Just about perfect

Chris and I have made it a goal to go on a walk every day with Liam. It's a win-win situation: fresh air for the baby, and exercise and time to talk for us. It's been especially enjoyable of late, what with it being autumn.

Thursday evening was quite chilly, so we bundled Liam up in this handy wearable blanket thingie and set off into a nearby neighborhood where we like to walk. It has lots of trees, gorgeous old houses and, important for safe walking, sidewalks. The above photos (not taken by me) are of this neighborhood. Now, imagine that it's a bit darker with a lovely sunset about to begin. Add in a chill to the air, Halloween and harvest decorations, and the scent of woodsmoke. Like I said, it was just about perfect :)

What to do, what to do....

So.

It's hard to know where to begin (yes, it's going to be that kind of post),





but I want to start with my blessings.

• Chris


• a great family-- supportive, loving, fun, and all kinds of other groovy stuff. All the good things that I am come from them.


• truly excellent friends


• good health


• a job that I know some people would kill for-- I'm well-paid for my field, generally appreciated, given the freedom to have ideas and go with them. Heck, in these times, just having ANY job is a blessing, much less one like mine.


• a house with a mortgage that we can afford

And yet...

Sometimes I am swept with this incredibly claustrophic feeling, like I just can't breathe and that spark of what makes me ME is being smothered.

Melodramatic enough for ya?

This feeling mostly has to do with living in Atlanta. There's a great quote from Loreena McKennitt that I have posted on my office door:

"In the same way that I try to lead my life with few expectations,
I try to live it with no regret, and also no wishing that I was some other place".

I've really tried to embrace Loreena's way of thinking, and have tried to build community here and make Atlanta home. Here's a list:

• I got involved with our neighborhood association, even becoming Vice President. Let's just not go into that, shall we?


• Chris and I established our annual Halloween Party, and it's an event to which not only we look forward, but also our friends and colleagues.


• We've (sort of) started a monthly potluck at Tallulah House


• We've worked to make Tallulah House our tiny, little fortress where we feel safe and at peace. Thanks to family and the help they've given us, we've largely succeeded. Sure, there'll always be projects to do, but I'm at the point where I feel that we've made a good start on ensuring that Tallulah will be around for another 60 years.


• I threw myself into the life of my workplace, and got heavily involved in professional organizations, eventually becoming president of a state organization and being asked to join the board of a national organization. I've mentored interns and others in my field. I've presented at conferences and incorporated technology in our daily professional life.
  

But...

Even my little Tallulah House isn't worth what it takes to live in Atlanta anymore. This is my fifth year here, and I am so completely over the traffic, the pollution, the commonly-held belief that God wants you to drive an SUV, the traffic, the rudeness, the expense, etc, etc.

I'm just so tired of it all.

So where do I want to live? Well, it looks something like this:

• closer to family


• in the mountains, or close to

(Okay, these mountains are in China, but you get the idea)

• big enough to be diverse and interesting, small enough to feel like home


• affordable enough that we can have a house with two bathrooms


• a community commited to sustainability


• little traffic

I know, I know. Dream on.

Oh, and of course to go along with all of this angst is a massive load of guilt. I mean, hey, genocide in Rwanda, starvation the world over, honour killings, homelessness down the street from me, child slaves, child soldiers, old people stuck in nursing homes and then happily forgotten by their families-- just thinking about it all leaves me disgusted with myself and my pathetic concerns, and knowing that I'm completely undeserving of all those blessings.

Well, then, glad I could cheer you up! I'm sure you'll stop by again soon for another episode of "Poor, pitiful Kimberley". I have no doubt that I'm going to win the "Most Uplifting Blog" award.

I'll leave you with a quote that I actually DO like ;)

"Be the change you wish to see in the world" -- Gandhi

Live at The Fox!

Yes, Chris and I saw Loreena McKennitt last night! "Magical" is probably the best word to describe her performance, and the performance of the nine other musicians with whom she wove the musical web. If you like her music and ever get the chance to see her perform live, do yourself a favour and go for it. The only way you could be disappointed is if your fellow concert-goers were annoying.

