Put a Cork In It

I realized a few nights before Christmas that I had (accidentally) fulfilled another goal off my 30 Before 30 list! I couldn't do a full post about it then, though, because one of the activities involved presents which had not yet been given...

Number 19 on my list was "Make something out of all the wine corks we've saved. [More like 50 things...]"
I actually made a couple of crafts, and I still have more corks to go!

Craft #1: Jewelry holder.

Supplies needed:
Picture frame
Scrapbook paper {if desired}
Wine corks
Hot glue gun

I had seen several examples of this online. For example, here is one from Etsy ($25): 

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I bought an old, sort of rustic gold looking wall frame at Goodwill. It actually came in a set of three for five bucks or something. The other two are on our living room wall.

I tried filling the frame entirely with corks, similar to the one pictured above, but I didn't love it. Then I had a brainstorm: I have a whole pad full of cool scrapbook paper, which we bought when we made our parents tile coasters for Christmas last year. Why not use a little?

I put some paper in the frame and arranged the corks so that some of the paper still showed...then just hot-glued them down. Easy breezy. 

Finished product. My apologies for the glare...our room is very bright.

Close-up to show the paper pattern.

Craft #2: Tabletop Christmas Trees. 

Supplies needed:

Wine corks

Hot glue gun

Something for the "trunk" {if desired}

Acrylic paint

Crafty odds and ends {I used buttons, twine, and decorative tape}

I saw these on Pinterest a while ago and adapted them to fit my own supplies. I would link to the original tutorial, but the site seems to have disappeared. Here is the picture, featured on another website:

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Original inspiration

Once again, these are all over Etsy. Some variations:

Left (source): All one shade. I like this, too. 

Right (source): I'm not sure I have the patience to make one this large...

I chose not to make my trees ornaments--they just sit on a surface. I also chose not to make a trunk out of a stick or whatever (sorry, my stick supply is limited. Also, I had finals. And nothing to saw with). I did take some twine, braid it, and glue it onto the last level to set it apart and make it look more trunk-like. 

Most of the examples I had seen used more muted colors, but my paint and other supplies lent themselves to a brighter look, which I didn't mind.

Here are two that I made:

Front. 

Back. 

As you can see, one coat of paint left the cork peeking through a little bit, but I liked the way it looked. If you wanted it to be super opaque, two coats would do it.

I made several of these as little Christmas gifts and was really pleased with how they turned out! There are so many cool ways you could decorate these little trees. 

Have you done anything else crafty with your wine cork collection?

Since the world didn't end, what do I do with these sprinkles?

Happy Mayan New Year! I hope you're not disappointed by the fact that you're still alive. Actually, I'm confused about what was "supposed" to happen. Some people were calling yesterday our last day, and some were stocking up on supplies as if they were going to survive, and some maybe think the last day is today...anyway. It's also my former roomie's birthday, so happy birthday, Carly. :)

I've had a dilemma for the past few days. Travis and I made some Christmas cookies for our neighbors (and a few for us). It was a rather frustrating day, as I went to TWO grocery stores in town and neither had cookie cutters, and the red sugar Betty Crocker sprinkles were, like, three bucks for a tiny bottle. Forget you, regional grocery stores. I miss H-E-B. And the dollar store by our old house that had everything.

I finally found these awesome sprinkles at Target in the dollar section, so I bought three (I know, overkill). But they were so cute!

I especially love the little holly berries and leaves.

Featuring the cookies that I decorated (i.e., three-year-old-esque).

Featuring Travis' cookies (i.e., Christmas baking advertisement). Rude. 

So, cookies are now done. Each sprinkle container is still almost full. Our kitchen doesn't have a ton of storage space and we have no pantry to speak of, so they are still sitting on the counter. I find myself wanting to use them on whatever I'm eating at the moment, like a waffle (makes sense) or in my hot cocoa (maybe? Mmm, crunchy).

However, this morning, I was very sleepily making coffee and found myself wondering how it would be with sprinkles in it.

And after that, I realized we really need to use these up or find a place to store them.

(I then proceeded to put the milk in the cabinet, so you can just imagine my mental state at the time.)

Guess it's just one of those awkward food things, like how we always run out of chips or salsa, never both. Or maybe I should have controlled my Christmas glee and not bought three containers...nah, that's not it.

