tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84624609678350068862024-03-13T23:55:27.646-04:00Drop & AnchorThe Mel Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14013085377457129225noreply@blogger.comBlogger536125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462460967835006886.post-55383879435496885492012-10-15T08:43:00.000-04:002012-10-15T08:43:22.018-04:00a pumpkin picking excursionI had been looking forward to this day for weeks. It is so easy for me to go through life these days without really feeling like I am experiencing it, you know what I mean? Well, no, I guess you probably don't. The thing is, I work retail. And without getting into the daily life specifics about how I work nights and weekends, rarely get two days off in a row, and otherwise have a challenging social life, I will make the point I was trying to make. About experiencing life as it occurs.<br />
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A few days ago I received our new Holiday Concept Book. Holiday as in Christmas. As in, I'm looking at pictures of gift boxes and shiny red balls and thinking Black Friday, Christmas music, trees, and decorations. And it wasn't even my birthday yet. So I made a promise to myself that I would set that lovely book aside and experience a little bit of fall activities first. Go pumpkin picking. See some autumn color changing leaves (for some reason those around us haven't really changed yet, but out west they have! Yay!)</div>
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So we did. And it was good. </div>
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<br />The Mel Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14013085377457129225noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462460967835006886.post-28852920353955614302012-10-08T11:08:00.001-04:002012-10-08T11:08:27.177-04:00a little late, but...I finally sat down and made myself figure out iMovie. Well, a little bit. While I quite enjoy the idea of making videos, and some of the process was satisfying and enjoyable, there were about as many moments of pulling my hair out sheer frustration. I'm sure once you spend quite a bit of time with the program and you become familiar with its quirks it gets better. But it is far from intuitive and quite prohibitive at times. Hello? No Save File? For reals?<br />
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But I digress.<br />
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I made a little video with clips from our stay-at-home vacation a few months back. We decided to save money and not do anything big. Instead, we each came up with several ideas and wrote them on scraps of paper to put in a grab bag. Things like "go to the zoo" "see a museum we haven't been to yet" "get cupcakes" "have a picnic" "movie marathon" etc. Every day we picked something out of the bag and attempted to do it. I say attempted because we learned that after walking around at the zoo and the county fair we maybe didn't want to spend the day walking around Kings Dominion. So we tossed it and picked something else. When we realized that the beach we thought we could take our dog to actually did not allow dogs in the summer, we tossed it and picked something else. The grab bag was a good idea, I think, but maybe not for an entire week. Sometimes a girl just needs to relax. mmhmm.<br />
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The Mel Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14013085377457129225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462460967835006886.post-7387708355888517122012-08-27T09:31:00.002-04:002012-08-27T09:31:34.451-04:00vintage gymnastics<div style="text-align: center;">
Kind of obsessed with this video I came across via Not Martha, documenting the evolution of the uneven bars competition in women's gymnastics. There is something great about those early days, don't you think? An artistry and grace.</div>
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Got me searching YouTube for vintage gymnastics videos, and I've decided that I quite love the 70s.
