Thursday's Thoughts {Birthday, New Job!, Credit Card Update}

Today I'm linking up with Annie and Natalie for Thursday's Thoughts!

-Last night we celebrated Kate's 31st birthday (confession: I wrote Happy 30th on her FB wall AND her bday card. Bad friend.) by grabbing dinner at Sweeney's on Johns Island. It's a fairly new restaurant that I've heard mixed reviews about and have always wanted to try. I'm glad they chose this restaurant to go to because I really enjoyed it! I ordered the tomato soup, which I let everyone taste and we were all fans, and the charcuterie. Tried pate for the first time - didn't hate it, didn't love it. The pimento cheese was my favorite, it was so creamy! Cameron ordered the kale and brussels sprouts salad with salmon on top. I would definitely order that salad just by itself next time I go! 

After dinner, we headed next door to Seanachai's for a quick mojito. Cameron, Caroline, and I raved about them to everyone, but I was actually disappointed in last night's batch. Oh well, we'll still be back! 

-I GOT A NEW JOB! I haven't really mentioned it on my blog, because you never know who reads it, but I've been looking for a new job for quite some time now. The nights, weekends, holidays were definitely taking a toll on me and I wasn't the happy person I used to be at the end of the day. Something had to change. After multiple interviews, a few big let downs, and lots of prayers, I'm happy to say that I will be starting a new job in September! Hello Monday-Friday, 9-5, no working holidays, and flexible schedule! It will be my first job not in the hospitality industry, and I'm really excited about it. I will be an association manager for a locally owned company here in Charleston, managing properties on Kiawah! The office is downtown, which will be a nice change of pace, but I'll still get to see the beauty of Kiawah a couple times a week. HOORAY!

Taken on my way to work this morning

-As of two weeks ago, I paid off my last credit card! Can I just tell you how awesome that feels? Starting from over $7,000 in credit card debt down to $0. I know I've said this before, but I really have Cameron to thank for making me realize how stupid it was to have that much debt and hardly anything to show for it. Now I just have a little under $2,000 left to pay on my car and I'll be debt free! 

-I really need to get back in the gym. It has been close to a month since I've really worked out and I can definitely tell. 

It's Eclectic!

Last night, two of Charleston's favorite bloggers, Natalie and Caycee, co-hosted a blogger meet up at a home decor store in Mt. Pleasant called Eclectic. I'm always nervous when going to these types of things, because I never know what to expect. Luckily, there was wine there to calm my nerves. 

The best word to describe Electic, is just that - eclectic! I saw everything from nautical to luxurious to whimsical decor. Sidney, the owner, was a gracious host and very easy to talk to.

Here were some of my favorite items:

I borrowed this picture, taken by Olivia Rae James, because it's 100x better than what my Iphone would have taken. This fabric immediately caught my eye because it's the same fabric that my mom used for her window treatments in her dining room. 

Go Mom! So fashionable. 

Oh, and we let Ryan Gosling hang out even though he isn't a blogger. 

I can't wait to go back and look at each piece more in depth, and bring something home with me!

Next time you're in Mt. Pleasant, definitely pop into the store, you never know what you're going to find! Until then, check out their Facebook page!

 

Dreaming {Home}.

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Ray Lamontagne Concert.

As part of Cameron's anniversary present, I gifted him (and myself) tickets to see Ray Lamontagne at the Performing Arts Center. Whenever we're outside sitting on the porch, we like to listen to chill music, such as Ray, Amos Lee, needtobreathe, Citizen Cope, etc, so I thought this would be a nice concert to go to. Different than the rowdy concerts we're used to. To be honest, I really wanted to get us tickets to see Justin Timberlake (his man crush) in Charlotte, but I just could not drop that kind of cash. 

We had great seats, pretty close to the front and almost directly in the middle. The only downside to sitting in the middle at the PAC, is how big of a pain it is to walk through everyone when you have to use the bathroom. Due to this fact, I limited myself to one beer. 

