Love List

Put Some Love in the World

Last night I was able to have a dear friend of mine and her family come over for supper.  I haven’t seen her in two years.  We’ve known one another since we were around 16 years old.  No matter the distance between us or the time between our visits or talks she will always be my dear friend.  To love on her two sweet girls and see what God is doing in her family was such an encouragement. 

So thankful for a visit from my friend EA.

I don't think age limits friendship.

New friend, Vivi Mei

Young, sweet friendship

As I cherished my time with EA, I remembered a post I read on one of my favorite blogs.  Joy the Baker (love her) was promoting a giveaway (yes, yes I love blog giveaways and I

always enter but never seem to win) and she had a unique way for her readers to enter. Most of the time to enter a giveaway you simply comment to the post and say how much you love what they’re giving away.  She encouraged her readers to . . .

“let someone know that they inspire you, let someone know that you appreciate them, let someone know that you love them”

 . . . and then she asked that after they did that they post a comment about what they did.  I think she summed up her reasoning when she wrote,

“Put some love in the world.”

So after spending time with EA and reading Joy’s post, my mind started moving to all these people in my life that are my friends.  I reminisced back to a particularly difficult time in my life when a friend sent in the mail, snail mail that is, these lyrics framed.

“When the sun shines

We’ll shine together

Told you I’ll be here

FOREVER

Said I’ll always be your

FRIEND

Took an oath

I’m sticking it out to the end

Now that it’s raining more than ever

Know that we still have each other

You can stand under my

Umbrellla”

(Courtesy of Rihanna)

Also in the package was an umbrella.  To this day I still have those lyrics in my house.  I’m reminded every day that she loves me and is there for me.  And over the years I’ve been able to echo that message back to her. 

Friends push one another to finish.

I rememberd a time at work I thought I might go crazy when my phone rang.  The office was calling to tell me I had a delivery.  My sweet, precious friend had sent me flowers in a coffee mug with a huge smiley face on it. 

Tacky Mismatched Friends

So now that I’m married I’m getting to experience a whole new realm of friendship.  My friendship with B is something I cherish (probably not nearly as much as I should) and will never experience with anyone else. 

There's nothing like the friendship in marriage.

So are you still with me?  My mind moves on a crazy path sometimes. 

In our Sunday school class we’ve been going through 1 Samuel.  The close friendship of Jonathan and David is such a beautiful picture.  Even when Jonathan dies David cares for his family. 

I could go on and on of stories and memories of my precious friends.  But you’re probably wondering by now so where are you going with all this?  All I really want to do is echo Joy and simply encourage you to cherish and love your friends.  But also to remind you to be a friend. 

So . . . today I add friendship to my  . . .

Our Nation's Capital

Washington D.C. is one of those cities I do not tire of. 

When I found out I would be attending a conference for my new job I was thankful for a new opportunity to learn more about this new work world I’m in.  However, when I discovered the conference location was D.C. I jumped at the chance.  Ever since my childhood friend, Ashlee, moved to D.C. seven years ago I have fallen in love.  Not only is it rich in history but the beauty never gets old.  It is definitely on the top of my list to visit over and over. 

So even though the majority of my days were spent in meetings the night was left for enjoying and exploring.  A slight disadvantage to the beginning of my visit was my personal tour guide, Ashlee, was spending much needed time at the beach.  Thankfully my sweet new friend from Mississippi was willing to enjoy the city with me.  So off we headed. 

We were able to visit the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial on the first official day the memorial was open to the public.  How cool!  Michelle (my new friend) mentioned that when that day is talked about in the future we will realize how old we are because we will be able to say, “We were there for the opening.” 

We jumped back on the metro to ride a few stops to We the Pizza.  Leave it to Ashlee to find all the best pizza joints in any town.  The buffalo chicken and pepperoni are my favorites but the combinations are endless. 

Another added bonus to We the Pizza are their Italian style sodas.  I can’t not order the traditional Shirley Temple.  However, Michelle was more adventurous and ordered the “Jupina Pineapple Soda” and the “Co, Co, Nut Soda”.  She said they were both great but the pineapple was her fav of the two. 

Who knew the next day would bring a 5.8 earthquake? 

It was scary but it didn't deter us for long.  When Ashlee arrived back in town my meetings were already over so she whipped, by picked me up, and we headed to Georgetown for supper.  We decided on Serendipity. 

Yes, it’s the same Serendipity that’s in NYC.  We had both eaten at the one in NYC.  The main difference we saw was that in NYC you have to make reservations weeks in advance and we walked right in and sat down in D.C. 

I ordered the chicken pot pie, which was delicious!  Ashlee had the double decker grilled cheese and tomato soup, equally delicious! 

And of course we couldn’t pass up the famous frrrrrrozen hot chocolate (but we did share). 

