Fall Decor

It's time for me to go back to work.  I've resorted to crafting.  Our new house has a fireplace, so I needed something festive to spruce up the mantle. 

 My first creation:  pumpkins made out of a roll of toilet paper wrapped in strips of burlap with sticks from the yard as the stem and tied up with a copper colored ribbon. 

 Next up are the chevron printed pumpkins.  I wanted them to be perfectly lined, but painting a chevron on a pumpkin is not nearly as easy at it seems.  I used masking tape and spray paint.  They're good enough I suppose. 

 Finally, I dotted another pumpkin with some black glitter glue and tied another one up with a black toule bow. 

 This fall decor will be great until it's time to decorate for Christmas!!  

M-I-Crooked Letter-Crooked Letter-I...

It's been about nine weeks since we made the move to Athens.  We both have been missing home, so a trip to Mississippi was in store.  Allan cut class on Thursday afternoon (shame, shame) and we headed to Byram.  Every time I go home to Byram there is always something different about it.  It's a growing little city!  This time, it was sad to see Super D closed.  That place holds a lot of great memories.  It was my first real job and was the place where I decided that I wanted to be a pharmacist.  Who gets to work with all of their best friends from high school at the same place?  Fun times indeed.  We were in Byram Thursday night and all day Friday.  Pooja came over to hang out for a few hours.  We had a good time chatting and catching up.  I miss her!  The only thing I miss about pharmacy school is seeing my friends!  My mom made a feast Friday night that was suitable for Thanksgiving/Christmas dinner.  Some of my aunts and uncles came over and it was great getting to see everyone.  I'm glad momma got to take a break from the craziness of nursing school to spend some time with us. 

 Saturday, we made the trip to Oxford for game day!  I miss the Grove!  Unfortunately, the weather wasn't so great and we spent a majority of the day huddled under the tent, but where there's food and friends, there's always fun.

Ann Katelyn and I

Allan and I with Lindsey, Julianne, Julia, and Chris

A glimpse of the Grove on game day

After being rained on and freezing.  Lucky for us, Chris is always prepared.

I was poorly prepared for the cold, rainy weather, but thankfully we had an Eagle Scout in our midst that brought enough sweaters and jackets for everyone!  Thanks, Chris!!  The rain moved out just as the game began.  We played so well!!  I really thought we would win against Texas A&M, but they scored the winning touchdown in the last minute and a half of the game.  It was so disappointing.  Oh well, I've grown to expect the heartbreak associated with Ole Miss football.  One of the best parts of the game was half-time.  Being an alumna of The Pride of the South, I always enjoy listening to the band and I always think they do great, but I have to say, the Aggie band was phenomenal.  I couldn't look away.  It was seriously the most entertaining band performance I've ever seen.

The team charges the field after Joel McHale from "The Soup" starts the Hotty Toddy cheer

Sunday, we had lunch with Craig and later took Daisy on a walk to the Square.  Lindsey was sweet to let us stay with her in our old house.  The thing I love most about that house was the location.  One of our favorite things to do was walking Daisy to the Square.  We took a few pictures at the pumpkin patch at St. Peter's.  Later that afternoon we headed to Allan's parent's house for dinner.  It was good to see everyone.  We especially miss playing with Benjamin.

So, a 1000 miles and 17 hours in the car later we are back in Athens and exhausted.  Allan went straight to class and Daisy went straight to her place on the couch.  I've been unpacking and getting things back in order.  Hopefully I will start work this week!  I'm ready to hit the ground running!

I knew today would be a good day

I woke up this morning with a feeling that today was going to be great.  Why?  Because we met our quota of bad things in the early morning hours.  At about 3am the barking began.  Daisy acted like someone was trying to break in and chop us up into tiny little pieces.  We could not figure out what in the world was bothering her.  The aggressive barking continued in spurts throughout the night.  Needless to say, we slept very little last night.  This morning we figured out what all of her hooping and hollering was about.  Someone either drunk or very sleepy plowed their car through our mailbox.  They completely took out the post, mailbox, and bricks surrounding the landscaped area.  What a mess.  Hopefully the property owners take care of stuff like this.  The second culprit of Daisy's psycho bark fest involved a living creature trying to come down the fireplace.  This morning as I was having breakfast the commotion started up again.  It was really freaking me out.  Something was trying to get in and it wasn't Santa Clause.  I hope a bird is not trying to build a nest.  What should we do?!?!

So, because the night was so eventful I just KNEW today would be great!  I had an interview with the Health and Wellness Market Director for Walmart today.  It went well and I am happy to say that I will officially be working for Walmart!  I will start out as a floater doing fill-in work until a full-time position opens within a drivable distance from Athens.  I am so excited to start working again.  This housewife stuff is not for me.. oh, and we have bills to pay.  God has truly blessed us.  His hand has been in every aspect of our move to Athens.  He is constantly reminding me that there is no use in the excessive worrying.  He always provides.

Yellow Snapdragon

I've been a crafty little lady!  I bought a desk from the Habitat for Humanity Restore here in Athens.  I sanded it down, cleaned it up, and painted it.  For $18 + paint + 5 hours of work I have a brand new desk!  It's going upstairs in our "office" room.  I really didn't want to go out and spend a ton of money on office  furniture when it may be easier to buy something cheap, use it for the next few years, and then donate it when we move again. Typically, I prefer more neutral colors for the home, but I always like to have one room with lots of fun colors.  Check it out!

