Rickshaw

BJ and I were fortunate to travel to Brooklyn over Labor Day weekend for our friends’, Cassie and Jamie’s, wedding. There was sunshine and breezes the whole time; I can’t remember when I last slept with the window open. I wish our trip had been much longer, but we squeezed in plenty of eating and visiting in those 2.5 days. After the beautiful ceremony and reception, the highlight of the trip was meeting our friends for brunch. These trips are also a little bittersweet because they are a reminder of how dispersed our old ND community is. So we live for these mini reunions.

I shot with an inexpensive film camera during our trip and will post them soon*, but this was the invitation cover BJ and I made for the couple.

* One of our bags was stolen on our last night, and I thought the pictures were lost forever, but Vanessa found it lying in a neighbor’s trashcan. Unbelievable!

My plans for the weekend included plenty of grading and lesson-planning, but things worked out differently. (And Monday has been relatively stress-free, so it was worth it.) Saturday, we played volleyball at the park with our cousins, watched several episodes of Mad Men, ate sushi, celebrated Tuey’s birthday with delcious mojitos at Anvil, and, on Sunday, we spent the day at the lake playing some more volleyball and jet-skiing.

Multitasking: Grading and relaxing

She was super-concerned when anyone was in the water

We also really enjoyed driving around with Trang and Ben through the smaller streets around our neighborhood. All the homes were pretty old, well kept up, and small but beautiful. It’s funny how we grew up in Houston, yet we rarely ever got to explore down here. (I’m a late bloomer—I got my license at 22!)

I can’t wait for this weekend! We’re going on a quick trip to Brooklyn for our dear friends’ wedding. Unfortunately it’s only for two nights, but we’re looking forward seeing fellow Domers and visiting places we missed on our last trip like Cog and Pearl.

all pictures taken from family’s phone camera

What we’ve been up to: cooking breakfast almost every day (and sometimes having it for lunch & dinner), using the immersion blender to make orange-blueberry smoothies, hanging out with Igby who loves to exert herself and her little legs running up the stairs, discovering that all the smudges on our window were from Igby rubbing her dirty nose against it while spying on the neighbors, stuffing ourselves at White Linen Nights, celebrating Brandi’s birthday with filet mignon and red snapper at Del Frisco’s for Houston Restaurant Week, playing sand volleyball with our family, watching several episodes of So You Think You Can Dance on Hulu (That would be me. Go Lauren!), falling in love with The Kids Are All Right, and getting back to the grind with lesson plans, cleaning my classroom, and mini but fewer “omg it’s coming so soon” freak outs.

Woo hoo. I finally scanned all the instant photos from July. Thank you, Rice Media Center. Below are some of my favorite shots from our trip to New York, and I uploaded the rest here.

We were gifted a Diana camera and instant back from Catherine and Trevor for our wedding. More than my digital camera, it ended up documenting the majority of the trip. I guess we’ll just have an itty-bitty photo album to hold all these memories. Plenty of trial and error happened before we got a better handle of the settings, but we loved the instant results (especially me, Ms. Impatient) and having something tangible to hold and look at. Thank you, C + T!

I desperately want to buy a scanner, but I guess a washer and dryer, vacuum, and forks and spoons should be more important on the list. Unless we don’t mind a slightly dirtier house and eating with our hands ….

Next up: Austin photos.

During our stay in NYC, the first two days were spent buying essentials that we didn’t have time to pack. Honestly, we were happy just to make it to the airport on time. So we ventured down to Rockefeller Center to pick up things like socks, underwear, t-shirts, shoes, etc. We didn’t buy too much after that, but here are some of my favorite things we snagged besides the books BJ got.

29.99! oxfords on final sale at Madewell. They kind of slip off my feet when I walk, but I’m determined to fix it!

Yoshitomo Nara towel (already doubling as my movie blanket) & a Warriors of Radness sweater from Opening Ceremony.

