April 30, 2012

Miles

I've changed the post title a few times now. Tried to think of something more..title-y? Alas, I cannot help that all I can think about when I think about our evening last night, is how much I love the man I have married.

I don't really understand all that goes into guitars/guitar making, and thats not to say that Miles hasn't been trying to teach me...for years. He loves every single little detail that goes into a guitar, the craftsmanship, the engineering, the beauty. And once a guitar is built, its only really just begun its life as a musical instrument that has incredible capabilities. Miles is there at the beginning of a lot of guitars, he sees the first steps through, but loves all the steps that follow after and lead up to the finished product. And don't even get me started on how much he loves to put said finished product to use in our tiny apartment with paper thin walls.

Last night, we had tickets through Miles' work to see Tedeschi Trucks Band at The Ryman. I had never heard of them before, but I'm not one to turn down a free show at The Ryman. Miles knew of Derek Trucks from his brief stint with The Allman Brothers, so he was excited to hear him play. And geez, could that man play!

Knowing Miles for over 5 years has lead to...a lot of things. Marriage being one, appreciating an excellent guitarist/guitar solo is another. I admit to being on the verge of tears more than once last night, which kind of surprised me. Then I realized something: if I had to pick one sound that perfectly captured my husband and his soul, it would be that of a blues guitar. So of course I am brought to tears when I feel this music around me, because if I close my eyes, I can feel Miles around me.

Maybe it was being in this old church, turned historic venue. Maybe it was being so happy that Miles  was getting break from work to enjoy something that he loves. Maybe it was the way his hand tightened around mine as the sound of the guitar swelled out into the auditorium, and how over the guitar I could still hear him whisper that he loved me. Maybe it was a little bit of everything from those moments sitting in the balcony. But it was in those moments that I knew I was right where I was supposed to be, and with exactly who I was meant to be with. Sitting in a gorgeous old church, surrounded by the sounds that reveal something I could never put into words about the most wonderful person that I know.


And of course, I left the real camera at home and all our phone pictures are terrible. So here is my handsome boo on our honeymoon. Yeesh, I'd like to be back there right about now.

April 28, 2012

Just Some Thoughts

As I wait for Miles to come home from work on this beautiful Saturday, I find myself needing to express some thoughts. 

Dislikes:
-When I can't find what I want in used book stores
-When shipping costs more than the books on Amazon 
-Loving a novel, devouring each page, only to get to the end and be completely disappointed by it. 
-Finishing all the past seasons of Gossip Girl on Netflix, only to realize that the current season is too far in for me to watch on Hulu. 
-Admitting how much I like Gossip Girl.

Likes:
-Open-mouthed, slobbery baby kisses
-Having so much time to read (even crappily ended YA novels)
-Young Adult novels. No shame. 
-Texting my sister about books/tv shows
-How she totally plays along with my whining/pining/exclaiming from 500 miles away

Missing:
-School? Kind of. Mostly having something that needs to be done. A task, assignment, deadline. (Because I obviously need something better to do with my time when all I have to talk about is what I'm reading and/or watching)
-Going to a coffee shop to get said task/assignment finished. 
-Chuck and Blair.


It is painfully obvious to me (and probably you) that my life is really not hard at all. And these likes and dislikes are incredibly superficial and silly...but this is my life! When I thought about what I wanted to do immediately after graduation/wedding times, I wanted to chill, to simplify, to regroup. And dang, thats definitely what I've done. My life is really basic and bare bones right now. Half of me is really ok with it, and the other half feels like a slacker. But I really do feel like I am where I'm supposed to be right now. I know I'm not going to nanny it up for the rest of my life. I think the half that feels like a slacker is the half that still tries to do what I feel is expected of me. What "the world", "others" expect of me...but as hard as it is sometimes, I'm choosing not to work with that (imaginary?) timeline. 

So bring on the YA novels and the ridiculous tv drama. I didn't really let myself have that all through college, and not even really in high school, or ever...so I'm making up for lost time. And let it also be known that I probably read more non-fiction than fiction. Just. In somewhat defense of this post...this post that has transformed into one of the weirdest posts ever. 


