Some Life Updates..

Well, hello! It's me, your long lost friend. I'm still alive. A lot has happened in the past 7+ months, so let's play a quick game of catch up. Actually, it's a pretty long post. Sorry about that. 

You may or may not know, but Cameron and I had to say goodbye unexpectedly to our sweet, sweet Brady back in July. Hence the super long blog break. It hit me like a tornado and I was in a serious funk for quite a while. The blog got put on the back burner as I had nothing to talk about and didn't want to come on here and be a Debbie downer. I will do a separate post on Brady later, mostly so I can remember that awful day (why?!? I don't know.). 

We had our annual Edisto trip in September. Had to expand to two houses with all of the cute little additions we've been adding. Always such a good time (what vacation isn't?) and we had a sprinkle for Baby Jack while we were there, as well. 

About three very quiet and hair-free months since we said goodbye to Brady, we said hello to a little nugget named Gus! He has brought laughter back into our everyday lives and we tell him about his big brother Brady all the time. I'll also do a separate post on Gus because, as you can imagine, there have been a lot of photos taken and a lot of memories made already in his 8 months. 

South Carolina's football team did not fair so well last season, but that didn't stop me from going to Columbia to cheer them on! Cameron was, of course, happy that Clemson made it to the national championship last year. I was (a little) happy that he was so happy about that...

In October, our family had something very scary happen. Cameron's oldest brother, David, suffered from a major stroke. He spent almost six weeks in the hospital and rehabilitation, and still continues rehab multiple times a week. From day one he made significant progress in a short amount of time, even the nurses and doctors were amazed. Every day we went to visit him we would see progress being made. A funny story that I'm sure we'll never forget - one day while Cameron and I were visiting David, we were asking him questions to help stimulate his memory. I asked him what my name was and he said "bad sandwich" but then immediately knew he was wrong and we all started laughing. My nieces love to call me that now. :) Every time I think back on those weeks that he was in the hospital, and even afterwards, I think about how amazing it was that the family and their friends all came together to support David and his family. I really think it made everyone closer as a result and taught us all to appreciate each other, and every moment spent together. 

The day David came home from the hospital!

My best friend gave birth to her second son, Jack, in December. He is the sweetest little thing and his brother, Lane, loves being a big brother! 

Our good friends, Scott and Jane, got engaged! I also had the pleasure of going wedding dress shopping with her! 

In February we saw Garth Brooks and it was, as you can imagine, AMAZING! Three hours of non-stop singing my heart out. 

We celebrated my 32nd birthday in my most favorite way - good friends and yummy oysters! A few days later my nieces came over and spoiled me with a foot, hand, and back massage!

Our niece, Arden, turned one! 

FOUR of our supper club girls are pregnant and are all due in August! On the way are two boys and two girls. We have had such fun celebrating finding out their genders and can't wait to meet them all! 

We just recently celebrated our three year wedding anniversary! On our actual anniversary we ate dinner at Fat Hen and the following weekend we spent the afternoon riding bikes on Kiawah! Very low key, very perfect. 

I'll be back soon! 

Crisp Cucumber Salsa.

While at the gym yesterday, one of my workout buddies asked me and Ryan what a good dip would be to bring on the boat with her this weekend. She wanted something cold and something that could hold up well after a few hours. This cucumber dip that I originally tried because my friend Caroline brought it to supper club, popped in my head and I shared it with Cayce immediately. If you're also looking for a light, fresh, and tasty dip to bring to your next get together, this is the one! 

Crisp Cucumber Salsa

Recipe originally from Simple & Delicious magazine

Photo from Keeping It Together

2 cups cucumber - peeled, seeded, and finely chopped

1/2 cup tomato - seeded and finely chopped

1/4 cup chopped red onion

2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley

1 jalapeno - seeded and chopped

4 1/2 tsp minced cilantro

1 minced garlic clove

1/4 cup sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt)

1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

1 1/2 tsp lime juice

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp salt

Combine the first seven ingredients in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Pour the sour cream mixture over the cucumber mixture. Toss gently to coat. Serve with tortilla chips. 

Very Belated Home Updates.

This post is only, oh, 6 months belated. 

