I'm Back.....for now!

I have been itching to finally start posting again in the past couple of weeks, but Marcus has been away on mission trips with the youth group, so I just now have the computer back!

Because of your sweet comments on my last post, I was reminded of why I started this blog in the first place. The whole point of Wish You Were Here is for our friends and family to stay in the loop on what's going on at the Womack house. So, this post is just a big ole recap of what's been happening for the past couple of months. I don't really remember as far back as April (except for Easter and finally getting to watch TV again!) so I'll just start with May and catch up to today. Get ready for lots of iPhone pictures ahead!

In May:

• I started working on a Christmas quilt! This is the one I kept promising to show you my progress. Here is the only picture I have. And I haven't worked on it again since then! :) But I'm excited to see it start coming together.

• I visited the Main Downtown branch of the Nashville Public Library! This was on my bucket list, so I was really excited to finally go and mark something off my list!
• I joined a book club! For May, we read Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick. It was absolutely fascinating. I highly recommend it! This month and next, we're reading Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. It is one ginormous book!

• We spent Memorial Day weekend floating on the river in Knoxville! One of my best friends Laura, and her hubby Rob recently moved there, so we spent the weekend on the houseboat they were renting until they could move in to their house. Lots of fun!

• We came home to an escaped dog who had found some Tylenol (no bueno) and made our first visit to the emergency vet clinic. I don't wish this on anyone. Ever.

• We celebrated TWO wonderful years of wedding bliss. Marcus took me to a fancy restaurant and I made him watch our wedding video. :) For the second anniversary gift of cotton, I gave Marcus a monogrammed handkerchief and a Longhorn cap, and he gave me a beautiful canvas photograph that I want to hang above our piano (when we live in a house big enough to have the piano!).

Who forgot to ask someone to take our picture at the restaurant? Yep, us.

I can't believe how quickly the past two years have flown by. Marriage has been such a wonderful adventure and we love our life here in Nashville.

Stay tuned for some of our June adventures (I promise I won't wait a month to post about it).

Happy New Year!

I cannot believe it is already 2012! I hope you all had a great time ringing in the new year.  The Womacks sent 2011 out in style...on the couch.  It was actually a nice NYE, just going out to eat and spending time together as a family.

I have enjoyed reading all of your posts about the holidays, and I finally have a chance to sit down and share mine.  We had a great time in Texas visiting with family and friends and celebrating the most wonderful time of the year.  It always goes by way too quickly, but it was also good to come back to Nashville and start settling into the new year.

Our break started with the wedding of our dear friends, Nicki and Alex. After dropping Max off in Longview with my parents, we headed down to Houston for the party! We had such a great time celebrating and catching up with close friends from college.

The Womacks and the Zeisigs!

We headed back to Longview on Sunday and spent some time with my family. It was really great having time to just relax, eat, and enjoy family time! I was really excited for our family gift exchange because I finished my grandmother's quilt! While it was fun to watch everyone open the gifts we gave, I was most looking forward to this one.  Here is the completed quilt!

Front

Back

My grandmother collects quilts, but has never had one made for her. I made this using some doilies that her grandmother and grandmother-in-law made! This was such a special project for me and I'm so pleased with how it turned out. Here she is opening it up!

I think she liked it!

Unfortunately, I was really bad with the camera this year, and didn't get many pictures of the rest of our family. Maybe I should add that to my list of new years resolutions?

Christmas at Nunna's!

On Christmas Eve, we headed to Rockwall for Christmas with the Womacks. We had so much fun visiting with family, especially our nieces.  They NEVER run out of energy so there was lots of play time while we were there.

Love these crazy girls!

We are always sad to leave Texas, especially when we don't know how long it will be until we're back. But we returned to Nashville hopeful for the new year and all that it has to offer. Come back tomorrow for a review of 2011 and my resolutions! I know most people have already done this, but better late than never, right?

