just a fine and fancy ramble to the zoo

A few weeks ago I drove up to New Jersey for a training session with my brother (more on that later) and I went to the Philadelphia Zoo with him and his girlfriend, Melissa.

RAAAWWWWR

A little nuzzly lion bonding.

Ronnie Bruce in action.

Somehow I got to swap my brother my Sigma 17-70 lens for his behemoth of a lens, the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L.

This lens rocks.

I took this photo to reminisce over the time that Alyssa and I took my cousins to the zoo, and my younger cousin climbed into the giraffe area.  Right through those rails in the lower left of the picture.  And she says to us "Hey guys, look!"  Who trusted us to take a 5 year old to the zoo?

It's about to get a little bit graphic here.

Yes, it's a giraffe... peeing.

It's nature, you guys.

Look at the cutie zebras!  I love zebras.

This guy was so funny.  He tried to get into the orangutan play area, but since they share it with another primate (I can't remember which), and couldn't be in there at the same time, he turned away, dejected.  He grabbed his little He-Man/BattleBot/Power Ranger (whatever) sheet and walked away, feeling (and certainly looking) homeless.

Gravity-defying penguin.

I leave you with a picture of Mufasa taking a snooze deep in the savannah of Philadelphia.

house tour

Sometimes I forget how wonderful the Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens really is for being as inexpensive as it is.  I got it a few years ago and used it that night to shoot photos of the Jack's Mannequin concert I was on my way to.  I couldn't believe how well it shot in low light!

Today I decided to pull that lens out, given that it's not used very often, and take pictures around my house; mainly in the kitchen where I've been working on a few DIY projects.  So without further ado,  I give you a tour of my house (or really my kitchen with a few other pictures thrown in for good measure) as seen through the eyes of the "plastic fantastic*".

*I kind of dislike that nickname, but oh well.

I finally got around to arranging the kitchen shelves in a way I find visually pleasing, at least for now.

Does anyone else enjoy cookbooks as much as I do?  Aren't they so inspiring to look through?  They make me want to cook up every recipe I come across.

I painted this bowl a few years ago, and I think it looked a lot more impressive as just a pencil outline.  The continents lost a lot of their coastal detail once I started to paint.  And to top it off, I forgot to paint Sri Lanka!  I still love my world fruit bowl though.  (It's usually not this lacking in fruit.  In fact, it's almost always loaded with produce.)

The colorful placemats and napkins came from my mom (via Target) for one of my bridal shower gifts.  I love the burst of color they give to our white-walled kitchen (one word: renting).

My newest cookware acquisition.  I seriously can't wait to cook up pasta sauces in this sucker.

 Our Scentsy plug-in warmer and awesome knives.

A few gratuitous pictures of the shade I DIYed for the kitchen window.  Also, forgive me if DIY isn't a verb in your house.  I'm pretty sure it's made it to that point by now for most people, though.

Alyssa gave me the aloe plant there on the sil.  It's a little limp right now, so it's propped up.  I have a knack for killing plants, so I'm really trying to keep this one alive.

Oh, Pinterest.  Have you heard of it?  I'm addicted to it, as is everyone else I know who has used it.  Pinterest is where I first saw these zinc letters (from Anthro, of course), and Pinterest is also where I found the tutorial to make them myself at a fraction of the cost.

Another shower gift: latte bowls from Anthropologie.  We received two sets and decided to keep both.  They are a great size and look super cute in photos.

Hey, look!  It's the window shade again!

The colorful cabinet.

A Ribba-framed graphic I made when we first moved to Virginia (right), and an ode to my former home-city.

Another DIY project I worked on this morning.  I picked these two frames up from Ikea and didn't know what to put in them at the time.  The print on the left is something I just whipped up today to incorporate navy blue into our bedroom color scheme (coastal seaglass kinda theme).  On the right I used a piece of cardstock leftover from my bridal shower (the girls had the guests write marriage advice to us on stamped cardstock and I still have the blank cards).  After the wedding I had snipped a few blooms from my bouquet in order to frame them (a Martha Stewart project, obviously).  The bigger blooms didn't take too well, but the hydrangea petals came out perfectly.  I arranged them, put a dab of Elmer's on the back of each, let it dry for about ten minutes and popped it in the frame.  Two easy ways to bring some color to our room!

An unmade bed.  And do you see that big, blank, white wall above it?  That's my next project.

After taking far too long to make plans to do so, Jon and I drove up to Baltimore to visit my maid of honor Alyssa.  It's not like it's a far drive, but work and chores have always been in the way.

As soon as we arrived, Alyssa took us to the Baltimore Farmer's Market.

Tomatoes everywhere and I had no problem with that.

Alyss buying tomatoes.

Finding a perfect tomato is the highlight of summer.  Just a little drizzle of olive oil and shake of pepper (and if it's a really good tomato, you don't even need that!)

Look at these beauties.

Giant blackberries!

It may have only been 10:30 or so, but when my eyes see food that my stomach wants, my brain says go and my hands make it happen.  Two of the best chicken tacos I've ever had.

Snausages.

Have you ever seen a yellow watermelon?  Neither had we.

My inner child insisted I pick up a hula hoop and start hooping.  I obliged.

For a little history lesson, we visited Fort McHenry, the site of the United States' victory over the British Navy, and the site of the Star Spangled Banner.  Apparently Francis Scott Key was chilling aboard a British ship before the attack (not being a traitor, but actually quite the opposite: he was trying to negotiate the release of some American prisoners), and wrote the song on his way back to Baltimore when he'd seen the American flag still proudly flying.

Alyssa and her beau, Gus.

Everyone associates Maryland blue crabs with Maryland (and I wonder why?), but really most of us from the coastal Mid-Atlantic have an affinity for them.  Alyssa and I grew up in South Jersey and picking crabs was very much a part of summer.  It wasn't summer unless you picked crabs covered in Old Bay on a brown kraft paper covered table...

...with a delicious adult beverage.

Crab-topped guacamole?  Yes, please.

Hello, old chap.

Remnants.

Hot day + sprinklers = the photo below.

Nothing feels better on a hot day than standing in the way of a cool sprinkler.

Alyssa's dog Lola in the shadows.