Check out 1:47 and 3:02 for some of my favorite moments.</div>
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The Mel Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14013085377457129225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462460967835006886.post-30415481751477501872012-07-27T17:32:00.001-04:002012-07-27T17:32:23.125-04:00the honest toddler<div style="text-align: center;">
When raising a terrorizing toddler, unable to sleep, bathe, or hang out with people your own age, please remember that to the rest of us it just might be a little bit funny. A little bit. </div>
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<a href="http://honesttoddler.wordpress.com/">Honest Toddler</a> reminds us of this, with a hilarious look at the life of a toddler. A post titled Sharing starts like this:</div>
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<i>We already know that parents tend to be hypocritical when it comes to
rules. Try not to hold it against them as most of their actions are
born from a crippling fear that they’ll raise an embarrassment.</i></div>
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<i>But today a line was crossed.</i></div>
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Read the rest <a href="http://honesttoddler.wordpress.com/2012/06/04/sharing/#more-170">here</a>, and a couple other highlights: <a href="http://honesttoddler.wordpress.com/2012/06/21/schedule/">Schedule</a>, and <a href="http://honesttoddler.wordpress.com/2012/07/26/recipes/">Recipes</a>.</div>
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And show some respect for toddlers, ok?</div>The Mel Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14013085377457129225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462460967835006886.post-55954568415084774282012-07-26T09:45:00.001-04:002012-07-26T09:45:35.921-04:00home inspiration<div style="text-align: center;">
When the hubs and I bought our house, our real estate agent made it clear that she thought we were the kind of people who would be able to fix this house up the way it deserves to be fixed up. That we would not only have the vision, but also somehow the time and money to get it done. I often look around and feel guilty for not having done more in the year and a half that we have been in this house. We basically painted and moved in. Bought a couple of new appliances. Mowed the lawn a few times. Hm.</div>
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It's not that we don't want to do anything, or that we don't know what to do. We have plans, and we talk about them often. We have plans that include knocking down walls, adding a bathroom and a laundry room, landscaping, moving the front door. It's just putting those plans into motion that has proven to be the difficult part. But we are powering through, and getting ready to talk to a contractor so that he can tell us we are absolutely crazy for thinking we can get half of what we want done with our budget.</div>
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With all this on the mind, won't you join me for a little home inspiration via recent Pinterest posts?</div>
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If this could be my front door, I think I would die.</div>
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But I would happily settle for something more like this.</div>
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Open kitchen with multi-colored cabinets.</div>
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Concrete everywhere. Not the most resale friendly thing I would guess.</div>
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Orange trees inside? Don't mind if I do.</div>
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Black brick to refinish fireplace structure?</div>
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Just putting this out there in the hopes that it will build our motivation to get some things done. Even if it's not exactly what I want to get done. At the very least we need to refinish the bathroom and get some new flooring in. Wish us luck!</div>The Mel Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14013085377457129225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462460967835006886.post-48245932107937682112012-07-24T20:33:00.003-04:002012-07-24T20:33:56.035-04:00key lime cake for happy birthdays<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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First of all, this is not a food blog. It may be hard to tell what with all of the food posts lately, but it is not. So. Now that we have that cleared up, let me share with you a delicious little treat I baked up for the mister's birthday over the weekend.</div>
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It is the <a href="http://www.bakerella.com/key-lime-cream-cake/">Key Lime Cream Cake</a> by the lovely Bakerella, and it is just delightful. No crazy ingredients needed to make this baby from scratch (coming from a person who considers cake flour a crazy ingredient, ok? Normal, plain old, all-purpose flour here.) I didn't have access to key limes, and regular limes did just fine. I won't repost the recipe here out of respect for the original author, but if you have any trouble accessing the recipe please let me know. </div>
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Also, I made two round cakes and did not slice them into additional layers. It just seemed unnecessary to me, so I skipped that step. Plus it just seems like an excuse to add more frosting and I'm not really into a whole lot of frosting. That being said, I also cut the frosting recipe in half and it was still more than enough for me. Really, I cannot imagine eating this cake with more than twice the frosting. Uhhh no. But the fresh whipped cream and graham crackers? Completely necessary. This made all the difference so I would not recommend skipping out on these. And don't just get Cool Whip. I mean, you can, but you won't be doing yourself any favors there.</div>
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Now I will admit that I am not the world's best cake decorator. I like to tell myself that messy is charming and nice, but let's be honest this makes me a little jealous.</div>
