The durty South

This trip started and ended on interstate 75. Let me say one thing. Jankiest interstate I've ever been on. Jacs and I saw the most ridiculous things/people I can't even describe it. Crazy drivers, ridiculous cars and passengers, unbelievable signs and billboards, (mainly pecans, OJ, massages and "spas") and an enormous amount of Cracker Barrels/Waffle Houses. Also, when it rains people drive like when it's snowing in Wisconsin, AKA they forget how to drive and slam on their brakes.

It was so great seeing Sass and meeting his girlfriend! So obviously the first thing we did when we got there was shots of moonshine (with bud light chasers)

(Ok so we only had half shots, I didn't think they were THAT bad...)

We went out and had supper and drinks to catch up (that Applebees will never allow us back...) and then went to RockNRodeo and dominated in fooseball...and the dance floor.

Saturday morning we got breakfast at Bojangles and had Bo berry biscuits, so very Southern of us...

After Wild Adventures (see previous post) we took a detour to retrieve Sassy's phone (long story) and got some Mexican food. On the way we played Family Feud.

Quick, name someplace you have to show an ID!

Hospital

(All 3 girls) errr a bar?!

We surveyed 100 people, what is something that you have to take turns with your family?

We got all of them (tv, computer, bathroom, phone..) except soap.

I literally can't even handle this right now what family members take turns using the soap??!!

We were all pretty tired so we back to the apartment and watched Zombieland (did I mention earlier that Zombieland was FILMED at Wild Adventures?! Sweet as hell right? The Double Shot scene where they are slowly brought down and a circle of zombies is surrounding them or when Tallahassee is shooting zombies on the roller coaster, we did that...except with fake guns).

Since Jacs and I saw so many Waffle Houses on the drive, we figured it was fitting to actually eat there for brunch. Nicest people ever, and they had a Touchtunes so I could use my app without getting up to request Who Let The Dogs Out.

So much fun!! Thanks for having us, can't wait for you two to come visit :)

xo A

I kept a list of some of the best sayings:

I'm glad you're not allergic to peanuts

Why are there so many tires all over the road?!

Bitch is driving with both windows downs...we're going 75!!

You can tell we're getting close to Georgia...we're not even in Tampa yet

There is so much vegetation!

I can jiggle to this!

Alyssa. There are 7 waffle houses in a 22 mile radius of Sass.

Drunkasaurus Rex

Shitting like a Christmas goose

Oh I thought you were a 10 year old with tattoos...

Wild Adventures, where we are FUN at heart!! So glad it didn't rain!

This place was amazing! And in Sassy's backyard! Had roller coasters and...

Tons of animals too! 

I'd say a mix between Animal Kingdom and Adventureland :)

Overall a great day!

Too bad someone can't handle it....

xo A

Hurricane Jacs & A take Georgia

It's true. Jacs and I leave today at 1pm (summer hours!) and hit the road for Georgia to see this lovely guy.

Travel snacks, mixed CD's (yup!) and Sirius XM will keep us happy the entire 5 hours and 12 minutes.

xo A

Packages

Know what I love more than anything else?

Packages.

Know what's better than that?

When you forgot you ordered something.

Even better than that?

When the package you forgot was coming, gets scooted in the door and then you make supper and start laundry and start watching Clueless and then you get up to get a glass of water and its STILL there!

So this mystery package? Books! 

I'm such a huge nerd, I love reading. Barnes and Noble always has some great bargain books and if you spend over $25 you get free shipping. I'm a sucker for free shipping especially on something heavy like books. And the books right on top made me so excited!

1. extremely loud and incredibly close - saw the movie and it was amazing

2. Grimm's fairy tales - I've always wanted to read them since the reference in Harry Potter and the Tale of 3 Brothers

3. Little know Facts and Well known Places: Walt Disney World - do I even have to explain?!

Right now I'm reading Insurgent which is in the Divergent series by Veronica Roth, so good if you're looking for a trilogy to read....any other good book recommendations? Throw 'em my way!

xo A

Target && Kids

Target. Gets me every time. I went in for a beach towel and some snacks for the weekend. I came out with this. And $100 less dollars in my pocket.

                                        

Swimming suits were on sale, they had some cute dresses out and Jaclyn and I are bound to get more hungry than i thought on our road trip this weekend (more on that later).

Anyway. I swear to you every time I am in Target, (or actually shopping at any store) kids are wilding out left and right.

"Mommmm get me this. I already have that blue top and I really need this to go with that grey skirt"

"Momm can we go home yet"

"Mom mom mom  can we get this, can we get this"

There was this one particular child who whined sooo much...that I'm pretty sure if I ever did that when I was a child, my mom would have walked us out and I wouldn't be allowed to go to the store for awhile (I'm actually pretty sure that happened at the grocery store). What I'm getting at, why are kids such brats these days? Do you ever think about actually setting your basket down and leaving (I wouldn't have today because the swimming suit I bought is super cute).

