Backyard Happenings

About a month ago, we had a dirt party to do some work in the backyard. And the main result was this project: Nathan's raised beds.

The dirt area around them will eventually be a path with a trellis in the middle. And they are no longer empty. This weekend, we (me) designed and (Nathan) planted them. And because Shelby has been very clingly lately, she sneaks her way into the photos. 

This is the perennial bed, which, assuming all of the flowers live, will be the same every year.

However, we thought it would be fun to redesign them each year, too. So this ended up being the annual bed.

When we picked out flowers, we used the color wheel for inspiration. The bottom tier of both is yellow, orange, whites, and pinks. The middle tier is purples, reds, greens, and pinks. And the top tier has purple fountain grass and other tall plants. When we grouped them, we put complementary colors across from each other. It took a lot of effort, but the result is worth it. I'm already looking forward to summer when the bed get filled in.

The Kitchen

Finally, an update on our kitchen. It is probably the best thing ever, and it made our house feel instantly changed. But I will let the pictures do the talking.

This is entirely new storage. There used to be a large ovehead cabinet where the fridge is, with the bakers rack next to it. The rolling dishwasher hung out in the corner where the fridge is. This is my favorie new part because it's my little "baking area." The cabinet above has all of my baking ingredients.

See how pretty it is? Oh ya, my step stool (to reach the higher shelves) has a nice little space now, too.

The bottom right cabinet has some pots and pans, but we keep the ones we use almost daily hanging up on the wall. Our pot rack is simply a coat hook from Target.

This side of the kitchen was realtively smilar, only the corner cabinet was a weird cabinet that went all the way back, and the bottom cabinet used to be four drawers. I realized we didn't need drawer space, but cabinet space, so we adjusted. And if you can believe it, that is all of the counter space we had originally. 

This is another side that saw a lot of chance. The dishwasher is now built-in and next to the sink. Weird, right? The counter space above it is all new. It is the "prep" area, because all of the cutting boards hang out in the cabinet under the knife block.

Here is a close up of the countertop. It looks a little greener here than it is in real life, but it isn't plain black like we had planned on.

This is my other favorite part. This sink is giant and it is perfect for soaking pans effectively and holding lots of dishes. They thought I was kind of weird when I requested it, but it is perfect for what we want. 

And here is the dishwasher, pretty and built-in. It's still hard for me to get out of the habit of leaving while it's running.

Still to come in the kitchen makeover is the door to the backyard, but that is not as essential now that we have the garage. Which is Shelby's new favorite hang out.

Shelby's Worst Enemy

This weekend, Nathan and I went to a vintage market, and came home with the ultimate treasure. Everyone, meet our new dog, Sheldon, aka Shelby's worst enemy.

Sheldon is a ceramic sheltie who holds money, and Shelby spends most of her time barking at him or ignoring him. He is the quiet guard dog who sits by the front door.

Sheldon is not the only change that's been happening. We've made lots of changes lately that you all haven't been udpated on, so tune in this week for the scoop.

Until then, Sheldon will sit and wait. Patiently.

Unfinished

I will admit it, I watch a lot of TV. I love TV. And the past few weeks have been full of season finales, or in some unfortunate cases, series finales. I know I am probably overreacting, but I need closure! I wish networks would decide earlier on when they are canceling things so they don't end with a cliffhanger. Best Example This Year: The Finder, Fox. Now I will always wonder what happened. Best Example Ever: Reunion, Fox. Still bitter about it. I see the common theme, here, too...

But on the other hand, I have been obsessing with new TV this week, and you can, too, thanks to TV Line.

Friday Fancies

There is something about cupcakes for me--I can see commercials for any other kind of food or drink, but if I see a picture of a cupcake (or watch 2 Broke Girls) I have. to. have. one. Basically, I totally want one of these in my house.

A good site if you are like me and obsessively read everything a good author has written.

In my opinion, this was one of the best articles my friends posted on facebook about Maurice Sendak after his death this week. (Yes, Facebook is the source of most of the articles I read.)

