Honeymoon: Part 2

Here are some of the goodies we got on our honeymoon...

Fun poster from Knitting Mill Antiques in Chattanooga, TN



A photograph from a Chattanooga photographer, who we
actually bought a print from earlier this year at
an art festival in St. Louis.

Andrew actually made his own corned beef a few weeks before
the wedding... so this picture was made for him..we had to have it!


A new glass ball for my collection, also from Chattanooga.
It looks like a tree inside...I love it!


And our big purchase of the honeymoon...
an antique stained glass window from St. Augustine

Buying Used

I found a great blog this morning over at Apartment Therapy:Green (which I highly recommend as a daily read!). The post is about compact fluorescent light bulbs. You have to read the comments though because that's where most of the good info is...learning from others knowledge and experience. Here's another good one on the same topic.

I also liked this one about the benefits of buying used furniture. "Buying used not only reduces demand for raw materials, it also cuts down on the energy costs associated with production and transportation." Andrew and I actually buy a lot of "used" (I like to say "vintage") furniture. Mostly because we like how it looks but it is a great way to "Reuse" instead of consuming resources.

Speaking of used furniture here are some recent purchases we have made....

Vintage Lane coffee table, from TFA Warehouse

Look at the detail!

Vintage mirror for foyer, from Blend

Mirror frame detail

Vintage EAT! sign from TFA Warehouse...
Andrew wants to use it to serve chips and dip!

Practice Unbending Intent

"When you practice unbending intent, you match up with the intent of the all-creative universal mind. So keep a solid picture of the task you want to accomplish in your mind, and refuse to let that intention disappear."

~Dr. Wayne Dyer, The Power of Intention Cards


So....

I haven't had a job since May 23...

It's been two months...

The first month was a blessing in disguise because it gave me time to finish pulling together my wedding, having a wedding and going on a honeymoon without any distractions (except of course...being unemployed...). And it was a very nice month indeed.

This second month has been a tad more difficult. I am not good at looking for jobs. Or rather, I should say, that I just really HATE and LOATH looking for jobs. Everyday is a struggle for me and while I do get to enjoy some of this great time off, I spend most of my time worrying, feeling guilty and generally freaking out. I have never wanted to go to work so bad in my entire life.

Now, you have to remember that I have been waiting to start this career for about 8 years.... That is a long time coming....and I am ready to start!

I am keeping a solid (or maybe the texture of silken tofu) picture of the task I want to accomplish (job offer!) in my mind.... and I am trying my hardest not to let that intention disappear.

Anyone else who has some spare room in their mind to keep a solid picture of my intention, it would be greatly appreciated.

New Life: Part 3

Before Andrew and I got married we had a little pre-marriage counseling with Reverend Bob and I promised Andrew that after the wedding I would help cook more.

Two weeks ago was my first big night and I made a pesto pizza which was delicious! Last Tuesday I went crazy and tried risotto with asparagus and shrimp. Apparently I shouldn't have picked risotto because it is heavy on the labor side.... but it actually turned out quite excellent if I do say so myself.

Now I do realize that the ingredients I used for my last dinner were not local but I am having a hard enough time learning how to cook without restricting myself to certain ingredients. So for now I'm trying to be patient with the fact that I am not the ultimate earth friendly cook.

I just started reading The Omnivore's Dilemma to keep our new found food motivation going.

Also I wanted to let you all know that Andrew has started up a blog again... you can find it here,
http://www.slowdownandeat.com/

New Life: Part 2

We've shed some hair....

And a peek at one of Andrew's latest dinners...local, pasture fed steak; local and organic potatoes (twice baked); local and organic green beans and onions. Yummm...

Baby Update!

Welcome baby Sena Heron, October 3, 2006

Welcome baby Makena Marie, March 27, 2007

Welcome baby Benjamin Schmidt, April 27, 2007

Welcome baby Liam, June 27, 2007

Welcome baby Zachary Frank, July 3, 2007

Still expecting.....

• baby Landsbaum
• baby Russo
• baby Huypen

Making Cheese (and another soap box...)

In continuing with our new found inspiration from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Andrew and I attended a cheese making class on Sunday. It was also to celebrate my Matron of Honor's birthday. (Friends who make cheese together, stay together!)

