PITCH PERFECT 2!!

Yeah, so we talked about cooking breakfast at Jesse's this morning, but didn't have that conversation until we were sitting AT breakfast at Apple Tree. Which..... ok, that's fine, because the food's still good, but uhhhh.. we're definitely cooking at some juncture this weekend.

After breakfast, we made a 2ish hour stop by Geoff & Nikki's - it is sunny and beautiful outside today; we hung out there for a bit, soaking up the day and playing with little [although growing so quickly!!] Emma, before we headed back to Jesse's.

I had a few errands to run, so after a short nap [yeah, that happened, too; Jesse has these two TREES...]:

that happened. it was... awesome.
zZzZzzzzz... 

I came back to the boys giving the backyard smoker a run for its money, and the dogs playing together as though they'd known each other since day 1. That's a big deal for Stella, if you've never met her.

this thing.... #nailedit

pittie party! 

puppy smiles!
stella. sasha. zepplin.

The food came out amazing. Like, ah-mazing. Recommend, recommend.
Rob's mom and Don stopped by for a little while, which was awesome. The last bits of daylight hung around with the smell of slow-smoker chicken

The time came for me to leave the backyard shindig and head to Collinsville, where I met up with Ali and Damanji! That's right.. it was FINALLY TIME! 

pitch 2!! 

Ok guys.. I mean let's be real here. First, this movie came out LAST Friday (5/15). It is now EIGHT days later and I finally went to see it, in the company of literally the ONLY two people I would want with me to see it:

i seriously.. just... love. love. loooove them. 

Long story short, we found a movie theater in St. Louis that looked more like a Marriott than a movie theater, ordered some chicken quesadillas and a Stella Artois [because say whaaaaaaaaaat this place?!] and settled back into sectioned-off captains chair recliners to watch this.

P.S. - I'll see it again, anytime, if any of you out there need a tag-a-long :).
P.P.S. - This:

this is us, basically. 

I'll leave the night that way. I rolled back in to Jesse's closer to 1am than midnight [oh, and this is backdated], just before Rob and Jesse returned from Geoff & Nikki's. It's been an amazing day here in Illinois ♥.

Tomorrow  = Lake & Friends!
One more day here before the trip back to Ohio.

Woo!

xo | cmd 

YEAH, MONDAY :)

i.... love ... this!

 ^^ Thank you, Modo for this gem. I've read and re-read this several times and had to share it with whatever reader happens to stumble across this page. This is perfect for those Mondays that challenge me to bring my best to the table and come prepared to do some damage to the week. It gave me some fuel for this morning, and for that I am thankful! 

Also, I debuted this guy at work today too: It's the product of hours in the car over the Nashville weekend, and I am claiming it as mine.. for now, at least:

pine green trinity infinity [raspberry stitch]

^^ Want that scarf? It's yours, $20, like the rest of them! ;)

As Rob and I sat and ate leftover Hattie B's for dinner tonight, we watched as the news unfolded re: Ferguson. I'm not going to sit and expand on what I'm referencing, because if you don't know by now, then you really should close my blog and read the news. My position in the matter is neutral at best, but what I will say is this:

Our nation is broken, and at a juncture now that demands prayer. It is not optional to pray for the well-being of our citizens anymore. It is crucial. It is not enough to believe that people will make well-informed, rational decisions right now, because that's not going to happen.

Please pray, whoever you are, wherever you are.. Please pray for our nation and for every single one of us living in it. We're in dire need of it.

Amen. 

xo | cmd 

PSA: Pitch Perfect 2 [Reminder]

ACCA-SCUSE ME?

Yes, this is a personal PSA that Pitch Perfect 2 is coming out On May 15, 2015.

I repeat:

5.15.2015

Here's this, to get you ready:

And here's a conversation I had tonight with one of my bests, who is the same person who saw the first Pitch with me, and with whom I'll be going to see the second: 

♥ you, awesome nerd... 

And yes, that's a picture of Hilary Swank, as she appeared on Conan tonight. 
All the yes, for this movie.  Whoooooo's with us?! 
xo | cmd

Sunday Crash

I would really like to say that I accomplished a lot today. I guess in the big picture of it, I did a little, but not nearly as much as I'd planned. I know my body well enough to know when it just needs to completely shut down and reboot; today was that day. In the midst of some unpacking and arranging, I found myself in napping increments, interrupted by my own mind fighting against the body to get up and get things done.

My body ultimately won. Here's a blurry picture to in essence sum up what the day looked like. I may've taken this picture originally just to send to Ali, proving that the priorities are always clear: Pitch Perfect initiation in the new house? Check.


buried. watching pitch perfect, of course.

