A Year+ Later

Warning: A lot of words- no pictures. Don't let it intimidate you from reading!

It has been over a year since we handed over the largest chunk of change either of us has ever dealt with in our lives.  July of this year marked the one year anniversary of the purchase of our house.  Thinking back to the house buying process, I remember how overwhelming and fast it was.  Overwhelming because the purchase of house is not only a huge investment but it also requires contact what seemed like a zillion people and making a lot of decisions- especially when purchasing a foreclosed home.  Fast since our house was a foreclosure the asking price was a good deal so there were multiple people making offers.  Therefore, after spending ~ an hour in the house over two visits we had to decide within 24 hours if we would put an offer on the house and if so what the offer would be.  Seeing as I am someone who took a year to decide if I wanted to purchase a $100 pair of shoes, this was like going from 0-60 in one second.

When making such a huge decision in such circumstances, it is sometimes hard to know if you are making the right decision.  Over the past year JP and I have decided that we are, in fact, content with the decision made last Spring/Summer.  Part of the satisfaction comes from the fact that we had thought about purchasing a house and had compiled a mental list of what we wanted in this said house for quite a while.  We feel this house meets those needs we determined to be most important.

Neighborhood
JP and I wanted to live in a neighborhood that was close to our work locations, close to shopping and restaurants, and not too far from friends.  A huge desire was that we wanted to live in an active neighborhood.  Not only a neighborhood that would provide an excellent environment for us to run and walk, but a neighborhood where we would not be the only ones doing this.

We love our neighborhood!  I had been dead set on living in one neighborhood because I knew it had everything I wanted. However, we were able to get much more house for our money- especially with the foreclosure asking price- in this neighborhood.  I was a little nervous but it has everything we wanted.  My commute to work is much better than what it was at our apartment- and that wasn't even bad.  We are approximately 2.5 miles from not only one but two of the main shopping areas in the city and just 4 miles away from my favorite shopping area.

Our neighborhood is perfect for being active.  On the main street there are sidewalks and there are tons of side streets to make for interesting walks.  There is even a public basketball court nearby where we can practice our terrible skills.   The coolest route of all is our easy ability to walk on a long road at the top of a hill that looks out over the entire city.  It is very cool to see the lights of the city at night!  Other people are always out and the Tour de France (what I call it when I see cyclist pass by) occurs almost daily outside our house.  We have even made dog friends in the neighborhood with a boxer we play with on our long route and a little dog on our short route.

Kitchen
We do a lot of cooking and were so ready to be away from our galley kitchen in our apartment.  We wanted a kitchen that was big enough to easily cook, had enough cabinetry for all our cooking supplies, and was a room that people could hang out in as meals were being prepared.  As JP kindly pointed out when we registered for china- "the kitchen is the center of the home."

We love our kitchen! It is the biggest kitchen I think we looked at in a home in our price range.  There is plenty of counter and cabinet space and includes a wonderful island.  We have already cooked meals while friends/family visited with us and there was definitely enough room.

Garage
We looked at a lot of houses without substantial garage space but we determined that we really wanted a place for JP to store his tools.  I guess you feel that way when you spent sometime living with an air compressor in the one bedroom of a tiny apartment.

Our garage is great.  There is plenty of storage and even a tool room.  The garage doors have needed some work but JP has taken care of that himself.

Good Sized Bedrooms
We looked at a lot of homes that had tiny bedrooms and that we wanted to try and avoid.

All of the bedrooms are good sized with good closet space.  Some may prefer a bigger Master but it meets are needs just fine, as does the Master closet space.

Entry Way
This was not high on my list and I would have taken one without it, but I really wanted to have an entry way into my house, not just having the front door open into the living room.

Our house definitely has a traditional entry way.  I have yet to do anything with it, but I will.

Yard
It was pretty important to us to have a decent yard.  We both like spending time outside and preferred a house with what a yard and trees.  JP knew that this would require mowing and he did not mind.

