Thursday, June 30, 2011

happy vibes.

Phoenix's forecast for the weekend averages 114 degrees with a low of 91. Yuck. 
Thank goodness we're on the first flight out tomorrow to San Diego where it's 80 degrees and sunny.
Summer perfection. 

We're off to La Jolla for Tiffany and Troy's wedding weekend
Everyone is soooo excited - including us. The next few days will feature

a happy (and calm!) bride and groom & stunning wedding
perfect california sunshine
amazing friends flying in from all over the country 
lots of pool and beach time
three nights at an adorable boutique hotel
schramm family time
celebratory wedding events
lots of wedding talk with my three engaged girlfriends
quinn family golf tourney and meet & greet with meg
plus the Fourth of July

Is it Friday yet?  

{an old favorite photo of me, huntie and danny at del mar dog beach in san diego. taken in 2005}


Wednesday, June 29, 2011

see ya, silvia.

It's funny how you spend so much time in your car, but you never really think to take a photo of it. I guess it would feel a little funny to ask someone... "hey, do you mind snapping a quick picture of me and my car?"

Over the years, I've vowed to document things in our real day-to-day life, which has included taking  photos of Ting and his cars. One of the reasons for all this is this photo of me and my older brother, Chris. I love this photo - not because it's a particularly cool photo, but because it's fun to look back at mom and dad's old life. Our old life. Someday, I think our kids will see these photos of Danny with his cars and laugh at our "vintage" rides. Maybe they'll think we were complete nerds or that their dad was really cool. Either way, these are the things that we'll remember more than that one fancy dinner out (when people tend to snap all the pics). 

Well, here are the last photos of me and Silvia. They may be our first and last, actually. Yes, it's been a long, fun ride, but on Saturday night Danny listed my car and on Sunday afternoon she was sold. It's sad to see her go, but I felt much better after we met her new owners... a dad and his daughter who's starting her sophomore year at UofA. I love it... Silvia is heading back to Tucson to do right by another Wildcat.



It's been real, Silvia.

Monday, June 27, 2011

it's always something.

I'm kind of a mess. I think I hide it well, but Danny's onto me. We're constantly laughing at my klutzy ways - bumping into walls, hurting myself on a regular basis and always getting myself into predicaments. Like last night - we're lying in bed when all of a sudden we hear tons of water running. Danny jumps out of bed thinking a pipe burst in the front yard so he's prepared to turn our home's water off. A few minutes later he comes back in the house, "hey love, when you were watering the plants today is there maybe a chance you forgot to turn the hose off when you were done?" me, "oh sh*t." Yeah, the hose had a sprayer on it so I forgot about the water, left it on and enough pressure built up that the hose burst tonight. Whoops. (No joke, I had just finished writing this post when Danny came into the bedroom and goes - you may want to add this one as an example for tomorrow.)

Then, there are the totally random things that seem to happen only to me - not him. Like what you ask? For example, while we were waiting to board our flight to Las Vegas, Ting was watching YouTube videos to learn more about craps (clearly he picked the wrong tutorial) and I was minding my own business reading Bossypants (hilarious) when all of a sudden I notice a huge spider inches from my face. I freaked out. My book goes up and the two people next to me thought I was having a seizure since I was smacking at the air and shaking my head frantically. Seriously, the only spider anyone has seen at an airport decided to repel right down to me.

It's stuff like that.

So on Saturday I was working on a bunch of crafty things for Colby's upcoming bridal shower. I bought a new paper cuter and asked Ting to help me put the blades on... "I'm working on something, can I have a few minutes?" he says. Sure. Except I get impatient. So I open the package and try to do it myself. Within seconds I've sliced open my finger and look down to see blood all over my leg and freak. I immediately start screaming at Ting to help before I get blood all over the new couch. He just laughed (lovingly) since it was not shocking that this had just happened. Yes, I'm totally okay. But it was a very dramatic moment and just another example of how I'm a mess.

No joke, at least once a day Danny asks me... "seriously??? how'd you manage to do that?"

My loving husband insisted on taking a photo of me and my bandage before I even calmed down. Rude.

Blood, sweat and tears never rang so true. It hit 111degrees this weekend and yes, I cried over the cut.

Friday, June 24, 2011

fresh.

we typically have fresh flowers in our home. it's just one of my things. i love it and have to have them.
(pssst - see our new ottoman in the corner? remember when i was looking for something printed and fun? found it!)

as a bride-to-be (seems like forever ago now), i saved only photos of big, light pink peony bouquets.
my first trip to the florist and i quickly learned that peonies have a very short season and unless i wanted to move my wedding to a june-ish time frame, i was going to have to pick something else.

since then, i always stock our home with peonies while i can this time of year (trader joes has wonderful bunches for less than $7). in addition to their short season of availability, peonies don't stay fresh that long (a very high maintenance flower, but so worth it!).

my last two bunches got me thinking about all the things that are best fresh.
bouquet of fresh flowers. 
fresh orange juice.
a freshly washed car.
a fresh manicure and pedicure. 
freshly dry cleaned clothes.
getting fresh.
fresh hair color and cut.
a fresh set of sheets on the bed.
a freshly applied coat of lipgloss.
fresh fruit & veggies.
a freshly washed dog.
fresh cut lawn.

fresh is best.


Thursday, June 23, 2011

where does the time go?

When you have a blog, it's much easier to answer that question...

Well folks, it's been a year since the Tale of Two Tings started. Hard to believe, huh? I toyed with the idea of blogging for months before I decided to take the plunge. I'm so glad I did. The response from our  friends and family has been overwhelmingly positive and I love having a digital diary of our life. There have been so many times we've gone back to the blog to clarify something, confirm the timing of an event, etc.

