Monday, January 25, 2016

Home Town

I don't know how you feel about Sunday  nights but we can NEVER find anything on TV. Our usual go-to HGTV features Island Hunters all night long and that is so far in fantasy world that I have lost all interest in that show. We have started DVR'ing shows and saving them for Sunday nights to remedy our problem. Last night we watched a few shows but then we watched one and I literally sat on the edge of the couch the entire time. Have y'all watched Home Town? Oh.my.word! I was hooked within the first five minutes and have several thoughts on it all...

Home Town is about Erin and Ben who want to revive Laurel, MS and bring character back to old homes. Think of Chip and Joanna Gaines from Fixer Upper but with a different design twist and is based in MS. Ben looks like a lumber jack and Erin has the cutest hair and is representing for us short-haired girls! You can tell they truly love what they do and have a great time doing it. They love their little town and want others to see the hidden gem that it is. Erin also has a beautiful letter-press wedding invitation business that would make any Southern bride swoon!

Now I love Nashville and I never thought I would love this town as much as I do. You can eat, oh you can eat here, you can travel and truly be a tourist in your own town and I love these things. But honey, if I weren't living in Nashville I would be in South Carolina or Mississippi. I fell in love with MS in 2013 and that state has got a hold on my heart. The people, the smell (pine trees), the brown roads, the slow pace of life, the accents--give me all of it. Home Town is featured in Laurel which just so happens to be the hometown of one of our best law school friends, Will. Will's dad's company did the cabinetry for the home that was renovated. Now listen, this is like playing 6 degrees of separation and I am about ready to introduce myself to Mr. Mark Morgan and see if he can't provide some of his fine cabinets for a future home in Nashville! The cabinets were this light shade of green and I fell head over heels for them. Its different but still so classy and made the kitchen feel warm. You best believe I scoured Pinterest after the episode ended and pinned away! A girl can dream right!

I have a small confession: I am sorta over shiplap. I love Joanna and I think she has an eye for design but I really don't want shiplap in every room. Maybe if we lived in Waco, TX I would do a small section somewhere but you know what..I am good. I like Sheetrock! Again, I love Joanna but every house is starting to feel the same to me but I try to pick out elements from each one that I like and remember those. I think that was what was so refreshing about Home Town was that it was a different designer and she didn't want to stage the home, she wanted them to basically unpack their bags and get ready for dinner. Besides the kitchen cabinets, I loved that Erin and Ben painted the entryway navy and there was white wainscoting. Oh the pop of color with the stark white made a statement! In the dining room, there was a fireplace and they incorporated famous Laurel bricks. I texted Will and asked if he could find me a Laurel brick because as of 8 PM last night, my life would not be complete with out one!

Now in the living room, they had a linen or it could have been white couch. I want one of these so badly because its crisp and clean. However, the practical person would stay absolutely away from this purchase because children, let alone adults, are not clean all the time. However, I am drawn to it every time and think could I pull this off or will I wash white slipcovers the rest of my life?

This was Home Town's pilot episode and I really hope HGTV picks it up. Did any of ya'll watch? If so, what did you think? Are you over shiplap or is it just me? Now excuse me while I go butter up Will's dad and see if he will put us on his books for a future order!

Friday, January 22, 2016

Snow Day

Oh this weather! This week has been eventful in the sense that Monday was MLK day, Wednesday was bad weather but that was nothing compared to what we are experiencing today. I am a set-schedule, to-do list kind of girl and when the week is shaken up like this I feel out of sorts. However, when the bad weather hits on a Friday and you get an unexpected 3 day weekend, well honey, bring it on!

Monday both Jace and I had to work and at least for me it was relatively quiet since most people thought we were closed. Tuesday was a normal day but we knew what was looming. Wednesday the first round of bad weather hit and I decided to take a vacation day and not risk tackling the slick roads. Though it was a vacation day from work, it turned into a work day at home with laundry, grocery shopping, and light cleaning. I did manage to squeeze in a nap and it was glorious! Stamper braved the weather and went to work and I proceeded to tell him he was crazy but conditions really did improve by mid-afternoon. Yesterday everyone turned into amateur meteorologists and were giving their own predictions of when the rain and snow would hit. I worked hard yesterday and tried to get everything wrapped up just in case work would be cancelled. The anticipated text arrived this morning at 7 saying work was cancelled and I haven't got out of my robe yet! We are currently on our second pot of coffee and I am taking a l-a-z-y morning! Stamp is working from home remotely today and might even tackle our taxes! Whereas, I will feel productive to get a shower!

On days like today I wish we had Netflix and could do the whole "Netflix and Chill" but instead our TV is glued to the news and probably will be for the rest of the weekend. I do hope to read some of my books from Christmas, give myself a poor man's manicure, and try to fight off the urge to bake something sweet for this weekend! Now if we weren't living the dream in our apartment, Jace and I would be outside playing! The advantage of apartment living: no snow shoveling! The disadvantage of apartment living: parking lot snow angels.