I'm sure everyone thinks I hate kids now...not the case, how can you not love this little guy?!

I mean obviously kids are not in my near future which is probably a good thing since I can't even handle some whiny kids at the store.

Rant over.

A

     

Creamy Lemon-Pesto Chicken Pasta and Roasted garlic-garlic bread

Ok so I wouldn't say I'm the greatest chef alive, but I know my way around the kitchen. I wanted to make something pretty easy but with a lot of flavor for Monday Night Suppers (when I first moved here a group of girls/significant others I work with got together and started cooking for each other and taking turns, and they graciously allowed me in!) And this recipe seemed to be the perfect thing and it turned out pretty good. I was pretty proud of myself because I'm not usually great at homemade cream sauce (too much stirring and too many lumps) but this recipe was really easy! And roasted garlic?! Who knew how good it was? No but seriously who knew and never told me because I want to do it all the time now, sooooo good and my apartment smelled amazing too!

Anyway here goes.

So first I preheated the oven to 350 for the garlic and roasted that for 30 minutes while I marinated the chicken (I used chicken tenderloins because I needed smaller pieces and chicken breasts usually take a long time to cook and I'm usually not patient enough). Once the chicken had marinated I threw them onto the skillet and put the lid on, flipped once and took off the pan. I had to do 2 separate batches because I doubled the recipe but while I waited for the second pan to cook I cut up the chicken and set it aside.

At this point the garlic was done (I used a meatloaf pan, I couldn't find aluminum foil for my baking sheet but this actually worked out perfect. I cut off the tops, drizzled with a bit of olive oil and just let them do their thing).

And voila! Meal done!

Errr ok so I actually suck at this whole take pictures thing while cooking. Maybe I'll get better (probably not)(but that garlic picture is so artfully done, and that chicken! So clever...)

Either way, the recipes are below. I would make this garlic bread every day if I could, best ever. I also substituted bow ties for linguine.

Ps. I made it vegan! Earth balance butter and almond milk :) couldn't even tell the difference! (Ok I mean minus the chicken but I served everything separate)

Creamy Lemon-Pesto Chicken Pasta

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup bottled lemon pepper marinade (I used Ken’s)
2 tsp dried basil

2 Tbsp butter
1 tsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp flour
1 cup milk
1 tsp lemon zest
1/3 cup pesto

12 oz linguine1 tomato, chopped and seeded

Combine lemon pepper marinade and dried basil. Pour over chicken and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Grill chicken for 12-15 minutes, or until done (165 degrees).

While the chicken is grilling, cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Set pasta aside and keep warm. 

Meanwhile, prepare the pesto sauce. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Whisk in flour until it thickens and bubbles, then whisk in milk and lemon zest. Continue to whisk mixture and cook until slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes. Add pesto and mix well. 

To serve, slice chicken into strips. Toss cooked pasta in the pesto, top with chicken and garnish with tomatoes.

She took good pictures... http://www.plainchicken.com/2011/08/creamy-lemon-pesto-chicken-pasta.html

Roasted Garlic Bread

Ingredients

3	bulbs garlic
2	tablespoons olive oil
1	(1 pound) loaf Italian bread
½	cup butter
1	tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
2	tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (not optional)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Slice the tops off of the garlic bulbs so that the tip of each clove is exposed. Place the bulbs on a baking sheet, and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 30 minutes, or until garlic is soft.

Set the oven to broil. Slice the loaf of bread in half horizontally, and place cut side up on a baking sheet.

Squeeze the cloves of garlic from their skins into a medium bowl. Stir in the butter, parsley, and Parmesan cheese until well blended. Spread onto the cut sides of the bread.

Broil for about 5 minutes, until toasted. And if you're like me SET THE TIMER!

I cut my bread in half but left it attached, and it turned out fine too, a lot quicker.

Thanks for hosting Amber!

xo A

Lets go to the beach each, lets go get away

Saturday we went to Fort Myers Beach! This was my first day visit to FMB and it was packed!

Tons of boats and lots of people. 

At Sanibel island it's just people, no boats "docked" like this every time I've been... Again it was my duty to scope out someone with a boat so we could hitch a ride/hang out with them. Apparently I only attract creepy guys with no boats. #fail

It was a fun afternoon with friends and too much beer. We ended up at the Tiki Bar which is also a hotel so we were able to swim with our drinks (not sure how legit that was). It was a cute little place.

Aaaaand that's where this post ends.

xo A

Good choices

Some might say I’m a picky person. I would have to agree with them. I have very strong feelings for things, but am very much like a small child, where I will forget, and move on to the next thing. After being in Florida a little over a month, these are the things I still have not gotten over.

U-TURNS

Not only are they legal, but it’s actually frowned upon to NOT do U-turns. I whip a U-turn almost every day. Being from Iowa, my brain has been trained that when you hear “Make a U-turn in 500 feet” that you messed up and took a wrong turn. Not here! Embrace it. Live it. Love it.

