Cathedral Gazing

Credit: Me. 5/13

I simply love walking by this church whenever I'm commuting in downtown Baltimore.  This is Corpus Christi on Mt Royal Avenue (Bolton Hill neighborhood, for the detailed-oriented among you).  When I happen to catch its bell toll, it's like an extra special morning welcome.  I've had the pleasure of being inside the church twice (briefly for performances as part of Artscape).  I'm not Catholic, but their taste in architecture has an undeniable ability to inspire reverence (in my humble opinion).

Today there was a lift outside the church for window washing.  I stopped to watch for a moment, thinking that on this slightly warm and cloudless summer morning, I would love to trade jobs with that window washer.  For a few moments to be a part of caring and preserving for something sacred; for a place that is art unto itself.

Maybe I'm just a romantic, but it was a nice daydream to start my day off with.

Blurbs Turned Bride

 On January 20th I married my favourite blogger!  Now I am figuring out life as a wedded woman, and enjoying every moment.  Married adventures and a return to regular Blurb blogging will [hopefully] debut soon!

 The gorgeous photography was by the wonderful Joel Ready of Ready Media. Location was Notre Dame of Maryland University, in the beautiful Marikle Chapel of the Annunciation.

All I Want For Christmas

This time next month I'll be married and on a warm (and hopefully sunny) honeymoon. This time next year, I'll be celebrating Christmas in our adorable home with my husband.

Pictured is our house wearing the white holiday dusting we got yesterday. Delightful. :-)

Words cannot describe my anticipation and thankfulness on this blessed Christmas Day. Hoping your fondest wishes and prayers are answered this season,

-Deb.

Memoir of Firsts: A Dinner Guest

This a shot of how I set the "table" for the inaugural dinner guest in our house. Until a few days ago Nathan and I didn't have a dining room table set up. So when we had the first dinner guest a few weeks back, I was determined to somehow still make it special. After an evening of home repairs with our good friend, we ordered a pizza and bought paper plates and cups. With candles lit, Christmas music via Pandora playing, and sitting on the floor around the coffee table, we ate and laughed and talked. Nothing else would have felt more perfect...

Until we all heard a very loud crash that sent the guys running around the house armed with tools and flashlights; a funny sight that lightened an intense moment of fear for me. We never did figure out what caused the noise, and enjoyed the rest of the evening.

Merry Christmas Eve! Hope you're making lots of new and nice memories in your own abodes.

Pop Quiz! (Blurb Style)

Any guesses as to what these two locations have in common??  (No cheating if you happen to already be in on this! :-))

Post-Christmas Bling

Remember when I said yesterday that "not much has changed" recently?

Well, this changes the picture a bit.

I'M ENGAGED!! :-D

I'm so full of words but I can't get them out just right.  Hopefully one of us will be coherent enough to share the full story soon, 'cause it's a good one!

Happy New Year, my friends!  I never dreamed 2011 would leave me with such a big smile on my face.

Stole The Show

I thought last weekend's episode of SNL was kind of lame (sad, since the Muppets-themed opening scene was so cute).  But what made the episode worth watching were these two fantastic performances by Florence and The Machine.  This woman is a powerhouse!!  I would be very interested in seeing her live.

[August] Obsessions

I didn't want to skip a month in my Obsessions series, and I have something to share with you!  Clearly, this blog has occupied some of my obsessive attention this month.

I've wanted for some time to make significant changes to it.  It has had the same widgets, the same look, the same general everything for the past year.  I had also come to greatly dislike the name, the one I gave it almost three years ago.  I'll probably be in college for a few more years as I transfer to a university, and the title seemed to put limitations on my blog's longevity and topics.  I don't write just about college, or theatre, which were the things I originally envisioned being the theme of my blog.  Plus, I just felt a little ridiculous saying "Debbie: The College Years" out loud. :-p

The truth is I may not be in theatre forever.  I may start "the married years" while still in "the college years".  Anything can happen, I've grown, and I want to continue to take my blog with me.

So if you look around, there are some changes.  The name, quite obviously.  I brainstormed for awhile trying to settle on something cute and descriptive for a blog that would have no identifiable theme, except well, my life!  I owe the clever dude behind Why Men Can't Cry for "Deb's Blurbs".

