110 - friday

I saw the final harry potter movie today.

last night I went and saw part one of the movie, and today I returned to the theater to see part two. alone both times, because I'm cool like that. the theater was full of crazy people last night. there were easily over 200 people in costumes standing in a line that wrapped all throughout the lobby and snaked out the door into the parking lot. I'm told the costume contest started at 10am, a full FOURTEEN hours before the new movie premiered. that's a really freaking long time to hang out at the movie theater. the theater was running a special offer where for $15, you could see part one at 9pm and part two at midnight, in 3D. for someone who never even read the books and has a hard time staying awake past 10pm, that seemed a little intense, so I decided to just come back during the day, figuring the theater would be mostly empty because people would be at work.

people were not at work. I struggled to find an empty seat. I am not exaggerating.

and yes, really, I never read the books. I read the first one when I was a junior in high school to see what all the fuss was about. at the time, my younger sister (very younger sister) was totally engrossed in the series, and all my friends had read them in elementary and middle school. but I came late to that party and decided I was too old and too cool for books that my kid sister was into; after the first book, I never picked one up again. once the movies started coming out there was no reason for me to read the books. all of which means I walked into the theater this afternoon with no idea how it would end.

I won't give anything away, but: it was awesome.

109 - thursday

t and I both love to cook. today I made his grandmother's recipe for roasted vidalia onions. we live about 40 miles northwest of vidalia, and the sweet onions for which it is known are georgia's state vegetable. they practically give them away at the grocery store this time of year (25 cents a pound!! a POUND!) and I bought two last week. this recipe is especially dear to t because his grandmother passed away in may. I'm glad I had the chance to give it a test run before he gets home, when we can enjoy the sweet and tangy roasted onions together.

I used a little less butter and a little more beef stock than the recipe called for. they came out delicious. these babies for dinner tomorrow night alongside panko-crusted pork chops? I think yes.

finished product! 

108 - wednesday

today I bit the bullet and finally did something I've needed to do since may: I bought new running shoes. my old pair had almost 500 miles on them - all of my training for boston and the other smaller races I've done in the past 6 months. I've been moaning and complaining about how expensive they are and how mizuno changed the fit on the newest incarnation of the model I wear. I was full of excuses not to buy. whine whine whine.

except, I never actually tried the new model on. until today. and I love the way they fit. I've never handed over so much money so eagerly. so all my whining was totally unfounded. surprised? me either.

old, broken down wave rider 13's on the floor. brand spanking new 14's in the spotlight. it's love.

I also should confess that part of my hesitation to buy stemmed from the fact that the new 14's were only available in hot pink/white or dark grey/purple. not to be a diva, but I've always had bright turquoise shoes. and with a few narrow exceptions, I've always raced in black and turquoise outfits. I wasn't ready to welcome a new color scheme into my life. I almost bought brooks (knowing they wouldn't fit my instep) merely to accommodate my look. so on top of my other hesitations there was that. 

so. imagine my surprise when I found out that the running store in town had the 14's in the brand new, backordered everywhere online, exact color I wanted! WIN. I took them for a test run almost as soon as I got those beauties home. wearing coordinating colors, of course. 

hi. I'm michaela. my clothes match my shoes and I don't care how much you judge me. I look cute. 

just the right treat to jumpstart my motivation for marathon training! savannah, here I come!

bonus post for my girl rk

my friend rickie is a little terrorist committed to making sure my blog posts go up in a timely manner.

hi, rickie! in case you missed it, I blogged my whole weekend vacation just for you. that didn't seem like enough, so this next part is just for you. it's a brief photo montage, beginning with this picture of my entire blog readership (+ mom. hi mom!)

me, t, and rickie girl at the bar in february

us with a cow at the campus farmer's market last fall! laughing so hard because the cow smooooooooshed her face into mine.

happy, rickaroo? I miss your face!

107 - tuesday

home is a funny concept. 

I grew up in this beautiful place, surrounded by a family who loves me. I spent so many days standing at the kitchen sink, admiring the way the bright chartreuse rhododendron leaves stacked against blue-violet hydrangea blooms, against juniper green and the deep shock of crimson on the japanese maple. gorgeous today, but beautiful in all four distinct seasons. 

but I haven't lived here in years, so is it still home? t used to get so exasperated with me when I lived in providence and would say I was "going home" or "home now" and he couldn't keep track of which "home" I was referring to. of course, home is this place - and it always will be. this will always be where I come from.

this evening, I got on a plane and flew home to georgia for the first time ever. it's all I could think about on the flight. I've visited so many times, and I've driven down twice (the most recent time being my move). but I was never coming home. this time, all my things are here. nothing about this is a visit. this is where I live now. this is home. 

last summer. the crepe myrtle looks less like an exploding firecracker this year.

106 - monday

lest we forget that this weekend was NOT a contest to see how many hours of pooltime or how many pounds of lobster I could get, but was, in fact, all about my bro's birthday: sunday night we went out to fancy pants dinner, monday night we went to fancy pants dinner, AND I made a bad ass ice cream cake that took three days to construct. I'm not sure my brother has ever had a more protracted (or awesome) birthdaystravaganza.

 driving us to the beach for dinner in his brand new jeep!

 matunuck oyster bar for lobster #3 birthday dinner #2. awkward lean because we're on very high bar stools. 

matunuck sunset 

after dinner, we headed home for ice cream cake. I'm an unreasonable perfectionist when it comes to baking, so I was disappointed in the final product. the cake parts were too dry, there was too much cake, and putting the whole thing together frozen meant the cake was still kind of frozen when we ate it. and it took three days to make. next time, if the bro wants ice cream cake, it's coming from the freezer case at the grocery store. fudgy the whale has that market cornered.

oh well, it still looked good! happy birthday, brother!

105 - sunday

friday night, my brother had a "bonfire" (in the grill) with my sister's boyfriend. manly. then he decided he wished to sleep outside, so he dragged his futon from the garage out onto the patio. I admit to feeling a little judgy about it, but it turns out that south beach and las vegas and all those fancy places have daybeds next to their pools for a reason: THEY'RE AWESOME. napping all day in the gorgeous weather, next to the pool? yes, please. 

 we have an extra umbrella for the patio table. extra umbrella for the poolside daybed, I mean. 

or, you know, for bringing in the pool. portable shade.  

 the pup approves of the daybed. it's the ideal combination of his favorite things: being in bed + being outside + sleeping + staying on top of the chipmunks' comings and goings. plus, it's low enough that his little wiener dog legs can easily propel him up or down off the thing. 

while my brother was smart enough to snooze in the shade, I accidentally took a two hour nap in the pool without reapplying sunscreen (I KNOW) and so now I have a horrendous sunburned stripe down the middle of my body. not on the sides, not on the back, just on the stripe of me that wasn't in the water. classy.