{Life}: Spring Break 2013.

Today marks my first day of spring break for the year and what a beautiful day it is! It is 60 degrees and sunny here. Jake and I took a walk around the neighborhood this afternoon before he had to go to class. Even with such a mild winter, I definitely know I am a spring & summer gal.

Also - I have discovered Pic Monkey, an online photo editing website. It is free for the "basic" stuff but even the basic is pretty amazing. It is a little time consuming but worth it. Check it out!
http://www.picmonkey.com

In blue skies and budding flowers,

{Life}: Weekend Wrap-up.

I spent my Spring Break this past week traveling (thus the lack of posting) and am going to blog about my awesome trip but in the meantime, I wanted to give an update on our weekend around here.

While I was gone up to the land of Yankees, spring rolled in full force around here. I got back Friday and there was pollen everywhere, the grass was coming in, and flowers were blooming. With that, I put on my first sandals of the season.

Also coming home I got a good surprise - I didn't kill our azaelas from last spring! The little guys have not only grown, but are starting to bloom again for the year.

Saturday brought some school work, a hair cut, errands, and a little bit of hanging out before having my family over for dinner. The brothers were coming in town from Knoxville for their Spring Break and came straight to our house. They brought their cat and dog (the cat stayed in the carrier and hissed at Ty). Here's Oscar, their basset hound - he's a Belly Rub Basset too.

The weather continued to be gorgeous and we grilled out steaks. There was a bit of hanging out on the patio and chatting. Here's Jacob:

And Ezra with my dad -

The dogs played endlessly and Harley was caught several times just lying down out of exhaustion:

We tried to get all four bassets together for a picture. This was the best we got - from the top left there's Beamer, Oscar, Sebastian, and Harley.

The dinner was delicious - steaks, asparagus, rosemary potatoes, and Sister Shubert rolls. Here's the fam:

After fam din we headed downtown, not to celebrate St. Patrick's day, but to celebrate a med school friend's birthday. I was a bit worried about standing out without any green on but ended up being more than fine:

We went to South of Beale on Main Street:

This morning brought a bell performance at church while Jake studied for a bit. We hit our favorite spot, Slider Inn, for lunch.

Next we did a bit of meal planning for the week. Gotta get back on track there. Here's our schedule for the week:

And our grocery list:

 (link to recipes here)

After getting home, Jake studied a bit more while I napped in the sun. Then we took a walk around the neighborhood.

Tonight we'll do our usual pizza/grocery run and I'll call it a night early. The perfect end to a perfect Spring Break. Two months until Summer Break!!!


In sunshine and springtime,

{Life}: Spring has Sprung!

Spring is here. We never really had winter but we did have a lack of leaves, flowers, and blue skies so I guess that counts. The other day was so beautiful that Jake and I decided to take advantage of the weather after church and go for a walk around our neighborhood (have I mentioned how much I love Midtown?).

It was about lunch time so we first stopped by Cafe Eclectic, our neighborhood restaurant. I have a love-hate relationship with Cafe Eclectic. I love everything about them. I love their mac and cheese. Their cheddar-bacon scones (grilled, of course). Their "cute little salad". Their bacon-egg-crossaint. I hate waiting. I love that they are popular (that means they stay in business!) but I am impatient.

The line this particular day for brunch was out the door:

After putting our name on the list and waiting for a bit, we decided to just get a few things to go and start our walk. So after ordering a cinnamon bun for Jake and a scone for me, we walked down to the VECA greenline to have a little picnic.

We took a seat on the bench and ate our meal along our own little greenline. People walked by with dogs, jogged by, and we sat contently. From there, we properly disposed of our trash and kept walking around the neighborhood, enjoying the beautiful day.

I tell people all the time how much I love my neighborhood but a day like that just confirms it. We can walk to several restaurants, we have our own greenline, and walking around taking in the architecture of the houses around us is just too fun. So here's to blue skies, greenlines, and walking dates with the hubs.

In loving what you've got,

Memphis is Beautiful.

It is no lie that I love Memphis. I especially love Memphis in the springtime. Quite beautiful. Here are some shots from a walk I took earlier this week:

I took these as we walked from our house to the VECA greenline back to our house. Beautiful flowers, beautiful day. 

Take a walk with me... again. (Part two)

Almost exactly this time last year, I was on Spring Break and the world was a'bloomin. I documented it while walking around the 'hood here:
http://kathrynjasper.blogspot.com/2010/03/take-walk-with-me.html

Here we are, a year later. I took a walk this morning and was just in awe of the beauty of my city, of my neighborhood. So, do me a favor and take another walk with me. This time, from my house to my parents and back:

One thing I love about Midtown are our tree-lined boulevards. This particular one is Jackson. 

Once I got in their neighborhood, I spied these perfectly arranged tulips. 

Then I walked past this bridge over our creek - many wonderful memories of playing on those bridges as a kid. 

The Hein Park Neighborhood Association does such a great job of planting flowers/bushes along the public spaces. 

Next to the new street sign is the old street marker - what history!

On the way back around to our house, spent some time walking past Rhodes College - such a beautiful campus on such a beautiful day.

Finally home with a wonderful spring surprise - our hosta that I was sure I killed has sprouted once again. It must have forgiven me for that night left outside in the freezing temperatures this winter. 


In loving life in Midtown,