sweet summer time...

nothing in the world is better than spending time at the beach with your favorite kids in the world!

i have been so busy lately with juicing and all, and have never blogged about our beach trips with our families. in a nutshell, we were surrounded by loads of beautiful, giggly, bouncy children for two weeks. (exhausting, and perfect all at the same time). 

here are some of my favorite photos of our time with our amazing nieces and nephews...

we also had the time with david's family to throw anita a bridal shower. it was the perfect beach setting, and we had the best time!

since we have been back home, the heat is worse than ever. there are days you cannot even bear to sit outside... going through these beach photos makes me miss the sand and water, but surprisingly, i am ready for fall and cooler temperatures. and sweaters and tall boots!!! we do have more travels coming up to look forward to - mark and anita's wedding in california will be here before we know it. i am very excited to be back in the gracious california weather and more than pumped for their wedding day! i am sure it will be spectacular. after the wedding and before we fly back to the south, we are going to take advantage of where we are and make a trip to the island of Catalina. that is something i am VERY excited for!

day one... {epic fail}

today i was out and about for awhile... not nearly long enough. i always find myself wishing for more time in the day. NOT TODAY!
this has been a rough go, but we are still hopeful that the overall experience will be a good one. how ever long we make it through this journey, we will be proud.

this was our menu for the day, and the cost breakdown. (breaking down the cost makes me feel somewhat better about the fact that we are spending loads of money on this cleanse)-

breakfast: pineapple/mango/orange juice
one small pineapple 1.99
one mango .79
three oranges .81
1/2 cup filtered water (free)

juice that up and chill in the fridge. this juice was seriously delish. the total cost to make was 3.59 and it made three 10 ounce servings. so breakfast for one cost only 1.20... pretty amazing.

again, this juice was probably the best i've ever tasted, but why wouldn't it be? all fresh and natural ingredients, nothing else. i drank around 9am, and was very much missing my two cups of black coffee by this point in the day. before my stomach started screaming for food, i decided to make and can tomato sauce. (yes, ridiculous idea)... yesterday i picked around 5 pounds of tomatoes from my garden, so i needed to fix them so nothing would spoil. if you have ever prepared a sauce and canned it, you will understand the lengthy period of time this process takes. needless to say, i was in the kitchen ALL DAY LONG.
not a great place to be when you can't eat.
somehow i managed to get everything finished and now have 12 half pints of spaghetti sauce ready to be stored for the winter.

lunch: our version of a mean green.
one stalk of celery with the leaves .33
lemon .33
lime .17
large handful of kale .50
pear .40
cucumber .49
2 apples .60
small piece of peeled ginger .10
handful of grapes .67
2 ounces of filtered water (free)

juice it all up and serve over ice.
i was really surprised at how good this one tasted. happily surprised. total cost for 32 ounces was 3.59. not bad for a lunch for two.

how am i breaking the cost down of all this fruit???
summertime is THE BEST for fruits and vegetables. locals and markets and even grocery stores sell for dirt cheap because the production and volume is so high, so we have got tremendous deals on everything we have bought. example: a bag of five pears at 1.99 = .40/pear. a large bunch of kale at 2.00, we will use that in 4 different servings so it rounds out to .50/serving... that is how i am calculating our cost.

the afternoon is where the hunger pangs sat in. maybe i wasn't really hungry, but i just wanted to chew something! a mild headache was also starting in, but it was deal-able. around 3pm, i received a text from david that read "kind of struggling."
ME TOOOOOOOOOOO! he told me of his headache and we decided to have a cup of coffee. he had his at work, and i went back to the kitchen to brew up a small pot of sumatra. the headache went away... only to return a short while later. i was starving. i didn't feel like myself. ABSOLUTEY NOOOOOOOO ENERGY. i tried watching tv, but all the commercials advertising delicious food make me die on the inside. i put my earbuds in my ears to let ray lamontagne drown out my sorrows... even ray couldn't help me this time.
my stomach was screaming for food. just for the smallest amount of anything solid.

david returned home from work and he was in the exact mindset as me. we contemplated eating a small something, then decided to make a juice and keep going. so we did.
i love tomato juice, so we made a v8 concoction.