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That, folks, is a gosh darned gorgeous cake. Mine looked nothing like that. I piped my whipped cream on with a zip-lock back and ended up with a giant blob in the middle of the cake. And I have no clue how you make that happen with graham cracker crumbs on the side of the cake. No clue. Try as I might it all pretty much ended up on the tray around the cake, and what did stick to the cake messed up the frosting. But you know what? I don't think the mister minded. I don't think he minded one bit.</div>The Mel Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14013085377457129225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462460967835006886.post-85837993965750433302012-07-18T10:12:00.002-04:002012-07-18T10:12:29.673-04:00blackberry baked french toast for happy mornings<div style="text-align: center;">
It is no secret that I am a huge fan of breakfast foods. Huge fan. If I could have belgian waffles every single day for the rest of my life I probably would. (Side note: I do not yet own a belgian waffle maker, and for some strange reason they do not sell frozen belgian waffles in NoVa. I don't get it, but they are severely lacking in my life right now.) The problem with breakfast is it tends to require effort. In the morning. Which is hard. So I like breakfasts that are super easy, but I also want them to taste amazing. </div>
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Let me introduce you to a little something I threw together recently.</div>
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Looks amazing, right? So here's a little secret: I threw it together in just a few minutes with things I had around the kitchen and needed to get rid of. And. It was AMAZING!</div>
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ingredients:</div>
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1/3 loaf old french bread (or whatever stale bread you may have lying around)</div>
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1/2 cup leftover buttermilk you don't know what to do with (or half & half, or regular milk)</div>
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4 eggs</div>
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1/2 tbsp vanilla extract</div>
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handful of blackberries (or any fruit you have)</div>
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for topping:</div>
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1/4 cup brown sugar</div>
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1/4 cup flour</div>
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2 tbsp butter or margarine</div>
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sprinkle of almonds (optional)</div>
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You with me so far? This sounds pretty easy, right? Almost all of the ingredients are substitutable. Make this with some challah bread, or old croissants, can you imagine? Yum! Throw some strawberries or peaches in there instead of blackberries, also yum. Leave out the topping if you want, it won't hurt my feelings. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, I'm completely making up all those measurements. When I made this I just poured stuff together without measuring it. That's how easy it is. </div>
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So here's what you do.</div>
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1. tear your bread into roughly 1" chunks and place in a small baking dish (I used a small loaf pan)</div>
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2. mix together eggs, milk, and vanilla</div>
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3. pour egg mixture over bread chunks until well covered</div>
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4. place in refrigerator for at least 20 minutes or until bread soaks up egg mixture. Do not skip this step, it makes such a huge difference!</div>
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5. now it's time to add your berries. You could be like me and carefully place your berries between and underneath and on the bread to be sure that each bite has a berry, or you could just sprinkle them all on top because what does it matter anyway. </div>
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6. put flour and brown sugar in bowl, cut in butter until the mixture starts to form crumbles.</div>
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7. sprinkle brown sugar mixture over bread mixture</div>
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8. add almonds if you choose (it really did add a nice texture) </div>
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9. bake in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes or so, until the top is nice and golden brown.</div>
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This made two very generous sized portions for the hubs and I. Just scoop it out, put it on a plate, and enjoy it. No syrup needed for sure.</div>
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If you made it through this whole post and decided to make this dish (or a version of it) for yourself, please leave a comment and let me know how it went!</div>The Mel Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14013085377457129225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462460967835006886.post-46239302900302141652012-07-10T21:42:00.003-04:002012-07-10T21:42:51.746-04:00heaven on two slices of bread<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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You guys. Seriously. Brie. Dark Chocolate. Roasted Strawberries. The best grilled cheese ever in my life. It's a good thing I'm so modest. </div>
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Get the recipe <a href="http://www.howsweeteats.com/2012/04/roasted-strawberry-brie-chocolate-grilled-cheeeeeeeese/">here</a> even though it is fairly self explanatory. At least go drool over the pictures for a minute to get yourself psyched for this totally tasty treat. You're welcome.</div>
