Sunday Funday

Oi. Monday morning after a long night. The birds chirping and the sun slowly rising are beautiful and all, but it's like they are rubbing the roughness of the last six hours in my face. Besides me feeling a bit negligent right now and wanting to hug my baby a bit tighter, all is well and he is fast asleep. But still. OI to Mondays!

Luckily I have a good weekend behind me complete with pictures to look back on. That makes even the worst Monday shine a bit brighter. 

Saturday was one of those much needed rest days where besides going to music class, the three of us just holed up at home. After being out of the house for seven out of the past nine nights, I was so ready for this breed of relaxation. Home-cooked meals, a nap with the baby, and snuggling to finally catch up on last week's Downton hit the spot. 

Sunday was the opposite, but also so good.

We began with chais and mochas by Town Lake to bid farewell to the lovely Matt and Molly, some of our absolute favorites. 

{declan was not too pleased to hear those two were leaving}

The plan is for them to move here, have lots of babies, and hang out with me and Declan all day. 

Sounds perfectly reasonable and totally awesome, right?

Declan then squeezed in a nap to get his game face on for a fundraiser done the proper Austin way.

Indoor/outdoor bar, Fritos pie in a bag, raffles, and live music. Who could ask for more?!

Well, we could. That's why we got some Elyse, Dianna, raffle prizes, and moscow mules in red mugs,

with a "wham, bam, thank you ma'am" thrown in for good measure.

I had my eye on one prize and one prize only- a $100 gift certificate to Midtown Groom & Board. A ninety-pound german shepherd's shedding is nothing to mess with. It is massively complex and leaves little Tegan dogs in each and every corner. And yes, maybe if I brushed her more than every month or so it would get better and maybe it also wouldn't take an hour each time.

But I don't. 

I've come to accept this, and so should you Peytonia! 

When I saw this package I knew it was going to be mine. That was until some dude named John went up to claim it, and my dream three days of clean, groomed Tegan blew away in the wind. But fate is fate and I knew I couldn't let it go that easily. So up I marched to this John fellow, Tegan picture in hand, with a story of how my marriage would fail if my tyrannical husband had to deal with any more fur from that dog. (Not necessarily false, might I add.) And ya know what? He didn't even have a dog, didn't want to hear my story, and just gave the whole box to me! I consider this to be the best weekend gift of any February 17th ever. 

Declan also had some fun sharing a little two-step with the lovely Miss Kim. 

F-U-N. Written all over his little-man face. 

The night ended as Elyse celebrated the raffle she excitedly won but actually didn't by buying a round of shots for all. Poor friend. What are the chances of having more than one Elyse in a room of thirty people?!

So all in all, we had a fantastic time enjoying our city, our friends, and our prizes, but also knowing that our money was going to help the fight against muscular dystrophy. For that I say, winner, winner, tofu dinner!

How was your weekend? Any fun shenanigans? Ever won an awesome raffle prize or just been given it for asking?? You should try. It's pretty grand.

Happy Monday!

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:) :) :) XOXOXO <3<3<3

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Housing a Secret

I've got a little secret...

We put a bid in on a house yesterday.

Wanna see...?

It may not be everybody's cup o' tea, but we think it's adorable and charming and drips Austin out of it's mortar. Plus it's in the city, walkable to parks, a library, and a drive-in movie theater. Because, as we all know, walking distance to a drive-in is clearly an important key to house-hunting.

Anyway, we were pretty hooked. So much so that we offered loads of money to someone right now while promising to pay LOADS more for the next thirty years. I might be freaking the freak out if I thought this was actually going to go through. But you know, I'm sure we will get the call that five other people want this same house and are willing to give up their third and fourth children to get it. (And peeps, that ain't an option here. We are having a girl come hell or high water.)

In reality... I'm more than a bit antsy. You know, checking my email like a fat kid hit the stores when Twinkies went under and losing sleep over whether or not there is a spot for a refrigerator. (Because it makes total sense to gut and redo a house without a spot for a fridge. Sane moment, Christina, sane moment.)

After not taking pics during our pre-listing glimpse the other day, I sat around all morning refreshing the computer to see if dream house number 1 had been listed. It, of course, had not, and our realtor still had no word. So instead of eating good, healthy food, I drank coffee and chewed my nails and refreshed, refreshed, refreshed.

