Monthly Archives: September 2012

09.20.12

I wish my home state rhymed with something cool.

Anywaaaayyyyys….the best part about this trip was that we got to see so many friends.  Most of our friends have abandoned us to move back home, or away for jobs, or possibly to get away from this Missouri humidity.

We miss them, way too much.  So we figured this is a great time to go see them all.

Our first stop was in Kentucky.


One of T’s best friends, Greg, calls Louisville home.  They met while Greg was going to school in St. Louis, and became the three best friends that anyone can have….minus one.

We totally understand why he boot scooted back home…because Louisville is incredible!

There was a beautiful river with lots of gorgeous bridges.

I know boys don’t talk about stuff like this….but Tim was a ball of excitement to see his buddy.  They had not seen each other for years, which I fully intend to make sure that doesn’t happen again.  Hi Greg….can’t wait for the Derby!!!

Apparently, when I was in this state of mind….

I realized that Louisville was the home of the Kentucky Derby.  It must have been all the horse statues, paintings, signs, and memorabilia.  I also decided at that time that we absolutely, positively NEED to go next year.  The boys thought that was just a drinkity pipe dream….but I remembered.

I never forget guys, and I am holding you all to it.
I already have my big, floppy hat picked out!

How did I get to that drinkity state you ask……Fourth Street.

Please don’t notice the bed and pillow reflection…this was taken from our hotel room.

It is a street in downtown Louisville, KY that is like a mall of restaurants, bars, and fun.  Since we were there on a Wednesday it was pretty low-key….which is just our scene.

So we explored, and had some dinner and drinks.

The handsome guy on the left is Timbo, yours truly, then Greg’s twin brother Mitch, and then Greg himself.

Here we are proving how awesome we are….our waiter was impressed to say the least.

No one was prepared when after the customary documentation photo I yelped, “No one move….it’s time for a funny face”.  Well, no one except Greg…is that not the best zombie impression you’ve ever seen?  I’m taking notes Gregory!

Here is a terrible video….where I thought Greg was still sitting in front of me.  Instead, he was sneaking off to pay the dinner bill that we had in our hand…you tricky trickster.  But it does give you a sneak peak of the awesomeness that is Fourth Street action.

Things to ignore:
The awful buzzing sound
Tim ignoring his loving girlfriend
My slightly intoxicated giggle

I really wish we would have had more time there….but we will make up for it come Derby Days.

See you soon Louisville!

Written by Christina and Tim
09.19.12

You may have noticed a hiatus here at Homemade Ocean.

If we are facebook friends, then you know we took the ultimate relationship test and drove across the country together.  For the last two weeks.  In a car.  Together.  For two whole weeks.  Ya dig?

If we are not facebook official….well let’s do this so that you are never in the dark again.
Just click here.

So the long story short is:

4,030 miles on the rental
13 days with my love
85 driving hours
16 states got to see us
185 expensive gallons gone

and a partridge in a pear tree, or something.

However, I feel like if you are here….reading this….then you don’t want the long story short.  You want pictures.
Well, I aim to please.  We are going to relive our vacation in real time.  That’s right…..we are going on a virtual vacation, here’s your plane ticket.

Today I just want to show you the overview, where we went and the simple road trip details that I love….

                              

That is pretty much the break down of everywhere our tires touched.  Some of them we just drove through screaming in pain while our ears pop enjoying the scenery.

I never thought I would like the East Coast, I just figured that I hadn’t been there and I ought to see things like our nations Capitol, where Forrest jumped into the reflecting pool.  But this crazy, unexpected thing happened while we were rolling around the East side of America….we fell in love.  Especially with the North-North East, like Vermont and Maine.  We are already saving for a summer home, truth.  The big cities just are not our cup of tea….probably all the honking, or the dreaded tolls.

 

Y’all we had no clue about tolls….you can’t find them in Missouri.  Let me tell ya, if the price of gas didn’t break us then the tolls did.  Not to mention, we don’t carry cash…..ummmm yea drama.  We probably won’t be back anytime soon, but we have lots of cherished memories.