2 large tomatoes
1 celery stalk
1 garlic clove
handful of parsley
4 carrots
large handful of spinach

it looked decent... it tasted ok? not really, but when you are this hungry you will 'drink' anything. i got about 3 ounces down and just gave up. it really wasn't that good...
we made a small meal. we devoured it. and after that all was ok, or so we thought. you have heard of the term called 'crash and burn,' and that is exactly what happened. after we ate david was immediately asleep on the couch, woke up 30 minutes later and looked like a ghost, then went straight to bed. at 8:30. yes, that is a crash and burn. i felt ok, a little disappointed that i couldn't go a whole day without solid food, but when you have eaten this way for nearly 30 years, what else could you expect for a first go?!?!

all in all, i feel ok for day one. most people doing any type of juice fast spends a few days in preparation... which we did not do. tomorrow we will resume the 'juice fast' with breakfast and lunch, and by dinnertime, if we are THAT hungry again, we will make a small healthy meal. chicken or fish and a green veggie. on days that we get more hungry around lunchtime, we will eat a small lunch, then a juice for dinner. i'm ok with this new plan. and then when we/our bodies are mentally and physically prepared, we will try a complete juice intake.

ten day juice fast... good god.

that's right, a ten day juice fast that cleanses and detoxifies your entire system...
this means no coffee. no alcohol. no motrin for those 'sick of work' headaches. NO FOOD.
NOOOOOO FOOOOOOOOD.
for those of you who know me and my man, we LOVE our food. we take complete pride in cooking together and enjoying our evening meal while going over our day. it's just our thing.

with all that said, what in the world are we thinking?
first, we are thinking of our health and our family history, especially on his side.
we are thinking of getting back on the healthy food wagon and need a good boost to get that going.
lastly, we need a good cleanse to refresh our lives and most importantly, our bodies. this is healthy and good, and we are all for it!

so, where did this idea ever come from???
our great friend, sarah beaty, recommended we watch a documentary about a man who completed a 60 day juice fast that cleanses and detoxifies your body. The movie is called FAT SICK AND NEARLY DEAD. i was completely intrigued so i downloaded the film on itunes and we both watched it immediately. there was hardly a word spoken between us while watching except for the occasional, "are you kidding me?!?" after it ended, we were already searching online for the best juicer. we contemplated doing this fast FOR REAL... no cheating, no going back... just FOR REAL! we decided to sleep on it.
the next morning, david informed me that he had dreamt all night of juicing!
the decision was made!

today we bought a juicer. we called all over greenville looking for a breville that was readily in stock. we finally found one at bed bath and beyond - and they accept their 20% coupon off this purchase!!!! that saved us a gracious amount of money, all of which we will use to buy 20 lbs of produce a day.

i had my first juice this evening and this is what i used:
half a large cucumber
2 granny smith apples
half a lemon
a small piece of peeled ginger
a large handful of spinach
one celery stalk with the leaves

it was green.
and it smelled like a garden in my kitchen.
and the taste.... well, it was definitely not the best thing i have ever tasted, and absolutely not the worst. i drank it all and was pretty full. i couldn't believe it.

starting tomorrow, august 1, david and i begin our ten day juice fast. i will try my best to blog at the end of every day, documenting my progress, my drink recipes and the cost breakdown, how i feel, etc. in doing research i have found that day 2 and 3 are the worst. that is when you are the most hungry (obviously) and when your body begins to go into the detox mode.

so let the juicing begin...
hoping for ten peaceful days of a very enlightening experience.

here goes.

{wedding in a box}

so today i woke with the feeling of being crafty. 

i have been working for what seems like every single day and have let my energy slip away from me... you know, instead of doing something creative or meaningful, i find myself on the couch, web surfing while watching the real housewives. (and hearing my husband's anger at their stupidity... and the fact that i'm obsessed). 

anyhow, today i wanted to put that crafty feel to good use. 

i started a wedding shadowbox about three months after our wedding... so that would be TWO years ago! so what better time than now to finish! 

i went to hobby lobby in search of a new frame, a bigger one, and scored with a 50 percent off beauty. a simple, modern, black frame with black canvas backing... yes, please!

i carefully removed all my belongings from the first frame and rearranged them in the new one. everything i intended on using fit perfectly, and i am in love with the finished product. 

here is what i used in my shadow box-

wedding invitation

wedding program

two photos

flowers from my bouquet

a piece of burlap used at our reception

true love story quote printed on paper and backed with burlap

a gold 'H' that was also a score at hobby lobby (i have the large one hanging in our living room)

pearl pins

glue dots to give extra security

shadow box

so many memories.

and now when i walk through my living room, i am reminded again of how special our day truly was.

the best tomato sauce recipe - EVER!

So when you have a garden that is producing an abundance of tomatoes like mine, what else would you possibly do other than make sauce? We have been making bruschetta constantly, giving tomatoes away, and still I woke up to about 4 lbs of tomatoes on my counter today! I decided it was the day to try making sauce. Plus, I have about 4 eggplants that need a good Italian dish to accompany!

