the giraffe life

Growing up, my parents were strict about certain things. Like, it really bugs me when someone leaves a room (knowing full well they don't plan on coming back any time soon) and they don't turn off the light. So that's probably something that my (someday) children will have burned into their brains because I'll be so persistent about it. Likewise, my parents were stringent about pajamas. Every night, I would change into my pajamas before bed.  Why I'm not entirely sure, but it was a hard and fast rule.  Except one time when I got sick at a friend's house and they had to come pick me up pretty late at night. They tucked me right into bed in my clothes! I don't fully remember going to sleep that night because I was so out of it, but you can bet I was shocked in the morning when I woke up in regular clothes . I even questioned my parents about it later because it was just so weird, you know? After that, I would ask to sleep in my clothes every few months, an

I'm not someone who can read multiple books at once. Just can't do it. I find myself having trouble getting back "into" a story when I switch between texts. And everything starts blurring together after a while . .  So I take it easy on myself and read one book at a time. But lately, I've been stuck in a reading rut. It all started with Against Our Will:  Men, Women, and Rape . A very important read, definitely - but heavy. (And you're probably thinking, with that title, what was I expecting, right?) After about 200 pages, I got to the point where I couldn't read any more. I wasn't quite ready to return it the library, though, because I thought if I just took a break, I would be able to continue reading. And I certainly didn't want to have to reread the beginning to refresh my memory, so it seemed best to just take a short break and then press on. I even read a few other short books during the lull. Except that now I've had the book checked

We're going to celebrate our wedding anniversary in Daytona Beach, Florida this year! I am so excited! Any suggestions or recommendations? linking up here

Memorial Day is fairly depressing when you think about the reasons behind it, rather than getting excited for tons of mattress sales and the beginning of grilling season. This year it's hitting me a little harder; I think because my husband was deployed and I had too much time to think about people who lost their special someone during deployments. I don't even want to imagine how awful that must be.  While I was reading about Memorial Day's early years on Wikipedia , I learned that it used to be celebrated with "dinner of the ground," basically a picnic. I love this idea.  But e nough of my rambling, here's some info about it if you're interested, courtesy  of Huffington Post : (click to view larger)

I guess I'm a little obsessed with food this week. After I wrote this post, I realized my Monday post was about food, too. Then I thought some more about my posts this week and realized that on Wednesday I also used a question for my blog title. Hmmm.  My husband is pretty adventurous with food. Basically, if someone else does the prep and cooking, he's willing to try almost anything (and likes most of it to boot). This makes him very easy to cook for, woohoo! On the other hand, I'm pretty picky about what foods I'll eat and even what foods I'll try. Some of the foods I dislike are pretty common (brussels sprouts), while others are a little weird (raw tomatoes). So I made a handy little chart for you of all my least favorite foods. It's pocket size for your convenience. ;) Some of it is texture (like whipped cream and lima beans), some of it is actually the taste (like pickles - and anything pickled, really), some of it is aversions deep-seated from ch

Mine does . . :) And yes, I'm still wearing snowman socks in May. I think it's funny. If you want to see some gorgeous photography, check out National Geographic's Photo of the Day . I love the variety - people,  landscapes, animals, s idewalks. ;)   linking up here

My favorite way to celebrate holidays is with food. Some healthy stuff, but plenty of treats, too. Who's with me? :)  I t's nice to cook for more than 2 people! And I like having permission to try something we may not be crazy about (and I just hope the other partygoers will finish it off). With Memorial Day coming up, I've been looking through my Pinterest boards for goodies to bring.  I was looking for something with mostly normal-ish ingredients (as in, stuff I already had in my pantry) and easy to travel with (so nothing that had to be kept warm). Here's what I decided on: pictures from here , here , and here Peanut Butter Brownies - brownies with a peanut buttercream on top?! I love the combo of peanut butter and chocolate, so I'm hoping these turn out as well as the picture! American Flag Cake - vanilla cake layered with red velvet cake, assembled to look like the American flag when cut - genius! This seemed appropriate given the holiday (and if

Not a whole lot going on around here, but there were a few things that brightened my week . . French fries. I haven't been to Arby's in years because I rarely go out to eat and their fries are the only food on the menu that I really enjoy. So imagine my surprise when I saw these bad boys in the freezer section at the grocery store . . I won't be buying them often, but what a nice treat when I do ;) They taste EXACTLY like I remember. Flowers. The Sweet William is blooming! Our plants have white, light pink, dark pink, and red flowers.  I like the variety and they attract a ton of birds and bees. A free book. I've belonged to Goodreads since 2011. I use it mostly to track what books I've read and what books I'd like to read. But I recently entered a few of their giveaways and received  this book . When I got home from work and found a package for me, I was shocked. (They didn't notify me that I'd won!) It's about an elderly couple whose

