New blog

I've owned the domain backbeatbaby for over a year, but haven't done anything with it. I spent too much time trying to decide if I wanted it to be a local reference type site for healthy family living in Memphis, or about MY little family in Memphis. In the end, I'm just going to go ahead and move over there... despite my inability to make a decision and/or have clear artistic direction.
For the time being, it will be about happenings around town and recipes and gardening. My amazing husband surprised me with my dream starter camera for my birthday this week, so expect lots and lots of pictures. Also expect those "lots and lots of pictures" to lack proper composition as it's been years since I have used anything but a little point and shoot. I'd like to think I still got it, but time will tell.
So pop in over at backbeatbaby  and see what I'm thinking/cooking/growing/doing.

Loving

Currently loving:

Faux sun-bleached tips

Mac Liberty of London lipstick in Ever Hip (bought for the package, love for the colour)

Patience with God (which I've been sadly reading for like 5 months)

Zoysia grass (after the sewage disaster of 2010, we have a lawn and driveway again!) Next comes my garden.

A good long Horton Saturday. Josh took the WHOLE day off and walked with me and Wilkes to breakfast, went grocery shopping with me, took me to a matinee, and helped make pizza dough we smothered in amazingness. Can't remember the last time he took a day off. Best day ever.

Embracing Spring and...

The Daffodils that popped up through the snow last month and are about to bloom.

Getting to ride the bike Josh got me last Spring all over Midtown.

Practicing my newly discovered Iyengar yoga as much as possible.

Frequenting the new Anthropologie and imagining what it would be like to have one of EVERYTHING.

And best of all... spending one whole glorious weekend poolside with Brandy in Vegas, soaking up sunshine, overpriced cocktails, and some much needed girl time!

Spring has sprung... and it's about freakin' time I tell ya!

In 2009...

I started a new job.

Josh surprised me with a trip to DC for the Inauguration.

It snowed in Memphis

We went to California and saw friends and family.

We bought a house and then started tearing it apart.

Josh turned 30 and we celebrated in Seattle.

Josh grew big beard, shaved it off and grew another.

I grew my hair really long then cut it all off.

Josh got a new bike, and then fell off of it.

We sometimes took good care of ourselves.

We sometimes ate chips and beer for dinner.

I cooked us a lot of delicious dinners and we both got tight pants.

We lost two grandparents.
We celebrated our second wedding anniversary.
We entertained the thought of a miniature Horton.
We went to Austin for Thanksgiving with my family.



We are pretty positive that 2010 will be our best year yet.

Celebrations and Renovations

Last week we celebrated our second wedding anniversary. I came home from work to find an amazing little flower arrangement waiting for us from my sweet parents. So so so sweet and pretty.



We toasted to two years past and many more to come... and Wilkes joined in (don't worry, just a drop).







We had an AMAZING dinner at Flight downtown. Oh my gosh... so good. We started with the Ocean Flight, then the Salad Flight. My main was the Seafood Flight and Josh had the Beef Flight. We each had the wine flight that was paired with our meal and enjoyed every bite and drop of EVERYTHING. Thanks to my constantly thoughtful Grandma Lois for the gift of that meal. What a perfect night!

Oh, and in other news... I finally did what I've been threatening for 2 years. Chop chop! That long hair is old news and I am the proud owner of a bob. My 14 inch ponytail will be donated to help make a wig (or part of one) for a woman fighting cancer.



Something about fresh short hair always ups my sassy-ness. Change is fun.



We are off to Austin this week to see my family. I can't wait to see them all! It's been too long. I look forward to the time with Josh on the drive, the conversations, the Chuck Klosterman books on cd, and even the gas station coffee.

If all goes as planned, we might get right into knocking down walls and doing major renovations to the bungalow as soon as we get home. The question is, do I, the ultimate Christmas lover and anticipator, have the strength to sacrifice my tidy perfectly packaged Christmas experience for the greater good of having a home I can nest in come 2010? New walls, floors, and ceilings don't really partner well with nativity sets and glass bulbs. I realize this is one of those marshmallow test moments where I can eat the one in front of me NOW or I can wait a few moments and have two... I wish that marshmallow didn't smell so delicious.

Surrender Dorothy

Some days this all feels so new and other days I can't remember what it felt like to not wait to see Josh at the end of my day or have him roll to my side of the bed on a cold night. I am settling into this married life and getting used to the fact I can never get used to being the same. This is all so gradual. Yes, it is amazing and wonderful and challenging, but as I said; it's gradual. It's a journey, a sojourn, a personal and relational evolution.

My life didn't start when I met Josh, as I often hear people say in movies... but more so it grew. A few years into a shared life I don't feel like life has just begun or I'm now the real me or the new me, but I do feel like me amplified or really, me in Technicolor.

