Tattoo

Yesterday I got a tattoo (my first)! My friends Nathalie and Claire (the German and Australian who came out to our wedding and are taking a Greyhound bus trip around the USA) arrived in town at 8 in the morning, so we decided it would be a good day to take a trip to Austin. We weren't really sure what we wanted to do there, but Nathalie wanted to get a tattoo here in the States to represent their trip, and so Kyle and I figured we could take them to Atomic Tattoo, where Kyle got his last year. I also had a tattoo in mind that we thought we'd ask them about, and maybe set up an appointment to actually get it around my birthday. We had breakfast at IHOP first, of course, and arrived in Austin before 11:30. The shop opened at 11 and we were the first ones there. I guess there weren't any appointments booked, because after talking to the artist Nixxin about our two ideas, he started drawing and said we could do both today! So we did!

I found this design for the Finnish soulbird "sielulintu" not too long ago, but I loved it right away. The design is from Sanna Annukka, a Finnish designer and printmaker. I had been considering a couple other tattoo ideas for a spot above my ankle, but I wasn't set on anything until I saw this bird. Kyle and I had actually discussed a possible Finnish bird tattoo before, as one of my host families gave me a cool Finnish bird necklace. With this little bird, the design was pretty much right there, so I wouldn't have to tweak anything. The actual meaning of the soulbird didn't matter to me as much as simply the design and that it was a piece of Finnish folklore. My year in Finland was one of the best experiences, so a tattoo to represent my second home was a not a hard decision to make. Nixxin drew a design out with details from pictures of a few different sielulintu I brought in, and as he worked on the actual tattoo he added in more detail. When I first showed him the pictures he thought it was possibly a  Māori or Egyptian design. He also thought I was some sort of Pacific Islander (people have a hard time figuring out what makes me look the way I look. half black, half white, if you're wondering). Getting the tattoo hurt, but it didn't take too too long. The worst parts were the long lines and the part of the bird closer to my shin; it felt like a little tiny knife cutting through. But I love my little birdie! I said to Kyle that I should probably name it, and he said "Jarkko," which I'm sure he knows is a Finnish name as he has heard it in hockey (the guy is not even on our team!), but we kept calling it that so I think it has stuck.

Swedish crepes with lingonberry (lots of lingonberries in Finland)

Nixxin's custom Triumph

Claire and Nathalie

Nixxin said Kyle could have a beer, but had to drink it from a cup. A beer pong kit had the only cups he could find at the convenience store down the street.  

Nathalie's takes some explanation, but it is to represent her trip to the States! Included are: squirrel tail, converse, knife and fork. 

After we were all done we headed to 6th Street for an early dinner. I had fish tacos for the first time! 

I wanted to post about the tattoo today, but I also want to work in the 15 Day Challenge prompt, so here is my Day 2 six word memoir. July 1st was also Canada Day; I wore my best red and white polka dotted dress for the occasion.

Canadian born, Finnish soul bird fly. 

S.

15 Day Challenge // July 1

Friends are visiting and we spent the day in Austin; sorry for the late post!

List 15 fun facts about yourself.

1. I got a tattoo today! More on that tomorrow. :)

2. The first CD I owned was Alanis Morissette "Jagged Little Pill." I got it for Christmas with my first CD player. The first concert I went to was also Alanis Morissette. Looking back, I have no clue how I as an eight year old had any connection to her music, but I loved it.

3. I had surgery on my left wrist senior year of high school (2006). This after years of physical therapy, a month in a cast, a handful of different braces, a shot, and several doctors. I think it is mostly OK now.

4. If I eat something that makes me sick or I am for some reason sick after, I won't eat that thing for a long time. This happened with pizza and chocolate when I was in elementary school. I was that weird kid that brought a lunchable to class on pizza party day.

5. When my family was moving from Canada to California, I was 3. Our upstairs apartment neighbors were tossing down candy or something to us, we took a limo to the airport, and I threw up in the limo. Classic Sarah (I threw up for the first six months of my life).

6. Celebrities I've met: Al from Home Improvement, Maroon 5, Jason Mraz and Toca, BJ Novak. I feel like I am forgetting someone else. Also I grew up in CA in the town that MC Hammer did, and his daughter was on my sister's softball team. He wore all black and sunglasses.

7. We almost adopted a boxer/lab puppy July 2010, but half an hour before the foster family was supposed to bring her over, they called and said they were keeping her.

8. I am not a picky eater, but I generally do not like zucchini that much.

9. I hated the feel of lotion until college, and now I use it every day.

10. The book "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" is part of the reason I switched from being a business/international studies major to an anthropology/psychology major. More on that on Day 7 I suppose!

11. In July 2010 I slipped getting into the shower and hit my left shin on the tub. I still have a lump and bruise there.

12. I mentioned this in one of my very first blog posts, but we are planning on naming our first baby boy Apollo. :)

13. I don't get how people drink sweet tea as is. Way too sweet!

14. I have Osgood-Schlatter Disease. Didn't grow out of it, unfortunately.

15. I think baseball and golf are the worst.

S.

Because It's Saturday and We Have Cats

 {above} Hux {below} Darwin

Yes that's a Settlers of Catan bumper sticker on our fridge.

 Happy Weekend!

S.

