Luxury, Power, Technology, Comfort, Appeal and Self Respect!
As our family continued to grow, we realized we would need another vehicle that would accommodate that fact on top of many other wants and needs that we had. We find that so many families are too quick to dismiss self image and join the mini van club. As if this is the only thing that can accommodate the needs of a growing family or the gathering of groceries.
Monica and I have been looking for a vehicle over the past 2 years that would not be a mini van but also not be a huge monstrosity of an SUV. Monica being vertically challenged could only see over the dashboards of very few vehicles. She did not want anything that was excessively large but would also include enough towing capacity to pull a larger cabin cruiser (that was naturally my need LOL). Not many options fell within this criteria. You have your Yukons, Suburbans, Crew Cabs, Navigators, Escalades, Explorers and a few other super large SUV's that could pull over 7,500 lbs but unfortunately for us, they would not fit in the garage and we felt the quality just was non existent without an absurd price increase.To be open minded, we looked at all these vehicles just to make sure it was not what we wanted. We even looked into Audis, Porsche, BMW, Infinity and Lexus and the ability to tow 7,500+ lbs was not a feature that was included with these brands
We had been eyeing the new Dodge Durango for at least 2 years since the 3rd generation new body style dropped. Specifically the 2014 - 2015 Dodge Durango RT because the rear light were (for a lack of better terminology) BAD ASS. We were looking for black on black with all the options and the Hemi. The problem we ran into was this vehicle is a unicorn. If it existed, we were not finding it anywhere. We would occasionally find a used one or new 2014 for the same price as the brand new ones.
We were currently in a Hyndai Santa Fe Limited which we loved very much. It was in immaculate shape as this is how we took care of it. We had even customized it with an in dash DVD player with backup camera and 22" custom wheels. We could mirror our iPhones to the 7 inch in dash double din head unit and play Hulu, Netflix or whatever else was of interest. Because we traveled so much for Real Estate photography, this was an essential addition. You can see the full video tour of our 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe limited here. It was our plan to use the money as a down payment on the Dodge Durango RT.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84cU1zT6cn4&w=640&h=360]
We were on our way home from Panama City Beach when a teenager immediately pulled out from a side street in front of us. There was no room to react fast enough to avoid the collision. We T boned the mid 80's F-150 in the rear drivers side tire. Thank the Lord that everyone was ok. Even the Hyundai (while looking quite bad) was still running smoothly. After exchanging info and having the police write up a report, we drove back to Atlanta.
It took 2 months to go through the typical bullshit you get from an insurance company. After 2 weeks of going back and forth with GEICO, we went up to their office to get a check for $14,000. About 10 minutes into our meeting they look at us and say "we have some bad news". Apparently in Florida you only are required to have a minimum of 10,000 in property damage which would not cover the value of our vehicle. GEICO could only cut us a check for that.
After immediately walking out we contacted our own insurance company Nationwide. Talk about being put through the ringer with GEICO, it was worse with Nationwide. They did not want to give us the value of our vehicle. They came in at $11,000 which was $3,o00 less then what GEICO was willing to pay before they realized their clients were underinsured. Long story short, I had to provided more documents to back the value until we eventually got the price up to $13,000. Lets just say it made Monica cry how evil both insurance companies were about this process. I honestly do not know how people that work in that industry sleep at night.
But after all that, we always try to look on the bright side of any situation, and the luck of it all is we were in a position to now get our current dream vehicle! The 2015 Dodge Durango RT! We originally were looking for a Citadel, because it was chromed out and super sexy looking but came to find from our buying experience at Chrysler, Dodge Jeep of Gwinnett that we could have everything we were looking for in the RT! It was black on black leather with red stitching and red embroidered RT seats. This is the most sexy, masculine piece of SUV on the road period. It even has the black out 20" rims and sub in the trunk from the factory! The rear end looks like something out of the movie TRON.
