Monday, December 31, 2012

Guest Post!

Check out our guest post over at Over the Threshold where we talk about our move to Richmond.

Read below for a sneak peak!!

I love living in Richmond, Virginia. Yes, technically, Virginia is not a northern state, but to me, it is the northernmost place I’ve ever lived.  The weather, while it is mostly the same as my home state of North Carolina, seems to be colder.  I even have the option of “Emergency heating” on my thermostat.
My husband and I have lived in Richmond for one year. That’s just enough time to have decided we like it here. And that we’re staying for awhile. Previously, we were a military family; my husband having lived in New Orleans, New York and Rhode Island.  So how did we end up where we are now? 

For the rest of the post click here!

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Christmas with the Newells

This past weekend Trey and I went down to Raleigh to visit with the Newells and the Battersbys.

It was quite cold on Saturday. Very cold. Trey essentially had to drag me to go running with him. I had not brought appropriate cold weather running gear. It was very, very cold. Later that day, I met up with Sarah and went to go see The Nutcracker. The men had begun a boycott of The Nutcracker several years ago, probably while we were still in college, though truthfully, I'm not entirely sure. Trey refuses to go, and Brian just wants to listen to the music and not watch. Both are unacceptable.



After The Nutcracker we had plans to meet up with the hubbys at a local restaurant called Market . This is the second time we've attempted to eat here. The first time we went on a Sunday and of course, they are closed on a Sunday. This time, was a Saturday, and we knew from the previous time that they were open on Saturday. So, we drove there and yes, they are open! Just not to the public. Someone was having a wedding reception or some other nonsense there. So, our plan was thwarted again.

We went to Tir Na Nog. It was okay. Trey flung his wedding band at a group of girls who drunkenly thought that was his way of asking them to marry him. The pub was also having some sort of Santa Pub Crawl. I'm pretty sure we were the only ones not in costume.

We went out for pie at PieBirds to console ourselves. They had a chocolate cream pie that was delicious. Trey had some sort of Bananas in Pajamas pie, so we all sung the theme song to that horrendously-awful show. Which led to Lambchop's "This is the song that doesn't end."

On Sunday we did presents with the Newells. Hope gave me a book on death and obituaries that has been fabulous so far. We got a set of monogrammed towels (LFN) and a bird feeder that is hanging outside in the trees as we speak. I also got a vegetarian cookbook (The Accidental Vegetarian) and we've already made one dish from it that was yummy (see Recipes we LOVE for the recipe).

Oh, almost forgot. My FAVORITE thing about this weekend was that we got to see Tyndall (our niece). She has grown up so much and is so freakin' adorable. She held my hand the whole way to dinner on Friday night; it was the sweetest thing! She would take Trey's hand and pull him towards the piano where they would play duets together. And she has such a happy disposition! It was really a great weekend.

I can't believe Christmas is only four days away. This year has really flown by, especially these last several weeks. And tomorrow is the first day of winter. Uck.

Maybe it will snow this year!!

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Blog Revisions

So I've added some new pages onto the blog. Some are a way to keep track of things we do (for my sake) and then I've also added some things that interest us, such as books, travelling, and food. I'll try to update them as often as I can, and I'm sure Trey will add in his opinions, as well. For now, you can just click around see what we (hopefully) will write about in the future!

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

2013 Reading Challenges

This past year I've really gotten into blogging (not just writing, but reading as well). I subscribe to several blogs that cover a wide range of topics including cooking, book reviews, and anthropology. I didn't do any this year, but next year I've decided to take part in some reading challenges to help make my TBR ( to be read) list a lot smaller. Here are some of the ones I want to participate in and I've included the links in case any of you out there are interested!

1. Unputdownables' 2013 Read-a-long schedule


Reading schedule for 2013:

January: Persuasion by Jane Austen
February, March, April: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
May: The Hounds of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
June, July, August: Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell
September: Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë
October: Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
November, December: Zelda by Nancy Mitford
Cut down your TBR list!!
I almost completed Part 9, but am seriously behind on Part 10. But these are really fun! I get to read books off my TBR and get to try new books for the categories I don't have anything in. 
It's gonna be a great year for reading!!

Sunday, November 25, 2012

A few honeymoon pics

So, here are just a few pictures from our honeymoon. We ate at a lot of DELICIOUS restaurants and saw and did a lot of really interesting things. It was hot there. I was not prepared having come from Richmond's quite chilly fall weather. When (not if) we go back I definitely do NOT want to go back during the summer. I would probably melt. 
Down by River Street by the Waving Girl statue. 

