Life Isn't Always Peachy

Well, hi.

To say I fell off the blogging bandwagon would be an understatement. It's been almost a year since my last post. I've missed you guys. And I've missed sharing my adventures with you.

But this past year has been one crazy, busy, not-always-great adventure. There have been some major ups and downs.

I finished my first year of teaching. It was rough. Don't get me wrong - I loved most of it, but I was put into a few situations that caused emotional stress almost every day. I was exhausted by the end of the year. But the students make it all worth it. Nothing compares to giving a great concert with my high schoolers or a hug from a still-thinks-you-are-awesome sixth grader.

Next year is looking up, and I'm excited about my new teaching positions.

Along with my full time job, I was also teaching eleven private violin and viola students, helping with an after school orchestra, and playing with four different orchestras. Needless to say, I haven't had much time to focus on my blog or Etsy shop.

A major up happened in December: Daniel and I got engaged!!!

(AHHHHHH!!!)

Story coming soon!

(I still stare at my ring. No shame.)

We're getting married one year from today!

So, life isn't always peachy - sometimes it's downright not fun - but sometimes it's fabulous!

And speaking of peaches, I've got a peach pie recipe for you!

Check back later!

:)

Dear Daniel

*Warning: Please excuse the extreme mushyness ahead.*

;)

Dear Daniel,

I know it's only been about four months since we started dating, but I feel like I have spent some of the best moments of my life with you.

The long awkward silence when we met for the first time...but then we ended up talking for hours for the rest of the weekend.

You sending me "snow" for my birthday.

Ice skating by The Bean in Millennium Park in Chicago.

Seeing Chicago and kissing you from the top of the John Hancock Building.

You teaching me how to make latte art and the giggles that ensued.

You waiting for me and hugging me at the end of my first half marathon.

Stuffing our faces at Paula Deen's Restaurant on Valentine's Day.

Sharing my favorite coffee shop, Coffee Underground, with you.

(Coffee Underground)

Sitting in a swing by the Reedy River and talking about the future.

Watching the sunset from Caesar's Head.

Dancing with you at your cousin's wedding in Charleston.

Still getting butterflies when I look at you...

Thanks for sharing in our adventures! It's been a wonderful journey so far!

I love you.

Chocolate Milk. Oh, and Milwaukee.

I'm back from my trip to Milwaukee!

(And a trip this weekend to Augusta to play with the symphony.)

Daniel and I had a great weekend together exploring Milwaukee!

He picked me up from the airport, and during the car ride to his house he told me that there was a present waiting for me in the refrigerator. (Wait, what?)

Yes! Chocolate milk! He apparently read this post, and there was chocolate milk waiting for me.

He's a keeper, right?

That night we went downtown to dinner and the symphony, where we saw one of my favorite violinists, Itzhak Perlman, play! It was a beautiful concert!

Here we are all dressed up - and freezing - waiting for the bus.

On Friday, we drove down to Chicago! Lots of pictures to come!

The next day, we went on a tour of Lakefront Brewery. It was a fun time...

...and we met up with a friend of mine from Florida State who is now living in Milwaukee.

By the end of the tour, I was pretty giggly, and Daniel and I tried to take some photos. He and his family often make "The Face" in pictures, and I tried...and failed. It's hilarious!

On Sunday, we made some yummy breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes and some real bacon...

...and drove around Milwaukee for a bit looking at some huge houses, including one by Frank Lloyd Wright. (At one point, I wanted to be an architect, and I love Wright's architecture!)

We stopped for some coffee at Alterra, the coffee shop where Daniel works, and I ended up buying a cute mug and a t-shirt. (I have a thing for coffee mugs. And teacups. And t-shirts.) I also had my first taste of chai - so yummy!

There happened to be a yarn shop across the street...more on that later. Let's just say that if there had been more time to shop and more room in my suitcase, my bank account may have been depleted...

So, on Monday, it was time to say goodbye, but we got to hang out again this weekend in Augusta!

:)

MKE. Brew City. The Wauk.

Yep, I'm heading to Milwaukee today!

(Milwaukee At Night) 

Although when I get there it will probably look more like this...a little frozen over.

(Milwaukee)

I've had my fair share of cold and snow this week, and I'm hoping that I can get out of the South without too many problems!

I'm going up until Monday to visit Daniel, and I am so excited!!! We haven't seen each other in over a month now!

We have plans to see Lake Michigan, drink coffee, travel to Chicago, visit the Milwaukee Art Museum, go on a brewery tour, and go ice skating.

But tonight when I get there, we're going to see Itzhak Perlman, one of my favorite violinists, play with the Milwaukee Symphony!

(Itzhak Perlman)

What to wear to said concert in frigid temperatures and still manage to look cute is a bit of a head scratcher, but I'll figure it out. I'll be sure to post pictures when I get back!

Have a great day everyone!

:)

Story Time.

Ok, it's story time with Emily.

Got a cup of coffee? Or tea? Ok, good.

Remember the guy in the picture from my last post?

Meet Daniel.

(He likes coffee just as much as I do! Probably more...I know!)

