Smokin’

History Channel, I wish I knew how to quit you. I am so completely head-over-heels addicted to American Pickers, I may need to start attending meetings. Because besides the whole finding amazing historical treasures in barns and attics thing, there’s Mike Wolfe. Seriously, how do pack that much handsome into a glorified antiquer?

Also, thanks to Mike, I have some key new phrases to work into my everyday conversations. Phrases like…

“That’s killer.”

and

“These vintage wall sconces are smokin’!”

and

“I’m like a one-eyed dog in a meat factory.”

and my personal favorite…

“It was hotter than a goat’s butt in a pepper patch!”

Here's a clip in case you haven't seen the show yet...(it's on Netflix, too).

 

Do you watch American Pickers or any other reality shows? Anything on the History Channel?

love, elizabeth

Help Me Pick!

First things first, I thought you all might like to see the letter I received from RAINN last week: Dear Elizabeth (and all of YOU because you voted/sponsored in June and July), Thank you for your recent contribution […] Your support makes it possible for RAINN to provide critical services to victims of sexual violence. Since 1994, RAINN has touched the lives of millions of Americans. The National Sexual Assault Hotline has provided free, confidential support to more than 1.4 million Americans, and we have experienced record increases in hotline usage in recent months. Your generosity also allows us to educate over 130 million Americans each year on sexual assault prevention, prosecution and recovery; and work with policy makers to improve the criminal justice system and ensure that rapists are brought to justice. […] Sincerely, Scott Berkowitz, President and Founder.

All sponsorship funds earned here at Love is the Adventure were donated to RAINN for the months of June and July.

 

This month, all sponsorship proceeds are going to a charity that helps and protects animals but you have to help me decide which one. Click on the links below to visit each organization’s website and decide who you think we should donate to!

- American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)

- World Wildlife Fund

- The Humane Society of the United States

I still have some sponsor spots open! For just $4 or $6, you can promote your blog or business through Love is the Adventure AND give to a worthy cause. Click here to find out how. All ad spots run for 30 days, regardless of when you begin sponsorship.

To vote, scroll right to the sidebar and check out the current poll!

love, elizabeth

PS: Stay tuned for exciting blog news on Monday…

Lunch Date

When you’ve seen another person through some of the best and worst days of their life, the conversation seems to move from the present to the past and back without much effort. When Beth and I were talking over coffee yesterday, we started reminiscing about college, some of the good stuff, and some of the painful stuff, too. We laughed about things and then were surprised that we could laugh.

"Wow,” Beth said and smiled that smile she remembers something, “That’s the gift of time, I guess.”

And that just really stayed with me for the rest of the day and for the drive of home. Time is a gift. It helps us let go and it helps us hold on. And it made me realize that, when it comes to my friendship with Beth, no one makes me laugh like Beth, no one is quiet with me like Beth, no one else can do Gossip Girl impressions with me like Beth, no one understands me like Beth, and the most important thing she has ever given me is her time.

Living hours away from my best friend who, like me, has been in graduate school for the last three years means that when we both find time to sneak away and hang out for a few hours, we leap. So yesterday, we met in Cincinnati for lunch at Findlay’s Market. Findlay’s is the oldest public market in Ohio and reminds me a lot of North Market in Columbus. There were so many amazing building murals and great doorways to photograph so Beth had to put up with a bajillion pictures (the perils of hanging around a blogger).

So talk to me about the gift of time in your life. What has time allowed you to do, overcome, or become?

love, elizabeth

Mad Face

Since Kyle has the day off, we’re spending the morning doing a little rearranging in our bedroom. I’m really excited to show you when it’s done. Meanwhile, Madigan felt like posing for all of you.

I never understood what irrepressible really meant until I met this dog. She just makes everything better.

love, elizabeth

PS: Big announcement coming soon…stay tuned!

Our state fair is a great state fair

Saturday was actually kind of a hard day as a hospital advocate so when Kyle brought home Ohio State Fair tickets, I was relieved to spend the evening out and about. It was closing weekend for the fair so it was pretty crowded but we enjoyed ourselves. One of my biggest passions/interests is in American popular entertainments and I especially love carnivals and sideshows so, naturally, I had to take pictures of the all classic midway spots.

