December Wrap-Up

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas season! Our seasonal festivities have come to an end and we are looking to get back to our regular routine in the upcoming week. I know I've been on a little hiatus from blogging for a little while, but I'm ready to jump back in and keep this thing rolling! It's been months since I last posted so I'd like to catch up a little before moving forward.

I feel like these past couple of months have been lived in fast-forward. There has been a whirlwind since about Thanksgiving. We celebrated Thanksgiving with friends in Birmingham before going home for the holiday. Kelsey cooked the turkey and the rest of us sparked our culinary skills to create quite the spread.

We went home to Luverne for a few days during Thanksgiving and spent some much-needed time with our families! After returning to Birmingham I prepared for the last couple of weeks of the semester and final exams. And then, of course, the Christmas festivities began. Our community group had our final get together of the year where we swapped gifts by playing Dirty Santa. We opted for getting good, creative gifts instead of funny/cheesy ones, so everyone left with something nice. Four of us with Steel City Pops gift cards - the ultimate Christmas gift!

In celebration of the end of my school semester we got together with Mike and Kelsey to watch one of her favorite Christmas classics: White Christmas. This was the first time Jesse and I had watched it, and I loved it! The night was complete with hot cocoa and cookies.  :)

We went home for Christmas with my side of the family for the weekend where my mom had prepared a delicious brunch full of all the dishes we crave for this annual gathering! We had a great day catching up with my sister and her family and exchanging gifts. Tara gave us the most unique present we received - a photo-collage puzzle of our summer vacation from Shutterfly! Such a neat gift!

A little more back and forth brought Christmas with Jesse's side of the family. We had the annual Christmas Eve seven-fish dinner with his parents, brother, and sister-in-law. Then woke up Christmas morning to exchange gifts and eat a yummy fondue lunch. We then spent Christmas evening with all of my mom's side of the family for dinner and our second round of Dirty Santa. The women do a nice job with gifts here, but you never know what will come out of the men's side of the tree. Last year Jesse came home with kindling wood; this year there was a pooping-snowman.

For the day after Christmas, Marilyn had planned for us to go to the Fantasy of Lights at Callaway Gardens. We arrived a little early and had time to admire the Butterfly Conservatory. Next, we took a walk through Christmas Village, grabbed some kettle corn, then lined up for the drive through the light show. Although we were a car full of adults, there is something warm and sentimental about Christmas lights.

 Sometime in the midst of all this, Jesse and I exchanged our gifts to each other. He can be difficult to buy for and surprise, but I got him this year with an unexpected suitcase and finally framed some street art we got last year in NYC.  He got me a few things I'd asked for and a couple of surprises as well. My little organized heart did a flutter when I opened the label maker.

More blogging coming soon in 2015!!!

High Five for Friday

Happy Friday everyone! 

1.  Last weekend we carved pumpkins with friends. I think you can tell which is mine.  :)  Although I would have to say Mike won on his 3D pop design!

2.  Jesse and I stopped by the Summit to see the Elio car, a USA-made small, gasoline powered car which gets 84 mpg for just under $7,000. It officially hits the market next year for those that have already signed up for one. We sat in the production car, which actually has a backseat. You ride tandem style as a passenger, and there is a tiny little trunk if you had...I don't know... a binder or something extra.

3.  Our school celebrated one of our best teachers this week as she gears up for her last full marathon in all 50 states! She started this goal a few years ago, then found out she had breast cancer, but it didn't stop her at all. Dr. Than is one of the most inspiring women, teachers, optometrists I've met. I remember in the first few weeks of our first semester in her class, she came in and apologized for not replying to emails the night before - she had flown to Las Vegas to run a marathon, caught a red eye flight back home, and arrived in time to teach our 8:00 class. She was really touched that we students were so supportive of her finishing her marathon goal.  You can read an article of her story HERE.

4. Rewinding to last Friday, my friend Heather took me to one of her new favorite places in town to eat, Wasabi Juan's. It's a blend of Mexican and Japanese (sushi, specifically), which sounds really weird, but it was good! I had a tuna roll, which was fairly the same as regular sushi, so I'll have to go back and give some other rolls a shot with more Mexican flair.

