Welcome to And Drink the Wild Air!

Hi everyone and welcome to my newly made over blog!  This little space on the web has changed from "The Landrum Wife" and is now known as "And Drink the Wild Air," a nod to the famous Ralph Waldo Emerson quote from his poem "Merlin's Song."  A few months ago, I alluded to this transition with this post, and I am proud to finally unveil the final product to you all!

Just like with my last blog redesign, I'd like to thank Beth Bradford for all of her hard work, patience, and valuable time helping me figure out this new transition.  She always seems to deliver exactly what I'm envisioning and is such a pleasure to work with.  If you ever need any help with your own blog design, I highly recommend working with her!

This is just the first of many changes that will be happening in the lives of the Landrums over the next few months and I feel like it's very appropriate to kick it off with a blog rename and redesign.  (Look for an upcoming post detailing some of the other changes here soon!)  I'm hoping now that my new name will reflect a bit more of my personal life philosophy as we open up the next chapter of our lives, and I am also hoping you all continue to join me for the ride :)

Until next time, aloha!  :)

Ch-Ch-Changes!

As the end of the year ticks down (and inevitably the end of our time in Hawaii), I'm becoming more and more willing to shake things up around the old blog here, except this time in a big way.  It's been on my mind for a while now to really revamp my blog, and the occasional new background and color schemes just isn't cutting it anymore for me!

via TheStressSurfer.com

I have a few ideas in mind for how I want to go about all of this, but first and foremost I wanted you all to know that it will most certainly involve a blog title change and a domain name change.  I'm going to figure out the best way to make sure this transition is as seamless as possible and that it doesn't affect any of my readers in any way.

Why am I changing my title and domain at this stage of my blog, you ask?  Mr. L and I will soon be undergoing a major transition in our lives.  The possibility of Mr. L leaving the military is getting stronger and stronger every day thanks to his illness, which is still yet to be diagnosed.  Because of this particular upheaval and everything thing else that will ultimately come with it, I feel like it is time to graduate from "The Landrum Wife" and onto something a little less "wife-y" and a little more suitable for my personality and overall perspective.  Since I suppose this could be considered a "lifestyle" blog, I want to represent my viewpoint on my life and I'm hoping I'll be able to find a good "brand" as a vehicle for that message soon.

As I go through this process, I will keep everyone updated, and when it comes time to make the switch, you all will be the first ones to know.  Hopefully this change will be received well and will be as easy as possible to accomplish, haha.  Thanks so much for your understanding and support, and until next time, aloha!  :)

One Blog, One Tree

Did you know that each time someone browses the internet and clicks on a web page, CO₂ gases are emitted?  It may seem strange, but it's true!  These emissions come from the energy consumption of computer servers and hardware.  According to one study by a Harvard physicist, a blog with an average amount of traffic can emit about 8 lbs of CO₂ gases each year, so it's definitely obvious how this can be considered a significant issue after you tally up the number of blogs and websites out there!

I wanted to add pictures to this post, but since I didn't have anything terribly related, you get to see pictures of Hawaiian trees.  Here are some lovely coconut palms!

Pinterest's New Place Boards

If you've been browsing over at Pinterest lately, you may have noticed that they've implemented a new feature called Place Boards that lets you add a map feature to your pins.  At first I thought it was interesting, but I honestly didn't think much else of it.  And then I pinned one of my posts from my Getting to Know Hawaii series and it hit me -- this would be perfect for my Getting to Know Hawaii Pinterest Board!

Now you can see the locations of all of the posts I've done in relation to one another.  This is a great way for you to plan out a day trip if you happen to live here or a vacation if you're visiting.  Pretty neat, huh?

Go ahead and click the link below to check out my Pinterest Place Board.  And if you have one of your own, share it with me below!

Follow Mrs. Landrum's board Getting to Know Hawaii on Pinterest.

Photo-a-Day OIC - Week 5

Here's the very last week of pictures, meaning October is over!  And it's already November!  So crazy.  And I know, I know, I'm definitely behind getting this post up and I didn't get a chance to post these on Instagram, but hey, at least I finished! :)

Day 27 - Dinner

Lunch that became dinner from Tin Hut BBQ -- can't get enough of them!

Photo-a-Day OIC - Week 4

Looks like we're almost through with October -- one more half week to go!  Here's week 4's collection of pictures:

Day 20 - Spread the Spark

Recipe on the dinner rotation this week from SparkRecipes

Photo-a-Day OIC - Week 3

I can't believe week three is already behind us!  Here are all of my pictures below:

Day 14 - Harvest

Not your typical fall harvest, but I love me some grapes!  :)

Photo-a-Day OIC - Week 2

It's the end of week two of the Photo-a-Day October Instagram Challenge!  Check out my pics below:

Photo-a-Day OIC - Week 1

It's the end of the first week of the Photo-a-Day October Instagram Challenge hosted by SparkPeople!  Here's my collection of photos below:

Day 1 - Lunch

Gotta love a warm bowl of broccoli cheese soup!

Photo-a-Day October Instagram Challenge

As far as I know, there isn't another October Photo Challenge going on that I've been participating in for the past two years (check out the previous challenges here and here), so this year I decided to join up with SparkPeople's Photo-a-Day October Instagram Challenge instead!

Every Sunday I'll be posting the week's pictures on the blog and I'll attempt to upload a photo every day over on my Instagram account.  Feel free to join up if you have Instagram or a blog (or both!) and don't forget the tags #sparkpeople and #fallfavorites on your pictures!

