New Rug!

Hooray, we finally got a rug for the living room! It finally feels (fairly) complete. We still have some little tables to buy and pictures to put on the walls, but it feels like a real room now.

We got the rug from homedecorators.com, which has proven to be a pretty great resource for us. We also got our TV cabinet, standing/reading lamp from them, and now we're waiting for our new dining room chandelier.

It was also a relief, because we weren't sure what colors would look good...I've gone with a semi-monochromatic look (notice how most things in here are blue?) with highlights of yellowy-gold (the couch) and the complementary color of orange (the copper of the top of the coffee table).

Anyway, the rug looks fab with it all, I think. If you disagree, don't tell me!

If you want more...

pictures, of me, Andy, Vivi and Western Massachusetts, click here.

Vacation at Home Reflection

Our "Vacation at Home" has just finished, and we had a great time. Edith was here staying with us for a time, so she embarked on some of these journey as well.

Thursday we went for lunch at La Casita Azteca in Easthampton, my favorite local mole place. Afterward we did a relatively brief (45 mins) walk on Mt. Tom, then we went to the Montague Bookmill, which was pretty awesome.

Friday Andy and I headed off for Quabbin Reservoir, planning to do a nice big hike and give Vivi some great exercise. Of course, as soon as we got there (about a 30 min drive) we saw the sign: NO DOGS ALLOWED. Ugh. So, we'll return some other time (though I did get to snap a couple pictures from the entrance), and instead went for a walk in some off-season fishing and hunting area. Not the same, but good nonetheless. Later we stopped at a roadside stand for fried clam rolls. Yum!

Saturday was rainy and crappy, so we went to Ikea. It was an hour and twenty minute drive, since the closest one is in New Haven, CT.

Andy, Edith and I decided to make the most of it, and stopped to get pizza at Frank Pepe pizza on Wooster St, which is supposedly the greatest pizza ever, but the line was long, we were cold and starving, so we went to a lesser known spot a couple blocks down and surely had lesser food. Ah, well. Then we bought stuff at Ikea, went home and vegged for the rest of the night.

Sunday we all went to some yard sales, but the only thing purchased was a children's book called Tea with an Old Dragon: A Story of Sophia Smith, Founder of Smith College for a buck. We dropped Edith back at home, then Andy and I went to Bub's BBQ for lunch. It was AWESOME. Great, smoky pulled pork sandwiches, awesome BBQ Ranch beans, everything was great. I'm so happy this place is open year round, and in our area.

After lunch we went for what ended up being a crazy steep and semi-difficult hike to Rattlesnake Knob in Amherst, where it was all worth it for the view. Needless to say, Vivi and I were dead for the rest of the night.

Finally yesterday we saw "Inglourious Basterds" which was okay, but I didn't like it as much as so many other people. The beginning was promising, with the conversation
at the French dairy farm that was reminiscent of "Reservoir Dogs" and "Pulp Fiction." ("Pulp Fiction" is also Andy's favorite movie.) But Andy and I both felt the second half (after the scene in the pub) dragged. There was still good stuff, but once again I had high expectations that I feel weren't met (sadly I felt the same about "Julie and Julia"). Ah, well.

The awesome news for yesterday, though, was that we found Banh Mi in the Pioneer Valley!! We randomly went for lunch at Miss Saigon in Amherst and there on the door was a sign that they were making Banh Mi. We are suckers for these Vietnamese sandwiches, which have gotten so popular lately, and after trying them in NY, I had searched and searched for them here and found nothing. And they were good! I'm seriously considering stopping for another one for lunch today. We'll see.

Now, it's kind of back to the grind. Andy's back at work, and I'm prepping for next Tuesday, my first day back at work since June 2008! Weird. And exciting.

How are you spending the last days of the summer?

The Puppy!

Click here for pictures!

Some are old but there's some new ones on there.
She just turned 12 weeks yesterday. We've had her for 5 weeks now.

Before & After: Kitchen (Step 1)

We went back and forth deciding what color to paint the kitchen (the first of many steps in fixing this space up).

We were going to go for white, because we want a clean, open, light space...but decided on the same pale blue (Behr's Cool Sky) with white trim (Behr's Creamy White) that we used in the living and dining rooms. One reason is because the first floor of our house is very open and you can see each room from the others. We wanted things to feel connected, cohesive, and not broken up (since the rooms aren't huge and don't need to feel smaller than they are).

