Oh gosh. This has been a pretty hectic (and exciting!) month. I went back to the Midwest for a bit, moved into a new house, and have been tackling all sorts of craft projects. So, a recap! I've been imaginary blogging the whole time, so I probably have more to include than really ought to be included, but here goes.
Betsy flew to Atlanta in mid-July and we drove back to Kansas together. I didn't have a ton of time to stay in Kansas, but I got to have some steak, see my family, and buy fabric for the binding of David's quilt (you see how my priorities are ordered, right?). I headed back to St. Louis, where I had the wonderful honor of serving as a bridesmaid in Rachel's wedding. It was a beautiful affair and I'm super stoked for Rachel and Mike's new life together. It was also great to have my family and David there, plus all of my favorite high school buddies. Oh, and the reception was such a blast and I danced so much that I threw up (TMI? sorry! and I had barely anything to drink). I still can't believe we got
Rickrolled. Crazy good.
David and I also made a much-awaited-for trip to MoBot. The weather was pleasantly cool for July (though that isn't really saying much) and I especially enjoyed getting to show him one of my very favorite places. When I'd gone to the Gardens in March, the sheep and rams were gone and I was worried that they'd be missing for good. Imagine my excitement when we rounded the corner by the Children's Garden and saw them! I don't think David had quite the same enthusiasm, but he was a good sport. Also, the little girl in the picture behind me somehow "got stuck" on top of the lamb. Pretty sure she was just being stubborn. But can you blame her? We also did all of the other good stuff like walking in the rose garden, going through the maze, and feeding the fish. So good!
So, following that, David and I drove to Atlanta and two days later I moved. The new house is just two blocks from downtown Decatur, so a quick walk to the post office, bank, coffeeshops, boutiques, and my favorite pubs. The neighbors have all already introduced themselves and I'm really liking the feeling of being in a community. Today I walked to one of the coffeeshops to study some French. In reality I did more people watching, but it was so nice to sit under the awning outside and watch the drizzle and babies go by. Lots of young families! School must have just started because I saw lots of kids walking home from the local Catholic school, shirts untucked and bookbags dragging. A few boys who seemed a little too cool for school pulled out a guitar and ridiculous red sunglasses while waiting for their carpool. It was pretty comical.
The house is a sweet little cape cod surrounded by lots of big trees and a few hydrangea bushes and Japanese maples. All hardwood floors, spacious, and friendly with a full dining room, screened in porch, and laundry. Unfortunately the windows are painted shut and since it's a bit wooded, the house isn't as sunny as I'd like. Also, no garbage disposal, so emptying the French press has been a major pain. We've tried to make due with a cheap drip maker, but the coffee always comes out thin and tastes burnt within a matter of minutes. We should have a better maker on the way. In the meantime we just have to scoop the press out in the trash. Life is so hard, right? We've found a good amount of evidence of some mice friends, but I think the recent work in the basement patching holes and such will help that. My room is significantly bigger than at the last house and I have enough room to have my sewing machine and ironing board set up without tripping over everything. In the past week I finished David's quilt, sewed two tote bags, hemmed some curtains and got all of my goodies organized.
We've also been doing lots and lots of cooking and family-style dinners here at the 325. The night before my birthday we had some homemade Pasta, homemade sauce, salad, and fruit with a balsamic vinegar glaze. The flavor wasn't as pronounced as I would've liked, but still tasty. Sam and Timothy made me a gooey butter cake for my birthday, which was super sweet. Then last week I read that August is National Goat Cheese Month, so we trekked over to the farmer's market and bought a bunch of goat cheese, produce, and wine. I made this
Beet Salad with Plum and Goat Cheese. I'd never eaten beets before, let alone cooked them, and I was mightily impressed. The boys prepared some eggplant parmesan, which didn't have goat cheese in it, but one can only have so much goat cheese. Yeah right. We ended up eating a ton of it anyway with bread and some figs and even on top of some guacamole. Yesterday I made
Pork Tenderloin with Blueberry Chutney. Blueberries are still in peak season here and I've been eating them out of hand and with yogurt every day this summer, even though I'd never eaten blueberries before then. But man oh man, this chutney is fantastic. I guess you can make it with frozen berries, but I'd like to think it's best with fresh. Plums are also great now and I think I'll be making some plum kuchen soon, too. Mmmm, Zwetschgenkuchen! Omigosh, I seriously can't wait.
Last weekend I went to Athens and David and I made some freezer paper stencils for my tote bags and a few of his shirts. I think they all came out really well, though they could've been a little cleaner. Really just the process of hanging out with David and making things with him was great. Most of my crafting is pretty solitary, save picking out fabric, so it's uncommonly nice to share the process and not just the results with someone else. I also gave him his quilt and he seemed very pleased. Oh! We also saw
Julie & Julia. Really I would've preferred to have the whole movie about Julia because I didn't care for Julie too much, but it was still a good show. I'll be going back to Athens this weekend for his friends' commitment ceremony and then he leaves for New York on Sunday. Boo hoo! I think we'll be able to make it work and I'm going to try to make it up there in September. It will be a bit of challenge, but I'm at least up for it.
Whew, that was a lot. So, things are winding down and I'm already going to be starting my TA training on Wednesday. It's really hard to believe that summer's over. I wish I could've spent more of it in St. Louis and Kansas, but all in all it's been a pretty great go and the times back home were without a doubt extra special. I'm really excited to start classes. I just ordered all of my books today, so things are becoming a bit more real. Like an empty bank account! I think second year will be better than first, but loaded with more responsibility. In the meantime, I hope to get my quilt finished before I have too much work. These recent projects have me all sorts of excited and so I hope to set aside enough time during the semester to relax and do something constructive. Mal sehen!
