As I walked up to my apartment door today, the song “Please, Mr. Postman” popped into my head, because lo-and-behold, I had a giant box waiting for me!! Who doesn’t love getting mail, and even better, packages??
I have been getting lots of mail from those I love over this last month & a half, and it makes me happy to know I may be out of sight, but I’m not out of mind.
But really, who COULD forget me!? ;)
And in honor of the ‘60s, here’s an array of "Please, Mr. Postman" videos for your viewing pleasure. The Marvelettes version is my favorite for two reasons: 1. They sang the original song. 2. The guy that is sitting closest to them has absolutely NO sense of rhythm… watch. You’ll see. Poor nerdy white boy. Ha.
I recently received an email chalk-full of pictures from my sister-in-law Bethany. Apparently, she & my brother braved a night of Autumn Festivities with their zoo of a crew. This was my favorite out of the bunch, and caused me to literally laugh aloud when I saw it… What a lovely face Avery. Really. Just lovely.
And I think he’s supposed to be a bee? Haha… And everyone say hello to Shamara!! :)
I was erasing pictures from my phone today when I came across this beauty from nearly a year ago… It takes a certain kind of talent to produce a square waffle from a round waffle-iron. Yup. I’m just that talented.
I was given the amazing opportunity to head up to the Jack Daniel’s Distillery up in Lynchburg, Tennessee this weekend with the Huntsville Young Professionals(because I’m a Young Professional in Huntsville, holla!). I have been to many a brewery, as par when living in Colorado, but never to a spirit distillery, so this was new & exciting for me!
We headed up via caravan around 9:45 am in order to make our lunch-time reservations for lunch at Miss Mary Bobo's Boarding House. Um… UH-mazing!! Great southern home-style cooking enjoyed as a “family” where we all sat around a big table, always passing to the left & never going without. Hello fried catfish, pork chops, macaroni & cheese, Jack Daniel apples, fried okra, lima beans, corn bread, sweet tea, & the most amazing chess pie w/ Jack Daniel whipped cream. I highly recommend Miss Mary Bobo’s and if anyone ever wants to come & visit me, we can make a special trip there! (Mind you, I’ll need at least 2 months notice… it takes that long to get a reservation!)
I made fast friends with other “Young Professionals” on the way up there, so it was fun to wander around Lynchburg (the whole 4 blocks of the city-center) with them before we headed up to Jack Daniel’s. I met a dedicated checkers player (he beat me!), enjoyed a good ol’ fashioned Coca-Cola straight out of the bottle & experienced the most amazing scene of old men enjoying their sodas in rocking chairs on the porch of the local eatery with a classic car parked right in front. Perfect.
The Jack Daniel’s tour was superb as well. The fact that I despise black label Jack Daniel Whiskey was utterly reinforced, seeing as that I was surrounded by its scent the entire hour of the tour.
I learned that they used to catch moonshiners with illegal stills by the way the distilling process creates a special kind of mold that turns everything black in the surrounding area, including buildings & the bark of trees, such as this example creating a unique picturesque look of bright green leaves & black bark.
I got cozy with Jack & then went off to do a whiskey tasting (when in Rome!). Did you know Jack Daniel's makes 3 types of whiskey?? Gentleman Jack, Black Label & Single Barrel (and you can buy a whole barrel of Single Barrel for yourself for a mere $9000). Both Gentleman Jack & Single Barrel were suprisingly good, but I still would never be able to sit down & enjoy a whiskey on the rocks. Just not gonna happen.
Thank you Jack Daniel, for a magnificent day spent in Lynchburg, Tennesse (pop. 361).
Oh, and I've re-fallen in love with FM Static. Mmm... yup, definitely have had this song on repeat all day! You sure are crazy Crazy Mary...
When asked what season is my favorite, I always say autumn. This is because I love what the time of year brings. It brings sweaters, scarves & boots. It brings pumpkin-flavored everything. It brings hot chocolate. It brings a new look to the foliage, whether it be turning Aspens into golden fountains & bright fires, or creating snow-like bulbs of cotton spanning across acres of land. And in Alabama, there is no lack of cotton fields to provide me with my seasonal pleasure. This one’s for you Eli Whitney…
So, I didn’t actually take this picture today. I took it back at the end of August, but I only found it today! So I’m counting it. :)
I made this little friend while in San Jose, California at my god-parents daughter’s wedding. It was late at night, and I was having a spectacular time (hey there champagne toasts!), when I meandered out and came across this slimy dude. He will be mine & I will call him my Escargot.
I’ve been in my apartment for a little over a month now. I’ve had all my furniture & boxes for a little over two weeks now. I’ve been eating with plastic utensils that I bought at Target all this time. It’s about time I bought some real silverware. Now, I could have gone for the matching set (probably easily found at Target as well…) but that’s just not how I role. Ever since I moved back to good ol’ Sweet Home Alabama, it’s been all about the thrift stores. And do you know what all thrift stores have?! An abundance of kitchen utensils, small & large!! So, today I found myself leaving work as a woman on a mission: To eat dinner tonight with real silverware!!