Maybe I will take them to my parents' house and decorate "ugly cookies" (this is actually our Valentine's Day tradition). Or perhaps my ATL friends who left town early should expect some post-Christmas cookies in January. :) 

Have you been working on any crafty Christmas fun? Do you, too, engage in existential struggle about what to do with leftover supplies? (If not, just don't tell me.)

A Little BS (Baking soda, that is)

Being a Pinterest user, I've read a lot about all the different things baking soda can do. But aside from making "volcanoes" in elementary school (was that anyone else's science project year after year?) and using it to bake things, I had never experienced the powers of humble baking soda for myself. Until today.

This sounds dramatic...because it was. A dramatic transformation, at least.

We live in an apartment built circa 1960. For the most part, we really like it, but some parts show the age. Like the dryer, for instance, in which we could not find the lint trap for quite a while. (Apparently, neither could the last tenant. When we finally located the lint trap, there were about 3 inches of lint built up on it. I'm not sure how the place had not burst into flames before our arrival.)

Another place that shows a little aging is the kitchen counters (oh, that lovely off-white laminate). While we've added a few red wine stains ourselves, there were a lot of stains already present when we moved in. Judging from those and some similar ones on the white cabinets, we have concluded that the previous tenant can only have been a very violent stir-fryer.

After we got another wine stain on the counter last night (I guess we're not very neat pourers), I looked up how to get red wine off of counters. After wading through all the instructions for granite countertops (ha), I finally found a suggestion that just used baking soda and water. Seemed simple enough, but I was skeptical.

Here's a "before" pic of our counter beside the sink. This is after several past vigorous scrubbings with Lysol, vinegar, etc.

Kind of blurry, but you get the gist. Lovely, no?

I mixed baking soda and water into a "toothpaste" consistency, applied it to the counter, and rubbed it all around with a scrubby sponge. Our counter was so bad that I just applied it liberally with a spoon to the entire surface, but it would be easy to spot-clean one stain.

Yum.

After 5-10 minutes of scrubbing...behold!

Oh dang.

I had to use quite a lot of "elbow grease" for this, but I won't complain about getting an extra upper body workout. Plus, if you try this at home, your counters probably aren't as old and gross as mine. So don't worry. :)

I'm pretty sure this is also the concoction I've seen recommended to whiten your teeth. If you're into multitasking, you can remove stains from your kitchen and your teeth all in one go...

Let's just look at that one more time.

Thanks, baking soda! I never could have done it without you. Let's be BFF's from now on.

What other "homemade" cleaning solutions do you use? I would love to cut chemical cleaners out of our retinue entirely.

All I Want for Christmas

I read this article on Buzzfeed today after someone posted a link to it on Facebook. The title is, "26 Moments That Restored Our Faith in Humanity This Year." I may or may not have cried. (Spoiler: I did.) And I was proud of my school for #12; I remember when it happened.

I know people have said the one about the police officer and the shoes isn't true, and maybe it isn't, and maybe some others aren't true, but please don't tell me. I think we all need to believe in some goodness. What happened in Connecticut yesterday was tragic. And tragic things are happening all around us, all the time. Big things and small things, things that make some of us see red and some of us sob.

So after reading that, I was already a little emotional and I was cleaning the kitchen and listening to Pandora (because I had exams this week and our house is a wreck since all I did was study), and the song "Say" by John Mayer came on my station. Now, I know many people who dislike this song, and I understand why. The chorus is super repetitive. All it says is, "Say what you need to say," over and over.

The song was written for the movie The Bucket List, which is about two very different guys facing terminal illness and fulfilling a "bucket list" of things to do before they die. And it is obviously good because Morgan Freeman is in it. So, in that context, the song is about saying what you need to say to people while you can, and putting your "problems" in perspective.

This is not one of my favorite John Mayer songs, musically, but I have another reason that it touches me deeply. For those of you who don't know, my mom was diagnosed with cancer in the summer of 2008. She is now cancer-free and doing well, but that period, at age 19, was the first time I was faced with the concept of mortality in such a personal way. I listened to "Say" constantly during the weeks before her surgery, trying to come to grips with the fact that my mom might not be here much longer, she might not see me get married, she might not see my kids. I spent time trying to think about what I needed to say to her.

I'm not trying to sound like a downer, here. I just want to make you think about what you might need to say. Life is beautiful and fragile, and when it comes down to the end of it, I think all we truly want is to have said and done the things that are most important.

