Thursday, April 28, 2011

Safe from the Storms

I think it's safe to say that this past month has provided some of the worst storms in a very long time.

Before yesterday's line of storms took its toll on the Southeast (and nearly 250 lives in six states), the American Red Cross had already confirmed 300 tornado's nationwide in April alone.
Damage in Ringgold, Ga

As yesterday's evening storms were making their way through Alabama, my eyes were glued to Channel 2. I was thankful that Austin came home from work early (well, 6:30 is pretty early this time of year). We were watching the news and American Idol when we noticed that the storms moving into Georgia were headed straight towards Cartersville, and then possibly towards Canton. And that was just the first storm. There were three or four more behind that one. We considered heading south towards Woodstock to stay in Austin's aunt and uncle's house with a basement but the first storm we were monitoring on the TV had just turned more eastward and was heading directly to the middle of Cherokee County. So we made a quick decision to drive north to Jasper to hide out in Austin's other aunt and uncle's basement.

Unfortunately, we don't have a basement - nor does anyone else on our street.We quickly packed a bag, went to pick up my sister and brother-n-law and drove north into Pickens County. I think Austin was driving about 90 mph the entire way. Once we arrived, Pickens County was under its first tornado warning, which was followed by several more warnings and then severe thunderstorms. 

I kept in touch with my neighbor Lisa who lives two houses down. Thankfully, a tornado didn't touch down in our neighborhood. Pickens County, however, is one of the 16 counties in Georgia under a state of emergency.

Once the tornado warnings had moved out of Northwest Georgia, I watched as the storms traveled east toward Lumpkin, Dawson and Hall counties. I was thankful that my mom and stepdad in Hall County and in-law's in Dawson County both had basements. And another storm was moving into Atlanta at the same time so that made me nervous that my dad had been stuck at the airport since the early afternoon.


My heart goes out to those affected by the storms. They have devastated parts of the Southeast, including Tuscaloosa and Northwest Georgia, and even worse, taken the lives of almost 250 people. 

More damage in Ringgold, Ga

This time of year - and specifically tornado season - always reminds of the 7th grade. A tornado ripped through Gainesville, taking several lives and damaging much of northern Hall County. My good friend, Michele Lester, showed up in hospital scrubs at my front door. Her entire house had been taken out by the tornado. Luckily, she woke up in her bed outside in her front yard and everyone in her family survived.

Photos courtesy of the AJC.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Busy Easter Weekend!

It's Monday. Blah. And instead of being at yoga I'm sitting on my couch drinking a glass of red wine and catching up on my Sunday night shows...Desperate Housewives and Brother's and Sisters. I probably should be cooking dinner. Oh well.

My long weekend went by waaaay too fast, as usual. Because it was Good Friday, I worked from home in the morning and then met Brittney and the Hud-man at Cracker Barrel for lunch. After that, I headed to downworth Acworth for a little shopping at Wild Blossoms - this fabulous boutique. I really wish I wasn't such a sucker for boutiques.

But I am. So check out my new antique bird pictures for the living room! Love them!



And this is the Mason jar wine glass I purchased for Ashley for her wedding weekend! Only 25 more days til we're in beautiful Madison, Ga. watching Sam & Ashley say their "I do's!"


On Friday night, I met Brittney and Lindsey for sushi and a movie date - we saw Water for Elephants. I wish I'd read the book first but I thought the movie was great. James Patterson and Witherspoon were both wonderful.

On Saturday, I went to get a massage (ahhh) and helped to host Meg & Bennett's couple's shower in Atlanta! The weather was perfect so we were all able to stay outside..and the mini hamburger sliders were sooo good (hamburger meat, egg, Worcestershire sauce and bread crumbs). Looking forward to the wedding in West Glacier, Montana. :)

Meg & Bennett~the bridge & grooom!