I am totally loving this for our front door instead of a wreath.

Yesterday I tried to make dry dog shampoo for the super smelly dog that showed up (aka, Shelby, but normally she is so obsessed with being clean). It didn't work, but I did mix a little soap with some water and sprayed it on her, whch seemed to help.

Book Review: Mrs. Kennedy & Me

Mrs. Kennedy & Me is the memoir of the Secret Service agent assigned to protect Mrs. Kennedy. Because of his position, we are able to see what Jackie Kennedy's life was like in the White House behind closed doors. I learned a lot about her and her time as first lady in this book, as it rarely discusses JFK. Instead, we get stories of Jackie's travels and her time at home and insight to what it is like to constantly have a Secret Service agent with you--and what it is like to be that agent assigned to protect the most powerful family in the country.

What I found most interesting about this memoir was the perspective Clint Hill had on the assasination and the emotional impact it had on his life and his relationship with Jackie. Thus, it is not a memoir soley about Jackie or Clint, but a memoir of their relationship and how it impacted her life in the White House.

Book Review: Once Upon A Secret

In keeping with our patriotic theme from yesterday, I have two political memoirs to review today and tomorrow about the Kennedys. But these memoirs are by people who were close with the President JFK (in today's case) and the First Lady Jackie Kennedy (tomorrow's book) in ways that were not as documented in the history of their lives.

Once Upon A Secret, by Mimi Alford, is the memoir of JFK's mistress. She was an intern in the White House press office, and news of her affair with the president only came out recently--the book was just published this year.

There are so many things I liked about this book, which is not so much filled with details about their actual affair, but the context surrounding it. For starters, I loved getting a glimpse into life in the White House press office, back before the Internet dominated the news cycle. I also love this time period, and Alford does a fantastic job of setting the scene for you in that time period, providing the social context, as well. For example, she discusses how JFK's womanizing was not more of a story than it was. A lot of it, she said, had to do with the fact that he was a well-loved president, especially by the press, and people didn't want to believe that about him.

But what was most interesting was that she is easy to relate to. The memoir talks about her life afterward, and how she considers her self to be a footnote to a footnote in history. She says that she didn't have any influence over the president, she just knew him and loved him. She also talks about how keeping this secret impacted her life, both for the bad and for the good. I think that this can be applied to anyone's life, in that sometimes these notable moments in life can lead you down a path that has unexpected influence on you.

If you decide to check this book out, I highly recommend the audio book version. As is the case with most of the books I listen to, I end up sitting in my car for a while because I didn't want to stop listening.

Just 5 Days In The Capital City

I wish I could work a "Wicked" reference into all of my post titles. It's probaby a little late, but I wanted to (finally) give a summary of our Washington, D.C. trip we took at the end of March. We tried to plan our trip around the cherry blossoms, but most of them had bloomed the week before. In fact, this was one of the few late bloomers we saw around the Jefferson Memorial.

But overall, we had a very fun trip. We unintentionally split up our days into themes, which actually ended up being kind of cool because a lot of what we were seeing fit together.

Day 1: D.C. Highlights

Washington Monument

Our flight out of Omaha left early in the morning, so we arrived to D.C. around noon. We took the metro to our hotel, the Washington Hilton, to drop our stuff off and then took the metro over to the Capitol. Now, because I lived there for a summer five years ago, I thought we would be fine without a map and I could "feel" my way to places. Let's just say that didn't work, and we ended up taking the loooong way to the Capitol, rather than the direct way.

We started at the Capitol and then walked the mall, intending to stop at the monuments as we went. But before we got there, we decided to detour to the Archives, because the line was relatively short. In addition to the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, etc. there was a very cool exhibit on Ben Franklin AND we also saw Laura Ingalls Wilder memorabilia: the homestead claim Pa filed in South Dakota.

We then resumed our monument tour, minus the Lincoln because it looked really crowded, we both had already seen it, and the reflecting pool was under construction. After looking for ages, we finally found the Jefferson, MLK, and FDR. I still think FDR is my favorite one.

