Weekend Recap

This weekend was such a busy one around these parts! Poor hubs. He has been working really long days, and, on his days off, I had quite the honey-please-do list for him! He was a trooper, as always, and got everything knocked off his list! And, we eventually managed to find some time for some much needed (for him!) R&R!

We have lived in our condo now for 18 months, which is so hard to believe! It took us a good year to get anything hung on the walls, and I am probably the slowest decorator ever, but the more we do, the more it becomes "ours", and we both love that. Before moving here, we had accumulated a lot of things - and have some pretty large pieces of antique furniture, which are all great, but were not really doing so well into our 1,200 square foot downtown condo. Back in December, you may recall, I got a storage unit during my "self-imposed college break", and started clearing out clutter (it was like an episode of Hoarders (which I have never watched, but I caught an episode of "Playing House" last week on USA and this is how they described it)) - the "keep" pile, the "trash" pile, the "storage" pile, and the "Goodwill" pile. I got a lot of stuff cleared out of here in December, and that felt fantastic! But, it still felt cramped in here because of some of that aforementioned really large furniture. So, we made an executive decision last week to get some movers in here this past weekend and move 7 or so pieces of furniture over to the storage unit. It feels like a brand new place in here! There is so much space! I could have a dance party in our guest room (I did a little bit)! It's wonderful!

Moving furniture took up most of our morning on Saturday, and then putting together furniture took up most of the afternoon (because why would you ever get rid of any furniture without buying some more, right?). Really it was only one piece of furniture - an entryway bench for our foyer - and then a few cabinets and shelves and things. But we were busy, and we got a lot done!

Yesterday, we had a bit more work to do, and then Harris cooked up a wonderful lunch - ribeye, mashed potatoes, and roasted asparagus. There is a farmer's market right outside our front door on Saturdays from May to October-ish, and went by on Saturday morning and got some strawberries, yukon potatoes, and the biggest asparagus I have ever seen! - all of which are locally grown!

Was I kidding?!?

We signed up for a local fruit and veggie delivery service that will start later this month, but will definitely still be hitting up the farmer's market too. We both love having that fresh produce, and also getting the chance to support local farmers and businesses.

As for the upcoming week, Harris is leaving tomorrow to go back to Arkansas for the week, so Lucy and I will be holding down the fort once again. I have made my work to-do list for the week, and have to say I have already had a pretty kick-butt kind of morning! Yay Mondays! Finally, the best part of the week, my friend Michelle is coming for a visit on Thursday, and will be here till next Monday! I am so excited about this! Michelle and I became friends in my last job - we worked on the same team. We just have very similar personalities and get along so well! I haven't seen her since January, and, she has never been to Virginia, and I loooove playing hostess so this should be a lot of fun! We will have a girl's night on Thursday, and then Harris will be home on Friday, so the three of us will have a great weekend, I am sure!

Hope y'all have a great Monday!

Anniversary Weekend!

Sunday, Harris and I celebrated one year of marriage! While it seems absolutely crazy that already a year has passed since we exchanged vows in beautiful Playa Mujeres, it is even crazier to think that this past Friday was the 11th anniversary of our first date! To top it off, we also got some really exciting news on Friday - Harris got a promotion! Now, I know, I know, he just got a promotion a few months ago, but, some changes happened a bit unexpectedly, and he will be moving into a new role, leading a new team with some pretty high-profile business. I am so proud of him, and I know he will do such a great job! It was a weekend of celebration, indeed!

Friday evening we met up with our friends Clay & Whitley and a few other people to try out Vintage Tavern in Suffolk since it was restaurant week. We had such a blast with everyone, and, the food was pretty great too. It had some room for improvement (felt like the pureed butter bean soup - yes, butter bean soup! - was a little salty, among a few small other things), but I would definitely want to go back! Their cheese plate was one of the best I have had in this area, and the creme brulee was ah-mazing!

