small town life, big mountain dreams
We eat a lot of fish.
Mainly because it meets the elusive trifecta of dinner perfection:
PLUS one fantastic bonus—it makes great leftovers! My favorite thing to do is put leftover fish on a salad. Like this one, where I took a hunk of leftover trout (baked with a simple herb seasoning), plopped it on top of a rainbow of crunchy veggies, and suddenly had a very fancy-looking lunch.
First of all, I have to give a HUGE thank you to everyone for your wonderfully supportive response to our big news! Taking any kind of risk—especially one on this scale—is so much easier when you have family and friends cheering you on from the sidelines. I was overwhelmed by all the love, well wishes, and votes of confidence. You all are the best and we are truly grateful!!
With just 30 days until we officially hit the road, things are already getting a little crazy over here —wrapping up projects at work, starting to pack up our stuff, showing the house to new renters, making last-minute appointments/meetings/COUNTLESS lists….etc. etc. etc. I meant to post this a week ago, but time keeps getting away from me!
Anyway, since a few people have asked for more details (and I would LOVE to gather as much advice as I can in the next few weeks) I wanted to share some specifics that were too much to fit in the original post. Starting with Part One: the good old-fashioned U.S.A. road trip!
Continue reading “Great American Adventure Part One: U.S.A. Road Trip”
Well, the secret is out. Now that all family, close friends, landlords, employers, etc. have all officially been informed, I am so excited to finally go public with some VERY big news: In just over a month, Chris and I are leaving Hartsville and hitting the road for one of the biggest adventures of our lives!
After four wonderful years living the small-town life, we’ve decided to finally do something we’ve been dreaming about doing for a long time—quit our jobs, sell/donate/pack up everything we own, and TRAVEL. From late August through mid-December (in two parts), we’ll be crossing a few big things off of our travel wish list…
Happy 4th of July!
We’re up at Chris’s family’s lake house at Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia, and it’s nothing but clouds and rain in the forecast—which has kind of cramped our plans to spend hours floating in the water sipping margaritas. But we’ve nonetheless managed to have a festive and relaxing weekend so far, complete with fancy cocktails, boat rides and fireworks.
And honestly, I can’t complain about an extra-long weekend at the lake under any circumstances. Besides, extra time indoors means one thing: extra time for COOKING (and eating)! I decided to take advantage of the occasion and put together a casual, Southern, summery feast perfect for the 4th of July: pulled pork barbecue, potato salad, coleslaw, mac & cheese, and of course, the crowning touch…warm peach & blackberry cobbler fresh from the oven, topped with vanilla ice cream.
Exercise and I have had…let’s say…an “on-again, off-again” relationship. Basically all of my adult life, I’ve drifted in and out of various exercise routines without ever committing to anything for more than a few months at a time. (Okay, a few months is probably a stretch.)
On many occasions, I would start off armed with lots of plans and high expectations, only to fizzle within weeks. In college, I went out and bought two five-pound weights…that sat at the bottom of my closet for the rest of the year. At 22, I halfheartedly huffed and puffed my way up and down the (insanely steep) hills of my Birmingham neighborhood before work…for about two weeks. Twice, I decided that I was going to become A Runner…and then, a week later, developed achilles tendonitis from pushing myself too hard and was secretly thrilled that I had a legitimate reason to quit.
In short, nothing ever quite stuck.
