Travel Diaries: Ft. Pierce Farmer's Market

We are back from our River Ranch adventure and are enjoying the creature comforts of civilization again! We had such a great time, and can't wait to share the pictures. It was definitely a highlight of my husband's cultural immersion into Florida life and our month long return to the Sunshine State. 

Another highlight of this trip was definitely the Ft. Pierce Farmers Market, a Saturday morning tradition. When I lived locally I used to enjoy meeting friends, eating breakfast along the water and exploring the local vendor's offerings before. Since it's inception in 1997, the Farmer's Market has grown to include live music and entertainment, as well as an Arts and Crafts Market. Located along the scenic downtown marina you can find local produce, baked goods, fresh seafood, homemade jams, jellies, sauces, not to mention made to order breakfast offerings, including freshly squeezed juices and smoothies. If you are ever in the Treasure Coast, you should definitely check it out!

My super AWESOME Godson, Cody!

Crazy right????

My beautiful niece Hailey and her beau John checking out the herbs.

Fresh squeezed grapefruit juice - YUM!

We said good-bye to the Treasure Coast and are spending the rest of our time in the States at my Mum-in-law's vacation home in Kissimmee. Thankfully we made it to Central Florida before Tropical Storm Isaac flooded the area!

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A little food for thought...

From the kitchen: Kale Chips

After hearing about kale chips and their awesomeness forever, and being unable to find kale ANYWHERE in England, I finally scored some kale at the Downtown Fort Pierce Farmer's Market this past Saturday! I was a little TOO excited, I think. 

I found the recipe on Pinterest (if you haven't yet discovered this virtual pin board world yet, you don't know what you are missing!) but you can find it here, courtesy of Shutterbean. I wasn't sure how hey would turn out because the recipe uses the curly kale and I could only get the Toscano kale. Instead of tearing the kale into pieces, as the recipe calls for, I left them whole. I did not know what to expect, but after trying them, my mind was blown. They seriously rocked my world. (did I mention I am a foodie??). 

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Travel Diaries: Hilliard, Florida

Hilliard is a small rural farm town about an hour outside of Jacksonville, on the border of Georgia. My sister lives on a farm with her husband and my nieces, 3 of my favorite people on earth. They have graciously been taking care of Roxy while we have been England. She loves the farm and being with her canine and equine cousins, not to mention all of the attention she gets from my nieces!! I love spending time on the farm too. Not only do I get to spend time with Hailey, Alyson and Sydney, play games and watch movies with my family, but I get to enjoy the serenity and beauty of the farm!

This was Barry's second visit and this time he experienced his first horse back ride! Under my niece Hailey's tutelage, we enjoyed our equine experience, in spite of the scorching heat, and our limited abilities! I rode Sweetbriar, Hailey's horse, and especially enjoyed brushing her before our ride. Barry rode Josie, and all in all enjoyed his first time!

During the visit we also got to meet Hailey's new beau, and we learned how to play Phase Ten with my sister Jennifer. It felt so good to spend time with family and to share it with my new husband and Roxy! We are looking forward to spending more time with them over the Labor Day weekend when they come to stay with us in Kissimmee!! 

Here are some pics from the visit....

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Travel Diaries: Reunited and it feels soooo good...

Our little family is together again (and yes I consider canines family members, of course). We arrived safely last Tuesday night, and after visiting my father Wednesday morning, set off for my sister's in Hilliard, Florida.Barry tried horseback riding for the first time, and we learned how to play a new game (to us) called Phase 10. We enjoyed the quite country setting, and especially my family. Photos to follow soon! On Saturday we drove to the Treasure Coast where we will be visiting until the 24th.  

Now that Roxy is with us again all is right with the world. 

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Life lately according to our iPhones.

Soooooooo, our new motto of 'embracing the uncertainty' came in handy again this weekend. Our original plans have been aborted due to Barry being sick (Day 5, poor guy!) and the weather (oye, with the unseasonable weather already!) So instead, we have  been watching lots of Netflix, eating soup and I have been feverishly packing (have recently discovered a great system that I am so excited about!).

