imitators of God
• We are identified as the Church
• There are thieves that can steal our identity (Sin, the World, the Evil One)

I enjoyed the conversation we had in our discussion group throughout the series.  The best dialog we had was around judgment and how much we all struggle with loving others as fully as we should.  It was a common struggle for all of us to resist the urge to judge others or be annoyed when people make decisions we disagree with.  We ended the series with writing down ways that we define ourselves including input from our small group members.  Here are a few of our pictures from the final evening.  

Fall Tasting

We are in the process of making this a yearly tradition.  I think it takes at least 3 years in a row to make something a tradition and now we have two years under our belt.  Each mid-October we plan to have a fall tasting.  Kyle, Blair, and Chad round up a wide variety of fall brews and then we spend the afternoon trying them and ranking them based on 5 categories.  At the end of the day we always highlight the top 3-5 favorites and then the favorite from each category. 

This year the top 5 were:

• Red Harvest Stout – Guinness (Stout)
• Pumpkick - New Belgium (Ale)
• The Greater Pumpkin – Heavy Seas (Imperial Ale)
• Mecktoberfest – Olde Mecklenburg (Marzen)
• Oktoberfest – Stoudts (Marzen)

We ended the evening by ordering pizza, building a fort, and watching the Croods on our Apple TV.  It was such a fun afternoon/evening. 

Disclaimer: Drinking all afternoon may result in all your throw pillows and blankets ending up in a big pile and then subsequently constructed into a fort using dining table chairs in the middle of your living room.  It will be so much fun that you won’t care!

Pumpkin Carving

Fall is one of my favorite times a year.  This year we carved pumpkins with our friends Chad & Amanda.  Well Chad, Kyle, and I carved pumpkins while Amanda supervised.  We ended up with a Puking Pumpkin, R2D2, and a monogram pumpkin.  Quite the range but we had a lot of fun and it certainly made us feel more festive.

Montreal: Chihuly Exhibit

In 2004 the Atlanta Botanical Gardens hosted an exhibit by an incredibly talented glass artist named Dale Chihuly.  I have trouble putting into words how beautiful his work is.  It is colorful, ornate, whimsical, and delicate.  He draws a great deal of inspiration from water and nature so his pieces have beautiful movement to the lines even though the pieces are stationary.  The installation in the gardens included hundreds of pieces; several really large installations mimicked plants and natural habitats.  I was in awe.  Even after the exhibit left the gardens kept a few select pieces as permanent exhibit pieces.  I enjoy looking at them every time I go.  So imagine my delight when I saw that the fine arts museum that was just four blocks from our hotel in Montreal was showing a Chihuly exhibit. 

It had been a long day of walking but I couldn't miss a chance to see more of his work.  The exhibit was divided into 5 rooms showcasing various forms of his glass. 

The first was a room with a Persian ceiling.  It was a glass ceiling with hundreds of blown glass pieces being displayed through the clear glass ceilings with light shining through from above.  The juxtaposition of the colored class and the wood beams was really striking.  I would love to mimic the idea in a house one day although it won’t be nearly as magnificent without the Chihuly glass pieces.  It reminded me of a kaleidoscope.  As you moved around the room your view was constantly changing and each view was as beautiful as the one before. 

The second room was dedicated to large scale chandelier pieces.  I was excited to see one my favorites again, the green piece was previously displayed in Atlanta in one of the green houses.  The others were all new to me and really beautiful.  The white one reminded me of the lines that you see when you look at the neck of a swan. 

The third room felt like visiting an undersea reef.  It was a large oval shaped installation that allowed viewers to walk around all sides of it.  It also like the first room offered a different take on the piece from every angle but it was beautiful no matter where you stood in the room.  It felt like Cirque du Soleil meets Finding Nemo and I spent a lot of time walking slowly around the piece in the room, trying to appreciate each vantage point.

The other rooms included large boats filled with blown glass pieces, an electric forest, and a variety of vases.  It was a beautiful and fairly large exhibit.  I enjoyed getting see some of the pieces I loved when I first saw Chihuly and admire new pieces of work as well.  

Montreal: Croissants, Crepes, & Coffee – OH MY!

This post is dedicated just to the amazing breakfast food we consumed while in Montreal. 

Friday: Almond Chocolate Croissant & Latte
Saturday: Nutella Crepe & Iced Mocha
Sunday:  Ham, Cheese, & Egg Crepe

Montreal: Mount Parc du Royal, Notre Dame Cemetery, & Notre Dame Basilica

Sunday began with crepes.  I wish every Sunday began this way!  I kept it simple and had a Nutella crepe and it was divine. 

After our decadent breakfast we headed to Mount Parc du Royal.  It was quite the hike getting to the top which including LOTS of stairs and several breaks to admire the view and catch our breath.  One of my favorite moments during the walk was when we found a prayer tree.  It was so unexpected and I was really touched by it.  It is such a simple act to write a message on a piece of paper and hang it on a tree but it is such a powerful gesture to see the hopefulness of people putting their prayers out into the world and into God’s hands. 

