How Life Is Supposed to Be Lived

It's 80 degrees. You're eating oysters. You've caught enough crabs to feed six people. You've got good jams, good drinks, good friends. It's October. You brunch at Rayfields. You take drives to Virginia Beach to pick up Bailey's Cake for birthday celebrations. You buy new nail polish. You go to used book sales at small-town libraries that have been converted from old churches. You buy 3 hardback books for $1.00. It's 80 degrees.

There are cute dogs...everywhere.

It's 80 degrees.

You lay out by the pool.

You get good kisses.

You wander the bay.

You drive down country roads and snap close-ups of the cotton fields.

You drool over old buildings and fantasize about renovations.

You sip Cape Charles coffee.  You eat bagels with lox and capers and onions and cream cheese. You make garlic bread.

You are free to "express yourself."

You drive a turquoise T-bird for four hours with the top down. You film everything.

YOU DO IT FOR MELFA!!

Basically, you are this woman:

She's rlll famous.

xoxo,
Hannah

Big Ditto On That

Breaking news: we finally checked off a goal from the white board and went out to the wild unknown... a wharf. A wharf, you may say? Why in god's name would you choose a wharf for a weekend adventure?? I'll tell you why--it's got fish. And crabbies. And weird people trolling around and natives chillin on their house boats and little mangy fat squirrels running around eating everyone's leftovers. Who wouldn't want a piece of that??

We started off bright and early with a homemade PumpkinSpiceLatte (VP PSL), put on some serious walking shoes, and headed downtown. However, before we left, we were faced with the most daunting task of all: surviving Hayley's guilt trip.

Sooo sad! How much is that stupid doggie in the window, because she's rll cute.

God. CarSex is just as depressing. Matching sad faces? Give me a break people, we'll be back in a few hours! Lock it up!

Moing on. We made it to the cityyyyy. And saw some birds on a light post.

This is A dock.

We found some boats. See?

This was the cutest one of all. Green thumb + waterfront + shady canopy + picnic table = everything's better down where it's wetter, take it from me.

The fish market!

...visions of Cape Charles danced in her head.

Ouch Ouch Ouch!

Fried oysters...mmmm......

After we stuffed ourselves with the appropriate amount of seafood, waded our way though traffic, and weaved in and out of blobs of small children, we wandered to the Mall to revel in all that was the National Book Festival. BOOKS EVERYWHERE!

Exhibit A: this is not a Land Baron.

Yes, yes--awkward pictures aside, this was a brilliant discovery and we stocked up on !free! posters, pamphlets, and delicious readings from some of our nation's finest writers. Can't you see we are bursting with culture?



Unattractive giddiness taking over!

All in all--weekend success! Got our exploration on; ate some seafood; wandered the city; returned my North Face jacket to [finally] have the hood repaired; ate lunch with Jeanne; shredded; and watched some weird Sunday-night movie. Hip Hip Hooray!

Sunday snuggles <3

xxx,
Hannah

I'm Bossy

First, Lord: No tattoos. May neither Chinese symbol for truth nor Winnie-the-Pooh holding the FSU logo stain her tender haunches.

May she be Beautiful but not Damaged, for it’s the Damage that draws the creepy soccer coach’s eye, not the Beauty.

When the Crystal Meth is offered, May she remember the parents who cut her grapes in half And stick with Beer.

Guide her, protect her

When crossing the street, stepping onto boats, swimming in the ocean, swimming in pools, walking near pools, standing on the subway platform, crossing 86th Street, stepping off of boats, using mall restrooms, getting on and off escalators, driving on country roads while arguing, leaning on large windows, walking in parking lots, riding Ferris wheels, roller-coasters, log flumes, or anything called “Hell Drop,” “Tower of Torture,” or “The Death Spiral Rock ‘N Zero G Roll featuring Aerosmith,” and standing on any kind of balcony ever, anywhere, at any age.

Lead her away from Acting but not all the way to Finance. Something where she can make her own hours but still feel intellectually fulfilled and get outside sometimes And not have to wear high heels.

What would that be, Lord? Architecture? Midwifery? Golf course design? I’m asking You, because if I knew, I’d be doing it, Youdammit.

May she play the Drums to the fiery rhythm of her Own Heart with the sinewy strength of her Own Arms, so she need Not Lie With Drummers.

