Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Getting Creative

The fourth of July is getting close and I am beyond excited! I will be spending the long weekend at the lake with my family and Justin. I need to catch back up on my tan! My mom has planned a great menu so I decided to work on some decorations to hang around the lake cabin! I made some paper lanterns that turned out adorable! I got the idea from Martha Stewart and had help from my sister. I also attempted to make some tissue paper fluff balls for the first time. I don't know what the official name is haha. They turned out good but I definitely need more practice! Do yall have any exciting fourth of July plans?



Tuesday, June 28, 2011

YumYum

This weekend turned out to be just fantastic for Justin and I! I decided to suprise him Friday night by having everything set up for us to make fajitas when he arrived. I have never made them before and was shocked with how simple it really was! I had bean dip and guacamole dip set up when he got here as well as all the tomatoes/onions chopped and cheese grated. I had already prepared the chicken so all that left was cooking the steak and hearing up tortilla shells. I had spent most of the day in the kitchen (with my so sad loaf bread fail) and preparing for this so I sat down with a glass of wine and let him finish it up!

Saturday we decided to head to Greensboro to walk around downtown and checkout all the local shops and memorials. The weather was nice and downtown was very pretty. We stopped for lunch at Natty Greens, a local pub that brews their own beer. We got to sit in outdoor seating overlooking the downtown area. Justin and I both tried some of their local beer and I had a crab cake that was pretty good. One beer led to another beer which led to calling friends I have from UNCG and proceeding to a college bar.. and then another one. It was an unexpected day but fun none the less!

Sunday was spent with church and relaxing and Monday, beginning to make some July 4th decorations that I will post about soon! I hope you all had a nice weekend as well!

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Peach Inspiration

I hope you are all having a wonderful Saturday! Justin is in town and I am so excited to spend the day with him! We are going to go downtown Greensboro to do a little shopping and check out some things. Yesterday's "peach post" got me thinking how pretty the color peach really is. (peach, peachy pink, peachy orange) Here is some eye candy of peach colored items I would love to add to my closet!









Friday, June 24, 2011

She's A Real Peach

I don't know about you but I know when I think of a summer fruit I think peaches in June and Watermelon in July! Growing up my family and I would always go visit my mothers side of the family in Alabama. Driving there we drove through Gaffney, SC where there is a gigantic peach shaped water tower. This juicy fruit is definitely a summer staple! The newest Southern Living is featuring peaches with tons of recipes. I have had the best time flipping through the pages and getting ideas. I finally decided I wanted to make the Spiced Peach-Carrot Bread. The magazine said this recipe won first place in the side-dish category in South Carolina's 2009 Annual Peach-Off contest.

Spiced Peach-Carrot Bread Recipe from Southern Living

Ingredients:
3/4 cup chopped pecans
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups peeled and chopped fresh, ripe peaches
3/4 cup freshly grated carrots
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten


1. Preheat oven to 350. Bake pecans in a single layer in shallow pan 8 to 10 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through. Cool 15 minutes.

2. Stir together flour and next 6 ingredients in a large bowl; add peaches, next 4 ingredients, and toasted pecans, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Spoon batter into a lightly greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.

3. Bake at 350 for 1 hr and 5 mins to 1 hr and 10 mins or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 5 minutes. Remove from pan to wire rack, and cool completely (about 1 hour)




Everything was going good until I got to the remove from pan and place on wire rack part. -FAIL FAIL FAIL. The entire loaf FELL apart.. I wanted to cry. Seriously, tears in eyes! Lesson learned- ignore the 5 minute cool time listed and wait about 20 instead!

I'm now trying to salvage it however I can. It is so disappointing to get to the very end and mess up!! I did taste it however and it is amazing! I recommend trying it, but-- make sure to let it cool so you can avoid it breaking apart! Has this ever happened to yall? Part of the fun isn't even pictured-- I love going to our local farmers market to get fresh fruit and veggies. It's so nice to talk to people and know where your food is being grown. My peaches came from a local produce stand and are oh so yummy!

Thursday, June 23, 2011

All about food

Saying my family loves to eat is possibly an understatement. I'm talking my family really loves to eat, ha. But with mom, dad and myself all agreeing for the most part about what to cook/ where to eat we always have one little issue.. my sister Ginny

Now, Ginny is just precious and I consider her my best friend. With that being said she is the PICKIEST eater ever! It's not that she doesn't like a lot of foods, it's that she is on a major health kick and refuses to eat a lot of foods. I have been at home this past week and have not been having much luck on finding food in the fridge for lunch. All of Ginny's organic ish has taken over. Well, I never really gave any of her health food a try, before I made up my mind I didn't want anything to do with it. (I mean Soy milk and egg whites? -no thanks) Today she convinced me to give in if I didn't want to go hungry. I owe it to her to finally admit that after trying some of her healthy food for breakfast and lunch, ..it really isn't bad. It was actually pretty good! Not to mention it made me feel energized all day. I thought I would share with you what I had incase you want to try it out too!

