Monday.

Had a blast this weekend in Beaufort celebrating Katie & Henry! Also started my dining room table project..more to come on both of those on Wednesday! Hope everyone is making it through this Monday quickly! :)

Josephine.

I just wanted to do a quick post to remember a very sweet, sweet dog that went to doggy heaven last night. There is no doubt in my mind that that's where she went. Josephine is Emily's family's dog that she grew up with. She just celebrated her 16th birthday on January 22nd. 

"Dogs are not our whole lives, 

but they make our lives whole."

Love you, Em & Josephine!

Pass the mustard, please.

love pillow - here.

a - z bookends - here.

Yarn wreath - here.

Mini Curvy Envelope Clutch - here.

Mustard Chevron Pillow Cover - here.

Yellow Blossom Acrylic Abstract Painting - here.

Elf Owl Dog Collar - here.

Set of 8 Sunshine Blossoming Flower Coasters - here.

Flower headband - here. 

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I'm loving Cameron for hooking up the washer and dryer (FINALLY). It's going to be so nice to not have to haul my laundry to my old house (that I'm still paying rent at).

Ha, I wish this is what mine looked like! source

I'm loving that this weekend will be spent hanging out with good friends and celebrating the engagement of Katie & Henry in Beaufort!

Red Shutter Studio

I'm loving (somewhat) that I finally had it in me to click "unsubscribe" on a few emails today, including Saks. I've GOT to get these credit cards paid off and the daily taunts of Tory, Tibi and Milly are NOT helping. 

I'm loving Lisa's 1st giveaway over at Diary of a Newlywed! Look at all of this great stuff! Click to picture to go to her blog and enter before Friday!

Tasty Tuesday - Creamy Artichoke, Lemon & Chicken Pasta

I went on a recipe bookmarking rampage on Thursday while bored at work and this was a recipe I couldn't wait to try! I made it Sunday night and it was very light tasting, yet filling. I will be making this one again! Recipe and photo courtesy of Shawnda at Confections of a Foodie Bride.

 Ingredients:

12 oz spaghetti
3 slices bacon
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, halved and pounded to 1/4-inch thickness
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Salt
Pepper
1 can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
2 tsp capers, drained
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp butter, chilled
Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish

Directions:

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil. Add pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, and set aside.

In a large Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium heat, cook through. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve. In a bowl, stir together flour, salt, and pepper. Lightly coat chicken with flour mixture. Without crowding, carefully place chicken in the bacon grease. Fry until cooked through and golden brown on both sides. Remove the chicken to paper towels. Stir the mushrooms, artichokes, and capers into the pan. De glaze the pan with the wine. Cook for 2 minutes. Add the broth and lemon juice, cook for 2 minutes more. Stir in the cream and the butter to the sauce, stirring until completely incorporated. Season with salt and pepper.

Cut the chicken breasts into strips, and return them to the pan. Stir the pasta and bacon into the chicken mixture. Serve.

Serves 4

 

*Mushrooms were not listed in the ingredient list but were mentioned in the directions so I added a small can of them.*

Enjoy! :)

Five Question Friday!

What's the best thing about Five Question Friday?? Um, the fact that it's FRIDAY!

No big plans for the weekend. Going to the Charleston Boat Show tomorrow and working Sunday.  I'm actually looking forward to working on Sunday because that means I get to catch up on my reality tv! :)

1. Where did you meet your spouse and did you instantly know it was love?

 

Ha, you want the short version or the long version? Well, I'll tell you both and you can decide how much you want to read. :)

Short version - We met through a mutual friend, Joe. I went to high school with him and Cameron lived with him in college. 

Extended version - I don't know why, but I'm sometimes shy / a little embarrassed to tell this story, even though I shouldn't be. Anyway, so a group of guys called the Palmetto Society have a big oyster roast every year (among other events) to raise money for a local charity. I got invited to the event via Facebook, confirmed that I would be attending and then was looking to see who else would be there. 

I came across a rather handsome young man and being the nosy curious type of person that I am, I clicked on his profile. I saw that he was from the Charleston area and we had a LOT of mutual friends. One of our mutual friends, Joe, had recently gotten married so I decided to send him a congratulatory message and then at the end of the message, squeezed in the fact that I thought his friend Cameron was attractive. :)

A few days had gone by, Joe had written me back thanking me for the message and that he would put in a good word for me to Cameron. The nerves started to kick in. What if he didn't think I was pretty? (I immediately changed my profile picture to what I thought was the best one of me.) What if he was already dating someone? I waited and waited to hear something and then on Saturday, November 15, 2008 while I was getting ready to go watch the USC vs. Florida football game at a friend's house, I checked my Facebook and there was a message in my inbox...