The design (though similar to the old one) and the pages are all new.  Everything is purposefully simplified and organized.  If you look to the newly-placed sidebar on the left you will find only the archive (called "Blurb Catalog") and my labels ("Blurb Guide").  My brief profile is at the top under the title, and I wanted that to double as a quippy welcome as well as a description in place of the old one.

The things I write about probably won't change much, except that I feel a new freedom and excitement in what I share with you.  So, visit for a few minutes and then tell me what you think!  I'll be back to regular writing sometime soon. :-)

Keep Walking On

Happy Friday!  I am definitely in a "T.G.I.F." mood!  My supervisor was on vacation this week, and it was up to me to keep our front desk manned (er, womaned? :-p).  Since summer session classes are few compared to the regular year, things have gotten a little lonely here.  And then, I've gone home and pretty much watched TV by myself or slept every evening.  But Friday is here, and tomorrow I have plans I am quite excited about, and then Sunday will be busy as well.  Yay for summer weekends!

I didn't adjust too well at the end of May/beginning of June going from a very busy schedule of rehearsal and classes and studying and work and social obligations to, well...almost none of those things.  I got downright depressed and moody for about a week, actually.  However, a few exciting things did come along the way, including:

~my day spent as a movie extra!
~elections for our Phi Theta Kappa chapter (I am now Alpha Rho Psi's president for 2011-2012.)
~being team captain for Alpha Rho Psi's Relay for Life fund raiser (I organized all our logistics, stayed up all night, walked the track for hours, and we raised over $1500 and counting!)
~wearing dresses and shorts again in public and feeling completely normal about it :-D

This morning my good blogging friend Yelena had a post that greatly encouraged me.  Contentment and patience and future plans have been something weighing heavily on both myself and Boyfriend lately.  Yelena's post reminded me that life never does turn out "perfectly" or the way we plan it, but if we have faith and patience, it will turn out perfectly as designed for us as individuals.  Check out "God, Why Did This Happen To Me?" if you have the time. :-) Also, Yelena's other recent entries will take your breath away as she is chronicling her tour of London!

I hope that wherever you are reading this from there is some beautiful sunshine you can go out and enjoy!  And if not, make sunshine wherever you go. ;-)

found on weheartit.com

Summertime Playtime!

To me, picking strawberries, cutting flowers, and taking pictures qualifies as playtime. <3

This is a wild miniature strawberry plant I have in the back yard.  And isn't the gold and sapphire ring lovely?  It was my mom's.

Lovely colours.  The blue and white vase is one of my favourites!

Oh and...I have feet and legs again!  This time last summer -even up to a few months ago- everything up to my knees excluding my toes were wrapped in bandages.

I'm not quite ready to go out beyond my home in leg-revealing clothing (too much scarring) but I'm sooo excited and grateful none the less to be getting my ivory skin back!

Fancy Day

It was my first day back to school since the play wrapped, and I definitely needed to motivate myself to be cheerful and excited for the week.  Someone on Facebook invited me to an event called "Fancy Day" in which everyone was invited to dress up for no reason on Monday, the 28th.  I was recently gifted some very pretty new clothes (the cardigan and the skirt) and put them to use with some old favourites! 

 

glittery cardigan: Ann Taylor

ruffled hem skirt: Club Monaco

ribbed tights: Target

buckled flats: Wal-mart

pleated scarf: Wal-mart

scoop neck tee: H&M

copper arm band: found in the dressing room!

Bag Casualty

I found this purse while shopping at the Lemon Meringue Valentine's sale.  I immediately fell in love with it, and have been using it every day since (even though Niki teased me for carrying a purse the size of an overnight bag... :-p)  It is a small version of a duffel bag with metal feet on the bottom and contrasting bronze-color design on the dark brown vinyl body (the pattern is suggestive of Vuitton).

