It’s a ‘Murder, She Wrote’ kind of day

You’re probably wondering what that means.  What exactly is a Murder, She Wrote kind of day?  And why would anyone want to have a day like that?  Well, for me, it means comfort.  I grew up watching episodes of this wonderful show with my grandmother.  Angela Lansbury is pretty much my favorite person I have never met and hearing her voice resonate from the tv speakers makes me smile.

So today even though, it’s rainy and chilly and I’m stuck at my desk for the entire day, everything is a little bit better because Jessica Fletcher is solving mysteries on my second monitor.

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Book Review : A Discovery of Witches

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I very rarely purchase the first book of a series before the series has been completed.  That’s weird.  I know.  I always fear I will fall in love with the novel and then have to impatiently wait until the subsequent pieces are completed.  And, sure enough, it has happened.  I saw Deborah Harkness’ novel A Discovery of Witches sitting on the shelves at Chapters.  I picked it up countless times not quite sure what to think of it.  I even carried it around the store with me a few times, only to return it to its designated home on the shelves before leaving.

A friend ended up recommending Harkness’ first book of the trilogy to me a few months after the first time I warily picked it from the stacks.  She told me it was an amazing read and encouraged me to purchase it.  I did.  I quickly fell in love with the main character, Diana.  I wanted, badly, to rush through the pages.  I wanted to know what was going to happen next.  I wanted to stay up all night to continue reading.  But, I practised restraint and savored it.  And my goodness, was it worth it!

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I want to call this novel a guilty pleasure, but I almost think I liked it too much to say that.  I loved the characters, the setting, the love story.  I whole-heartedly adored it all.

The main character, Diana, comes from a long line of powerful and respected witches.  She struggles with her status and does her best to deny her heritage.  She is a scholar in Oxford and wants nothing more than for her academics to dictate her future, not her lineage.  But, regardless of her efforts to supress her magical ways, they still seep into her actions and life.

There are daemons and vampires, love and chaos, spells and curses and so much more.  Bear with me here.  I know what this sounds like.  An awful take on that ever-popular oh-so-famous vampire series.  But this one is different!  I promise!  …it’s more Harry Potter and less Edward vs. …what’s the other guy’s name?

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It’s a great read, I highly recommend it, and I’m eagerly anticipating the next book in the trilogy to hit the shelves… only a month and a few days to go for Shadow of Night!

Oh, hi! I didn’t see you there!

Just reason number 1027 I love where I live.  This place has allowed me to have pet deer!  I mean, who else has a dozen pet deer at any given time?!  …well, Audrey Hepburn had a fawn.  ….and the deer out here aren’t exactly mine, per-say.  But, they are here, and I see them daily, and I love them!

*Photo taken with my iphone*

 

Paper Anniversary

There are a handful of things I am extremely traditional about.  Because of this, my need (and yes, I felt it was a need) to find an anniversary gift for Mr. T. which fit into the ‘paper’ theme was extremely important to me.

Back story – A few years ago we packed up the car and drove down to California.  We made a stop in San Diego and one night, on the beach at sunset Mr. T. popped the question!  Then, last year, we loaded the vehicle up again drove all the way down to Virginia for our wedding.  We have always talked about finding an old map and tracking out our road trips.  So, I did just that!

I found a unique old-looking map (primarily of the USA) and tracked our two major road trips with a needle and thread.  I framed the map with it’s sewn markings and gave it to him for an anniversary gift.

I didn’t expect him to stick with a traditional gift and buy me something paper too.  So, I was pleasantly surprised when he did!  He found a beautiful old copy of Andersen’s Fairy Tales, a vintage, but like-new copy of the complete works for Lewis Carroll (!) and a handful of Hitchcock Magazines from the 80′s.  He’s a pretty amazing gift-giver!

We finished off the night by digging into the wedding cake we saved for our anniversary (thanks again Clint!).  Overall, it was a pretty quiet, low-key day, but it was absolutely perfect :)

The rose and card I picked up for Aaron

Wedded Bliss : First Anniversary

 

Thursday, May 10th marked our first wedding anniversary.  It’s hard to believe an entire year has gone by since that day.  I still remember walking into the gardens at the Poe museum in Richmond VA and feeling the tears well up in my eyes at how perfect it was (and also the relief that over 100 hours in a Hyundai Accent was worth that moment!).  I remember the warmth I felt in knowing that our day was going to be, without a doubt, our day.  I loved our wedding.  Every little thing about it.

 

Today – Looking back at the last year (and I’m sure many are going to roll their eyes at this one), I can’t believe how amazing it has been.  This last year has be wonderful.  Absolutely perfect.  And, easy.  Don’t get me wrong, we have had our moments.  Everyone does.  But overall, our first year of marriage was pretty painless.  I’m sure we will have hurdles along the way, but I know that no matter what we come across, he will always be there for me.  He’s a pretty swell guy :)  …I could go on, expressing my love for this man, but I’ll save you all from my sappy, post-anniversary self.

Tomorrow – I’ll share the gifts we exchanged :)