History + Instagram = Us

Hello all,

Toby and I both have a healthy (and sometimes unhealthy) interest in history. He, being a history teacher, is all about certain events and time periods and is keenly interested in wartime eras...specifically the Civil War era and events. I, on the other hand, am an English major and my history interests are based on the books I've read and the time periods they came from (such as the Victoria and Edwardian eras...in British history of course).

Well, Toby has been watching a documentary on The Civil War by Ken Burns and has therefore been kind of obsessed with all things 1860s. Some of you may remember this obsession beginning this summer on our road trip to Delaware. So needless to say it has been months of researching Lincoln, Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and the various jackets that they wore (because he LOVES jackets) and boy has it been entertaining. In light of all this, we embarked on a little instagram project: #civilwarportrait.

We basically posted photos of ourselves that we edited to look like old photographs and made up stories about who we were. They were not serious, just kind silly/funny. Whether others laughed or not, we were totally dying making this stuff up. Before anyone gets all bent out of shape, just know that we are not like "yay we loved the horrific war where many died and there were horrible things happeneing". No. We just like the time period and are fascinated by certain individuals. We are an interracial couple so let's not even go there with the race card.

Just had to say that, so you guys know what's up.

Anyways, here are out photos!

In January 1862, Colonel Theodore Manolis led the great charge up old Pike's
Hill, only to fin there was no one there to fight.
"Some said it was God's providence, others said it was just poor map navigation.
Either way, they took the hill and won the day."
--Colonel Theodore Manolis

As the war raged on in the winter of 1862, the wife of Colonel Theodore Manolis
kept the home fires burning and hope alive on the homefront.
"My Dearest Theodore,
although I hear the cannons and shudder at their power, I think to myself,
"well, this washing won't do itself," so I do it. And that gives me hope."
--from the letters of Brooke Manolis

Colonel Manolis and his wife along with his officers and staff of the 25th regiment took this photograph prior to the assault on Old Pike's Hill. All pictured survived.
"Although joined by war and not by blood, we were a family. But when we got to the top o' Old Pike's and realized
we were on the wrong hill, Old Manolis nearly had a mutiny on his hands...which of course was all pretend...in reality
we were happy to still be breathin' the Lord's good air for another day."
--PVT Gabrielle Basa, 25th  Regiment

Haha! And there you have it.

~B~

A year in review: 2012 insta-style

Hello all,

Well, today is the first day of 2013. I don't do resolutions because I think anytime's a good time to make changes in your life, so why wait a whole year? This past year has, well, it has been pretty difficult. I won't lie to ya. With Toby's new job, ministry, me being a student and working part-time it has left us stressed and down at times. Many things have happened with family, friends and just in our own personal lives that have left us speechless. But there have also been AMAZING moments where we were absolutely happy. My point is, every year that comes or goes has it's major ups and major downs...and some years have more of one than the other. But in all of that, we grow in ways we never could if it had all been sunshine and roses ya know?

This year I have had this image of Toby and I being on a ship at sea. I know, it sounds corny but hear me out. In the ship, there is a man at the helm that is taking us deeper into storms and into the wind-tossed sea. He never moves and he never speaks, he just keeps sailing further into the great tempest before us. Toby and I, oddly enough, don't run and hide but we stand on deck and get blasted by the wind and the waves. With each storm, however, we grow less afraid. We know what to expect. We are homesick and ready for the storms to cease, but we know how to weather them.We are sea-worn sailors, weary but capable, and our mysterious helmsman steers on into wild waters that test our courage. There is a poem that many of you may know by Lord Alfred Tennyson called "Ulysses" that I feel describes us. Maybe not in its entirety (because we are not old kings haha) but in how we feel now:

Though much is taken, much abides; and though
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are---
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

Though we may be weary, we will keep pursuing. Though we have been tested, we will not fail. Though our hearts are heavy, they beat on still. This is how we enter the new year. With a warrior's heart and with a hope that whispers of good things to come. I hope all of you, no matter what kind of year it's been, can enter this time with hope and courage, ready to face the world with confidence that only God can give.

 And now, for some pictures :) 12 photos of memories for the last 12 months!

I went back to school in Januray 2012.

My cousin Meredith came and stayed with us and we had a blast! Also, a side note: this amazing coffee shop pictured
above tragically closed down not long after this and I JUST FOUND OUT. A moment of silence please.

I turned 25. Holy crap. (forgive the grainy quality of this one)

We started a family...well...a garden family that you can see here and here.
Don't get too excited yet :)

Visited my family in Dallas, TX.

Visited family in Delaware in the summer and it rocked! (Part 1, 2, and 3)

We got to play at an amazing music festival in North Carolina, on Toby's birthday!

Moved into our new and lovely apartment!

We celebrated our 2nd anniversary, and created fort bebe!

Went to the set of the hit TV show The Walking Dead that is filmed only an hour from us!

Had Thanksgiving in Texas for the first time in a few years!

And finally, we just got back from Delaware visiting Toby's family! (post to come)

Have a great 2013!

~B~

Connecticut.

Hello all,

I know many of you have had heard about the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newton, Connecticut, but for those of you who have not, it was one of the saddest things I've heard of. I won't go into detail about it, as I'm sure you can find it easily on any news site, but there was a shooting by a 20 year old boy, who killed 26 people and unfortunately, 20 of them were children under the age of six. There are truly no words for this kind of sadness. When I heard about it I was at work surrounded by my sweet darlings under the age of three. I immediately thought of them in that classroom...of me in that classroom. It was a very sad day and I pray that if you are a parent or have anyone you love that you hold them close and value every moment.