Fair food is scrumptious which is a good thing since it’s also deep fried and overpriced. We saw the sign for the smorgasbord and all I could think of was this.

And as crowded as the fairgrounds were, up at the top of the Ferris wheel, the world felt very small and far away.

Speaking of which, did you know the first official Ferris wheel was constructed in 1893 in Chicago? Now you do.

I love that you can see the Columbus skyline behind Kyle in this picture.

We didn’t get a chance to see everything but we did spend some time in the sheep barn and met this fuzzy guy. I wanted to give him a hug but I’m not sure he felt the same.

Have you visited your state fair recently? What’s your favorite thing to do at the fair?

love, elizabeth

Office Makeover

If you’ve missed me on the internet, this is one of the things that has kept me away. I’ve been working in the office for days and have finally surfaced for air (and pictures)! This was a makeover on a serious budget so I tried to make the most cost-effective purchases I could and use almost exclusively things I already had. That’s my mom’s trunk from her days in the Navy. It’s full of pictures and scrapbooks now and I’ve repurposed it as a coffee table.

Here is one of the set of two matching glass lamps I found thrifting. They’re so beautiful and were a legitimate bargain at just $6.99 each. Kyle found shades at a big box store and I love the coppery warmth they add to the room.

I decided to brave the clearance paint aisle at a certain large store that sells things for a very low price and discovered a heatherish-gray color and a pinkish-tan for just $4.86 a pint. Kyle sanded down my grandmother’s old desk and I repainted it. I took some sand paper to the edges to make look a little more worn…I can’t decide it that was a good move or not but the color is a great improvement overall.

Oh, and yeah…hi, I’m Elizabeth and I’m a big ol’ copy cat. I no-apologies, straight-up stole this from Jenni over at Story of My Life. I justify it by saying simply that I have in my possession pictures from our childhood together that she may or may not want made public. Just kidding. ….or am I? No, I’m totally joking. I’m not. I am. No, not really. …..

I seriously love what she did to the wall in their master bedroom and will go ahead and admit that this is like one of those off-brand knock-off versions. The real thing is much, much better.

I used a combination of frames from my closet, my favorite thrift store, and the Dollar Tree. The prints are mostly clippings or postcards or photographs I’d saved, along with a couple prints from CAPow! Along the top left, you can see what my row of handsome daguerreotype boyfriends collected from flea markets and thrift stores. 

One of my favorite things I framed was a necktie-tying tutorial I had clipped out of Reader’s Digest years ago and stuck in a box. I smiled when I re-discovered it in a box of memorabilia.

I rescued the little loveseat from my neighbor Melissa who was going to throw it out when she moved. It has a couple muddy stains from where her dogs ran over it on a rainy day but other than that, it’s in great shape.

The wall-hanging is a bamboo shade that’s too small to fit any of our windows. Anyone who rents knows that leases don’t always allow you to paint a room so it’s great when I can find other ways to bring color and texture to the walls.

What do you think? And what summer project has kept you busy?

love, elizabeth

Things to Click On: Free Fun on the Internet

Happy August 1st! I have been scheming about August for awhile now and I’m excited to bring you a whole month of blog plans. That’s right. I’m back to having a plan. Today I’m catching you up on some of my current favorite links. Please share yours below!

1. This vlog post about bravery from my friend Megan. It really challenged me to reevaluate why I choose NOT to do things. Is it because I’m scared to try?

2. These awkward and long commercials from Nuva-Ring. I know the concept is that we’re supposed to feel like this is an honest conversation we could really have with our best girl friend about birth control. Except…totally creepy. My favorite is   "Oh!verheard at a Concert.”

3. Totally cool list from one of my favorite blogs, Thrift and Shout. The ten things she says you should NEVER buy retail…

4. A super fun personality and style test called Emotional Brilliance. It’s based on color psychology and even if you don’t plan on ordering anything from Lush, it’s amazing how insightful it is for a computer-app. Thank you to Sarah for sharing this cool feature with me.

5. Have you seen this great 50’s throwback video, “Everybody Talks” from Neon Trees? It makes me want to dance.

So tell me what internet fun you’ve scrounged up lately. What am I missing out on?

love, elizabeth