Sensibly Unconventional

so this is the new year

2010-12-31T15:39:00.002-06:00

I think the idea of new years resolutions is lazy. It just gives you an excuse to wait to change something until Jan. 1st instead of right away.
That said, this year I was lazy.
I'm a list maker, and so without further ado here are things I'd like to do in 2011. I know... they're pretty much the standard. I'm realistic.

1. Exercise at least 4 times a week. Like, real, sweaty exercise.
2. Eat better
3. Read at least 30 minutes/night
4. build a bedroom set with my husband
5. GET OUT OF DEBT. At least credit card debt. Our cars and house debt will have to remain.
6. try to be more understanding of others perspectives
7. go out more often/make more friends
8. keep up better with the friends I have out of state
9. stop watching so much tv
10. read every issue of the New Yorker
11. Get better at my job
12. take on more freelance.

Lovely things that happened in 2010:
The birth of Cash Peterson and Edith McDonald. Meeting Morgan Shaw. Falling more in love with my husband (... and my dog). Finally got our house to where it feels like ELIZABETH AND LEE'S HOUSE when you walk in. Puerto Rico. White water rafting. Bonnaroo. Detroit. Orlando. My sister spending a week in Nashville. The lakehouse. Our scrabble family meetings. Football Saturdays. The holidays in Birmingham. New couches. And much more.

Cheers to 2011. I'm looking forward to it.

why fall is the best season

2010-10-03T22:02:00.004-05:00

October...

2010-10-03T21:59:00.001-05:00

I just adore you.

August 22, 2010

2010-08-22T18:56:00.003-05:00

It was finally cool enough (high of 93!) to take a long walk today. One nice thing about Nashville is the vast greenway system. Really, it's one of my favorite things about the city. People are always on them, but they're never overcrowded.
The dam was flowing today, so I walked Bela over to the lake to take a drink.

In other news, if anyone has any good Indian recipes, I'd love them. I have finally (!) gotten Lee to like Indian food, though he doesn't venture out to the restaurants yet (he's allergic to peanuts and many ethnic foods use peanuts in their sauces...). We're partial to curry, but have also made a successful butter chicken recipe.

Currently obsessed with Alias.

patio heat

2010-08-14T19:20:00.004-05:00

I've never been a fan of summer. I think it's a dud of a season, unless you're living on the water. This summer has been unbearable. The heat.... it just won't stop. We're going on two solid months of mid 90s and above.

I took this photo through our window, so it's a little difficult to see. But that thermometer reads 122 degrees.

the center of the watermelon

2010-08-12T16:32:00.002-05:00

When my sister and I were children, watermelon was a summer staple in our house. My mom would always ask us to help cut it up, which was a pain because you had to lay out newspapers and it made a lot of waste. We'd sit on the counter next to the watermelon, "helping" my mom as she sliced half of it up for dinner. Then we'd fight over the center.

The center of the watermelon is the juiciest and best part of the watermelon. When we were growing up, seedless watermelon wasn't as common, and the middle was the only part sans seeds. It was delicious. And worth fighting for.

Now that I'm grown up, I'm free to eat the center whenever I want. And I do. But I'm still worried my mom will catch the remnants of my indulgence and yell, "WHO ATE THE MIDDLE OF THE WATERMELON?!"

Summer 2010

2010-07-16T22:11:00.004-05:00

It's been really hot.

Also:
Turned 28.

Sarah Winchell visited me.

I decorated this 4th of July cake Sandy made. America!

at least somebody enjoys the sun

2010-06-17T15:25:00.002-05:00

Bonnaroo 2010

2010-06-16T22:28:00.002-05:00

Feet on day two. Need a shower.

Bonnaroo 2010

2010-06-16T22:27:00.002-05:00

View from the air conditioned car

Bonnaroo 2010

2010-06-16T22:26:00.002-05:00

The fountain: a dirty relief from the heat

Enchanted Island

2010-06-10T07:54:00.002-05:00

I went to Puerto Rico with some friends. There were iguanas, rainforests, boats, sea urchins, fish spearing, beautiful mountains, and some of the nicest people I've ever met. Recommended.

Live from Puerto Rico!

2010-06-06T02:34:00.003-05:00

Puerto Rico rainforest

Heather & Morgan Shaw came to visit.

