01 March, 2008
False Cape State Park

I really can’t think of a better way to spend the first day of March than on a long hike with your boy and your dog.

  

False Cape State Park is a mile-wide barrier spit in Virginia Beach sandwiched between Back Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. It’s just past Sandbridge beach and butts up against the North Carolina line. You can’t access it except by boat or foot since the only way in is through Back Bay Wildlife Refuge, and no  vehicles are allowed in to preserve the wildlife and the ecosystem there.

In the winter the only way to get to the park is by foot, a four mile hike down the beach each way. The interior trails of Back Bay Wildlife Refuge are closed October through March. So off we went, with Kyla hot on the trail.

The beach was really lovely today, windy as always but the weather was quite nice and pretty warm. The difference in the ocean, sand and birds is striking just a few miles away from Sandbridge. With hardly any boaters and no pollution, the ocean took on this amazing navy blue-green that I’ve never seen around this area. We finally arrived at the Barbour Hill trailhead and headed up the dunes into False Cape.

After a little rest and some yummy lunch, we headed down toward the Back Bay boat dock where we ran into the assistant park manager (and her dogs!) who gave us some good tips about what to look for in the park and told us to head down the Barbour Hill Interpretive Trail for some interesting sights. She also educated us a little bit about camping there and the different measures they take to preserve the park and its wildlife.

Huge, old trees always fascinate me and this is the oldest live oak in the park.

  

We saw a lot of wildlife: ducks, geese, ospreys, red tailed hawks, a deer, and Jimmy and Kyla surprised a large black snake who lept several feet in the air to say hello!

I loved seeing these stripes of color over and over again. Note to self: pair navy blue and wheat together, it’s quite stunning. We ended up walking 13 miles today! I can now recommend Wrightsock double layer socks for half marathon walkers who want no blisters, haha! I can’t wait to go back and visit next month once the Back Bay trails open. We’re planning to take our bikes and camping gear and make a weekend of it; there is so much more to see!

11 February, 2008
Virginia Zoo

The snaggletoothed sheep says, “We here at myaimistrue.com apologize for the dearth of news lately, but due to much wedding planning, grave illness and boring work-related things, there hasn’t been much to post. Thanks to Jimmy, we have some pictures of some of my fellow fabulous zoo residents to show you since Amber can’t come up with anything interesting.”

No seriously though, Friday and Saturday I felt AWFUL, I didn’t get off the couch Saturday at all but survived thanks to Jimmy. Sunday he dragged me out of the house for a little bit, I am feeling so much better. Stomach flu is the worst.

Thursday we’ll celebrate five years together and I got us a membership to the Virginia Zoo for 2008 as a little anniversary present. I think Jimmy was pretty stoked. My favorite part of the zoo is the barnyard but he really likes the lions.

Scary that these guys live in walking distance of Jimmy’s apartment.

  

Giraffes are so weird.

10 December, 2007
Garden of lights

Ricky [the deer] says that Christmas is definitely here in the pottery forest in Amber’s living room. And it’s looking like it around Norfolk too.

  

Friday night Jimmy took me to see the Garden of Lights at the Norfolk Botanical Garden. I’ve wanted to go every year and this is the first chance I got to see it!

  

Lots of cuteness to behold. Many of the displays are all around and above you. You feel like you’re going through a garden of lights rather than just seeing static images made by lights.

  

Rainbows and gorgeous trees and even a huge spiderweb. I definitely recommend going. Way better than the one at the oceanfront. I even ended up with a free calendar and a little potted gerber daisy which I will undoubtedly kill in about a week due to the poor lighting in my house. Sorry, little plant! Merry Christmas!

22 October, 2007
Stockley Gardens Arts Festival

Saturday morning I actually slept in for the first time in who knows how long, and then got on my bike and headed over to the Stockley Gardens Arts Festival. It was a nice ride over. After a while of walking around, Mary came to meet me (so jealous of her super sleek bike by the way) and we perused the booths together.

  

It was pretty much the same as any of the other Stockleys I’ve been to. Lots and lots of painting, some pottery (which is always my favorite), some photography, and a lot of jewelry. There were a few unique things this year like Victoria Sexton’s sculptures (the top photo in this post) and a fiber artist from Williamsburg.

  

There were plenty of gorgeous colors and textures to capture the eye. My sister and her friend Terry from school also joined us after a while. I saw Cassie & Bobby and Rhonda as well.

  

I particularly liked these booths. One was handmade folk dolls with all different faces. The elephants and sheep were great. The other was a photographer who uses ceiling tiles and wood from old houses to frame her work. I think it really adds a lot to the photos.

  

These little whimsical things amused me. They even had one that looked like a Boston terrier!

  

Good show. Afterward Mary and I ate at Ten Top then I went all around Ghent taking flyers and posters for Handmade Parade. Last night was our Learn to Knit workshop and it went so well! I hope to have pictures up soon. I had to borrow Shannon’s camera because I left mine at home like a doofus. GREAT weekend.

28 September, 2007
Steel Magnolias at the Peninsula Community Theatre

Last night we went to the Peninsula Community Theatre to see the final dress rehearsal for their production of Steel Magnolias. My hilarious and talented sister Grace is starring in the play as Annelle (for those of you who saw the movie, Darryl Hannah’s character).

The woman who played Truvy is so incredibly funny and an extremely talented actress. I loved her outfits, too!

The set was just gorgeous. So many fun details to notice. The sinks in the salon all actually had running water and clouds of hairspray flew around the whole time. That stage must get sticky after a while.

  

I loved the painted checkerboard floor and all the vintage items, like the magazines and furniture.

Haha Grace makes the best faces. I took a few video clips too! Enjoy!