Crawdads that we ate on at The Crab Shack (thanks, Amy!!)

Alligators. They are real even though they look like statues. 

I made Trey sit on the alligator replica. He only did it to amuse me as he clearly does not look thrilled to be sitting on it. 

Musket firing demonstration at Fort Pulaski. 

We ate here. My grandmother/mother's cooking tastes MUCH better (though I still thought it was good). 

At Colonial Park Cemetery. Trey is actually smiling a real smile in this picture. 

(Note: as a former PC user I am still learning how to use my Mac. So, I have not figured out how to rotate pictures, yet. If you are a Mac and know how to do this, please tell me)
Beautiful picture of Colonial Park Cemetery. 

Union soldiers camped out in the cemetery. They decided to desecrate the graves and destroyed and moved a lot of the headstones. To prevent further angering of the spirits, later cemetery preservers put the moved headstones on the back wall instead of putting them with the wrong graves. 

One of the historic district's squares. 

I thought all the houses in the historic district were absolutely beautiful. I love this green color. 

This places was MUCH better than Lady and Sons. 

Bonaventure Cemetery

Walking around Bonavenutre

Heehee

No open container laws in Savannah!!!

Gracie Watkins. One of the more famous graves of Bonaventure. 

Bonaventure Cemetery-so beautiful!

Haunted Forsyth Mansion near Forsyth Park. 

We had a great time! I would really like to go back here. 

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Thanksgithing

**Yes, I know this is not how you spell 'Thanksgiving.' This is how my little brother used to say it and I thought it was cutest thing in world. So, this is how the Frame family says 'Thanksgiving' now. **

This year is our first Thanksgiving as a married family. Unfortunately, we're not spending it together :( Trey had to work yesterday and has to work Black Friday and I have to work this weekend so we are spending the holiday with our respective families. I haven't been to Charlotte in over three months so it's nice to be back. Well, it's nice to be back at the house, Charlotte itself is a horrible mess of traffic, horrible drivers, and noise.

There are so many things that I'm thankful this year. I'm thankful that I have parents who will love me and support me in every aspect of my life. I have a brother who loves me unconditionally and who tells me so every day even if I have just fussed at him for something.

I am thankful for my husband who loves me despite my faults and can make me smile when I have had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

I am thankful that I have a job and can help provide for my husband and myself, especially when there are so many people who have no means of income.

I am thankful that I don't have to wonder where I am going to sleep or what I am going to eat. I am thankful that my parents are still with me and are able to take care of themselves.

I am so grateful to everyone who has loved me, supported me, befriended me, and stood by me throughout my life. I would not have been able to achieve the things I have and I would not have a wonderful life without any of you. Thank you!!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

PS-I got this at A Southern Season last weekend. I am wearing it to cook today and I am SOOOO excited!!


Monday, November 12, 2012

The Honeymooners

For our honeymoon, we settled on Savannah, Georgia. I vaguely remember going there as a kid and seeing all of the live oaks, Spanish moss, and large grassy plains. And so I figured what could be a more romantic spot than a place that resembles a wild African jungle?

We both had a blast and learned a lot about Savannah's history starting off from the first settlers landing there up to modern day. I think my favorite bit of history was the War of Jenkin's Ear which was fought between the Spanish Floridians and the then British Savannahians. Apparently what had happened is that a British sea captain named Jenkin was doing his thing out on the open sea and was headed home to Savannah, but then the killjoy Spaniards boarded his ship and told him to hand over his booty. Jenkin probably said something like, "Can you say that again in my good ear?" which the Spaniards saw as an opportunity for dark humor and lopped his ear off before absconding with the loot.

This went over with the British like passing gas in church. They gathered up as many men and guns as they could and proceeded to route the Spanish while yelling, "REMEMBER JENKIN'S EAR!"
And on that note our historical tour segued into a tour of the places and events featured in "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil," which seeing the actual places and the background of the more colorful characters just made you stop and think, "By God...These people were real and they were *(&!#@ crazy."

While in Savannah we toured the Mercer house, saw several Federal style buildings, and had the most fried food in our whole lives. I thought Paula Deen's restaurant was just ok. It was expensive food that's just a few steps up from the standard fare you could find at a K&W Cafeteria. However, her brother Bubba's restaurant was waaay better. We got oysters and po' boys there, and then trekked over to Tybee Island the following day to go to the crab shack where we had crawfish and crabcake sammiches. 
And so with our heads full of the newly discovered information and our stomachs full of fried low-country cooking we bid adieu to Savannah and drove back to Richmond.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Our Wedding

Aaaaand here it is! The wedding post!

