It's the Little Things

This week I've been a bit busy, but I had to make sure I still contributed! This necklace I ordered from BrideBlu on Etsy is way cuter than I had hoped! Cat was super helpful even though I messed up my address on the original order. She was very sweet and patient with me and fixed everything promptly. Don't you love great service? Make sure to go check out her shop!


Don't forget to check out Lindsay's post over at Hello Hue!

Journey Forward: Role Model

Today's Journey Forward assignment asks me to tell you about my role model. Answering this is simple. My role model was and is my paternal grandmother. Although she is no longer here, she influences my life on a daily basis. 

Stubborness

Even though being stubborn is supposedly an Irish trait, I'm pretty sure I inherited my stubborn streak from her instead of my mom's Irish Catholic side of the family. And, ask anyone close to me, I have a mean stubborn streak! 

Integrity

She taught me about integrity. Character is the most important thing a person has. It matters what you do, even if no one else is looking. 

Toughness

She taught me how to be tough - I think I learned how to put on a facade from her. Obviously, this can be taken too far, but in general, there's no need to air dirty laundry in public. If you are living your life correctly, that's what matters. You don't need public vindication. 

Dilligence

She taught me how to work hard and finish projects. I can't tell you how many projects we did over the years. Whether it was tilling the garden or putting up fencing to keep the deer out or making dinner for Pop-pop, we were always doing something. 

Porch Sitting

Most importantly, she taught me the value of porch sitting. Every evening, we'd run across the field to her house and she'd give us pop-ices. We'd sit on the glider and rock and chat and stay out until the fireflies started dancing through the yard. I learned about her and her life. She always took the time to listen to me and what I thought was important. 

Taking time each day to slow down and really listen to people, to enjoy this wonderful world we live in, that's what you learn to do when you porch sit. 

Try it out. Let me know how it goes for you. 

It's hard in today's world to really truly unplug, and slow down. There are always a million things to do, but honestly, if you aren't taking the time to enjoy or participate in your relationships, what's the real value of getting those other things done?

You can check out the other Journey Forward posts here:


Also, don't forget to send me your submissions for the new Tell Me About It series! I've received an overwhelmingly positive response and can't wait to start sharing the stories! I love hearing about other peoples' life experiences, and especially what they find romantic!

Tell me about it...

Today, I'm introducing a series that may make the most lovey dovey of you wrinkle your noses. Tell me about your most romantic moment ever! If you haven't had it yet, tell me what it would include - set the stage, use those story telling skills!

Send your submissions to rcduvall (at) gmail (dot) com. Every Wednesday, I'll select some to share. They can be anonymous or not, pictures are welcome! 

What do you think? 

Are you in? 

At the end of this series, I'll tell you what my most romantic moment was. Who knows, maybe it hasn't happened yet! We'll see! 

On Love and Renovations

Isn't this a powerful statement? 


Now, I know we've discussed love before, here and here. But I'd like to get your thoughts on this latest bit of wondering.

As little girls, we watched our Disney movies, and learned about love  from fairy tales. Princes, knights and handsome street urchins swept princesses off their feet. They fell in love with big eyes and adoring sighs.  


So we dreamed that we were princesses, and although not all of us wait for a prince, some of us are more of the rough and tumble, go out and find our own prince types, we went on a search for a crazy, all-consuming, passionate love.

Yet, the divorce rate for first marriages in the US is a staggering 41%.

 However, in India, where most marriages are arranged and falling in love is not a required component, the divorce rate in recent years has been as low as 1%. It has increased as much as 150% percent with the rise of the middle class. Western culture has crept into Indian society, provoking more love based marriages. 

Obviously, this indicates correlation and does not prove causation. But doesn't it make you stop to think?

I will be the first to say that a culture which promotes arranged marriage most definitely has its flaws. I could never allow someone to make that sort of a decision for me. 

However, when the expectation of marriage does not include the presence of a sappy feeling, but rather a commitment and an active love, and you have the freedom to choose to make that commitment with someone with whom you have fallen in love, it would seem that the marriage might stand a better chance. 

What do you think? 
(Sources for my statistics: 1, 2, 3)

On another and completely unrelated note...

We spent our weekend fixing up a house that Chris would like to sell. I think these new floors make a dramatic improvement. 

I'm impressed with how well it turned out. It definitely changes the feel of the room!

It's the Little Things: New Blooms, Grilling & the HUNGER GAMES!!

This week's weather did well by my new plants! 

The transplants took beautifully. 

My tulips have already started blooming. 

The snapdragon has tons of new buds, ready to burst! 

The dahlias and morning glories have poked through the ground with lots of little sprouts. 

Everything looks great so far! 

Don't you just love projects with such tangible results?

My mom always says that it is so much more rewarding to clean a dirty house than a spotless one!

Also, I'm spoiled. 
I enjoyed dinner outdoors twice this week! 
It was a very strange feeling - relinquishing control of the cooking. Have I mentioned yet that I'm a bit of an control freak avid cook?
I did it twice though, and the results were...well...