5. Jesse spent most of the week in Dothan for work and returned on Thursday which was also his birthday! We finally celebrated after he returned home around 8pm after music practice at church. I had dinner hot and ready for him, followed by his requested birthday treat: ricotta cheese cookies. I'm glad he made it back in town to celebrate his 27 years. And I'm glad I've been in his life for most of those years!

High Five for Friday

Two Friday posts in a row! You guys are so lucky. ;)

1. Last weekend we celebrated our friend Mike's (aka Brother's) birthday! A group of his friends surprised him at one of his favorite restaurants where we ate, laughed, and even played Mike Trivia. Embarrassing senior photos also made an appearance. Then, we went home to Luverne just long enough to visit our parents and go to our dentist appointments. (You know us, living on the wild side!) It was so nice to be home, even for just a little while. I love that we are from the same town and can have our parents all together for dinner while we are there.

2. Monday and Tuesday I was off of school for "fall break." When it's only two days, I'm not sure you can call that a break...more of an extended weekend. When it's not enough time for professors to refrain from giving you assignments, it's not a true break. Monday was spent in the dentist office, and Tuesday I finally got my hair trimmed. No drastic photo to share; and I'm keeping the bangs for a while! Mostly because I really have liked them, and secondly because it's likely to be the most awkward hair grow-out of my life and I'm not looking forward to figuring out how to transition that.

3. Jesse finished his second class of his MBA program this past week! Taking one at a time has seemed to be just the right pace. He's in no hurry to complete it (he will finish when I graduate), and this way he is not overwhelmed after work on a regular basis.

4.  Be babysat our favorite toddler this week. She's getting bigger and smarter by the day. Much of our night was spent rolling around in the floor to her direction to "exsh-cise" after seeing Jesse's weights. She continued on, doing yoga poses, then rode on Jesse's back while he did push ups, then she just climbed and jumped all over him, repeatedly yelling "more!"

5.  I made two new meals and one repeat this week that we really enjoyed. I think I enjoy cooking more in the fall/winter months than laboring over a hot stove/oven in the hotter summer season. Plus, soups are easy and delicious and warm the soul. From left to right we have: a butternut squash, lentil, barley, kale soup I threw together (recipe HERE), Pioneer Woman's Spinach Artichoke Pasta, and spaghetti squash with these very flavorful chicken meatballs which are super fast to make. The last dish also taught me that if you forget to buy the spaghetti sauce, one 8 oz can of tomato sauce and one Roma tomato blended in the food processor with a few shakes of herbs for a few seconds can make do! Also I would like to rave (again) that our Aldi grocery store had these squash for 99 cents a piece (not a pound)! Take that, Publix,

A Simple Party

This week I had the opportunity from HouseParty.com to host another party! I received the party pack a few weeks ago, and was excited to share some of my favorite new skin care products with a few friends! We got together for dinner Thursday night where we ate BBQ pulled pork sliders, coleslaw, and pumpkin pound cake. Then the ladies got to try the line of products.

Even Maggie was pampered.

Each guest took home a goody bag of travel sized products, and each also "won" a full-sized product as well.

We had a fun night sharing stories, advice on beauty products, and food. Hosting for HouseParty is a fun way to try products and a great excuse to get together with friends!

High Five for Friday

Well folks, it's almost been a month (or two?!) since I blogged last. I just haven't felt very motivated lately to post. I could blame it on school, but praise the Lord, this semester is not that bad. My schedule and coarse load are much more laid back.

We haven't been up to much lately, but I'd like to get back into the groove of sharing our favorite moments of the week. I think that helps us keep up to date, and I hope you enjoy reading about them. Let's catch up over the past several weekends!

My friend Kelli came over several weeks ago and helped me purge my closet. She was a helpful, honest opinion to say "yes" or "no" to all the items I've apparently hoarded into my closet. By the time we were done, our entire bed was covered in clothes!  It was way past time to do this. I had so many clothes from college (and maybe even high school) still hanging around because at some point in time they were my favorite pieces. They have long since lost their luster (and style), but for whatever reason I was hanging onto them. Also, my wardrobe needs have changed as I spend more time in the clinic. My closet is slowly being overtaken by more professional clothing, and Kelli was helpful pairing skirts and tops that I've never worn together before. Over Labor Day weekend we went to the mall to get some staple wardrobe items and tops to go with my skirt addiction.

