Music Monday (from Virginia!)

Hey all!

I am currently in Virginia! yea! This is a program I'm particularly excited about, AND Peter and I are going to visit my Aunt (also named Georgia) on our way back to Delaware tomorrow.

I know this is a replay, but it was on in the car. I've been on a CSN&Y kick for a while now. 

Hope everyone has a great week!

Small Business Saturdays: Supporting the Maker

photo of Peter and I shopping on Small Business Saturday from this news article

I was really struck by this story posted on a friend's status a year ago. I decided not to post it then, as it was her story to tell and not mine. But supporting small businesses is important to me, so I thought I'd share it here- or at least a more anonymous version. Big business is not necessarily a bad thing- look at Nordstrom, a huge brand that is allowing its employees to enjoy Thanksgiving, for once. And did you know that Small Business Saturday was the product of an American Express Campaign? I didn't!

This involved another big business that clearly does not treat people so well.

Music Monday (early)

...Because I'm seeing him tonight in Manhattan with Onalee (thanks, girl!) 

Hell I still love New York, New York!!

Music Monday

Hey Guys! Sorry for delay. I had another interview yesterday followed by a 3 hour drive last night, a 5 am flight this morning followed by another 3 hour drive this afternoon. Don't ask me why I am doing this to myself. {gag.} But I get to see Peter, AND one of my best friends from college. So it's all worth it in the end :)

Last weekend I FINALLY checked out Record Rack and spent wayyyy too many dollars on second and hand new vinyls. It was totally worth it. Here's a sample of what we jammed to over the weekend on our record player. I hope to get a chance to write up this place, because it's awesome and if you care about music at all/ live in the South Florida area you should check it out. Right this second. We're talking music and deals worth cutting class for, kids.

Have a great week, folks. Anyone have any recommendations for things to do in the tri-state area in winter time? 

G

Well, it's Friday...

And guys, it has been a really, really, really good week. Let's take a moment to reflect on the different things that have made this week awesome, shall we? In the spirit of Cider With Rosie...

10 Things that have made me happy this week:

1.  Got to see the husband man- twice! in one week! 
2. I actually dressed appropriately for cold weather, for the first time in my adult life. That whole layering thing? It really works. Vermont, I see you.
3. The presentation I had today went really, really well. It was in front of two doctors I admire a lot, and while two may not seem so scary, it was for me (total chicken when it comes to public speaking. for reals.) 
4. The visa interview also went really, really well. Although the immigration officer didn't smile once, my brilliant husband did all those forms without the help of a lawyer- and didn't make one single mistake. Can I get an oh yea?
5. IT'S THE WEEKEND and I only have one "real" rotation left in medical school. That means only one exam left in my entire student career. I'm 25. let's let that sink in...
6. One of my patients Monday caught me admiring his up close concert photo of Stevie Nicks and asked me if I knew who it was (and of course I said, of course I do. and also, we should be friends.)
7. I'm currently cooking this delicious kale soup while drinking chardonnay listening to this playlist with my dad. Basically, my happy place 
8. Speaking of great music, how does everyone feel about Taylor Swift's new album? I say props to her for making the first platinum record of the year. Not the direction I would have liked her to go in, but it's creative, witty, and so damn catchy. 
9. Also, how do we feel about how she pulled her music from Spotify? After reading Spotify's response I see their point, but I'm not sure if that's a compelling enough argument. Creators deserve to be compensated fairly for their work. Thoughts?
10. And, saving the best for last....Peter is officially a permanent resident of the United States.

Yep. We got approved. And we found out in 24 hours. And it was so much easier than we thought it would be. 

This is huge. It means he can job hunt when the time comes for me to make my rank list in January. It means the chances of him finding work in the area that I am assigned to for residency is much, much higher. 

I'm so excited just to live with him. To have a morning routine together, share garden duty, cook meals together, steal his slippers- it really is these banal little things that I am most looking forward to. 

Because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.

Hope everyone else has good things coming their way too! 

with love,

Georgia

F-L-O-R-I-D-A, S-T-A-T-E

I just wanted to share a few family photos from the game last weekend, if you guys don't mind. It really was a weekend for the books. You see, when you've got 6 people in the family {now closing in on 7 thanks to Peter,} the chances of everyone being in a good mood at the exact same time is pretty rare. This was one of those rare, special times that not one of us was grumpy, distracted or simply not there- we were all just happy to relax and enjoy eachother's company together. It was so refreshing- definitely good for the soul!

My younger brother and I. He's a football genius- without him, the clueless folk such as myself would have had no clue what was going on in the stadium

My sister and her roommates. I'm so glad she found such a kind, driven, supportive group of women to surround herself with. They really are all exceptional people.