*commence rant* What is it with people? Why are they so stupid and obnoxious? Though the liner notes clearly asked people not to use any kind of recording devices (and there were signs as well), some morons right near the stage were using flash photography. Hello!! Do you not know anything about how dangerous it is to use flash photography with onstage performers? They can forget lines, at best, and fall, at worst. Also, it's just plain rude. I thought that Loreena handled it very well, though, never losing her cool. Two other things that got me were the food and people's clothes. Now, I am not a snob. People who know me well will tell you that. However. There was just something so bizarre about watching folks trundle into the beautiful Fox Theatre with their hotdogs and huge tubs of popcorn. Whaaaa-t? I'm sorry, did I get confused and this is TURNER FIELD?? As if I want to smell your disgusting hotdog while this ethereal music is trying to take me to another world! As for the clothes: I'm not saying that they have to be expensive, because the good Lord knows that mine aren't. But I was raised to believe that you should dress appropriately for the event in order to show respect for it. I mean, ok, there was nothing WRONG with the jeans and flannel shirts, but I just thought, "Hey, let's show a little respect for the performers and the theatre by dressing up a bit". I dunno, I guess I'm crazy. Chris was wearing jeans (as he does to just about everything) and he's rolling his eyes as I type this. I'm just saying. The final thing that got me was the clapping. Yes, of course, we should clap to show our enjoyment of the music. But on some of the quieter pieces, it would have been nice to have had a moment between the end of the music and the clapping in order to just let the music hang there. But no! It was as if people weren't even paying attention to the music, they were just waiting for the moment that they could begin clapping. sigh Ok, look, I'm an awful person, and a freak. I accept that about myself. *end rant*

In any event, it was a great anniversary present to ourselves (4 years on 11 October, go us!).

Hope you have a great day,
Kimberley (your resident blogosphere freak)

Recent finds

Hello, everybody!

I wanted to share some recent junking finds that have me all a-flutter ;)

When I was visiting my parents a few weeks ago, my mom and I visited one of our favourite thrift shops and I found lots of good things, this lotus bowl being one.



You must understand that I have longed for a lotus bowl like this for quite some time (I'm not quite sure why-- I can't explain, so don't ask me to!), but was always put off by the expense. Imagine how thrilled I was to come across this one, with absolutely no chips or cracks, for $1.00!
The gorgeous roses are from Trader Joes: one dozen for $3.99! You honestly can't beat TJ's on flowers.

My next junking excursion was with my friend Frances, to a large antiques market here in Atlanta. I had such mixed emotions when I found these next items: excited because they were perfect for the bedroom re-do I have planned, and saddened because they were cut out of old books.



As someone who loves books, I am truly distressed by their destruction; however, the deed was done and there they were... I know, I know: this is the same argument one could make for ivory and sweatshop clothing. I am by no means perfect, and am just as hypocritical as the next person (my inner Lisa Simpson is crying right now). In any event, I bought them, am thrilled with them, and will take very good care of them. Here are some closeups:



















I plan to mat these and then frame them in mahogany, to match the bed and dressing table, and hang them above the headboard. I think this grouping will be quite dramatic.

I've actually been working over the past year to assemble all of the ingredients for our Butterfly Boudoir (lol, what an awful name-- its so awful I've just got to go with it!), though I didn't realize at the beginning that that's what I was doing. I've always liked butterflies and really got into them about a year ago. A few months ago I found this lot of 12 Limoges dessert plates on E-bay-- ohhhhhh, E-bay, my beloved enemy, how I looooaaaatheeloooooveeeee you!!-- AND HAD TO HAVE THEM!









Aren't they beautiful? They make me purr :) I want to hang them in an arching pattern-- you know to make them look like they're flying. Ok, that sounds dumb, but it looks so pretty in my head.

On a trip to the warehouse district a couple of months ago, I found some beautiful butterfly fabric in the remnant room: gorgeous butterflies in shades of teal and yellow on a cream background. I'd show you a picture but I forgot to photograph it before I left it with my mom. We're going to make covers for the pillows I already have.

I'm hoping that Pottery Barn's reversible velvet silk cotton quilt (in cream) will go majorly on sale at the end of the season, as it is faaaarrr too expensive for me at the moment. Its the softest thing and would look just beautiful as a background for the pillows.

I have one more junking find to share. I found this on Saturday when Elizabeth and I were prowling the shops: a McCoy vase that will be perfect for the fall:







I hope that you've had good luck in your junking!
Kimberley

Tea with Elizabeth

Today my friend Elizabeth and I had afternoon tea at The Faded Rose Tea Garden and it was delightful :)

This is Elizabeth, looking lovely and oh, so Anne of Avonlea:



We were waited on by two of the nicest gentlemen, who were determined that our experience be as close to perfect as possible! We had a wonderful time, and made absolute pigs of ourselves with the tea as our new friends told us that we could try as many varieties as we wanted!

