Friday Five.

Happy Friday, everyone! A little late with my post today, but nonetheless, here it is! 

{one}

Last Sunday we had our monthly supper club at Sally & Taylor's new house! Instead of doing a dinner, we decided to switch it up and do a brunch theme. It was a nice change and we could not have picked a more perfect day for it. Upper 70's and not a cloud in the sky. All of the food was SO good. Bacon, sausage, homemade biscuits, eggs, pimento cheese grits, hash brown casserole, fresh fruit, and salad. 

The awesome cake Lauren made for Kathryn's birthday

After stuffing our faces and taking a tour of Sally & Taylor's gorgeous new home, we all went outside to enjoy the weather for a couple of hours. 

{two}

After searching high and low for the perfect taupe booties, I found them. Introducing Plover by Steve Madden. My only wish is that I would have purchased them months ago!

{three}

A sweet reader named Mary Beth contacted me to see if I could help spread the word about her art. Of course, I said! Her paintings currently include palmetto trees and pineapples, perfect for a nursery, children's room, or beach house! She was also kind enough to donate one of her pineapple paintings to the silent auction that is taking place after the final Brightlife Golf Tournament on April 20th! 

To purchase a piece of Mary Beth's art, you can visit her Etsy store here.

{four}

The kind people at Chewy.com contacted me to see if Brady wanted to sign up for their monthly blogger program. After taking a look around their website to find out what they were all about, I emailed back saying, "yes please!"  Brady is a notorious snack snob, usually turning his nose up at the standard milk bone, so I figured this would be a great way to try out new treats. March's selections consisted of freeze dried treats from the company Orijen. 

• Orijen kitchens feature advanced steam-cooking technologies to allow for higher fresh ingredient inclusions. 
• Over half of the meat arriving to Orijen kitchens are authentically fresh, never frozen. 
• All of their treats are 100% pure meat, no fillers. 

After consulting with Brady, he chose the black angus beef treats.  

Once he sniffed his new treat, he decided he liked it enough and wanted to show y'all his newest trick so I would let him taste it. Now he gets so excited when he hears me open up the bag!

{five}

My first dress from Sheinside arrived last week and I was very happy with what I found in the box! The material does not feel cheap, it arrived to my house a lot faster than I expected, and the dress fits perfectly!

When I ordered the purple floral dress, it was still during the pre-order period, so I'm still waiting on that to arrive. Can't wait!!

We've got another jam-packed weekend coming up, including a couples shower for our friends Justin and Jenny, and celebrating my grandmother's 80th birthday! My aunt and uncle, who we only get to see once a year, will be in town visiting from Iowa! So excited to see them!!

Heavy Heart.

I've never been good with words, especially when it comes to circumstances like this. 

So I will leave you with what Jenny posted on Tim's blog last night. 

"Last night, a little after 8pm, a large piece of my heart was forever crushed when Tim peacefully took his last breath surrounded by both of our families. It's still incredibly surreal and I'll never forget looking into his beautiful blue eyes that one last time.

As crazy as it sounds and felt at the time, from the first moment I saw Tim coaching on the Furman baseball field, I knew he was the man I was meant to marry. He loved me in a way that could never be matched, he wasn't just my husband and best friend, but an extension of me, of my soul, and filled a void that had always felt empty. 

He taught me the meaning of love throughout our ups and downs, of selflessness by being the strong one and calming and reassuring me in moments that were just as, if not more so, dark and scary for him, of kindness by always putting others before himself when even in these last few weeks he told me that he was more worried about me being left behind than him having to go, and he made me a stronger person. 

Many people have noted just how strong I've been throughout these trials, I'm truly not, it just appears that way when you are following in the shadow of someone as strong as my husband. It's Tim that has given me that strength and to be honest, I'm absolutely lost without him. He faced his disease head on, and never asked why, just said that if what he's going through could save one person then it was all worth it. The world is a much duller place without him. 

He fought valiantly until the very end and was noble and brave in his words and actions. He will always be my hero, my world, my heart.

Services for Tim will be held Saturday October 11, 2014 at 12:30PM at Greenville First Baptist Church, 847 Cleveland St. Greenville, SC. A reception celebrating Tim's life and legacy will follow. 