Our yard is big and does have a lot of trees.  It is definitely more up keep then some of the smaller yards we looked at but we don't mind.  JP is great at mowing the yard- one of the few things I refuse to do.  We have done zero landscaping- unless you consider cutting down trees as landscaping.  Hopefully once we get the inside close to how we want it, we will transition more to the outside.  One of the things I love about our outside is the fact that there are trees perfectly placed to hang a hammock- one of my favorite things.

Neighbors
Now this is something we really had no control over.  Growing up I always had great neighbors who were not just neighbors but friends who we saw pretty much daily.  One summer the grass had gotten very flat on the path between our two houses since the path was traveled multiple times a day over the 3 months of summer break.  I would love to have this for my whole life!

All of our neighbors are very friendly, although most of them are older with high school age children.  However, the couple next to us is closer to our age and they have 16 month old boy.  JP- who should probably win the overly friendly neighbor award- has really connected with the guy.  He helps JP with yard projects.  Additionally, they are always on their back deck grilling so we will join them to chat sometimes.  There dog is always in the yard and JP will chase the dog around- it is really quite a site.  When our power was out during the Olympics, we went over to their house- they have a generator- to watch the gymnastics with them.


Now of course one can never expect to get everything on their list of wants.  I feel like we did pretty good but there are two big things I have decided this house does not have that I would like to have.

Porch or Patio
Saying I love to be outside is an understatement.  Growing up my parents house had a huge front porch and we spent/spend SO much time out there.  It was like another room.  I would love to have not only a front porch- I love watching the neighborhood in action- but also a back porch, patio, or deck.

Unfortunately this house has no porch, patio, or deck.  The front of the house consists of a small stoop- which I do sit on sometimes- and really has no potential for adding a porch on.  The back of the house has not deck or patio.  However, there is a high potential for the addition of something.  We will do this eventually.  Until then we make best with what we have.  When we have people over for a grill out we still hang out outside.  And, like I said above, I love the perfect trees for hammocks.

Laundry
I'm not good at laundry.  I know how to do it, but it always seems to take me forever to get it all done.  My Mom has a wonderful laundry room and I think having a place devoted just to laundry would help it not seem like laundry was exploding all over the place.

Our house does have a place for the washer and dryer but it is more of a laundry closet.  It pretty much just holds the washer and dryer.  No room for a drying rack or folding area or anything like that.  I've turned on of the bedrooms into the laundry room, for now.  Honestly I just need to get more organized and efficient at doing laundry.  I would love to have a real laundry room.  However, in this room I will likely never have that as there does not seem to be any easy way to add this on.


So overall, I'm pleased with this house and am very thankful for it.  No buyers remorse.  I can see us living in this house for much longer than five years (the minimum number of years JP has required us to live in a house).  Although I don't seeing us living in it forever, I would be ok if we were.  Although if we are still here in twenty years and don't see us moving anytime soon, I will figure out a way to add a laundry room!

How Much Does That Pack Weigh?

My sister just went on a epic trip.  Where did she go you ask... a tour across Europe, a Mediterranean cruise, Fiji?  The answer is none of the above.  My sister spent the month of July living in the wilderness of  the Wind River Wyoming. When I say living in the wilderness, I mean it.  Living out of a pack.  Horses bringing food every ten days.  No shower.   She went on this trip through a program called NOLS.

This is something that she had been wanting to do, and I'm so glad that she got the time and opportunity to do it.  I am proud of her for doing something that she so wanted to do, even though most people who heard about the trip did not understand why in the world someone would want to take such a trip.  She loved the trip and is so glad she went.  To brag on her, her group called her "the machine" as she was such a good, fast hiker.  She was, however, thankful to get back to the front country for some meat (they mainly ate starches), running water, and of course me :)

With her being in the wilderness for a month, that meant no communication with her.  When her flight returned her to Alabama, I was there to greet her.  I actually skipped and leaped towards her when I saw her approaching us!

Check out her pack. Can you believe she carried this around for a month!

Arroz con Pollo

Growing up my mom made a dish we called Spanish rice.  While scanning through Pinterest one day on my lunch break, I found this recipe that reminded me of the Spanish rice dish... and looked a lot more appetizing then the left over piece of pizza of was eating.

