Our Boston Mountains Vacation

We just got back from our stay in a yurt. That's right. Yurt. We were supposed to stay through tomorrow but we came home a day early. And if any of you were wondering, here is what a yurt vacation looks like:

Take a look at our camping Facebook album for more pictures from our stay.

I'm leaving soon to go welcome the long lost Walker twin/Order member back to the United States at the airport and I can't stop smiling. 1.5 years really is too long.

"Was never much but we made the most"

We are preparing for a trip to the Boston Mountains. And I, being the obsessive person that I am, of course have to plan everything out down to every single piece of clothing that I will need to bring. So here is my packing list. You fashion conscious/neurotic people will appreciate my excessive need to spend an entire evening focused solely on my clothing and accessory choices (I've actually been thinking about it for a couple days, I've only now just finalized it). The rest of you are just going to have to deal with it. And here are some pretty interesting things to look at whilst you're dealing:

Catalog Living -- a hilarious "look into the exciting lives of the people who live in your catalogs". Ever looked at a catalog and think "who in the world actually has a pitcher of lemonade just sitting out by a lawn chair in their backyard?" Or "are there actually people who think a ship's wheel is acceptable wall decor?" Well this blog actually pokes fun at all those ridiculously over-styled magazines. Apparently, the lady from those Sonic commercials is the mastermind behind it. And trust me, it really is hilarious.

J.Crew has a beautiful new video introduction for their new collection. It really is beautiful. I want to curl up inside of a J.Crew catalog and live there for a while. And be best friends with Jenna Lyons, the Executive Creative Director for J.Crew. She is my hero. Well, one of them anyway. I want to be just like her. And I want her job.

Radical Face -- I am LOVING their song "Welcome Home". It is fantastic. They are fantastic. You can check them out on iTunes or Amazon.




* I am getting the sense that not many people enjoyed the whole "languages of the world" thing as much as I did. I thought it would be fun. A kind of secret message, like the whole Orphan Annie decoder ring thing. Apparently not. In the future, I will save my love of Google Translator for chats with certain ladies and my personal documents (reading things I've written in another language makes me feel so smart and incredibly European).

Ελληνική επέτειο, όπα!

Σήμερα είναι η 23η Ιουνίου, τρία χρόνια μας χρόνο.

Και για να γιορτάσουν το υπέροχο άνθρωπο παντρεύτηκα, η θέση αυτή θα γραφτεί εξ ολοκλήρου στην ελληνική γλώσσα.

Andrew είχε σχολείο όλη την ημέρα και όταν ήρθε στο σπίτι, κάναμε όλο το παρόν θέμα και στη συνέχεια πήγε για φαγητό. Απλά μια μικρή γιορτή, διότι το σύνολο των σπουδών που έχει να κάνει απόψε στο πλαίσιο της προετοιμασίας για τους τελικούς. Την επόμενη εβδομάδα, θα πάνε μακριά για λίγες ημέρες για να έχει μια πρόσφατη εορτασμό της επετείου. Φαντάζομαι ότι θα γιορτάσει το τέλος της κόλασης, που έρχεται με τη λήψη Φυσικής και Οργανικής Χημείας από κοινού κατά τη διάρκεια του καλοκαιριού, όπως καλά.

Εδώ είναι μερικές εικόνες από σήμερα, καθώς το ρολόι πήρα Andrew για την επέτειό μας (το τρίτο έτος είναι η επέτειος από δέρμα έτσι ώστε να έχει μια δερμάτινη ζώνη).

Deutsch ist das Aroma des Tages

Ich bin weiterhin der Spaß mit Google Translator heute nur dieses Mal werde ich in Deutsch schreiben. Also hier ist ein wenig shout out an alle meine deutschen Freunde, meine amerikanischen Freunde, die derzeit in Deutschland aufhalten, und meine Eltern, die in Deutschland gelebt, bevor ich geboren wurde und noch immer genießen deutsche Küche, während Nacherleben ihrer Glanzzeit.

Andrew wurde verrückt in dieser Woche damit beschäftigt sein Studium der Schweif ab, schürt der vergangenen Woche von Klassen, und die Vorbereitung für die Endrunde. I, auf der anderen Seite, wurden dabei eine ganze Reihe von produktiven nichts und spielt ua wii, Herumspielen am Computer und Lesen. Es gibt nicht viel, auf den Job vor Bericht. Aber ich habe heute abend Tillie Bad (mit Andrew's Unterstützung), so dass ich denke, das ist etwas.


























Ich lese gerade ein neues Buch, Amy und Isabelle von Elizabeth Stout. Bisher ist es nicht schrecklich. Ich mag den Schreibstil des Autors. Es ist schwer zu folgen, wenn Sie nicht bezahlen sind Aufmerksamkeit. Aber wenn du einfach nur du selbst lassen in die Geschichte gesogen, es ist wirklich schön geschrieben. Das Problem, dass ich mit diesem Buch ist, dass ich mit mir selbst zu erhalten, so eingepackt lassen, dass, wenn ich ihn legte, fühle ich mich groggy und getrennt für eine Weile, nachdem ich weg gehen, wie ich erwachte gerade aus einer langen Mittagsschlaf.

