My Favorite Friends Episodes

For as long as I can remember, Friends has been my favorite show.  I have all of the seasons on DVD.  I had a framed poster of the picture below on my wall with other pictures surrounding it throughout high school.  I've seen every episode more than once and I still belly-laugh whenever I watch it.  There's no denying that Friends is a fantastic and timeless Sit-Com.  And now that it's on Netflix for everyone to watch at their leisure I wanted to share my favorite Friends episodes of all time.

#10:  The One With All The Poker, Season 1
I love the episodes that focus on the group spending time together.  This episode is filled with hysterical one-liners.

#9: The One Where Pheobe Gets Married, Season 10
Her wedding is absolutely beautiful and perfectly "Pheobe".  I just love when they all come together to celebrate one of their own, especially with how this episode unfolds.  I won't give it all away.

#8:  The One Where No One's Ready, Season 3
Ross is kind of annoying in this episode while they're all reluctantly getting ready to attend an event for the museum, but it's still hilarious.

#7:  The One With Ross' Wedding Part 1 & 2, Season 4
This is mainly because they're in London and I love London.  Also, I love when Monica and Chandler get together and how they hide their relationship from everyone in the episodes to follow.  And how you could you not love the fact that Ross says Rachel's name at the alter.  So basically you don't have to watch the episodes now because I told you everything....

#6:  The One With The Cheesecake, Season 7
Rachel and Chandler might be my favorite characters and their escapade with the cheesecake is just hilarious.

#5:  The One With The Rumor, Season 7
Because I love all of the Thanksgiving episodes and Brad Pitt is in this one.  I'm still upset he and Jennifer Anniston broke up, but that's a whole other issue!

#4: The One Where Joey Speaks French, Season 10
Joey trying to speak French has me laughing uncontrollably for the whole 21 minute episode and Pheobe is equally hilarious trying to teach him.

# 3:  The One With Unagi, Season 6
ahhh Salmon Skin Roll

#2: The One With the Prom Video, Season 2
The one where Ross and Rachel finally get together... "He's her Lobster!"

And my absolute favorite Friends episode of all time......
#1:  The One With The Embryos, Season 4
I love love love the challenge that the group competes and bets on.  You learn so much about the characters and it's just a super fun episode filled with great one-liners.

Are you as obsessed with the show as I am?  What are your favorite episodes or lines from the show?

Everyone Needs to Experience Mardi Gras

I've mentioned before how much I love cultures.  Experiencing new cultures and traditions is one of my favorite things and honestly you can find it everywhere.  One of my favorite cultural immersions was going to Mardi Gras in New Orleans and I think it's something that should immediately go to the top of your bucket list if you haven't experienced it already, and here's why:

New Orleans is an incredible place by itself.  Filled with welcoming people, cajun culture, french heritage, distinct food and historic buildings, I was continuously in awe of my surroundings.


Though some parades are more elaborate and extravagant than others, they are some of the coolest things I've ever seen in my life.  I've been to Disney Parades and The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, but nothing will ever be as much of a glorious and amazing spectacle as the parades that take place during Mardi Gras.  Extravagant doesn't even begin to describe them.

From what I understand, Krewes are very exclusive.  Krewes are made of members of each carnival association (Krewe of Rex, Krewe of Endymion, Krewe of Bachas) that ride in the parades.  Each Krewe has a theme for the year and decorates their elaborate floats and wears costumes and masks.  Some people are very secretive about what Krewe they're in.  To be in a Krewe and roll in the parade costs lots of money for the members.  They all have to buy their own throws.

**YOU DON'T HAVE TO FLASH TO GET GOOD STUFF!!!**

First of all, the marching bands in the parades are jaw dropping.  They come from all over to march in the best parades of Mardi Gras.  But also, you can feel the music emanate on the street.  From the ones playing on the sidewalks to in the bars and clubs, the music is enough to write home about.  The piano bar at Pat O'Brien's was completely amazing- 2 piano players/singers taking any requests and a man tapping coins on a tray.  The music will speak to your soul.

I had some of the best, most exotic food while I was in New Orleans for Mardi Gras and it was all sooo delicious.  This includes beignets from Cafe Du Monde, turtle soup, jambalaya from a street vendor, shrimp Po'boys, crawfish, and of course..King Cake is a circle cake with icing and purple, green, and gold sprinkles on top.  Traditionally King Cake has a tiny plastic baby inside and whoever gets the baby in their piece is supposed to buy the next cake.Walking around Bourbon, Canal, and the French Quarter with Daiquiris or Hurricanes in your hand is all totally fine since there are no "open container laws"!  And if you buy a drink at a bar and decide you want to go somewhere else, you can just ask for a to-go cup!  One of my favorites drinks was called Voodoo Brew from a bar called The Corner in Jackson Square.  Sooo good!

The parades are perfect for all ages.  Families bring ladders for kids to see the parades as they roll by and others bring chairs to sit up close to the barricades.  Mardi Gras is definitely an event that is not limited by age group and everyone has a wonderful time.    

And last but not least:

  

My First Y'all

January 22, 2015- a date which will live in infamy.  Okay, so it's not actually that dramatic.  But on January 22nd I caught myself saying something I had never knowingly said before.

It was a Thursday night in Athens.  The Lady Bulldogs were playing the Aggies of Texas A&M with hopes of extending their at-home winning streak to 12.  Georgia fought hard against their No. 10 ranked opponent and sealed the win in the final seconds of the game with a final score of 54-51.  It was exciting!  The type of buzzer beater us sports fans love, especially when your team is the underdog and they come out on top!

We conducted post game interviews with smiles on our faces and excitement for what this season might bring.  Things winded down as our team was getting ready to call it a night and just like that I said, "bye y'all" as I was walking out of the media room at Stegeman Colosseum.

I think I gasped.  It was the first time I heard myself say y'all so involuntarily.  It just came out like word vomit!  I'm not sure if anyone else noticed the difference between my "y'all" and normal "you guys", but I sure did!  After 12 months of living in the south, y'all effortlessly came out of my mouth.  I'm not saying that it's going to be a regular thing, but I can't say I'll stop it!  Here's to continuing to embrace the southern culture I love so much!

Happy Birthday Drew!

Today would have been Drew's 13th Birthday.  He would've been a teenager and I can't believe it.  These last few months have been hard, especially the holidays, but today is a different kind of hard.  We always celebrated Drew's birthday big.  Big party.  Big balloons.  Big cake.  So to honor his birthday I wanted to do something special, especially since I knew I wouldn't be with my family today.
I knew I wanted to make 13 of something and send them to families who love and were inspired by Drew.  I got really upset a few times when trying to think of an idea because nothing I was coming up with seemed "good enough".  Then when I got the idea to make candles, I cried.  I love burning candles and my collection is excessive.  But more importantly, Drew's favorite part about anyone's birthday, especially his own, was blowing out the candles.  So sending everyone a homemade candle to light in honor of Drew's birthday or whenever they're thinking of him was perfect.  I know he would have loved it.
Happy Birthday, in heaven, Sweet Angel! We're all blowing out your candles with you in our hearts.  I hope you're celebrating by running, jumping, dancing, belly-laughing and playing with the hose!  I miss you terribly! XOXO