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Also, <a href="http://www.howsweeteats.com/2012/06/grilled-fontina-blackberry-basil-smash-sandwiches/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:%20howsweeteats/smSp%20%28How%20Sweet%20It%20Is%29">this one</a> is on my list. Yes indeed.</div>The Mel Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14013085377457129225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462460967835006886.post-79183334405158669262012-07-09T16:42:00.000-04:002012-07-09T16:42:01.878-04:00dream life<div style="text-align: center;">
I, along with pretty much the entire internet world, have sold my soul to Pinterest. I mean, at this point I have no idea what I would do without it. And I am amazed and fascinated by the fact that so many people use it in so many different ways. For example, people are always talking about how they spend hours wasting time on Pinterest. Just... looking around, one would presume. I don't really know because that is not how I consume Pinterest. I am not a browser, rarely a searcher, but always an obsessive collector and a little bit of a stalker. I read blogs. Lots of them. And most of the things I pin come directly from those blogs that I read. I also follow people. Mostly people I actually know, followed by people I feel like I know (authors of blogs I read), and the occasional famous person or company or what have you. I check Pinterest multiple times a day, to see any new pins from people I follow, and that's it. I'm done. So huge internet time waster it is not, facilitator to my addictions it most certainly is.</div>
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All of that to lead into showing you a few pictures from a new board I titled "Dream Life." If I fell asleep today and woke up in one of these pictures, let's just say I wouldn't be too upset about it.</div>
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Not following me on Pinterest? Want to? Find me <a href="http://pinterest.com/themelb/">here</a>.</div>The Mel Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14013085377457129225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462460967835006886.post-80018154520331513152012-07-06T08:11:00.001-04:002012-07-06T08:11:57.431-04:00East Coast by Train<div style="text-align: center;">
I recently took a little day trip to NYC via train, and took some photos to document my trip of course. Train could easily become my favorite method of travel for a while. It's so much more relaxing than flying, and the scenery! While I must admit the east coast by train may not be the most attractive trip (let's be honest), it is at the very least <i>interesting</i>. It makes you want to just look around and see what's around you. Now maybe my next trip should be through some mountains or farms for a taste of something different, but for now I bring you the East Coast.</div>
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<br />The Mel Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14013085377457129225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462460967835006886.post-53474338809185094842012-06-29T10:46:00.001-04:002012-06-29T10:46:24.772-04:00design obsession<div style="text-align: center;">
I don't know how long this has been a thing but I have recently become very fond of designer campaign films, lookbook videos, whatever you want to call them. Watch some here, and then try not to wish you lived in their worlds.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/3t1BqEQroDM" width="500"></iframe>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zhPVnBoZuAA" width="500"></iframe></div>The Mel Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14013085377457129225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462460967835006886.post-77082915850475023092012-06-25T20:40:00.000-04:002012-06-25T20:40:33.708-04:00The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I figure finishing a 576 page book in two weeks is reason enough to write a blog post (for me). This book was hilarious, though provoking, disturbing, heartbreaking, and really really good. It is the story of a chimp named Bruno (narrated by Bruno himself) who goes from zoo life to scientific research, to living like a human, being on the run, and finally ending up in jail. Don't worry, I didn't ruin anything for you. Early on in the book he brings up the fact that he is in jail, and you spent the next 500+ pages trying to figure out exactly what happened to put him there. It's quite a ride. And quite promising for being the author's fist novel.</div>
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So there you go. Read it, but only if you're going to take my warnings seriously. You'll need a thick skin and a strong stomach to get through certain parts. But I found it to be worthwhile.</div>The Mel Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14013085377457129225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462460967835006886.post-47177934634077595792012-06-19T20:19:00.000-04:002012-06-20T10:24:03.669-04:00This feels a little silly<div style="text-align: center;">
Here it is, nearly six months since my last post here. I gave myself permission to skip a few days and, well, look what happened. But things have been happening, folks! Lots of things! Good things, bad things, weird things. I will not be going over all of those things right now. I wouldn't do that to you. Let's ease back into this thing, shall we? </div>
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I'm going to start with a fun little outing I had with the mister a little while back to <a href="http://artomatic.org/">Art-O-Matic</a>, an amazing somewhat annual (I don't think one happened last year) art event that makes me happy I live in the area. Ten floors, 1,000+ artists, performers, etc. Good times, folks. Good times. We spent about four hours there and didn't even get to half of it, there was just so much to see. </div>
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Here's a little bit of it.</div>
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It was so nice to be able to spend a little quality time with the hubs. Nice to get out and get inspired. Who knew there were pretty things to look at that aren't on Pinterest? I kid, I kid. Sort of. </div>
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<br />The Mel Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14013085377457129225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462460967835006886.post-21213842138981378092012-02-10T09:46:00.001-05:002012-02-10T09:49:38.616-05:00first aid kit<div style="text-align: center;">
