Life in Denim and Flip Flops

I love lazy Saturdays. Sundays always have that impending week feeling to them. They can be restful and lazy, but you know that it's just temporary, the wake up call is coming. But Saturday holds so much promise. If you stay up late, you've still got Sunday for recovery. I know a lot of people who like to get their weekend projects done on Saturday, leaving Sunday for a day of rest. I'm the opposite. I want Saturday to recover from the week. Monday through Friday can get pretty brutal. I need Saturday to just chill. I might do some baking or cooking. Even some laundry. But the bulk of what i need to get accomplished usually falls to Sunday. It's like a warm up to the rest of the week. Gearing up for the hectic speed and intensity that is my week. Today I spent that Saturday sleeping in, watching some tv, and reading. Totally calm. Totally relaxing. Tomorrow I need to kick it into gear and get some things accomplished, but I've still got a few hours of my Saturday to...

If you're looking for a good different kind of WWII film, Sophie Scholl would be a good choice. The story follows the 21-year old university student who was a part of White Rose, the student resistance movement. She and her brother Hanz are working to spread their message through flyers when they're caught by the authorities. The rest of the movie depicts her interrogation and the consequences of her decisions and actions. It's a very powerful movie. Subtitled in English, the film was nominated for the best foreign film Oscar in 2006. I was struck by the imagery used in the film. The language actually seemed less like a barrier than an insight. The anger, confusion, hatred, and pride were quite easily conveyed even without the subtitles. The courage it must have taken to resist Hitler at that moment in time is really awe inspiring. I can't really talk to much more about the movie without giving away the plot. Just know that it was moving and powerful and worth your time...

I've been trying new recipes out of my cookbook recently. I thought that for break this week I should bring a bunch of different homemade breads and spreads. So I ended up making cheese bread, chocolate bread, and whole wheat bread. I wasn't totally sure about the chocolate bread. The dough looked more like cookie dough, but I asked Ben to taste test the next day. He thought it tasted fine so I'm taking that and the other two kinds tomorrow. We'll see how everyone likes it.

I so want it to be spring. I'm done with the snow and the cold. I realize it's only February. And yes, I realize I live in the Midwest. But this just seems a bit ridiculous. I think we probably had more snow last year, but I think I've finally figured out the difference. Last year it seemed to melt off before it snowed again. This winter that hasn't been true. It doesn't get warm enough to melt everything off, so it just keeps piling up. There's been snow on the ground constantly. No mental breaks from winter. Last January (maybe February) it was bitterly cold here, but there was very little snow on the ground then. I guess it's been 10 days since our last big snow storm (that dumped almost 7 inches on the city) so I suppose we are due. I'm just hoping that the forecast is wrong like it has been so far the winter. We've never got quite as much as they expect. So hopefully that 6-10 is closer to 4-6. :) But with it being the heavy wet snow, you know i...

The delivery guys were here before I got home (30 mins before they were supposed to be here) and then it took them all of like 6 mins to put it together! So before 12:40 they had come and gone! Here's the end result: a guest bedroom with bed!! Just ready and waiting for its first guest. The headboard is still at my parent's house, but soon it will be complete. BTW the photos above the bed are of all of my former roomies: my sister, Gretchen, and Amy!

Tomorrow I'm having a twin bed (mattress and frame) delivered to my apartment. It's for my guest bedroom, and a Christmas present from my parents. I'm really excited (probably too much so) for it to get here. I was thinking about it last night when I realized this is the first piece of furniture I'll own that's new. Sometimes I wonder how I made it almost to 26 before owning a piece of new furniture. (And yes, besides the guest bedroom the rest of the apartment is fully furnished!) Does this make me officially an adult? As weirdly giddy as I am about this bed, it got me thinking about the rest of my furnishings. The rest of my apartment is outfitted in hand-me-down furniture or rummage sale buys. I really love that most of my furniture has a story behind it. My kitchen table is the one I grew up frosting Christmas cookies on at my grandmother's condo. My desk is an antique that I stole my mother's pens out of when I was younger. My comfy living room chair is...

After the late night last night, bad/weird dreams all night, and my body insisting I be awake at 8:30 whether I wanted to or not, the caffeine was almost a necessity. Plus I was craving coffee. Decaf latte just didn't sound good. I needed to be awake enough buy a bed for my guest bedroom :) It was also a great excuse to take my parents to a cute little independent coffee shop. Honestly that is one thing I love about Dubuque. The excess of indie coffee shops is awesome. Mom and I made the mistake of letting Dad get their equivalent of a red eye. He loved it made sure on the way through town again (I needed the phone book after failing to remember where a store was.) to double-check that he knew how to get back to it! I also had a Diet Coke at lunch. :( Ironically, I'm still pretty exhausted today. So I'm not entirely sure what's up with that. Back on the train tomorrow though. It's going to be an interesting rest of the month as starting Wednesday, I think I'm go...