WENDY CITY

It's only a chance to pave the path we're on

2011-06-18T01:03:00.007-04:00

Here's the deal. I thought I quit writing in this blog, but over the past few weeks this thing has been beckoning me like a really sweet, neglected stuffed animal crammed under the bed. So here I am.

Why did I decide to initially stop? I'm not sure. I started something slightly less time consuming on tumblr, but I haven't been very good about keeping that up to date. Makes for a poor excuse. In all honestly, I think I've just been incredibly overwhelmed with work-related writing and so updating felt like work? Yeah, that sounds like a good excuse. :)

Anyway, I'm back. With so many details to catch you up on. And pictures to post. And our 2011 list to update. Not that we've been that on target with this list (we were list-killing rockstars last year). We have done some things, though. :)

Here's a list of what's to come (picture-wise):

Photos from our trip to Jerome, AZ -- on this post!
Photos from our trip to Tombstone, AZ
Photos (and lots of words) from our recent trip to Europe! We went in May for two weeks and had an amazing, wonderful, jubilant, joyous blur-of-a-European dream vacay. :)

Before I get to the pics, though, we have some good news! We are moving into a new apartment next month -- woohoo!

We decided on a whim last weekend to look at some house rentals in central and downtown Phoenix and happened upon the perfect place. It's in the Coronado district (which is an area I've always found so charming -- reminds me slightly of an Indianapolis Irvington/Fountain Square fusion - historic homes, lots of independent neighborhood restaurants, pubs and kind of artsy). Definitely more our scene than where we are now, which is more like a depressing fusion of Jersey Shore meets a meat head-packed locker room. Sorry if that's mean. :x

Anyway, the rental is so, so lovely and the landlords are great (a young couple relocating to Portland for work) and it's just perfect for us. :) So woohoo for that! Lots of happy dances were involved with the whole viewing/applying/lease signing that went down this week.

Mmk...Jerome pictures.

More words you can skip if you don't feel like reading: Jerome is a fabulous town about 1.5-2 hours north of Phoenix that every. single. person. has told us we need to visit. It kind of has a reputation for being a "wild wild west" town -- hookers, moonshine, guns, cowboys, mining, gambling. You get the picture. It's definitely quirky -- not just because it's located on the side of a mountain at 5,000 feet -- but because of its history. We went in March and were not disappointed. :)

The Haunted Hamburger, where we had lunch. Jerome has a history of being haunted and has even been investigated by our favorite ghost hunting crew, the Ghost Adventures. Hi, Aaron. :)

Eating at the Haunted Hamburger. That is snow back there. :X

Isn't my husband a dreamboat?

Rad old gas pump!

I am guilty of buying fudge here.

ADIOS!

Wendy

i would go along with someone like you

2011-02-27T00:48:00.002-05:00

Bonjour,

Just a mini update. :) This past week my momma was in town. Had me spinning around in circles busy, but it was a good kind of busy filled with family, good food and sight-seeing. I'm so glad she got to visit. I have a few pictures (and an item to cross off our 2011 list!):

~~2. Have a real life picnic~~

We drove north to Sedona for some sight seeing and a lovely picnic. This is Cathedral rock (David and I climbed it once before).

The weather was perfect, though I did get a little sunkissed. :)

Prickly Pear.

Our scenic picnic. It was the most perfect spot ever.

Some friendly saguaros on the drive back to Phoenix.

That's a whopper of a picnic, eh? Totally worth the commute.

Anyway, it was great to have my mom in town. I'm definitely looking forward to a trip back to Indiana this August (woohoo!). I'm going home at the end of August to photograph a friend's wedding in Northern Indiana.

I've had a few other people request some shoots while I'm in town, so I have that to look forward to, as well. Photograph and, of course, seeing family and friends. And perhaps some Midwestern vintage shopping... It's the very best kind!

Speaking of vintage, I've had a chance to slightly re-stock my Etsy shelves this month. I hit the momentous 100 sales and was even featured on the front page of Etsy.com today. Woohoo! Here are a few of my recent items:

Shabby chic, individual party trays

1920s/1930s car horn - AHOOGA!

Rusty cans -- fab!

80s Bubblegum Pink Cassette Player

That's all for now!

Cheers,

Wendy

i'll give you all i have to give and more

2011-02-09T01:16:00.006-05:00

Hi. :)

Just a short blog post.

The end of January was a major whirlwind that zoomed by so fast I hardly remember what happened. Well, maybe I remember a little. Anyway, here's a mini update on all things happening in Wendy's life:

As a freelance writer, having a constant stream of work is ultra important. Fortunately, things have been pretty consistent.

For example, my new year's resolution of pitching to more magazines has already paid off. I've been writing for Kiwanis International Magazine again (I interned there as a college sophomore) and I love it. I write mostly about the philanthropic things Kiwanis club members do around the world. From Japan to Germany to Canada and right here in the USA. Very inspirational.

For the past few months I've also been working with Tyra Banks' team on her new online magazine. The site should launch sometime this month (crossing fingers) and I've had an absolute blast writing fashion, beauty and style-related pieces. Ms. Banks herself even read my first article and approved of it (I did a little squeal when I heard the news). The best part about writing for Tyra's new site is talking with so many brilliant people in the beauty/fashion world. I'm especially fond of a comprehensive article I wrote on the little black dress. You'll have to stay tuned.

One other new writing/work-related announcement: Asylum.com shut down. :( I was super bummed to learn the news, as I had a blast writing quirky news stories for them over the year I joined board. However, I was hired by Urlesque.com, a somewhat-similar site also owned by AOL properties, and I'm very excited to build relations there. Already working on some very cool pieces!

Anyone who knows David and me knows that we're travel fanatics. We're always thinking about our next destination. One place that both he and I have always talked about visiting is Europe in general.

We made "visit europe" one of our must-do's on our 2011 bucket list and I'm happy to say we purchased tickets last month. Woohoo! We spent hours looking at travel books at Barnes & Noble trying to figure out where to go.

After playing the blindfold/finger game (aka, close eyes, open book, turn page and point), and mulling our options over, we finally came up with a game plan.

Here's our (very rough) itinerary:
May 11 Leave PHX @ 9:50AM
May 12 Arrive LONDON 8AM, check in at hostel, explore afternoon/evening, sleep
May 13 Explore another day, sleep
May 14 Explore another day, leave in evening via boat/train to AMSTERDAM
May 15 Arrive AMST in AM, get to hostel, explore day and sleep
May 16 Explore another day, sleep
May 17 Leave noon for PARIS via train; Arrive PARIS in early evening, explore, sleep
May 18 Explore another day, sleep
May 19 Explore another day, sleep
May 20 Explore another day, leave for Rome via overnight train
May 21 Arrive in ROME early, check in hostel, explore all day, sleep
May 22 Explore another day, sleep
May 23 Explore another day, sleep
May 24 Leave for PHX @ noon local, arrive 9:30pm local

So we fly into London, head to Amsterdam for a few days (for the Amsterdam experience and some vintage shopping!), go to Paris, France (we'll pass through Belgium, David's native land hehe) and then from Paris we'll ride a train into Rome to see the big sites.

We're very, very excited and have been looking at hostels like crazy. Our goal is to book all lodging by the end of the week. :) May can't come soon enough!

For those of you who aren't aware, I sell vintage on Etsy and have had a blast doing it! I officially started right after moving to Phoenix and have so much fun finding new goodies, researching them, posting them for sale, etc. I also love imagining the new homes they'll have after being purchased.

Things have been going well, there, sale-wise. As of right now, I'm at 99 sales and can just feel that 100th sale! Woohoo! So, a few plugs:

Befriend Zebras and Bubblegum (Z&B) on Facebook here.

Buy here:

One last section. :) Since moving to AZ, I've tried to get more involved with music. I started taking voice lessons again in fall 2010 and have enjoyed it so much. When I'm not singing, I crave it so much that it's almost painful to listen to a choir, opera or any other musical performance because I'm not able to do it myself! Ha, kind of weird, but true.

Anyway, I had a vocal competition on Saturday that really pushed my limits. I'm not used to singing Broadway (more of a classical girl), but it was a theater/acting/singing competition. I have so much work to do when it comes to acting, but I definitely improved a bit.

I also auditioned for the Arizona Music Fest choir. We're singing Beethoven's 9th symphony at the end of the month. I've never performed the 9th, even though it's (arguably) one of the most recognized classic choral arrangements today. It's been fun learning the German (and the notes!).

___

Okay, that's all I have for now. I'll leave you with this cupcake picture I took months ago but never posted. :D

Tasty, eh?

Cheers,
Wendy

all i want is a voice so that i can be heard

2011-01-12T22:04:00.005-05:00

Just thought I'd do a quick update since I have some lovely photos to share! :) Last weekend was first Fridays in downtown Phoenix, so David and I decided to head that-a-way to relish in some fabulous art.

I would always attend FF in Indianapolis in Fountain square and had plenty of great memories. The FF here in Phoenix is quite a bit bigger and there's more an emphasis on music and entertainment than there as in Indy. One other major difference was the type of art. Perhaps it's the urban setting of downtown Phoenix, but the art is much grungier, much dirtier (in a good way) and much more street-inspired.

Some photos. :)

How cool is this VW bus? It was huge and flashed all sorts of enticing colors!

I couldn't resist taking a picture of green cacti against a green-lit background. :p

Love the colors here!

Interesting gallery.

From the same gallery as above. David liked this piece.