Breakfast: I had an egg sandwich on a 100 calorie sandwich thin. We used only egg whites for the egg part and I added a slice of organic cheese. We also added a pinch of garlic salt to the egg whites to give them some flavor-- delicious!

Lunch: I had a veggie burger on another whole wheat 100 calorie sandwich thin. I added fresh tomato and decided to leave off the cheese this time but add light mayo. -delicious again! I was very surprised how much I enjoyed the veggie burger! I was still a little hungry so I sliced the tomato and ate that raw with a little salt.

As you can see the sandwich thins were a staple with both meals. I took to these myself about a year ago. They taste great and can be used for burgers and any type of sandwich you can think of! My favorite is the honey wheat. Ginny- I guess I owe you an apology, I will be eating healthier from now on!

Southern Summers

I have a love for everything that represents the south and everything that deals with summer. What I love even more are the little things that put me in a southern summer state of mind! Growing up I can remember countless nights spent outside watching the lightning bugs and trying to catch them as it was beginning to get dark outside. We also put them in a mason jar with holes punched out on the top. I think Mom would let them go when I went to bed but it was always a good time. When the lightning bugs appear I know summer is here, despite the official start of summer date. Even now I love sitting on the porch and watching them light up! Other than lightning bugs I always look forward to summer for the BLT's! If you know me personally you know I LOVE tomato's! I could eat them all day, everyday! Tomatoes on any type of sandwich, plain with a little salt or added to pizza and pasta. But the best way to eat them is in between two slices of bread with a little salt, a little mayo, bacon and lettuce. Yum! Now I'm starting to think that if I had a BLT sandwich I could eat while sitting on the front porch in a rocking chair watching the fireflies I would be in Heaven. haha, oh Southern Summers are the best! I'm so glad we still have the next two months to enjoy!

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Weekend Recap

I spent this weekend at the lake. It was fun and relaxing as always! What I love about going to the lake is that I can relax by the water all day without a worry in the world. I hardly ever put on makeup when I'm there, cell phone service is minimal and there is no computer. This little break from reality is amazing! This weekend was spent laying out on the dock, grilling burgers and going on boat rides.




My favorite "toy' is this gigantic blue float you see above! It needs to be blown up again and cleaned but it is still amazing! It will sit tons of people and comes complete with cup holders and built in coolers. Love! We spend hours on this thing with drink in hand. Trust me, there is no better way to spend your weekend!

Cooper loves the Lake too!


Friday, June 17, 2011

Finally Friday

It's finally Friday yall! I  finished Georgia Bottoms by Mark Childress that I blogged about here. The book was just as fantastic as I expected it to be! Georgia was a hilarious southern baptist who somehow always seemed to find herself in trouble. Being the respectable lady she is, no one knew about any of her secrets. You would be surprised to see what all this lady will do to keep up her reputation. This was a fun, light read.. if you are looking for a good laugh this I recommend this book!

Yesterday Justin's mom and I set off to do a little shopping. Justin just landed this new job and really needed to update his professional clothing collection. He has done pretty well stocking up on the handsome men's wear! I on the other hand have to brag about my purchases! I went to a local discount clothing store with very low expectations. To my surprise I found THREE gorgeous dresses that were dirt cheap! The two black ones were only $8 a piece-- I seriously can't hardly buy underwear for cheaper than that. Both could be worn to so many formal occasions. The third dress (the lighter colored one) is my favorite, this picture does not do it justice! I got this gem for $16!


I'm pretty sure I hit the jackpot! Three gorgeous dresses for a grand total of $32! You could never beat this! I actually wore the black dress on the right to a formal once. I borrowed it from a sorority sister of mine and it was a dark red color. I loved it then but think I like the black even better! Here is a picture of that one.. (and also the boy so you can all see him before his first meeting at the new job!)


Thursday, June 16, 2011

Attempting

The title of this post is called attempting because it is going to be about improving my health. When I start talking about eating healthy, exercising more and clearing my mind I truly am motivated 100 percent and intend to do everything I say. However, I know myself and I know that I fall into the temptation of getting a cone of ice cream or a diet dr pepper real quick. With that being said- I'm going to try once again! I have good intentions and that counts for something right? Justin and I recently had a "what would you do if you were running for president.." conversation. Where mine was mostly about education he said he would put limitations on what fast food restaurants can serve. I agree with him 100 percent! Long story short, we made a bet that no matter how busy we are, from now until August 1st (my bday) we would eat NO fast food (and that includes chick-fil-a and five guys which is a HUGE sacrifice!). With the fast food we also said no soda.. we are still debating on diet soda, ha!

