new car

Two weeks ago when Ginna was visiting, we were told by the mechanic that Brian's old '94 Jeep Grand Cherokee was broken and not worth fixing... We needed a new car. Sad. So we began the searching process that dragged out two weeks! We explored lots of options, but none of them seemed to work out. On Monday night after work we were driving over to the Honda dealership when this happened...

We got rear ended at a busy intersection. It doesn't look as bad as it seemed when it happened, but it was just enough to shake me up a bit.. We were both fine minus some sore necks, but it could have been a lot worse. We headed back to Honda the next day and found a 2006 Element, which is what Brian had really been wanting. I thought they were ugly, but it really was a good car, so I considered it.. Also Brian could fit comfortably behind the wheel!

After a couple days of negotiation with Paul who we sort of liked, his boss Rodney who we hated, and Ramon who was so nervous he stuttered, we drove home with this: 

I'm so thankful it's over! We feel good about our decision, and are looking forward to hopefully not buying another car for at least another 5-10 years... Toby approves! :) 

Now we are enjoying our Saturday resting at home, not car shopping at all! Hooray!

birthday weekend!

This past weekend my parents and Walter came up for a visit! They are moving to Los Angeles for 15 months in January, so we were thankful for a nice relaxing weekend together in Atlanta. On Saturday, my dad and Brian shopped for cars while my mom and I enjoyed a "treat yourself day." Apparently there's an episode of Parks & Rec where they do this? My mom's been talking about it ever since she saw the episode. We got our nails done, went out for lunch and did some shopping. It was lovely. Later that night, all of us went out to dinner at Bistro Niko. 

We then returned home for chocolate mint cake that my mom made. YUM!

We were entertained by Toby and Walter who played the entire two days together.. Here's Walter after just waking up from a nap. He's getting so big!

One of the rare moments of rest for both dogs.. You can see that Toby didn't want Walter to get too far away from him. :) 

I got the dogs antlers in the spirit of Christmas. Toby looks so goofy here.

Walter wasn't too pleased with them.. Maybe we'll try again at Christmas. 

Monday morning came, and it was back to reality. Thanks for coming Mom and Dad! It was so fun having you here! 

a lovely weekend

This past weekend Ginna came to visit! She found a cheap flight to Atlanta and even used a vacation day from work to come and stay with us. Despite me being a little under the weather and practically having no voice at all, ("she wants the yellow paint!") we had a fabulous time. Tapas and sangria at Noche, cake and fancy coffee drinks at Cafe Intermezzo, "White Christmas", "Love Actually", "The Holiday","White Christmas" again with Rosemary Clooney's commentary, snuggles with Toby, pumpkin scones, tortilla soup, Christmas shopping, and more cake at Monkey Java.. It was grand. It was just what we needed, and we were both thankful for some great quality time together and reminded us of our years as roomies. So fun!

Thanks for the pic, Gin!

let the training begin!

Last weekend my friend Kristin and I signed up for the DC Rock 'n Roll half marathon! The longest race I've run was the Cooper River Bridge Run last year, which is only a 10k... but I've been wanting to run a half for a while. I'm a little scared but a lot excited. The race is on March 17th (must wear green!), so we have 16 weeks to train. I can't wait to be back in DC again! 

[photo taken from pinterest]

the best soup ever

Sice the beginning of fall I've been on a soup kick. I usually make a different soup each week. When I was visiting my friend Nina, we were discussing recipes, and she told me about The Culinary Couple's Tortellini Soup. I made it one night and it was AMAZING. Seriously. I couldn't stop talking about it or talking about it to people. It's fast, easy, full of fresh vegetables with some hearty meat to please the husband. I have made it twice and am ready to make it again. I told my mom, and she's made it twice in the past month. So yummy. You have to make it!!!  

Tortellini Soup

1/2 lb sweet Italian sausage (chicken or turkey sausage also works)

1 cup onion, chopped (I leave this out since my super-taster husband hates them.. I don't miss them)

2 cloves garlic, minced

5 cups beef broth

1/3 cup water

1/2 cup red wine

4 tomatoes, chopped, or 1 can diced tomatoes

1 cup carrots, chopped

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 cup tomato sauce

1-2 zucchini, chopped

8 oz. cheese tortellini (can substitute another pasta)

1 package or 1 bag fresh spinach

1 tablespoon parsley

Parmesan cheese

1. In large pot, cook sausage ~5 minutes. Remove meat and set aside.
2. Add onion and garlic. Saute.
3. Add broth, water, wine, herbs, tomato sauce, and vegetables (except zucchini and spinach), and sausage. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered ~30 minutes. 
4. Add zucchini, spinach, and tortellini. Simmer ~25 minutes. 
5. Ladle into bowls, sprinkle with Parmesan, and serve with crusty bread.

boone trip #2!

This past weekend Brian, Toby and I headed up to Boone for the second cabin trip of the season! We met up with my friends from grad school! What's better than a group of SLP's hanging out discussing the frustrations of artic therapy, swallowing, medicaid, and school systems? Our poor husbands... But really. It's always refreshing to see these girls and discuss all that goes into the day-to-day life of being an SLP. :)

We went to the game on Saturday and sat on the hill very snug to stay warm. 

The dogs! Ellie May, Toby, and Marley! They played wonderfully together and were quite entertaining. 

Brian and I love being back in Boone.. So many memories there. We are thankful we were able to go twice this fall! 

iron & wine

Last week, my friend Julie told me that her husband Josiah would be filming Iron & Wine for a dvd of their show... A few days later, she said she won free tickets and asked if I wanted to come with her! Yes! I have loved this band since college.. Never seen them live though. I drove down to the Buckhead Theatre straight from work that night and met her there. It was amazing. A smaller, more intimate show with only 500 people in the audience. Totally worth feeling extra tired the next day and getting sicker! Really. It was also cool to see Josiah at work.. filming is hard work!! I had no idea what all was involved. He did a great job, and we had a great time! Thanks Julie!

As Josiah said, "It's dark, but it is an image."