Back so soon you say? Well yes, I am trying to keep up with this for a little while. Hopefully I'll have a longer run than last time. I just finished making Aunt Jo's cream cheese braids, well actually they are Nancy Hollingsworth's but since I don't know who she is I call them 'Aunt Jo's' .. It's a two day process of mixing and dishes and flour all over the kitchen and it is so totally worth it.
Every year at Christmas our neighbors, the 'other Clarks', bring us a cream cheese braid and it was technically supposed to be saved for our Christmas Day Brunch, but in recent years I have been eating part of the middle out and sliding it back together so you can't tell I've been secretly devouring it at night while everyone sleeps. My mother probably thought they were just getting smaller every year. HaHa! So finally last year I begged my mother to ask 'Aunt Jo' for the recipe. I will post it under the recipe tag. :)
We had a Christmas oyster roast here on Saturday night and I discussed my ideas for a book club, etc. I had one taker on the book club, then someone's husband mentioned that people around here don't really read, and he meant that they can't, so I didn't feel so bad about my previous post. Then my sweet friend Katherine said that she was recently invited to a Pinterest party and everyone made a craft. Maybe I should really follow through with that idea. (Windsor: I'll let you skype in!)
I thought that Brent and I were really missing out on the social scene around these parts but I was informed that one doesn't exist, unless you are in the crowd that goes to places like Goast Island or the strip mall bar in Sumter, but we are most certainly not. And then I discovered that not only is there no social scene, but people don't even really entertain. I guess I will have to start the trend. I did hear that there is a supper club that we are not a part of, so I am determined that even though we don't live in Manning that I will find my way into that supper club. Or just steal the people I like away from that one and start my own. When else will I be able to use all of my fine china and my 16 foot dining room table?
I could keep rambling on, but it is lunch time and I will have to eat some more cream cheese braid and do laundry. Then start wrapping Christmas presents and pack to go home tomorrow. There seriously isn't enough time in the day...
[[cream cheese roll is NOT low fat... as my stomach hangs over my jeans. yay me. i feel like the truvia commercial of the woman eating doughnuts as they sing "jiggle bell"..]]
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Thursday, December 15, 2011
seriously, it's been three months?
I honestly don't know where the time has gone. I can't believe that it has been three months since I have last written. Trust me, I have gotten plenty of grief about it but it hasn't hit me yet that it has been so long. So much has happened since September 16th.. WOW! Let's see, I've gotten married, gone on a honeymoon, quit my job, buried both of my grandmothers, celebrated Halloween, Thanksgiving, and now getting ready for Christmas. One of my best friends had a baby, one graduated from college (finally after 8 years..), three friends have gotten engaged and another is now pregnant. Time sure flies by! As I write this, Birdie is attempting to climb in my lap, she is completely unaware that she is no longer the tiny baby puppy that used to sleep in my lap while I worked at the computer, she now weighs almost 70 pounds and is barely 9 months old!
You would think now that I am a stay at home wife that I would have more time for stuff like this but I seem to always be busy and on the go. I have turned 'staying at home' into my full time job. I have a whiteboard in my office that I have turned into a schedule of sorts. It lists all of my household duties that must be done Monday through Friday. (I get the weekends off* haha, I wish!) For example on Wednesdays I vacuum and mop all the floors in the house and do laundry. Since these tasks don't take all day I have time to pay bills, unpack boxes, organize, take care of and keep up with our three sweet adolescent dogs, go to the grocery store, bake, cook supper, run errands for Brent, blow the leaves out of the yard, wrap Christmas presents, do dishes... you get the drift. It's not as glamorous as you may think. Sometimes I wish I did still get up and go to an office every morning instead of cleaning up dog poop, picking up socks and dirty washcloths, and playing maid all day, but like they say, the grass is always greener on the other side.
