Mo' Moving, Mo' Problems

I have moved four times in less than a year.  It's about to be five.  I am so ready for this phase of my life to be over.  Moving is a nightmare.  Especially when it's hot.  Especially when you have bronchitis.  Especially when there is sloshy snow on the ground.  Especially when you have to decide what to keep for the summer and what to put in storage.  I feel I've experienced it all.

I'm ready to slow, and to settle down.

To do this, I've got to know what is ahead for me.  I would love to be wild and free-spirited, but no one ever tells you how much planning that actually takes.

I want to find a place that's affordable, will let me have Basil (fenced-in yard preferred), has a big enough kitchen for me to cook in, and room for my furniture that fit in my old house.  Hopefully two bedrooms.  I can live with one bathroom, but I MUST have a place to craft and have guests.  And an old place, full of character would be nice.  That's not too much to ask, is it? If I'm paying for it, I want to like it.

Maybe someday I'll just sell everything I have and move to a big city.

But I wonder -- all the great experiences a big city provides -- do they mean anything if you can't share them with the people you love?

And now...a tribute to my former houses, that I loved.  Sigh.

Dog Days of Summer

Besides basic emotional turmoil of all single twenty-something women, my life, in the words of the Fresh Prince, has been "flipped turned upside-down."  By a small dog who goes by the name of Basil.  Half dachshund, half shar-pei.  Cute as anything, crazy as all get-out.  Apparently, abandoned dogs sometimes suffer from separation-anxiety, and Basil's is severe.  That, and some other factors, have brought me to the decision to stay home this summer and take care of her, and take care of my dad after he has back surgery.  I think it will also be nice to stay home and catch up on reading, Spanish, crafting, and of course, tap-dancing.  I'll just need to live a little more thriftily.  You'll hear about that here.

I've spent this weekend at garage sales, the public library, and the farmer's market.  At the library, I got Mark Bitttman's The Food Matters Cook Book, which is companion to his book that I love so much, and changed my views of food completely.  I'm looking forward to cooking from it!

At the garage sales and antique store(with the help of Molly and Jess), I got some awesome deals!  I spent less that 25 dollars and got two dinosaurs, wood blocks, three movies, two books, pipe cleaners, four spools of ribbon (for my classroom), a NEW game of Catch Phrase, a gift for dad, a picture of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, four pairs of earrings, a feather boa, and two vintage maps to use for a project!  I am so happy with the results.  Garage sales are a teacher's best friend.

I also got this FABULOUS trunk for ten dollars!  I look for a trunk everywhere I go, because I've been dreaming of turning one into a coffee table.  They are usually somewhere from 150-300 dollars, which is obviously too expensive.  When I saw this one for TEN DOLLARS, I flipped!  It needs a lot of work and I know I don't have anywhere to put it right now, but I couldn't pass that deal up.  And I'm so looking forward to the fun of re-finishing it and making it my own!

Finally, this morning, I went to the downtown farmer's market at First and Mosley.  It was delightful!  There were people abound, live music, and local food and produce to die for!  I ended up with a package of Thai Basil and three tomatoes (for bruschetta this week!) and a package of fresh flowers. Heaven. :)

I really wanted some fresh eggs, but they sell out quickly, I was told!  I'll have to go earlier next weekend.  I miss Salina because I got fresh, free-range eggs from a co-worker. :(

Enjoy the bounty of summer, my friends!

Book Club

It started as a little nugget of an idea, a joke, really.  It was one of those days we like to remember when the air conditioner was actually working.  When the outside wasn't so stifling that it permeated the entire house.  Days of the past.  Two short weeks ago.

Jessica and I sat, me dreaming of things to come (typical), and she adding rhetoric.  I said book club.  Then we laughed about how little we both read these days.  We threw around ideas, our favorite was reading only romance novels and wearing feather boas.  This turned into a facebook status, and the rest is history.  

Tonight, we had three members present at the first official book club meeting (two absent).  Pizza and fresh-fruit sangria were present.  Many laughs were had, gruesome stories exchanged, and each other made fun of.  We decided to meet every two weeks, and to choose books easily-read in that time period.  First up is "My Horizontal Life" by Chelsea Handler.  Classy.

I'm loving these moments I have with friends.  The onderful part of these adventures comes in the reflection, and what it is doing for me as a person.  Sometimes I might write about something that isn't specifically done on my own (what fun is a book club by yourself?  That's called a reading list).  While I feel it contradicts the blog, it's a part of who I am.  And that's okay.  Onederful adventures are still happening daily. :)

But what I really wanted to share was my sangria recipe (that I just onederfully made up -- with influences from facebook friends <Jane!> to my favorite online cooking blogs -- I found something that worked for me).  

