Happy Birthday, Mama!

I'd like to wish my mother a very happy birthday. I think she's celebrating her 38th or 39th birthday. It changes hourly.

Movin' on Up

I've been living apart from my husband for two and a half years. At times, it has been torture. Last week, I found out that I would finally be getting to move to Atlanta and live with him! I was too happy. Unfortunately, I would be headed to Atlanta without a job. I am ok with this.

This is what my car looked like Friday on my trip up:

It looked like my closet at Mama's threw up in my car. I have too many clothes. Even my front seat was full of stuff. I was so afraid I would have a flat tire and have to unload my trunk on the side of the road to get to the spare.
Unfortunately, I have more stuff at Mama's that needs to come to Atlanta. I also need to get two very important "things" to Atlanta...Pete and Annabelle. They have a lot of stuff, so they will probably take up most of my car on the next trip up. They travel really well, so I have no worries about the trip. They always sleep in the car, so they're really easy to travel with.

While driving Friday afternoon, a truck was pulling a trailer full of granite countertops. They apparently weren't secured well and started falling off the truck. Granite shatters when it hits asphalt while traveling down the road at nearly eighty miles an hour. It also bounces in all directions. I was lucky and was able to avoid most of the debris. After a few seconds, another piece fell off and everyone hit the brakes and scattered to avoid the chunks of rock. It was great. The driver lost two or three pieces before he realized it and stopped.

Fragrant Favorites

Like many women, I like things that smell good. I especially like candles. I love their glow and the way they can instantly "warm" a room.

While working at Vivian's Gift Shoppe in Nashville, I was exposed to many home fragrance companies. Most of these fragrances were in the form of candles, but not all of them. One of my favorite candle companies is Trimmings. Their website is somewhat lacking, but their candles are so fragrant. Some of the fragrances we sold were Glazed Pear, Summertime, and Tropical Ambrosia. These were all excellent sellers that appealed to many people. Our fall and Christmas scents were Cornucopia and Holiday Magic. I stocked up on candles when we went to some market shows and I'm ashamed to say that I still have some. I burn candles all the time, but I buy them faster than I burn them.

Another candle line that I like is Trapp. We sold these at Viv's when I first started working with her, but they were slowly phased out because they were a little pricey. I think they're worth every penny, but the Trapp candles were kind of slow movers for us. I would describe the Trapp fragrances as very refined. They're not your typical fruity or sweet fragrances. One of the most recent Trapp candles I had was a Mediterranean Fig candle. The Trapp fragrances are interesting to me because I either love them or really dislike them.
I don't typically like candles that smell like food, but Cake Candles are an exception. Their buttercream cake candle is hands down my favorite cake candle. It smells like cake batter and makes me want to lick the candle. This company also makes Scent-A-Bun candles. These smell like cinnamon buns and they always get me in the mood for fall.

Lampe Berger produces a product that scents the air but isn't a candle. I think the proper "English" pronounciation is lahmp berzhay. Lampe Berger is a French company so many of the people who worked in their market showroom in Atlanta were from France. You can imagine their disdain when a Southerner who was unfamiliar with their product tried to pronounce their product name. Oh, the shame! This is a link to the Wikipedia article about fragrance lamps, like Lampe Berger. My favorite standard fragrance is Ocean Breeze. It's so refreshing. They also make what they call signature fragrances. These are slightly more expensive, but in my opinion, smell better. Ella is my favorite.This post is somewhat pointless, but these are all memories for me. I enjoyed working at Viv's and I miss seeing my former co-workers and customers.

306 North

Saturday evening, Justin and I ate at 306 North in Valdosta. We've eaten here many times in the past, but we heard they changed chefs, so we decided to go here instead of Giulio's. Giulio's is our favorite restaurant in Valdosta, but a change is sometimes nice.

I must say that 306 North used to be my second favorite restaurant in Valdosta. Since their chef changed, their menu also changed. I'm not sure that I like their new menu as much as I liked their old menu. The website doesn't have the menu we saw in the restaurant on Saturday evening, but it is somewhat similar.

We started with an appetizer special. It was poached shrimp, anchovies, miniature homemade potato chips, grapefruit, orange pieces, and capers, all drizzled with a balsalmic sauce. The one word I would use to describe this dish is random. The shrimp and fruit were ok. I tried a piece of anchovy and nearly vomited in my mouth. I like fish, but I do not like anchovies. Justin likes them a lot and said these were a good quality. That is the only reason I ate one.

