Eating Fresh

There is something very special and fulfilling about eating the food you have grown! 

Our cherry tomato plant is booming... every day there are handfuls of bright red, delicious tomatoes. 

Here in South Carolina, the farmers markets are loaded with fresh grown vegetables... and you will have no problem finding a farm stand - they are everywhere! It's wonderful! 

I have the pleasure of being married to a man who can make DELISH dinners! Seriously, this man can cook! These are a few of his signature dinners made especially for... ME! 

tilapia fillet & lobster ravioli with pink sauce

eggplant parmesan with skinny spaghetti

steak with half potato, caramelized pearl onions and mushrooms, ceasar salad

steak ceasar

tuna steak over rice, grilled pineapple and broccoli

Unfortunately, this one is not ours... though I wish it was. 

Peach Salsa

Whole Foods (the best grocery store on the planet) made this, and listed all the ingredients - so i'm just trying to make it to taste exactly the same!!! 

The perks of living near water...

Duncan Park

This is the view we have while walking down our street. It's absolutely a beautiful street to live on, and we were so fortunate to find a house here! The street is lined with magnolia trees and gardenia bushes... so the aroma in the air is sometimes so wonderful that it's overwhelming. The best thing about our street...there is a lake at the end!!!! So a very short walk with our pups - and they get their very own swimming pool :) And trust me, they would live in water if they could. 

Yesterday evening - I grabbed my camera and we headed out with the pups on leash. It was that time of day when the sun is setting, and all that daytime heat is gone... leaving you with that perfect temperature. 

Emme loves the ducks... She would make friends with any person or animal on earth! Sweetest little thing ever! 

Such a big boy! 

I always tell my pups - you have no idea how great a life you both have... you could be stray pups... with no mommy and daddy!!!! They really are the most spoiled pups in the entire world! Both have been to the beach and played in the ocean, they get treats (good treats) all the time, walks about everyday - which include swimming in the lake, car rides alllll the time, and a mommy and daddy who love them more than life :) 

My garden grows!!!

pink swirl round hibiscus

large orange hibiscus

It's amazing to plant something so deep into the ground - wishfully waiting that it will take root and grow into something beautiful... 

To me, gardening is so meditative. I get more pleasure watching my work thrive than with anything else. And another plus- you are making beauty in your own yard! 

After 2 short months of living at our new house, I will share of few of my flowers with you.

hosta

hosta

cone hydrangea

knockout roses

crape myrtle tree

tons and tons of cherry tomatoes

round pink swirl hibiscus

hibiscus blooms on the tree

my thriving flower pot

garden frog - i swear this guy brings luck!

from the flower pot - this bloom is
larger than my hand!

potted lavender

Our Beautiful Pups

Our precious Oliver is a CUDDLE BUG!!!! All he wants to do is lay on the couch with his head on your lap, or his paws touching your legs... Just has to be near. Such a precious, big boy... 

~some fun times with my boy~

daddy sleeping with his boy

And our sweet little Emme - she is so obsessed with her daddy... follows him everywhere he goes. Precious. And this sweet one will sit there and let you do absolutely anything to her - haircuts, nails trimmed... just so perfect.  Oliver would die before he let you cut his nails! 

Home Sweet Home

It's taking more time than I expected to get things in order around the new place, but we really love it.  The dogs are in heaven here - they have made the back yard their own! 

A few of my favorite spots in the house...

red front door = a must!

the back room looks out to the back yard

kitchen shelf - the pink paper is from my nephew, Ethan. It reads, "you are my best aunt."

fireplace and mantel

the perfect nest :) 

sweet little blue bird - a .50 cent thrift find!

orchid

outdoor bistro area

the coffee flower pot is on an overload!!!

colors of coleus

rose bushes are thriving

hanging lanterns filled with sand and shells 

Our pergola, the vine is almost halfway there!!! 

Small, but sweet.

Made a quick run into a thrift store today, not looking for anything in particular. There was a discount table in the back and this caught my eye.... 

Doesn't look to bad... A quick sand and two coats of spray paint... and voila -

This is the very reason I thrift shop. You never know what you will find. And you never know how beautiful something is with a little help :)

The bird pictured below I also found for FIFTY CENTS. Seriously. It was black, and i sprayed it baby blue. It's perfect!