Yes you can...

Hula-hoop a half marathon!

I lost 15 pounds and almost 2 pants sizes, but I gained so much more...

Chihuly at Cheekwood

A few weeks ago we went to see the installment of glass artisan Dale Chihuly at the Cheekwood Botanical Gardens. We went to the "Chihuly Nights" to take advantage of seeing the artwork with special lighting. Glass loves light, and the exhibits were amazing. I managed to snag a few nice pics despite the difficult lighting conditions, and I think they speak for themselves:




(My personal favorite)









Did you see the little frog on that last one? He's ready for his close up! Love it!

In a word, awesome. Highly recommend you check it out if you are in Nashville or the exhibit comes to your town.

Round and round she goes

True confessions time:

I am not what you would consider an "athlete." I try hard, but I'm miserable at team sports. I lettered in marching band! Plus I'm not the most coordinated (we all remember the scooter incident, right?). Also, gyms kinda skeeve me out and running on a treadmill makes me want to poke my eyes out with a spoon. BOOOORING!

Until recently, this hasn't really been a problem. Sure I've carried a few extra pounds around my middle, but it wasn't enough to make me increase my exercise beyond afternoon walks in the park, hiking on the weekend, and the occasional pilates session. Then I wrote my dissertation, defended, and got a job where I sit all day. Suddenly those few extra pounds were getting friendly with a few more, and then a few more after that. Not the kind of friends a girl wants!

So I upped my walking, going at lunch with some ladies in the office and attempting to jog after work. Still boring, but I stuck it out. The scale budged almost inperceptibly, and I wasn't falling over myself to get home and exercise in the evenings. I needed excitement! A challenge! Something that doesn't require running! Or a trainer yelling at me (no, you do those sit-ups!)!

Then the most random thing happened. The daily Groupon (an online coupon thingy), which is usually for bum-expanding delicious food discounts, was for a hula hoop class. Seriously. I had vaguely remembered reading a Southern Living article about an East Nashville hooper, and here were her classes--on sale!

This gal can't resist a sale.

I was a bit apprehensive when I joined 11 other grown women for the first class. But that soon melted away as I hooped, dropped my hoop, hooped some more, and laughed. A lot. Folks, you have not seen ridiculous until you have seen a room full of women hooping! But the funny thing was, I haven't had that much fun in a long time, expecially exercising! Hoop class became the highlight of my week.

You'll never guess what happened next:



Yup, I'm the proud owner of my own, adult-sized (and pretty!) hoop. And yes, I do practice in my yard! (Well, out back. When the neighbors aren't home. And they aren't doing construction on the house across the alley. Baby steps, here). I'm officially addicted...I actually look forward to going home and hooping!

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. My final level 1 hoop class was last week. But have no fear--level 2 starts on monday! You haven't seen the end of my hooping yet!

A sinking feeling

My poor city is under water.

After over 13 inches of rain in 2 days, there is wide spread flooding in Nashville. Many have lost their homes and businesses, and downtown is under water. The pictures are staggering--just Google Nashville flood (or check out twitter tags #NashvilleFlood and #OtherSituation2010)

On Sunday, I had no idea that the day was going to turn out like it did. Seemed just like a little rain, and my biggest worry was that the rain would make it hard for me to get to my class with Natalie Chanin at Textile Fabrics. Mr. McAwesome started making pancakes; by the time he was done we were bailing water out of our basement.

We bailed about 4-5 gallons per minute by shopvac and bucket for over an hour before we realized this would be an all day project. To save our backs, and our basement, we had to get creative. Thankfully we are DIY packrats--we cobbled together a system using 2 decorative fountain pumps, some tubing, a very large pot, and Mr. McAwesome's beer brewing pump to get the water out of the low lying area and into the laundry sink.




About 4 hours later we were dry. The same can't be said for our local park. The golf course and greenway were completely swallowed by Richland Creek (river?). When we walked by, the water had already subsided from its highest and the damage was heartbreaking.


A heck of a water hazard...

the cart path is gone.

The 6th tee.

where the water was earlier in the day

I feel lucky that we escaped the "storm of the century" relatively unscathed. Please keep Nashville and all its flood victims in your thoughts.