Two different visits prior to this one we have attempted to go to Georgetown Cupcakes (aka DC cupcakes on TLC).  The first time they were closed and the second time there was a two hour wait.  Yes, that’s right two hours for a cupcake.  Since it was only two blocks away from Serendipity we headed over to check out the line which to our surprise was only about 15 minutes.  Third times a charm. 

My three purchases were the lemon blossom , salted caramel, and coconut.  They took a rough ride in my bag but still tasted cupcakelicious!

On my final day Ashlee and I were able to have lunch at the Red Hook Lobster Truck. 

There are many food trucks to choose from in the D.C. area but Ashlee says this one is one of her favorites. 

The lobster roll is AMAZING! 

Before I headed out of town I was able to make a quick stop at a few tourist spots; trip to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum . . .

I saw the Hope Diamond . . .

and the capsule that rescued 33 miners in Chile . . .

and I strolled through the United States Botanical Gardens.

And then it was time to go home. 
Until we meet again D.C. I will miss you . . .

Love List

 “Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens;

Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens

(You can join in anytime)

Brown paper packages tied up with strings;

These are a few of my favorite things.”

When in college my roommate would often ask the question, “What’s your favorite color, food, city, movie, time of day?” Each time she asked it was a different thing. 

And I would always answer with a frustrated, “I don’t have favorites!!!!” 

She knew confidently what her favorite day of the week was or what country singer she thought was  #1.  I on the other hand, being the extremely indecisive person I am, would just get flustered with the question because I truly had absolutely no idea what was my favorite.  There are so many colors I think are great and there are not many foods I don’t like.  So at that point in my life I conceded that I don’t have any favorites.

But now that I think about it that’s not entirely true.  It is extremely difficult for me to commit to saying one thing is my absolute favorite in a particular category.  However, there is a long list of things I love.  I wouldn’t say they are my favorites (from whatever category they may fall in to) but they are things that make it to my love list! 

So. . . today I introduce you to a new part of 8050 place . . . 

Each week I plan to share one thing from my Love List with you.  For now you can check out (if you haven't already) two things  I’ve shared in the past couple of months that I love magazines and a special inflatable float.  More to come . . .

Love List

 So, I have a confession . . .

I have a slight obsession with magazines.  I mean really, I can’t get enough of them.  Okay, let me state that I am not a magazine hoarder.  I do not keep every magazine I ever buy, just parts of them.  Let me explain. 

When I open my mailbox and see the shiny, thick bound paper with bright, captivating pictures on the cover my heart starts racing just a little bit. 

I immediately begin to plan the perfect moment to sit down with my new magazine and explore what’s inside.  This is a very calculated moment.  No, I do not immediately run home and rush through the pages.  I plan.  There are only a few times and places that I relish in my new magazine.  It may be while soaking in a bath, snuggling down into bed with a piping hot cup of joe, or on the back porch in the quiet of the morning.  I want to ensure I soak up every bit of goodness from each page, picture, or written word.      

As much as I love my magazines, I do not want to keep every one of them.  But there are so many wonderful things in them I don’t want to throw away and forget.  Herein lies the problem but don’t fret I have the solution.  I only keep parts of them.  As I pore over my magazine I come upon things I want to buy, recipes I want to try, places I want to visit, crafts I want to make.  When I come upon something I simply tear that page(s) out. 

Then I put it carefully in a plastic protective sleeve and place it in the appropriate binder.  Yes, I file my magazine tear outs.  This may sound crazy but it is amazing! 

I have several binders and each has a separate topic.  For example, I have a binder that has recipes I want to try.  As I find a recipe I simply put it in that binder and there it stays until the recipe is attempted.  I keep this one in the kitchen.  Plus it keeps my recipes nice and clean when I’m dripping whatever I’m cooking across the kitchen.  It’s so great because if I try the recipe or make the craft and I like it I simply keep it in the binder and if I don’t like it then it goes to the trash.  What are the other binders (or sections in binders) I have?   You should definitely give it a try! 

You may find, that like me, you end up trying a lot more things than you would have otherwise and feeling like you're getting the most out of each magazine that comes through the mail. 

Giveaway Winner

Thanks to random.org random  number generator Mandy is the winner of the Silver Chics necklace!  Congrats!  Send me an email with your address and I will pop it in the mail.

Meet Me in St. Louis

It seems we’ve stayed on the road this summer as much as we’ve stayed at home.  But when Dad offered us Cardinals tickets we didn't mind one bit getting on the road yet again.  Even though the game wasn’t until Sunday, we decided to make a weekend of it and drove down on Saturday.  Brooke did some research for family activities in St. Louis.  And of course I went straight to food network to search for St. Louis hot spots.  Might I say we came up with a great combination.

