...moving day approaches...

We're moving out of B's condo... moving back in with the folks for a few months until we close on a new house.

We got married and now we're moving in with our parents. Things could be worse!!!!

I'm curious if this will spark some great car make-out sessions that were so popular before we all had places of our own (or a dorm room). It made going on long drives a necessity vs. a waste of gas.

Anyhoo...

Marriage & Government Shutdowns

B and I decided to get married.

So we did.

Had a big ol' wedding this June and got hitched. Got a reception hall, food, booze, music, and cake... Pretty cool that because he has fella parts and I have lady parts that the government, church, and majority of the world congratulate us and wish us the best in life and give us gifts and honk when we drive around in our "just married" car. Pretty shitty that the same can't be said for those in our community who want to celebrate their union and be supported by their community but have similar parts. Sad that the state feels the sway of the church when they should be separate. And sad that so many people can't just support their neighbors or at the very least allow their neighbors to enter into a committed relationship that is recognized by our lovely state and country.

Seriously. 

The only reason why I added "government shutdowns" to the title of this post is because we just started one and we don't know if our marriage is official yet... or if it will be once it starts again... or if this is one of those "necessary" offices/jobs/resources that will continue during the shutdown (even though interpreters and in-home care may not be).

We had the pleasure of being married in B's family church. It's Catholic, but is open and affirming (and apparently stealthy).

Anyhoo, hug your loved ones... and be nice to your neighbors.

Baking!

So last weekend, while we were snowed in, I made a point of trying to bake (I don't typically find myself in the kitchen). I was extremely proud of myself for pulling off coconut macaroons (although the fella cried the whole time) and pannekoeken!!!! (alright... apparently I made pannekoek (singular), but I call it pannekoeken (plural) b/c that's what I've called it all my life.)

Here is the naked pannekoek (put powdered sugar on them, folks!)...

And we actually ate it!!!


Like I mentioned, my fella cried over the coconut macaroons b/c he HATES coconut (wouldn't even try them, the poor dear). But they were good... I promise.

(coconut... yum!)

I'm leaving you with the happy cookie. The lone gingerbread man that made my evening (even when my fella came by and bit his head off while I was explaining that he was my favorite-faced cookie). :)

We'll miss you happy cookie!!!

Snow, cars, and commas!

Well.

We have ourselves a good old-fashioned winter here in the North. Lots of snow, to the point where you can't see around the snow that is piled on the street corners and every time you pull out of a parking lot or a cross-street you're saying a little prayer and hoping you're wearing clean undies.

You also have to pray that when you get stuck, someone will happen along to help you get your teeny car turned around and over the snow drifts. I made the mistake of thinking my car could make it up a hill and then got stuck with my car turned perpendicular to the road. Thankfully, two kiddos from the local college helped push me out. Thanks fellas!

Aww.... nice people running around in down coats and snow pants. :)

So... I get antsy during the winter months. Less running around, less sunlight, less happy.

What ends up happening is that I pace our apartment, glare at my fella, and feel sorry for myself. BARFOLA!

Anyone else hear the rumor that the latest edition of the CMS (Chicago Manual of Style) is doing away with the serial comma (oxford comma)!? Writing that sentence about feeling sorry for myself made me think of that sad concept. I haven't looked into it--it makes me shudder.

I would have a hard time transitioning to that if that's what the CMS actually did. And I won't do it until my job's house style changes over.

I like my commas.

Our friend, the moth.

I mentioned in a previous post that I have a strong dislike for butterfly imagery (the dreaded butterfly--dun, dun, duunnn!)... yeah, don't like it at all. It's lame and prissy. Nothing against the actual insect--just the imagery... Barf.

Now, to clarify... I do like moths. Moths are gorgeous with just the right amount of creepy mixed in...

And some look like rabbits... another plus....

I have yet to find moth jewelry when I go to antique stores... so I'm not sure what's out there as far as moth-paraphernalia... the few I found online don't fit in my "don't buy anything" budget. Bummer.

Here's a few things I found online...

These two fall in the "bunny-moth" category.


The gold-dipped moth should be a bunny-moth, but isn't for some reason. Not cute enough?


Mothman Prophecy anyone? Too creepy.

The shoulder-percher is from the etsy shop: BlueTerracotta (very nice!)

What is this blog???

I keep going back and forth with this lovely, albeit slow, blog. Originally it was to show off any great thrift finds and perhaps showcase some pairings--so a fashion blog? Unfortunately, I am not ready to take the plunge as a fashion-style-a-day blog which I think is the best type of fashion blog (where you can actually see their charming faces). Yeah... I prefer some anonymity... or perhaps I'm worried about representing myself as a fashion-person, when I am far, far from one...

To bury that one in the deep blue shiny sea (wait... bury?) I forced myself to admit that I need to try to squelch the urge to buy more things (seriously, I'm drowning in clothes and accessories) no matter how inexpensive they are.

**A real economic "triumph" for me was shopping in a fabulous antique store and bypassing not one, not two, but THREE items of jewelry each under $4. Wowzas**

Of course, the above triumph might have been because I wasn't in the mood to shop. I think you have to be in the right frame of mind to go thrifting and to spend money on things you don't need... so my willpower shouldn't get all the credit... heh... ahem.

So yeah... it seemed that a fashion/new things blog seemed destined for failure.

THEN I thought I could try my hand at an uber-amateur sewing blog--as I am currently trying for a "no-new-clothes" year.... although apparently that doesn't stretch to shoes. :\

I have a hand-me-down Singer sewing machine and am determined to figure out how to alter the clothes that I already have (for better fit/new styles) if I feel a desperate need for something new/better fitting. BUT... that seems to have also fallen to the wayside... just a pile of projects on our dining room table. So that doesn't appear to be my blog-calling either.... (even though I love reading the sewing blogs! Amazing! Male Pattern Boldness is my current favorite... Gertie's Guide is wonderful too).

So yeah... I think the best thing for me to do is to ignore any semblance of rhyme or reason and just post whatever the h I want to post.

So if you are reading this--welcome... and how in the world did you stumble here? For now, I am going to pretend that I have some invisible readers. Hi, babies!

New Camera...Hooray!

After my brick of a digital camera kicked the bucket I purchased a new digital camera off of Woot.com. I still need to buy a memory card, but I've been able to take a few photos on the internal memory (approx. 10-12 photos). B keeps yelling at me to go out and buy a memory card... but this makes me be a little more careful of the photos I do take.


If anyone ends up reading this blog--remember when we couldn't just erase and re-record photos? Fun-saver cameras were my favorite. You had to make sure you didn't advance the roll until you were ready to take a photo... otherwise you inevitably get photos of the interior of pockets or backpacks. I also remember a great photo of the side of my foot after I dropped the fun-saver and it took the picture when it hit the floor.

Anyway, here are a few shots I took of the leaves around my and B's place.







My goal is that mid-February I can look at these pictures and remind myself that it WILL GET BETTER!!!







I'm really not looking forward to the middle-o-winter blahs. Here are some earlier, more-summery pictures from B's camera (I think mine is waaay better!).