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Monday 10 December 2012

The Big Easy

I've made many wonderful new friends here in the south and this weekend two of those lovely people tied the knot in New Orleans. I was lucky enough to be able to join them and decided to make along weekend of it. There were a lot one teachers from my school attending and by Thursday lunchtime the exodus had started. 3pm saw myself, MJ & Brooke sitting in the bar at the airport. Hey, it was five o'clock somewhere!

We hit the ground running, heading straight out to Pat O'Brien's (home of the hurricane) to meet other wedding guests. From there, we wandered the rest of Bourbon Street, picking up beads along the way. They throw those things hard!

I'll admit, there was a LOT of booze consumed, but the next day I was fine. We kicked things off a with a hearty breakfast, then headed out to grab a streetcar. We rode it all the way to the end of the line at the French Market and meandered our way back home via Cafe Du Monde (and beignets, naturally) and Jackson Square. I even tried the Gator Jambalaya! I'm not a fan ;-) Friday evening brought the rehearsal dinner, this first I've ever attended, as its not a part of UK weddings.

The day of the wedding could not have been more glorious, and the bride was absolutely radiant. I even got a little sunburnt at the outside ceremony ;-) Another new tradition for me was the cake pull. Such a sweet idea and I was thrilled to have my wee charm as a souvenir of such a wonderful day. I had the most amazing time and the evidence is below. Yet, another pic spam ;-) enjoy!

























Monday 3 December 2012

Giving thanks

So it seems I wrote this, but forgot to click publish. Sorry! It's a tad epic, but well, there was a lot to cram in!

I've been living my southern dream for four months now, and they have been the best four months I could have asked for. The climate suits my soul here and I love the pace of life. Speaking of lives...I finally have one! I fully embraced the adventurous nature of this exchange and am saying "yes!" to as much as I can. There have been grape-stompings and wine tastings, vintage cars and long loud scares, backyard juke joints and the craziness of college football.

However, my first Thanksgiving was an experience I wouldn't trade for the world. It truly was a picture perfect week, just like you see in the movies. It kicked off early, a full week before T-Day itself, with the arrival of another Exchange teacher. Lynsey is based in California, but flew east to share the holidays with me. I drove over to Atlanta to collect her and the drive home was filled with gossip, laughter and country music.

The following night we hit the town, and not only painted it red, but I'm sure every other color of the rainbow too! This meant that Saturday was a very quiet day, filled with naps, good food and movies on the sofa.

Unlike most of the country, we did not have the whole week off, so Monday and Tuesday brought a load of reluctant teachers together for some professional development. It was clear that our hearts and minds had already left for a much needed vacation, but we tried our hardest to be good students. Tuesday evening, Lynsey and I returned to the airport in Atlanta to collect Morna, who joined us from Kansas. We spent the trip back to Dixie swapping stories about our respective placements, and the culture shock moments we had experienced.

I honestly cannot tell you how good it felt to sleep in the next morning! To just doze and snuggle til my body was ready to wake, rather than be jolted to life by the wail of the alarm, was a simple pleasure, but a much enjoyed one! We kicked off the day with pancakes, bacon and scrambled eggs, before hitting the stores. I had an early Christmas gift when I fitted into a skirt in Banana Republic that was three sizes smaller than the one I wore when I arrived ;-)

We were lucky enough to be invited to a family gathering that evening and we were looking forward to experiencing a real "family" Thanksgiving. The drive out to the lake was beautiful and although we did knock on the wrong door originally,we eventually found our destination. Aunt Lucie & Uncle Jonathon treated all three British incomers as though we were their own family. The welcome was truly staggering, as was the food. There were children playing, laughing, fighting, and adults chatting, refereeing and chatting up with those they hadn't seen in a while. It was exactly how I imagined Thanksgiving to be, and I know that all three of us were beyond grateful to be included in the family's time together. It made our first Thanksgiving even more special.

That night, when we made it home, we set to work preparing the vegetables for the next day. I had collected recipes from friends, colleagues and parents and we were fixing to make a true southern feast. All night I got up and down to baste the beast and by the time we surfaced the following day, he was cooked to a turn.

With the parade on the tv (you have no idea how childishly excited we were about seeing Santa!) and our best clothes at the ready, we made our final preparations for our meal. We were joined by a friend from work and the four of us ate our body weight in great food, enjoyed the company and then ate some more. We even followed tradition by curling up on the sofa to watch the ball game after lunch.

Being vaguely health conscious, we eventually dragged our stuffed to the brim asses out and took a walk around Vulcan Park. My pal MJ was kind enough to give us a fabulous driving tour of the city, showing us the sights and the lights of the Magic City. We rounded out the evening with the new Bond movie, and experiencing the Midnight Madness at a local mall.

Friday brought yet another new experience for me... choosing a real Christmas tree! Living in a third floor apartment, I had little choice but to settle on a fake tree, so you can imagine how excited I was about this wee trip. The day started with a delicious brunch with my exchange partners parents. They have a beautiful wee farm not far from Birmingham itself and we had a lot of fun playing in the woods, feeding the duckies and collecting pine cones etc, before sitting down to our food.

After the meal, we piled back into the cars to head to the tree farm. Now I'm not known for my decisive qualities, but I choose my baby real quick. We wandered up and down a few rows, but I'd seen my perfect tree early on and it didn't take me long to decide that there was no better option. I grabbed the saw Steve offered and set to work bring it down.

With the tree safely stowed in Steve's truck, we decided to explore the rest of the farm and we wandered through a cornfield and picked cotton before finally heading back into the city to decorate my tree.

Saturday saw M returning to Kansas, and L and I kept things quiet Sunday. Granted, I didn't want to go back to work Monday morning, but with the memories of our perfect holiday week behind me, it wasn't nearly as bad as the usual return after a break.

It really has been the highlight of my trip so far, but I know that there are so many more things ahead of me. Right now, I've got my sights on my trip home. It really is the only place to spend the holiday season, and though I know I'll be missing out on things here, I need to be with my family for a spell. In true movie fashion, I arrive home Christmas Eve and I am beyond excited.

Happy holidays! & enjoy the pic spam
























Cookie swap!

So tomorrow I'm taking part in my first ever cookie swap and in my usual fashion, I may have taken on more than I can chew. As I am making my own dress (and knitting the wrap to match) for a wedding next weekend, it's been a craft sweatshop in my house. I just didn't have time to type out, or print out and copy all the recipes for the cookies I made. I decided to save the planet a little and just post my recipes here instead. So here goes!

I began with an old favorite from home which are relatively healthy as cookies go.

Chocolate Fork Cookies

100g margarine
50g caster sugar
120g Self raising flour
15g (tbsp) cocoa powder

Preheat your oven to 355f

Beat all the ingredients together to form a paste.
Roll into walnut sized balls and place on a cookie tray.
Bake for 10-15 mins

My 2nd effort was a recipe that was given to me years ago and I've been unable to try as the UK doesn't sell peanut butter chips.

Banana Peanut Butter Cookies

2/3 cup ripe bananas
1 1/2 cups melted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1cup (tightly packed) brown sugar
2 beaten eggs
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
4 cups plain flour
2 cups peanut butter chips

Melt the butter
Stir in the sugars, salt and bicarb
Blend in the bananas
Mix in the flour gradually
Add the PB chips and stir til everything is incorporated

Chill the dough for 1-4 hours
Roll into walnut sized balls
Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown

The final cookie of the three is a simple sugar cookie recipe that was found on Pinterest and you can see the recipe here. http://pinterest.com/pin/221943087857897259/

Fingers and toes crossed I don't poison anyone!