Tim never understood the point of flowers and because of that refused to ever send me any. For that reason, we are asking that in lieu of flowers you donate to the one organization Tim & I believe in the most, iTOR. We know that someday they will find a cure for this horrendous disease. Memorials can be made to 'GHS Cancer Institute ITOR'  Philanthropy Office, 300 E. McBee Ave,  Suite 503, Greenville, SC 29601"

Words cannot express how much you are loved and missed, Tim. 

Help Brighten Tim's Day!

The saying is true - a little bit goes a long way. 

If you'd like to help brighten Tim's day by sending a card, drawing, whatever!, please send to the address below. Jenny & Tim really look forward to reading these everyday and they really lift Tim's spirit. 

Tim Bright

11 Don Drive

Greenville, SC 29607

You can also keep up with his updates here.

Friday Thoughts.

TGIF! Happy to say that this week flew by for me. Hope it did for you, as well!

What makes this day even better is that when I get home, our house will be spotless! We hired a company to come do a deep clean #1 because it needs it in a bad way and #2 we're having 16 people over Sunday for supper club. Shout out to K&L Cleaning - if you're in Charleston and need someone to clean your house, call K&L! 

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by a Cardstore.com representative who asked if I wanted to send a personalized photo card to a friend and post a review on my blog. I truly believe that sending a handwritten note in the mail can make someone's day so I accepted her offer immediately. No one deserved this card more than my friend, Tim, and I had the perfect picture in mind to put on it. The process was super easy. Below are some screen shots of the process. I appreciate Cardstore for thinking of me and am already looking into ordering some baby shower invitations for a shower that I'm co-hosting in November! 

Original setting

Card with changed color and added text.

Last week, Cameron and I went the needtobreathe concert with our friends, Jenny & Justin. This is probably my second favorite group to see in concert, behind Will Hoge. They have such amazing energy on stage and when they do some of their acoustic songs, goosebumps everywhere. My favorite song that they performed this year was off of their newest album. The song was called "Brothers" and was performed acoustically by the two brothers in the group, Bo & Bear. The song is constantly stuck in my head now.

(This isn't my video, it's just a random one I found on YouTube.)

After the show, we ran into Mary Loyal and her husband, Lash, in the parking lot! 

ML - Did you wind up driving to Clemson to see the show again?? 

Adding this dress to my Pinterest "wishlist." The shoes, too, while we're at it.

Ok, that's all my randomness for the day! 

Have a great weekend!

Oh, hey!

It's me! Sorry to leave y'all hanging, been trying to learn as much as I can at my new job. I am loving everything about it so far..the flexibility, being a block away from King Street, a 20 minute commute rather than a 45 minute one , not having to be at work at 6:45am, and of course, my co-workers!

A warm welcome on my first day:

{welcome present from Kathryn / the office dog, Sandy, saying hi / beautiful flowers from the office}

What else have I been up to, you ask?

-The weekend after Labor Day the majority of our supper club group (14 adults, 3 babies) went on a mini vacay to Edisto Island. We rented an amazing house front beach. It was heaven. A typical day consisted of waking up, sipping coffee and mimosas on the porch overlooking the ocean, heading down to the beach where the boys surf fished and the girls lounged and played with babies, eating lunch then heading back down to the beach, come back and hang out on the porch, eat dinner, play drinking games. Repeat. We all agreed that it went by way too fast and we need to stay longer next year. 

Lane enjoying the porch swing

Got cleaned up and went out to dinner one night to Whaley's.

Their sushi nachos were on point!

-Was offered a ticket last minute to the South Carolina / Georgia game last weekend. To be honest, I really didn't think we had a chance of winning due to our previous games, so you can imagine my surprise when we actually started off the game doing well! It was a nail biter all throughout the game, but the Gamecocks came away with the W!  

Daddy and his daughters

Caroline and I staying dry during the rain delay

Our awesome seats - thanks, Uncle Jay!

 A soaked and ecstatic selfie on the walk back to the car!

-This weekend, I'm looking forward to Savannah being in town from DC for Ashton's 1st birthday! 

A Day Off {Pool, Trader Joe's Trip + Prayer Request}

I just realized that this is my last full week at my current job! Woohoo! Next week I'm only working 3 days and I cannot wait!

Since I'm working an event this upcoming Saturday, I had the day off today. My friend, Katie, met me at my in-laws house so that we could get some sun and catch up on our busy lives. 

