Weekend Recap

Happy Monday Folks. Is it back to the grind already?

I spent this weekend on at the lake with two of my favorite people, Bethany and Heather Buss (I never actually call her Heather so why start here?). If you live in approximately half of the United States, you may have noticed it rained the majority of the weekend and that the lake may not have been the best destination. But you would be wrong.

Yes, it was chilly. But it was nothing steaming hot mugs of coffee and cozy blankets couldn’t save. We spent a lot of time sitting on the covered porch starring at the water, talking about totally random things, watching movies and cooking. Oh the cooking! I thought it would never end. It may be a blessing that weekends are only two days long. The weekend setting reminded me of the movie Dan in Real Life- minus the fact that I did not meet a handsome man in the local bookstore and spend the majority of the weekend pining after him.

Opps. I forget to take photos of actual people sometimes.
Megan, Bethany, Heather (Buss)

We stayed up pretty late every night and unfortunately for me, my internal alarm has decided to become an adult somewhere along the way these last few years. That means no matter how late I go to bed, my eyes immediately blink open around 6:30am every-single-morning.  Not cool. But it did give me some great time to set on the porch, coffee and journal in hand and watch the early morning fog burn off the water. Beautiful.

Let’s go back soon.

Be my Valentine

hidings

Happy Valentine’s Day Folks. I am sure a lot of you out there have been planning special gifts and outings for your significant others over the last few weeks. Being the single girl that I am, there are no big plans on the docket for today, but I thought I would share a special February 14^th Anniversary that is dear to my heart.

Five years ago today,  I was a 4^th year architecture student setting out for adventures as an exchange student to Krakow, Poland. Even looking back now, I never realized how influential studying abroad would be to my life. It has created a love for travel and culture that I probably never would have tapped into otherwise. It pushed me out of my comfort zone and into some amazing experiences. We used to joke that communications at home would never again be a struggle after fighting through language and cultural barriers abroad.

I distinctly remember it was Valentine’s Day the day I arrived in Krakow.  Our group of thirteen American students landed at the airport and met our program coordinators Anna and Bartec. They arranged transportation to our dorm at the Polytechnic and then sent us off to the City Center with a group of Polish students to find dinner. Just imagine extreme exhaustion and jetlag combined with being completely disoriented. It was almost impossible to find a place to eat- it was Valentine’s Day of course. Every restaurant was packed with couples and candles celebrating.  After an hour of wondering around we finally settled into a tiny perogi house for traditional polish dumplings and borche. I remember the tables were set with platters of bread and lard (yes, lard) for appetizers.

That was the start of a semester long adventure.

Amazing places

Delicious food

New friends

Endless Adventures

Living with Less

Learning about myself

I’m a girl that’s in love with the world

And all the people and places in it

Happy Valentine’s Day World

Here’s to my lifelong romance with you.

-M

And now for a short PSA: If you are a high school or college student: STUDY ABROAD! Find a way to make it happen. Get a job, get a second job, save your money, shop at thrift stores. Do whatever it takes to get yourself there. You will not regret it- I promise. Open yourself to the adventure and see where it takes you. Meet people you never would have otherwise. The world is a big place and you deserve to experience a slice of it. Get out there.

Maine Eats

Coming back from vacation can be a little crazy

It took me two days to get out from under the pile of emails I had waiting for me back at the office.

They say some people believe that going on vacation is not even worth

 the hassle you have to deal with when you return.

I'll take the hassle any day- thank you.

One of my favorite things about vacation?

The Food- hey I'm honest

Who doesn't love to find a great local (if not local to you) spot.

Here are a few (of the many) delicious things I ate while in the vacationland state.

 We took a super early flight via Birmingham-Atlanta-Portland on Friday morning. So early that security wasn't even open when we got to the airport (NEVER again).

By the time we landed in Portland, rounded up our bags, and picked up our rental car; we were mucho famished. Without any planning or forethought, I googled breakfast in Portland and we ended up at Becky's Diner. It was only 4.5 mi from the airport and on the wharf in downtown Portland.

Ya'll-it was a good decision.