Btw, thanks to my lovely niece Aly, I have become obsessed with Instagram! Coincidentally I have also developed a serious crush on photography, and am looking forward to having a proper camera soon. I'm not sure what accounts for this sudden crush. I have always enjoyed taking pictures. Now I have the opportunity to explore my interest and want  to document this time in our lives. Any hoo,follow us on Instagram (@bbmeredith, @barrycm)!

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A little food for thought...

and Happy Friday!

I thought this quote particularly appropriate after yesterday's post:

Thoughts?? 

In addition to preparing for our trip to Florida next week, the husband and I plan to enjoy our last English summer weekend (for awhile) by visiting the Olney Farmer's Market, as well as having dinner with friends. 

Weekend Blessings!

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Holding Pattern

On our 3rd date, Barry informed me that he intended, after flight school, to get a job flying for a commercial airlines in Jakarta, Indonesia (ok, so I thought he had said Japan, and for weeks prepared myself to move to Japan). Although our relationship was brand new, I had a feeling that we would be making this move together. I even balled my eyes out that night (after he left) at the thought of being separated from my lab, Roxy. Embarrassing, right? For the span of our relationship, we planned and prepared to move to Jakarta, a place that up until now I couldn't locate on a map! So many of our decisions revolved around going to Jakarta. And then there was the waiting, and MORE waiting. Finally, when we had lined up all of our ducks in a row, including obtaining our visas from the Indonesian embassy in London, just when it was beginning to sink in that we were ACTUALLY moving half way around the world, we got the call. Three days before we were due to fly out, as we were on our way out for a good-bye dinner with friends, we received news that halted our carefully made plans. Now,several weeks later,uncertain of our direction, we are still in a 'holding pattern'- an aviation term for being stuck in a plane and not going anywhere.  I wrote down a piece of scripture years ago that reads: 
"Many are the plans in a person'e heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." (Proverbs 19:21)Now, both my husband and I are natural born planners, we get a bit fidgety without some kind of 'course of action'. It is no surprise how crazy uncomfortable for us, not having a plan is, or knowing what God has in store. We are learning to embrace the uncertainty, and staying faithful that it will, in time, all work out. But jeez, its hard sometimes!


Last year, I was definitely not planning on living in England, with my husband this summer. So much for plans! These last 13 months have turned out better than anything I could have imagined or planned for. Maybe planning is over rated (wait, did I just write that?). My inner girl scout needs to feel prepared, and that's a lot easier when there is a plan. But life doesn't offer any certainty that our plans are going to work out, and we have to be prepared for that also. So, Barry and I don't know where we'll living 3 months from now, and even though we have a Plan A, B, C, and D (Canada!!), if it is anything like this past year it will be better than anything we could imagine, right(right?????)! Thankfully holding patterns don't last forever, and when the time is right Barry and I will set off for our unknown destination. 


In the meantime, we're heading back to the Sunshine State for a few weeks and reuniting with this girl:

I am OVER THE MOON HAPPY that our little family will be together again soon!! We plan to spend some time in Hilliard (where my sister and her fam live, picture woodsey!), the Treasure Coast (where I used to live and friends still do, picture beachy) and Orlando (my Dad resides just outside the city, picture Disney), as well as take a day trip to Palm Beach. We're really looking forward to spending quality time with our American family and friends, enjoying BBQs, Walton Rocks dog beach, playing games, shopping at Target (ok, this one is strictly for me, strangely Barry is not that interested in getting his shop on), Fort Pierce Farmer's Market, and soaking up the sunshine.  In addition, I'll be applying for a residency visa for the UK, and an International Driver's License (man, I've actually missed driving), as well as identify another nursing home for my Dad. Barry is planning to tour some Flight Schools (to potentially instruct at), and plot our future (no pressure or anything honey!). 


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