1
We had a wonderful Easter weekend with my family. On Good Friday my mom and husband and I took part in our town's ecumenical Walk of the Cross. From noon to three, we went to seven different churches, as the different preachers carried a wooden cross from each church to the next. At each church there was a reflection on one of the things Jesus said on the cross. It was really neat! My husband was blown away - he'd never experienced anything like it. Ah, the beauty of small town churches with authentic community! We are realizing more and more the importance of community, and how much we crave it for our family.
Oh, and the best music was when a man played the harmonica at the tiny black Baptist church - awesome!
2
I recently had a tablecloth debacle. Imagine these beautiful bright orangish dishes on top of a faded pastel pink and green tablecloth. I shudder just recalling it. I almost changed it several times, but there was nothing better to replace it with (and my husband's family has a thing about always using a placemat or tablecloth - heaven forbid we eat on a bare tabletop). It was painful, people. Lesson: for my sanity, it is much more important for the tablescape to match than for it to be seasonally appropriate.
3
Do you know my favorite part of staying in a hotel? The curved shower curtain bar. I just love feeling like you have plenty of room in the shower! When we got engaged and I was out creating our registry (with my brother's fiancee, as my husband had absolutely no interest in taking part), I saw a curved shower bar and threw it onto the list, just for fun. (And because the terrifying registry consultant wanted me to put at least 300 gifts on the list - no joke - and I only had like 85.) Well, someone actually wasted their money was generous enough to get it for us! I was thrilled, but we weren't able to install it at our first apartment. Then when we moved in with my FIL, we just had a shower and not a tub. Well, we are finally at a place where we can put up the curved shower curtain! I am so excited!
Except... in all the moving, we naturally lost the pieces that actually hook into the wall. All we have is a curved bar. The store doesn't sell replacement parts. I went to the website, but they didn't sell parts there either, so I called their customer service line. And guess what? I got a real person, the first time. And when I explained our problem, she just asked for my name and address. And they shipped us replacements for free! I was so excited and pleased with their service that I wanted to give The Crescent Rod a shout-out here.
Then I got the replacement parts and realized it was just some screws. And the actual brackets are indeed more expensive than if we just bought a regular straight bar. Good-bye to my dreams of spacious showers!
4
In the midst of packing, my husband asked disdainfully sweetly if we could get rid of some of my bags. I looked at the shelf overflowing with purses and beach bags and gym bags and agreed. I was quite proud of myself in being able to part with 11 of them! (Okay, so I kept 14 - who's counting?)
Apparently it's been a while since I'd used one of them, because I found my old passport in it. We're talking, the passport that I thought five years ago I had lost, and dutifully reported it as such to the United States government. Once I got married and changed my name, I went ahead and finally got a new one. So now there are two passports sitting on my dresser. Um, am I supposed to do something official about that? Or could I just cut up the old one, burn it, and pretend I hadn't ever found it?
5
We're going furniture shopping tonight! We've decided to buy a bedroom set for our new place, and I am soo excited! We've narrowed it down to these two:
Actually, we both intitially wanted this cute white bedroom, but decided that (a) it would get too dirty/dingy, (b) it was a bit too seasonal, and (c) it would eventually look dated. And since we all know that everyone keeps their bedroom sets for 25+ years, we decided something a bit more traditional would be the better choice in the long run.
Also, we're downsizing from the King we're in to a Queen. We both want to... but boy, it does feel small compared to the gargantuan we sleep in now.
6
My husband and I both get a kick out of this Intel commercial:
Apparently he's the smart guy and I'm the goofy guy. And I'm okay with that.
7
The dog actually smiles now! We're not sure if it's from relief from being home from the kennel or from the heat wave we had, but we're happy either way! It almost makes up for her still having accidents several times a week... almost.
She also did me the great honor of puking in front of the family down the street yesterday. The one with seven children that I idolize. Luckily, the little boys were completely unfazed by it and went back to petting her once she was done. And the mother waved it off, too. It is totally my goal to be like her ten years from now!
Check out more Quick Takes here. Have a great weekend everyone!