This will be so fun to see Bay Street have some Alabama touches.
The Shrimp Festival was last weekend. We went twice.
I visited one of my very best friends this week and her three precious girls. It is joyful to be their “Cupcake”.
I worked on a new recipe this week, pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls. I did not quite get it right but I should soon.
Also, made this pizza roll recipe which is delicious. It is now in the regular rotation. Great for Gameday too. Mine did not turn out as pretty but they were delicious.
I’m starting a new series. Life lessons or things they do not teach you in school but should. I hope this helps someone!
Dear Humans,
If you don’t own a fire and water proof safe, do yourself a favor and use some of that hard earned $26 to buy yourself one.
Place in it: A) An emergency cash stash. 5-10-20-50-100 whatever you have available. B) Your social security card. C) Your passport. D) Your birth certificate or a certified copy. E) Your vaccine records. You might in today’s digital world wonder why but trust me digital is not foolproof. One day you might be 32 need your records and not have a copy, no doctor office keeps records longer than 10 years. F) Any savings bonds. G) One blank, unsigned check for your checking account. F) Any other important documents, such as car title, etc.
If you or your parents feel you are too irresponsible to handle these important documents, step up and get responsible. The quicker you do the better your life will be.
Hide said box well. It can be easily picked up and stolen. So hide it well. Under the bed in another box. In the linen closet in a set of sheets, deep in your closet in a purse or bag.
Keep the keys safe. It comes with two. Separate them put one on your key ring and one in another safe location (NOT in the box or with the box). Just remember where you put it.
Happy Weekend! Its the Beaufort Shrimp Festival here and I am so excited.
Last weekend we returned from our cruise. Stopped by Mickey’s house. Thanks ti me seeing him post on Instagram we were able to met up with a friend from college. Isn’t social media great when things like that happen. Epcot was INSANE, so we watched the football game at ESPN Club and spent some time in Hollywood Studios before having Ohana for dinner.
Summer Sabbatical is coming to an end. I got a job this week. Here is to an easy night adjustment, a great work family and a rewarding job. Change is so dang hard for me even good change. But I was that girl in college who walked to all of her classes before the semester started. I like to know where I am going and what is ahead, which makes for a hard emotional state during things like new jobs.
I started doing a Fall transition on my flower beds. I ordered some Daffodils and Ranunculus bulbs to plant.
I am holding strong with no Diet Coke or sodas since Oct 1. What is your favorite caffeine? I would and plan to cut down but #nightshift.
My dad, aunt, granny and cousin came to visit. Goodness he has had me laughing so hard.
We did a dolphin cruise. It was probably mine and Ryan’s 4-5 time and I continue to highly recommend it.
Beautycounter Holiday releases next week. It is so good.
Finally after some time settling in, diving back into my Powersheets and goals.
Back to my areas of focus-Spiritual Light, Physical Well Being, Emotional Strength, Connections, Life-giving Home, and Financial Prosperity. Obviously there is definitely overlap.
This month I am focusing in building some good habits during the last 90 days of 2019. I bought The Hollis Co’s Last 90 Days journal. I am excited to try it out.
Heads up Artifact Uprising is having a Fall Book Sale, 20% off. Printing our Italy trip is on my list. So if printing photo books is on your agenda, grab them during a sale. The books I buy are the layflat option. Its expensive but I expect them to last for generations. Also I have gone back and forth with the price tag being worth it but memories and documentation is so important I decided for now it is worth it.
Ive got some cleaning/house keeping on the list. Deep freezer, bathroom. I managed to do the pantry in August and just finished by bedside table up today. I also am working on making a list of cleaning items to laminate so I can write the dates on them. Things less obvious than the floors, dishes or laundry, such as fans, air filters, guest bedsheets, pantry, etc.
I also plan to do a Fall garden refresh. Although the weather seems not close to Fall. All of our travel had my zinnias drying out. I already got started pulling up the old flowers and ordered some fall planting bulbs so progress already!
Get a job. Job interview also completed. So more progress already!
Read three books. Books give me so much joy. I am always looking for recommendations! Read any good ones lately? Im not super into mystery or suspense. Too much bad stuff going on in the real world to fun read about people being killed.
Aiming to try to get meal planning mastered. I havent seemed to ever get in a routine with this. Especially if I will be starting a night shift job.
Yoga or walk every day. I have been working on more physical activity over the last two months. I am proud to say I slayed September. My counselor and I are working on this. Breaking the mindset that it is all or nothing. Ten minutes counts! No Diet Coke.
Also saving this because so often we feel (or I feel) its hard to remember the success or good things or feel like I could have done more, I could have done better. Well pretty proud of this movement in September! Retraining my brain to think 10 minutes of movement is good. It does not have to be thirty minutes to be good or worth it. A few minutes added up to 1,189 minutes of activity this month! Whooo!
What are you hoping to do to enhance your life this month? Best wishes!
Ryan and I celebrate six years tomorrow. Good grief time flies. Someone donated his wedding tie to Goodwill this Spring. I went to rescue it but couldn’t find it. I had one if his groomsmen/best friends send me his. You better believe I am wrapping that tie up to give to him for our anniversary. I know it is just a tie but silly as it is, it is still important to me. We have gotten into the habit of doing experiences (hello Disney Annual Pass) instead of gifts but I always get him a little something, even if it is just doughnuts and chocolate milk.
Melissa Urban’s Do the Thing Podcast on #mindright is really good.
We had a wonderful week floating around the Western Caribbean. More on that coming up!
Ummm. This Jamie and Claire article is all speculation but no thanks, Diana Gabaldon.
I am waiting to go see Downton Abbey with my cousin because we watched it together when we were roomies. But gah I am do excited, I can not wait.