Tabatha's Fresh Fruit Sangria

1 small jug of Carlo Rossi Sangria 

1 cup sliced strawberries

1 cup sliced red grapes

1-2 cups frozen raspberries

2 tbsp sugar

Ice

Sliced strawberries to garnish

First, slice up your fruit (duh), and put it in the bottom of the pitcher or beautiful decanter.  Muddle the fruit with a fork, squishing some (I use very technical terms).  Add sugar.  Pour chilled sangria on top.  Add ice as you like it, garnish with a strawberry slice.  Ta-da!  Simple and delicious!   

Fever

It happens every once in a while.

It feels serious this time.

A surge of emotion and passion welling within me.  Every thought washes over me with great fervor.

It's love.

The love of love.

What I have is suddenly not enough.

I want it all.  Everything.  Typical, for my personality type.  Always looking for greener pastures.

I sleep alone.  I want to sleep next to someone.
I work.  I want to quit.
I make dinner for myself.  I want to cook for someone.
And my car suddenly needs a sunroof.

I am completely restless and out of control.

Give in to me, love.  Find me.

A & J Earwood

Well, folks, wedding season is upon us!  One of my first of the season was of college-friend Abbie (Hammer) Earwood.  The wedding was mid-May, an intimate affair of around 75 people, located at  The Barns at Timber Creek in Winfield, KS (the wedding was down a rustic staircase embedded in the side of a cliff, and the reception in the recently re-built Stone Barn...sigh).  I couldn't have been more impressed, and let me show you why...

This was the cake.  It was imperfectly whimsical.  I loved that it was not entirely made of fondant (gross), and had the two love owls on top.  

The first party favors were at everyone's seat, little plants to care for, with instructions online (saving paper, oh yeah!)

One of my favorite things was the little props (mustaches, glasses, hats) all on a stick!  Someone then took photos with a polaroid-type camera, and were put into the guest book, where we all signed an index card with a special note to accompany our picture.

And this was probably my most favorite part -- a TREE made out of guest thumb prints!  What a brilliant and fun way to capture who was there! 

Here is the happy couple sharing in their first dance.  I have a video that is too large to upload, but if I figure it out, I WILL be posting it.  They surprised us all with some sweet moves, for sure!

The wedding favors were the most delicious mix of Jelly Belly jelly beans I have ever tasted.  I love that the favors were something edible.  So often, party favors sit and collect dust, so something sweet to eat is functional for almost everyone!  I can also re-use the little jar. :)  I love re-purposing!

Funny story about the bouquet...I almost caught it.  My hand was on it, but I decided not to be THAT girl. ;)  My friend Kayla was the lucky winner of the bouquet, so I decided to tease her a little and see how long it took her to notice the bouquet was in my purse.  I also love that Abbie used all real flowers.  Why have a bunch of fake flowers from your wedding sitting around years later?  Real flowers are natural and much more beautiful.  She also wrapped the stems with thick green leaves instead of floral tape -- ingenious!  (More than I wanted the bouquet so I'd be "the next to get married," I wanted to keep the gorgeous flowers!)

This is a group of us girls from college.  Love those ladies!

And finally, walking away from the beautiful stone barn, Abbie and James made their way to the car under a sea of bubbles!  It was a gorgeous day, a lovely wedding, and a fun time had by all. :)

**Side note -- at the wedding, the photographer came to me and said, "You win the award for best faces during dancing."  I couldn't have been prouder.  The photographers are awesome, and you can check their website (and much more beautiful photos) out here: http://simplesplendorphotography.com/

(some of these photos were taken by my dear friend, Kelly Rowe.  Thanks, Kelly!)

Laundry Life

As a single person without the luxury of a washing machine and dryer, I pay frequent visits to the laundromats of my town.  I tired out several sketchy places, and decided I prefer the heavily trafficked laundromats.  Mostly for the safety, but partly for the pleasure of watching people.  I wrote this story via my Blackberry on my first visit, while waiting for the machines to finish.

Coin Laundry

by Tabatha McMullen

At first glimpse, this laundry facility is something like a YMCA. Children frolicking, parents busy with their current priority, yelling at them half-heartedly and out of breath. There's a man, balding and squat, scolding running children through his teeth, but when he sees me he  smiles with an open mouth and says, "These three are open, probably some of the only ones that work!" and inches his cart away from them, gesturing to the machines with the open lids. I leave my sunglasses on and begin discreetly sorting my laundry, hoping that red pair of panties doesn't pop out and fly across the room. As I tug and pull, the man hangs his slacks ever-so carefully on those tiny pants hangers, that clamp the cuffs of the pants, rather than drape them over.