Don’t you worry your pretty little head, we are diving into each destination later….you will get all the juicy details.

Here are some of the little details that caught my eye and made me smile.

I just love the simple things, and I wanted to remember them for always.

I will say, this being our first road trip together….we may have overpacked.  Look at all that luggage for two people.

There was a pajama bag, an undies bag, a shower bag, a shoe bag, a full suitcase, a full overnight bag, a computer bag, a camera bag, a charger bag, an accessories bag, and of course….two snack bags.  Seemed logical, till we had to haul it all in every day.  For twelve days.  Bananas.

On a side note, can you tell I worked at Vera Bradley?  You should see what’s inside those bags….Vera paradise.

 

Those are the basics of our trip.  Oh yea, and the fact that we actually are still together after twelve days of getting lost.

Shocking, eh?

Dueces….see you tomorrow!

Written by Christina and Tim
09.18.12

In case you are new here, or missed this post you should know we do a monthly round-up of our favorite things.

In case you’re one of my favorite people that read the blog like it’s their job, sorry for being MIA the last few days.  We were out road tripping.
Don’t worry….there are many, many posts to come about the trip!

So it only seemed fitting that September’s favorite things are the doodads that we couldn’t live without on our trip.

Check it.

1. We bought a Bloggie right before the trip, it wasn’t too expensive and we wanted something more than an iPhone to take footage with.  Bonus, it’s waterproof.  Of course we were sold.  It worked out awesome, and I can’t wait to show you all of our “road karaoke” footage.  Plus there are no memory cards to worry about, easy peesy lemon squeezy.

2.  On our travels we traveled up to Vermont, home of cheese.  Not just any cheese, delicious cheese.  My favorite was the Horseradish cheese from Cabot, oh yummy in my tummy.

3.  You may remember that I just bought an iPad.  This trip was actually what initiated the bullet biting of dropping my hard earned cash.  Between GPS, finishing my book, checking on the blog, keeping up on facebook drama, and having the answer to all our questions right at my fingertips….it was a solid investment.  Probably late to the party, but two thumbs way up for Apple.

4.  Remember these….my mom used to gorge them when she was dieting while I was growing up.  I haven’t had them since I was probably seven with turtle-shell glasses and a retainer.  I saw them on our “let’s get prepared for this long drive” shopping trip and had a weird craving.  They were a H-I-T.

5.  This might sound gross….really gross, but when I travel I don’t feel like I have time to shower and do the whole straighten-for-an-hour-hair thing.  Also, you just never know what kind of water pressure you are going to get in these hotels.  So I feel that it is vital to hide the dirt under your fingernails, because let’s face it….it’s nasty.  Essie’s Topless & Barefoot is by far my favorite nail polish right now.  It’s nude and pretty, but completely hides any grunge you may encounter.  Apparently you can have your cake and eat it hide the evidence too.

6.  This bag saved my life.  Ok, that may or may not be a little dramatic but for serious….the Grand Traveler was a great travel companion.  The luggage slip on back meant I never had to carry it, the pockets kept daily essentials accessible, and the bag is flippin huge!  Plus…..it’s cute.

1.  Pandora is nothing new, but man is it a life saver.  There is nothing more frustrating than static on the radio, except when there is nothing but static on the radio.  We used Pandora almost every day, I have to recommend the “Road Trippin” station.  We never even had to hit skip, hence the aforementioned karaoke.

2.  My Foscam web camera was a sanity saver this trip.  I could get on and look at the tank to make sure everything was honky-dory.  It even helped when we had storms to see if our power was out.  The funny thing is, one of the friends we stayed with on the trip (hi Sandy) also had one.  We both felt like secret creeps, but agreed that this little camera is an absolute necessity when you have animals to keep an eye on.

3.  My favorite place was Maine, since our visit we have been looking at summer homes to rent in Camden so we can get back asap.  I will live there at some point, and if it is not on your “must-see” list then add it.  So worth the drive and we will tell you why next week.