Sweet Things

Greetings from Texas! It is so nice to be back for a whole week! We are enjoying time in Longview now and on Thursday, we'll head to Rockwall. 

Road trip!

Max was a great traveling buddy and is having so much fun for his first time in Texas! He hasn't quite figured out how to play with Mitzi (Mom and Dad's new pup), but he's definitely making himself at home!

Now, onto the point of this post.  We've been spending most of our short time here in Texas concerning ourselves with food.  So far, we've checked three places off our list- Whataburger, Taco Bueno, and Dudley's! Yum yum! We've also gotten started with some cooking.  Of course, dessert is the most important part of the meal.

I found the recipe for these babies on Picky Palate and just had to try them.  They were super easy and so delicious! If you're looking for a last minute dessert (that easily doubles as a great breakfast treat!), you should give these a try!

Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Cinnamon Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

We also baked up my Granny's famous Paper Bag Apple Pie.  If I could only eat one dessert for the rest of my life, this would be it.  I love this pie so much, it's what I always request as my birthday "cake" of choice.  So what makes it so special? First, the crumble topping. Instead of your standard crust, we sprinkle a mixture of butter, cinnamon, and sugar over it.  Second, the paper bag.  The pie is baked in a brown grocery bag and comes out perfectly cooked- juicy and lightly browned.  I know my grandma is not the first to bake an apple pie like this, but in my book, it will always be her special recipe, and I'll never bake an apple pie any other way.  

Can you tell I love this pie?!

And finally, we ended the night with another piece of pie. This one, a strawberry pie from Dudley's Cajun Cafe.  Dudley's is my favorite restaurant back home- it's where we had our rehearsal dinner and we try to make a trip there every time we visit.  Let me tell you- the strawberry pie is the best and it goes fast! There was one piece left when we got to restaurant, so I made sure to reserve that little plate of goodness before anything else (priorities, people!). Mmmmm...it was the perfect ending to a perfectly delicious dinner of boudin balls, gumbo, and fried crawfish.

Does it get any better than this?

What are your holiday standards?  Do you like to try new recipes or stick to your family's favorites? However you celebrate, I hope it's perfectly sweet!

Countdown to Thanksgiving

We leave for Thanksgiving break in Texas in 6 days and the countdown is on!  

I have a long list of things to get done before then, including

laundry

cleaning the house

changing the sheets on the beds

grocery shopping

host small group

wash the car

pack

But getting all that done means nine hours in the car with this guy:

Pray for us...

But getting that done means six whole days at home in Texas with:

(my parents)

and

(Marco's parents)

and the rest of our wonderful family!

and

and

and

and 

and

(and real food too)

and my first:

and the last:

(for a while anyway...)

Can you tell I'm a little excited?  We always enjoy getting back to our roots and spending quality time with our family and eating lots of fried food and shopping and watching sports.

What are your plans for Thanksgiving? Are you counting down like I am?

Ch-ch-ch-Changes!

Check it out! I decided to get serious about this whole blogging thing. :) Marcus and I got rid of DVR this month, so I have more time to work on things like quilting projects and this little ole blog!

Thanks to my sweet friend, Leisha, at We Are the Shepperds, I have a new header and lots of fancy little extras.  I started this blog as a way to help all of our friends and family back in Texas keep up with all the happenings in the Womack household and I hope that this new look reflects that! I'll continue to keep you updated on our oh-so-interesting life in Nashville, but hopefully offer some things that will appeal to a wider audience.  So take a look around and please let me know what you think!

Along with the changes here, I've also been working on updating my work space as I continue to pursue this whole quilting endeavor! Although our house is quite small, we are lucky to have two extra bedrooms so I have my own workspace in our guest bedroom separate from Marcus's office area. Here's what that area looked like a couple of weeks ago:

Messy messy!