I decide it's safer to stay with my clothes than to leave and come back, because I still haven't seen those panties. I got lazy and just hoisted all the colors into the same wash.  I notice that the man has an apron hanging from his cart, and five identical shirts also reside there. Their logos read "Dillons," which is conveniently right across the street.  I wonder if he lives nearby. As he wheels his clothes out the door on the rickety cart, he tips an imaginary hat and me and I know he must be very good at his job.

A woman of about fifty, with salt and pepper hair, takes it upon herself to pull the door stop out of the open door, shutting it on the first beautiful day we've had in weeks. I catch myself frowning as she turns and I see her "Chopper Mama" t-shirt.

I take a seat and open the new book I got from the library yesterday, but can barely make it through the first chapter before my natural curiosity gets the best of me and I'm engrossed in creating life stories based around the patrons in Coin Laundry.

A woman and her daughter are dressed in two extremes, the woman in red and black sweats, the daughter (around seven years old), in high heeled boots and tights. She points out things to her mom like, "That's different now! That table used to be here." Ahh, they must frequent Coin Laundry. I stare at the clothes she folds. She has many children.

Another woman huffs and puffs, bringing load after load through the door. On her last trip I see two things clutched in her right hand -- a bottle of detergent and a convenience store microwave burrito. Her shirt reads, "Queen of Everything."  That one caused me to let out a delighted giggle.

Thoughts dance through my head of these people wearing these clothes they fold (or toss in a basket), maybe all together somewhere. At work. At school. A family reunion. Yes! Maybe they all know somebody that knows somebody that they know, and they'll wear one or more of these pieces of clothes when they realize. The exponential quality that life has completely amazes me. Every person I come in contact with has a story. The people they come into contact with have stories. And so on and so on...if I think too long about it I start to drool.

Once in a while, I see someone watch me. People might wonder what I am doing, typing away on my phone. "I'm writing about you!" I want to exclaim. If only I could admit to them that I think they are fascinating, and if only they'd converse some more with one another, my imagination wouldn't have to do all the work. Or maybe...they're thinking the same thing about me.

I'm in the market for a washing machine and dryer of my own. Maybe I'll hold off on that.

Doesn't this story make you want to visit Coin Laundry?  I mean, their machines are always broken, but the must glorious things can be seen.  Come visit me.  We'll go together, and it can be twoderful.  Plus, there are snow cones right next door. ;)

Spring Time

It's Spring!  It's Spring!

And Margaret Atwood said, "In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt."

I've taken that literally, and expanded it to mean not only dirt, but sweat, paint, and dust.

It's my spring time of DIY, the onederful way.  Things on my list, newly crossed off, are:

-An antique shutter to hold my ever-expanding collection of scarves in a beautiful way
-Four chairs sanded, primed, sanded and painted(only half crossed off, I've only done two...)
-A desk painted and office area decorated
-An old frame re purposed to hold my necklaces and bracelets with tree-branches
-Clock arm earrings, taken from a clock and painted, then made into earrings.  Slightly unsymmetrical, but quite beautiful.
-Washing my house, with a scrub brush and a hose (now THAT felt good)

And the next thing on the list?
Time to tackle my garden!  And smell like delicious dirt, every day.
I'm busy reading Talking Dirt, by Annie Spiegelman.  It's the Dirt Diva's Down-to-Earth guide to organic gardening.  I'm in love.
I have a big container for my salsa garden, and will be getting some lumber from the Hamlett clan to make my six by eight foot raised vegetable garden in the back yard, as well as sunflowers galore!  I now own a shovel and several garden tools.  I'm itching to make this happen.

Cody and John tell me I need some other actual tools, besides my two screwdrivers and a hammer.  But I say that leaves little room for ingenuity.

The best part of all of this is the sense of ownership and accomplishment it gave me in my home.  It was an empty vessel, and when my friends walked in last night, they said, "Look at your home!"  My home.  After which we had a most-fabulous dinner of pesto pasta, wild leaf salad, and sorbet for dessert.  Wine included.

There's something to said about building a home together with someone, but at this point in my life, it's me.  Just me.  Making myself a home, and a life, that is a direct reflection of who I am.  Not to be alone forever, but to be completely one person before I become part of something else.

Sometimes lonely, but often inspired, and onederfully yours,

Tabatha