Middleton Place

Today was a perfect fall weather day. About mid 50's with the sun shining so I decided it was time for an outing. I took a DSLR camera that I'm borrowing to one of the Southern plantations here and just played around with it. (Thanks Camille for the inspiration there) This plantation is the place of America's oldest landscape gardens and was built off of inspiration from France. It was SUCH a beautiful day. I apologize that this is just a picture overload but hopefully you can get a taste of one of my favorite places here in the South. Here's a couple of my musings.

Fall in Charleston

I must say Charleston in the fall is a FAR cry from where were last year. Besides reduced humidity there aren't too many signs that fall is here. In fact the first sign I had was that people started getting sick. I'm ashamed to admit that this made me giddy because it actually made it feel like fall. At least half of October was in the 80's and we had our AC on and still believed in shorts. The middle of Oct. it tended to cool down and we felt like we could actually be outside which was a glorious feeling. I finally put my fall decorations up a week or two ago so now I suppose it's official. Here's a few things we did to make believe it was cold outside.

We ran to Costco to get our two Halloween essentials, candy and Liquid Gold (a.k.a. Apple Cider)

We made our traditional casserole in a pumpkin which was SO good

This doesn't really fit but this is one reason I love Costco, cheap gas :) 

And to see the Fall colors I go to Costco, not the Mountains. Leave it to Costco to feel their parking lot with the only trees that change color around here. I know you probably can't even see the color but it's big for here.

And we went to the LowCountry Fair! I can't say it was the best thing ever but it was nice to be out and about. Plus they had fried everything, even gummy bears! I didn't try them but I really felt like I was in the south. Also I got really cheap Chashmere scarves which were a total plus. 

These were a couple awesome flower sculptures that were on display at the fair. So cool!

And of course you have to have the caramel corn...and you can kind of see my fall table decor to the side. 

We don't have any special plans for Thanksgiving. Actually what sounds really awesome is to make Cafe Rio and see a movie which is weird. I'm usually all about the Holidays and holiday traditions. What's with that?

Disney World!

I know it's been a month but this still deserves a post. Jason and I celebrated our two year anniversary in September! I can't even believe it's been two years. Our life was finally at a point where we could really celebrate anniversary, graduation, the accomplishment of making it through my job, and the fact that Jason now has a great job. We debated about going to the Caribbean but when it really came down to it we were long due for some fun so we decided on Disney World which was the best decision next to marrying Jason two years ago :) We gave talks in Sacrament meeting on our anniversary (Sunday, Sept 22) and then we skipped town for a whole week in Disney world and guys it. was. perfect. Truly is the happiest place on earth. I mean every single day was perfect. Words just can't describe which is why I took pics.

We hit magic Kingdom first of course- so magical

We started this day out right. We walked out of the Swiss Family Robinson Tree house and next thing we know Jason was squirted with water by a camel. It totally got him and gave us a good laugh for the day.

One of our favorite rides was the Haunted House. The things that they did were amazing. They also had one of the best lines to wait in.

So one of the great things about Disney is they make your waiting in line experience really awesome. This picture was taken as we were waiting for the Winnie the Pooh ride who is my favorite character. One of the best parts of Disney is watching all the little kids, especially girls, get so involved with everything. While we were waiting for this particular ride there was a little "door" to Piglet's house that you could push and Piglet's voice would come on and say he's not home etc. Well this little girl would push on the door and Piglet's voice would say "I'm not home" and the girl said "yes you are I can hear you" and this went on for about five minutes and then she started looking behind the box trying to get in. It was hilarious! We couldn't stop laughing about it for a long time. I know it might seem weird to have just two grown adults go to Disney without kids but this was perfect. We got to enjoy all the kids being fascinated but we didn't actually have to care for them ourselves. No strollers, coolers, backpacks, wet kids, just us and our two bags. 

One of Jason's favorite rides was Star Tours. He got to live in the starship while I tried not to be sick for a couple minutes but seeing his excitement was totally worth it. He was really disappointed with all the Disney-fied Star Wars stuff, to quote one of my friends "my childhood murdered my childhood" that's about how he felt. 

Tiny little Eiffel tower in the background

This reminded us of Cambridge :)

Hey We've been there!

Oh Germany, where we got engaged :)

The day we went to Epcot was the most magical of all. That morning we went to the temple which was absolutely amazing. Then we went to Epcot and got to travel the world followed by fireworks. Since Jason and I had been to most of the countries that were represented it was so fun to have a trip down memory lane and walk through all the gift stores. It reminded us of right before we got married and our experiences in Cambridge.

Animal Kingdom was much better than what I thought it was going to be. This day we travelled to Africa and did a Safari and I even climbed Mount Everest. I'm not a huge roller coaster fan but on this trip I went on Mount Everest, Rockin Rollercoaster, and splash mountain. When I told my brother I went on those he called me a liar. Oh the things you do for your husband. I must admit though a part of me really enjoyed them :) Also when we were in animal kingdom we saw Winnie the Pooh which was awesome. I have a picture just like this when I was about 10 yrs old in Winnie the Pooh overalls, epic. Our favorite part of Animal Kingdom were all of the shows- our favorite being the Lion King show. Disney is amazing. They don't do anything half hearted and they blow you away. What other place celebrates imagination and being a little kid? Not to mention all the entertainment is clean and you don't have to worry about anything. 

And here's all four parks conquered!