Truth be told, the tailgate wasn't much to look at. We don't have loads of Seminole Paraphernalia, it was really overcast, and we avoided the more exciting hardcore tailgates that go down on campus. But our little get together worked fine for me! Plus, my Dad makes a wicked good steak ;-)

And now for Doak!

It really is the prettiest sports complex I've seen. We actually called in the 'Church of Bobby' back in undergrad, and while we weren't winning games at Doak, we had at least one the title of Largest Non-Religious Stain Glass Window in North America. So there's that.  Being someone who hates/knows nothing about sports, these things are important to me.

Peter took this one. It's a great shot of my Dad. 

 Another venue FSU has always excelled in is the marching band. the FSU Marching Chiefs have consistently been one of the best bands in the country. And they really do put on an amazing show- they actually did a Back to the Future theme that night and formed a Delorean, with Fire extinguishers blowing out of the fake exhaust and everything {yea, they go all out.}

 Can you guess who cares the most about football in this family?

 My older brother went to our rival school, but we still love him :)

Another shot exemplifying just how much shorter than Peter I really am.

Feast and Fast

Lent seems to have snuck up on us this year, don't you think? I am always prepared, or at least expecting, Great Lent in the spring, but the forty day fast before Christ's birth seems to come out of nowhere! I think the American Holiday season kind of distracts you from it...everyone else is preparing for Thanksgiving with turkey, stuffing and the like. Personally, I love cooking without meat or dairy- it's cheaper, simpler (in my mind, anyways) and tends to be healthier (I'm an everything in moderation kind of gal.)

If you're like me, a little guidance in your cooking goes a loonngggg way. Throwing things in a pot and magically creating an amazing dish is NOT my thing. I need very clear instructions to work from, at least the first few times, before I go rogue (i.e. switch out the rosemary for dill, ha!) So the following websites are a few of my go-tos when it comes to cooking during fasting periods. I thought I'd share them, in case anyone else is in the same or a similar boat!


1. Naturally Ella

I've been making the above paella for a few years now, and only recently realized what a great selection of vegetarian recipes this site has. There's a few new ones I'm excited to try out- this African curry, for example. Plus, the website is SUPER easy to navigate, with recipes grouped by meal, season, and even dietary needs.

2. Authentic Greek Recipes

I love this recipe index. When I moved back over to the U.S. from Crete I went through serious food withdrawals. Sure, you can get an ok gyro or maybe some awesome calamari if you're lucky, but slightly more odd or obscure dishes (often the lenten ones) are MUCH harder to come by unless you make them yourself. So this site was a bit of a Godsend when I found myself craving Greece's amazing lemony chickpea soup back in Florida.

3. Oh Dear Drea

Confession time: I've never actually used this site for food! It's a lifestyle blog, and while I don't personally subscribe to veganism, I love that Drea feeds her kiddo so many different types of cuisine(and so many fruits and veggies! you go girl!) Pictured above is a vegan Thanksgiving feast of 8 recipes (I might try that stuffing next week!) and her instructions on how to prepare basics such as tofu can open a whole new world in your cooking. And I am all about trying new things!

4. Real Simple Recipes

Music Monday {on Tuesday}

Whoops! Sorry guys, the week kind of snuck up on me! Here's a song I haven't heard in a hot minute:

The Darkness were kind of a weird, silly one-hit-wonder kind of group, at least in the U.S. (Peter swears they had more singles in the UK,) but there's nothing silly about the way that guy in the meatsuit plays the guitar!

In other news, Peter went to his first college football game this past weekend. Actually, we all went- and it was SUCH a fun experience! I've never liked football enough to attend a whole game, even when I was in undergrad at FSU, but this weekend, conditions were perfect. The weather was gorgeous, the whole family was in town and the team was killing it. Hopefully I'll have a spare minute to post some photos- my sister and I donned war paint and I think it came out really cute! 

What did you guys get up to this week? How's everyone up North taking advantage of the cold weather?

Music Monday

Sorry I missed a post last week- between sick friends and family and interviews I've been a bit distracted lately. Here's a fun one to get you through your Monday. In other news it's FORTY-FOUR DEGREES FARENHEIT IN FLORIDA!! What's your go-to fall album?

My kind of flashmob

How cool is this flashmob in Chania, Crete?
I'm usually on the fence about these sorts of things,
(my spectator skills >>>> my dancing skills)
But it would be hard to resist joining a Pentozali like this!

Have you ever participated in a flash mob?
What was it like?
I've always wondered what sort of organization and behind the scenes work it involves.
The product is invariably cool (: