out and about in Frederick

It hit me last week as I was pulling flannel sheets off of our guest bed that we hadn’t had an overnight visitor since November! It felt so good to get the house ready for a guest, considering I haven’t hosted much in the past nine months.

Holly came up from Harrisonburg on Thursday night (bearing donuts from Strite’s, bless her heart) and we immediately fell into our pattern of non-stop chatter and laughter. And EATING. I am beyond thrilled that our baby friendship in Harrisonburg has weathered my move to Frederick. Holly and her husband and their two friends are opening a brewery in Winchester called Winchester Brew Works. I’m so excited for them!

I purposefully invited Holly to come up this past weekend so I could take her to Chartreuse & Co, a monthly tag sale set up in six buildings filled with antique/vintage (or faux-antique) goodies. I knew it would be a great place for brewery decor inspiration.

the second floor of the main barn at Chartreuse & Co 

I wanted these SO MUCH

We spent hours exploring the various buildings before heading downtown for lunch. I went to The Wine Kitchen a few weeks ago with my friend Sarah and loved it, and I knew Holly would enjoy it, too. We split the house made pappardelle starter and the mussels starter and each got our own Mexican BLT sandwich. We chowed DOWN. We should have split the BLT, but we were both doing the prix fixe menu. Everything was phenomenal, and it was nice to just sit and take our time with lunch. The stand-out dish was the mussels, which were cooked in a crazy delicious Thai-style broth. I asked the waitress for the ingredients (like I did with our favorite blue cheese sauce) because I’m dying to make them at home. Recipe to come!

The fabulous Holly w/ her wine flight! I had their yummy “Gossamer” cocktail. 

our starters

my Mexican BLT and the mussel broth

It was a beautiful day to walk around. One thing I love about living here is that we have a great downtown! We went to Relish, The Smokestack Studios, Treaty General Store, Retro Metro, Velvet Lounge, Tiara Day, Simply Beautiful Boutique, Firestone’s Market on Market, Hunting Creek Outfitters, and Muse. We skipped a lot of shops on Patrick Street because we were exhausted! I drove Holly through Shab Row and Baker Park and then we went home and put our feet up for a bit. We ended the night with Sardi’s Peruvian chicken and rented “Big Eyes” on Redbox.

Holly left after a breakfast of bacon, eggs and donuts, and I immediately swore to start eating better and went for a run. :) Let me know if you’ve tried any new healthful recipes lately!

growing up

A year ago I was wrapping up my final pieces for the newspaper I worked for. I was breaking the news to all our friends that we were moving to Maryland. We were house hunting in a city that we didn't want to move to. I was saying goodbye to Andy and heading to Uganda for my first missions trip. 

A year ago I was completely confused by God's timing and plan. I knew that Andy's promotion was a blessing and I felt confident in our decision to move, but I still wasn't thrilled with all of the changes.

Here we are, twelve months later.

printable here

I really grew up this year. I became more confident in myself. I was proactive about what I wanted. I forgave quicker and apologized more often. I slept more, read more, cooked more, explored more. I decided that moving to a city where I knew no one meant I should embrace going to the store with no makeup on, and embracing that mentality eventually lead to me caring less about how I look in general. I created space in my days for therapeutic activities, like taking baths, reading by the creek with my dog, buying myself an iced coffee or getting a pedicure.

Yet, the most vital growing had nothing to do with coffee or books or naps. It had to do with learning an important lesson: that happiness is a choice. If you take a look at a post I compiled two years ago about secrets to a happy marriage, you'll notice that I knew the importance of choices back then. I guess it's just taken me this long to fully get it. One event in particular hit this lesson home, and that was my trip to Uganda.