This gallery was really cool, too. Lots of NSFW art, but this one was kid-friendly (somewhat). I didn't catch the artist's name, but much of the art was mixed media-based. Lots of photography done in well-thought out sets and then edited to the max. Very cool.

Adios!
Wendy

when i catch your eye, you give me a smile

2011-01-10T02:37:00.006-05:00

Well, I'll be darned.

A double feature blog update in one night. :) I'm already doing better at blogging this year than last! And, as you'll see, blogging more frequently is one of my five resolutions for the year 2011. Speaking of my top five resolutions, I'd like nothing more than to present them to you right now:

There she is! Let me explain in minor detail what they each mean.
a. be more crafty. I was a little more crafty in 2010 than I was in 2009 (being in Korea made it a little difficult for me to get supplies and whatnot), but in 2011 I plan to be even craftier! Nothing major, just a focus on spending more time with glue on my hands and glitter on the floor, 'tis all. I've made a goal to do at least one craft per month, but hopefully more. I'll share them with you here and perhaps include tutorials. :)

b. pitch to more magazines. As a freelance writer it's important to have all sorts of eggs in your basket. I plan to pitch to at least two different magazines a month (pitching means proposing a story with the hopes of being hired to write it on a contractor basis).

c. read more books. Twenty ten was a dreadful year in terms of reading for me. Don't get me wrong, I read plenty of news articles, divulged in myriad glossies and spent hours perusing my favorite blogs. However, I only read one or two books. Isn't that just dreadful? I'm embarrassed to admit it. So this year, I plan to read many more. Recommendations are gladly accepted!

d. update blog more often. The frequency of my blog postings has been nothing short of abysmal. The goal is to at least improve. :)

e. pay it forward. That simply means doing more random acts of kindness. Who knows what it'll be and I'll probably keep it all to myself unless a story is warranted. I just feel like throwing more positive energy out into the universe.

And that, betties, is my personal list.

---

Now, it's the moment you've all been waiting for (Well, maybe not all/many/any of you. And maybe you haven't been waiting for it... Hmm. Anyway): Our 2011 bucket list.

We've shortened it from 50 to 25, but more of the listed goals carry a bit more weight than last year's. And because it's shorter, we fully intend to cross off every. single. item. :D

1. Visit the Grand Canyon
2. Have a real life picnic with a basket/cheese/wine
3. Make homemade mustard and catsup
4. Run a 5k
5. Go to Europe
6. Play the Powerball
7. Go on a horse ride
8. Read a book together
9. Make a lobster meal
10. Go to Los Angeles
11. Eat at best pizza place in the nation
12. Make tiramisu from scratch
13. Make our own soap
14. Go to a hot spring
15. Visit Tombstone, Ariz.
16. Go sledding
17. Make prickly pear jelly
18. Go to an AZ brewery
19. Make macarons
20. Go to a comedy show
21. Make a Korean meal
22. Take a class on something
23. Skinni-fy goguma
24. Visit Jerome, Ariz.
25. Do an extreme sport

Obviously, this year we'll be doing a lot of traveling and eating. :P haha

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Wendy

Whence comes this melody constantly flowing

2011-01-10T01:52:00.005-05:00

Bonjourno, friends! :) Can you believe it's already 2011? What an exciting, exciting year that lies before us, eh? I can hardly believe that it's been nearly 1.5 years since we returned from Korea, 6 months since we moved to Arizona and 25 years since I was born! Holy smokes!

Anyway, with 2010 having come to a close and 2011 starting off, I figured I'd do an update on...dundundun...the list! We didn't manage to get everything crossed off, but we did do a lot of things and many of them were things we may have not otherwise done without a little resolution push! Behold:

The whole list:

~~build an igloo~~ (pictures here)
~~go strawberry pickin'~~ (pictures here)
~~make tofu~~
don't eat processed food for 30 days
read a book together and talk about it
~~make ice cream~~
~~try a new restaurant~~ (we hit up the Red Lion Grog House in Fountain Square - yum!)
~~pull an all nighter~~
~~color a picture~~
~~grow a garden~~
~~buy a bike and ride it~~
~~go to a museum~~ (pictures here)
~~host a dinner party~~
~~pay off a credit card~~ boomchickawowow!! (newbie!)
~~buy something at a farmers market~~
go fishing
~~go to a music show~~ **We went to a Jimmy Eat World concert in Tempe for the New Years celebration. Just in the nick of time!
go to noraebang (karaoke)
make wine
~~shadow a beekeeper~~(pictures here)
~~walk in a park~~
go bowling
no technology for 3 days (including phone, computer and TV)
~~draw on the sidewalk with chalk~~(pictures here)
~~go to a festival (any kind)~~(we went to the Indianapolis Brew HaHa!)
~~go camping w/ no whining from wendy~~
~~make homemade ravioli from scratch~~ (pictures here)
~~take a road trip~~(pictures here
~~try a restaurant from diners, drive-ins and dives~~ (pictures here)
take a class on whatever
~~go to the indy 500~~(no pics! but it was fun. :P )
~~practice our german and spanish~~
~~bring food to our neighbors~~
~~buy a $20 lottery ticket (don't judge)~~(that was an unfortunate $20 down the drain!)
~~try miracle fruit~~ KACHING!
~~make our own pizza from scratch~~
go to the zoo
~~go to a place that makes cheese~~ (pictures here)
~~go to the shipshewana flea market~~
~~volunteer somewhere~~ **I performed at a nursing home for Christmas!
~~move out of the state~~(pics here!!)
have an international skype party
make a play jungle for goguma and lamia
have a picnic with wine/cheese
~~go a week without air conditioning in the summer~~
~~have a dance party~~
~~take a nice picture together~~ (we've totally taken a bajillion)
~~repurpose a piece of furniture from flea market/garage sale/craigslist~~ (picture here)
don't drive for 1 week

Okay, so new ones crossed off were:

Make Tofu

David and I tried several times to make the tofu, but we weren't very successful. The first time we tried making our own soy milk and then curdling it. No go. The second time we used store-bought soy milk and curdled it, got the water out and then it just fell apart! We tasted it though. 'Twas a bit chalky, but at least we gave it a good go! :P

Pay off a credit card

Since this was on our list, we made a conscious effort to really pay down a credit card over the course of a year. It took some hefty payments, but we're proud to say we accomplished our goal with a final payment of $100 going straight to Mr. Discover. Whew, that feels good!

Go to a music show

On New Year's eve we headed to downtown Tempe for their NYE celebration. Tempe natives Jimmy Eat World (a favorite for both David and me) performed outside in the brr brr freezing cold brr and we all counted down to 2011! Sadly, no pics, though I do have fond memories!

Try Miracle Fruit

David lamented in early December that it'd be impossible to try a miracle fruit as we'd run out of time. Little did he know what I had up my sleeve! I surprised him with a sampling of miracle berries as an early Christmas present. We prepared ourselves a fabulously weird meal, including blue cheese, vinegar shots, lemons and mustard. Pictures:

What each berry looks like. You need to chew on it for about ten minutes for the tongue to be affected by its zany properties.

Our "meal."

Verdict: Miracle berries are freaking weird! The vinegar was SWEET, the lemons tasted like you were eating lemonade and the oranges were so sweet it was almost unbearable! Very cool and I totally recommend this experiment.

volunteer somewhere
I performed at a nursing home for Christmas with my voice teacher and her other students. We sang lots of Christmas carols and David came, as well. :)

So, there you have it. A whopping 36 items crossed off out of 50. Not too shabby, eh? I promise I'm going to unveil version 2.0 of the annual bucket list after this update. It doesn't seem right to combine last year with this one in a single post. Stay tuned!

Wendy City

everything that we've found says make your own destiny

2010-12-19T23:16:00.003-05:00

Hello, middle of December!

Just wanted to drop in for a quick, picture-update. A few weekends ago David and I hit the AZ highway and headed toward Wickenburg, Arizona. It's a very small, very picturesque/quintessential Western town that's chock-full of cowboys, antique shops and dusty roads!

Our mission? To walk around the tattered grounds of Vulture Mine, one of the best preserved boom towns from the 1800s/early 1900s. It's thought to be haunted and was even featured on the Travel Channel's "Ghost Adventures." (btw - I totally have a crush on Aaron Goodwin).

Because I can, I'm totally counting it as a museum from our 2010 list of things to do! We learned lots of cool historical details and had a blast in the process. I'll intersperse bits of trivia throughout the pics.

Just lying around the old city, half buried...

As I began venturing into this room, I was warned to watch my step. "Lots of snakes in there." Shudder.

Another abandoned car

Vulture Mine was discovered in 1863 by Henry Wickenburg. For the math-tarded (like me), that's 148 years ago! Wowzas.

This is the old Brothel House. The following three pictures were also taken in the brothel.

The kitchen area in the brothel

Me in the brothel...err

Worn down buildings. Fun fact: Vulture Mine produced gold worth more than 200 million dollars! A large portion of said gold was stolen, which leads me to the...

Yes, the hanging tree! This is where 18 robbers were hung for their thievery.

Near the tree. I'm not sure why there's a door there.

I can kind of see why this was the tree they chose. In the desert, there aren't many trees like this -- mostly cacti, palms and a few tiny, twiggy trees.

This is the power plant. It was kind of creepy...

And, of course, mining materials.

This was taken in the main gold mining facility. So were the following four:

This is the machine that reeled the gold up from under the ground!

I forget exactly how far down it went, but it was WAY down there...