Another reason we went for the pale blue/white combo is because it's just so pretty. Every time I look around at the walls I say, "Isn't this so pretty?" So, why not spread that love to the kitchen?

Before
After
Before
After
See how light it is now, without that dark green keeping everything in shadows?
The blue might not go with things yet, but soon it will all come together.

The next step we plan to take is to paint or stain the cabinets white. I say paint, Andy says stain so they're kind of white-washed with the wood grain still showing through. I'm open to anything - does anyone have experience/knowledge pertaining to this? Please share!

Eventually we'll also (over who knows how many months) replace the sink (I hate this one!), replace the counter (probably with granite, though a big part of me yearns for butcher block), put up a tile backsplash, and change the floor. Speaking of which - what do you think of the floor? Sometimes I love it, sometimes I hate it...

Videos of Vivi!

Yes, I DO have that much time on my hands.
To post videos on you tube of my puppy.
Between job searches on the internet.

I mean, you never know - I could post videos of Vivi on the internet and she could be the next big sensation. This reality/internet world is a mysterious thing.
You just never know.

Anyway, to see videos of Vivi (because you have as much free time as I do, right?) click here (I'm Ivyreb).
Better yet, subscribe to me when you get there - I don't know what it will do for you, but it will make me feel mad important.

Your Average White Suburbanite Slob

Wait, you don't know the song "Asshole" by Denis Leary (my favorite line conveniently perfect for the title of this post)?? Before going further, go watch the video NOW!!

(and yes, our other, often-quoted, favorite line is "When handicapped people make handicapped faces"... don't judge!)

Little did we know that one day we'd be what we've been laughing at all these years.
It all started with... a mower.

That's right - we got a lawn mower.

Not just any mower...

a ride on mower.

We have a big yard.
A push mower would take hours.
Everyone else has a ride on mower.
It makes the air smell really nice.

Never mind the excuses, here's my own white suburbanite slob, taking that bad boy for it's first spin.

It's absolutely thrilling. I know. Don't be jealous.

I don't know what's next - me wearing an apron, baking a pie? What other suburban stereotypes can we act out?

Painting (Before & After)

Painting, painting and more painting. That's where I've been.

But today was a change - the big carpet cleaning expedition! How exciting!
We rented a carpet cleaner and just finished up four hours of intense cleaning.
I hate carpeting.

Here's some before and after shots of some rooms we've done so far, in terms of painting. We have lots of decorating that will be coming up soon; just not yet. foyer before (looking into the half bath)

foyer after

half bath after (never got a decent before pic)

guest bathroom before

guest bathroom after

guest bedroom before

guest bedroom after

dining room before

dining room after

living room before

living room after

Paint Colors:
Foyer & Half Bathroom: Glidden Antique White w/ Creamy White trim. (We were dumb - we went ahead and bought the Antique White based on a suggestion on a website that it's a great cream color, without actually testing it first... it's a little more grayish than cream, but it looks clean so I guess it's okay for now.

Guest Bathroom: Behr White Bathroom paint (mildew resistant, all that good stuff) w/ existing wood trim

Guest Bedroom: Behr Grass Cloth w/ existing wood trim.

Living room & dining room: Behr Cool Sky w/ Creamy White trim.

House pictures & Boston!

Okay! For all the exciting moments of our first week and a half in our new house captured on film (well, my digital camera) AND a quick trip to Boston on Saturday, click here.

And for just a glimpse of dusk from our back deck, here's a quick video to give you and idea of the surroundings. We love it!

Some Last Prague Pics

We're all packed! Here's some last pics... click here
.

Andy's Twin Brother?!

Okay - the first picture isn't super flattering of my gorgeous husband, but it was the only one I could find where he wasn't smiling or laughing!

But hello, isn't the guy (the one on the left, people!) in the bottom picture (thanks Dlisted) kind of a (slightly younger and skinnier) dead ringer for Andy?
Minus the facial tattoos??

Andy doesn't agree, but I think they look alike. What do YOU think??

2008 in Pictures

After reliving 2008 for that survey I decided to post some of my favorite pictures from last year.

These are in no particular order, and there were so many... sadly my hair looked like crap in 90% of those, so I had to leave them out.
Wintry branches in Loket.

Christmas ornaments in Nuremberg.


Piazza San Marco, Venice.


Prague Castle (a little blurry but still pretty!)

Heather playing the horn at Stodola on that fateful night!

Me and my man at the Louvre in Paris.

