This has become my favorite blog.  Just thought I would share.

Design for Mankind. 

Hank Bought a Bus

My newest obsession.  I've had a hard time keeping focused at work this week.  Not so much that I want to surf the web or go explore - I just find myself staring.  A lot.  At home too.  But when I'm done staring - then I find myself clicking through my standby links, until my mind is collected and I'm ready to return to the world that feels less like reality - yet, requires my immediate presence.  This process, led me here, to Hank Bought a Bus... and I think it will soon become my new addiction.

An architect student. A photographer.  A refurbished old bus.  And a road trip.
How could I resist their invitation to follow?

Oh, and my other, older secret web addiction?  Forty Days of Dating. It's day 35!! It's a bit TMI at times - but I am so enthralled by their honest evaluation and the study of their behaviors, tendencies and desire to grow. Not to mention - they are so freaking creative!

Both series are going on right now - so go check them out now or you'll miss the joy of walking out the adventure with them and the discovery along the way!

40 Days of Dating – Tied Up from 40 Days of Dating on Vimeo.

I saw this quote on this sweet ladies's blog today.  It resonates with my thoughts lately - on everything.  If you have to tell people you are, you probably aren't.

Being powerful is like being a lady, if you have to tell people you are, you aren't.   

- Margaret Thatcher

And if you ask me, she was quite a lot of both. ;)
[And how did I NOT KNOW she died 2 months ago?!]

 A few paragraphs in, I was starting to suspect Linda had a blog... and was pulling a whole George Eliot thing, blogging as "Tyler." This is a fantastic blog post on marriage and the "wrong one".

There are only wrong people who pretend to be right and wrong people who are becoming right, through Jesus. That’s why I like the biblical image of marriage. The fairy-tale image of two soul mates finding love at last is just that, a fairy tale. But the biblical image of marriage provides something so much more beautifully realistic. 

It paints a portrait of two sinners, committing to the task of one another, for the sake of one another, until death do them part. It’s two imperfect people, committing to the sanctifying work of expressing Jesus’ self-sacrificial love, to their lover, so that they might see him or her become the person God has always intended them to be, knowing full well that neither of them have yet to reach this goal.

You all are HORRIBLE at playing games.

You're HORRIBLE.

Horrible!!
(please tell me someone is tracking with what I did there?!)

One person called me out last week.  ONE PERSON.

1.

We are going to play a new game.  

We'll call it, Looking for a Lie. 

It'll be something like Two Truths and a Lie, which I assume you've all played.  There is one post from this week (written or so far unwritten) that isn't quite real life.  

You see if you can find it. ;)  

Feel free to call out "lie" in your comment when you think you have.  

Best of luck. xoxo 

I love hosting friends for dinner.  I'd say, since moving in to my new apartment, it is one of my favorite pastimes.  But I have a lot to learn about proper preparation and timing tricks.  A lot.  I wish I could say the typical day went something like this: 

Dinner parties happen with some consistency and frequency in the house. Usually it’s to commemorate a special occasion but sometimes we have people over to thank them for their friendship and fill our house with noise and cheer. It’s the kind of noise reserved for good friends spending time together, laughing and sharing stories. Each menu is crafted for the occasion, focusing on local, seasonal goods brought to the table one course at a time. Food and friendship brings us together, but there’s always something special waiting for them when they get here.

In the days leading up to the dinner, I start taking notes relating to the season. A pen and stack of paper sit on my lap as I plan out the meal and ingredients needed. I turn to magazines and books for inspiration, but often the only inspiration I need can be found at the market down the street. So I scribble down anything and everything that comes to mind and slowly narrow it down. I head to the market and start crossing items off the list, occasionally altering my choices depending on what is stocked and fresh.

Saturday starts off slowly. Over a coffee I begin breaking down the day. Time issues, cooking schedules, prep and planning. As the day winds into the afternoon the main is usually ready for the oven and resting until needed. Dessert is well under way as is the soup, which is simmering away and building flavour on the stove. By mid-afternoon I’m putting the finishing touches on the hors d’oeuvres and things are moving along nicely.

With a couple of hours to go until our guests arrive I start muddling, mixing and making the cocktail for the night. I pull out my shaker and bar tools and start muddling the cucumbers and agave nectar. Almost methodically I work step by step until I have the flavour just right. I pour myself a glass and settle in. The first taste hits all the right notes. Now, with my glass still close by, I make a pitcher full, altering the quantities to make enough for everyone. And seconds.

