Artwork by Country Roads’ Jennie Guido and Kourtney Zimmerman
What started out as a design for this year’s advertising campaign in Country Roads quickly turned into the artwork to commemorate this year’s festival. Growing up in Natchez, you see these posters and t-shirts everywhere. Restaurants, offices, and homes cover their walls in the colorful designs year after year. It’s the ideal Natchez collection.
And this year, I get to be a part of the collection. When I was told the focus of the music this year at the festival would be on New Orleans Jazz since that River City was taking its turn at 300, this image popped into my mind. With the amazing help of our Creative Director and mind reader at Country Roads, Kourtney Zimmerman made my idea come to life.
I can’t wait for this year’s Balloon Races to get here! It’s going to be a good year.
Yes. We’ve added another. It’s something that we don’t necessarily have an excuse for, and we’re not sorry about it for the naysayers that think we’re crazy. We just love dogs. They are more than “part” of the family — they are family. Each one has a unique personality that fits into the Guido family mold; and when we have to say goodbye to one, we are all lost.
I had been planning on writing a post about our 2 “black kids,” the Black Labrador twins — Mae and TJ. However, over the past week, another “black kid” has come to live with us (at my parents’ house for all you people that think she’s living with me and the Beagles).
Mae & TJ – The Twins
Last Tuesday, Mom and Dad were on their way home from early morning laundry openings and a side visit to McDonald’s when they spotted this black lab looking puppy on the highway near Grace Methodist Church. Dad, being the softy he is, instantly thought of our sweet Mae at home, wheeled the Ram Charger around, and jumped out to grab her from our Natchez rush minute. Luckily, Mom still had her warm McDonald’s biscuit, pulled it from the wrapper, and waved it wildly for the dog to see. Quickly making her way from the traffic, that puppy belly crawled into our lives, and “Grace” became a Guido.
Grace
Morning snacks with Dad.
I have to say, she’s definitely someone’s pet. We looked for her owner, shared her on Facebook, checked for a microchip — and nothing. She is very mild-mannered, loves a good cuddle, and sleeps in the kennel all night. She sits. She stays. She stops when you say “no”. For a “puppy” of about 6 months or so, she’s pretty perfect. Now, we don’t think she is full Labrador. There is something else lurking in those bat-like ears. (We did a Google search and worried she may have some Great Dane in her. Search Labradane. We were scared.) But, she’s fitting in nicely with all of the Guido pups. The Beagles quickly took to her, and Mama Jo is teaching her who is boss. The Twins think she’s their long lost sister and roll her around the yard like a rag doll.
This past weekend was chock-full of events, which were all fueled by endless wine, delicious food, and fun people. With a Friday afternoon with my freshly returned-to-America bosses around Natchez, Friday night landed the entire Country Roads crew (minus a few) at Natchez Food & Wine Festival’s Tastings Along the River. We wined; we dined; and we learned about the wine hammock/sling/yoke. (Don’t worry; those will be coming to a Supper Club near you this Fall.)
The Man. The Myth. The Wine Hammock.
Saturday was spent a little more relaxed with cocktails and cookies at my house before a delicious spread presented by Esther Carpenter and guest chef, Adam Ozga, at The Elms — gazpacho with an avocado creme, a deconstructed tuna salad, charred short-rib with vegetables-a-plenty, and finished with a trio of desserts that all washed down nicely with an array of wines.
Logo-themed treats care of Molly Manning.
Dinner amongst the best.
Tuna done right.
Stick a fork in me.
Finally, we Guidos celebrated Jackie O’s birthday the best way we know how — with a puppy party completely with pancakes and candles. I think she was happy to be off her strict diet for the night.
Last week, while attending the Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast, a family friend was leaving the room to head back to the office and said, “Enjoy the Heat!” while dashing out into the humid June morning. I’d never heard it said quite like that. Most people say, “Stay cool” or “Don’t get too hot out there.” But putting this positive spin on an inescapable heat like the one we are having this summer seemed the only way to make it through. Well, that and a good sno-cone.