Miss Robeline needs to take her medication.

  

The bigger the hair, the closer to God.

Sorry about my snorting and cackling all through this clip. “I swear to you, my personal tragedy will not interfere with my ability to do good hair!” Hahahahah.

The woman who played Ouiser cracked me up to no end. That’s how I’m gonna be when I’m old, I hope. Haha.

Haha that’s the kind of man I like.

Mismatched manger scenes at incredibly low prices!

Truvy would you HUSH! Haha such a perfect southern lady.

Ooh girl, lovin’ that side ponytail. I used to rock that look in 6th grade.

  

Pray Annelle, pray!

Shelby has been driving nails into her arm!!

  

  

The end of the play was extremely sad, I know a few people in the audience were crying all over themselves. Luckily I was trying to take pictures so I didn’t have time for that. Oh yeah Grace, you look good even when you’re knocked up! Ha!

The play was hilarious, tragic and moving in so many ways. The cast is great and I was so impressed with the whole thing. If you are interested in checking it out, here are the showtimes.

September 28, 29, October 5, 6, 12, 13 at 8:00pm and
September 30, October 7, 14 at 2:30pm. Go check it out!!! For tickets, call 757-595-5728.

25 September, 2007
Critical Mass Norfolk

Just found out that Norfolk has started a critical mass! It’s on the last Friday of each month at 6pm. If you wanna ride, meet on the corner of Colley & Baldwin Aves. in Ghent (where Starbucks & Elliot’s are).

Critical Mass typically held on the last Friday of every month in cities around the world where bicyclists (and sometimes skateboarders, inline skaters, roller skaters, etc.) take to the streets en masse. The ride was originally founded with the idea of drawing attention to how unfriendly the city was to bicyclists, but now the leaderless structure of Critical Mass makes it impossible to assign it any one specific goal. It’s pretty much a ride just for the sake of riding and drawing attention to alternate forms of transportation.

Anyway, it’s a fun way to meet new people and get some exercise. I won’t be able to come out this week but I would like to next month! Maybe I’ll see you there!

02 September, 2007
Rock n Roll Half Marathon 2007

I was just a teensy bit tired after only two hours sleep, but I got up this morning and headed down to the oceanfront to volunteer at the 7th annual Virginia Beach Rock n Roll Half Marathon. We had to report to the start line at 4 am.

 

I got there right on time and we stood around for a while waiting for our assignments. I was assigned to the starting corrals, and volunteered to be a captain! It sounded very important but totally wasn’t.

There were over 20,000 people running the half today, so obviously they couldn’t all start at the same time or we’d have a stampede. That’s where the corrals come in. The corrals are separated by estimated finishing times and the groups start in waves.

 

The wheelchair racers left at 6:40, then the elite women runners at 6:50, then the first corral at 7. Each corral is numbered, and the bib numbers correspond to them, like corral 2 is 2000-2999. I was in number 14, which was a finish time of 2:15 (two hours 15 minutes).

The other three people in my corral were from India, a family that had come to the states for six weeks to visit their son/brother in Arizona and flew to Virginia Beach for the race. They were awesome people and I really enjoyed talking with Amba, the matriarch of the family. We set up our signs and ropes and waited for the sun to come up and the runners to all get there. It got insanely crowded after a while.

 

Finally the groups started moving forward and next thing you know, we were at the start line.

I was extremely excited to find out early in the day that one of the race announcers was none other than my hero and fellow slow runner, John Bingham. He was totally smiling at me here haha. He could feel the fellow penguin vibe wafting off me.

He said we were the best looking group of the day. I totally agree!

And we’re off! The energy of the crowd was high and extremely contagious. There were runners dressed like Elvis (in a wig and full studded white bodysuit), Sponge Bob (with a box totally enclosing half their body) and the pace setter for my group was a pirate complete with hook hand.

 

There were of course tons of entrants running for charity. The Team in Training was out in full force, there were hundreds of them there. There was also a Hokie Memorial Fund “Run for 32” group that they announced over the loudspeaker. After our corral was gone, I spent the rest of my shift cleaning up trash, breaking down fences and rolling up banners, but not before I cheered on the walkers in the last corral. Yay for the back of the pack!

 

Check out the site for the race results and some amazing photos in the photo gallery. I hope I’ll be out there next year, we shall see!

05 July, 2007
Happy 4th of July!

I hope y’all had an awesome holiday!

11 June, 2007
Harborfest & Sail Virginia 2007

This weekend down at the Norfolk harbor was the annual Harborfest plus Sail Virginia 2007, part of the huge celebration going on in this area right now to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the Jamestown settlement. Along with the usual ships that dock for Harborfest, Colonial Williamsburg had a presence there and there were tons of things to see and do.

The biggest ship there was the Gorch Fock II, which is almost 300 feet long and came all the way from Germany. I walked over on my lunchbreak on Friday to check everything out and couldn’t believe these guys up so high on the masts. Yikes.

Williamsburg had a little village set up with colonial houses, tons of people in traditional colonial dress and a showcase of colonial tradesmen.

I asked this guy if I could take his picture and he was all, “Well you certainly MAY take my picture.”

Heidi, Jimmy and I came back up on Saturday night to catch the fireworks display. I have to say it made up for every single crappy fireworks display the city of Norfolk has ever disappointed me with. They had three barges shooting off fireworks and the show was awesome! It was especially neat to see them reflected in the glass buildings downtown. Harborfest was awesome this year. Yay Norfolk! Here’s a little bit of the grand finale for you.

Also, Jimmy got a peek at the real reason why the mermaid is Norfolk’s mascot. What a hussy.