I always enjoyed the shrimp fettucini with sauteed vegetables from their early bird menu. We weren't offered the early bird menu saturday, so I'm guessing they no longer offer that option. I should have asked, but I didn't. I ended up ordering the smoked tofu with stir-fried vegetables in a hoison sauce. It was good. I think it would have been even better with rice or pasta, but it was good. Justin ordered the roasted cornish hen. It was served with several mixed vegetables. He enjoyed it with a Duvel beer. Justin really enjoyed his meal.

For dessert, we shared a chocolate pots du creme. Heavenly! I love rich foods and this one was super rich.

I will return to 306 North, but I still say that I liked the previous menu better than their current one.

Happy Father's Day!

I'd like to wish all fathers a Happy Father's Day!

This is Justin's father, Brad. He is a nice man who really cares about his family. He will do anything we ask (installing flooring, chiseling up tile and grout, moving us, etc.) and enjoys spending time with his sons and their families. This photo was taken in 2003. Justin and his brother, Darren, are also in the picture. Darren became a father in December and adores his daughter. This is his first Father's Day!

This is my grandfather (Poppie). He loved his family and grandchildren. He and my grandmother built a pool and they enjoyed spending time with their grandchildren around the pool. Poppie passed away in 2003, a few short months after Justin and I were married. This picture was taken in 1995.

This is my father, Lewis, with my mother, sister, and me. My father is a subject I don't talk about frequently for several reasons. One reason is he died when I was five years old. I honestly don't remember much about him, which is unfortunate for me because I hear from everyone that he was a wonderful man. Another reason is that it's a really sad subject for me. I still cry because he's gone. He's been gone for nearly twenty-four years, but I still get sad thinking about everything that he has missed in my life - my childhood, my high school graduation, my wedding, my niece's birth...the list goes on and on. This picture was taken in 1986, about a month before Daddy died.

I'm sorry that post got a little emotional. I do hope all fathers have a fantastic day being honored.

Happy Father's Day!

Daylilies

My aunt dropped off some items at the house recently. Included in these items was a box full of daylilies from her yard. I believe some or all of these flowers originated in my grandparents' yard. After a few years, daylilies need to be divided because they multiply. I love daylilies, but I always thought they were tempermental and hard to grow. I hope I was wrong.

Some of these already have blooms and buds waiting to bloom. How lovely is this!

I want to get some pinestraw to mulch the area with. It was so incredibly hot yesterday that I was just happy to get them planted. I'll mulch another weekend.

We watered them thoroughly after planting. I really hope they make it.

This is how our faces look when we look out the kitchen window and see the pretty flowers along the fence in the courtyard:

Fail

Saturday, Justin and I had plans to attend a Birthday/Grad School Graduation/World Cup Party with some friends. I wanted to take some mac & cheese and carrot cupcakes, so I spent a little while Friday night gathering my ingredients and pans so I could sleep a few minutes longer Saturday morning.

I got the mac & cheese oven-ready and put it in the refrigerator until time to bake. After that, I started making the cupcakes. In the middle of grating the carrots (by hand, I should add), the following happened:

It scared me because the balloon didn't pop, but made popping noises as it was banged against the ceiling and fan.

I got the fan turned off before any damage was done. Yay for me.

My sweet hubby got up and unwound the balloon. He's so sweet! The look I got from him was priceless. I'm not sure why I didn't anticipate this happening when I turned on the fan, but I didn't.

After the balloon incident, I got my cupcakes baked. This is how they turned out:

I think I overfilled the cups, but I'm not sure. Don't judge a cupcake by it's appearance because while they look like they rolled around in some ugly, they did taste quite good. I didn't waste any icing on them, but I will admit that we ate most of the ones in this pan.

These went in the trash.

I promise I can cook. I've made many cakes with this carrot cake recipe, but I think I need a different recipe to make cupcakes. I also need to refrain from filling the cups all the way to the top. I don't know why, but my husband insisted on taking some with us to the party. I begged him not to, but he was determined. I did make everyone who rode with us swear they wouldn't acknowledge where these little beauties came from.

The mac & cheese was a big hit. It's the little things that make me happy.

Hummingbird Feeder

We purchased and hung a hummingbird feeder last weekend. Justin saw a hummingbird a while back and we would love to see more. I hope some see the feeder and make their home nearby. My grandmother used to have a feeder on her terrace that she refilled almost daily. There would be four or five hummingbirds out there at the time. I hope we have that many or more at our house.

Watershed

To celebrate our anniversary this weekend, Justin and I decided to try Watershed restaurant in Decatur, GA. The website describes it as "more than a decade of southern cooking" and it didn't disappoint. I love southern food! I'm from South Georgia and grew up eating southern food (imagine that!) so it is my comfort food.