I’ll be honest; I’m the first one to complain when I start to sweat. It’s just not for me. My hair isn’t a fan; I can’t stand the tacky feeling you get after you cool off; and to be honest, no one looks good wilted from sweating. Yesterday, on my way back from Baton Rouge, I stopped in St. Francisville to get some work done before heading back home. I got so hot getting in and out of the car several times in an hour and a half span that my knee caps were sweating. I’m used to sweating behind my knees and such, but for the actual top-of-the-knee cap to be perspiring seemed a bit much. When I saw the sign for “shaved ice snow cones” I did a U-ie in the middle of the road and dared anyone to stop me from getting to that counter and ordering up a clear strawberry concoction for the ride home.
Most friends know that us Guidos have a thing for our spaghetti and meatball recipe. We make it by the gallons at Christmas time to share with family, enjoy on Christmas Day, and store away to last the entire year. Last year, we made well over 400 meatballs in two shifts. The process for a batch of 200 takes a full 2 days, so we devouted quite the time to this recipe last year. But it’s that good. We can’t get enough of it. When mom asks what we want for supper, I could always go for spaghetti. And when we have it, if a stray meatball is actually left over, it’s not hard to find space for it. No meatball left un-eaten! That’s our motto.
This past year, we did start storing a few extra bags of meatballs that weren’t cooked in the sauce. They were reserved during the cooking process so we could have them in brown gravy over rice. Now that’s a perfect way to have this recipe. If you’re not a fan of marinara, stop reading this and never contact me again. Just kidding (maybe). Really, if you don’t care for marinara, try this recipe with a brown gravy. They are delicious that way!
Of course, the ingredient amounts are vague. We’re Italian. This recipe is from the old country. Think Sophia Petrillo. Do you think she would tell you how much salt, pepper, and garlic powder to use? I didn’t think so.
Guido-family Meatballs
4 pounds hamburger meat
2 packages hamburger buns, processed to bread crumbs
6 eggs
Salt and pepper
Onion tops
Parsley
Garlic powder
In the food processor, finely chop the meat. Mix all ingredients by hand in a large mixing bowl. Shape mixture into golf-ball-size meatballs and bake at 350 degrees until done. Use a meat thermometer to check the core temperature. It should be around 165 degrees. Let cool. These can then be stored in the refrigerator or freezer to later be added to a marinara or brown gravy.
Yesterday on my trip to Baton Rouge, there wasn’t much of a view during the drive down. It will still darkish from springing forward an hour in the wee hours Sunday morning; and to be honest, I was a little caught up in the final episode of season 1 of Serial. But on the drive back to town, the sights of spring were everywhere. I went towards campus before leaving Baton Rouge to pick up a little lunch, and the azaleas blooming were so perfect. As I made my way around St. Francisville, it was amazing to see just how far ahead an hour south of Natchez can actually be. Most of the bushes are completely open already and some have actually started to tinker out. What I did notice is how each patch of azaleas is treated different. Some yards have precisely manicured hedges of the same color bush all throughout the yard. Others let them grow wild almost around the bases of huge Live Oaks. My favorite are the houses that treat an azalea hedge as a 6-foot fence of sorts around the property so you only get a glimpse when passing by. I actually pulled into Afton Villa Gardens to take a few pictures of the driveway. It looked like something straight from an episode of The Joy of Painting with a bunch of happy little trees, bushes, and sky.
When I bought my house, I added a row of azaleas to the front of my house; and last year when I chopped down my 100-foot pines, I added a few at the foot of my driveway. I plan to add more this year and really make a mound of blooms in the future. Even though it’s a tad cooler this week, it helps liven up the senses when so much color is surrounding you.
I can remember that the months of March and April always gave me hives in high school and college. Everything in Natchez seems to sandwich into those two months and leaves very little time to breath; however, we are used to this lifestyle. So, we take it gladly each year that tourists still come to town and want to know more about our little hamlet.
