Our Smurfy New Home

Well, we did it. Moved that is. We are now residents of Daphne, AL! Jared accepted the position in Mobile, so we loaded up our little family, packed (or watched professionals pack) all our belongings and headed south.

We made the trip Halloween weekend. There were several tricks (no Internet for five days - yikes!) and treats (a much larger house with a fireplace, friends nearby and pizza delivered by a "mysterious" benefactor our first night). The move was fine and I must say, I have a whole new respect for professional movers. They were amazing! Even with all the work they did, we were still swamped. I can't imagine how we would have managed without them.

I was terrified we were moving to the country. Make no mistake, we are in the country. There are cotton fields and pecan orchards everywhere. Lucky for us, this country is very close to a city (Mobile) and our area has some entertainment of its own. We do have a Rave Movie Theatre (or something equivalent) nearby, as well as a great outdoor mall. The Eastern Shore Center has the big name stores, plus TJ Maxx, Hobby Lobby and SteinMart are a few miles in the opposite direction.

You all know food is very important to me. I need good grocery stores and great restaurants. We've already discovered a great little "hole-in-the-wall" seafood place about a mile from our house. Their fried shrimp is fantastic. I would like to eat it a few times a week, but I don't think that would be good for my waistline!

Also nearby is the cutest little market. The prices are probably the same as any other small town grocery store, but remember that I've been shopping in Birmingham for the last five years. I think our little market is very affordable. My favorite part is that they tell you where most of the produce originated. I love knowing that I'm buying sweet potatoes that were grown a few miles away (or whatever the veggie of choice is).  They also have this ridiculous chocolate that is made by an Amish community in....Ohio I think. My favorite is dark chocolate filled with peanut butter. Oh. My. Goodness. They sell it by the pound, which just sounds incredibly dangerous. I mean, do you know how many candies come in a pound?? A lot!

We've visited one area church a couple of times and really like it. We know we have to check out a few more before we can make a decision, but the one we've visited has a MOPS group (Mothers of Preschoolers) and I'm eager to get involved. I miss the Birmingham Mama & Me women so much. I know I won't be able to replace them, but I do look forward to making new friends. I know Lila misses her little buddies as well. We had to make our first trip to the pediatrician last week and Lila nearly tackled every child there. She was so excited and would just crawl up to each one. Fortunately Lila is a most lovable child and all the other children were completely taken with her.

Lila is enjoying the house, as you could see in the previous post. She loves climbing the stairs (yes, with me right behind her) and exploring all the new spaces. The house is really great, except for one thing......every room is some shade of blue, except for 2 of the bedrooms. These are sea foam green. Now blue is one of my top 3 favorite colors, but it's like Smurf Village exploded in Daphne. We're just renting, so we're using our regular stuff and it clashes. It clashes a lot. We can survive for a few months, but ugh! I don't know what the owners were thinking! Just a sampling of the Smurfiness:

Please take note of the beautiful carpet on the stairs. One of our movers called it "casino carpet".

Helping Daddy work in his new office. She LOVES a computer (or any electronic for that matter).

I almost forgot to tell you about Cousin Vinny's! It's this fantastic little Italian place in Daphne. One side is very casual & laid back and the other side is a little nicer. The entire restaurant has so much character and charm, not to mention delicious food. The pizza is so good my mouth is watering just thinking about it, but the sandwiches. Oh wow. They make the bread in house. I can get a good size sandwich with a side Greek salad. They put capers on the Greek salad and that little fact makes me so very happy. The salad is so tasty and that combo is quickly becoming my favorite meal around here. Places like Vinny's are what we like it find!

Getting ready to head to dinner at CV.



Lila really enjoyed the fettuccine alfredo! That is an expression of pure bliss.

We're adjusting to life in a new place and we're really enjoying it. This opportunity is an answer to many different prayers and we are so very grateful.

And that, my friends, is the quickest wrap up I can do. Thanks for sticking with me!