My sincere prayers go out to all of those families that were affected by this tragedy and hope that God can bring comfort and, eventually, healing. I echo the sentiments of this extremely beautiful interview with Robbie Parker, father of one of the little girls.We truly need to pray for the family of the man that committed this crime. They must be absolutely devastated and probably feel such a weight and even a responsibility for it all. They need healing too. The 20-year-old man that did this needed healing, and instead he turned to destruction, murder, and such devastation of other families. It's awful.

In light of this tragedy, let's do our part to be compassionate to others, love others, help others and comfort others. Life is too short to waste it on anger and hurt feelings. Let's deal with each other like we'd want to be dealt with. In love.

Hug your loved ones today...give them an extra hug and kiss. It's a beautiful day to be thankful.

~B~

The 3rd date of Hanukkah...

A night at Bonefish Grill!

When Toby and I get home we are generally in pajamas and falling asleep pretty quick because of our long days, so imagine my surprise when I got home and Toby comes in and says, "Wanna go out for one of our Hanukkah dates?" I was so excited and kinda had a dating flashback which is always wonderful.

I'm SUPER into these Hanukkah dates but it's cool when he gets into them too! So,  long story short, we went out to Bonefish Grill (one of the 3 cool places to go in this town, haha) and it was fabuloso.  The pre-dinner drink was a Winter Cosmo. So good. He got fish and chips and I got pecan crusted trout with asparagus...A-MAZING. For dessert we got Creme Brulee and I died of deliciousness. I was then resurrected and we went to Barnes & Noble to walk off our fullness, and we bought The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde. We're so excited to read it...I can't believe I haven't before now! Here are so pics of the night:





Yummy



The famous Winter Cosmo at Bonfeish garnished with cranberries, SO good.



Hooray new read!



End of the night watching Community with the Hanukkiah burning bright.

  See you soon!

~B~ 

The 2nd date of Hanukkah 2012...

Sunday morning brunch!

We had a nice, quiet afternoon on Sunday (after the fun and crazy sweater-ness the previous night). We slept in late...and I mean really late, but it was well worth it. Well, except that we did not go to bed until 2 am that night because we sleep overdosed. Oh well.

I was busy living in the moment, so I forgot to take pictures from our little brunch, but I did take some from that night.

Our pretty Hanukkiah we got for our wedding!

Our blurry, unshowered, lazy selves enjoying our date :)

  See you soon for date three!

~B~

The Eight Dates of Hanukkah are Back!

Hello everybody!

Well, Hanukkah began last night and we started it with a BANG. Some of you may remember the eight dates of Hanukkah we started last year. Turns out it was super fun and a really nice way for Toby and I to connect over the busy holiday season. I totally recommend it to anyone looking for some fun things to do over this holiday season...or you can do the 12 dates of Christmas if that's your fancy!

Back to the story...Toby and I threw an ugly sweater Hanukkah party for our teens at the synagogue and it was so much fun. We had homemade latkes, homemade sufganiyot (aka donuts), and lots of other unhealthy things that have earned me a 5 hour gym slot. Totally worth it though.

So officially, our first date of Hanukkah was:

The Ugly Sweater Hanukkah Party!

The Serious one (love these kids!)

Awkward family photo? haha

Proud papa pic



The happy one!



Our ugly sweaters: Ducks Unlimited and Grandma's quilt. lol



Happy Hanukkah, friends!

~B~

P.S. For a look at last year's 8 dates, start here and follow the little linky links at the end of the post for more!

"Sherlock" vs "Elementary"

Hello all,

*disclaimer: I am about to go into academic mode whilst talking about modern television. If you are prone to boredom, leave now.

Some of you may know that I am an English major that is hopelessly in love with literature (preferably 19th century lit). If you didn't know that, welcome to the club.

My husband and I have a deep love for the Sherlock Holmes stories (in fact I am writing a paper about the very topic I am about to introduce). There is always a desire to "reinterpret" the literature from the greats that came before us such as "Dracula" or "Great Expectations" or any Jane Austen novel-made-movie. The same has been done with the stories of Sherlock Holmes for a long, long time. The new BBC series "Sherlock" is FANTASTIC. Yes, it is a modern interpretation where Sherlock Holmes texts and Watson is a blogger, but watch it and you'll see...it is absolutely true to the characters and we love it.

However, now that we have "Sherlock" we have a new show..."Elementary."

Sherlock vs Elementary

I am not speaking ill of anyone, but I must say that I am absolutely in disagreement with this show's choice to make Watson a woman. I'm sure Lucy Liu is a fine actress and could play any part well, but NO WOMAN should play Watson...not because I'm anti-feminist (which I'm definitely not) but because I'm a text purist. The element that Holmes and Watson have is crucial to the story and to the time period it was set in. The star of Sherlock, Benedict Cumberbatch, has the same view of the show as well:

“If I were the [producer], I’d be frightened of the dynamic of male friendship that you’d lose. Because that is obviously the bedrock of the books as well."

-Benedict Cumberbatch, The Telegraph

Well said, Benedict. The problem with making John Watson into Joan Watson is that it introduces the element of sexual tension between these characters, which is totally untrue to the books. There is only one "woman" in Sherlock's life and that is Irene Adler. Their relationship is complicated but alas, it is the only one. And Watson of course gets married so that's that. So between these two modern interpretations of the Sherlock Holmes story, "Sherlock" is absolutely true to most of it and an excellent show.

 Long story short, Watson should be played by a man because that is what trueness to the story demands. It's my opinion and that doesn't make me the supreme authority on all things Sherlockian, but I shan't be moving from it.

What do you guys think? Like the idea of Elementary? Hate it? Just some food for thought! Now off to finish this paper!

~B~