I hope y'all stay warm and more importantly, safe this weekend. To my KY friends, I am thinking of you and inches if not foot or more of snow that greeted you this morning.


Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Weekened Shenanigans

Its Tuesday afternoon and I am trying to keep my eyes open but I'm so tired. That is what happens when you have a fun weekend and there wasn't any time to rest! Here is what I was up to...

On Friday nights Jace and I usually have a date night in and fix a fun, albeit easy dinner. Last Friday's menu was homemade pizza and Jace was in charge. Last week seemed to be a whirlwind with the sudden surprise of "busy season", so Friday was a much needed night to recharge with Jace and catch-up. Some Friday nights we literally crash, don't say too much, and go to bed early and are pleased as punch to crawl into bed at a decent time. However, last Friday night we discussed all manners of adult stuff but mostly work.We are both so career focused right now and are really trying to settle into a career and not stick with just a job. Stamp keeps me motivated and encourages me along this little path I'm plowing. Friday nights with him are the best cure to a long week and it never hurts when a bottle of wine is opened either!

Saturday morning I got up early and drove home because it was Mom's birthday and we had the best day! For many years, I couldn't be with her on her actual birthday and that was always hard but not this year! That is the wonderful thing of being 2 1/2 hours away, traveling home is not an all day occurrence and is so much easier. Saturday we ran all over Paducah and went into stores we normally don't and just looked around. We had lunch at a fun restaurant called Flamingo Row. The place is lively and very colorful and they have a live iguana. Now listen, I can't handle that creature. When we lived in Gainesville, there were lizards everywhere and as Jace would tell you, they became my best friends and that is the God's honest truth. Lonely times, people, lonely times when the lizards were the highlight of my days. The reason I can't handle an iguana is its tongue looks like its as long as its body. So imagine Mom and I enjoying ourselves, eating lunch, and she lets out this hollar. Y'all I thought that iguana had escaped its cage and was loose. I was two steps away from the door and just thought I would call the restaurant and give them my credit card information and pay that way. I am not kidding when I tell you that I was startled. Shockingly, the iguana was not loose--instead my Mom saw someone we know. It took awhile to recover from the excitement but then Mom and I got so tickled. We finished the day at Great American Cookie because how can you have a birthday without a  sweet treat?

On Saturday night I knew there were flurries in the forecast. I was prepared for a dusting but it was far from a dusting when we woke up on Sunday. 4 inches fell overnight and it looked like a winter wonderland. Pup was so excited for the snow and played and trotted all over the neighborhood while Mom and I scrapped ice and snow from my car. We had plans on going to church but even churches were closed and school wasn't in session yesterday.

On my drive back, I felt like I was in high school all over again. Mom always swears she is done having yard sales and yet almost every year we throw another one. She was going through things and found a stack of CDs and y'all they took me back to the day. We are talking circa 2003-2005, the hit of hits of my high school days. I knew every lyric to those songs and my word what a mix CD they were! One minute country, the next rap, and everything in between. When I traveled back to Nashville it was the time when we would have been in church and I hope the Good Lord forgives me because the lyrics weren't that spiritual in nature.

Overall it was a really great weekend, a weekend that makes you tired the next week but your heart is full!

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Every Day Joy

Chipped finger nail polish. Burnt dinner. Loads of laundry. Grocery shopping.

This is every day life and is what my week has been about. Don't get me wrong this week has been fine considering its the first week "back-to-reality" but for whatever reason this week I have found joy in the every day moments of life. Maybe its because the holidays feel like a whirl-wind and leave you feeling exhausted but in the first few days of 2016 I have found delight in the every day mundane things. Last week I was on vacation several days and oh what it did to my soul. The feeling of not setting an alarm, going through our home and purging things we don't use/need/want, and cooking dinner at a reasonable time felt wonderful! That feeling of being at home and truly enjoying your space and the one you share it with has continued to flow over into this week and I think that is why I have enjoyed the little things.

As grateful as I am for our home and our jobs, this week has been rather busy. Jace got slammed at work and didn't get home one night until 8 PM. I had fixed dinner that night and honey, I burnt it. Have you ever smelt burnt cabbage before? Well its a smell you won't forget. I got home and started fixing dinner after I got a few chores done. I was tired and started reading a new blog and next thing I knew I was scrapping polish sausage, onions, bell peppers, and cabbage from the bottom of the skillet. When Jace got home, it was evident dinner was not going to be stellar and God Bless him he just ate it anyway. It was late, we were both tired, but we looked at each other and said at least its hot. Dinner was bad (Jace won't say it but as the cook, I can) but we still sat down at the table and caught up. Over burnt dinner, I was thankful for Jace and the moment we had together even if it was late. Sitting at the dinner table with him and going over our day is one of my most favorite moments of my day. The sense of home that he brings me in that moment is pure joy.

