our mocs waiting for us for after church!

you betcha

you better believe it is finally moccasin weather in florida.

the hubs has a blog!

My handsome husband has started a blog.  I join him in working among college students.  We have the privilege of sharing Christ with students at the University of North Florida and his new blog shares short glimpses of our lives advancing the gospel on campus!  I cannot wait to see in type what I see in person every day.  Join us by reading what's going on.  His blog is on the list to the right.

in an effort to enjoy life and our youthfulness and flexibility . . .

we are going to New York City in December!

I have never been to the big apple.  But what better time than at Christmas in all its glory.  So this will be the substance of my dreams for the next few weeks.

The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

Times Square

Central Park

Ice Skating in Central Park

and walking that magical place with my husband, bundled up!

lately I am enjoying . . .

  the pretense of fall with pumpkin spiced _________ (anything)
  the world of sewing opportunities (a dress and belts for a friend's
           wedding on the horizon)
  dreaming of fall and winter plans, events, decorations, travel,
           gifts and meals.
  my husband (he is so handsome, I love how he looks in
           cool weather clothes)
  the women's bible study at my church (I am not used to
           being the youngest at bible study)
  pursuing friendships (post-college is weird)
  taking a deep sigh and enjoying this season for its blessings

I hope you have a running list of what you are enjoying, big and small.

slideshow booth

John and I recently sent out a magnet to our donors that looked like the printout from a photo booth. 

We had fun making it, and we had not so much fun making it.  But I loved flipping through them fast on our camera and tried to recreate the effect for everyone else's viewing pleasure.  

all I can say is that it has been busy, and while I have a few sewing projects I wish I could do and blog about, magazines I want to read, books I want to finish, things I want to share . . . it just is not going to happen.  Sorry friends!  Soon I hope to be more interesting.

Eric came to Jax!

My brother-in-law came out for a few days.  He is in the process of interviewing for P.A. schools across the country.  Lucky for us he applied and got an interview at NOVA in Jacksonville.  How wonderful would it be if he and my sister would move here!  John and I haven't lived near family since we got married.  

As soon as we picked him up we went straight to the beach to stick our piggies in the sand.  We got some southern BBQ once he was done interviewing and then spent today touring the city a bit.

we tried out the Riverside Arts Market in one of our favorite parts of the city.  It is held under a bridge right next to the St. John's river so it is beautiful and breezy!  

we also tried out the Cool Moose Cafe.  its a breakfast stop in Riverside that we loved.  It is cute and little and is pretty hipster, so I used my hipstamatic to capture the moment.  And can you believe it?  I CHOSE cheesy grits as a side.  This would NOT have happened a few years ago.  But my husband and the south taught me a valuable lesson, a tasty lesson.

You can leave Eric, but only long enough to get April in Arizona and come back to live!  We had such a fun time.  

I don't know about Georgia

a felicitous weekend

word to incorporate into every day usage

:: felicity


I am realizing I am horrible and coming up with good sentences to try these words out. . . any ideas?

our new UNF logo, courtesy of a sexy man I get to call husband.

from the beach

we had sooooo much fun at the beach this weekend.  we joined our old friends from UF in Panama City Beach for some sand volleyball, water polo, time with the Lord, and fellowship

here is our UNF crew.  How fun!  We had one girl brave it alone with six guys.

word.

Our friend Will made up a game with his friends called drop jaw.  Basically a staring contest with your mouth open.

our guys are proud of their muscles.  And I am too!  They are gonna win those man challenges coming up at the mens retreat!  Look out UF, FSU and USF. 

headed to the beach

hopefully I can find my spot again . . .

joie de vivre

word to incorporate into every day usage

:: unawares

something about this strange word is attractive to me.  It jumped out at me in Hebrews 13:2 in the English Standard Version

for a detailed explanation of how to use this look here, or join me in most likely using it improperly.

summer succotash

I never had succotash growing up.  To be honest I don't think I would have liked it.  This southern dish is mainly lima beans and corn.  Meh. That combo does not get my taste buds going.

