My Pinterest is piqued

I'm typically very slow to catching on to new crazes. I think my initial resistance is mostly due to laziness, but whatever it is, I'm usually a good few months behind. 

A list of things I was slow with but eventually came to love:

1. Skinny jeans with boots, and then leggings with boots.
2. Greek yogurt- yummy, low or no fat, high protein? Yes please.
3. Music- yes, that is a strange and broad listing, but if people don't force new music on me, I will revert back to listening to only Elvis, Tori Amos, and 90's music. I usually find out about bands I like approximately one year after the rest of the population.

This past weekend in Boston, my friend Jackie sat me down and introduced me to my newest obsession: Pinterest.

What is Pinterest?

Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.
Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests. Source

Picture a bulletin board. What do you do with a bulletin board? You post (or pin!) things of interest on it so that you can come back and remember it later.  Pinterest is essentially a virtual bulletin board.

Source

 For instance, I currently have 7 boards: Recipes, Home Decor, Books Worth Reading, Jewelry, DIY Crafts, Healthy Living, and Fashion.  When I see something that I like, whether its through the Pinterest site or elsewhere on the internet, I click a handy "pin" button I've put on my Favorites bar, and it saves it to one of my boards.

Brilliant? Yes, I thought so too....me and millions of other uses. I have known about Pinterest for awhile; I've seen other bloggers and Facebook friends rave about it. It really just took Jackie's demonstration to get me signed up and then obsessed. The tiny bit of Type A personality in me joyfully smiles at the tidy presentation of all things I love.

Questions: Are you on Pinterest? What are you some of your favorite websites/foods/fashion tips that I should know about?

P.S. Check back later for a post on my wicked fun weekend trip to Boston!

Wicked awesome!

Today is my Friday- whoo hoo! I love short weeks.

Rhett and I are driving to Boston this evening to visit our good friends, Jackie and John. They used to live about 4 blocks away from us in Philly, so we miss seeing them on a regular basis. Luckily, Boston is only about a 5 1/2 hour drive from Philly, so I predict lots of visits back and forth in the future.

Neither Rhett nor I have been to Boston before, so we're excited to explore a new city and cross off a state on our list. (I've visited 30 states so far- hope to get to all 50 someday!)

One of the highlights of the weekend will be visiting Salem, MA and going on a ghost tour at night. Good thing I watched "The Crucible" on TV a few weeks ago- I'll be making sure the tour guides know their stuff.

Witch hysteria!

 Of course, the most thrilling part of the weekend for me will be hearing the Boston accents.  I plan to do what I usually do when I hear an accent I love- eavesdrop, giggle, and then do horrible imitations the rest of the day, driving Rhett insane.  With Boston accents, this also happens when I watch "Good Will Hunting" or "The Departed."  (Read: The De-pah-did)

Imitation is form of flattery.  You're welcome, Matt Damon.

Hope everyone has a great weekend- Monday I'll have a recap of Boston and Salem!

Questions: Any fun plans for the weekend? What is your favorite accent? 

My Two Pence: "The Shining"

If you think back a few weeks, (well, more like one week), I started reading "The Shining" by Stephen King. 

Verdict

I. LOVED. THIS. BOOK.  Like, cannot-put-it-down, would-much-rather-read-than-talk-or-eat, please-please-don't-end love. I kept flipping to the last page, not to see what happened, but to remind myself how many pages there were and therefore how many I had left to cherish.  Really, the kind of love that comes when you "discover" classics written well before your time that you just never got around to reading. I had a similar feeling for "Peyton Place" and "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn."  Go figure.

I really enjoyed the book for the following reasons:

1. It explained so many confusing parts of the movie that I simply could not understand unless I read the book. Scenes in the movie that I just passed off as creepy for no reason DID in fact have a reason! Rejoice! So next time you find yourself watching it and are like "whaaa?" just ring me up and I'll explain the nitty gritty details.

2. It was detailed, sometimes disturbingly so.  I never had a problem visualizing what was happening, whether it had to do with wasps, blood, lawn animals or redrum. It also had so much back story that was cut out of the movie, and rightly so. It would have made for a long, boring movie.

3. The book is long. 300-page books are for the birds.  Give me 500+ and I'm happy. It keeps me occupied and excited throughout the week. (Yet another nerd alert)

All in all, I am glad I finally got around to reading Stephen King, and I'm glad that "The Shining" was my first of his many novels.  I already reserved "Carrie" and "It" from the library, although I'd like to see "It" first so I can put my movie-then-book approach to good use.  

Currently reading now: 

My friend Jen loved it, and there is a dog on the front cover. I'm sold.

More thoughts to come when I'm finished! Watch this space.

Oh, the fun we had in England

One year ago today, I was on an airplane from London back to Philly, wrapping up more than a year of living in England. 