Hier eine kleine Zusammenfassung, aufgenommen von der Rückseite:

"In den meisten Arten, Isabelle und Amy sind wie jede Mutter und ihre 16-jährige Tochter, eine heftige Mischung aus Liebe und Abscheu in ihren jedem Blick ausgetauscht. Daß sie essen, schlafen und arbeiten Seite an Seite in der Klatsch-geritten Mühle Stadt Shirley Falls erhöht nur die Spannung. Und gerade wenn es Dinge erscheint, kann nicht schlimmer werden, Amy Sexualität beginnt sich zu entfalten, wodurch eine große und eisigen Riffs zwischen Mutter und Tochter, die bleiben wird, es sei denn unüberbrückbare Isabelle untersucht ihre eigene heimliche und schändliche Vergangenheit.


In der Prosa, dass Vergleiche verdient hat Anne Tyler und Mona Simpson, Elizabeth Stout evoziert ein Teenager die Entfremdung von ihrem fernen Mutter - und ein Elternteil die Wut auf die Entdeckung ihrer Tochter sexuellen Geheimnisse. "

Es ist kurz und fließt auch - für eine leichte Sommer perfekt lesen. Check it out.

Oui, oui, le français!

Ce message a été influencée par mes jumeaux préférés, les marcheurs, qui gchat uns avec les autres en langues étrangères. Je pense au-delà de divertissement et comme quelque chose de deux d'entre eux ne: bizarre, bizarre, et tout à fait charmante. Tu me manques fous et de la jante, je ne peux pas attendre de vous voir dans une semaine, frais de l'avion en provenance de Corée du Sud. Une année est tout à fait en dehors trop longtemps.

Fête des Pères était belle. Nous avons obtenu de mon père un nouveau barbecue que nous a effectivement donné à lui vendredi après-midi et il a été cuisson sur elle ces derniers jours. Également fait ma tarte fave limonade rose à nouveau. Et j'ai eu mon premier goût jamais de vrai beurre. Il est fantastique. Je ne peux pas croire que j'ai vécu toute ma vie sans elle. Quelle vie incroyable, j'ai vécu à l'abri.

Andrew et moi sommes devenus obsédés par cette application pour iPhone appelée Fatbooth. Il est hilarant. Il prend une photo de vous et vous fait voir la graisse. Nous avons littéralement passé des heures assis autour de prendre des photos de nous-mêmes et craquait. Nous avons également trouvé de nouveaux photos de célébrités. Voici quelques-uns de nos préférés:

C'est assez amusant. Je crois que je continue ce pour le reste de la semaine. Demain, l'allemand!

Travel aspirations

[image from here]

I've finally decided what I want to do with my life and this blog:

I want to travel the world. Go to every single country. Visit every single city. See every single sight. And I want to get paid to do it. There are some blogs that I follow that have tons of sponsors/advertisers that give them free stuff and sometimes pay them. Some of these bloggers have grown their readership so much that they quit their full time jobs and now just hang out all day and blog. And they get paid to do it. I need to figure out how to make that happen for me.

Here's my game plan:

1. Get more people to read this (still working on how to accomplish this)

2. Score some awesome deals with travel sites/airlines/Travel Channel/etc. where they will cover all of our expenses and well as pay us to go out and visit every country.

3. Write/document about our experiences/adventures on here -- sort of like a travel guide for the young awesome people (like us) out there.

4. Go from writing blog to writing books/documentaries/etc.

5. Continue to travel until die from old age or freakish accident (whichever comes first)

6. Become world famous

I hear about people who do this kind of thing all the time -- kids sailing around the world solo, etc. so I know it can be done. And I'm going to do it. Here are some of my ideas on how to make this happen:

1. Travel the world and roll (tp, toilet paper) every country (especially landmarks: Eiffel Tower, Pyramids, Leaning Tower, etc). Make vandalism cool. Charmin could sponsor it. But maybe they could invent a new kind of environmentally friendly toilet paper (made from bamboo maybe) so activists wouldn't get pissed at me. It would be a genius marketing strategy for them because everyone would take pictures of my work.

2. Take Tillie on our travels and take pictures of her in every major city and in front of all famous landmarks and post on blog. Might even write blog entries from her point of view. Maybe get sponsored by the Humane Society or Pedigree. She would make a great poster child for their pet adoption program. Sort of the whole "look at what a second chance can be for a shelter dog" thing. Maybe I can write books based on her travels. Or even a movie.

3. Get a deal with Travel Channel for new travel show about a young married couple (and their dog) that is out to discover the world and experience new adventures. We are fun, interesting, and cute so you know people would watch. And by partnering up with one of the airlines they could sell a bunch of tickets to an audience that doesn't usually run around spending tons on trips to other countries. I feel extremely confident that I could make people want to go just by watching us.

Okay, so obviously I haven't quite thought this through, but it is a great idea. And it will happen. One day. But I'd like that day to come sooner than later, so if you have any ideas on how to make this happen or how we can get started, feel free to comment and let us know!

Friday night fun

Coming soon: best of fatbooth photos!


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FYI

Andrew rolled over in his sleep and said:

"Say goodnight. Goodnight. I love you."

