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!!