TGIF!

In our Wine Awesomeness Delivery this past month we received Muga Rosado, and while I don't like Sparkling Rose, this was a truly delightful wine.  K and I remarked that it was the perfect compromise considering he's a red drinker, and I'm a white.

I am excited to celebrate my Nana's 81st birthday tonight with the whole family!

I'm the only person ready for this photo.

Speaking of my nana, one thing that she definitely passed down to me is the love of costume jewelry.  I've always loved changing jewelry according to outfits, but lately I've really switched to wearing the same everyday.  Pearl earrings, my rings and bracelet (which I've talked about before), and this necklace with a mexican fire opal charm:

I was so happy to buy peaches at the grocery store!

The perfect afternoon pick me up:

and despite my usual aversion to country music, I just love this:

This weekend I am ready to roll my windows down and cruise... to Folly Beach baby!

Y'all have a great one!

Patriotic Funfetti Blondies

I forgot to take a picture of these bad boys, until there was only one left!  I guess you could say they were a hit at our Memorial Day cookout, but really they were the only dessert option so there's that.

You can call these babies Cake Batter Bars, Funfetti Blondies, whatever you want!  They are a total cinch to make and I actually chose to make these because I had everything I needed on hand.

What you need:

1 box "Stars and Stripes" funfetti cake mix (or white cake mix with patriotic sprinkles thrown in)

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

1/2 cup veg oil

1 cup white chocolate chips

What you do:

Preheat oven to 350'

Grease your pan.  I used 13x9 but would have preferred 11x7 so they would have been a little thicker.

Mix all of your ingredients and pour into your dish.

Bake for around 25 minutes, and boom!

Let cool before cutting. Enjoy.

They taste just like funfetti cake (of course!) and they are much easier to eat, no fork required. 

Bookmark this one for Fourth of July and you'll be done in the kitchen before you can chant "USA!", but please don't. I find that obnoxious.

:)

The Best Weekend Ever

What a truly joyful weekend we had! I was able to take some time off from work last week after traveling to Atlanta and it made for a super long weekend.  This is just what the doctor ordered. 

A quick rundown:

Thursday I spent catching up on some things around the house, grocery shopping, and hitting the gym.  (It never ceases to amaze me how long a day feels when I'm not at work.)  I dropped off some stuff at Goodwill and I really hit the motherload this trip.  I scored some simple oxford shirts and a dress that I can't wait to show y'all! Here is what a day-off outfit looks like:

Friday was beach day, after one of my favorite classes at the gym (that I can't ever make bc of work).  It was absolutely gorgeous on Folly!  I snapped a pic of this kayak/fishing boat.  I was impressed:

When K got off work we had a few drinks at the Crab House before dinner with Chelsea and Cameron.  I have pictures on my camera from that as well but for now you only get phone snaps.  

Saturday we hit the pool and then the ball game. And Sunday we had a family bbq. 

Finally, Yesterday was so nice because we had absolutely nothing planned.  We had a late breakfast, hit the pool and then went downtown to walk the Mega Dock at the Marina and watch the sunset. 

So relaxed and so happy.

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And so today I am back at work, but I'm feeling refreshed and hey, it's already Tuesday!

:)

Here is my work outfit, an ode to Memorial Day:

How was your Memorial Day Weekend?

Hello Photo

Picture Time!

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Happy Hour at Home!

 These are from the"Great Expectations" event supporting OLM & The Neighborhood House.  Interior Designers decorated tables with the theme of their favorite book.  Can you tell what books are for what tables?

 

Hint on this one: It's been made into a movie that's in theatres now...

 This one was my fave:

 All of the laterns were lit up at night, very pretty.

 Our hardwood flooring from Habitat was not functional so we had to go with a laminate.  It was a bit of a blow to my bank account, but the end result is great.  Alfie wasn't feeling the change of plans either.

 Mariachi!  They played "Ring of Fire" for our table.

 This is what happens when there is only one pregnant friend in your group:

 Enchiladas for Cinco de Mayo

 & fun at Mex 1.

 

 My "Welcome to Charleston" package for Mattie and Joe.  I only wish I had put it all in a colander!  A day late and a dollar short on that one.