Students! Reading! Of their own will!

The plane ride to Prague, July 8th.

Students working together.

My birthday dinner at La Flor.

Spanish Moss in Savannah.

She-crab bisque at Poogan's Porch in Charleston, SC.

2 Cafes & a Pivnice

Now that it's January, we are in the process of planning our great return to the US, to NY and the relocation to Massachusetts.

We are planning to buy our plane tickets tonight, and return Sunday, February 1st. That's 24 days away! Oh my god!

As much as we have had a great time here for our 7 month long trip, we are both excited to come back. I'll talk more about that another day.

For now, we are in the process of still enjoying ourselves...but we are also kind of saying a long sad farewell to Prague. Of course, we'll be back - Andy's family's here! - but we both have had such a great time, and I for one have become very at home here.

Because we see the end zooming toward us, we're trying to hit all our favorite spots before we go. This of course includes restaurants and cafes.

Today we went to a great Czech pub on Národní called Krušovická pivnice in Prague, where we have been many times. The just have good Czech food and it's not crazy expensive. We shared Hermelín (see picture) and Svíčková. Their Svíčková is pretty great.

After lunch we took a big tram ride on the 22 up past the castle and back down. I love riding the tram and think it's a great (warm) way to see the city. Afterwards we went to Kavárna Louvre (Cafe Louvre, also on Národní) for some hot chocolate. We'd never been there but had heard great things about the "Horká čokoláda 'Louvre'" and figured this cold day was a great opportunity to try it. It was sooo good... very rich, like pudding or chocolate fondue, as a drink. Yum! They also had these little blank note papers on each table that say "Cafe Louvre." I like to think those are there for big business deals where one person has an offer to big they must write it on a slip of paper and then pass it over. Very classy.

Last week we went to Cafe Savoy, another favorite, for our regulars: Salát s gratinovaným kozím sýrem (salad w/ baked tomatoes with goat cheese, carmlized walnuts and a kind of maple vinaigrette), and Tatarský biftek Savoy (Beef tartare with topinky - fried bread). Double Yum! This food is SO GOOD!

These cafes are so beautiful, I just love going somewhere where I can dine in style!

Oh, and here's some more recent pics, including Kolín, New Year's and some crazy Czech wine sausage, "vinná klobása".

Helloooo 2009!

New Year's eve was fun - as I mentioned in my last post, we were with Andy's brothers, David and Lukáš, and their women, Hanka and Katka.

The ladies made yummy food - chlebíčka (little breads with spread and pieces of meat like ham or salami, with bits of pickles, eggs, veggies... whatever's around... taken from "chleb" which means bread, it's a cutesy way of saying little breads - "chlebíčka" - cute, right?), salted almonds, and pork with a horseradish/apple/pork fat mixture that was awesome.
We listened to music and played poker and drank wine.

As it neared midnight I insisted we find a radio station that would have a proper countdown - I need a proper countdown on New Year's. We figured the station we were listening to would have one - shouldn't all stations? We got our champagne (Bohemia Sekt, actually) ready, and when David's clock read 11:58pm, fireworks started going off in the town. Confusion. A minute later the song on the radio ended and the DJ said that midnight had just happened. No countdown! Sad. And David's clock was wrong.

Oh well, we drank our sekt and celebrated. We watched fireworks from the window. Because anyone can buy fireworks it was quite a scene - there were fireworks shooting up in at least eight different places we could see. We could even see them through the bare trees of a nearby woods, going off in the next town over. It was pretty cool.

Prague Christmas

Christmas in Prague was wonderful - on Christmas Eve morning Andy and I went with his parents to the cemeteries to put flowers and candles on his grandparents' graves.
We came back home, hung out, ate yummy yummy fish soup for lunch, then watched a movie. David, Lukas and Katka came over and we did dinner - fried carp, potato salad and Christmas cookies. Here, presents are exchanged on Christmas eve, which I'm not crazy about, but it was nice and fun. We had a good time.









On Christmas morning we woke up early and went to Prague, to St. Vitus Cathedral, which is in Prague Castle, for mass. Yes, it was all in Czech, but it was very pretty. Sadly, I have been totally spoiled by my little modern American church and didn't realize that because I was in a real church, old and stone, that I'd be freezing. Oh well, it was still beautiful and lovely.

We returned home, and I spent several hours talking to my family and Edith.
It was a great holiday! Click here for pictures, including many of the Christmas carp!