We've spent a couple of Saturdays at our church preparing a prayer room with our community group. We redecorated a space into a peaceful feeling room, where people can come to pray and share prayer requests. There is a collage of frames on one wall which will soon be filled with inspirational verses about prayer.

A few weekends ago, we finally went to the Greek Food Festival. It happens every year at the Greek Orthodox Church in downtown B'ham, and we've managed to miss it the past 2 years. The festival is held over 3 days, morning to night. The preparation and volunteer efforts for are huge! The church takes up nearly a block itself, and there are multiple lines wrapping around the church to get ahold of some of their delicious food!  Between us and the Domenys we consumed quite the sampling: lamb kabobs, gyro wraps, pastichio, and for dessert baklava, kourambethes (Greek wedding cookie), and loukoumathes (honey donuts). Everything was delicious and totally worth the wait!

Last weekend we went camping with Mike, Kelsey, and Addy at Tannehill State Park. We picked the coldest night of the fall season to do so, but we had a great time! Most of it was spent around the campfire, but isn't that the best part of camping any way? Well, that and s'mores of course.

 Most meals were cooked over the fire... some a little more... charred than others. (Foil dinners in a fire do not take quite as long to cook as one would think...)

We explored an old Civil War trail near the Grist Mill.

 And these two melt my heart.... (She preferred only to swing with "Jesh.")

Have a great weekend! My (mini) fall break begins today, so I know I will have a good time!

Californication (A California Vacation Story)

I feel like a broken record, but I'm behind on posting yet again. This summer, Jesse and I took a 16 day road trip to California. It was the most amazing trip we have done to date, and I wanted to share some highlights with you!

We (graciously) borrowed Jesse's parents' minivan and loaded it down with our luggage and camping supplies. Obviously, organized for my sanity.

We drove about 3 days, stopping for food and a good nights sleep...

...plus a pit stop through the Petrified National Park/Painted Desert...

...until we made it to the Grand Canyon. We arrived just after sunset, pitched our tent, then scurried to the Canyon to take it all in. Since we missed the sunset, we made sure we caught the sunrise the following morning.

We crossed over into Nevada, and stopped to take a peak at the Hoover Dam. 

Next up was Las Vegas, where we stayed at Treasure Island. We had a great view of the strip from our room, but immediately went out to explore after filling our bellies at the hotel's buffet. We walked through Caesar's Palace and the Bellagio, caught the Bellagio's water fountain show, the Mirage's volcano eruption, and plenty of street performers.

Further along, we made it to the final destination state, sweet and sunny California!

And we immediately drove through Death Valley, where it stopped 111 degrees with a rain shower (rare occurrence). We wound through an old one-way dirt road, looked over Zabriskie Point, drove through a sandstorm, and fed a coyote. Death Valley was way more than we expected and a western road trip must!

A few days stop in Yosemite National Park came next, where we camped by a creek, pooped in pit toilets (just keepin' it real, folks), looked out from Glacier Point to see most of the Park (including Half Dome), hiked through a Sequoia grove, and climbed a mountain to see a couple of waterfalls.

(it was rather smokey due to wildfires that occurred right before we arrived)

San Francisco was next, where we finally made it to the coast! We walked to Fisherman's Wharf where we enjoyed the sights of the piers, including a dock full of sea lions, as we ate fresh clam chowder from a local made sourdough bread bowl. 

The following morning we took a walk down Lombard Street to see the "crooked street," then we loaded up and drove over the Golden Gate Bridge. We also made sure we got In-N-Out burger!

We took a bus to Muir Woods, where we hiked under a dense redwood forest.

Our goal for the night was to drive to Santa Cruz, but along the way we stopped at a marine reserve and had our first wildlife sightings and touched the Pacific Ocean. Begin to be awed by California's beauty (if you weren't already)!

 Look! Harbor seals! (You can guarantee I was squealing with excitement... quietly though, as not to alarm these cute marine mammals!)

 Then we found a trail above the bluff where we could look at them from above! Can you find the lookout seal watching us closely?

By nightfall we made it to Santa Cruz and immediately hit the boardwalk where we ate hand-dipped corndogs and rode the sky lift over the boardwalk.

The next morning, we drove to nearby Monterey where we explored the aquarium, which is built right on the water and in an old sardine canning factory. This aquarium quickly made it to the top of our aquarium list throughout our travels.

