This weekend Tanner and I went to Milwaukee, Wisconsin for Tanner's cousin's wedding. I met all of his family all at once - what a fantastic family! Everyone was delightful and the wedding was beautiful.

After wedding festivities, Chicago friends Liz, Evan, and Gabriella met up with us for lunch and coffee! Tanner finally met my best friends. A relaxing, happy afternoon shared with my four favorite friends.

When Tanner and I arrived at the airport, we were informed our flight was overbooked and that we could wait to see if we could get on or the airline would put us up in a hotel for the night and get us on the next available flight which was scheduled for the next morning. In addition, we would receive 2 complimentary round-trip tickets to anywhere the airline flew. Pretty exciting! We stayed at the Best Western and enjoyed a complimentary meal from the restaurant and a glass of Black Opal Shiraz wine... we had a fun night and now a future vacation to look forward to.

(From Left to Right: Tanner, Alexandra, Elizabeth, Gabriella, and Evan)

happy autumn!

Fall is here and i am happy. crisp air, colorful leaves. i love it.

and this year, we have Pumpkin Spice Hershey's Kisses! YES! They are delightful. Try some...

i love tea pots

When I was little my mom gave me a miniature tea set that belonged to her when she was little. And since then I've kind of been obsessed with tea pots... they're so cute! and some of them are really awesome looking.

This weekend was the Mountain Heritage Arts & Crafts Festival. Tanner, our friend Corey, and I all went to try some cheese and to look at the cool stuff talented people in West Virginia create. We were impressed. While the boys were checking out hand-crafted lyres, I stumbled upon the coolest jewelry display: Vintage Revival. And I purchased this very cute charm. It makes me happy.

Insomnia

can't sleep. restless.
wanting simplicity. wanting excitement.
wanting old. wanting new.
wishing i had. wishing i hadn't.

blah - i really want some sleep.

I just woke up from a nap. Location: Dulles Airport. Yep... I really can sleep anywhere.

I'm waiting to get on a flight to see my bestest friends and meet my new niece in Chicago - I'm am SOOOOOOOO excited! A visit has not transpired in a year, which is really too long if you ask me. The reason, however, is that a beautiful Gabriella Rose (named for her auntie) was preparing to make a grand entrance into the world... my vacation time had to be saved and the expecting parents were preparing for her arrival. Look how beautiful she is:
(Photo taken by her auntie Savannah)

I just finished working a busy week at work. We hosted our 4th annual fund raising event The Tastes and Sounds of the Town - it was a pretty big deal and I'm pretty proud to say I was the event coordinator and aside from a few minor glitches during registration with the credit card machines, the event went well and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Tanner was a HUGE help and captured some moments during the event since I was tied to the registration table. Here are a few shots...

Tanner and I just finished watching season two of "Pushing Daisies", a cute and whimsical television series about a man who discovers he has the ability to bring people back from the dead with the touch of a finger. The show was refreshingly entertaining and definitely unique. We ate up season one, loving the quirky characters and the strange tales they lived out.

The show was cut off early as the result of low ratings. And the finale of the show was absolutely appalling and the biggest let down ever. Too many loose ends were rapidly tied together in one episode. Too many escalating mysteries were solved in a mere 60 minutes. And we were left sorely disappointed.

If you're going to watch the show, I recommend skipping the last episode of season two as you are better off making up your own conclusions and leaving the imagination to complete each character's story.

Homemade Egg Rolls

Tanner and I have been experimenting in the kitchen and are working on compiling a notebook of favorite recipes. This one ranks high on the list: tofu egg rolls! Cabbage, Carrots, and Tofu wrapped in an an egg roll wrap, deep fried, and dipped in a thai garlic sauce mixed with soy sauce - YUM!

Fish Guys

Tanner is the cutest, sweetest, best guy in the whole wide world. I feel lucky to be his gal! Malachi and Dominic are always excited to see him, especially at the pool where they can be "fish guys."

Venus Fly Trap

Early this summer Tanner brought home some Venus Fly Trap plants. I'd never seen a real one up close, so it's been fun caring for them. They really are a peculiar species and it's a strange concept to wrap one's head around, a carnivorous plant? Doesn't really make sense.

I worked from home the other day, attending meetings and completing paperwork. I noticed a movement out the corner of my eye and when I moved in closer, I saw the one of our plants had captured a victim and was in the act of eating dinner! Poor daddy long leg didn't know what he was getting into...

Tofu Cutlets

Tonight's Menu:
Tofu Marsala Cutlets and Seasoned Asparagus

Happiness. I am so proud of myself for cooking a yummy dinner and not messing up anything! Tanner gave the meal a thumbs up. Of course, asparagus is his favorite.


These are the tofu cutlets prior to being covered in a sumptuous sauce. Click on the picture for the recipe!

fresh flowers

Pretty, pretty flowers my sweet boy brought home from the farmers market this morning. <3

fashionable automobiles

Recently, my dad informed me that my car needed a new boot.

