Google Glass:

Have you heard about Google Glass? They look amazing. I could watch the videos that people make while wearing them for hours. How cool, to be able to share in someone's experience, first person.

Want to get your hands on the new Google Glass? You can sign up to be a Glass Explorer and test them out. Only catch? You have to pay $1500.

Read more about it here.

Around the house:

I've been playing around with the new bookcase a lot. Currently, it's housing some books and odds and ends. Next week, who knows.

I love:

How gorgeous are these shoes? They are all sold out now. But, oh my. 

Hello, Monday:

I love this face. It waits patiently for me all day by the window. And I love the tail that is attached to it. You know the one. It greets me at the door every afternoon, wagging fervently.

Happy Monday, everyone. Hope thoughts of your own pup (cat, kid, etc.) get you through the day today.

Happy Weekend:

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Happy Friday, everyone! So glad the weekend is finally upon us. This should have been a short week for me. I was not supposed to have to work Monday but I did and it has made the week feel about a million miles longer than it should have.

Here are a few highlights from our week:

1. Andrew had a job interview. Fingers crossed.
2. Lauren has been in town all week. We've had the most fun just spending time with her. Highlight of the month, hands down.
3. Spent two days in Jonesboro, my old college stomping ground, for work. I love going back to that city. 
4. Ate dinner with a work friend while in Jonesboro. And made a trip to Andy's, naturally.
5. Andrew spent a super fun evening with his swim team stuffing their faces with pizza.

What have you got planned for the weekend? Anything fun? I've got a quick run with the girls (6 miles) on Saturday and a huge mess of a living room to clean. And if the weather's nice on Sunday, our traditional walk to the dog park. Hopefully it will be blissfully serene and void of any stress. I need that kind of weekend after such a long, drawn out week.

Have a great one, XO.

In the kitchen:

I've been busy in the kitchen these past few weeks:

I want to go to there:

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Provence, France. Yes, please.

New Music:

We've been jamming to a lot of different music lately. Have a listen:

New reads:

This week, I'm reading Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson. It's our book club pick for this month. I've almost finished it. It's a quick read. But here's the thing: I'm not really into it.

Plot summary goes a little something like this:

"A modern classic that brilliantly portrays the impermanence of all things, especially beauty and happiness, Housekeeping is the story of Ruth and her younger sister, Lucille, who grow up haphazardly, first under the care of their competent grandmother, then of two comically bumbling great-aunts, and finally of Sylvie, their eccentric and remote aunt. The family house is in the small Far West town of Fingerbone, which is set on a glacial lake, the same lake where their grandfather died in a spectacular train wreck and their mother drove off a cliff to her death. It is a town chastened by an outsized landscape and extravagant weather, and chastened again by an awareness that the whole of human history occurred elsewhere. Ruth and Lucille's struggle toward adulthood beautifully illuminates the price of loss and survival, and the dangerous and deep undertow of transience."

It's a somewhat interesting story. And the writing is really beautiful but I feel like it's trying too hard to be something. I'm not sure what. But I struggled with it. I haven't ever read anything by Robinson before but some people have been suggesting that I give Gilead, another of her novels, a try. I have reservations. I'm worried that it will be Housekeeping 2.0. Have you read it? What are your thoughts?

Happy Weekend:

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Happy Friday, everyone! Welcome to the weekend!

Got any fun plans? Lauren is touching down on American soil today after a way-too-long stint in S. Korea. I am beyond excited to pal around with her again. That's pretty much it. Except for a shorter run (8 miles), I've kept my schedule wide open to accommodate her crazy spur-of-the-moment ideas. It's definitely an adventure when Reech is in town. You have no idea where the night will take you. And I love that about her.

Have a great weekend! Hope yours is as adventure-filled as mine will undoubtedly be.

Valentine's Day:

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Happy Valentine's Day! But more importantly...

Happy Anniversary, Mom & Dad! Sure glad you two got together!

Our favorite things:

We're not big on Valentine's Day (see here and here). We usually don't do anything to mark its passing. And we try our best to avoid other people all day (restaurants, stores, etc.) because it just stresses me out (I'm slightly agoraphobic). And with the anniversary of our first date just two days before (February 12th -- Happy Birthday, Lincoln!), we decide to use that day to celebrate each other instead. Nothing fancy, just enjoying each other's company.

So, to celebrate the 9th anniversary (!) of all those butterflies, sweaty palms, and nervous laughter (oh, how far we've come!), we decided to make the evening symbolic of each other and our relationship. I like to think of it as an "our favorite things" edition.

Here's how the night went:

Hilarious. Relaxed. Comfortable. Just as it should be. Just like we are.

9 years:

9 years ago today, Andrew and I went on our first date. And we never looked back.
Here's to a million more. May they all be as fun and as sweet as that first one (but with less awkward small talk).