2010-05-15T15:56:00.002-05:00

Love them.

Nashville Flood

2010-05-06T19:02:00.006-05:00

While I was at the lake....

It was raining in Nashville.

My city went under water, but it's slowly emerging. And I love it even more.

Intro to this week's paper. Written by Jim Ridley.

This is not the city we lived in five days ago.

We woke last Saturday morning — May 1, 2010, the ominously designated May Day — to a sky the color of a livid bruise and rain that steadily increased from strong to torrential. It didn't let up. By late afternoon, a children's birthday party at the Hillwood Strike & Spare near Bellevue let out to a sky split by lightning and rivulets swelling into whitewater.

In Antioch, motorists on I-24 realized too late that an impossibility had overtaken them — symbolized by the sight of an uprooted portable building lumbering into view like a ghost ship. In Germantown, in Bordeaux, in Antioch, where the roiling Mill Creek brought traffic to a standstill, the waters churned. In Franklin, homeowners along the Harpeth watched the river rise with terrifying speed. "It was like something alive," one said.

By Sunday afternoon, two realizations set in, equally chilling. The disaster befalling Tennessee was worse than anyone could possibly have imagined — and yet we had no idea how bad it would get.

Those of us with power watched as the unthinkable happened again and again on live TV. Or we followed updates chasing the lightning on a buzzing web of electronic media — a support network emerging from isolated pinpricks. Those without watched helplessly as their homes and belongings washed away, their cars, their keepsakes, their family photos. Entire communities were devastated. Nashville, for all practical purposes, became an island.

In the weeks — months, years — to come, we will have time to consider the magnitude of the disaster. The destruction done to the Opryland Hotel and Opry Mills, let alone the tourist district on Lower Broadway and Second Avenue, will ripple throughout the city's economy. And yet it will pale beside the devastation of communities from Kingston Springs and Ashland City to Antioch and Inglewood. The vast majority of Middle Tennessee homeowners never had reason even to consider flood insurance.

At the moment, though, as the city takes a deep breath before coming up for air, we look back at the images that held us riveted with disbelief over the weekend. Some came from our own photographers, aware they were trying to catch history on the fly. Many, however, came from the kaleidoscope of images that appeared online with dizzying speed — the clearest, and in some senses truest, picture of the event. We have also provided some eyewitness accounts of the flood, along with a list of vital services we'll need in the long dry spell ahead.

Many years from now, we'll look at these pictures and scarcely believe our eyes, while our grandchildren will look on with astonishment. Until then, we'll continue to dry off, lift our neighbors to higher ground, and show the world the resolve of our unsinkable city.

Multimedia message

2010-04-17T23:14:00.001-05:00

Lee, on his birthday, with a pitcher... Of Dr. Pepper.

Three ingredients...

2010-04-08T22:05:00.002-05:00

and 24 hours later, we have bread.
So good. Here it is after Mary and I enjoyed a piece (or two).

Tracy had a baby

2010-04-01T16:18:00.001-05:00

Edith Maxine McDonald. Here are my knees holding her.

Bela and her "stick"

2010-03-29T18:21:00.001-05:00

I'm back.

2010-03-27T22:38:00.002-05:00

The weather was lovely, so we walked the greenway today. The greenway is possibly my favorite place in Nashville.

IDTT Hat Club Official 09 meeting

2009-12-02T11:00:00.002-06:00

Also: The Tilted Kilt? Sluttiest place I've ever been.

Kerry's Baby Shower

2009-11-23T16:16:00.000-06:00

That baby should be here any day now.

Multimedia message

2009-11-17T21:54:00.000-06:00

Kobe hearts urban outfitters

Brotherly Love.

2009-11-09T18:45:00.002-06:00

I love this. It's a project by Stephen Powers to put lovely (literally) murals all over Philly.

A Love Letter For You

Just to clarify

2009-09-09T20:39:00.000-05:00

Everyone I know is pregnant.

Jamaica.... mon

2009-08-14T08:29:00.002-05:00

Family zip line trip.

as seen in the Scene kitchen...

2009-07-19T17:16:00.000-05:00

perhaps the worst book title ever.

interoffice advertising

2009-07-09T18:30:00.001-05:00

4th of July

2009-07-09T11:40:00.003-05:00

Above: Under the guidance of my Aunt Sandy, I decorated the cake as a sign of my undying patriotism (obviously).
Below: My Uncle Jack and his pup, Copper

Above and below: Family and friends are really into the speed boat parade.

goth child

2009-06-29T21:31:00.002-05:00

The only baby room I have ever desired.

