Thanksgiving!

Since we are going to be in the DR over Thanksgiving, we celebrated with my parents the week before. yum!!!

Eric & Karin got engaged!

and we had a fun time celebrating their engagement with a night out in Old Town - drinks at Chart House, champagne and dinner at Jackson 20, & music and coffee at Tiffany Tavern.

Our 4th Anniversary!

On Nov. 5th we celebrated our 4th anniversary! Kevin bought me some really beautiful flowers, which I took with us so I could enjoy them when we went away for the weekend. We stayed at a B&B in Roanoke, VA - it was SO nice to get away & just relax together. They have a great art scene & we REALLY loved the new Taubman Museum of Art and their Pae White exhibit blew our minds!

Isabela is born!

Sheryl and Joey's baby, Isabela, is born and we get to meet her at Morgan's dad's birthday!

Halloween

Halloween this year we went as Courtney Love & Kurt Cobain. We started the night at Art Outlet's Ofrenda event - which had some cool art installations & an AWESOME trapeze artist! Then we went downtown to an awesome costume party with some friends!

Annual Pumpkin Carving Party

Lisa & Brian's annual pumpkin carving party was a lot of fun!

Braxton comes to visit

Our SUPER cute nephew!

Fall Races

The fall was (like always) full of races. This year Kevin didn't run in any, but we did go to cheer his dad in the Army 10 Miler & his dad, sister and her husband in the Marin Corp Marathon!

Party Like It's 1999...

That's right....time for our 10 year high school reunions! Kevin's was in Bahrain so we didn't get to go :( However we did go to mine and it was a lot of fun catching up with old friends! Go Robinson Rams! I think Kevin had a pretty good time hanging with the spouses :)

Kevin's Birthday Fiesta!

We had a really great Mexican themed fiesta for Kevin's 28th! We had a lot of awesome food (thanks everyone for bringing stuff!) and we even had a Mexican 'thumb' wrestling tournament and fake mustaches :)

Elementary!

Went to see our friend Steve's band Elementary play at Rock'n Roll Hotel in DC - apparently after we left the cast from Real World DC showed up - although now that I've seen some of that season I think I'm glad we didn't stick around. Steve's band was awesome though!

Welcome home Eric!!!

Eric finally comes home from Afghanistan!

Lisa's bday!

havin' some fun at Lisa's 49th birthday!

2009 House Guests!

This past year we had a lot of friends come visit us at our new place. Brent & Erin came with baby Ander and stayed with us for a week while Brent was at a work conference up here. Matt & David came for a visit (and we even got to sit next to Arnold Schwarzanegger when we ate at Clyde's in Georgetown). Jason & Gray came and we did some site seeing - 2 of my favorites, the modern art gallery of the National Portrait Gallery and the Jefferson Memorial. Oh and of course many visits from Ralphy the dog :)

Artomatic 2009

Having some fun at the Artomatic opening on Friday - the gallery installed our "handmade garden" there all made from recycled materials (orginally installed/built by the community at the Torpedo Factory & then transferred to this years Artomatic).

Farewell Susannah!

Mary hosted a cocktails & sparkles party in honor of Susannah...who is leaving us to move to Raleigh...but I think she will be back :)

Jail, Bail & Cocktails!

this month I have been raising money for the Greater Washington Area's Muscular Dystrophy Association. On May 20th we (myself & 2 friends from work Mary & Tara) are being "arrested" and taken to "jail" and fed "bread and water" which is really lunch at La Portas. We have to raise our "bail money" in order to get out of jail! The goal is to raise $3000 & all of the money goes to benefit MDA!

Here are some pics from our fundraiser that we had last week...

Allison's Birthday

We celebrated my 28th birthday Kentucky Derby style. A lot of friends came out & it was a lot of fun (oh and mint juleps may look pretty, but they taste awful!)

