Underbite

Hey there!  If anyone is still checking in on this blog, I wanted to drop in and let you know that I've moved over here.  I needed a fresh start, so hop on over.  :)

Aloha, aloha, I'm crawling out of hibernation, folks, and there's a LOT to catch up on.


For starters, before I began writing this post, I scrolled through the last handful of posts to see where I had left off and it dawned on me that I had never really discussed the fact that Joey and I moved to Mississippi!?!... (insert slap to the forehead).  Yeah, we've lived in Mississippi for a year now.  How I missed that little tidbit of our lives, I'm not sure, but I will indeed shed some light on it because it plays a pretty major role in our everyday lives, as well as our future adventures.

So, around this time last year, we were living in an AWESOME duplex in midtown Memphis that we LOVED...


However, Joey's job situation was looking kind of bleak and there was the possibility that the bookstore would be sold to liquidators resulting in the loss of over 50 employee jobs, including Joey's.  There was also a little seed, an idea and an anticipation, of moving to a brand new city that had begun to grow in Joey and I's minds and we began to budget and make plans for a new leap in our lives together.  So, with these two challenges ahead of us, we weighed the pros and cons of having a cheaper rent to be able to save more money, and we decided to move... to Olive Branch, Mississippi.

This is the house of my grandparents, Annie and BB.  It has played an enormous role in my childhood and is very near and dear to my heart.  Last year, my family and I lost both Annie (to Alzheimer's) and BB (to pneumonia), leaving an enormous hole in our hearts, but also leaving us with the magnificent gifts of their spirits and the memories of their love.

The family wasn't quite ready to sell the house and there was also the amount of work needed to clean, organize, and get the house ready to sell or rent to tackle.  So, Joey and I decided to move in, allowing more time to work on fixing the house up, and stalling a decision as to what to do with the house (rent or sell).  And with that, we trimmed our rent, allowing for a cushion in the event that the bookstore went under, and helping us to save for our nomadic dreams as well.  As it turns out, in a dramatic turn of events, the bookstore was bought back from the liquidators from it's former owner and the bookstore has had a happy journey ever since (Hooray!).  Joey kept his job and with the security of two incomes, we've aimed to live somewhat frugally so as to reach our traveling goals/dreams.

It's been an interesting year living next door to TN and it has presented it's own set of challenges and obstacles, as well as plenty of opportunities for growth.  However, I will write more on that later and I will also give you a tour (before and afters) of the house because it's always fun to take a peek inside of every house's nooks and crannies!

To stay on the task of catching up, though, allow me to let you in on our moving plan....... Brooklyn, NY.  Let me say that again, and with a little more enthusiasm .... BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, wHaT, WHAT!!!

We are REALLY excited about this plan, but there's a LOT that's going into preparing for moving to the Big Apple before we can make it official.  So, keep your fingers and your toes crossed for our success in this journey! This is a *whole* other animal that I'm going to catch you up on.  There are lots of ins and outs of our intricate plans to construct this dream into a reality and I'll definitely let you in on our journey and I would love to receive feedback from you along the way!  I'm excited and eager to get back on track with the blog and to begin sharing our goals and holding ourselves accountable for them with you!

Ahhhh, yeay, it's the weekend!  Friday nights, Saturdays, and Sundays simply taste so delicious once they arrive!  This morning, while letting the ladies out to do their business, I noticed that the air had that broken fever feel to it, that lets you know that fall is slowly arriving.  Not necessarily a cool feeling, but not a sweltering one, either.  Even the oak leaves are becoming too heavy from the summer's intensity, dying, and falling to the ground, creating a crunchy "ball pit" of sorts for Noodle and Darla to play in.  It felt amazing outside and was a quick reminder to the fact that a hammock hanging in the trees by the lake, with a book and a blanket would be PERFECTION!