Yes, I realize this freakishly resembles an episode of Hoarders. In my defense, both Sydni's room and my own room are entirely assembled, save for the clothes being hung and a few miscellaneous details like decorations and pictures. Oh, and all of the thumb-sized pegs required to attach the shelves to the bookcase, tv stands and small bookcases... are still hiding away in the mass of unpacked wonder, so until those are uncovered, the books, decorations, dvd's, electronics, and other shelved things will sit idle in their boxes. Being the type of person who just wants it done, I'm fighting back the urge to just go and buy new pegs to get this crap off the floor.... but I know as soon as I do that, I'll all but trip over the whole set of those I already had. Patience, grasshopper.....

So yeah. Miniature spurts of unpacking amongst long runs of sleeping. I've just woken up for the, I dunno, fourth? time today, and I already feel much better. It's dark out though, and that being said I'm making a U-Turn and going right back to sleep. I'll tackle this mess this week.

P.S. - FIVE. DAYS... and Rob's here to visit. It's safe to say I'm just a little excited. Oh, and he sent me these today, from when we were at the Styx/REO/Nugent concert. I'd forgotten about them, but it's never too late to share (: That was a good day.


with KSHE95 pig & rob's mom | photobombing my own pic [high five]
maryland heights, mo

Ahh. Good night, friends (:
xo | cmd

..And on EVERY Great Sunday....

Today consisted of a whole bunch of.... not much at all. 

It was tahhh-riffic. 

episodes of the office + stella girl + home cooked breakfast
= amazing pre-church regimen! 

Ali and I both woke up much earlier than necessary, so I went ahead and started breakfast while she set up a season of The Office. Stella spent the morning patiently waiting for food to jump off the table, and I may or may not have obliged with one or two little potatoes. Sorry pup, human food isn't your diet anymore. 

We headed out to church, where we met up with Marianne, along with Ali's dad and sisters. It was a great sermon, after which we made a beeline straight back to my house for.. you guessed it.. an afternoon of Sunday nothing. 

marianne & ali .. & no, her hair doesn't always look like that.

Well, almost nothing. I tied Stella up on the back deck and gave her the bath I'd promised before [she threw a hissy fit when I even suggested she get in the bathtub, but I was determined to win the argument of to bathe or not to bathe today]. It was something of a hillbilly-lookin' ordeal, but it got the job done and I now have a dog that smells better than a lot of people do most days ;). 

Dog washed? - check. 

Lunch? - check. [thanks, Ali!]

Watch Pitch Perfect for our 84031240th time, but Marianne's first?? - CHECK. 

... so there was that, then some Netflix, and before too long, Rob made his way down and the rest of the clan headed out for their small group at Cornerstone. 

I ended up making some fried rice [go figure], and now I'm calling it a night. It's gonna be Monday morning before I know it and I have a feeling it's gonna be a busy one. 

Definitely not a bad weekend though... I will say that much (: 

xo | cmd

Pitch Perfect [is OURS!]

Here's another one of those posts that's more silly than substance.

No.. Ya know what? This is my blog, so I can say whatever I want! Haha. [Envision me as a toddler, hands on hips with my nose in the air..... just kidding.]

Seriously though.

Ali and I have been discreetly counting down the days to the DVD release of Pitch Perfect. Call us nerds, but every once in a while, looking forward to something small is kind of fun. Especially when you go together on your lunch break and both buy the stinkin' thing.

And especially more.......... when you go watch it together after work over some pad thai and magners. Oh, and a Christmas tree on the side. Definitely cannot complain. Haha.

It's a weeknight, so I'm home now.. I can't say today was a bad day, no certainly was not! It's nice to have one of those plugged into the middle of what I can tell is going to be a very eventful week.

See you in the morning, world!

xo | cmd

Return of the Night Ninjas

I have so many things to say about the short amount of time that I've spent here so far this weekend. I'll spare the drawn out, sappy version of what I'd like to say [includes a lot of I miss _____ and I can remember ______ ], and I'll leave it with just some highlights of this place from which I've realized I'll never escape.. haha.

Taste of Belgium, Cincinnati Ohio: Ever been?
No?
GO. 

nutella waffle | taste of belgium | otr/cincinnati

Holy nutella. OTR has really stepped up its game over the past ... 6 years or so [beyond that, too], and this little gem is right in the middle of it all. Cegg [sorry, Catie] suggested this morning eatery as our first order of business for the day, so I gladly obliged, and don't regret one single second of it. I rendezvoused with Ladd & Cegg and did some serious damage to the above-mentioned nutella waffle they craft at Taste. I'm adding this place to my list of favorites. [done!]

