Thanksgiving Prep

When we think Thanksgiving we think about preparing the turkey, which can take up to 5 hours depending on how big your turkey is (or so I hear). Well, last week I learned that it takes much longer to actually prepare for Thanksgiving itself...you even have to start days ahead of time.

This year my family got together at our new beach house in Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. Luke and I got up at 5 am and left Harrisonburg to join the family! We walked in on the preparations beginning...

First you have to get the perfect table arrangements. And my grandma and mom will tell you that these arrangements did not come easy this year! They walked across the street to gather a random assortment of flowers, grass, and other things I don't know the name of (I have a lot of learning to do). Anyway, they were attacked by hundreds of sand spurs all over their clothes! They were all scratched up and dad had to take pliers to get all of them off their clothes...

But, as you can see, the pain and time it took to make these arrangements was worth it! Check out this cute turkey!


For the guys of the family, this is what they were doing the day before while the ladies (and by ladies, I mean grandma and mom) were hard at work...


So after prepping arrangements and pre-making the stuffing, the day of Thanksgiving arrives! Grandma and Mom are up early to begin morning prep!

Of course, Mom had to take a break from peeling potatoes to take a picture of what I was doing to prepare for Thanksgving...thanks for waking me up!


Mom bet that I would not put that pic on the blog, but there you go! If I am going to write about my life on here, you might as well see what I look like when I am sleeping...haha!

So, my mom called last week and asked if I would be in charge of an appetizer for Thanksgiving...I was shocked. I thought I still had a spot at the kid's table?! Now, I'm in charge of an app? And, a few days later I find out Santa Clause does not come to married people...who knew getting married would mean you are officially an adult?

So, for the first time ever I prepared something for Thanksgiving, other than Brooke and I's typical duty of filing the glasses with ice and pouring either tea or water. Which, I might add is a pretty important job!! What good would sweet tea be without ice?! But, of course I forgot the recipe for the baked brie I was going to make, but all was well and it did not turn out too bad. Maybe next year I'll try something riskier.


Dad had to take a picture to prove that I actually prepared something.

And, the finished product before Thanksgiving began...



Grandma, I may never be the homemaker that you are, but at least I get to observe you at work! I hope to one day be able to host my own Thanksgiving...one day in the far, far, future.

Painting in the 'burg

So while life has kept us pretty busy with football games, who-ville, and learning the married life, there In addition to working at the high school from 3pm-9pm, during the day I have been able to substitute, take some online classes, and now, paint.

Tay has been very supportive of my art. In addition, we have both been fans of the farmers market here in town where they sell many crafts in addition to fresh vegetables. So after a quick meeting with the director of the farmers market, she approved my work and I gave her the first week of April as my debut weekend (so if you aren’t busy that weekend, you should come out!).

The first question I asked myself was, “now what?” How did the art greats like Monet, Van Gogh, and Picasso decide what to paint? Well I truthfully don’t know the answer to that question, so I just took a note from my mom’s book (she’s the one that taught me how to paint) and started with pictures of some of the area churches, universities, and other sites that might mean a lot to the people who live here in the beautiful Shenandoah valley.

In addition to being busy at work painting, creating a booth at the farmers market actually requires a fair amount of planning and paperwork. You have to apply for a space, describe your arts and goods to be sold, and file your paperwork with the Virginia Department of taxation. Done, done, and almost done. The one last question that needs to be answered before filing the last form to start my farmers market business is, what should the business be called? DO you have any suggestions? Some words to keep in mind might be Rocktown (the former name of Harrisonburg), brushes, impressions, paint or painting, art, valley, Shenandoah, etc. Feel free to suggest a name. Get creative! We need your help!

Welcome to Whoville!

The Grinch hated Christmas! The whole Christmas season!

Now, please don't ask why. No one quite knows the reason.
It could be that his head wasn't screwed on quite right.
It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight.
But I think that the most likely reason of all
May have been that his heart was two sizes too small...

Yesterday Luke and I's homegroup from church went on an amazing adventure to Whoville! I know, I always thought it was just an imaginary town from the book How the Grinch Stole Christmas too...but turns out we were all wrong!

Whoville is actually made completely out of ice and is located at the National Harbor! When you get there, you have to put on a HUGE blue jacket because the temperature is only 9 degrees!

Here are a few shots from around Whoville!

"Maybe Christmas," the Grinch thought, "doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a whole lot more!"



The best part was definitely the SLIDE!!!

Too bad we already had our Christmas card made! All these pictures would have been perfect.

