Tired Tuesday

Bryan and I made it home around 10:30 pm last night, worn out and exhausted. By the time Ivy Belle had eaten and we had taken showers it was very late. I feel like a drugged zombie this morning. Please forgive me for not giving you a blow-by-blow story of the weekend, it will have to wait until tomorrow. Thank you for all of your sweet comments and texts along the way. It was certainly an adventure!

We're Going On WHAT?!?!

I know that everyone has to be ready for this long weekend, right? Bryan is leaving work at noon and then we will be on our way! Where? Only about 700 miles will be driven throughout the course of the next 4 days. We have to be at a different location each day.

Last night he announced that we would be driving the motorcycle. Um, WHAT?!?! I have not ridden that thing more than three times, and two of those times were around the yard and into the pasture. I am NOT a motorcycle gal. I have given every excuse in the book to him in the past 12 hours as to why we should NOT drive it. Seriously, where is everything going to be packed? You know what he told me before he left this morning? To take either a comb or a hairbrush. WHAT?!?! I quickly declared myself a sissy and not adventuresome, to which he just laughed, smiled and said, "Yes, you are." I am already getting anxiety thinking about going around curves so close to the pavement. And there is no swaying his mind once it is made up. Please. Pray. For. Me.

What will I be packing for the weekend? Good question. Since I couldn't get a final answer on what we will be packing our things into, this is probably I will be able to take. Do you think it would fit into a fanny pack around my waist?

Gotta share this deal that I snagged yesterday. I noticed a new resale shop last time I ate at one of my favorite delis. Yesterday I went it to find out their policy for consigning with them. While I was there I spied this little baby. Yep, Milly, new with tags. Not my size, but Emily will be getting a package in the mail next week.

Have a wonderful and safe weekend!

Girl Time + A Tasty Drink

Last Thursday my sister flew home for the weekend! She and I are extremely close, so being apart is really tough on us. When Emily is in town, I want her all to myself--I am not good with sharing my sister time. Friday night there was a going away party for our friend, Ed, and his girlfriend, Georgia. Ed is originally from D.C. and Georgia moved here from Sydney last fall. They are quite the pair! A large group met for dinner and drinks at a restored ice house that is now a bar/restaurant.

Emily, Bryan and I all woke up super early on Saturday and headed to Little Rock to watch our sweet Emily Catherine graduate from high school. I know there was a little confusion about this on my last post. Big Emily (Em) is my sister who lives in Ohio and little Emily is our younger adopted sister/cousin/friend who just graduated and will be attending the University of Georgia this fall. You might remember me mentioning her little sister Laura from time to time. She comes to visit when she has nothing better to do and I am her last resort. It is a rare occasion when all four of us girls are together, so we made sure to have a rip-roaring good time.

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The blackberries here are starting to ripen! We have lots that grow along the fence and down the neighboring roads. Bryan said that last weekend he saw the first few starting to turn dark. I love making blackberry cobbler. I recently saw this drink recipe and thought it looked yummy!

Blackberry Margaritas

1 shot triple sec
3 shots tequila
1/2 shot black current liquor
1/2 cup blackberries
1 6-ounce can limeade
1 cup crushed ice

Combine the all ingredients in a large pitcher. Using a big wooden spoon, muddle the blackberries so they are pretty much all crushed up in the drink. Serve with additional blackberries and a lime wedge.

Serves 2

Wordless Wednesday: Windsor Smith

Windsor Smith does an incredible job of designing. There are multiple reasons I am drawn to her work. Are you familiar with her? If not, I guarantee you will want to know more after you see these pictures. Enjoy!

Tasty Tuesday: Hot Wings & Blue Cheese Dressing

The hotter and spicier the better is how we live at my house. Either you love hot wings or you hate them. We. Love. Them. Years ago my sister worked at a camp one summer and did a lot of cooking. One of the things she learned to cooks was hot wings. She came home with the sauce recipie and it has been our tried and true method ever since. To cut a little bit of the heat I normally make ranch dressing. Last night I made blue cheese instead. The recipie I used was yummy, so I thought I would share it, too. (Sorry for the stock photo, I fogot to snap one.)

Hot Wing Sauce

1 stick butter

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 bottle Texas Pete hot sauce

a few dahes of crushed red pepper

Melt butter in a large saucepan. (I do this so that I can toss the wings in it right before eaten.) Add olive oil to butter. Add minced garlic and pepper flakes and cook until garlic turns golden--2-3 minutes. Stir in Texas pete hot sauce and heat until hot.

There are a number of ways to make your wings. Traditionally, fry them in oil. Since I am trying to eat better, I have chosen to either grill or bake them recently. If you choose to bake or grill, lightly baste the wings in the sauce before cooking. After the wings have cooked, put them back into the sauce and toss before serving. (Just make sure you don't get any raw chicken in the sauce that you will be using before eating. I dip a small bit out to use for basting.)

Blue Cheese Dressing

1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. white pepper
dash black pepper
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 c. milk
2 tbsp. vinegar
2 c. mayonnaise (Hellman's)
3/4 c. crumbled blue cheese

Blend together dry spices then add the Worcestershire sauce. Add the milk then let it sit for a few minutes, to dissolve the spices. Have the mayonnaise measured out as well as the blue cheese crumbles before you add the vinegar to the milk mixture. Add the vinegar to the milk mixture. It will start to curdle; this is normal. Add the mayonnaise and whisk together well. When blended, add the Blue cheese crumbles. Warning: this will make a lot of dressing, so if you don't want much I suggest cutting it in half.