Christy, Staci, me & Meg~missing WhitRice & Emily!
On Sunday, we went to Jasper to have Easter lunch with Austin's family. I purposely didn't eat breakfast because I knew I would be consuming mass amounts of food. And, I was right. Ham, turkey & dressing, creamed corn, fried okra, peas, green beans, and mac & cheese - I could barely fit it all on my plate. And I can't forget the chocolate cake AND pound cake for my dessert. 

I wish I had some family pictures to post. Unfortunately my camera broke and they turned out all blurry. Again. This will be new camera #14. 

On Sunday evening we went to give Hudson and Ella their Easter bunny gifts! They were so cute as usual - Huddy is talking more and more every single day and wants to do everything that Ella does. He can now say "Katie" and "Austin" - although "Katie" sounds more like "Kaki" but I'll take it. Ella put on a show, singing Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber for me, Brittney, Austin, Pap Pap and Dot Dot. Girlfriend's only four and she's already got the Bieber Fever!

Ella & Austin

Ella & Huddy
I hope everyone had a fabulous Easter weekend!

I'm looking forward to Asheville, NC on Friday. Staci and I are heading up to spend the weekend with Whitney Rice! I can only imagine the trouble we'll get into!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

Hello and happy hump day! It's been a while since my last What I'm Loving Wednesday, so here goes!

1. I'm LOVING that today is HUMP day! Two more days til the weekend, Good Friday & Easter.

2. I'm LOVING that tonight is Supper Club over at Brittney's! Tonight's dinner theme: tapa's! I'll be taking ugly dip (corn, feta & black beans) and bacon-wrapped water chestnuts for Austin.

3. I'm LOVING that my 6-month dentist appointment is tomorrow! I'm being serious..my hygienist lets me watch Live! with Regis and Kelly. :)

4. I'm LOVING that Saturday is Meg & Bennett's couple's shower in Atlanta! They fly in from Dallas tomorrow. The soon-to-be Sumrell's will be getting hitched in Mount Glacier, Montana, on June 25th. I can't wait to be there!

5. I'm LOVING that we finally decided on a date for Brooke & Andrew's Farewell Party at Mellow Mushroom! I just booked the room!! With everyone's weddings, bachelorette parties, showers and everything else going on, I never thought we would find a date. Looking forward to celebrating Brooke & Andrew moving to Colorado...

6. And as always, I'm LOVING my Ella & Hudson! Two weeks is way too long to be apart. Thankfully I get to see them tonight!
I hope everyone has a wonderful rest of the week!

Friday, April 15, 2011

Jiggity Johnsons

Please welcome...the Jiggity Johnsons to the blogosphere!

As I posted several weeks back, Brooke and Andrew recently found out that they are moving to Westminster, Colorado. This is where Andrew was matched for his Internal Medicine program. So, Brooke, Andrew and Penny make the big move out west on June 6.

Follow the Jiggity Johnson's adventures as they get settled into this new stage in their lives! Andrew begins his residency in June and Brooke will begin looking for a job as a dental hygienist. As for Penny, I'm sure she will become quite accustomed to life in Colorado. If you had this view to wake up to every morning, wouldn't you??

I think so. :)

I'm hoping to throw Brooke & Andrew a Going-Away Party before they leave! Fingers crossed...we are currently trying to figure out a date that works! Stay tuned!

Happy Friday, everyone!

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Happy Thursday!

It's almost Friday~my most favorite day of the week! Today's temperature is sup to get up to 78 so Austin and I are grilling out this evening. I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be after work than sitting on my back porch with a glass of wine. :)

As I'm sitting here eating my oh-so-healthy Lean Cuisine...I'm really wishing I was eating this Fish Taco recipe sent over from Gwyneth Paltrow. Yea, she occasionally sends me recipes. I'll try to share them as much as I possibly can.:)

Lee's Rocking Fish Tacos
~Serves 8
A bunch of cilantro
Juice of 5 limes
1/3 cup of olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons for cooking
1 small white onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 jalapeno or 3 red chili peppers, chopped
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon paprika
Coarse salt
2 pounds halibut, diced
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup white wine

