vintage is the new {new}.

A wonderful quality about Knoxville is its close proximity to awesome people, cool places + all things fabulous! To my heart's delight, I hopped in my car on Friday + made the two-hour drive to spend this past weekend in a really rad city {Nashville} with some of the best people {Jess, Seth + Liz} and we did some pretty {damn}fabulous things together!

Top of the list: a vintage market.

I was rather skeptic when Jess said we were going to a "flea market". We spent the whole morning eating a yummy peanut butter & banana bagel + sipping the most delectable lattes + shopping in the cutest boutiques {although our shopping mostly consisted of us taking pictures of handmade items we would like to make ourselves!} in an adorable part of NashVegas called Hillsboro Village + I just couldn't get excited to go walk around in the cold at a "flea market"...

Jess kept assuring me that it really shouldn't be called a "flea market" in the traditional, Florida sense of the word where I was once forced to blend smoothies every weekend for a brief period in my life when my mom decided she was going to moonlight on the weekends as a smoothie kiosk owner... now that I'm rehashing it, maybe I haven't fully recovered from that traumatizing experience?

I digress.

We arrived + I immediately starting swooning over every random table I laid my eyes on!! It was simply fantastic! I'm pretty positive if I had more than $8 cash and a house {of my own} to decorate, I would have bought one of everything!! There was old cameras + clawfoot tubs + distressed furniture + vintage jewelry + this amazing metal peacock in all its metal plumage glory that if I thought I could safely strap to the top of my car to get it to where I'm going (still have not a clue where that be, for anyone who is concerned), I would have snatched it up in a {feathery} heartbeat!

It was such a wonderful way to spend an afternoon perusing through bins of beads + mason jars + old telephones + (re)discovering all the treasures that remind me of my days playing the piano in Grandma Kramer's basement!!

Vintage is the new {new}.

Seriously, google it. Find a fancy flea market in your area. (That includes you, random but awesome reader from Russia!) You won't find anywhere else where you get to pose with sequined mannequins  in one tent + kiss J.F.K. in the next!! I bet my new-old Handy Hanna Hair Dryer you won't regret it! =)

M.F.T. #19: A good workout.

One of the places I am considering moving to for grad school is Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. On my way to Chicago a couple of weeks ago, I stopped in Nashville for ~24 hours to visit a NNP I worked with at CHLA (It's a small world!) and have a sleepover with Jess, Seth & Diesel! It was delightful, both the NICU and the slumber party! =) The Cain Family moved to Nashville over the summer and showed me such a lovely preview of what life would be like if I lived there. We went for flamingly gay burritos and Jess + I drank yummy margaritas at 1:00 in the afternoon. We shopped at all the cute shops, watched The Sing Off and played Scrabble 'til our heads hurt. The next morning we woke up and went to the YMCA... and to say I am out of shape is an understatement... but with the discipline of a gym partner like Jess I had a fabulous workout... and have FINALLY gotten back in to the routine of going to the gym since returning to Knoxville! When Jess + I first moved to college together during the summer of '04, we quickly realized that being a college student meant you had A LOT of extra time on your hands and no other obligations to take up all your free time! We could only sleep til noon and waste away so many days watching "I Love the 90's" marathons before you really begin to feel worthless so we started going to the gym with some friends of ours. It was here that I was introduced to the wonderful world of "group exercise" and the following semester I became a group fitness instructor!! My love for fitness expanded when Jess + I decided to run a marathon our junior year in which I almost died... and will never do that again... but once I regained use of my feet, I continued teaching classes and working out and running in all my spare time. It's the best hobby ever! =) This past year, I was ice cold and frankly, needed the extra layer of fat I acquired in my time in Winnipeg not to freeze to death. Under the many layers I had to wear every day just to not be cold, never did I "keep warm", I had hardly noticed how out of shape I had become. But now that I am back in a climate that only requires I wear one layer of clothing, I've noticed. I had lost the craving of going to the gym and have even been known to be too tired/hungry/freezing/lazy that I leave the gym parking lot and cross the street in to the McDonald's drive thru this past year. Amy Aerobics would have been so ashamed... but that craving... not for the fast food but for a good workout!... is back and I can honestly say I have consistently gone to the gym this past week and I feel awesome!! Thank you, Jess for your fabulous hospitality and resparking the Amy Aerobics inside me! =)

lost in conversation.

My favorite part of the agenda when Jess was here was the amount of time allotted to just talk ... wake up and chat over a cup of hazelnut coffee (just like in college), stay up all night laughing over a bottle of wine, sing our lungs out on road trips down to orange county, hardly noticing sitting in traffic for hours lost in conversation, exhaust ourselves ruminating while running through the hills or just to be in the company of friends that know you so well you don't have to say anything for them to know exactly what you're thinking... There are so many things that bring me tears when I think about how much I miss having them a part of my life now that we are no longer roommates but I miss our friendly conversations the most.  

can't hardly wait.

After working 4 of the last 5 nights, I can't hardly wait for Jess to get here tomorrow for 5 fabulous days!! I've been working hard and now it's time to play hard!! 

sculpted.

The hills are full of marble before the world blooms with statues.

Charleston.

Summerville, SC

Top Chef

Jess is fabulously adapting to her new role as a wife! While staying with her last week, she prepared fantastic meals every night for us. After dinner, we would take a walk through her apartment complex. It's a huge step up from our staple in college of pasta with parmesan cheese and butter that we would eat, without fail, 5 nights a week. I'm hoping you naturally acquire these gourmet skills by wearing a poofy, white dress and saying 'I Do"!

Sometimes, one + one = three

Jess is the proud aunt of her second nephew, Parker Alexander! Her brother and sister-in-law welcomed their first child into the world on Friday, May 30! Congratulations Michael and Janine! He is perfect!

Piggly Wiggly

We knew we were in the South when we went grocery shopping at Piggly Wiggly. Complete with a country kitchen inside the store, we found many southern delights including a bogo special on grits! Jess practiced her wife skills and broke in all the new kitchen utensils by preparing fabulous meals with ingredients from The Pig!

I do. Me too.

You may kiss the bride!

I now pronounce you...

.... husband and wife! The newlyweds have returned from their honeymoon and Carly and I aren't wasting any time to impose on their new life together! =) We are spending a couple of days with Mr. and Mrs. Cain at their new home in Goose Creek, South Carolina this week!

The Bride and Her Maid

The Groom and His Men

Mr. & Mrs.

Jess' Bachelorette

Jess' last night with all her girls as a single woman...

"Horny little devil"
Bridal Party Roommates!!
Start spreadin' the news...
Measuring our year in friendships

Save the Date

May 10, 2008 ... only 30 days away!!!

Fondue for Two

Santa brought me a fondue pot and tonight Jess and I made a fabulous meal for two complete with cheese, chocolate and strawberries! =)

You are the cheese in my macaroni.

When Jess and I moved to college together, the only things we owned were these 2 bowls, a pot, a ladle, a strainer and a measuring cup... all the essentials to make macaroni and cheese! We lived off mac & cheese and (per my mother) we always added corn to our concoction to get our daily serving of vegetables! We started our last semester of college today and because our time to consider Kraft Dinner a food group socially acceptable is running out, we made it for lunch today!! =)