things charming me today, summer installment two.

right now is a perfect time to think about the things that are charming me, the set of which does not include the sounds coming from the plumber (who we’ve named pagoda, as he resembles the aforementioned butler from the royal tenenbaums in both stature and speech) pounding around in the kitchen to locate the leak behind the wall and shedding damp drywall pieces all over the floor and elbow-bumping appliances (including my rolling pin, which just now crashed to the floor with a threatening thud.)

yes, let’s distract ourselves with much more pleasing thoughts.

perhaps from the next room over, out of ear shot.

a refrigerator full of beverages.

few things please me more in the summer than opening up the fridge to see well-stocked shelves and a myriad of beverage options.  iced tea, cucumber-strawberry water, izzes, limeade, leftover soda and beer from a barbecue, sparkling water.

if i can fill a kiddie pool with the beverages in my fridge, we’re in the right area.  in fact, let me just go do that right now, so i can bathe in the bountiful beverage lagoon of goodness.

grown-up bed.

it was time for the boy to have a bed that reflected his 30 years of living, rather than, say, a 22-year old who, upon graduating from college, acquired a good mattress and thought that having matching colored sheets, blanket and curtains sufficed for bedroom decor.

enter wife, stage left.

i brought over my bedroom furniture, but our bedding/sheets/pillows area still felt lacking.  as we walked the aisles of ikea during our honeymoon, i lingered a little longer in the textiles section, and unearthed this perfect duvet cover.  an earthy pea green set, queen size, for the unearthly sale price of $17.  i snatched it up quickly, along with some soft slate-colored sheets, and insisted that we were taking them home, even if i had to sit with them on my lap on the plane.

the boy did not protest, but he seemed somewhat indifferent, only weighing in that the colors were acceptable.

then, after strategically shifting all of our loot around on the floor of the sea-tac airport so as to not go over the limit on baggage weight, the lovely bedding arrived home and i put it all together.

after just a few hours, the boy exclaimed (he would protest here, saying he doesn’t exclaim, but i know differently) that he loved our new bed and it was like sleeping in a hotel bed.

cheers, wife.

smiling, husband.

end scene.

bud vases with wedding flowers.

speaking of loot from ikea trudged home by a determined new bride, these bud vases rule.  they are sturdy and monochromatic and small and cheap and cheap and have i mentioned they were seriously only about a dollar fifty a piece cheap?

i’ve definitely been into the white on white decor lately.  i think i’ll start referring to it as my bob dylan phase of decorating, because perhaps that will make me feel that this is less boring than i fear it is (see also: blonde on blonde).  these pretty ladies perch right up near my desk.

trip vases.

i never know where to remember things.

i mean, i know how to remember things (except, apparently, my cell phone, keys or wallet as i walk out the door), but i never knew how to keep mementos from trips, ticket stubs, pictures, programs and general trip ephemera.  i’ve never been much on the scrapbooking kind of tip, nor do i want to just have boxes of vacation crap that i feel too sentimental to throw away and only visit when it’s time to lug heavy crap boxes to my next location.

early last year i was meandering around the internet machine when i spied a fantastic solution to my dilemma.  i forget where (so if anyone knows, i’d be happy to link), but on a blog someone wrote about how they stored trinkets from their trips in antique mason jars (cost: free to approx. $12) and lined them up neatly on the shelves.  it limits what you put in there, it displays it in a streamlined way, yet keeps everything as part of the decor of your house.

we have one from our trip to vancouver canada last year, and one from our honeymoon to seattle this year, and my only issue with this is why i didn’t think of such a simple and great solution myself years ago.

also, the polaroid mio (or, i suppose now, the fuji instax camera film) is a perfect size to fit.

of course.

a succulent that does not suck…ulent.

i really can’t help succumbing to the pun.  you’ll forgive me, right?  i know it’s bad.  i’m hideous.  don’t look at me.

i kill most plants.  and, full disclosure, the plant pictured above is currently in a stint of rehab [read: my mother’s house] because it started to droop a little at the bottom and turn brown despite my following of the precise directions to not water it much and give it indirect sunlight.  but, it’s still not dead, and i’m hopeful that it will live.

the porch swing.

ohhhhhhhh, ahhhhhhhhhh, omgggggahhhhhhhhhh.

two words:

porch. swing.

along with two more words:

cocktail.  hour.

when no other words will do, these four will save your life,  and probably save my new marriage from becoming an old stale/hateful one.

you think i’m kidding.

into the woods bathroom.

i can’t say that bed bath and beyond is my idea of a bastion of style, but this shower curtain is certainly one of my favorites.  we bought this with one of the gift cards bestowed on us for the wedding, and although the boy was initially unsure, once we put it up he quickly rescinded his previous doubt and fully embraced the stark tree silhouette greeting those entering our forest.  er, bathroom.

i like that it’s not too graphic-y, but not too nature-y either.  it’s a perfect balance, and about as close as we get to being outdoorsy.

time.

oh, summer.  i wondered if the summer would past too quickly, like the quick gulp of air you get between getting dunked in the pool repeatedly by an older brother; the abrupt breather between strenuous seasons.

thankfully, although it has been a full and somewhat quick summer, i don’t feel that way.

between finishing college, planning a wedding, pursuing and securing a job, and moving, the months from january to june were quite the blur.  my post-wedding june consisted of a house to establish, a marriage to enjoy, meals to cook and paperwork to fill out.  july has been a hot but glorious respite, and in my last two weeks before beginning my first year as a teacher, i feel like i’ve finally surfaced from my underwater dwelling and have actually had time to float, float, float.

the luxury of time will never be undervalued currency in my life.

the time for my soul to expand and breathe, the time for my exposed nerves to heal, the time for my mouth to open wide, wide as i laugh with friends i haven’t seen in what seems like ages, time to ingest food that came from the ground, made with my own hands, instead of from a paperbag crumpled in my grip.

time, sweet, time.

one of the things charming me, every day.

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