Little Maypolers at Monmouth around March 1990
Royals at Pageant March 2007
Buglers during “The Hunt” March 2017
Luckily, this year will be condensed into about a two full weeks of balls to attend, pageants to watch, and hunts to perform in for this Guido family. While Aimee and I may not be in the Tableaux anymore, my two kids sure are. This year, we are also extremely excited to welcome our “little sister”, Julia Rachel Kuehnle into the royal family since she will be serving as Natchez Garden Club’s queen this year. My how time is flying!
Tri Delta visits Natchez March 2007
Guido girls on Court March 2009
Welcome to the club, JR! March 2009
So, between cocktails parties before Tableaux, seating guests into the boxes each night, and wrangling the Beagles before their showtime, I’m going to be one tired puppy come April.
I think everyone knows I’m a fan of HGTV. I’ve always been a follower of Trading Spaces and While You Were Out; but now with Fixer Upper,Hometown, and Property Brothers, I’m pretty much glued to that particular channel.
Luckily, I have quite the fixer upper of my own and have slowly been going room by room and inch by inch changing, re-changing, and changing again the look of my house. Some rooms were easy: paint, floors, lighting. However, some rooms needed (and still need) some elbow grease and a budget. Two springs ago, we tackled my “master” bath. Since there isn’t a master suite in my house on Auburn, I dedicated one of the two identical bathrooms (the one with actually 6 more inches of width) as my own. After shiplapping a wall, subway tiling the shower, and bricking the floors, I had a bathroom that Joanna Gaines would gladly call her own.
Before
After
Don’t worry, I’ll admit that I was a bit of a design diva throughout the process. This was a DIY project that my entire family helped with in some form or fashion throughout the 2-month timeline. Dad was the “Chip Gaines” of it all with his crowbar and nail gun within arms reach at all times. I did throw him for a loop with the niche I just had to have in my shower. I’d seen them on all of the renovation shows and really thought it would be ideal in my shower. No harm, no foul. Right? No. Major harm. Major foul. We were able to tile the entire shower within a couple of days, but that damned niche caused weeks of turmoil. There was thinking. There was Pinteresting. There were times we were all thrown from the premises so that Dad could think it through on his own. I have to say it turned out perfectly, and every time I grab my shampoo I think “Hmm, that’s a might fine niche.”
Mid Demo Day 1
End of Demo Day 1
Amount of Demo
End of Demo Day 2
Adding Insulation to Outer Wall
Adding Shiplap Wall
Roughing in Backer Board and Sheet Rock
Roughing in Sheet Rock
Tile Experts applying the first (of many) subway tiles.
The Niche Before
The Niche After
Ceramic Brick Floors
A toilet and shower door to go!
Finished shower
With bathroom two on the horizon by the end of March, I’m excited to get to tiling again and see what this version of shiplap, subway, and brick looks like. I have given up the niche in the guest bath. Sorry, future guests, baskets will have to do.
I have lived in my little house on Auburn for a little over 5 years now, and I have slowly transformed as many parts of it into a smart home as I possibly can. For a house that was built in the 1950s, that’s quite the accomplishment and challenge all at the same time. Wiring is usually an issue. Door jams and locks aren’t usually ready for automated features to be added. Don’t even get me started on the thinness of my windows and what keeping heat in this house has been like this winter. But, for those looking to add a few of these smart features to your house, here are the ones that I’m using to help keep my home secure and download as many apps possible to my iPhone, too.
Nest Learning Thermostat
This one is fun for me. I recently upgraded my security system so that I could include one of these bad boys in my house and run it through my Vivint app. Now, I did download the Nest app, too, because I can study the schedules of my Nest Thermostat and help keep it at the temperature I want it to be. The best part about this is that if I leave the house in a rush and forget to turn the air up and kick the heat back down, I can easily get into the app and make that change. But this thing is so smart that it tracks my whereabouts through my iPhone’s GPS and can register when I’m not at home (or even in town) and go into energy-saving mode. When I start getting closer to my house, it will start to heat or cool my house so it’s ready when I get in the door. Also, if I wake up super cold at night (which rarely happens. I have two space-heating Beagles.) I can reach over and adjust the temperature from my comfy bed. Geniuses these days.
