TGIF

This song just brightens up my Friday!
This is the last day of the week AND the last day I am 26 years old. I'm absolutely swamped at work and haven't really had time to plan what I'm going to do tomorrow, but I'm sure it will be a great day. I hope you have a great weekend yourselves. See you Monday. When I'll be a year older. Sheesh!

Humpity Hump!

 My mom and I did the Turkey Day Run together this year, and then we grabbed a mimosa at the Francis Marion before heading home to start the cooking!

 We orded room service for breakfast at the Westin before hitting the road to Clemson Saturday morning.

 I want to go back to this moment, breakfast in bed:

Waiting for the car...

 This was our tailgate spot in Clemson.  I literally think it was "Parking Spot 1".  Not too shabby.

 And here is the only shot of the field.  I really wish I would have gotten a picture of K and I in the stands. Oh well!  The game was great (and frigid).  I wish our seats were as good as our parking spot ;).  Never the less, we had a really fun weekend.

Happy Wednesday!

Yay Protein!

I've been wanting to introduce a low calorie Protein shake into my diet for a while now, and last night when picking up my Christmas cards at Walmart, I decided to grab a small container to try out!
I chose the "Get Lean and Toned" option, as opposed to "Build Muscle".  I am not planning to add this to my diet, but to replace a snack during the work day and see if it keeps me full and satisfied. 
Also, I hope it tastes good :)

Does anyone have any experience with protein shakes?

Tis the season...

To be busy!

 Lexus Customer Appreciation Party at Pine Lakes Country Club

 They had the coolest wallpaper:

A few weekends ago K and I stopped by the Food Truck Rodeo to see one of our favorite local bands "Old You":

 K flew this plane!!!

 Top Gun baby!

 Charleston Cup...

 Holiday Festival of Lights

My little Reindeer: 

 Pre-Turkey Day Massage at Wentworth Mansion

 aaand a new 'do:

 Christmas Card Outtake:

 Stopping by The Westin in Greenville for a night before heading to the Clemson/Carolina game!

Pink champagne on the most comfortable bed. ever.

 A night on the town:

 

Now I'm off to bed.

Did you have a happy holiday weekend?

It's almost time...

turkey.stuffing.cranberry sauce.

rice&gravy.green beans.yeast rolls.pecan pie.

Christmas Party Dresses

I've got a few weeks of photos that I'm planning to load tonight.  Here is one phone snap that encompasses our weekend: warm, cozy, and nice.

I'm so ready to go shopping for a dress for my work Holiday Party down at the Rice Mill, and my Christmas Eve mass and party dress! 
I'm taking a half day this Wednesday to get my hair done and to enjoy a massage down at the Wentworth Mansion before the Turkey Day 5K/Thanksgiving/Black Friday/Clemson-Carolina chaos.  My hair appointment isn't until 2 and so I may have time to swing in the mall and look at some dresses. 
Here are some styles I'm coveting:

Interesting Color

Green and lace!

Is this oxblood?  Like the length and slit.

Jackie O goes to the party!

Sapphire!

Food For Thought

I've posted this recipe before but I thought I would remind y'all that you need to make this!  I won the Pumpkin Bake off at work a couple years back and I'm planning to bring this over to my parents on Thanksgiving.  Also, we're smoking a turkey on the grill this year and I'm really looking forward to a laid back day...hoping the weather will suit having a fire!
This recipe makes a large dish so it's great for family gatherings...

What you need:
1 can pumpkin (15 oz)
1 cup evap milk
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
--
1 package butter recipe vanilla cake mix
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup melted butter

What you do:
Stir together first 5 ingredients.  Pour into a lightly greased 13x9 baking dish.  Sprinkle cake mix evenly over pumpkin mixture, sprinkle evenly with pecans, drizzle butter evenly on top!
Bake at 350  for 1 hour until golden brown.