But our summer in Branson, Missouri (which I described here and here and here and finally here)  opened my eyes to succotash wonder.  The theme park that Branson is most widely known for is Silver Dollar City.  The park is 1880's themed and it was a hoot to see our students roaming the park with their long sleeved dresses and bonnets in the summer heat.

One of my students worked outdoors at a big frying pan selling succotash so we stopped to try some.  And it was delish!  Why?  Not because it had lima beans.  Because it had yellow squash and okra and bell pepper and corn and chicken, mmmmm.

So when I saw okra and yellow squash on sale at my grocery store i snapped up a ton to make and freeze for my man and me.  And I found on the food channel's website a recipe straight from the 1880's itself.

Behold:

here is the recipe!

Enjoy!

more thrifted finds

So with the above mirror we spray painted it with a glossy gray we had left over from some other projects

and now it is a little delight in a mini hallway towards our bedroom.   I love how it has a romantic feel to it, but the color makes it a little gothic.  I am not convinced it needs to be gray forever, it was just what I had on hand and I needed instant gratification.  I have dreamed canary yellow dreams for it.

And then this cute glass cookie jar caught my eye too!  It is vintage with a western feel.

Those cookies by the way were made by John.  He makes up for when I have no desire to bake!  But the cookie jar is sure to inspire me.

There are still a few more things from the great thrifting adventure.  But they are still in process.

time with the Oteros

John and I celebrated our anniversary in Savannah back in May.  It was a delight of course, Savannah is so charming with the spanish moss, old architecture and street side cafes.  Not to mention it is the home of Paula Dean's restaurant.  But guess what happened?  We are walking down the street and from the other side of the road we hear "Tetens!"  yelled.  We looked and saw April and Joel Otero.  They were vacationing in Savannah and we had just happened to be there on the same street at the same time in Savannah!  How fun is that.

Joel and April are also on staff with the Navigators here in Florida.  They are at the University of South Florida in Tampa.  They are such a fun couple and they make us laugh whenever we are blessed to be with them.  

So here we both are in Savannah.  They are on vaca, we are on our anniversary celebration, and we think to ourselves why go to our separate romantic dinners alone when such fun friends are here in such a fun city?  So we did it!  We had dinner together!  And why, when you have Paula Dean's restaurant available, wouldn't you go eat at a Vietnamese place? So we found ourselves celebrating four years of marriage over a bowl of Pho with the Oteros!

We had such a fun time that they asked us to come to Tampa and have some more summer fun before the school year began.  So we did, and we ate Pho again, because we love it.

April is who I got to go thrifting with in Tampa, and it was SO fun.

thanks Oteros for being our friends!

                                              

here is a little sneak peak at something I fell in love with thrifting that now has a fresh coat of paint!  It just needs a quick upload to the computer for blogging.

Congrats on your fourth anniversary Hofmanns!

for my fellow sewannabees

I love learning how to sew.  I mean I hate it at times too, but mostly it is a rewarding hobby.  I also love thrifting and recreating things from the thrift store.  And I have found another blogger, thanks to Whitney, that does it SOOO much better than I do.  Introducing Grosgrain

She creates beautiful dresses from thrifted items.  She makes her own patterns on Burdastyle and she has made simple tutorials for things that can be hard to master (like buttonholes for me).  And to top it all off she gives away a bunch of her creations.  What a woman!

I even bumped into some young women at a GoodWill in town who were looking for frocks to alter into hip dresses.  Turns out they were inspired by Grosgrain too!  How funny is that.