Sad to say, I am introducing you to this gorgeous purse just I am bidding it a possible farewell.  The zipper broke this morning!  The downside to collecting fun second-hand goods is that they're sometimes well-used before they come into your life!   I am so very bummed, and will definitely try to get it repaired because I love it that much!

http://lemonthrift.com/  <3

Wages and Stages

cred to bro for my new picture :-)

It's late on Sunday night (it's actually Monday morning) and rain is pounding pretty hard on the roof above me.  I just finished my FAFSA filing (deadline is in less than 24 hours-OOPS!) and did my taxes.  The amount of money I made (or didn't make :-p) in 2010 is depressingly small...

I had a busy weekend, but only Sunday was legitimately enjoyable.  On Friday evening and most of the day Saturday I was House Manager for a dance show at the college.  Working this event knocked out a good portion of my required lab hours for theatre stagecraft class.  I enjoyed working with the technical director/my teacher, but all in all it wasn't where I wanted to spend my weekend.  Hence my late evening, and cramming my entire weekend's activities and personal to-do into one day.

We had an awesome worship service at church this morning with Regi Stone, followed by an announcement from one of our pastors that he is moving on to minister at another church.  While I am happy he has been blessed with new and bigger responsibility, I was surprised and saddened by the announcement.  He is someone I have consistently gone to for prayer and exhortation, and I will miss the caring spirit he extended to me.

After church Boyfriend and I stuffed our faces with Chipotle (Thank you Niki, for introducing me to the burrito bowl. :-D)  Then we hit a mall, because I had a yearning to buy a new dress.  I got two; one casual and one business-formal.  Maybe I'll have some pictures soon.

Before we headed home, I enjoyed a nice glass of Riesling at Ruby Tuesday.  It's my favourite wine!  Then we watched the Oscars with my family.  I thought it was a good show, though the energy seemed low.  Anne Hathaway and James Franco were cute together, and I appreciated the Academy's attempt to reach out to younger audiences.  So many stellar-looking films were recognized this year, though I would have preferred Christopher Nolan and his "Inception" to have received more recognition. 

I feel kind of drained.  Later today is the start of a typical busy week, but trying to sleep so often brings more frustration than rest.  I'm tired of looking at the state of my living quarters, so I'm going to leave iTunes on shuffle and tidy up until I pass out.

<3

P.S. Yes, I know I complained about my income in the beginning of this post, and then proceeded to mention all the things I spent money on today. :-p

"where me and things go together"

I have exciting new jewelry!

I take great delight in my ring collection.  I rarely buy rings, but when I do they must fit perfectly and they must be distinctive or meaningful to me.  Yesterday on a jaunt up to Pennsylvania I visited a vendor in an Amish market for overstocksilver.com.  I fell in love with so many of their affordable and lovely replica designer pieces, and settled on two Tiffany's-inspired rings:


click picture for source


















click for source



The first ring is of course a homage my darling muse, Holly Golighty (plus I've been wanting a big ring for awhile, and on my little hand this piece makes a statement!  The second ring immediately struck me as distinctive.  In Japanese culture the dragonfly is a symbol of happiness, strength and courage.  I had recently been wearing a thumb band with the word "courage" on it, but the poor quality of the ring was starting to become obvious.  Now I have a new reminder of courage to shine on my walk through life. :-)

To top off the glamour, here's a photo that my brother took of me yesterday.  I like it. :-)

*blog title taken from a line in "Breakfast At Tiffany's"

Purses, Pictures, Scripts, Songs

(I wanted to lighten the atmosphere of my recent posts with some happy items :-)

I'm so tickled by a designer purse that my friend gave me from her thrift shop.  It's spacious, yet compact, shiny and a deep shade of rose.  It's my back-to-school purse.

I read A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen and was slightly blown away.  I would love to play Nora.  The dialogue clearly portrays her transformation from trusting, naive girl to confused, determined woman in the final scene, and bringing that to life would be awesome.

My new favourite way to relax is to open iTunes and play my favourite songs while surfing weheartit.com.  I have a feeling the "random" folder in my picture collection is about to grow immensely.

Pampering Day (And Other Events)

Last weekend my mom, Bethelle, and I went to the fabulous Tysons Corner Mall in McLean,Virginia.  We had been given cards for free Shiseido facials at a women's church event we attended in the spring, and went to their counter at Tysons to claim them (the Shiseido manager from there attends our church; nice, right? ;-) 

The Shiseido make-up artists and attendants were lovely people!  They gave each of us personal attention with cleansing and make-up, using only as much product as suited our personal styles.  I got treatment for my breakouts and lots of pretty eye make-up and lipgloss, Bethelle got a dramatic and pretty model look, and Mom got a face massage with lotion that made her skin glow and a pretty lipstick and light eye-shadow.  And the manager gave us lots of free gifts!  It was so fun being pampered!

