Good bye Summer

Leaves are starting to change and the sun is setting earlier. Summer is coming to a close. One good thing about it though is DragonCon. Eric and I hit up the parade in the morning. Had fun watching everything go bye. Later that night we met some friends at the Marriott to site see the costumes and had a blast. It really is one of the happiest weekends in the city. The weekend also became special because my neighbors found a baby squirrel! It feel down their chimney and they've been nursing it back to health with formula and nuts. It is absolutely adorable. I've always wanted to pet a squirrel. Now I have held one!

Summer Flying Fun.

Not the best pictures but July was a fun month for flying. Eric and I flew down to St. Simons Island to visit family that was vacationing there. We took Eric's Mom up to buzz the beach. It was a fun weekend filled with laughs, seafood and a lot of fun.

Crazy Summer

  This summer has been one of adventure and travel. Eric and I went to Panama in June. We saw more wild life than I have ever seen in the wild. sloths, tropical fish, sea turtles, dolphins just to name a few. We pushed ourselves harder than ever on a trip. Staying on a floating hotel in Bocas del Toro. Making new friends while there and snorkeling and exploring a part of the world that we've never experienced. We really enjoyed our time there.

Once we recovered from coral cuts and mosquito bites we did a lot of car stuff this summer. We headed off to Global Rally Cross, worked on my brother in laws RX-7, fixed breaks and generally had a great time working in the garage. This fall the racing starts up again and I hope to spend a lot of time at Road Atlanta.

Athens love

A few weekends ago, for my Brother in Law's birthday, we headed up to Athens, Georgia to see Fitz and the Tantrums. They are a terrific band but it felt a little strange being in my old college town. It's been 6 years since I've graduated. It makes one feel a bit old just being there, but oh my is everything so cheap compared to Atlanta prices. We went out to dinner and our totally was less than half what it would be in the city.  We walked around some of our old favorite haunts and rocked out to some great music. It was nice to relive some of the good memories, college, my wedding, graduations but you can't stay forever.

Planes and cars

The past few months have been hectic. I've also been busy playing. Eric and I have been flying. When we can. It is a truly amazing thing to be able to do. We've flown to South Carolina to visit Eric's parents and as far as St. Simon's island for a surprise Valentine's holiday. A Valentine's day that might just go down in my books as the best. Flying, great food, and a blue and white ribboned box. Not sure what I did to deserve it all but it was amazing.

When we haven't been flying we bought a new car and it drives like a dream. That picture is from a drive we did on the Dragon's tail this weekend. It's Eric's new baby. We also have been tweaking my Mini and making it better. It had a power steering leak and Eric and I fixed it! I am really proud of that. Finally having a true garage has allowed us to do actual work on our cars when we want too.

Next up is breaks on my car. I am excited about it.

Roman Holiday

view from my window

This past Thanksgiving I was lucky enough to spend it in Rome, Italy. Eric and I flew out on my Birthday to arrive in wonderful Rome. My parents arrived a day later for us to spend our first international holiday.  

St. Peter's Square

We had an amazing time exploring the city. It was wonderful to share my parents first trip to Italy with them. Walking into St.Peter's basilica and watching there faces was an awesome experience. We dined out, ate tons of gelato, ate more gelato, and really explored Rome.

 Trevi Fountain

Eric and I also rented a Vespa and followed what the Italians did. It was one of the coolest experiences ever.

It was a wonderful holiday and I did throw a few coins in the fountain in hopes to go back.

Food!!!!

I am a pretty big food person. I like to eat it, cook it and experience as many different types as I can. I follow a lot of chefs and like to eat at their restaurants when I can.  Since traveling to Spain I have become a huge Spanish cuisine fan. I make Spanish food whenever I can. I love to go out and eat tapas and watch cooking shows about it.
When I walked past one of my favorite chef's resturants in July and actually saw him in the restaurant I had a bit of a fan freak out on the street. I walked by the corner thinking it looked like Jose Andreas, continued walking by, realized it was him and backed up like a kid seeing Mickey Mouse.  I think he saw me. My eyes must have been huge. I told Eric we HAVE to eat here, now. Even if I didn't get to meet him I wanted to see what he was like. So we went in. I tried to not be crazy and look out for him but I was really excited. I've seen Jose Andreas on television. I have his cookbook. I'm a fan.

After some delicious food. including rabbit, cheese, octopus and some Estrella Damm beer. We asked if we could meet him. The server said he was really friendly and not be shy. So when we got up to leave we walked over. He was awesome really nice and totally ok with taking a picture with us. 

He also told us to tell the bartender "happy birthday Jose!" Turns out it was his Birthday and we were given a glass of Cava. It was really awesome and absolutely made my day.