Life

A Few of my Favorite Things / Fashion / Grub / Life — No Comments
5
Sep 10

I LOVE THE FALL!

It is undoubtedly my favorite season, and I’d like to dedicate an entire blog post to the subject.

So when Kris and I woke up this morning, the temperature hadn’t broken 70 degrees.  You have to understand.  We have been living in a FURNACE this summer.  So to actually put on a cardigan to sit outside to sip coffee was a milestone in our year.  And, oh my, it was glorious.  We even spread out in the grass in the shade once the sun came up a little more just to revel in the lack of heat.

Thank you God for sweet relief!  I wore a long sleeved dress to church!

Okay.  On to Fall.  Even though I’d love to jump straight to CHRISTMAS!!!, I’m not going to do that because I feel like the Fall needs her own blog post.

One thing that I love to do is cook.  And eat.  And research recipes.  And look at pretty pictures of food and dream about how gloriously delicious said food would taste.  I guess you could say it’s a hobby of mine.  There’s nothing more fabulous than the change of the season and baking with yummy SPICES!!  But even bigger than that, I’d like to introduce the return of… (drumroll please, Dad):

Image from Dietsinreview.com

YAY!  The Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks!  Now, I have yet to purchase one because I want it to be nice and chilly and I want to be wearing jeans and a sweater.  And I’d like to drink it outside.  I’m going to predict that this will happen in October, and I will be sure to let you know when it does.  I promise.

Another of my Fall staples is my hot apple cider.  Kris looks forward to it all year long – as do I – and I usually make it during our first fire pit evening of the season.  It’s a crock pot cider made with whole cinnamon sticks and whole cloves and allspice.  I’ll share the recipe in a few weeks!

Now, if you haven’t recognized my love for the Pioneer Woman’s cooking, … now you know.  Her food is the jam.  I make it like, 3 times a week.  Simple ingredients, a great use of spices, and it’s hearty.  Kris loves it.  We are happy campers.

The PW has some phenomenal recipes, but here are a few that I will be adding to my repertoire this Fall:

Dulce de Leche Coffee – You know we love coffee in this house, and this will be a yummy treat on a chilly evening!
Cinnamon Rolls – Is there anything better on a Saturday morning?
Pumpkin Spice Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting – I feel like I need to start moving away from the sweets…
Spanish Green Beans – OKAY.  Much healthier than the above!
Roasted Carrots – YUM, and easy.

NOW PUT ON YOUR BOOTS LADIES.  It’s time to talk about that front porch.

I have a wreath made of natural twigs that I purchased from Hobby Lobby two years ago that I’ve switched up every year for some Fall goodness.  The first year, I hot-glued small pumpkins to the wreath and adorned it with a black bow for a “Halloween feel.”  Last year, I removed the pumpkins and just left the bow, which I then removed after Halloween.  This year, I’m going to use the same wreath, and find some new ribbon with Fall colors that will transition from Halloween to Thanksgiving.  I’m also going to use purple mums and orange pumpkins on the steps, and Kris likes to string white Christmas lights in a zig-zag pattern over our patio and inside of the Man Shed for some ambiance.

Our steps in October of 2009.

Are you getting excited yet?

How could we close this post without a mention of Fall fashion?  I feel like pictures speak more than words…

Image from Anthropologie.com

Life / Podcast — 1 Comment
4
Sep 10

Happy Game Day! With a podcast :)

WHOO! IT’S GAME DAY! If I was still in college, I would wake my hall up with Tiger Rag blaring. But I’m not in college any more. So we just woke up to the sound of Nimbus.

So, since we’re in the radio biz and all, we thought we’d use our technology to share our voices with you this morning. Not that you’re super interested, but if you are, you can check out our very first 3 minute Meade Feed podcast!

Podcast1 Get Adobe Flash player

GO TIGERS and Happy Saturday!

Life — No Comments
3
Sep 10

What’s sure to make you cry today.

I can’t wait for her to get here…

Life — No Comments
1
Sep 10

Oh, we’re halfway there.

(To the weekend.)

Nimbus Meade could have lost his life due pregnancy rage this evening, but luckily, his father rescued him and he is now in exile in the backyard.

While Kris was mowing and edging the yard tonight, a certain someone with four legs wanted to join him, but was not allowed.  I kid you not, it sounded like this in my house for TWO HOURS:

MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH.

Shut.  It.  Dog.

You get the picture.  I was beyond frazzled.  Not to mention that the pot of grits I was cooking overflowed onto my stovetop and the little grits encrusted themselves to the burner.  Do you think I tackled that?  HA.  No.