This week at work my heart has broken over hearing three stories of loved ones passing or hurting. You know how the saying goes, things always happen in threes and by Wednesday I had heard three sad stories. Hearing the stories made me think of how blessed my family is in that we are healthy and happy and I realize not everyone's life is like this. You just never know what kind of demons people are facing. Lately, I have been praying for more patience, more love, more grace because I know I need others to show that to me. The feeling when someone does this for you is not easily forgotten and I've tried to be intentional with my words and thank those that do this for me. A few colleagues this week have given me complements and with their words, I have skipped home. I found joy in the words they have spoken to me and I only hope I have done the same for others.

Last night I missed the Teak and so I called her. She had a great day yesterday and ran to the mall. Do you know what she bought? Booties! She said that she bought these short boots that hit at her ankle and I informed her that the girls call them booties and that she was in style. I asked her that she needs to find her a pair of skinny jeans and we could match and she and I got a real kick out of that. At 84, she is still rocking it and keeps me laughing. The Teak is one of the most purest forms of joy to me.

Every Thursday, my routine is the same and I grocery shop at Kroger. With coupons and list in hand, I go up and down every aisle and get what we need for the next week. I show my love through cooking and hence grocery shopping is essential for this, but a necessary evil of all of this is menu planning.  As much as I hate menu planning, the thought that we have food on our table (more than we really need) is a blessing.

I hope this feeling of joy continues and that I'm mindful of the small, every day things that turn out to be the really big things in life. I hope you have found joy within your week and have sparked joy in others.

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Good reads for 2016

Happy New Year!

This New Year I have been greeted by a stack of books/cookbooks on my nightstand and I am itching to start reading them. I am always on the lookout for a good book and enjoy hearing what others are reading. I thought I would share with you what I believe will be some new favorites:

See Me by Nicholas Sparks

Listen, at our house we are watching PLENTY bowl games and basketball games and this girl needs to mentally escape and read a girly novel and who better to read than ol' Nick. I had a quick business trip to Little Rock in December and almost knocked this book out in 24 hours. Easy read, love story, little bit of suspense all rolled into one. I am sure in classic Nicholas Sparks fashion, it will come out in a movie but I doubt Stamper will be eager to see this one.

My Southern Journey by Rick Bragg

Y'all I am laughing my way through this book of short stories and it will make you want to whip up some banana puddin', drink sweet tea, crack open an oyster, and rock a spell on your porch. Rick Bragg is the writer on the last page of Southern Living magazine and his stories seem like they could be told by your best friend's grandmother. The stories remind me of home and fill me with pride in being a Southerner. The stories are comforting, well-known, and make you shake your head like you are in a good church service. Jace gave me this book for Christmas and it is a true treasure. I just can't recommend this one enough and once I finish will probably re-read it.

The Southerner's Cookbook by Garden and Gun

I haven't had time to go through the recipes and they may be a little bit more complicated then I typically do but I think this cookbook will be a classic. After you finish reading My Southern Journey, break out this cookbook and make something with gravy!

The Southerner's Handbook: A Guide to Living the Good Life by Garden and Gun

Are you sensing a pattern here? I have been eyeing this book since fall and was about to purchase it when I was told not to spoil potential birthday gifts. I have a feeling this book is going to be one of those I will dog ear and learn from. After thumbing through it quickly in book stores, chapters discuss hosting tips, cooking tips, and so much more. Sign me up!

The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinnertime by Ree Drummond

At this rate, Stamper and I are going to weigh 1000 lbs by the time I finish reading all the cooking tips and recipes from these books. Oh well, I guess we will be happy! I have quickly scanned through this book and some of her recipes are doable. I struggle with Ree at times because she has so much time to prep and let's be honest that is always the case on a random Tuesday night when you have to work late and come home to piles of laundry. However, I love the step-by-step picture layout of each recipe and it makes me feel more confident in trying them.

Though this is not a book, it has quickly become a beloved IG account. I follow Euna Mae's on IG and have fallen in love with this little store. Jace and I visited Euna Mae's when we went to AR to watch the Hogs play MS state. Euna Mae's is in Springdale, AR which just so happens to be one of my hospital locations and I was familiar with the area before our trip to AR this fall. The store is named after the owner's grandmother and is filled with cooking and baking tools, mixing bowls, and cookbooks. I walked through the store three times and really didn't want to leave. Recipes are posted on the account and it will make you gather up your people and feed 'em. Euna Mae's slogan is: Love. Welcome. Serve. I am about 2 seconds away from cross-stitching that and putting that above our door! Love, love, love that!

I hope your New Year is off to a great start! What are you reading?