Cathedral Caverns and Monte Sano with B-Money and Theresa

A few months ago, JD's sister Theresa and her husband, Brandon (or B-money, according to JD), spent a couple of days with us in Huntsville for the first time since our move. I'm sure you've heard of a "power couple" but I'm set in the fact that you haven't met a power couple until you've met these two amazing people.


They work as house parents for the Baptist Children's Village in Mississippi. Yeah. It's a pretty intense job, to say the least. But they're perfect for it because God has stirred their hearts and carried them through. It's been awesome to hear about the ways Christ has worked in them and through them to love on these kids who possibly haven't received much love from their real parents.


We, of course, made some delicious breakfast for our much-anticipated house guests. Cinnamon rolls, sausage, OJ and coffee (JD drinks his coffee black... Theresa and I obviously prefer coffee with our cream).


We took them on a nice hike through Monte Sano...


And then a journey through the amazing Cathedral Caverns...


And lookie there...


We have officially identified a fallout shelter. 


A nice gentleman took our photo outside of the giant mouth of the cave, measuring 126 feet wide and 25 feet high. 


A caving trip just wouldn't be the same without a trip to the souvenir store and some Rock Crystals... so Theresa and I begged the guys to buy us a pack. They are just too sweet. The guys, I mean. ;)


We were so thankful to have Brandon and Theresa stay with us for a few days. Brandon and JD always have the best time together (they were roommates in college), and Theresa and I immediately became best friends when we met for the first time. It is such a blessing to call Theresa, not my sister-in-law, but my sister. The same goes for JD and Brandon. We couldn't be more thankful for our families and the wonderful adventures we get to go on together!!


We want to hear about your town! If your family came to visit you, where would you take them to visit if they don't live close by?

Need Glasses? Fall in love with Warby Parker.

Ok - so we're not sure what happened... but out of nowhere, we've been slam-packed with Etsy orders this week and it has been AWESOME!! We are just lovin' this new shop and interacting with all of our delightful customers. :)

Yet, in the midst of our busyness, we have neglected our blog this week. Not cool. So, we wanted to share just a super quick blurb about a product we LOVE! This is not a sponsorship; it is a sincere confession of a product I (Whitney) have fallen in love with... Warby Parker. 

After paying over $200 to replace lenses in a pair of frames I had for five years, only to have the frames damaged when the lenses were replaced with a stronger prescription, I decided I had to find a different route. (Do the math... if I had bought a $300 pair of frames with new lenses, it would've been around $500. Who would want to pay for that!?)

I was flipping through my Whole Living magazine and saw an advertisement for Warby Parker with the coolest frames I've ever seen. They remind me of Zooey Deschanel's style which is super cool. AND the ones I ordered are big and practical (I can finally see in every direction).

Little did I know, Warby Parker has a Home Try-On program. You pick five frames from the site. They ship them to you (free shipping both ways). 


You have five days to try them on, model them for all of your friends and post some photos on their FB site (if you'd like). 



These are a few pics I sent to JD while he was at work.

Send them all back. Tell them which one you want (or do the home try-on program again). And boom. $95 later, you have brand new, super awesome frames and lenses sitting in your mailbox. Yes. Only $95 for frames AND lenses. There's no better deal than that, right?



Seriously people. THIS is the place to buy glasses the next time your prescription changes! (I waited five years before buying a new pair and now I want to buy 10 more because their frames are so stinkin' awesome.)




Have you ever bought a pair of Warby Parker glasses? Which kind did you get and DO YOU LOVE THEM?!



Also, I'll be contacting Ruthy, Lindsy, April and Leslie about the Jitney CDs because you are ALL getting a copy!!! 




Grab Your Lefty Scissors, Suitcase and Raccoon Hat...

One thing you may not know about us is... JD and I LOVE movies. 

It's kind of ridiculous. 

We get super pumped about in-flight movies and we are regulars at Redbox (and subscribers to Netflix, of course). 

Our favorite is going to the theater though. Isn't it wonderful? Get a tub of high calorie popcorn, a large souvenir cup filled with Coca-Cola to split and a full cup of popcorn salt (which we secretly take some home and stash for our personal collection sometimes).  

Our most recent matinee trip was to see Moonrise Kingdom...