I had an absolutely fabulous time in Uganda, even though I was without my favorite person, without cute clothes, without a hair dryer, without my regular group of friends or my bed or my dog, yada yada. While there were many reasons why the trip was wonderful, I firmly believe that the biggest reason was my decision to stop thinking about me and what makes me feel happy and to focus entirely on Jesus and what makes Him happy. I prayed for weeks leading up to the trip (and I had many people praying for me) and asked God to help me set aside all of my self so that I would be completely flexible to do whatever He wanted me to do. I guarantee you that I COULD have had an awful time if I had allowed myself to give in to negativity.

This world is full of things that can bring you down. Negativity can creep in so cunningly that you don't even notice it at first, but it spreads like a disease. Yet we are given the opportunity to resist and to choose something better. I am happier in my marriage because I choose to be. I am happier in my work because I choose to be. I am happy living in a place I never desired to live because I choose to be.

And now, I find happiness through my misery, because all of this nausea and vomiting and mood swings and food aversions and gas and pimples and constipation are the result of a highly anticipated human being growing inside me. I couldn't be grosser looking happier. :)

post-moving thoughts: five months in

A friend of mine might be moving this fall and her mind is running in a million different directions. Her husband has applied for several jobs, all which would require them to move to another state. She has a great job, great friends, a great church and she's involved in activities that she feels passionate about. Knowing that she might be moving has made it hard for her to make plans and continue investing in work and friendships, but the alternative (cutting herself out of situations) is just as hard. She wants to look up jobs and houses but also doesn't want to get her heart set on anything that might not become reality. Boy can I relate.

We knew we might have to move when Andy was hired by Kellogg's last July. I chose to stick with my job and become a new small group leader even though I had no idea what the future would hold. It was tough! I felt like I couldn't really commit to anything. If you've been reading for a while you might remember that last fall/winter included five months of living apart from Andy, me quitting, re-taking my job and quitting again, almost signing the lease to a house I LOVED in Warrenton, Virginia and ultimately moving to Maryland.

Ugh, just writing all of that makes me feel sick to my stomach. I hope we never have to go through anything like that again! Moving is rough. Just like everything else in life, though, it gets better. Five months in and...

- I've unpacked every cardboard box (plastic bins don't count, right?)
- I've borrowed something from our neighbor
- Both of us have made a few friends
- We found a church home and are currently in the process of becoming members
- I've found a small group to attend as well as a new group to help lead (yay for college ministry!)
- We know which grocery stores we prefer
- I know which nail salon has the best prices
- I've been to the MVA (DMV) a jillion times (blegh!)
- We know when to avoid the highways

and the big one... we feel at home here! 

Come visit any time. :)

buddy garrity, a birdcage and our new home

I had to pause FNL and take a pic of the screen, b/c that box
of mac and cheese is the size of a cereal box. wha??
p.s. current fav FNL quote is "please don't whisper yell at me."

I went to Richmond with my friend Amber and came home
with this friendly little brass birdcage

that sign should read SOLD!

I blogged about our house-hunting experiencing last month. This townhouse was the last place we visited, and it was love at first sight. Actually, that's not true... it was dark and we couldn't really see the outside. But we loved it the minute we walked through the front door. We put an offer in that evening and waited for two and a half days before finding out we got it. I left for Uganda the next day. 

Today I drove up to Frederick w/ my friend Holly to walk around the house again and get some more pictures and measurements. Unfortunately the sellers were moving today, so there were people everywhere. It was still great to see the house and know it's OURS.

Side story: A while ago an old co-worker (who has long since left Hburg) messaged me on Facebook and said she had a friend moving to Harrisonburg who didn't know anyone in the area, and would I please get together with her? I remember being so nervous the day I first met Holly for coffee. I shouldn't have worried. She's pretty fanfreakingtastic. We were together for 9 hours today and never stopped talking and laughing and getting lost and laughing about getting lost.

Downtown Frederick is dangerously fantastic. We ate scrumptious burgers at Cafe Nola and browsed many, many shops. I think our favorite was Silk & Burlap. 

We move NEXT WEEK. Yeah.