After the aquarium we walked along Cannery Row and decided it was appropriate to find some good (sustainable) seafood to eat - some of the best food of the trip!

From Monterey we drove along the 17 Mile Drive through Pebble Beach until we got to Carmel. Carmel is known for its boutique shops. Most were closed when we arrived that afternoon, but we did get to walk through one and this adorable Cottage of Sweets (I was in sugar heaven!)!

(The Lone Cypress)

(The Lodge at Pebble Beach Golf Course)

(a few pieces may have disappeared before taking this shot)

Next we drove to Point Lobos State Reserve, which was a quaint and quiet area with walking trails above the coastal cliffs. This place was incredible! We were there about an hour and we saw more harbor seals, sea otters cracking clams on their bellies, and two humpback whale spottings!!! California nature at its finest! Sorry guys, no photos of these creatures. They were very far away and we were mostly gazing at them through binoculars.

That night we drove to Big Sur and stayed the night in a small redwood forest, in this funny "tent cabin." Y'all, after actual tent camping, with no showers, and pit toilets, this place was fancy - running water and a trashcan, not to mention a nearby restaurant!

We drove over Bixby Bridge and took in the beautiful coastal scenery.

Picked up a delicious pastry at Big Sur Bakery - a "candied bacon bowtie", aka the best pastry I've ever eaten. Because it's a pastry. And bacon.

Then we had lunch at Big Sur Roadhouse.

We stopped alongside Hwy 1 and took a short walk to see this beach where a creek runs through a state park and empties out onto the beach. It was a little paradise.

More California beauty, just because:

Most beaches along the cost were inaccessible, and Jesse wanted to snorkel so bad. We finally saw people along a beach and pulled over to check it out for ourselves. The beach was lined with gravel instead of sand, and the water was pretty cold. Jesse suited up anyway and snorkeled for a few minutes.

We continued along the coast to San Simeon, where we camped the night and got up the next morning to tour a nature reserve and lighthouse. It was fun getting a guided tour and learning about the native plants and animals. The lighthouse was the "grand finale" but became a bit disappointing because we couldn't actually climb to the top of the lighthouse. It was still a beautiful tour and we were glad we spent a couple of hours doing it. We even got to see male elephant seals fighting in the ocean.

We continued on to Malibu that afternoon, stopping to see the beaches at Leo Carillo State Park. That night we camped on a hillside just off of Hwy 1. We could hear the waves crashing all night long! The next morning we returned to Leo Carillo so that Jesse could get one more chance at snorkeling. I picked out a spot on top of a rock to sit, and he waded out into the ocean. He was aiming for a kelp forest just off the sand, and finally got through the waves. There were several surfers paddling around waiting to catch some waves, so he lingered near them to play it safer. He saw several fish and sea urchins on the rocks below, and then a shark. No joke. He swam in the opposite direction, and waded with the surfers a little longer before heading back to shore. A scary, but fun experience for him!

Our last stop along the coast was L.A., which we soon discovered that the rumors of the horrible traffic there were true. It was madness everywhere. First we drove through Rodeo Drive.

We finally found a spot to park and walk along the Hollywood Walk of Fame. We made it to the TCL Chinese Theater to see the star's hand and footprints in the sidewalk. I momentarily held hands with Johnny Depp and Judy Garland, while Jesse compared his hand size to Morgan Freeman.

The last stop in LA was to see the Hollywood sign! Thanks to a local blogger, I knew just the spot we should go to get a decent view without winding to far into local neighborhoods (or riding a horse to get there).

The next morning we started our trek back home. We were able to stop in Tucson, Arizona to visit with Jesse's uncle and aunt. They were kind enough to invite us for dinner and take us to watch the sunset at a lookout point near their home. Unfortunately I didn't get a single photo with them; just an enormous Arizona cactus.

It was a 16 day whirlwind adventure, and we loved every second of it! We were so glad we chose to drive the full trip. We got to see SO much of our beautiful country along the way! If you ever get a chance to do a road trip to any of these places, especially California, do it!
The van logged our mileage and time. The clock actually rolled over...so add 100 more hours to that! And, best thing of all- Jesse and I still love each other after all that time in the car together! ;)

If you'd like to see more photos from our trip click HERE to view about 200 more pictures...which might be a 10th of the total photos we actually took...