We were amazed at how much technology this car had. You could locate the lowest price gas station, or see what is playing at the movies with the in dash technology Uconnect system. Heated and cooled seats with heated steering wheel. You have 2 settings on the seat that would adjust the seat to each driver, but not only that, it would adjust the seat, radio, temperature settings and all that you wanted to program to match the driver! The dash is equipped with a 7inch customizable dash cluster. When you set the cruise control, you can set a 1 to 5 car length distance so when a vehicle in front begins to brake, so does the Durango. It will come to a complete stop and start back up to speed with traffic all on cruise control. You just have to hold the steering wheel! Don't forget the power lift gate, easy third row access, keyless entry and remote start.
For safety the Durango includes many aspects like blind spot warning, backup camera with sensors, front end sensors with brake assist. The brake assist is a very cool feature. Lets say that same kid pulls out in front of us again. The Durango will instantly brake faster then your brain can react to aid in avoiding a collision.
Now, I could go on and on about the technology they put in this beauty but the Dodge website does a great job already, so check out this link to see what else is included (click the image)
Our wish list did not originally include all this technology, but it was super cool to find out it was included with the Durango. We were looking for something that would seat more than 4 to 5 people, without taking the dreaded MINI-VAN path! The Durango could seat 6 to 7 passengers. In addition to that we needed something that could tow a cabin cruiser, to continue the "dream!" The Durango has a towing capacity of 7,400 lbs. This proved to pull a 25 foot Regal Windows Express cabin cruiser quite well! With Standard Trailer Sway Control+ applies brake pressure on alternating wheels and may adjust engine throttle to help eliminate sway and maintain vehicle and trailer system stability.
To pull a boat that size you need power. Well the 5.7 liter Hemi has power and an exhaust sound that will make any dude smile like a joker! As Dodge would say "So don't do it. With the Dodge Durango, you're getting the triple threat of Best-in-Class power+, towing capacity+ and standard fuel economy of 25 highway mpg+. You're getting a vehicle that doesn't wait around for anyone or anything. It's the left lane or bust."
- 360-HP 5.7L HEMI® V8 Engine with Fuel Saver Technology and 390 LB-FT of Torque
- Performance Steering and Sport Suspension (Lowered 20mm)
- Class-Exclusive 20-Inch Hyper Black Aluminum Wheels+
- Dual Rear Exhaust with Bright Tips
- High-Intensity Discharge (HID) Headlamps with Black Bezels
The moral of the story is you no longer have to settle, sell out, ride the mainstream, lower self worth by driving a mini van. You can have your cake and eat it too. We love our new 2015 Dodge Durango RT. You need to check it out for yourself. Smiles per gallon baby! Now we are officially a Mopar family!
Need more? This is a great video covering the Durango RT
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6nVQd4q8m8&w=640&h=360]
Kindness... as Interpreted by Ze Frank
During the election I came across some hilarious commentary by Ze Frank about the debates and ever since I've been enjoying my Youtube subscription to his channel and the video I came across today just stuck with me and I needed to share! It's about KINDNESS! And during this time of fresh starts with the New Year and resolutions I think it's such a great message!
Check it out below!
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=504__4ZzHac&w=640&h=360]
While the entire message stands out to me, I did pull an awesome quote that I'd love to share and hope you enjoy whether or not you watch the video!
"Kindness - It's like little rays of light that emanate out from the interactions you have with people, maybe little candles that light inside them...You can tell the people that have had a lot of experience with kindness, they glow like they do have a lot of tiny little candles burning inside of them." - Ze Frank
Pass on the kindness and start glowing and seeing others glow!
2012 In Review | What an Awesome Year to Blog!
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for perdueosity.
Here's an excerpt:
4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 35,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 8 Film Festivals
Click here to see the complete report.
Perdue Vision Pecan Pies - Just in Time for Thanksgiving!!!
Paul has been on a pecan pie rampage! Several months back Paul took the liberty of making a pecan pie for our neighbors. They moved into the neighborhood and neighbors all around were bringing them cookies and candy and all sorts of stuff, but they were surprised having moved to the south that no one brought them a Pecan Pie. And that was Paul's queue!
Paul decided since he had never made them before to make two! One for us to test and the other for the neighbor. And they both turned out AWESOME! Absolutely delicious! We scarfed that pie down in no time! And got some rave reviews from the neighbor as well.
Now with the holiday's approaching Paul decided he wanted to give thanks to his clients and close friends and family with some pecan pies! What started out as a client gift for a few turned into 24 or more pies for many!
