Anniversary Dinner at South City Kitchen

Happy first day of spring, everyone! I have to be honest, today I just can't stop smiling from ear to ear. Yesterday was a BIG day for us in the Fenton household, a day that makes me so excited for our future. A day that we have prayed about for years. When the time is right, I will be sure to share the goodness with y'all. I can't wait! In the meantime, today's post is all about the yummy goodness that was our anniversary dinner at South City Kitchen a couple of weekends ago.

Since we want to save as much of our hard-earned moolah as we can for our trip to California, we didn't do much for our anniversary this year. We didn't give each other cards or gifts. I know, womp womp. But what was lacking in the gift department, definitely was not lacking in the food department. You know Kyle and I don't miss the chance to go out for a celebratory meal. This year, at the recommendation of a few coworkers, we went to South City Kitchen in Midtown for our anniversary dinner.

South City is located on a narrow street right across from Opera Nightclub, where apparently there was a prom going on since we saw prom kids everywhere that night. Prom season starts so early in Atlanta! But anyway, we're hoping that was why parking was so expensive. South City doesn't have its own parking lot, and every public lot we went to was at least $15. But maybe I'm being naive about Atlanta parking and that's how it always is. Just a heads up if you are in the Atlanta area and want to try out South City sometime.  

Now for the important part, the food! We got a basket of bread before our main dishes came out, except this wasn't just any bread. It was some of the most delicious cornbread and biscuits we have ever had. Even Kyle, not a cornbread person, raved about the cornbread. It was a great foreshadowing of what was to come. Kyle ordered the shrimp and grits for his main dish, and I got the shrimp and mussels. We love us some southern seafood dishes. I don't know what I was expecting, but my shrimp and mussels dish was a little spicier than anticipated, but overall it was very good.

Another thing to note, if you are sitting downstairs, the restaurant is really loud. There's a lot of people eating in a small-ish space. I felt like I was shouting at Kyle at times as we were talking over our food. As the crowd thinned, the noise subsided of course, but if you are looking to have a romantic dinner with intimate conversation, this isn't really the place. Thankfully that's not what Kyle and I were really looking for, so we didn't mind.

We finished things off with the key lime cheesecake, which was served in a small mason jar. I loved the presentation on this!

So what about y'all? Have you eaten at any really good restaurants lately? Or are you just excited it's finally the first day of spring? I for one am glad we can officially kiss winter goodbye!

For Meemaw

One year ago today, I found out that my grandmother (my mom's mom) had lost her eight-year battle with Alzheimer's. I don't know why I haven't written about this yet, but a year later I think I am definitely in a place where I can. I think Meemaw deserves to be remembered in this little corner of the internet, and I will do my best to put into words what 23 years with the most loving grandmother has meant to me.

One of the things I loved about Meemaw was how genuinely excited she got whenever we came over to see her. Her face would light up as she exclaimed our name, and she would wrap us in welcoming arms, giving us a kiss on the cheek. She certainly didn't hide her love for her grandchildren. Some of my favorite memories growing up took place with Meemaw, laughing with my family over a dinner of her always delicious spaghetti casserole.

Needless to say, her joy for life was one the hardest things to see go when the symptoms of her Alzheimer's worsened. To see that light in her eyes disappear, to know that she no longer knew our names. I felt like I had to say goodbye to my grandmother a long time ago, and at the time I don't think I was mature enough to comprehend how heartbreaking it really was. Looking back now, I can see it. And it breaks my heart to write about it now.

But even in the darkest of situations, the light of Jesus still shines through. And that light in this situation came through my Pawpaw. If you were to ask me who my hero was, I wouldn't hesitate for a second to say it was Pawpaw. And it's all because of the example he provided as he loved Meemaw with a fierce love throughout her illness.

My Aunt Carol actually wrote an article shortly after Meemaw passed last year that beautifully illustrates how my Pawpaw cared for his beloved wife. I thought I would share a snippet of that with you since I couldn't have said it better myself:

"On a daily basis he fed, clothed, changed soiled diapers, bathed and attended to my mother’s needs. He had to take precautions for her safety by locking doors, putting away anything that was potentially dangerous, remaining largely confined to his home. Because of the confinement, gone were the days of regular exercise, gardening, or traveling. Gone, too, were the countless precious conversations that pepper the days in a marriage of a man and a woman. However, throughout her illness, Dad took my mother to church every Sunday. Several members of his church community commented to me that Alex was an inspiration as he lovingly and compassionately tended to my mother."