 DELICIOUS! 


Chris grilled up a tasty dinner for us on Sunday. 
He grilled marinated pork and shrimp with butter and Old Bay -and now, I'm hungry again just thinking about it! 
My parents grilled shrimp and served it over my mom's famous Caesar salad with homemade croutons and dressing. 


Spring Break should happen more often than once annually...I'm just saying...

I also chopped off 8 inches of my hair this week. It feels FANTASTIC. Chris has only ever known me with long hair, so I was interested to see his reaction. I didn't tell him that I was getting it cut or that I had a surprise or anything.  When he got here, he told me I looked pretty twice, and then 5 minutes later realized what I had changed. 
Success! 

AND, to SAVE THE BEST FOR LAST!!!!!! 

Nothing beats the midnight premiere of the Hunger Games on a school/work night with my little sister!! We got there over an hour early and it was jam packed! We barely got seats together. They did such a great job with the movie. Obviously, they had to leave out several small things from the book, to fit it into a reasonable amount of time, but honestly, they captured the characters and the storyline very well. I wanted to start from the beginning and watch it a second time as soon as it ended! 


May the odds be ever in your favor!

What little things made you happy this week?

Journey Forward: Clearing my Mind

This week, Chelsea's assignment for the Journey Forward Challenge is to answer these questions for you and for myself. 

"What helps you to clear your mind? Where do you go/what do you do to re-center and re-focus yourself?"

When I start to panic, nothing clears my mind like water. I can go swim laps, go sit by the river, take a walk by the harbor, if I'm lucky - go out on a boat, or in a pinch take a long hot shower. It gives me time to think, to pray, to simplify.  Something about it makes life feel better. 

Then, I take a step back and focus on the wonderful things in my life. I actively acknowledge my privileges, and put things back into perspective. 

Then, logically, I realize that no matter how bad things are, I will have food to eat, clothes to wear and people who love me. How bad can things really be? 

This does not mean that life will go smoothly or the problems will go away. It just means that life will continue, and everything will work out in the way it should. My role is to do the best I possibly can do as I continue along through it. 

Be sure to check in on the other Journey Forward Entries!

So, now I ask you:
 "What helps you to clear your mind? Where do you go/what do you do to re-center and re-focus yourself?"

Disclaimer: May Be Inappropriate for Younger Audiences

Smiley face - mine, Photo - Jessica Yatrofsky 

Warning: this link contains nudity. The girls over at The Core posted a really interesting feature on artist, Jessica Yatrofsky. Ms. Yatrofsky displays male nudity in an attempt to equalize the overwhelming emphasis on the female body in popular culture.

'Jessica Yatrofsky:  “My work has the underlying desire to make male nudity more visible in our cultural landscape. Plus: dicks are more easy on the eyes, right?! Our society is always eager to construct and depict the sexuality of women, but actively avoids the sexuality of men, except as voyeurs. Our generation should be challenging these inequalities.” '

While it is true that women are overly sexualized and put on display in advertising and movies, does the remedy come in the form of subjecting men to the same scrutiny? 

Or is the point moot? Do women have the same physical reaction to male nudity as men do to female nudity? 

Is this reaction inherent or a result of societal conditioning?

Initially, did the provocative displays of the female body offend the senses and shock people in the same way that Ms. Yatrofsky's photos do? Are they less shocking because we have become desensitized?

If we are desensitized, I would argue that it isn't a good thing. Just as inflation occurs when the market is flooded with currency, thereby devaluing the currency; the flooding of public space with scantily clad women may lessen the value of the female body. 

Many argue that it empowers women, because they have the choice to do with their bodies what they will. I would never say that anyone should mandate how women should dress, but as a woman - making those decisions for myself, could modesty add value? The overwhelming availability of female nudity subjects each woman to endless comparison. Eating disorders and plastic surgery and rampant consumerism are the destructive forces threatening women from the teen years through adulthood. 

 The shape of a woman's body which once was hers and hers alone to share, is now held to some standard set by the public market. In the attempt to escape a patriarchal control, have we gone too far? 

What do you think?

Garden Makeover & St. Patty's Day

My favorite holiday has always been St. Patrick's Day. I love the history of it, the food and the celebration. This year we lucked out with great weather. 

Chris' friend is in town and had never been to Annapolis! We couldn't have asked for a better day to show it off. 

We ate lunch at Pussers, out on their deck. Crabcakes, Oysters on the half shell, Maryland Crab Soup and Oyster shooters...YUM! These little ducks loved the crumbs we threw them.

We swung by McGarvey's for a green beer and headed up to Baltimore for the evening.

Sunday, we attempted to salvage the disaster that was our back yard. Our neighbors had their roof redone this year and the roofers kindly threw all of their waste off of the neighbor's roof and into our back yard. My housemate had removed all of that debris, but in the midst of that chaos, she discovered that terrible awful harbor rats had invaded our garden. She set out poison for them, but they left quite the mess. Check out the damage below!

