1 month

That's how long I've been unemployed. My last day at the magazine was May 29th and yesterday, June 29th, I accepted a job offer. Take that recession!

I am now the new account manager at Valeo Marketing here in Memphis. I'm very excited to get started and back to a work routine. I think Chris may miss me being around the house, cleaning, grocery shopping, etc., but an additional paycheck may sway him ;)

So long soap operas (no I never got that bored), mornings with Food Network and mid-day grocery shopping. I'm headed back to the real world!

Tunica and friends

We went to Tunica this Saturday.

And guess who was there!!!!

Laura, Areta, Julie and Anna (and their spouses) made the trek to Tunica for the weekend, and we were so happy to see them. We enjoyed a little bit of gambling, a lot of catching up and tons of laughs. Chris and I had a wedding to go to that night, or we would have loved to stay the entire time.

I missed a picture of the other guys, but here is Chris and Steve.

And me and Anna! It was so nice to be with her again. I've forgotten how nice is it to speak with someone on my level ;)

Trolley Night

Friday night was our first experience with Trolley Night. It's the last Friday of the month, and all the shops and galleries on South Main stay open late.

We rode the trolley for just 25 cents each.

There are actually a lot of shops to see, but man was it hot!

We were there, and hot.

This was a fun way to start the weekend and feel like we actually live here.

Our goings on

It's pretty hot here so we've been trying to stay cool beneath the fan:

Lounging around the house has become a favorite past time:

Although I have been exploring more about the town:

Chris has even been on a business trip already:

Slowly but surely we're settling into our Memphis life!

I have friends!

But no camera.

I was such a lucky girl and had two friends visit me recently. Laura, friend since second grade, and Sarah, friend since I met her, both made treks through Memphis. Sadly, Chris had our camera and so I have no real evidence they were here. But they were!

Laura and I took a small tour of the city. That means I took her every place I knew to take her, and we had fried pickles at a local restaurant and then pizza for dinner. Yum. We also stayed up late talking and having girl time.

We met Sarah for brunch at Majestic Grille. I've been there several times and it's always good.

It was so nice to have visitors! Thanks for coming girls!!!

Bulls eye!

I found Target!!

........in Mississippi

I don't know what to tell you people. I was trusting my iPhone's Map feature, and maybe between having to click to the next step, watch the road and keep the phone from going to sleep, I must have missed some exit or ramp or turn. Okay, I did one or more of those things. 

I meant to go to F and I went to A:

The best part of the story is that once I realized I was lost, I determined that I would turn around at the upcoming exit. I pull off at the next exit, and there was a TARGET!

It was a miracle that no one could have planned. Thank you Horn Lake, Mississippi, Target for being there when I needed you. 

On the way home, ya know, back to Tennessee, I stopped at the Tennessee welcome center. Just a little shout out to Jack!

The Spice of Life

Variety right? So today I ventured to the West Memphis Kroger. (I promise at some point this won't be the "follow Allison grocery shopping" blog, but people!, I'm unemployed and it's my outing. 

So I choose the Kroger in West Memphis because I hadn't been there, and why not try it out. It was huge and empty! Every grocery shopper's dream. I had a short list, but was pleased to find everything I needed and plenty of room, light and anti-germy area to find it in. 

To be noted the Kroger is next to the Sally Beauty Store, $5 clothing, Tobacco Superstore and the West Memphis "join the military office." 

At 3:00 in the afternoon, it was a delightful choice, and I may return. 

On a different note, I have two job possibilities so send me lots of positive thoughts that whichever is the right one for me will work out. I appreciate the good thoughts!

I will blog later with cute pictures of animals, husbands, etc. 

The Single Lady

Chris is on a business trip tonight and in keeping with tradition, I made guacamole. Chris loves guacamole, but it makes him sick so whenever he's out of town, I make myself delicious guacamole. 

Tonight, I took Grace with me to Miss Cordelia's, in the car, not actually inside! Along with an avocado, I also purchased two, ok three, cookies. Miss Cordelia's has this cookie bar that you can mix and match a bag of cookies. Yum! I chose 2 (3) coconut ones.

I was feeling a little spicy, so this is the recipe I made up. 

Spicy Guacamole

1 avocado, mashed with a fork in a bowl

Two splashes of lime juice

salt

1/2 cup, or so, of salsa

Sprinkle of garlic salt

three or four slices of pickled jalapenos

YUM-O, as Rachel Ray would say  

Animal Antics

I wanted to give Grace some blog time, so here are a few pictures of her enjoying a stick. She loves to carry around and chew up sticks--the bigger the better! 

And, here are a few cutes ones of Porter. I can't resist!

Curiosity and the cat anyone?

A Weekend with the Cooks

Chris' folks were able to come visit us this weekend, and we had a great time! Unfortunately, they arrived just as a huge storm hit with crazy winds and lots of water. More than 131,000 people in Memphis lost power, but we were very fortunate not to have been included. 

Saturday night, we dined at Rendezvous, and Carol and I turned up in matching outfits! More like opposites attract! 

A Bicycle Built for Two (or Three)

I think everyone is pretty clear on how much I like my bike. But I had to share this one. It may be the second best!