I made my way to the Asbury Thrift Store to buy my new-to-me eating tools, where I proceeded to find all sorts of mismatched knives, spoons & forks. Making my way up to the cash register with my 20 or so pieces of silver, something wonderful caught my eye. The Arc de Triomphe!! Oh yes… the Arc de Triomphe. In good ol’ Madison, Alabama. Now, you have to understand my love of Paris. And my love of ornately framed paintings of places in Paris. And my small collection of this love that I cover my living quarters with… But up until now, these paintings have been rather small… Maybe about the size of an 8X10. But not anymore!! I am the new owner of this hot mamma!! Probably a good 18X36 inches (and a steal at a whole whopping $5.00!!). I’m thinking it’ll be my new headboard. Haha… Or I’ll put it right where my non-existent TV would be. I’d much rather look at the Arc de Triomphe than a TV anyway…
What’s better than going through the self check-out at your local Kroger and seeing a giant display of Alabama football pride?? Well, many things actually. But still, this was a great show of some stock-boy’s creativity hard at work. He was probably incredibly bored some Wednesday night around 2 am and decided to find a way to utilize the extra 500 12 packs of soda they received that week in their shipment. I applaud you 17-year-old-stock-boy-from-Bama. I applaud you. Be sure to take a picture of this and send it in with your application to Auburn for the engineering program. You’re a shoe-in. Fo’ sho’.
Knock Knock. Who’s there? Banana. Banana who? Knock Knock. Who’s there? Orange. Orange who? Orange you glad I didn’t say banana!? Mmmm… The produce section of the grocery store is by far my favorite part of shopping. It always has been. I think it can be traced back to my days of Reading Rainbow & Sesame Street, when they would show clips of kids with their parents shopping for groceries on the streets of NYC or some big city, where they had produce stands with all the pretty arrangements of fresh fruits & veggies varying in colors & shapes. Such a weird sense of nostalgia, considering I never experienced it first hand, but there you go. Sometimes things need not be explained. Don’t worry about it. :)
I guess I really shouldn't have expected any different from people at the Lowe Mill (a very exciting & interesting place, complete with independent, local artists, and even a true-blue record store!) I mean, I was at the Flying Monktoberfest. No, but wait. I was at the Flying Monktoberfest. An event filled with all the free, great tasting beer you could ever ask for. (They were raising money to help legalise the distribution of higher alcohol content beer in Alabama, helping out Free the Hops.) You see, they couldn't charge admission, because they can't sell the beer, so, aside from a "suggested donation" there was no money involved.
So, I guess this presents the comment: I didn't realize this was a BYOSP (Bring Your Own Six Pack)...
This lovely fella' had a plastic bag filled with some cans of Miller, alongside the one he was holding in his hand, enjoying at the present moment. I just found this ironically uproarious, considering all the delicious (and free!) beer one floor below him... Maybe he was trying to impress the cute girl in the rad red cowboy boots. :)
I have come to the conclusion that Charlie Chaplin is stalking me. Why? Well, because I've seen him twice within the last two weeks. And not in the same place. Or even in two places within 10 miles of each other. Hmm. That is why I think he's stalking me. :)
But this picture was taken at Mason's in downtown Huntsville. Say hello to Jesse. He was my model so I could take a picture of Charlie without looking like a crazy person. So instead, Jesse looks like the crazy person. Oh, crazy Jesse.
Now, I have been known to eat a bologna sandwich or two in my life, but usually it involved two pieces of bread & some sort of condiment. But if you're a part of Young Life, we don't waste time with such things as bread & condiments!! We just send the bologna straight to the face!!
I believe my favorite part of this picture is the perfectly round pieces of indiscernible meat laying around the two boys, as evidence of their failed attempts to cover their heads with Oscar Mayer's pride & joy.
I am so thankful for the time I get to spend with these amazing kids, and for the laughter they create, even if it is a result of trying to catch pieces of bologna on their faces.
Oh, and here's a little something for you to enjoy... :)
Steak-Out: Another great thing about living in the South.
How’s it work? Well, let me enlighten you.
First, you call them up. Second, you order your Ribeye or Sirloin steak (anywhere from 6 oz – 12 oz) anyway you like. You want shrimp with that!? Next, you pick either a baked potato (loaded of course!) or garlic mashed potatoes (yummm…). Then, you choose the dressing to go on your side salad (oh the choices!) Finally, you hang up after paying $12 & wait 20 minutes for all of this deliciousness to show up at your door.
This picture is evidence of my incredible laziness Monday night & my desire to not eat a PB&J or fast food. Instead, I got great food fast! And don’t worry, I ate the whole thing. I was hungry after all. :)
I just want to preface this post by saying, “Please appreciate this picture, because it took us probably 5 tries to get it right.” Haha. Just kidding. You don’t have to appreciate it. But if I were to look for things to appreciate about it, here would be a list:
- I appreciate how I am 10 shades lighter than both of the boys beside me. - I appreciate the Coors Light Zac bought for us in honor of me. Yay Golden! - I appreciate the fact that we're all wearing grey shirts. Nice. - I appreciate the hours before this was taken, when we were hanging out at The Big House on the Corner, watching football, eating Puppy Chow & playing Rock Band. - I appreciate the fact that Ketchup wasn’t very crowded, but don’t appreciate how it still managed to make you go deaf due to the obnoxiously loud music they were playing. - I appreciate the ride home afterwards, and finding out Jesse thinks he’s a gangster, until Christina Aguilera’s “Come on Over” starts serenading us, blowing his whole cover. - And finally, I appreciate new friends & good times.
Thank you for letting me say "appreciate" 11 times in this post. Ohp, well, now 12. :)
As I walked up to my apartment door today, the song “Please, Mr. Postman” popped into my head, because lo-and-behold, I had a giant box waiting for me!! Who doesn’t love getting mail, and even better, packages??
