Savannah Delights, Part I & New Beginnings

Savannah Delights & New Beginnings

So I hope I caught your eye with the post title, because as you can see below, Paula Dean was so pleased to meet me in Savannah, Georgia! Well, ok not really. The cardboard greeting might not have been all it was cracked up to be, but I got pleasure in at least knowing I was close to Paula Dean by visiting Savannah!! 

I can tell you, that if you are ever in Georgia, you must not bypass Savannah. My husband Matthew took me to Savannah for my 40th birthday, in July, (yep, the big 40 and still looking 20!!) and of course, going to Lady and Son's was on our list of things to do! Good ol' fashioned southern cooking, albeit not overly healthy, but oh so good---you have got to indulge in it just once at least! Lady and Son's is the type of place that forms over a 1 to 2 hr line just to make a reservation for lunch or dinner.

Luckily for us, when my husband booked our package at the historic Ellis Square Inn, the package included reservations at the famous Lady and Son's. But I am getting ahead of myself, aren't I? I need to begin a bit further back- before we ended up in Savannah.

So what is Southern Sugar Berries and this blog all about, you ask? Well, this is now my 4th attempt to blog and keep up at it. Really. I am officially committing to it--right now. Southern Sugar Berries is going to encompass Southern living, marriage and family, travel, my classroom escapades, my massage practice, and anything else I am inspired to write about.

Sidenote: I was inspired recently by my sister-n-law, Allison Silver, who like me, loves to write. As soon as I saw her blog, I thought, "I need to get my blog up and running again!" Thank you Allison!!

But before I get into all of Savannah's delights and my family's new beginnings, I think I am finally at a point where I can try and summarize the loss my husband and I experienced over the past two years in Oregon. Which is why, coming to Atlanta, is going to be the best decision we ever made. (That, and well, hubby certainly couldn't turn down the huge job opportunity that presented itself!!)

The Saluto's History in Brief: (Well, as brief as I can make it!!)

My husband Matthew and I have nearly five years together in history- beginning with our meeting in Colorado in 2007, living together and marrying in Hawaii (official date was Oct. 2, 2009, but we had our big family wedding in Matthew's hometown of East Peoria on Dec. 31, 2009). Matthew proposed to me in Sydney, Australia, on top of the Harbor Bridge in July of 2009. We climbed to the top, he got down on one knee, and surprised the hell out of me.

Officially engaged, July 2009, Sydney, Australia

After living in Hawaii for two years, we trekked back to the mainland and began living in my familiar world of childhood- Oregon. Initially, Oregon was where we thought we were going to plant our roots. We had twin girls on the way, Michael was with us full time, and  I was in line for an excellent job with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, so things were looking good. But huge losses came our way. The foundation job was moved to the headquarters in Seattle, teachers in Oregon were being laid off rather than hired,  and I was left floundering a bit (although I did pick up my Master's Degree in Education from Marylhurst and substitute taught), so I am thankful for that. Matthew, had picked up an excellent job, but was laid off by the Dept. of Justice just under the 90 day mark along with other state employees, which threw him into the tireless crunch of job searching again.

But our biggest loss-  was our twin girls; Angelina and Abbigail were taken from us in October of 2010. This really threw our marriage into an uphill climb. The stress was hard. We struggled personally to keep things on track for Michael-which we feel we did an excellent job at, given the losses we were experiencing. Other struggles came our way, (medically for me) to be sure, and personally for Matthew, but I am thankful to report we are both now back on track!

We are now in the process of new beginnings, healing, and a whole new closeness neither one of us have experienced previously.  We have beaten the odds of so many obstacles. Matthew is stronger than he has ever been as a husband and father. Anything that took away from us- is now past. You hear that past? Stay there. Don't mess with this girl!!

This is our family. With renewed faith, we will persevere. Below are a few of my favorite pics--the top being the most recent. Even through our struggle and obstacles, we still made time to smile.

July 2012, Savannah, GA (Papa and Momma Bear!!)

July 2011, South Africa (Papa Bear with stepsons Michael and Alec--one of our many travels I will be blogging about later!!)

May 2011, Disneyland in CA

July 2011, Bath, England (Another travel destination I will be blogging about!!)

Thanksgiving/2 yr Anniversary Trip, Nov 2011 (Bend, OR)

Christmas, Dec 2011 Timberline Lodge @ Mt. Hood, OR (Momma and Papa Bear with Brian, Alec & Michael)
MY WHOLE WORLD!

Savannah Delights: Part One

 

So back to Savannah! How can I describe something so lovely as Savannah? I don't know if I will be able to describe Savannah and give it the justice it really deserves, but I will try! I can tell you, that when my husband and I had to leave to go back to our new home in Atlanta after our fabulous weekend, we both decided that retiring in Savannah just might be our goal! This is how much we fell in love with it- and, we fell in love with each other all over again. :-)

Inn at Ellis Square

Upon arriving at the Inn at Ellis Square, I was immediately greeted by the hotel staff as guest of the weekend!! I had my own sign and everything! I felt like a mini celebrity!

Our room was on the top floor, in the corner- very tastefully decorated and comfortable. I will say that if you ever stay here, make sure you ask for a room AWAY from the elevator though! The only downside to the corner room was that we heard each person getting on and off the elevator into the wee hrs of night. But by the end of each evening, we were so exhausted from our activities that we slept through most of anything you would hear. So, food for thought.

After dumping our stuff in the room, we made our way to the riverfront to eat. We found a cute crab shack that had awesome hushpuppies, shrimp, and of course- crab legs. We ate outside to the tunes of a saxaphone player, and a lovely dinner.

Cobble stone alley's and all smiles along the riverfront!

The Boar's Head along the Riverfront

We continued to explore the riverfront shops, bars, and we even stole some kisses after having some Irish brew!  The history is rich and thick among the streets of Savannah- it was an amazing feeling. We both felt alive.

This is is just part one. Tune in for part two--I will have some excellent recommendations for food, tours, and ghost adventures in Savannah!!