We had an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day!

The day before we had the rehearsal, which went swimmingly though it was rather cold, and then went to dinner at the Tobacco Company Restaurant in downtown Richmond.  Dr. and Mrs. Newell treated us to a delicious dinner: crab soup, pork loin, and chocolate chip cheesecake!

After the rehearsal a few gals and I went to the local Cuban Restaurant for some salsa dancing.  It was a lot of fun! The space was small, but there was a really pretty balcony over the dance floor where there was more room, fresh air, seating, and we could still hear the music. Afterward, we went back to the B&B for a good night's rest.

The next morning we got our hair did by one of the lovely women who goes to the same gym I do.  She made us beautiful (and for a decent price, too!)

We then went to lunch. Yes, with our hairdos. No one much said anything except for one woman who asked how I had gotten my hair to twist that way.

Oh, and we stopped for Krispy Kreme donuts because, well, they're delicious.
They did not have any hot donuts.

We arrived back at the B&B and decorated. Lots of pink candles and bows everywhere! I had trusty helpers and we even conscripted Sarah's husband, Brian, into helping out!

Then, it was time to get ready!


I learned a lot about makeup. And I should've because I was probably wearing about a pound of stuff just on my eyes!

All the girls looked so pretty! I am very lucky to have had bridesmaids who consented to wearing halter top dresses in the freezing cold (note: at the time the dresses were picked out I didn't know it would get as cold as it did).

Then, it was my turn!!


It was about this time that I started getting a little nervous/excited.  I could look outside of the cottage we were in and I could see the groomsmen and Trey's sisters (who were taking pictures with him) walking around.  I was really ready to go and walk down the aisle.  

Eventually, we were able to leave the cottage and I took my Dad's arm and we walked down the aisle to Pachelbel's Canon in D. 

The wedding went smoothly. My uncle officiated and did an amazing job! We had a sand ceremony and brought the two sets of parents up onto the "altar" (really the front porch of the Inn) to participate. And then, we were married!!


It was really an amazing day.  I love being married and I love the man I married. I'm so glad he agreed to put up with be with me for the rest of our lives.

Here are a few pictures from the reception:









Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Grind My Teeth

Everybody has their pet peeves, but sometimes it's hard to understand why they're so irritating to us. And sometimes these mysterious pet peeves are so severe that they make us grind our teeth, stamp our feet, and punch walls while onlookers make a wide berth.
One day my loverly wife and I were riding in the car. Naturally I was singing all the hits of George Gershwin and Lara cranked the radio up to drown me out. That is, until a radio commercial for Schwarzchild Jeweler's came on. "...Dining al fresco!....Strappy SANDALS!" the lady intoned. "GAAAAH! I HATE this commercial!" Lara hollered. She then reached over and flicked the radio off and we drove on in silence until  I remembered the words to "It T'ain't Necessarily So."
On the ride back I switched over to Cole Porter and was singing "You're the Top" in my best Louis Armstrong voice and another Schwarzchild Jeweler's commercial came on, but this time a man was extolling the virtues of eating by "the rolling waves of the mighty James river!" Lara's reaction was the exact same, so I crooned "From this Moment On" to get her mind off the commercial. When we got home I just had to ask her why she hated those commercials.
"They're so STUPID and irritating! They come on all the time!"
Naturally, my response was to help her and the way I best determined was to desensitize her to these commercials. When I would pass by her, I would intone in a chipper, falsetto voice "STRAPPY SANDALS!" and in a baritone "the JAMES RIVER!"
She was not amused and sleeping arrangements were made for me on the couch. I decided to abandon the desensitizing therapy and just let the commercials run their course.
A few weeks went by and one commercial kept coming on over the radio that stuck in my craw.
"It means more, when it comes from Cowardin's," the singer crooned. And then a voice came on describing the story of how the jeweler's was founded, "The year was 1865 and Richmond was still burning..."
 It was jarring. Irritating. And most of all, I felt like driving my car into the mighty James river whenever it came on.
So far neither of us has found that panacea to cure us of these irrational pet peeves. Until then, we'll just have to continue singing, grinding our teeth, and gripping the steering wheel whenever we hear "STRAPPY SANDALS!" and "CO-WARDIN'S!"

A few thoughts

I need to write about the wedding and honeymoon. I will, I promise.

I had a few thoughts today while at the gym and at work. Most of them were about my husband and about being married.

Several people have asked me if I feel different. It's weird, because I DO feel different. Even though Trey and I have been together for several years and lived together for a bit, being married feels much more different than dating or even being engaged.