21 May, 2007
Munden Point Park

Yesterday was my sister Grace’s 19th birthday so after church and lunch we headed out to Munden Point Park in Pungo to enjoy the gorgeous day.

I can’t take credit for any of these awesome photos. I’m just giving Jimmy the camera from now on!

My gorgeous sister at 19. Happy birthday Grace!

We played soccer and football, chilled in the sun and hung out by the lake.

Kyla sniffed 8 million leaves and had an awesome time, I think. She was fully worn out after we got home.

Me and my moms.

Mom and Dave on the jet ski. I can’t wait to take this thing to the beach, even if I don’t like to be Evel Knievel on it like some people *cough*JIMMY*cough*.

Hangin out, walkin the beast dog.

Kyla wanted to go out in the water and get the jet skis. She was fully convinced she could swim fast enough to catch them.

While I went there to do peaceful, hippie-like activities like hold ladybugs, apparently some jackasses went to the park that day trying to get in a fight. As y’all know, I think frisbee golf is about the lamest game ever, and there is a frisbee golf course at Munden Point. Jimmy and Maegan and I went over to the basketball court (they were playing, I was spectating), and hung out for a while. We were getting ready to leave and Jimmy and Maegan walked over to the shade of a tree where me and Kyla were chillin, which is about 6 feet from the basketball court. As soon as Jimmy walked over, these guys were starting a game of frisbee golf or something, and the first dude threw his frisbee and it hit Jimmy on the back of the arm. Jimmy picked up the frisbee and tossed it back (I would have done the same thing, so would have a ton of people, it’s a frisbee, that’s what you do, no one knows about this stupid game) and the whole group of them WENT OFF.

The dude who threw it started walking toward us, being all threatening, and yelling at Jimmy, “That was so rude! APOLOGIZE NOW!” and calling him names and generally being a douche nozzle. I mean, he was the one that hit Jimmy, but Jimmy’s supposed to apologize? For what? Standing by the basketball court? There’s a playground near the frisbee course too, would he have yelled at a kid if he hit a kid with a frisbee? Sheesh. Jimmy handled it really well but would have been totally justified in punching the guy with the way he acted. I hate drunk/high losers that think they’re so entitled. Ugh.

Anyway it was a fantastic afternoon other than that. We went back to mom’s house, played Cranium (I’m not a fan, literally EVERY time it’s my turn the card is a stupid Club Cranium or whatever), and Grace and Rob opened presents and we ate and got home really late. Tiring weekend!

Virginia Aquarium

I support my local public radio station once a year when they have fundraising drives, and one of the perks is they send you free stuff. Like free passes to the Virginia Aquarium. Yay!

We still find ourselves calling it the Marine Science Museum, but I really like the VA Aquarium logo and everything. They need to fix up that website asap, though. Anyway, I loved checking out the little reef tank they have in the foyer.

I really miss having a reef tank (here are pictures of my old tank) and taking pictures of this one made me want to start one up again so badly. It’s an extremely expensive hobby though, and involves a lot of maintenance unless you set everything up to be automated for water changes and such. I decided when I move into a larger house where I can have an in-wall tank (at least 120 gallons), I’m going to start up another reef tank. I would like to have mostly corals and maybe one fish like a tang or angelfish to be the star of the show. I’d love to get back into the hobby and go to frag swap meetings again, yes I was a total reef tank nerd. I actually started the Hampton Roads Reef Club back in 2004, it looks like they are still very active, which is awesome.

The aquarium had a penguin display that will be there until September I believe. This little guy was near it. Cuttlefish are awesome. They kept changing colors before our eyes.

This is in the Chesapeake Bay tank, where there are tons of native fishes to the area. I liked the big Tarpon most of all. There were some HUGE pinfish in there too.

I was so stoked to see the octopus, usually he’s hiding under a rock.

There’s a stingray touch tank. It really stinks in there and people go nuts grabbing at them. I bet they’re pretty stressed out. I pet a few. They’re slimy.

The shark tank is pretty awesome. Yes, these all live in our local oceans, get over it y’all. You still want to swim. I got a little too close to the tank though and one ate me.

Tragic.

Kids will love this place by the way. I recommend visiting, even more so if you have free tickets!

Kotobuki

Jimmy, hater of chopsticks, caught in the act of using the instruments of death. Now that’s progress! Sam, are you seeing this?

Just want to throw a hearty recommendation out there for Kotobuki Japanese Restaurant in Ghent. We went there for the first time on Friday night after we hit up the Greek Festival for about ten minutes (it was PACKED).

They have a huge and awesome vegetarian menu as well as all the stuff you would expect from a sushi restaurant. The place seemed pretty authentic, although I am not an expert on these matters. We got to watch sumo wrestling and eat some delicious food.

This is all that was left of a huge plate of vegetarian sesame “chicken”. Enough said. I hope to eat there many more times!

16 April, 2007
Virginia Beach Spring Craft Market

Saturday morning, Amanda and I headed over to the Virginia Beach Spring Craft Market to fuel our little obsession with all things craft. There was a large variety of vendors from fine artists, musicians, food peddlers, woodturners and every type of fabric-related craft you could think of.

The Tidewater Beekeepers Association was there selling honey, beeswax candles and other goodies. I liked seeing the bees making honey right on the spot. Little known fact, my mom and dad used to keep bees back in their hippie days before I was born.

There was a booth covered in fake food, from fake cakes to fake sushi and shrimp cocktail.

The fake breakfast looked extremely real, and there were fake cupcakes that looked seriously too good not to eat. Good thing we didn’t, they’re made of foam, wall plaster and that fake snow they put in department store windows. Amazing!

