1st Snow Cone Date of Summer

As you can see from the sky, our weather wasn't the best, but the snow cones were just as summery + sweet despite the chilly wind + stormy clouds.

Last year {during my 1st full summer here}, we found this tiny little local pink gem that's only a quick drive from where we live.  It's called The Icey Girl & Company & they have the best shaved iced snow cones around.

This photo is kinda becoming a beloved wacky tradition, I guess. {Click here to view last year's!}  I'm so glad it's snow cone season {+ that I married my best friend}!

P.S.: You can now follow the blog via Bloglovin! ❤

Snow Day 2018! // Vlog

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Prayers were answered & we got the snow day of our dreams way down here in Georgia today!  Take a peek at some of our antics!

The Night We Made Some Christmas Magic

It was last Christmas.  Our 1st married one.  My 1st in a new city + state + away from my family & friends.  It was a hard one for me. {Can I just be honest & admit?} It was way harder than I imagined, but there were bits + moments of magic, too, {& grace upon grace upon grace from that little baby who came to save us}.  This was one such moment of merry magic.  Let me tell you about it...

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It was Christmas Eve 2016, but the plan had been hatched weeks before.  A few days time had passed since I had gone out & bought some bright red fuzzy yarn + made a humongous pom-pom ball out of it... all for tonight.  Armed with the wonky red pom-pom + a thing of Scotch tape, Dan & I set out on foot {under cover of darkness} to the big elk statue that guards the entrance to our apartment complex.  This was it.  Operation Rudolph was underway.

We taped that nose on good, even though we kept being interrupted by passing cars - which made us jump down from the statue base & duck down behind it or scurry to an adjacent bench & try to look inconspicuous, because this was a secret mission, after all, & had to remain so.

After it was complete, we stood back & admired our handiwork with silly secret agent grins, not knowing how long it would last {'cause it was Scotch tape & not Gorilla Glue, people}.  Mission complete!

Each day after, the 1st one who happened to drive past the entrance + red-nosed elk statue first would report back to the other if the nose was still there {all of a sudden I want to belt out a Christmas version of the Star Spangled Banner}.  Funny thing was, that thing stayed on for days & days after!  {We did use a lot of tape.}  Finally, a big wind storm came & the nose was no more.

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Little did we know, that we unknowingly began a tradition in our house that night - the night we made some Christmas magic.

1st Snowfall

Did you by chance read the 3rd little letter I posted yesterday?  The one that started, "Dear Snow..."?  Well, I didn't have to wait long before I got a response in the form of swirling, fat, glorious flakes early this morning!  It's the 1st time I've ever seen it snow here!

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Dan had been peeking out the window periodically throughout the night, like an excited school boy, occasionally waking me up with a loud sigh over the lack of snowfall + his rustling of the curtains + blinds.

Finally, early this morning I'm awakened yet again by a giddy husband whose getting dressed faster than I've ever seen {except maybe that one time he overslept for work 😉 }.  It was actually snowing!  Way down here in our city in Georgia!

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We made a miniature snow couple on top of Dan's car + caught flakes on our tongue + took a nice long walk out in it.  And while I'm typing this mid-morning, with the snow all but melted away {sorry for those who overslept today in Columbus - you likely missed it all}, I will never forget this 1st snowfall in my new city way down south.

Now, I'm dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones I used to know...

Up in the Treetops...

Oxbow Meadows Environmental Learning Lab is an amazing nature wonderland in my city!  Dan & I headed out to explore {it was my 1st time} for our 9 month anniversary.  We decided to try the treetop tour which took us around 40 feet up into the canopy...

No one else had signed up for our time slot, so we enjoyed a private tour!

We explored the expansive trails, too, & Dan even put on some video capturing {GoPro-like} glasses to help document our experiences for Oxbow.  We decided they needed some entertainment.  I hope they enjoyed our commentary + antics. 

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We even found some deer tracks out by the meadow!

Oxbow Meadows, we will definitely be back soon!

Shaved Ice = {Almost} Summer

Shaved ice {of which I'm a big fan} & summer just seem to go together.  Like sand + salt water, root beer + vanilla ice cream, & hot dogs + baseball games, they just fit.

We made an impromptu stop at The Icey Girl & Co. today for some shaved ice treats.  It was our very 1st time.  Their bright pink stand & large metal flamingo out front speak straight to my girly heart!

& their shaved ice - well, it tastes just like summer should!

Happy {almost} summertime!

'Cause When the Cow is This Big You Should Take a Picture {Or 3}

This is Kadie the cow.  She lives in the Best Buy parking lot in my city & she is beloved by all.

Let me just milk this moment for all it's worth...  It seemed like a good idea at the time.

You hug the cow after you milk her, 'cause those are the rules in the official handbook.  Okay, so I made that last part up, but I think it's a good rule.

{P.S.: Bucket list item #22 done!}

So There's This Lunch Box Museum...

It's in the most unassuming place.  Driving up, it looked closed despite the perpetual "open" sign over the door.  We were, um, a bit skeptical...

This guy was on roof patrol - guarding the place...

Yet, the door was unlocked & we safely made it inside...

& were greeted with all manner of unusual antiques & oddities...

& tucked in the back corner, with a flap of fabric for the door, was the Lunch Box Museum...

Only $5 a person for all the nostalgic & kitschy grandeur!

Lunch Box Museum, we won't soon forget you!