With breakfast out of the way, we opted for a movie. Naturally, we wouldn't see anything of a novice nature to us, no. Catie and I voted for Pitch Perfect. This was the third time I've seen this movie.... in a theater. Haha. Good lookin' out. If you're curious, it's just as funny the third time as it was the first; I think I'm gonna put the halts on this one though so I don't get too burnt out before I buy the stinkin' thing on dvd release mode. Whatev'.


pad thai | thai cafe | clifton gaslight district

Linner. < You know, that meal that's neither classified as lunch or dinner, because it falls right in between the reasonable frame of either? Welp, it was Thai Cafe for that, and as I said before, TC + pretty much all of the Clifton gaslight district have always been and now continue to be sucker spots for me. Next time, I'll stop in and see Paolo. That's another story for another day.

>> Insert nap. (:

Of course, because I have such enthusiastic friends, we decided we were definitely going to get out and about and see who else we could dig up. It wasn't long at all before we found my brother, the ninja himself [in this particular case, the white ninja from G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra]. You might think I'm kidding about the whole Asians-are-ninjas thing... so let me put this in perspective for you:

1. yes, i'm wearing shorts.
2. this is how ninja siblings communicate.

It's a whole new level when you see them in public though; we're rather stealthy. Hahah.


love these people.

Yes, I love 'em.

Lastly, in spite of all of the things I adore from this place, I will go ahead and say I could've done without [which, to my defense, I've been gone so long that I forgot...] Lucy Blue's. Rule moving forward: Friends don't let friends eat Lucy Blue's. You can look that one up yourself. Gross.

It's turning out to be a good run so far. Tomorrow's another day; I'll see Becky for a few then before I head back to IL. I'm excited (:

xo | cmd

Ali's Apple Art

However many days ago, I went with Ali to see Pitch Perfect. I am still reeling from how funny it was [that does not usually happen, btw], and it's been an antic-a-day here between the two of us since we saw it.

That being said, I came to work today to find this waiting for me on my desk:

gift from ali!

In case you can't read what's scribed on there, those are all quotes from Pitch Perfect. Little Miss Ali is quite the creative spirit; this is not a real apple [just in case you were concerned about any ink consumption I might endure trying to eat it]. She painted this puppy and scribed onto some of the funniest quotes from the movie, and left it as a little present on my desk.

I frickin' love it. Thanks, Ali!

It doesn't take much to amuse me, and it's even better when it's hand-tailored for me by a friend. That apple's parked at my desk now.

Speaking of parking, I'm going to be parking myself into some version of a parking spot tomorrow night in Cincinnati, so that means I should probably get to packing for the weekend. I'm so good at procrastinating. It's a sport to me.

One more day, then it's off to the stomping grounds ;)

xo | cmd

Pitch Perfect!

Every so often, I have one of those days that really just doesn't start on the right foot. It's not so much like the old coinage "waking up on the wrong side of the bed" as it is the entire bed collapsed, flipped over, and dumped me into the toilet. Sounds weird, but if I had to guess, I'd say we've all been there at least once.

Well, good news is, I didn't have one of those mornings today.
Bad news is, poor Ali did... sorta.
Ali got in a fender bender on her way in [thankfully she's okay]; her poor car is another story, but she's okay. I totally understand the frustration behind starting your day off that way, so it made me feel less guilty about having a decent morning when we decided we'd meet up after work to go see Pitch Perfect.

See, Ali's boyfriend is a manager at The Lincoln in downtown Belleville. He met up with us for a moment at Panera St. Louis Bread Co. [excuuuuse me] before we made a stop for gelato [hi, Bulent!] and settled in for our final stop at the theater.

I didn't really know what to expect from this movie, but it was..... hilarious. It could've had a lot do with the fact that Ali is absolutely excellent company [toooooo.funny], because by the time we left, we were both nursing side-pangs from laughing through the entire film.

**SPOILER ALERT**


You all know I'm a sucker for vocal competition, harmonies & arrangements. That, and stupid movies like this have always been a ridiculous vice of mine. To top it off, I think Anna Kendrick is the cutest little thing with a stellar voice, and Rebel Wilson is... well, she's Rebel Wilson and you can't help but laugh at her unabashed candor on film.

I said all that to say that I'm glad to have been a part of the upswinging part of Ali's day - hopefully the car situation is resolved soon and everything gets back into working hours.

If I see this movie again within the next couple weeks, well.... yeah. (:

xo | cmd