Someone should probably take this keyboard away, things are feisty around these parts.

(Disclaimer: Before one of you PETA members tries to get all, “Oh no!  Would she really kill her dog?”

NO, are you kidding? I would never do that.  I love that dog like my own child.  But I am 6 months pregnant.  And his whining was going to drive me insane.)

Life — 1 Comment
30
Aug 10

Hey Mondayyy

Yes, I know.  No bloggity this weekend.  I don’t really have much to say.

I slept terribly last night – I hope things will be better tonight.  I think it was stress.  Plus the fact that my darling husband rolled over onto my FACE at 3:45AM and wasn’t planning on moving until I jabbed him in the ribs.

I woke up at 6:30AM and made a Crock Pot full of deliciousness for dinner.  I’ll share the recipe if I’m not too hopped up on biscuits later.  Then our housekeeper arrived (thank goodness, I love that woman) and told us about her trip to Washington D.C. this past weekend to participate in the Restoring Honor rally.  It was fascinating to hear her stories – and what I wouldn’t have given to hear her charter bus sing Southern Baptist hymns all the way back from D.C.  (But only for like, 7 minutes, because then that would be enough, ma’am.)

LB called today and let me know that Wal-Mart (are you hyphenated these days, Wal-Mart?  Or are you just Walmart now?) is selling onesies for $2 and footed sleepers for $5, so Kris and I purchased two footed sleepers (one has little cupcakes on it!), one purple striped onesie, and purple leggings for Livingston after work.  We also got her an old-school rubber duckie, except hers is blue.  I was pretty excited.

The nursery is coming along FABULOUSLY and I will share pictures later this month after we get some art on the walls and her bedding is completed by the seamstress.

My uncle and his fiance are getting married in mid-October at a 10:00AM service in the same church where Kris and I were married.  I’m trying to decide what to wear.  What do you wear to a morning wedding in October when you’re pregnant?  I’m kind of thinking about finding a vintage maternity pattern and having my seamstress make a dress – but with what fabric?  And what color is appropriate for the morning?

Did you see the opening to the Emmys last night?  I didn’t watch it on TV, but caught it on YouTube this morning.  Jimmy Fallon is stinkin’ adorable.

We are looking into taking a Babymoon (who ever came up with that term?) to Asheville, NC in the next few months.  I.  Can’t.  Wait.

And Nimbus almost caught a cat tonight.

So I guess I did have a few things to say, after all.

Life — 4 Comments
26
Jul 10

Miss West Florence & why I wasn’t even in the Top 10.

So, I was a brat in high school.

Seriously.

So much so that I feel like I need to apologize to people that I run into who only “kind of” knew me in high school now that I’m an adult.

Anyway.  I went to West Florence High School.  And at West Florence, there’s a pageant.  Miss West Florence.  I convinced the golf team to sponsor me because I really wanted to be in it.

No… not just be in it.  I wanted the crown, baby.

So my mom and I did some major shopping and came up with my theme for the pageant… RED.

I told you I was a brat.

I had a red suit for the interview with the judges before the pageant.  I had a red skirt and crisp white top for casual wear with red accent jewelry, and a red ball gown for the evening wear.

This is the dress. But I wore it to prom, and that is when this photo was taken. The year? 2003.

But let’s get back to that interview.  During during the interview, one of the school administrators/judges asked me to describe myself in one word.

Do you know what I said?

Without skipping a beat, I said, “Classic.”

CLASSIC?  …seriously?

I hope you can laugh with me, and not at me.

Well, I can understand if you want to laugh at me for a minute.

Good.  I feel like we’ve peeled a layer of this onion called Whitney back tonight.  I’m glad we’re friends.

Life — 1 Comment
17
Jul 10

Staycation: Day 1

Hi friends! Today marks Day 1 of our Staycation. Actually, Kris has a wedding video to shoot this afternoon so he’s not officially on Staycation until this evening, but there has been an uncannily relaxed atmosphere to our home this morning. Livingston is squirming in my tummy and enjoying the caffeine from my cup of coffee and the slices of baguette that I ate for breakfast. It is still amazing to feel these early movements. I can’t wait for Kris to feel her move! That should happen in a few weeks when her kicks grow stronger.

I’d like to give props to my sweet friend Lydia for recommending the film “The Young Victoria.” Kris and I watched it last evening, and it was so enjoyable. The filmography was absolutely beautiful and the costumes were to die for. The story is not the typical, “She falls in love and then he dies tragically and I’m left with this empty crappy feeling at the end of a movie” story. First, it’s real life. It tells the story of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and their love. And second – it is all about the sanctity of marriage! There’s no cheating!

