friday five + fancies

Happy Friday!! WE MADE IT!
This week was one of those that just drug on... Lately I've had commitments with either after-work events or Junior League but this week was mainly just exercising after work (I need it).

{one}

Tonight Ty and I are hopping on a plane to Houston, TX to visit my brother and sister-in-law. We are so excited to experience Texas for the first time! At the end of September, they are moving back to Rhode Island where my SIL is from, so this will be a great last hoorah for them! We haven't seen them since our wedding in March and are looking forward to a fun weekend.

{two}

We'll be pulling for Clemson Saturday night when they take on the Georgia Dawgs, since Cameron and Tyler are Clemson alums! Hopefully we can round up a few other Clemson fans in the bar! Last night we watched THE Carolina game (and I mean South Carolina Gamecocks) with our new friends and neighbors. We are thrilled to have a new couple 5 houses down from us in our neighborhood! A good time was had by all.... Except for that whole lightening thing... Come on, mother nature... don't you know its football season?

{three}

Here's my outfit for Labor Day weekend! My last bit of white, Clemson orange, and cowboy boots in honor of Houston. Sadly, my boots were left at my parents house, but I can at least pretend! Linking up with my favorite, {av} for Friday's Fancies!

tank // shorts // boots // sunglasses 

{four}

I've really gotten into this "giving to others" thing! Yesterday I paid for the lady behind me's lunch at Chickfila. I had never done it before and had butterflies because I was a little nervous (no idea why) and excited. It made my Thursday much better! Her meal was cheaper than mine (OK only by a few cents!!). 

{five}

White after Labor Day..... What are your thoughts? I've always been an Easter --> Labor Day white kind of girl and I don't think that will be changing, even though I live on the coast. What are your thoughts? No judgement, though, to those of you who wear it year-round or throughout September! I just retire mine and call it fall!

What are you up to this Labor Day weekend?

from our kitchen to yours: two easy recipes!

Welcome back for another week of "From Our Kitchen to Yours" hosted by Whitney from The Observant Turtle and me!

Last week we had a really great turnout and were really impressed, so we decided to keep this recipe link-up going!

In talking yesterday, Whitney and I thought about categorizing each week. For example, appetizers one week, appetizers the next, main dishes (can even categorize into chicken, vegetarian, beef, seafood, etc!), dessert, drinks, etc! What do you think!? Let us know! If we you all like it we can make it happen!

Today I have two extremely easy recipes that you seriously cannot mess up!

Grape and yogurt salad

I call this a salad, but I don't really know if it is considered that or not? I just know it is super easy and I got the recipe from my roomie in Illinois. She was home economics teacher and always had baller recipes! I made this about two weeks ago as an appetizer/side for a supper club and I got a ton of compliments! It is so refreshing!

Ingredients:

1 bunch red seedless grapes, pulled off of the vine

1 bunch green seedless grapes, pulled off of the vine

1 single serving vanilla yogurt (like one cup) can use greek or plain

3 TSP brown sugar or a little more if you like sugar like me!

1/2 walnuts or pecans

Directions:

Combine all ingredients together in a mixing bowl. It's THAT easy!

Next up, I'm posting our dinner from last week! It again was a very easy recipe.

Shrimp kabobs with pesto

Ingredients:

1 lb shrimp peeled

1/2 lb scallops

1-2 zucchini

1/2 onion in large pieces

If you like bell pepper or mushrooms or other veggies, add those!

1/4 cup pesto (I cheated and use store-bought but you can certainly make your own!)

Skewers (depending on how many you make!)

Directions:

Light the grill!

Brush pesto onto shrimp and scallops.

Cut veggies into easy pieces to add to skewers.

Grill until shrimp are cooked through.

These were so good and we couldn't stop eating them! The kabobs were an easy way to get rid of the leftover veggies we had in the fridge, plus incorporate the Certified SC shrimp I bought at our seafood market in town. I encourage you to use your local produce, it will taste SO much better than the produce from 1000s of miles away ;-)

Don't forget to link up with us and grab our button below!