An engagement, while it would be painful, could be broken easily.  One hasn't signed any contracts or stood in front of their family and friends (and sometimes a judge) and proclaimed their love for someone else and promised to take care of them and be truthful to them for the remainder of their lives.

This may not appear to be a big thing, but when you stand up, in front of everyone, with your future spouse and tell him (or her) that you will love them, care for them, support them and stand by them, and when you exchange rings and say "I do" all of a sudden, the relationship changes. You are legally and spiritually bound to another person for the rest of your life.  It is a powerful feeling. It's a feeling I don't think you can experience until you're married to someone.

The day after we got married I told Trey that I was so happy that we were still acting like ourselves; that I was glad that nothing about us as individuals had changed. We are still Trey and Lara. Our personalities are still the same, we still disagree on what to watch on TV, and we still have weird nicknames for each other (and our dog). But the WE of us is what's different.

Anyway, I think that made more sense in my head than it might here.

Switching topics a little I wanted to talk about one of the reasons that I love Trey so much: he has always treated my brother with respect, compassion and love. Trey doesn't let John get away with anything or blow off something that John says or does. If John does or says something that is inappropriate, Trey will discuss with John why what he did or said is inappropriate. He doesn't give him a "bye" because he has a disability. And the awesome thing is, is that he does this with EVERYONE.

I have introduced Trey to several people who have physical and/or intellectual disabilities. He has never once (at least to my knowledge) felt awkward or uncomfortable.  A lot of times people (and sometimes friends) will refer to people with Down syndrome or other intellectual disabilities as 'they' separating people with disabilities from the general population. Trey does not do this. And you know else I love? I never EVER had to "educate" him on the PC terms, lingo, phrases, etc for being a part of my world.

It's almost as if we were supposed to be together :)



Sunday, October 21, 2012

Harley

A very big part of our life is our baby puppy, Harley. Now, Harley is not, in fact, a baby puppy. She just turned 4 years old this past August, leaving puppy-dom. However, she is the sweetest, happiest girl I have ever known.

Harley came to us in a roundabout way. While I was in grad school she wandered up to a friend's house. He let her in, wanting to give her some food and water, and she hopped up on the couch like she owned the house. Incidentally, I wasn't going to take her at first. I was living in a place that didn't allow dogs, but I decided around the end of the year to move out. The place I moved to allowed dogs, but I couldn't take Harley home for the holidays. A friend took care of her for me until we came back for spring semester. 

She was a really scared puppy for awhile. She hated cars and didn't like some people for the longest time. Whenever I would walk her I would have to carry her around the cars parked on the side of the road. Eventually, I would put her in the car once a day and we would either drive around aimlessly or go to the doggie park or go to a friend's house. After a week of this she grew to love the car and now when she hears the word 'car' she runs to the door and barks at us as if to say "Come on! Hurry up!" 

Harley loves cuddling with us. All we have to do is let her up on the couch or on the bed with us and she snuggles up to one of us (she loves laying on my stomach and on Trey's lap) and in a few minutes she's fast asleep. 

While we were gone in Savannah we kept talking about how much she would love walking around the squares and sitting with us as we ate outdoors at restaurants. We really missed her!


Here's a good picture of Harley last winter at our house in Norfolk, Va. Incidentally, as I'm writing this, she is wearing the same sweater!

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Hello!

So, since we got married we decided to start a blog about us, what we do, and about our travels!

We have a lot to write about our wedding and our honeymoon. We had an absolutely beautiful and fun wedding and a very fun honeymoon in Savannah! We returned home, today, to a beautiful fall in Richmond after being very warm in Savannah. We ate a lot of good Southern food and saw a lot of Savannah-such a beautiful city!

I think this first post will be an introduction of sorts.

I (Lara) currently work at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond, Virginia as a Medicolegal Death Investigator. I really love my job and think it's the most interesting field out there. I am an avid reader of various genres of literature to include classics, supernatural/paranormal fiction, and chick lit :) I love going to wineries and tasting different wines produced in Virginia-the Virginia wine industry is expanding so rapidly! It's exiting to be able to experience it.  I also love travelling, whether it's to the beach, on a cruise, or a hop across the pond.

I (Trey) stick it to the man on a daily basis. My hobbies are woodworking, woodcarving, playing guitar, drinking Chinese pu'er tea. I am currently attempting to figure out what it is I do best, whether I can do it in public or not, and if I could possibly do it for a living. Like Lara, I enjoy Virginia wines and hope that Meritage blends get the recognition they deserve.

So, that's us, in a nutshell. Hopefully, as we continue to develop this blog our family and friends can get to know us better!