Once we reached the top the view was breathtaking.   After taking in the view we walked around the rest of the park including the lake and several walking trails.  The park was a flurry of activity and it seemed like everyone was enjoying the beautiful weather with their loved ones.  Behind the park is the Notre Dame cemetery.  It is incredibly expansive and has some beautiful monuments.  I get a bit uncomfortable in cemeteries but this one was full of history and was quite beautiful in an eerie way.  We had expected the Notre Dame basilica to be in the cemetery and were disappointed when we realized we were wrong so we finished the afternoon back in old town (we took the train again) and visited the basilica.  It was well worth the trip.  It was so ornate and beautiful on the inside.  It smelled of wood and candles and had a beautiful glow from the rose glass windows in the ceiling.  The woodwork, stained glass, and paintings were incredibly detailed and meticulously maintained.  At the back of the church was an organ with over seven thousand pipes that only a master of the craft could play.  The tour was very interesting and gave a great history about the architect, the materials used, and the history of the basilica. 

We finished our last day at a wonderful restaurant and splurged and tried Iced Cider (a Canadian specialty).  Ice wine and ice cider are made by harvesting and fermenting the fruit at extremely low temperatures (-9 degrees Celsius or lower).  They are served chilled and are really delicious!

Montreal: Olympic Park, Observatory, & Botanical Gardens

We started the day with French breakfast pastries and lattes.  After walking over 8 miles the day before we decided to take their metro train system for day two.  It was very easy to use and very inexpensive for a weekend pass.  I’d highly recommend to anyone visiting Montreal.

We got off the train at the Olympic Park.  It is a very pretty area about 6 or 7 miles east of the downtown area.  We explored the planetarium and then decided to take the funicular to the top of the observatory to get a full view of Montreal.  It was a very easy ride up the funicular and the views were stunning.  At the top there is an observatory area with glass windows all around so you can view various parts of Montreal from each window. 

Our next stop was the botanical gardens.  Montreal has one of the world’s largest botanical gardens and was on my must see list.  Larissa didn't seem convinced at first but agreed to go, quickly after arriving the gardens won her over.  I love the Atlanta botanical gardens and this was the same concept on a much larger scale.  It was huge!  My favorites were the Japanese gardens and the Mosaiculture botanical sculptures.  It was also a reminder of how small the world is.  In Atlanta right now our gardens are hosting an exhibit called Imaginary Worlds with large botanical sculptures.  When we were walking around the gardens in Montreal I felt so many similarities between the two exhibits.  Then when we reached the Earth Goddess mosaiculture I knew that it had to be the same artists.  After a quick Google search I realized I was right.  The exhibit in Atlanta is the first major exhibition in the US by the International Mosaiculture of Montreal.  I really enjoyed strolling through the gardens and can’t wait to revisit the Atlanta gardens with a renewed respect for the art form of mosaiculture.

We ended the day by going to Sir Winston Churchill’s for happy hour and sampling several Canadian brews.  Then we enjoyed mussels for dinner at a lovely French restaurant.

Montreal: Old Town

My friend Larissa and I decided it was time that we finally take a girls trip together.  I am constantly living vicariously through her adventures as a flight attendant and so earlier this year we began daydreaming about our trip.  We were overwhelmed with ideas of places to go.  We ended up deciding that we wanted to go somewhere that neither of us had been before and based on recommendations from her coworkers we decided to head to Montreal. 

The weather was perfect, the leaves were changing colors and there was a chill in the air but the sun was still shining for most of our time there.  We got to wear sweaters, boots, and scarves but didn't need heavy jackets so it was perfect fall weather.  We arrived Friday afternoon and checked in a lovely hotel called Sofitel.  The service was impeccable and our room had my dream bathroom.  We set down our bags and decided to start our Montreal weekend by exploring old town. 

We walked through the downtown area and then down near the port to get to old town.  It’s more fun to me to explore a city on foot.  While walking a city you always discover places you didn't seek out because you have more time to look around.  It also forces you to get your bearings and helps you learn the layout of the city much faster.  From the windows of a bus, train, or taxi it all just goes by too quickly.  We ate at a wonderful pizza place and spent the afternoon exploring shops, buildings, and taking pictures.  We realized on the walk back exactly how far we’d gone and our feet decided it was time for a rest.  We took an afternoon nap and then went to a wonderful Italian restaurant suggested by the concierge.  I had a pasta dish with cream sauce, mushrooms, and prosciutto.  It was absolutely delicious!  We spent about two hours at dinner just enjoying the food, atmosphere, and conversation.  

Houston with my Bestie

As noted in my previous post about her baby shower, my best friend is pregnant!  I am overjoyed for them but I also know life is about to get really busy for them once their baby girl arrives in just a couple short months.  My work changed our PTO carryover policy so I had to plan for 5 extra days off work to get below the new carryover limit.  I knew right away another trip to Texas was in order and due to the extra days I got to make it a four day weekend instead of a three day weekend. 