So Paul decided to make this into a project, and what better way to share the love then to share the recipe and début Paul's first cooking video! He definitely had fun with this one! Check it out!
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMiC9R1H7MQ&w=750&h=422]
For detailed written directions, see below:
Perdue Vision Pecan Pies
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Bake Time: 60 to 70 minutes
Chill Time: 2 hours
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients:
- 1 cup Light OR Dark Corn Syrup
- 1/4 cup of Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) pecans
- 1 (9-inch) unbaked deep-dish pie crust
- 1 pie pan
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Mix corn syrup, eggs, sugar, butter and vanilla using a spoon. Stir in pecans. Pour filling into pie crust.
- Bake for 60 to 70 minutes. Cool for 2 hours on wire rack before serving.
TIPS: Pie is done when center reaches 200°F. Tap center surface of pie lightly - it should spring back when done. For easy clean up, spray pie pan with cooking spray before placing pie crust in pan. If pie crust is over-browning, cover edges with foil.
Storey's Birthday at Monterey's Mexican!
I hate getting behind on the blog, but I guess that's life! So this past weekend we celebrated one of my best friend's birthday's! Storey (or as I have grown to know her since 6th grade - "Kristin"), turned 31! We went out to a local Mexican restaurant called Monterey's and it was PACKED! I called ahead, but I guess Friday's are just that kind of night for them so we had to wait a VERY LONG TIME!
But in the end it was worth it as it was absolutely delicious! We enjoyed margaritas and an assortment of other drinks, great cheese dip and guacamole dip and awesome dinners! Desi and Tristan came out, so that was nice and we also got to meet a couple of Storey's friends... Rob and Saffron. It was a nice mix, and everyone definitely enjoyed the good food, drinks and conversation!
Check out some of the fun!
Afterwards we continued the fun at Ron and Saffron's with Storey, Paul and myself. We had a good time drinking chatting and stealing some great ideas for building cool patio furniture out of pavestone palettes! When we get to working on that project I will definitely be posting about that!
Anyway, Happy Birthday Storey (Kristin), we hope you enjoyed it and look forward to many more years of fun!
Sexy Time Chicken Fettucine Alfredo
Ok ladies and gentlemen, this past weekend we had decided to take on a simple, yet sometimes quite difficult dish. I don't know how many times I've had Fettucine Alfredo that just seems to miss the mark, and there's no way you can ever buy a pre-made jar of Alfredo and get the kind of feeling or response you can with a home-made sauce!
We decided to do this dish since we were having our friend Elaine over and that is her go-to meal, I don't know how often she eats it, but it's one of like three different type meals she likes. Of four, I think it may be her favorite! I want to give you some quoted reviews before I get into the recipe as I want you to be able to grasp the awesomeness of this recipe!!!
"I'm totally getting goose bumps right now! This is so amazing!" ~ Elaine (the Fettucine Alfredo connoisseur)
"I was sitting next to Elaine and can vouch for the fact that she literally had goose bumps all over her arms due to this awesome Fettucine Alfredo!" ~ Paul (who sat next to Elaine)
"When a guy is in the doghouse, if he makes this, there is no way his woman can turn him down!" ~ Desi (speaking from experience!)
Sexy Time Chicken Fettucine Alfredo
Servings: 6
Ingredients:
- 3 Large Skinless Chicken Breasts
- Fettucine Pasta
- Heavy Whipping Cream (32 oz container)
- Cream Cheese (approx 2 oz from an 8 oz box)
- Finely Shredded Parmesan Blend Cheese - 5 oz Bag (includes Parmesan, fontina, Asiago, and Romano cheese)
- Finely Shredded Parmesan Cheese - 5 oz Bag (Half for sauce, half for sprinkling on finished dish)
- 6 Garlic Cloves
- 1/2 Cup of Butter (two sticks)
- White pepper (to taste)
- Black Pepper (to taste)
- 1 Tbsp of Salt (or to taste)
- Fresh Parsley (1/2 finely chopped in sauce) and the rest as garnish
For the Chicken:
Brine the chicken in a 4 hour salt and garlic powder brine. We placed the chicken breasts in a Pyrex dish filled with water mixture which included approximately 4 tbsp of Garlic Powder and 3 tbsp of Salt.