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our kind of love

Better late than never, but I just had to link up with A. Liz Adventures to spill your love story! Tyler and I are going on 3 months of marriage and are only days away from our engageaversary next week! I am so blessed to have him in my life, especially as my husband. The day we met we both just "knew" and I give all of that credit to the Lord because we are seriously a match made in heaven!

Oh, AND the title above is the song that we call "our song," you know, the Lady Antebellum "Our Kind of Love."

I've enjoyed reading everyone's responses to these questions, so I had to play along! 

{1} Describe your dating life prior to finding your husband.

Oh my. I haven't thought or talked about this in a really.long.time. Yikes. Well, in high school I started dating a guy that I dated on and off up gosh for like 5 years until the day I met Tyler. Yep, you read that correctly. When I met Tyler I just KNEW he was special and sadly had to tell that to the other guy. We had had many ups and downs for a few years, and have not spoken since that day. My college roommates (Leah I know you are reading this and have a great reaction of mine from this night) can confirm that for you, too. This guy does live with my cousin who is getting married soon, so I know I will be seeing him a lot in the near future and from what I hear he is really happy and I hope rightfully so! Other than that, I had guys in college that I went to formals with or would casually go on a date with, but nothing serious. Again, roommates may have better stories than me!

{2} Describe your husband in one word. How would he describe you in one word?

One word: Ah, so hard!!!! I guess the one word I would use to describe Tyler would be happy, but with a side of goofy, smart, and determined. And one word to describe me? His answer: wonderful. (I really did ask him). And thats a silly answer, because I certainly do not think so!

{3} You had a really silly fight. Embarrassing silly. What was it about?

99.9% of the time our fights are over him constantly chewing ice!!! It drives me BANANAS and I swear he does it subconsciously because someone cannot be scolded as much as he does and still continue to do it! I have to raise my voice and scream and sometimes throw the ice out of the cup for him to stop! And sometimes we fight because I don't have a lot of patience and am "mean" as he calls it to him aka I don't pay him 100% attention!

{4} In three sentences (and only three!), describe where you both hope to be in 5 years.

For the record, I hate this question!

I hope in five years that we are settled in a place (hopefully Beaufort) with jobs we love (hopefully my current job) and are rockin' at. I guess there could be a small child, but that is something I'm not quite ready to think and talk about! (This is a silly answer----) And if you read yesterday's post, I hope we have a little kitty in our home that Sarge (God willing we still have him!!!) gets along with!

{5} Tell us something about your husband we wouldn't know from reading your blog.

Well, you know he loves to hunt, boat, kill things, shoot guns, and he loves Sarge, and also that he went to Sandy Hook Elementary School. But for kicks and giggles I'll give you a couple bits of Tyler trivia: 1) He was voted "Most Likely to Stay in Newtown" for his senior superlative... ughhhh after he went to college in Virginia, he transferred to Clemson, then moved to Illinois, and then back to South Carolina, so we laugh at this superlative a lot! I'd say this superlative was WAY off! Now mine- "Most Talented" is still up in the air about what my talent is..... 2) He can fall asleep in seconds. This guy seriously can sleep anywhere and fall asleep in an instant! I don't get it and I'm so jealous! 

We can't even watch a movie..... And he would kill me for this.

3) His favorite beer is a Stella Artois 4) He thinks my blog is silly and that a creeper is going to come find me and makes fun of me when I talk about my "blog friends." 5) He wanted to play Division I lacrosse in college until he had an injury, so then he (originally) attended Hampton Sydney College to play, but ended up transferring instead. 6) He loves Dumb and Dumber and Step Brothers 7) Tyler was a student firefighter at Clemson 8) He was the hellion child growing up (I know my inlaws are cracking up right now saying YES)!

{6} What's one thing you never thought you'd do in front of your husband/boyfriend/fiance, but you did?