I think for the start of 2012 I will incorporate going to the gym and getting my nails done into my weekly schedule. Maybe one day this place will have a book club or garden club, although I'm not even sure the women down here my age read, much less tend flowers or a garden. I am by no means insinuating that they cannot read, just that skimming magazines or gossip columns probably seem more fitting. At least we have Pinterest now so everyone has suddenly gone Martha Stewart and people are cooking and making crafts. Maybe I should start a Pinterest club! We can all get together and make t-shirt scarves. :)
I jest, I jest. I am still getting used to the idea that I am going to live here forever. Before Brent and I got married there was always still the option to take off, but now I'm here to stay! I do love living on the farm. I love that our front yard right now is a giant wheat field and our back yard is a pond. The dogs are free to run and play and we have no neighbors or traffic going by, well, unless people are coon hunting. Then we might have someone in our back yard, but for the most part it is a life of solitude. The only thing I wish is that we had Harris Teeter and Target close by and somewhere I can dress up to go. I look sadly at the shoes in my closet and I know that they are totally jealous of my crocs and they want to go out and be seen. I could always start incorporating some of my fancier things into my church outfit, but then again.. I live in a super teeny tiny small town and people love to talk. I can hear it now "Did you see that girl Brent married in church on Sunday, who does she think she is?"
So for now I will just continue to wear my fancy shoes around the house and drink champagne in my pajamas. I have a secretly fabulous life. xx
You would think now that I am a stay at home wife that I would have more time for stuff like this but I seem to always be busy and on the go. I have turned 'staying at home' into my full time job. I have a whiteboard in my office that I have turned into a schedule of sorts. It lists all of my household duties that must be done Monday through Friday. (I get the weekends off* haha, I wish!) For example on Wednesdays I vacuum and mop all the floors in the house and do laundry. Since these tasks don't take all day I have time to pay bills, unpack boxes, organize, take care of and keep up with our three sweet adolescent dogs, go to the grocery store, bake, cook supper, run errands for Brent, blow the leaves out of the yard, wrap Christmas presents, do dishes... you get the drift. It's not as glamorous as you may think. Sometimes I wish I did still get up and go to an office every morning instead of cleaning up dog poop, picking up socks and dirty washcloths, and playing maid all day, but like they say, the grass is always greener on the other side.
I think for the start of 2012 I will incorporate going to the gym and getting my nails done into my weekly schedule. Maybe one day this place will have a book club or garden club, although I'm not even sure the women down here my age read, much less tend flowers or a garden. I am by no means insinuating that they cannot read, just that skimming magazines or gossip columns probably seem more fitting. At least we have Pinterest now so everyone has suddenly gone Martha Stewart and people are cooking and making crafts. Maybe I should start a Pinterest club! We can all get together and make t-shirt scarves. :)
I jest, I jest. I am still getting used to the idea that I am going to live here forever. Before Brent and I got married there was always still the option to take off, but now I'm here to stay! I do love living on the farm. I love that our front yard right now is a giant wheat field and our back yard is a pond. The dogs are free to run and play and we have no neighbors or traffic going by, well, unless people are coon hunting. Then we might have someone in our back yard, but for the most part it is a life of solitude. The only thing I wish is that we had Harris Teeter and Target close by and somewhere I can dress up to go. I look sadly at the shoes in my closet and I know that they are totally jealous of my crocs and they want to go out and be seen. I could always start incorporating some of my fancier things into my church outfit, but then again.. I live in a super teeny tiny small town and people love to talk. I can hear it now "Did you see that girl Brent married in church on Sunday, who does she think she is?"
So for now I will just continue to wear my fancy shoes around the house and drink champagne in my pajamas. I have a secretly fabulous life. xx
Friday, September 16, 2011
taking a deep breath
It's been almost a month since I last posted. *slap on the wrist* The meatloaf turned out great. And by great I mean, Brent LOVED it... I however still can't bring myself to love it, it's hard enough to like it. Maybe if it was covered in cheese it would be different! :)
SO.. the past few weeks have been crazy. I feel like this is the first time I have actually been able to sit down and take a breath. On the other side of the screen is my to-do list and the massive list of gifts that I need to write thank you notes for. I have moved all of my stuff from the office at the farm to my office here at the house. That way I am here to meet all the people that keep showing up to fix various things and when I'm not super busy I can run downstairs and change out the loads of laundry.
The wedding is in two weeks. Yes, TWO WEEKS! I've got a million things going on with cakes and dresses and hair appointments. In the mean time I am constantly unpacking boxes, trying to organize and clean out all of our stuff that keeps piling up at the house, and clean up after all the people that have been over at the house and shop. I probably do an average of 4 loads of laundry a day, vacuum the living room at least twice, and then clean up after the dogs.... sheesh!
I think everything will calm down once the wedding is over and people get used to us living out here and realize that this is our home and not the fun place to come hang out all the time.
I am using the computer Brent gave me for my birthday so I have no pictures on here, but I will upload some at some point and start posting some good stuff again! I hope everyone is doing great.