I'm fairly certain I first heard of these girls years ago, and thought they were just fine but nothing really struck me. Then I saw them mentioned <a href="http://thompsonfamily.typepad.com/thompson_familylife/2012/02/one-pretty-thing-first-aid-kit.html">on another blog</a> today and gave them another listen. And another and another. The first song I chose to listen to, Emmylou is just beautiful. Their voices are sublime.</div>
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And then I listened to a few more which again were just fine but didn't strike me. And then this. With the perfect grungy dusty '60s sound. It made more sense when I found out it was produced by Jack White.</div>
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And an extra. A cover of Johnny Cash's I Walk The Line. </div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Bhv16So7gwY" width="420"></iframe></div>The Mel Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14013085377457129225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462460967835006886.post-22517548130413241302012-02-09T10:18:00.001-05:002012-02-09T10:18:05.980-05:00smitten<div style="text-align: center;">
I know I don't post much these days, things just kind of fell apart blog-wise. I never even finished up with January Photo-A-Day posts. Whatever. I might do that soon.</div>
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But I just had to stop in real quick-like before I get ready for work today and share with you the most lovely, inspiring Tumblr I ever have seen. Truth be told I never got into the whole Tumblr thing, but this is a game changer. Lucky for me the author also has a Pinterest page so I can keep up with all the pretty without having to venture into the Tumblr world.</div>
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Ladies and Gentlemen, I bring you <a href="http://witanddelight.tumblr.com/#3">wit & delight</a>. </div>
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Ok, I'm done. Enjoy your distractions.</div>The Mel Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14013085377457129225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462460967835006886.post-84405526237044371812012-01-25T22:27:00.000-05:002012-01-25T22:27:02.147-05:00Photo A Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://distilleryimage10.s3.amazonaws.com/1a8cbf5c3fe811e1abb01231381b65e3_7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://distilleryimage10.s3.amazonaws.com/1a8cbf5c3fe811e1abb01231381b65e3_7.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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day #15 happiness</div>
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day #16 morning</div>
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day #17 water</div>
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day #18 something I bought</div>
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day #19 sweet</div>
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day #20 someone I love</div>
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day #21 reflection</div>
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I have been having a little bit of a hard time keeping up with the photo a day, and not always getting them in quite on time, but I'm not giving up! I am determined to see this thing through! I am currently caught up, so let's see if I can keep it going for the remainder of the month.</div>
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<br /></div>The Mel Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14013085377457129225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462460967835006886.post-74778367994750822182012-01-16T15:23:00.000-05:002012-01-16T15:23:15.052-05:00Photo a Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://distilleryimage6.s3.amazonaws.com/3c61e4f03a4711e19e4a12313813ffc0_7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://distilleryimage6.s3.amazonaws.com/3c61e4f03a4711e19e4a12313813ffc0_7.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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day #8 sky</div>
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day #9 daily routine</div>
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day #10 childhood</div>
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day #11 where I sleep</div>
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day #12 close-up</div>
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day #13 in my bag</div>
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day #14 something I'm reading</div>
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Read a little more about what the heck this Photo a Day thing is anyway, right over <a href="http://dropandanchor.blogspot.com/2012/01/photoaday.html">here</a>.</div>
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And by the way, I have finished reading <a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/book/198226/the-lives-and-loves-of-daisy-and-violet-hilton-by-dean-jensen">The Lives and Loves of Daisy and Violet Hilton</a>. It only took a couple of weeks, which may not be fast by anyone's standards but my own. But in my defense it was a pretty big book and I don't have a whole lot of free time. But boy when I did I devoured that thing. There is some disturbing content and it's not an altogether happy story, but quite amazing, fascinating, and true. So do what you will with that information.</div>The Mel Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14013085377457129225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462460967835006886.post-7627157787654402842012-01-08T18:52:00.002-05:002012-01-08T18:52:50.521-05:00#photoaday<div style="text-align: justify;">
So I have decided to participate in a little thing called the January Photo a Day Challenge. There is a list of topics and you take a photo every day to go with each topic. The list is as follows.</div>
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I picked up on this challenge a little late, so I started on Day 4.</div>
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letterbox</div>
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something I wore</div>