Keyless Locks
Now this one really helps in a pinch. I’ve had the keypad locks on my doors at home for several years now. Not only can I unlock my house without fishing for my keys but also can unlock my house from my phone. The ones I have on my doors are connected to my security system and work perfectly for when I’m out of town and need to let the parents in or if someone is visiting from out of town and needs to get in and out while I’m not home. Recently, we’ve had a bit of a crime spree around town, and we thought it might be a good idea to add one to my carport door where my laundry room is. I didn’t necessarily want to order another one through Vivint (They can get pricey that way.), and I recently have gotten onto the Amazon Prime bandwagon. (I know. I know. What took me so long?) So, I found a knob version of the keyless/keypad entry. It was here in two day and fairly (Thanks, Aimee, for the power tools.) to install. Once again, those geniuses.
Ring Security Light and Camera
This one is also new to the Guido smart home. I really needed another way to watch the house other than the security system with keyless/keypad locks, a smart thermostat, and (OH) wall-socket plugins that I can turn on and off from my phone. So, we ordered this security camera/motion light/Big Brother. Right now, I’m mainly catching birds that are ready for their close ups or neighborhood dogs and cats making themselves at home. Hopefully, the alerts I get saying, “A person was detected” never actually ends up being anyone besides Mom or Dad; but at least I can listen in on their conversations, take their pictures, or use the two-way speaker to tell them to “get off my lawn”.
I’m a binger. I binge on Netflix. I binge on Hulu. I binge on iTunes. I binge on every app I can download and connect my DirecTV Now app to on my Apple TV. If it’s watchable, I’m probably going to binge it.
Some of my favorite shows that I’ve watched (or am watching) are:
Breaking Bad: I started this series WAY after it had started. I spent all of college with no idea that this show was such a good show to get addicted to. I had spent most of those years watching Intervention or doing the snail-mail version of Netflix to get DVDs of movies that weren’t that great. When I moved home and started really getting into Netflix, I found Walter White and fell in love with it. Now, the version on Netflix has a little less editing than the AMC version. I actually started watching it right after the series finale aired, so the real reason I got into it was because I had read a review about the ending (SPOILER) and the death of Heisenberg. So, I watched it within a month or two; and now, I watch it anytime I happen to catch a marathon on Sundance or AMC. Sometimes, I open it up on Netflix and randomly scroll to an episode, watch the darkness unfold, and root for the meth chef.
The Office: This, too, was a show that I started at the end of the series. It was in deed my first binge experience when I first bought my Apple TV in 2010.I actually timed my binge to where I finished all the other season and shows at the actual night of the series finale. I love Jim, and I want one of my own. I think that Michael is probably a real human somewhere. It’s something that I now follow fan pages on Facebook that play bloopers reels that I find too funny and laugh at a little too hard.
The Great British Baking Show: I’ve watched every season. I have LOVED every season. I’d watch them all again gladly. There is actually a spin off called The Big Family Cooking Showdown on Netflix that may actually be better than the original. (To be honest, I kind of fell in love with one of the contestants.) Watch them both.
Big Love: Y’all. This show is crazy. I have to admit though; I am big into watching anything that has to do with Mormons, polygamy, Scientology, or cults. Now, I’m not one of those that gets sucked in, sends all of my money to some crazy person, and ends up brainwashed. I find it hysterical that people can actually be brainwashed. So, the more I know, the more likely I am to stay like I am — a non-practicing Catholic that is thankful for Mother Mary. Big Love is on the HBO app, and the ending made me extremely sad.
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee: Thank you, Netflix, for putting this show on my rotation. I started it over the latest ice storm to lighten the load of Law and Order: SVU, Blue Bloods, and Chicago PD that my parents had playing nonstop. Quickly, I was into it. They are 15 minute episodes that are hilarious, lots of talking, and an opportunity for me to learn more about people that I love to binge on other shows like Sex and the City, Master of None, and SNL. If you need something to watch in short spurts, add to your watchlist today. My favorite episode so far was with Sarah Jessica Parker in a station wagon.
Writer's Block 