April 24, 2012

Conversations With A Two Year Old

Is your play set up now?
Yeth
Did you play on it this weekend?
Yeth
What is your favorite part?
(no reply)
The slide?
(after much consideration) "Cupcaketh"


After spending the whole morning being asked "when ith the party?", "where are my cupcaketh?":

Did you go to a birthday party this weekend?
Yeth
Did you eat cupcakes?
No
Did you play games?
No
Did you see a clown? 
No
What did you do?
(whispers), "I juth ate rithe..."

Now he is launching missiles. Carrot missiles. Mouth launching. 

Just eat one more carrot and you can have your crackers (crackers=food gold/bribe currency)
No...I juth eat THREE more carroths!
Ok.


Good thing I love these kinds of conversations. 

April 16, 2012

Aquarium Times

aka, the fish post. I was so surprised at how much I loved the aquarium. We took our sweet time walking through both the river and the ocean exhibit, oohing and aching at every little thing. My favorite parts had to be the penguins and the jellies. 
this little guy was so cheeky, Miles and I watched him and chuckled to ourselves for a good while. He never moved. Even when a goofball of a penguin tried to bump him into the water. He's the Mr. Carson of penguins. (DOWNTON!)
Last, and most terrifying, was this giant beast of a fish in the river exhibit:
STUFF OF NIGHTMARES. I am 100% sure I would die of fright if one of these ever swam next to me. I could hardly stand to look at it, but Miles made me face my fears and take a million pictures of it.
And thus concludes all the pictures I will make you look at from our Chattanooga weekend. We had so much fun and hope to plan another trip back sometime in the future. Possibly to see the River Monster exhibit? If my nerves can hold up.

April 15, 2012

First Post

This is my first post from my brand new Macbook Pro! Boo spoils me so much. I'm quite the lucky lady, for very many reasons, only one of which is that he buys me fancy new things. And that is a very small reason. I know I need to finish up my Chattanooga posts, soon, soon. But here is a little nugget of...wisdom? thought? truth? laughs? from my wonderful husband as expressed today whilst sitting outside during lunch (paraphrased):

As I've grown older, I've come to appreciate the seasons more. I also love it when it rains just like I love it when its sunny. I only hate it when its windy because it messes up my hair*.


So many things about this. Older? He's 25. Only the rain and the sun? What about when its just blah, or snowing? 


I love him. I love him so much I don't know what to do with myself sometimes. And thus ends my first post from my shiny new "'puter" (as my two-year old, watch him on Tuesdays, boy would say).

*if you've never noticed, he has hair about as long as mine, and its 10xs more gorgeous and naturally wavy. Women express their jealousy everywhere we go.

April 10, 2012

Bluegrass Brunch

On Saturday, Miles and I slept way in to 9:30 (8:30, Nashy time), tried to find decent Saturday morning cartoons to watch, failed, and went to a late brunch at Bluegrass Grill. We almost decided to leave about three times during the super long wait for seats. At one point I even called out to Miles to come back when he was almost a block away walking back to the car. Looking back, I can't figure out why were we so dramatic.. But you know what they say about hindsight. Its super obvious why you would wait for an hour and a half to eat when you have the memory of the most delicious brunch of your life. Thats what they say. Even if we didn't completely love, love, Chattanooga, we would go back just to eat at Bluegrass Grill again. 

As always with brunch, we ordered too much food. I'm surprised we even had the patience to wait 2 seconds to take pictures of our yummies. Bluegrass Grill, can you move into our kitchen?

April 09, 2012

Weekend Getaway

Our Chattanooga weekend was so incredibly wonderful. Miles and I kind of had a hunch that we needed some time away for just the two of us, but we had no idea how refreshing it would actually be. It was the first time we've been away together, alone, without friends or family as company. Except our honeymoon, dur. We rested, we had great conversations, we were carefree, we spent way too much money (I guess I was wrong about thinking we'd be safe from that), we ate delicious foods, walked around forever, went to the aquarium, took our time...it was beyond perfect. And I couldn't have wished for more beautiful weather. I even took a screenshot of the weather on my phone to remember exactly how perfect it felt. The best 63 degrees of your life.