This is the main offices/town center. That hole in the ground is where the gold was stored!

Picture from the outside

And another.

Another building -- the following pictures are all from the same building:

(is it bad I want every single one of these "props"?

David's always sillier than me, though:

Whew! That's a lot of pictures! :) I have a few more for you, though. On our way back from Vulture Mine, we drove by this SUPER cool, worn down building. Of course, we had to pull a u-turn so I could get my vintage fix for the day. :D

Seriously, my heart stopped when I saw this glorious, glorious place!

It was called, "HANKS, Open Dayley."

While at first I thought "dayley" was a play on words, the more I read the descriptions on items housed inside on dusty shelves, the more I started to think differently! Speaking of inside, the second we walked through the doors, we heard an old man's voice from the back.

He kept saying, "I'm coming, I'm coming! It takes me a while to get around these days." A few minutes later, a dear man named Hank made an appearance. He told us everything about everything, including his life and how his antique shop used to be his mom's little grocery store. Based on what Hank told us, we guestimated him around 85-95 years old. If we go back, I *promise* I'll get a picture. :)

A few more pictures:

Mmk, that's a lot of pictures. Enjoy! And if I don't drop by before the end of the year, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

to the fall we blow goodbye kisses, bid winter hello

2010-11-28T22:50:00.003-05:00

Bonjour! Hope all is going well in your neck of the woods. Things are pretty good here in the great desert. It's a bit chillier than I ever imagined it could get (brrr to a low of 31* tomorrow night!). The sun's rays tend to warm up the apartment throughout the day, though. We have yet to turn on the heater, but we haven't turned on the air in a solid month! Woohoo to decrease in energy usage/owed $$ to the electric company). Hehe.

Enough about weather-related musings. I figured, since it's December and all, I'd update you all on David and I's 2010 "to do" list. It's not looking very good in terms of completion. However, we've done a whole lot more than we would have originally done. So hoorah for that. Plus, we have a whole 30 or so days to complete the rest of the little things. :)

The new ones we've crossed off since the last time I updated the list --

~~make ice cream~~ David actually got an icecream maker and since then our fridge has been stocked with the homemade sweet dairy product. We've considered making a catnip icecream!
~~color a picture~~ Oh...you want proof? :) Here:

~~Go Camping~~ Finito! We went to the Sonoran Desert National Monument. In fact, that's the way we spent our Thanksgiving. Took our mind off the fact that we weren't with friends or family. We had a good time and I took plenty o' pics. Enjoy them:

David setting up the tent. I helped after taking a picture. :)

The tent (I did the interior decorating, hehe).

Hello, lonely cactus!

An old wash. There were lots of old washes -- you can tell because they are more sandy/smooth and lots of greenery line either side of them.

Pretty.

Came across this old, dried up saguaro cactus.

We claimed it as our own. See how it comes with a handy handle?

So dry! I felt like a mini survivor man.

We gathered rocks and old debris to make our little fire pit.

David starting the fire. :) We cheated and used a lighter.

I love the colors here. :)
A pastel, water-colored sky should make any heart go pitter patter.

All our stuff + David making the salmon. It was so good!

:)

Remember that dried up saguaro cactus from above? Well, we found a use for it. Perfect nighttime fire pen! :P

Hope it doesn't make you barf or roll your eyes too hard. :)

The whole list:

~~build an igloo~~ (pictures here)
~~go strawberry pickin'~~ (pictures here)
make tofu
write a lover letter to each other
don't eat processed food for 30 days
read a book together and talk about it
~~make ice cream~~
~~try a new restaurant~~ (we hit up the Red Lion Grog House in Fountain Square - yum!)
~~pull an all nighter~~
~~color a picture~~
~~grow a garden~~
~~buy a bike and ride it~~
go to a museum
host a dinner party
pay off a credit card
buy something at a farmers market
go fishing
go to a music show
go to noraebang (karaoke)
make wine
~~shadow a beekeeper~~(pictures here)
~~walk in a park~~
go bowling
no technology for 3 days (including phone, computer and TV)
~~draw on the sidewalk with chalk~~(pictures here)
~~go to a festival (any kind)~~(we went to the Indianapolis Brew HaHa!)
~~go camping w/ no whining from wendy~~
~~make homemade ravioli from scratch~~ (pictures here)
~~take a road trip~~(pictures here
~~try a restaurant from diners, drive-ins and dives~~ (pictures here)
take a class on whatever
~~go to the indy 500~~(no pics! but it was fun. :P )
~~practice our german and spanish~~
~~bring food to our neighbors~~
~~buy a $20 lottery ticket (don't judge)~~(that was an unfortunate $20 down the drain!)
try miracle fruit
~~make our own pizza from scratch~~
go to the zoo
~~go to a place that makes cheese~~ (pictures here)
~~go to the shipshewana flea market~~
volunteer somewhere (animal shelter?)
~~move out of the state~~(pics here!!)
have an international skype party
make a play jungle for goguma and lamia
have a picnic with wine/cheese
~~go a week without air conditioning in the summer~~
~~have a dance party~~
take a nice picture together
~~repurpose a piece of furniture from flea market/garage sale/craigslist~~ (picture here)
don't drive for 1 week

So, we've got 27 done. For sure, we're going to be able to complete 4 more...hopefully a few more in addition. Stay tuned!

Cheers,
Wendy

she'd roll round the side of the mountain

2010-11-18T01:54:00.003-05:00

Ahoy! :)

This week David's mom and grandpa came to Phoenix to visit us and some of David's extended family. It gave us the excuse to explore a little bit more of our surroundings, so that was nice. It was also great to see familiar faces from familiar places.

One place we ventured was the White Tanks, in/around Sun City (about 40 minutes or so from where we live, so not too far away)! My Aunt Clara suggested it, telling us that it was one of my Uncle Roger's favorite places in the whole world.

There really was something magic about it. Everything was almost bleached -- whitened and paled to a heightened degree of monochromatic. I find muted tones all from the same family quite charming, so I was quite pleased with my visual surroundings. Fortunately, I brought my camera to snap a few pictures.

Enjoy!

As we were driving into the park, I couldn't stop from squeeling, "How beautiful!" I think everyone in the car thought I must've been a bit crazy, but I was truly struck by how the light lit up the cactus' prickles.

See what I mean about the paleness?

These are real, authentic petroglyphs -- rock carvings etched into blackened stone by an ancient people telling a story to passers-by.

My handsome hub

:)

David and his grandpa

And now with his mom. Check out that crazy-tall saguaro cactus.

Dry, dry, dry

More petroglyphs

The trail ends with a waterfall. It's all dried up right now, but runs during the rainy season.

Stones are bigger than they look, eh? Compare them to David!

I just love the colors here

See the little puddle? :)

Pastel sky

Au revoir!

Cheers,
Wendy

you feel the tickle of the trees

2010-11-06T00:53:00.005-04:00

Oh my gosh...I'm probably the most abysmal blog updater in the entire world! It's been a whole month since I updated -- can hardy believe it! Anyway, lots of things have happened in the past month. That includes my most favorite holiday ever (Halloween!!) and a trip to Oregon to celebrate the festivities! :)

I figured I'd share some photos from this lovely adventure. David and I went there to visit our friend Amy (seen many times in this blog before). When David and I moved to Phoenix, she moved to Eugene, OR -- a mid-sized college town about 2 hours south of Portland. If you ever get the chance, I suggest a visit. :) I truly enjoyed biking everywhere (as opposed to driving). It inspired me to fix up my sweet little bike back in good old Phoenix!

Pics:

Mushrooms at a Farmers' Market. Eugene is known for its tasty mushrooms. Yumm. If you know me, you know I love mushrooms! I find them fascinating.

Friendly man with a pet parakeet. He's had it for years. :)

He let me hold it!

Pretty, pretty

Love the colors + the vintage scale. I wish I owned that scale...

Ah, fresh produce.

Lilly at Amy's apt.

Bella (her old roomie's pup)

We spent a little while in this lovely book store. I was fully absorbed in a mushroom field guide. :)

VooDoo Doughnuts (featured on the Food Network, I believe!)

Mmm -- this burrito place was so good. And hello, dino!

During our four-day trip, I consumed 7 lattes. :P Amazing coffee skills, for sure!

I was so glad I got to relish in these fall colors! David was pretty stoked, too. :P

Those are just a few pics from our basic trip. One night, however, was especially entertaining. Seriously -- there's nothing better than a bunch of adults dressed to the max in zany outfits. Even better with good food, good drinks and great music. Sneak peak:

My costume

I killed Pooh (david)

Amy was rain

Zombie brainz, toasted skins, dump of the dead, octopus eyeballs, ancient graves, vampire coffin.

Lots of dancing

The night ended with David in a tree.

That's all for now. Cheers!
Wendy

Friends to see and people you don't know

2010-10-05T22:10:00.005-04:00

Some pretty serious anniversaries have taken place recently or will take place soon. Let's see...:

- September 21st marked our 1 year anniversary of being back in the grand US of A!
- October 1st marked our 2-month anniversary of being in Phoenix.
- October 17 marks our 1 year wedding day anniversary (and yes, I still like my husband!).

Definitely exciting times! :)

October 1st also served as First Friday in Phoenix. We took full advantage of the coincidence in dates and used it as an opportunity to truly explore what the Phoenix art scene was about. Let me tell you this -- I frequented Indianapolis' first Friday art events and while I love the Indy City, Phoenix put it to shame!