The last minutes of the day feel like the calm before the storm, when things get silent and still before the clock reminds us how little time we have left. We are moments from a flurry of activity in our house. My wife has the mood set, table prepared and night’s music in rotation. She dims the lights and tries the cocktail. Instant love. We share our last moment alone together over a drink. And then the doorbell rings and the ritual settles in. She heads to the door while I stay in the kitchen, stirring the pots and looking over everything one last time. I can hear the voices in the distance and the mood is light and cheerful. I line up ten rock glasses and pour the contents of the pitcher into them, each one the same as the last. I top them all with a dill sprig and add a quartered lime. I load them on a tray and wait while they continue to filter in.


By now some of our guests approach me. I smile. “Hey! Welcome to our home! Glad you could make it tonight. Help yourselves to a cocktail, it’s especially made for tonight!” We like to start things right. We let them know all our dinner parties begin with a drink. It sets the tone for the evening and lets them know they’re in good hands and they’ll be taken care good care of.      [The Boys Club - my new favorite blog]

In my home, it looks more like last second runs to the store, wondering if we even own foil yet, trying to finish cleaning up the apartment and a dozen other things that have us running around 'til the moment the door rings (if we're lucky!). 

Things I'm noting:

• It is easier on a Saturday!  I get home from work around 6:30 - so having friends for dinner at 7 is a trip!
• It is SO nice having John there to help.  At first, he'd mix drinks for guests as they arrived (because he's good at it! and because it buys me time.)  Then, I'm sad to admit it, but sometimes I'm sending him to the store 2 minutes before our guests are due.  But most lately, he's been making dinner sometimes - and it is delicious!  Either way, having a guy to help balance, whether it's just me, or me and meg, is wonderful.  And he's gosh darn good at it too!
• I have got to plan out the menu/drinks the weekend before - and shop!
• For the weeknights we do have friends over (and even the ones I'm just cooking for Meg & John), I've got to find ways to prep the night before and cut down on time.  Eating at 9 just isn't fun for anyone on a Wednesday. 
• It would be incredible to have a "moment" before guests arrive to just enjoy with John and/or Meg and calm ourselves.  That is a new goal.  :) 
• I love inviting people in and making them feel cared for.  I want to become better at the "caring" part.  
• Sometimes, with good friends, it's okay to be a bit of a mess and just share a meal.  And thank God for that!!!

6 Years

I missed the big grand day (May 23rd), but Hope is an Anchor is 6 years old.  I have officially been rambling on this site for a very long time.  I've recorded my thoughts, experiences, adventures and to the best of my ability, the people who have shaped the major part of my adult life thus far.  Tied here is my MC tour, graduation, first quarter at University, countless hours of studying, writing, researching, and (thankfully) unnumbered coffees.  I processed through all four years of my undergrad here, wrestled through what would come next, applied for the Rhodes and Gates scholarships, felt the excitement of nomination and the serious pain of denial.  I've written about heartaches in codes that perhaps only I and a few other scholars know how to transcribe.  I've recorded favorite quotes and poems.  Odd pieces of conversation.  I've done my best to copy down favorite strangers I've seen on streets and bus seats.  You might find shadows of the five jobs and 7 managers I've had while living in this literary apartment.  There was graduation.  My first time ever getting "let go."  Saying goodbye to my favorite tree, to my quad, to my campus and friends.  There were lots of trips to California, Montana, Vegas and Nashville.  A whole lot of dreaming.  And somewhere a track of how I've been becoming who I am.  I love this place.  I love that it's mine.  I love that I get to share it with you and host you all in some little way every day.  And yet, I think it might be time for something new. 

[ I just bought more storage.  Tired of the no-photos rule. ]

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[I was informed last week that I've hit my photo limit.  Really.  I can't post any pictures until I sort a few things out with Blogger.  In case you were wondering why suddenly I've been so script-heavy. ]

"Don’t feel inferior to the beatniks if you still like driving your car…don’t ever let hipsters give you guilt trips."
-The writer of The Art of Manliness on Kerouac's The Dharma Bums.  Made me giggle.

As smart as Facebook is supposedly getting, why can't it recognize song lyrics and workout descriptions, and delete both from my feed?

