Wherever you go, there you are.

Well,  here I am in Athens.  It's been about a week and my Early Start program started today.  I will get back to that.

Friday before last I arrived at my new place (I don't know what to call it.  It's one half of a duplex but it sounds ridiculous to say, "my duplex" but, "my house" isn't really accurate.)  All of my things were packed carefully in the Penske truck and I was all set to get everything put away in time to get back to Atlanta for a good, solid Farmers' Market trip and my favorite one year old's very first birthday party.  There are not words to explain to you the filth that greeted me upon opening the door.  Think Mugatu's Derelicte campaign.  "a way of life inspired by the very homeless, the vagrants, the crack whores that make this wonderful city so unique."  Plus ferret poop.  And mold.  Oh, and did I mention that there was no running water?  I knew that the standard of living would be slightly different in a college town but... holy heck.

Needless to say I did not make it to my important things.

Until yesterday I have been bored out of my mind.  Cleaning.  Organizing.  Cleaning.  Stocking up.  Cleaning.  My only Athens friend finally arrived yesterday and then our Early Start program started today.  I made so many new friends!!  Yeah, right.  This is Libby you're talking to.  I did, however, observe my classmates tentatively, searching for any similarities or common interests.  I also got my student ID and applied for student fotoball tickets so that's pretty exciting!  Did I mention they finally began work on the hole in the roof of my duplex?  (See, it sounds stupid.)  VERY exciting day.

Miller and I walked to the Law School.  It takes 30 minutes.

I wanted to share one nice anecdote that anyone who knows my father will appreciate.  As you may know, he has been very excited about my career in law school and as a result has been slightly out of character.  While I was home for Muvie's ninetieth birthday party, I suggested that a fun father/daughter activity might be, "Stock Libby's Bar."  AND HE ACTUALLY DID IT!  He went to the store with me, let me pick the things and actually bought them.  If I had known about this side effect of law school I would have gone ten years ago!

Good start, right?

So, almost everything is set up here and I am ready to receive visitors.  Whenever you're ready, people.  Come on over.  Please.  Hurry.

See my cute kitchen?  Let me cook for you!

Southeastern

It's Tuesday!  You know what that means!  No you don't.  I'll help you.  Jason Isbell's new album, Southeastern, is here!  Never mind that I've already listened to it a gazillion times, I remain just as excited as if it were the first sound that ever fell upon my ears.  If the songwriting on this album doesn't have you crying and laughing and generally melting into a big, scrambled mess of emotion (in a good way) then you may not be human.

Go buy it, listen to it, love it.

Weekend Recap: Game Night, Botanical Gardens and King + Duke

 Generally, my weekends consist of very little.  Early to bed Friday.  Farmer's market Saturday morning.  Maybe some sort of activity Saturday.  Dinner with friends if I'm feeling frisky.  This weekend was jam packed!

Some good friends with a new apartment were kind enough to host the crew for game night!  I was very excited because I have been looking for the perfect occasion to share some camembert-style sheep's milk cheese that I acquired on a farmer's market trip from Many Fold Farm. Their cheeses are so delicious and I always enjoy talking to them at their booth.  (I would buy small pox blankets from a pleasant purveyor but happily, these are pleasant purveyors of even more so pleasant cheese!)

Say Cheese!

We played Jenga first which always gets really intense.  As you can see, our Jenga (or Tumbling Blocks) games really get down to the wire, I don't even know how that thing is standing.  I'm pretty sure that this is the one that I began to topple and then crushed in frustration.

Friday was my first time playing Cards Against Humanity.  It is like Apples to Apples, which I love, except that it was created by depraved, disgusting individuals with no regard for any sort of social guideline or human emotion.  Needless to say, I won the sixteen person game, which came down to a one-on-one best two out of three death match. 

One of my winners.

 

 

The Crew (Minus the Hostess)

  My weekend took a very different turn Saturday morning at 8:45am when I arrived at my cousin's house to stay the night with her boys.  To their initial dismay, they were dragged to the farmer's market with my mother and me.  Once they found out that there were popsicles and pizza that Aunt Donna would treat them to they were singing a different tune!

 

Sugar Drugged Children (I clearly did not get a brush to their head before we left!)

