I'm loving...

Wow!  Yesterday's post was my 200th!  That's crazy to consider.  Of course, I started this little ole' blog back in December 2010 after we moved to the far side of Arkansas, so it's about time I rolled past 200.  *lol*  I'm doing better about chronicling our life here, but I hope to do even better this year.  :)

This week, I'm loving:

I got two bags of these on clearance after Christmas, and I finished the second bag today.  *shame face*

This season has been emotionally turbulent and honest.  Ah, I can't hardly take it...especially that there are only TWO more episodes...

Zach got these for me for Valentine's Day, but he was afraid I would be disappointed--I'm not sure if he was worried getting sheets would be disappointing or if these specific sheets would disappoint me--BUT I LOVE THEM!  They have brightened up the room and feel so regal.  :)

I've been walking for at least 30 minutes a day except for Monday when I worked A-L-L day.  I've been adding a few extra minutes each day to make up for it.

While we have watched the available seasons, I still find these books to be so surprising and freshly written.

I've been enjoying poofing my hair...

...because when I wake up after sleeping on the slightest of damp hair, it looks like this.  *HAHA*

Cheetos Puffs.  'Nuf said.

I'm compulsive about watching ALL of a show.  Back in the day when there was still a George and an Izzy, I used to watch this religiously with some of my college friends.  But then it started getting a bit out there and too soapy dramatic (as in a soap opera).  However, when I was recovering, I watched sooo much TV and started catching up on shows I watched for a time but quit.  I know what happens at the end of this season (leading into the current one), but I am interested to see it play out.

I used part of my Christmas money to buy some costume jewelry from JCP and Charming Charlie.  I got the loveliest Twenties-inspired necklaces in emerald, sapphire, and rose quartz colored gems.  Since I've always been drawn to silver, I've always had plenty of them, but lately, I've been wanting some gold.  My mama also got me this darling peacock pin that doubles as a pendant from Hobby Lobby (their Timeline by Bead Treasures line--it was a 20s/30s piece :).

Photo a Day in July #11

11.  Letter

I've posted this on Facebook before (once with the "P" by itself and once in the frame collage I'm working on), and I got the funniest comment about it.  A friend asked why we had a "P" on our wall...until she realized that "Pharr" starts with a "P" and not an "F."  *lol*  Another funny story?  The night I met Zach, he told me to look him up on Facebook.  So I scurried home and hopped on my computer and typed in "F-a-r-r."  There was no Zach Farr!  I assumed he was just another guy in a bar...until he added me a week later!  :)

When I got this "P" on clearance at Hobby Lobby, I was so excited to cover it in yarn.  I thought it was such a cute looking "P."  But I paid for its cuteness because it was very hard to wrap the bumps on it!

Also, I am not sure why that line appears on that photo every. single. time.  It's not there in person.

Eating at The Owlery

Hello to all my visitors from Kelly's Korner!  I guess I should start by explaining why our home is called The Owlery.  We actually live in a duplex, but it feels much more like a cottage:  you cross a wooden bridge to enter the top floor, the bridge and the trees around the bridge are covered in ivy, and there are three owl decoys on the side of our chimney watching over our house.  We felt The Owlery was a very whimsical, fun name--something out of Harry Potter, if you will--and so it stuck!

I LOVE our kitchen.  It is easily my favorite (or one of my favorite) part(s) in our home.  I spend a lot of time here.  (Zach's isn't much for cooking though he will help me.)  Some of my favorite things to cook include chicken pot pie with lots of veggies; cobbler; French toast; roast beef; red, white, and black bean chili; and Cadbury chip brown sugar cookies.  Right now, as I recover from my most recent Crohn's flare-up/surgeries, I am trying to incorporate more fruits and veggies into our diets by trying ones I have never had or liked, or cooking old stand-by's in new ways.  Enjoy a look around the heart of our home!

 We seriously have three or four times the amount of counter and cabinet space we had in our first apartment, which was a teeny-tiny three-room apartment in a dorm.  (Yes, a dorm!)

 looking into our dining area

 looking into the kitchen from the other side of the living room

I forgot to show that wreath last week; it's faux lavender and was on clearance several years ago at Target, where I buy a ton of stuff!

