9.

Videos that make me SMILE

go here for all of them

8.

So these past two weeks have been totally dedicated to house projects. Since the next quarter for school doesn't start back until October 6th I have had some time to really get started on making my new place cozy.

For the bedroom I painted a small bookshelf and some old shelves I had from my loft. First I applied a blue coat and then a light yellow coat so that I could distress them a little and the blue would show through. Bryan and I decided that sometimes books can look junky so we put them in the bedroom. We finally found a place for our love seat too but we still need a new rug and we still need a bed frame that fits the bed.

Lesley and Mike left a few random things under the house when they moved and recently I discovered an old window frame with no panes. After Bryan and I walked the puppies this morning I measured the frame and headed to lowes to buy a piece of birch and had them cut it down to 39x34. I had some chalk board paint from past projects and I painted the birch and nailed it the back of the window. Now Bryan and I have something to cover the fuse box and also a cute way to show what we have in stock when our guests want to have a drink. I am so happy about how this turned out because I really just had the idea this morning and I was a little unsure if it would all work out.

I found this map for 3 dollars at Binders art supply store up by school. I bought it for Bryan but I wanted to frame it so I got a large frame from Ikea. After I framed it I realized that a little bit of dog hair was stuck between the matte and the plexiglass. So I took it apart and cleaned it with windex and framed it again. Still dog hair where it shouldn't be! By this time I was a little mad. As I was taking out the plexiglass it caught on the side of the frame and snapped in half. I had to go to lowes and have them cut another piece of plexiglass and what was supposed to be a cheap project turned out to be a little more expensive. I do not plan on keeping it above the fireplace but it looks nice until Bryan and I get what we really want to go there...(it is a secret!!)

And finally the kitchen.....I had to do an installation art piece in 1st quarter that represented one of the 7 things that can hinder creativity. I chose competition and did some vintage paintings on the panes. There is a pane with two girls gossiping over tea....and a guy on skates envying a bicycle. Also there is a little girl with a dog and there is a very upset cat as well. I thought this was perfect for the kitchen!

Today my Ernie bear became famous. The Gentleman Jesse album was reviewed on Pitchfork and they posted a picture of Jesse holding Ernie. He is my special little guy and he is the dog everyone in the world should get to meet!

Thanks to the inspiration from spending a day on a farm and my friend Christy............the last thing I did today is plant some herbs in the front yard. Hopefully they live!!! I planted sage, basil, rosemary, cilantro, oregano, and arugula. Yum City!

What a busy day!

And congrats to my Bryan for getting Creative Loafing's Critic's pick for Best Local Label and to the Brickstore for getting Best Waitstaff and Best Beer Selection! What a great week!

I'll leave you guys with a thought.

"This song always kills me," I said.

She sighed and then gave up. "Why?"

"Oh, I don't know. Nostalgia. It makes me feel nostalgia for a time I never even knew. I wasn't even alive."

"That's what I do to you too," she said. "I'll just bet."

It was what everything I loved did to me.

-Chabon (those pittsburgh mysteries ;)

7.

Yesterday Bryan, Eric, Heather and I headed out to "Love is Love Farm" to help them out with their sweet potatoes and their lettuce. Judith and Joe are two awesome people who pretty much run the farm with the help of volunteers and a few full time workers. The farm is owned by a couple named Skip and Cookie but they basically leave most responsibility to Judith and Joe. They provide organic food to the Brickstore Pub and a few other places around Atlanta. We went out and harvested sweet potatoes. We learned about "owwie fingers' a lot. When you are digging sweet potatoes out of the ground you hit them with your fingernails and it can be pretty painful because sometimes it seperates the nail from the bed. OUCH! My fingers look pretty rough today.

For lunch we picked fresh arugula and fresh sun gold tomatoes and added in some chevre cheese and some dried beans. Mike from the Brickstore made some fresh sandwiches also. I had a sandwich with fresh squash, zucchini, pecan chevre and tomatoes. We had a round of beers and headed out to see if any hens were brooding. Bryan actually reached in a took a few eggs from the hens. He is brave because some of them were pretty pissed off and were trying to peck us. We took a tour around the farm and Joe told us about all the things he is currently growing. They have a parsimmon tree and we ate fresh parsimmons.....they taste like gooey orange starbursts!!! We also helped plant eleven different type of lettuce in the greenhouse. Hopefully we didn't ruin anything. After we finished working we sat around and had a few beers as the sun was getting low. It was such an awesome feeling to be able to sit down and enjoy good company with a cold beer after a long and hard yet rewarding day of work. This has been one of my favorite days so far this year and one of the best times Bryan and I have had together. The best part is that Joe and Judith sent us off with some parting gifts. We got to take home fresh eggplant, sugar snap peas, sungolds, arugula, watermelon, heirloom tomatoes and dried beans. I just ate a delicious and fresh lunch with Bryan!!!!!! What an awesome day...I hope to do it again soon.

Here are a few pictures from the farm

6.

Skateraid was yesterday. It was awesome and lots of people came out to bid on the skateboards that were donated by locals of Atlanta. I helped pour beer for a little while so that Miles could skate. If you don't know anything about Skateraid you can check it out at skateraid.net

SkaterAid was started in 2005 to celebrate the life of Ian Wochatz. A Decatur teen and avid skateboarder, Ian was diagnosed with an especially virulent type of brain cancer, and died on July 4, 2005 at age 15. SkaterAid provided a place for all those who loved Ian to honor his memory in a way he would have approved of...with music, friends and skateboarding.

SkaterAid's mission is to support families who are dealing with the tragedy of pediatric cancer. The first year, the proceeds of SkaterAid went to Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta. In 2006, funds were channelled to the RET Foundation in honor of RET Thomas. In 2007 and 2008, all proceeds will go the Brain Tumor Foundation for Children.