 

The highlight of the day was going to the Botanical Gardens.  (Actually, they seemed much more excited about watching my dog go poo but this was the intended highlight.)  The current exhibit is called Imaginary Worlds: Plants Larger than Life and features these huge animals composed entirely of plants.  The Unicorn was pretty cool and this lady pictured below was certainly a highlight but I was in complete awe of the cobras!  Of course I forgot to take a far away picture of them so just click on the Botanical Gardens link but the cool part was how they made the scales.  So cool!  After our big day we were all so exhausted and at one point Bennett, the amazing tireless wonder, actually looked at me and said, "Don't you ever get tired!?"

Cobra Scales Fashioned from Succulents

 Needless to say, after all of that quality time with children under the age of eight I was determined to do something adult.  (As if Cards Against Humanity didn't fulfill that desire for a year.)  I have been dying to make it to King + Duke so I took this opportunity to guilt some friends into going with me.  It was delicious.  The bar stools are inappropriately cushy.  I could sit on them forever and that is a very dangerous prospect.  We sampled the deviled eggs and liver toasts (ok, I sampled the liver toasts, they're not for everyone) and I was quite please with both!  Their outdoor area looked very enticing so I will be making a return visit on a sunnier day.

King + Duke

All in all a successful weekend.  Now if only I had a day to sleep in...

The Law School Bag

As with any endeavor in life, the first step is to look the part.  So naturally I have been scouring the earth for the perfect law school desk, outfits, bag etc.  Today I'd like to introduce you to the ultimate law school bag.  I first happened upon Libby Lane in my April/May 2013 issue of Garden and Gun.  I am instantly drawn to anyone else named Libby because, let's be honest, you're thinking it too: What a name!  Luckily, my initial reaction was completely justified as she is shockingly cool and creates these beautiful leather goods by hand on her grandfather's land in Texas.  I mean, swoon.  Right?  This is the bag of a chic, young law student living in the south and preparing to burst onto the Atlanta legal scene.  Whatever that means.  It looks amazing in my head.

Unfortunately, I will need a very high paying legal career before I can afford this slice of heaven so I continued my search.  I am quite a fan of Jessica Graves, author of The Love List.  I found this next bag via her Instagram.  It is equally handsome and most likely more functional* than my leather love and, like me, it is from Atlanta!  (*Generally, functionality is my enemy as the most beautiful things are rarely the most practical but in this case, I get the whole package.)  Andover Trask bags are handmade in Atlanta and come in one style, The Standard Bag.  It really is the standard bag; good looking and functional.  What more could you want from a bag? 

So, as it is, I will be toting an Andover Trask Standard Bag around Athens.  Can't you just picture it?  The two colors above are my favorite but feel free to vote for yours.  In addition, if you've recently come into some money and want to purchase me a Libby Lane bag I will not be opposed.

Changes on The Horizon

If you are reading this, I have to assume that you are my friend and that I have forced you in some way to do so.  This being the case, I do not need to explain why I'm starting this blog despite the fact that all of my attempts at blogging in the past have fizzled faster than Pop Rocks in Coca Cola.  Before you know it I will be away in Athens, preoccupied with school and new friends (yeah, right) and you will find yourself wondering, "How is Libby?  What does she do all the time?  How is Miller?"  Luckily, you will be able to refer to this blog unless, as will likely be the case, I haven't updated it in weeks and then you can just text me.  For now, I'll give it a try.

Look how pretty my school is!

You're probably thinking, "Isn't Libby moving at the end of July?  Why is she starting this blog now?  Do I really need to read it before she even leaves?"  Yes, I will remain with you in Atlanta until the end of July.  BUT!  I can only assume that with my departure hanging like a dark cloud over all of our heads we will do some really fun things that I will want to have documented in some way other than the occasional recap email by our dear friend, you know who I mean.  

Thanks for reading this far and I hope that you read at least one more post before you, too, give up on blogging.  Please note that I have chosen a theme song for my remaining time in Atlanta.  I am posting links to a video and the lyrics and it would be wonderful if you could familiarize yourself with it.  Note: I would refrain from actually watching the video.  Ellie Goulding's lack of eyebrows is upsetting and it leads me to believe that the song is actually about something sad and not my super exciting life changes.