To slip or not to slip

An interesting conversation topic came up on my morning walk with some of the ladies in the office. As we started walking, the girl next to me complained that her slip was bunching up and bothering her. This suprised me, not for the TMI, but the fact that she was wearing a slip. Her skirt seemed substantial and was a dark color, and didn't seem in need of a slip. Plus, aren't slips one of those trappings of our mothers' generation that us younger women have cast away? Then the woman next to her (of said mothers' generation) mentioned that she was completely embarrased yesterday when she forgot her slip, and was self-consious about her dress all day. Now I didn't see the offending dress, and thus I can't determine if a slip was necessary or if it was more a comfort thing. And then she said "Some people don't even wear slips!"

I was not wearing a slip.

Truth be told, it would have never even crossed my mind that a slip was required with today's outfit. I'm wearing a cute, cotton, lined dress (this one, to be exact. In turquoise. Very cute, but requires just a tidbit of tailoring to fit me right). Appropriate undergarments in appropriate colors=no visible lines. And while I would consider shapewear for smoothing lumps and bumps, its just to dang hot for that already. And a slip seems like a lot of hassle (shifting, bunching, weird fabric, etc.) for little reward. Doesn't that take away from the freedom of wearing a dress in the first place?

Anyway, my question is: slip or no slip? Does it depend on the outfit? The age of the wearer? The environment where said outfit is being worn? I'm curious, and need answers people! (I also need a place to get a good slip...)

On anticipation, expectiations, and disappointment: the price of quality

I'm a bit late to the party on this one, but here's the thing. I, like most fashion/fabric savy gals out in blog land, was REALLY excited for the Liberty of London for Target line. Those commercials pulled me in hook, line, and sinker. I had visions of frollicing in cute Liberty dresses while rearranging my Liberty pillows and eating off of Liberty plates. While I haven't had a chance to see real Liberty of London fabric or items, I had high hopes that the Target line would at least be a passible imitation if not interesting in its own right.

And then I went to Target.

In the women's section, the colors and prints almost blinded me to the fact that almost everything was icky polyester. Serious people, it just felt nasty. But I tried stuff on anyways, determined to make it work. However, even Tim Gunn couldn't save these train wrecks. The one cute dress, the cotton sateen sheath, was the closest to a winner. The fit was funny, but I figured I could fix that. What I couldn't fix, however, was the plastic-like lining that had me sweating. Total strikeout. (Okay, when I went back later I did manage to find this swimsuit; it is a cute print and the rushing covers a multitude of sins. We'll count that as a win.)

Men's? Not as cute as some of the stuff Mr. McAwesome had found on sale at Johnston Murphy. Yes, that store is expensive but given how long he keeps his clothes it is worth the investment.

Home goods? The bedding and pillows totally did not live up to expectations. I was hoping I could repurpose some of the fabrics into cute projects but the print quality wasn't worth the time. Plus there are so many awesome fabric designers out there that blow this poor imitation of Liberty prints out of the water.

So I guess the point of this rant is: how much are you willing to pay for quailty? Short-term gain over long-term investment? Or if you are going to give something space in your closet, home, or sewing room, do you want it to be something you really love and will keep for a long time?

As for me, I took the money I save by not buying a bunch of cheap dresses at Target and bought a few yards of this. Look for me soon in my cute, high-quailty, and custom fitted dress!

A little shopping

"Honey, I'm going to run to the store to pick up some snack cakes. I'll take the truck..."

(I love my neighborhood)

Once upon a time...

Boy meets Girl.
Girl meets Boy.

Boy and Girl talk - a lot - on the phone and email. Boy and girl go to lunch. And then they go to lunch.

Boy thinks Girl is super cool and pretty--and that he probably blew it when his car broke down on the way back from lunch number 2. Girl thinks Boy is intriguing and remarkably cool under pressure. Girl calls Boy for date number three.

That one date turns into two weeks, then three months, then almost four years. Boy buys a house, Girl moves in. Boy and Girl talk a lot, eat a lot, have fun a lot, and dance in the living room.

Boy and Girl spend celebrate the first Christmas that they haven't gone their separate ways by inviting the families to their home...and ordering BBQ. There is much food and wine and laughing.

"A wonderful Christmas," Boy says. "I think we should have a few more..."

And then, a question.




(Girl said yes!)

But it's, like, so totally awesome, dude!

