Thursday, April 29, 2010

Florida!

Okay, so I didn't get around to blogging last night. Mostly because my friend Kyle and I went out for the most amazing dinner. And then I came home and just ... didn't feel like it. I have been a little down since I got home from seeing Matt - happy and down, all at the same time. Does that make sense?

SO. Florida!!! I didn't take many photos, so here's what I've got. We stayed in a hotel in Mississippi after I picked him up, and then Thursday morning we grabbed some breakfast and drove to Destin. It took about 3.5 hours - a really easy drive through some really crappy parts of Mississippi and Alabama. We grabbed lunch at a place on the beach, which was fantastic! Then for dinner, we went for amazing sushi at Osaka. We got the "Sushi Love Boat for 2" which was a lot of fun - we didn't have to order anything, the chefs just make what they want and throw it on a boat! Yummy! LOOK at all of that beautiful sushi:
Holy crap. It was absolutely amazing. The sushi was SO fresh and delicious - really, really incredible. And yeah. It didn't take us very long to finish it off. YUM.
On Friday, we went to the beach in the morning - it was SO beautiful. The water was just gorgeous and crystal clear. And I didn't bring my camera, so I have no photos of that perfect water. On Saturday, it was kinda stormy and the rest of the time, the water was really murky. Bummer! We decided to take a small 1/2-day trip to Seaside, Florida. Seaside is ... really really creepy. It's this little town someone created with a bunch of houses that basically look the same, clustered around this weird town square with little shops and restaurants. I wanted to check it out because it seemed cute, in theory ... but once we were there, it was a little weird. We had some great grilled shrimp burritos, grabbed coffee, and then went off the beaten path to wander around the "neighborhood." It was totally empty ... like, NO ONE was around. Just us. We started joking that it was a great backdrop for a horror movie. Last night, I was talking to my friend Catherine about it, and she told me that Seaside is where The Truman Show was filmed! which makes OH so much sense. Anyway, we checked out the beach on this very stormy, cloudy, windy day:

Matt was SO happy to get some good coffee after months of Army crap!
It was real, real windy. I like this photo but it really looks like I have a combover. Which is awkward.
On Sunday, it was nice and sunny and beautiful again - after brunch at Another Broken Egg Cafe (bananas foster french toast!), we headed back down to the beach.
Also another unfortunate windy photo of the two of us.
Sunday night: dinner at the Old Bay Steamer. MMMMMMMMM. We had a big platter with shrimp, crab legs, and lobster tails. OH MY GOSH IT WAS AMAZING!!! Seriously, the seafood down there was so incredible.
I caught this pretty funny photo of Matt - I had given up several crab legs ago, but he soldiered on and finished everything by himself!
Ew, this is so gross. It's our ... waste pail. EW.
On Monday, before saying goodbye to Destin and heading back to Mississippi, we went BACK to the beach. So beautiful - look at that white sand! I couldn't pull myself away.
So, we drove to a different part of the beach and I got some blood orange and lemon sorbet. Absolutely perfect and refreshing.
And, finally, saying goodbye to the beach. Sad face.
We drove back to Mississippi, went out to dinner, and hung out at the hotel until around 10:30pm, when we left and I drove him back to Shelby. Saying goodbye was tough - I definitely had a little breakdown. But it was a lot easier than saying goodbye the first time - especially knowing that we should be able to see each other in another 3-4 months when Matt (hopefully) gets R & R. We had to drive all around Shelby because they moved into a new building while Matt was on pass (of course), so we had to find the new building. And then move all of Matt's stuff from the old building to the new building. You know, classic Army. I got about 3.5 hours of sleep, woke up at 4am Tuesday to catch a flight out of one of the weirdest, smallest airport I have ever been to (that is going to be a separate blog post!) and eventually I made it back to Indianapolis. The Indianapolis airport is relatively new (I think it's only been open about a year?) and this was the first time I have flown out of it. I think it is the nicest airport I have ever been to! Plus, there was a Sephora vending machine!
Have y'all ever seen this anywhere else? This is the first time I have seen something this amazing. The airport also had a Vera Bradley store, and a bunch of other really neat stuff.

Anyway! So, that was my trip. It feels good to be home, but I'm back to sleepless nights. I got so used to falling asleep with Matt again, that I'm all thrown off. I haven't had a good night of sleep since Sunday ... and I'm really hoping that I'm back to normal by this weekend. I could really use it!

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Home again

After a long day of no sleep, traveling and work, I'm finally home in my own bed. This weekend was amazing. Matt and I had the most incredible time, just ... being together. And eating amazing sushi and fresh seafood, and sitting out on the beach!