You know I had to buy something from D.O.G. Street Treats, which is a local gourmet dog bakery that specializes in hand-dipped doggie treats. I had a really hard time not eating one of these, they look so good haha! Kyla especially loved the peanut butter carob cups, which look exactly like Reese’s cups.

There was a booth of intricate, handstitched tapestries filled with vibrant color and shapes. The complexity of these amazed me.

Here’s a tiny detail of the larger tapestry. I would love to know what this technique is called if anyone knows.

Besides the dog treats, I got some Enchilada soup mix, citrus dip mix, basil garlic mix from Linda’s Garden and some Death Wish hot barbecue sauce and Wib Wub blackening spice from Smack Yo Mama. I love the names for all his products, and Toxic Waste is some serious hot sauce. Not for pansies. I was burning for like half an hour!

Amanda and I got a lot of good ideas at the craft show, and we also hit up the Habitat for Humanity thrift store in Virginia Beach and found some really good bargains. The whole store was 50% off!

Tomorrow I’m getting a 1” button maker in the mail. Stoked!

12 April, 2007
Thrifty scores!

The thrifty goddess smiled on me the other day and I found some great stuff. I had been coveting this gorgeous aqua crackle dish set at Target since it came out, but didn’t want to spend that much on it. I stopped by the Hope House thrift on Monticello Ave. on my way home from work and got the little 12 piece Asian dish set (rice bowls, sauce bowls, tiny teacups, etc) for $6! It’s in perfect shape.

I had my sister Grace over last night and made up some gyoza, lumpia and steamed bok choy and we tried it out. I also got a dozen or so miniature fluted bundt pans. Like this but tiny, like the size of a cupcake. I can’t wait to make some mini bundts! I am thinking I’ll try some new cupcake recipe in there and do a lowfat vanilla glaze to top it, and stick some fresh fruit in the center indent. YUM.

Other finds, a gorgeous milk glass teacup for 10 cents, a perfect lacy vintage apron for 55 cents that I plan on embroidering (gonna finally try my hand at that), and a cute throw pillow for my living room that says SHRIMP & CRABS all over it with pictures of the sea creatures in question. I love a good thrifting trip.

04 March, 2007
Wink Salon

The salon where my hot hairstylist Matt started working is so cool. It’s called Wink Salon and it’s in Hilltop East in Virginia Beach. I went for the first time on Saturday.

They had a few local graffiti artists come do the walls, I saw stuff by PH One, TKO was up there, and the mirrors and hairdryers are suspended from the ceilings. The workstations are Craftsman toolboxes. Love it. The other side of the salon is more conservative but super stylish with modern furnishings and huge 1950s pinup illustrations. They also sell Sailor Jerry merch and makeup and jewelry.

You like my new do?

The other side.

Me and the hairmaster. For real though, check out Wink, there is bound to be someone up there that will be able to fix you up!

20 February, 2007
Please, tuck in long hair!

Well, it couldn’t be put off any longer, and on Sunday, I had the privilege of finding out what rednecks do for fun around here. Or at least dudes who have Nascar fantasies. They were all there too. “Indoor Karting” in Portsmouth. It’s like go karts, but inside. And they go fast. Like 40mph fast.

First they hook you up with a very stylin’ head sock. Yeah, my hair was not loving this thing. It makes everyone look like Goofy.

Oh, and please, tuck in your long hair! This means you too, dudes.

Here’s the track. They give you a little briefing on what the different flags mean (blue means you’re slow, get over to the right, black means you’re in trouble, go to the pit, etc.) and then they put you in the cars and you’re off! I went the first time and came in last place, bummer. One of the guys that was with us wrecked into me and knocked the tire off my car! I blame him, otherwise I clearly would have won.

It was really fun and my shoulder is still sore, which has just occurred to me was caused by the racing! You have to put a lot of muscle into steering the car, especially the faster you go.

The second time everyone went again but me and Jack’s girlfriend, and Jimmy got black flagged haha. Apparently he was bumping the really fast guy who has his own supercool helmet and was trying to set a speed record or something. Not cool to upset the go kart geek!

Good times! Expensive, but really fun. And of course my dad heard about it and being the huge Nascar redneck, wants to go like immediately. Jimmy’s setting up a date for our whole family to go. Haha, can’t wait.

12 February, 2007
Bowlarama

Last night Jimmy suggested that we go over to Bowlarama and go bowling. We’d never been over there, and it’s really close to my house, so I figured why not?

Bowling alleys in general aren’t the most high class joints, but Bowlarama really took the cake. It’s super SUPER retro (like half-the-lanes-don’t-have-computers retro) and they have something called Duckpin Bowling, which I had never heard of, and will continue to call by its’ incorrect and more fun name, Duck Ball.

Basically duck ball is just like regular bowling except the pins are teeny tiny, like the plastic bowling set I had as a kid, in fact they are the size of baby ducks (let’s hope the original form of this game didn’t involve actual ducks, but I suspect it might have). The ball is about four pounds, and the size of a softball. There are no holes in it, you just kind of have to swing and let go. Also the balls get your hands completely filthy. You get three tries instead of two, and I have no idea how the scoring works because instead of a computer keeping track for you, the dude hands you a pencil and a scorecard, and we had no idea how to do it. We eventually just stopped writing down numbers.

The duck ball lanes were outfitted with these little gadgets which appeared to be some sort of overhead projector, but from what we could tell, didn’t work. Bummer. The shoes they gave us were pretty spiffy. Jimmy’s a good foot model, don’t you think?

There was a guy next to us who was extremely serious about the duck ball game, and brought his own balls and shoes (of COURSE) and a towel that said Pro Duck Bowlers of America or something. He kept doing the pro stance, but never knocked down all the pins, and after each throw, would make a “YES!” sign or a “DARN!” sign by swinging his arm in a certain direction. Observe.