The chicken was cooked on a charcoal grill, searing both sides for about 3-5 minutes depending on size of chicken breast. Once seared, they were moved away from the flame for indirect cooking for about 15 to 20 minutes. (FYI - our grill was only at about 250 degrees, the cook time will vary, but you don't want to cook it too long or the chicken will dry out and get tough!)
Also, the chicken should be on the grill when you start the water for the pasta.
For the Sauce:
Start by dicing up the garlic and simmer with the butter. Once that gets to a frothy boil, add in whipping cream gradually (it is not necessary to add it all at once). Spice the sauce up with your salt, and peppers stirring regularly with a whisk. Whisking the sauce will increase the thickness! Begin to add in the Parmesan Blend and the cream cheese. Let it simmer while you put your pasta into the boiling water (with olive oil). Continue to simmer the sauce while you are working on the chicken and the pasta, stirring regularly as you don't want the sauce to burn! Now add in the Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley. It's almost ready... now taste and add more garlic (fresh or powder) and salt as needed.
To Serve... Place noodles on a dish, spoon on the alfredo sauce, and place sliced chicken on top. Sprinkle with shredded Parmesan and chopped parsley and voilà! You are now ready to get your Sexy Time Fettucine Alfredo on!!!
We hope you will enjoy this and it's effects! It's absolutely amazing! It's not an every night thing as I have no idea how fattening it is, but it is an awesome treat or a way out of the dog house, as this will definitely get you SEXY TIME! ;)
(FYI this recipe is named Sexy Time Chicken Fettucine Alfredo after our "unnamed dinner companions" decided they had to excuse themselves from the dinner table to have SEX after eating this amazing meal!!!)Blog Love!
Blog Love! One of the blogs I visit regularly, "People I Want to Punch in the Throat" recently posted a Blog Love post where people can share their blogs. It's amazing how many people have responded so far, and I have found a lot more blogs I will be checking out more regularly! Like this one, "I Like Beer and Babies", is hilarious! I love it! Can't wait to check out more... and maybe down the line I'll do my own "Blog Love" post...
I Love it When the Only Drama in My Life Is on TV!
I know this isn't a post for everyone, but for those that have read the blog before, you know I LOVE the Bachelor! Not the person, but the show... of course.
So things are progressing and women are dropping off. And naturally the drama builds, especially between certain individuals. In my original post, I thought the awful "devilish" one was Monica, well she's GONE as of tonight! But ironically, she's not by any means the one I detest the most. She had actually kind of backed off her craziness, and now the "EVIL" one is Courtney!
Now there's always the possibility that those that edit these shows can portray some individuals negatively and others in a warm and fuzzy light, but there are too many clips of her saying the most petty shit! Like "WINNING."
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSnMpXYL82Y&w=560&h=315]
I guess maybe that is the mentality you must have when you're competing for one guy, but for those that really have feelings, it's not about the other girls and winning, it's about the Bachelor and having awesome moments and finding love.
So this past episode Ben let a girl go on a group date, and that was a little odd, but I don't even know who it was he let go, so I guess she must not have been that important anyway (not to be mean, but she must not have gotten much face time). Anyway, two of my favorites (to make it into the top three) are still there!
First we have Jennifer, and she is a given. She is not only beautiful, but she is also super smart, independent, has character, and according to Ben she's a good kisser (gotta have that chemistry)! It's nice cause when you see her little clips all she is talking about is Ben and how much she enjoys spending time with him and how much she likes him. That's what it's about! I hope Ben keeps her around.
Now Emily seems to be walking a fine line with Ben and her issues with Courtney, but I totally feel her pain. I think in these kind of circumstances it's hard to differentiate between a girl being intimidated by a "Model" (i.e. Courtney - the Evil One) and truly caring about a guy and the fact that he's totally being duped by the pretty girl. I've liked Emily from the beginning, I think she is another independent, intelligent woman who isn't afraid to jeopardize her own opportunity with a guy to make him aware of her concerns and hopefully make him see past facades! She definitely has Ben's best interest in mind and not "WINNING"... Emily, whether or not you ended up with Ben, I commend you for speaking out!