This movie made me want to pack up a pair of lefty scissors, a few good books, binoculars and an old portable record player straight into my vintage suitcase. 


Of course, I would sneak away to a lonely, beautiful canal with my sweet husband as he wore a super cool raccoon hat and swung a his camping bag filled with survival materials over his shoulders.


Check out the trailer below...


Moonrise Kingdom was phenomenal. We highly recommend it!

We're going to see The Dark Knight this afternoon. JD gets so excited during the commercial preview on TV that I go silent mid-sentence (he tunes everything out during those 30 seconds). 


Have you seen Moonrise Kingdom yet? What did you think??


Whoop whoop!! Check it out... We are featured on Auburn Family today!!!!

We are deeply humbled and honored to have been featured on the Auburn Family's website today!! 

One of my former PR professors Facebook messaged me a couple of weeks ago to ask if he could feature our blog during their Auburn Alumni & Student Blogger Series for the Auburn Family Network. {PR = public relations... we all thrive off social media!) 

Of course, we excitedly responded with a resounding "YES!!", answered a few interview questions and waited anxiously for the story to transpire. 

And this... THIS... is what Robert French compiled. A thorough synopsis of all things Jitney's Journeys.





Sheer genius. Honestly, we were blown away by this article!! Robert, we cannot thank you enough for your kind words and desire to always highlight members of the Auburn Family. Everything I learned at Auburn - social media, video editing, interviewing, basics of PR - all of it has been put to heavy use when writing this blog!! Thank you to Robert and all our other fantastic professors at Auburn. We wouldn't be doing what we're doing without your guidance, hard work and wisdom!! 

AND if you're an Auburn Alumni and you're NOT a member of the Auburn Family Network, stop reading and GO SIGN UP!! :) 


We hope our readers enjoy this article as much as we do!!

War Eagle and good night. 



Jitney Annual Soundtrack Release!! Three Lucky Winners Will Receive a Copy!

Last week, we FINALLY sent out our annual Jitney Soundtrack. Wondering what it is? Check it out

here

.

Our theme for designing the CD cover was

Air Mail

. We designed the cover so that it had postage and passport stamp images from all of our travel destinations throughout our two years of marriage (including Barbados, Bahamas, Hawaii, Israel, Germany, France, Austria and Switzerland). 

*Please note that we have blurred / erased some parts of the photo to protect the names and addresses of friends. No worries, we created a super cool, fake address for our CD so you could get the feel of it:

Who wouldn't want to live on 1000 Kisses Avenue with her husband?!?

For the envelopes, we used these from

The Container Store

. Aren't they just marvelous?!

I used Faber Castell PITT Artist Pens to write the addresses (specifically the M, F, S, and 1,5 tips). These are, HANDS DOWN, my most favorite pens to use. And trust me... I have tested out a plethora of pens and markers!! Check the artist pens out

here

.

{If you're looking for a less expensive marker / pen, I also love

Paper Mate's Flair Felt Tip Pen

.}

A HUGE thanks to all of our friends who sent us texts saying you received the CD and love it!!! 

Our favorite was from Matt & Julie (the newlyweds) via Instagram:

"Jamming to our favorite annual CD from such creative, wonderful friends @jitneysjourneys #bestsaturdaysurprise #cruising"

AND... guess what!?

We will be giving out three of the Jitney CDs to our readers!!!! Just post a comment below saying what your Best Saturday Surprise entailed. 

The three winners will be picked at random. :)

Know the Language of Your Destination... If you don't, you may end up on a Male-Only Beach.

 Written in November 2011
we promise we're trying to catch up on our traveling posts!!

Our Israel adventure is finally coming to an end. Today is Thursday. We head out tomorrow night for New York, Atlanta then finally HOME!! The trip has been pretty taxing on me since I haven't had enough guts to leave the hotel to venture around by myself. But today, I am determined to walk around Tel Aviv solo. We've passed by this awesome frozen yogurt place that has wooden swings hanging from the ceilings. I will simply have to jeopardize my safety in order to satisfy my curiosity. 



FOUND IT!! Isn't this place just too cute?! Only one swing was left by the time I arrived and ordered. After claiming it with authority, I gently asked the guy behind the counter to snap a photo while I smiled. ;) The yogurt was pretty delicious... peanut butter frozen yogurt with hard chocolate topping.


