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...