"As you may well know, Alzheimer’s disease changes the personality of the sufferer. They become easily frustrated, agitated and even aggressive. My father had to transact all his daily activities not knowing if she might turn irritable and unreasonable. Amazingly, he carried out of these everyday jobs with composure, grace and understanding. He knew not to take the difficult moods of my mother personally, recognizing the progression of her illness. I can only tell you that I, my sisters, our husbands and children witnessed my father’s faithful guardianship of my mother and saw it for what it was – a beautiful expression of agape Christian love."

"When dad called to tell me of Mother’s death I told him how honorable I thought he was. He tearfully replied in a matter of fact way, 'I enjoyed every minute of it.' By which he meant that it was his pleasure to serve his wife in her greatest hours of need and to serve the Lord who had done so much for him. It was eight years of difficult service joyfully accepted. What an example to which to aspire!"

It makes me tear up everytime I read that, because it is so true. I have never seen a more selfless man. God says that he works everything together for the good of those who love him, and I believe the good that will come from Meemaw's Alzheimer's is a generation committed to loving their spouses in the way that Pawpaw loved his. Loving each other even when it gets difficult. Even when you may not get that love in return. A generation committed to unconditional, godly love. 

In conclusion, we miss you so much Meemaw. Your memory continues to be treasured in our hearts, and in the godly legacy your marriage to Pawpaw has left behind. We miss you more than you can ever know!

{Flowers from Meemaw's grave, March 2012}

AnniversarTHREE

Today Kyle and I are celebrating our third wedding anniversary! And on the side, we are also celebrating that this is our last anniversary with one of us being a full-time student. Cheers to THAT, y'all! We are two months away from Kyle realizing one of his biggest dreams, and you can bet that has come with a lot of hard work, stressful decisions, uncertainty, and frustration, but also a lot of JOY. I have learned so much these past three years being married to Kyle, and I thought I would put a little spin on that for our anniversary post today. Kyle and I are both going to share three things we've learned about each other since we got married, which means Kyle will be making his first ever appearance on the blog today! He must really love me to agree to that. :) So here goes nothing!

1. He has an incredible servant's heart.
One of the many reasons I fell in love with Kyle when we were dating in college was because of the way he treated me. He would always go out of his way to make me feel special, and there is one example that continues to stick out in my mind to this day. Whenever we would eat in the dining hall at UGA, he would ALWAYS take my tray for me when it was time to leave, in addition to his own. I know it seems like a minor thing, but just seeing him walking to the tray drop-off with both trays in hand, insisting that I let him do it, reassured me that he approached our relationship with a servant's heart. And even though he's not perfect, he's continued to strive for that throughout our past three years of marriage. When we lived in Augusta, he would wake up every morning and make my lunch for me before work, he gives Doc a bath everytime he needs one because of my allergies, and he diligently takes care of our finances. I just love him so much for all the things he does for our family.

  
2. He is going to be an AWESOME Physical Therapist.
Ok so this one is kinda cheating, since I already knew this about Kyle before we got married. But as we have journeyed together through PT school these past three years, every day I am more and more convinced that Physical Therapy is what Kyle was born to do. It just comes so naturally to him, and I love to see how happy it makes him to be able to help people in this way. I think that is his desire above everything else, to build relationships with people and show them the love of Jesus through Physical Therapy. I cannot wait to see the amazing things God is going to do through his career!

  
3. His obsession with Star Wars (and Mountain Dew, for that matter) goes a tad bit beyond obsession.
Yes, this is also something I knew about Kyle before we got married, but the extent to which he really loved the Star Wars franchise I did not know. Back in high school he became the proud owner of a Storm Trooper helmet, and since we got married he has added the Star Wars Cookbook and a Darth Vader spatula to his paraphernalia collection, among other things. Whenever we watch the movies together, we could probably watch them on mute and he would still know every word. I actually gave him The Pioneer Woman's Star Wars movie quiz way back when and he aced it without me even giving him the choices. Oh, and I'm pretty sure the day this was announced was the best day of his adult life. Even though I've sufficiently embarrassed him now (he says I haven't), there's no doubt I still love my Star Wars nerd to pieces!

1. She sleeps more than 8 hours. 

Lesley Anne told me when we started dating that she couldn't sleep more than 8 hours a night. Well that was pretty much completely wrong. If she falls asleep on the couch at 9 o’clock and then doesn't get up until 8 the next morning, last I checked that added up to 11 hours. 8-11 = more than 8 hours sleep. Wait, wha? But its ok, because she looks beautiful when she is sleeping. Except that time she fell asleep in the front seat of the car on the way to Charleston. That was just funny!