This recipe was surprisingly quick and easy partly made so by the fact that I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts unlike the whole chicken the original chef used.  This was much to the disappointment of my loving husband who informed on this night that he in much prefers chicken legs and wings (really anything with skin) over boneless skinless chicken breast. His tastebuds may feel that way, but his arteries feel the complete opposite.

Also, my reading comprehension when it comes to recipes is terrible. As much as I say I need to read through the entire recipe before I start, I don't.  So I got a third of the way through the recipe and realized I was not prepared to do it the way the recipe called for so I just winged it and did it my own way... which is the way I have below.

Don't be intimidated by the long ingredient list. I promise this is not a time consuming recipe!

Arroz con Pollo
Adapted from Eat Live Run

1/4 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
2-3 chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2 bell peppers of any color (I like to do different colors!), diced
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 cup canned diced tomatoes
1/3 cup green olives, sliced in half or thirds (I love olives so I might have used more)
1/2 cup green peas (I used frozen that had been thawed)
2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cups brown rice
3 cups Chicken broth

Start by placing chicken broth in a pot to boil for the rice.  Go ahead and start the next step.  Once the water is boiled at the rice and let it cook (I usually use minute rice).

Combine orange juice, lime juice, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 tablespoon olive oil in skillet.  Heat and add chicken breasts.  Add 1/4 teaspoon cumin & 1/4 teaspoon paprika to each side of chicken breasts (use more if you think you need it).  While the chicken cooks, I use the cooking utensil to cut the chicken into slices.

Add bell peppers, yellow onion, and diced tomatoes.

Add 2 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 bay leaf, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper.

Once chicken is cooked throughout add olives and green peas.

Mix in cooked rice and serve.

Blackberry Lime Bars

Blackberries. Something about them just make me happy. Tart but sweet.  Nature's candy.  This summer I went to the Decatur farmer's market with my mom and sister.  We bought blackberries, and I'm pretty sure I ate most of them before anyone else got a chance.

When I saw this recipe on pinterest I knew I needed to give it a try.  Don't be intimidated by the fact that you have to make your own crust- it is as easy as pie bars.  The result is an incredibly tasty, tart summer treat.  Note: If you pair the tartness of this bar with the sweetness of vanilla ice cream, happiness in your mouth occurs.

***************************************************
Blackberry Lime Bars

For the crust:
1 stick + 1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt

For the filling:
2 heaping cups of blackberries, pureed-  (you can use frozen or fresh- just thaw if you are using frozen AND pull out that trusty food processor or my favorite kitchen appliance)
1 cup sugar (or 1 1/2  cups if you prefer it to be less tart)
2/3 up lime juice (you can use real limes or the bottled lime juice- I used some of both)
2 tablespoons lime zest
3 egg whites
1 egg
2/3 cup flour
pinch of salt
note: I did not place my blackberries in a sieve to get rid of the seeds so that is why mine look a little different than the ones on the recipe I linked to- but if you want to get rid of the seeds- grab that sieve and go for it! 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper.  I found the most effective way to do this is to take one piece and cut it the appropriate width of the pan cutting it long enough to over hang.  Cut another piece the same size.  Then lay one piece going one direction and overlap the other piece going in the other directon.

To make the crust:
Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer.  Add vanilla.  Add flour until just incorporated.  Place dough in lined baking pan and press with your hands until it evenly cover the bottom of the dish.  Bake for 20-25 minutes until slightly golden.

To make the filling:
Mix blackberry puree, sugar, egg whites, egg, lime juice, lim zest, flour, and salt in bowl and stir to combine. Pour mixture into crust.  Bake 25-30 minutes.

Let cool to room temperature and then place in fridge for 4 hours.
***************************************************

By the way, did you notice the bowl I place the blackberry lime bar in?  If you didn't scroll back up and check it out as it is my new favorite bowl.  I love Southern Living magazine and when I saw that they now have a line at Ballard Designs, I knew I had to check it out.  These bowls are my favorite size AND shape.  PS. I kinda want everything in this line!

