The rest of the trip

Here are some pictures from the rest of the trip.  Ash's parents were so generous to let us use their amazing cabin for a couple of days and we took full advantage of the scenery while we were there.  Although the cabin was really nice inside, we spent basically every waking minute outdoors, either on one of the multiple porches, or in the Smokey Mountains.  We had no cell service on the mountain, and couldn't figure out how to work the TV, so once we unpacked, hiked around a bit, we looked at each other and thought... hmm what are we going to do with ourselves until dinner?  There was a pack of cards in the house so we drove down the mountain (we wanted to check out the trailhead for our hike the next day anyway), looked up instructions on how to play two-player games, and saved  the screenshots on our phone so we could play gin rummy and speed while we enjoyed our Magic Hat beers on the porch that evening.  Haha- we would be so lost without technology!

We said goodbye to our mountain getaway and headed south to Alexander City, Alabama, where our friends Mathieu and Hannah were celebrating their wedding.  I didn't take too many photos (and sadly none of Hannah in her wedding gown... only her "exit" dress).  We had a blast, though.  We were right on Lake Martin and the weather was perfect. The bride and groom's families really know how to throw a great party! Congratulations to the new Dr. and Mrs.!

David and the groom, Mathieu

Girls at the reception

Groomsmen being... themselves.

Congratulations!

 

A Shreveport Surprise & Nashville

Catching up on life

So I forgot to mention that we had postponed our departure for the road trip by a day because our good friends M & J were going to be coming through town on Saturday night.  They live in Alabama, but have family in Dallas, so whenever they drive through, we get to be their lucky hosts.  We always look forward to their visits and have so much fun when they're stopping through.  They arrived mid-afternoon and we were all sitting around the house catching up on the events of the past few months, when there was a knock on the door.  A knock at the door is kind of strange for us because we don't really have any friends who would stop by without calling first so I figured it was probably a neighbor passing out a flyer or something like that. But when David went to open the door, we were so surprised to see our friend Anne!  She had driven in from Dallas to surprise us and spend the night. We ate a delicious meal at Wine Country (I had the crab cake which was incredible) and just had the best time. It was a fantastic way to kick off the vacation.  

Girls before dinner

Wall of amazing guitars

Back to the road trip: We left Memphis mid-morning on Tuesday to arrive in Nashville in time for lunch with M and A downtown.  We had researched a few tourist-y spots in Nashville that we wanted to visit, so after lunch, A went back to work while we hit up Gruhn's Guitars and Hatch Show Print with M.  We brought home some posters as souvenirs although David would much rather us have brought home a more memorable purchase (see photo of the $25k guitar he begged to be able to hold). 

David's dream guitar... (keep dreaming!)

After the guitar store, we still had time left on the parking meter so Martha suggested that we grab a beer at Tootsies, the legendary Nashville honky-tonk with all-purple interior decorations.  There was a band playing and we thought they were pretty good, so we gave them a tip.  They asked if we had any special requests and David mentioned that he would like to hear some Waylon Jennings.  Well wouldn't you know that Waylon's brother Tommy happened to be sitting in the back of the bar! He came up to the microphone and played Waylon's greatest hits and told stories about the old days when they were getting run out of Nashville by that new country sound.  They came back to Nashville with their "outlaw country" sound and changed the scene! Tommy sounded just like his brother and it was a perfect Nashville afternoon.  That night, we had a super fun dinner at Tin Angel with Marth, Ash, and the gentlemen in their lives.  The next morning we headed toward the mountains.  It was a quick visit but reminded me how much I love that city (and our friends!!)

This place is legendary

Tommy Jennings at Tootsie's

Dinner at Tin Angel

The only ten I see

Hello there friends. I've been a bit remiss on my posting.  Somebody in our two-person household has had a somewhat legitimate claim to the one computer every night so the blog has been on the back burner for awhile.  I have a few updates though so stay posted!  First, a recap of our recent trip. We spent almost 30 hours and 2000 miles in our trusty Acura TL over the course of one week.  And I have to admit that I only drove one of those hours.  From Ruston back to Shreveport. Haha- thanks D!!!   Though I half-halfheartedly offered to drive several times along the way, my offers were declined and I very much enjoyed the passenger seat. I finished two books and mastered the Angry Birds app for the iphone. 

Wouldn't this be a great album cover?

From Shreveport, we headed up through Arkansas to outside Memphis, where we visited our favorite nephews. (Their parents aren't too bad, either.)  They had just moved to the area so we were able to help out with a little babysitting and did some exploring of the local dining establishments and shopping delights. One night David and I decided to check out Beale Street and were not disappointed! It was a Monday night, so wasn't too busy, and we happened upon a bar with a great Delta blues bands - Dr. Feelgood Potts.  This guy was great. 

Action shot... It's hard to get Robbie to pose

Little cutie in his armchair

Dr. Feelgood Potts in Blues Hall on Beale Street

We're very excited to have them within driving distance and hope to get up there for another visit soon!

Well - David needs the computer back now, so this is going to have to be in sections.  Nashville, Gatlinburg, and Alexander City, AL to come!