Within my last month in England, I had completed my M.A Publishing program, turned in my 50+ page dissertation, visited six countries in two weeks, and figured out how to pack a year's worth of stuff into two suitcases.

Today I find myself quite nostalgic, and reflecting upon some of my favorite things from England. This is in no way a complete list, far from it, in fact.  It's just the things that come to mind today. 

- The pubs.  There is simply nothing like it here. Stephen Starr tries to replicate it with The Dandelion, but I scoff at the thought of paying $28 for a Sunday roast.  My favorite kind of pub were the no frills ones. Just cozy sofas, a lit fireplace in the winter and outside seating in the summer.  The Cocoanut and Druid's Head were two of my favorites in Kingston.  The Cocoanut had possibly the best Thai food, whereas Druid's Head served a perfect Yorkshire pudding wrap.

Photo courtesy of Jackie

In central London, it was always fun to walk around and stumble upon a new favorite pub. As my favorite part of the city was Shoreditch, we found many we loved there.

The Ten Bells, where Jack the Ripper hung out.

- My dear friends.  I was fortunate to meet some amazing people while living in England, and become even better friends with friends I already knew from the States.  While I miss them and wish we could see each other more often, I know we'll keep in touch and many future visits await us.

Picnic on a gorgeous day in Richmond Park

Our two favorite Irish people (other than me, because I'm totally Irish, right Niamh??)

At the Slug and Lettuce on St. George's Day.

From Tulsa to London- it's Best Friend Carrie!

My sweet, lovely, dear friend Isabelle xoxo

My two sweet girls, Jenny and Niamh. 

..and a more typical picture of Meg, Niamh and Jenny.

 - Kingston-Upon-Thames.  This was the town were we lived and I went to university. Nearby was Hampton Court Palace, Bushy Park, Richmond Park, and of course, the beautiful Thames River.  Rhett and I spent many summer nights with our friends sitting along the river, drinking beers, and watching the swans and ducks. It was simple, easy-going, and most of all, fun. Just mind those pesky midges, they'll getcha!

Niamh and me along the Thames. RIP cute fedora

Old London Road

Kingston town centre

Kingston Bridge

Kingston town centre

Hampton Court Palace

I miss you, Next.

Bushy Park.  I spent many hours running in this park and it never ceased to amaze me.

Royal deer

Richmond Park

The Thames, trail to Hampton Court

Scratch that- I DON'T miss those foxes!

- London.  The people, sights, shops, food, history, public transport, etc. I spent as much time as possible in this city, and I loved it every second of it.  Except for rush hour in the tube. There is such thing as tube rage.

The Prime Meridian!

 - Miscellaneous things that pop in my head from time to time.  Sainsbury's brand cream crackers, dark chocolate digestives, cheesy chips, Boots, NHS (I miss you sooooo, free healthcare!!), Sunday roasts, Primark, etc. The list goes on.

While I'm so happy living in Philadelphia again, I often miss England and the British culture.  Fortunately, we're already planning our next visit back in summer 2012. Hopefully we'll time it right and be in England before the Olympics, and in Europe during them.

And who's to say where we'll be living in 5 years? :) We like to hop around.

Apple Fest

This past Saturday, I went to Fox Chase Farm for their annual Apple Fest with Rhett and Jenna.  This is Rhett and my 3rd time to attend the festival, and we look forward to it every time.

It's so nice to get out of the city for the afternoon, and see the gorgeous fall colors around the farm.

But of course, the best part of going is sampling the apple products at the festival.  Apple butter= amazing. Jenna and I each bought four apples to make apple crisp. Mine were Empire apples, and they were perfect in it. I think my mom officially has competition in the apple crisp department!

and of course, the animals to pet.

I'm laughing because I pretty much ran over small kids to get my turn to pet the pig. Jeez, move already!

They also have a corn maze to walk through and steal take corn from...

...and add to my fall decor around my apartment!

All in all, it was a perfect way to spend a Saturday in Philadelphia.

I can't wait for the farm's early spring event in March, Maple Sugar Day!

Learn the process of maple sugaring, watch the making of maple candy, and sample pancakes with pure maple syrup. Maple products will also be for sale. (source)

Say no more.  You had me at maple sugaring. 

P.S. I got my moccasins in that were on my wish list!  I wore them around Apple Fest, and I think they were a huge hit...well, a huge hit to me.  And maybe Jenna. 

They fit! And they're comfy! And colorful! Hurrah.

Question: Have you done any fun fall-themed things yet? October is almost half over, get on it! 

Rhett and I finally bought a pumpkin from Trader Joes- only $3.99!  At Reading Terminal Market, they were selling for $15 a pop. Jeez!  We also have watched the following scary movies: "Nightmare on Elm Street," "The Blair Witch Project," and "Texas Chainsaw Massacre."