 Love my cheese slate:

 We're big dorks...

 Mother's Day Brunch prep:

 Tables are set!

 Love my home. Love my life.

 Special Delivery!  Also, I made this arrangement and I'm kinda proud of it :)

 I haven't really liked the high-low (mullet?!) skirt trend, but this dress was just too dreamy. Sheer Lavender? 100% Yes!

 

Looooong weekend ahead and I am SO happy about it!

Beach then celebrating with my Choo (aka future Mrs. Moore) tomorrow.

Riverdogs game Saturday night.

Family Cookout Sunday- I will be posting my recipe for Patriotic Funfetti Blondies next week.

And on Monday, nothing!  Which is a beautiful thing. 

Have a happy and safe holiday weekend!

Rings and Things

I couldn't visit Atlanta without doing a little shopping!  I wasn't able to get to Sephora because I only had an hour to spare, but it's amazing how much damage I was able to do in such a short timeframe!

Exhibit A:

Oh, and I absolutely MUST make a huge sidenote regarding rings. My best friend ever got engaged on Sunday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Congrats to my Choo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Look at this baby:

Ok now back to my tear through Phipps Plaza,

Exhibit B:

I need a special summer occasion for this!

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Now, I have a few little rants that I thought would be fun to share.  Do you ever feel anxious/annoyed in these situations:

• Not being able to get to the beach when it's a beautiful day, or not being able to get there early enough.
• Coming home to a completely dark house. (This ones for you, Lauren)
• Seeing a  line out the door of the place when you are trying to park at a restaurant...I swear I feel like a kid heading to the fair when this happens. Gotta get in, Gotta get in, Gotta get in!
• When your waiter constantly interupts conversations (take note: this never happens in movies or tv shows).
• Pulling up to the gas pump and realizing you're on the wrong side.
• Typing "Please find attached" and forgetting to attach!
• In classes at the gym when some ladies switch spots throughout the class. Stay in your spot!
• When people in front of you in the sub line are ordering for more than 2 people.  You can call ahead ya know.
• Chipped fingernails. 
• When people pass in the lane that ends in a merge situation.  I always wait in the right lane!
• Most bumper/car stickers in general.

The End!

I am taking a little staycation starting tomorrow so it may be quiet on the blog til next week.  Who knows...

Flashback Friday

I found my Facebook graffitis from 2006ish....

and it made me very happy,

and nostalgic for the days when I had time to draw silly pics for my friends on the computer.

Let's Go...Again!

Sometimes I like to look back at this blog and see what I was up to last year, same time.  Well, last year I was working freelance, roughly 15 hours a week.  So to say things were different is an understatement.  But as I was browsing May 2012 archives I realized that I had posted this post, Let's Go!, one year (& a day) ago exactly.  And I am feeling the exact same way right now!  (Reading back on that post, I'm sad to see that we never made our December trip to NYC.  As much as I love to plan, I do realize that I can't control everything!)

I'm not gonna lie to you, going back to working 9-5 has been very tough.  Granted, I did it for the money and the benefits, and the general security.  But it's much harder and more taxing on my quality of life.  And that's especially so this time of year, as the Spring fever bug bites me. (& every single one of my 3 receptionists who have each called out this week. C'mon now!)

Example-

My view May 2012:

My view May 2013:

Complaining when I'm blessed with a good job (and more) isn't right, but I'd be kidding myself if I didn't admit to wishing I was at the beach pretty much every day. 

 I am a lady of leisure at heart.

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Onward,

I'm wearing Sally Hansen "Hard as Wraps" on my nails, and it's curling and peeling at the edges.  I had this same problem with a shellac manicure a while back.  Not cool.  But I do like the sheer nude color and shine.

Side note: what is a "wrap"?

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I've got an upcoming fancy dinner for work, what to wear??

I'm feeling a dressed-up maxi a la this:

Alright, Hey Friday, I can see ya!

Have a good one :)

Random Wednesday...