Jimmy on the other hand, uses his equipment to his advantage. He describes his technique in detail here.

I had a lot of fun and even though I don’t think the place has a ladies bathroom (there was a “ladies lounge” containing benches and lockers, and a men’s bathroom, but no women’s bathroom to be found), and I washed my hands many, many times after leaving, I’d definitely go back haha. I think it was $7 for two pairs of shoes and a duck ball game. Good times!

15 December, 2006
YELP!

So, is anyone else on Yelp.com? I saw a link to Yelp over on Tricia’s site and decided to check it out (also as a side note, huge congratulations to Tricia for making it into Women’s Wear Daily for founding wardrobe_remix!). Yelp is a totally great site with reviews of restaurants, businesses, services, etc. by real people. I am definitely putting my two cents in since the reviews for Norfolk and Virginia Beach are minuscule. If you’re local, please go join up!

My reviews can be found at myaimistrue.yelp.com. If you’re on there, add me as a friend, or if you’re interested in my reviews in Norfolk and Virginia Beach, check it out!

04 December, 2006
Humbug

Yeah this pretty much sums it up. Every December, the good officials of the City of Norfolk wire up the concentration camp-style speakers and blare Christmas carols all day long.

I have always fantasized about finding where that music is headquartered and replacing the Christmas CD with Black Flag. Now don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas music. I had some on my iPod before Thanksgiving. But instead of classy and enjoyable stuff, they are certainly playing a Worst Of… CD. I’ve heard better music in elevators. Ugh.

16 October, 2006
Virginia Beach Farmers Market

Saturday I went to the Virginia Beach Farmers Market for Knit Out & Crochet Day, hosted by the local knitting guild.

A decent amount of people came out, three of the knitting stores had swag there, various prizes were given away and awarded (I got nothing, sniffle). My friend Joanne got honorable mention in the scarf design contest (yaaay). I got to sit and knit in the sun with her and some other ladies.

Denise showed up, turns out she’s a knitter too. Hopefully I’ll be seeing her at Stitch n Bitch tonight (hint hint!). An old lady came up and talked to us and she was totally awesome. She could write backwards (seriously, like da Vinci could). She told us how when she got married to her first husband, she knit him 12 pairs of socks (12!) for a wedding gift (I said MARRYING the guy was enough of a present), and since her mother in law hated her, she snuck into their room while they were out and WASHED all the socks. Which of course felted them into tiny baby socks. She said her husband cried. Aww. She also told us dirty jokes. Well actually she didn’t tell them, she had them printed out on paper and let us READ them! Haha how cute is that? I loved meeting this lady.

The fall produce was GORGEOUS. I bought a ton.

I also visited the pumpkin patch and picked out a big one.

I think I’m going to carve a boston terrier into it. Maybe with fangs, haha for Halloween.

I just love that color orange. Man it’s gorgeous.

Here are all my goodies. The soap is made by local goat farmers and it smells delicious.

My mom’s garden is gorgeous right now. I didn’t do much else this weekend except watch movies and knit. I will probably do a knitting and yarn update soon. I have a ton of new, gorgeous, droolworthy yarn.

Yesterday Jimmy and I went shopping to get him some new clothes for work. He starts his new job today! Mom showed me how to hem pants properly and I hand-sewed hems on two of his new pants. They don’t look too bad. He looks amazing all spiffed up for work, but I don’t envy him having to wear a tie every day. Good luck with the new job baeba!

11 September, 2006
Fall is here!

Yesterday was pretty warm. Warm enough for me to sweat while I was painting in the garage. But this morning when I woke up shivering in my bed, I knew fall was here.

Does anyone else like waking up with a cold nose or is that just me?

Today it’s staying in the low 70s. Leaves are starting to fall. I’m thinking about knitting a scarf. Fall is totally here. I love a lot of things about fall, I always feel like there’s a huge sense of hope and possibility.

I have a very clear memory about when I first moved to Virginia in the fall. I was fifteen and it was still sweltering hot in south Georgia in early September. Coming up here and feeling the air snap so loudly you could almost hear it woke me up, and filled me with a sense of optimism. I feel that same way today. Other things I love about fall:

• Hoodies
• Jean jackets!
• Dressing Kyla up in clothes haha
• Snuggling under blankets
• Sleeping with the window open
• Layering
• Crunchy leaves and getting to see the branches of trees against the bare sky
• Going to Hunt Club and picking out a pumpkin

So what do you love about fall? 21 July, 2006
A snack perhaps?

Kyla says she would eat it, but a shark got to it first and she doesn’t like sloppy seconds for her sushi. I’m guessing there ARE sharks in the bay (this was down at Ocean View near Jimmy’s apartment)! I also saw a dinner plate-sized jellyfish washed up on the beach. Good times!

20 April, 2006
Harbor

Harbor at Norfolk Waterside (Elizabeth River). I wish I were on one of those boats right now instead of sitting in the office. It is a perfect day.

03 April, 2006
Norfolk Botanical Gardens

In all the years I’ve lived in this area, I’d never gone to the Norfolk Botanical Gardens. Saturday was a peach of a day, so I talked Jimmy into making a trip over there. I enjoyed myself, but I definitely want to visit later this spring. None of the roses in their huge rose garden and not many trees were in bloom, so I guess we were a bit early in the season. I still got some pretty pictures though.

Twin cedars. You really should view this larger on my Flickr.

I loved this flowering tree. It was like a tree full of daisies. I couldn’t find any identification for it though. Anyone know what this is?

I’d like a gazebo like this in my yard.

I love the colors in this magnolia tree.

The magnolias.

Jimmy is so cute. Ignore my stupid expression.