Nada.

By 10:30 the caffeine had hit and I was like a hamster on a wheel. Except sitting. And not being productive. Or releasing any nervous energy. So when the call came in that it was time to go, my jittery, coffee-filled, empty-stomached self was barely containable. Not the best way to start your second date with the house you're trying hard to woo, but it seemed to take it in stride. We looked good together, even it could see that.

So we bid. And now sit around waiting to hear that we didn't get it. Or that we did!! That can happen too, right?! I mean, people live in houses so it MUST happen on occasion. It's totally nerve-wracking, but probably not even close to as much as it will be if and when we realize we have to actually move. That's the hyperventilate, procrastinate, and become a hoarder type of nerve-wracking.

Fingers crossed over here! What about you? Remember the first time you bought, or tried to buy, a house?? Was it sweaty palm induced panic or hours spent perusing Pinterest for decorating ideas?

Cheers to happy weekending!

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A Torn Heart

{via}

After lugging far too many bags through three airports, we are settling back in to life in Austin. It hurt my heart a bit to return. Not because I don't love it here, I do, but more because of what I had to leave behind. Practically speaking, it's harder here. No home prepared vegan meals unless we fix them; no help with the baby when we need a break; no one but ourselves to deal with the mini-dogs Tegan sheds off. 

What hurts the most though is all emotional. Leaving my parents and friends in a place where I can't just run over for a visit. Letting go of any hopes for snow. Not being present for what is most likely Ray Lewis' last game in Baltimore. Knowing that the next time my baby will experience my city he will probably stand on his own two feet. All of that is simply hard. 

Coming in the door was painful on Thursday. I cried (not that that is a huge rarity these days with all the hormones... will that never end?!) and told Peyton I was done here. Ready to be home. Ready to raise my children with a surrounding village that I know and love. But after a few somewhat harsh (though practical) words from him, I realized that there is nothing we could do about it that day. The band-aid had just come off and I had to take it. 

There are definitely ways to not just cope, but thrive, here. Like the much needed girl's night I had with other Baltimore transplants just a few hours after our return, complete with red wine, Whole Foods pizza, and lots of Ravens talk and Declan loving. Or the glorious smell of my new candle filling the kitchen air. Or sitting quietly in front of a raging fire watching Declan practice scooting. These are moments that definitively show that I am also home here. It makes it easier to simply "be" but harder to choose our future. 

Home is where the heart is, but my heart is completely torn. I love two places and two lives. (I'd probably love more if I tried, so please, use force if I attempt to add another home base to my list.) Who knows where the future will take us or what path we'll choose to walk. I can just hope that we are lucky enough to have these choices. In the meantime I will do my best to appreciate this place, these people, and this town. I will try to fill our days with love, fun, warmth, and memories of Austin that will glow brightly for years. And yes, I will probably on occasion cry. Because sometimes that's all you can do. 

Let's go Ravens!!

LIVE THE MURRAYED LIFE

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ACL- The Non-Ligamental Variety

This weekend, my fifth Austin City Limits festival, was magic as always. Two years ago, this party was the closest thing to a honeymoon for us as we celebrated only six days post-nuptials. Last year, excitement came as I saw two pink lines on a stick, telling me that the festivities would be sans Pimms. And with smiles all around, this ACL included little Dex.

The festival is my favorite staycation. The perfect blend of relaxation and go-go-go, it keeps you trekking from stage to stage and has you sunbathing in between. (Well, sunbathing or rain dancing, depending on the day.) The sun is hot or the rain is cool; very rarely have I experienced that beautiful temperate day. But this hardly matters as you are surrounded by friends and friends-to-be and people that are enjoying the same space, and there is a fulfilling oneness in this that takes the experience far beyond the music.

It's weekends like this that make me long to be a professional photographer. I wish I could take all my feelings, emotions, thoughts, and memories and wrap them up into a perfect little package for all to see. I wish I could capture the way the short grass feels on bare feet or the sounds of competing bands over happy voices sound or the way the hodge podge of colors and people and umbrellas and flags is beautiful. I want to show you why teaching Declan to two-step is now on my list, so he can take a pretty girl by the hand and lead her around a dirt floor on her tip toes. Or for you to feel the hidden beauty that comes when standing in line for the porta-potties at sunset while watching hundreds throw their hands up to some reggae. We take pictures, but they don't do it justice. So please- just go. It's awesome and won't be regretted. Camp Declan, under the bright orange Hup Holland flag, will be waiting for ya'.