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I love this print and I think it sums it up. Work hard to do some good in the world while you're here, and be nice to the people you encounter, whether they are your parent, your spouse, your best friend, the person who serves you a coffee or a hamburger. Stop sweating the small things and just smile more, laugh more, give more hugs, and say what you need to say to the people you love. To everyone. Speak the truth in love.

Forget material gifts. That's what I want from all of you for Christmas.

Days Full of Thanks: 25-30

Day (25). Thankful for answered prayers for community.

Day (26). I'm thankful for unexpectedly relaxed days, and that I don't have class on Mondays. :)

Day (27). Always thankful for Tuesday Eucharist.

Day (28). SO thankful to be be blessed with a job out of the blue!

Day (29). Thankful for friends new and old.

Day (30). I'm thankful for my refugee English tutoring opportunity, and that laughter is cross-cultural.

Thankfulness November has been a fun exercise in gratitude, and I know there's so many more things I could write about! What's been your biggest blessing this month?

Days Full of Thanks: 17-24

Day (17). I'm thankful for a relaxing Saturday including cleaning, shopping, and culminating in an American Authors themed cocktail party.

Day (18). Thankful for our wedding-gift comforter that turned out to be wayy too warm for last year's Texas non-winter, but is perfect this year in Georgia!

Day (19). I'm thankful that my in-laws were able to come for a fun visit. :)

Day (20). Thankful for the most beautiful and moving choir concert I have ever heard- from a group of prison inmates. What a testimony.

Day (21). Thankful for days where I do no school work at all and only watch Netflix and read for fun.

Day (22). Happy Thanksgiving! I'm grateful for a quiet, non-traditional holiday with my fabulous husband, in which we ate homemade pizza and saw the new 007 movie.

Day (23). Thankful for those times when the whole day feels like a date, even if we're just making banana bread and buying a rug.

Day (24). So thankful we got to see our sweet friends the Pangburns for the first time since August and attend Katherine's family Thanksgiving!

How many Thanksgiving celebrations did you attend this year? Any good stories to share?

Days Full of Thanks: 10-16

Day (10). I'm thankful for a productive day working on an intense school project (in good company), and for an Aggie win against Alabama! Wish I could have been watching that with my friends in CS.

Day (11). I'm thankful for a congregation that is real.

Day (12). Thankful that my husband was born on this day 23 years ago! I love you and can't imagine life without you. :)

Day (13). Yoga. That is all.

Day (14). Thankful that even though I somehow forgot my driver's license and student ID AND debit card when I went to school today, I had in my possession a Visa gift card with enough money for a bag of chips (only essentials, you know). Also, I did not get pulled over while driving without a license.

Day (15). Thankful that my school week ends on Thursday, that both my afternoon classes were cancelled this week, and for a lovely Candler Thanksgiving Dinner.

Day (16). I'm thankful for people who make me laugh until I can't breathe, and for triple birthday celebrations.

 

Days Full of Thanks: 4-9

Day (4). Today I am weirdly thankful for arguments and tiffs with Travis, because by working through them we are able to learn from our disagreements, grow to understand each other more, and love each other better. I'm also so grateful for Atlanta friends and (early) "Thanksgiving" feasts!

Day (5). I am thankful to have had a job interview. I don't know yet whether or not I actually got the position, but after applying to quite a few jobs, I'm just grateful for the opportunity. And if I don't get it, I know there will be something else.

Day (6). I'm thankful for the ability to vote, even if my particular vote will never swing my state(s). ;) But I'm more thankful that, over and above my country of origin and/or country of residence, my citizenship rests in Christ.

Day (7). I'm thankful for the book of Psalms and its beautiful poetry and emotion, for all these writers before me who have cried out to God in praise and fear and anger and joy. And for a husband who will tirelessly quiz me for my Old Testament essay test...and enjoy it. :)

Day (8). I'm thankful for people who care about people, the blessing of being a student, and laughter with friends.

Day (9). Thankful for no class on Fridays and that I finally live somewhere that leaves change color in the fall!

An interview, a chili cook-off, an exam, a potluck, a presidential election. It's been a full but great week, my friends. November is going by so quickly (I can't believe Thanksgiving is in two weeks!) It's nice to have a little time to slow down and look back at events in the light of gratitude.