It said "Just wanted to say hi to my new friend..." (I still have it saved in my inbox, btw.)

I tried not to respond too quickly, but I only held out for 17 minutes. Way to play it cool, Megan. 

 

He was all I could think about during the game..which turned out to be a good thing because the Gators kicked our butts. Went home after the game and immediately checked my FB to see if I had a new message. I did! I already had plans to go out that night so I sent him a message back, giving him my phone number and told him to call me if he wanted to meet up. No shame in my game! 

Playing cornhole during halftime. Hours before I met Cameron for the first time. :)

He texted me later to see where I was hanging out, and we decided to meet up at Johnson's. On the walk there, my friends decided that they wanted to go to Trio, but I wasn't going to let that stop me! I went to Johnson's by myself. While I was walking in, I ran into a group of guy friends and in that mix, happened to be my most recent ex. We didn't date that long and it wasn't an awful breakup so it wasn't that awkward, but it did make me a little nervous. I was scared he was going to try to interfere if he knew why I was there. 

I went to go sit at the bar to wait on Cameron and his friends, and Taylor (name has been changed) sat next to me. "Oh GREAT", I thought. We chatted for a little bit and then I looked to my right - there was Cameron. Butterflies! Nervousness! I went up to him and hugged him as I said hello. I don't know why I did it, but it just felt natural. 

I went and sat back down next to Taylor* because I didn't want to be rude (his friends had also left at this point), Cameron came, too. Here I was, sandwiched between an ex and a guy that I liked. AWKWARD!! I didn't mention to either of them who the other guy was, other than their names, because that would have caused tension and again, awkwardness. 

 

After the bar, Cameron invited me over to his place because him and some friends were going to be hanging out. I went, played Mario Kart on the Wii, and I went home around 5am. 

Earlier in the night I mentioned that I really wanted to go skeet shooting. Well, Cameron invited me to go the very next day at his parents house with about 10 of his friends. And the rest is history.........

 

Sorry for SUCH a long answer..this probably could have been a post in its own. If you've made it this far, props to you.

2. What is your favorite room in your house?

 

The living room. It's the hub of the house. TV to watch, couch to lay on with a comfy blanket and a fireplace to warm me up = perfection.

3. Can you wiggle your ears?

 

No, and I probably looked ridiculous trying to see if I could. 

4. What is your evening ritual?

 

Come home from work, change into comfy clothes, clean up if need be, cook dinner, watch tv, brush teeth (always) / wash face (sometimes), get under 53058483 blankets and go to sleep. Sometimes I'll take a shower the night before work if I have to be there super early.

5. How many hours of sleep do you need to function?

 

7-8. More if I could. I like my sleep. A lot. 

Easiest Craft EVER.

I love being crafty. Making things with my own two hands makes me feel good. It also makes me proud when someone comments on "how crafty I am," even when I know I'm not actually THAT crafty. Just a little bit. If you are like me, then you will love this craft, which I'm pretty sure not even the least-craftiest person can mess up.

Valentine's Day Subway Art Printable 

 All you have to do is download the pdf file on a piece of card stock and place in an 8x10 picture frame. See, I told you it was easy! 

If you'd like a free copy of the print, visit Jessica's blog at Craftily Ever After. She also has an Etsy store where you can buy personalized prints.

I printed a similar one during Christmastime for the mantle (can't remember from which blog though. Oops.) and thought it was a super cute touch!

Hope everyone is having a great Thursday!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

Time for another round of What I'm Loving Wednesday! Visit Jamie's blog to link up and join! :)

I'm loving the package that was on my doorstep when I got home from work yesterday! Back in December I won a slew of giveaways in one day (holla!). One of the giveaways was a ton of Lifeguard Press' Lilly Pulitzer stationery, etc. from Katie at Let's Be Preppy! I had no idea the box would be filled to the brim with goodies! Seriously, look at all of that! 

I'm loving my BFF date that we had yesterday! Cameron has class until 8:45pm on Tuesday's and Thursday's so Emily, Katie and I took the pups to the dog park inside their neighborhood (jealous that they don't have to drive to one). Afterwards, Emily & I made some guacamole and a homemade barbecue chicken pizza and watched Sex & The City 2!

I'm loving the Stella & Dot Starfish earrings that Emily gave me! Seriously have been wanting these FOREVER but for some reason didn't buy them for myself. She bought a pair for herself and when she received them a teeny-tiny stone was missing so she contacted S&D's customer service. They sent her a brand new pair and she gave me the other pair! What a great BFF! Btw, I'm wearing them today, Emily.

