Friday, January 28, 2011

Dream House.

I've been doing my fair share of blog-stalking and dreaming up of what I would like my future house to look like. This will most likely be an ever-changing process over the next five years or so. For now, I will just share some of my favorite inspiration pictures.

I love this living room. I love having a house or in my case, apartment, with lots of light.



One day I will live in a place where I can have a pantry big enough to make it look just like this.


And a bathroom like this.


 I might even enjoy doing laundry if my laundry room looked as cute as this.



Happy Friday everyone! Stuart and I are attending a couples retreat this weekend at our neighbor church The Well. We're still new at this gig, so we are looking forward to all the wisdom there is to be learned. Stay tuned for all the afterthoughts.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Tallahassee Meets Earth Fare.



I first met Earth Fare when I was home visiting one summer in Charlotte. I would always stock up on a few of my healthy favorites before I would head back to college. Needless to say, I was very excited when I learned they would be opening one in Tallahassee.

I like Earth Fare for many reasons but particularly because they promote healthy lifestyles and support local farmers. They strive to make healthy eating convenient, affordable, fun and delicious!

The only downside of healthy organic foods is that sometimes they hurt your wallet because they are so pricey. So I did some research on what types of food you should buy organic versus your neighborhood grocery store. Here is what I found at http://www.thedailygreen.com.

Focus on those foods that come with the heaviest burden of pesticides, additives and hormones. According to the Environmental Working Group, consumers can reduce their pesticide exposure by 80% by avoiding the most contaminated fruits and vegetables and eating only the cleanest.

They suggested you buy the following organic:
Meat: Beef & Pork
Milk
Vegetables: Celery, Bell Peppers, Potatoes, Carrots
Fruit: Peaches, Strawberries, Apples, Blueberries, Nectarines, Grapes, Pears

Low Pesticide Foods:
Vegetables: Onions, Corn on the Cob, Asparagus, Broccoli, Sweet Potatoes
Fruit: Watermelon

While I am the first to admit I rarely cough up the money to buy organic; I want to make more of an effort to start buying organic and less processed foods in 2011. Especially since Earth Fare has such good deals.


Monday, January 24, 2011

Life is Full of Surprises.

One of the hardest lessons Stuart and I have had to learn in the "grown up" world is that life is full of surprises. It seems that no matter how hard we try to prepare, be organized and be smart with our money something unexpected pops up out of nowhere that we have to take care of. Today was one of those days.

Stuart was driving the trash to the dumpster going approximately 5 mph through our apartment parking lot when out of nowhere an old man comes flying out of his driveway and hits our poor car [the Blue Jay].




Thankfully no one was hurt and it wasn't our fault so we won't have to pay for any of the repairs. But we could not believe our luck.

The unexpected events have been a hard lesson to learn for an O.C.D. planner such as myself. However, because things like this seem to happen almost monthly, I am realizing how important it is to save and be prepared for these things. And the reality is these things will most likely come up the rest of our life. Here's hoping these unexpected incidents will be few and far between in the next few months!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Soul.

 
 
I have a long way to go, but I am learning to trust God with my future. He has slowly been prying my tightly gripped hands open and I am learning to give more over to Him.
 
I've spent the last two years battling all this change. Trying to find a way to still make all of my life plans work instead of embracing the new plan that God has placed in front of me.
 
I want to learn to embrace the change He has given me. I want to go willingly wherever God sends me. I want to forgive and forget past mistakes. And I want to love the things that He loves.
 
I recognize that all of this takes time. It takes spending time with Jesus. It takes spending time with friends and family. It takes time serving others. And it takes time waiting for God to direct my next steps.
 
I want to spend more of this year reflecting. I want to take life day by day, instead of clinging to things that once were or never will be. I want to continue this journey that I am on, rather than settling for where I am at.
 
I am filled with hope as I remember all the gifts God has given me. A wonderful husband and loving family. Faithful friends and promises for the future.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Body.

So I finally joined a gym. I actually belonged before our wedding but I got so busy that I never actually made it there to work out. And since times were tight while saving up for our honeymoon, I decided to forfeit the gym membership. But here we are now, six months later and I am crawling back once again. 
 
I immediately discovered that half the battle is motivating yourself to get off the couch and go get a gym membership. I wanted to sign up before my birthday because the joining fees are higher once you turn 25. So on January 11, I realized I had waited as long as I could and I drove myself down the street to the YMCA. When I arrived I noticed flashing lights and as I drove around to the back of the gym I saw the whole gym was being evacuated. That's when I realized the fire alarm was going off. Part of me wanted to bail as I wondered, could this be a sign that I should not join? But I decided to wait it out. Eventually I saw people going back upstairs and even though the fire alarm was STILL going off, I figured I should go ahead and ask if I could join. After all it would be $50 more if I waited. As it turned out, they waived the joining fee for the month of January, so it didn't matter when I joined, but I am still so glad that I did!
 
 
 
Stuart and I are slowly getting used to being grown-ups and waking up early. So we are hoping to start making early morning work-outs part of our regular weekday routine. Wish us luck!

Friday, January 14, 2011

Mind.

I've decided to make 2011 a year of wellness which leads to the journey of improving my mind, body and soul. Here is step one of the plan.
 
Mind.
 