What are you thankful for this week? I'd love to hear it. :)

Days Full of Thanks: 3

Day (3). I am thankful for a productive study-and-laundry Saturday! As odd as it may seem, days like this are Sabbath for me, even though I'm "doing things." Lately, it's so rare that I get to be at home and make things neat and clean and pretty in the beautiful morning light coming through our windows (my favorite time of day, but I never get to be at home!). And really, I've found that when I'm studying about God and the church throughout the ages and how to care for people, studying can be a sacred thing if I choose.

Also thankful for an impromptu Chipotle date to end the day. Obviously I married well.

Days Full of Thanks: 1-2

Day (1). I'm thankful for All Saints' Day.

To my East Texan friends: Do not be confused and think I'm speaking of the private school in our hometown. :)

All Saints' Day is a church holiday (holy day), November 1 of each year, on which we remember and celebrate the saints of the church--those canonized, those we have encountered in our everyday lives, and those unknown. I could never really get into this day, though I always wanted to.

But this past Thursday was All Saints' Day, and the worship service at Candler was just so beautiful. It wasn't specifically the music or the sermon or any one thing (though all were wonderful), but just the spirit of gratitude and reverence that I felt from everyone in the chapel. It was one of the most poignant times that I have experienced "the communion of saints," both here and gone.

Day (2). I'm thankful for flexibility and grace.
I inherited these awesome barometric pressure sinus headaches from my mom, though hers are way worse than mine. Mom's last for 2-3 days, whereas mine usually just hang out for one.

Sometimes I'm able to go through the day and just ignore the headache, but every once in a while I have days where I am completely laid out flat. I can't do anything except sleep because it makes me too nauseous to sit up. Today was one of those. Incidentally, I was slated today to have a job interview and tutor for my Contextual Education site work and go to dinner with friends. Along with your typical I-need-to-read-for-school-and-go-to-yoga day. But I couldn't seem to do anything but sleep.

The thankful part of this is that, when I do get these headaches, I feel like they usually come on days off from school, for which I am very, very grateful. And things just tend to work out. For instance, today, the manager from the potential job called me and needed to reschedule for next week, my partner and I were able to postpone our tutoring session, and we are planning to move that dinner to the near future. And schoolwork can always wait, right? ;)
(I am feeling much better now, but still not 100%. So that's well enough to blog and watch The Office on Netflix, but not quite well enough to handle theology.)

What are you thankful for today?

30 Days of Thankfulness

Happy November to all of you! October went by ridiculously fast in our household, and now the semester is nearing its end.

I've seen a lot of people on Facebook doing this "30 Days of Thankfulness " for November, and it seemed like a good idea. A spirit of gratitude can bring you through a lot: it heightens the joys and mediates the sad times.

My favorite Greek word is eucharisteo. You can probably tell that the word Eucharist (i.e., Communion, the Lord's Supper, etc.) comes from it. But the word itself actually means "I am thankful" or "I give thanks," and the root words for joy (chara) and grace (charis) are also wrapped up in there. And the prefix eu means good. (What a beautiful word to use for the Eucharistic celebration, right? Communion is a good word for its own reasons, but I will always be partial to Eucharist.)

I'll probably never get a tattoo at all, but if I got one in Greek, this would be it. To bring to mind all the things I have to be thankful for and all the ways God has blessed my life; to help me focus on the haves rather than the have-nots; to remind me to offer so many prayers of thanks throughout each day.

(I haven't gotten around to taking Hebrew yet, so you'll just have to wait for my Hebrew tattoo word...haha.)

Sorry for the etymological sidetrack. Now you know I'm a super-nerd. But anyway, I liked the idea of this Thankfulness November thing and realized I'd rather do it here than on Facebook. I may not post every single day, but I will talk about one thanksgiving for each day. :)

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Five Things

Time for a random mini-update on a few things that don't necessarily fit together. :)

1. New address, same blog. Originally, I wanted the URL for this blog to use only my first name or initials in some form or fashion, but I couldn't get anything that wasn't already taken. And even though most of the people who read this probably know my last name, I didn't like having it out there in the site address. So I finally settled for one that was a weird combo of my initials and the blog title, but I never really liked it.

At Candler, I feel like I've become known as "the one from Texas," which is really interesting. There are a few other Texans here, but it seems to be something that a lot of people remember about me.