 Our table is an antique Duncan Phyfe dining table!  A couple from Zach's parents' church gave it to us when we got married because they were switching from two residences to one. It needs to be refinished, but it is just beautiful.  It seats six, but we keep one chair in our bedroom for sitting.  I love imagining all of the different meals shared at this table and all of the different people who have sat down at it.  Zach's Momo made the lace tablecloth several years ago and gave it to me for my birthday.  The vase in center was made by Zach's mom who is very into pottery.  All of the birdy items were gifts from my birthday week that Zach's mom organized this year since I was recovering from surgery during that time, and the ironwork napkin holder was a wedding gift (I don't remember from whom.)  The rug, which you really can't see, was purchased with wedding gift money.  And I'm a new seamstress!  Zach got me this sewing machine for Christmas last year!

 the original needlework on the dining chairs

We wish we had the money to restore them to their former glory, but we can't right now.  We are planning to cover them with some fabric to protect the needlework and better match our decor at some point.

 I keep cookbooks, photo albums, yearbooks, photo boxes, picture frames, and scrapbook clutter on this shelf.  It needs to be better organized.  Our Willow Tree collection that we received from my mama, Grandma Byrd, and aunts on my dad's side are on top of the shelf along with a decanter that has been in my family forever.  The Alice in Wonderland bag was a birthday gift from my friend Katie; I used it in grad school, but now it holds fabric scraps.

 This china cabinet belonged to one of Zach's great aunts and was given to us by his parents to use since they weren't using it.  It holds my teapot collection, including our Alice in Wonderland collection.  (Alice was one of the first books Zach and I bonded over when we met, and we had a Wonderland-themed wedding.)  The horse paintings were Zach's uncle's; he passed away before I met Zach.  :(  On top are some plants from my mom, a set of candleholders that were left in our first apartment, and the tiered serving dish that was a wedding gift from some ladies at Zach's parents' church.  Our kitties sleep on the ottoman to the right; we store coupons in the basket.

Oh, and our chandelier can be dimmed, so we have MOOD lighting!

 The barstools were a gift from my mama; I need to redo the cushions because they don't fit.  Do you see our vintage microwave?  This was Zach's Gigi's many moons ago that was passed to his parents and then to us because ours went out...and we would rather use an old one than buy a new one.  That is an Entergy sticker on the front; Zach's dad works for them, and I am guessing he took this to work at one time.  The cookbook holder on top actually came from one of my professors who teaches Women's Lit.  (Oh, the irony!)

Our counter is a little cluttered right now because I had to hand wash some dishes and we are eating our way through that tin of cookies and container of homemade 7-UP biscuits!  (We should put the chips away so I don't see them...and thus eat them!)  I love the brown ironwork Love-Hope-Dream plaques by the cabinet.

And yes, our bottle of brandy has a sweater on...

 our lovely stove, my KitchenAid mixer, LEGO timer and shakers, new toaster (Zach killed ours by trying to make a grilled cheese in it--don't believe everything on Pinterest), the fruit bowl made my his mom, and a lovely candle from my friend Emily

 our vintage fridge with invitations, "Thank You" notes, announcements, fun photos of family and friends, menus and coupons, and lots of LEGO and bottle cap magnets

 This is a peek into our laundry room.  I used that memo board when I lived at home and when I lived in college to hold photos of friends; now I use it to hold a few photos along with cards and invitations and recipe cards as well as a picture with my cooking idol, Linda Adams!  (She is Zach's dad's cousin and used to do cooking segments on local TV stations when I was growing up, and I always watched her, and my mama had her cookbooks.  She is an Arkansas gem and so sweet.  I couldn't BELIEVE it when I found out I was now related to her after we got married!  She sent me one of her cookbooks that is out of print as a wedding present.)

I am especially proud of the collage I am putting together above our trash and recycling cans.  I was frustrated by the thermostat because you couldn't hang anything above or below it without it being too high or low respectively or without the thermostat looking awkward in the middle.  I found the idea for the frame around it on Pinterest and did it back in the fall before I was getting really sick.  I did the yarn "P" right after I had my first surgery.  I found the black frame at Hobby Lobby on clearance; it had an "American's Heros" mat in it--it was military-themed--so I removed it and mounted this picture that I love of us from our first married Valentine's Day on scrapbook paper.  We finally added these two pieces this week.  I can't wait to finish it!

I hope you enjoyed a further peek into our home!  Sorry I am so long-winded and kudos to you if you made it this far.  :)  See you soon!

