Guatemala City

I’m back online! I don’t think I turned my computer on for a few months after leaving the world of unemployment. I have since, been working, moving into and unpacking an apartment, and of course adjusting to a steady work schedule. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed catching up on all of the blogs I follow and I am very happy to be back to blogging myself. And what better way to get back into it, than with a Throwback Thursday post.

Last summer I had the opportunity to go to Guatemala City with my parent’s church. We left less than two days after I finished taking comps and I was completely exhausted. The pictures I’ve posted are from a Bible school we put together at a local church. No matter how little sleep I got that week, I am so thankful I had the opportunity to go. I absolutely loved the people we met. The kids were so sweet and loving and the adults, so amazed that people would come to another country just to play with kids.

Our first full day, we went to the local dump to visit the people that lived there. Basically, these were people living in the dump, surrounded by all of the garbage and flies, who made their living by digging through the trash to find recyclable materials. I expected to maybe see a few families living there, but the community actually included rows and rows of makeshift houses. It was heartbreaking to see the conditions but so wonderful to see the spirit of these people. With every corner we would turn there would be more children running, smiling, and holding their hands outstretched towards us. They were so loving and happy. Their joy wasn’t dependent on their circumstances.

We went to church with the locals on Sunday and each helped in the children’s Sunday school classes. I think I helped with the 4 year olds. The kids’ Spanish was of course better than mine, but much more on my level than the Spanish of the teenagers and adults. The week in Guatemala definitely proved how little Spanish I knew.

The week of VBS was wonderful. We painted faces, made crafts, played basketball, sang songs, told stories, played with a giant parachute, hit a piñata, colored, and of course played soccer. The children and adults we had a chance to meet and talk to were each amazing. One boy (above in the green shirt) left one morning only to come back with a simple Spanish-English translation brochure so he could talk to us in English. We then took turns holding up coloring pages and teaching one another new words. Another little girl, Doris (above, coloring) had such a fun attitude and personality. It was so wonderful to get to know each and every one of those kids.

Jonah’s Fish & Grits

Thomasville, Georgia is this adorable little town located just north of Tallahassee, Florida. On one of my most recent trips to see my favorite guy, we went up to Thomasville to explore the small city and have dinner. We ate at Jonah’s Fish & Grits and sat outside, on the patio. The place had so much character and such good food. We had the fried pickles which were served with their blue cheese aoili. For dinner, I had the grilled shrimp and scallops with the peach tree salsa

PEACH-TREE SALSA: made with peaches, pineapple, lime juice, red bell-peppers, caramelized red onions, fressh cilantro ad spices

And Seth had the shrimp and grits

SHRIMP & GRITS sautéed shrimp, bacon and chives in a light cream sauce drizzled over roasted vegetables and white cheddar grits

Both meals were delicious (I know because I helped Seth eat his) The crème brulee also looked delightful but we were way too full after our delicious dinner.

Sa Za Serious Italian

I have only been to Sa Za’s once, but I am a little off put by the urbanspoon rating. Seth and I had a date night in downtown Montgomery a couple of months ago. We didn’t really make any plans; we just decided to get out of my parents house for the evening. After strolling around the Montgomery Riverwalk we had dinner at Sa Za’s Serious Italian.

Despite it’s mildly ridiculous name, it is a great little place on the corner of the Alley. We did not have a reservation so we sat at the bar, but it was actually a fun place to sit since we could see the pizzas being made. We had the Firenza which comes “layered with goat cheese, caramelized onions, roasted grape tomatoes, mozzarella” and added chicken and spinach. It was probably the best pizza I’ve ever had. The goat cheese wasn’t overpowering and was deliciously complemented by the caramelized onions. To drink I had a Wise Guy “captain morgan spiced rum, malibu rum, bacardi 151 rum, pineapple & cranberry juice, lime & cherry garnish” and it was great. In addition to the food, the restaurant had a great atmosphere. I would definitely recommend!

Nature walk

Most weekends we are in Tallahassee, Seth, B and I will go for a walk at Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy, where Seth works. B is always excited and normally wears himself out in the first half of the walk. We have taken several walks since, but these pictures were taken back in February. We didn’t see too many birds on this walk, but did spot a red-cockaded woodpecker and accidentally flush a few bob white quail.

