thanksgiving weekend

Jeff and I rode down to Florida with his brother, sister in law, and their baby girl for Thanksgiving weekend. We all stayed at his parents house and some more relatives came over for a big Thanksgiving dinner. I tried cranberry sauce and it confused me. But I couldn't get enough mashed potatoes, ham, and dessert. Then we did a little shopping on Friday (after breakfast....nothing crazy). It was such a nice day for shopping, walking around, and playing with our little niece. Then on Saturday the boys went to a car show in Daytona and the girls did some thrifting with baby. 

Highlights/Things to be thankful for:

Staying up late talking about our dream houses and christmas wish lists.

Watching ghost busters before bed and having lattes every morning.

Taking afternoon naps on the couch.

Pie and homemade whipped cream for breakfast.

Spending most of our time playing with our one year old niece whose favorite word is "hi"

(and she says it pretty much nonstop, to everyone. So cute.) 

Hope everyone had a relaxing Thanksgiving! xoxo.

pretty sights in savannah

 

Jeff and I spent the weekend in Florida, where it was short sleeve weather for the most part. But by the end of the weekend when we got back home, the temperature had dropped ten or fifteen degrees and it was the perfect weather for a walk. It was the best way to come back to Savannah from being away for four days. All of the Christmas decorations are up and I think they look so charming in Savannah.

We watched A Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey last night and ate lots of leftover ham and I lit my candles that smell like christmas trees. I have Christmas music going at all times and am really loving everything about it. Can't wait to go pick out a tree!

 

P.S. I don't know what I'm going to do now that the ham's gone. I neeeeeeed it. Jeff and I even talked about getting one just for us...which would be enough to feed us for months. There WILL be ham at Christmas.

we <3 thanksgiving

Happy almost Thanksgiving! Jeff and I are going to Florida to spend the weekend with his family. It's so warm here it doesn't feel like it should be the holidays yet, but the weather is gorgeous so I'm not complaining. I'm looking forward to playing with my little niece, sipping lattes, looking for alligators in the backyard, pumpkin pie, and early sunsets.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

 

P.S. My mom knitted my hat and my slippers in these photos. Isn't she amazing?

a little about me

I was so surprised this week when I received a comment from a sweet blogging lady, Nell, telling me she has passed on a little blog award to me! I am supposed to reveal seven things about myself and pass it on to seven blogs I've started following recently. I guess this is a lot like a chain letter, but it is fun to learn things about other bloggers! Since this blog is relatively new, there are a few things about me that my blog friends don't know. So here goes!

 

1. I spent the summer of my 18th birthday on a teeny tiny island with Jeff. He lived there from when he was in junior high until he graduated high school. His parents still lived there until last year, and they flew us out to visit for the summer of 2008. It was magical.*

2. I can do a one handed cartwheel. One of the few things that stuck with me from my seven year old gymnastics days. Only people who can't do a regular cartwheel are impressed by this.

3. Me and ice cream have a thing. A relationship. I can eat a pint in one siting, by myself, and not regret it. It is always worth it.

4. I love accents. I used to work at Pier 1 and when people with accents (think British, French, Scottish) would come in the store I would nonchalantly (and creepily, I guess) follow them around to listen to them talk.

5. Not in a weird way, but I love pregnant bellies. Like, a lot. Like, if I see a pregnant woman I might follow her around as if she had an amazing accent.

6. Nancy Drew and The Babysitters Club were my book obsessions when I was eleven. I tried to force Leah to read them when I grew out of them. I miss staying up late and reading by a tiny sliver of light in my window.

7. I get ridiculously happy when I see someone walking a gigantic dog down the street. Sometimes I sheepishly ask the owners if I can pet them. And sometimes if the owners aren't looking, I pet them without asking. :o

 

I'm passing this on to:

Becca of Adorable Optimism

Celeste of Wanderlust

Kim of kim loves jus

Laken of farmhouse

Nikaela Marie of Rose & Crown

Sophie of The Littlest Things

Stephanie of (Sweet) Symphanie

*I need to do a post on that wonderful island soon, I have soo many pictures.

weekend

 

This weekend was so good, I don't think I could make it better if I tried. We (Jeff) finally fixed up our old bikes (!!!!!!!) which means we finally got to ride. We hung out at Starbucks a lot, because they had a buy-one-get-one-free holiday drink deal this weekend. Caramel apple spice has officially changed my life. I might have gotten it two days in a row and kept the cups for a while after so I could smell them. Go ahead and judge me.

