"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." - Anatole France

Looks like the last time I posted was about three years ago... and let's just suffice it to say a lot has changed! Some quick highlights: we moved to Nashville, had the best wedding ever in New Orleans, traveled to France for our honeymoon, and became the proud new parents of this brown eyed beauty, Mae!

We've been coveting dogs for several years now, having both grown up with wonderful dogs, and upon seeing a serendipitous facebook post about the availabilty of a 10-week-old black labrador retriever, we hopped in the car and drove straight up to Kentucky to pick up our girl. We've now had her for about six weeks and she has drastically changed our lives, for the better of course (most of the time!).

October 25, 2014: In the car with Mae on our way home from Kentucky!

Here's what Mae is up to at 16-weeks:

• Weighs 33.2 pounds (Dad is hoping she doubles that when she is full grown!)
• Long and lanky with huge paws and her face is cute as a button. It seems everything is growing but her face is staying cute like a puppy - and I'm okay with that!
• Definitely knows her name and responds when called (when she feels like it)
• We're working on training daily and she is learning to sit, stay, lay down, and go to bed.
• She loves playing fetch in the park, especially with sticks. She'll run at least 30 yards to get the stick and comes back with it easily. Her attention span for fetch is anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes, with a few breaks to chew on the stick, of course.
• About 90-100% housetrained. We had to board her at a kennel for Thanksgiving, so she regressed a little when she came home, but I think we've almost conqured her accidents.
• Teething and jumping and excitability, oh my! Mae looooves to show us how excited she is to see us and play with us by mouthing and jumping, all normal (yet super annoying) behaviors for a four-month-old pup. She is exploring anything and everything in her environment, especially with her mouth and by jumping up on any surface she can. We're working on teaching her "off" to stop the jumping and replacing things like our hands and feet with delicious chew toys (current favorites: Kong, rubber nylabone, and an awesome antler from grandma - thanks grandma!) and redirected energy (read: obedeince training!)
• And my absolute favorite: Lap Time! The first few mornings with her, I would wake up, let Mae out of her crate, and bring her downstairs to do her business. Once we got upstairs I would sit on the carpet and invite her in my lap, letting her sleep or holding a bone for her while she chewed and I calmly pet her. Now, each morning when we get back upstairs, she runs to the carpet and sits patiently, waiting for me to sit on the floor for some lap time. It is truly one of my most cherished moments of each day, and I hope she never grows out of it, even when she is a 60-pound pup :)

November 1, 2014: Obviously Mae is a huge Miami Hurricanes fan!

October 25, 2014: First day at the park with Mom and Dad! RIP Bear Toy :(

I feel so lucky to have Mae in our lives. While of course owning a dog is a lot of work and responsibility, adding Mae to our little family has brought so much laugher and joy and I know that she is going to grow into a great dog. Welcome to the family, Ms. Mae! xo ~ Mamasita


"Each cup of tea represents an imaginary voyage." - Catherine Douzel

The weather is officially in the 60's here in the South (aka New Orleans), which means it is tea time! When I was in India, I became quite the dedicated tea-drinker, and even brought home some authentic loose teas back to the States with me. I purchased Darjeeling, Mango, and Asam - which is used with Masala spice for delicious Chai Tea. I have a cool little loose tea to-go container from Teavana, but nothing to strain loose tea in my favorite Life Is Good mug.

So, I got creative, and now I will share my little discovery with you!

DIY Tea Strainer

What You'll Need:

Your favorite loose tea (I chose Teavana's Snow Geisha for my demo, but I had my Darjeeling earlier)

A coffee filter

A pencil

A cozy mug

Hot water (duh.)

Step One: Put desired amount of tea in the coffee filter. I like my tea pretty strong, so I covered the bottom of the coffee filter for extra flavor.

Step Two: Fold the coffee filter in half, and poke your pencil through both sides. Dunk the pouch in the hot water and balance the pencil on top of the mug to let the tea steep.

Step Four: After the tea steeps, remove the pouch and toss used tea leaves. Voila! You have freshly brewed loose-leaf tea! Add sugar or milk, and enjoy!

Have a beautiful Wednesday and stay warm out there folks!

Oh, p.s. I got all of my Indian teas from this guy: The Spice Maker. Check out his website!

"Eat, Drink, and Be Scary" - Anonymous

 

Last week I took a new route for my afternoon jog, and passed by this classic New Orleans above-ground cemetery. I knew I had some cemeteries not too far from my apartment, but I had never taken the time to go explore them - I mean, why would I? Cemeteries are creepy, right? Right. But, in an impulsive act of bravery, I returned to the cemetery (in broad daylight mind you) with my camera in hand to see what it was all about. In honor of today's spooky holiday, I thought I would share some of my favorite/eeriest shots:

A view of the cemetery from behind the fence 

Big tree + tomb stones = scary!

Pumpkin peeking out from a window!

Broken-down fence and some mourners' flowers

Have a safe, happy, and candy-coated Halloween!!

"Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn" - Elizabeth Lawrence

Ahh, how good it feels to be back in New Orleans just in time for the weather to start changing. I arrived back in U.S. from India a few weeks ago, and boy has it been a hectic time! I am planning to post some pictures and stories from my trip, but not this moment. After all, one of the most important lessons I learned in India, from an extraordinary Tibetan Buddhist Nun, is to be present. It is a simple lesson on the surface, but actually a truly profound message: 

Be present, as the present is your only reality, and the past and the future and simply figments of your imagination. 