  

PARKING LOT CEMENT BLOCKS

One thing is true almost everywhere. People are lazy. Especially when it comes to driving. And Florida, you’re not making it easy on me. Since I’m almost certain we will never get snow here, someone thought it was a good idea to put cement blocks in every parking lot everywhere.

Know what I can’t do now? Pull forward when I park so I don’t have to back out. In Iowa you never saw this, hello...snow plows.

So now I’m attempting to be a guy and pull into the parking spot backwards. I’ve only been doing it at my apartment. For the past 2 weeks. And have not one time been successful in the first try. #fail

I get really nervous that people are watching and judging me (because clearly most people obviously have nothing better to do)

 

DRIVERS

People here either drive like their car was stolen (which is a good possibility) or they are on island time. No real happy medium. So here I am, Wisconsin plates, sunglasses, and windows down in the 89 degree heat (see below) I mean one of these days I'll change them over, but I'm in no hurry now. I feel like I'm a pretty big target, because if you're not Florida plates, you're from Ohio or Pennsylvania. I will have you know I haven't been honked at yet (except the time....both times, I had a rental car and i didnt have the light on because they weren't automatic, how was I supposed to know?! It wasn't THAT dark) and carpool ladies I haven't honked at anyone yet either! (oh oops, nope I just did the other day, but the light was green for awhile and they didn't notice right away) (ok it wasn't really that long but they were being obnoxious I'm sure)

AUTOMATIC TOILETS/SINKS/PAPER TOWELS

I was spoiled in Madison. We don’t have those luxuries here.

SUNSHOWERS

AKA when the devil is beating his wife

We’re in the rainy season here, and it rains every day between 3-6pm. Normally when it rains you think “gross, brr, it’s cold, gloomy….etc.” Here, it’s still sunny, and the rain is warm. It’s actually pretty nice – and the lightening is amazing. Also rain=rainbows…so there’s that too.

WINDOWS DOWN

I feel like I’m in high school again with the AC on high and the windows rolled down. How many places can you live and drive with the windows down every single day? And blaring this song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmZ9xRO7M9M

++Nelly?! Hello summer.

A

 

Key West!!

I will post pictures of the apartment soon, but I've only been here 2 weeks today so obviously haven't unpacked everything (where do you put tights when the off season is every season?!). So guests, the guest room is still a holding room for all the things I'm not quite sure what to do with, so no visiting yet!

This past weekend a group of friends went to Key West, only a 5 hour drive (thanks for driving Mitch!) we didn't arrive until 12:30am but luckily we stocked up on energy drinks, coffee, 5 hour energy's and scratch tickets (ok the scratch tickets were mine, I decided if I won it would all go towards buying shots for the weekend. I won $2, that $2 did not buy shots). Also I'm sure you're thinking 12:30? Don't bars close at 2? 

No friends they close at 4 and sell street meat when the bars close. Felt like I was in college again!

Either way I only managed to take 6 pictures all weekend and 4 of them were the exact same of Winnie and I and none turned out. So I snagged these from Jaclyn and Chris.

Also. I'm doing this via iPad so don't hate on the complete lack of "prettiness"

We stayed at the southernmost hotel which was really nice and super close to the beach!

90 miles to Cuba!!

Where are you guys going?

The place where they serve drinks out of washing machines aka the daiquiri bar

Unfortunately the Saturday pictures were covered in glitter.

The best bloody Mary's and brunch in all of Key West, Blue Heaven.

A great trip with some great friends :) already planning on a return trip! (Or at least an annual Duval street reunion)

A

First week in pictures....

First night, Fort Myers beach sunset

Keyssss!!

Welcome desk plant

The best snap chat I've sent.

Early out pool day

The original YOLO...

First gecko

First coconut!

A

Moving

This is the best way to move.

It literally cannot get any better than this. Until you have to unpack and try to figure out which boxes all of your things are in. And all your shoes are in a box marked lamp. And all the pieces of your 4 of your lamps are in separate boxes. And of course the shower curtain is in the absolute last box you open at the very bottom.

I was doing so good, until they took my car and I had to be a creep and snap this photo.

It's amazing how sad it is to see all your stuff packed into boxes and empty rooms :(

Not to worry, they wouldn't take my alcohol so I had plenty to drink while I watched the movers pack and load all my things :)

A

Saying goodbye

So I finally have Internet but need to take a few steps back.

May 8th was my last day at LE and the 2 days prior to that, my amazing friends and co workers threw 3 awesome goodbye food party days.

First was Harry potter day complete with tons of Hogwarts themed food and drinks.

Next was snow days in Wisconsin! 

Complete with a cow screensaver :)

Soak up the sun!

Was a hard day full of tearful goodbyes to great friends.

It was a great way to say goodbye to everyone and so thoughtful of everyone involved :) love you guys

A