You might not believe this when you consider how random and ridiculous I can be... but I have rules and boundaries.  Two things I don't include in status updates: exercise routines and song lyrics (I used to share whatever ditty was in my head, and I'm tempted all the time! But I usually tell myself, "No!" One exception: if you're AT a concert.)

PS, Blogging... I can.  You choose to come here, it's like entering my home.  Telling me I can't post song lyrics would be like telling me I can't paint my living room walls blue.  ;)  Still, I do try to not post obnoxious entries about how many minutes I was on the treadmill today.  But that's because I want you to like me... and because it's more fun to post blurry photos taken from the treadmill. Love you. Mean it.

Wow, I certainly am being a girly blogger today now aren't I?

I apologize, male readers.

Kind of. :)

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I decided I want to find some new blogs.  Some good blogs.  Some smart blogs.  

My gift to you today: 

Inky Fool

I've only read one post so far, but seeing as it was on Nightmare Abbey (which I just read a few months ago), and the commentary made me smile, I'm sharing.  And then, I'm going back to read more.  

Enjoy. 

I'm being a complete creeper right now.  I have found the perfect apartment.  In Seattle.  Trouble is, I only know this through some random photos of a "blog" - of people I don't know.  I literally have out a sticky pad and I'm writing down "clues" for what neighborhood it's in.  I know it's within walking distance to downtown, looks like a cute neighborhood, has beautiful exposed brick walls inside, hardwood floors, and is afforadble enough for two students to be living there on a shared income somehow.  I'm hoping that it might be an unknown truth that "If you creep, you will find."  (See what I did there?)

I want to live in this apartment complex... or one just like it.  Though I might have to avoid some neighbors so as to not feel it necessary to admit "OH hey, yeah, I follow your blog.  It's actually how I found this place."  :/ 

I'm going to guess the majority audience of this blog, is women.  
And at that, young ones. 

Etiquette for a Gentleman

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Last weekend Kaylee and I wandered through the streets of antique shops.  Some cool, some cluttered.  And when I returned home, I had a brand new conviction to clean.  And by clean, I mean "clean out."  I am not blind.  I know I am in danger of becoming one of those cluttered shops.  I'm a young girl, dreaming of the home she'd love to have.... and storing it all in a room smaller than Rumpelstiltskin's.  (Now you're probably picturing something terrible and I'm embarrassed and will have to come up with an excuse to post photos of my room and redeem myself from the image in your head!) So... I've begun to put myself on hold with little purchases.  And... I did some good deep cleaning Saturday.

AND WITH THAT SAID, the smooth transition to the DOT for the 9th:
A blog I'm grateful for:  Life Chasers.

I love Kaylee's honesty, humor and incredible perspective on life.  She captures things in a lovely light.  (And I hope you recognize all the double meaning in those two sentences.)  I love the beauty that always fills her blog, real beauty in a real life. 

I could list a number of my favorite blogs here, ones that help me see value and beauty in where I am, ones that challenge my perspective, ones that remind me of what matters, or inspire me to come alive and take risks.  And I'll continue to do my best to share those treasures with you all.

(I get silly happy when I see that one of my friends has posted a new blog.)

Key word searches that have lead people to my blog recently. :)  Ha! (and the number of searches for that line) key to my heart tattoo3

"this is not a heart" "volume knob" 2

1920's wedding theme 2

brick and spiral staircase interiors 2

god never fails tattoos 2

his and her heart and key tattoos 2

couple pop tarts 1

easter mindy smith cancel mars hill 1

elephant feet 1

god's love never fails tattoo

Hilarious:

(From Willow Bird Baking)

"Pets make people weird. One day you’re a normal, reasonable adult that people can take seriously. Then you get a pet.
Suddenly you’re schnookie-wookums-ing, buying them furniture that is bigger and more expensive than your own, dressing them up in Santa hats for the annual Christmas card, and giving them their own theme posts on your blog (Caturday is the best day!)"

***

Sorry guys, I know I said I wouldn't do it (and trust me, I've been sparing you from countless photos of un-Daniel-like-deliciousness! You never realize how many photos on blogs are of these things 'til you can't have them.  It's true, I've realized blogs are full of two things mostly: delicious food, and boys/ cute couples.)  Back to it, I'm going to cook this on October (hold on checking the calendar) yep, 16th!

Hello, Pumpkin-Spice Pull-Apart Bread with that handsome Butter Rum Glaze. :)