4.  I will admit that I bought this deodorant for the name, but it helped me stay smelling “good enough to snuggle” according to Christina.  I am pretty certain this will be my new deodorant of choice, especially if it keeps the lady happy.

5.  Our friends Katie & Brennan introduced us to “Ritas” on this vacation.  You can’t find these guys in the mid-west, so consider yourself lucky Easterners.  If you don’t know about Ritas then you need to find one as quickly as possible and order the Swedish Fish Gelati.  You can thank me later.

6.  Oh man, I can’t say enough good things about the Phillips Electric Razor.  If you still use a disposable, you gotta invest in one of these.  It’s a little expensive initially, but in the long run it is worth it saving you time and money.  I mean, you can’t shave and drive with a typical razor….unless you want to risk your aorta.

Written by Christina and Tim
09.11.12

You may remember that we visited the Kansas City aquarium earlier this year.

They had a bunch of “fin facts” and trivia questions all along the way, and this was one of them.

I’m crossing my fingers y’all.  Crossing them like my mama said my eyes would stay if I sat too close to the TV.

Here’s why…..this is a spicy starfish….

Ever since I laid my eyes on this little lady I knew I had to have her.  Luckily, I am as spoiled as they come and it was cheap so T let me bring it on home.

She was a happy habitant of our tank since about January.

But alas, here she blows today….whomp, whomp, whomp.

 She’s struggling….say a little prayer please.

But I gotta tell ya, this girl is a trooper.  She has been legless for a couple weeks now and she is still hustling all over the tank.  I am calling her my tough cookie, my inspiration, and my teeny survivor.

 I mean, if she can walk around a whole tank with two legs….then I can get up and take a shower today!

Written by Christina and Tim
09.10.12

Ahead of their time....

Posted by Christina // 8 Replies

Lately, while waiting for my melatonin to kick in, I have been watching old Friends re-runs.

Go ahead and sing with me….”I’ll be there for you” clap, clap, clap, clap.

Every night I think…man I love that kitchen.

Image found here.

This kitchen has taken a lot of heat for being “too busy” and “too cluttered” and “not functional at all”.

But the heart wants what the heart wants, and my heart wants teal base cabinets.

Not to mention the cute ceramic Pickles tub that they filled with utensils…..and the pink mixer.  Oh and the would-be-cute-with-different-fabric sink ruffle.

I just love this kitchen, and all the color and chaos.

Isn’t it kind of amazing that this show…and kitchen…were filmed in the nineties.  Especially considering some of the trends of today you can find, like the open shelving.

While looking at photos of the apartment and reading debates on whether they could really afford it or not….I stumbled on this at Bien Living.

Interesting to see the layouts of our Friends homes, eh?

I love that Monica’s messy closet has a question mark on it.  Not sure if they are being funny since it’s a mass of junk, or if they aren’t true Friends fans.

Speaking of true fans….Tim says this post won’t be complete unless I say the following word.  PIVOT.

Holler to my “friends”.

Written by Christina and Tim
09.07.12

Our fish wishlist....

Posted by Christina // 1 Reply

The next tank we are putting in is going to be a fish only tank.

Here are some of the fishies that are on our wish list.  We would need a huge tank since some of these fish get aggressive…but we are totally fine with that.  The bigger the better, right?

And now onto the so-ugly-they-are-cute list…..

Just in case you hadn’t noticed…all of the fish on our wish list can be found and bought at LiveAquaria.com.

We are not promoting Live Aquaria, that just happened to be the site we were on when we decided to make a fish dream-team.  But if they wanna pay our bills, we are so down with that!

Most of the above are fish that we can’t put in our current tank.  Either because they are not reef safe, or they are aggressive, or we are too poor to afford them right now.  Our corals and current fish family mean too much to us to take the risk and buy these fishies up.

We can dream….and hopefully by throwing it out on the internet we might actually have put a fire in our pants to get a fish only tank.

Written by Christina and Tim