2. She is someone that I can't live without.

Every morning when I leave for work, I get a little sad that I have to leave Lesley Anne and Doc behind. I think about what it might be like if I didn't have her around, and I get sick to my stomach. I love her so much that I can't stand to think what it might have been like if we had never met. She is the reason why I miss home when I leave in the morning. She is the reason I am excited to come home at night. And she is the reason why it suits me just fine sitting at the house on a Friday night with my family!

3. She never gets tired of supporting me.
Lesley Anne is always writing blog posts bragging about me and giving people info on my journey through PT school. Sometimes I feel like she is talking about someone other than me because I don't feel like I could live up to some of the things she says. But I know it is because she loves me so much and is proud of me. That makes me so grateful because she deserves so much credit. I wouldn't be where I am without God leading me and giving me provision, and so much of that provision that he has given me to get through school is her. She does the everyday things that need to be done so I can focus on school, like cooking, cleaning, and making that money! But more importantly, she constantly lifts me up and encourages me, tells me that she is proud of me, and believes in me. Without that I might have tapped out a long time ago. I love her so much and can’t thank her enough for believing in me.

Wow, that got mushy pretty quick! Sorry we put you through that. But if there's any day you are going to get mushy, your anniversary is a pretty good day to do it I guess. We are going to celebrate tonight by watching our wedding video and sipping on some sparkling wine, then we are going out for a fancy schmancy dinner in the city on Saturday. Here's to a fabulous fourth year of marriage ahead!

Longing for Spring

Warning: this post contains a LOT of flower pictures.  

Since I can't have Spring in real life (I'm looking at you with your snow flurries, Georgia!), I'm bringing it to the blog today. This weekend I was looking through pictures of our visit to the Biltmore last summer, and realized I never took the time to sit down and edit them. That is especially sad, considering how beautiful the gardens were that time of year. So I went ahead and edited a few over the weekend, and today I wanted to share with you some of those beautiful Biltmore blooms. (P.S. Did you know that the Biltmore grounds were designed by the same guy who did landscape design for Central Park in New York? Frederick Law Olmsted for any of you trivia buffs!). Let me know which one is your favorite!

 

All photos copyright Lesley Anne Fenton. 

Words, Vol. 3: Victor Hugo

-Victor Hugo, Les Miserables (Fantine: Book One)

Book Review: Divergent

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Release Date: May 3, 2011
Pages: 487
Source and Format: Library; Hardcover

Summary (From Goodreads)
In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Thoughts on Divergent

Hi, my name is Lesley Anne and Divergent gave me JOMCS (Just One More Chapter Syndrome). I could not stop reading this book! I originally approached Divergent with skepticism due to the assumed similarities to The Hunger Games, since nothing could possibly measure up to THG when it came to dystopian fiction. (P.S. Have y'all seen the new movie posters for Catching Fire?! OMG! November can't get here soon enough!). 

But I was pleased to find myself loving Divergent just as much as The Hunger Games, just in a different way. Veronica Roth's dystopian world is so unique and intriguing, one that seems picture perfect on the surface, but secretly you know it could crack at any moment. This was not a world where there was an obvious evil, which made Divergent even more compelling in my opinion.

At first I thought I might have a hard time connecting with the characters in this book, but I was wrong about that as well. Tris was just so much fun to read about! She's a heroine with definite flaws and still has a lot to learn about herself, but she also doesn't let people push her around. She's one tough cookie. And Four. Le sigh. I could go on and on about how much I love Four, but that would take away the fun of reading the book for yourself (if you're one of the few who hasn't). ;)  

I was also surprised by the number of complex issues addressed in Divergent. Things like the impossibility of fitting people into a predetermined box, the depravity of man and how good intentions can quickly go awry, how the media can be used to manipulate opinion rather than expose truth, etc. were constant themes throughout the novel. I feel that if I were part of a book club discussing this book, there would be a lot of good conversations...over some good wine, of course!

Thankfully I got an email from the library today saying my copy of Insurgent is ready for pick up, the next installment in the trilogy. But the real question is, how on earth am I going to wait until October 22 for the Book 3 release? It's going to be a long seven months!

Memorable Quotes  
"I have a theory that selflessness and bravery aren't all that different."

"Human beings as a whole cannot be good for long before the bad creeps back in and poisons us again."