Josh and Rachel

2009-06-28T00:45:00.003-05:00

Back in Nashville after a weekend in New York, watching two of my close friends get hitched.

Such a fun wedding.

but now I'm going to pass out.

goodbye #26

2009-06-22T20:39:00.002-05:00

you were good to me.

Adult Post

2009-06-18T16:18:00.003-05:00

I like to chronicle certain steps I take that make me more Adult.

Today, I ate Brussel Sprouts with my lunch. Of my own free will.
Actually, I think it might have been the first time I've ever had brussel sprouts.
They're like tiny heads of lettuce. But hot.

and kind of gross.

Perhaps delicious with butter?

Andy + Mia

2009-06-14T22:39:00.002-05:00

I now have a sister-in-law! Congrats!!

gross.

2009-04-02T09:42:00.002-05:00

Last night, I had to pull a tick out of my dog. It was about a quarter of an inch from her eye. I used my (now retired) eyebrow tweezers and yanked. Hard.
It was the most real thing I've ever had to do in my life.
Goosebumps for two days straight.

teenagers

2009-02-03T20:34:00.004-06:00

The last book in the Twilight series arrived today. I might cry when it's over... which will be in like 2 days. I can't put down these books.
Afterwards, I return to adult reading. Promise.

My future sister-in-law has an interview soon and she is preparing a sample lesson where the kids will have to look at photos of people's bedrooms and bathrooms (unedited, of course) and write profiles on who they think lives there (or something like that).
I can take a couple of guesses on what they'll write about us...

doom's day

2008-12-19T13:30:00.005-06:00

It's December 19th and it's 73 degrees outside. I'm fairly certain the world is collapsing. It snowed in New Orleans a week ago. It snowed in Nashville a week ago (proof below). Actually, I don't remember it ever being as cold as it's been this year. And now today. We're doomed.

Thanks to Brent and Brock, I'm learning German. I've only learned about 30 words so far, but my favorite is sieben (seven), and my least favorite is pferd (horse), primarily because I can't say it correctly and I don't ever, ever see the need to know that noun in German. So far I can string together only a couple of useless sentences (The boy is under/in/on the table/airplane/boat), but I have high hopes.

I thought about talking about how my nail polish looks like a 2-year-old's, but then I thought, "Nah, too much excitement for one blog."
Or did I?

I heart puppies.

2008-11-10T19:06:00.003-06:00

PUPPY!!!!

2008-11-03T14:46:00.006-06:00

Meet Bela. She's a Lab/Beagle mix. She's 9 weeks old, and adorable. Look at those ears!!

We're sold. Now we only have to get our two cats to love and accept her as one of their own. I'll keep you posted.

halloween!

2008-10-27T22:52:00.003-05:00

I am apparently terrible at carving pumpkins - something I was oblivious to since the last time I carved a pumpkin I was a Girl Scout.
First, I did a ghost.... then it just fell apart. So then I made a face, but it has a hole through the back of its head from the failed ghost.
Lee's is cute though.

Cake

2008-10-26T21:39:00.002-05:00

Some things should not be eaten after one year of sitting in a freezer, then being thrown into a cooler for 5 hours, then sitting in the freezer again for a couple of weeks.

This is all we could manage to eat. That one bite.

I really hope the wedding cake was better a year ago.

"One can survive everything nowadays, except death" -Oscar Wilde

2008-10-22T13:39:00.007-05:00

The past five days have consisted of:
sitting on my grandmother's white couch
eating constantly
crying
sleeping

over and over and over.

It's been one of the longest weeks of my life. Thankfully my family is pretty awesome, so it wasn't as sucky as it could have been. Also, my grandmother was hilarious in general, so there were a lot of good stories to tell and funny old pictures to look at.

I am going to miss her terribly. She was one unique lady: Mrs. Manners, yet bossy & opinionated as hell. Republican, yet secretly liberal. All about appearances, but always allowed you to be yourself. I loved her: I loved visiting her, I loved talking on the phone to her, I even loved talking about her. She was one of my favorites and I am thankful I have a ton of wonderful memories of time spent with her.

