Where you can find me....

I am so sad to admit that I have totally abandoned my blog here at A Blog by Shannon. The truth is, I took a break, while going through some major life changes. I got married!!! Quit my job in D.C! And moved to Richmond, VA! That is a lot of stuff.

I can not say that I will be back just yet, but I am still blogging. You can find me here:

Hats in the Belfry

Shannon and Evan's Wedding Blog

Thrifty Richmond

The New Ride

This week the word overextended would be an understatement when describing my schedule. I have a tendency to pile things on and if I wasn’t busy enough, we decided that this would be a good week to do some car shopping. Evan has been driving my old Mercedes that my Dad gave me in college. The car had a lot of miles on it, some of the electric gadgets had stopped working and we were just waiting for the day that it wouldn’t start in the morning. We could have taken it in to be serviced, but the cost of fixing it up would be astronomical. So, we decided it was time for a trade in. We went to Carmax right near where Evan works and they gave us $2,000 for the trade in. Way more than I thought we would get. We really didn’t know what kind of car we wanted, but after walking around their lot, Evan picked out Ford Ranger truck. It was just about as simple as that. Sometimes I am amazed at how decisive we are. It was a little sad to say good-bye to the Benz after all these years. The car didn’t seem to want to say let go either as it took 3 guys to get the plates off. The salesmen asked me if I wanted a few minutes with the Mercedes before they drove it away, which I thought was pretty silly, but a little part of me did want to take a moment to reflect on all the good times I had with that car. In the end, I declined the private parking lot moment. So last night, they pulled the Benz away and we became proud owners of a shiny white truck!

Tomato and Mozzarella

This summer we have been absolutely spoiled with fresh produce. Evan has been going to our local Farmer's Market every Sunday and coming back with fresh tomatoes, zuchinni, basil, corn, peaches and other deliciousness. We treated ourselves with fresh mozzarella, tomato and basil one afternoon as a little tasting before dinner. Add a little balsalmic drizzle = a happy Shannon.

My New Website

I have heard that many Brides go through a period of withdrawal/depression right after their wedding. When you spend a year planning all the insane details of your wedding day, it is easy to feel like you don’t have anything to do when the wedding is over. Fortunately for me, I jumped right in to a new project that will definitely keep me busy. A new website, called On the Town On a Budget, Annapolis. The idea is that I will find things to do in Annapolis for under $20 and review them on the site. I hope to review activities like happy hours, music performances, sporting events, arts events, places to eat and much more.

The inspiration came about one Wednesday night. I was having a glass of wine at a local bar in Annapolis with my good girl friend, Jill. We were talking about out money woes and other things and she casually said to me, “Just because we’re broke doesn’t mean we can’t have a life.” This comment struck me like a lightening bolt. She is absolutely right! I could sit home and cry lonely tears in my glass of Maryland tap water while I eat Dollar Menu drive-through, OR I could go on a mission to find something fun to do for cheap and write about it!

The site is still very much a work in progress, but I hope you will check it out!

Dragonfly Video

This Saturday was a really great Dragonfly Rehearsal. Not that all rehearsals aren't great, but this one was caught on video. We are working on a new piece to be performed at a TBD time and place that will be called Thread 2.0 I believe. The first version of this piece was performed with the AACC Symphony Orchestra while I was away on my honeymoon. I am so happy that I am getting to be a part of the new version of the piece.

I'm in the blue :)