--
So that's the food portion of my post, now on to the thoughts.
A friend of mine (hey Tara!) and I were discussing internal peace and happiness recently and she made an analogy that I must share with you all...
You know that there are days where no matter how much you wish you were in a good mood, you just can't seem to get there.  Whatever kind of stress you're under, it's hard to tell yourself to snap out of it!  I know that women-focused magazines include a "stress management" feature nearly every month, but reading the same anecdotes over and over doesn't necessarily mean that they sink in.  It's easy to tell yourself to "Smile yourself out of the funk!" but it's hard to make yourself listen.  Does that make sense??
Well, let me just get to my point because I'm even confusing myself here.
Don't you wish that you could choose you mood, your mindset, like you choose what jewelry you wear??
Well, I think you can, as long as you look at it like that. 
Everyday I put on my favorite bracelet from K.  It makes me feel happy to see it on my wrist! 
I am also choosing to "wear" calm and peace each day as well...putting it on as if it were another bracelet!
Thoughts?
--
Also, here's a quote from the Thanksgiving meal at the Neighborhood House last year (each table featured different quotes) that I enjoyed:

It's Friday Eve everyone!  Stay dry my Charleston folks :)

Eyes on the Prize

The prize= an extra long holiday weekend, starting at noon next Wednesday!
ok.  Last week was the busiest of my life.  And it's really not slowing down much, what with Thanksgiving a week away.  At some point I'll upload some pictures of the chaos, but putting on three large scale events for work (along with my regular job duties), friends in town, and Charleston Cup on Sunday has worn. me. out.
I'm vowing to take an easy weekend ahead to recharge and get ready for next week (volunteering! turkey day 5k! clemson vs carolina!) and I've planned a spa day to gear up for the Holiday Season.
I'm still looking around for some Christmas Card inspiration.  I loved ours last year!  I actually found these really cute cards that you just put your own picture in...

This year I may go the printed card route, perhaps incorporating some of our recent photo booth snaps...
I was searching through some older pictures and these are some of my favorites.  Too bad they aren't Christmas-ish, plus no card would be complete without our Alfie!

Here he is!

I hope everyone is finding the time to relax a bit before Holiday Season is in full swing!

Fa la la

on why i will never swim in beresford creek again.

If you ask K his favorite creek to anchor the boat in he'd quickly answer "Beresford".  This creek is relatively low traffic and is not cramped with docks, wonderful for swimming and floating...it's a great cruise if you're out around D.I.

So yes, Beresford Creek is a favorite and then I came home last night and K says:

"I saw the craziest thing online today!"...

-----

Meet Mary Lee:

Mary Lee is a 16 foot Great White, originally tagged off the Coast of Cape Cod.  You've seen these shows on Discovery, they tag a shark and then they can track them as they travel via satellite signals.

And well, here's Mary Lee's track:

 So, it looks as though she's come South.  It's unusual to me, as I've heard they don't typically like such warm water.  But well, the "pings" she's giving off indicate she's been hanging around the Charleston Harbor recently...

Oh, and there is one signal that is most disturbing to me.  Because it seems Mary Lee took a scenic route through the Lowcountry and she was tracked swimming around in Beresford Creek.  You see that first bend, that's our anchor and swim spot. Well, I should say "was" our spot. 

Because I am never swimming in Beresford Creek again.

* The information and photos can be found at http://sharks-ocearch.verite.com/ *

Easy Weekend

I certainly love getting together with family and friends for parties/weddings/events.  But let me tell you, when I looked at my calendar last week and realized that we were approaching a weekend with nothing happening, I was thrilled. 
So, we went out for a bit of shuffleboard Friday night.
Saturday we hung around Hobcaw Yacht Club for a while, enjoying the sun on the dock, grilled our favorite & put on some football.
And Sunday was church then breakfast out, a lazy afternoon followed with a nice plate of pasta with chilled chenin blanc for din.

And I'm sure glad I soaked it all in, because by glancing at my planner this morning it might just be the last free weekend of 2012.
But I'm not complaining, because, like I said, we love to be around family and friends, and we love to have a good time.  A real good time...

Oh snaps!

 Birthdays on Bowens. Lowcountry living at it's best :)

 

 Checking out the waves on Folly...(me in the car).

 Wedding fun!!

 

<3

New brew, I liked it!

Ok, let's do it all over again...TGIF.