Road Trip

We're headed on a road trip! Shreveport to Memphis... Memphis to Nashville... Nashville to Gatlinburg... Gatlinburg to Alexander City, AL... and back home.  We will have spent about 28 hours in the car by the end of the week. Will post pictures when we return! 

Fords and Flags

Two weekends ago the Tolivers invited us to join them at their new house for a little Memorial Day gathering. Two friends from Dallas met us there and we all had a great time visiting, having diving contests in the pool, grilling out, and making such delicious treats at chocolate sorbet and cherry-vodka limeade. On Sunday, we drove around and saw the dealership where J works, the cute little downtown square, and the beautiful land where J's parents live. S & J's new house is adorable and they have already done a great job unpacking and making it super welcoming. We liked it so much, in fact, that we have taken to calling it our "vacation home" and plan to visit as much as possible! Thanks Tolivers!!

S & J welcoming us to their home

Sally and me by the pool

Their street... Fords and flags!
Sally, Sarah, and Allison in the fantastic pool

Special of the Week

Remember my bounty of food from the farmers market? I forgot to mention that I also took a trip back to Blueberry Hill Farm in Haughton with Sarah and we picked blackberries and blueberries galore! I made a berry crisp last night when we grilled out with my in-laws and worked in the rest of the fresh-from-the-farm items in my meal plan for the week.

The bounty

Sarah picking blackberries

Berries drying on the counter

Here's the lineup for the week:

Monday
Guacamole & chips
Hamburgers* on whole wheat buns
Farmers Market Potato Salad

Tuesday
Grilled rosemary shrimp scampi
Garlicky roma beans
Grilled corn on the cob

Wednesday
Spinach salad with blueberries, blue cheese, and walnuts
Grilled chicken with blackberry sauce

Thursday
Tomato Chickpea Curry
Indian-Spiced Okra (same recipe I made a couple of weeks ago... my new go-to for fresh okra)
Whole wheat cous cous

Friday
Honey-Mint Grilled Chicken
Sauteed spinach with garlic
Carrot Orzo

*I make my hamburgers the way my mom taught me: with chopped onion, grated cheese, a beaten egg, breadcrumbs, Worchestershire sauce, OJ, and a mix of garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. I used the grass-fed lean beef from the farmers market and they were delicious!

Shreveport Farmers Market

Three years ago when we moved to Shreveport in mid-June, I spent some time figuring my way around and finding what I called my "happy places" - spots that I could go that would make me happy to live here, that are special and unique to this place. In fact I think that this method of finding happy places is the reason I tend to adapt well to new cities in general. Happy spots are the reason that I begin to feel that "this city is home" - whether it's Atlanta, Winston-Salem, DC, Florence, Dallas, or Shreveport!

Betty Virginia Park was one of the obvious spots since our rental house backed up to it, and I soon discovered Sunshine Health Foods, where you can buy grains and dried fruit in bulk. Counter Culture's Humphrey yogurt (tangy frozen yogurt with granola, fresh fruit and honey... yum) was another happy spot. Then there was the library and the locally-owned shops in Uptown Center- King Hardware, Sprout & Co, and Tower Book Shop.

I had only recently discovered the Dallas farmers market before we moved, and when I found out that Shreveport had a weekly market, I took myself down there right away. It became my immediate happy spot - all of the cute farmers, the fresh bread baker, the plethora of jellies and jams, and the recommendations of how to cook a particular vegetable.

Well, this morning the farmers market opened up for the summer again (wow - is it really my FOURTH summer living here!?) and of course I planned to head down there. Last summer I discovered the vendor that sold grass-fed organic beef, and I noticed that her more popular cuts would be sold out by the time I got there at 10am... I started going earlier and earlier, and with this week's meal plan in mind, I knew I needed to get there pretty early to get the best stuff. I couldn't believe how crowded it was when I arrived at 7:30am - no place to park and a line 20 people deep at the beignet stand.

Sarah met me there as I was selecting my all-natural, locally grown chicken breasts and we circled the market together. I ended up with corn, red potatoes, roma beans, okra, garlic, local honey, cherry almond granola, chicken breasts and grass-fed organic ground beef. I sampled the homemade gouda cheese but was running low on cash... maybe next time. I did stop for a basket of the beignets on the way out - delicious. See you next week, farmers market!

Not much elbow room at 7:30 a.m.

Samples of homemade cheeses

My bounty!

That Crazy Nut

That's how we refer to the main source of entertainment (other than Rock Band) and frustration (other than the ironing) in our house.

On the grill... his favorite spot

Otis was named after Otis Redding, whose music we both enjoy, and it just fits him perfectly! He's also known as Honey Bear, Honey Butter Bear, Buster Brown, Otis Magotis, Otes Magotes, and Senor Majotes.

Honey Bear

His formal portrait (you can call him Senor)

We trained him not to bark at us since it is ear-splitting so instead he makes these odd sounds that almost sound like he's talking. He can usually be found with a sock or an empty water bottle in his mouth, and feels free to jump on the beds and sofas if we're on them. In the mornings after David's left for work, he "talks" until I invite him up on the bed into David's spot. Then he just lays around until way after I've showered and dressed.