We lasted about 3 hours before the heat started getting to us. I headed to Mt. Pleasant for a Trader Joe's trip and figured since I like to see what out people buy, I'd show you what I got! Now this was not a huge haul, as I had just gone to Harris Teeter yesterday, so keep that in mind. 

Ginger Beer - $3.99

Organic Chicken Broth - $1.99

Sparkling Pink Lemonade - Just realized this isn't on my receipt! Woopsie!

White Cheddar Corn Puffs - $1.99

Organic Red & Green Mixed Grapes - $4.49

Pita Chips - $1.99

Shaved Brussels Sprouts - $2.79

White Button Mushrooms - $1.79

Georgia Peaches - $.69 each

Coffee Ice Cream - $3.99

Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas - $1.99

Mediterranean Hummus - $3.99

Carne Asada - $10.94

Mint - $1.69

Chile Verde Chicken Burritos - $2.99

Garlic & Herb Pizza Dough - $1.29

Total after Tax: $49.40

_____________________________________________

Lastly, I have a prayer request for some very close friends of mine. If you've been following for a while, you've heard me mention my friend Tim, who has been battling colon cancer for the past 4 years. Keep in mind, he just turned 31. His wife, Jenny, is one of my sorority sisters. He was admitted to the ICU last Friday due to high fever, trouble breathing, and issues he's been having with his pancreas, and has had plenty of ups and downs since then. They removed him from ICU on Saturday, but he was placed back in there today. He has a million people supporting and praying for him, but he could always use more. 

You can find out more and keep up with his status here on their blog.

We love you, Tim! Keep fighting!

Friday Five {Let's Catch Up}

Sooooo I've kind of been MIA (once again). To be honest, I just have had no motivation to blog, or to even read blogs. I apologize for that! I almost feel like giving it up completely, but I would miss all of you!

So this is going to be the Let's Catch Up edition of Friday Five. 

Here are five things that have been going on in my life lately...

{one}

The BrightLife tournament last Monday was a blast! We left Sunday after Easter dinner and the trip went by pretty fast because I got to share the backseat with this cutie.

We (3 couples and lil ol' me) all stayed at Tim and Jenny's house. Jenny, of course, was the ideal hostess, feeding us when we arrived and even leaving Easter baskets in all of our rooms. The next morning we woke up bright and early (ok, some earlier than others) and finally made our way to Thornblade. It was so fun to meet all of Tim & Jenny's Greenville friends and help out behind the scenes of the tournament. I even bid on a few silent auction items, but sadly, didn't win. Can't wait for next year!

 A group of us (Jenny's sorority sisters) sponsored a hole at the tournament and this was our sign. I love the quote that Savannah chose for it. It's so true. 

{two}

Last Friday night we went out to dinner with our friends, Justin and Jenny, to Trattoria Lucca. A hidden gem in Charleston. It's one of their favorite restaurants, and now I know why. I'm always a little nervous about going to a restaurant where I don't know what 3/4 of the things on the menu are, but after reading the reviews, I felt a little better. Then, our server literally went through everything on the menu (a more updated menu than what is on their website) and my mouth was watering. 

(Sorry for the crappy pics)

Warm Cauliflower Sformatino
Soft Farm Egg, Crispy Guanciale, Parmigiano, Arugula

Crab stuffed shells with a tomato sauce
(Not for people watching their sodium intake)

Bucatini
Foraged Winter Mushrooms, Soft Jordan Farm Egg, Crispy Guanciale, Browned Goat Butter

{three}

Our containers are coming along nicely. What a difference two weeks makes! The raised bed garden - notsomuch. Only two little cucumber seed sprouts so far and it will be a month next weekend since we planted the seeds. I'm starting to worry. I should have just stuck with the starter plants. :/

{four}

The kind people at Yumvelope sent me a sample of their monthly all-natural snack box. I received two packages of gluten free cookies (spicy Mexican chocolate and lemon poppy seed), organic sprouted spelt sourdough crackers, Gourmegg (the perfect blend of thyme, tarragon, parsley, garlic, salt, pepper..love it in my morning egg white omelets), and organic chocolate. Definitely worth the monthly $21!

{five}

The weather has been awesome lately (except for the few spouts of rain storms). Upper 70's / lower 80's has been perfect for grilling out and our first Sandbar Sunday last weekend!