Photo Preview

Yesterday our wonderful photographer Jana posted a preview of our wedding photos! I didn't get much accomplished for several hours after that. I can't wait to see the rest! I've been thinking of how I should go about blogging about the wedding. I've seen some people take an alphabetical approach- A, talk about accessories, B talk about bridesmaids, etc. Whether I do it like that or not, I wrote out an alphabetical list of possible topics to cover (which was helpful for organizing and not forgetting things to write about), and if I do it that way, some posts would certainly be busier than others. For example, under B I have: bagpipes, beer, bridesmaids, bustle (aka the "buzzle" from hell), babies (there was A LOT of talk of babies considering there were none present or in the works. our future babies are in high demand), C: caricature, ceremony, cake, cocktail hour, colors, and for O all I came up with so far is open bar. :) 

Have a great weekend! I'm excited to have my husband back after a hectic Army week. And my friends Nathalie and Claire, my exchange friends from Germany and Aussieland respectively, will be staying with us from the 1st through the 4th; our first house guests! And they'll be here for Canada Day and Independence Day! 

S.

Thursday Thoughts (11)

{one} Kitties have caught a bit of a cold. Darwin started sneezing last weekend and she is pretty much better, but Hux started sneezing a day or two ago so he's got the bug now. Kyle had to convince me that it was probably just a cold and that they didn't need to go to the vet, and I figured as they were eating and drinking and OK otherwise, that he was probably right. They've been spending the large part of the day napping; the heat and cold has made them a little understandably sluggish. They are also cats. I'm keeping an eye on them, though. 

{two} I finally found out I got my internship that I interviewed for almost a month ago! I will be at the Cedar Crest Hospital and Residential Treatment Center for my whole first year of grad school. I'm really excited! It is a mental and behavioral health center, and it is about 10-15 minutes away as opposed to the 30-40 minute drive to Waco, so it will be nice to have a shorter drive a couple days a week!

{three} My sister got us a slow cooker, and I love it! I've made two meals with it so far, and both have been really good. Both have been chicken dishes, and the chicken cooks so nicely in there! I think the cooker will be very handy once school starts for me.

 chicken, corn, black beans, salsa, hot sauce served on rice with green onion (and sour cream for husband)

honey sesame chicken (minus sesame as we couldn't find any)

{four} Kyle is having a leather (motorcycle) jacket custom made for me from Mexico, and they sent us pictures of the vinyl mock-up a couple weeks ago! Here's what they made from what Kyle told them; it will be a brown leather, and we're adding/changing a couple things, but it's looking pretty good!

{five} New planner on the way! Without the strangers' names on it though. I love me some organizing and a good planner for the upcoming school year!

{six} So, I was baking cookies, and while taking them out of the oven I got real close to the open oven door, and burned my arm. Ouch. What a weird place for a weird two-part burn. Maybe I should buy a second oven mitt. And be less of a spazz in the kitchen.

{seven} Ohhh this makes me laugh every time I see it. We love Liam Neeson in this house. Call Me Maybe? Not so much.

{eight} Sar is hosting a 15 Day Challenge, and Lin has a Summertime Swap coming up! Check them out!

{nine} There may have been other thoughts, but then a preview of our wedding photos was posted, and all other thoughts were lost. :)

S.

Reception Table Numbers

Back when Kyle and I actually got married, Christy, talented artist, Pitt friend and future bridesmaid, made for us this amazing wood burned sign, Mr. and Mrs. Moose McPherson (top right). I love it so much; it is up on a little wall outside our bedroom. When it came to figuring out table numbers, I came up with the idea of doing something similar with wood burning. I figured each table could, instead of just having the number wood burned, also have a personal image of something to do with Kyle and I. These would definitely be something we would keep afterwards, and my idea is to possibly have them up in our future nursery (because of the numbers...teaching to count or something)! Christy was awesome and agreed to make them, and they may just be my favorite part of the decor. They are amazing! She did an incredible job, and they really added a lot to each table. I meant to bring ours from home to have at our sweetheart table, but forgot to take it off the wall so in Texas it stayed; no big deal. Thank you, Christy, for your beautiful work! You should open an Etsy shop or something... I took pictures of each one the other day, and I can tell you a little bit about why I picked each image! I came up with maybe twenty ideas to begin with, and then narrowed it down once we knew how many tables the guest count required. 

1. the Pittsburgh Penguins logo! We are both fans, pretty simple.
2. I guess people probably assumed these were wedding bells, but I actually meant a bell to represent Bell County, where Kyle and I actually got married down in Texas (Bell County courthouse). The groomsmen were at this table and probably disappointed they got something lame.

3. Maple leaf- for Canada obviously! A table completely full of Canadians (my family) sat here, so that worked out well.
4. Steelers logo- Kyle is a big fan and I usually enjoy watching with him. Football isn't my favorite, but he's gotten me into in a little, and taught me about the game and players.

5. A motorcycle! Because Kyle has one and is very into them and wants me to get one too so we can ride all over together.
6. Moose is my favorite animal; I saw one in the wild in Finland.

7. The kitties! I just told Christy to have something with cats, but she actually replicated a photograph of Darwin and Huxley. So sweet.

8. A beer bottle for Kyle and a wine glass for me! Cheers!

9. Kyle is in the Army.
10. After we got married on a Monday morning, we were really hungry and went to IHOP for brunch. So now it is kind of our place and an anniversary tradition. It is not that good a restaurant, unfortunately, but it's our thing now. :)

11. The Pitt panther, since we both went to school there and it is a special place for us. Amazing detail. I didn't plan out all the table images to coordinate with who was sitting at the table, so most folks at this table were Penn State people; my bad!

Here's a few photos guests took of their respective tables! More info on the rest of the table top decor to come!

 {above} by Kendall

 {above} by Jilli {below} by Tracy

- Mrs. M