Miles has decided that we need to go on weekend trips every weekend. We'll have to find a more reasonable/affordable alternative, but we will definitely plan to get away more often. We took a ton of pictures, so I'll have to weed through them and spread them out over a few posts. Expect the aquarium post to have an obnoxious amount of fishy pics.

I ended up having to work last Friday morning instead of having the whole day off, so we didn't get into Chattanooga until around 4. Just in time to check in... and take a nap. I love naps. Have I shared this before? Naps are the best. And I've started to rub off on Miles when it comes to loving them. We stayed at The Chattanoogan and really liked it. Our room was, unfortunately, on the way to the pool, and surrounded by rooms full of happy, loud kiddos on either side. But that was the only thing we would've changed. And it was kind of out of our hands. Well, Miles would've wanted there to be robes in the closet and for the actual hotel building to be from the 30s. But you can't have it all, bud. I love the blackout curtains that most (all?) hotels have now. You know what they're perfect for? Naps. 
The bathroom was lit in such a way that would make anyone look red carpet fabulously gorgeous. Which was so amazing while I was getting ready, and a rude awakening when I passed my first reality check mirror. I went from "I'm simply glowing!", to "oh, nope".

We ate at Tony's in the art district, per a new blogging/we've met in real life a million years ago friend's suggestion. And it was delicious. And in such a fun area. We walked around forever after dinner and loved everything about the sculptures, the houses, the little hilly streets... Then later on, we walked a block or two over to Urban Stack, where we ate last time we were in Chattanooga, for drinks and late night conversations. Twas a wonderful start to our weekend.

April 04, 2012

Right Now:

Reading: Too many books all at once. I'm afraid that I've become a serial book starter/non finisher. Also, my Amazon wish list is out of control. Things aren't looking up for me.

Eating: Too much, apparently. I just downloaded a new app that helps me record calorie, carb, sugar & protein intake. Let me tell you, its not looking too pretty. Its also supposed to help me track exercises and to meet a weight goal. We'll see. When my string bean husband wants pizza (or heaven help me, Mexican food), I can't say no. And therein lies my problem. 

Listening to:
Dear The Shins, I will always love you. Miles too...He will always love you, and I will always love him. And you.
 (album image via)

Planning: Our impromptu (its still impromptu for us if we decided a week in advance) getaway to Chattanooga this weekend. I can't wait to get away with Miles! I can be pretty stingy with money when it comes to...everything, normal life and vacations, but we've promised to stop thinking about it just have fun this weekend. I'm actually really looking forward to it. And its Chattanooga, we can't get into too much spending trouble there. I've scoped out restaurants, just booked the hotel, found a movie theater where we can see Titanic 3D...yep! And Miles thought I'd forget about that. Well, he hoped. Sorry fo'ya, boo. Jack and Rose are falling in love again, this weekend, in Chattanooga, on the Titanic, in 3D. And my tears will be 3D, too. (aka, real. and a lot of them)

Wearing: No more jeans until the fall. After dying from heat yesterday in the park, holding the nanny baby who only wanted down, whilst trying to coax a two-year old out from a teeny tunnel (as in, no way I could ever go in after him, even without the baby on my hip) he found in the shrubs...I'll pass on the jeans. At least the black skinny type. Also, maybe I should've put my hair up...

Watching: Still Gossip Girl. Still. And not even really ashamed of it anymore. Also, I started The Killing this weekend. Who killed Rosie Larson?!!

Loving: That I am going to mail my great-grandmother's birthday card later this afternoon. She will be 101 years old next Sunday (yes, she was alive when the Titanic sunk. Mind=blown)(I done told you I was obsessed). And my nanny baby turns 1 the day before. Oh, life. Oh, time. This is a photo of my Grandarling playing the piano in her crown of flowers at her 100th birthday party last year: 

Wanting: The weekend to be here, for it to be completely wonderful and exactly what Miles and I need.

Confessing: We feel change a brewin' in our little household. No, not babies, as far as we know. But we're dreaming for ourselves and our life together in a way that we haven't before and it feels really liberating.