The moonlight and moth garden.

I thought these trees were pretty awesome. They look woven together or something.

These little yellow trumpet flowers were covering the roof of another gazebo. Being under them was pretty spectacular.

Visit the gardens if you get a chance. I can’t wait to go back when the roses are in bloom. No doubt it’s stunning.

31 March, 2006
Norfolk’s DooDah Parade

Just yesterday someone told me that today was the Doo Dah Parade in downtown Norfolk. The Doo Dah Parade is held in celebration of mankind’s right to harmless lunacy in broad daylight. Kind of like Norfolk’s Mardi Gras? It was a hoot. We took an early lunch and headed down Main Street to check it out.

The Grand Poo-bah and his entourage.

The Poo-bah’s girls.

A fabulous costume AND a fabulous derriere. Lots more pictures after the jump.

Those crazy Rocky Horror Picture Show kids. They play the film once a month at the Naro in Ghent and these kids turn out to torment first-timers, apparently.

Santa with his construction crew, getting ready for the Grand Illumination Parade (in November when they light up downtown for Christmas).

A master of multitasking. This guy was riding that crazy unicycle, blowing bubble gum, lassoing himself and juggling with one hand. Insane.

The very charming garden club ladies. They need to come help me with my shameful excuse for a yard.

They sang a really cute song about planting seeds that turn into weeds.

I think these were from the Visitor’s Bureau.

Those crazy PETA kids. Fur’s a drag.

Dudes, how do you like wearing high heels? Ready to ban them yet?

The Norfolk mermaid. She’s not a real mermaid. I totally saw her foot.

The librarians. I’m a dork cause this was totallly one of my favorite groups. Their signs cracked me up. “Party like it’s AD 44!”

I forget the name of this group, but it was the people who went down to help with the Katrina cleanup in New Orleans. Hence the masks.

This man was entirely too into the hula dancing.

The public works guys had an awesome chant/rap while they beat on the garbage cans. This was one of the best groups, I thought.

Put your butts in our seats, these were from the various venues in Norfolk. They were chanting “we want your butts!” Sweet!

Artists from the d’Art Center. The new d’Art center is in Selden Arcade downtown, and it’s fabulous. You should go see it if you haven’t been there yet.

More d’Art center people. I like the Mondrian painting.

And finally this man, who asked me if I’d like to see “the Full Monty!” I politely declined. The parade was really fun, the weather is so nice outside. I wonder which group won the judges’ favor. I’m sure it’ll be in the newspaper tomorrow, with probably much better pictures as well. Enjoy.

ETA: 1st place went to the “Butts in the seats” group. 2nd place went to the Public Works guys (yay!). 3rd place went to the PETA boys (yay again - Christopher, who often comments here, is the svelte young lady in the black wig and high heel boots hahah).

22 March, 2006
Thrifting on a rainy day.

Last night I had a big itch to go thrifting. I don’t know why, but I’m glad I did. Found some neato stuff.

The shirt is gorgeous on, it just needs some sewing repairs. You probably can’t see it in this picture, but the collar is really unique. I can’t wait to wear this with my black tulip skirt to work. I think I need some black hose with a seam up the back or something. I can’t decide if the shirt is old-lady-fabulous or hot-secretary-fabulous. It was 55 cents.

The dress fits like a dream but I definitely need some, um… support under it (it’s majorly clingy to my curves), and a belt to define my waist. Can’t you see this with some red pumps? Why don’t I own some red pumps?

The bag is very large, it will be a great overnight bag, or maybe a good bag to carry knitting in. It’s too big for everyday use, but I liked the shape and color of it so I picked it up. Cute scarf too, don’t you think?

I don’t know what size the shirt is, or what I’m going to do with this, but I liked the packaging so much I had to get it. It appears that this shirt was forgotten at a dry cleaners, and that’s how it ended up at the thrift store. The dry cleaning slip is still stapled to the box (and dated January 1967). Details of the illustration and type are in my Flickr photostream.

Anyway, that stuff brightened up my rainy evening. Yay for thrifting.

09 February, 2006
Lunch at the bookstore.

This might sound really nerdy and weird, but I don’t care. You can’t imagine how excited I am that the ladies who run Prince Books (the independent bookstore in downtown Norfolk) know me by name. And noticed that I changed my hair. And were thumbing through the box for my member discount card as I was walking up to the counter.

Today I bought The Time Traveler’s Wife and read the first 42 pages while I ate lunch. I am enthralled. I got this book on recommendation from Miss Genevieve, who is one other person in the world who loves reading just as much as I do. I knew that if no one else understood my little “moment” today, she would.

Other things I have had my nose in lately (excuse the arrows, I’m too lazy to look anywhere other than Amazon):

1. Little, Big which is kind of weird, and supposedly is a “masterpiece of modern fantasy” or some such thing and was also recommended by Alicia, whose blog I adore, so I will keep on reading.
2. Memoirs of a Geisha, which was the first book I couldn’t put down in a long time. I adored this book and its beautiful imagery.
3. Haunted, which was and is thoroughly annoying and BORING, and I’m not going to finish it. Chuck Palahniuk is one of my favorite authors, but he must have been really bored himself when he wrote this or something. I LOVE the review Elizabeth Hand wrote of this book on its’ Amazon page but I wish I would have read her review earlier. A snippet:

   It turns out to be an old movie theater, and once they’re inside, they can’t get out, like they’re locked in for three months; and the food is all freeze-dried, not gourmet at all, and everything is pretty disgusting and shabby and meaningless and depressing and disgusting. Did I say that twice? I forget, because this book, it’s kind of repetitive, and it’s also really, really gross.