1968 (BJ’s favorite year) calendar towel from 10 ft. Single *

J.Crew tie & Steven Allen Tie from Bird **

Melissa Joy Manning triangular earrings from Bird

* Kudos to Lena C. for the tip
** Spotted George O’Malley + was probably very obviously about it

We’re back! Our feet are worn out, our bellies are full, and our brains are about to explode from all the noise, art, people, sights of New York City. We ended up taking more photos with our new Diana Instant back (Thanks you Catherine!), and once those get scanned, I’ll post them here and write more about our trip later…

10.75 lunch specials at Azusa, Grand Central market lobby, Pearl River Market, Despana tapas, water towers, MOMA, the Met with Annie, Brooklyn Museum to see Kiki Smith + the fashion exhibit, Vanessa, and looking at the skyline from a dock in Brooklyn.

Hi there,

Just coming up for some air. Whew. My house is covered in paper scraps, my head is spinning, and 24 hours seems like too short of a day! I finally settled my car situation, and we decided to take out a loan to buy a new car. At least I’ll have more peace of mind during my long commutes to work. And we’ll both be sharing it, so I think it’s a good idea in the long run. Still, timing? Not so great.

I thought I would share this piece BJ did a few nights ago. I swear he busted it out so quickly. Don’t you think he should do more?

I’m so excited to see all my friends and family next week.

I feel like this summer is going to be gone in the blink of an eye! Let’s see: over the past few days I’ve gone to a couple of meetings, got into my first car accident (not my fault though!), went on a retreat with BJ for marriage prep (more on that later), quietly celebrated my 25th birthday, sewed lots of flowers and birds, and drove all around Houston running errands. I really wish I were super-organized and had a few extra pair of hands.

* The accident couldn’t have come at a worse time—right on the day of our retreat + with all these wedding plans going on. Plus, B and I are sharing a car. But on the bright side, this rental drives over pot holes so much better than mine. My car is basically too costly to fix, and I need to find a replacement quickly before I turn over the rental. Oi.

Thankfully, B was close by and called the cops for me. If anyone ever offered a Getting Through the Small Things in Life course, I would be the first to sign up. On the syllabus: How to change a tire, How to get info in an accident, How to fix a leaky pipe, How to sign a lease.

Anyways, before I ramble on any more, here are a few pictures I remembered to take:

1. Packing for the weekend
2. Finished Juju’s flower-girl belt + a few brass bells
3. Huge wire basket from Grace Hart & Co
4. Gaudy belt from Sand Dollar thrift store around the corner, 45 cents
5. Another belt from Sand Dollar. Made in Texas. (Clothing1/2 off on Wed.

No more pencils
No more books
No more teacher’s student’s dirty looks*

I’ve been trying to tackle a load of things so it’s been pretty busy here. Since I’m normally surrounded by a lot of people and noise at my job, the silence after everyone leaves in the morning, and being alone, is a little strange. It freaked me out enough that I hid in our closet for a good half hour because I swore I heard people breaking in. I’m a little embarrassed, but happy to be alive :0 ! Blame it on the loud air conditioning, construction, and ice machine … or ghost?

Today was much better. I stopped by Grace Hart and Co. a few blocks away and it’s totally overstimulating but amazing! They have a good selection of costume jewelry and antiques + cookies and coffee in the back. And the saleswomen leave you alone but will gladly listen to you ramble on and on. Every booth had great finds, and I only got a few things this time, but will definitely be back for presents.

mouse brooches with movable tails

Japanese beaded evening bag

teak + crystal cheese boards

*I’ll miss my kids. really.

Yesterday, I played volleyball for the first time in a while with my high school students at the park. The boys trash-talked a lot, so I was happy to get a spike in now and then …. directed at them. Then again, I also let my serve drop on my own head, so it was humbling. It is really getting hot and humid in Houston, but I’m looking forward to summer fruit!

And I finally found another pair of shoes that could withstand the school day, bringing the total to 3! These Cynthia Rowley sandals came from Marshalls, and they’re surprising comfortable. It’s nice to let my toes breathe a little because my other shoes were getting errrr not so pleasant.