Hail Dear Ole State

When we moved to gainesville and zach started medical school at the university of florida the question we were asked most often was, "Are you going to be Gator fans?" Our answer was "Yes" and that we would cheer for the University of Florida unless they are playing Mississippi State or Auburn. Having one football season under our belt, I know most of you will be happy to hear that I own no UF apparel, we only watched one UF game socially and never while MSU or Auburn were playing, and we never attended a game at the Swamp to cheer for UF. While we said we would cheer for Florida, we really haven't. And being in Gainesville makes us bleed maroon and white even more (if that is possible?!) and dislike Gator fans even more. Every Saturday night when our game was on ESPNU (which is a channel we do not get), we would be in maroon seated in front of the computer watching our game. We would ring cowbells, but I don't think that would have gone over well with our neighbors. We love our alma mater, so Hail State! Go Bulldogs! Vroom Maroon! and GTHOM!

All this to say, we're so excited to be going to the Gator Bowl next month! And a big thanks to Florida for not coming after Dan Mullen!

This was taken right after our 10-7 win over Florida in the Swamp! What a sweet victory! They had to throw us out of the stadium!

O, Christmas Tree!

Confession: I put this up before Thanksgiving. (At least I waited until December to blog about it!) I've thoroughly enjoyed it ever since! I turned off all the lights in the house, lit Christmas Candles and watched Elf while sipping hot chocolate... and it was 85 degrees outside. I live in Florida.

Decorating the tree with Christmas ornaments is one of my favorite things to do! Every year since I can remember I've decorated the tree with my mom as our cats tried to climb it and sang along to all of Amy Grant's Christmas albums. This year, I listed to the Glee Christmas album, duh.

A common theme in married life is remembering past traditions and starting new ones. I appreciate the blending of the old with the new. Last Christmas, mom let me take some ornaments from our family tree to have for my new married Christmas tree! Each ornament has a unique memory and is dear to my heart. I got a little teary as I hung the familiar ornaments with so much sentimental meaning in my new home. Here is our tree!!!

A makeshift tree topper:

A blend of new and old ornaments: Shout out- Bec's look at the ornament you made!

Presents under the tree!

Hottie Hoo!!

I made this in the 2nd grade!

There are several hand-crafted ornaments, of course!

This is from our honeymoon in Chattanooga.

These shells were from a vacation we took this summer with my step brother and step sister to Delray Beach.

Mom got this one for us!

Every year Zach's mom would take him and his brother to pick out an ornament for their tree. We decided to do the same!

This is my pick: Barbie shoes!!!

The store was sold out of Zach's ornament, but here's a picture anyways. Hopefully is don our tree soon!

Chocolate Cheesecake

I have a new found love for cooking! Maybe it's a very appreciative and hungry husband or the joy in preparing meals for studious medical students? More than likely it's the innate feminine need to nurture. Anyhoo- we hosted a party for the SEC Championship game. I got to cook for a crowd! Fun! We had yummy appetizers first, then chili and cornbread for supper. And I made a delicious chocolate cheesecake for dessert. Did I mention it's super easy? Bonus! Here it is:

CRUST

1) Mix the following ingredients in a bowl:

3/4 Cup finely chopped almonds

1.5 Cups crushed chocolate teddy grahams (I pour the teddy grahams in a big zip lock and roll over with rolling pin until crushed)

2) Melt 1/4 Cup butter and pour over almonds and grahams.

3) Add 1/2 tsp vanilla and stir together.

4) Press mixture into bottom and up the sides of a pie pan. Then put in fridge until ready to use.

CHEESECAKE

1) Beat 16 oz of cream cheese and 1/2 Cup sugar until well blended.

2) Add 1 jar (13 oz) of nutella hazlenut spread and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Mix until well blended.

3) Stir, do not beat, 1 tub (8 oz) of thawed cool whip.

4) Spoon mixture into crust.

5) Garnish with left over teddy grahams (optional, but I think it looks adorable). Refrigerate at least 4 hours.

Thanksgiving in Pace

I love the holiday season! It's the first one with my new husband, and i'm really excited about it! We spent Thanksgiving with the Greenes in Pensacola. It was a full house! Robyn and Alex, Zach's brother and sister-in-law, were down from Memphis, and Robyn's parents, Robert and Teri, were up from Ft. Lauderdale, FL. That was eight of us under one roof- Always fun to have a full house! We did the usual: eat, shop, watch football-- all weekend!

Thanksgiving dinner was hosted at the Greene's home. Naturally, the girls cooked inside while the boys cooked outside. We had smoked turkey thanks to Zach's Dad's smoker. Delicious!

I even got to make my family's dressing (with white bread instead of corn bread). It was my first Thanksgiving away from my parents, but I enjoyed new traditions with my new family.

Zach's parents are big Auburn fans, so we watched the Iron Bowl on Friday... War Eagle!

This was a bit strange, but I've married into an Auburn family!

And then went to celebrate the win and Zach's Mom's birthday with Aunt Barbara and Uncle Ed at Ed's Seafood Shed in Mobile.

I'm still questions Zach's judgement in this next stunt of his:

He tackled the "Yo Daddy's Sandwich" at Ed's. It's an eating contest of sorts- Zach vs Sandwich. The sandwich is a philly cheese steak with french fries, cole slaw, and a heaping pile of onion rings. Here are the before and after pictures!

The whole gang at the Shed!

And we wrapped up a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with a Bulldog win! Hail State!