Southern Girl Conversion

We at Simply Sweet Events have been so busy lately. With the end of semester comes exams and soon after comes picking up after the storm called school. Along with finals and cramming for those finals, we have been entertaining my husband's 12-year-old sister. She left the beautiful desert landscape of Phoenix, Arizona to visit the lush, beautiful, little-piece-of-tropical-heaven known as Florida. I take for granted the fact that I am a true southern girl at heart and that I've grown up with that sweet hospitality, winding two-lane roads, and moss-covered ancient oaks. But my sister-in-law, Meg, was completely overtaken by the beauty of the new landscape and it became my mission to turn this western city-girl into a southern girl, if only for two weeks.

The first time we offered Meg a glass of sweet iced tea, I could've had a heart attack when she said she'd never tried it! She had three cups and drank it from a mason jar, no less. I'm so proud!

 

Then, I was making some hearty Louisiana beef stew and decided it would be perfect with some drop dumplings. And surprise, surprise, our city girl had never had dumplings, either. Needless to say she loved them and my mission was one step closer to being complete!

She hadn't been to the beach for over 5 years and so we had to take a day trip to the coast. We spent an afternoon playing in the waves, picking up sea shells, and digging our toes into the sand. And our trip wouldn't be complete without a walk down St. George street in St. Augustine. Sun-kissed glow? Check! Street performers and ice cream cones? Check!

During a visit to my mom's house, Meg was overwhelmed with excitement at the sight of three large dogs running out of the front door. She was in heaven! She spent the afternoon playing fetch in the front yard. Can you believe she said she'd never played fetch before?

We all quietly laugh to ourselves when she asks to go walk in the "forest"(the tree line off the side of the road, better known as someone's front yard), or pet the cows in the field. But the simple fact is that these are little things that I take for granted living in Florida. I'm not implying that the south is any better than the west. Indeed, Phoenix is beautiful! And, I'm sure there is plenty that Meg has been able to do while living in that valley surrounded by breathtaking mountains, that I have yet to do. It's just a simple fact that though I may travel the world, my home will always be where the sun shines through afternoon showers, where towering oaks cast spotty shade on green grass, where winding roads are lined with orange trees, where cows lazily graze through open green fields, and people still wave to each other while passing down the street.

There is plenty to come next week since the madness is quieting down a bit. I'm happy to say that we are opening an Etsy shop and will have some free printables available very soon!

We are taking Meg to the river for a canoe trip this weekend to complete my mission. Hope you all have a great weekend and get to enjoy the great outdoors, wherever that may be!

Photo Credits:
Sweet tea photo is found on Pinterest and is from Nest of Posies.
Beef stew photo is found on Pinterest and is from Cube Marketplace.
Beach scene photo is found on Pinterest.
Dog photo is found on Pinterest and is from A Dog's Life
Oak tree photo is found on Pinterest and is from Flickr