We stayed in Dupont Circle, and for dinner we had Greek food at one of the restaurants I had always wanted to go to during my internship. It was definitely worth the wait.

Day 2: American History

One of the main things I HAD to do when we were in D.C. was tour the White House. We went through our representative back in February to schedule it, and our tour was set for 12:30. We went to the White House Visitor's Center before, which had displays of furniture, china, and other White House artifacts before getting in line. The line for the White House was one of the longest we had to wait in, and I have to say I was not as impressed as I thought I would be. We got to see a few of the rooms, but there was no guided tour or real information on the rooms while you were in there. We did see the first dog while waiting in line though, so that was worth it.

After the White House, we headed to the American History museum. Unfortunately, the pop culture and sports exhibits were closed, but we did get to see the Star Spangled Banner and the First Lady exhibit.

By this time, we were so overwhelmed by all of the people, so we went and had a drink before checking out the Portrait Gallery. This is my favorite art museum. There was also an exhibit on the art of video games, and I think that was Nathan's favorite.

We had dinner at Zola, nearby, a recommendation from a friend. It.Was. Amazing.

Day 3: Art & Journalism

Top Floor of the Newseum

The other attraction I had to see while we were there was the Newseum. You have to pay to get in, but it is, in my opinion, way worth the cost. We spent a ton of time in here, as we were both journalism majors. But what was so interesting was that there was so much history in the museum: Significant history, like part of the Berlin Wall, the top of the tower from the World Trade Center, the door from Watergate, and then everyday history that becomes significant: cameras, wallets, cell phones from 9/11 vicitms, newspapers and magazines, Pulitzer Prize-winning photos.

We also got to see some unique exhibits at the National Gallery of Art. One of the big ones was Colorful Realm: Japanese Bird-And-Flower Paintings by Itō Jakuchū (1716–1800), which was on display outside of Japan for the first time. We also got to see sculptures (Nathan's favorite) and Impressionst paintings (my favorite).

Even though we had already walked a ton, we decided to head over to Georgetown to look at the campus and grab dinner.

Day 4: Nature

We started our "nature" morning out at the zoo, looking at all of the animals, and of course, the pandas. Then we stopped at the aquarium. This was interesting because it featured the sea life you would see in different ecosystems, but it was a little disappointing because there was not a lot there.

The Natural History museum was by far the busiest museum we had been to yet. But we did get to see the fossils, the hope diamond, and a really cool exhibit about forensic anthropology, which I loved because it was like the show "Bones" in real life.

My wonderful cousins hosted us for dinner that night, which was a ton of fun.

Day 5: The Unexpected

National Botanic Gardens

Our last day in D.C. was spent touring the places that aren't as popular. We stopped by the Library of Congress to see the reading room and the art that makes the building so interesting. There was also an exhibit of Thomas Jefferson's library. Next, we stopped at the National Botanic Gardens, Nathan's favorite. And finally, we went to the Building Museum. One of the most interesting exhibits here was the different designs that were considered for all of the monuments, or how different D.C. could look if these were accepted rather than the ones we know today.

Overall, I have to say it was one of my favorite trips we've been on.

Running With Shelby

Yesterday, I went and watched my awesome friend Leah run the Lincoln half-marathon. I have never watched a marathon (or half) before and couldn't believe how many spectators were out and how many people were running (this year, 10,000). I also couldn't believe how entertaining and inspiring it was.

I am not a runner--in fact, I've always hated running. The sports I played in high school, volleyball and tennis, required little running for that very reason. But currently, I am doing couch to 5k to get ready for the Purple Stride in June. Here is the team page if you want more info.

This morning, I got up to run and was equipped the inspiration I got yesterday watching the marathoners. Today was the day I had to run more than walk, too. However, I've found that the secret to not hating running is to have a dog with you. Normally, Shelby runs either way ahead of me (at the beginning of the run) or way behind me (when she is tired). Today, though, she ran next to me pretty much the whole time.