1. The bird window is a trail at Tall Timbers. This is were we saw the woodpecker.
2. We saw so many animal tracks, I think these were deer tracks, but I honestly can’t tell from the picture (old lady eyes)
3. Gannett Pond. I wish I had a before picture! When I was in Tallahassee in October, the pond was practically non-existent due to drought. Lake Iamonia, which borders the property, was greatly downsized due to drought as well. Both are back to being large, lovely homes for fish, alligator, snakes, and whole host of other organisms.
4. The live oaks. My favorite part of North Florida is the the live oaks. Majority of these giant trees are covered in Spanish moss.
5. One of the interpretive panels outside the Jones Tenant House.
6. The Jones Tenant House was restored by Tall Timbers a few years ago and offers the opportunity to better understand the role of tenant farmers in southern agriculture. I had the opportunity to walk through the house at the Tall Timbers field day.
7. After the walk, B spent about 30 minutes chasing bumblebees. This was the first time I had seen him do this, but flying insect chasing has since become his favorite past time.

Valentines in Tallahassee

For Valentines, I made Seth red velvet whoopie pies. I wish I had a recipe to share with you, but I waited until the last minute to go to the store and ended up buying a box mix. However, the cookies were pretty scrumptious! 

I drove down to Tallahassee on Valentines Day and Seth had dinner waiting on me. He grilled freshly caught snipe and asparagus and made garlic mashed potatoes. He did a great job!

Later that weekend, we went to Kikü Japanese Fusion for sushi on Thomasville Road. I get a different roll each time and cannot remember for the life of me which rolls these are, but they were delicious! Kikü is one of our favorites and they always have great specials

Leaving Tuscaloosa

After living in Tuscaloosa for 6 years and 2 degrees, I packed up last month and moved back to my hometown. With the help of my dad, I managed to fit everything into a couple car loads and still left a small place for B to sit.

Moving was a little easier this time as majority of my furniture was already in storage (I moved in with a co-worker a few months ago so that I wouldn’t have to sign a new lease). Also, I cleaned out everything! If you are going through the hassle of packing away your things, why not use it as an opportunity to get rid of things you don’t really use/need.  When left alone, I generally convince myself to keep things I probably shouldn’t with thoughts like “I’ll still wear this” or “I can totally fit into this again.” My friend, Brittney, aided in decision making and I took a lot of clothes to Plato’s Closet in Tuscaloosa. They were very easy to work with! I also took a lot of clothes and kitchen ware to King’s Home a charity which helps abused women and children get back on their feet.

After all of the cleaning out and packing, moving itself really only took a couple of hours (minus driving time). B was not excited about leaving his best dog friend, Sam. However, he has since warmed up to the idea of living with my parents due to the soft beds, yogurt, and all of the food he is slipped by my nieces and nephews.
FYI... this is not where he sleeps...

Bachelorette Décor!

For my friend’s bachelorette party we took a trip down to Biloxi, Mississippi. Brittany and I wanted to take a few decorations for the hotel rooms. I made a few banners and decorated champagne flutes for mimosas. I got the idea from a post on Lauren Conrad’s Blog, which I love! To make this activity a little less messy, I used brightly colored glitter paper instead of using spray adhesive and glitter.



I got a little ways into cutting out letters before deciding I wanted all (or majority) of the letters to be the same color.

I found a few plastic champagne flutes, but felt that they needed a little glitter.

Christmas with the Family

Christmas is absolutely one of my favorite times of the year. I love the lights, the decorations, and all of the baked goods! Sadly, this year was the first since moving out of my parent’s house that I didn’t have a Christmas tree. All of the madness around writing my thesis and preparing for my defense just didn’t leave any time for pulling out decorations and finding a tree. I did take a break from writing and stressing to spend Christmas in Millbrook. My family always gets together on Christmas morning for a big breakfast, including Christmas cookies.



Another thing I love about the holidays is finding presents for a few special people.  I have seven nephews and nieces to buy for, so I won’t get into all of the gifts, just a few of my faves. B was excited about his new beef flavored bone. I found a Melissa & Doug magnetic puzzle for my Nephew, Gray.  I love Melissa & Doug’s wooden toys and this puzzle came with a magnetic fishing pole. I got Seth a couple of Man Cans, candles with manly scents made in soup cans (following donations to local soup kitchens). I bought the campfire and coffee candles, and love both.



Christmas night, Seth made it through tornado ridden weather in a nearly broken down truck to spend at least some part of Christmas with me. However, one of my nephews was in his lap as soon as he arrived.



Even without a tree, all of my favorite decorations, and time to spend looking at Christmas lights, Christmas 2012 was wonderful! I really enjoyed the time I got to spend with Seth and my family.