Claire's Big Race

Bagels & Mimosa's EARLY Sunday morning - check

Tacky head gear & beads - check

Cool poster made by moi - check

Claire Rockin her first 10 miler - priceless

Messiah Ladies

Catching up with my girls (and our men) that I grew up going to church with. We had a great dinner at Mike's in Springfield. Lauren, Allison & Myself all have birthdays around the same time so heather made each of us these awesome pink strawberry cupcakes!

Inside all of us is a Wild Thing!

I don't know if you know this, but one of my very favorite authors is Dave Eggers - he has written several books - and if you haven't read A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, then I highly recommend it! We went to see him speak at George Mason's Fall for the Book Festival a few years back, with our friend and fellow Eggers fan Eric, right before the book What is the What came out (seriously - must read these books, and also You Shall Know Our Velocity.)

Okay, all that said, my point is - Where the Wild Things Are, is about come out, directed by Spike Jonze - and it seriously looks so wonderful - and I am SO elated that the screenplay was co-written Dave Eggers. And to make things even better - Eggers is writing a full length adult novel to correspond with the kids book called Wild Things.

YAY is all that can be said!


also - the soundtrack looks to be great - thanks to Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs!

Twilight Obsession

so...I am coming clean...finally admitting to it

I read all 4 of the Twilight books in 1 week and I really loved them. I mean these books are not something I would usually pick up or even think twice about reading. Kevin and I had been boycotting the movie, but one night we decided to curl up and get a movie on OnDemand, Twilight was one of the only new ones...and we both actually liked it.

So I had a gift card to Barnes and Noble and spent a long time just browsing, enjoying an evening among books while Kevin had to work late. I picked up 2 already - Michael Chabons newest one, Gentlemen of the Road. The other book is Junot Diaz's The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.

I was about head out when I saw a display in the front for the Twilight books - I grabbed the first one on a whim. We had 2 friends staying with us, Brent & Erin and their baby Ander - so I thought that I would read Twilight first b/c it would be light and I wouldn't become too absorbed...umm I was totally wrong. I read the first one in 2 days, and then had to go back and get the next ones, one after the other, and 3000 pages later I was done. Kevin said I was completely obsessed and consumed by the books - and he is probably right :)

well...that's all i have to say about that. Oh and I snagged this great pic from a friends facebook page (her book club was reading them as well) - oh and now I can not wait to see the next movie, New Moon, which comes out in November (and yes I do feel like a 15 year old)

A nice long weekend

I took a 3 day weekend (was going to be 4 days but I really need to go in tomorrow and help with installing the Reclaimed Exhibit). Friday I went on a little shopping trip to Ikea - met Morgan & Corbin or lunch in the cafe, then we spent several hours in search of items to help organize out tiny house... skinny indoor bin for recycling-check, Grundtal Stainless shelves for kitchen-check, shower curtain and hooks for basement bathroom-check, pull out bins and extra clothes polls for our closet-check...oh and of course Swedish fish to snack on :)

Speaking of Swedish Fish...look at this hilarious image I found...



Friday night we went to dinner with Kevin's family to celebrate Jen (our sister inlaws) birthday. Amy & Matt and our new nephew Braxton were in town and we had a great dinner at Lebanese Taverna at Pentagon Row.

Saturday we made an attempt to hang our beautiful pendant lamp in the living room. We took down the ceiling fan and installed the pendant, but when we turned the breaker back on we heard a really loud POP! not sure what it was, but we took the light back off and now the fan part and pendant are all around the dining room and waiting on anelectrician. We did get the Grundtal shelves up, a mirror in the living room, futon that Morgan gave us for the basement, etc.

And now I am sitting on the couch enjoying having the windows open - the weather is just perfect! Our Magnolia tree is in full bloom with huge pink flowers - and I'm sad to think that they are only going to last a few weeks more, but we are enjoying Spring so far!

Hem Song

Have you seen the Liberty Mutual commercial - a person sees another person do a simple, good deed and he then in turn does a kind act to some other stranger, the whole "pay it forward" trend. Well the most recent on has a Hem song playing in the background. If you haven't heard Hem you really should - so beautiful & a bit haunting. Anyways, here is a video of the song playing in the commercial, Half Acre...