I love my little desk from college, but it hasn't transitioned very well from homework space to a place for quilting. So I started scouring Craigslist for a replacement, and I found the perfect one! It was quite the steal, and while it has seen better days, it was exactly what I needed in terms of functionality.  I hoped to paint it before putting everything in its place (I wanted to still have something black), but when we finally got it in the house and found out company would be here this weekend, I decided it was too much trouble! So last night we did a bit of rearranging and organizing and now I have the perfect workspace!

Ta-da!

I love that there is room for all my supplies, but it can still serve as a vanity when we have guests. My machines are tucked away in the section that looks like drawers and they pull out to create an extra workspace.

Hopefully I'll have a lot of new projects to share with you in the coming months. Gotta get started on all those Christmas presents!

Have a wonderful weekend and Happy Halloween!

Thankful Thursday

Remember the time I said I was going to join up with Megan for Thankful Thursdays and then I totally flaked? Well here I am this week, with a whole hour (eight minutes by the time I finished this) to spare!

Today I am thankful for this little piggy:

My co-worker, Kellie, stumbled upon this little guy at a cute boutique in Chattanooga. You can't tell by the picture but he only has three legs! He is a good-luck pig, an old tradition from Chile. Kellie and I shared an office for a while, and bonded over our love of cheesy 80's love jams and bacon. It didn't take long for my (not-so)-secret affinity of pigs to come out.  I've been collecting pigs since about 7th grade- it's seriously embarrassing to walk into my room and see all the pigs everywhere.  I took a few really special ones with me to college and now I only have some favorites in our house. It's fun to add some new ones to the collection every once in a while that I can incorporate into our home decor. Like this little vintage pot holder that I snagged at a garage sale last week.

You're probably wondering what any of this has to do with Thankful Thursday. I'll get to the point now. Yes, I'm thankful for these little piggies, but more importantly, I'm thankful for the stories behind them. I'm incredibly blessed to work with such fun, smart, and thoughtful people.  Aside from the little surprises, I'm thankful that I can truly consider my co-workers friends. We teach each other to quilt, and baby-sit each others' kids, and watch Conan together, and go to happy hour.  We are more than just employees of Blood:Water Mission, we are a family. And wherever I go from here, three-legged good luck pig will always remind me of my first job and the amazing people I was blessed to work with.

Other things I'm thankful for: my patient hubby who lets me drag him to garage sales and the like to find little treasures like the aforementioned pot holder. And this guy:

Don't let him fool you- he's only like this 30% of the time.

What are you thankful for today?

Home Is Where You Make It

Today marks my second anniversary as a Nashvillian.  I've heard it takes about two years for a new city to really feel like home.  After two years, it is still sometimes hard to believe that I live here! But I'm so thankful for the year I had to live with one of my best friends and figure out what life is like after college, and for the year I've spent making a home with my husband.

Nashville is far from home and we sure do miss our friends and family back in Texas, but there are so many things we love about good 'ole Rocky Top.  Here's the short list:

• Ryman Auditorium- The "Mother Church of Country Music" and one of the country's most legendary music venues.  We have enjoyed the backstage tours, some great concerts, and a live recording of the Grand Ole Opry!
• Arrington Vineyards- This is one of the first places Marcus and I went together when I moved to Nashville! It's owned by Kix Brooks (the first half of Brooks and Dunn) and is a great place to have a picnic, taste some wine, and soak up the views.
• MAFIAoZA'S and Rotier's- Just two of our many favorite restaurants in Nashville- one has great pizza and the other is a Nashville institution, famous for its burgers.  From five-star dining to food trucks, Nashville does not disappoint when it comes to food.
• YMCA- I never knew much about The Y growing up, but Nashville has several and our neighborhood center is one of the best.  It was recently renovated and I have really enjoyed working out at Zumba classes and lounging by the pool during the summer.
• Blood:Water Mission- I have the best job I could have ever dreamed of.  You've heard the story- when I returned from Africa, I knew I wanted to do something to continue the work I did there, and my job allows me to do just that.  Blood:Water Mission exists to empower communities to work together against the HIV/AIDS and water crises in Africa and I feel so privileged to be a part.
• Chuy's- Our little piece of Austin in Nashville.  I'll admit, we are snobs when it comes to Mexican food.  Tex-Mex is the best and Chuy's is better than any other Mexican restaurant in this town. End of discussion. 