Something I've discovered about myself is I love to learn. One of my favorite parts of living in D.C. was that I could always go and check out a museum or explore. Even with my job at the Senate, I would attend all sorts of briefings and take field trips to random places like Andrews Air Force Base or the Federal Reserve. Living in D.C. allowed me to fully experience current events and witness history as it was happening.
 
Andrews Air Force Base

Re-fueling a jet mid-air

The Capitol on inauguration day.
 
I love to read and hear about other people's life stories and adventures. I love to learn about foreign countries, the people who live in them and how I can help. I love to learn about leadership and politics. The best leaders are those who read and are constantly learning. Which is why I've decided I want to make more time for reading. I want to make sure I don't grow complacent, so I am going to strive to read at least one new book a month. And of course I'll throw in some fashion and interior design magazines so I can attempt to keep myself "current" as my mom says. It's good to be a well rounded reader, right?

Here are some links to a few books I want to read:
 
And here are some of my favorite magazine subscriptions:
 
If you have any other suggestions, please send them my way!

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

A Day in Thomasville.

This year I wanted to do something special to celebrate my birthday. Since my birthday is on a Wednesday this year, Stuart and I decided to start celebrating a little early this weekend with a daytrip to Thomasville. Now don't be fooled, Thomasville is nowhere near far from Tallahassee. It's only 40 minutes from our house and it's one of those small towns I think I have driven through once or twice but have never actually paid a visit. I am so glad we decided to spend the afternoon there. It was a breath of fresh air to my foodie soul. Nothing makes me happier than finding new restaurants, cafes and bakeries.

First we had lunch at Jonah's. This may seem like a surprising choice, because I actually don't like seafood [gasp, I know!]. We decided to try it because everyone has raved about it, PLUS it was in Southern Living, so why not? We are happy to report it definitely lived up to the hype! For any fellow seafood haters out there - I had the Fire Roasted Chicken Sandwich and it was amazing.



Then we worked our way up and down Broad Street to check out all the little boutiques there. One of our favorites was this local book store. It described everything we planned to do that day. Read. Relax. Explore.




We stopped at Sweet Grass Dairy Cheese Shop where they had a wine and cheese tasting. I loved how rustic it was in there. It almost reminded me of being in Napa Valley. So crazy considering I was only 40 mins from Tallahassee! They had tons of breads and olive oils for tasting as well. This place made my heart smile in a big way.





At the end of the day we stopped at Grassroots Coffee for some warm drinks, relaxation and reading. I love this place because they roast their own coffee right there in downtown Thomasville, plus their whole mantra is "Drink Fresh. Drink Local." which I love.





Stuart also bought me these bracelets for my Birthday. They were a pretty good steal I figured I could not live without so he was gracious enough to give me an early present.




We wrapped up our day with a walk around the lake at Southwood. I love my neighborhood. Talk about the perfect day.




Can't wait to celebrate the real deal on Wednesday. I have a feeling 25 is going to be a great year.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

New Beginnings.

Over the last week I've heard many people announce their new years resolutions and hopes to make 2011 a year of change. I've also learned of a scientific study that said many people get mental gratification just by talking about our goals without actually doing the work.

So in an attempt to avoid another new year resolution failure, I've decided that rather than setting an unattainable goal and announcing it before the world, I am going to spend this year focusing on the things that used to make me happy. Somehow in the midst of "growing up" these things have been placed on the back burner while I've tried to figure out where life is taking me, and while I am nowhere closer to figuring that out, I am realizing I need to re-focus on the little things such as:


Reading: Once upon a time there was a day that I could not fall asleep without reading a good book. Now that I am no longer being forced to read boring text books, I want to start reading things I enjoy again.

Writing: Growing up I could always write so freely and it was such a great way to express myself. But between writing term papers and learning to write in business mode I've lost that. In the real world I've been taught to be concise when I write and now I don't even remember how to do otherwise. That's where I'm hoping blogging will come into the picture.

Culture: I pretty much live for this. When I was young and living overseas, I always told my family that I wanted to be the girl on the travel channel who explores new cities and reviews hotels, restaurants and other attractions. To be honest this is still what I would love to do, but I couldn't quite figure out what you should major in college to make a career out of it. In Europe, I was surrounded by culture and charm everywhere, and now that I am in America I always try to find fun places to explore. Traveling and exploring makes me happier more than anything else in the world.

This year presents a year of hope and new beginnings. I am always searching for what is to come rather than enjoying the present. So this year I am going to try my best to focus on what's before me and try to make each day great. Here's to finding daily contentment and happiness in 2011.



Sunday, January 2, 2011

Best of 2010.

Now that 2010 has come and gone, I've been reflecting on all the exciting changes that have happened in the last year. This year was definitely a year of "firsts" for Stuart and I and we have enjoyed every one of them. Here are some of my favorite highlights from 2010.

My Bachelorette Weekend in Miami with some of the best bridesmaids a girl could ask for.



06.12.10 ~ The day I married my best friend.





Our honeymoon to Maui...





and to Napa Valley...




and to San Francisco.



Our first home.





Celebrating Birthdays in New York City.

The Today Show.
Brooklyn Bridge.
Carriage Ride through Central Park.


Our first Thanksgiving in Tallahassee.



Melissa & Caleb's Wedding.


Our first Christmas in Charlotte.


Looking forward to the new memories to be made in 2011! Happy New Year!
 

Taylor Owens | © 2010 Taylor Owens, All rights reserved