Kenai, Alaska

Well, I finally got to leave the Dallas airport on Tuesday evening around 5 to board a plane headed straight for anchorage! And let me tell you a six hour flight and not on the top of my fun list! I ended up having a middle seat and very little elbow room. Just par for the course I guess. And as I was sitting on the plane, settling in, that's when the real fun began. 4 hours of turbulence. And I don't mean "that was like a bump in the road" but "I can't hold my book still" turbulence. They even stopped the drink service because the drinks were sloshing on people. 

Finally arrived to anchorage about 8:45 (11:35 Nashville time), grabbed my bags and high-tailed it to my next and last flight at 10:00. This is what greeted me at the gate.

On seeing that, I wondered if I was better off on the ground in anchorage. I was thinking the plane might be remote control, by the looks of it. But, I had made it this far so I strapped on my big girls pants and boarded. 25 mins later I landed in Kenai (thankfully) at about 10:30 (1:30am Nashville time). 

Got to see some familiar faces and see the beautiful Alaskan landscapes (including a moose hanging out by the road) on the way to their house. In my room, they had put together this welcome basket. 

They are seriously the most thoughtful and generous friends! The basket included brochures of what we will be doing, Alaskan chocolates (do they know me or what?!?), Alaskan tea and Alaskan playing cards. Love it!

Thought I would be heading straight to bed, but catching up with Clint and Kristina gave me a second wind (or maybe third or fourth at that point). We watched the sun go down around 12:30 and turned in shortly after. All in all, the ending of the day made the trip totally worth it!

After sleeping in, we spent the day riding around  town, seeing different parts it the town including the doctors office they had set up as an allergy clinic. Also took a picnic lunch to the park by the Kenai river. So peaceful. 

Visited their church that night and enjoyed some delicious ribs made by a couple who summer here and park their camper behind the church. Such an interesting culture and super kind people. 

After church, we went "moose-looking" to no avail, but got to see some great parks and trails. And of course... THE BEACH! 

Alaska Bound!

So excited to be on my way to Alaska to visit some great friends today! And a small milestone here since I'm traveling completely by myself. Makes me feel the need to be super aware. My flight out of Nashville  was already delayed by an hour which changed my whole day of flights. Thankfully they change them for me except the fourth flight. My four flights became three pretty fast. Fine with me- longer layover means getting to eat AND go to the bathroom on the ground, both of which I am very fond of. Now as I sit through a three and a half hour layover, American Airlines call to inform me that my flight has once again... been delayed (insert sigh). Another two hours in Dallas/Fort Worth airport. If I had known, I would be tempted to actually see Dallas. So my options are to people watch (which is always entertaining) or ride the skyline around to all the other terminals. I've already done some of both but I'm thinking I might start to look like the people that live on subways if I ride the shuttle too long, and then that ideas becomes less appealing. 

Anyways, I'm so excited about Alaska and seeing another (completely different) part of the US. I think at this point I will be arriving around 1:30 am Nashville time. Doubtful that the James' are getting me at my best (or even close for that matter). 

So, until then, here is my exciting view. Don't be too jealous now...

I'm dreaming about Dessert!

As I was stuffing my face with chicken 'n dumplings a few moments ago, all I could think about was 1) how yummy chicken and dumplings 2) how hot the chicken 'n dumplings in my mouth were 3) and what I could fix for dessert. How sad is that? Or maybe it isn't sad at all. Depends on how you look at it... So, after much deliberation, I have decided on old faithful, molten lava cakes. They are so amazing, super simple to make, and I conveniently keep all of the ingredients on hand. 

I can't take credit for the picture here, but if you click on it, you will be taken to the Tasty Kitchen Blog where I found the recipe. Definitely worth the effort!

Now, I can't look at the picture any longer, I'm off to make some!

Christmafy, Christmafy, Christmafy

I absolutely love this season! It is time for colored lights, wrapping paper, and lots of baking. What can possibly be better than that?!? Finally put the tree up this week and I find myself sitting and just staring at it for long periods of time. That is normal, right? And here it is in all its pre-light beauty.