:* xox
SO.. the past few weeks have been crazy. I feel like this is the first time I have actually been able to sit down and take a breath. On the other side of the screen is my to-do list and the massive list of gifts that I need to write thank you notes for. I have moved all of my stuff from the office at the farm to my office here at the house. That way I am here to meet all the people that keep showing up to fix various things and when I'm not super busy I can run downstairs and change out the loads of laundry.
The wedding is in two weeks. Yes, TWO WEEKS! I've got a million things going on with cakes and dresses and hair appointments. In the mean time I am constantly unpacking boxes, trying to organize and clean out all of our stuff that keeps piling up at the house, and clean up after all the people that have been over at the house and shop. I probably do an average of 4 loads of laundry a day, vacuum the living room at least twice, and then clean up after the dogs.... sheesh!
I think everything will calm down once the wedding is over and people get used to us living out here and realize that this is our home and not the fun place to come hang out all the time.
I am using the computer Brent gave me for my birthday so I have no pictures on here, but I will upload some at some point and start posting some good stuff again! I hope everyone is doing great.
:* xox
Monday, August 22, 2011
today i will tackle meatloaf...
Today is a day for the books. We have started moving into our house and tonight will be our first night actually staying there. So in honor of our first night, we are having our first meal. The first meal I will ever cook in my new kitchen. I wanted something hearty, something with meaning, something we will always remember. So I thought I would try to cook meatloaf. (eww, yuck, gross)
Meatloaf is something that I have normally in the past refused to eat. Something that I want nothing to do with and something I am totally not interested in. However, Brent loves meatloaf. I figure I will have to make some compromises in this marriage so I am starting with meatloaf.
Maybe I will like the meatloaf if I made it. Maybe it won't be dry. Maybe the sauce in the recipe I have chosen will be out of this world. Just maybe. If all else fails, I make amazing mashed potatoes. :)
I'll take pictures tonight and post tomorrow!
Meatloaf is something that I have normally in the past refused to eat. Something that I want nothing to do with and something I am totally not interested in. However, Brent loves meatloaf. I figure I will have to make some compromises in this marriage so I am starting with meatloaf.
Maybe I will like the meatloaf if I made it. Maybe it won't be dry. Maybe the sauce in the recipe I have chosen will be out of this world. Just maybe. If all else fails, I make amazing mashed potatoes. :)
I'll take pictures tonight and post tomorrow!
Monday, August 15, 2011
it's been two weeks already??
I do sincerely apologize for the lapse in my writing lately. As we are getting in the final stages of the house we have been crazy busy! When I last wrote they had installed our cabinets and were coming to do the countertops... Now they have installed the granite, finished the plumbing, the appliances are in, and we spent the past 4 days putting polyurethane on the doors, trim, and the entire master bathroom. Needless to say I feel the effects of the fumes in my nose, throat, and lungs.
Now we just have to finish any woodwork and clean out the house so the guy can come and wax our floors! Oh yeah, and we have to wire up the lighting under the cabinets and get the house inspected... oh! And find mirrors, finish putting up the hardware in the master bathroom, get two or three more door knobs.. wait, did I say we were getting close? Maybe not that close.
I will post some pictures of what the house looks like now probably tomorrow. I need to take updated ones where the faucets are in and stuff so you can get the full effect! In the meantime I have managed to lose my spiral index card thingy with all of my important phone numbers in it AND my brand new ray bans. Sometimes I don't know if I am going or coming.
My brother is in town and coming to visit on Wednesday. I am very excited for him to come and see the house. He hasn't been down here in well over a year so he has never even seen what it looks like or where we are building. And he gets to meet all of the dogs! ..... Speaking of the dogs. I have learned that they love pizza. I can get them to do just about anything I want as long as the word 'pizza' is involved. I have started calling Lainey "Cheesey" and I finally figured out yesterday that when she is being bad and doesn't want to go in her pen, if I say "come here Cheesey... you want some PETE-ZA?!" she runs in her pen and sits down like a good girl. I only hate that when she finally figures out I don't have any pizza she will sprint away and hide in the woods like she used to. I will probably have to invest in Pizza Hut soon.