After we were made-over, we hit the mall to eat lunch, shop, and take lots of pictures.  The mall is so large (it's three stories and very, very long) that we only saw most of the second floor and some of the first! 

My favourite part post-facial was:

Trying on these gorgeous dresses in the Jessica McClintock store (the one above was my favourite...I just felt so perfect in it!  and the one below looked fabulous/sexy)

And playing with all the pretties in the Coach store! (especially drooling over the Maggie line bags)

While we had fun playing with expensive things, we did buy some things more in our means including: books, coffee, jewelry, a hat, and some Shiseido products.

***

My blog has a new look, a couple new pages, and a new profile picture.  What do you think?

Church was so, so great today.  It seemed like every song we sang and the message we heard was perfectly suited to things I'm struggling with.  I love when God sends me a little extra sign that He will never, ever leave me or forget about me.  The trials I face now are fitting me to be more like Him in the future!

Nathan cooked for us today! (and allowed me to help :-p)  He did bacon-wrapped chicken breast, and potatoes and green beans in red wine.  We most definitely drank a little wine while we were cooking, and got slighty silly.

This evening we had rehearsal number two for the one-act play Barnstormers is doing at the end of September.  This time in the theatre (not disturbing people in Panera) and with a lot of character work accomplished.  I enjoyed being a super-organized and business-like stage manager, while still cracking jokes and getting to know the cast better.  I adore our director!  I haven't known her for very long, but she is super-fun and dedicated (and reads my blog, so Hi Michelle! <3)

I'm gearing up for a busy week, and shall strive to fill my heart with hope and my mind with positive thoughts.  I have two weeks of summer vacation left. :-\

Hitting The Mark.: "It Kit"

Welcome to my very first product feature post!  Every weekend I'll share a bit about a mark. product in my new series called "Hitting The Mark.".  If you like what you see, you can purchase the featured product (or similar items) in my eBoutique!

mark It Kit Trend Color Compact

image from meetmark.com

I chose the "It Kit" as my first feature for two reasons:

1) It's currently on sale, so you have the chance to snag a great deal!

2) I received a very similar product when I signed up as a representative and it's my new favourite beauty tool.

This sturdy and cute compact features a built-in mirror and 10 selections of make-up!  The combinations are numerous, as the kit holds 6 lip glosses, a bronzer, and 3 shades of eye shadow. 

I've had a couple recent mornings where I was running late and left the house without putting on make-up.  If I was feeling the need to dress things up later in the day, I had everything I needed at my fingertips in a handy little case! 

Shop for this and more in my mark. store.  Items in my Hitting The Mark. series will always be something that I or a customer has personally used!

Cravings

I am craving two very frivolous things at the moment- Sugar, and Coach purses.  I don't see a correlation between the two, I just happen to want both very badly recently!

In regards to sugar, I'm craving it like a rabid preschooler.  Not good, since one doctor I saw claimed that excessive sugar would promote the length of an infection I had (I'm not entirely sure this is true, and I'm over the infection anyway.)  I lost track of how many brownies I ate today (they were small servings however) and tonight at a baseball game I wanted cotton candy more than I wanted the home team to win. (I eventually got some. The home team lost.).  I try to eat fruit or drink a glass of water when I know I'm craving too much, but gah!  Must I be deprived of everything in the edibles department?