"Baby, You Can Drive My Car..."

our 2012 triathlon grey Hyundai Veloster that we got the last week of December

The big news today is that I went driving for the first time since November 15 or so. :)

I didn't drive our new car though; Zach takes that baby to work; I drove MY car.

It's definitely not something you forget how to do.

I enjoyed being able to get out on my own. My mama came with me to help in any way I needed, so that was nice.

I even popped into Hobby Lobby to look at the little Christmas clearance they had left, and I found part of Zach's Valentine's gift AND I used a 40% off coupon.

(I'm buying presents EARLY this year!)

Then we went to Walmart, where I actually got some (more) Christmas clearance: two stocking holders for $1.50, boxes of candy canes at 24 cents each, Pepperidge Farm cookies at 69 cents each, and Febreeze at 62 cents each. Yeah, baby.

(Zach has sent me back tomorrow for more cookies and Febreeze. Priorities, people.;)

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my new blog! As I write this, I am sitting in the living room of our new home, watching season two of Gilmore Girls (Yes to Jess!) and drinking a cup of tea that has grown cold. From my seat on the settee, I can view our backyard through the doors opening onto the balcony. The December sky is overcast, and it must be a little windy because the half-bare trees are creaking, their branches gone bony. Our red and gold Christmas tree is lit up, and, in the back of my mind, I’m thinking about the ribbon I need to buy at Hobby Lobby today to make a tree topper. I’m also debating whether I should make spaghetti carbonara tonight, or wait until tomorrow. This is life in our new home, and life is perfect. :)

Wednesday morning: watching the sunrise outside our balcony. You probably can't read the temperature, but it was COLD!

I’ve had a Blogger blog on and off for a year and a half—give or take.

The first one I began followed our wedding plans and explored wedding traditions. I was rather snarky when it came to picking apart those so-called traditions. *lol* However, because we only had two months between our engagement and our wedding, and we were both in grad school and completing our theses and working and moving to Baridon…I quickly got off track. You win some, you lose some.

Then I started a daily photo album on facebook. I’ve actually kept this one updated for over a year. (The anniversary was November 30!) It is a lot of fun looking back over the year at everything I did and everything that happened—the good, the bad, and the crazy. About a third into the project, I decided to post it on here, too, because I could add more photos to each day directly. But I never publicized this new blog, and I continued to post the extra photos in their own facebook albums. That’s doing twice as much work for nothing.

In the past, I did XANGA, posted on Myspace, and did the notes thing a few times on facebook. Writing is integral to my life: I’ve kept a diary or a journal since third grade. It is intimidating to put your words out there for everyone to read, but I feel it is a necessary part of the process, especially within this modern age in which we live. My XANGA and Myspace were fairly well read, but they are of the past. Only when I started my Day-by-Day album did more people take notice. I know more people use facebook and use it more often than other websites, but I think part of the reason why my album has been of interest to my facebook friends is because I spend a lot of time photographing and writing about food. (“Food, glorious food!”) On more than one occasion, I’ve had a friend or acquaintance encourage me to start a cooking blog.

Now…this blog will not be ALL about food, as much as I love eating and cooking and talking about food. *haha* BUT food will be a B-I-G part. I promise. :)

Essentially I wanted to start another blog in order to remember this exciting time in our marriage when we moved away and began a new chapter in our life. Right now I’m taking pleasure in the smallest things, whether it is planning out our weekly menu or organizing our huge closets or watching Zach hang our pictures on the walls. (We have so much more space here!) I want to write about my adventures in the kitchen and decorating The Owlery, our little cottage, and searching for the right job. I want our family and friends back home to feel connected to our life here and to meet our new friends. I plan to write once or twice a week about the happenings here. For six months, our future was in the air, so it’s such a nice change of pace to have a home again. I haven’t been homesick since we moved…except when I was sick, but that was mostly the desire to be in my own bed. This is home now.

My daily photo Blogger blog was entitled “The Pharr Side,” and, because I loved the title so much (and thought it somewhat clever), I decided to title this blog the same, especially as NWA really is another state compared to central Arkansas. A professor at NWACC actually asked if I had experienced cultural shock moving here; thankfully Zach had prepared me for the move. Ha!

I thought of the subtitle “From Benton to Bentonville” before we actually found our place (in Bentonville). By the way, I’m a BRYANT girl through-and-through! My mama lives in Benton now, so that was my last home before Zach and I got married.

So, there you have it: what I’m doing and why I’m doing it. Hope you stay tuned! :)