I was reminded during our jaunt over to Suffolk how much I really enjoy city living. While it was nice to see the wide open spaces (Suffolk is a little bit country, folks), I really do enjoy having most things within walking distance of our condo. I guess it is a give and take, though - we get to have the convenience of having our favorite restaurants, the movies, the mall, and so on, literally, right outside our front door, but we forsake things like a yard and a grill, and space between us and our neighbors. While those latter things are definitely nice, I think we really enjoy the convenience so much more than we would those other things. Plus, without having a commute for Harris, we get to see each other loads more than we would if we were living out in Virginia Beach, or one of the other burbs. Perk!

After hanging with the friends Friday night, we decided to spend Saturday doing things in Norfolk we hadn't done yet, which mostly involved spending a gloriously sunny day flitting in and out of various shops and stores, and walking streets in the Ghent neighborhood. We popped into one of the local bakeries over there and shared the most delicious slice of cake - it was banana, chocolate, something or other, and I swear it was like the best parts of a chocolate cake mated with the best parts of a banana pudding and made this perfect little cake for our enjoyment. Now, of course Harris didn't know this at the time, but we ended up eating a lot of cake over the weekend! Since we couldn't bring back the top tier of our wedding cake from Mexico last year, I had a local bakery recreate it for us to enjoy! While it wasn't quite as delectable as the original, it was still a darn good cake!

Now, I don't know if you know this or not, but the first year anniversary present is, traditionally, supposed to be paper. I don't know why, but I have always wanted to find some creative way to honor this tradition, and, because of this, have had Harris' anniversary present planned for months! I decided to get us Sunday season tickets to the Norfolk Tides baseball games! I knew he would love it because 1. he loves baseball, and 2. it would be a fun activity for us to do together. There are 11 Sunday games, plus we get vouchers for 2 more games. This seemed much more reasonable than the 72-game full-season tickets! I mean, seriously, that is a commitment! As expected, he loved his gift. Now, for my anniversary present...we are still in suspense over here! With the whole Lucy situation that has been going on lately, we decided to postpone making any serious plans for our anniversary, but, unbeknownst to me, the hubs already has some surprise trip planned, and apparently my gift shall not be given till that time...I love it! He did, however, get me a few little things over the weekend, because he is just nice like that!

Our actual anniversary day was a rainy, yucky, cold mess of a day. So, it was the perfect day for laying in bed, watching our wedding video, snuggling, watching tv, and ordering takeout! No complaints from Team Ligon on that one.

This week has already gotten off with a bang. Yesterday morning, bright and early, Harris took off for a business trip to Mexico! He will be back on Thursday, and Lucy and I miss him desperately, but know he is having a blast. I am writing up a storm, which is great, and I am getting so many things checked off my to-do list. Lucy had a recheck with the ophthalmologist  this morning - her graft is completely healed, but she has had a bit of retinal degeneration because of all the inflammation in her eye. But, we will keep giving drops for the next couple months, and hoping for the best! Overall, she is really doing great, though! I also gave her a totally botched homemade haircut the other day / finished up and gave her a bath today. She looks ridiculous, but I am a nervous Nellie about sending her to the groomers right now, and she needed a little help (although, I am not sure if I helped or hurt, but whatever). She was actually pretty good about the whole thing (and dangit, I just remembered I never gave her a treat when I finished! This is why she is poorly trained - all my fault!), but she probably does hate me a little more than usual now. Ah well.

Off to do some more writing, and try to not let this cold gloominess take over my soul. And by take over my soul I mean coerce me into taking a nap.

Sisters by Chance, Friends by Choice

The award for the World's Worst Blogger surely goes to the Ligon household by now. For those of you who read, thank you for being patient, and for continuing to come back, even when things are light, as they have been this month.

So far the October of 2013 has been a good one, albeit if not quite as fall-like as this lady would prefer. Alas, as the great Mick Jagger once said, "You can't always get what you want". I have been home most of this month, much to the detriment of my boss' boss, but you know, it happens, and I am grateful for the time I have had at home to enjoy with my sweet husband and our cute pup.