   Each character in the book tells a short story. Each also tells a poem, which is not such a good idea, as the poems aren’t very good. In Lullaby, Palahniuk’s really creepy novel from 2003, there’s a poem that kills people who hear it, but I don’t think anyone’s going to die reading stuff like this: “The film: a shadow of a reflection of an image of an illusion.”

   Yeah, it’s that bad. And really, really gross. Don’t read it. Read Diary or Lullaby or Invisible Monsters instead.
4. How To Be Good was amusing and made me love the characters like any good Nick Hornby book does, but then it ended after only four audio tracks. I realize if I had been reading the actual book instead of listening to a pirated audio book (ha) I might not have been disappointed because I would have realized it was very, very thin, but I had no clue and it was amazingly short. I wanted more, dude. It was sarcastic and dysfunctional and amazing. I wanted more.
5. Garlic & Sapphires I have checked out from the library but not yet begun to read.

What are you guys reading?

31 October, 2005
The Great Yard Sale Adventure

Saturday morning I got up early and headed out yard sale-ing. I had two specific ones in mind I wanted to hit up, and then got a paper to see what else was going on.

The first one was pretty great. I got a bike rack for my car (they cost about $40 normally) for $5! And a nice warm blanket for $2. I was really happy about that bike rack, though. Other great finds:

I also found a table for $3 that was totally falling apart and gross-looking, but I saw potential in it. Watch for an entry later today dedicated to me revamping that table. I am SO happy with the results.

But this was definitely the best find of the day: a great chair for $20. From what I’m told, it’s walnut, circa 50s-60s?, probably American. I love the shape of it, and it’s very solid yet comfortable at the same time. I’ll probably reupholster the cushion. I was kinda upset at the lady who sold it to me though. Apparently there was a pair, and she sold the other one right before I got there. Why would you split up a pair like that?!

Finally, not yard sale finds, but my new babies that I also picked up on Saturday. My new sewing machine - a Bernina (thanks, Craigslist!). And my new fiberglass chairs from FUTURES. They look so great in my house.

 

27 October, 2005
Home-a-Rama 2005

So Jimmy and I went to Home-a-Rama last weekend. Home-a-rama, for those that don’t know, is an annual showcase of a neighborhood of brand new McMansions that the Tidewater Builders Association builds in hopes of revamping a not-so-great area of town. They’ve done it in Portsmouth, Ocean View and this year, off Ballentine Blvd. and Princess Anne in Norfolk.

Overall, the decor was pretty predictable. I wasn’t particularly inspired by a lot of the furniture, but then again I’m pretty picky as to what style I like. A few of the houses stood out. One was the Norfolk State University house, which had a heavy ethnic vibe, with African art and decor throughout. Another was the “Secondhand Savvy” house, which was sponsored by the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters, and everything in it came from the CHKD Thrift Store. It was like walking into a very lived-in house that a normal person would decorate themselves, instead of the other houses, which mostly looked like a furniture showroom, and not a place for people to actually live.

I took pictures of things that inspired me. Most of all I liked the bathroom fixtures, and since I’m planning on completely redoing my own bathroom, I was paying attention. I really loved some of the color combinations that were used, particularly this fresh springy green, sort of a muted chartreuse that was on a TON of walls, and a brown/grayish-blue combination. I was seeing those colors EVERYWHERE. Unfortunately some of the interior designers that used those colors decided to use it through the WHOLE house, so sometimes the effect was too matchy-matchy, which I hate.

Lots more pictures, click this one to be taken to my Flickr set (which includes notes on each photo), or click the “continue reading” link to see them all here (with minimal commentary).

Nice painting job on the far wall. I like the window treatments too. They looked very easy to make.

Loved the natural stone tiles and earth tones of this shower. The floor looked like it might hurt bare feet though.

May do something like this when I redo my bathroom. I like that it’s a modern take on a claw-foot tub.

No one should be allowed to have a bathroom this big.

Luxurious fabrics. I called this the MONEY bedroom.

This bedroom reminded me of a Manhattan hotel. Love the light, love the rich fabrics and the velvet/sheer curtains. And a chaise. Screams MONEY.

I think I could live in here.

Loved the fabric on this chair. It just looks inviting.

Nice design. Maybe something like this when I redo my bathroom?

Love this sink, but like Jimmy pointed out, as soon as you try to shave or wash your hands, water is going to be splashing everywhere.

Fireplace in the wall of this bedroom. The other side is the bathroom. I’d love to sit in the bathtub next to a fireplace. Gah!

Loved the color here. This brown and blue-gray were everywhere. This just makes me want to make someone breakfast in bed!

That brown and blue-gray again.

Love love LOVE this breakfast nook. There’s more of that springy green. And the shabby chic furniture isn’t my thing, but it’s perfect in this setting.

Inspiring colors.

15 October, 2005
REVIEW: Futures Antiques

So today Kyle and I went to the antique shops up and down Granby street. How disappointing. Overpriced and not so great pieces in most of them. Found some cool 1940s art deco garden chairs that would look good on my porch. Might go back for those.

Then we hit the jackpot. I drive by this place called Futures every day after work, but it is always closed. So I’ve been wanting to go forever because they have some really cool stuff in the window. So we went.

People. I wanted to just sell my house and live there. They have everything fantastic from the 1930s til the 80s. So much fabulous mid-century modern stuff in there I couldn’t believe. Just know that if anyone wants to buy me a present EVER, there is stuff there that I want. From $10 up to several thousand. Please don’t shop anywhere else for me.

Okay, photo time.

First of all, I am buying these Kreuger fiberglass chairs. They are in impeccable condition and so reasonably priced (in fact everything in the store is).

