Showing posts with label World Market. Show all posts
Showing posts with label World Market. Show all posts

Photo a Day in November #15

15.  In My Bag


I saw these at World Market when we were in KC over the summer, and I was DYING to have them. When we were back again in October, I hinted to Zach that these would make a great stocking stuffer. ;) Well, he said maybe he had planned to get some for me, but since i ruined the surprise, I might as well as get them then. So I did. :) I've been waiting to share a photo for an 
appropriate time because I think this catchphrase--"KEEP CALM and CARRY ON"--seems so appropriate for blowing your nose while sick or drying your eyes while crying.

I haven't used as many of them as I have shared them with others. One of my precious students came to see me this week and spilled her heartbreak and her tears in my office. When I handed her one of these tissues from my purse, she paused crying for a second and say, "Awww, these are cute." At that moment I realized that, as a teacher, not only do I deal with students' poor and fabricated excuses, but more often, I share their joys and their sorrows and their shame they feel when they have failed--shame they shouldn't feel at all, bless their hearts, because we all fall down from time to time, especially when it comes to handling things out of our control. I am thankful I got to offer a little comfort to this student and, hopefully, help her see that there is a light at the tunnel, so we need to keep calm and carry on.

Be Grateful #7

We were at this concert last night, which is why I didn't get to post.  I'm just giddy over the panorama option on my new (Zach's old) iPhone!

1)  I'm so thankful Zach and I got to travel to Tulsa and Kansas City this weekend.  I'm thankful we got to go to the zoo, see some friends, eat some good food, and hear Florence + the Machine live!  I also have to say I'm thankful that we got our hotel room for free by joining a rewards program that awarded 80,000 points upon enrollment AND that we got upgraded for being a member of said rewards program AND our hotel only cost 20,000 points...so we can get more free hotel stays when we travel again.  :)
2)  I'm thankful Zach (or was it Terry and Adriane?) introduced me to World Market.  I love that place.  I would die if we had one.  I just wish they hadn't gotten rid of Crunchies.
3)  I'm thankful we will be halfway through the semester next week!  Next week, one class is taking their midterm; this week, another class is workshopping papers, turning them in next Tuesday, and beginning the new unit, which is my FAVORITE; after next Thursday, I'll be done at Phoenix.  :)
4)  I'm thankful for my two students who were sincerely disappointed when they found out I was teaching Composition II in the spring because they wanted to take me again.
5)  I'm thankful for places that offer sweet tea.  Mixing sugar into iced tea is not the same, and non-sugar sweeteners are GROSS.
6)  I'm thankful to have a home to which I can come home.  (Can you tell I've been teaching grammar for three hours this evening?  Woof.)
7)  I'm thankful it's the holiday (and candy!) season!  We have to get some candy corn M&M's; I tried them tonight, and they taste like cake batter!!
8)  I'm thankful for new episodes of shows on Netflix.  Time to catch up on Parks & Rec...

"I'm gonna move to Kansas City...where the skies are so blue..."

Well, after such a serious post this morning, I wanted to post something more fun.  Last weekend, Zach and I took a weekend trip to Kansas City, which is one of our favorite places to visit.  In February, the B&B where we got engaged hosted a sweetheart story contest, and we were a runner-up!  We were awarded a $50 gift certificate and decided to use it once I had recovered from my surgery to takedown my colostomy.

Onward to the pictures!

 ready for our next adventure

 Birch beer is like a minty soda.  I always order it at Blanc.  :)

 enjoying the delicious onion rings at Blanc

We saw this store, which reminded us of Portlandia.  Zach had to take a picture of me next to it since my maiden name is "Byrd."  :)

 inside O'Dowd's Pub
They have fixtures from Ireland; visiting here always makes me miss the Emerald Isle...