 Until next year ACL. You never fail to disappoint. 

(This post shall be filed away for whenever Declan decides that we're lame. Excuse me son, we knew cool before you could crawl. Though, this title and those pics of him might prove otherwise...)

LIVE THE MURRAYED LIFE

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Life is a (Hopefully) Long Road

At least that's what I'm trying to remember today. For the past month or so Peyton has been interviewing for a promotion in Delaware that seemed like a sure thing. And it was. Until yesterday, that is. Politics in his company held him back (while potentially opening up another great opportunity), so our Delaware dreams are no more.

Now, without insulting anyone from Delaware too much, we weren't thrilled about living in or around Dover. Moving from one of the best cities like Austin to a small, seemingly simple town like Dover was a bit tough to stomach. But that's where the excitement came in for me. It's easy to come to Austin and to love it, to take it in, to be encompassed by its unique culture. It's a whole other deal to go to a city where there isn't live music nightly, abundant happy hours, outdoors sports and activities of every and all types (stand-up paddling anyone?), and always a new restaurant to try. These are the cities that you have to dig for the gems. You work to find what you can make yours, what will make that place unique. It might be as simple as walking around exploring until you stop in the sunshine on a beautiful street with lovely old houses, shady trees, and birds singing the most lovely songs. Or it may come from trying hole-in-the-wall restaurants until you find "your place." And it might take time. You might have to slowly meet people, find groups, go to the same spots and realize one day that this place holds a piece of your soul. The place that you thought seemed simple and empty, has awakened a part of you that you never knew existed.

So this is how I saw Dover. It was an exciting chance to explore and discover. It was a shot for Peyton and me to create memories in a place not touched by any others and to grow closer in the process. And I couldn't forget the fantastic fact that it was 1.5 hours away from Baltimore. This, of course, led to dreams of me swooping in for a girl's night with my MAC ladies or a quick trip to the only dentist I've ever seen (yes, this was actually in my daily thoughts) followed by a Harbor East Whole Foods run (and maybe a swing by Lululemon??). I envisioned having babies that frollicked on the beach on weekends year-round and got to see their grandma more than four times a year. Babies that would grow up belonging to the east coast and knowing the seasons. Who would roll down hills of lush green grass and come back with stains on their clothes. Who would sail the Chesapeake, visit Deep Creek Lake, and get bundled up like little babushkas in the winter. (Thanks Camille for that image, seen here. Umm... Adorable, anyone?) So clearly the news dashed the dreams I held for my future loves.

But, and there's always a but, this is when I have to remember that life is a long road. Would I have ever guessed four years ago that I would be married to a wonderful man from Tennessee, living in Austin, Texas, and about to graduate with a science degree and a 4.0? Not in many, many guesses would I have gotten that. Who would have thought that dropping out of school and getting a job as a carsales[wo]man would have led me here. And I have to say, it's pretty great. I may miss things up north, but I also love things down south. I love the warmth and the great weather. I love the music scene, the Texas state parks full of cactus and dried wood and cedar, the way at any moment I could see a striped lizard scurrying away from me. These are things that I would have to trade if we moved away, and I'm not sure I'm ready to do that. Our babies may not have the beach every weekend, but they could grow up getting colored mohawked hair at the Austin City Limits music festival every year. Or eating vegan milkshakes from Toy Joy. Or counting armadillos on hikes. We'd figure out ways to see the grandparents more often, and those trips would be sacred and special in a way that weekly ones wouldn't. We could be the proud parents of Austinites who would be just as beautiful as Delawareans.

Or maybe we won't. Because (I tell myself YET again) life is a long road, and it's an amazing adventure. Two years from now we might be in New York or San Francisco or back home in Baltimore. We might be in the process of adopting a little bean because we can't have our own, or rubbing my swollen ankles since I'm about to pop. Even though I don't know where we will be or how we will get there, I'm sure we will do our best to soak up the good. We will create the best moments we can. We will explore what the world has to offer and create a life full of love and happiness, a life we can be proud of. Because life is a long road, and we're in for a superb ride.

LIVE THE MURRAYED LIFE

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