Next… have you ever checked out Lonny Magazine? It’s an online publication that is very similar to Domino.

Image from Apartment Therapy

Pause. RIP Domino. You can always check out the Domino Files for the old images.

If you loved Domino like I did, you’ve got to check it out. Oh, and I discovered another cool magazine a few weeks ago. It’s called Garden & Gun – kind of like a distinctly Southern Town & Country. Except after I read it, I feel like I need to read something at the total opposite of the hoity-toity spectrum to balance everything out. In the current issue, they feature these whiskey stones. I’m not a whiskey drinker (well, especially in my current maternal state), but these look so cool and would make such a great gift for of-age brothers:

Image from Garden & Gun

Happy Saturday! Happy Day 1 of Staycation 2010!

Baby Meade / Life / Puppy Parenthood — 5 Comments
8
Jul 10

A contraction.

17 weeks pregnant!

Yes, you’re reading correctly.  I had a Braxton-Hicks contraction last night.  Just one… but it’s enough to mess with your mind.

The contraction was followed by some sharp jabs in my abdomen for the rest of the evening and into the morning.  So I called the doc.  And they called me in.  And it was nothing more than this bebeh growing at a furious rate and my ligaments stretching!  The technical term is “round ligament pain,” but I call it “a really great way to freak a first time mother out.”

At least I got to hear the wonderful, beautiful, amazing heartbeat.  I can’t wait to give this child a name next week.

Speaking of, welcome to Week 17!  Kris and I took a little picture (the one above) this morning to remember the last day I’ll be able to wear this button-down for a while.  After I ate lunch, the buttons pulled a bit too much for my liking, so it will be lovingly placed into the box-of-things-I-can-no-longer-wear.

I also had my toes painted a beautiful shade of pink after work.

Ooh!  If you’ve never made fried pork chops, you HAVE TO try the Pioneer Woman’s recipe.  The only thing I changed was that I added a tablespoon of cornmeal to the mix.  YUM.  Plus, I used our cast iron skillet for the first time.  I know, I know, but it’s been at my parents’ house in storage and I just picked it up.  We have very little storage at our house!

17 Weeks

Total weight gain: Still holding steady. I haven’t gained any weight since last week.

How big is baby? Baby Meade is the size of a turnip!

Milestones: Baby Meade has been moving a lot! Actually, he/she really likes Jay Z… haha.

Maternity clothes: I am now quickly growing out of some of my pre-pregnancy tops. It’s a little sad to see them put away.

Sleep: I’ve been sleeping GREAT and only getting up twice to go to the bathroom in the night! That’s a huge milestone.

Movement: Like I said… It’s a hard knock life. (hahahahaha)

Food cravings: Tonight, I had a bloomin’ onion with their horseradish sauce at Outback and it was divine. I also had chicken chili at lunch, which was great and spicy. I’m liking stuff with a little kick!

Belly button in or out? Still in, thank goodness.

What I miss: I still miss wine. I don’t think that will go away. And I also miss medium to medium-well steaks.

Best moment this week: Floating in the canal in Ocean Isle with Kris. It was the most relaxed I’ve been in a long time. Then… the reunion with Nimbus. It’s so sweet. Speaking of the Beagle Bull…

Nimbus after his weekend with Diego and Chula.

The Lord has so richly blessed our lives. If there’s ever something that I can pray for you about, please let me know! You can email me at whitney@themeadefeed.com.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Life — No Comments
5
Jul 10

The Fourth in photos.

Life — No Comments
5
Jul 10

Maybe I should be a little concerned?

I’ve begun writing from my dog’s perspective.  See the post below.  Maybe I should be a little concerned?

I don’t know.  It was just a really cute picture.

I hope that you had a fabulous 4th of July.  We spent ours with my family in Ocean Isle and it was so. relaxing. Kris took some great pictures with his new camera, so I’ll post a few once he’s edited them and emailed them to me.

I covered every inch of exposed skin in sunblock and still managed to get a tan, so that’s always a bonus.

We ate Lowcountry Boil.  I read magazine articles about fried green tomatoes and books about baby gear.  I got a little nauseous on the boat – that was a first.  The baby kicked and wiggled all weekend.  I think it was the salt water.  It better be a water baby!  I don’t think it has a choice.

Nimbus spent his weekend with Diego and Chula in the country, and we picked him up tonight completely exhausted.  I picked a tick off of his eyebrow – a true sign of a city-gone-country dog – and now he’s peeled himself off of his mat to accompany Kris in the yard.  You know, as wonderful as it is to get away, it’s always nice to come home.

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