For the most part, the concert was good. It was a sit-down concert (not mandatory, obviously, but just due to the chill music) and very enjoyable......until the 3 loud and drunk chicks sitting 2 rows behind us yelled "GO GAMECOCKS!!!!!!!!" after every song. Now, y'all know me. I am one of the biggest Gamecock fans you will meet. But we were not at a football game and Ray probably doesn't know who the hell the Gamecocks are! So that kept rubbing me the wrong way. Pair that with the fact that I pretty much only know Ray's old songs, and the majority of his songs were from his new cd. By the response he got when he played his older songs, I know I wasn't the only one that felt that way. 

Here was one of the few songs I knew that evening. 

All in all, I'm glad I went to see him and he is super talented, but I probably won't be purchasing tickets again if he comes back to Charleston. 

My Dark Side + Weekend Recap.

Last Friday, after two glasses of wine to ease my nerves, I went to the dark side. I've been gradually heading that way, but those glasses of wine just made me go ahead and bite the bullet. It's a tad darker than my original hair color, which I haven't seen in quite some time. I'm still doing double-takes when I look in the mirror.

So, if you haven't seen it on Instagram yet, here ya go. 

And you'll see more as I recap our weekend!

Friday night, our plans got changed due to the weather, so we decided to go out to dinner at the Fat Hen with a group of friends. The wait was an hour long, but we were easily distracted by the cutest little girl, named Katie Ruth. She's my friend, Lyndsey's (far left), 3 year old daughter and she was the most well-behaved little thing.

Katie Ruth also brushed up on her photography skills while we were waiting on our table.

After Dinner, Caroline (she's back to blogging!), Andy, Cameron, and I went to a hidden gem on Johns Island called Seanachai's. Some of the best drinks I've ever had because they are made with the freshest ingredients. If you ever happen to go, get the mojito! 

Photo by Caro

Saturday we had a full day of birthday celebrations. First up, we celebrated Leah's 29th birthday celebration at her and her husband's house, complete with a food truck! Had one of the best brisket sandwiches I've ever tasted.

Next up was Dallas's 2nd birthday party - Curious George themed! 

 (Thanks again for letting me borrow some pics, Caroline!)

Picture on left was from Dallas' 1st birthday, picture on right was from his 2nd. 

Anyone else noticing a trend??

Sunday was spent just like this, as it should be.

PS - Going to see Ray Lamontagne tonight!! Anyone else going??

What I've Been Up To..

- I am officially a blog slacker.

 

-Last week I met up with some of my favorite blogger buds for some drinks and nibbles at Pearlz! It was so much fun talking about everything under the sun with them, and I can't wait to meet up again soon!

Ally, Cait, Shelby, me, Ashley

-I saw this cute little guy on the way home from work last Friday. How adorable (and rare)!!

 

 

-Saturday night we went out to celebrate Kelly Anne's 30th birthday! We started at Warehouse for dinner and drinks, followed by some bar hopping. I probably never would have eaten here if it were just Cameron and I, but I am so glad our plans changed last minute and we ate here instead of Taco Boy. Everything was amazing!

Back in Black // Shandy Shakedown

 

Red Lentil Hummus

Deviled eggs with fried oysters and some kind of pea concoction

 

-Fourteen of us (the supper club group) booked a house on Edisto for the first week of September and we are SO pumped. I cannot wait for early morning walks on the beach with a cup of coffee in my hand, long days of laying and playing out on the beach, and making memories with the best of friends.

 

Crockpot Ribs + Dry Rub Seasoning.

The summertime makes me lazy when it comes to cooking. The summertime makes me lazy in general though, seeing as though I haven't worked out in two and a half weeks. Luckily, Cameron is really good on the grille, and anyone can master the crockpot. So, if you don't have time, or don't feel like grilling ribs, try the crockpot version. You won't be disappointed! 

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For the crockpot ribs, they're really simple to make. First, put a liner in your crockpot so you're clean up will be a breeze. Second, rub the seasoning (recipe below) all over the ribs. Then, place the rack of ribs in the crockpot, standing them up and lining them against the walls with the meaty part of the rib facing the walls. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or 8 hours on low. I always prefer the low and slow option. When they're done, brush with barbecue sauce (Sweet Baby Ray's is our favorite!).  

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Caroline's Dry Rub Seasoning

2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup salt
2 Tbsp pepper
1 Tbsp garlic powder
2 tsp chili powder
2 dashes cayenne
2 dashes paprika

Save any extra in an air-tight container to use again in the future!