I don't know about you, but in my mind, rats are probably the most disgusting, vile creatures that have ever existed. The thought of them rooting around my plants, in my living space, totally freaks me out. 

Chris and I made a Home Depot run and got to work. First, we salvaged a couple plants that had hung on through the winter, transplanting them into pots temporarily. 

Then, we emptied a ton of dirt from the raised bed and  replaced it with fresh soil, filling in all of the tunnels that the rats left behind.  

We planted dahlias, viola pansies, snap dragons, moon flowers, and morning glories and replanted the lavender we had transplanted. 

We also put out some strongly scented powder that supposedly is safe for plants but deters rodents. It contains bobcat urine...YUM!! 

(ugh, if I never have to deal with rats ever again, I will be very happy! I didn't even have to see the one that the poison killed! My housemate's boyfriend had to finish it off because it wasn't all the way dead, SOSOSOSO GROSSSSSSSSS)

Here's the after picture. Please ignore the wire going across the top of the picture! That was one of the presents we received from the neighbors' roofers. Chris climbed onto our roof though and was able to move it back where it belonged.

In the pots, we trimmed some herbs that survived the winter and planted a tomato plant. Chris surprised me with the hanging flower bed :) I love it! We filled it with violas and I'm hoping they end up growing over the edge and hanging. 

We planted some tulips in pots as well. I'm too impatient to wait for summer for blooms! Spring bloomers are necessary!

I was thrilled to see that my gerbera daisies are coming back this year. Luckily, we had such a mild winter! I really hope they make it. Next to hibiscus flowers, they are my favorite. They are just so bright and vibrant when they bloom!

Chris' hanging basket.

I started some more herbs and veggies from seeds, inside. Once they sprout, I'll bring them outside as well. 


What are you planting this season? Do you garden? If you don't, but would like to, what would you plant?

It's the Little Things

Happy Friday! Here are a few little things that have brightened my week!

Finals are OVER and it is SPRING BREAK! Spring break looks a little bit different in grad school than it did in college.

I still have to work this week, but my evenings are open!

I don't even know what I'm going to do with all of this free time!

Last night, I attended (cool)progeny ' s event in Fell's Point. 

No, I'm not a mom (and don't plan to be one anytime soon), but my friend Sarah's older sister organized the event. 

Be honest, would you really turn down a girly night with vino, shopping and fun snacks?

I certainly didn't!

Even though I'm currently fighting with my kitten, she definitely is adorable and has made me smile more than once this week.

What little things have made you happy this week?

Journey Forward: Describe Yourself

Hm. This Journey Forward assignment is difficult! I could tell you what I look like, or what I believe. I could tell you my occupation or my location. I could tell you my loves and hates, my likes and dislikes, my age or my strengths and weaknesses.

I could tell you that part of my scalp is currently a terrible shade of orange due to a stupid 2 week hair rinse thing I did...

Or I could ask the people who know me well to tell you! I asked them to give me one word, and here's what they came up with...

So this describes the wonderful side of me - I promise there's an equally not as wonderful side that they neglected to mention :) We'll leave that for another day though!

Don't forget to check out the other posts  in the Journey Forward challenge!

P.S. Cutest Thing EVER

P.P.S. Great Ideas for Surviving Busy Weeks

Spring in NYC

This weekend I tried to spend every minute possible outside. Luckily, I knocked out a majority of my school work on Friday and Sunday morning and was able to play for a bit. 

We went to Central Park for a picnic on Sunday afternoon. It was ridiculously crowded, but we found a spot to spread our blankets.

  Chris got a chance to play with his new helicopter, but had trouble controlling it. I guess with so many people, the signal from his phone ran into too much interference. The second he got it up in the air, he gained a horde of small followers. 4 or 5 children under the age of 6 ran around, following him and the helicopter everywhere they went. It saved him from having to retrieve it every time it crashed. I went over close enough to hear what he was saying to them, and it made me laugh out loud. He was using words like "signal reception" and "elevation". They probably had no idea what he was talking about, but their eyes got so big and he had their full attention because his toy was so cool!

Sunday night, I made a bunch of lasagna. We bought ingredients from Eataly and made it with spinach and spicy sausage. It was delicious! I was nervous because it was the first time I had ever made it without a recipe. Turned out pretty well though!

Gorgeous

Gorgeous afternoon in Fells. I escaped the office for a bit to grab lunch. Got to eat outside and soak up the sun. If I could spend every afternoon outdoors in weather like this, my life would be infinitely happier. Although it's technically still winter, I believe Spring had mercy on me and arrived a bit early. I'm hoping New York will be this pleasant over the weekend. Chris was travelling, so I haven't seen him in three weeks. To say I'm excited to venture north would be a major understatement. I will be locked indoors for a solid portion of the weekend with some lovely take home final exams, but I'm sure  he'll persuade me to spend some outside time at the park. Let's be honest, we all know it won't take much persuading at all! 

I just recently rediscovered this song and have it on repeat today. I always seem to have a song of the moment, am a bit ADD. Do you ever do that? If so, what's your song of the moment?