It was almost noon when we got there, so the place was already packed for lunch.
College students, dock workers and a long row of retired men reading the paper at the bar filled the place to the seams.

We got a table on the covered second story porch.

We opted for breakfast and it was enough to feed an army.
Blueberry pancakes, raisin bread french toast, eggs, bacon, and sausage links- oh my!
Dad opted for a fried haddock sandwich (he likes to be different).

Brother seems to have a knack for half-assing things and still getting good results.

(pardon my French, it was necessary for emphasize) 

I can spend all day highlighting recommendations, googling reviews, and reading chowhound forums

But brother can randomly pick a dinner spot off his phone as you can bet it will be delicious.

Go figure- we’ve been like this own entire lives.

We spent one night in Saco, ME just South of Portland

Mainly because the rooms were cheaper there.

With no solid dinner plans on my tentative itinerary

I told Trav to find us a spot to eat-

we ended up at The Lobster Claw

The place is nothing special to look at but what good lobster pound is?

You ordered at the window (typical) then headed to a closed in porch with gravel floors to wait for dinner and pray that the ceiling didn’t fall in or that the building inspector showed up before our dinner arrived.

HANDS DOWN, this was the best clam chowder of the entire trip- and we ate it several places to make sure we had a good test group.

Mom and I settled into cups of chowder and a shared order of fried haddock while Dad and Trav split the two lobster dinner special.

We also spent an afternoon in Kennebunkport, ME as we were making our way up the coast.

We wandered down through the town, looking at old historic homes 

(President Bush, Sr. has a home here)

And popping into shops along the way.

On our way back out of town we stopped in Rococo an artisan ice cream shop

The girl behind the counter had me at goat cheese and blackberries-which is the flavor I picked

Other tempting selections included homegrown mint, and balsamic strawberry.

We also spent an afternoon in Kennebunkport, ME as we were making our way up the coast.

We wandered down through the town, looking at old historic homes (President Bush, Sr. has a home here)

and popping into shops along the way.

On our way back out of town we stopped in Rococo, an artisan ice cream shop.

The girl behind the counter had me at goat cheese and blackberries-which is the flavor I picked.

Other tempting selections included homegrown mint, and balsamic strawberry.

More Maine tidbits to come…

ROAM: Photo Overload

  I consider myself a pretty organized person. But one of the areas in my life that needs drastic improvement is my digital filing. More specifically- digital photo organization.

I’m really bad to leave my photos on my SD card for a LOOOOONNG TIME. Not good.

Yesterday I decided to turn over a new leave and get all my Maine Trip pictures where they need to be ASAP. But my 16MB SD card holds a MULTITUDE of photos, so I decided to bombard you with some other trips and random activities from the deeps of my camera along the way.

First up: Trip to Mobile, AL
Back in May I headed down to Mobile with my friends Louanne and Bethany. I've lived in Alabama for three years now and had never visited. Opps.

Our first stop was to see the U.S.S. Alabama. I LOVE this type of thing. You have no idea. Thankfully, the morning was overcast and we got there early, so the ship's interior was only minor stifling.  This is AL, you know.

 I think I crawled into every nook and cranny on this ship. Could you imagine living on a ship like this for months? I'm amazed.

Close Quarters!

Names of the ship's servicemen

You can also tour the U.S.S. Drum (a submarine) that is open right across from the Alabama. But it was almost noon by the time we walked off the ship, and I think I'd pushed Louanne and Bethany to their limit on military history for the day. Hey, not being a native Alabamian- I never got to spend the night on the Alabama as a grade schooler!

We also visited Bellingraph Gardens the next day. We had the place to ourselves! It was beautiful. 

Who doesn't love these deep South trees?!?

What location can beat this?!?

Louanne & Bethany

It may have started raining, and we may have stopped for cupcakes to wait out the weather.

 

Next Up: July Trip to the DELICIOUS, locally owned

STEEL CITY POPS!

Some of my fav small group ladies: Jennifer, Bethany, Louanne, Jessica

And Me!

 And then in August, we celebrated brother's 25th Birthday.

We've been on a health kick around here, so I made this cake. 