While it's fun to document and share the fun stuff, one of the things I've loved most about having this blog is the support we've received when we've needed it most. Each time I opened up about bad days or tough times, sweet messages flooded in with people supporting us and thanking me for sharing. Very shortly after the blog launched, Miss Sydney got sick and we chronicled her journey. Without the blog, I think her battle and death would have been even harder than it was. The Tale of Two Tings kept our friends and family in the know and the outpouring of support via email, text, blog comments and calls was incredible.

If you've thought about writing a blog but haven't done it yet, do it. Sure, it's a little nerve wracking at first. You worry about the inevitable typos, being public about your life, wondering if anyone will actually care or read what you put out into the universe... but it's all worth it. Make your blog what you want it to be. Promote it as much or as little as you want. It's a wonderful creative outlet and it's all yours. There are no deadlines and no approval process. The best part is that it's a great way to document this crazy thing called life and it serves as a wonderful reminder of all the good things we have to be thankful for.

So, thanks for reading. Thanks for your kind comments and thanks for following along.

xx,
Teri (& Ting)

p.s. If you're not an official follower, I'd love for you to take a second and subscribe. And if you are a follower, don't be shy. It's fun to hear your feedback and know who's reading.

{photo taken in 2008 by my big brother at taylor design & photography}

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

still celebrating.

the happy hour. trip to vegas. a concert. i think it's safe to say ting's last year as a 20-something is off to a good start! 

on monday vicky came over for dinner and ting got to open birthday gifts from his parents and meme. cooking tools, a handmade apron for chef ting and an acoustic guitar plus all the gear - now he just needs the lessons! 


{checking out his awesome new cooking tools from meme and papa}



{the look... "wait, mom! you made this??}

{yes, danny... that's you!}



{still a little kid tearing into his packages}




Tuesday, June 21, 2011

the tings do vegas... and love it.

Oh my goodness! I knew we'd have fun, but we really had fun. We loved every bit of our weekend in Las Vegas. I didn't quite know what to expect and everything exceeded my expectations. I just loved the energy and that everyone was in a good mood and ready to have fun - seriously an adult Disneyland.

On Friday we explored our hotel before heading to the new Cosmopolitan Hotel where we spent most of the night. Drinks at the Chandelier Bar (so gorgeous), an attempt to dance at Marquee and some gambling. It was almost comical how bad we were doing... except, when its not Monopoly money it's not all funny. Our best Roulette round was putting a stack on Red 29 for Danny's birthday and we hit - that was fun. Then I was throwing the dice for a Craps table and was making lots of other people money - that was fun. Not fun was watching the dealer swoop away our chips... over, and over and over again. Oh well, all part of the Vegas experience, right?

On Saturday morning we made a last minute decision to check out MGM's Wet Republic Pool Party and had an absolute blast. We made all kinds of international friends - Brazil, Switzerland and Canada - hung out with a lawyer who looked just like Marcus Mumford, an Olympic skier and a couple guys there for the professional poker tournament. The DJ was great, the vibe was better and we learned to love the "everybody splash" party in the pool.

We didn't anticipate the day being quite like it was (it was better!) but we definitely missed our dinner reservations at Julian Serrano, and ended up having to grab a food court slice of pizza before walk/running two miles down the strip to catch our 9:30 p.m. Beatle's LOVE show at the Mirage. Ugh. We decided that we're still too young for shows in Vegas. Don't get me wrong - it was a fun show and our third row seats were great, but we're much more go-with-the-flow at this age and didn't love the commitment.

To sum up our weekend... by Saturday night I had a sore jaw (strange) - I told D it was from "smiling so much."

{random bunch of photos from the iPhones and camera. honestly didn't think too much about the camera}
{first night out}



{inside the new CityCenter}

{chandelier bar at the cosmopolitan hotel}



{soooo pretty inside the cosmo. all girl}



{off to go lose some money}



{saturday's wet republic pool party at the mgm grand}

{loving it. dancing in the pool}

{ting and her new friends}

{dancing machine}

{still bummed i never caught the "everybody SPLASH" on film}

{i don't think we caught a good photo of "marcus" - that's him talking to danny}



{poker players and our swiss friend "boo like halloween"}

{i love this picture}

{our friends from switzerland - she's an olympic skier}

{our really fancy dinner out before the Beatles Love show. yeah, slept through our dinner reservations}



{inside the bellagio}



Random Things I/We Loved
Pulling up to our hotel, getting out of the cab and walking in with a group of four guys that had also just arrived. They looked at each other and said, "Vegas, baby! Let's do this!" and all high-fived. It was so classic and cliche. Ting and I looked at each other and smiled. 

Exiting the elevator from your room and immediately hitting the casino floor. Instant party. 
The Music. Noise. Smells. Each time, we'd say... "annnnnd, we're back!" 

Holy Oxygen. They really know how to keep you oxygenized, chilled and awake... 5 a.m. Saturday morning and we still weren't tired. They've got it down to a science and we loved it. 

Hilarious names of the slot machines. Kitty Glitter. Lobster Pinchers. Gold Diggers. 

People Watching. Hands down, the best people watching in the world. So entertaining.



Can't wait to be back with all my girls for Colby's Bachelorette Party over Labor Day weekend! 





Monday, June 20, 2011

friendship bracelets.

If you've been around me and Ting lately, you've noticed our friendship bracelets.
Yup, the kind that you made and wore in elementary school. I love them.
They're simple, bright for the summer and remind me of being young and carefree.

our wrists lately...

some of my creations...

Both Jenny and I made a bunch earlier this spring and since then,
I've noticed they're popping up in bunches of fashion magazines and blogs

Did we start the trend, subconsciencly follow it or am I noticing it because I'm wearing them.
Either which way, I'm on board. Are you?


{Photos from the blogs listed above}