I had been wanting to repaint our living room for quite a while and what better time than Winter, when you're stuck inside bored out of your mind? The hardest part of the whole project was deciding on a paint color. Isn't that always the case?? I wanted a warm white color light enough to not look tan, but dark enough to contrast with the white trim and baseboards. After buying 6 or so samples, I wound up using the color in our master bathroom, but lightning it up quite a bit. Very happy with the results! But apologize that I still do not have a quality camera, thus have to rely on my Iphone. 

A little side by side comparison of the two colors. Bye bye beige!

Want to see something really funny? Check out this post where I showed the transition of the living room, starting from the day we closed on the house. 

Next up was to bring our master bedroom from college material to grown up material. Before, we had no headboard and mismatched end tables, both that we've had since college. Prettttty embarrassing. Now, I'm not nervous if anyone glances in our bedroom (unless I haven't picked up my pile of discarded clothes from when I can't decide what to wear). 

Originally I mentioned that I wanted a navy blue headboard, but I was too nervous to pull the trigger. Scared that it would be a little too bold and I would eventually get tired of it. I'm no interior designer, and a lot of times what I see in my head does not translate to real life. Ideally I'd like all white bedding, but I'm happy with what we have for now! The lamps are probably slightly too big for the end tables, but I don't care, I love them! And the end tables themselves are probably my favorite piece of the whole "makeover." It took me so long to find the right color, height, width, and style. Very happy with how it all came together! 

Headboard - Wayfair

Duvet cover - Pottery Barn (old)

End tables - Joss & Main

Lamps - Lamps Plus

Ring dish - Anthropologie (old)

Mirror - Lowe's (old)

Fly-By June.

Well, June sure did fly by! Work is a little crazy right now, which leaves little time for blogging. Here's what kept me busy otherwise. 

Cameron's parents bid on a private chef dinner at a private auction a couple of months ago and were kind enough to invite Cameron and I, as well as my parents, over to enjoy the experience and dinner! Chef Demal Mattson did such a great job showing us that a delicious meal does not have to be difficult.

The menu included a shortcut version of mini tomato pies (mini fillo shells, pimento cheese, and half of a grape tomato..that's it!), truffle mushroom tarts, summer melon salad, chateaubriand with a red wine reduction, roasted asparagus and potatoes, and chocolate caramel panna cotta. One of the best meals of my life! 

Hosted supper club at Cameron's parent's house on the river. Lots of fun!!

Celebrated June birthdays in my family - Sister's boyfriend, Sister, Husband, Mom, Grandad

Joined a group of bloggers at The Americano for cocktails and dinner. I ordered the Mexican Mule and the Yellowfin Tuna Tower. Both very tasty!

Celebrated Cameron's 31st birthday with burgers, bourbon, and cigars. 

Boss man treated the office to happy hour at Taco Boy. It's always fun to hang out with your co-workers outside of the office! 

Ended a long work day by checking out the Westbrook Brewery.

 

Finally went to 167 Raw to try out their lobster roll. Now I definitely see what all the talk is all about. It is AMAZING and I will definitely be back. (As a reference, this is a split portion.) And just a heads up, this puppy will run you $24. 

Still enjoying the boxed meal concepts! We have been going back and forth between Hello Fresh and Home Chef lately. To read a summary of the four different companies we tried, as well as get a discount on your first order, you can view my post here. 

On to July!

Prayers for Charleston.

On the day where I usually talk about the Sofa Super Store fire and the Charleston 9, last night's tragic events in our Holy City gave the phrase "Charleston 9" a whole new meaning. I hate that this happened, but I especially hate that this happened in my beautiful city. No doubt justice will be served, and served swiftly. Please pray for Charleston, the victims, and the victims' families. 

Read more here. 

Previous Charleston 9 posts on my blog can be found here.

#JALsquared - Jenny & Justin's Wedding Weekend

Last weekend, we celebrated our good friends, Jenny & Justin's wedding! They are a very special couple to us. Cameron and Justin have been friends since middle school, and Jenny & Justin's second date was to a boat ride Cameron and I threw for our wedding party! We were also lucky enough to celebrate their engagement with them in April of 2014.

We kicked off the wedding weekend at a Welcome Party at the rooftop of Jenny's work! 