Not only did we spend the day in Whoville we also got to walk around the harbor and enjoyed an awesome meal in DC! Of course no road trip would be official until a van full of twenty somethings made some prank calls! We just love these people and are amazing church here in the burg! We are truly blessed :)
Whose getting excited for Christmas already?! I know the Logans are!

A Second Chance?

Well friends, it is true...God is a God of second chances! If you take a look at my past posts, you will find one called "Not exactly Julie or Julia." Well, times might be changing! I out did myself in the kitchen last night and I just knew it could be "the night" so I took pictures along the way.

I got a recipe from my mom that she had made before and I loved it, so I thought I could try...and lets just say it far exceeded my expectations (not that they were super high to begin with). I mean I guess you cannot go to wrong with the ingredients: shrimp, feta cheese, roasted red peppers, garlic, and scallions....YUM!

The night started out with a nice glass of white wine...well Luke chose to drink milk but I made him drink it out of a wine class to go with our elegant dinner in (see picture on the right).

A little side to go with: roasted asparagus! A little olive oil, salt and pepper, it does not get much better! Just watch out, your pee smells for days after a few bites of this stuff...but definitely worth it!

Here is the finished product, including some homemade Red Lobster cheese biscuits!



And the result of a good dinner at home:

A happy husband and empty plates! We both ate two good helpings :)

So, if you are like me and a little slow in the kitchen and need a good, easy recipe to impress your friends and family, here you go:

12oz jar of roasted red peppers

one bunch of scallions chopped

3 to 4 cloves of garlic chopped

1 1/2 half lbs of shrimp, peeled and de-veined

2 Tbs Olive oil

Kosher salt and pepper

8 oz feta cheese

Drain the peppers and cut into 1 inch pieces. Combine onions, peppers, garlic and Shrimp add 2 Tbs oil, 1/2 tsp pepper and 1/2 tsp salt. Mix together.

Place in baking dish and top with Feta. Make sure Feta is on top.

Heat oven to 400. Bake until the shrimp are cooked through and the Feta begins to brown, about 20 minutes. Serve over pasta.

Wedding Blogs: Nathan & Amy

One thing I loved to do when I was engaged was look at photographer's wedding blogs to check out the newest trends! But, what captivated me so much were the stories behind each of the pictures and getting to know the bride and groom through looking at pictures of their wedding.

So today I am going to pretend to be a wedding photographer's blog, although my pictures do not do it justice, but enjoy:

Luke and I had a bast at Amy and Nathan's wedding this past weekend. Our first Harrisonburg wedding was everything we dreamed of and more (haha). It was really cool to mark another "first" as we embed ourselves in the community of the 'burg.

Last year I lived with Amy in Big Love and she always was a breath of fresh air to me! She is fun, spunky, creative, and beautiful...which were all things that were reflected in her wedding. We also love Nathan because of the way he makes us all smile and the amazing ways in which he shows Amy his love for her!




The beautiful barn they got married in! The weather was a little chilly...but the day was amazing!





Amy was walked down the aisle by her precious dad! I first met him when Amy moved in. We painted her room (now my room) green and then he bought us buffalo wild wings...he won my heart from the very beginning.

I also loved what her dad said when Nathan asked him for his permission to marry Amy. It was something along the lines of, "I'm glad she found a man of God like you but if you do anything to hurt her you will meet God sooner than you think..." Or, something like that.





Check out the sky during the ceremony!



They served apple cider and hot chocolate after the ceremony to warm everyone up before heading into the reception!







The wedding also served as a Big Love reunion! Jackie came back in town and it was so much fun to all be together again! Holly, we missed you and can't wait for you to visit sometime soon!



I love that weddings in that your worlds tend to collide in the strangest of ways! Luke and I both hung out with Cliff in high school (and followed his band All Who Pass By), but have not seen him much since college. We arrive at the wedding and there he is doing the music for their wedding! Turns out Cliff and his wife Laura are good friends with Nathan and Amy as they serve on YL staff together! It was fun to see him there!

We were delighted to be a part of their special day and are looking forward to another Harrisonburg wedding sometime in the future!

We've Made It

Just a quick post before heading to the wedding of Nathan Havasy and Amy Adamson!

Luke and I have made it. After living here for over 2 years now, we have a wedding to go to in Harrisonburg with Harrisonburg friends, thus proving we have made it...watch out BURG'

Amy and Nathan are an awesome couple and we are excited to see you guys get married. We loved celebrating you when you got engaged...and we can't wait to see how God continues to bless you guys in marriage.