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makes me smile (full disclosure I took this photo the day before, but I didn't think I needed to take another one)</div>
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favorite</div>
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I will be back again next week with a roundup of this week's photos. Have instagram and want to join in the fun? Just start uploading your photos on the given day and tag it with #photoaday and #day(number). Not following me on instagram yet? My name is dropandanchor, so look me up and drop me a line!</div>
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<br /></div>The Mel Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14013085377457129225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462460967835006886.post-10927953930204058922012-01-02T20:11:00.003-05:002012-01-02T20:11:56.068-05:00here's where I say happy new year<div style="text-align: center;">
I thought I could get away without writing this post, but somehow I can't escape the guilt. As a blogger it is my duty to round up the old year and welcome in the new. It's just something we do.</div>
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<a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/127719339401976074/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="600" src="http://media-cdn.pinterest.com/upload/127719339401976074_08J1yULH_c.jpg" width="446" /></a></div>
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Source: <a href="http://brentfosterphotography.com/galleries/janye-ricardo/" style="color: #76838b; font-size: 10px; text-decoration: underline;">brentfosterphotography.com</a> via <a href="http://pinterest.com/jeannekf/" style="color: #76838b; font-size: 10px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Jeanne</a> on <a href="http://pinterest.com/" style="color: #76838b; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Pinterest</a></div>
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So here's 2011 in a nutshell:</div>
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Moved into our first house</div>
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Got married</div>
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Got a puppy</div>
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Kept one of last year's resolutions and finally listed some knits on Etsy (and had 5 sales in the first month!)</div>
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That's really all that sticks out at the moment, but really that is quite a lot. Big, momentous, life changing, time consuming things. 2011 was a year to remember.</div>
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So what of 2012? </div>
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I've got some things up my sleeve. </div>
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I'm so happy I finally kept my promise to launch my Etsy shop and it is my biggest goal this year to really take it seriously. I have been working on branding (business cards, packaging, banners for blog and Etsy shop) and researching everything from business licenses and trademarks to accounting programs and taxes. I'm setting goals and planning rewards for myself. It's kind of all I can think about these days. It's too easy for me to get discouraged and demotivated so I'm proud of myself just for getting this far and it's enough to propel me forward for now.</div>
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The second big goal for the year is travel. We promised ourselves we would take a vacation to Europe for our anniversary. A delayed honeymoon. My first time out of the country (except when I was something like 10 years old and my family went into Canada for a day on a big camping trip up the East Coast). The mister bought me a passport case for Christmas so it's almost official. I should probably get that passport. Maybe.</div>
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And there are always less exciting goals, like figuring out how on earth to keep the house clean on a regular basis and planning monthly date nights. Working on that whole work/life balance thing people always talk about.</div>
<br />The Mel Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14013085377457129225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462460967835006886.post-23569095586337471722011-12-29T09:56:00.000-05:002011-12-29T09:56:10.884-05:00docked<div style="text-align: center;">
Loving all of the retro-inspired accessories for new technology these days. Because everything doesn't really have to be shiny and silver (or gleaming white) and BORING. Good design is good design and these things work.</div>
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<a href="http://areaware.com/prodimages/JDCD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://areaware.com/prodimages/JDCD.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The<a href="http://areaware.com/proddetail.asp?prod=jdcd&CatID=155"> clock dock</a> for iPhone</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w9mA2hM05-E/TvNthSwtf9I/AAAAAAAAie4/ugZKNjOnXUQ/s1600/vluxe007.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w9mA2hM05-E/TvNthSwtf9I/AAAAAAAAie4/ugZKNjOnXUQ/s320/vluxe007.gif" width="297" /></a></div>
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The <a href="http://www.bknydesign.com/">V-Luxe</a> iPad dock for ease of video watching.</div>
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<br /></div>The Mel Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14013085377457129225noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462460967835006886.post-67555790650941983772011-12-25T20:36:00.001-05:002011-12-25T20:59:05.109-05:00Christmas traditions<div style="text-align: center;">
Being our first Christmas as married folk, the mister and I have been busy discussing holiday traditions we grew up with, talking about what we want to carry on for our little family and coming up with new traditions that are our very own.</div>