We got mexican food and saw Harry Potter on Friday and I thought it was excellent! No one told me I looked like Hermione, but that is ok. Then we had a spontaneous Saturday night pizza date at Vinnie Van Go Go's. It felt like we went on so many dates this weekend. I loved it!! I made stew again on Sunday and I can't even remember how many bowls we ate.

 

*Also, I am getting too excited about stores playing Christmas music, holiday lights popping up along the streets, and Christmas commercials on tv. EEEEeeeeeee!

apple cinnamon muffins

I wanted to bake something a few days ago for a breakfast coffee date with a friend. Last time I made muffins they were an "experiment" and ended up not being appetizing (baking = not an area to make up measurements). So I turned to Martha for last minute guidance and she gave me this recipe! I think they are delicious and moist and full of autumnal flavors. I really like the chucks of apple in these, but if you prefer a smooth bite you could grate the apple. I've had them every morning this week toasted with butter. Yummy in my tummy.

gooorgeous day + family + beach

Over the weekend we went to the beach before my family left town so they could get their fix before they went back to the mountains. We used to live on the coast of NC, but they moved to the mountains last January, so they haven't been to the beach in a while. My dad was itching to surf and I was itching to sprawl out in the sand and let the sun absorb into my entire body. 

Leopold's

Leopold's is a cute little ice cream shop that has unique flavors and some original fixtures. It was really busy on Saturday when we went but they were patient with us as we made up our minds. I got the pumpkin spice and rum bisque ice cream (So good! I can still taste them.) Leah got huckleberry cheesecake ice cream and it was just as good. I hear they have a pumpkin bisque for lunch which I would love to try and homemade apple pie that looked unbelievable. I can't wait to go back!

happy birthday dad!

Happy Birthday to the man who made me play tee-ball when I was little (even though I sat in the driveway and pouted and ended up doing cartwheels/picking flowers in right field for most of the games). He always knew what was good for me. He even gave me his curly hair gene!

Happy Birthday Dad! I love you!!!

 

P.S. I like that Leah is frolicking in the background of this picture. hahaha

family weekend

This weekend was just what I needed. My mom, dad, and little sister Leah came to visit from NC for the weekend. Since this was their first visit to Savannah, there were so many things I wanted to show them but you kind of get the idea of Savannah just by walking around in it. We ended up doing a lot of our favorite things (eating new york style pizza, baking, going to the beach, eating ice cream, thrifting, making lattes, knitting, watching movies, and general lounging around). I miss them already and can't wait until they visit again!

salted caramel ice cream

I've been wanting to make salted caramel and frozen custard ever since this summer. I've had the salted caramel hot chocolate from Starbucks and loved it, but mind was made up about salted caramel after this life altering experience. So this week I put on some music and an apron and spent the afternoon whisking and pouring until I created this miracle of a dessert. Some people don't get the salty/sweet thing. I do. I love it. I dip my french fries in my ice cream. I want pretzels and brownies, apples and cheese...the list goes on.

I was inspired by my sister Lauren, who is an experimental cook in her own kitchen and has made carrot ice cream, pumpkin ice cream, and more homemade concoctions that would rival this one. But this one is really good too. The caramel is dark and gooey and has a nutty aftertaste (because of how long I cooked it, which was right to the edge of almost burnt).

 

I loosely followed these two recipes but I don't have an ice cream maker so there were a lot of hours of taking the liquid-y ice cream out of the freezer to scrape and mix around and refreeze until it became less like a block of ice and more like soft, creamy ice cream. But it was definitely worth it. Now everyone put something sweet and something salty in your mouth at the same time. You probably won't regret it.