It's called the Cashew Dream Cake from the blog mynewroots 

(for some reason I couldn't;t get a link to work today)

(I promise it tasted better than it looked).

Our granny send a homemade buttermilk cake all the way down to B'ham!

It's a family favorite.

Thanks for entertaining my photo hoarding!

I promise to stay more up-to-date from now on! (maybe)

Happy Trails

I'm off to explore the Great State of Maine!

Hopefully the next few days will be full of lobster, Bean Boots, and sea breeze in my hair.

Happy Weekend to All- See you next week.

ML

pinterest

NEVERTHIRST INDIA

In 12 hours I'll be on the first of 4 flights over the next two days which will land me in Calcutta, India.

If you are interested in learning a little more about India and why I am traveling there, be sure to check out the blog over the next week. I'll be updating as much as possible. Below is one of the NEVERTHIRST: India videos. I encourage you to watch THIS VIDEO to learn more about India and work happening there.

You can also visit NEVERTHIRST WATER HERE

Bags are Packed

My bags are (just about) packed and I am MORE THAN READY to head to India.

Last night I had just climbed into bed when a round of thunder and lightning rolled in, followed by the constant sound of rain on the windows. I rolled over to look at the clock just as it flipped to 11:00PM.

11:00 PM + 8 hours = 7:00AM in India

As that thought crossed my mind, I realized that somewhere, halfway around the world there are people waking up and beginning another day of their lives as I am ending one of mine. Somewhere there is a mother putting on her sari, feeding her children breakfast, and walking out the door to begin her day. Maybe she is going to retrieve water for her daily tasks, or going to the market. But whatever she is doing, in two short day our lives will collide into one another, and I am awed by this notion.

I cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store for this trip. Whose life will intersect with my own, if only for a brief time.

So Excited

I can't believe I'll be in India in only a few short days. I am so excited to begin this journey with a great group of friends.

127 Yard Sale

If you’ve never been to the 127 yard sale, or “The world’s longest yard sale” as it claims to be…you are missing out.

Some things for sale need to find a home other than mine!

 The 127 Corridor Sale is headquarters in Jamestown, TN, just a hop and a skip from the TN town I grew up in. For one weekend every August, 675 miles of Hwy 127, all the way from Hudson, Michigan to Gadsden, Alabama sprout tents and tables of everything you could ever imagine buying(or not buying). I actually grew up on Hwy 127, so the yard sale must be in my blood. But it’s not just for locals, people from all over the country attend, pulling u-hauls’ to transport all their finds back home. I love hunting for unique items for my home, and year after year I am never disappointed.

The last couple of years my friend Meg and I have braved the heat and sporting event like traffic to shop the yard sale.

This year’s find included…

This necklace that I am super excited to wear.

This ikat blanket throw that is now at home on my ottoman.

This teal hobnail glass.

And my best find this year was this wheat sheath side table. A similar dining table was featured in the current issue of Lonny Magazine. 

*image courtesy of Lonny Magazine

Here is the full article in Lonny

 I struck up a conversation with the vendor after she saw me take a photo of the piece, and mistook me to be a picker or a designer (how flattering). She had hands down some of the most beautiful items I ran across at this year’s sale with tables full of florentina trays and boxes and GORGEOUS sets of sconces and alabaster lamps. When I asked how she gathered all her inventory, she explained that she worked with pickers who knew what she was looking for, and she even sold lots of florentina to Rachel Ashwell- Miss Shabby Chic herself. She also mentioned that the day before she had shot a segment with Cari from HGTV’s Cash and Cari... where Cari was shopping the yard sale for finds. I know HGTV typically does a special on the yard sale every year, so I’m be looking forward to the episode which should air sometime in October.

Florentina Boxes

Meg and I stopped for lunch at the Pig-N-Catch in Pikeville, TN right as some heavy afternoon rain showers where setting in. We got our “carb-on” with some fried pickle spears and BBQ sandwiches (and I didn’t even take a picture). If you are ever in the area you should stop in to eat. The catfish is also great. It is owned by some good family friends of mine, The Kellys. Vicky Kelly is a very talented photographer, and her daughter Rachel is my very best friend all the way back from my grade school days.