I've truly never seen such a collaboration of different art and music aesthetics. The streets were alive with bands on every corner. One featured the sounds of soulful reggae musicians and on-lookers swaying to the beats. The opposite corner housed a rockabilly band and carefree dancers enjoying the music. There were carnival-esque entertainers swallowing razor blades, gigantic human/light shows that attracted massive crowds and galleries open every couple feet. Gelado was served in between exhibition halls and people dressed to impress in funky clothing and fabulous hair blown out of your standard, everyday proportions. Truly a spectacle and reflection on what art and music means in the big city of Phoenix.

Obviously we'll be back next month. :)

We started the evening with the task of locating a parking spot. Though it was tricky, it was not impossible. We parked on 3rd and Filmore, which was right next to an apartment complex we'd seriously considered moving to. Though I enjoy the facilities, cleanliness and feel of our current apartment, there's something deliciously intoxicating about being in the center of it all. Should we stay in Phoenix a second year (and we're leaning heavily on doing so), we'll transplant ourselves downtown.

Anyway, after parking, we headed to The Roosevelt Tavern, a casual bar on 3rd/Roosevelt lit only by candles and the cell phones of others. Not a romantic place, but a dark one. :) I ordered the recommended Riesling and David chose a beer. He was happy about the lace left on the interior of the glass, so I assume he was happy with his selection. Ooh, I also ordered a creamy, homemade tomato soup with a ciabatta provolone sandwich and David devoured a toasty pretzel with two homemade mustards. Again, we'll be back.

With our bellies full and a fine feeling from those tasty drinks, we ventured to our true destination: Somewhere on Roosevelt. That's right -- somewhere. Phoenix First Friday's is the largest artwalk in the nation. It spans about 2 miles and the entire walk is chock-full of myriad residents/visitors. Here are a few pictures from the evening:

Rockabilly band outside a record shop

Said record shop.

Tons of outside galleries under tents!

Corner side band sitting outside of a gallery with onlookers and passers-by.

A cool exhibit located inside. I snapped pics while David found a restroom.

I was drawn to these beautiful colors from far away.

Despite this "Shh..." sign, nobody was quite. :)

A light show. I was happy to be invited inside the fence to snap photos.

Another.

Something about this artist's work really stood out to me. There were a lot of these magazine parodies in one room with one, single painting of what I can only describe as a 3rd world setting. Perhaps the juxtaposition of worlds is slightly overdone on the art scene, but I thought it was nicely executed.

Love this collection of tiny paintings!

Swallowing razor blades. There's something about that kind of entertainment that gives me the heebie jeebies. I had to look away when her partner jumped onto broken glass. :x

That's all for now!
Wendy

We dwell beyond the tundra

2010-09-22T02:27:00.003-04:00

Oops. Let's just not make mention of the fact that it's been so long since I've updated. Deal? Good. :)

Moving right along, David and I are enjoying ourselves in beautiful, beautiful Arizona! For a while it's been too hot to attempt to explore the outdoors. As a result, we've had to get creative when it comes to entertaining ourselves. Lots of cat-play time, lots of random TV shows. On particularly exciting day we kept ourselves busy making a RAINBOW CAKE! The thing took the better part of a Saturday and was quite magnificent:

Beautiful, eh? The problem is that neither of us are very big cake eaters. We shared a piece and then ended up throwing the rest away yesterday.

Anyway, after the cake-making episode, we decided it was high time we forced ourselves to brave the persistent heat. You can only stare at your interior walls for so long before you begin feeling ancy! So, randomly last Thursday, we decided to head to Sedona to watch the sunset.

We decided to hike Cathedral Rock. It was a bit of a difficult hike, but a great work out! Pics:

We found these stacked rocks everywhere.

Beautiful, huh?

Cathedral Rock in all her glory

Twisted juniper tree. They say it's from the vortexes in Sedona, but I think it may be the wind... :)

That black stuff is a living substance that takes decades to grow. It provides water and nutrients for the plants in the area.

Prickly pear cactus with a pretty backdrop.

Can you believe that view? Probably helps that I'm down there all the way at the bottom (hehe).

For some reason, I was really struck by this dried plant. What do you think about her?

The sun set behind us, but it lit our front view up in a fiery cayenne blaze.

That green plant in the front is either agave or aloe...I still can't tell the difference. :x

I found this handsome dude up there.

Cliche shot -- total must. I think I look like a turtle here. What do you think?

Oh, hello sunset peeking around the corner. :)

Naturally, being the ditz I am, I accidentally purchased a pricey 7-day parking pass instead of the cheaper, 1-day version. Oops? It was great motivation to head back again before the pass expired. Since it's only an hour or so away from us, we made a day trip out of it yesterday. It began with visiting Montezuma's Castle and Montezuma's well (both very impressive, might I add), lunch at a tex-mex restaurant (where I consumed chille rellenos and had a friendly older Native American tell me about my animal totem - polar bears:motherly/stubborn) and then hiked beautiful Bell Rock.

Montezuma's Castle

I bet the first person to discover this impressive dwelling had a heart attack due to its awesomeness!

Montezuma's Well -- a naturally occurring spring about 12 miles from the castle. Stunning view...had to have been a glorious discovery by those ancient people.

These pueblos are built right above the well. Thousands of years old.

Found this little fella scurrying across the trail

Another old pueblo. Imagine the lives they lived...wow!

Another little guy.

We got to Bell Rock just in time for the sun set. It was too beautiful for words. Enjoy:

That was a nice path to walk. :)

I love the contrast of all the green in the foreground with those vibrant red rocks beyond.

Something about this particular mix of colors intrigues my eye. I hope it does for yours, too.

Really, the views were spectacular from this particular point.

See what I mean? Look in the far right distance. It was kind of frustrating trying to capture the beauty with my camera...I just couldn't replicate the magnificent view we were looking at. I hope this photo at least hints at it.

The red is reflecting off our faces. hehe

Holy moly sunset.

And she's fading...

Fading, fading... Those clouds gave way to a few bursts of thunder. No rain on our parade, though.

The view walking back to our car. Do you see how the moon lights up that rock? I was truly floored. Stopped a few times to check my vision.

That's all for now. Hopefully I didn't overwhelm you with too many photos. I tend to do that, I think.

Peace,
Wendy

i'll be the perfect girl; the center of your world

2010-08-16T00:42:00.003-04:00

I know exactly what you're thinking. "Whatever happened to that list of yours, Wendy?" Well, no fears, my dears -- I've got a list update for you. Let's jump right into it:

~~build an igloo~~ (pictures here)
~~go strawberry pickin'~~ (pictures here)
make tofu
write a lover letter to each other
don't eat processed food for 30 days
read a book together and talk about it
make ice cream
~~try a new restaurant~~ (we hit up the Red Lion Grog House in Fountain Square - yum!)
~~pull an all nighter~~
color a picture
~~grow a garden~~
~~buy a bike and ride it~~
go to a museum
host a dinner party
pay off a credit card
buy something at a farmers market
go fishing
go to a music show
go to noraebang (karaoke)
make wine
~~shadow a beekeeper~~(pictures here)
~~walk in a park~~
go bowling
no technology for 3 days (including phone, computer and TV)
~~draw on the sidewalk with chalk~~(pictures here)
~~go to a festival (any kind)~~(we went to the Indianapolis Brew HaHa!)
go camping w/ no whining from wendy
~~make homemade ravioli from scratch~~ (pictures here)
~~take a road trip~~(pictures here
~~try a restaurant from diners, drive-ins and dives~~ (pictures here)
take a class on whatever
~~go to the indy 500~~(no pics! but it was fun. :P )
~~practice our german and spanish~~
~~bring food to our neighbors~~
~~buy a $20 lottery ticket (don't judge)~~(that was an unfortunate $20 down the drain!)
try miracle fruit
~~make our own pizza from scratch~~
go to the zoo
~~go to a place that makes cheese~~ (pictures here)
~~go to the shipshewana flea market~~
volunteer somewhere (animal shelter?)
~~move out of the state~~(pics here!!)
have an international skype party
make a play jungle for goguma and lamia
have a picnic with wine/cheese
~~go a week without air conditioning in the summer~~(brutal, but glad we did it before we moved to Phoenix. It is HOT here!)
have a dance party
take a nice picture together
~~repurpose a piece of furniture from flea market/garage sale/craigslist~~ (picture here)
don't drive for 1 week

Wooo hoo! What do you think of that? We have 27 more things to do, but a lot of them are simple, easy-peasy as pie "to-dos" and the others are fun. There are a few I'm unsure about, but the world won't end if we don't get to them this year. :) Right?

Anyway, while I'm here, I figured I'd do a regular update.

This past Saturday marked our 2 week anniversary of being in the grand city of Phoenix. So far, so good! It's really strange how easy the transition was. Still feels a little strange sometimes and I occasionally get a heart pang when I think of Indiana's towering, lush trees and the beautiful fall season that's rapidly approaching (tear!), but then I remember the awful humidity and freezing weather that follows Autumn and my heartache subsides a bit.

To celebrate our full fortnight in the desert, we decided to make a full day of it. The day began with a wonderful cup of coffee (so good I had to mention it) and a trip to the antique shop. If you know me, you know I love all things vintage/retro. That's why we had to stop by the antique mall that I'd passed about half a dozen times before. I'm seriously surprised I lasted as long as I did! My heart sung upon viewing aisles and aisles of vintage things from all over the place. Some a little over priced (compared to what I'm used to), but lots and lots of great deals!