Grant her a Rough Patch from twelve to seventeen. Let her draw horses and be interested in Barbies for much too long, For childhood is short – a Tiger Flower blooming Magenta for one day – And adulthood is long and dry-humping in cars will wait. 

O Lord, break the Internet forever, That she may be spared the misspelled invective of her peers And the online marketing campaign for Rape Hostel V: Girls Just Wanna Get Stabbed. 

And when she one day turns on me and calls me a Bitch in front of Hollister, Give me the strength, Lord, to yank her directly into a cab in front of her friends, For I will not have that Shit. I will not have it. 

And should she choose to be a Mother one day, be my eyes, Lord, that I may see her, lying on a blanket on the floor at 4:50 A.M., all-at-once exhausted, bored, and in love with the little creature whose poop is leaking up its back. 

“My mother did this for me once,” she will realize as she cleans feces off her baby’s neck. “My mother did this for me.” And the delayed gratitude will wash over her as it does each generation and she will make a Mental Note to call me. And she will forget. But I’ll know, because I peeped it with Your God eyes.
--Tina Fey, Bossypants

Oops, I Did it Again

For as long as I can remember, I've had this "problem" of starting several new books at the same time. I try not to, but it's a curse. Once I get my hands on something good it's like literary PCP--I just want more and more and more. So I just started reading Coop. It's delicious (as in, I'm already 100 pages in and I just picked it up). Then, like any good addict, I went back to the library tonight to piddle around and search for a new fix when I found myself skimming over....

Twain's Feast: Searching for America's Last Food in the Footsteps of Samuel Clemens. 

Nooo...looks...so....good. Must check out. 

Then, as I'm feeling even more guilty at the thought of pushing Coop aside for something newer and shinier, I see...

Scout, Atticus & Boo: A Celebration of Fifty Years of To Kill a Mockingbird.

Um, hello. This was a serious call to action. I couldn't just walk by a cover like this (and yes, I definitely judge a book by its cover. So sue me.). The name of my old, hypothetical unborn child (not to mention the one and only badass Jack Russell, Scouty. Hell, and old granny Boo for that matter) was staring me in the face! I had to do something.

So I got them both. Of course. Don't get me wrong--I'm pumped to have all three books at my disposal. Sometimes I just wish I had more hours in the day to lounge around and absorb every written word around me. Where is that good-looking, wealthy land baron when I need him? I'll make him a pot roast if it will bring me endless days of hardbacks and NYT Bestsellers...

It Was So Hot Outside, We Could Fry An Egg...

I had a great -- albeit super fast -- weekend. I spent all of Saturday soaking up the public library and flipping through magazines, checking out memoirs, and researching travel options for upcoming trips. I read a memoir (Crazy Love) by Leslie Morgan Steiner about her abusive relationship with her first husband. While it wasn't the best book I've ever read, it was one of those I couldn't put down, not even to refill my coffee or eat yet another lemon-pepper cucumber. It was sad and descriptive and at most times bleak... but those are usually my favorite kind of books, anyway.

Also, I bought this super dorky egg cooker at Williams-Sonoma that cooks your fried eggs in the shape of daisies. Awesome, I know. Let's just say I've been getting more than my fair share of protein the last couple days. Sooo cute sooo easy.

 

Next up:

Most egg-cellent. Bahaa.

Yesterday, Eileen and Rob came up so Rob could do something important downtown for law skool/life. Eileen and I bummed around the miserably hot city, grabbed some espresso, checked out Eastern Market, and had lunch/dinner (linner) at a super cute and random cafe near the Capitol. I'm getting so stoked about our trip to Charleston that's RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER! I may or may not have a countdown running at work on my whiteboard for erryone to see. I'm betting hard money that J's new pad is the sickest one in town, and I'm the first to admit that I need a little Owsley lovin' in my life.

Other than the fact that I am once again battling the dreaded poison ivy, life is b-e-a-t-i-f-u-l and busy. I'm trying not to rush through August so I can enjoy every moment, even if most moments are spent  in sweltering 90+ degree heat. With Charleston, Blacksburg, and Maine on the calendar, my goal to book a new trip every weekend is shaping up nicely. Now if only the Landlady + pooch would return, life would be perfection...

xxx, Hann