Last week I took some photos with Megan Manus in Sumter, just for fun, and they turned out really great. I didn't buy the digital files but Megan will be putting some up on her blog if you want to check them out. http://meganmanusphotography.com/blog/ ALSO I had my first dress fitting at Hayden Olivia. It was fabulous. Luckily they are having to take the dress in about 4 inches so that made me feel pretty good since last time it barely fit perfectly. I am SO excited about the dress. It truly is magnificent. Afterwards I roamed the streets of East and West Boulevard waiting on my friend Weldon to get off work so I could finally see her place and see Louise and spend some time catching up. I spent about an hour in the shop called Paper Skyscraper and bought a lot of neat things! When Weldon got home we visited for a bit and then went out for sushi (yum! my favorite) and then I had to make the long dreaded trip back down to Summerton. I wish I lived closer to my friends.... well wait, let me rephrase, I wish my friends lived closer to me! :)
Hopefully tomorrow I will get to see Lacey and visit with her. She has never been down here so I am excited to show her the house and the farm. And then my brother! SO it will be a good two weeks! Also this weekend our dear friends are giving us a shower, which will be much needed since we are hopefully going to move in SOON! I promise I will write more now that things are slowing up a bit. I will at least be taking more pictures so I can share some things with everyone.
xox
Now we just have to finish any woodwork and clean out the house so the guy can come and wax our floors! Oh yeah, and we have to wire up the lighting under the cabinets and get the house inspected... oh! And find mirrors, finish putting up the hardware in the master bathroom, get two or three more door knobs.. wait, did I say we were getting close? Maybe not that close.
I will post some pictures of what the house looks like now probably tomorrow. I need to take updated ones where the faucets are in and stuff so you can get the full effect! In the meantime I have managed to lose my spiral index card thingy with all of my important phone numbers in it AND my brand new ray bans. Sometimes I don't know if I am going or coming.
My brother is in town and coming to visit on Wednesday. I am very excited for him to come and see the house. He hasn't been down here in well over a year so he has never even seen what it looks like or where we are building. And he gets to meet all of the dogs! ..... Speaking of the dogs. I have learned that they love pizza. I can get them to do just about anything I want as long as the word 'pizza' is involved. I have started calling Lainey "Cheesey" and I finally figured out yesterday that when she is being bad and doesn't want to go in her pen, if I say "come here Cheesey... you want some PETE-ZA?!" she runs in her pen and sits down like a good girl. I only hate that when she finally figures out I don't have any pizza she will sprint away and hide in the woods like she used to. I will probably have to invest in Pizza Hut soon.
Last week I took some photos with Megan Manus in Sumter, just for fun, and they turned out really great. I didn't buy the digital files but Megan will be putting some up on her blog if you want to check them out. http://meganmanusphotography.com/blog/ ALSO I had my first dress fitting at Hayden Olivia. It was fabulous. Luckily they are having to take the dress in about 4 inches so that made me feel pretty good since last time it barely fit perfectly. I am SO excited about the dress. It truly is magnificent. Afterwards I roamed the streets of East and West Boulevard waiting on my friend Weldon to get off work so I could finally see her place and see Louise and spend some time catching up. I spent about an hour in the shop called Paper Skyscraper and bought a lot of neat things! When Weldon got home we visited for a bit and then went out for sushi (yum! my favorite) and then I had to make the long dreaded trip back down to Summerton. I wish I lived closer to my friends.... well wait, let me rephrase, I wish my friends lived closer to me! :)
Hopefully tomorrow I will get to see Lacey and visit with her. She has never been down here so I am excited to show her the house and the farm. And then my brother! SO it will be a good two weeks! Also this weekend our dear friends are giving us a shower, which will be much needed since we are hopefully going to move in SOON! I promise I will write more now that things are slowing up a bit. I will at least be taking more pictures so I can share some things with everyone.
xox
Monday, August 1, 2011
my office is a racetrack
Happy Monday y'all! As I sit here right now Hank and Lainey are running wide open in circles around the desk in the center of my office. I can't tell who is chasing whom since it changes every time they turn a corner or run behind the chairs a different one is in the lead! Every now and then they take a break and slosh in the water bowl.
It's been almost two weeks since I have written and a lot has happened! They came and installed our cabinets last week and they look fabulous. Next the granite people will come Thursday to install the countertops and then it's only a few more little things and we will be moving in! I'm shooting for the week of August 15th. It would be fabulous if we could at least start moving that week since my parents and my brother will be here! (and they can help us move, of course!) When the house is complete I will post a few pics for those of you who might never make it down here. ;)
Along with the house plans are the wedding plans and we are down to 60 days. I would say two months, but I am a procrastinator and two months sounds longer than 60 days so I have to think in terms of days now so I will get things done! I have about 5 or 6 different to-do lists (they have a lot of overlap) but it makes me feel better to write it all out and be able to cross things off.