Honestly, we are both open books with each other. On one of our first dates we played 20 questions and kind of put everything out there (I sweat a lot, he has tummy issues), so we kind of went into our relationship knowing we are both really open in general and that we would be together! That's probably a lame answer, but that's all I got!

from our kitchen to yours: recipe link-up

I am SO EXCITED to be hosting my very first link-up with Whitney from The Observant Turtle.

We chat a lot about dinner time and thought it would be really fun to start a collection of blogger recipes from some of our favorite friends!

It's really simple and really hope you came prepared with a recipe! If not, you really have all week until the link-up is closed next Tuesday.

Feel free to add the button to your post and sidebar!

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Last week I really tried to start meal planning. It was semi-successful except we got asked to dinner with friends last minute on Tuesday and then Tyler decided he wanted steak rather than shrimp for his birthday on Wednesday. Since I had already bought the ingredients (except for the shrimp) for the shrimp dish, I turned our dinner into:

Chicken and avocado quesadillas

I honestly kind of threw this together after seeing a similar picture on Pinterest last week while planning our weekly meals. Megan and Alexa as well as Brianna inspired me to start incorporating avocado into our diet. It isn't my FAVORITE, but added into a recipe like this I can handle it!!!

Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts, brushed with BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Rays that was in our fridge) and grilled
2 avocados sliced (is that the technical term?)
1 tomato sliced
2 handfuls of cheese of your choice (I used mild cheddar from the fridge) and one handful goes on each tortilla
2 tortillas (sadly I only had two handy)
1 onion covered in butter and grilled in aluminum foil (Tyler's favorite)
Sour cream and salsa on the side if desired

Directions:
Prepare ingredients and grill chicken
Cook onion (definitely optional or you don't even have to cook it)
Heat panini maker. If you don't have one, you could use a pan and your stovetop, BUT I highly recommend a Cuisinart panini maker. We use it a lot!! It is about $40 from Bed Bath and Beyond.
Spray Pam on top and bottom of the griddle so the tortilla doesn't stick.
Press as long as you desire to brown the quesadilla

ENJOY!

This week on tap I have planned:

Monday: Grilled chicken salad with corn and blueberries (fresh from Perrow Farms!!)

Tuesday: Baked tilapia parmesan

Wednesday: Taco stuffed shells

Thursday: Skinny chicken and broccoli alfredo

Friday: Usually a Mexican night or take out!

Hope you will link-up with us. Feel free to add snacks, desserts, breakfast, lunch, or dinner posts! If this is successful we can make it a weekly thing. Can't wait to try your favorite recipes!

If you have any problems linking up email me HERE or comment below. Also, add the title of your recipe to the link-up to make it easier for readers to find yummy recipes!

Thanks for sharing!!

introducing a recipe linkup: from our kitchen to yours!!

I am so so so thrilled to be hosting my very first linkup with Whitney! We've become good buds through blogging and our Carolina roots! If you don't follow her, you can find her here at The Observant Turtle. We are both South Carolina girls who spent some time away from home (she's currently in Houston and you all remember my year in Illinois), went to schools that EVERYONE confuses (Wofford and Winthrop), and were super active in our sororities (and maybe still are active!). 

After I posted about meal planning last week, she and I started brainstorming ways to collect recommended recipes by our favorite bloggers! Originally I thought about making it newlywed-related, but it is more fun opening it up to everyone because lezbehonest--- you married ladies have some hidden recipe gems!

So, here's the deal. 

Next Tuesday, June 18th the linkup will go LIVE! It is really simple and easy- post your favorite recipe you've made lately. I'm sure most of us enjoy quick and easy weeknight meals (oh and healthy), but if you want to get exotic and complicated--- go for it! Just show us your favorite recipes so we can make in the future!

Snap a picture of your dish and post the ingredients and directions. Any helpful hints and where you found the recipe would be great, too. Is a new Pinterest recipe? Your grandmother's secret recipe? A hidden treasure in your church cookbook? Something you made up all by yourself? Let us know!

