Virginia Is For Lovers

This past weekend I was able to travel to Virginia with some friends from Purdue. We try to take a trip every year and have successfully accomplished this since we graduated! So far we've been to San Diego and Brown County and hope to continue this tradition for years! One of us lives in Virginia, so we thought it would work perfectly - we could visit her and see what her life is like, as well as see the amazing scenery in VA and have a great time!

Three of us left extremely early Thursday morning so we could get to VA at a reasonable time that evening. The drive was uneventful, but we were able to learn about US Presidents thanks to a game called Tiguidoo. We stopped in Charleston, West Virginia for lunch and had some amazing pizzas (one had gorgonzola, rosemary and grapes!) and got to Virginia around 6 that night. We caught up over some more trivia and planned out the rest of our weekend.

We went hiking in Shenandoah National Park on Friday. It was perfect hiking weather - a little cooler and not too humid. We all were definitely feeling the oxygen difference being up in the mountains! We had some amazing views, saw a few spiders, and even encountered a baby black bear (well, it was pretty far off in the woods, but we got a good profile view)! After hiking, we visited a few breweries in the area and had some great food and local beer. It was a great way to end the day.

On Saturday we went to the local farmers' market and then ventured on to Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home. It was really neat to see his use of space; every last inch of the house is utilized. I love old houses, so this was especially fun for me. We also had a tour of the gardens with a very enthusiatic tour guide! When we were finished learning about "TJ," we drove up into the mountains and visited two local wineries. What amazing views! We finished the evening off with some Italian food and Jersey Boys, the movie (not a good as the Broadway show, but still enjoyable!). Sunday morning we started back for Indiana and had another good drive. It was a great trip and I'm already getting excited for next year's!

Yesterday, our first kitty baby celebrated her second birthday! We are so thankful for our petite, snuggly, and friendly kitty! She enjoyed extra milk and treats as well as some loving from her brothers! Happy birthday, Ellie!

Boatyard Birthday

My lovely wife celebrated a birthday last week! Pretty much all of our birthdays are going to be pretty insignificant for awhile... we're past 21 and not yet 30. But even if she didn't happen to be celebrating a particularly important milestone, we went out for a nice dinner anyway. Spoiling their wives - that's what husbands are for, right?

We headed over to Rick's Cafe Boatyard. Now, we've been to this particular restaurant before, but it's always a treat and Leslie had been mentioning crab cakes for a little while anyway. We had a delicious dinner looking out over the water. Not a bad way to celebrate a birthday.

So happy birthday, my love! Looking forward to many more to come.

Your Decade, Defined

You know that whole reading 20 books thing? Apparently trying that the same year as getting a puppy was a bad idea. Leo is a wonderful dog, and has definitely grown up a lot, but he's still a puppy and requires a lot of supervision. At this point it's still pretty hard to have him inside and not be giving him at least 30% of my attention - more than I can spare while doing any meaningful reading. But oh well. The latest book I finished was for our book club and is number five for the year.

Apparently I'm at an important stage of my life. The book, titled The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter - And How to Make the Most of Them Now, talks about how things need to be done while you're in your twenties so you're ready for the rest of your life. It proposes that the seemingly common idea with people in their twenties of, "now is a time to have fun and real life can wait until thirty," is not a good one. In fact the author, Meg Jay, instead suggests that the twenties are crucial to setting a course that will ultimately influence your future and that mishandling these years can cause irrevocable damage to your potential for long term success and happiness.

Jay is a psychoanalyst who specializes in helping twentysomethings figure out what to do with their lives. Topics in the book spanned choosing a career (and the importance of actually getting started in that field), the benefits of friends (as well the risk of never branching out from that group), and why taking dating and relationships seriously matters (especially with regards to forming a family). There were a few other topics that fit between those, but these are probably the biggest ones. Or at least the ones that stuck out to me. All of the topics she speaks on are accompanied by stories of her clients to provide examples of what going through these difficulties actually looks like.

The book is written well enough, I suppose. I didn't find her writing to be particularly compelling and certainly didn't find myself getting lost in the book. I'd often just skim over paragraphs and pages or find my mind wandering. This could partly be because it's hard to write nonfiction in a way that holds the reader's attention, but I've certainly gotten wrapped up in nonfiction before and don't think that's much of an excuse (see Predictably Irrational and The Black Swan). I also disliked her overuse of the word "twentysomethings" - it just feels clunky and almost like a placeholder word she meant to cover with something smoother later. The tone of the book also bothered me a little. She claims to be writing the book directly to the very people it's about - twentysomethings - but still came off as condescending. And perhaps I'm nitpicking, but it all added up to make a less than enjoyable reading experience. And we haven't even gotten to the content yet!