The Summer of Sports.

What have we been up to?  This pretty much sums it up...

We were Olympics obsessed for sure.  Every night we were glued to the tv from 7-11pm.  Days were spent avoiding Twitter and other social media to prevent hearing the outcomes of events.  I truly enjoyed the Olympics this year, and I am sad it is over! However, the fact that it only occurs 2 weeks every 4 years makes it all the more special.

Some of my favorite Olympic moments:

We now have no idea what to do with evening free time.  Not only did the Olympics occupy this time, but this has definitely been the summer of sports.

It kicked off with the NBA Playoffs.

Just a few days after the Heat won the Finals, the Tour de France started.  Last year was the first year I had watched it, and JP and I both get really into it.

Here is winner Bradley Wiggins- whose name I like to say in a British accent- and if you know me then you know that it really doesn't sound like a British accent.

 Then about a week after Bradley won, the Olympics started.  I'm ready for Post Season baseball!

Hilton Head- 2012

 For the past three years we have been joining JP's family in Hilton Head. We have always had so much fun and were looking forward to the trip this year.  It was a little dramatic for a few of us - Matt and me- to arrive but we all got there and had a blast!

 On our first night out to dinner, we went to Crazy Crab- which we traditionally visit every year.  JP and I split a three course meal and enjoyed every bite!  While we were waiting for a table, we took advantage and had a photo shoot.

Me and my favorite brother-in-law Matt...

Me and I my other favorite brother-in-law Michael...

Of course, the best part of the beach is getting to spend so much time outside. I absolutely love being out by the ocean and spent as much time as I could out on the sand.  We three probably win the award for most time spent on the beach... and JP would have gotten the bronze medal.

If you've never been to Hilton Head, the tide is quite dramatic.  By late afternoon, the water would come in so much that we were pushed back towards the collection of  straw/bark stuff.  However, we did not let that deter us from spending time on the beach.  We had actually never been when this straw/bark stuff was present so we were a little surprised to see it.

Hanging out on the beach is fun but spending time in the ocean is even more fun.  Thankfully this year there were no jelly fish. Last year there were a ton of jelly fish and I got stung... and my poor leg had quite the reaction to it.  So, I would gladly trade jelly fish for this straw/bark stuff (can you tell I don't really know the name for it?).

The first part of the week, the waves were absolutely perfect for body surfing- likely due to the hurricane that was further south.  We did have one day where it rained.  However, we took advantage of the great waves produced and spent a lot of time in the ocean even though it was raining (note: no storm just rain).  I have never been waves so intense! 

 Some other fun memories on the beach include:

• Each day some of us would go on morning walks.  One of these mornings we saw a goldendoodle puppy! If you don't know, I really want one of these dogs.  I got super excited and enjoyed playing with the puppy.
  
• On one of our evening walk, we saw two dolphins.  We did not just see them once or twice.  They were jumping out of the water like crazy.  We must have seen them jump over 25 times.
  
• JP and I went on a bike ride one morning.  The tide was going back in but had left some puddles.  We were approaching an area where the tide was farther out than where we currently were so we had to cross over to get farther up the beach.  We crossed over these puddles which are typically always very shallow.  However, the puddle I decided to cross over was not!  Instead of being a few inches deep, this was about three feet deep.  I did not realize that until I was riding my bike and all of sudden realized that my bike was sinking.  It was a crazy feeling!  I got off my bike and was in water up to my waste.  I had to haul my bike out and then had to get back in the water to chase the water bottles that had floated out of the bike basket.  I'm sure the people watching this got quite a laugh.

We seemed to always eat out every other night enjoying the other meals at the house.  My favorite place we went was Roast Fish and Cornbread.  I got the popcorn shrimp (I know, such a grown up choice) and it was probably the best popcorn shrimp I have ever had. All there food was good, although JP would loudly point out that my Mom's fried green beans are better.

Note: If you look up their address on the internet make sure it is the right address.  One of the addresses we found was actually the home address of the owners.