Nashville is a one-of-a-kind place, with all the perks of a big city, but the feel of a small town. It is full of good food, good music, and good people. Come visit and let us show you our home!

Steps

Two years ago today, I stepped on a plane bound for Africa. It was a step that changed my life.  As I look back on that day, I’m amazed at how that one step had such a powerful and direct impact on the steps I take today.

When I walked into training for my upcoming Africa trip, I had just finished my final presentation for my bachelor’s degree in Public Relations.  I spent three days meeting my teammates, learning about Africa, and preparing for a month in rural Kenya.  In the month between that training and the actual trip, I returned to Austin to walk across the stage and receive my diploma, walked down the aisle at four weddings of close friends, and walked along the beach as my now husband asked for my hand in marriage.  No doubt, these were all pretty big steps in my life.  But I had no idea that stepping onto that plane to another continent would be equally as big.

I spent the next month in Kenya hosting summer camp for hundreds of kids in a rural village close to the Tanzanian border.  Many mornings, I went for a walk with a friend, watching the sunrise over the Chyulu Hills.  I walked down many dirt roads visiting schools and homes of the people in the community. I ran (ok, I jogged) up and down the fields attempting to play soccer with the Africans- not an easy task. I had the profound privilege of walking alongside these people I hardly knew and I fell I love. I walked away with a desire to know more. More walking, more steps toward a life I never imagined for myself.

I got back to the states, went to one more wedding, and spent the next day driving to Nashville to pursue a career in the music business.  A few months later, I found myself walking into Blood:Water Mission, not as a publicist, but as a finance assistant. I know it doesn’t make much sense, but here I am, still walking alongside some incredible people, both here in America, and across the world in Africa.  We are all walking together toward the same goal and it’s a beautiful thing.

So I continue to take steps, not always knowing where I’m going or what lies in front of me. But I know I can’t stop, because wherever I go, I have to believe there is a reason, not only for the destination, but for the journey itself.

Pot Roast Take 2

It's hard to believe it's been almost a year since the infamous pot roast incident that resulted in hot oil splattered all over my face.  I'm happy to report that I've survived and haven't left the kitchen yet! Our first year of marriage has included some ok meals, and even some that had to be thrown out (thank goodness we have a Little Caeser's close by!). But we've also enjoyed some really delicious dishes too and one of our new favorites is pot roast and roasted veggies! My mom passed this roast recipe on to me and it's not your traditional pot roast, but it's super easy and goes really well with roasted carrots and potatoes. Yum!

Easy Crockpot Pot Roast

4 lb. pot roast

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 packet onion soup mix

1 cup water

Place pot roast on two pieces of foil (make a cross out of the foil). Mix together soup and soup mix.  Spread mixture over the pot roast, making sure it covers all sides.  Wrap the roast in foil and place in crockpot.  Pour water around the roast. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Roasted Veggies

potatoes (depending on size, 1-2 for each serving)

carrots (3-4 per serving)

small onion (we don't actually eat the onion, we just like it for flavor but you can add more if you want)

1/3 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon rosemary

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Cut veggies into small pieces and place in single layer on baking pan.  Mix together olive oil and spices (may need to adjust depending on amount of veggies). Pour mixture over veggies and toss to coat each piece in the mixture.  Bake for 30 minutes at 450 degrees.  Test with fork and continue baking if needed until soft.  Some of the smaller pieces will get brown and crispy- so tasty!!

Hope you enjoy!

My First DIY Project!

I'll start by saying that I love our house.  It is small but cozy, old but updated.  We were very fortunate to have an awesome landlord who did some great work on the inside of our house such as adding crown molding throughout and carpet in our bedroom before we moved in (the outside landscaping is another story).  Because we are renters, there is only so much we're able to do around the house. But my recent addiction to HGTV has me inspired to do some small things to make our house more like our home.  I've spent many hours watching shows and following DIY blogs, and this weekend, I decided to take action.

