Just Some Stuff.

-Tonight is the NFL draft! 

South Caroline's very own, Jadeveon Clowney, is predicted to be the #1 pick, which the Houston Texans have. The last time South Carolina had a #1 draft pick was in 1981 when South Carolina's only Heisman winner, George Rogers, was picked by the New Orleans Saints. There's your history lesson for the day. It's also very exciting that another football player from the state of South Carolina is predicted to be a top 5, maybe even top 3 pick. Sammy Watkins from Clemson! There will be two very happy fans in our house tonight, and lots of happy people in the state of South Carolina.  

Clowney was actually on Jimmy Fallon last night! I tried my best to stay up to watch it, but just couldn't hang. Watched the clip this morning, and I just think Clowney is the cutest thing! He seems so laid back and like he may be a jokester. 

-I've paid off two more credit cards!! 

That brings me down to only ONE left, which should be paid off by July! 

-I had the day off today and got SO much done. 

Gym, Harris Teeter, Costco, pulled weeds (in my bathing suit top. extra points for multi-tasking), laundry, and got a head start on cleaning the house for Mother's Day brunch on Sunday. 

-Back in November, I did a re-cap of where our living room started when we bought the house, and what all we've done to it in the 3 years that we've been here. I mentioned that I wanted a larger console table for the area under our map/guest book and scones, and a sweet reader, Emily, mentioned that I should just move the black table that was behind the couch, to the wall. Looks so much better and more balanced. 

Seabrook Sunday Funday.

Yesterday, instead of taking the boat out, we joined our friends at the beach on Seabrook Island. It was so relaxing (except maybe for the surplus of love bugs everywhere) and fun to just hang out with everyone with no real agenda or place to be.

The picture that is sure to melt all of your hearts. It surely melted mine as I was taking it. Little Dallas loved playing with his buddy, Cameron. 

  

Our fellas, minus Grant. 

Fine lookin' group of guys, if I do say so myself. 

Dallas being silly.

 

 Little Lane enjoying the shade.

 The funniest part of the day was when Chris, Kathryn's husband, all of the sudden took off sprinting down the beach. Come to find out, he had spotted a runaway kite that was coming our way and he wanted to capture it. Little Dallas thought he was the biggest hero for that!

 

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!

Sweet Potato, Kale, and Sausage Bake with a White Cheese Sauce.

This recipe has been on my meal plan for two different weeks now, but things have always managed to come up. Nice weather? Let's go get drinks and apps instead. Friday night? Let's grill steak instead. This poor recipe kept being pushed to the back burner, but now that I actually made it, I wish I would have made it SO much sooner. It is that good. 

Sweet Potato, Kale, and Sausage Bake with White Cheese Sauce

Recipe from Pinch of Yum

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed (3-4 cups)

16 ounces Italian pork or chicken sausage, cut into small rounds

2 cups finely chopped kale

2 cups low sodium chicken broth

¾ cup milk

¼ cup flour

¾ cup shredded Gruyere cheese

Heat the olive oil in a large pan over high heat. Add the sweet potatoes and Italian sausage. Shake to coat in oil, let sit for a few minutes to brown, and shake the pan gently again to move everything around. Repeat until the sweet potatoes and sausage both have golden brown exteriors. Toss with the kale and transfer to a greased 9-inch square baking dish.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bring the broth and ½ cup milk to a low boil, then turn the heat to keep it at a low simmer. Whisk the flour and remaining ¼ cup milk to form a thick paste. Add this to the broth, whisking to keep the sauce smooth. Add ¼ cup Gruyere and stir until melted.

Pour the sauce over the sweet potatoes, kale, and sausage in the baking dish. Top with remaining ½ cup cheese and bake for 10 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese is melted.

This makes quite a bit of sauce - you might not need all of it depending on how sau-say you like things.

Friday Five {Exciting News, Garden, Target Finds, New Front Porch Pretties, + Weekend Plans}

Happy Friday, everyone! 

Very glad this day is here and am hoping the work day flies by!

{one}

Cameron got a new job!

After working 7 years at his previous job, the only one he's had since college, he made the decision to move on to the next step in his career. He started on Monday and seems to like it so far! Other than the fact that his drive to work went from 5 minutes to 30 minutes. Proud of him for taking a chance on this great opportunity!

{two}

Garden is planted!

Last Thursday I finally got the rest of the soil spread in my raised garden bed, and all of the seeds planted. I planted just a few plants because I knew the seeds will take a while before any of the veggies will be big enough to eat. I've become crazy garden lady though - checking on it every single day, and even creating a spreadsheet of what we planted and when it sprouts...and a layout so that when things DO start to grow, I will be able to remember what was planted where!

 I planted these about 2 weeks before I planted anything in the raised bed. That's why they are so much further along. We've had the kale plant since the Fall.

{three}

Wednesday after the gym I made a quick stop in Target. I actually made it out with only the items on my list! That rarely happens. I picked up a 1 1/2" curling iron that I've been meaning to purchase for a while now, Olay Fresh Effects face wipes that are perfect to stash in your car and use after a nice sweaty session at the gym (they smell so good!), and a Sonia Kashuk kabuki brush that I'm pretty obsessed with.

{four}

Last week during a Costco haul, they had potted hydrangeas and beautiful hanging baskets by the front entrance that immediately caught my eye (like they are supposed to do). I held off on the hydrangeas, but thought that the hanging basket ($15.99) was way too pretty to pass up. I especially love it because it doesn't have the ugly plastic bottom.

