Bedford Sweater + Discovery Park

I finished my Bedford sweater about two weeks ago and have worn it at least six times since. Megan came up to visit us last weekend and I hadn't taken any pictures of it yet, so we decided to do a mini photoshoot at Discovery Park.

I am clearly not a model, but it was fun anyway pretending not to look at the camera and not smiling as per Megan's instructions.

I can't believe this beautiful sister of mine is getting married this month!

We had a lovely sunset (as you can see!) and have been having such beautiful weather lately that I think my sweater-wearing days are numbered.

**All of the sweater pictures and pictures of Forrest and me were taken by my lovely Megan!

October + November

It's Friday! And I don't have anything due on Monday so that means I can have a fun weekend and I can actually spend a little bit of time doing things like editing photos and such. This post is a little bit all over the place, just a fair warning.

 I suppose I spoke too soon when I spoke of getting into a routine in my last post. Blogging has been the last thing on my mind. I haven't opened Lightroom in weeks and I feel a twinge of guilt every time I read someone else's blog because I feel soooo lazy about finishing some edits and writing a few paragraphs. Instead, I have been doing homework, studying, watching Gilmore Girls, and am still trying to get this apartment in some sort of order while not eating macaroni and cheese for every meal. Forrest has really stepped it up in the dinner making department and I'm sort of ashamed at my myself but also very impressed with homemaker Forrest (who is also taking full-time classes, might I add).

This week has been the first actual cold week this fall, meaning it actually dipped below 50°F during the day and my car windows almost frosted up. It's been really sunny, which I suppose makes up for my frozen hands and nose in the mornings.

So on Veteran's Day on Tuesday, Forrest and I went to the zoo! For free! I knew that marrying a veteran would pay off one of these days. We also went to Dick's and California Pizza Kitchen and got a free carwash, but that's beside the point (my meals were not free). This is the first Veteran's Day that Forrest has actually had off in the last seven years where he could actually enjoy the fruits of his labors. Not a lot of free meals for American veterans in England, you know (although Nando's (my most favorite chain ever with like 400 locations in the UK) gave us 20% off which we found kind of strange, but you know!)

Zoo photos:

This wolf reinforced my belief that Jasper is part wolf. He's a big black wolf-dog and I wish he had a white fluffy wolf friend.

So it was about 30° during our zoo expedition plus wind chill. And it was really crowded! I wasn't expecting so many people to be there, but it was still really fun. Forrest always makes fun of me because of how excited I always am to go to zoos, but I can't help it. I just love them! We had a great time.

*****

Also, I wrote this part below about four weeks ago and promptly lost interest so I sort of finished it above and now my life is mostly caught up:

We finally FINALLY got our shipment of everything we've had in storage for the past year last Friday. Going from around 1500 square feet to less than 600 is quite a change, let me tell you. For instance, we no longer have an entire room to devote to empty boxes. We have about double the amount of closets here (2) but are missing 100% of wardrobes (2) we gave away in England. So by my count, we're down one closet.

But to be fair, at least our dryer is no longer outside in the shed and our washing machine isn't located in the kitchen.

Our movers did such a good job with our stuff. So far, everything I have unpacked has been completely intact (ha, rhyme) and we aren't missing anything. Except for one inexplicable spoon. I have no idea how we're missing one spoon because I watched the moving man wrap them all up individually, so unless he slipped it into his pocket when I wasn't looking as some sort of practical joke, I have no idea what to say about it. If they sold individual spoons, I wouldn't even care. But since all of our silverware came in sets of five, I will forever have an imbalance in my cutlery drawer (and in my heart).

 I suppose I could purchase another set and donate away the butterknife, fork, smaller fork, and big spoon? Really, the little spoons are the best part of the whole set and am I completely ridiculous for thinking about this situation this much? I can't even tell anymore.

But really, if you're ever in East Anglia and need to hire some movers, Arrowdene did a great job. They didn't even pack our garbage (which they tell you to watch out for in Air Force out-processing, so..).

So I really forgot about a very silly amount of things that I owned. Opening boxes was sort of a high for me. And now that everything is unpacked and scattered around in a general mass of clutter, the high is gone. Except did I mention that we have couches now and somewhere to sit besides the ground or in camping chairs? And why didn't we get rid of more stuff before we moved?

*****

And that concludes my past thoughts on moving. Here are some pictures of the giant cemetery across the street and of trees and sunflowers that I took in October!

Update: We got rid of a lot of junk (ahem, Forrest) so our apartment is now easy to navigate and I haven't tripped over a box in weeks. In fact, we only have one box left to unpack (mostly filled with boring paperwork). We spray-painted our ugly filing cabinet last weekend at my parents' and left it in their garage to dry (sorry, Mom and Dad) so hopefully we'll be box-free by next week.

Also, is this not the strangest location of a mushroom you have ever seen?

I thought so. 

Megan + Brandan

My sister is engaged!

And you better believe I took pictures.

Brandan casually asked me about a week before if I would take pictures of Megan and him in Seattle. He wanted to propose on the waterfront, you see.

So we all packed up and drove to Seattle. I swear Megan knew something was about to go down. Especially when she wore the pretty new dress Brandan had just bought her "for no reason." It was 30 degrees that day. She claims she did not.

We all ate lunch together downtown and I casually remarked that the sun was getting pretty low and I really wanted some pictures of the sunset along the water. I'm smooth.

Forrest and I lagged behind as we walked closer to the pier and then once we were in position, I gave Brandan a cool thumbs up. Or maybe a nod. I'm not sure which, but it was cool and it was casual.

Then the man of the hour sank down onto one knee and pulled out the perfect ring for Megan. Seriously, theeeee ring.

The picture above is one of my favorites. She was completely shocked (in a good way). Everybody knew?

Aaaand here's the ring

  

  

Cutest couple, right?

I've only met Brandan twice due to living across an ocean for his entire relationship with my dear sister, but he's hands down the best man for Megan. They're both kind of weirdos, you see. The only thing that I have against him is that he doesn't appreciate a cute hedgehog like Pendleton; but I guess that's Megan's problem.

Forrest and Brandan bonded this past week over their mutual love of food and making fun of me and I guess that's okay as long as I can make fun of him back (and always win). I always really hoped that the men Megan and I married would like each other and unless one (or both) of them is a really good actor, it looks like we did it, Meg! We both picked us some winners. 

Despite, or perhaps because of, their mutual weirdness and in spite of his aversion to tiny pets, Megan and Brandan are a perfect match. They're both tall, have curly hair, and are freakishly smart. Brandan's hair is only curly when he grows it out.

Welcome to the family, Brandan!