I'm loving that I having a dinner date with some of the ladies in Cameron's family tonight. Me, his mom, his sister-in-law and his aunt. Us. The Mustard Seed. 1/2 price bottles of wine. Enough said.

I'm loving "To My Wife"'s tumblr account that I found through another blogger (sorry, can't remember who!). He's sweet and funny. Perfect combination.

As always, I'm loving my two guys that make me laugh and drive me crazy all in the same day. :)

Tasty Tuesday - Turkey Meatloaf with Feta and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

WAIT!! Please do not "x" out of my blog at the sight of the word "meatloaf" - I would have. But the words "feta" and "sun dried tomato" kept me around a little longer.  Growing up, I would not touch my mom's meatloaf. It could have been because I think she put onions in it and I DESPISE onions. But I had some ground turkey in the fridge that I needed to use and I came across this recipe on FoodNetwork.com. I later found out that Natalie from a new blog I read, Designer Bags and Dirty Diapers, also made this recipe and loved it!

Turkey Meatloaf with Feta and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Close

Times:

Prep

15 min

Inactive Prep

5 min

Cook

45 min

Total:

1 hr 5 min

Ingredients

• Vegetable cooking spray
• 1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/4 cup chopped garlic and herb-marinated sun-dried tomatoes
• 2 cloves garlic, minced, optional
• 2 eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons whole milk
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound ground turkey, preferably dark meat

Directions

Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Spray a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, stir together the bread crumbs, parsley, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, if using, eggs, milk, feta, salt, and pepper. Add the turkey and gently stir to combine, being careful not to overwork the meat.

Carefully pack the meat mixture into the prepared pan and bake until the internal temperature registers 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, about 45 minutes. 

Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes. 

Suggestion - I would suggest ommitting the salt from the recipe. It is salty enough. 

I served with roasted asparagus and artichokes (and red wine) just because that's what I had laying around. :) Enjoy!

Growing older, but not up

Often times when I'm bored and browsing around on the CSN website, I come across things that I had no idea they sold! For example, swingsets!

Growing up, I had the standard swingset. Y'know, the one with two swings, a slide and a glider with two seats.

These days, there are swing sets the size of small houses with price tags similar to a car's! 

I'm sure this one is meant for a neighborhood playground, but it can be in your backyard for only $22,938!

This one looks like it should be inside of a hamster's cage.

"King of the Castle, King of the Castle" Borat, anyone?

Long story short, if you are in the market to buy a new swing set soon, go check them out on CSN. They have a wide variety, in all price ranges and it looks like all of them come with free shipping!

TGIF / 5QF!

Happy Friday, y'all! I could not believe my eyes when I cranked up my car this morning!

Toto, I have a feeling we're not in South Carolina anymore.

Oprah wouldn't probably not approve of me snapping that pic with my phone while I was driving 45 mph.

This weekend we have no plans on the books, yet, which is a very nice thing every once and a while. A few guaranteed things are sleeping in and working on the house. Sounds very familiar.

1. What movie could you watch over and over again and not get tired of?

 

 Are you ready for this? Major Payne. It has been my favorite movie since I can't remember when. I can recite every line and I laugh prior to the funny parts because I know what it going to happen. I really can't explain to you why I love the movie so much.

Close runner-ups are Remember the Titans, The Notebook, Love Actually (VERY close second place), The Lion King and pretty much any Pixar movie.

2. What's your biggest pet peeve right now?

Slow drivers on Bohicket Rd!! Was just thinking about posting a rant post about this yesterday. 

People, I know it's a narrow, scary road, but the speed limit is 50 so if you go UNDER the speed limit, I WILL be riding your a**.

3. If you had to describe your best friend in five words or less, what would you say?

Caring. Beautiful. Supportive. Shopaholic. Giving.

4. If you did not have to worry about money or go to school what would you do for a living?

 

 Stay at home mom!...when I become one.

5. What is your one "splurge" item, that you will always buy, no matter the cost?

 

 I don't think I really have one. If you know me, you'll know that I'm not much of a splurger. If I do splurge on things, it's because I have a gift card for it so it's not like I'm using "real money." :)

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I'm loving my birthday present from Frankie! She was sneaky sneaky and took close notice of my birthday wish list that I posted. The Nike Tempo shorts in fuchsia! But there's a catch - I have to run the bridge with her in April! Yikes!

I'm loving the BFF, Emily, for coming over yesterday to help me get the house ready for supper club tonight! 

I'm loving Milly's Spring 2011 collection! Can I afford any of it? No. Can't hurt to imagine though! :)

I'm loving my sweet boyfriend for taking care of me this week while I've been sick and for working extra hard on the house this past weekend and week. 

Thinking warm thoughts on this cold cold day. :)