It's like Dorothy's life in the Wizard of Oz. She lives a simple little black and white life. There are the family struggles and occasional villains, but all in all it is simple and sweet and happy. One day that starts out like any other, she is surprised, picked up, and twisted around and around only to land in this new place where everything was in Technicolor. She was still Dorothy, but now she was a girl who wore a blue dress and saw a yellow path and red poppies and an Emerald City. In this new place, people asked things of her, saw things in her, frightened her, excited her, encouraged her, and disappointed her. She walked a path towards what she thought was her answer to everything with companions who were both strong but fearful, smart but foolish,loving but wounded. One day Dorothy finally made it to that Emerald City only to discover that this place of perfection and easy fixes and magic solutions was a charade no one could keep up. There wasn't this physical place where nothing bad ever happened and no one ever hurt you and you never felt alone and everything was fixed by a hidden man with a booming voice. What there was, was a long yellow path that she had to keep following no matter how hard it was and no matter how scary it seemed. There were companions on that journey who needed encouragement and hope because they were scared too. There were second chances, and third ones and forth ones. But mainly there was the realization that Dorothy was the Dorothy she always could have been, it just took someone flipping on the Technicolor and her deciding that no matter what, she'd stay on that brick road.

So I guess that's how I'd sum up marriage so far as we are headed into our third year. I am learning to be the me that I never let myself be in black and white. I am the me who is finding strength in weakness and assurance in the unknown. I am the me who has finally learned to be strong and brave and kind and confident, but to also nurture those things in my partner on this journey and be willing to admit I am lost and need someone else to read the map from time to time. I am learning to surrender the girl I thought I was and release the rights I clung to so tightly only to realize they were such a small fraction of the joy and strength I could experience.

Sweet Spot

It feels like we have been so busy lately, but if you tried to pin me down on what all we've been up to, I'd be at a loss. I guess LIFE is just busy right now. Meetings and workouts and family and freelance and obligations.
We have done several things to our house, but they are all invisible improvements like a reinforced foundation and a heating and air system. Hopefully our next renovations can be a little more cosmetic as I can't wait to finally have a home that feels lived in. Renovations and HUGE modern daydreams = a slow moving train.
I have a very short attention span for anything physical, but I am trying to stick with a new workout plan. The more and more we talk about kids in the future the more and more I want to go into that adventure with a smaller booty and a stronger body. I got a workout dvd a few months ago that I never really gave a chance. I figure it's a 30 day commitment initially, and I can give that a shot and see what happens.
At the end of the month Josh,me, and hopefully my slightly firmer body are going to Austin to see my family. It's been a year since we've seen them, aside from briefly seeing them in January at my grandpa's funeral. Our trip will be quick, but we are looking forward to it.
Before we know it, it's going to be Christmas and another year altogether. Though busyness leaves us exhausted, we've been having so much fun just doing life together. I don't know if this is just some second year of marriage sweet spot or what, but I sure like it.

Pets I'm not allowed to have

If I could just have one or two of them, my life would be complete... I swear it would.


Miniature pony (which I would name Al Capony)


Hedgehog... even though they are nocturnal.


Hairless Sphynx kitten (that I would name Abraham Lincoln, since my dog is named Wilkes and would probably try to kill it)


Finches... despite my fear of touching birds... or more specifically them touching me.

Family time

JP and Jaime visited us last weekend (with Yoko and Lucy) and we all had a great time. We wish Austin wasn't so far away!

...right back where I started from

Josh and I just got back from an awesome week in Santa Cruz and L.A.; seeing friends and family... and meeting all those new babies!Is it gross that we ate IN-N-Out twice in seven days? We had a blast, but were in for a harsh reality getting home to triple digit heat and a house full of stuff that had to be moved that week.

Josh, in all his awesomeness had a contractor come to the new house when we were gone who built me a pantry and got me a brand new washer and dryer! So I'm basically just busy livin' the good life! Couldn't ask for a better husband.

We have a ton more cleaning and unpacking to do, but soon the new place should feel like home. I'll post pictures of the house as it comes along... but for now enjoy a few pictures from Santa Cruz and L.A.

One step deeper into the American dream

In the past few months several things have happened... most of them not notable. One thing very notable though, is that we bought a house!
Though we planned to wait till this fall to buy a house, we found one in the perfect location for a great price in a time when we could get an unbelievable interest rate. We couldn't turn it down. Our new place is in Evergreen in Midtown Memphis, walking distance to the zoo, the dog park, and the school future babies will attend.
We have a lot of plans to renovate, paint, and even build up and have checked out tons of "modern bungalow" books from the library. It's been fun dreaming up all we can do to it.
We are so excited and so blessed. We close in 3 weeks and can't wait to get settled in. Did I mention Wilkes will have her very own yard? That's the best part.