Simple Girl

So two weeks after our final goods were loaded up in Atlanta, the trucks arrived on the other end.  This gave us time to make the long 1200 mile drive, attend my husband's high school reunion, (Am I the only one who hasn't aged, because I am perfectly happy living in denial!), close on our new house and get the carpets cleaned.   In my experience, it is always important to make friends with those who are working for you - even if it entails admiring a rather scary looking tattoo!  These are the same people that will either make your move a seamless transition from one location to another, or be the cause of stress and endless amounts of paperwork claims.  Great job, guys, and nice TATT! CHIC CRITIQUE

Even though the sum of our dog's previous car riding experience was his annual trips to the vet, he seemed to manage the 2-day cross-country move.  I think he was just happy to be along!   Dogs are simple that way.  That's why we love them.

For some, there could be no worse way to celebrate your 15th birthday than to be crammed into an SUV with your parents, three sisters and a large dog for a sixteen hour ride. But my boy took it all in stride. This is why we, following our newly discovered TVFoodMaps  App, took a slight detour through downtown Madison, Wisconsin and let him order THIS at The Old Fashioned , a restaurant featured on Food Network's show, "The Best Thing I Ever Ate!" THIS is The Old Fashioned House Burger.  A Burger, grilled over a live fire and topped with fried onions, hickory-smoked bacon, aged cheddar, garlic sauce and a soft-cooked egg on a buttered and toasted roll. It's basically dinner with breakfast on top.  Add to that a side of beer battered cheese curds which received the accolades of Foodies on "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" and you clearly need a warning:  Not to be consumed more than once a year.  Must be under 21.  When you are a 15-year old boy, ...

One of the few Food Network Shows my husband and I can agree on is Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.  It's about food (always a plus for me) but it's all manly and full of burgers which is definitely a plus for him.  This, combined with the fact that it's on back to back to back during during our prime bedtime TV  togetherness hours, makes it a show which bonds us. Just in time for our cross country move and road trip, our friend, Keith, introduced us to this great Food App:  TVFoodMaps.  If you don't have a smartphone, you can also find it online at TVFoodMaps.com . To use the app, all you need to do is type in a city or state, and it will list all the restaurants that have been featured on TV shows, such as Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives! We found this awesome little Greek Restaurant in Nashville!  It was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.  I think I would classify it under the Dive category, which is why it made a great stop for a family ...

My Father, who is highly intelligent and completely sane begins almost every phone conversation by asking me about the weather. This is a perfectly normal thing to ask when you live in a place where the high temperature can vary as much as 25 degrees from day to day, but in Atlanta, nearly every day between May and October is the same. Hot.  It was no surprise, then, that when moving day arrived and we were forced to prop all of the doors in the house wide open while large, strong men went in and out with dollies full of furniture and boxes strapped to their backs, that it was 95 degrees and sunny.  While Samuel made sure the dog didn't escape, I became the Gatorade shuttle bus, driving to QuikTrip for 59 cent Big Gulps.  This is why you hire movers. Only specially trained forces can withstand such temperatures while negotiating a six foot grand piano out the front door.  Which is why I couldn't watch that part of the move. I had to send the husband.  It'...