the long and winding road...

This morning was long-winded. The sun seemed to talk about rising and think about rising, but it stayed dark in our bedroom until after seven. In the winter the covers are warm and way too inviting--I get up and brush my teeth and then I think of something that I need to do that involves going back to sleep. And then I am back in bed, pretending to use under-the-covers time to think about what I'm going to wear.

Lev gets up later than me and leaves the house earlier than me. It's magic or something. While I'm still selecting a pair of business casual pants to wear to work, he is outside warming up the car and scraping ice off the windshield. When I finally managed to get myself together enough to leave the house this morning Lev was already in the driver's seat, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. He held my hand on the drive to work. Today is going to be a great day, I can feel it.

Our Chicago street in full February winter

family

I have this thing where if Lev says that he thinks he is getting sick I start to feel like I am getting sick. But I can't be getting sick because I have a very important job interview Tuesday. Psychosomatic influence, go away! In the meantime, my wonderful stepdad, aunt and cousin are in town and they met Lev and I for breakfast today at the Ritz-Carlton (fancy!--aunt and cousin were staying there).

I purchased a lovely mid-century modern lounge chair yesterday. I told Lev about it when I picked him up from work and he was like, "Does it recline?"

Gratuitous living room/lovely modern chair shots, to follow.

Danish mid-century modern lounger that, unfortunately for some, does not recline

and this is a fabric close-up, don't know why it looks kind of green here (it's very blue).

stain removers and other friends

About a minute ago I thought that I had lost my stain stick and I was pretty upset. I just bought an off-white "hand-wash only" (like whaaaat?) crocheted sweater from Zara's and of course spilled coffee on it its first time out of the gate.

Which prompted Lev to say, "That's why I would never buy white," while slowly shaking his head. He went on to describe his immense t-shirt collection--"You will notice that they are a wide array of colors and patterns, and no white."

I wasn't going to go into the vast difference between white and off-white, or the troubling aspects of sharing a closet/dresser with someone with a rather large (some would say "excessive") collection of t-shirts, so instead I made a mental note to stock up on Tide-to-Go pens and be very careful. And that's when I knocked the whole cup of coffee onto the table.

Oh, did I mention that I'm a klutz?

On the flip side, here is a photo of my new favorite sweater, pre-coffee spill (does the fact that I like to take photos of myself wearing new clothes make me weird, vain, or other?). Oh and apparently there is mascara on the mirror. Have a great Saturday!

Zara's crocheted sweater, pre-coffee debacle

saturday stuff

It snowed last night, sort of, but it's not cold so it's good ol' Chicago slush. And last night Tori had her babies, a girl and a boy. Born Chicagoans!

Lev is feeding his coworker's cat while said coworker is out of town. We stopped by this morning on the way to dropping Lev off at work--he went inside and I waited in the car. He told me that the cat hugged his leg when he came in. A cat hug. I love it.

Our street

surprise(d)

My mom just texted me that my cousin was in the hospital next door giving birth. I ran over there and my aunt had already flown in from New York and was in the hall. And very surprised to see me! Wow! Tori is giving birth to twins--so exciting!

I love it when the world gets a little smaller, to quote my mom. And two babies bigger--Congratulations Tori!

Vintage Valentine

some photos and some thoughts

Today is Friday, which means I can think about the weekend. My stepdad is in town (hi Peter!) and we are all going to KOREAN BBQ tomorrow night. In case you couldn't tell by the CAPITAL LETTERS, I love Korean BBQ! I love the array, I love the pickled cabbage...I love the little dishes that come with the meal. I'm getting hungry, I need to stop this.

So I've been thinking about my life, like, really thinking about it, and I've decided that I should have a doggy to pal around with. We live on the south side of Chicago and my wonderful, lovely friends don't like making the trip down here and let's be honest here, I don't like the north side trip much either ESPECIALLY in the cold Chi-town winter. And I know that you are thinking "well Lizzy if you hate winter travel in Chicago then buckle up dear because it won't be any better taking your dog-friend for a walk in this kind of weather." But it would be different if I had a warm paw to hold. Lev won't go for it, either; he won't even discuss a dog without a yard.