I can't wait to see all of the pictures of fall, especially since we don't actually get fall out this way.  Hopefully I won't get too homesick for my favorite season, though!

Are you a fan of fall?  Think you might join the challenge?  Let me know in the comments below!

New Blog Design!

If you've visited the blog at any point in the last day or so, you may have noticed it looking a little bit different around these parts.  (Click over from your reader if you haven't seen it yet!)  That's because I got a little help from the fantastic Beth Bradford to completely revamp the look of my little corner of the web!

I found her on Etsy, and after waiting for her to return to her shop from vacation, I took the plunge and purchased a design package from her.  I honestly couldn't be happier with the outcome, and she was a pleasure to work with to boot!

If you'd like to see some more of Beth's blog design work, head on over to her portfolio page on her blog and check it out.  She also offers some pre-made blog designs through her Etsy store!  And if you're interested in purchasing something from her, she's offering up a great special for the rest of this month -- 15% off the purchase of a custom blog design package!  How awesome is that?!

Thanks so much for all your hard work, Beth!  :)

Capturing December: Days 25-31

It's so weird that December (and the challenge) are now at an end!  It was fun making memories this month, even if I sucked at posting every day.  Oh well, maybe I'll do better next time =)

Day 25:  Morning

My two Santas on our Christmas morning!

Day 26:  Grateful

I'm definitely grateful to have this little guy around to snuggle with me when Mr. L isn't able to.

Capturing December: Days 17-24

Day 17:  Presents

Day 18:  Stockings

We have a total of six stockings hanging up -- one for Mr. L, one for me, one for Liam, one for Lila, and one each for our two four-legged guests that are visiting with us over the holidays!

Capturing December: Days 9-16

Ack, looks like I have some major catching up to do!  Here we go...

Day 9:  Something You're Reading

I'm in the middle of rereading one of my favorite series, The Dark Tower by Stephen King.  I just finished the newest addition, The Wind Through the Keyhole (after reading the others chronologically of course!) and I'm moving on to the next book, The Wolves of Calla.

Ornament Swap 2012

Thanks to our wonderful hosts, Laura, Whitney, Stephanie, and Jessica, I entered an awesome little ornament swap back a few weeks ago and ended up being paired up with Paula from Then Comes Marriage!

I received my package a few days ago, and I am in love with the ornaments she sent to us!  Not only did she give a nod to my aspirations to become a librarian, she also included my sweet little Schnauzers in on the fun =)

Capturing December: Days 6, 7, and 8

I know, I know, I'm posting kind of randomly with these, but I'm getting them up as often as I can.  It's been pretty busy around these parts!  Hope you're enjoying what I've shown so far!

Day 6 - Shopping

This is the huge Christmas tree they put in front of our NEX every year.  That's how you know it's time to shop!

Day 7 - Bright

It's funny how a row of ridiculously bright-colored ornaments in Target can put a smile on your face!

Day 8 - Ornament(s)

I opted to show two new ornaments we got this year -- the top is of the USS Arizona Memorial I purchased this summer, and the bottom is an ornament we had made by pinkkoala from Etsy to match our Liam ornament we got last year!  I'm in love with her white chin and (although you can't see it in this picture) her purple collar!

Capturing December: Day 5

Day 5 - Today's Temperature

Yep, you could say I'm pretty spoiled.  We even complained about how hot it was today since the trade winds are taking a vacation...man, we should be ashamed of ourselves.

Capturing December: Days 3 and 4

Regardless of moldy setbacks, I'm going to do my best to push forward in the December photo challenge anyways =)  Here are days 3 and 4!

Day 3 - Red

Our 2012 Bellingrath Gardens ornament we picked up while in 'Bama =)

Day 4 - Joyous

I struggled a lot with this picture considering I haven't exactly been feeling joyous today (not only because of the mold situation, but also because of stupid deployments).  But then I realized it doesn't matter -- I get to look at this handsome face, albeit not as often as I'd like to, and he always manages to find a way to cheer me up and fill me with joy =)

Capturing December: Days 1 and 2

So I'm already just a wee bit behind on starting a December Photo-a-Day Challenge, but I liked the prompts of this particular one (thanks to catinreallife.tumblr.com for posting about it!) and I decided I would go ahead and begin even if it's already December 2nd!

This prompt is from A Content Housewife and it's called "Capturing December".  If you'd like to join up with me, follow this link and put in your information in the linkup!

Day 1 - Your View Today

My view yesterday was of my alma mater, The University of South Alabama Jaguars, prepping to take on the UH Rainbow Warriors at Aloha Stadium!

Day 2 - Favorite Holiday Movie

It isn't a very interesting picture -- actually pretty straightforward -- but it's an absolutely classic movie in my eyes.  =)

Do you enjoy doing photo-a-month challenges?  Apparently I'm liking it this year!

Ornament Swap 2012

This year I've decided to participate in an ornament swap this Christmas!  Laura from Luckiest in Love's is hosting her third annual ornament swap, and she's also teaming up with a few cohosts, including Whitney of Mr. & Me, Stephanie of Modern Vintage Wife, and Jessica of Jessica Lynn Writes (the blogger from whom I heard about this swap!).  I am very excited -- I haven't participated in this swap before, but it sounds like a lot of fun!

The sign ups will remain open until Saturday, November 17th, and the ornaments themselves will need to be shipped on or before Monday, December 3rd to give people plenty of time to receive and admire them.

If you'd like more information or want to know how to sign up, click here to head on over to Jessica's blog and check out her Ornament Swap post!  Here's to a Mele Kalikimaka for everyone this year!  =)