Last weekend, my baby sisters came into town for a long weekend over their Fall Break, and it was just wonderful. Of course it rained the whole darned time (because Kayla was in town, and apparently Kayla is not allowed to come to Norfolk without rain), but it was just so nice to have them here. We did get to go to a hockey game, which was super fun!, but, because of the rain, we spent a lot of time inside, watching movies, eating yummy food, and just catching up. There is something about sisters. Obviously I know nothing about having a brother, and I am sure it is also quite nice, but sisters...sisters are just a magical thing in this world. Sisters are a special kind of friend. Sometimes sisters drive each other crazy. Sometimes they think they hate each other. Sometimes they hurt each other's feelings, and make each other mad, and take sides, and do all those other things that sisters do, but, at the end of the day, sisters are the fiercest defenders of each other. As my sisters have gotten older, I have truly begun to cherish our time together. Not that I didn't cherish them when they were little, but, there was just such a gap, and our lives were so different. Nowadays, I feel like we can talk about things - silly and important all the same, and really have a conversation together.

Kayla and Morgan - I am so glad you are both my sisters. You are each unique in your own special ways, but there are parts of each of you that remind me so much of me, and that makes me so very happy. I know I can be overbearing and "mothering" at times, but it is only because I love you both so. Y'all are two of my best friends, and I am so thankful for the time we get to spend together.

All Quiet on the Ligon Front

Y'all. Last week was bananas. B-A-N-A-N-A-S. So please forgive us for the lack of post. We rounded out the birthday celebrations last Monday with a birthday dinner with some friends at 80/20 burger bar, which was, in short, pretty amazing. The place uses only local, grass-fed beef, and has some unique takes on classic and original burger creations. All in all, I would deem Harris' birthdaykkah a success! I hope hubby agrees (I think he does!).

Tuesday morning, I had a 7am flight to Dallas, afternoon meetings in Dallas, and then a 7pm flight to Newark. This is the life of a jetsetta (please to rap in the voice of Young Jeezy). I ended up leaving my Kindle on my flight from DFW to EWR, and I have to give a shout out to American Airlines for helping me get it back the next day (via Twitter)! I was in New Jersey Wednesday and Thursday, and then finally came home Thursday evening to a Tropical Storm Warning! Harris worked all last week (and was on full-time Lucy duty!), so when we had the whole weekend off this past weekend, we definitely took advantage of it!

This past weekend was the Norfolk 37th Annual Harborfest. I don't know about you, but I love a good festival - I think summer was made for festivals! Luckily for us, Norfolk is pretty much the mecca for festivals. There always seems to be some sort of festival going on. Harborfest was really pretty cool - there were a lot of booths set up, tours of tall ships (one of which looked exactly like a real pirate ship, in my opinion), yummy food booths, great music, and, most importantly, sunshine! Saturday was a little weird, just because the weather could not figure out what it wanted to do post-"tropical storm" (weakest tropical storm, of my life!). We hunkered down indoors for the first half of the day, and then, finally, finally, finally, the sun appeared from behind the clouds, and stayed out, so we ventured over and got the lay of the land. and drank fresh squeezed lemonade, of course. There was a cornhole tournament, Virginia wine, and popcorn, and peanuts. A James Bond-esque jet pack party in the water. Music, music, and more music. Everything a festival should be, and more! After getting our feet wet on Saturday, yesterday was just glorious! We headed over early, got a couple gyros (mmm Greek food!), and found just a perfect spot of grass for catching a ZZ Ward performance. We basked in the sunshine (I have the cool tan lines to prove it), and really enjoyed our day. All in all, a wonderful weekend! And now, a few pictures for your viewing pleasure:

Pirate Ship!

Is Captain Jack on board?!

Looking down

A ferris wheel!

ZZ Ward on the MainStage

Also, I know I mentioned that Harris would get his main birthday present sometime next month, but we just couldn't wait, so, ta-da:

We are so excited! We are previous Macbook users (like 1st gen). Mine was stolen when I lived in Dallas, and Harris' is just so, so old, so it was definitely time for an upgrade! Plus with the hubby becoming my cute little grad student next month, we knew we definitely needed something that could get him through the long arduous hours of paper writing that are sure to come! Hubs, I am so, so proud of you, but I do not envy you one little bit! Hopefully you will find this present to be handy as you start your new classes!