For example, I met one of my now-classmates here in March when I visited for Admitted Students' Day. Everyone there seemed impressed that I had come to visit from so far away...even though it didn't seem like far to me. I mean, you have to drive so long to get out of Texas anyway, you may as well keep driving through all those other states, right? (Plus, I took a plane that time. Ha.)

But anyway, I saw this guy at orientation five months later, and he was like, "Ginny! From Texas!"

I've also had a lot of people tell me that I'm not like any other Texas they've ever met, which I take as a compliment from the tone of their statement. ;)

But more seriously...being here and visiting different churches and hearing about other UMC conferences has made me realize that I do love and appreciate the Texas Conference. I miss the people in it, and while I enjoy living here, I'm still excited to go back there and work in a few years. Even if I now realize even more fully how terrible the heat is.

So, voila, a new URL was born! :)

2. First test down! I had my first test AND my first real paper due yesterday (in addition to some smaller assignments), so this week has been crazay. I think everything went pretty well, though! However, this leads me to my next point...

3. Sadly sickly. Aside from a few bad allergy days and one random 24-hour sinus thing, this is the first time I've been sick since Travis and I got married (16 months ago). I thought maybe it was because I was getting better sleep with him there, was more relaxed, etc. Now I realize it's just because I wasn't in school. Le sigh. At least I get a 4-day weekend to recover...and it just feels like a cold.

4. Travis got a job! Yayyy! My poor husband put out so many applications, but it's just hard to get hired anywhere full-time at the moment. However, after a few weeks of applying everywhere he could think of that remotely applied to his interests, he got a very excited callback from an Eistein Bros. Bagels (if you don't know, it's a chain cafe-type place that does breakfast and lunch). He's now been working there for about two weeks, and this week he was officially certified as a full-time baker with the company! It has completely weird hours...he basically ends up sleeping for about three hours at night and five or six in the afternoon. He's transitioned into it pretty well, though. And it's a full-time job with potential for benefits after a while, which is wonderful.

5. Free Museum Day! If you are a nerd like me and you love museums, you need to check out this year's Free Museum Day tomorrow sponsored by Smithsonian Magazine. You can get a free ticket (which admits two people) to any participating museum, sent to your email. There's a search engine on the website so you can find which museums near you are taking part! I'm really hoping I feel better so we can visit ours.

ABC, easy as 1-2-3 (or maybe not)

Everyone tells you going into seminary that there's no possible way to do all your required reading (not to mention the "recommended" reading. Let's be real, here, guys).

But still, doesn't every nerdy little first year feel like they will be the one to finally accomplish ALL the reading?

No? Just me? Well, okay. I used to feel that way. For about two weeks.

I guess it's just the perfectionist in me...I want to do all my work, and I want to do it well. Oh, and I'd like to make all A's while I'm at it, as well as help provide for my family financially, be part of a church congregation and small group, and engage in organizations and community outreach in meaningful ways. And have friends. And stay married. Sounds good, right?

Yes, that marvelous dream shattered yesterday.
(Just the schoolwork part, not the married or friends part. Don't fret.)

Now, obviously I'm not saying that I'm going to quit doing any work at all. But my methods and priorities are definitely going to need to change. I've only been out of school for a year, but I honestly think I just forgot how to read and study.

I've been reading all my books and articles closely, underlining as I go, and then going back and taking copious notes in my spirals on what I underlined (can you tell I don't have a job yet?).

Yesterday afternoon, I was getting really stressed out about how I was even going to retain this vast amount of information. But after talking with Travis, I reviewed my study methods and basically went, "What the whaaat? How do you think this is even beneficial? You never used to read like this, and you graduated with a 4.0. Plus, you're running out of pens already. And we don't have money to buy more."

So, here is what I have determined to change:

• Mark up only the main ideas in my books...not so many details.
• Type at least some of my reading notes instead of writing them out (this may seem obvious, but I've always been a much bigger fan of handwritten notes).
• Read faster. Not necessarily speed reading, but again, just not getting bogged down in details. More like skimming, I guess.
• Set reasonable goals for how much I will study in a day, balanced with family and other activities. Even if this means I don't finish reading certain things.
• Focus on learning and understanding what I'm reading, rather than just getting everything accomplished.

Pretty easy, I know, but I kind of just forgot how to be a student. Hopefully this will be a post I can return to if I feel overwhelmed by work in the future.