{five}

Unfortunately, it looks like it's going to rain cats and dogs tonight and tomorrow, so we don't have any concrete plans until Sunday. For Easter, we'll be going to church with Cameron's family, then heading to my grandma's house for an early dinner. After that, I'll hop in the car with Emily, David, and Baby Lane and head to Greenville for the annual BrightLife golf tournament fundraiser on Monday! SO excited, as this is my first year attending! If you've ever noticed the BrightLife picture on the right hand column of my blog, this is what it's all about! You can learn more about our good friend Tim (and his pretty awesome wife, Jenny) and BrightLife here.

Hope everyone has a great Easter weekend!

Free printable

How To Make Homemade Sushi {Paired With a Delicious Beer}.

“I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Millennial Central for Kirin. I received product samples to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation.”

It's no secret that Cameron and I like to drink a beer after a long day at work, or during a nice sunny day on the boat, so when Millennial Central asked me if they could send me some Kirin Ichiban and Kirin Light beer, I was all for it! I was already familiar with the beer, as I tend to order it from Japanese restaurants, so I knew I was going to like it. They also sent me everything I needed to make homemade sushi! I was a little nervous at how hard it would be, but Cameron really got the hang of it. 

If you're not familiar with Kirin beer, you should really try it! It's got a nice, clean taste and pairs perfectly Japanese and Asian cuisine. It's also known as being beer at it's purest because of its first-press brewing process. The Kirin brewery is actually one of the oldest breweries in Japan, dating back to 1888!

Here's a brief re-cap of how it went down. 

Gather all of your supplies. 

Take a sip of your Kirin beer. 

Read the instructions to your handy assistant as he/she prepares the rolls. 

We decided to make California rolls (crab, avocado, and cucumber) and spicy tuna rolls (fresh tuna + spicy mayo made with sriracha).

Enjoy your delicious sushi with your refreshing and light Kirin beer!

(Kirin Light only has 95 calories!)

It was SO good and it honestly tasted like we had ordered it from a restaurant!

___________________________________

Here is the recipe to make your own sushi at home!

(Most of these supplies, other than the fresh ingredients, can be found at World Market)

 SUSHI SUPPLIES

Bamboo mat

Rice paddle

Paper fan

Sharp knife

Clean, wet towel

Makes 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

10–12 sheets toasted nori (seaweed)

1 ½ cups sushi rice = 3 cups cooked sushi rice

SUSHI-SU (SUSHI VINEGAR)

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon  salt

OPTIONAL FILLERS

1 ripe avocado, thinly sliced

Fresh basil, stems  removed

1 Cucumber, thinly sliced lengthwise

Carrots, thinly sliced

Japanese kaiware sprouts

Japanese umeboshi plums, seeds

Daikon pickles

OPTIONAL PROTEINS

Imitation crabmeat pieces or sticks

Smoked salmon, thinly sliced

Smoked Tofu, thinly sliced

OPTIONAL SEASONINGS

Furikake (Japanese Mrs. Dash)

Toasted sesame seeds

Togarashi

Sriracha hot sauce

Reduced-sodium soy sauce, for dipping

Ponzu sauce, for dipping

DIRECTIONS

Make your sushi rice. Prepare and cook the sushi rice as directed on the package.

Roughly 2 parts grain, 1 part water ratio. Cool the rice slightly while preparing your

sushi-su (sushi vinegar).

In a medium mixing bowl, add the sushi-su (sushi vinegar ingredients) – 3

tablespoons rice vinegar, 3 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon sea salt. Whisk well to

dissolve all the sugar and salt.

Transfer your slightly-cooled sushi rice into a large bowl. Using a rice paddle and a

small paper fan, fan the sushi rice as you slowly drizzle the sushi  vinegar over the

rice.  Cut the sushi  rice with the rice paddle, as you fan the rice to cool at  the same

time. Be sure not to mix the rice. Simply  cut through the rice until all of the sushi-su

is absorbed.

TO ROLL THE SUSHI

Roll your sushi while the rice is still warm. Prep a  clean work surface, like a clean cutting

board or a clean countertop.

Lay down your bamboo mat on your work surface. Place the nori, on top of the bamboo

mat, shiny side down.

Using your rice paddle, spread a layer of approximately ½  cup sushi rice in the middle of

the nori sheet. At the bottom of the sushi roll, closest to you, add your choice of fillers,

proteins, and seasonings in a horizontal line. Tightly roll from the bottom up into a long

maki roll. Gently squeeze the bamboo mat to tighten your roll.

To cut, remove your bamboo mat, and cut your roll in half. (Wipe off your knife with

your towel in between slicing.) Next, line up your two halves and cut into fourths and

sixths. Repeat until all the sushi  rice is used. Serve immediately.

Dip in your choice of sauces or just enjoy as is!

Follow Kirin on Facebook here! 

_____________________________

Now go check out my guest post on One Year Wedding Anniversary gift ideas for your husband over at Jenn's blog, Going the Distance!

Blue Cheese Turkey Burger Salad.

Blue Cheese Turkey Burger Salad

Servings: 2

Recipe from Coupon Kitchen

2 turkey burger patties

¼ tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

2 Tbsp crumbled blue cheese

3 cups spring mix lettuce or spinach

Honey Mustard Vinaigrette:

1 tsp minced garlic

1 Tbsp white-wine vinegar

1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp honey

1/8 tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

1/3 cup olive oil

Season turkey burgers with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Cook over medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes a side, or until no longer pink in the center. Top each burger with blue cheese and tent with foil to melt.

In a small bowl, whisk garlic, vinegar, mustard, honey, salt and pepper; slowly whisk in oil.

Divide spinach between two plates. Top with burgers and drizzle with honey mustard vinaigrette.

This would also be good wrapped in butter or iceberg lettuce!