Life's about changin' ...

... nothin' ever stays the same.

This weekend is a big weekend for me. JD (formerly known as "him," but he has requested I not refer to him by such a nondescript alias) is moving in. We've been planning this for a while, so I'm ready for it. But it will still be a massive change. He's only bringing a few pieces of furniture, a TV or two (he hates my old tube TVs which is fine because that means new flat screens!), all of his clothes, a few miscellaneous odds and ends, and ... two dogs. That will bring the household total to 3. Three dogs (two large, one small) and two humans in about 1,000 square feet. It will definitely be an experiment in patience and compromise. Thankfully, all of the dogs like each other. The problem is that sometimes they like each other too much and the living room transforms into a doggie wrestling arena. That wears on a girl's patience. Thankfully, I love all the pups immensely, so I'm praying my love for them will give me the patience not to kill them all.

We plan to move into a bigger place (hopefully a house ... rented, of course) when my lease expires, but, being over two hours apart for the next five months or so didn't appeal to either one of us. Living in a two-bedroom apartment with three dogs for 5 months isn't ideal, but it's better than the alternative. And, the way I figure it is, if we can survive this little adventure, we're golden. We can handle anything that gets thrown our way.

Unless of course I come home to this scene again ...

Remind me again why I have dogs?

Yesterday, after JD left to go pack up his apartment, he forgot to close the pantry door. And Bailey, not to miss an opportunity, raided it. She and Pickles (the little dog and the only male) had a field day with the pasta and bananas (they ate 5! Skins and all!!) and macaroni and peanut butter and nutella and saltine crackers. It was NOT pleasant to come home to. This was AFTER Sunny (the yellow dog) chewed a hole in my living room carpet that morning. 

If this happens too often (or ever again), there will be no need to get a bigger place because there will be no dogs to worry about!

Straddling the states

Funny thing about Bristol. It's straddles the border between Tennessee and Virginia. In fact, the state line runs down the center of State St. 

Because of this weirdness, there were all sorts of crazy rules about where you could take your beers during the concert. See the sign below ...

At one point, I was traveling from the main stage to the secondary stage and I was told I couldn't bring my beer. I asked why and he told me it was because of the fact that you can't bring alcohol across state lines. So, in a government-enforced move, I chugged my beer so I could see the other bands. (Only later did I learn that it was actually because the two stages were actually at different venues and each venue had sold their beer licensing to different vendors. It had nothing to do with the state line which actually ran down the road two blocks away. But the kid was like 18, so I'll give him a pass. And he handled my NY attitude quite well.)

Apparently, when state lines run down the center of the street, it is perfectly acceptable to walk around with no shirt on while walking a pig on a leash. Who knew?

Half of me is in TN and the other half is in VA!!

The British are in Bristol!

A good friend and I drove to Bristol TN/VA this weekend to see our favorite band ... Mumford and Sons! It was a small stopover venue with about 15,000 people, and it was an AMAZING show. The band and their accompanying bands took over the town and made every effort to take advantage of the tour. There were Union Jacks hanging everywhere and restaurants, bars, and clothing stores were offering all sorts of Mumford and Sons discounts. It was great to see such a quaint little town flourish. I kinda fell in love with Bristol as well. It's a really sweet little town ... and not just because they have a delicious bakery!!

Tasty cupcakes at the Blackbird Bakery. 

Mere and I under the Union Jack. 

More pretty cookies. 

Union Jack, proudly waving, 

Mumford and Sons taking the stage. We were far away (because we didn't camp out all day), but the music was awesome nonetheless. 

Lots of people enjoying the sun and good music. 

I love the juxtaposition of my saints bracelet and my Over 21 beer-approved bracelet. 

The weekend was whirlwind and wonderful, and I'm so happy I got to go see Mumford and Sons for the second summer in a row with Mere. They played almost all of their old album and a ton of new stuff. The greatest part? For the last song, they brought ALL of the bands up on stage and played an impromptu "Wagon Wheel." It was A-MAZING. 

I love other people's houses ...

I regularly go back and forth between wanting to own a home that I could truly make my own and wanting to be an eternal apartment dweller where I don't have to worry about maintenance and upkeep. This weekend in Bristol certainly tipped the scales in favor of home ownership. 

While staying in Bristol with a friend and her mom, I fell in love with two awesome houses. The first, my friend's mom's, is old and clean and well decorated and as original as possible. I mean, the doors and doorknobs are original. The windows are awesome and original. There is even the original phone box in the hallway. I loved everything about it. 