Here's how the story goes...

September 22: I left Spartanburg after a long day of teaching to drive to Augusta, Georgia to play with the Symphony Orchestra Augusta for the first time. I arrived in Augusta, checked into my hotel, grabbed dinner, went to rehearsal, trudged back to my hotel, and passed out...

...until 5:30 the next morning - when I woke up in a panic and realized that I hadn't brought black shoes. Why not just buy some, you say? Well, the entire orchestra had to be on a bus at 6:30 that morning to drive to Swainsboro, Georgia for two concerts. Gold sandals it was. Oops. I definitely fell asleep on the way over - in some embarrassing fashion as you can only do on a bus. (I later found out that Daniel was sitting rather near me. I hope I wasn't snoring. I'm not actually sure if I snore at all...) After our morning concert, we had an extremely long time to do absolutely nothing until our evening concert. So I made some new friends, right? Umm, this is where my inherently shy nature comes in, and I read a book...for about seven hours.

October 2: I get a random friend request on Facebook from this guy named Daniel. Um, have we ever met? I see that he's in the orchestra, so I add him. I later get a post on my wall: Hey there! Sorry to not see you in Augusta this week... Um, did we meet? I text my pianist, Julie: This random guy from Augusta added me on Facebook. Response: Ooooh, is he cute?? Response: Uh, yes... :)

So, Daniel and I started exchanging messages and chatting on Facebook, and we discovered that we have a lot in common. We had such long (fun!) conversations that I began to suspect that he was interested, but if you know me at all, you know that I can overanalyze just about anything. To death. What if he just wants to be friends?? And now I'm interested in him. Ahh! Panic.

Fast forward to December 2: I left Spartanburg after an extremely long last day of school to drive to Augusta to play in the December pops concert. Oh man, I was super nervous. As in, terrified. What was I going to say?? (Hi. Nice to finally meet you in person? Lame.) Again, panic.

After I survived my near heart attack on the drive down, the weekend (and I'm sure you could see this coming) ended up being amazing! We went out for coffee (ahem, lots of coffee), took a walk by the Savannah River, and just talked for hours. He admitted that he liked me, asked me if that was weird (um, no!), and we decided to date. (By the way, Daniel, if you actually read this, thank you. Had you left that conversation up to me, it probably would not have happened. I'm a chicken.)

The only downside? He lives in Milwaukee. Wisconsin. (Yes, he flies to Augusta to play in the orchestra.) So, I don't love the distance (who would?), but I definitely think he's worth it! :)

By the way, he's the principal timpanist. Here's a picture:

(Sorry, Daniel. I know I stole this.)

The end.

(Well, for now.)

:)

p.s. I would like to apologize to all my friends who bore the brunt of my freak outs about Daniel. I'm really sorry...I know that I'm crazy.



Oh hello, December.

Whew, I survived to the end of school and got my 2322843 papers written.

Writing papers for me is like pulling teeth. It was not fun times.

Anyhow, they're done, and I'm loving Christmas break and all of my holiday gigs! I just got back from a weekend of playing with the Symphony Orchestra Augusta in Augusta, Georgia. I made some new friends, and we enjoyed playing our holiday pops concert!

My stand partner and I decided to turn bowties into headbands. :)

I'll have to tell you about the guy in the picture above a little later... ;)

Now. In case you haven't heard - Mandy over at Mandipidy is hosting a whole day of giveaway goodness for her birthday! Happy Birthday Mandy!

You can win lovely items from 17 different shops including Emerging Em!

Go check it out!

School. Ack.

My life has reached epic proportions of busyness.

This was quite possibly the most insane first week of school ever. Thus, my absence, once again, from the blogging world. However, despite the fact that I might not sleep until December, this semester should be a fun one. I'm looking forward to playing the Brahms Piano Quintet for my graduate chamber recital (If you don't know it, go listen - right now.), teaching my eleven (!) private violin students, and getting in lots of practice time.

This week has been extra busy because I'm playing with the Hendersonville Symphony Orchestra. Although rehearsals have required a lot of driving, most of the trips have been through the Blue Ridge Mountains at sunset, which makes my heart happy. This concert has been a lot fun because we're playing all Rodgers and Hammerstein. It has brought back a lot of memories - mainly the fact that I wanted (still want?) Anna's dress from The King and I.

(source)

Um, yeah - still want.

One Rodgers and Hammerstein concert down, one to go.

To bring a bit more calm into my life, I'm going to remember a bit of Silver Bay and show you the last of my pictures. Here are some of my favorite places to sit around the bay.

Sigh...

As much as I miss Silver Bay, though, I was delighted to return home to this...

...the necklace I won from Mandy at Mandy's Yellow Corner! It made me smile!

I know I haven't been blogging about crafting much recently, but I hope my photos count as one of my artsy adventures. It is something I've been wanting to work on, and I'm glad I had such a beautiful place to practice.

In Etsy news - I've had two sales in my shop! (One was my mom. Shh, don't tell.)

I also have one new necklace in my Etsy shop:

I decided to add my tatting to a necklace.

What do you think?