Sooooooo PLEASE come back next week and link up with us! You can also grab the button below to prepare!

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Get cooking ladies! 

And please share the link-up with your best bloggy friends! We want us all to have a whole new notebook full of new dishes to try!

And to hold you over until next week, here's a fabulous dessert I made last week!

--------

My friend Ansley sent me a picture of this beautiful trifle that she made last week and I immediately added it to my "to-make" list. I had fresh blueberries from her dad that my dad brought me last weekend.

When Luci came over last week, it gave me a reason to make this yumminess AND use my new trifle bowl that my aunt and uncle gave us as a wedding gift. It is a beautiful dish and I was thrilled to use it!

Berry Trifle
Adapted from Sunny Anderson ~ Food Network Magazine

Ingredients:

1/4 cup plus 2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (one lemon made almost 1/4 cup)

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1 premade angel food cake, cut into 1-inch slices (or you can get adventurous and make your own!)

1 pound cream cheese, at room temperature (I used light cream cheese, but I think you'd better use the real stuff!)

2 cups heavy cream, at room temperature

2 pints blueberries

2 pints strawberries, hulled and sliced

** Use local fruit if possible!!

These were the best blueberries I've EVER had. I normally don't care for the texture of blueberries, but they were perfect and firm. And sweet!!

Homemade whipped cream- what is better?

I sadly couldn't find local strawberries in my grocery store and am ashamed to have used these!

Proud to use South Carolina blueberries!

Directions:

Heat 1/4 cup sugar, the lemon juice and 1/4 cup water in a saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves.

Remove from the heat and stir in the almond extract.

Brush both sides of each slice of cake with the syrup. 

Cut the slices into 1-inch cubes.

Beat the remaining 2/3 cup sugar and the cream cheese with a mixer on medium speed until smooth and light. Add the cream and beat on medium-high speed until smooth and the consistency of whipped cream.

Arrange half of the cake cubes in the bottom of a 13-cup trifle dish. 

Sprinkle evenly with a layer of blueberries. 

Dollop half of the cream mixture over the blueberries and gently spread. 

Top with a layer of strawberries. 

Layer the remaining cake cubes on top of the strawberries, then sprinkle with more blueberries and top with the remaining cream mixture. 

Finish with the remaining strawberries and blueberries, arranging them in a decorative pattern. 

Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.

Enjoy!

friday five

I am so, so happy it's Friday. This week has drug along, especially yesterday!

{one}

Welcome Tropical Storm Andrea.

Working in insurance has truly made me weary of strong storms. Not only will we have to work like crazy on claims thanks to wind, possible hail, water damage, and flood, I have to worry about that with my own house!

Yikes. Can you even see the little blue dot where we live?!?!?!

{two}

I made a trip to the grocery store to buy bottled water and beer, just in case. I picked up the summer collection of Blue Moon, and I may now have a new favorite beer!

Blue Moon Blackberry Tart Ale

I also picked up new creamer earlier this week and it is to dieeeeeeee for!!!

{three}

Whitney from The Observant Turtle and I are working on a recipe link-up!!! Hopefully it will go up next week, but follow us on social media below to get all of the details! I loved y'alls meal plan help on Sunday and thought this could be a fun way to compile our favorite recipes into one place!

Charlotte: facebook / twitter / instagram

Whitney: facebook / twitter / instagram

Here's a sneak peak of what I made this week:

Baked tilapia with avocado salsa

{four}

Tyler and I decided yesterday to fly to Houston for Labor Day to see his brother and our sister-in-law! Neither of us have ever been to Texas, so we are super excited! It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment, "oh my gosh these flights are a really good price" kind of moment, so we took advantage of it!!! I am also going to see Whitney (above) while we are there! Counting down the days until our trip!!

{five}

Linking up with {av} for Friday's Fancies as always!