The other best part of running with Shelby is I can motivate myself by reminding her that we only have a minute left and to keep on going. Hello, of course she doesn't need to know that but I do, and having her with me means I don't look like a crazy person.

Overall the run went pretty good, until I got home and had to lie on the kitchen floor because I felt faint. There will be no half-marathoning for me, I think.

Oh, and there is a new trend in Lincoln I am not too happy about. The past few times we've gone, Shelby has had a random, leashless dog run up to her and scare her. Today's was fine, because it was smaller than she was, but last week, some black lab came running up to her and the owner didn't make much of an effort to come get him. Then on our way back, we ran into them again, and the lady barely held onto him, while laughing with her friend about how "her dog had scared that little dog earlier." I'm sorry, but I don't think it's funny that your giant lab came running after my dog, who is already extremely cautious of other dogs.

End my "leashless dogs" rant, but I have to say this bothers me as much as the high schoolers who leave chocolate out all over the sidewalks.

And yes, I suppose I am a crazy dog person.

Friday Fancies

It's been a while since we've had a Friday Fancies post, but here we go. It seems like Friday really is almost over, but I've been busy working on some long-overdue projects, including redoing my desk chair using this tutorial. (Thanks, Pinterest!) But I did "draft" a few links that I wanted to share, so it will just be short and sweet.

I just recently saw this commercial and it reminds me of my dad! But his additional warnings when I got my first subaru were about listening to the radio.

Some fun things were posted on facebook this week: Disney princess costumes and this blog post about being happy. I think I do all of those things, even though I do consider myself to be pretty happy.

Books I've finished this week: Girls In White Dresses, by Jennifer Close. All That Matters, Jan Goldstein.

Book Swap: My Thoughts On "Dune"

What I Liked

Reading Dune didn't feel like I was reading a book that was written decades ago. The major themes of the book are still relevant to today, particularly the environmental ones. I was most surprised at the dominance of woman characters in the book--Jessica is a strong character, both in personality and in status. I was also surprised by the nontraditional relationships between men and women shown in the book, particularly that of the Duke and Jessica. Because this was written in a time period where for many women, marriage was preferable to having a career (can you tell I've been watching "Mad Men" lately?), this really surprised me.

I also liked the character development--it seemed like there were a lot of characters, but there was always the opportunity to understand their motives, their inner thoughts, and their relationships with the other characters.

What I Didn't Like

I have to say that Dune was very hard for me to get into. I had actually already started reading Dune on our plane trip back from Europe, and just couldn't connect with the story. I also put off starting it again for the book swap--Nathan finished Gone With The Wind at least a month and a half ago, and I just finished Dune recently. However, once the action got started, I couldn't put it down.

Oh, and the Baron really creepd me out.

A Different Perspective

I think the only science fiction book I have ever read is A Wrinkle In Time. The main reason I don't read science fiction is that I have a bad imagination. I imagine practical things, so taking me out of reality and putting me in a world where I have to imagine planets and places and a completely different life is hard for me. Also, I don't understand why techonolgy we have now is not available in the future. (Though Nathan informed me that they explain this further in the later books.) Thus, Dune really took me out of my comfort zone. But once I was able to stretch my imagination, I found I really enjoyed the story.

Book Swap: Nathan's Thoughts On "Gone With The Wind"

What I Liked

I felt like Scarlett is a woman before her time, as she’s extremely independent and strong-willed, and unlike the women surrounding her, she’s not afraid to go after what she wants—something that seems to be a social no-no. When Scarlett applies herself, she can do anything she wants, as she’s clearly intelligent and has the drive to succeed. What she doesn’t care about, she completely ignores. As a character, it’s hard to not like Scarlett, because I found it fun to read along as she plows the various challenges life presents her. Her character’s flaw of not caring about things that don’t interest her (politics, the war, making friends with other women, and considering what other people think about her actions) further add to her challenges, as they all seem to be key ways of life in the South). Through her faults, we learn about the South’s general perception of events and provide a good reason as to why Scarlett is able to succeed in times when everyone around her is falling apart. I also really liked how Margret Mitchell was able to create a story where the South comes alive. She paints a picture of a wonderful place where everyone is happy, including many of the slaves, because they are part of an idolized society where the world is nothing but parties and having fun. And despite how terrible the idea of slavery is, I found myself thinking that the South was a wonderful place that ended up being ruined by the Yankees, and all because Mitchell does such a good job of making everything in the South appear as a noble pursuit filled with honor and a sense of justice. To be able to take an ideal that’s so wrong and make it seem to be right is truly impressive writing.