After a few good hours, we ventured to Papago Park. Along the way we randomly happened upon MacAlpine's Soda Shop, est. 1929! The retro furniture lurking near the doors lured me in. The divine soda menu and to-die-for interiors kept me there! I'm now convinced that a)I need a vintage milkshake maker and b)a dill pickle milkshake may not be that bad. Yes, I said dill pickle. :)

Pics:

After eating, we ventured to Papago Park.

cute? :>

A wee Jurassic.

Fortunately, we got there just in time to watch the sun set over the mountains/city. We climbed up this rock formation called "hole in the rock" which is exactly what it sounds like. A hole. In a big rock. We watched the sunset from inside said hole. :)

What's that? You want to see pics? Okay.

Try to spot sir David.

!!

gawkers, we are!

see the city skyline in the distance? And the mountains on the other side?

warning: stud muffin pictured!

favorite shot of the day. I could really get used to these sights.

Okay...one last thing before I sign off. This past week the Perseid's were in town and, naturally, David and I decided watching them would be a spectacular way to spend our evening hours. :)

Goodnight!

You and I were born to roam

2010-08-07T00:06:00.008-04:00

Welp - we made it to the grand state of Arizona! The drive was definitely a long one, but we had a heckuva lot of fun along the way. :) We ended up taking a small, 5x8 trailer from uHaul. The trailer turned out to be a bit of a headache, but we managed to tough it out. David drove (literally) the entire way because I was too freaked out by the idea of wielding such a weird contraption. And it didn't help that my tiny car wasn't really made to haul heavy things (and we were truly pushing the weight limit...oy!). Pics of how much stuff we crammed into the thing:

We obviously didn't waste any space. :P

Despite any minor glitches we encountered, the overall trip was a fantastic one chock-full of gorgeous views and friendly folks. I didn't take a ton of pictures while on the road, but I do have a few. Enjoy a mini version of our journey:

St. Louis, Missouri skyline

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Windmills in Texas

Flat, flat Texas

We ended up stopping at Cadillac Ranch right off historic Route 66 in Amarillo, Texas. I actually wrote a small blurb about it for Gadling.com (AOL's travel website), so I was super excited to actually stop and check it out with my own two eyes. Definitely one of the cooler roadside attractions I've been to.

And...after a good 20 minute stop, we were back on the road!

Pretty New Mexico -- this was when the scenery really started to change. :)

The oldest gas pump I've ever seen/used. Also in NM

Right outside of Albuquerque, where we stayed for an evening.

Near the boarder of AZ and NM

And then...we entered Phoenix! :) I was actually too excited to take pictures. I wanted to absorb everything I saw without looking through a lens, so sorry for the lack of pics! :D You'll get some soon, believe me!

Our first night we stayed at my grandparents house (where they live in the winter) and then met up with my Aunt Clara/Uncle Roger for some delicious Chinese food at a nearby place! The next morning we hauled it over to our new apartment and signed the lease. Unpacking the uHaul was a long story, but it entails a few emergency phone calls to uHaul, 3-4ish hours and the assistance of Aunt Clara/Uncle Roger.

Shortened story: piece of furniture got stuck on the lip of the trailer door and we couldn't open it. A series of tools, huffs, injuries and passers-by offering help later, it busted open. All this just as uHaul roadside assistance were on the road to come tear the whole thing apart!!

Alas, we finally got all our belongings inside of our new apt. The following Tuesday, we were pretty much unpacked. I still have a bit of decor to do and we need to find a few accent chairs to fill out the living room, but it feels homey. Pics:

LIVING ROOM

BEFORE

DURING

AND....AFTER!

The 4 pillows are from Goodwill at around $3 a pop, rug/coffee table are from my grandparents (graduation gift a few years ago), orange lamp from Ikea and the the couch was a steal on Craigslist for a modest $125! :D All the little trinkety/vintage things are from Indiana.

Apothecary bottles are a gift from momma!

Ahh...I love that globe! And the old, non-functioning radio. :D And the red oil can is from a place in Missouri we happened upon on our drive-- $6!

I'm sort of proud of myself for my random idea to make a "wrench bouquet." How cool is that tool box/Indiana license plate, too?

Old heater (hiding cords!) from Trader Baker in Franklin.

The poison pharmacy bottles are a gift from mi madre.

BEDROOM

BEFORE

BEFORE (check out that massive closet, though. :P )

DURING

AND...AFTER!

Okay...now the rest still have quite a bit of more work to do, but I'll show you anyway. :)

BALCONY/PATIO

BEFORE

AND...AFTER

KITCHEN AREA

BEFORE

DURING

AND...AFTER:

BATHROOM

BEFORE
(loving that double sink)

AFTER

Whew...hope I didn't overload you with pictures. I actually have more from around the complex, but those can come another day.

Peace,

Wendy

can't stop those kids from dancing, but why would you want to?

2010-07-21T21:08:00.000-04:00

As I'm sure you've guessed from my ghastly-long blogging hiatus, I have been a very busy woman. The first weekend in July David and I had our first garage sale ever. Let me just tell you: it was more than necessary. My grandparents came the second day of the sale, after about 50% had sold, and commented on the overwhelming amount of all our stuff! At a mere 24/25 years old! That's after 2 purges, as well (one when we left for Korea, another when we moved back to the States). Whew, baby!

The weirdest part about it all was that most of it was stuff we never, ever used. Seriously! I was sad to part with a few things (like my vintage toilet!) and some DVDs (but I never watched them), but it feels good to have gotten rid of so many things.

Let's see...this past weekend we went back to Goshen/Middlebury for one last visit before we move. Although I'm sure we'll be back to visit many, many more times. :) We had lunch one day at the Southside Diner in Goshen with David's parents/brother and then I spent Saturday afternoon with my madre in Shipshewana. We ooh'd and aah'd over vintage/antique goodies at the antique stores/markets and even purchased a few things. If I haven't told you before, my mother is like the smartest person in the entire world. She knows enough trivia to create 5 unique games of Trivial Pursuit. That makes her an excellent person to go antiquing with (I learned a lot!). A few pics from our day:

Passed by this beautiful old door with pretty flowers growing along it.

JoJo's Pretzels in Shipshewana (this is the coffee shop side)

JoJo's

Seriously: Best. Pretzel. Ever.

And that leads us to this week. Today is Wednesday, which means in approximately ONE WEEK we will be on the road headed SouthWest! Hard to comprehend how fast the move has come. David and I are beyond excited and have aligned most of the details. My Aunt Clara, who lives in Phoenix, has been sending us a picture every day, counting down the days until we leave!! Here is today's:

Isn't that the cutest gnome ever? :D

Speaking of moving, we're super pumped to move into our new apartment. I will gravely miss our stunning hardwood floors and quaint fireplace, but the new place has a lot of cool features, too. :) (Like a giant walk in closet - hehe). We've decided to re-furnish the entire place, which is really exciting for me. See, I've accumulated a great deal of wonderful trinkets (David has, too), but a lot of stuff is a hodgepodge collection of stuff without much of an aesthetic connector.

I've been reading a lot of design books and checking out design blogs like crazy (my favorite, by far, is Design*Sponge) for inspiration and ideas. It's up for discussion, but so far I'm leading more toward a modern interior with a healthy twist of vintage/industrial. David prefers it (by a tenfold) over my former ultra-girly, shabby-chic inclinations.

Because I know I can get great deals here on vintage/antiques, and because we had a bit of extra space, I went ahead and purchased a few things in Indiana. I also wanted to make sure I had a few things that were Indiana-specific to bring to AZ for good luck tokens. Call it silly, but I know that glancing in the direction of the few Indiana things I picked up will bring a grin to my face while sweating it out in the desert. :)

Obviously, I have pictures:

These are from my mother. Vintage pharmacy bottles!

How cool are these? Also from my mother! Vintage "poison" pharmacy bottles.

Antique mirror with shabby frame. $2

Picked up this vintage tool box that reads, "LUKE" on the top for a mere $3.

All the tools were included. :) Can you see me using those whatever-they're-called's?

Vintage, bright blue perfection stove! 'Bout 3 feet tall.

My heart sung when I saw the modest $20 price tag!

3 planters. $4 total.

How cool! This is a vintage, mid-century heater that totally works. However, I will not turn it on in the AZ heat. :) $8

The colors/body are too awesome for words.

Vintage kids' ABC stool. :) $3

Vintage scale with a rad glass reading gauge. Love this! $3.50

Mid-century adjustable lamp. Definitely works. I think this was David's favorite thing I purchased. :) $3

These two, early 1900s books will be a nice addition to my growing collection of vintage/antique books. $1 each.

Sweet tin car. $3 in Goshen!

1959 Indiana TRUCK license plate. Love the colors! $5 (Goshen)

This is an authentic copper/wood tea kettle. Reminds me of my mom (who collects vintage copper items). $5

Mmk, so the colors on this 1950s Fisher Price "Peter Pig" toy grabbed my attention immediately. I snagged it for an easy $3 and looked it up online when I got home. Turns out it's a somewhat rare collectible worth ~$60. Good find. And a keeper!

Cute butt!

I paid a lofty $9.50 for this sucker, but it says Goshen on it and I couldn't resist. Plus, my mom gave me a whole history lesson on Goshen Farms, increasing its intrinsic value. :)

Whew - -that's all for now. I can't promise another update before we leave (I'm already spinning in circles, after all). However, I do want to do an update focusing on career-oriented things. Some exciting things have occurred this month, including signed contracts and lots of photo shoots!