After much debate over wedding shoes I have finally gotten a pair. They are totally NOT what I thought I would get but I am in love with them. I have been saying for the past year and a half that I wanted blue heels and I ended up with gold glitter flats from J Crew and they are SO comfortable.
I spent a little time today going over the marriage license process, the name change process, and then changing my residency finally to say that I truly live in South Carolina. Yes I know I've lived here for well over a year but for part of that time I was a "student" and I didn't need to get a SC license. I didn't want to go through the DMV deal twice so I figured it was best just to wait. It's ONLY 60 more days.....
Both of my wedding dresses came in on Friday. Weird that they came in on the same day but I am so relieved that they are finally here and we can start the fittings. I need to get one of those "It Works" fat wraps just incase I've gained weight. Hopefully I can loose a few more inches before we get down to the nitty gritty of alterations. I think my main problems are length and bust, not waist, so that's a relief. I would definitely have a hip problem but the ball gown covers that up! :)
I'll post a few sneak peaks of things under the Photos tab. I honestly don't have any new recipes at the moment. Sadly. Mom came this past weekend and helped me clean my house and pack. I swear we could be on an episode of Hoarders. While she was there she made my favorite Chicken Tetrazzini. I will post her recipe under the Recipe tab! It is delicious!!
I hope everyone is doing well and staying cool in this blistering heat wave!
It's been almost two weeks since I have written and a lot has happened! They came and installed our cabinets last week and they look fabulous. Next the granite people will come Thursday to install the countertops and then it's only a few more little things and we will be moving in! I'm shooting for the week of August 15th. It would be fabulous if we could at least start moving that week since my parents and my brother will be here! (and they can help us move, of course!) When the house is complete I will post a few pics for those of you who might never make it down here. ;)
Along with the house plans are the wedding plans and we are down to 60 days. I would say two months, but I am a procrastinator and two months sounds longer than 60 days so I have to think in terms of days now so I will get things done! I have about 5 or 6 different to-do lists (they have a lot of overlap) but it makes me feel better to write it all out and be able to cross things off.
I spent a little time today going over the marriage license process, the name change process, and then changing my residency finally to say that I truly live in South Carolina. Yes I know I've lived here for well over a year but for part of that time I was a "student" and I didn't need to get a SC license. I didn't want to go through the DMV deal twice so I figured it was best just to wait. It's ONLY 60 more days.....
Both of my wedding dresses came in on Friday. Weird that they came in on the same day but I am so relieved that they are finally here and we can start the fittings. I need to get one of those "It Works" fat wraps just incase I've gained weight. Hopefully I can loose a few more inches before we get down to the nitty gritty of alterations. I think my main problems are length and bust, not waist, so that's a relief. I would definitely have a hip problem but the ball gown covers that up! :)
I'll post a few sneak peaks of things under the Photos tab. I honestly don't have any new recipes at the moment. Sadly. Mom came this past weekend and helped me clean my house and pack. I swear we could be on an episode of Hoarders. While she was there she made my favorite Chicken Tetrazzini. I will post her recipe under the Recipe tab! It is delicious!!
I hope everyone is doing well and staying cool in this blistering heat wave!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
taking life by the ears...
I thought that the cabinets would be ready to install this week but it seems that they had a bit of a problem with our wood having too high of a moisture content so they are coming the first of next week. I don't know when we will ever be able to move into the house. I am starting to get a little discouraged, but I know everything happens for a reason.
Brent's birthday is this week. He is finally turning 25! I think he has said he's 25 for the past year so now he'll probably think he's turning 26. I am a big proponent of celebrating birthdays, especially my own ;) so it's been frustrating that they are going to be harvesting corn and we can't really celebrate. I guess when they get finished for the day we will have a late supper for him Thursday night and he can open his presents. I got him some really awesome stuff! Although I can't put it on here just in case he happens to read this before Thursday!
We had Laura's baby shower this past weekend and I also got to visit some old friends in Howards Mill. The baby shower turned out great and Laura got a lot of wonderful gifts. It was great to see all the girls even if it was for just a few hours.
I hope everyone has been doing well! I will update again soon with more pictures and recipes!
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