Now look at this. A daybed designed by Hvidt for Herman Miller. This piece is SUCH a great design. The arms fold down into side tables, or the back cushions can go on the arms to make it into a daybed. This is such a great find. I really am thinking about buying this.

Hey kids, it’s melamine. By George Nelson! I want this for the kitchen.

Vintage pillows.

Oh look it’s a Nelson table. Sold, though. Darn.

1970s lounge chair by I forget who… this thing is SUPER SUPER comfortable, and I like the colors. Might have to get this as well.

Vintage fabric. Apparently I’m a horrible photographer but I loved the colors here nonetheless.

Lamps n things. The lamp with the red shade is like seven feet tall and out of control. Haha.

More gorgeous dishes.

Some lovely and very 1970s things.

Yes, that is an original table from the Eames Aluminum Group. On casters with a refinished top. It told me that it wanted to go home with me.

A lovely, marble-topped credenza that I am very, very tempted to buy. The one on top of it is even more gorgeous with really sexy cabinet pulls. I should have taken a picture of that one too.

Cork lamps! I think these are just so neat. I will be searching for the perfect shades.

So in addition to putting half down on the chairs (I will probably pick them up next weekend), I bought a clock for my kitchen. I think it will look right at home next to Elvis, don’t you think?

Seriously, I can’t gush enough about this place, but since Kyle told the owner about this site and he said he was going to visit, I’m not trying to embarrass myself. But I am just so glad I found this place. It is such perfect timing, with me just having bought the house, and wanting to buy original mid-century (possible investment) pieces. I’m just thrilled. Everyone go visit there and buy something.

The shop is clean and bright, there are very informative and charming tags on every item so you know what you’re buying. Everything works, down to the toasters and ice crushers and dozens of cute space-age appliances. And the owner is very knowledgeable about everything. If you go in, ask to see pictures of the inside of his house. You will just die. No seriously. Original Noguchi coffee table? CHECK.

Their website is http://www.deco-echoes.com/futures

Or go visit them:

FUTURES Antiques
3824 Granby Street
Norfolk, Virginia, 23504

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Last night at the mall, Jimmy found his Halloween costume. Ok not really but is he not cute?

And this morning Kyle and I went down to the Stockley Gardens art festival. We both bought some photography (most of the art was just meh… other than the photographs I bought one small ceramic vase) and really the only other thing that made me go WOW was this glass sculpture, just because of the sheer size of it. This thing must weigh a ton.

REVIEW: Futures Antiques

So today Kyle and I went to the antique shops up and down Granby street. How disappointing. Overpriced and not so great pieces in most of them. Found some cool 1940s art deco garden chairs that would look good on my porch. Might go back for those.

Then we hit the jackpot. I drive by this place called Futures every day after work, but it is always closed. So I’ve been wanting to go forever because they have some really cool stuff in the window. So we went.

People. I wanted to just sell my house and live there. They have everything fantastic from the 1930s til the 80s. So much fabulous mid-century modern stuff in there I couldn’t believe. Just know that if anyone wants to buy me a present EVER, there is stuff there that I want. From $10 up to several thousand. Please don’t shop anywhere else for me.

Okay, photo time.

First of all, I am buying these Kreuger fiberglass chairs. They are in impeccable condition and so reasonably priced (in fact everything in the store is).

Now look at this. A daybed designed by Hvidt for Herman Miller. This piece is SUCH a great design. The arms fold down into side tables, or the back cushions can go on the arms to make it into a daybed. This is such a great find. I really am thinking about buying this.

Hey kids, it’s melamine. By George Nelson! I want this for the kitchen.

Vintage pillows.

Oh look it’s a Nelson table. Sold, though. Darn.

1970s lounge chair by I forget who… this thing is SUPER SUPER comfortable, and I like the colors. Might have to get this as well.

Vintage fabric. Apparently I’m a horrible photographer but I loved the colors here nonetheless.

Lamps n things. The lamp with the red shade is like seven feet tall and out of control. Haha.

More gorgeous dishes.

Some lovely and very 1970s things.

Yes, that is an original table from the Eames Aluminum Group. On casters with a refinished top. It told me that it wanted to go home with me.

A lovely, marble-topped credenza that I am very, very tempted to buy. The one on top of it is even more gorgeous with really sexy cabinet pulls. I should have taken a picture of that one too.

Cork lamps! I think these are just so neat. I will be searching for the perfect shades.

So in addition to putting half down on the chairs (I will probably pick them up next weekend), I bought a clock for my kitchen. I think it will look right at home next to Elvis, don’t you think?

Seriously, I can’t gush enough about this place, but since Kyle told the owner about this site and he said he was going to visit, I’m not trying to embarrass myself. But I am just so glad I found this place. It is such perfect timing, with me just having bought the house, and wanting to buy original mid-century (possible investment) pieces. I’m just thrilled. Everyone go visit there and buy something.

The shop is clean and bright, there are very informative and charming tags on every item so you know what you’re buying. Everything works, down to the toasters and ice crushers and dozens of cute space-age appliances. And the owner is very knowledgeable about everything. If you go in, ask to see pictures of the inside of his house. You will just die. No seriously. Original Noguchi coffee table? CHECK.

Their website is http://www.deco-echoes.com/futures

Or go visit them:

FUTURES Antiques
3824 Granby Street
Norfolk, Virginia, 23504

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Last night at the mall, Jimmy found his Halloween costume. Ok not really but is he not cute?

And this morning Kyle and I went down to the Stockley Gardens art festival. We both bought some photography (most of the art was just meh… other than the photographs I bought one small ceramic vase) and really the only other thing that made me go WOW was this glass sculpture, just because of the sheer size of it. This thing must weigh a ton.