taters!

the south has changed me. i can't deny it!

every once in a while, a "y'all" slips out. i know what an "eye" is. and i appreciate a skillet full of vegetable oil as much as colonel sanders.

okay...so maybe that's a stretch. but what i do love is veggies being formed into scrumptious cakes, covered with breadcrumbs, and fried. don't even try to judge before you try it!

i made these sweet potato bacon cakes last night, and man were they good.

and while you're at it, try these zucchini cakes from p-dub! yum.

happy frying, friends.

you know you're in the south when...

since my time in north carolina is quickly coming to an end (or break?), i thought i'd share my top ten "only in the south" experiences from the past 14 months.

1) someone tells you to "cut the eye off." this happened when i had just moved to nc and was living with my now mother-in-law. we had just finished dinner...and i thought she was asking me to cut the eye off a teddy bear or something. (translation: turn off the burner.)

2) there's a church, cemetary, and bojangles on every corner.

3) you are greeted "well hey there, miss lady!" miss lady. yes, this happened.

4) you send a wedding invitation to a name with a VII after it. a SEVENTH! putting it lightly, family names are a pretty big deal round these parts.

5) you walk around an outside mall and see a girl walking around in a rebel flag bikini top and daisy dukes. classy.

6) you hear about people "keeping kids." i still don't know why this is such a funny term to me...keep them WHERE? locked up in a basement? it just reminds me of creepster white vans with no windows and missing children signs. not that i'm being dramatic. (translation = running a daycare from home)

7) you order tea at a restaurant and it's got more sugar in it than a chocolate cake. yum.

8) people ask you if you "kept your maiden name" after getting married. i mean, i can't get rid of it, can i? (translation = did you change your middle name to your maiden name?)

9) an older woman grabs your elbow and whispers "the south will rise again" with quiet confidence in your ear. this was actually ruffin's grandma, and it happened as we were taking our seats at dolly parton's dixie stampede. i still don't really know what that means.

10) you ask for a barbeque sandwich and you get pulled pork with vinegar. then you ask for barbeque sauce...and they point to a glass bottle of vinegar with random spices floating in it. this kansas city girl was a little confused!


midwest/yankee/non-southern friends, what am i missing? southern pals, what's funny about the rest of the country?

i have a crush on savannah, ga.

i'm here to confirm what you have already heard before: savannah is adorable. it is THE quintessential southern town with beautiful exposed brick buildings, town squares all along the streets downtown, and gorgeous, twisted oak trees with spanish moss hanging from its limbs that form tunnels over the streets. i'm in love. but instead of attempting to describe in words, i'll just get on with the pictures ;)

fancy hotel downtown

i have a thing for trees...but especially these ones. this picture was taken at the square downtown where forrest gump was filmed sitting on the bench.

on river street, after some ice cream. as much as i love you savannah, you take sticky humid grossness to a whole new level.

our awesome tour guide!


where the queen of butter reigns. we walked by a few hours before the restaurant opened and the line wrapped ALL the way around the building!

we went to bonaventure, a super old cemetery. it was really, really cool.

the oldest grave is from 1775. completely surreal.

good look at the spanish moss.

this is what happens to copper when it is exposed to the elements for a couple hundred years...prettiness.



in summary: if you haven't been to savannah yet, DO it. if you have been, go again. (hint hint ruffin)

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next up: greenville, nc!

2 weeks

it's kind of hard to believe all that has happened in the past year. i graduated from college -- go STATE. i got engaged (same day!). i moved from kansas, the heart of america, to north carolina. i had my first bojangles experience and have met more people with double-names than i even knew existed. i started my first full time job and got settled in my first apartment. and then i made the best decision yet and married my favorite person in the world. he's absolutely ridiculous, keeps me laughing, and i know this is going to be a shocker--but i love him like crazy.

and late last week we both gave our 2 weeks notice. that's right, new direction...again :). we are somewhat clueless, and really, really excited. we dream big dreams and have an even bigger God, so i'm anxious to see where we end up! and i'm determined to enjoy life as it comes- one step at a time. even though it's a lot more like me to think miles in advance...

for now, that step is waiting to hear back from all nations to see if we've been accepted to their church planting experience this fall in kansas city...that, and finishing up work, packing up our apartment, and enjoying a much anticipated summer! a summer with lots of fun trips, the arrival of our nephews, and a best friend back in the states...we hope we get to see all of you!