Dear Abby...

I'm being serious here and tossing aside the notion that people will think I'm a slob when I admit this, but...does anyone have any tips for keeping your place clean? I'm really not a fan of the "goodnight-this-place-needs-a-deep-clean" scene, but can't seem to get a good grasp on the "clean-a-little-every-day-so-it-doesn't-get-overwhelming" scene. I don't want to spend my weekends cleaning my apartment and it seems like there has to be a good middle ground somewhere that I'm just not picking up on.

Seriously, all you Helpful Heloises out there, consider this an invite. I won't be offended, I'll just be cleaner.

Parton me, but...

...this is one bosomy tomato.



If you haven't gone (and you still have until Sunday to go), Cincinnati Restaurant Week is definitely something to check out. All the restaurants that are taking part are at gcindependent.com.

Last night I went to Hugo with a friend and it was great. A little bit of a splurge (probably the cost of two normal dinners out), but well worth it. The atmosphere, the service, the FOOD...I feel more sophisticated just thinking about it.

This, paper, scissors

I'd like to do more of this...


And way more of this...


Makes me feel like this...

An experiment

So I'm trying this whole "by prayer and petition" thing. I'll let you know how it works out.

This was supposed to be longer.

My favorite verb

Ru⋅by-sit

[roo-bee-sit] verb, -sat, -sit⋅ting.

1. To watch my niece, Ruby, while her parents are temporarily away.

Origin: 2009

I can read 400 pages on John Wilkes Booth without getting bored.
This was probably more of a Facebook thought.
Too late now.

This is what happens when Auntie Mae babysits...

Babysitting at Grace and Ben's means three things: family, laundry and cable - three things I was very excited about tonight. Here's a rough idea of what happened when Ben and Grace went on their date:

Emigre and I watched Top Chef together. What in the WORLD are they doing with that tomato?



I thought it looked delicious but Emigre was tired of all those fancy sauces.



Then SOMEBODY (I won't say who) woke up, so we had some snuggle time on the couch with her. Can't say I look too disappointed.



Then, feeling inspired by So You Think You Can Dance, I had a "moment". Yeah, that's what we'll call it...



I put myself on the hot tamale train.



Oh, how I love the smell of clean laundry...





On a final note, did anyone ever think they would see this little number in my hip sister and brother-in-law's house? I'm sure they'll CLAIM the old tenant left it here...

Home again, home again, jiggity jig

Ben and Grace and Ruby and I went up to Granville for the Fourth of July weekend, a.k.a. Bunting Central. I never realized how big this holiday is in Granville. The whole town shuts down for this. And the parade features so many Princesses it's hard to keep them straight. There's the Pork Princess, the Poultry Princess, the Lamb Princess, the Strawberry Princess, Beef Princess - I'm sure I'm forgetting some kind of animal that Central Ohioans celebrate by crowning a local high school girl.

We saw old neighbors, teachers and friends. Ate our weight in frozen custard and I may have even gotten a nickname out of the weekend. (If it sticks, I'll tell it to the whole world, but we're going to have to wait until Ruby starts talking.)

Then my mom helped me make a new duvet for my bed:

Soft as a cloud, I'm tellin' ya.

All in all, a great Fourth. But I drove away from my sister's house after the ride back and lost it in the car a little bit. Turns out I miss them to tears after only about a hundred yards.

DSC_0610
Originally uploaded by thesaunders1

I mean, come on. This kid has serious personality. And she's about to drool on your keyboard.

Who wants to go with me to Louisville on August 22 to see Katie Herzig AND Over the Rhine? I actually gasped when I saw that combo.

I know people who love Louisville, people who love Over the Rhine, people who love Katie Herzig and people who love car rides with me (yep, I do). I happen to love all four, but even if you only kinda like one of those things, this promises to be a super fun mini road trip kinda thing.

Tickets go on sale tomorrow. Let me know if you're in!

Sounds like the best concert ever...

Can you imagine what I'll be like when I have my OWN kid? Gosh, it'll be unbearable. All those pictures and anecdotes. Don't say I didn't warn you.