We had pots of:

• Irish Blend
• English Breakfast
• Dry Desert Lime
• African Autumn
• Shangri-La
• White Darjeeling

Survey the line of sacrificial teapots!

We were completely wired and ready to float away (as Elizabeth said) by the time we were done! Tea wasn't the only thing about which we were piggish: get a load of this decimated tower of goodies!

Everything was delicious, but I almost swooned over the cheese puffs-- I know that sounds bizarre, but you'd have had the same reaction! They were like fluffy, fancy, grilled cheese sandwiches and I MUST have them again. Hmmm, I wonder if Chef Jules has a recipe for cheese puffs-- do you, Julesy?? :)

In addition to the goodies, tea, and atmosphere, I adored the rock sugar blend, and was immediately inspired by the colours to begin planning an autumn tea party. Naturally I had to buy some to bring home for said party :)

Though the tea room is in a somewhat industrial area, they have a charming little garden, complete with a white picket fence, and the chef uses the herbs in the savouries. The garden provided a nice view from our table:

After we finished-- a mere THREE HOURS after we arrived!--, we stopped at a couple of antique shops in the area and it was a nice top-off to the day. Having tea out is one of my favourite indulgences, and I am so glad that Lizzy Lou (Elizabeth may kill me for calling her that in print, lol) and I were able to take time out for it before our work week begins.

So, did you do anything fun today?
Kimberley

My vacation is almost here!

Yippee, tomorrow is my last day at work for a few weeks! People keep asking me if I'm going on a trip and I just keep thinking if they only knew what my house projects list looks like that they wouldn't bother, lol. Come on, all you old-house people know what I'm talking about!

So, here's what that list looks like:

• scrape the bathroom ceiling (it has that stomp stuff on it that mildews and that you CANNOT clean, no matter how hard you try or what you use), and then paint it with anti-mildew paint
• patch and paint the bathroom walls
• refinish the armoire in the dining room to match the dining room table
• paint the kitchen ceiling
• paint the bathroom and computer room doors
• paint the moulding around the front door that was *supposed* to have been done before last year's Halloween party
• buy more plants for the raised beds
• make a cover for the chandelier's cord

I'm just a little too depressed to go on, so I'll stop there ;) Actually, I like doing these projects, especially when I have vacation time and don't have to get up at 5:30am in order to get into Atlanta traffic. I just seize the opportunity to morph into DIY girl/domestic goddess, complete with ratty overalls and head kerchief! I actually got into a routine last summer that I enjoyed: I'd roll out of bed fairly early and head straight out do some gardening. Around 9:30, I'd stop and take a shower, get Happy the espresso maker to make me a rich, black cup of coffee (which, oddly, is the perfect accompaniment to the egg salad sandwich I'd scarf down-- who knew?) and watch "Country Style" on HGTV. Sometimes that would lead to a nap-- shamelessly encouraged by the dogs-- and then I'd do house chores. Is it pathetic that I REALLY liked that? lol Its just such a different routine from the rest of the year and its nice to revel in it.

Speaking of reveling, I'm looking forward to the Scott Antiques Market in August! I'll report in on whether or not I found some treasures :)

Whew!

Blog building is hard work-- at least if you're as indecisive as I am about appearance :) I've changed the poor thing's template and colours so many times its poor head is spinning, I'm sure. I know that *mine* is!

I want this blog to reflect the feeling of Tallulah House, which is frequently described as warm and happy by visitors. I'll probably keep on obsessing about the colours for a while, so don't be surprised if you see some changes. I'm also trying to get Chris, my PhotoShop wizard husband, to make a cool banner for the top of the blog. *hint, hint, honey*

In other, less-colour-obsessed news, I did my second veggie pickup on Wednesday and we are now awash in wonderful, fresh, organic vegetables! Last night I made roasted fingerling potatoes with garlic and onions, and a raw zucchini and squash salad. It was drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice, as well as sea salt and a bit of parmesan cheese. Delicious! All this bounty is from Riverview Farms, just outside of Atlanta. I joined their CSA (community supported agriculture) out of extreme guilt of the amount of fossil fuels that are used to ship food from all over the world. I'm making an effort to only eat things that are from within 100 miles of me (ala Barbara Kingsolver's new book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, or Plenty: One Man, One Woman, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally) and I'm dragging Chris along with me :) I'd encourage everyone to give it a try!

Happy summer feasting!