Home is where the toilet paper is

This past Sunday Seth and I signed the lease on our home for (at least) the next year. I am smitten. Thankfully the first house we put our deposit on fell through (and by fell through I mean the people took 2 deposits first without telling us). After some disappointment and some Craigstlist searching I found our new place! Thankfully, Seth trusted me enough to put the deposit down before he saw it. It is a perfect 2 bedroom, 1 bath house in the middle of town. We've got a back porch and a nice backyard to boot.

I spent the morning perusing the aisles of Sam's Club buying large quantities of home goods to set up house. Lets just say we now have enough toilet paper and trash bags to last us at least a few months. We're good to go.

My amazing fiance is currently loading up a trailer with our furniture back in AZ. He'll be back next week so we can set up house before heading home for the wedding. As soon as I upload the new photos of the house I'll post some real pictures so you can fall in love with it too.

Photo source (http://blog.toiletpaperworld.com/tag/toiletpaperworld-com/)

Observation Tuesday: Volume 13 (On Monday)

It's been awhile, but here are some observations/life updates:

• I've think I've trained my psyche to crave breakfast burritos after I work. The local Market Street has a burrito bar that is delicious and you pay by the pound. genius.
  
• Will be with ALL of my bridesmaids (FINALLY) exactly one month from today.
• Seth and I found a house to rent. We do a final walk-through, sign the lease, pay rent and get keys on SUNDAY.
  
• Speaking of Seth, he is 4 days away from being done with his first year of teaching. I am so proud of him! then he drives out to see me on SATURDAY! so so so so so excited to be reunited with him
  
• Finally, raisin bran isn't nearly as satisfying anymore, and I'm not sure why.
  

Bookworms, unite.

I picked by The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom on a whim when I was going home because it was a small book. It was such a quick read I can't help but recommend it. It tells the story of Eddie Maintenance as he dies and encounters, you guessed it, 5 people in heaven and the lessons he learns about his life through them. Not terribly thought provoking but a nice by-the-pool read.






My mom and mother-in-law both gave this book rave reviews. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand is the incredibly powerful story of Louis Zamperini, a World War II prisoner of war survivor. It documents his whole life from his amazing Olympic running career, his survival on a life raft after his plane was shot down, the 2 years he spent in a POW camp in Japan and his amazing life post-war. The stories of men like Louie are truly inspiring and Hillenbrand does a beautiful job telling the story that needs to be read.




On other notes, so much to think about before the wedding! Music choices, registry updates, and travel plans. oh my.

My weakness...

I'm pretty sure it's psychologically/physically/emotionally impossible for me to leave that place without spending a hefty sum of money on a totally random assortment of things. Today's haul:

• dress for rehearsal dinner
• 17 packs of pencils, for the wedding
  
• jorts (jean shorts). Since my last hole ripped last summer. r.i.p.
• $5 sweatshirt
• yellow nail polish
• 6 pencil cups (curse you dollar section...)
• make-up squishy triangle things
  
• face lotion
• body lotion
• Cards for a certain holiday coming up this sunday

Things I almost left with: a dump truck, lunchbox, lip gloss, gum, and a cake stand. Thankfully I have some semblance of self-restraint.

Scans

Me, circa 1991. Thanks, mom, for the pics.

Countdown

1 year and 5 days ago I was proposed to in La Jolla, California.

And in 50 days I'll be getting married! I can hardly contain my excitement.

I've been working on some diy wedding projects the last couple weeks, all of which will be shared after the wedding. I've also been cooking a little bit, including tomato chutney with pork chops and rice, pineapple and strawberry crumble and rotini with pesto and broccoli. yum. Unfortunately my camera transfer cord is in Tucson, so no pictures for you guys. Sorry the blog has been neglected lately, but once I get my camera cord back I'll be all about it again :)

Mas Libros

I'm just a reading machine.

One Thousand Gifts
by Ann Voskamp

This book can be summed up with "Be Thankful." But Ann writes about her journey learning this lesson when she was dared to write a list of 1,000 things she was thankful for. This reminded me of my mom's thankful journal that we used to write in at home. I love the idea and may just take it up someday for myself. I didn't love her writing style but the idea of the book is excellent.







Blood Bones and Butter: The Reluctant Education of an Inadvertent Chef
by Gabrielle Hamilton

I first heard about this book on The Splendid Table, a food podcast from American Public Media. It's an autobiography written by the chef of the restaurant Prune in NYC. She had a crazy childhood growing up in an old broken down silk mill, fending for herself at 16 in the city and just living life as a chef. I didn't necessarily approve of her lifestyle but her writing is enthralling and her life keeps you on your toes.