Shirt from J.Crew Factory (<-- a="" back="" cute="" detail="" from="" href="https://www.rocksbox.com/" nbsp="" necklace="" open="" target="_blank">Rocksbox

I love that you can see multiple church steeples peaking out over the city line.

Friday night was the rehearsal dinner, which was at Justin's parent's house. They live 5 minutes down the road from us, which was a nice touch. The dinner was some of the best barbecue I've had in a long while. 

I stressed so much on what I was going to wear for all of the events. Bought a new dress for the rehearsal dinner but made a last minute decision to pull an old faithful out the back of my closet instead. I didn't LOVE the dress I bought and figured I'd rather save that money. Man, Cameron has really rubbed off of me. 

So much blue!

And now, for the big event!

The whole week prior, my weather app was calling for 50/60% chance of rain both Friday and Saturday. Luckily, there was not a drop during any of the events and nothing but sunshine.

Both the ceremony and reception were held at Old Wide Awake Plantation, the ceremony down by the river under a big, beautiful oak tree, and the reception next to the plantation house. This place is such a hidden gem! The ceremony was a warm one (hello, 90*!) but the sweetness of Jenny and Justin reciting their own vows did not leave many dry eyes. The reception was beautiful! Amazing details throughout, coupled with a super fun band that had me on the dancefloor all night long! (Alcohol and dim lights helped with that, too.)

Jenny's sister walking Jenny's dog, Sophie, down the aisle

She did a great job - especially for being a very timid pup.

Could they be any cuter?!?

Me with the most handsome groomsman in the wedding - lucky girl!

I promise we are not matching on purpose, just happened that way!

Cameron's adorable parents. How smokin' is his mom?!?

So in love with the Hunter Bell dress I wore from Rent the Runway! Got so many compliments, which made a girl feel good. 

Sunday we contemplated laying out by the pool, but we were even too exhausted for that. Jenny and Justin are currently honeymooning in Antiqua and I can't wait for them to get back to hear all about it!

Thoughts on Thursday.

I posted! I posted! I feel like there are not enough hours in the day lately so I have definitely been neglecting my blog, as well as reading and commenting on my favorite blogs. Makes me kind of sad and out of the loop! 

Here are some random thoughts as of late....

-Last Friday night we went out to Freshfields' Music on the Green night to celebrate Alicia's birthday. These are one of my favorite nights during the Summer. Live music, hanging out with good friends, and a BYOB/BYOSnack type of atmosphere. I knew I didn't want to drink beer (makes me so full) or wine, so I popped into Total Wine on my drive home and picked up some Skinnygirl Cucumber vodka. I followed this recipe on Skinnygirl's website that turned out to be SO good and refreshing! Perfect for a warm Summer day. 

SKINNYGIRL™ CUCUMBER REFRESH

• 1½ parts Skinnygirl™ Cucumber Vodka
• 4 mint leaves
• 1 large basil leaf
• 1 lime wedge
• 3 parts soda water
• ½ tsp. agave nectar

Squeeze lime wedge into rocks glass. Muddle lime wedge with mint, basil leaves and vodka. Add ice. Top with soda water. Add agave nectar and stir. Garnish with lime wedge.

-Saturday we enjoyed another boat day with Emily, David, and Lane. He is becoming quite the boater in his young age! 

-I always screen shot interior design pictures on Instagram (as well as food pics) and file them in an album on my phone. I snapped this one from Honey and Fitz and it just confirmed the fact that I NEED a spindle chair in my life. 

-This week started out as a typical crappy Monday. I took on two new properties Monday so I was feeling a little overwhelmed with that to start off with, and on my way back to the office from an onsite meeting to another meeting, I managed to hit the corner of our building with the side of my car. Ugh! The damage isn't completely awful, but it sure isn't pretty, and it definitely brings down the value of my already low-valued car. Is it bad of me to hope someone will give me a love tap in the same area so that they'll have to repair it? 

-Starting tonight, we have a very busy and exciting weekend ahead! Our good friends, Justin and Jenny, are getting married! Cameron is a groomsmen, so we will be attending the welcome party tonight, rehearsal dinner tomorrow night, and of course, the wedding Saturday. This is going to be a FUN one. Cheers to the future Lews!

That's enough rambling for one day. Linking up with Natalie and Annie!