To which I replied, "I didn't know cars wore shoes?"

This statement was followed by a disapproving nod, "Alexandra."

After receiving the news that my car would be needing new "footwear" I took my car in to the new auto repair shop my family's been utilizing and had the work done. I failed to call around to receive estimates beforehand, however afterward I learned that this simply is not a cheap task.

A car shoe cost me $275.49. I nearly passed out when I heard the total.

I won't spend more than $50.00 on a pair of shoes for myself.

I think I'm going to invest in a bike.

Take Time to Smell the Roses

I love roses. Very much! Here is a late bloomer, strikingly beautiful!

are we there yet?

I have the worst sense of direction. At any given moment, I will not have the slightest idea of where I am spacially or geographically. One would think this condition would be frightening, and I suppose at times it can be, but I think I've grown accustomed to being lost that it no longer phases me. One would also think that after a certain period of time, I would gain some sort of spacial understanding. But, alas... here I am, somewhere over there.

Sometimes I will drive around in circles, aware that I have been in the exact same spot moments earlier, but uncertain of how I ended up back in the same spot or how to get away from that spot and to the desired spot.

And sometimes when I go places, everything just looks the same. I know I haven't been there before and that it is in fact a new location, but it just seems so familiar.

I'm at a fork in the road - so to speak - again. Trying to figure out which path to take. I don't really think there is a wrong choice, but for some reason, choosing is immensely challenging and at times overwhelming. I want to keep busy. I want to make people happy. And I want to invite change - to inspire a seemingly stagnant and apathetic generation.

I graduated college almost three years ago. I still haven't found a career and don't know what I want to "do" in the job sector. Except, maybe go back to school. But then if I go back to school, what exactly will I pursue? Is there training for a change-seeker?

I have to confess that it is extremely comforting to talk with an accomplished individual in an established career who still has no idea what it is they want to do... or where to find meaning in life. Even though it appears they are where they wanted to go. They took all the right turns and stopped at all the stop signs (I tend to ignore those with white rims, they're optional, right?) and made it into the nice parking lot where they were greeted by the friendly, soothing words "you have reached your destination" (I'm more familiar with the agitating "you are going the wrong direction, turn around" - and I'm often wishing that floating cloud from Mario carts will come and pick me up and point me in the right direction...).

I suppose no matter where we are in life, there will always be a yearning for something else. And no matter how well mapped out the directions are, we're bound to get a little lost along the way. And no matter how many times we circle that choice, we will still ponder as to how we got to that place to begin with. So, do we just sit back and enjoy the ride?

Have you ever ridden with me?

...just saying.

Grasshopper

I don't know what it is about this house I am living in, but the strangest critters find their way INSIDE. Last night I caught this guy flying around:

Avocadoes & Strawberries

Dinner tonight : green peppers, red onions, tomatoes, avocado, goat cheese on a toasted roll = d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s!

and for dessert... my favorite: STRAWBERRIES!

Potatoes!

Started my day harvesting potatoes! It's an interesting procedure as the plant isn't visible with the potatoes growing underground. So it is literally hit or miss. I felt as though I were on a treasure hunt. I dug away for a couple hours this morning and another this evening. Altogether there is probably a total of 75 potatoes. But they are tiny... here is a picture of a small basket of potatoes from the garden. Some are washed, but then I was informed that it is a good idea to let them sit unwashed for a couple of days to allow the skin to harden, so the others are still covered in earth.

whitings neck cave

Over the weekend Tanner and I introduced Ricky to caving! We visited Whitings Neck Cave in Shepherdstown. Ricky did really well climbing and heeded Tanner's cautionary words. Here are some pictures from the trip...

comfrey salve

My current living arrangement is such that I care for two doggies and tend a garden in exchange for rent. The lady of the house is groovy and knows all kinds of stuff about plants and herbs... it's fun learning from her, although I have to say that I am terrified I will kill all of her plants with my black thumb. I accidentally weeded an actual plant one day... which has been my biggest fear since taking this job... but she was fairly understanding, I could tell she was sad but she kind of shrugged it off.

Last night we were up until 11:00 or so making liquid soap (no lye ... just a soap base, herbs, and fragrance) and comfrey salve. I had a lot of fun - reminded me of when I was a kid and my girlfriends and I used to mix various perfumes to make "new" perfumes. Or when BF and I used to make our own teas combining various spices from the kitchen.

The salve is pretty awesome. It was fairly simple to make. I had to first extract aloe from aloe plant shoots. Then, in a double boiler, heat olive oil and steep various herbs along with comfrey leaves, melt beeswax, mix ingredients together and VOILA: a natural remedy for just about anything.

(click on the picture for the recipe)

la france s'il vous plait

i would like very much to visit france.

i watched "an education" and while it wasn't the greatest movie, it reminded me how much i would like to visit france.

i am in love with la musique française, the words tickle your tongue and fill your cheeks - i'm terrible with language, but i do love the french language.