To Twitter or not to Twitter....

So I've been feeling the pressure to join twitter from some work friends. One friend sent me a great social networking article and it kind of sold me...I have it in my work email so I'll update this post with a link to it tomorrow.

So, this is me... http://twitter.com/AllisonNance
let me know if you are on there too so we can, you know, "follow each other"

Meniscus Trouble...Oh NO!

I went to visit Dr. Rabbit-yes that his real name :) today and an Xray & Cortisone shot later = a scheduled MRI for Saturday & SURGERY very soon! Yikes - I fell twice in the ice 2 winters ago & had my knee checked out then but there was no tear at the time. About 3 weeks ago I started having intense knee pain on and off. My friend Tara recommended Dr. Rabbit (who is excellent). So after a very large shot this morning into the knee, I am now wearing a Patella Knee Brace and hobbling a little but :(

here is a bit about the Meniscus...

How do I know my meniscus is torn?
Most tears of the meniscus lead to knee pain in the area of the tear, on the inside or outside of the knee. Swelling of the knee may also occur. Occasionally, locking of the knee can occur, when the meniscus gets wedged inside the knee. Pain and instability caused by the meniscus tear can also cause the knee to buckle or “give way”. Twisting activities usually worsen the symptoms.

Saint Patricks Day

Happy Birthday Claire & Pat!
St. Patty's was a busy, busy day. We had a short exhibition to install (High school Mentor Program - 1 week). We had a big Cake party to celebrate Claire's birthday & Pat Monk's birthday (88 wahoo!) Kevin met me at work and we all walked over to O'Connel's where we were on the "List"(Thanks Collin - Erin, who I work with, is engaged to Colin who is the head chef at O'Connell's). We had a lot of fun and then we strolled over to Chadwicks for Birthday dinner for Claire!

Reclaimed Public Art Installation

In conjunction with our Reclaimed Exhibition, the Target Gallery is hosting a site specific installation project that will be installed in the main hall of the Torpedo Factory on the night of the Reclaimed Reception, April 9th (during 2nd Thursday Art Night). The public is welcome and encouraged to participate in the building of this "handmade garden" installation which will include a large tree, garden wall & flowers - all made from RECYCLED objects!

Below is a list of the recycled objects that we will be collecting from now until April 8th. Please bring your donations to Target Gallery committee member Lisa Schumaier in Studio 16 (first floor of the Torpedo Factory, across from the Art League Gallery). If you have any question please contact the gallery.

Recycled Supplies needed
1. Chicken wire
2. tin cans, any size, open on both ends.
3. bottle caps
4. little tabs off soda cans
5. metal paper clips
6. used dried coffee grounds
7. big green straws from starbucks used and rinsed

Majora Carter & The Promised Land

I while back I was watching The Green on the Sundance Channel- this episode was featuring Majora Carter who ran/founded a non profit called Sustainable South Bronx - "where she pioneered green-collar job training and placement systems in one of the most environmentally and economically challenged parts of the US." The episode I watched was her personal story about installing a "green roof" on top of her row home in the Bronx. I love this idea (and would LOVE to see this happen on the top of my work's building). She is really a dynamic person & you should check out her website - or the The Promise Land, the radio show she hosts.

All the Single Ladies...

Kevin went out of town this weekend, so I was a single lady for the weekend! Kevin went down to NC to see our sweet nephew Braxton, but I had a work reception on Sunday so I stayed home - first time sleeping apart since we were married in 2005 (except 1 night that I stayed at a friends for a bachelorette sleep over).



Saturday I had a great time with the girls from work. Claire, Mary & I went to see a total girls movie - He's Just Not That Into You. I had been avoiding seeing this movie b/c I just didn't think it was going to be that good, so I went into it with low expectations - and it was actually very good. We all really enjoyed it, and Ginnifer Goodwin was so cute in it.