 Southmoreland on the Plaza

like a picture postcard :)
 
They were building this patio when we were here three years ago.


 mini Southmoreland for the kitties
 We spent a lot of time in the solarium.  Through the doors is the dining room where we had breakfast.  :)

They serve yummy hors d'oeuvres every afternoon and cookies every evening.  We also get mint chocolate on our pillows!

 
This little guy announced the menu and the weather.  :)


 We stayed in this room this time.  Zach said he was "The Colonel."  *lol*

We NEED a bed this big!

fresh flowers in our room


 I think coneflowers are just so summery.



 Another reason why we waited to go in June was the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival.  We caught A Midsummer Night's Dream but missed Antony and Cleopatra.




one of the Plaza's famous fountains

 Breakfast from our first morning included lemon yogurt bread, plum crisp...

 ...shirred eggs with red pepper, basil, and sausage, and a stuffed spud!

 Zach checks out my new computer; we purchased it at The Apple Store on the Plaza.  I've yet to name it!

 Arthur Bryant's, the BEST KC BBQ

 Of course, we hit up World Market where we scored some orange KitKats and HobNobs.  I loved the Queen's Diamond Jubilee items!

gorgeous hydrangeas at Trader Joe's

 
Zach checks out the fish pond.

 
 me next to the tiny fish pond

 Breakfast our second morning included lemon poppyseed bread, mango-lime puree with berries...

 ...carrot cake waffles with maple cream and spicy sausage.  I was in love with this meal!  We found the mango-lime puree recipe on their blog, so we will have to try it at home soon.  I strongly hinted to Zach that their cookbook would make an awesome Christmas present.  *wink wink*

 This kitty was so persistent; he wanted to come inside sooo badly!

 Zach bids Southmoreland and its kitties farewell.
A couple of newlyweds said they had spent a long time the night before trying to make friends with the kitties.  I explained that Zach is a truly a cat person.  The bride said they probably sensed she has a dog personality.  *lol*

We had a wonderful time in KC, and it was so hard to come home.  BUT we are going back in October to see Florence + the Machine.

Where do you go for weekend getaways?

Sleeping at The Owlery

Hello friends from Kelly's Korner!  So these are seriously some of the worst photos I have ever taken.  I know I took them with my iPhone, but usually I can get by.  So...MY APOLOGIES!  Someday, my prince will come.  (By "prince," I mean "super nice camera."  I already got a kingly husband.  He's helping me save up for the "prince."  ;)

At The Owlery, you enter on the top floor, where the living room, kitchen/dining area, laundry area, and half bath are.  Then you descend the stairs to the bedrooms...

 Zach got the screen on a website; it cost $30-ish!!!  I love that vase from Target, but it doesn't match anything on the landing now.  I am hoping one day to have a little girl and use it in her room.  :)  In the frames are a sketch we picked up at a friend of friend's art show, a Pollock print, and some willow postcards from Cambridge University.

 Our cats are hoodlums.  It is also laundry day for unmentionables (i.e. mine and the husband's underoos) and t-shirts.  On the left is a photo I took inside Drumcliffe church in Ireland; it's where the poet Yeats is buried.  It's an eagle lectern with the words, "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty" behind it.  :)

 Zach's minifig(ure) collection "tastefully" displayed (his words)

 prints that used to match our old decor
I'm going to get some green mats to update the oval frames.
Also, a LEGO ship atop my LEGO Harry Potter shelf; Harry Potter LEGO sets are about the only ones I will build.  My husband is still pleased.