After we were settled in to our rooms we headed straight to Brooke’s discovery, City Museum.  She had read on the Internet that it was fun for all ages.  So we decided to give it a try.  We thought we would spend a couple of hours there and then head on to dinner.  Man oh man were we clueless to what was coming.  I absolutely do not know how to explain this place in words.  The logo for City Museum is “Where the Imagination Runs Wild”.  There may not be a better way to sum it up.  We could have spent days there and not experienced it all.  There are mazes, treehouses, slides galore, jungle gyms, life size slinkies, and even a 10 story slide.  The cool thing is there’s no age limit.  I don’t mean literally they let kids of all ages I mean it’s made for kids and adults alike.  There are just as many adults climbing the treehouses, going down the slides, and wiggling through the slinkies.  It is definitely a place to visit and a place we would go back.  Make sure if you go to wear comfortable clothes and shoes.  I made the mistake of wearing a dress and sandals.

1. Scotty and Knox going down one of the rooftop slide. 2. Dad taking a trip on the rooftop slide showing Kase it wasn't so bad. 3. My reaction after the 10 story slide. 4. Kase on the school bus which is mounted hanging off the roof. Scary! 5. Knox loved the mazes he could walk around in. 6. Kase's reaction to the 10 story slide. 7. I didn't realize we were going to get wet on the lily pads. 8. Dad going down the treehouse slide. 9. Brandon climbing the outdoor jungle gym type contraptions called Monstrocity. 10. Brandon in the treehouse. 11. Scotty taking Kase down one of the rooftop slides. 12. Kase found the elephant. 13. Brandon making his way through Montrocity. 14. Dad climbing across the extended jungle gym, notice the school bus on the rooftop in the background. 15. Brandon and I deciding how we were going to pass one another without getting wet.

My discovery for the trip was Crown Candy Kitchen.  Of course it has to do with food.  While they do serve lunch and dinner they are most famous for their 1904 World’s Fair style sundaes.  So that is what we were after, the sundaes.  The location is not very big at all and it was packed.  There were 10-15 small booths for dine in but also an extremely looooong to go line.  It was well worth the wait.  Brandon and I had the signature Crown Sundae which was vanilla ice cream with hot fudge and caramel sauce topped with lots of buttered roasted pecans.  Delicious!!  Crown Candy Kitchen has been open since 1913 and has also had a policy since its beginning.  If you can drink 120 ounces of malts or shakes within 30 minutes you get them free, have your name inscribed on a plaque, and receive a free t-shirt.  The popular TV show “Man vs. Food” attempted the challenge but fell short.  Only 22 people have ever been able to succeed.  Needless to say we didn’t try it.  Just our one sundae was challenge enough.

We capped our trip off the next day with the game.  Dad was able to get us great tickets and the Cardinals won!  It was Brandon’s first Cardinals game.  It was hard for me to believe since he is a baseball fan.  However, growing up in Tennessee he was a Braves follower but I think he’s converted.  

 

The heat and full stomachs (from nachos and hot dogs) took their toll on Kase and Knox and as you can see they missed the first part of the game.  (The picture was taken on Brooke's phone so it's kind of fuzzy)  But when they woke up they were ready to go!! 

Thank goodness we were in the shade.  We probably wouldn't have made it if we weren't.  You can tell Knox's little cheeks are red from the heat. 

When Kase saw this baseball cap in the store he was determined it would be is.  How can you say no to that face?!

Thanks for the tickets Dad!  I love spending time with my family and this was no exception  A fun weekend with new adventures and the enjoyment of America's pastime!

Giveaway . . . that means free!

Raise your hand if you love Silver Chics!  If you didn’t raise your hand then I have to assume you don’t know what Silver Chics is because if you did know you would have both hands in the air.  Meeting Silver Chics (aka Krystie) was both a positive and a negative.  (Krystie’s getting nervous right now.)  A positive because my jewelry collection has definitely benefited.  A negative because my checking account has NOT benefited (but Krystie's has).  Every time I go by the store or find a Silver's Chics booth at show I find more jewelry than I need.  She and I share a love for something (besides jewelry) blogs!  She is always so encouraging and supportive about my blog attempt.  So right now you’re thinking we don’t care Wendy just tell us what the giveaway is.  Silver Chics graciously donated an adorable necklace for one lucky reader.  The necklace has three charms (as you can see in the pictures).  And if you wanted more you could always go by and visit Silver Chics to have more charms added. 

Here's how to put your name in the hat, comment.  Yep that's it, just comment on this post.  If you notice just a few lines below where you are currently reading there is the word comment.  Click it and then add your comment, that's it.  Sunday, August 7 I will go to random.org and one lucky reader will be a WINNER!  You know what, while you're at it go ahead and be a follower of my blog.  If you become a follower I will also add your name on the list to be a winner.  So yes if you comment and become a follower your name goes in twice.  It doesn't get much better than that!