A Bicycle Built for Two (or Three)

18.46 miles

That's how many miles Chris and I rode on our bikes this weekend. Friday night we rode to the Harbor Town town square and watched and partied with the 5K run. Of course, Chris wished he could have run, but we didn't know about it until the day before. Anyway, we rode our bikes from our apartment, followed the racers and enjoyed the band in the square.

On Saturday, we awoke early and shopped the local farmers' market. There area ton of booths with lots of vendors and really great produce, meat, flowers and bath products. 

After the farmers' market, Chris and I went house shopping with our realtor, Myra Sheddan. We visited 14 houses in Harbor Town, where we plan to stay. We saw some sad homes and some great ones. We hope to keep our eyes open while I'm securing a job, and then we can buy a house and stop living in rent "bungalows" with robbers, a lovely pool house or a one-bedroom apartment. We've done it all, except a real house, so we're excited!

After house hunting, we opted for some burgers and a nap. It was a big day and we relaxed the rest of the time. 

On Sunday, we visited our first church, St. Mary's. It was a small, beautiful church, which we enjoyed. There are two other churches within the same square block, and we'll continue to visit them the next few weeks. We loved our church in Little Rock, St. Andrew's, and it will be difficult to replace. 

After church, we rode bikes to the store and then played in the pool for a while. I read my latest Vanity Fair, and Chris made friends with a kid in the complex, and we all ended up playing ball in the pool. The sweet boy also picked me a bouquet of flowers. So nice!

After the pool, we got ready for the piece de resistance of the weekend: Gus's Famous Fried Chicken. We've been talking about Gus's for weeks. It was actually featured on the Travel Channel's Man Vs. Food, as well as were several other places around Memphis. 

We arrived at Gus's and were not disappointed. A hole in the wall, where you order beer by the 40 (we split one), with only  two choices on the menu: fried chicken with sides and fried chicken with white bread only. White bread is considered a given here. Placed under the chicken, it sops up the grease. 

I had two pieces of friend chicken with white bread, and Chris had three pieces of fried chicken with the sides. We also threw in an order of french fries for good measure. 

There was a little bit of wait, but once the food got there, it was on. Chris and I are responsible, healthy eaters, which lead to the look in Chris' eye after his first bite: out of control. He tore it up! And, it was all delicious, although I only got one bite of the cole slaw and half a bite of baked beans. The man was on a mission. 

We were slightly delirious as we left, and we are true Gus's fans; however, due to coronary concerns, we will limit our visits. 

So at the end of this weekend, we consider ourselves extremely lucky to be enjoying our new island. 

**as a separate note: I published these pictures as small rather than medium. Let me know if they are too small or happily load faster. 

Packages of Life

Today I realized that I hadn't spoken to anyone all day until Chris came home. This must be the stay-at-home-wife syndrome. A little banter with Grace and Porter of course, but not with a real human. I would say that I'm refining myself, but I don't think that's the case.

I did make it to the West Memphis WalMart for a little shopping extravaganza. I arrived at the Store-O-Arkansas with damp hair pulled back in a Clip-E, no make-up and in denim shorts. I seemed to fit right into my new surroundings. 

When I arrived back on the island, I found that I had packages! People love me!! The first package was one that I was expecting. Some time ago I had broken my coffee canister, the set being my mom's original. I was heartbroken since they were vintage and difficult to replace, if at all. 

I searched etsy.com a few months ago and actually found the sugar canister, which I ordered and have been using for coffee. 

This Sunday, the person I purchased the extra sugar canister from, emailed me and alerted me that she had discovered my coffee canister! I was so happy that this stranger was searching for me, and I purchased the coffee canister immediately. 

If you haven't played around on etsy.com, I encourage you to do so. You can search by vintage items or handmade ones, and there's tons to see. 

Also today, I received a package from my BFF, Kathy Woerner. The excellent package consisted of a snazzy USB/Flash memory stick, a book about cooking and murder (all my favorite things):

 And, a packet of treats for Grace. Although, Porter was pretty convinced it was for him. 

 All in all, a good day on the island.

Porter vs. Mouse

This video demonstrates several things: 1) cats are hilarious, 2) cats can entertain themselves, and 3) Porter is the cutest cat.

Enjoy!

Unemployed in the City

Today is the first day of the rest of my life. That is to say, it's the first day in my life that I'm unemployed. So I spent it looking for a job!

I traveled about 20 minutes to the Viking Cooking School in Memphis, and although they didn't have any immediate openings, they said they are always hiring. Could be fun!

While in route, I discovered a Whole Foods!

Interestingly, there's a Ben & Jerry's across the parking lot. Temptation? A cruel trick? Or just wonderful?!?

 So my first jobless day was filled with exploration and no paycheck, but every day can't be perfect. 

Chris spent some time in south Memphis today where he spotted a sign at a gas station promoting a free chicken biscuit with the purchase of a 40. Why he didn't buy several is a mystery to me!

Days of Memories

We jaunted across the river this Memorial Day weekend to celebrate my grandfather's and uncle's birthdays.
 Porter and Grace made the trip, and Porter was exceptionally happy to be back in Arkansas. 

I have a pretty good-looking family, as seen here. 

And here: 

As you can see from the napkin, it was Thad's 85th. 

Here are the birthday boys getting some help blowing out the candles. 

Thad received a Wii and a St. Jude golf shirt, the former which we enjoyed the following day, and even Jenny got in on the bowling! 

What a great weekend with family!