What I Didn’t Like

The one thing I didn’t like about Mitchell’s writing was how she would randomly switch character perspectives. One moment Scarlett would be having some type of inner dialogue, and then, someone else would begin talking—but you don’t know who it is until a paragraph later. The writing style provides a kind of flow as it goes along, but as I’m used to Sci-Fi and Fantasy styles (where there are many characters and everyone is typically identified before they start speaking), I find that change to be confusing. Maybe it was the overall length of the story (though this is shorter than many of the Fantasy books I read), but the story also seemed to bog down after Scarlett marries Rhett. I found myself wondering how two people who were so in love appear to drift apart so quickly. It’s as if the moment Scarlett puts Ashley in charge of the mill, Rhett gives up on them as a couple. After he’s waited so long, it seemed out of character to me, but that’s just my opinion.

A Different Perspective

Gone With The Wind is a certainly a book that’s “out of my wheelhouse,” in terms of genre, but I certainly enjoyed it. I don’t have any problem with reading fiction, but when I read, I prefer to take myself to somewhere that I can imagine something I’ve never seen or thought of before. With some fiction, I find that reading about the normal lives of people don’t provide the type of mental release I’m looking for reading. With Gone With The Wind, I was able to imagine the beauty of the South and follow along with the “adventures” of Scarlet, which made the book tremendously enjoyable.

A Book Swap

In the dating world, not everyone gets what it is like to really, really, really love reading. So obviously, one of the first things I absolutely loved about Nathan was that he, like me, was (and still is) an avid reader. However, what we read is completely different. He reads, not exclusively but mostly, science fiction and fantasy. I read, well, basically everything BUT science fiction and fantasy.

Even though we don't read the same books, we can still talk about the books we're reading with each other in a general sense. But wouldn't it be more fun if each of us had more of a context of what the other was talking about? That's what we thought, too, and that's how we came up with a book swap: I would read a book chosen by Nathan and he would read one chosen by me. Here are the books we chose for each other and why we chose them. This week, we'll also both be sharing our thoughts on the book we read.

Whitney

Book Choice For Nathan: Gone With The Wind, by Margaret Mitchell

Why did I pick Gone With The Wind?
 I love Gone With The Wind. I can still remember reading it for the first time, and being in awe that I, like all of the characters in the book, was starting to hate the North. (Of course, not ACTUALLY, but that is the power of Margaret Mitchell's writing.) I also know that Nathan likes action and well-developed characters, and Gone With The Wind has both. It's also one of those "classics" that I think everyone should read, as it really sets the tone for the historical fiction genre.

Nathan

Book Choice For Whitney: Dune, by Frank Herbert

Why did I pick Dune?
First off, Dune is my favorite book of all-time, so I think it should be on almost anyone’s to-read list, if they haven’t read it already. Secondly, Frank Herbert is my favorite writer, and although not all of his works are masterpieces, in terms of plot, his ability to provide me with a sense of a character’s feelings and imagine how a scene looks is unparalleled with other Sci-Fi and Fantasy writers, in my opinion. Typically, Herbert is able to do so in only a few paragraphs, so the plot (which is a central to most Sci-Fi and Fantasy works) isn’t derailed by endless descriptions of landscapes and characters. In Dune, Herbert is able to combine the plot of a political thriller with a brilliant science fiction storyline that works in action, drama, and subtle mystery.