 Our bedroom needs work.  I can't figure out what to put over our bed.  And, yes, that is a full-sized bed.  We NEED a queen-sized one.  Please inform my husband.  :)  This room is very oddly shaped, and this is the only arrangement that will work.

 alternative view
The door leads out onto a small deck.  We bought the paper lanterns at World Market in KC.  It's a funny story about our dresser and chest of drawers.  They used to be Zach's Momo's.  She gave me the dresser when she found out I didn't have one.  Zach's parents moved it up, and when they got it into my bedroom, IT MATCHED MY BED!  Yeah, so most people wouldn't be surprised by matching bedroom furniture, BUT MY MAMA GOT MY HEADBOARD AT A YARD SALE.  It is fate that I was to be a Pharr.  After we got married and moved up her, she gave us the chest of drawers to match.

 bridal portrait, engagement photo with Alice in Wonderland quote that my cousin made, my bouquet and the pen we used for our guest book, wedding photo, Zach's valet, stuff I need for sleep, and a sock monkey
Did you spot my sweet tea?!

 hats, magazines, books, LEGO sets, stereo, boxed music sets (on the shelf), chair from our dining room

vanity, storage cabinets, closet entry
The door to Zach's bathroom is on the left (not pictured).

 photo following high tea the day after we got engaged in KC, photos from where Zach proposed, Alice in Wonderland quote
You can read our proposal story here; it won a prize from where we got engaged.  :)

messy vanity=typical girl
That tiny old photo on the right is of my great aunt Grace when she was younger.  She helped raise me when I was little.  I want to frame it along with older photos of my mom and grandmas and Zach's mom and grandmas all glammed up to hang here!

our closet
There are two more rods behind the door for hanging clothes as well as shelves.  It is the biggest closet I have ever had!  I rotate out the pictures in the frames on my mirror; I got that at Walmart when I was in college.

We have two other "bedrooms" at The Owlery.

 One is a library.  This where our books live along with some other fun things.

 Hobie cat and a medieval village

 That golden chair is so 1970s, but it's COMFY.  The print of Van Gogh's Starry Night above it glows in the dark.  We have lots of books; I was an English major, and Zach was a history major who minored in English.  His LEGO creations have also invaded this space.  (Fact:  There is only one room in our house that does not have any LEGO creations on display.  I still haven't covered three more rooms in these SUYL posts.  :)

 These are mostly textbooks and binders here along with my American Girl doll collection. (Can you see Samantha's ruffled hair on top of the shelf?)  I think if we have a little girl, I could easily put these dolls in her room.  :)  There is a LEGO mini-skyscraper, a Waterhouse print, and a teddy bear Zach got me for my birthday "magic box" (I got a present a day for a week--it's on top of the shelf by Samantha).  I took the bear with me to the British Isles and slept with it every night, which meant it got lost in the covers a lot because it is a small bear.  :)

 closer look at the LEGO medieval village

The last room was Zach's dream room when he was growing up; I made his dreams come true.  :)
 Zach's LEGO room
He has tons of organized LEGO bricks not to mention the sets stored in the closet to the left (not pictured).

 Zach's LEGO village, Old Styrene-by-the-Sea (Styrene is a type of plastic; LEGO bricks are made of plastic.  Now you know.  ;)  One of my favorite of his MOC's (that would be, my-own-creation) is a pub called the Lion.  He even decorated the inside with tables and mugs!

(Y'all, have learned A LOT about LEGO since I first met my husband.  For one, "LEGO" comes from the Danish phrase for "play well."  Secondly, the correct plural form is not Legos or LEGOS; "LEGO" can only be used as an adjective, but "LEGO" is often accepted as a plural form, and I tend to use it.  Thirdly, the price you pay should equal the number of pieces you get (30 pieces = $3; 300 pieces = $30), but character sets like Star Wars and DUPLO sets are more (as are discontinued ones), and Toys-R-Us are always overpriced.  They also cost more around the world; we are lucky in the U.S.  Finally, the Germans [ever so German-y] have a word for the sound that LEGO bricks make when they hit each other:  GRUSCHTELING.  I still make lots of mistakes when it comes to playing with bricks, but I am learning.)  We're saddened not to be at Chicago's Brickworld this week.  :(

When we were unemployed and living with Zach's folks, my sweet husby built me this house.  It's a Tudor mansion, and that's our limo.  We're waving "bye" to you folks from the car.  Hope you enjoyed the visit!