Apartment living. Le sigh.

Aebleskiver and lace

Steel Cut Oats--the only way to live



Pot-holder leisure wear



Mid-century modern dream

Oregon as seen by a cowboy

Record cabinet

Photos of this morning.

surf n turf

Lately it seems like my whole existence is being spent in life's waiting room. I'm waiting for my last recommendation to arrive in the mail before I can apply to grad school; I'm waiting to see if I get a job in New York before we can move there; I'm waiting to see how this interview goes so I'll know if we're staying. I'm waiting for my renewed passport to arrive. I'm waiting for us to go to South Korea to see my brother get married (June 15!). I'm waiting for Lev's and my day. It's as if the earth sighed and I'm caught in its breath.

And in the mean time, I'm here. I'm walking to work, I'm sitting at my desk, I'm looking at my cell phone. I'm writing this blog. I'm adjusting my outfit.

I can't wait until the waits are over.

Oh, I'm also waiting for this weird/cool Native American blanket I bought on eBay...

Lev's now VERY CONCERNED about all things related to bedbugs--he saw this picture and the first thing he said was, "Better wash it. Bedbugs." I love him!

best day!

Today has turned upside down with amazingness. A dream job has requested my presence for an interview and I am heeding the call! And then I ran into a former coworker and he is applying to medical school and wants my help editing his personal statement! That whole change-your-destiny stuff that people scoff at? Believe it! And this is how I feel right now (play it!):

And my day was already great because I'm carrying this awesome drawing Lev did of what he'd ideally want for his birthday if the sky were the limit.

Oh, and that's a pair of Air Jordan IV's, a sword, a suit of armor with rippling muscles carved into it, and a viking war helmet with the buzzard symbol on the front. Oh yeah, and a WWF belt (and he does not mean World Wildlife Fund...). So, you know, gift ideas.

election day!

Today before work I exercised my American right to vote. Well actually I walked out of the house and looked at the snow flying around and thought, "MAN I wish I was already inside," and then looked a little further and saw that the polling place across the street was open! And it was Election Day! This is why it's good that Lev and I live across the street from the polling station--I'm spacey and I may have forgotten.

Last night Lev came to bed after I was already asleep. I asked him this morning if I was snoring when he came in (we all do it sometimes, and I like to be up on what I'm doing when I don't know I am doing it, if that makes sense), and he told me that yes, I was. I asked him if he rolled me over or anything to make me stop, and he said he didn't. Why? His response: "Because snoring is fun sometimes."

I never thought of it like that.

And here is the cutest thing I'm probably going to see all day:

sunrise

Today started out right. I woke up fifteen minutes ahead of my alarm and lay in bed, listening to my fiance's soft snoring. I crossed my fingers before I looked at my cell phone (the please-let-it-not-be-two-in-the-morning hope) and, to my delight, it was 6:30. I had fifteen whole minutes that belonged to me and me alone.

I love the early morning hours before the world is awake. I love the way Lev smells, heavy with sleep. Sometimes I lightly scratch his back before he's awake and he makes nice grunts that make me want to squeeze him. I love the bed and the warm sheets, I love the pillows and I love Lev's back and his shoulders. And it is all mine, and I am so lucky.

And this is an image of a bunch of patterns that I love. I think it's all Pendleton. I want to live in that room.

these are a few of my favorite things...

It's rainy today which means I'm inside doing laundry. And thinking about what I love.

New baby leaves on our plant! Yay for Spring!

And I'm spending the day looking at YouTube videos like these:

Of course Lev should be on here, but today he is at work...so I can't plaster his face all over this post. And he gets bashful...

ouch

I just bumped my face so hard it made me cry.

I spent the day downtown shopping. Apparently, H&M turns into a club by noon on Saturdays. There was a DJ spinning the hits of the 80s with his speakers pointed into the business casual section.