This weekend, I want to clean the house...I mean really tackle it and set Joey and I up for an easy cleaning/staying organized and relaxed and productive routine.  I know I've made this statement a trillion times, but perhaps if I keep working towards it and keep failing, eventually I will reach success.  Our place today, as compared to my bachelorette abode's is already a good assessment of how I have improved over the years, believe it or not. 

Also, I'm working on at least 3 projects; 2 art, and 1 knitting, and I have several ideas for Christmas that I need to jump on, and ideas for other creative endeavors, like taking a stab at writing/illustrating children's books and collaborating on writing/film projects with Joey (I absolutely love that he includes me and invites me into his passions... I'm extremely lucky).  I need to get organized first, though... for my own sanity, but the excitement of so many ideas keeps me constantly motivated.  So, here we go, Fall, get ready for some serious business!

Anybody want to check out some fun links...

A really fun housewarming party idea!

How big of a backyard do you need to live off the grid?  You'd be surprised!

Ok, I'm a little bit obsessed with Lush.  They cater to my eco-friendly desires, create amazing products, as well as motivate me to care a little bit more about my beauty routine... which, in the past, is not something I've invested much time into.  So, when I recently ran out of my facial moisturizer, I decided to go to Lush to try out one of theirs.  I chose Imperialis and I LOVE it!  It makes my face feel amazing, and it smells warm and earthy, which I love.  Also, I'm eyeballing this little package of joy as well!

Have I talked about how great Jim Henson is lately?  Let me fix that...   
(Thanks for thinking of sending me the link, Blake!)

Pointless street Flyers... Hilarious!


Oooo, pretty, I might add this to my "To-Do's" for the weekend!


And, last, but not least, once I grow my hair back out again, I want to find the right person to help me to pull this off!  So pretty!

So, over the summer, I met a cat... in fact, I found myself keeping the company of two fancy felines, although both ended up finding great homes elsewhere.  One was a tiger named Tsukiko, and one was a furry little man named McReady (pronounced McReedy).


Here's McReady.  He's the most fun little man on four legs with whiskers since my little buddy Merlin (my old cat) who he both resembles and whose spirit he seems to embody with a little quirky twist that's all his own.  If you're aware of or if you knew my buddy Merlin, then you know just how cool a cat McReady must be because Merlin was also his own man and an excellent cat :)  However, we have absolutely no need for four pets.  So, when we found out that our good friends Garre and Greg were thinking about bringing a kitten into their little family (they also have an awesome 3-legged lab mix named Steeler, who is also his own man), we were ecstatic.  Steeler and McReady have become fast friends!  Not only had we found an awesome home for McReady, but we can visit him now and even pet-sit when they go out of town!  Our furry ladies are always a little more lively when he comes to play and they're always up to some kind of mischief... it's pretty entertaining.

McReady showed up in July right as I got Tsukiko.  He simply came out of the bushes and began following me around like he owned the place.  However, no matter how distractingly funny and cute he was, there was a much bigger cat that demanded my attention.

Tsukiko, a beautiful life-size tigress, is my fibreglass tiger that I painted for the UofM Centinial celebration.  100 tigers have been painted or aesthetically manipulated in celebration of UofM's "Tiger's Around Town" and I was fortunate enough, thanks to the heads up from my friend, Heather, to be a part of it.  She sat in our carport for about two weeks, one of which I was out of town for, and then, after a long, hot, and sweaty week, she blossomed into the beautiful and exotic lady that I knew she could be.

I had a blast doing this project which simply confirmed the fact that I need to keep challenging myself and carrying out ideas that so often get lost in the shuffle.  I'm going to get a new sketchbook.  For some reason, it's been a while since I have started a new one, so needless to say, I can't wait to go buy one.

If you want to find out more about the "Tiger's Around Town", click here.  There's going to be an "Unveiling" on Sept. 10 between 11:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m. when all the tigers will be exhibited.  I can't wait to see all of the different tigers, I know they'll be amazing!  Also, I know a few of the other artists that worked on tigers, and I can vouch for their awesomeness as well, so you should definitely come check it out if you can!