goodbye florida

our time in florida was much too short. but thankfully it was full of fun and family, not to mention some sun and sand as well.

i had been looking forward to this wedding for many months, as i hoped that by the time it came around we would have moved, sold our condo and be settled in our new place. and so it was. it was also the wedding of one of my dear cousins (i only have two) and so it held a special place in my heart.

seeing family was wonderful and relaxing on the beach, sipping mixed drinks was nearly heaven. i really longed to stay the week, but we had to get back home.

next time we must stay longer. i love water that's so clear you can see your feet! (why didn't i take a picture of that?)

bookworm

today i decided to take a little break from work and walk to the public library to sign up for a library card. i was also hoping to find the book that my recently joined book club is reading. it's about an 8 minute walk down lake street to the library. it was quite pleasant out today and i quickly noted that i probably had on one layer too many. the library is three floors and quite lovely. i'll have to go back when i have more time to learn my way around. while they did not have a copy of the book i was looking for (they did in fact have two, just both checked out) i had to come home with something from my outing. after a brief perusal of the aisles on the third floor, i came home with these lovelies in the picture. due back on june 2nd. let's hope i get to them in time!

a sneak peek

a slight preview of our new home! I found embedding it wasn't the best. so you can view it here with quicktime, i believe. i'll try to post some pictures soon. things are starting to shape up nicely, if i do say so myself!

two things

1) i love my floors. i've never had true hardwood floors before, and now that i have them, i fear i'll never go back. they're just so warm and inviting. not to mention the fact that they're really fun in socks!

2) the paper source store down the street is going to be my demise. yesterday i visited it for the first time and $15.50 later, i walked out with 4 cards. (and i was restraining myself) it's not looking good for my wallet.

got my walking shoes on

can i just tell you how much i enjoy living in a little downtown? it is absolutely great. today i took a short break from work and walked to whole foods just a few blocks away to purchase some much needed items for dinner tonight. i had my handmade (by a friend) grocery bag and my keen sneakers, i was ready to do some city shopping!

**it's a bit rainy today, so i quickly realized that i should invest in a cute umbrella to accompany me on days when i venture out in the rain. i am now on the look out for an umbrella. let me know if you find any spiffy ones.**

once inside whole foods, i realized that one should never brush her teeth right before embarking on a trip to whole foods, as they have numerous samples to choose from. (read this as: toothpaste does not go well with fresh pineapple) i was doing just fine, locating all my goods and storing them in my bag until i decided to get a bottle of red wine for dinner. here is where i came to indecision-ville. i believe it was the intersection of "don't know what i want blvd" and "i'm afraid i'll choose a bad wine avenue." just when i thought i had it narrowed down, i turned around only to find more racks of wine! what i was hoping for was a neon flashing arrow that would point to a bottle of red, reasonably priced, that would go nicely with beef stroganoff. but alas, whole foods has not yet installed this feature. so after much back and forth, i finally settled on this bottle of 1492 from mendoza, argentina. i guess we'll find out at dinner how i did. we're going to break in our new riedel wine glasses, given to us as a housewarming gift by dear friends in denver. they came in just about the coolest box in which wine glasses could come. it was hot pink on the inside! how nifty is that?! i'll let you know how it goes!

where frank began

we're finally here, home of frank lloyd wright's first studio. i'm surrounded by a plethora of flw homes. i can't hardly believe that his designs are just a few steps away, up and down the streets. someday soon i'm going to do the touristy thing and walk around, audio device in hand, listening to the narrative of each home, gawking like a fool and enjoying it immensely.

but for now there's still more cleaning and unpacking to do. i'll post pictures of the apartment soon, but it needs tidied up a bit before i do so.

are we there yet?

i'm in the home stretch, i can feel it. boxes have taken over the condo and invaded the garage downstairs. and they're multiplying.

i have learned many things while packing to move:
1. chipotle's tortilla boxes are a great size for packing and they get a shipment on monday mornings.
2. the old vine liquor store near us gets shipments on wednesdays, so boxes can be picked up thursday morning. wine boxes are a great size, as you cannot over pack them or make them too heavy to lift.
3. i could rattle off the delivery days of about 10 other shops around us, but i'll refrain.
4. when you've packed up all of your kitchen, it is possible to make a grilled cheese sandwich out of shredded cheese, using only the microwave (it's not quite grilled, but the cheese is melted).
5. salsa does not quite cut it as a replacement for spaghetti sauce.

i'm just ready to be on the road (even if it is heading through the "oh so exciting" highways of nebraska) and moving. i'm ready to get settled in my new home and learn things like where the post office is, and where the locals go for dinner. just a few more days.

colorado, i'm going to miss you. i really am.