Afterwards we met with Tara (another work friend) for drinks at No. 9 Lounge, the upstairs bar at Evening Star. It was a really great girls night - and fun to spend time with the ladies away from work.

an ode to the cadet cabinet...

so as some of you have heard, we have a teeny tiny kitchen. very small. no drawers. 5' tall fridge. no space for pots and pans, or anything else that goes in a kitchen - like silverware. Mary, my friend (and boss) has the same house we do about 1/2 a mile a way. her kitchen has about 4 inches more room (wide) than ours b/c of the way our electrical has been set up.

Well, I was over at her place on Monday, and she has bought the perfect cabinet/pantry from cb2, a modern spin off from Crate & Barrel - and when I saw it I was in love. Not because it is so beautiful, or my ideal piece of furniture, but I was euphoric at the thought of having a little storage in my kitchen. Somewhere I could store all of our food which would then make room for all of our kitchen goods that are in 2 cardboard boxes at the bottom of the basement stairs (ugh).

Well when I came home Kevin and I hopped online and pulled up the measurements. We got out our trusty tape measure (which as a new home owner knows, we must always have this on hand) and got ourselves all excited at the prospect of precious storage. oh, well then disappointment set in when we realized that those 4 inches that Mary has in her kitchen...four inches we don't have...makes the Cadet cabinet slightly too big. I have to admit this small set back made me feel defeated at first...well more than "at first" I dwelled on it for a few days, and now I'm writing this ridiculously long blog. But I am determined to find the perfect solution to our tiny kitchen (until I can knock out that pesky load bearing wall between the dining room and kitchen). If you have a tiny kitchen and can give me some insight, I would love to hear it :)

Through Painted Deserts

I'm currently reading Through Painted Deserts by Donald Miller. I read another one of his books, Blue Like Jazz, a while back and really loved it. I'm really enjoying Through Painted Deserts - his style of writing is so easy to get into and really allows you to get absorbed into his world & experiences.



Kevin is reading In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. This is the same author as The Omnivore's Dilema. If you love to talk about food politics as much as Kevin does, then you must read these books.

Garden Time...a growing challenge

Check out 1 Green Generation


I posted a link to this site a few posts back, but I didn't really blog about it. We're not taking the seed2seed challenge this year - I dont think - b/c we only just this weekend cleared out the garden beds and haven't really planned what we are going to plant yet. However, we are really interested in this and thought maybe you all would be too, and this i a good site to poke around.

I particularly enjoy reading the living locally section - especially the 10 steps to "living locally." Hope you'll read it and enjoy it too.

"We are so used to saying ‘if I can’t get it here, I can get it somewhere else’ but what if you just made your choice more often from what is available where you are?”

[Living locally is] “getting into a mindset where the first place you look for everything you need is from your own back yard (figuratively) outward. I think it’s about being present in your own community…. I think settling down enough to say ‘this is where I am, how I can I help make it better than it’s ever been’ is integral to living locally.”

Spring!

Old Town is bustling today with this warm weather! I took yesterday off and so I'm in the gallery today. I popped out for some coffee (iced pike roast with room, one pump vanilla, and a splash of milk - my first iced coffee of the season). There was a bluegrass band on the corner of Union & King right outside the Torpedo Factory doors. People and their dogs of course were everywhere (Old Town is a certainly a dog lovers place). The man with the bird rescue is out on the docks with his parrots. I can't believe last week Alison Sigethy (an artist at the TF) and some Alexandria locals were out on the dock building a snow man & a snow puppy). Yesterday was the annual St.Patricks parade - we missed it though b/c we were working on our first garden (first real one - we had some pots and window boxes in out condo but that doesnt count)

Alexandria is a great place to live - and Old Town is an inspiring place to work. When I worked in Tysons it was a bit stifling - lots of traffic, lots of office buildings, lots of corporate America. Living there was fun bc we were right on the border of Falls Church - great restaurants & the mall was close so it was nice being able to just pop over to the mall without it being a big ordeal. But we really are adjusting to living in Alexandria. Del Ray has that great small town vibe, with an inviting Avenue of shops a cafes, and we are so close to the DC city line that it's easy to get out to a gallery opening, go see some live music, try a new restaurant.