This is my new perspective on life: I absolutely LOVE this! I feel so blessed and hope you do too..


Here is some information I gathered about drinking soft drinks. I got all my information from this link!

What they say: after a few years of drinking soda regularly..

- you will gain 10 pounds over a four year period. Now I don't know about yall but I want my 10 pounds to come from guacamole and fried foods... not soda. With that being said I'll stick with my sweet tea and water and hope that I can convince whoever makes these decisions that my diet dr. pepper is acceptable.
- you'll probably have diabetes
- your more likely to develop heart disease

So, I'm off to trying to be a healthier person once again. I hope yall have a great day!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

What I'm loving Wednesday

I'm teaming up once again with Jamie for What I'm Loving Wednesday!


First Off I'm loving that on the Bachelorette Monday night the guys and Ashley decided to help out a village in Thailand! That was so sweet considering there are so many other superficial things they could have been doing on their date! What I'm not loving is the fact she is still obsessing over Bentley! I think I heard his name 30 times and he's not even on the show anymore! Get over it! She is really going to regret keeping him around when she hears what he said behind her back.

I'm also loving that Justin just landed his first "big boy" job out of college! I am so proud of him, he has worked hard! We went shopping for some new dress clothes for him today and got two precious bow ties!


Lastly I am loving indulging in two of my favorite refreshers in the summer. Neither are healthy but both are amazing. Homemade Ice cream and Landshark -- Ah, so wonderful!



Have a great Wednesday!

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

The Perfect Song

There are some songs that hit you in just the right way. One song I love this summer is Knee Deep by Zac Brown Band. It makes me ready to hit the beach! Enjoy!

Monday, June 13, 2011

Oh comfy day

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Mine was pretty low key just hanging out at home with my family and some friends. Mom and I watched several movies which is always nice. Prada to Nada was the first one and it was just so so. I wouldn't recommend it but if you have nothing else to do it would suffice. The next one is First Dog, this movie was absolutely adorable! It is a family movie about a little boy who finds the President of the United State's lost dog and sets out on a journey to return him. Other than the movies my weekend was filled with a wonderful church service, eating way too much food, walking the dogs and working on my online class. I did have one interesting thing happen this weekend- last night around eleven pm I saw either a gray fox or coyote in my neighbors yard! We live in the middle of the city so I have no idea what it was doing here! It made me super nervous, hopefully it wont be back. I have been browsing the Internet trying to find furniture and what not for my new place I will be moving into when school starts back. I sure do wish I could afford some of the new Lilly Pulitzer furniture! Isn't it adorable? I am loving some of these throw pillows from Rikshaw Design! The monkey print is just adorable! I think they are designed for a child's room but I think I could pull them off. I really like rooms that are "light" appearing. I know that makes no since- what I mean is open feeling. With neutral colors and a hint of a pale blue or pale pink, yellow, green, etc. Here are some fun inspirations I have found!




Friday, June 10, 2011

Friday Ramblings

Please excuse me while I ramble about what is going on in my head this Friday. Before I forget, Blogger still isn't letting me comment anyone. Help please!! It's beginning to drive me crazy.. I have so much I want to say on so many post and it wont let me. Sigh, anyway..


Is anyone else following the Casey Anthony trial? I don't normally get into everything going on in the news but this has captured my attention. In my opinion this girl is as guilty as they come. I can't figure out why the trial is taking SO long. Isn't it obvious??



On another note, where you can find me most summer days is laying out by the pool. Today reminded me however that no matter how cold the water is, it is still sweltering hott outside! I love to lay out and read a good book but can't stand feeling sweat drip on my body. Yuck! But low and behold look what you can now buy: fancy water in a spray can. Love! I can now sit in the sun for hours reading while spraying myself with water.


The new book I am beginning to read is Georgia Bottoms by Mark Childress. I can't wait to read and then share! I think it's going to be really good. It is about Georgia who is from Alabama and known as a beautiful baptist southern belle. No one knows that Georgia actually has a scandalous encounter with the priest, the doctor, the local lawyer and others. One for every day of the week, except Sunday of course. If anyone knew Georgia, and the town would be ruined. I'll let you know how it turns out!

Well I hope you all have an exciting Friday night planned! Have a great weekend!!