And just in case that isn't enough, check it out in the dark. Magical. Simply, magical.  

And this Friday I will be participating in a little 5K called the Rudolph Run downtown. I'm super pumped... and rumor has it we will be making reindeer shirts, red tutus and wearing our hair in buns resembling reindeer. It's only appropriate. We are teachers, after all. Pictures to come, hopefully.

Farmer's Market and a Home Project

A few weekends ago, my parents invited  me to join them, along with my grandparents, to a show at TPAC. We had a little confusion with the time and ended up getting there early, so we decided to go to the Farmer's Market at the Bicentennial Mall not too far away. I haven't been there in a long time, but it is such an interesting place. Being the beginning of November, there were tons of gourds and pumpkins. I LOVE gourds and pumpkins! Here are some of the more interesting ones I saw. Not sure that there is a purpose, other than for display, but still pretty cool.

 And of course there were many lovely pumpkins as well. Of all shapes and sizes...

They even had a very pretty display with a variety of the pumpkins they sell. 

Changing subjects completely, I have been in major home improvement mode. It is a problem I have several times a year. I bought this mirror at the flea market years ago, and it has occupied a space in my house since then. But I thought it needed a little updating. So I took it apart... 

 And took it outside to spray paint. I already had the bronze colored paint, and what did I have to lose? So I sprayed it down. It has a totally different looks now. 

And it only took about 30 minutes to do (minus drying time). I seriously love painting just about anything that sits still long enough. Good thing I don't have any pets, right? On to the next project!

Birth of a New Chair

Pinterest is the foundation of 99% of my conversations. And the birth of this latest and greatest idea. I have this fluffy, comfy, and slightly hideous old chair that belonged to my parents since... oh, I don't know, the 80's? I've seen pictures of it in a brown pattern that might have been a velvet of sorts. Then my mom had it recovered in the late 80's or early 90's, I would guess. When I moved into an apartment in college, we used this chair and couch in our living room. I pieced together some green slipcovers and it was functional, at best. Since then it has been a mix-matched fixture in my bedroom at my current house. The green isn't so bad, but does not fit any of the other colors in my room. 

Here begins the birth of the "new" chair. I saw this pin on pinterest on how to paint a fabric chair. That's right, fabric. I was doubtful, to say the least. Here is a picture of the monstrosity before. 

Doesn't it look kinda like an elephant? I think it's the wings that look like ears and the curved armrests that look like trunks. Or maybe I have just been teaching too long... 

First, I partially read the tutorial. Next, I started throwing the "ingredients" in a solo cup and slapping it on. Then, I read the rest of the blog and realized I had forgotten a step. Oops. But it didn't mess it up too badly, and I don't plan on really lounging in this chair, so a messed up chair wouldn't rock my world too much. I mixed the fabric medium and the paint with some water, painted it on, and then let it dry. 

After many days of drying and about 4 layers, I put the chair back together and was pretty happy with the results. It's the Earl Grey of my upstairs. Now I just need to pick a fabric to make a band for the bottom of the chair. Where the chair's pink skirt used to be. Too bad I ripped that off years ago...

Nashville's Finest (and coldest) Flea Market

Last Saturday, I rolled out of bed bright and early (relatively for a Saturday morning) and headed out to meet my friend Lindsay for the fall's biggest and best flea market! We arrived around 9ish and IT. WAS. FREEZING! Talk about unseasonable cold. And overcast. And windy. But we persevered. And it was worth it. I saw some lovely furniture and stored away some great ideas for future projects. Most importantly, I only bought 2 things. I found 2 matching chunky frames.

Last, but certainly not least, I found these delicious cinnamon rolls! I always used to try to find them, but they sell out pretty fast on Saturdays. I made sure to stop there first, just in case. The picture really doesn't do them justice, but they pile on the icing and are very yummy!

Apparently I am very focused on food these days (and before these days... and probably after these days) Using Pioneer Woman's recipe, I attempted to make some sausage and cheese calzones. And they were pretty tasty. But they kinda exploded in the oven. And might have made a little big mess on the pan as well.

Never mind the looks, my stomach doesn't judge that much.