As to my craving of another sense: Coach.  Coach. COACH!  I've lusted after this designer label for years.  Shannon and I shared a knock-off Coach shoulder bag until it literally fell apart.  I was in two Coach stores in the same week, playing with and eyeing all the summer items.  Recently I thoroughly perused the Coach website to see what lines they currently offer, and even read all the interesting little tidbits about the Coach history and products.  If money was no option, I'd probably acquire one of the new Op Art Alexandra bags.  However, I have my sights set on something a little more realistic, even though I still feel slightly guilty about wanting it.  I currently have this thing about wristlet purses, and bought a cute and cheap little one at a Claire's boutique with which to carry keys, cell, ID, and some cash.  Summer time outings call for the bare essentials, you know?  So, I rationalized, what if my designer splurge was a smallish one?  For about $100 I can get a Coach wristlet (I'm wanting the Madison large wristlet, pictured here).  I played with it at the store and it is big enough to hold aforementioned items, plus maybe a checkbook and a lipstick.  The strap can be worn different ways, as a purse or taken off as a evening clutch.   So, my thinking is that it's appropriate for many occasions, it's an investment in a high-quality, American-made brand, and it's no different than splurging on a fancy cell phone or evening out.  Is my thinking flawed?  Some ladies think nothing of buying designers products, but I'm pretty used to off-brands, and my current income as a student with unpaid bills just makes wanting this ludicris.  What do you think?  When I finally have the cash to burn, should I go for it? 

Now I'm thinking of starving orphans in Africa who have no money to put in a purse or to buy sugar with.  Curses. :-(

Sundress Sunday

Isn't this fabulous?!  I wore it (along with a little black jacket and sandals) to church today.  I was so comfy, and not one bit self-conscious! 

After church Mom and I sat in the sun for a bit, and took a trip to the fruit stand to purchase produce and look at flowers.  

Have I mentioned I love summer?  (And good health? :-)

Scripts, Skirts, and Sunshine

I've been wandering sleepily around the house with my pretty little red iPod jacked up in my ears, listening to the artist I fondly refer to as Mr. Sex Voice.  Oh Michael Buble, I love you madly (but only for your vocal chords.  I have Boyfriend for everything else. :-)

The past few days have been incredibly enjoyable.  The effects of the gluten eaten on Monday pretty much dissipated by Wednesday.  Tuesday I was kind of sleepy and depressed.  After work Nathan picked me up and we took a Home Depot excursion where he bought manly toys for himself and a pink key chain for me!   That evening I made a super yummy chicken and rice dinner, and we spent the evening cuddling and watching TV, which for the mood I was in, was a perfect way to end our day.  On Wednesday I met up with Tim (friend/fellow actor/my Irene Ryan competition partner), and we took a trip to a local mall to drink coffee and research script options.  We also walked the length of the mall at least three times, talking non-stop of philosophy and theology and school and astrology and acting.  I love conversations that stretch your brain and horizons, and seem to blend seamlessly from one topic to another.  That evening was a trip with Mom for some wearable summer clothes for me (more on that below).  Today I went to campus to catch up with Professor Carl and also borrow more scripts (also a book on Bertol Brecht that looks daunting but useful).  Around noon, I met up with an out-of-town friend.  Last January at the theatre festival I attended I met a friendly girl from Ohio whom I have kept in touch with.  She's on vacation out here this week, so we had lunch together today in Old Ellicott City and did a lot of window shopping, chatting, and picture taking.  It was nice to see how much she liked Old EC because I think it's a wonderful place!

One major event I left out was a conversation on Wednesday with my doctor.  My blood work came back finally, and it's not showing positive for either thyroid problems or Celiac Disease!!  On one hand, I was so incredibly relieved to not have CD that I felt like shaking and crying.  Yet we're still left with questions and a problem on our hands.  My sensitivity to gluten is testing so extremely high that it's almost as if my body is mimicking CD.  I definitely do have dermatitis herpetiformis, and have to determine why and how to stop it.  So keep praying, but also start praising.  :-) 

That's been my week thus far.  I share all of that to show how much I'm improving and how grateful I am for your prayers and support.  I feel happy.  I feel pretty.  I feel like I'm finally enjoying my summer.  I'm learning and living in so many ways. 

One quick note about shopping- I have a new obsession with scarves!  My skin is pretty healed up except for my legs, so the past few days have seen me rocking pants, tank tops, cute scarves and jewelry, and flip-flops.  Mom and I picked out two long, very light-weight dresses, a few cotton tops, and also are searching for ankle-length skirts.  I'm walking a mental line lately between accepting that my body isn't perfect and yet hiding enough to not be embarrassed, and it's working out pretty well!

Happy weekend! <3