Combine cilantro, lime juice, 1/3 cup olive oil, onion, garlic, chili, garlic powder, cumin and paprika together in a blender with a large pinch of sale and puree until thoroughly combined and smooth. Set mixture aside. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat in a large pot and add halibut. Cook, stirring now and then, until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Add white wine and cook until nearly evaporated, about 2 minutes. Pour over the reserved cilantro mixture, stir gently just to combine and cook for just another minute to "let the flavors say hello." Serve immediately with deep-friend flour tortillas, crema fresca (or sour cream), cotija cheese, and pico de gallo with chunks of avocado (mix equal parts diced tomatoes and avocado and then season with salt, pepper, fresh cilantro, lime and diced red onion).

Enjoy!

Also, I'm researching beach houses (on the beach, I'm not interested in walking to the beach) for Labor Day weekend. There will most likely be about 6-10 girls ~ please let me know if you have something available. We are looking @ Hilton Head, Savannah, St. Simons, etc.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Callie's getting married!

Callie's Bachelorette Party was last night. I met the girls in Midtown for the lingerie shower @ the beautiful Renaissance Hotel. Megan did a great job decorating! This is me & one of my FAVORITE North Georgia girls, Miss Kelly Parker!


And Katy Paige made an appearance for her first-ever bachelorette party! And, no, she did not go out with us. :) She stayed in the hotel room with her grandma. This is me & Chelsey Potts - first time out in 11 months!!

After the lingerie shower, we went to Loca Luna for dinner and then out! As always, I enjoyed seeing my Gainesville girls for a night on the town! Looking forward to Callie & Ty's big day on May 7~

Friday, April 8, 2011

Welcome to the good life, uncorked

Two blog posts in one day! Woo hoo!

I had a dinner date last night with Mrs. Allison Shuler Kimbrell at The Grape @ Phipps Plaza.Good wine, food and great company!

My blog post title, Welcome to the good life, uncorked, came straight from The Grape's website.

I like it.

No, I love it.

Maybe I'm foreseeing the name of my next FB album. I have such a hard time with that.

Anyway, Allison and I sat on the outdoor patio and each had a flight of three red wines. Allison ordered the pulled pork and corn flatbread and I had the smoked salmon flatbread (such a creature of habit).

And needless to say, we ate everything on our plates! :)

Happy Friday! I'm off to my neighbor's house this evening for a cook out, yard sale tomorrow & Callie's bachelorette in Atlanta tomorrow night!

Viva Las Vegas!

I'm back from Vegas! Well, barely. I'd say it took me at least 2-3 days to fully recover. And now it's Friday...and I guess I'm ready for another bachelorette night in Atlanta tomorrow ~ yay for Callie!

Ashley's Bachelorette Weekend in Vegas was just as I expected it be...a BLAST! We flew out last Friday morning from Atlanta and came home Sunday. Looking forward to my next trip with Ashley, Brooke, Brittni, Erin Page, Erin Cauley, Havolynne, Alyssa, & Katie Mc. Love my Gainesvegas girls!
After our stretch hummer picked us up from the airport in Vegas (with some Korbel, of course), we spent the entire afternoon in the pool at BARE at the Mirage Resort & Casino, then we went to dinner at Bradley Ogden, then PURE NightClub, then to various other places around Vegas...back to the casino and then watched the sun rise Saturday morning ...and I was worried about staying up until after midnight.
In the limo!
On Saturday, we lounged around by a couple pools all day and then went to Grand Lux Cafe for dinner, then Lavo & Tao. Loved Tao! On Sunday, we enjoyed brunch at this fabulous restaurant in our hotel. Then it was time to head home. We almost had to say goodbye to Havolynne as we boarded the plane but thankfully, after much begging to the flight attendant, she was able to board too. :)
Brunch: smoked salmon & cream cheese bagel!