Hi!  Ya know, I have had to work late/fill in for 2 sick girls this week and yet, despite how busy I've been, the week is still creeping by.  Last weekend put a hurting on my tummy (there can, in fact, be too much of a good thing) but I'm finally feeling settled again.  I will eventually upload the month's work of pics accumulating on my camera, but for now here we go:

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I was stopped at the Wappoo Bridge the other day while it opened and y'all, a cruise ship was passing through!  I kid you not!  Now, for those of you who aren't familiar with the Wappoo Cut, it's really not that big of a channel.  It was funny to see the cruisers up on the Lido deck going through a creek.  Here's a super zoom pic, I couldn't really get a good one.

Also,

We are going to see the Killers in August!  Hot Fuss was one of my faaaavorite albums many moons ago.

 Here's a happy picture from the weekend of me and my girl!

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A couple other things:

• I am traveling for work to Atlanta all next week, I need some Restaurant recs!!!
• Spin-a-thon is this Saturday!!!! Which means I need to fuel up on pasta and bread Friday night ;)

Ok, that's all I've got today.  Better than nothin' huh?

Have a great Wednesday!

TGIF

I hope that your weekend is as wonderful as walking through the door and seeing this:

<3

Emotions...

My best friend Abby and I have a special connection, no doubt.  We met as randomly placed roommates freshman year in the CofC dorms.  If there were any moments in life to which I could rewind time, I would choose (1st would be my first few dates with K) Abby and I's midnight conversations in our side by side twin beds.  We would stay up all night making each other laugh.  We have always been the kinds of friends that love to analyze life together.  Our conversations remind me of comedian commentary, calling attention to the weird things that people think or do but don't really talk about.

One of my favorite conversations (of my life, ever!) was after a late night of studying.  We were thinking about how we were feeling crazy.  This was back in the days of AIM and I think we had each set our "Away Message" as every emoticon that existed...like we were feeling every which way and no which way at once. You follow?  We were lamenting on how sometimes you can't really explain how you feel and that there isn't an exact emotion to describe it.  We then jumped to the idea that everyone has their own perceptions on emotion.  When you're embarrassed do you feel the same as when I'm embarrassed?

We went on to start listing every emotion we could feel, the more obscure the funnier, and as we were doing this we both started taking on this strange southern drawl in a deep voice.

It never fails to put a smile on face, recalling the hours we could pass doing this.

Yesterday Abby sent me an email with a link to this article called 

 19 Emotions For Which English Has No Words.

I've pasted a couple of the graphs from the article below, obviously they are very small and hard to read but I loved the information! 

This is no original thought, different languages without true translations, but it's fascinating none the less and I thought I'd share.

Tocka (top left), yep I've totally felt that before.

Happy Thursday everyone!

Humpity Hump!

Well I'm finally getting around to posting something this week.  This past weekend we kicked off with dinner over at Al di La in Avondale.  Yum!  I ordered pasta with homemade sausage and fava beans. Oh man, it was good.  And so, I had one glass of wine too many and it took me out.  I struggled through the rest of the weekend, a childhood friend's wedding, a housewarming party, Cinco de Mayo lunch.  But y'all I was a hungover mess.  I just checked my phone and this is the "masterpiece" of a photo I snapped at dinner. Oh, wine!

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 I also found this special shot from September of 2005.  I am so happy to have remained close to all of these sweet girls. *Note: My eyebrows!!!!!  (or lack of)  I actually remember reading in Seventeen how plucking your eyebrows could really change your entire appearance and thinking "Hmm, interesting" and then I went. to. town.

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and per usual I am so behind on Miss Amanda Bynes losing her (excuse me) shit.

She is scaring me.  

 

What the heck is happening????????????????????????????????

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And last but certainly not least, Tomorrow the James Island Kickin' Chicken is donating 10% of all proceeds to Our Lady of Mercy Outreach (this includes my charity, The Neighborhood House).  So get some Kick Chick y'all, you have an excuse!

Coming Soon:
Celebration Steak dinner Friday night with Mattie & Joe!
K's sister graduates from CofC!
Mothers Day Brunch at our place!
& maybe I'll post pics of it all :)

Hope you are having a happy week so far, Hello sunshine!