I am so exhausted tonight - I will write a full post with photos (but be prepared, I hardly took any) tomorrow. Complete with amusing travel stories about tiny airports, and how much I hate sitting in the middle seat of an airplane next to extremely overweight people.

And on that note ... I will leave you with a photo of my incredibly good-looking husband. He will probably kill me for posting this on here, because if there's anything he hates more than having his photo taken - it's wearing his uniform. But I snapped this one real quick right before we left to take him back to Shelby last night. I sure do love that smirk!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

I get to see my husband today!!!!

Well, kind of. His pass starts at 12:01 am tonight, so technically, I won't see him until tomorrow. But since I'll be picking him up before I go to bed tonight, I still feel like it's today. Right?

To say that I'm excited would be a gross understatement. I am running on very little sleep - not because I got ready at the last minute (for once!!!!), but because I am just so wired! Stayed up far too late last night, and randomly woke up at 5am - a full hour before my alarm was set to go off. See what I mean? :)

I have quite the day ahead of me - heading to work in a bit, and then straight to the airport. I fly from Indianapolis to Atlanta (change planes), Atlanta to Memphis (change planes), Memphis to Hattiesburg, MS. Aaargh. It will take me about 7 hours to get there. I'm carrying on my luggage because, um, hello, did you just read my itinerary? Yeah, exactly. I am way too concerned that my luggage won't make it there if I check it, and that would just suck.

So! I will get there late tonight, and the rental car place is coming especially for me to give me a car. Why? Well, because the Hertz at the Hattiesburg airport is only open from 9am-5pm. I had to call the 1-800 number to make my reservation, seeing as how I will be both arriving and departing outside of their business hours. This airport is small. That's all I have to say!

I will have to find my way to and around Camp Shelby and somehow find Matt in there, somewhere. He gave me detailed directions last night, like ... turn right at the first stop sign! And then go past the museum with the tanks outside, and then go left, and then there will be a bunch of school buses and I'll be by those school buses. Whew. Wish me luck!

Tomorrow morning, we're driving to Destin and I am sooooo excited. OMG I said tomorrow! It is still a little surreal that I'm heading down to visit Matt at all ... I have been wired to think that we wouldn't see each other until August-ish. This is just really ... exciting!

Anyway, I'm not taking my computer, obviously. So - have a great week-ish, and I'll be back next Tuesday!

Sunday, April 18, 2010

"Deployment" in Review: Months 1-3

So, when d.a.r.'s husband was deployed, she documented each month of the deployment by reviewing the things she had done/completed/accomplished in that month. I loved those posts - and meant to write them myself. But, um, I forgot. Until the other day. And then I thought, there's still time! I'll just catch up by summarizing the last 3 months. Good? Good. Oh, and I have deployment in quotations, because obviously ... he's gone, but he isn't gone. You know what I mean. Three months away from home ... and Matt is completing his tour of the southern states. With any "luck" (?), he will be jetting off to Kuwait in the next couple of weeks or so.

Anyway.

Month 1: January 17-February 17, 2010
-Matt left. It sucked. And then Jill (my MIL) and I went shopping and had a great meal at the Cheesecake Factory to try and cheer ourselves up. It didn't really work ... but yum.
-Had some excitement around the apartment. A leak one day, and then pee raining from the ceiling the next.
-Celebrated my 28th birthday on February 9, and enjoyed a great family dinner at my in-laws, complete with my MIL's special turtle cake. Yummy! Oh - and I had a snow day! On my birthday! What a wonderful birthday present!
-Had approximately 800 more snow days.
-Had a girl's night out with my friends Becky and Patty at our fave restaurant - had amazing food and cocktails to celebrate my birthday.
-Continued the big birthday celebration with an amazing weekend in Chicago with some of my BFFs - Lisa, Jenn, and Jenny. We had amazing food, cupcakes, and fun. Oh, and we saw a psychic. That was ... interesting!

Month 2: February 17-March 17
-Matt finally moved from Fort Benning, GA to Redstone Arsenal, AL. Finally!
-I met the lovely Lucy and her husband!!
-I took a weekend trip to Clarksville, TN to visit my friend Jenn and do some fun baby shopping.
-Noted the 4 year anniversary of our first date and the 2 year anniversary of our engagement!

