Tag Archives: south

Snow Day!

Airstream in the snowy woodsI know that everyone in the Northeast is probably like “Yawn, we get 4 inches of snow every day.” But in the South, we can go the whole year without any snow. When we have even the threat of snow everyone runs out to get bread and milk and becomes meteorologists from watching the weather report so often. We’ve only had snow twice this year, so the novelty hasn’t worn off yet. Oh yeah and in the South, we get snow days for 4 inches of powder, so we’re all pretty excited.

Just a man in the snow

Airstream with icicles! Check out those icicles!

Pulling the sled Come on ya big oaf!I’m mushing as fast as I can!Sled boarding?A new extreme sport?

Snowy woodsThe woods are lovely dark and deep.

I’m a warm weather girl all the way but I sure am thankful for a snow day every now and again.

How’s the weather in your parts? Let me know in the comments!

love,
melanie

 

 

 

Bed and Breakfast

DSC_1034 DSC_1036 DSC_1037 DSC_1040Can you see me?!
DSC_1047Old fireplaces are so gorgeous. The tile alone has me dreaming of owning a historic home.
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DSC_1055This weekend my parents came to visit. It was my mom’s birthday, so it was extra special. My parents stayed at a local bed and breakfast, The Packhouse Inn— both Ronald Reagan and Dolly Parton stayed there! My dad complained about how cold the house was, but it was a truly beautiful home.

On Sunday morning, we were able to eat breakfast with my parents and tour the home. I adore old houses. I’d love to own an old home, one day. New houses just don’t seem to have the details of old homes.

What did you all do this weekend?

love,
melanie

 

New Orleans Honeymoon

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One of my favorite parts of the graveyards in New Orleans were the painted tombs. Colorful in life, colorful in death, right?!nola60001 nola60002 nola70001 nola80002Standing beside Voodoo Priestess, Marie Laveau‘s (disputed) tomb.

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nola30001For our honeymoon, George and I decided to forgo the traditional, all-inclusive beach trip for a darker, and dare I say, more exciting vacation to New Orleans.  And we didn’t regret a minute of it. The food was amazing, the history was rich and the beer was flowing!

As you can tell from the pictures, we visited several graveyards and we brought along cheapo, disposable cameras. I kind of love the way the pictures turned out. They are a little creepy, over-saturated, and look much older than digital photos. We also forgot to charge the digital camera– happy mistake! I brought the disposable cameras on our ghost tour too, but none of the pictures turned out. I think a ghost ruined the rest of our film!

If you are thinking about doing something a little off the beaten path for your honeymoon, I would highly recommend it. Get out there and see something new!

Did you go anywhere “different” for your honeymoon? Are you planning to go somewhere “different?” Let me know in the comments.

love,
melanie

 

Easy Wedding Favors: Printed Brown Bags

Wedding favors on paper lunch bags

During the wedding planning process, DIY projects were not high on my list. I did manage to carve out some time to do a few easy and inexpensive crafts though. And I plan on sharing a few of them with you! I was super pleased with the way my wedding favors turned out. So, I’m sharing the how-to on those first!

For this project all you need is a little photoshop know-how, paper bags and a printer. (I would recommend a top-loading printer. Although it is possible to do with a bottom-loading printer. I have just found the top loading printers work better with the bags.)

wedding favorFirst, we designed our logo in Photoshop. We used the image of George and myself on our wedding invites too. Your design doesn’t have to be anything as elaborate as ours, a monogram would look nice too. If you don’t have Photoshop skills, you could even create your design in Word and then change your printer settings to the size of the bag.

Next, we changed the dimensions of the image in Photoshop to the dimensions of the paper bag and did a couple of test prints. After printing each bag, we added a can of RC Cola and a Moon Pie. In the South, an RC Cola and a Moon Pie is known as a working man’s lunch and both George and I have fond memories of eating Moon Pies and drinking RC Colas as kids.

Finally, we punched two holes in the top of the bag, looped a ribbon through and tied a bow. Quick, easy and cheap! Done!

**A helpful hint is to buy more bags than you need and be patient! If the bag has any kind of small tear or inconsistency, the printer may eat it. Just keep calm and carry on!**

Questions? Leave ’em in the comments!
love,
melanie

Peach Mint Juleps for the Kentucky Derby

Peach Mint JulepThe Kentucky Derby is pretty big deal in my family. In fact, my mom used to serve juleps at the derby! Most of my extended family still lives in Louisville, so horse racing is right up there with basketball on the important sports scale. There isn’t really an important sports scale, I was just being facetious.

Peach Mint Julep Close-upAnyway, the derby is a great excuse to bring out your inner Gatsby– wear a large hat, make bets, and drink the classic derby drink, a mint julep.

But I have to tell ya’ll a secret. I am a proper southern lady, but I’m not the biggest mint julep fan. The drink always seems too sweet or too boozy. So, I put a little spin on the classic with the addition of peaches. I adapted the recipe from the following two recipes: Stonefruit and Mint Julep and Frozen Mint Julep.

This recipe will make four small drinks or two large drinks. I don’t judge.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of water
1 cup of sugar
2 cups of mint leaves
1 cup of Kentucky Bourbon
2 cups of frozen peaches
1 handful of ice

Step 1: Make a mint-flavored simple syrup by boiling the sugar, water and torn mint leaves together. Use a whisk to help the sugar dissolve in the water.

Step 2: After sugar has dissolved, take the syrup off the heat and let it cool. As the syrup is cooling, blend the whiskey, peaches and ice in a blender until it is the consistency of a smoothie.

Step 3: Once syrup has cooled to the touch, strain the mint out of syrup.

Step 3: Add the syrup to the blender and give it one last whir to ensure the mixture is completely blended.

Step 4: Wet the rim of your glass with water or fruit and dip the glass rim in sugar. Pour in your drink and garnish with a sprig of mint.

Step 5: Bet on the prettiest horse (which is usually my strategy) and enjoy your julep!

Note: Traditionally a mint julep is served in a silver goblet! Crazy, huh? Since I didn’t have any silver goblets lying around, I served the drinks in plain ‘ol chilled mason jars.

love,
melanie