So, it's all on you now. You guys better hold me to this or you'll never see me again for the next three years. :)

The Three-Week Mark

Well, we've been in ATL for three weeks, and I've had one day of seminary classes so far (though some might count the 3.5 days of orientation, too). And I foresee that blog posts are going to be few and far between, at least at first! It's true what they told me: "On the first day, you'll already be about three weeks behind." Hopefully things will get into a rhythm soon. And the Blogger app (on which I wrote this post right before dinner) will probably become my best friend in this regard.

We are both still jobless, which is a little stressful at times. But we fortunately have a good amount of savings (as well as parents/friends who wouldn't let us starve or get evicted if it came down to it). I feel that God is teaching us to rely on Him again through this first-month-in-a-new-city experience.

Travis and I used to be really good about not worrying excessively about money and the future (as a couple, that is. I've always been a little more of a worrier, but that's definitely improved over the course of my life.). We valued many things above money, and we lived with those other priorities in mind and were always provided for monetarily...sometimes in really weird but blessed ways.

However, during our first year of marriage, we got caught up in the money worries sometimes. And we stopped relying on God to provide for us. We didn't tithe and give like we should and like we did before: trusting that there would be enough as we gave generously to those needs that were more pressing than our own.

I'm not advocating that one should be totally irresponsible and never save or anything like that, but I believe there's a balance that must be struck between faith and what our society might term financial "responsibility" and what I might term over-concern with future security. A security which takes away from faith. And we are learning that again, in a new place.

So today, in spite of zero income and a mountain of schoolwork to do, I am thankful. Thankful for newfound friends and the beginnings of connections and community. Thankful for my husband who has put out about fifteen job applications, and who cooks all of our meals and lets me read for school instead. Thankful for this opportunity to engage in theological education. Thankful that God has led us here, and that He'll continue to lead us all the way.

Some random thoughts on Georgia so far

You haven't missed much in our lives over the past month. Here's how we spent most of our time:

• Hanging out with friends (this usually involved eating at our favorite places).
• Doing a few "last things."
• Training people to take our jobs when we left.
• Purging our belongings.
• Getting "teary" randomly (oh, wait, that was just me).

Last weekend, we packed what was left into a million boxes and then into a truck (with the help of friends), drove/followed said truck across several states, and took everything out of the truck again (with the help of parents).

Yay, Instagram... :)

Since then, we've been trying new restaurants, going to Target and Home Depot at least once per day, and attempting to carve a path around all the boxes in the living room (the main room we haven't finished).

So there you go. For those wanting to see pictures of our new abode, I'll be doing a "house tour" post once we actually finish. Though we won't really be finished for a while, since our landlady said we could paint! Hooray!

I'll also be posting my very own restaurant review in future...mainly for the benefit of my parents, who like to text me what they are eating on a fairly regular basis. (You may be sensing a theme here.)

But anyway. Back to the random impressions.

1. We have been sleeping (and napping) a ridiculous amount. This also happened right after we got married and moved into our condo. I thought it was because that summer was so hot, but it's been quite cool here. Do new houses just require a certain amount of sleep before they can be a home? Like a sleep tax or something? Or perhaps all those cardboard boxes have a soporific effect. Has this happened to anyone else?

2. Georgians are super friendly in person, but they will not let you change lanes in your car.

3. It's a lot easier and more accepted to be vegetarian/vegan here.

4. "North" may not necessarily mean that the road is going north.

(Explanation: Last Thursday I had my first terrifying experience of being on the highway at 5 p.m. and this happening in my head: "Oh shoot, I didn't know that was a left exit...AAAAH OMG I DON'T WANT TO GO DOWNTOWN! NOOO I'M GOING TO DIEE!"
I survived, obviously. But it wasn't pretty. See #2 on this list.)

5. The weather is awesome, but my hair does not like it. (My hair really liked when I visited Colorado.)

6. I do miss Mexican food already.

7. There are beautiful trees everywhere.

8. And also farmers markets.

9. Public transit does exist (yet to experience it, but it's coming).

10. Moving to a place where we don't know anyone else has already made us closer and more dependent on one another. Aww.

There you have it! My first Georgian blog post. :) Anybody miss us yet?

Help!

Okay, people. I need some real-life advice, here. We've donated/sold/given away of a lot of stuff already in preparation for our big move, but there's still more to go! And I have a few select items that I just do not know what to do with.

So now let's play a game called "What Should Ginny Do With _____?"