And so, without further ado, I present to you our bathroom cabinets!

Notice the (not so) lovely leaf knobs.  I've stared at them for months and my dislike for them has grown in intensity over the past almost year that we've lived here.  With a free Saturday and a lingering gift card from the wedding, Marcus and I made our way to Lowe's to pick out some replacements.  It didn't take long to pick them out.  We mulled over some different options for a few minutes and quickly decided these were the ones for us.

We like the fact that the oil rubbed bronze that matches most of the accessories we already have in the bathroom.  They are simple and classic, which appealed to Marcus, and at a little less than $3 a pop, they didn't hurt our pocketbook, err...giftcard balance.  With such a small bathroom, there were only five knobs to replace.  After a stop at Buffalo Wild Wings (and Ross, Best Buy, Marshall's, Old Navy, and PetSmart) we headed home to try them out.  They were so simple, I was able to switch them out myself. Only a phillips head screwdriver was needed to unscrew the old ones and screw the new ones in place.  The whole thing took about fifteen minutes.  

And voila! Here is the finished project:

I'm so pleased with the result.  It's not a huge change, but it makes me feel so much better having made the change (and it's easily reversible when we move out).  First DIY project=success!! Have you done any small projects around the house that made a big difference?  I'd love some more ideas and tips that made them successful.

PS Contrary to what the picture shows, Max was of no help to me during this project. BUT he stayed mostly out of the way. :)

March Madness

No, this post doesn't concern my bracket, which to quote a friend, "looks like a page from the New Testament where Jesus talked a lot."

It is, indeed, a mad, mad world. March has been no exception.

We started the month by welcoming our newest niece, Clare Isabella, into the world! She was actually born on the last day of February, but Marcus and I spent the last part of his spring break in Seattle, visiting his brother and sister-in-law and our three (THREE!) nieces.  Marcus's parents joined us, and we all had a great time.

Meet Clare!

Abby, our oldest niece, with a rousing rendition of B-I-N-G-O! Little Lucy is dying to join in the fun.

We spent our first day roaming around the Pike Place Market, then had lunch at Salty's on Alki Beach, where we had dinner before Marcus proposed! It was fun to return to the scene of the event and remember such a momentous occasion in our lives!

After our trip to Seattle, we returned to Nashville and welcomed a new addition to our own family!

Meet Max Womack!!

We (I) have been wanting a dog for a long time, and after much prayer and preparation, we finally felt like we were ready.  Max was adopted from a wonderful organization called All-American Dachshund Rescue.  His mom was found pregnant on the side of the road in Arkansas and was immediately brought to a foster parent in Brentwood.  Melissa (the foster) kept Penny (Max's mom) in her care and saw Max and his three brothers and sisters come into the world.  Max was the first-born pup and he and his brother were the only two to survive.  We feel so blessed to have been able to give a forever home to a pup who otherwise might be wandering homeless and hungry, or not even alive.

It has been a crazy two weeks! Potty training is probably my least favorite thing in the world right now, and it's not fun waking up at the crack of dawn to let the little booger out! It's totally worth it, though, when he comes and curls up in your lap and falls asleep. :) We are looking forward to all that lies ahead with our new family member!

In the midst of all the craziness, we took some time last week to celebrate Marcus turning 24! We really enjoyed having friends over to the house to enjoy the beautiful weather (and the super moon!) and feast on Marcus's favorite meal that his mom cooks, sour cream chicken enchiladas! I must admit, I was pretty impressed for my first attempt.  And of course, no birthday party would be complete without a delicious chocolate cake!

Happy Birthday, Marcus!

March, you have been good to the Womacks! We are looking forward to a fun April and the arrival of warm weather, a visit from my parents for Easter, and a fun-filled summer!

Stay tuned!!