It was really hard to come home. But Jason softened the blow by cooking me dinner when we got home. We were having such a good time I told Jason we should just go hop on a one week cruise. I could have spent so much more time with him. It is so much fun to spend 24/7 with your husband for a whole week without any stress. Life isn't always perfect but it's so good to have moments that remind you that it can be. The first day after we went through the magic kingdom Jason and I found ourselves talking about the Hall of the Presidents and the Wheel of Progress, two educational presentations in Disney, that we analyzed the material they were presenting and why etc and in the middle of the conversation Jason stops and says "look at us, of everything we did today this is what we're talking about, this is so us." And it is. And I love it. We were reading the Iliad to each other yesterday so you can't be too surprised. So there it is- I could say so much more like the Old English couples that watched us while we played Ping pong and were our commentators, such good times.

Taking the Plunge

I know it's been two months now that I have failed to post anything. There's been a lot happening like birthdays, friends visiting, parents visiting, and our 2 year anniversary which was amazingly perfect and I will be posting about that. However, before I get there I just want to take a moment and welcome Jason into the 21st century--- he got a smart phone! Unfortunately it's not an iphone but since he works for Google he figured he give a google phone a shot, go figure. I don't know if you know but this is a big deal for Jason. He's had his same phone since he got off his mission which is a good many years. The phone was waiting for him at work the day we got back from the happiest place on earth but since his phone was so old we had to actually go to the store to get his contacts transferred. While we were there I couldn't help telling him that the 90's had called and wanted their flip phone back (not my words, quote from a dinner show we saw a while back) but Jason was on one too as he turns to the Verizon rep and says "easy to do, it should be" just like Yoda. I guess the reality of the Star Tours ride hadn't worn off yet. I couldn't resist pointing this out to him. Not a bad way to start to start of the week.

please excuse the blurry pic, it's the only one I have

It's a Google life

I think everyone can agree that Google has transformed life in some form or another and now that Jason works for Google I feel like Google has become a way of life. We have lots of Google water bottles, notebooks, frisbee, back pack, and shirts. Jason lives and breathes Google every day working there of course and then even after work we go our mini golfing, to dinner, to movies, etc, with a lot of his colleagues. Of Jason's immediate colleagues he's the oldest one and the only one married so we're getting a somewhat college social life in a way that we never felt with Harvard. It's a good thing he has me and the church to keep him from completely being sucked into Google land, which is pretty awesome. :) It's been fun and luckily his colleagues have been so good to me and it's been so fun to get to know them. Anyway, here's what the last month has been like with Google...

 About a week and a half ago Google sent Jason to a conference at Harvard of all places which left me here for 5 days knowing hardly anybody and with nothing to do. So naturally I did a 2000 piece puzzle of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. It's amazing how much time that ate up! And it took all 5 days, I finished 5pm the day I went to pick him up. I'm puzzled out for the moment but I know this section of the ceiling unbelievable well. 

 This is from going golfing with his colleagues. It was also very educational as I found out Blackbeard was here in Charleston, how cool is that? 

And lastly Google had a company day at the beach last Friday which was great. Very fun to be able to spend his work day with him.

Oh also, it's finally out in the news what Jason and his team are doing in Google. Check it out here

Modern Day Princess

So I'm not one to idolize and go crazy over celebrities, however did you see the pictures of the royal family after they had their baby? So adorable. In my opinion it's such a nice image to have a happy family that we just don't get in popular media. 

Also can I clone all of her clothes?

The Beauty of Food

Is it July already? What a whirlwind month June was. July's challenge will be settling in which sometimes is the hardest part of change for me. So the 4th of July was, well fairly quiet. Since we're new to the area and still putting the house together we didn't do much but we did go grocery shopping so the weekend definitely included good food which is what really matters anyway, if only we had people to share it with ~ we're getting there. Jason got both Thursday and Friday off so hello 4 day weekend. Thursday we put a grill together that was given to Jason as a graduation/birthday present by our wonderful friends the Heaths. We've used it every day since we set it up and oh man it's so good!  

Friday we made it to the beach and swam in the ocean. I definitely can get used to that. 

Saturday was date night to Trader Joes, we sure miss being within walking distance of that place but parking spaces are readily available here so it's a trade off. 

Then Sunday included flourless chocolate cake with homemade ice cream which I'd say was a success. I've already had a piece today and I'm waiting for Jason to get home so I can have another one but on second thought I think waiting might be overrated. 

The rest of the weekend in between was spent putting our lives together here, balancing the budget, taking things to goodwill, and watching movies with popcorn. Jason's loving his job and just got called as a stake technology clerk because he works for Google so of course he has mad IT skills. We now know to say that he's working in EDUCATION first before we mention Google. As for me, well....here comes my quarter life crisis that has been staved the last couple of years. I've been looking so forward not having to work which has been wonderful you know taking naps whenever I wanted, watching the Next Food Network Star, listening all day to NPR, finding recipes on pinterest, etc. I know it sounds awesome and it totally was but sometimes it's nice to have a sense of purpose and do something that is fulfilling. This week has started out MUCH better mostly because I had a car. Today's accomplishments: working out, playing piano, actually getting ready for the day, going to Costco and only coming out with 4 items (cheapest run yet!), and making these things below - sweet corn tamale cakes with salsa and southwest sauce accompanied by fish tacos for dinner. I was so excited that I pulled out my new serving dishes that I got for my wedding. And then I waited and waited....and waited....and waited for Jason but unfortunately Jason got detained with his church calling already so I just enjoyed them to myself, he's lucky there's still some waiting for him ;). Anyone want to come to Charleston? I promise we'll eat well and go to the ocean, what more do you want for summer really?