Before

After

We are still on the look out for some used bookshelves.  This is my pinterest inspiration.  The backboard of the bookshelves will match the desk. 

Pinterest Recipe Successes

Greek Dip:  I made this on Labor Day for a little get-together with some new friends from church.  It is really yummy and healthy!  It's a layered dip and here's the order:  hummus on the bottom (I use store bought, but you can make your own if you are feeling like a rock star), next is crumbled feta cheese, then top with a mix of chopped cucumber and red bell pepper.  You could also add black olives, but I'm not a huge fan.  Use whatever ratios you prefer.  I serve it with whole wheat pita loaf toasted and cut into small pieces.  It is very easy to make and requires little preparation.  Enjoy!

Bruschetta Chicken for Two:  Tonight for dinner I tried out this recipe.  It was fantastic and I can't wait to make it again.  Ingredients: 

     1.  1/4 cup of flour
     2.  1 egg beaten
     3.  2 chicken breasts
     4.  1/4 cup parmesan
     5.  1/2 cup crushed garlic croutons (italian bread crumbs would probably work too)
     6.  1 tbsp melted butter
     7.  1 large tomato diced
     8.  1 tbsp basil
     9.  1 tsp minced garlic
   10.  1 tbsp olive oil
   11.  salt and pepper

Cover chicken in flour and then egg.  Place in dish.  Combine 4-6 and cover chicken with mix.  Bake at 375 until chicken is done.  Combine 7-11 and cover chicken with mix.  Cook for 7 more minutes and you're done! 

Flea Market, Creole, Puppy Pals

Since moving to Athens, Saturday has become our day to explore.  Allan heard about the "flea market" from a friend at school so we had to check it out.  I've never been to First Monday in Ripley, MS, but according to Allan the flea market we went to was very similar.  We spent three hours scouring through four big warehouses full of stuff and lots of outdoor tables.  You can pay $10 to set up a table and sell your own stuff, kind of like having a garage sale that is not at your house!  Items ranged from live chickens to those puffy dresses the little girls on "Toddlers and Tiaras" wear.  Our loot consisted of an assortment of local fruits and vegetables, a small bookshelf for the kitchen to put my cookbooks on, and some Star Wars figures to add to Allan's collection. 

For lunch we stopped by a little mom and pop diner that is walking distance from our house.  It's called "Sisters Creole Market" and it specializes in Cajun cuisine.  I got the fried catfish poboy and sweet potato tots.  Allan got the jambalaya that he said was the best he's ever had.  We give them two thumbs up!

We took another trip to the dog park because last week it started raining soon after we got there.  Daisy had fun playing, but she is a little shy around large groups of dogs.  We have to walk her into the group to make her play and we have to stay in her line of vision or she gets nervous. One lady had four smooth collies and they were so cute!  We think Daisy is half smooth collie so it was really fun to see them all playing together.

Later Saturday night I made some muffins that I found the recipe for on pinterest.  I don't know about you, but I feel like the stuff I find on pinterest is very hit or miss.  I made some pretty gross stuff from pinterest recipes, but these muffins were definitely a win.  Three simple ingredients:  1 box of sugar free chocolate cake mix, 15 oz can pumpkin puree, 1/2 bag of chocolate chips.  Bake about 25 minutes at 350.  Makes 18 muffins weighing in at a whopping 130 calories each!     

The Next Chapter

After 2 months of zero posts, it's time for an update.  This has been ONE CRAZY SUMMER.  I feel like I have never been busier in my entire life.  Between working 32-40 hours a week, preparing for four licensure exams, packing our entire house to move, a garage sale, weddings, and last goodbyes to family and friends, I stayed busy 24/7. 

I passed the NAPLEX and MS MPJE making me a licensed pharmacist in MS!  At some point in the future I know we will come home to MS and it is much easier to get licensed on the front end rather than later down the road.  I passed the GA MPJE and just took the practical last Thursday.  I have to wait 4 weeks to get my scores back.  Until then I'll be patiently waiting.. ha!

Allan and I both said goodbye to our jobs at the end of July.  I know it was especially hard for Allan to leave the art department at Ole Miss.  A job that was only guaranteed to last 6 months lasted 5 years.  I've never met another person that loved going to their job so much than when Allan was working at the art department.  I definitely miss Walmart in Oxford.  It was a great internship and I got to work with some great people.   I learned a lot and it was a really good experience. 

The weekend before we moved was Ann Katelyn's wedding.  I was honored to be a part of her special day.  I loved our little pharmacy girls reunion too!

 We've officially been in Athens for two weeks.  Allan started classes last week and is already working so hard. I've gotten the house mostly unpacked and we are slowly settling in.  I LOVE our new house.  I was a little worried that we signed the lease without being able to come see the house first, but it is honestly better than I imagined it would be.  I think we will be very happy here for the next 3 years.  We are looking for a church and have met some very nice couples already.  We had a good weekend of art show openings at the galleries at UGA, farmer's market, and a visit to the dog park.  We are quickly learning our way around.  I'm just ready for this "transitional" period to be over so that we can feel like we live and belong here.

So, until I get my scores back from the practical to get licensed I get to play housewife.  It's been five days and I'm ready to go back to work.  I shouldn't complain.  Who wouldn't want a break from working to cook, clean, work-out, sew, read, watch tv, socialize, etc?  I just find myself being very lazy when I don't have a routine.  I hope to make the most of my little break and maybe I'll even blog more!