Chontacuro

So, I spent about 12 days in January in Ecuador. I started in Quito (fun pictures coming later...I promise) and then went to Tena. I'm starting with this Tena feature story because it's a good one - a true Amazonian highlight. 

Please understand, I am an adventurous eater. At least, I think I am. And I feel I can claim that title without reservatino...because I ate a chontacuro.

This is me with the chontacuro in my hand (you can kind of see the edge of the little guy in the bottom center of the photo). Please note the look of sheer excitement (a.k.a. "no way I am really going to eat this thing") on my face. 

For those of you who are wondering..."What exactly IS a chontacuro?" Well, dear friends, I am so glad you asked. THIS (photo below) is a big yummy plate of chontacuros. (Disclaimer: I found this photo online. Only difference between these chontacuros and the one I ate is that mine wasn't on a skewer, it was in a bowl. But he looked exactly the same as these little dudes.)

These are in fact tree grubs - a very special delicacy in the Amazon region where I was visiting. They were served as a special treat. I can see you all now with your noses scrunched up thinking there is no way I actually ate that thing.

Oh...but I did.

And...it was actually pretty yummy. 

And...NO....it didn't taste like chicken at all. It was kind of a smoky, grilled flavor. A little chewier than I would have preferred (I have this thing about food textures), but I would honestly eat it again. 

P.S. If you ever have chance to eat a chontacuro, do not eat the head. It's crunchy...and not really in a good way. Just FYI. 

Wedding Photo Booth Fun

I officially think wedding photo booths are awesome. These are from November. (Look - it takes me a while to scan things! I've been busy...and I've got lots of reasons for that which will all be revealed in future blog posts. So, if I follow my current schedule, I will be able to tell you sometime in April why I have been so busy...but I digress.) 

Wedding photo booths = super geeky fun. Love. It.

It is important to note that Sophia and I put each of our copies together in the Chandra and Aaron wedding photo booth scrapbook such that we just kept going and going all down the page. You kind of lose our noses when you piece two of them together, but otherwise it looks pretty cool.

Then, there was the photo shoot with Mike where, I kid you not, the photo booth took 15 photos of us, and only managed to show these four. haha. Ladies and gentlemen, this right here is true love...at it's finest. 

Best Christmas Gift 2011

So, if you haven't figured out, I'm playing catch up on some fun blog posts. Don't worry, pictures of my Ecuadorian getaway are soon to come! But first, I have to share with you the absolute COOLEST Christmas gift I received this year. (My apologies to everyone else who gave me other really cool gifts, but I think you will have to agree that this one takes the cake!)

This year, my grandpa decided that being retired means making everyone's Christmas gifts. When you have a crazy aunt who knits ugly sweaters, homemade gifts are a BAD IDEA. But, when your grandpa rocks at carpentry and makes awesome things like a handcrafted stable for your Guatemalan nativity set, the result is INCREDIBLE! Check out these pics!

Please note that he hand-painted the stones and then added the stucco texture so that the stable looked authentically worn. SO COOL!

He even put in a light bulb so that they're illuminated! Isn't it beautiful! 

Gah! It makes me so happy!

Mike had apparently sent Grandpa exact measurements for all my nativity figures (which I purchased the summer I lived in Guatemala). So, the proportions are PERFECT! 

So, if you can't tell, I'm in love with this nativity scene. I think it looks perfect, and couldn't have been more excited by this handcrafted gift that I'll get to display for years and years and years to come!

Thanks, Grandpa!

Stupid Tree

We brought that lovely tree we cut down home, and trimmed it to a T! 

So pretty! We were excited about our first real tree, and our first Christmas in our new house. 

 Then, Sunday morning, Mike walked downstairs to let Bixby out, and found this....

Stupid tree had fallen over in the middle of the night. It stood for at least 8 hours, fully decorated, and then it just FELL OVER! To say the least, we were a bit perturbed. 

Putting the tree back up after it's tumble revealed that we were going to have to start over with the decorating. haha. The tree was fine and no ornaments broke, luckily. 

Mike ended up wiring the tree to the wall, so that round two of decorating would not end in the same disaster! Stupid tree.

Oh Christmas Tree

This Christmas, we decided to start a new family tradition! We went to a Christmas farm not too far from our house and cut down our own fresh Christmas tree.

And here I am - saw in hand! 

Mike helped me out. Cutting down a tree was a bit harder than I expected with that rinky-dink little saw they give you at the tree farm!

Bixby - our new puppy - got to come along to pick out our tree. He had a BLAST and loved all the smells. 

Whenever I would point the camera at him, Bixby would raise himself up on the bales of hay that we rode on to get to the part of the farm with the trees. He looked like he was posing. haha.

Poor Mike had all the tree farm guys fooled with his Carhart overalls. He got to the checkout and the attendant picked up the tree, and asked which TRUCK was his. haha. He sheepishly pointed to the Nissan Altima. 

The good news is, the tree made it to our house in one piece - and Mike somehow managed to see out of the windows well enough to get US home safely too! 

So much fun! Little did we know that our Christmas tree saga had only begun...

