What do you mean we don't have any AC in our house...

Yes, I know it may be hard to believe that we live in a house that has no central Air Conditioning.  For most if not all Southerners, this is an automatic, something you expect when you purchase a house. Well, as my husband and I learned all too quickly in the PNW, it is NOT an automatic feature.  When we first moved out here we settled into a nice apartment. Nothing fancy, but it would do until we found a more permanent place to settle.  When we first looked at the apartment, they told us it did not have A/C, but we could provide our own window units if we wanted to….well, maybe it was because we were exhausted, or not thinking straight when we signed our lease (we were in Eugene for LITERALLY less than 24 hours to find a place to live), we did not even bat an eye when they told us this. Fastforward a few weeks, and we land in our new place, and its pretty warm outside, NOT Southern Warm , but warm…we open our windows and run a few fans and we are fine. We are told by seasoned "Oregonians", that the heat only lasts a few weeks and there is "no need" to purchase A/C.

Eight months or so go by, and we buy a house, with NO A/C.  By now we are used to the lingo and don't bat an eye, but my parents on the other hand are shocked. How could a house dwelling have now A/C. We explain the best we can about PNW weather , but no one believes us.  Come Mid July, we experience our first really "HOT" night…and I say "HOT" lightly…it is NOTHING like a hot southern day, but for a house with no A/C…its a bit toasty.  We are running all fans in our house like we are living in a wind tunnel.  We get through the few weeks of the summer, and then its rainy season.   Then we do what every other PNW person does…FORGET…how HOT it can be…

Fast forward to summer 2014, I have just had neck surgery at the end of June. Its WARM, but by all means NOT hot…my parents arrive from ATL to spend a week and help me out.  OF course they would arrive on the HOTTEST week we have had in like a century.  Its WARM, but , I feel like I have acclimated to the weather, or maybe I was on a lot of pain pills, but I was ok.  My ATL parents were NOT!  They were DYING.  They tried to play it off like they werent that hot, but when my Daddy offered to head to Home Depot to pick up a few things and arrived with 4 box fans, I knew they were not ok. We got through it all…but at the end of the day…I have to say, I MAY be taking up a collection to install A/C in my home. I am SOUTHERN, and this heat, even if its not as bad as Alabama, is still TOO hot to sleep in …Anyone want to start a donation fund to buy me an A/C???

Until next time y'all,

Emily

PNW LOVE their COFFEE

Oh coffee, the delicious energy treat that I get to have each and every morning…in the south, coffee is just that coffee. A drink that adults always drank after dinner with dessert. I didn't even start drinking coffee until I moved out here…call it peer pressure, or the sheer fact that it is cold, damp and rainy 9 months of the year and you have to do SOMETHING to warm up.  Saying all that, coffee in the PNW is a COMPLETELY different animal.  It is an institution out here, for gosh stakes, Starbucks was invented in Seattle.  There are tons of coffee stands EVERYWHERE, little shack type establishments in the parking lot of your local Home Depot.  Every one seems to have their favorite brand, and frequent there OFTEN.  So as I said before, I finally caved and gave up my diet coke for breakfast, and drink coffee. Iced in the summer (which is only July-September) and piping HOT the rest of the year.  I have found that one of my most favorite coffee shacks is Dutch Brothers .  No you will not find this chain outside of the PNW, but MAN I know my southern friends and family wishes it WAS!  Dutch Brothers, or Dutch Bros as the people out here call it, are little shack like establishments that are found in your local parking lot.  They are employed by young, peppy 20 somethings that play loud music, that varies from rap to heavy metal. They are super friendly, and always have a smile on their face.  Which is very nice when its pouring down rain outside!  They sell an assortment of beverages from the $2.00 large iced americano, to fancy drinks like "the kicker".  It is not uncommon for there to be a line of 20 deep at any of the local Dutch Bros.   The first time my parents came to visit from Atlanta, I took them there…they immediately fell in love. So much in fact that my parents were trying to figure out how to get some of the roasted beans home to Atlanta (they do ship from their website).  Every time they visit, we have to hit up the Dutch Bros by my house at least once a day.  Who can blame them…its delicious.  Perhaps Dutch Bros should franchise in other places outside of the PNW, I think they could make a KILLING! I don't think they will anytime soon, because, well, this chain is strictly PNW.  At the end of the day I was not a coffee lover when I moved here two years ago, but I have become one, and Dutch Bros is my coffee of choice.  So if you are ever in the PNW, and you see the little shack like coffee place with a blue roof, take my word for it…GET YOU ONE…you won't regret it!

Until next time y'all,

Emily

WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DONT KNOW WHAT A MONOGRAM IS!!!!

Growing up in the South, I had monogrammed EVERYTHING… shirts, dresses, bows, you name it it had my initials on it. When I moved to Oregon, this was something I just assumed that was a universal fact..WOW was I WRONG!

Now that I have lived in the PNW for 2 years, I have finally accepted that NO ONE knows what a monogram is.  I wore my Moon and Lola monogrammed necklace one of the first days I lived here, and I had someone stop me and ask me why I was wearing letters around my neck. After I picked my jaw up off the floor from pure shock, I politely (in my best southern accent) explained, that I was wearing my initials, or what we call a monogram.  I then had to explicitly explain what a monogram is composed of, as well as WHY I was wearing it.  This instance is not isolated... it has HAPPENED many times since I have moved here. It used to shock me, but now, I just politely explain to  him or her that it is my monogram, that I am from the south and that is how we roll!  Its interesting how fascinated they are about this…I almost feel like a panda bear at the zoo being stared at as I explain what a monogram is.

Moving here has been quite the education, for myself and the local Oregonians. If they were shocked by my monogram necklace what on EARTH are they going to do with I have a monogrammed wreath on my front door…..and just so you know..I am the ONLY person on my block that has a monogrammed wreath.  If you are coming to visit me…my house is EASY to spot…

Until next time y'all,

Emily

Hello and Welcome from a Southern Belle!

Hello and WELCOME to the my first post of my blog!  I am a southern belle that moved to Oregon in 2012.  This blog will follow the trials and tribulations that I have faced moving 2600 miles from all that I ever knew.  Sit back, relax and enjoy the hilarious antidotes of a true southern girl surviving in the land of hippies. :)