Friday we had a very fun double date with our friends Eric & Karin. We met at Rustico for dinner - amazing americana food, wood grilled pizzas, hundreds of beers. I am so not a beer person but after sampling the raspberry beer - I had to order one. We got to hear all about their trip to Venice during Carnevale. Yes I am jealous! They then came over to see the new place, and we then went to get coffee and dessert at Evening Star. It was such a nice evening. I've been consumed with work lately (it seems) and this was a nice distraction and time spent with kevin and friends recharged my battery.

Spring?

what a beautiful day - 70 degrees and sunny! We can only hope that this weather is here to stay. We spent the day clearing out our flower beds in the back yard - they were a mess with all kinds of random plants we inherited when we purchased this house.

They look great now & we even had a few nice surprises - daffodils, hostases, morning glories, and tulips - oh and one mystery plant that looks nice so far. We also set up our rain barrel that I got for Kevin for Christmas. Here's to a wonderful start to such a pleasant season!

Trust Me

Have you seen this new show? I really like it...good cast, Monica Potter's character is so quirky - I recommend watching.

Praying for baby Jonah - Please join us!

Our friends Patrice and Matt William's, (many of you know our friends Peyton & Amy Crump - Patrice is Peyton's sister), had their baby boy Jonah on the 27th. Please pray for the health of little Jonah & his parents b/c Jonah is believed to have Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB, a rare genetic disease that basically allows the top layer of skin to move independently from the under layer = blister's similar to severe burns, infections, intestinal blockage, etc. They have done a biopsy to determine the type of EB he might have, but it will take 3 weeks to get the results. There is an excerpt from Patrice's blog below. You can also link to her blog here or join the facebook Prayer group & spread the word!


"He is 99% sure that Jonah has a genetic disorder called Epidermolysis Bullosa. He said he sees one case every other year. There are two degrees of this: severe and mild. The doctor said from looking at Jonah's lesions, he guesses he has the severe version. A biopsy will be done (I'm not sure when) to determine his severity level. If this is what he has, it affects three things: his skin, his mucus membranes, and his intestines. The two things that doctors worry about the most are infection (because he doesn't have much of his outer skin to protect him) and intestinal blockage from the sluffing of the intestines (similar to what his skin is doing). At this point, Jonah is on three sets of antibiotics, pain medication, and a sugar water drip. He does not seem to have intestinal blockage at this point. If he were to develop that, he will need surgery."

The Watson Twins & Ben Kweller

For Valentines day Kevin got us tickets to go see The Watson Twins (whom I LOVE) and Ben Kweller. The show was last night at 9:30 club. It was really great! Always interesting when you go to a show for the opening band. There were SO many girls (and guys for that matter) going NUTS for Ben Kweller. He is good and I like his music, but I probably wouldn't buy any of his albums. However, this guy is just so nice and happy and energetic - you can't help but smile and sing along.

Also, the opening opening band was Jones Street Station - they are super talented and I can see them getting more popular very soon.

We forgot our camera (boo) but everyone should def. check out The Watson Twins - in 2006 the did a joint album with Jenny Lewis (from Riley Kiley) which is a superb album!

Baby Braxton

meet our new (and first) nephew Braxton Caleb Ketterman

New! The Growing Challenge Advanced Edition – From Seed To Seed!

New! The Growing Challenge Advanced Edition – From Seed To Seed!

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Happy Valentines Weekend!

Now I know so many people say they don't like Valentines day and that it is just another "Hallmark Holiday" - but I will say that I love any holiday/event that is all about celebrating love and how blessed we are to be loved and to have people to love and care about - not just that significant other, but friends and family as well! We hope everyone has a love filled weekend!

FInally - the new house!