I can't believe I bumped my face. I immediately wanted to blame somebody but there is nobody here but me. I might have a line-bruise down my cheek. Blame our stupid tiny no-door apartment! We have to use curtains for everything because whoever remodeled this place thought that we didn't want doors, and I banged my face while trying to avoid mushing my hair against the heavy closet curtain while keeping my eyes glued to the brand-new sailor top I just bought from Zara's. But I do love our cute, hardwood-floor and curtain-having apartment. I take it all back!

This is a photo Lev took of me making dinner in my new pants in our lovely apartment that attacks sometimes.

probsolution

I can't believe our truck broke down at Costco. Again.

And I can't believe how I act sometimes. Like this time of the month in particular.

Today my darling-dearest brought me Advil at work because I've got cramps something mayjah. And I totally jumped down his throat. And now I feel like a jerk. But, because he really is the greatest, he told me to stop acting like a child and calm the heck down; and we talked on the phone and he told me he loved me anyway.

And my incredibly smart and intuitive friend Kate told me that I needed to calm the heck down, too. Which means that I need to calm the heck down. I'm sorry, world!

On the flip side, today I'm wearing an outfit that I have labeled "sleazy mid 1970s."

Behind me is Lev's messy closet.

the tunnel swamp

the snow melted. and nothing's frozen. and this is what i walked through to get to work today.

I hope today gets better.

names

In august I'm going to undergo a transplant of sorts; I'm going to get my last name removed and "Lev" attached. In anticipation of this event, I started a gmail account with my new last name. Just now when I was signing in I wrote it out and forgot everything else. Like the rest of my name. Like the password I use for everything. What's in a name, anyway?

Garnett is not a family name. My parents chose it. They didn't like their last names and they picked a new family name. On the other hand, family name=name for the family, which means that you should be able to use whatever name you want as long as your family wants to use it, which makes the first sentence in this paragraph null and void. It still isn't a very mainstream thing to do and I didn't know that this was in any way odd until seventh grade, when I was working on a "family tree" assignment. Lo and behold, I was the only one whose last name started with my parents.

As free and easy and my parents were about names, I'm not. I am excited and proud to take Lev's name, and I wouldn't want any other.

And now a gratuitous photo of my two most favorite people in the entire world. At a mini-car rally. Yes, we did this.

terriers, or, what i look for in a partner

Ah, the Norwich Terrier. Every year at Westminster Dog Show time I fall in love with these dogs.

"These small but hardy dogs are courageous, remarkably intelligent and wonderfully affectionate. They can be assertive but it is not typical for them to be aggressive, quarrelsome or shy. They are energetic and thrive on an active life. They are eager to please but have definite minds of their own. They are sensitive to scolding but 100% Terrier. They should never be kept outside or in a kennel setting because they love the companionship of their owners too much. Norwich are not given to unnecessary barking, but they will warn of a stranger approaching. Norwich are good with children."

Love is love, right?

our jumps, or, why i'm doing this

Lev and I are getting married this summer, and moving, and getting new jobs, and leaving Chicago, and we just (kinda) got here.

Today I woke up at 5am. At 6am i watched a youtube video of two Welsh Corgis playing tetherball. I made coffee and went to work.

In March (fingers crossed) I'm interviewing for some radical jobs in New York. This is really great but was made really hard by the fact that Lev was called up by Union Pacific two days after I found out I'd be going to NY. Today was meeting number two at Union Pacific. I wanted him to like the job/company, but at the same time i didn't because it would mean that my goals in NY would have to take a backseat while he got things going at UP.

BUT! today at around 10 he called, Union Pacific is not for him--24-hour call and if he was placed in Nowhere, Illinois we'd have to move there. Oh, and he wouldn't get time off to, um, marry me. And because i have the best dude in the whole world, he thought of what would be best for both of us--for him to stick to his old job for now, keep looking for Union Construction gigs here in Chicago, and to work for his friend's company in NY once we move.

And today I'm looking forward to getting these.

start

I'm Lizzy and Lev is my love. This is our year.