It was a very interesting afternoon. One, because it seemed relatively easy and fast. Two, because Millie the dog was adorable. Three, because our teacher was very cool. She really loves her goats and really loves making cheese. She also has pretty strong opinions about processed dairy products. Her family has goats, chickens and quite a large garden. She is living the farm life in the suburbs of St. Louis.




Warning... Soap Box ahead.....

You also may have noticed that I added a link to Michael Moore's new film Sicko, over to the right. Andrew and I saw this movie last week and it was very good. Sad, infuriating, funny and scary. By the end I was ready to move to France. I realize that some may think Moore's movies are full of bias.... but I find it hard to argue with Americans who have experienced the horrors of Health Insurance Companies first hand... to the point of losing their loved ones. It is maddening to know that our congressmen continue to use fear to keep the American public from demanding a better system. I just hope that one day I don't lose a friend or family member because a health insurance reviewer was trying to meet their quota for "denials" that month.

Ok, enough soap box..... just see the movie and decide for yourself.

New Life: Part 1

When Andrew and I were getting ready for our honeymoon we each bought some books to read on the beach. One of the books that I brought with me was called Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. Interestingly enough one of the books Andrew brought with him was called Twinkie Deconstructed. There was a definite theme emerging that each of us was interested in learning more about what and how we eat.

Since we were both interested in the subject matter I started a new tradition of reading to Andrew while he drives and I pretty much read the entire Animal, Vegetable, Miracle book to him on our trip. This book was fantastic, eye-opening, scary, funny, sweet, and inspiring. It is a true story of Barbara's family becoming "localvores" for an entire year, trying to live off of food within a 100 mile radius of where they live.

One of the biggest benefits of living as a localvore is reducing your carbon footprint. Each time you eat a food that has to be shipped from across the world you are contributing to a huge proportion of petroleum consumption --> carbon emissions --> global warming. Also, many of the foods we eat are made of mass produced ingredients or toxic ingredients that deplete and poison our land. I URGE all of you to read this book and educate yourself on how you can help the world, your neighbors and yourself live a healthier life.

Andrew and I were so inspired (and scared...) that we wasted no time making changes when we got home. Thursday morning we went to a new grocery store that opened 3 blocks away called Local Harvest Grocery. We bought all locally and organically grown vegetables, bread and meat.

Thursday afternoon I got a new bicycle that I can ride around town to run errands, complete with it's own uber-cool basket on the handle bars. Saturday morning we both rode our bikes to the local farmers market and filled my basket to the rim with local veggies, fruit, meat, chocolate, eggs and more bread. The food tastes great and we feel healthier already.

We also spent Saturday watching Live Earth. Please visit their website and find out what you can do to help stop Global Warming.

Honeymoon Part 1

Our honeymoon was a road trip...from Chattanooga Tennessee, to St. Augustine Florida, to Gulf Shores Alabama, back to Chattanooga Tennessee and then home to St. Louis.

We picked a road trip honeymoon for a few reasons.
1) it was cheaper than flying
2) we couldn't afford Hawaii
3) we like to go antiquing and we wanted to be able bring stuff home with us.

The honeymoon turned out GREAT! It was everything we were looking for, beach time, relaxation, shopping, site seeing and good food.

The real start to the honeymoon was in St. Augustine. We stayed at a Bed and Breakfast called Our House of St. Augustine. It was absolutely perfect!


Our host was Dave and he was wonderful. The breakfast was gourmet and our room was totally comfortable. It couldn't have been in a better location. All the antique shops were at the corner of our street and we were within walking distance of the center of town.



In Gulf Shores we stayed at another B&B called The Beach House. It was in a nice and secluded part of the town, right on the sand dunes. We did more shopping and did a lot of sitting on the beach and in hammocks.










Our honeymoon ended with a visit back to Chattanooga. We liked it so much on our brief stop at the beginning of the honeymoon that we headed back. We stayed at yet another B&B, The Mayor's House Inn. Chattanooga is a lovely city. It's very clean, pretty and people were very friendly. I could definitely live there.







Now we are home and trying to get the house back in order after throwing a wedding and being gone for 9 days. It's nice to be back but we are trying to keep the vacation attitude as long as we can. More to follow soon.