Agreed! (And what a pretty way to express this sentiment.) I have put off dusting (and cleaning in general) in favor of other activities so many times. And I think it's totally worth it. ;) source linking up here

Mr. Giraffe and I had a super busy weekend - a charity run/walk, a memorial service, and two Mother's Day parties. It was one of those weekends where I feel I should be granted another weekend (to recover) before returning to work.  That ain't gonna happen. But it'd be nice! The charity run/walk wasn't your typical 5k - since it was raising money for an animal shelter, dogs were welcome participants. We don't have a dog, but enjoyed watching and playing with everyone else's dogs.   We were a little worried about the weather (it's been raining all week), but the rain held off except for a few sprinkles and the event went on as scheduled. The run/walk began on this nice paved path, then continued on a gravel path through the woods, which quickly turned into a leaf path (and mud-puddle-fest thanks to all that rain). There were plenty of hills in the wooded portion of the trail, and the muddy ground was unsteady, so my body was sore in all kinds of weir

I saw this and couldn't resist posting it. My mom is notorious for this move - hah!

Garden update time! I'm going to attempt to take pictures of the garden every month or so to see how it changes (in years past, I've forgotten about this idea around mid-July, so I thought maybe posting it on the blog would keep me going). You can read about my garden plan here , although it's already a little out of date since those Sweet Williams refuse to die. Not that I mind, but I was told they were annuals when I planted them 3 years ago, and they just keep coming back. Hmmm. The cucumbers have started to sprout.  The marigolds are doing so well because I bought those ;) I love marigolds - the cheerful color, the heartiness, the longevity (mine usually last til the very end of October)! I planted zinnia seeds in here, (which I've never grown) so we'll have to wait and see. All this growing going on makes me think spring is officially here - yay! And here's what greets me as I go back in the house: They crack me up!

As in, April showers bring May flowers . .  linking up here

I rarely go to the movies. The frugal side of me finds the prices (for tickets and snacks) hard to swallow, especially when my library offers movies for the reasonable price of free after showing my card. The only downside is the slight time crunch of needing to watch the movie within the week . . and that's a problem I don't mind having ;) So here are my mildly late reviews of movies from last year:  Silver Linings Playbook: I adored this movie. It's about Pat, who is released from a  psychiatric hospital at the beginning of the movie. He's trying to get back together with his wife when he meets Tiffany, who promises to help him if he'll train with her for a dance competition. It ends as expected, but the characters made the movie. I liked that none of them were perfect - they felt real. Lincoln:  We watched this movie mainly because I heard it was excellent on a morning radio show (I'm sure there are worse reasons). I was intrigued by the premise and g

So I promised you more details about the quilt I mentioned here . It was a present for my hubby. Care to guess the theme? I guess the post title kinda gave that away ;) While I am super proud of this quilt, I did very little of the actual sewing, pinning, etc. and don't feel comfortable writing a post with any semblance of a tutorial. Instead, I just want to share photos and some of the behind-the-scenes logistics.  I came across the quilt above online (sadly, I have no source) and loved it immediately. My mom's made tons of quilts - probably around 35 - so I emailed her the picture to see if she could recreate it. Usually, she starts with a pattern or measurements in mind, not just a photograph, but she was willing to try! Picking the colors was easy - my husband loves the Flyers, so we took a Flyers' hat to the fabric store, and bought the closest color matches. Then we played around with varying size stripes that would add up to 84 inches (since our bed is

April's finished . . so it's time for a goal update. Read an old book: I read The Little Prince and Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats . And several other "older" books are still on my hold list at the library. It was a nice change of pace to read something in which there's no mention of the internet, cell phones, or television. Take 200 photos: This was certainly made easier by the fact that my husband came home   (I think he needs a blog nickname, haha) and I live with two adorable cats.  Read 168 Hours:  Bleh. This review nails it. Craft something: Craft something, indeed. My mom and I made a quilt for my husband (at least 90% were her efforts). I'll be sharing more in a separate post! My goals for May? I'm taking a break and keeping it simple: GO OUTSIDE. This time of year is some of my favorite weather (not too hot, not too cold, medium amounts of rain and breeze, the air is filled with lovely smells). I adore it every year and