Here are some pics from their engagement night, pictures of the wedding to come :)

My Sleep Mate.

If you know me, you know my sleep mate. No, I'm not talking about my handsome husband, Luke, although he is great sleep mate...

I am talking about the love affair I have with my sleep machine. The other day I realized that more than any other person I know or thing I own, my sleep mate has been with me. He has been with me to the Dominican Republic, St. Lucia, my parents' house, my friends' houses, my girls trips, trips to Boone...He was with me in a my old apartment and with me in my new apartment. He calms me before I go to bed every night, he keeps me asleep throughout the night and he is just my constant. Even when Luke can't be there...my sleep mate is.

Creepy? Maybe. But I am guaranteed a good night sleep no matter where I am, whats on my mind, how loud the fraternity is that lives behind us...as long as this guy is with me.

It all started my senior year of college when I moved back in the Sigma Kappa house. There was an air condition unit right beside my bed. My roommate and I would put it on to block the noise of our crazy sisters in the hall way (love you girls). Anyway, I graduated, and moved back home with my parents for a few months (gotta love that). I had the WORST time sleeping EVERY night until my mom pointed out that maybe I was used to the noise from my AC unit! Alleluia! I got a box fan and all my worries were solved...

until I would leave for the night or the weekends. So, my box fan started traveling with me, which was not the most convenient thing to lug around! So, the next year for Christmas Santa Clause blessed my spirit and my sleep by bringing me my very own sleep mate.

So, here's to you sleep mate!

"He has taken me to the banquet hall, and his banner over me is love"

This past weekend I went on the Grace Covenant Women's Retreat and it was such a GREAT weekend. Spiritually, the Lord really spoke to me and revealed himself to me in some areas I have been praying about all semester. Socially, I had an amazing time connecting with the women in my home group.

At church we take communion once a month. This is a time for you to remember who God is your life and what Jesus has done for you. I love communion at church but the communion we experienced this weekend was just amazing. We talked a lot about the verse in Song of Songs 2:4, "He has taken me to the banquet hall, and is banner over me is love." And instead of traditionally going forward and receiving the bread and wine, there was a huge banquet table set up that you could sit at and just feast, remembering who Jesus is and celebrating what is he doing in your life. I loved it and hope to picture this table every time I take communion...as if I am sitting in the presence of God and feasting on his love for me.





One of the biggest blessings during Luke and I's engagement and marriage has been our home group. We absolutely adore our Wednesday nights with men and women! There were 5 women from our home group that came on the retreat and we had a blast together.

On the left is Debbie, our fearless leader and she knows EVERYTHING. You could say she is like our spiritual momma! Then there is Kate and she was Stacey's roommate in college and now a great friend of mine. She has the gift of creativity and hospitality (her and her husband invited me over for my birthday dinner when I had just moved here and had no friends). On the far right is Corri who is by far the most fun and sparkly person I ever met. She is also a blogger and I recommended checking it out! Her and her family are so cute, click the posh blog on the right. Not pictured in Tonya. Her and her husband, Tommy, are our co-leaders and have the gift of great endurance (physically, spiritually, mentally, relationally, etc). And Rachel could not make it on the weekend but her and Adam are newly weds also and are really fun to be around!



P.S. you know you have a cool home group when all of these items are packed and accounted for :)



One last thing, this is picture if proof that we have the best home group leader ever...here's to you Deb! Handing out prophetic words, looking good and sipping on some wine.



Thank you Lord for a great weekend!

Game Day Essentials

Luke and I went back to Boone this past weekend and had a great time with family and friends. It was the perfect Saturday and all the game day essentials were there:

First of all, every good game day needs some good friends to tailgate with. Houston, Luke, Nick, Linds and I all went to Appalachian State together and it was great to be back again!




It is also nice to have some family join you as well! Luke and I stayed with Dereck and he was a great host!



Also important: crazy fans and sweet tailgates.



No game day is complete without great food to eat while you are tailgating...check out these delicious pumpkin muffins Linds made! Not only were they yummy, but they were the talk of the weekend. When and who and where will we eat them?!



A VERY important game day essential is a good team to cheer for. Appalachian is currently undefeated! We are excited for them to play Florida in a couple weeks and hope to see a repeat of them beating Michigan!



No game day is complete without our favorite mascot, Yosef the mountaineer...and THREE NATIONAL CHAMPION FLAGS FLYING YOUR STADIUM...





And lastly, no game day is complete without a good post-game activities. We went to our favorite burrito place, Black Cat, and then drove up to Howard's Knob to catch a night view of the beautiful town of Boone.