After meeting {av} last week, it makes me more excited to participate in this fun weekly link-up!! 

shorts // wedges // necklace // sunglasses // top



Looking forward to zero plans this weekend for the first time in forever!

What's on your weekend agenda?

Christmas Card Link-up

I loooooove Christmas cards! I knew I had to link up with Kristen when I saw her link up today!!       I'm kind of in love with these.  

 

Excuse the crappy quality-- I took a picture of the back of the postcard on the computer!

 

    Then I ran out of them and had to scoop these up from Hobby Lobby!  

 

 

Photo credit to miss Katie

 

 

Merry Christmas!

  Ta ta,    

Friday Fancies -- Summer Sunset

Happy Friday! Linking up with {av} again for Friday Fancies!

Today's theme is Summer Sunset... Though my outfit isn't very colorful, it is the epitome of a perfect summer date night on the beach! Wish I had the whole thing + a beach... to wear TONIGHT!

Summer by perrowck featuring clutch handbags

dress,  / shoes / handbag / jewelry / jewelry /  jewelry / bangle

This weekend will be spent with friends at a BBQ we are hosting and some wedding things! What about you?

Ta ta,

Sunday Social (late!) + Weekend

I'm a little late linking up with Neely and Ashley, but better late than never!

How did you come up with your blog name?

I came up with my blog name early last fall while on a run. I had dabbled with the idea with blogging, but when I tried it out last summer, it reminded me too much of my web design class that I despised in college (and did terribly in). I knew at some point I was going to move to Illinois where Tyler was living, so I combined my love for agriculture at home and Illinois into my blog name.

What is your favorite thing about blogging?

Blogging has been a great way for me to "vent." Living far away from home is difficult at times, but blogging has almost made me release my feelings somewhere other than to my parents or friends. Sometimes I forget others read my blog, which I kind of like, so I can just talk about what I want and not get into the drama of blogging. It has been a great outlet for me in short!

What is one thing you have discovered because of blogging and now cant live without?

Hmm, good question. Probably Pinterest DIY crafts and recipes. I was on Pinterest before I started blogging, but now I make myself make things that I pin to blog about them!

Facebook or Twitter? Which and why?

 

 

I like both for different reasons.

Facebook is great for me to stay in touch with all of my friends who are all over the place. I also love seeing pictures and yes, stalking people!

I like Twitter because for a long time, I was one of the only ones of my friends and I used it as my "outlet." Now I like it because it is a quick version of people's daily lives!

If one celeb read your blog who would you want it to be?

I have no idea! I thought on this one for a while. Sorry, I'm lame! 

What is something you want people to know about your blog?

I want to thank the blog friends I have made for hanging in there with me! I know I have my friends at home (and family) reading at home, who know my quirks, so I thank those new friends I have made who read this crazy blog of mine!



Now on my weekend!

Bought these at the local farmers market...

I did a lot of this...

Hung out with this guy...

Watched this..

And got a lot of sunburn on my tummy!

How was your weekend?

It's OK Thursday!

My 3rd linkup in a row this week... This one with Amber and Neely!

It's OK that I have only done link-ups this week!

It's OK I joined the gym on Monday (finally!)

{via}

It's OK to get super excited about seeing my friends from Wofford in April for a wedding!

It's OK to eat at the Amish Buffet by yourself at lunch (yesterday)

{via}

It's OK to procrastinate some at work (right?!)

It's OK that I am too tired to really blog

It's OK to be a little homesick (true story)

It's OK to not want to do anything this weekend and to relax

It's OK to have my nights revolve around what show comes on

It's OK to crave sweets all the time!

It's OK to fuss at your boyfriend when he constantly crunches ice (my pet peeve!!!!)

It's OK to not yell at the dog when we come home and he's on the couch (he's not allowed!!)

It's OK to countdown to FRIDAY- 1 more day!!

{via}

How was your Thursday?

Linkup!

Ta ta,