When we buried her this morning, we all tossed in things in her grave. The items thrown in included: rocks from our family trip to Lake Michigan, shells from the beach, playing cards (she was a bridge fanatic), a love letter written from her to my grandfather while she was in college (most adorable letter ever), mardi gras beads, and a fancy wine glass. No other items could have as accurately described her personality.

Here are two of my favorite photographs of me & her:

This was taken in my Grandmother's kitchen, when we taught Mary and I how to make her secret, awesome, chocolate silk pie.

This was taken at the end of our wedding reception. I don't know what we're laughing at, but I adore adore adore this photo.

These past two weeks have been crappy for some of my friends as well, and my heart & thoughts go out to Adam & Jason Dane, Brian Branam, and Kendell Moore who all lost their mothers, as well as Rachel Donaldson, whose grandmother passed away.

laughter + tears

2008-10-17T10:06:00.003-05:00

My grandmother is dying. I'm really, terribly sad about it. But I'm currently trying to push back my tears and make jokes, something my grandmother is also good at doing. For instance, yesterday, after she told me "goodbye", she said she was practicing the death scene from Camille.

The rain couldn't keep me

2008-10-16T18:07:00.001-05:00

from voting the hell out of this election.

October is the month.

2008-10-16T08:58:00.005-05:00

Things that have been awesome about the last two days:
1. hair is black again, without roots
2. my hair is/was straight, with positive reactions
3. a massage
4. not going to work on a Tuesday
5. shoes shopping with my hilarious husband
6. lunch with heather and kerry
7. beer at work
8. Best of Nashville party.

above: Me + Mike, our publisher and my boss
below: Me + Brent, my awesome friend and coworker

above: Me, Tracy, + Patrick
below: Me, Alyson (coworker who put on the awesome party), + Derek (one of our new designers)

one year down.

2008-10-14T21:56:00.001-05:00

I married a cutie.

kobe&miso

2008-10-14T21:54:00.003-05:00

Hopefully one day we will have a dog, so I can name him "Bento."

Letters

2008-08-28T18:13:00.001-05:00

Dear Watermelon,
Why are you only around in the summer? Why haven't I given you more notice before this year? Had I known that I could eat bowls and bowls of you, yet not consume a million calories, I would have started long before June 2008. It's sad, because now your color is getting paler and it's getting harder for me to justify buying an expensive fruit that isn't ripe. Your loss.
Until next year,
e

Dear Neighbor,
Why are you such a jerk? I know that you have previously been nice to me (by jump-starting my car - thank you), but your recent action discounts your kind gesture. Unlike you, we cannot afford to pay someone to mow our lawn, so Lee (that's my husband - I doubt you caught his name) has to do it on his own. He did not purposefully get a couple of pieces of grass on your clean driveway. In fact, he had plans of using our new leaf blower to clean them up. However, because of your snotty attitude, I am tempted to place leaves and pieces of grass in strategic places in your driveway. I hope they will serve as a banana peel to your car tires.
Cookies,
Mrs. Jones

Dear You,
I will pay you $50 plus apple pie (I'm making my first one now) to clean my house. Fair?
Begging,
Elizabeth

sunset on the Caribbean

2008-08-04T21:26:00.003-05:00

suckers.

another day finished at the office

2008-07-22T18:40:00.002-05:00

my loves love each other

2008-07-12T21:34:00.002-05:00

alabama summer

2008-07-07T08:51:00.002-05:00

(click to enlarge)

my Susan leaves the Scene....

2008-06-27T22:44:00.002-05:00

tear.

a wine flyte to dull the pain.

new direction

2008-06-25T20:48:00.003-05:00

I am changing this blog into a photo blog. Hopefully I can get it to work through my cell phone - if not, the posts will be rare, but bright and lively because it will be photos instead of words.

First entry:
We painted the kitchen. It practically glows in the dark.

poignant Buffy review

2008-03-11T12:11:00.003-05:00

Lee and I just watched the entire Buffy the Vampire Slayer series. We started in September, so it took us about 6 months to watch 145 episodes, which is a bit much of tv. And I love tv.
Anyway, throughout the seasons I had love affairs with three different characters.

Xander. Always Xander.

Spike.

Giles.

(Interestingly, Anthony Head also appears in “Little Britain,” which is a ridiculous and hilarious sketch comedy show.)