Autumnal Hoosier

Now that I'm a Hoosier...I've been engaging in a few Hoosier-ly activities. I recently attended the last quarter of a Colts game (hooray for free tickets!), I have now been to Yats (strangely similar to Dats for my B'town amigos), and I've been through a corn maze. Pretty cool! 

I'm absolutely positive that they have corn mazes in Kentucky. But, you have to remember, I'm from Loo-vul (aka Louisville, for you non-natives), but I'm from the 'burbs. There are no corn mazes there to my knowledge. 

 My friends are awesome. You have to love their American Gothic meets Hoosier Corn Field pose.

 *Sigh* Such a beautiful day. I'm so thankful I got to see my friend Andrew (see Mr. American Gothic above) and spend time with many of my SPEA friends. 

The only thing that could have made the day better would have been adding Suzzy (pronounced like "fuzzy"...but not really...) to our Indiana excursions. (Suz - Please tell Ohio that it must share you...before Indiana has to come over and kick its butt. Thanks.)

Welcome, Baby Eb!

Here comes baby Eb! It's crazy to believe that my freshman-year roommate is going to have her first baby! Here are some fun pics from her shower...

And here's the beautiful momma-to-be! Isn't she beautiful!!? I cannot WAIT to meet that sweet baby boy!

Willy, the comeback houseplant

For those of you who are unaware, I have a serious obsession with my schefflera, Willy. He is definitely my favorite house plant, despite Mactus the Cactus' cool name and even cooler hot pink flowers. Willy is still my main man - no doubt about it. So, I was pretty much devastated when I all but killed him during our big move this summer.

See, I didn't want Willy to sit in a moving truck, bouncing around with a bunch of furniture and boxes. So, I took him to work with me the day before the move so that I could take him to the house afterwards. Brilliant plan....that is, until I left him in my car ALL DAY! Yep, there he sat, cooking in my 95+ degree car until the president of our board called me on his way out of the parking lot to tell me he thought I might be suffocating a large plant in the back seat of my car. 

I took Willy inside, got him a drink, and then ran him to the house after work. I called Mom later and she wisely told me to trim off the dead stuff. I was scared I was going to kill him, but I knew it had to be done. (Yes, I really was this conflicted. I'm telling you, I love this plant.) 

I couldn't bear to photograph him in that pitiful state. So, what you are seeing here is a week or two after my pruning. As you can see, he was looking rather bear.

 

He had some new growth popping up,but it was still sad to see his all-too-bear branches.

The next photo provides not only a wonderful before and after of my now totally revitalized house plant, but also clearly illustrates how slow I am at decorating. haha. Photo above - lovely picture frames with a blank white piece of paper inside. Photo below (four months later) - ditto. haha. Oops.

All critiquing of my empty picture frames aside, you can see that Willy has made a full turn around. Doesn't he look great!

Some people are obsessed with their pet. I'm obsessed with my plant. And I am so glad he is healthy again!

Kiwi Kissed

What once was hot pink like you wouldn't believe....

....is now kiwi kissed (no, really, that's the name of the paint color)....

 

 ...and I love it!

Some of my favorite things...

So, aside from the hot pink room and the room with angels and flowers all over the walls, the rest of the house is really starting to come together! Check out some of my favorite household highlights...

#10 -- Here's the office with this fabulous bookcase that we got from the sellers...I love the mixture of great books with fun international and nostalgic items. Since this picture was taken, I've successfully filled in all the holes. 

#9 -- The pantry. After living in an apartment and stacking canned goods in a leaning wire rack next to the back door, this pantry is like a little taste of heaven. 

#8 -- Hall tree. So cute...and so great for this little space in the hallway. 

#7 -- New entry rug that I got for $4 at Wally-world. Love a bargain!

 #6 -- Bedroom furniture! It all matches!!!! Yeah, that's a feat that I didn't expect us to accomplish until retirement....haha. But, apparently the sellers wanted to go with a new decor scheme for their new place. (Which worked out GREAT for us!)

Mike teases me for having too many useless pillows on the bed...but I love them!

 #5 -- Serious yard sale bargain! I put a glass votive and two small tea lights, and this matching set of yard sale deals has added some fun flair to the living room. (And, yes, I have been watching WAY too much HGTV since we got cable! hehe)

#4 -- I'm so excited to have a fun place to display this big pottery vase that I bought in Guatemala several years ago. 

#3 -- Enormous book case. 

#2 -- Special thanks to Becky for this fabulous idea. Scrapbook paper + old frames I already had = awesome bathroom decor. Check it out! Here's the design in the master bath:

I love this one even more! It's in the spare bathroom: 

I bought the set of shelves for 50 cents at a yard sale! Bargains just make me so unbelievably happy. 

The frames were all different colors, but with a dollar-can of spray paint, now they look like a set! 

 #1 -- My absolute favorite...our closet!!!! My shoes just look so happy on their little shoe racks. haha. I know it's a bit ridiculous, but seriously this closet might actually be my favorite thing in the house....well, that and my big bath tub. (Cheesy though it may be, I absolutely love a nice, long bubble bath almost as much as I love a beautifully impractical pair of peep toe pumps.)