Hugs so awkward you end up patting the recipient’s stomach. Not that I have EVER done that. Ahem. *Whistles innocently* Being the first to write in a group birthday card, and knowing that everyone else is going to read what you wrote. Public bathroom stall doors, if you’re over five feet tall. Falling asleep during prayer as an insecure adolescent visiting a new church. Having the local adolescent laughingly point out a wet spot of drool on the pew. Finding out…
Hello all. A lot of people express interest in my house, maybe because they find the thought of living above a music store in a historic downtown almost as fascinating as I do. (Side note: I know the above photo of the town is over Christmas time, but that’s when Mocksville is the most beautiful, in my opinion.) Since I can’t have you all over, I thought I’d give you a little virtual tour of the place. I live in…
Have you ever had a friend break up and felt yourself at a complete loss for words? It’s hard to know if you should mention their ex, pretend like the relationship never happened, give them space, ask questions, or what! You want to help, but without experience, you don’t know how to make it better. A couple years ago, I was in a serious relationship for the better part of a year. The breakup was a best case scenario, ending amicably and…
Rachel has been reading a book about sorting possessions based on the joy they bring to your life. Joy is a strong word, one that I prefer leaving to experiences and people, but I do like ranking my possessions based on their contributions to my world. So here, in no particular order, are five things I’ve been appreciating in my life. My Ikea laundry rack is perfect for apartment living. I grew up using those clunky wooden racks and thought them mostly bulky and…
I’m fine, thanks for asking. I am 5′ 8″, maybe 9″. No, I don’t play volleyball. I’m from North Carolina. I work in finance. Yes, the weather is beautiful. Now that we have that out of the way, can we get down to business? I dislike meeting strangers, and I think it’s mostly because I hate making small talk. Wikipedia defines small talk as, “An informal type of discourse that does not cover any functional topics of conversation…” Does that…
Have you ever read Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll? It’s full of gibberish and nonsense, yet somehow it makes sense, thanks to Carroll’s brilliant and imaginative brain. He even managed to invent a couple new words through it that stuck, and we still use “chortle” and “galumphing” today. Cool or what? And at the risk of sounding childish, it’s one of my very favorite poems. Without further ado, I present to you…Jabberwocky. Read it aloud if you please; it’s twice as fun that way….
One Friday evening I left work and was headed to New York for the weekend. I like my job, but this Friday had been rough. I had talked to a particularly difficult customer whose scathing remarks had left me in tears, and I was unwinding in the car, trying to stop replaying the phone call in my head, when suddenly I got an email. I’ve followed Urban Southern for some time, since I really admire the bags they produce, and…
A couple years ago, in better days, Mocksville’s center square was graced with four massive, majestic, old trees. They were stately and beautiful, and gave the town a sort of grace unknown to other concrete metropolises. They were filled with lights during the winter, illuminating the square with Christmas magic. In summer they shaded our cars and our town festivals, and brought green relief from the asphalt heat. In short, we loved them. Then The Person In Charge gave the…
I found Anuschka Rees’ blog a while ago, and was fascinated by her fresh take on fashion. Most fashionistas like to put you into a little box and say, “You are shaped like an apple and have winter coloring, therefore you must only wear this style and this color regardless if you like it or not, because it suits you and I know best.” Anuschka takes a very different approach. She wrote a post titled “Why I don’t believe in dressing for my body…
Aging. It’s a funny thing, isn’t it. We humans try desperately to cling to the remaining vestiges of our youth in an attempt to ignore the inevitable. As I’m practically a babe in the woods still, I don’t have much experience with aging. And yet, I find it knocking on my consciousness in unexpected ways. At Youth Retreat, when I watch all the sixteen-year-olds cavort about and I just want to go to bed, suddenly I feel old. When I…
A while ago Rosie mentioned that I like to make Indian butter chicken, and a lot of you seemed very interesting in trying it. Since my house is tiny and I can’t have you all over, I decided to share the recipe with you instead as the second best option. This is the original recipe but I adapted it to my taste since I don’t do very well at sticking to recipes. Please forgive the lack of pictures, which would probably horrify the…
Last summer when I went to New York I sweated my way through the city, but when Roman and Mimi asked if I wanted to ride along in February, it was quite a different story. Icy winds whipped through the city, and I was happy to spend most of my time inside buildings, looking out at the world. I had several days mostly on my own, so I would start the day with French pastries in Flushing with Roman and Mimi and Hudson, and…