Tolani Boho Chic

Sweet Anna emailed me this picture over the weekend and I just had to share. I think this might be the only group picture from my NYC trip. We were taking a jaunt through Central Park, when we stopped to ask a lady to take this of us. I think we were all cringing when she took it, for fear she might fall or might not have looked though the camera correctly (not the best person to have chosen for the task), but it turned out just fine.

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In the picture I am wearing a Tolani tunic, which I am really liking right now. A lot of their pieces have a boho chic vibe. From the picture you can tell that I wore mine as a long tunic with jean jeggings and sandals. It is also cute worn as a dress with sandals or wedges. As I was browsing Piperlime yesterday, I stumbled across Tolani on the site. Is it new or have I just not noticed it before? I'm not really sure since there are only a couple of pieces listed. I though both of these shirts would be cute for the summer with cuffed jean shorts. Which one do you like best?

Sunday Inspiration

3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come...

24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time...

36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[f] but only the Father...

42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

Matthew 24: 3-6, 24-25, 36, 42-44

Tear In My Eye

Today is a very special day around here. Our favorite 17 year-old is graduating from high school. My sister, Em, flew in late Thursday night, so I have had jam-packed girl-time the past few days. This has been one of those weekends where there are not enough hours in the day to make it to all of the festivities that are taking place. We are up bright and early this morning after a going away party for friends last night. The big girl will be attending the University of Georgia this fall. I cannot believe I am saying this, but "Go Dawgs!!" Happy Graduation Day, Emily Catherine!!

It has not been opened yet, but here is a little sneak peek at her pressie from us.

Happy Saturday!

NYC Part 3

Now for the shopping part of the trip. Quite honestly, none of us girls really went on a big spending spree and purchased a lot. A could of them actually went home empty handed! First, I must mention the super cute shirts that Kara's dad's company made for us. Aren't they adorable? I wore mine on Monday when I was cleaning out my classroom and got a couple of sweet comments on it.
I am the kind of person who is completely overwhelmed when I walk into an H&M or Forever21 store. The H&M was HUGE, but I walked away with only jewelry. On the other hand, I went into Zara, where I haven't shopped in-person in years, and could have purchased many items. I snagged a couple of striped shirts and a green linen tunic (of which I cannot find a picture).
Tibi made me swoon. I've been in the St. Simons store before, but there is just something about being in Tibi on Wooster. Yep, I tried on lots and lots. I adored so many of the prints, but there are lots of blues right now, which really are not my color. This top picture is probably my favorite pattern right now. But, I could not find something that I just loved in it.


I also tried on a dress in this pattern, but it wasn't very flattering.


I ended up getting a solid, classic dress, which is so beautiful. (Thank you Mom!!)


This dress I tried on in a light lavender/mushroom, fell in love, found out it was sold out everywhere in my size, and resorted to having it shipped in charcoal, which is stunning.


I did treat myself to a little iPhone cover. They make them for suckers like me!
And even Em got a little something special from Tibi on Wooster.
I could not figure out what to take home to Bryan, but when I walked in the Saks chocolate store I knew exactly what he would love.


There were also other small things purchased here and there. The Young Designers Market had such fun stuff, and I did pick up a few items. Some are gifts that have not been given yet, so I am not going to post pictures.

What's A Girl To Do?

What is a girl supposed to do when she has dinner ready, but her husband calls on his way home from work to say he wants to go fishing? Well, you put dinner on hold and go fishing. It is all for him anyway, right? (Just in case you didn't catch my drift, this is what happened to me last night.)

Bryan cut down extra long cane when he cut some the other day for me to use with my tomato plants. I haven't used a cane pole since I was little! Such a fun, sweet date!

NYC Part 2

All I can tell you is to get ready to drool. Tursday night's dinner took place at Arturo's, a splendid little Italian restaurant. Jana and I split a chicken dish with sun-dried tomatoes. It was so tasty that we devoured the whole plate.

After dinner we headed over to the Dove Parlor, where we had reservations for cocktails. We did not spend a single dime. I guess New York men have never seen beautiful southern girls, so the free drinks just kept flowing. (In our heads we tallied it up and they spent well over $1000 buckaroos!!) Drinks were had at multiple locations during the trip, but this was the most note-worthy.

Friday night we ate at Alta, where the tapas were amazing. Of course we all shared, but I ordered the Pulled Pork Empanadas, Angus Beef Sliders in Turkish Yufka Pastry and my favorite, the Warm Crab Salad.

Kara and I spent Saturday by ourselves going to an assortment of places all over the city. We at lunch at Bar Americain, which came highly recommended by her parents. I had the Boston Lettuce, Poached Egg, and Buttermilk-Blue Cheese salad.

After lots of shopping, the two of us girls needed a little pick-me-up. What better place than Saks to have a cocktail?


Our best dinner was saved for last. It was at Buddakan. Sound familiar? If you watched the first SATC movie it is where Carrie and Big have their rehearsal dinner. You know the big, long table? We sat right beside it in the swankiest booth with a full view of the place. You walk down stairs into a large room, with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Beautiful. The Carrot Dumplings and Edamame Dumplings were wonderful appetizers, and my Hot and Sour Scallops were probably the best I have ever eaten. Just about everyone else had the Kung Pao Monkfish, which was also incredibly delish.

When I go on trips I always enjoy eating new dishes that I cannot find at home. The food on this trip was extremely excellent. Good thing we walked so much!