Stay positive,

Wendy

open your heart and let the good stuff out

2010-07-05T17:41:00.002-04:00

Well, I've been nibbling on honeycomb all day long. You know what that means. :) David and I shadowed a beekeeper! We had a blast doing it and a learned a lot more than I expected to. I think I even overcame my fear of bees (permitting they don't fly near my face!).

We went to Hunter's Honey Farm, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. It's a family-run business and the owner is the one who showed us all the ropes. I was surprised because he said we didn't need the protective gear because his bees weren't very aggressive. So, we walked out to the hives in the clothes we came in (camera in hand) and began.

They are kept in these wooden boxes and literally just fly in and out all day long. There is one queen bee (who we saw in this particular box!) and then the rest are female workers. Occasionally a drone, or male bee, will zoom in and do his business. After all, 2000 or so bees from the hive die every day, so there need to be replacements ready to go.

Some of the female workers take care of the larvae, some make the wax and others make the honey. And here's a little nugget of information: the bees eat the wax and honey they create! Not all of it, of course, but enough to keep them buzzing around.

The bees that we met today were quite docile. In fact, the beekeeper put a dab of honey (from the hive!) on my finger and then stuck my hand into the mess of bees! I was a bit hesitant about this, but a few started licking my finger to eat the tasty stuff and no harm was done. David even petted a few of them (seriously)!

Here are a few more pictures:

Rad, huh? :)

On our way out to the honey farm (we got lost...) we ran into an airport in the middle of cornfields. Truly bizarre. We saw two tiny planes land -- one looked like an Eagle. I wish we weren't running late, otherwise I would have stopped and snapped a photo or two.

Anyway, that's another item scratched off our list. So:

~~shadow a beekeeper~~

In other list-related news, we've begun our quest to accomplish this beast:

don't eat processed food for 30 days

It began today and already we're thinking differently about food! We're somewhat careful of what we eat anyway, but this will force us to become a little more creative in the kitchen. For example, it looks like we'll be making our own ketchup soon, making a lot more bread, etc.

Anyway, I figured I'd also include a few more things in this update. First of all, we're less than a month away from our move to Phoenix. Our official leave date is July 29th and we move into the new apt. Aug 1st. We're in the process of packing things that aren't necessary to our livelihood and we're also labeling/sorting things like crazy for our upcoming garage sale (Fri-Sun, this weekend, 8am-6pm-ish).

Saturday we drove to Elkhart to visit my papa and brothers. David sold his car to William (bittersweet to say goodbye to that trusty car) and we grilled a few things, played in the pool, lit some fireworks and I took pictures of the boys. I think the pictures turned out well. Enjoy!

The front yard

Side/backyard

Pool/Deck!

And a few of my favorites of the boys:

Allen Lewis

William McMahan

That's all she wrote, folks.
Wendy

feel an ocean breathing waves, feel them licking at my face

2010-06-20T21:32:00.007-04:00

Well, I promised in the next update that I would talk a bit more about our move to Phoenix and our new apartment and all that uber exciting stuff. I'm not one to disappoint, so here goes!

We ended up signing a lease with Trillium Residential apartments, a "modern, luxury apartment complex" that we had been eying for quite a bit of time beforehand.

We were sold on the sense of community and all the perks associated with living there. In addition to a sweet pool and workout facility (goodbye $25 gym bill!!), they have various activities planned for residents there.

For example, there's a weekly spin class (totally partaking), spa, coffee bar and various community tournaments, grill outs, pool parties and hiking expeditions. There's even things like book clubs and studio dining where you watch a chef learn how to make a meal (that you also get to eat)! I think I sound like I'm selling this place to you. :) Really, though, we are very pumped. We wanted to be able to meet people easily, and this place seems conducive to that.

Here are some sneak peak pics. I'm sure I'll have a ton more for you once we move. Speaking of which, the official move IN date is August 1st. We leave Indiana July 28 to drive the 25 hours. :P

We're obviously pretty excited! To prepare, we've gone through a bunch of our belongings to sort out what to keep/leave behind. Let me just tell you, we had an entire basement full of stuff. Some things which haven't seen the light of day in (I'm embarrassed to say it) a good 4 years. Why I continued to move boxes around with me without ever opening, I'll never know! Anyway, we went through every single last thing and have an astounding pile of items that we'll attempt to sell at a garage sale mid-July.

We've also decided to say buh-bye to our furniture and a few other "major things." We'll end up saving over $1000 if we leave it behind, plus I plan on spending that money on redesigning our new apartment. I've been soaking up design blogs and catalogs like an eager puppy these days! :)

Clearly, things are all moving toward the big move. I can't believe it's all happening so fast! Still, though, we're soaking up our remaining month or so in pretty naptown. This past weekend we had a grill out with some friends and our lovely neighbors. Also, we accomplished a few more things on our 2010 bucket list. Look here:

~~go strawberry pickin' (PICTURES BELOW!)~~
~~buy a $20 lottery ticket (Goodbye, $20. It was nice knowin' ya)~~
~~go a week without air conditioning in the summer (never again)~~

We did have an appointment to shadow a beekeeper today, but the storms last night were torrential and continued throughout the morning. Plans were foiled by mother nature! We'll reschedule for next week, probably. :)

Pictures of our strawberry picking adventures. We went to Spencer Farm in Noblesville and also picked some black raspberries and blueberries. YUM!

Found a heart. :)

What a dainty berry!

I devoured the blueberries that very night, nibbled on the raspberries and then we made cupcakes in icecream cones and topped them with (from scratch) strawberry whipped cream frosting. It was amazing!

Maybe next time I'll have pictures of us in bee gear. :)

Choose positivity,
Wendy

Tiger lillies love the dandelions

2010-06-15T20:29:00.008-04:00

David and I have been pretty busy the past few weeks. In addition to planning our move to Phoenix, we've had a number of family-related events. It may sound kind of geeky, but hanging out with my family members is one of my favorite things to do. I don't think I tell them enough how much I appreciate them (maybe I'm not alone), but I definitely do.

Last weekend my sister had a modest graduation party with the family at my grandparents house. Seriously...my family has some outstanding cooks. It was a pitch-in of sorts that highlighted caramelized carrots (by moi, thank you very much), baked salmon and homemade shortcake with strawberries and whipped cream. Does it get any better? :P

Later that week, for her graduation present, I treated my sister to a cute dessert/tea time afternoon at the Heidelberg Cafe. For those who aren't privy to such an outstanding, authentic German eatery, it's on the SE side of Indy off 465 exit 42 (heading toward Lawrence). I'd been there once before to shoot some photographs for NUVO Newsweekly, but this time I sat and indulged in a few treats. Pics below.

In other family-related news and events, this past weekend my two handsome brothers graduated from high school. I'm so proud of those little dudes. I still picture them as tiny twerps running around with baskets on their head screaming at the top of their lungs. Now they're all grown up - a couple of studly men with bright futures. I have some snaps from that, too (below)!

Pictures from the Heidelberg Cafe:

I see a gnome sittin' on the can.

I got a multi-layer red velvet (I simply can't resist red velvet). My sister opted for a tasty danish.

Are you drooling?

We put a few pennies in here...couldn't make it work, though. I believe it was supposed to inform me of my future.

Enough German kitsch to get us through 2020.

Bear stein?

Gnomes, gnomes, everywhere!

Painted on the exterior. :P

Another exterior shot

Near the entrance.

And, one more group of photographs. These are from my brothers' open house this past Sunday:

Sweet William and Grandma

Handsome Allen and grandparents

William and grandparents

Hey good lookin!

Now there's a handsome stud.

BRAVO! Congrats, brothers.

Next update: I'll talk more about the Phoenix move. Stay tuned...!

Adios!
Wendy City

they saw a big rainbow; it glided down the sky

2010-06-06T19:21:00.010-04:00

The past week or so it's been so humid/muggy that I came within an inch of dying. Thursday evening David and I decided to head out into the thick of it and walk around the neighborhood. Swear on my life I got shot with a paintball gun by some kid. I didn't care. (Side bar: People get angry about silly things too often). Anyway, the whole time we were walking about, I thought to myself, "Gee, why didn't I bring my camera?"

So, Friday night I was supposed to hang out with my dear sister and mum, but plans collapsed and I ended up entertaining myself for the evening. What better to do then skip out the door and treat myself for a follow-up stroll with camera in tow? Aside from feeling engulfed by a swamp of invisible water and dodging potential paintballs, I had a jolly good time. ^^

I present to you middle America, my friends:

The house across the street from ours. So pretty.

a bit grungy

Our backyard.

And some of our garden supplies. :)

What a way to kick off the month of June, eh?

In other news, David and I signed a lease for an apartment in Phoenix (woo! Details later), went to the Indy 500 last Sunday (soooo hot, but fun), had a mini dance party last Friday night, had an awesome meal with family for my sister's graduation yesterday and drew pictures on the sidewalk with chalk today! That's a lot of stuff!

So, here we are:

~~go to the indy 500~~
~~have a dance party~~
~~draw on the sidewalk with chalk~~

And, because today is your lucky day, I snapped a few pics of the sidewalk chalk drawings. :D

David drew this one. It's a portrait of him and me. :)

We colored while grilling some mahi mahi and corn on the cob...

Rainbow kitty!

Stompin' all over that rainbow.

*Goguma totally has a pink stomach right now from that chalk. :p

The weather couldn't have been more perfect today. Just lovely!