{P.S.: Bucket list item #21 complete!}

Hockey Date

So my new city has this hockey team - which seems pretty crazy for Georgia {I guess I picture the sport more up north in some New England state} - & it's been on my bucket list to go see one of their home games, so last night we made it a date!

Did I mention I've never been to a hockey game?  Nor do I really {ahem, at all} follow the sport.  I do know the basic rules, however, & that it's notoriously rough. 

I wasn't sure how this was going to go, as we took our seats behind one of the goals, but I knew I wanted the experience.  {We had great seats, by the way, with only 2 rows in front of us!}

It turns out this team of ours {with its Cool Runnings-esque hockey-in-the-south vibe} is really good.  Really, really good!  I soon found myself cheering, & by the end I was on my feet with the rest of the crowd & jumping up & down when they made a final goal at the very end!  It was a Columbus Cottonmouths' victory!  Final score: 7 -2.  I think I might just like this hockey business a whole lot {sans the fighting (Could we just stop that?)}!

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The Cold-Natured Girl's Guide to Hockey Viewing:

{Even though I was wearing a long sleeved tee + a fleece jacket, I still found myself shivering.  Next time I plan to be prepared!}

• Wear some layers!
• Bring some gloves...
• & maybe a blanket...
• + fuzzy socks...
• & a hat!

Columbus, GA Bucket List

☑ 1. Wander the Columbus Botanical Gardens. {Be sure to visit their camellia garden!}*

☐ 2. Go skating at the Columbus Ice Rink.

☑ 3. Root for the home team at a Cottonmouth's hockey game.

☑ 4. Explore Oxbow Meadows Environmental Learning Center.*

☑ 5. Actually escape one of the scenarios at Columbus' Escape This Live.

☐ 6. Find a way out in time at one of the Exodus Escape Games challenges.

☑ 7. Cool off with kids of all ages at the Riverfront Splash Pad.*

☑ 8. Get a library card & explore the fancy public library on Macon Road. {Don't forget to step out & take a peek at the Children's Reading Garden!}*

☑ 9. Eat at the Burger King that looks like a nifty old train station on Gentian Boulevard.

☑ 10. Order something tasty & dine in at what I dub "the old fashioned house" Burger King on Wynnton Road.

☑ 11. Take in the art/history of the galleries & exhibits at the Columbus Museum.*

☐ 12. Navigate the wild Chattahoochee via whitewater rafting.

☐ 13. "Fly" on the zip line that takes you from Columbus, Georgia across to Phenix City, Alabama in one whirring ride!

☑ 14. See a live performance at the famous Springer Opera House. {We saw the Broadway version of The Little Mermaid here & it was magical!}

☑ 15. Soak in the natural beauty of nearby Callaway Gardens. {The Butterfly Center is my favorite!}

☑ 16. Visit at Christmastime & ride the Jolly Trolly through Callaway Gardens' twinkling Fantasy in Lights! {This has become a yearly tradition with us.}

☑ 17. Hike on nearby Pine Mountain. {We got engaged here!}

☑ 18. Take a visit to the Coca-Cola Space Science Center.

☑ 19. Shop Columbus' outdoor Saturday market on Broadway.*

☑ 20. Stroll the Chattahoochee River Walk.*

☑ 21. See all the lunch boxes at the world's largest Lunch Box Museum! {Dan did not even know this place existed in his city!}

☑ 22. Snap a pic with the giant cow statue in front of Best Buy!  {P.S.: Her name is Kadie.}*

☑ 23. Tour the impressive National Infantry Museum near Fort Benning.*

*These are free things to do!

P.S.: I'll be updating this every so often with more check marks {hopefully} & more additions!

Secret Garden Snapshots

Read more about how I stumbled upon this secret garden here.

In Which I Find a Secret Garden

This whole moving to a new city thing still gets to me at times.  I had loved & lived in my hometown for 29 years.  I had favorite spots that felt like they were completely mine - this rocky ledge I perched on with feet dangling over the Tennessee River, the public library, the park trails & paths I practically lived on in college & beyond {it helps when your school juts up against the back of an amazing park}...  And, all my people - my mom & sisters & nephews & church family, they all were what it was really all about.  Then, I left.  Packed up my bags & dug up my 29 year old roots & hoped they'd last the journey & find a new soily, homey spot to set into once I arrived in the land of my husband.

It has been hard.  It has been foreign - &, yes, I have gotten lost a time or two, & been homesick more than that.  It hasn't felt like mine, this new place.  It hasn't felt completely like home just yet.  What does all this have to do with a secret garden?  Well, let me just tell you...

The park I had actually intended to go to was flooded from the previous day's torrential downpour, & I almost headed home.  Almost.  Something instead made me turn to another nearby public garden.  I had been there once before, but the trail had seemed {though beautiful & well kept} super tiny.  This time I stopped & found a map.  It's extensive squiggly lines told of walkways I hadn't seen before, but where were these paths?  I set out with not much certainty of where to look, & eventually stumbled upon this...

Like a Narnia behind a closet or a wonderland down a rabbit's hole, I found an unexpected magical spot.  And oh how I needed this new favorite place in this city/state so unfamiliar!  {I'm waxing poetic here, aren't I?}  Anywho, this hidden haven chock full of various & sundry varieties of camellias has been a sweet gift, & I'm thanking my God, the Giver of all good things, for it!

P.S.: More secret garden pics here!