I found it difficult to relate to many of the patients Jay recounts in her book. "I just feel so lost, like I'm drowning in the ocean with no direction to my life," or whatever they all seem to say, is completely not me. Apparently I'm the oddity - married, with a career, living in the 'burbs with my two cats and a dog, and the opposite of Jay's expected instability. And I'm not saying I'm better than people dealing with these issues, I just can't relate. This made some chapters (lots of chapters, actually) a bit pointless for me.

But I can't criticize the book entirely. There are sections that I liked. One dealt with the idea of weak ties and how people you don't know that well - people not in your immediate circle - can play a big part in moving your life forward. I've always thought this idea makes a lot of sense and is one of the reasons I don't plan on getting rid of Facebook anytime soon (and the same reason I bother having a LinkedIn profile to begin with). You never know what you'll need and who can help. For instance, I interned for my current employer while I was still in college. Since I'd be in Indianapolis for the summer I knew I'd need a place to stay, so I filtered my Facebook friends by people living in the area to see if there was anyone I knew well enough to contact about finding somewhere to live. And what do you know, a friend from high school (one that I don't think I'd even talked to since high school) was living in the city. I messaged him and it just so happened that one of his roommates was going to be gone for the summer and was looking for someone to sublease. I ended up sharing that house with my friend (paying a very reasonable rent, I might add) and had a great summer. All this because I messaged a guy from school. Now, he wasn't the first person I normally would have asked (no offence, Nate) because he wasn't one of my close friends, but just by keeping in contact with someone lead to all that. Yay weak ties!

As for the rest of the book, while I didn't personally get a lot out of it, I'm sure there are people in my age bracket that would benefit from this book (and maybe therapy?). A lot of what she says on the importance of your twenties makes sense. I'm very glad Leslie and I are in the position we are now - one that's faced towards success. We have stable jobs, money in the bank, retirement accounts, and a plan moving forward. Not that things couldn't go terribly awry for us at any moment (and hopefully don't), but I think we've done a lot to set ourselves up to succeed. It seemed to come naturally enough for us (big thanks to our parents for teaching us good practices and principles), but for those it doesn't this book could be a helpful motivator. While I didn't find it personally useful I certainly recommend it to anyone in their twenties feeling "stuck". (And I think I'll keep it around for our kids to read before they go off to college... or something like that.)

It's Ok, I'm A Doctor

It feels like it's been a long time since the last post we did about stuff around the house. It hasn't been that long... but it feels like it. Time flies, I guess? Oh well.

We've been planning on redoing our closet for awhile (and already had some prep work done), but we're finally getting close to making these changes a reality! Menards was kind enough to have their 11% rebate sale thingy again, so we've taken advantage and ordered all the needed items for our fancy schmancy closet. Buuuuuut of course not everything is in stock, so we're stuck waiting until all the bits and pieces come in for us to be able to put together shelving and whatnot. Not to worry, though. We hadn't gotten around to painting yet, so we're using these few weeks to take care of that step. This past weekend we painting the ceiling, which has probably been the simplest painting project we've tackled so far. Seriously - total time for each coat was less than an hour and we finished both coats in the same day. Not a bad way to do it.

And, per the usual, we changed out the light fixture in there too. It was one of those cheap contractor grade fixtures - single bulb and not very impressive. We replaced it with the same fixture we used in the laundry room when we upgraded that. And that brings us one step closer to what seems to be our goal of replacing every fixture in the house. I think we're almost there, too.

We also got outside to do some work in the yard. It was a nice weekend for it - not too humid, sunny and warm, all that good stuff. One of the things we've been wanting to do outside is replace our mailbox. Partly because the old one was green (a colour we hope to eradicate from the exterior paint palette eventually) and partly because we would rather have it on the other side of the driveway. We opened up some space by removing that little tree from the front of the driveway and wanted to put the new mailbox in its place. Having it on this side allows us to pull up in our cars on the way home from work and get the mail before turning in. This isn't a big change, but since we were already going to replace the box we figured we'd move it to a more convenient location while we were at it.

Getting that PhD!

Adding the house numbers

Out with the old...

...and in with the new

Another project that we've got cooking received some attention this weekend. I started digging out a lot of the leftover dirt and roots from where we had those trees removed next to the house. We're going to put some cool stuff where it goes (and picked up a lot of the materials from Menards during the sale too!), but we've gotta get this prep work done first. I'm about a third of the way through, so there's lots more fun work ahead of me. Oh joy. And as for the final project... well, you're just going to have to wait.

Leo is a great helper

In other news... actually, that's all the news I have. Well, on house projects at least. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for our next exciting broadcast this Friday! (Probably!)

Pure Michi-Wed

Our wedding adventures continued yet again this past weekend. So far we've been fortunate that many have been in the Indianapolis area, but this wedding was up in Michigan. While that may sound like more of a hassle, it was actually rather nice. Leslie was in the wedding (the bride was Leslie's maid of honor), so that meant a higher level of involvement on our behalf anyway. Couple that with the distance and this became more of an event than most of the weddings have been so far.

It started with us taking Friday off so we could head up to St. Joseph, MI on Thursday afternoon. We boarded Leo with a lady down in Plainfield and headed north, our usual traveling dinner, Jimmy Johns, in hand. Our first stop was at the bride's house where Leslie would be staying for most of the weekend. I hung out there for a bit, talking with Leslie, the bride and her sister, and their parents. I took off soon though, as I didn't really want to participate in the pillow talk and giggling that would inevitable ensue. My lodging for the weekend was at a hotel in South Bend, just a short half hour drive away.

And what a drive. It's relaxing drive through the country filled with vineyards and orchards. In fact, I think I could have made it from St. Joe to South Bend holding my breath, breathing only when a vineyard was in sight. It really is a beautiful place, and I'm not just saying that because Tim Allen has me brainwashed.

The next day, Friday, was filled with girly things for Leslie. They had their nails done and finished up a few wedding details. I, on the other hand, had a much more relaxed day. I slept in at the hotel, watched some Netflix, and then headed into St. Joe around noon. My first stop was at Nye's Apple Barn on my way in. I didn't really have any plans for the day, so when I saw this little place I just had to stop. The most interesting product I saw was their Barf In A Jar Salsa. I didn't end up getting that, but instead got the one shown to the left of the picture - Cranberry Habanero Salsa. Supposedly it makes a good pork marinade... so we'll see how that turns out another time I guess.

From there I visited Silver Beach Pizza for lunch per Leslie's recommendation and was glad I did. I bellied up to their patio bar, had a few drinks as the breeze blew in, and ate some delicious pizza while reading a book. The weather was perfect and it was a great way to spend the afternoon. I eventually walked down to the beach and finished my book there in the sand. I can see why Silver Beach is so well loved - it's beautiful! Plus, it's on the lake, so none of that nasty salt water you usually have to endure when you go to the beach.

Oh, and at one point two deer decided to run down the beach. So that was something I'd never seen before.

Before long it was time for the rehearsal, so I packed up and headed to the church. The wedding party did their practicing (it was nice to be one of three people at the church with zero responsibilities) and then we headed to dinner. (I'm not including pictures of the rehearsal... spoilers, ya know.) The location they had picked for dinner was pretty impressive. There was a cocktail hour out on the lawn before dinner, and luckily the weather cooperated and made it a great evening to be outside. We had fun talking, laughing, and trying to keep kids from going for a swim in the fountain. Then dinner time arrived and we headed inside. I had a the filet mignon and Leslie had pasta - both were excellent. The girls also got their bridesmaids' gifts at dinner and certainly had a fun time opening them and trying them on.

The Soonly Weds!

After dinner it was back to the house for the girls and back to the hotel for me. Or at least eventually. I decided to take my time and make a stop at one of the parks overlooking the lake for a bit. I watched the sun set and the stars come out - a very relaxing detour indeed.

The next day was wedding day! The ceremony wasn't to start until 3:30, so I had a little time to hang out again. I headed into St. Joe around 12:30 and decided to check out downtown. It's very cute with lots of little shops and people walking around. Many people had their dogs with them, so clearly it's a pretty cool place. Plus I think the most common thing I saw shops selling was ice cream. Definitely my kind of town. After some time there I headed to the church to change into proper wedding attire (I don't think shorts would have been completely appropriate).

And before you know it, boom - wedding time. (Again, I'm not posting spoilers... err, pictures, I mean.) It was a beautiful wedding and everything went smoothly. Plus they got married at the end, which is always good! Then it was off to the reception. Since Leslie was busy doing wedding party things, I was mercifully scooped up by some friends we'd made during another trip to St. Joe. They took me in and hung out with me during the cocktail portion of the reception while pictures and all that other wedding party goodness went down elsewhere. And speaking of party, I was lucky enough to be placed with some of the bride and groom's church friends during dinner and we were "that" table. Yep. We made toasts to everything, ate the flower garnishes off our plates, and were generally awesome for the entirety of the meal. You're welcome, everyone else. Leslie and I danced the night away and, in our usual style, closed out the wedding and stayed after to help clean up afterward. Because that's who we are. And also the hotel was really close, so no hurry to leave.

My "date" to the reception

Thus ended the Michigan Wedding Extravaganza! We had lots of fun on this little mini vacation (or at least I know I did) and were so glad to witness two great people get hitched. Congrats you guys! We wish you the best and can't wait to see yo' lovely faces (and come visit yo' lovely town) again.

Us and the Newly Weds!

Oh, and on a completely unrelated note, the blog passed 10,000 views since the last post! Thanks so much for reading our little blog and keeping up on our lives. We love you all (or at least most of you?) and hope for another 10,000 over the next year. Thanks again!

It Must Be A Sign

Mark this down in the books as the longest project ever. Mostly because I'm a procrastinator. In reality, the actual work didn't take too long!

A few months ago, we were at Menards and I saw a scrap piece of wood (pine I think) that was selling for $2. It was pretty big and I knew I could get some use out of it. I have one project started already from it, and there was enough wood left for me to create a sign for our kitchen. I had Jeremy cut it in a rectangle large enough to go above the doorway between the kitchen and the hallway to the garage and sanded it down. Then about three weeks later, I got around to staining it. I put conditioner on first, and then used the same stain Jeremy used for his desk. I only put one coat one and I love how dark it is! It is crazy how the different wood affects how deep the stain is.

After the stain dried, I lightly sanded it again and got ready to do my stenciling. I printed off the words and measured where they should line up on the wood. I imagine this part would not take as long as it did for me if you're not as picky, but I can definitely tell if things aren't centered and even! Once that was set, I taped the paper onto the wood, and then traced over the outline of the letters using a ball point pen. With some pressure, the pen leaves indentations in the wood. Pretty easy!

While watching an episode of House, I painted in the letters using white craft paint. That dried, and then I put a coat of polyurethane on the wood. I nailed in a picture hanger on the back and hung it up in the kitchen. I love how this looks, and it's such a good reminder for us!

Kind Of A Big Deal

This past weekend we had a few things going on, but I'll just focus this post on Saturday's happenings. It's not that the other events of this weekend weren't fun - it's more that I forgot to take pictures and it probably wouldn't be as much fun to just read about those things.

On Saturday evening we were invited on a little double date type deal by some of our friends. Apparently there was some sort of event going on at a winery south of town and they thought it would be fun to check out. Being the fun, adventurous people that we are, we decided to join. When we got to Mallow Run Winery we found out that this wasn't just some little event - it was more of a midsized festival and definitely a lot bigger deal than any of us thought it would be. The large field in front of the winery was full of cars and the lawn was packed with people like us touting picnic blankets and Pinot Grigio. They had a good sized stage set up to facilitate the evening's entertainment - Tastes Like Chicken - and had the tasting room open for free tastings. We all enjoyed a few tastes of what they had to offer and, once we got a good feel of what we liked, we picked out a few bottles to take home and one to share back out on the lawn. They also had a bunch of food trucks lined up to provide refreshments. We were going to partake, but by the time we began looking into getting grub a lot of the trucks were out of food. Apparently we'll have to come early next time if we want to eat. But no worries, we finished our wine and headed out as the band was finishing up. We were still hungry, however, so we met at Arni's for some dinner and continued conversation. After that we headed home and called it a night.

And a fun night it was. The wines were very good - we brought home two bottles, their Rhubarb and Picnic White varieties. Plus the whole event was free! We'll have to try to make it back down there again for another event (maybe once those two bottles are gone and we have to restock...). Arni's hit the spot too. It's especially interesting to be in an Arni's not at Purdue, where the original is located. The ones in the Indy area are a lot newer and have a completely different feel. But they do have the same delicious pizza, so it's all good.

Speaking of good, I think that's a good place to leave you for this entry. Thanks for reading along and have yourself a good week!