road-trip-to-texas instagrams

here are a few instagrams of the long haul south from ann arbor to houston.  it was a pretty spectacular time-- i just wish steve and i had been able to share a car so we could laugh at the same casino-nail-salon-gas-station-home-of-the-original-deep-fried-pie-on-a-stick and play lots of 20 questions with answer "nicholas cage."  still, we made our way down from michigan via champaign, IL - memphis, TN - shreveport, LA and voila home to houston! the apartment is almost clean enough to document and introduce to y'all!

yes, i say y'all now.  and even though i have more reason than i used to, i'm somehow more self conscious about it.  don't worry.  let's move on... y'all...

over the course of our road trip i have upped my "states visited" number from 39 to 42 (i had never previously been in arkansas, louisiana, or texas).  i'm comin' for you oklahoma, idaho, oregon, mississippi, north dakota, montana, alaska, and hawaii!!

settling in so far!  lots of fun ahead!

noms on wheels

so i have vacation on the brain... because, well, remember?  i live here:

this means i'll have lots to share about the trip over the next week.  i'm putting together a road trip mix so you can listen to some of the jams steve and i will be playing on our 13 hour drive south (though i hate to break it to you, it will not be a 13 hour mix).

we are leaving crazy early in the morning and are really trying to get through the nasty winter weather when the roads are quiet which means we'll need some tasty snacks in the car with us!  if you are planning on road tripping anytime soon here are a few things we are planning on packin' for snackin'!

1.  a big thermos of homemade frappucino!

we'll need caffeine, obviously, but those starbucks bottles are such a rip-off!  

1 cup extra strong black coffee cooled 

3/4 cup 2% milk cold

3 tbsp sugar (or however much to taste)

1/2 tbsp vanilla

combine shake and be awake!

2.  breakfast bagels

while sitting in a car, we will clearly need to carbo-load.  i'm picking us up at half dozen asiago cheese bagels from panera and keeping some onion chive cream cheese in the cooler!  yum and yummier!

3.  crusty baguette sandwiches

arugula, honey mustard, chicken, and muenster anyone?

here's a pro-tip: the best honey mustard your money can buy

4.  snackables:

pitted kalamata olives

and in case you mistook me for somebody classy:

fruit roll ups // gushers // fruit by the foot

doritos (cool ranch for steve, nacho cheese for me)