What's behind Door #1?

My wedding dress. And no, it sadly has not been cleaned, though at least it is hung in my closet in its pretty white bag. I know most people would freak out at the thought of doing anything with a wedding dress but preserving it, but I just don't know. How many people really wear their mother's dress? I did not (poofy 80's sleeves. Sorry, Mom. Love you).

I feel that my options are:
a. Preserve and save it (so it can sit in storage).
b. Donate it to a worthwhile organization (like my friend Jessica--read that story here).
c. Sell it (unlikely, and I don't really want to do that).
d. Save it but use it in some other manner. I would love to somehow non-cheesily display part of it...but I have no idea how. Any ideas?

On to Door #2...

My graduation cap and gown. Is it possible to resell these? Or does everyone just give them to Goodwill?

Things are getting really exciting now! What's behind Door #3?!

My old Macbook that won't turn on or work at all. Obviously Apple is not going to buy it from me since it no longer works. But is there any other way to wipe it clean and recycle the hardware?

And lastly, behind Door #4...

Cowboy boots. Yep, we both have 'em and don't really need 'em (plus we have been told that people in Georgia do not like people who wear cowboy boots). They're still in great condition. Anyone know if there's a place to resell these? Neither of the consignment stores in town take stuff like that, to my knowledge.

I would greatly appreciate your thoughts and advice. :) Thanks and gig 'em.

Two ways to freecycle

The nerd in me feels victorious. Know why?

I got a bunch of free moving boxes from Old Navy! And all I had to do was ask nicely. :)

I'm not sure when I did this or what organization I was involved with at the time, but I vaguely remember calling our local Old Navy during college to ask if they would give us their shipment boxes. Somehow, I also remembered that they got shipments in on Tuesday morning. Just call me random trivia girl (though I am no good at Trivial Pursuit).

Two days ago, I was going to deposit some checks at our bank near Old Navy. I suddenly remembered all that random college information and popped in to ask if I could have the boxes from that morning.

Unfortunately, they had thrown them all away, but the employee informed me that they get shipments on Tuesdays AND Thursdays. She told me to call on Wednesday night and "reserve" the boxes so that they could save them for me.

Last night I did just that. And after removing all this random camping equipment (stolen borrowed from Trav's parents' house) from my trunk...

Yes, that is also a body pillow.

Meant to be donated to our church rummage sale...not used for camping.

...I am now the proud owner of more than twenty boxes in good condition.

My backseat is full, and there are more in the trunk!

If you are moving and need boxes, I highly recommend this course of action. The only danger is that you will look silly in public trying to wrangle all those broken-down boxes into your car by yourself. But you'll survive. At least, I did. :)

However, maybe you're moving AND you like a challenge. Maybe this first option seems a little too tame for you.

Another way to obtain moving boxes is to wait until a family or couple moves into a condo down the street from yours.

The steps:
Drive down and park in their driveway.
Take all the nice-looking boxes from beside their trash can and shove them in your car.
Drive away quickly.
(This works best with a partner.)

We may or may not have done this about a month ago. I will say that the Old Navy option felt slightly more legitimate. But maybe you'll enjoy the thrill of the box heist.

Recent Obsession: Maps

I've always liked maps. I remember spreading out the U.S. map in the car and tracing our route on our family vacation to Florida every year (I got to sit in the front seat because otherwise I'd get carsick. Win).

When I went to China three years ago, my host sister wanted to buy me a gift, and I told her the thing I most wanted was a map of Xi'an (the city I was living in) with English labels. And she looked all over the city until she found one! In my old apartment, I had it hung on the wall with pictures from my trip lining the borders. I even put little sticky markers where my apartment and workplace had been, so I wouldn't forget.

In my last post, you saw a glimpse of my present from Laura, which also used maps!

And most recently, I bought Travis this map from Pop Chart Lab (which I saw on Apartment Therapy), charting all the breweries in the US:

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It's kind of small, but you can get a better idea from the Pop Chart site!

[Sidenote: I would probably love to be friends with those guys. Their goal is "to render all of human experience in chart form." A list-maker's dream!]

Anyway, you get the idea. Isn't it neat how something can be functional, educational, and decorative?

Here are some other inspiring map decor ideas I've seen lately (these were all found through Apartment Therapy, too. Don't judge me).

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How to Create a Paper Map Cut of your Favorite City

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How to Make a Globe Pendant Light! 