Month 3: March 17-April 17
-I had spring break, and journeyed to Michigan and then Charlotte to see my sweet friend Anna and her new baby, Mae. We also got to see Cassie and Charlie!
-Matt received orders, finally, and went from Redstone Arsenal to Camp Shelby, Mississippi.
-My parents came for a weekend visit - we went to the Bloomington winter farmer's market, Nashville Indiana, and the Story Inn. And, of course, brunch at Farm!
-I discovered that my office has no ventilation, which was ... fun. Kind of. Okay, it wasn't.
-My bed broke and I had a mild breakdown. But then, I fixed it and all was well with the world.
-I found out that I get to go visit Matt!!!!!!! For a long weekend in beautiful Destin, Florida!!!!!

Well, I guess that basically sums up the last three months. I haven't blogged a lot about how much I miss Matt, or how difficult this separation has been - because to be honest, I know that it could be a thousand times worse. First of all, Matt has only been gone three months. And in the grand scheme of things, three months is nothing. Second, he has been stuck in Army purgatory and therefore I have been able to talk/text/email with him pretty regularly. And third, I get to go visit him! This week! After only three months. We are hopeful that Matt will still get to come home for R & R around August, which means that we will hopefully be able to see each other in another 4ish months. And after that, he should be home 3-4 months after that.

Most military spouses are separated from their loved ones for so, so much longer. Did this deployment get in the way of our lives? Absolutely. And yes, I miss Matt every day so much that it hurts. But I have a hard time not seeing the silver lining in this crappy cloud. We are so, so lucky.

Deliciousness

Well, I went to the store yesterday to pick up a couple of things for dinner, and I decided to stroll around the wine section. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I often pick out bottles of wine based on the design of the bottle. I can't be the only person who does that ... right?

Anyway - I was perusing the aisles and came across this gorgeous bottle for Root:1 Sauvignon Blanc. I loved the design on the bottle and decided to take it home with me. I poured a glass with dinner, and - yum!!! I don't pretend to know a lot about wine, so I'll save you the snooty details. All I'll share is that it's Chilean, delicious, and comes from a sustainable eco-friendly vineyard. And at around $9 a bottle, totally affordable!

I highly recommend.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Suitcase packed!

I have probably blogged/tweeted 800,000 times about how much of a last-minute packer I am. If I have to leave in the morning ... I will get up at 4am to do the majority of my packing. The night before, I will sit around, read, watch tv, do anything to waste time for hours to avoid packing. I hate this about myself ... but find it almost impossible to change.

Which is why it's so odd that I currently have a suitcase packed and ready to take on my trip. Today? Is Saturday. My flight? Leaves on Wednesday.

Does that tell you exactly how excited I am to see Matt?

All I have to do is throw in some underoos and toiletries in my carry-on, and I'm good to go. Come on, Wednesday! Hurry up and get here already!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

One week from today ...

I will be here ...

With him ...
And I'm guessing we'll be just about this happy!
Dontcha just love shameless opportunities to post gratuitous wedding photos? Yeah, me too. Heading to Destin in a week!

Monday, April 12, 2010

Obsessed.

I just came across my new favorite Etsy store - Brookish. She and I share a favorite book - Pride and Prejudice. I need all of these things:

Every time I think of Mr. Darcy, I imagine Colin Firth. That's okay, right? Because I have always had an innocent little crush on him. In my opinion, he made the BEST Mr. Darcy. In vain I have struggled. It will not do.

The whole Mr. Darcy proposal on a dish towel? YES PLEASE!!!
I just don't think it gets any more romantic than this. Seriously. Why did I not use this quote in our wedding ceremony? Talk about a missed opportunity!

If anyone feels like sending one of these items along to me ... I can't say I'd mind. :) These little somethings have been a tiny ray of sunshine in a day spent at home with the tummy sicks. And now ... back to bed.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Eye Candy

Warning: This post will make you want to buy pretty things.

A few weeks ago, I won what was possibly the best blog giveaway EVER from Jane at Moonflowers, Mojitos and Me - a $100 gift card to Anthropologie. I KNOW. I know you're jealous. It's pretty freaking amazing. I wanted to win this giveaway SO BADLY that I would not stop talking about it to Lucy. She said that, if she somehow won the giveaway, she would just give me the gift card because she had never heard of Anthro before. Clearly, she just wanted me to shut up. ANYWAY ... I just want to give a huge, public THANK YOU to Jane for hosting such an amazing giveaway. It really cheered me up, and I have spent the last few weeks fantasizing about what I will buy with my gift card. So, without further ado, here are about 100 things I'd like to buy with my $100 gift card. :)





















The Tonal Gingham Dress (I think this one is my favorite!)