One of the things I love most about our friendship is that we can have as much fun at home in our PJ’s (if not more) as we would during a night out on the town.  While I was there we ate lots of yummy tex-mex food, planned the nursery (paint color, layout, etc.), and just spent a lot of time relaxing and talking.  We are great about making time to talk on the phone but it was so nice to have so much time in person.  It made it easier to catch up on a lot the little or less obvious things that sometimes you forget to mention on the phone.  It was such a wonderful reminder that no matter what change may come in each of our lives that our friendship is something special to both of us and we’ll always find a way to make time for one another. 

I can’t believe that the next time I will see her she will have a beautiful baby girl.  I can’t wait to meet her!

Closet Edit

I found a great article with a 4 step process to editing your closet.  Living in a loft has helped cultivate my skills for regularly purging items to keep our space from getting cluttered.  We have really begun to master this with lots of the spaces in our house.  One place I have always struggled to keep streamlined and uncluttered is my closet.  I have emotional attachments to clothes based on where/when I wore them and I take pride in the deals I score so I often struggle to let go of clothes even after they are out of my rotation of items I actually wear regularly.  Over time I have gotten better at this but it’s still a more painful process for me then organizing other areas of the house. 

Step 1: Take it all out! This step was a true reminder of how much I had and how much potential I had to streamline.  It also made my house look like a disaster zone.  I’m thankful Kyle wasn’t home for this step because goodness gracious it was a mess.  I really should have taken a picture during this step but I was a bit overwhelmed by the mayhem that had become our bedroom and living room couch.  Step 1 involved categorizing into Keep, Donate, or Trash.  It also recommended that for special items with emotional significant that you fit them all into one box and store them so you don’t take up space in your closet but still have those sentimental items.  I took this advice and got a beautiful green box from the Container Store and put my bridesmaid dresses, rehearsal dinner dress, my veil, and my Georgette uniforms in it. 

Step 2: Put the keepers back!  Once you have decided what should stay then it suggests putting those items back in your closet organized by article type.  This was hard for me at first since previously I color coordinated my tops instead of grouping them by the type of shirt.  Once I went with the logic it started to make sense to me.  I much more frequently know what type of shirt I’d like to wear on a given day then what color.  On a chilly day I would want to wear a knit top and a blazer.  Within the article types I organized by color to satisfy my OCD tendencies and to make it easier to find certain pieces. 

NOTE: I got everything back in but was sad that I didn’t feel like I cut enough items to have a noticeable increase in the space in my closet.  I have gone back through quickly twice and pulled a couple more items to donate.  I hope to do this a few more times to further unclutter my closet and to make room for the purchased items from step 4.   

Step 3: Get inspired! This step was fun and helped me get through my backlog of fashion magazines that I hadn’t looked through yet.  It took me back to my middle and high school days clipping pictures out of magazines for a collage.  I cut out my favorite items that matched my personal style and a few pieces that pushed my boundaries to liven up my wardrobe.  I tend to stick to classic styles but like to try some of the trends each season although I try to get those items for a very reasonable price since they won’t be wardrobe staples that last multiple seasons. 

Step 4: Go shopping!  Let’s be honest, this is the most exciting step.  I made a list of 10 items I would love to add to my wardrobe.  I could have made a much longer list but I really do want to keep from cluttering my space and I don’t want to spend too much money on new items since I already have a closet full of keepers.  Another way I’m making this more fun is by hosting a clothing swap party, it’s a fun way to hang out with friends and shop for free.  Each person brings items they are no longer wearing or that don’t fit on hangers.  The evening begins by people viewing the items and trying them on while enjoying some libations and snacks.  Each person draws a number to see which order people will pick in.  Then people pick an item one at a time until the most coveted items are picked and then it opens up to a free for all for any of the remaining items.  It makes it more fun to donate items when you see them go to a new home where they will be enjoyed. 

Here are my 10 items for the fall and my progress in purchasing them:

• Black & White Knit Skirt – Catherine by DesigNation at Kohl’s – will go on sale on 9/27
•  Black & Brown Leather Boots
• Satchel Purse (color block design if possible) in Neutral Colors (black, grey, tan, cream)
• 3/4 Sleeve or Long Sleeve Maxi Dress
• Crew neck Sweater (s)
• Striped Blazer – purchased from Target Navy & Red Plaid for $30 – inspiration version was $118 from Banana Republic
• Oxford Button Up Shirt (s) – purchased 2 from Old Navy for $30 (one light blue and one red floral) – inspiration version was from J. Crew
• Brown Leather Jacket – purchased with a couple from Old Navy for $26 – inspiration version was $395 
• Decorative/Glam Sweatshirt – purchased from Target for $15 – inspiration version was from TopShop
• Skinny Jeans with Ankle Zipper – purchased from Gap for $35