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

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

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

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