Tuesday, July 5

Photos From Recent Events











Here are a few memorable marks to look back on...

-- My (Reika) grandma Lois passed on and is happier than she has ever been before.
-- We've been sprucing up our apartments by doing some yard work and planting flowers.
-- When cooking, we no longer have to run to the store for basil because we're growing it on Art's front porch.
-- Art got to help his cousin Sarah make cup cakes for her new business, Sugar Cakes, and they are amazing!
-- We've been able to help Art's Aunt and uncle at their beautiful Bed & Breakfast, Houstonia.
-- Hanging out with good friends
-- A visit from the Smiths
-- Art learned it's important to wear sun block at water parks
-- Good home cooked meals

... And on the 4th of July we didn't see fireworks, but we had a wonderful picnic of tacos with our good friends at the park.

We hope you had a Happy Fourth!

Sunday, April 3

Me and Murray Missed Art in Miami



Literally six hours after Arttie and I returned to Columbus back from New York, I took him back to the Airport where he flew down to Miami, FL. away from Murray and Me.
That may sound a little more dramatic than it really was, although Murray and I felt Columbus just wasn't the same with out him. So we decided to make the most out of that week together as I took over my duty to take care of Murray.

The 2nd day, I walked into Art's apartment to find old Murr sleeping in front of the door with his nose in his big shoes. Murray started feeling a little blue, so I thought I'd take him to the dog park for a little pick me up. It wasn't long before we both made some friends with the young golden doodle and...the other little guy.

I was quick to pick up on Murray's early morning ritual at 4 a.m. of walking to the kitchen to make his morning squat, and am proud to say it wasn't long before we both killed that little habit of his.

A couple of days before it was time for Art to come back, I took Murray to the dog bath and made him all clean and fluffy for his master's return.

Unfortunately, Art had to catch a taxi from the airport while I was working, but he picked me up afterward with a little surprise. Without knowing that I had been dreaming of eating pizza after a famished day at work, Art got us a pizza and wine for dinner with some sweet daisies.

Sometimes, I just don't know how fortunate I am to have such a thoughtful man who shares the same appetite as me.

Friday, March 25

New York Times

March has ended on good terms with a grand finale in New York with an exceptional group of people who Art and I love dearly. We are always looking forward to times like these when we're all able to come together and spend time with the friends, like family, we deeply care about.

So Art and I rented a car and drove the nine hour scenic route avoiding all toll roads in our little ford focus.
We finally arrived at friend, Michael's apartment near Central Park and were welcomed with a big bowl of chicken and rice. Later we went out for the night and watched entertaining ping pong tournaments at Spin, while meeting up with the rest of the gang, Matt and Abby.

The next day, we figured we must have walked around 15 miles, as we visited Chelsea Market, dined on the street with tasty asian dumplings, and a cup cake. We relaxed at Washington Square Park, had a dance party in the apt, then started the next day with a pleasant walk in Central Park. The group started to dwindle as we had to return to our separate lives.
Art and I got to see Hanna's new fun apartment before it was our time to head out.

Art drove the entire time while I enjoyed the ride. They say,"Some people just weren't cut out for life on the road".

I'm so thankful we all make the effort to see one another and find that our efforts make for a refreshing send off. We're already looking forward to the next meeting.

Cheers to Super Moon.
(we missed you Catherine)










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A special tribute to my rafiki








Meet Caitlyn, my dear friend who recently came to visit me in Columbus all the way from TN. This girl holds a special place in my heart, which made her trip to Columbus even more sweet and memorable. Thank You.

Here are some more pictures from our stay in Africa for our senior internship as social workers at Tenwek Hospital. When our time was mostly spent with thankful children, the simplicity of life, and not so much consumed by fast pace culture. It was an experience I'll never forget and will always miss. I think she would say the same.


Tennessee, here I come!

Friday, March 11

Hat's Off to March Madness D.C.











For the first weekend of March, I, along with five other bosom buddies met each other in D.C. for a much needed weekend together.

All six of us girls could not be living more different lives. So every year March Madness let's us stop everything and cling together for a long weekend to celebrate two very important birthdays for Caroline and Janae. Our first meal was celebrated fiesta style at a hole in the wall restaurant on a very charming street full of many alluring shops. We then completed the night camping out on Caroline's floor with enough giggles to burn off our caloric mexican intake for that night, a leaky air mattress, and no personal space. That's how we prefer it.

The next morning, we put on our faces and ventured to the Eastern Market. I love a good market and recommend this one if you're ever in the area. This place was full of character and unexpected run ins with an old friend Christin, Taza and husband (blogger we all love), and two other dear friends, Tim and Brandon. It was such a great day that ended with some sushi in China town, some walking, more walking, some dancing, and then an exhausted cab ride back to the Apt. It was an eventful day.