In the past few days I have been doing my research on how to make the best sauce. The basic sauce requires aLOT of time... Blanching the tomatoes in boiling water then putting them in an ice bath... Then peeling them. And that's just the prep. I then read about roasting tomatoes and making sauce that way. Winner! And let me tell you, you won't even need pasta. It's so good you can just eat it by the spoonfuls! Serious.

Here is how I made my sauce. I didn't use any recipe, and just used what I had on hand. You'll need a roasting pan or sheet and a food processor. I would think a blender would work just as well.

Ingredients:
Approx 4 pounds of tomatoes. I used better boy, Roma, and cherry tomatoes.
Two Vidalia onions, quartered.
4 cloves of garlic.
Handful of basil, oregano, and thyme. (all fresh from my garden)
Salt, pepper, and extra virgin olive oil.

I started by washing my tomatoes, then cutting them up and throwing then on the roasting pan.

Add the quartered onions and garlic. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle the top with a bit of olive oil.

I just added the whole cherry tomatoes to the mix and then added the fresh herbs. I used basil, oregano, and thyme because that is what i have growing out back.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes. Lots of liquid will cook out so make sure to use a sheet with an edge.  Here is how it will look after being roasted -

I let this mixture cool for about ten minutes, then put it all into a food processor and blended.

That's it!
All that mushy goodness is blended down to a thick heavenly sauce that will be incredible on anything! And the taste is absolutely incredible as well as the smell throughout my home.

My ingredients made enough sauce for about 4 suppers, so I will be freezing more than half.

Baked eggplant parmesan was fantastic with this sauce... as well as my broiled tomato cheese bread - that will be up next!

garden goodness all summer long...

i never imagined the amount of vegetables we would get from our garden. we have been overwhelmed all summer long with juicy red tomatoes of all varieties... especially beautiful roma's that make any meal a hit. our eggplants have been ripening and have made the most delicious dinner, and to accompany that meal, i made a homemade tomato sauce that i will share with you shortly. our flowers are also making our yard look extra lovely... last summer we planted a tiny little pink swirl round hibiscus bush. this summer, it has tripled its size and it absolutely stunning. the blooms are nearly the size of a watermelon.

i love this picture of sweet emme lounging in the grass... she could do this all day long.

here is a picture of the straw bale garden on the day we planted everything, and another pic i just took this week.

carrots still popping up! you have really never tasted a carrot as good as a fresh one...

and here are the photos from a few of my harvest days -

I. LOVE. GARDENING!

A busy June and a beautiful wedding.

June came and went in a blink.
In a nutshell, this is how it went...

June started with a weekend trip to WV.
Then a week later we were back to WV for my sisters wedding.
We left after the wedding and drove to the beach for a week with David's family.
Back to SC for 3 days then had to go back to WV for the passing of David's grandmother.
Back to SC from WV for 2 days, then to the beach again with my family.
Then to make our lives a bit more hectic, I hit a deer with my car... So we are down to one vehicle while mine is being repaired.
Now that we are home and settled, i am still trying to recover. Going back to work has killed me. I worked one 12 hour shift in 25 days, and now I am back to working 3 12's in a row... Killer!

And how all this lovely time off was spent -
I will begin with the wedding.
It. Was. Fantastic!  Brooke wakes up looking like a model, so of course on her wedding day, she was completely stunning.
My wonderful husband had the great honor of marrying them, which made the day even more special! The reception was one of the funnest I've ever attended, and we have termed it the dance party of the year! Wine was overflowing, heels were kicked off and replaced with flip flops and bare feet, and my own mother even broke lose and danced her sweet heart away!
It was definitely a night to remember.

cinderella stole the show!

Brooke's friend, Alex, came to the house to fix her hair for her big day. He is seriously fantastic...

This was the first song on the wedding day playlist, and very fitting considering Brooke was OBSESSED with this one as a little girl :)

Here is the link to a photo slideshow by the unbelievably talented Sarah Beaty of eyeris photography :
http://eyerisproofs.com/brookeandderek/
After the reception/dance party of the year ended (at midnight) David and I packed the car and slept for 3 hours. Then we headed to his families annual beach trip. There we spent a week with our family from all over! Mark and Anita, and even butch and Sharon flew in from California to spend the week. It was so great! We lounged on the beach and poolside during the days, then feasted on homemade food every night. Mark made us the most amazing and freshest drink i have ever tasted... A strawberry basil gimlet, and we even surprised Anita with a champagne bridal brunch! And of course, we had our annual dinner at the sugar shack!
I could really live at the beach... Hopefully someday soon we will!
More about the annual smith beach week to come, and pics from both trips...