I work out:

Real life: sometimes I get bored with my training -- especially my clothes. I've been living in running tights and long sleeve shirts. But it seems like all the tights I own are black. And with it being so gloomy outside, black tights are really starting to depress me. So, I've been looking for a change; something that will brighten things up as we suffer through what remains of winter. Enter Ellie.

It's a subscription service for workout apparel. For $49 a month, you get to pick out two pieces (any two pieces) and they ship them to you for free. If you don't like what they have that month, you can skip it and they won't bill you. It's a lot like JewelMint and ShoeMint (both of which I love) in that way.

So this month, I picked these fun blue leggings and the black open-back top. You know, really mix things up.

Happy Weekend:

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Happy Friday, everyone! We made it another week!

What are your plans for the next few days? Anything fun? We're going to dinner with some friends tonight. And we've got our longest run yet (12 miles!) on Saturday. And then plan on pretty much relaxing and resting the rest of the weekend. My legs are already killing me!

Here are a few highlights of our week:

1. We made homemade pasta for the first time! It was delicious!
2. We finally bought the bookcase I've had my eye on for weeks!
3. I've been living in my new book, Outlander. I cannot put it down.
4. Random text messages of love from far-away friends are my fave.
5. I had a headache Tuesday so I took it easy at home. And had a bonus Mexican Coke. Sometimes you just have to treat yourself.

One of my favorite new weekend traditions are Sunday afternoons spent at the dog park near our house. We walk over and spend an hour or two leisurely reading while Tillie runs around and sniffs her little heart out. So, it's fun for the whole family. Plus, it's usually just us three and the quiet, fresh air, and sunshine feels really nice and luxurious.

Have a great weekend! XO.

We love:

Yesterday we woke up early to score this bookcase:

I first discovered it last month but wasn't able to buy it until Wednesday. Beautiful. In pretty great shape. And only $100!

We got it home, cleaned it up, and I have been staring at it every since. I can imagine using it in a million different ways (shoes! dishes! books!)

I'm still deciding on whether to strip it and re-stain it or paint it. Or do anything at all. I kind of like the beat-up look. But look how pretty.

Best Ad Ever:

Best ad of the Super Bowl, hands down:

New Reads:

This week I'm reading Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. And I'm glad. Very glad. Last week, I was doing a little research to find out when the next books in my favorite trilogies were coming out and was disappointed to find that none of them had release dates for 2013. So, I was in need of a new story. Something that would suck me under and carry me away. And one of the girls that I run with suggested that I give Outlander a go. I am only about a third of the way in so I can't speak too much about how good it is, but I am really enjoying it. 

Here's the basic plot summary:

"The year in 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon -- when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach -- an "outlander" -- in a Scotland torn by war and raiding Highland clans in the year of Our Lord ... 1743.

Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into intrigues and dangers that may threaten her life ... and shatter her heart. For here she meets James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, and becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire ... and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives."

I can always get behind a historical fiction novel. Especially one set in Europe during one of my favorite time periods -- WWII.

I am happy to have stumbled upon this story. And the really great news? There are, like, eight novels in the series. Should keep me busy for a while.

I love the girls I run with. They help the miles really fly by. And it just so happens that we all really love to read so it's been a real joy to share novels with them. We've been introducing each other to authors and stories that we haven't been exposed to before. Whenever I'm torn about what to read next, they always pull through. It's a really great thing we've got going -- sort of a running book club.

More 30 Rock:

I just can't seem to get over the finale of 30 Rock. It hung out in my brain all weekend. So, if you saw me lately and I was laughing silently to myself, please don't think I've gone insane -- I've just been mentally hanging out with Liz, Jack, and the TGS gang since Thursday.

To string out this little 30 Rock party that the internet seems to be having, take a look at these links:

21 Life Lessons from Liz Lemon and Friends

10 Classic 30 Rock Jokes, Retold as Infographics

The Best 5 Moments from 7 Seasons

So sit back with a cup of tea (or coffee, if that's your jam) and start your Monday off Liz Lemon style.

P.S. Did you know that Ben & Jerry's is releasing a 30 Rock ice cream? It's called Liz Lemon Greek Frozen yogurt and it's a "lemon Greek frozen yogurt with a blueberry lavender swirl." Sounds delicious. Wonder how it will pair with their Alec Baldwin's Schweddy Balls ice cream.

Happy Weekend:

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Happy Friday, everyone! I love a good Friday, don't you? You've got jeans on at work, you just got paid, and you're only one day away from doing whatever you want. I would say it's my favorite day, but let's be honest; it's not. Saturday is #1 in my book. Sunday is runner up. But Friday is definitely a close third.

On a completely unrelated note, can you believe it's already the first of February? January really flew by. It'll be spring before we know it.

So,what are you up to this weekend? Anything fun? We're running in the River Trail 15k on Saturday. And then I plan on doing lots of sleeping followed by lots of lying around in pajamas. It's going to be glorious.

Have a great weekend, everyone! Hope it's a relaxing one.