Dear Caboodle,

You were my pride and joy circa 1992. You housed pop bead necklaces, notes from friends folded into origami wonders, slap bracelets, a New Kids on the Block pin, and endless other wonders. You then took up residence in my dresser drawer, with nice necklaces and costume jewelry co-mingling in your divided sections. But alas, you just couldn't keep up with this modern woman. See, I'm starting a new job and I'm going to have to do things like accessorize and wear pants other than jeans. Which means I need something a little more hands on for my jewelry and can't be rummaging around in your strange sliding trays before dawn. Sorry Caboodle, you've been replaced.

Meet your replacement:




I hope you approve, old friend. But on a happy note, your departure has cleared up a large opening in my dresser! Guess you won't be that missed after all...

Love,
Kim

Truth in advertising

Just keeping it real...

A haiku...

Spying on breakfast,
Lusting after the bacon--
Please share; I am cute!

Southern Food and Wine Festival - Part 2

The exhibit hall was full of all sorts of yummy, and dangerous, goodies. We pickup up some sauces and dip mixes, tried all sorts of goodies, and chatted up fellow foodies.

The best booth would probably have to be Wonderffuls - a yummy truffle/cake concoction with super cute presentation:



Top cocktail awards goes to St Germain elderflower liquor.


2 parts Champagne/sparkling dry white wine, 1.5 parts St Germain, 2 parts club soda = delish

And then we picked out our fav winery and brewery of the evening. Everything we tried from both places was awesome.





All in all, not a bad way to spend the day!

Southern Food and Wine Festival - Part 1

My lovely Auntie got me tickets to the Southern Food & Wine festival as a "congrats on defending" gift. A day of yummy food samples, wine tasting, and watching Alton Brown & the Neelys cook - not too shabby!


I'd like a corner piece, please.


(two days before my hair appointment - darn!)






The man lost 45 pounds since March. Um, yeah. And on top of that, he managed to convince me to try eating some trout and other fish besides sushi. But then...


...the Neelys made BBQ ribs and it smelled sooooo good it made me forget all about fish!

Recovery

Ahhh, to be educated. Such a satisfying feeling, I'm now completely satisfied...

Or not.

Grad school takes a lot out of a girl! So I'm taking advantage of the fact that I'm over-educated and unemployed to have a little R&R...and R.

Yup, I'm staring my own three step plan to recover from grad school. It's simple really:
1) Revitalize the mind - That means no science! I'm going to read novels and books and learn things that are applicable outside of a laboratory. Whoa!

2) Revitalize the body - Um, I've been sitting on my keister writing a thesis and said bum is showing the wear and tear. Maybe I should go running...

3) Revitalize the spirit - I'm hanging on with all my might to the hobbies and things I love to do but haven't gotten to do thanks to all the things I had to do. So now I'm going to just do.

And there we have it. Stay tuned for updates!

What I've been up to

Apologies for the absence. I've been occupied elsewhere.

Doing a smidgen of writing. Five and a half years in about 200 pages sounds about right, doesn't it?





And a presentation. Hardly worth mentioning, really, except for the fact that it was one of those "once in a lifetime" things.



Phew!

Back to normal shortly...

Gratuitous Cuteness

The only little feet going pitter-patter in this house belong to felines (sorry Mom!). But you, dear blog reader, deserve a little cuteness when you come by to visit. Where I am going to find some gratuitous cuteness for you? Never fear, I have a solution:



Look at that cute fuzziness! Not cute enough, you say? Try this on for size:



Would you look at that fat belly? So fat and squishy and loveable! It helps that our little part Maine Coon/part stray mutt of a cat is a total love bug and can't get enough of the loving that we want to give. He's a bit of a "special" kitty too, which makes him all the more endearing.



Pounce!

Play, eat, sleep... I wish I was a house cat!

Whew, all that cuteness must be exhausting. Why don't you take a break, buddy.


Good Kitty.

Summer food is good food

First start with a crisp salad, with greens picked fresh from the garden and homemade balsamic vinaigrette dressing...


Follow with a juicy Moroccan-spice rubbed steak (from our local CSA!), grilled zucchini, grilled sweet potato chips (thanks for the idea, Mindy and John!), crusty bread, and a surprisingly good box wine...


I don't cook, so thank this guy for the meal...


Finish with some garden-grown strawberries for dessert.


I love summer...