And as if that wasn't enough, about an hour later, he opened his eyes, smiled at me, took my hand and said:

"Good luck on the Happy Fossil Day."



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A visual wishlist

Here are just a few things I'm wishing for these days:

Orion SkyQuest XT6 Dobsonian Telescope

Sixthreezero Women's Cruiser Bicycle

Anthropologie Monogrammed Mugs

Panasonic Green Monitor Headphones

Fujifilm Instax Mini Camera

A potential Christmas gift for the next 10 years combined?

Check out this coffee table/paper shredder combo. I am wishing for a world in which this would be sitting in front of me right now, filled with all the junk mail piled up by the door.

And if you know me, you know how my love for all office/school supplies cries out for this super clever design for a table. Check out the video:

The Papervore from Pigeontail Design on Vimeo.

Click here for more info.

I want to ride my bicycle

For his birthday, Andrew got a new bike. Well, not an actual bike, but the promise of a new bike. I didn't want to pick one out for him not knowing what he wanted, so I told him I would take him to pick out the one that he absolutely loved. We've been looking around at bikes for a few weeks now and I think this bike is leading the pack:

We've been riding mountain bikes for a few years but since we don't do any extreme off-roading, all those gears and everything just seem kind of pointless. We have a massive amount of bike trails around here so we wanted something that could manage those while still being fun to ride. And we wanted something that looked awesome and kind of retro. Enter the beach cruiser. Stylish and functional. Andrew saw a few that caught his eye at Gearhead when we were in Jonesboro this past weekend but then he also really likes this red option that we've spotted in LR.

We're dreaming of riding these beautiful bikes around on lazy Saturday afternoons, sunglasses on, "In the Summertime" by Mungo Jerry playing in our ears, and a picnic basket strapped to the back, on our way to enjoy a lunch down on the Arkansas River.

Now only if my bike would bite the dust so I could get a matching one. Except I'd add a basket to the front and fill it with pretty flowers

My Monday Faves

Today I love:

Super Mario Galaxy 2 for Wii -- just got it, super fun!

Goody Spin Pins -- 2 actually do the work of, like, 20 bobby pins! Perfect for people with thick hair (and no skills in the bobby pin department) like me.

Bert's Bees Pomegranate lip balm -- the most amazing stuff, I swear

oversized blankets

All 4 (!) Glee soundtracks

Email conversations with long distant friends

Weekend Update

For those of you whose lives don't revolve around this blog (I can't imagine there are any of you left) we were in Jonesboro this past weekend supporting our friends as they made the big plunge, revisiting our old college stomping grounds, and reconnecting with a few old friends. We had a good time but are happy to be home. I don't sleep well in hotel rooms and needed some home cooked food.

For those of you who weren't there, here is a recap of our adventure:

Friday

Late to wedding rehearsal. Made it to the dinner. Catching up with friends followed by eating Chick-fil-a in bed while watching Scrubs.

Saturday

Lunch at Godsey's with the family I babysat in college. Beautiful family, beautiful kids. Good food.

Dropped Andrew off at the church and came back to the hotel to get ready but actually spent more time watching VH1 and a Lifetime movie than doing anything else.

Wedding at 6p. Beautiful ceremony. Reception at our hotel -- very convenient. Fun with friends and good food.

Studying (Andrew) and TV watching and book reading (me) followed.

Sunday

Caught early service at fave church. Got to see so many people from our college days. Were out by 9:45a. Tried to make it to see some other friends but couldn't really stick around killing time so we left for LR. Home by noon. Napped until 5:00p. Dinner and sleep. Really eventful.

Jonesboro

I like Jonesboro because of this big chicken.

I do not like cherry diet Dr. Pepper.


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This one's for you

Just for you Sophia, here is what Andrew said in his sleep last night:

"November's got numbers."

Hope you enjoy that little nugget.


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Being awake to hear sleep talking is my fave

Andrew just said:

"Living the life, cool life"

I die.


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Apologies

So this past week we have been crazy busy but here is a little update to catch you up on what's going on with us:

Andrew's been living and breathing classes, tests, and studying

Kristin is in town so I've been playing with her

I had a very promising interview

We've been getting ready to go to Jonesboro for a friend's wedding and yes, I've made a million lists in preparation -- in fact, I am so obsessive, I've made a visual packing list (see above).


I've also spent a lot of time by myself, thinking, realizing, and just contemplating life in general. I've made some startling conclusions and I'm just going to say, I am fast becoming one of the most interesting people I know. Not sure really what to think about that because either 1.) I don't know that many people or 2.) I really am that awesome. Hope its the second option really.

FYI

The latest exhibition of Andrew's sleep talking talent:

"I'll be around for the treats"

Haahaahaa.

Happy Birthday Andrew!

In case you missed it, here is Andrew's birthday celebration: dinner @ PF Chang's and carrot cake!

 

Happy 27th!

Just an update

This afternoon's highlights:

lunch and shopping with Laura (home from FL!)
making plans with Kristin (home from DE!)
texting Andrew every 15 minutes to tell him Happy Birthday (you should too!)
dinner with Andrew tonight