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First, let's just get this out of the way, but presents are to be opened up on Christmas Morning. Not Christmas Eve, not Christmas Day. Christmas Morning. I have fond memories of waking up at approximately 4am (sometimes probably even earlier), sneaking down the hallway into the living room to see all the presents under the tree. My siblings and I would try to locate all of our gifts under the tree (this became such a problem that my parents actually stopped putting names on the gifts, making for some awkward moments when they realized they had given you someone else's present to open), we would peek in our stockings and usually fall asleep on the living room floor before we would dare try to wake up the parents so we could open presents. Those are my memories of Christmas. Those are the memories I want my children to have. So. Christmas Morning.</div>
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The next one we decided on is Christmas breakfast. Today it was more of a noontime Christmas brunch, and that is fine by me. It was delicious. </div>
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But the most exciting Christmas tradition is the Christmas lights tour. The mister found a website that tracks crazy lights and displays, and put together a map for us to go out and track them down. And let me tell you, there were some beauties.</div>
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These people kind of blow my mind. The time, money, and imagination that go into these displays is like nothing I will ever have so visiting these houses is like going to another world. I love it. And it was the perfect way to end our Christmas day.</div>The Mel Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14013085377457129225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462460967835006886.post-68711345821145293102011-12-13T22:38:00.001-05:002011-12-13T22:38:38.503-05:00it's beginning to look a lot like...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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New garland I made from pages of an old encyclopedia (they do have a use after all!). Gingerbread shakes, gingerbread lattes, cranberry bliss bars, oh my. Decorating the tree, undecorating the tree, bowl full of balls. The nutcracker gang. Foggy winter mornings. Sugar cookies in my beloved KitchenAid.</div>
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It's beginning to look a little bit like Christmas around here. Now if only I could put presents under the tree without the puppy eating them all. </div>
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<br />The Mel Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14013085377457129225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462460967835006886.post-56107371876205677122011-12-07T20:00:00.001-05:002011-12-07T20:09:20.794-05:00greetingsI can't believe it's just a few weeks until Christmas and I haven't posted a single Christmas card! I'm still not really in the holiday mood, but I saw this card today and just loved it so I had to share. The owl and fox are pretty cute, but the mouse just slays me. Precious.<br />
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<a href="http://www.hellolucky.com/caroling-creatures-hl-774.html">Letterpress from the always adorable hello!Lucky</a></div>
<br />The Mel Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14013085377457129225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462460967835006886.post-43314608539465497502011-11-30T20:10:00.001-05:002011-11-30T20:22:34.981-05:00let's get out of this country<div style="text-align: center;">
I've been reminding myself that the mister and I promised we would take a real vacation for our anniversary. A delayed honeymoon if you will. And that anniversary is coming up quickly enough that it's time to do some serious prepping. For starters- figuring out exactly where we're going, doing the research, booking, and getting passports. I for one have sadly never been out of the country. No, scratch that. I went to Canada when I was somewhere around 10 years old. Just to the other side of Niagara Falls. I remember seeing black squirrels there. That's about it.<br />
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Anyway it's time for me to get a passport and take a good European vacation already. So I've been doing what any reasonable person would do. Looking for accessories for the passport I need for the vacation I hope to take in the near future.<br />
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I could go <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/81539133/passport-snap-wallet-cover-gray-white">trendy</a>:</div>
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Or <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/81260415/passport-wallet-free-shipping-fits-2">cute</a>: </div>
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Or <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Leather-Urban-Passport-Holder-Lining/dp/B004WXAOFM/ref=sr_1_37?s=apparel&ie=UTF8&qid=1322701781&sr=1-37">classic</a>:</div>
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But I guess the important part is just that I GO.</div>The Mel Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14013085377457129225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462460967835006886.post-70970996793992328052011-11-28T09:11:00.001-05:002011-11-28T09:24:41.732-05:00hoop dreams<div style="text-align: center;">
I don't even know what to say about what I'm about to show you. There is apparently so much talent out there that this one person can create something every single day for an entire year. And none of them suck. They are all perfectly composed using materials practically made for this purpose and oozing with charm and personality. </div>
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<a href="http://www.365luckydays.blogspot.com/">Lucky Jackson</a> has unfortunately stepped away from her <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/luckyjackson">Etsy shop</a> in order to dedicate herself to the 365 day project, and thank goodness because if she could maintain them both at one time I might just throw up my hands and wonder why I even bother waking up in the morning if I can't be so inspired and productive.</div>
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I want to line a long hallway with these embroidered portraits. So Much Love.</div>
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<br />The Mel Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14013085377457129225noreply@blogger.com0