See ya later!
Wendy City

A thousand miles seems pretty far, but they've got planes and trains and cars

2010-05-16T17:31:00.003-04:00

What a muggy week it's been, eh? My hair has been serving as an indicator of the humidity percentage as of late. Afro, anyone? David and I have been in an A/C battle over it, too -- I'm all about fresh breezes and thick air, but on occasion it's nice to feel like you're in a refrigerator (especially throughout the night).

Anyhow, today I finished my work up a bit early --love it when that happens. I'm also caught up with The Hills and The City (don't judge), so I thought to myself it'd be a perfect evening for a blog update.

First thing's first: Updating "the list." After all, my dear lassie, we are six whole months into the year. Uh...June in 5 days!

~~build an igloo~~ (pictures here)
go strawberry pickin'
make tofu
write a lover letter to each other
don't eat processed food for 30 days
read a book together and talk about it
make ice cream
~~try a new restaurant~~ (we hit up the Red Lion Grog House in Fountain Square - yum!)
~~pull an all nighter~~
color a picture
~~grow a garden~~
~~buy a bike and ride it~~
go to a museum
host a dinner party
pay off a credit card
sell something at a farmers market
go fishing
go to a music show
go to noraebang (karaoke)
make wine
shadow a beekeeper
~~walk in a park~~
go bowling
no technology for 3 days (including phone, computer and TV)
draw on the sidewalk with chalk
go to a festival (any kind)
go camping w/ no whining from wendy
~~make homemade ravioli from scratch~~ (pictures here)
take a road trip
~~try a restaurant from diners, drive-ins and dives~~ (pictures here)
take a class on whatever
go to the indy 500
practice our german and spanish
bring food to our neighbors
buy a $20 lottery ticket (don't judge)
try miracle fruit
~~make our own pizza from scratch~~
go to the zoo
~~go to a place that makes cheese~~ (pictures here)
go to the shipshewana flea market
volunteer somewhere (animal shelter?)
move out of the state
have an international skype party
make a play jungle for goguma and lamia
have a picnic with wine/cheese
go a week without air conditioning in the summer
have a dance party
take a nice picture together
~~repurpose a piece of furniture from flea market/garage sale/craigslist~~ (picture here)
don't drive for 1 week

Looks like we still have a bunch to catch up on...! It'll get done, promise! :D

Mmk...I have a bunch of odds and ends photos to put on here. I apologize for the hodge podge. Though, come to think of it, hodge podges are kind of nice. ^^

The startings of our garden. A few things never germinated (bah!), but we should have lots of yummy zucchini, tomatoes, green beans and herbs!

David got a new grill for his birthday.

Hello, gnome! This little guy is from a college friend (Jamie!) who saw me lamenting on Facebook about my lack of gnomes. I was surprised in the mail with him a few weeks later. :D

A few weeks ago Amy ran her first mini-marathon with Jayson. Jayson finished in 1 hour and 16 minutes and Amy finished in 2.5 hours! Both are SERIOUSLY impressive times, so cheers to them. PS. I totally made that sign and screamed like a dope as Amy crossed the finish line. :)

David and I hit up Creation Cafe (which I'm going to again tomorrow with an old high school friend!). It's so so cute! We had brunch. :P

It's like this weird collaboration of modern industrial, sophisticated chic and ultra homey-ness.

David and I made a pizza from scratch (well, the dough and sauce. :P )

My sister still has one kitten to give away (lemme know if you're interested) so I took a photograph to help it find a new home faster.

It seriously loved me so much. I wish we could have a million cats!

And last...

David and I made our first yeast-based bread from scratch.

Seriously. YUM.

Okay...I obviously need to update more often. I just crammed a months worth of activities into one post. :x

Later gater,
Wendy City

i thought i would sing some notes, so that maybe you would slow dance with me

2010-05-11T23:06:00.007-04:00

Shalom, m'dear.

Well, it's high time I announce our "big news." Perhaps it's not really that big after all, but it will be a change for our lifestyle and whatnot, that's for sure! No, we're not moving abroad again (though perhaps someday?) and no, I'm not with child (that'd be scary!). No, I'm not training to become a female body builder (can you imagine?) and no, David is not pregnant with twin kittens (you wish!).

The big news? We're moving.

To the desert.

In early August.

Phoenix, Arizona, to be exact. For those who are curious as to why, here's our ultimate reasoning:

When we moved to Korea in the fall of 2008, we couldn't wait to see what Asia had in store for us. We loved traveling around, exploring new cultures and relished the unique experiences we were having. We also met a lot of English-speakers from around the world, including people from the United States. After talking to these people and pondering things, we realized that there was a lot of the US that we really haven't touched. Landscapes that are as beautiful as they are weird, subcultures that are worthy of exploring just the same as their international counterparts. You get the idea.

For those who know us well, you already knew that we've planned on moving out of Indianapolis for the past, I don't know, 8-9 months. Basically since we got back from Korea. It's nothing against Indiana (lots of friendly folk ;P ), it's just that there's a lot to see outside its perimeters!

We seriously contemplated Charleston, SC for its beautiful ocean-side views and charming, candy-colored streets. We also briefly considered San Diego, NYC, Austin, Portland, Seattle and other lovely cities (who knows, we may get there sometime ^^ ). But then we considered lovely Phoenix and the possibilities that existed by living there. After all, its location is within driving distance to many hot spots and natural, noteworthy landmarks: The Grand Canyon, the Arches, various parks at the four corners, Las Vegas, California coast, Mexico, etc.

So here's the plan. Before we move (and perhaps it'll be ongoing), David and I will compose a mini bucket list. One that lists every single natural landmark and neighboring city we want to see in the next 1-2 years. Then, we're gonna do it all. ALL of it. Just watch. And don't worry, I'll take lots and lots of pictures.

I mean, seriously folks. Check out this gorgeous scenery (and here's a taste into what our list will include):

Grand Canyon

Las Vegas
Vermilion Cliffs National Monument

Arches National Park

Black Rock Desert

Monument Valley
San Diego
Tijuana, Mexico

You get the picture (literally!).

Are you excited for us? Because we are truly, truly pumped!

PS. Hello, palm trees. :P

Bidding you goodnight,
Wendy City

When the sun did shine such a glorious light; How the harmless birds did sing

2010-04-27T16:31:00.007-04:00

Holy wow. Two blog updates with less than a week separating them? This might just be better than your favorite icecream showing up in your freezer (which totally happened to me yesterday). I'm not sure what's prompted the sudden desire to update, but I'll go with it. Maybe my subconscious is attempting to persuade me to make my April quota. Who knows, lads.

Anywho, I figured that this beautiful April 27th would be the prime opportunity to tell you a little story. Listen carefully:

Earlier this month, I would gander a guess that says with in the first week of April, I found myself rushing off to pick up the most perfect bike ever. Before picking it up, I needed to get some cash (who carries cash?) to pay for it.

I was running a bit late, so I dashed into the local Walgreens, beelined for the Chase ATM nestled in the corner and shoved my card into the machine. With cash in hand, I came to realize that I didn't have exact change for the bike. Thinking quickly, I opted to purchase a bottle of water: the perfect solution to a parched throat and need for smaller bills. Unfortunately, I was held up in line by the guy in front of me who needed 4 quarters for his one dollar bill so he could hop on public transportation. A simple plea, really. Right? Too bad the cashier was a mega b-word and declined the favor. He sauntered outside, likely displeased at the situation.

Anyway, I paid up and then ran out the door. To my surprise, the man was sitting outside, looking a bit disgruntled. Without even thinking, I shoved a $1 bill in his hand and insisted it was fine. I didn't really wait for a thank you, but I smiled and ran off to make sure I wasn't more late than I already was.

Simple story, right? One dollar bill. Who needs it? Well, obviously that guy, but who else?

So get this. About 1 month before that moment (March 10, 2010 to be exact), I actually found a dollar bill in the street myself. Since I'm obsessed with take pictures, I documented my happiness:

Anyway, let's fast forward to now.

Since that moment, I've been finding myself with all this extra cash. I mean, I'm not inundated with dinero or anything, and the money is finding itself spent on all sorts of necessary things (ew to renewing license plates). But it's kind of weird. According to my calculations, I've received about $400 that was completely unexpected.

Why am I sharing this tale with you? Because it's the UNIVERSE, people. My theory is that when I found that dollar bill, it was not mine to take. So when I threw that $1 back to the universe in the form of a man needing to hitch a ride home, I would dare to say that the Universe decided to thank me. Either that or it just liked that I was being unselfish. Call me as crazy as you want. At least I still have an extra $400 this month.

With that said, I'm going to try an experiment. I have a really crisp $1 that I need to get rid of. Hopefully I find myself in the position to give it away again. :P And, of course, I encourage you to release your paper money to the universe the next time you're in the position to do so. It's all about timing, baby.

Anyway...

While I'm updating, I figured I should post some pictures. It wouldn't be a true update if I didn't.

A few weeks ago I wondered over to the Flying Cupcake on Mass Ave. They have one on Illinois street about 30 minutes from my place, but this one is downtown and only 10 minutes away. A dangerously sweet place, indeed. But quite easy on the eyes. :D

Love that paper mache deer!

Talk about pink! And that wee mushroom sitting there was also spotted at Meijer. :D

Red Velvet Elvis = heaven on Earth.

Details make a difference!

I'll take some flower roses in that jar, miss.

Mysterious #4

Too blue for school!

Ahhh. Super cute face.

Somehow, some way -- that Harley sign fits right in.