Hope you can benefit from her creativity too!

some house projects

we have had sofa chair in our office for the past few years.  we got our first one sitting next to the trash bin outside of our apartment.  I know, a little gross.  we kept it for about four years until we upgraded to a new next-to-trash sofa chair that looks a lot less disgusting.  So much so that I might one day forget where we got it and actually sit on it!  It looks great really, and John did a great job vacuuming and washing it.  Hooray for dumpster diving.  we have quite the collection.

we spent the past weekend in Tampa with some friends.  more on that later.  But my friend April and I went thrift shopping.  Now I love a good thrift store, and so does April.  So needless to say we fed off of each others eagerness to turn frumpy finds into our next home goods! 

this tray was $3, and just needed some updating.  Scrapbook paper is a cure-all

mwaahh!  I cannot wait to show you more of our recent projects.  John has been so wonderful working in this heat!

at a Suns game courtesy of a sweet friend!  $1 beers and sunflower seeds!

date night

along the St. John's river after sushi and before tea and cribbage

what have I been reading?

I haven't posted a finished book because there haven't been any finished books around here.  dang.  We recently learned that most county libraries charge for late books.  Our last library in Gainesville forgave the fee once the book was returned.  Needless to say we were never in any rush.  So after paying a few bucks for some outstanding books I have not made it back to check anymore out until I am sure I have the time to read them.

But for now I am reading a book that was on my own shelf.  It is a biography written about Dawson Trotman, the founder of the Navigators, the interdenominational Christ-centered organization that John and I work for.  Daws is one of the most detailed accounts written about the start of the international organization and the man who was behind it all.  It is extremely interesting to me because it is part of my heritage now too!  And this man is a man of faith and discipline, things I can certainly grow in.  If you like biographies, I think Dawson is enough of a one-of-a-kind character to interest you!  Dawson Trotman believed God for big things, and took Him at His word, then invited people to do the same.  Other less lengthly books are The Navigator and Living Legacy.

berra pickin'

So I have had a dream the past few years to go pick something at a local farm.  Apples, berries, who knows.  This past weekend my dreams were realized in Tennessee.  We went to the Apple and Berry Farm that David and Pamela had been to before.  This is the map they used to show us where were were headed.  Cardboard.

The Fellas are gathering energy for the picking about to commence

Blueberries were first.  We could have picked all day long there were so many.

next was the blackberries.  These were a little harder, and this is where I think I got my 20 bug bites on my legs.

and finally, peach pickin.  which was not really fruitful. literally. figuratively. But John made up for it with his good looks.

All in all each couple took home about 5 lbs of Blueberries, 5 lbs of blackberries, a few green peaches, a fresh fruit slush and a smile!

Now for a peach blueberry blackberry pie.

Smoky Mountain Time

We are back from a glorious weekend with David and Pamela.  We went putt-putting, sangria swirling, waterparking . . . twice . . . good ol' Dollywooding, berry picking from a local farm (pictures of that adventure coming) and for sushi at a sweet spot in Knoville.  Thanks friends!  John did not make it for the photo because he was chatty cathy on the phone. woops.

we have been enjoying the beach and our new home so much I have been neglecting to post.  

But heres to the beach and heading to Tennessee tomorrow.  To see these fine folk . . .

and these special people . . .

I . . . just . . . cannot . . . wait . . .

the 4th

the forecast for this holiday weekend is rain, rain and more rain.  which doesn't sound very celebratory, but when you live in Florida, it is!  Bring on the clouds and slightly cooler weather.  we will enjoy this weekend on our porch (with our new-to-us patio furniture, pics to come)  with some watermelon, corn on the cob and maybe even a blueberry pie!    Happy celebrations to you all! 

good news

The homemade deodorant works!  To my surprise and yours too I bet.  It kicks butt in this Florida summer heat.  Here is the recipe if you want to try it too.

1/4 cup aluminum free baking soda

1/4 cup organic cornstarch (or arrowroot powder)

5-6 tablespoons coconut oil

5-10 drops tea tree oil

Mix all ingredients together and press into an old deodorant container. To use, let it rest against your skin for a couple seconds to soften the coconut oil, do one slow swipe under each arm and use the palm of your hand to spread it around.

The mixture melts above 75 degrees, so I keep it in my refrigerator so it stays in the deodorant mold.  If you don't want to do that but live in a hot climate I would put it in a jar of some sort and use your fingers to apply!