So, to exist in the present, I took a personal day to live in the moment and take in the season. In short, I was a lean, mean, pumpkin machine:

Fleur de lis carved pumpkin surrounded by homemade pumpkin goodies, and of course, my personal favorite, Candy Corn!

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Bread, recipe courtesy SkinnyTaste, plus I added walnuts for a little crunch!

Salty Pumpkin Seeds made with olive oil and a dash of salt and pepper for a healthy, savory Fall snack

I am definitely a southern girl, Florida born-and-raised and living in good ol' Louisiana, but I welcome the change in temperature, and of course, the chance to wear boots.

Have a Happy Hump Day!

“I hoped that the trip would be the best of all journeys: a journey into ourselves” - Shirley MacLaine

So, ladies and gentleman, this is it: tomorrow I officially embark on my journey to India! But before I reflect on self discovery and all that nonsense, it would be extremely rude if I failed to introduce you to my new best friend for the next four weeks, Sandy (see us together above). Yes, Sandy is a backpack, and she is a husky lady about half my size in height and weight, thanks for asking. She has been entrusted with the ever-so-important job of carrying all of my belongs, including a week's worth of clothes, toiletries and other random necessities, as well as over 20 energy bars (have I mentioned spicy food is not my strong suit?). Vital items like my passport and cash will be stored in my straight from the runway couture money belt/fanny pack - I hear those are among the latest trends in India. Kidding, right?

Now on to said nonsense, the past few weeks have been full of emotional ups and downs preparing for the trip. By day, I am excited and running around like the Tasmanian devil trying to make sure I have what I need and that it fits in good-ol Sandy. But by night, terror strikes and I have nightmares about falling off cliffs, being attacked by monkeys, and getting trampled on by elephants (thanks Ross). I liked the quote I found today because I think it is a valuable concept. As awesome and different as India will be than America, part of the point of the trip is to take time for self-reflection - to think about where we fit into the world as people, and of course for me, as a (near) future social worker. 

I decided to take the trip because I felt like it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so I am going with positivity on my mind, excitement in my heart, and a huge smile on my face! 

If I have internet I'll try to post while I'm abroad, if not, I shall see you upon my return at the end of September!

"All the world is a laboratory to the inquiring mind." - Martin H. Fischer

Today I got an early birthday present: a new fancy-schmancy camera! It is a Nikon Coolpix L120, and maybe it's not fancy-schmancy on the grand scheme of cameras, but for me, this is a huge upgrade and I'm in love.

On this beautiful Saturday afternoon, I took myself out for a walk around Audubon Park to see what my new baby could do before I take it halfway across the globe to India. I tried to play with angles, scene settings, zoom, and coloration, so I want to share some of my favorites:

Close-up of a tree swing in Audubon Park

Flowers at the front entrance of Audubon Park

Bird Island in Audubon Park

A view of the trails in Audubon Park 

Playing with the macro setting inside the trees

Looks so relaxing, right?

I love this adorable little squirrel! Little guy's munching on a graham cracker.

The bark on this tree was stunning

Ducks!

Stately homes line the perimeter of the park

Details from the park's surrounding homes

Beautiful architecture and coloration on this home

I'll be practicing more this evening at New Orleans Mid-Summer Mardi Gras, and then tomorrow night at my boyfriend's gig on Frenchman street. The more I practice, the more confident I will feel that I can capture my upcoming trip in photos as well as memories!

Have a great weekend!

“Success always comes when preparation meets opportunity” - Henry Hartman

Hi everyone!

Thanks to all you faithful readers who have been asking about my blogosphere return. It's been a long summer filled with many highs, and many deep lows, so I haven't even known where to begin in keeping up the blog.

My circles above on the map are tiny, but I'll be in those regions

Yet, I've decided to start again due to this grand opportunity that presented itself several months ago: a one month trip to India! Now, the time has come to make real preparations, as I leave for the adventure on August 31. I'll be flying into Delhi, spending my 24th birthday hanging out at the Taj Mahal in Agra, then traveling to the North to spend the majority of the trip in Dharamsala. The focus of the trip, is neither purely academic, nor missionary, but as I like to call it: a cultural exchange. I took a class that included reading books and writing papers over the summer, which left room for pure exploration and observation while in India. We will be taking in the sights, sounds, and yes, even smells, of a country that is so different from our own. I have also been partnered with a Tibetan pen pal, who I will get to know while spending time with her in Dharamsala. I hear rumors of meditation and yoga, a trip to Tibetan Monks' caves, tea plantations, and coloring with children in the Tibetan Children's Village. The itinerary is "flexible," so I am keeping an open mind about where we stop and the activities that we will be taking part in while abroad.


For now, my focus is on packing (read: shopping). Yup, for those who know me, I made the jump. I traded my 5 inch heels for those bad boys over to the right. I mean, just look at that big 'ol rubber toe. No Himalayan Mountain, nor rabid monkey for that matter, is messing with these feet. I also acquired more cargo capris than any one person should own, as well as my very own hand-made sleep sack (thanks mom!). And, just like any inner-eighty-year-old wouldn't dare leave home without: crossword puzzles and a book light.

Who's ready for India? This girl.

Maybe... kind of... okay not at all... but I've got 6 days to get there!

P.S. I'm taking requests for email updates while abroad, so leave a comment if you would like to be included!