Spot Wendy's feet.

I covet this chair.

Thats'a ginger cupcake. :)

Exterior view.

Sweet shirts!

The ultimate reason anyone ventures inside of The Flying Cupcake is to buy something from that case.

It's taking all I've got to not run downtown to buy one. :x If there's one thing The Flying Cupcake teaches us, it's that even in economically pressing times, most people can still budget for a $3 cupcake.

Cheers, lassie.
Wendy City

Hey, baby, I just might take the chance

2010-04-25T21:40:00.006-04:00

This weekend was a cathartic one. I re-discovered things, learned to let go of things and celebrated life. I cried over happy things, I cried over sad things. I woke up and thought it was all a dream. I can honestly tell you that this weekend has changed my life, my perspective on life. I know it sounds ridiculously phony, cliche, whatever you want to call it.

There are exciting details I want to relay to all you loyal readers (all 12 of my lovely subscribers...haha ^.^), but those will come in due time.

First of all, I want to talk about my grandfather, who this weekend was awarded a lifetime achievement award by the Indiana Society of Anesthesiologists. I always knew my grandfather was a wonderful male figure in my life, a great doctor and a wise human being all around. Kind, caring, considerate - the perfect father, grandfather, co-worker, doctor. I think I can honestly say he was probably the strongest father figures in my life and for that I am quite grateful. I love my own father dearly, of course, but I'm being honest here.

Anyway, Grandpa graduated from Northwestern University and then moved to Indianapolis to practice at Wishard Hospital. There, he made advancements in the field of anesthesiology (some patented), worked with residents, was a gifted anesthesiologist and then later taught at IU school of Medicine.

I took this picture of him before I moved to Korea, Summer 2008.

So, congratulations to my grandfather -- a true inspiration in my life and, I'm sure, in many other lives.

Because of grandpa's award, a lot of family was in town. Saturday night we had dinner at my Aunt Grace's house (so delicious!) and then played games like old times (Outburst!). I loved seeing my Aunt Clara there, who I haven't seen since 2007. Then I sauntered over to my sisters apartment and talked into the wee hours of the morning. Cathartic indeed.

Speaking of my sister, a few weeks ago her cat, Zoey, had kittens. Believe me, she's getting spayed very soon. Jessie asked me to come over and take some pictures so that she could find them homes via Craigslist and other sources. I guess all of them are spoken for now, so that's great! ^^ I had a lot of fun taking pictures:

(favorite picture/kitty)

My goal was to capture their personalities. I hope I did. :) It makes it easier for the right pet owner to choose their pet if personalities are exposed, right?

I do have a few more pictures to share with you in this update. A few days after I visited my sister and her kittens, David and I went to Goshen/Middlebury to visit our friends and family. I was able to meet up with some longtime childhood friends, including miss Synda Marie and Alissa Tepe. Great people. :P

David and I also made a point to do more touristy things. We also crossed two more things off of our "2010 to do" list. Those include the following:

~~try a restaurant from diners, drive-ins and dives~~
~~go to a place that makes cheese~~

Picture Proof:

This is the South Side Soda Shop in Goshen. Who woulda thunk we only needed to travel to our hometown to see a restaurant featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives! You can see the video here.

We went with David's parents!

We went at an odd hour, hence the emptiness. :P

Famous Philly-Chili in that sundae cup.

I ordered a tuna hoagie. Yum!

In Middlebury (where I grew up) we found a cheese-making factory. Guggisberg / Deutsch Kase Haus is well-known for its delicious cheese made in-shop and has even won a bunch of awards. It felt great to be in Amish country again inhaling manure and enjoying the scenery while waiting to pass a buggy. ^^

Jams and what-not.

More Middlebury-shots:

Blue skies.

Where I grew up. That backyard = lots of roaming in the woods, eating berries, secret forts, mushroom hunting. I miss the space.

Adios, kiddos.
Wendy City

I tried to call your satellite, but baby you would not receive

2010-04-12T21:33:00.003-04:00

Well, I figured tonight would be the perfect time to update THE LIST that David and I created at the beginning of the year. I have to admit - we haven't crossed off nearly enough things considering we're 1/4 of the way through the year (still having a difficult time fathoming that time lapse!).

Here we go:

~~build an igloo~~ (pictures here)
~~try a new restaurant~~
~~grow a garden~~ (we're currently in the process - pics soon!)
buy a bike and ride it (okay, we can't technically cross this off yet...David doesn't have a bike yet. However, I did buy one for myself and I have ridden it -wee! Pics below).
~~walk in a park~~ (we've done this a few times - no pics though. ^.~ )
~~make homemade ravioli from scratch~~ (pictures here)
~~repurpose a piece of furniture from flea market/garage sale/craigslist~~ (pictures here)

Whew! We still have 42 things to do! I promise you, they will get done! :P

Anywho, as I mentioned above and in another post, I finally found a cute retro bike that suits my fancy! I paid a healthy $50 for this pretty lady: a 1960s pink and white Hollywood edition Schwinn. I went out on Saturday to explore part of Irvington. It was picture perfect, I swear! Winding roads, budding gardens, sweet critters frolicking in the greenest grass you've ever laid your eyes on. I can't wait for David to find a bike he likes so we can have bike dates together!

I think Goguma makes an appearance in every blog post...

Ooh, also, David and I have begun working very diligently on our flower garden. We're also going to start growing some veggies and stuff in the back yard. I'm hoping to have that project finished by the end of the week. Then it's just tending to it and harvesting! I'm not sure which part I like better. Once there's something more aesthetically stimulating, I promise I'll have pictures up, dear.

Speaking of photographs, I have a few more I want to share with you today. I think it was last Thursday I got the sudden urge to just go out and buy things. (Sidebar: This happens periodically. More often than I think is healthy. By the way, I recently read that purchasing things releases endorphins. So maybe it is healthy? So long as you have a healthy bank account...which, let's face it, could always be healthier. Dilemma.) Fortunately, the things I purchased were cheap Goodwill finds. I went searching for a cute, retro dress but instead came back with two pairs of heels, a mug and a few other odds and ends. I have pictures of two things:

I'm thinking circa late 80s, early 90s?

Seriously...how adorable!

Ooh, and I can't forget to post my new earrings that Mr. Mailman delivered at the tail end of last week after I ordered them from I'm Your Present on Etsy (visit her shop and try not to drool). I ordered one pair, the pink ones, but she sent me a freebie pair. Aw. ^o^

(wearing this now!)

Goguma and Lamia are so jealous right about now.

Mmk. I'm out. Enjoy this gorgeous weather, lassie.

Wendy City

She fell in love with the drummer, another then another

2010-03-31T23:13:00.003-04:00

One thing I love about being a freelance journalist is the ability to manipulate my schedule (most of the time, anyway). So, when I woke up to a Cinderella-esque theme with bluebirds singing outside my window and sunlight pouncing on the hardwood floor in our bedroom, I naturally decided I'd take the day off. (It also helps that I'll be working on Saturday - aka covering the Final Four tournament shenanigans.)

Oh how I adore an open day in the middle of the week. I convinced David to come to the gym with me today, where we played racquetball for a good 30-40 minutes. It's been a while since I've played -- seriously...best workout ever. I was the kind of sweaty that a lady shouldn't be.

Anyway, I also pleaded for David to come with me to the Eagle Creek area (NW side of town) to pick up a bike I found on Craigslist that was made for me. I really think it was made for me. It's a 1965 model, pink/white Schwinn with a little bell. Oi! I don't know if I want to fix it up a bit or leave it a little rustic. There's a certain charm to it as is. Decisions, decisions. Anyway...I'll post pictures later.

Speaking of fixer-uppers, though, I finally decided to treat myself to a shopping spree at Traderbaker's Flea market in Franklin. That's my favorite flea market ever. Ever. I always find great stuff there, and this time was no different. My favorite find was an older mirror that was a steal at $24.50. Here's the before shot:

As you can see from the photo, I decided to do a little re-painting. The finished product is lovely, lovely, lovely! ^o^

I shabbied it up a bit, too. Then hung it in the bedroom. PS. those pumps are retro finds, as well...but from a shopping trip long, long ago.

Uh...adorable, right? I feel slightly bad for David (it's kind of a girly blue/green hue), but I think he's used to my colorful ways.

Here are a few of my other wonderfully vintage finds:

A vintage kitchen scale ($10)...eeps! Here's the "behind" shot (it has a nice behind, eh?):

I think I'm going to use this old spice tin as a mini flower-holder.

Retro kitchen bowl. $2.50

Each of these books was a modest $1. They're from the late 1800s, early 1900s. My favorite is the one on the bottom, entitled, "The Sexual Life" and published in 1929. A random excerpt I literally just turned to (the entire book is this way):

"The female bust has always been considered one of the great feminine charms and its development to a proper degree of convexity adds much to a woman's shapeliness."

And because I obviously like taking pictures of myself.

Another retro bowl...I think I'm going to house fresh berries in this one! Also $2.50

Pretty old frame. I was hoping I'd be able to replace the photo, but the picture was glued to it. Not sure what I'm going to do with this, now. Time will tell...

This was another fixer-upper. Originally it was a horrid, sun-stained yellow. A bit grimy, too. But for $1 I decided to take it into my care. Goguma prefers its spiffy version, I think. :D

That's all for now. Upcoming blog updates include a photo spread from the new Flying Cupcake on Mass Ave, the new bike and...who knows.

This is me blowing you a kiss,
Wendy