It's what all of us girl's at home are screaming at the TV. And to be in a house with people who may be frowning upon you for saying something they may be afraid to say themselves isn't easy! I'm glad that Ben gave Emily a rose, and hope he keeps her around.
And of course since Brittney left a couple weeks ago, I need a new girl for my top three and my third choice is Kacie B. I've actually liked her since the second episode, she's down to earth, sweet and totally in it for Ben. She will definitely be in it til the end!
So here is the current standings and of course hearts around my favorites!! I hope Ben makes the right decision... looking forward to what happens next week! hehehe
Good Times with Good Friends: Skate Night and Wild Wing Cafe
This past weekend we went back to our childhood with some old school fun! We went to one of the local Skating Rinks for a fun night of skating with good friends! It's been about two years or so since Paul and I have been skating, and probably closer to 10 or more for some of our friends.
We went to Slapshot Family Skate Center in Cumming, GA. It had all those old school things you remember from your childhood skating rink...
It's definitely different then when we were kids. I guess as you get older you tend to have more fear, and a lot less balance! But thankfully once you get out there it's kind of like riding a bike again and you actually start to get into it! While I think we were all a little unsure about it at first, we ended up very happy with our decision to go skating, and I'm pretty certain everyone that went would be willing to go back again.
After we wore ourselves out skating we decided to head over to Wild Wing Cafe for some good eating and live music! The food is of course always great, but we were pleasantly surprised with how awesome the band was! It was the first time Roshambeaux had played at Wild Wing, and I am totally hoping they will come back cause they were amazing!
They played a mixture of everything from Collective Soul, a remixed (alternative style) of the Cupid Shuffle, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, John Cash, and their own stuff. Their style of music had a very bluesy feel, with various improvised moments from each member from guitar, bass and drum solos. We were thoroughly impressed and will definitely keep an eye on how they progress.
In any event, the evening was awesome. We had a great time with all our friends and I hope that we can plan an evening like this again soon!
My Virtual Makeover! It's Amazing What You Can Do!
So, I have decided I'm going to try to grow my hair out. I don't know what has gotten into me because I always have short hair! ALWAYS! And I think I look good with short hair, so it's not a bad thing, but the biggest challenge with having longer hair is growing it, and patience to wait for it to grow out!
Anyway, I decided to try out some new "do's" online! It's amazing what you can do on a computer. I searched around and found a fun Virtual Makeover site that actually does a pretty amazing job at making not only alternate hair styles look realistic, but also make-up! I went from a picture with no make-up or style to a gorgeous masterpiece! haha
You start by uploading a picture... and it gives specs. Then you mark areas of your face with dots to let the program know where things should be, etc. Then onto the make-up application!
First you start with foundation... And you can even choose the make-up you use by brand! Or maybe you want to try out a different make-up to see how it would look! I use Smashbox foundation, so I figured why not go with what I already have...
And then you move onto blush, eyes and lips... I noticed the biggest difference with the eye make-up! Very cool options for shadow application (one, two and,three color application) as well as eye liner with a very broad spectrum of colors!
You can even play with contacts... check me out with green eyes! Oh YEAH!
But for real, I was very pleased with the outcome! Check out the difference, I really look like I put on make-up and I was surprised how different and good I look with some extra makeup. I need to start wearing more eyeliner I think, and maybe curl those lashes!
Then on to hair... I am seriously going to try to grow my hair out, and I actually found something that I think I would actually look decent with! You can play with the dots to adjust the hair to fit your face better and you can play with color and everything!
For a digital makeover this wasn't bad! I'm going to plan for a Sophia Bush do! So check me out, hopefully in a year or so, if I can actually last long enough to grow it out... I could look like this! Oohhh La La!
Nothing a little vitamins, and curling couldn't work out... and if worse comes to worse I can try extensions! Hahaha Not really, but I will try to GROW IT OUT!
I couldn't finish this fun without some experiments with other options. This is when it gets fun! I don't think I would ever go for a dramatically different color, but it's fun to see what I could maybe look like!
If you want to do your own makeover check it out online for yourself HERE! This was so fun!!