Hello blogosphere!

I wasn't expecting you! But, you kept tapping me on the shoulder saying, "Get with the program. Do it. Just start one. Come oooon. I'm fun and Google-y and you'll just love me!" so I've decided to put my fingers to the keyboard and document life through my lens: travel, food, and culture. Love cannot be blogged, and is there anything else to life?

Follow me if you can: My dad was born on Long Island, NY. My mother was born in Kansas City, MO. My sister, Sadie, was born in Vail, CO (where my parents were married 30 years ago!). And I was born Napa, CA (legend has it this is where my love of chardonnay comes from). Sadie and I were raised in a perfect, little place called Lawrence, KS, where you could drive across town in seven minutes and you went to K-12 with your neighbors.

Okay... So then, Sadie moved to Austin, TX, to earn a degree in Advertising and Marketing at the University of Texas. Then, I moved to Columbia, SC, to earn a degree in Marine Science Spanish and Latin American Studies at the University of South Carolina. My parents gained a third daughter, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel I named Lucille "Lucy" McGillicuddy Caplan after my favorite show growing up, I Love Lucy. Sadie followed her boyfriend-soon-to-be-husband, Matthew, to spend a few years closer to his family near Winston-Salem, NC, then they returned to Austin because... well... I will "spotlight" Austin in a future post to tell you about why the locals campaign to "Keep Austin Weird." I found a blue-eyed blonde prince charming, Rhett, from Greenville, SC, and signed paperwork in May of this year to be his sidekick for life.

At the moment we call Columbia home because 1) we are exactly equidistant from the mountains to the beach, 2) we are both either currently or plan to earn our Master's Degrees at USC, 3) Rhett bought a house after Freshman year of college, and 4) Murphy and Jack- our two fuzzy kids- just aren't ready for any serious life changes yet.

Last, but absolutely not least, my dad signed on to his dream job and joined Parsons Corporation in 2010 to work on a waterfront city development project on the Red Sea for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He is currently overseas while my superhero mother holds down the fort in Kansas City.

In my short 26 years on this earth, most of my life lessons, wisdom, humor, and friends have come through travel, food, and culture. I work daily with underserved crime victims and believe a lot of my passion for diversity and helping those in need comes from my experiences across the country and the world.

I found my favorite quote tucked in a book in our basement when I was growing up. My dad had ripped it out of his father's book and I stumbled across it and it was love at first sight:

"Broad, wholesome, charitable views 
of men and things cannot be acquired 
by vegetating in one little corner of the 
earth all one's lifetime." --Mark Twain.

I've known this quote by heart since the day I found it and I have the piece of paper I found framed on my desk at work.

I love every little thing about travel, food, and culture. Southeast of the Midwest will document highlights of my favorite places, regional recipes, and little life lessons I would have never learned if it weren't for getting out there and experiencing all the little corners of the world.

Hasta la proxima vez...
Until next time...

This blog is in honor of:

Grandma and Poppa Caplan

Grandma and Grandpa Kaiser

Mom and Dad

Without them, I don't know what I'd write about.