I never had an interest in Buffy before, but my friend Lee (not my husband Lee) owned all the seasons and raved about it. Since she likes awesome things like Freaks and Geeks and LOST, I took her word on it and was pleasantly surprised. I think I liked Buffy so much because there was an over-arching story throughout the entire series. So, in conclusion, I totally recommend it. But only if you're seriously going to watch all of it. Which is a commitment, for sure. But um, I really like tv. So it wasn't too hard.

politics and dining room upgrades.

2008-03-05T13:46:00.007-06:00

Just so you know...

In other news, I re-covered our dining room chairs so they no longer look like a 70's grandmother's furniture. It was my first attempt at doing anything Martha Stewart-like, and I was impressed with the outcome. Below is a picture (fugly plaid pillow in background).

Also, I painted my office.

By the way, speaking of Martha Stewart, my friend Emily is going to be on her show on March 11th. Tivo it.

Xmas in Birmingham

2007-12-27T12:06:00.001-06:00

old love

2007-12-06T16:31:00.001-06:00

Quick post here to share my excitement that Dorothy Perkins is finally shipping to the U.S.!
Part of me secretly fears that Dorothy Perkins is really just the Old Navy of England because they sell pretty basic stuff for cheap(ish).... but no one over here knows that.

Look:

The layout options in Blogger are crap.

photobook

2007-11-29T22:57:00.000-06:00

I've been making these photobooks out of our wedding photos and it's quite exhausting. Sooner or later, all the wedding stuff will be done. I still have thank you notes to write too.....
Anyway, I'm getting photo books made from blurb.com and their books are awesome, I can't recommend them enough. Lee and I tried several different companies and theirs looked the best.
Here's the cover.
I just spent $500 on them. That's nerve-wracking. What if they're messed up? ahhhhhhh.....

In other news, my friend is famous.
She won the 2008 Venus Hott list for Best Indie Business. I'm so proud of my Emalie!

Also, we bought a house. I'm a little freaked out about it. But excited! And we'll have a real guest room! No more blow-up mattress shoved into the spare electronics room!
This is it + Lee.

We have an inspection tomorrow, so hopefully nothing is terribly wrong with it and we'll be in by Christmas. Then we can work on making it adorable.

I can't think.... Too many mint m&ms. Christmas is the best time for specialty candy.

Becky sent me some typography videos today. Here's my favorite.

married life

2007-11-16T22:11:00.002-06:00

Today I got home a little early. Lee was already home. He got a new board game that I agreed to play, so we killed some monsters and rolled some dice.
Then we decided we should make margaritas.
So now it is 10 pm, and I've already been pretty drunk and now I'm totally sober.
Again, it's only 10 pm.

Enlighten me

2007-11-13T22:55:00.000-06:00

What is the horrendous fashion trend right now? I'm completely lost.
Bubble skirts are finally on their way out.

It seems like everyone just gave up and accepted capris as normal clothing, even though they are neither pants or shorts. And they are ugly.

I mean, those colored jeans are pretty terrible - they're in all the stores. I haven't actually seen people wearing them yet though, so I can't gripe too much about the cluttering of my vision.

I used to wear the most hideous colored jeans circa 5th grade. I had magenta and dark green. And I wore vests. And big bulky chokers. Pretty, huh?

Anyway. What am I supposed to hate now? I have all kinds of energy just waiting to be devoted to silly, inconsequential topics such as street fashion - or even mall fashion. Direct me.

Overzealous dedication

2007-11-13T21:26:00.000-06:00

Oh, the pomegranate. You've returned, dear fruit, and you're large and pretty at the new Whole Foods (If you were thinking about buying pomegranates at Wal-mart, I'll save you the trouble. There is a reason they're always on sale). Pomegranates are the perfect winter substitute for watermelon: like watermelon, they're messy, redish, juicy, they get all over you, are impossible to open (and eat) and leave a stinking mess all over your fingers and bowl. I don't even care that their seeds kind of remind me of bloody teeth.

Okay, ew.

Pomegranates are also a distinct reminder of my 1.5 year stint living in Ohio. The majority of this experience left a lot to be desired, but I did meet several lovely people, one of which was Ashley. Together our love of pomegranates blossomed, and I think of her every time I take an hour out of my day to eat the freaking fruit.