After browsing through the stores, I decided to take the scenic beach route back to the hotel. The stencils made for some pretty cool accents. And how about this studly vintage surfboard? 


There is something about bicycles and the people of Tel Aviv. We figure people just get tired of the absolutely horrendous drivers downtown. The smart ones ride bikes. :) The green bikes reminded us of the Regions bank commercials.


How cool is this hotel? Retro. Vibrant. Distracting in a good way. 


Hundreds of sailboats docked in the port against the stunning sunset.


 This is our sweet Hilton. We were merely a downhill slope from the Mediterranean Sea. 

Speaking of... Friday was our last day. JD had the day off since it was one of Israel's Holy Days. Our one goal for the day was to go swimming in the Mediterranean Sea. We walked down from the hotel straight to the beach, only to find a sign that said, "No swimming today. Surf watersports only." 

Denied.

We walked a little further, only to find either the same signs or a jagged rock terrain engulfed by the sea. Denied. Denied. And denied. 

"JD! Look! Over there... there's a bunch of people swimming in that area!" 

So we walk about 1/4 mile and walk into the open doorway (don't all public beaches have doorways...?) only to be greeted by Jewish men in Speedos yelling at us abruptly in Hebrew.

I did what any smart woman would do... I kept walking to the water. Fortunately, JD has a little brighter wits than myself. He turned around and tried to speak with the men softly, explaining we only speak English.

"NO! NO! NO WOMEN HERE!!! NO WOMEN!!" men surrounded him and yelled.

I was out of my mind humiliated and frustrated by this point. But we turned around and left the beach anyways. Apparently, men and women alternate the days they can swim at that beach. They must not swim at the same time though. 

Once again, completely different cultures.

After a few steps, JD and I burst in laughter. What else can you do in a situation like that? Instead of swimming, we settled for simply dipping our toes in the Mediterranean Sea. And you know what... It was freezing! I guess it was okay that it didn't work out like we had planned. Few things ever do and life seems to end up better that way. :) 



Shalom, Tel Aviv!

Endangered Places: Visit Before It's Too Late

While researching some info on the Dead Sea for our last post, I fell upon this article talking about endangered places... what?!

The list includes:
  • Maldives
  • Mount Kilimanjaro
  • Swiss Alps
  • Everglades National Park in Florida
  • Belize Barrier Reef
  • Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra, Indonesia
  • Tibet (or rather the Tibetan language and culture)
  • Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve in Honduras
  • The Dead Sea in Israel
  • Venice

Venice was the most shocking! Did you know that it is "a man-made wonder made up of 121 islets that are linked by 435 bridges"?

It looks like we better start making a list of places we want to visit before they are gone!! Some places we may get to knock out when we're on a trip for JD's company (i.e. Swiss Alps) but others we're just going to have to check out in our free time.


How about you?
Do you have a list of places you want to visit?
Have you ever been to any of these places?

Friday Favesies



 

We missed Friday Favesies last week due to a weekend getaway so we've got a lot to cover this week. :)

Maybe you noticed our sweet new live Pinterest sidebar? Find out how to post it on your blog here.

Our favorite iPhone app the past few weeks has been SONGZA!! Don't worry, you can play it straight from your computer too. They have playlists generated for just about anything and every part of the day... "Singing in the Shower" blares through our stereo just about every morning. Do you have a Songza account? Which playlist is your favorite?

This past Sunday, JD's co-worker / friend invited us to his church for a 4th of July party. Chelsea Moon and one of the Franz Brother performed a bluegrass concert of re-arranged hymns. It was nothing less than blissful. JD's favorite part was, of course, partnering with Aaron to prep and display the epic fireworks show. Two boxes of Pyromaniac Fireworks can really do the trick...


Needless to say, we've been jamming to some Chelsea Moon and the Franz Brothers ever since. Check out one of their songs below...



The favorite Pin of the week goes to the creator of these fantastic tea towels with handwritten recipes transferred onto them (Emma). It's the perfect family keepsake and kitchen tool. I instantly began following Emma's blog at Hello Beautiful. 


While I was scanning her blog posts, I came upon this awesome tutorial for making a Maxi Skirt!! Gosh, there is nothing better than seeing a tutorial and thinking, "Yes! I can totally tackle that!" 