Lazy!
Gotta get into a comfortable position

Ok - maybe it's gross to let your dog into your bed... but he's pretty clean...
and how could you resist this sweet face?

We have a little love seat in front of our TV, and he is convinced that his "spot" is sitting on the cushion next to me. So if David is sitting there, Otis will come and stare at him and make his crazy sounds until David scoots down to the floor and Otis hops right up.

Spoiled little nut!

Meal Planning

One of my favorite things about Sunday afternoons is when I have the time to sit down and create a meal plan for the week. I make a shopping list as I go, and when I'm done I rewrite the list and organize it according to area of the grocery store. I pick up everything I need for meals and when I get home I try to clean out the fridge, wash the produce like fruit that we might snack on, and even cut up some of the veggies to make meals easier later in the week.

I love to cook but working full-time and trying to make it to after-work commitments like exercising, volunteering, or happy hour with friends leaves about zero time to go to the store on the day of. Making the meal plan in advance also gives me a chance to think about what we have going on the next week and just kind of get prepared for the week. When I travel it throws off my Sunday and we end up scrounging around in the pantry and eating out all week.

Next weekend the Farmer's Market opens and I'm planning to go down every Saturday morning possible... this will change up my Sunday schedule but my plan is to shop for farm-fresh veggies and organic meat at the market and fill in the holes and plan the menus on Sunday.

So that's my philosophy on managing my kitchen! We always get the basics: coffee, milk, eggs, cereal, sandwich bread, peanut or almond butter, and Bonne Mamam strawberry preserves. I like to keep Amy's Organic Kitchen soups in the pantry, too. Those things get us through a LOT of unplanned hunger strikes!

Here was the menu from this week.

Monday:Indian-Spiced Broiled Wild Salmon (Cooking Light)
Indian-Spiced Okra (Cooking Light)
Whole wheat couscous with slivered almonds, olive oil, and parsley


Tuesday:Parmesan and Eggplant Souffle (Cooking Light)

Wednesday:
Spicy Asian Marinated Flank Steak (Cooking Light)
Sauteed red bell peppers, red onions, and yellow squash
Whole wheat soba noodles with sesame oil and soy sauceThursday:
We both ate Mexican food out with friends

Friday:
Mudbug Madness downtown at Festival Plaza!
Saturday:
We went blackberry picking in the morning and also picked up some freshly picked squash, zucchini, and tomatoes at the farm. Dinner was AWESOME!
Grilled chicken with Apple BBQ Sauce (locally made, picked up at the farmers market last year)
Grilled tomatoes with fresh basil, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar
Sauteed squash and zucchini with fresh basil and oregano topped with fresh grated parmesan
Blackberry crisp (Earthbound Farms cookbook)

We're about to get on the road to Sulphur Springs, TX to meet up with our newly married friends S&J. Hope you are all having a fantastic Memorial Day weekend!

Chocolate + Cherries = heaven

I made this recipe yesterday and it was soo good - rich and chocolaty and the fresh cherries (which were half-off price at the grocery store!) were the perfect accent. David couldn't believe there was no milk in the recipe, it was that rich.

(From Cooking Light. I omitted the extra sugar on the cherries and used Splenda instead, and I wonder if next time I could use Splenda in the main recipe, too. There is certainly plenty of sugar from the cherry preserves. )

Ingredients

• Sorbet:
• 3/4 cup red cherry jam (such as Bonne Maman)
• 1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups water
• 
  Compote:
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 pound fresh Bing or tart cherries, pitted and halved

Preparation

1. To prepare sorbet, combine first 4 ingredients in a heavy saucepan, stirring with a whisk. Gradually add 2 cups water, stirring with a whisk. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring well with a whisk. Cool to room temperature; cover and chill overnight.

2. Stir sorbet mixture with a whisk. Pour mixture into the freezer can of an ice-cream freezer; freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. Spoon sorbet into a freezer-safe container; cover and freeze 1 hour or until firm.

3. To prepare compote, combine 1/4 cup sugar and cherries; toss well. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour. Serve compote with sorbet.

Nice little Saturday morning

David was on-call last night at the hospital, and although he had to stay up there all night, he didn't actually get called and so he got a full night's sleep. When he got off it was a beautiful morning and he came home and roused me out of bed to go down to the riverfront!

This is the hierarchy in our house... Otis in the front, me in the back

Otis always gets super excited about riding in the car

We parked at the Stoner Rd. boat launch and walked about two miles to downtown Shreveport, where we watched the kids playing in the fountains and let Otis get a drink of water, then headed back. It was hot and humid but there was a nice breeze and most parts of the trail are pretty shady. Still, we were tired when we got home and maybe David didn't really sleep THAT well on the lumpy bed at the hospital:

haha!

Oh and on the dining room table you can see the pretty flowers that my sweet husband of three years brought me on Wednesday. He had to study for a test that night but we managed to celebrate anyway, with a bottle of nice champagne (courtesy of his parents) and a delicious meal of salmon and ribeye on the grill. We used our new silver forks and knives that I bought to commemorate our third year together. Happy three years to us!