We arrived and found parking with no problem. I can see parking becoming a problem later in the evening, but our reservation was for 7:00 p.m. so parking was fine at that time. We were immediately seated and began looking over the menu. I was drooling as I saw other plates being delivered to nearby tables. We started with the Southern Cheeses. Justin is a cheese snob and likes the really moldy cheeses that I won't go near. This appetizer consisted of a chedder cheese from Kentucky, some kind of raw milk cheese from NC, and a chevre from Thomasville, GA. I'm not a fan of chevre because it is somewhat tangy. It's just not my thing, but Justin likes it. The cheese was served with bread rounds and toasted pecans. We were also brought a small tasting of the soup of the day, which was corn soup. It was amazing!

I ordered the salmon croquettes as my entree. It was served with the creamiest grits, steamed spinach, and stewed whole tomatoes. It was so tasty! Justin ordered the duck breast with succotash and garlic mayonnaise. He said his was ok. The duck wasn't the best he's had. It was good, just not the best. I tried the succotash and it was good.

For dessert, we shared the pecan praline parfait. I love pralines so this was right up my alley. The praline was soft and gooey and absolutely delicious. The whipped cream on top wasn't bad, either. My mouth is now watering.

I definitely want to visit Watershed again. The seasonal hot vegetable plate sounded yummy and that macaroni and cheese looked amazing. The atmosphere was clean and somewhat minimal. I hate clutter, so this was very calming to me. The service was also very good.

Happy Anniversary, Justin!

I married my sweetheart seven years ago today. I would absolutely do it again!


Happy Anniversary, Justin! I love you!

Agkistrodon contortrix

If you immediately know the animal I am referring to, then you deserve a cookie and a pat on the back. If you don't, no cookie for you!

I'd like to introduce you to Agkistrodon contortrix, a.k.a. copperhead snake. Now that we've got the formalities out of the way, I'll let you know why I'm introducing you to Agkistrodon contortrix. You'll appreciate this if you ever visit my home.

You might remember this post or this post from last year. If not, they basically tell how scared I am of snakes. Petrified doesn't begin to describe my fear.

Saturday, I was mowing the yard and decided to get rid of this "bed" of grassy stuff around a pine tree. It wasn't particularly ugly, but it did have weeds and was starting to look unkempt. While I was taking a break from this, some people waved at me and began walking down the driveway. I walked up to them (dripping with dirty sweat - great first impression) and they introduced themselves as our neighbors from two doors down. The man asked me if I was familiar with snakes. I informed him that I was aware of their existence and that I was beyond scared of them. He said, "good". He went on to tell me that several copperheads had been spotted in our neighborhood and in surrounding developments in the last week or so. I'm quite uncomfortable at this point, but I continue listening. He says that he and his wife found one that was about 24" in their yard last week and the people directly behind Justin and me found four (that's 4!) in their yard.

He asked me if we had seen any and I said that we had not seen any this year, but I did see a snake in our yard last summer, but it got away before we could kill it. I mentioned the huge dead snake that Justin saw in the road last summer and the neighbor told me that that was a copperhead. I forgot to mention that Justin stomped one to death with his flip flop last year. I wonder if that would have impressed him? He mentioned that copperheads are great at blending in with leaves and bushes, so I should be careful when working in the yard. I assured him that my philosophy is a snake is a snake and I treat all of them as horrid creatures that should be destroyed. He asked me to let him know if we spot any and I once again assured him that anyone within hearing range would know if I spotted anything resembling a snake.

He did mention that someone's small dog died suddenly recently and they're wondering if it was bitten by a snake. Pete and Annabelle will remain indoors at all times in Atlanta. This point is non-negotiable.

We chatted for a few more minutes and he asked me if this was my parents house and if they were home. I think they wanted to introduce themselves to them. I kind of laughed and said that my husband and I owned the house and we lived here. Justin and I got a little laugh from that. I finished mowing the yard, but was too scared to finish mowing the grassy "bed" area. It looks pretty bad right now. I'll have to finish it next time I mow. I wanted to hurry and finish the "have to mow" areas before I was attacked by the snakes that I know were lurking in our yard. The neighborhood residents are thinking there is a bed of copperheads nearby or the recent rain waters have washed them to our neighborhood. Either way, they need to leave and go anywhere except where I'm at.

So, beware if you visit us. You should bring a stick, or rake, or some other poking device to push on the ground in front of you when walking in our yard. This might make any snakes on the ground move, or it may just make them mad. Who knows!