Dearest Sewing Machine, 
You will be receiving the glorious gift of no burlap on this project. Forget the fuzzies and let's forge onto making the Maxi skirt with actual cotton material. I know you've been waiting for this day to arrive.
Sincerely,
me.



Lookin' forward to reading about your Friday Favesies!! Link up with Ruthy at Discovery Street here.

The Tel Aviv Art Market


This was definitely a highlight of our trip to Israel!! Artists lined the sidewalks in their booths as people could barely move through the streets. It was JAM PACKED. 


First stop: This was one of our favorite artists. The guy made fantastic leather bracelets that you can snap together and intertwine. He cuts, stains and designs them right at his booth in the market. Of course, we bought three for me. :) 


Perfect. Teal, brown and white are my staple colors. Haha



This artist was another favorite of ours! We bought a nameplate and she wrote "Todd Family" in Hebrew on it for us. We also snagged a few nameplates for our friends and customized them. :) 

She incorporated the bird and gazelle in her artwork, as they are her personal symbols of the human spirt of joy and freedom. 



JD: "Whit. Come on!"
Whit: "But... but... aren't these just so mesmerizing?!?"


For all of those sewing machine lovers, how great is this classic Singer? 


You may recognize this clock from my office in our apartment...


Oh yeah. We bought one of those and brought it home! The clock is made out of pebbles and sand from the Red Sea.


As if I didn't want to crochet bad enough, this lady, Sasha Neska, blew us away with her elaborate jewelry! Absolutely remarkable. 


And we say farewell to the streets of the Art Market. 



So we ask you, readers, from these photos... which piece of art would you take home from Israel??

Camel Crossing & Floating in the Dead Sea


Yield to the camels, people. ;) 





THIS kind of landscape is what we were expecting when we traveled to the Middle East: desert. The sand looks like marble. We couldn't get over how truly AWEsome this view was. In fact, it was here that we decided to use the word "awesome" more sparingly because few things in life actually put us in a state of awe like knowing that God structured all that surrounded us on that trip.

The top photo is a long distance snapshot of what's left of the Dead Sea. From Tel Aviv to En Gedi (location of Dead Sea), it was about a five hour drive but we think we took the long route.

We were actually warned not to drive this route because Palestinians have been known to hide beside the road with bombs (sand dunes and hills make it hard to see ahead) but we accidentally went this way. Praise Jesus that He had His hand over us and no bombs went off during our drive. 

On our drive through the desert, we hit the -100 meter mark. The Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth in any land mass (417 meters below sea level, to be exact). The quantity of water that evaporates from it is greater than that which flows into it. On our lovely tractor ride down to the Dead Sea from the "spa", signs marked the drastic changes of the shoreline every year. Thus, the signs saying 2000 and 2004. In other words, the Sea is shriveling. Visit it before it disappears. :)


We saw this lonesome clay pot propped up by rocks in the hard mud. Immediately, the verse Jeremiah 2:13 came to mind. This pot is not a cistern, as they are much more complex and actually more like a pit, but this is a great visual of how our lives are broken just like this pot. We attempt to control our own lives by molding them into broken clay pots, when God is there as a natural spring of everflowing Living Water longing to share His abundance with us.


JD heading over to the Dead Sea via boardwalk. The Dead Sea derived its name from the high salinity water which prevents any existence of life forms in the lake. Though the Dead Sea prevents all life forms from living in the water, it does provide healing benefits for people. Healing properties of the water helps arthritis and circulation, strengthens nails and bones, balances skin moisture, slows skin aging and calms the nervous system.


We thought mud would be the base of the Dead Sea because we saw pictures of people floating in the lake with mud covering their bodies. We were mistaken. These jagged, healing salt minerals line the lake. Be sure to wear tennis shoes or thick-soled sandals!


It is impossible to drown in the Dead Sea. We could basically bend our knees as if sitting in a liquid lounge chair. The depth had to be more than five feet here but we wouldn't know because we couldn't even stand up straight. We were human buoys. Absolutely amazing!!






The awesome cabana with salt minerals growing up the posts.




See you again, Dead Sea... I doubt it. :/ The lake dries up at least one yard every year.