I've loved this ever since I saw it a few months ago. 

I also really like how they split this one up onto three panels:

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And lastly, for word-lovers like me, we have typographic maps:

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Anyone else have a certain decor item they've been into lately?

Colorado: Saturday

Click here for Thursday and Friday if you missed them!

Saturday was a long and fun-filled day, though we did sleep in after our late night at the concert. First, Laura and I headed to brunch at this awesome place called Snooze. There was a bit of a wait, and for good reason! We both just got pancakes, but everything we saw coming out of the kitchen looked freaking amazing. (If you can't tell, we planned this entire trip around where we were going to eat.)

Sitting up at the bar. I loved the coffee mugs here.

And our pancakes were possibly the most awesome pancakes in the history of mankind. 

Laura's (on the left) include plain, blueberry blossom (lavender infused), and the pancake of the day, which I believe involved Oreo pieces, strawberries, and mint. Mine are red velvet with espresso syrup, peanut butter cup, and plain. 

It's okay if you're drooling.

After breakfast, we headed over to some great little boutiques and shops and took our time walking around. I saw a lot of things I wanted to buy, but I refrained...all except this little stamp featured here:

I just love it so much! I can't wait to make little cards and gift tags with it. :) Perfect for mailing things from our new home in a few months a month! (AHHH!)

The stamp is pictured with an awesome gift from Laura...but that deserves its own post in the future. I have to wait until she finishes making another one for another friend. ;)

This is the only other picture I took while shopping:

I think we need one of these at my job (along with this one).

After shopping, we had about an hour to kill, so we went to Walmart and bought Laura a bike. It took forever, because it's Walmart. But we did successfully fit it into the back of her Elantra without taking off the front wheel. So in case you're wondering, that is possible.

To finish up our adventure, we headed downtown to visit the Wynkoop Brewery! (Cross one more off my 30 Before 30!) We took a free tour and ate a delicious dinner in their restaurant. That day, some of their proceeds were going toward wildfire relief in Colorado, so we were grateful to be able to help out.

I also bought Travis this glass:

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Get it? The Mile High City...har har. (We liked it.)

Unfortunately, it was then time to head to the airport and say our goodbyes. :( I was sad to leave my dear friend, but I'm so thankful for a great weekend! Now it's time for her to start planning her trip to Atlanta! :)

Colorado: Thursday & Friday

Well, you guys already heard about my bus adventure in Denver, but since the rest was much more pleasant, I thought you might like to hear more about it. ;)

My flight on Thursday was delayed by about half an hour and then took foreverr to get out of the gate, so I got off the plane only 30 minutes before our dinner reservation! Luckily, they held it for us.

We ate dinner at a restaurant called Linger. The building actually used to be a mortuary called Olinger (the restaurant sign made light of it by calling itself an "eatuary," haha). It was fairly trendy and was supposedly a tapas bar, although the portions seemed pretty big to us! I didn't take any pictures because the lighting was rather dim. One fun thing: Instead of chips or bread to munch on, they bring you a bowl of seasoned popcorn. Delicious!

Laura had to work on Friday, so I had a lazy morning and finally ventured out on my own around 11 a.m. I visited a bookstore where I got a used copy of The Kite Runner (yes, I am just now reading it), then walked down to a local coffeehouse. I was jonesing for a bagel, but unfortunately they were out. However, they did have pretty good vegetarian burritos (?).

Inside the bookstore

Laura picked me up after work and we headed home to freshen up for the evening. We ate dinner at a place called Pho 95. Best. Pho. Ever. I am not kidding. We both got the veggie and tofu kind and the broth was sooo yummy!

Mmm.

Next we were headed to Red Rocks! A brief shower came through after we got there, so we checked out the displays in the visitor's center. It's so amazing to see how many great bands have come through there.

Seeing the Avett Brothers perform there was probably my favorite concert I've ever been to. They were so energetic and fun, and I love how their music incorporates different styles.

Of course, the awesome acoustics and the scenery didn't hurt, either. :)

Stage and beyond. 

Once night fell, you could see all kinds of city lights shining in the distance. Super cool.

More prettiness.

Blue skies after the rain!

Obviously we were much closer to this monolith than the other one above...

Laura and me

After dark

The Avett Bros.

We were behind this on the way home.

Stay tuned for the Saturday recap! :)