 And yes, JP enjoyed the restaurant even though in this picture he does not appear to be happy.  No worries, he just gets tired of having is picture taken

 One thing we did this year that we had not done before was kayaking. We got to go to the intercoastal waterway to do this.  Everyone did single kayaks, but I swallowed my pride and got JP to do a double with me.  I knew if I had done a single I would have likely got worn out on our 2 hour journey.  I was quite glad that JP and I shared one especially during the second hour when I let him do most of the paddling.  It was fun to see a different part of Hilton Head.

JP's Mom had purchased some silly beach hats and glasses at Cracker Barrel. We took silly pictures on the beach with them.

 We had such a great time on this trip! And if you remember from an earlier post, Michael and Heather got engaged right before the trip.  We are looking forward to the official addition of Heather to the family this coming May!

A Wedding & More

JP and I traveled to Savannah the weekend of June 9th for the wedding of our friends, Andrew and Cam.

Our Hotel
When JP and I were trying to find a place to stay in Savannah, we found that to stay in the core of Savannah was going to cost more than we wanted to spend. But, we wanted to stay where we could walk to everything.  The whole time I had been looking on hotels.com I kept seeing the Thunderbird Inn that was priced less than other hotels.  However, I kept ignoring it because it looked sketch.  Well, I finally went on Southern Living's website to see if they had any bed and breakfast suggestions or affordable hotels. To my surprise, they had a whole spread on the Thunderbird Inn.  We figured if it was good enough for Southern Living then it must be good enough for us.

If you are looking for a no frills, relatively clean place to stay then this place fits the bill.  It is rather small but is within walking distance to everything.

The Wedding
Cam and Andrew had a beautiful wedding, and I felt like it could have been in a movie.  The location was the Ford Plantation- yes that is one of Henry Ford's former homes.  The ceremony was held in the front of the house.  The trees made for a gorgeous back drop!

Note: I stole this picture from facebook.

Once the ceremony was complete, we all walked through the house to the back of the house where we were greeted by not only a beautiful setting but waiters serving all kinds of food, including JP- and our pastor's- favorite- candied bacon.  Plus, there was the most elaborate open bar I had ever seen at a wedding.

 Note: Thank you for the picture I took from your facebook Corey!

The house was on the water!

Once the bride and groom arrived to the reception, we all headed towards a tent where we were served a wonderful dinner... and of course yummy cake!

JP and I had a blast enjoying the food, company, and dancing the night away.  Thank you Andrew & Cam for including us in your special day!

Savannah
The day after the wedding JP and I spent time exploring Savannah with our friends JK, Corey & Nateka who had all come for the wedding too.  After a day of exploring Savannah, we even made it over to Tybee Island for a morning.

Note: Again, thanks for the pic Corey!

Beaufort, South Carolina
Once we left Savannah, JP and I had decided to turn our trip into a mini vacation.  JP had found a booked two nights for us in a bed and breakfast in Beaufort.  We had never been to Beaufort and had never stayed in a bed and breakfast so this was a new experience for us.  And it turned out to be a great experience.  If you ever need a place to stay, we highly recommend The North Street Inn. The owners of the B&B were incredibly kind, our room and bathroom were very clean (and I am picky so I don't always say this!), and the breakfasts were quite tasty!  Breakfast was extra interesting because there was a German couple staying at the B&B too so we got to have interesting conversations over our yummy waffles.

After spending an afternoon exploring Beaufort- and eating at the best Thai place- we decided to spend our full day at Hunting Island.  This is a state park, so there is no development on the beach.  It was really cool to look down the beach and see trees- not condos.

Unfortunately it rained on our full day at the beach.  We spent a lot of time huddled up under an umbrella trying to stay dry.  Thankfully toward the end of the day the rain disappeared and it turned out to be a gorgeous late afternoon on the beach.  Since we did not get  a full sun day in on our full day, we decided to spend more time at the beach than originally planned on the day we left- which happened to be sunny.  As a result we got back to Birmingham quite late, but it was worth it!

It was fun to explore a new town and are glad we decided to check out Beaufort!