The second house I fell in love with belonged to a friend of my friend's mom. It is an awesome little house. It's decorated like a little antique shop with wonderful little touches everywhere. Nothing really matched, but, when it all gets put together, it looks so comfortable and lived and just perfect. 

The front room has mismatched leather and fabric furniture that works perfectly together. I LOVE that she has framed a piece of her children's art in a heavy weight frame and has lit it with a gallery light. I love it!

The sitting room with easy comfy couches with lots of little touches. 

I've always loved the idea of stacked books as a side table, but I've always been worried about how it work and what it would look like. She has done it wonderfully. 

Love, love, LOVE the kitchen! Everything about it! The only thing I would change would be to find an old retro stove. 

The most amazing feature in this house? The 14' ceilings ... in the basement! The basement isn't completely finished but it has so much potential!

I'm totally ready to buy a house now. :)

New baths

I finally updated my bathroom. I've had the same ratty towels and shower curtain (not liner!) and rugs since I registered for my wedding way back over 11 years ago. When I registered for the wedding, I was young and ignorant, and I registered for pretty towels, not durable towels. So, 11 years later, I have faded, ugly, paper-thin towels. Aside from their beat down condition, they are also small. They barely cover me! So, after making a little money this summer working summer camps, I decided it was time to splurge on some new bathroom accessories. Of course, this meant a trip to Target. 

Who knew how hard it was to chose new bathroom colors?! No one warned me about this business!! I wanted something pretty and nice but nothing too girly and frilly. I was also thinking towards the future when He and I get a place together (maybe December) because no man wants to have a pink girly bathroom. And, while I love pink, it doesn't really belong in the bathroom. I finally found a color scheme and pattern that I liked as well as plush cozy towels that are simply amazing. I even splurged and bought the giant bath sheets because He likes using them instead of the regular sized ones. 

New towels. Aqua, teal, and white. 

One of the new rugs and some towels. I can't wait to have a real bathroom.

My new shower curtain. Blue birds. Ain't it purty?

Close up of the shower curtain. 

And there you have it. The new bathroom digs. 

New friends

Bailey made new friends while walking with me and Grandma on Saturday!

Sunbathin'

One of the great things about my parents house is the pool. Especially when it's hot and sunny. For some reason, we end home during the hottest week of the summer. And, of course, there is no air conditioning anywhere. So, needless to say, we spent a lot of time at the pool. And, of course, the nieces joined us. 

Mom and Leah, catching some rays.

Sassy Kyra

Great view. 

Kyra and me, chillin'.

How much attitude can a 9-year-old have?!

Ready for a deep sea adventure!

Wine-ding down

No trip home is complete without a trip to the wineries. And this trip was no exception. Mom, Dad, He, and I all headed to Seneca Lake to visit a few wineries and soak up the scenery and the sun. The weather was gorgeous, and we couldn't have asked for a nicer day to enjoy the most flavorful fruits of CNY.

Lunch,  overlooking the lake. 

We even made some tasty sangria with our purchases when we got home. Yum!

Aren't we happy? We hadn't even started drinking yet!

Who wouldn't want to drink wine with this view?

An engaging story

In case you haven't heard the big news, I got engaged over vacation!

Just kidding! But we totally played the best prank ever on my mom, and it worked like a charm!

Before heading home, He and I bought a big, giant, fake ring that I was going to wear home to shock my mom. It took her over an hour before she even noticed it, and I was intentionally doing EVERYTHING with my left hand. Drinking wine. Eating. Motioning. When she finally noticed, she flipped out a bit. Her exact words were, "What the hell is that?!" Her next statement was, "You just had to get one bigger than mine. I had to wait 35 years for mine!!"

It was awesome. I can't lie, so I just sat there and smiled like a giddy school girl. He took the lead on the story, and we played along for a few minutes. The best part of the whole thing was that it was in front of the whole family!! Mom was pist. And it was wonderful. She needs a little excitement in her life to keep her young. de

Waterless waterfalls

As usual, whenever I go home, I visit a few of the beautiful gorges that are there. And, of course, I had to show Him all of the gorgeous spots that I call home. Sadly, CNY has been experiencing some drought conditions, so the water wasn't nearly as impressive as it usually is. My favorite waterfall, Taughannock, was almost dry. Thankfully, Treman had water and made for some pretty pics. 

Waterfalls with water.

Waterfalls without water. 

I truly am blessed to call this place home.