Sunday morning, we got up to attend the church Caroline has been apart of since her stay in D.C. and then stuffed our faces with donuts. Afterwards, it was time to part ways with some tears back to our very different, busy lives. I'm very glad to have the blessing of true friendships.

To March Madness and dear friends.

Praying for Japan







I'm sure many of you have already seen some of the devastating effects in Japan from this terrible 8.9 earthquake causing a Tsunami that has also impacted Hawaii and the coast of California.
I called my dad as soon as I found out about it to find out that our family over there is okay. Thank God. Two hundred through three hundred people have died and over five hundred are missing right now, and my prayers are with them. I can't even imagine the loss, fear, and devastation these people are experiencing right now. It breaks my heart.
It seems that this earthquake is still in the works of some more damaging effects, while the soldiers are already at work providing aid. All I can do is watch and pray right now.

Please pray for Japan and everybody else who were touched by this horrific disaster.

Tuesday, February 1

rain, ice, and snow, oh my!



This was my walk home last night. The picture doesn't say much, but the roads were begging me to fall with all the ice we got tonight. I skated all the way home in my boots and struggled across the street to my door and made it safe and sound. Looks like I'll be staying in tomorrow. This weather makes for a cozy, hot chocolate, craft kind of day. mmm.

Sunday, January 30

Home Sweet Apartment.





Last week I made a poor decision on purchasing a pair of cute overpriced stockings. So I decided to take them back yesterday before Art and I made a day trip to IKEA to look for some shelves for my kitchen. I ended up finding three floaty shelves for a good deal. It turns out that they were the exact cost of the overpriced stockings I took back that day. What a practical trade, I thought. To think that I could get three shelves out of one pair of stockings. What was I thinking?

After working on hanging the shelves up this afternoon, I managed to finish and take a couple pictures for you to see.

To better deals.

Monday, January 24

Hang Up Your Apron



This is my little kitchen hanger I just made for my aprons. Don't mind the bad picture I took from my phone. It's really simple if you want to do it yourself. Just find a sturdy piece of wood and some cute cabinet knobs for the hangers and wa la. really not much to it, but a fun time filler to cover a part of my ugly kitchen wall.

Thursday, January 20

simply scrumptious.

One of the things I've learned to love the most while being here in Columbus with Arthur are the nights we cook dinner together. I find that it's becoming more of a consistent pattern than when I first moved here while getting adjusted to life in Ohio.

While preparing dinner together, Arthur pointed out the difference in our eating habits from the time I first moved here. For whatever reason, we went out to eat way more than we do now, which has changed considerably so within the past several months.

Arthur picked me up from work after he had already finished class and work, so we were both pretty tired but hungry. So we threw a hearty salad together that turned out amazing! We both threw everything together while doing the dishes in about ten minutes. Team work.

We put together our own little concoction of fresh spinach leaves from the market with grilled chicken and salty bits of bacon balanced with some thinly sliced apples we threw into the sauteed mix. Then we tossed in some diced plump tomatoes, crisp slices of uncooked apples along with just enough feta to give it a boost of cheese goodness and then sprinkled chopped almonds over the salad topped off with tart dried cranberries. For a last minute touch we finished it with a light dressing of vinegar and EVOO. YUM.

This is such a good salad to remember when you don't feel like making an involved dish after a tiresome day. If you ever try it out, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Friday, January 14

Strawberries and Polka Dots


This is my first apron I made last night at the lovely shoppe, Sew to Speak.
Sweet sister gave me money for my birthday to take a couple sewing lessons, so I started last night...
I could spend hours in that shoppe just thinking about what I could do with all their beautiful fabrics. Time was running low while I was taking my sweet time trying to find a good match of materials for my apron, so I decided to go on ahead with the golden green polka dots for the pockets and belt of my apron and a cheery vintage strawberry pattern for the dress.
It was a relaxing way to spend the cold night in the shop sewing with two other nice ladies. The next class will be over pattern layouts. I love it.

Sunday, January 9

Dinner for Three















Good friend, Stephen, accompanied Art and I for a home made dish the other night. We had an unplanned meeting at the grocery store for some last minute goods to complete our supper for the evening. Then we were all off to Art's apartment to start cooking. I'm so thankful for enjoyable nights like this.

As we began preparing our meal, we relaxed to the smell of spiced salmon, savory brussel sprouts, home fries with a dash of rosemary, and fine conversation.

This was the perfect time to step outside for a few moments just to walk back in to experience the comforting smell of a substantial meal, and so Stephen did just that.

Then we finished with some warm brownies and jenis salty caramel and dark chocolate ice cream. yummy.

We are looking forward to more nights of cooking with friend, Stephen!