It is one of the most wonderful times of the year, football time! I recently combined two of my favorite things, graze boards and football.
This particular one is loaded up with all things Tigers. Ugh, I can not believe I said or did that but for the love of these two Clemson loving cuties. That being said easily adaptable for any team but in particular Auburn/Clemson/LSU and any other Tigers out there.
I ordered this football platter online. It was the perfect size for the three of us but for a large party you would need more space. For really large parties a few complete but smaller graze boards to spread throughout the party is a great option. This one looks cute too.
Now this board was made for me, a 7 year old and 12 year old, so you definitely can customize to your taste but this is a run down of what we used. Pizza, Harvarti cubes, Ritz, Cheeto Paws (a Tiger gameday essential), Nacho Doritos, Team Spirit Cookie Dough Bites (with orange and purple sprinkles), and Tiger Paw cheddar.
For the Tiger Paw cheddar I used this cute cookie cutter to cut the cheddar pre sliced cheddar squares. They turned out so cute. For non tigers you could grab a football cutter or animal of your choice, maybe use white cheddar instead of yellow/orange.
I ordered the cute green and white stripped cups online and added the football stickers. You could also write or add number stickers like a yard line. These are great for holding items. They wont hold liquid but cookie bites, nuts, olives or the sort.
Happy Friday the 13th and full moon! Praying for you medical friends.
We spent more time than intended in Boston this past weekend thanks to Frontier. I am glad we had a buffer travel day, often we only plan to arrive home the day before work starts back.
This week has consisted of unpacking, laundry, unhurricaning, and cleaning. Glad we made it through Dorian unscathed. Incredibly grateful Hunting Island didn’t have major damage.
This little boy’s story touched my heart pre Dorian. I am so happy his generosity and heart were rewarded.
Dorian washed up some shells. 😍 Grabbed some oyster shells to make a path around my raised beds.
I learned a valuable lesson in regards to the cookie dough bites. Use HIGH QUALITY butter only. One can tell a major difference between say Great Value and Kerrygold. Trust me. I am a firm believer in saving money and buying generic but you get what you pay for sometimes.
I can’t wait to spend my Saturday cheering on my Tide!
*Some how this little post escaped my draft box WITHOUT saving the revisions. Sorry about that! So here is the updated version.
The stars alined somewhat, we had planned a trip to Cape Cod and then found out my sister also had some time off at the same time. Yay! It turns out also we were escaping Dorian.
Taking a bit of a different approach to scribing this trip. Let me know what you think. We definitely rested and took a leisurely pace.
Dorian managed to provide a bit of a change of plans. Our flight out of CLT to PVD was cancelled but we managed to change to RDU to BOS as well as changing our rental car.
Monday
We left RDU at 730 which put us landing in Boston at 907! Luckily we were able to check into the hotel early and get a nap in.
Cafe Chew in Sandwich. Of course we had to get a sandwich in Sandwich.
Visited Three Sisters Lighthouses and Nauset Light. The Three Sisters got their name because they stood along the coast guiding ships and marking the mid point along the Cape, looking like ladies in white dresses and black hats. Before different light patterns had been established, multiple lights were used as navigational points. Erosion and new technology forced their retirement and the new Nauset Point Light was constructed.
Dinner we had a lobster roll and clam strips from Arnold’s Lobster and Clam Bar. I thought I did not like clam, turns out I have just never had fresh, delicious clam. Take cash more places only accept cash then anywhere else in the world we have traveled.
Tuesday
Bagels and Beyond for breakfast. Decent but not the best bagel I have ever had.
Town Neck Beach. We stopped here and walked on the board walk to look at the ocean. Cape Cod has more trees , hills and less water views from the road than I expected.
Picked up Tare from the airport in RI.
The Lobster Trap for lunch. I had the fish tacos. Ryan had shrimp and Tare has the lobster roll. I prefer the hot butter lobster roll to the cold lobster salad roll.
Cape Cod Chip Factory tour. It is a self guided tour that just takes a few minutes but we enjoyed it.
Skaket Beach. Walked and watched the sunset. Here you get what I call a West Coast sunset, where the sun dips down into the ocean instead of most East Coast sunsets where it goes down over land. Pro-tip: when facing the water walk left. There are signs saying the private homeowners allow walking but no sunbathing or picnicking or animals. You can get to the water around the grass but there are zero other people around unlike the area directly in front of parking.
Skipper Chowder House. Here we had chowder, fired chowder, lobster roll and lobster mac and cheese. The disappointment was the fried chowder, it just tasted like something fried. The winner was the lobster mac and cheese, full of cheese and lobster. Yes, we ate a lot on this trip but we split most meals like two entrees and a soup between us. Also, stop judging….we walked a bunch and all in the name of research.
Wednesday
Keltic Kitchen for breakfast. Tare’s cornbeef hash was great. Mine probably was decent but I thought the sweet potato pancakes were like latkes but instead it was an actual pancake, hence my disappointment.
Providencetown for whale watching with Dolphin Fleet. Such a delightful experience. The whales showed out! I probably always say it but one of my favorite whale watching experiences. I always wondered why the Pilgrims left Providence Town for Plymouth. Well now I know. You can see Plymouth from the Cape and it in fact looks bigger and taller.
Walked around Providencetown. Had a slice of pizza for a snack from Spiritus Pizza. We were unimpressed. It was late afternoon so maybe it just was not fresh.
Planned to climb Pilgram Monument but it was closed. Online still listed pre-Labor Day hours. So pay close attention if here in off season.
Lobster Pot for dinner. Had the chowder, bisque, lobster ravioli and lobster newburg. The bisque and ravioli were our favorites. Anthony Bourdain actually got his start as a dish washer here.
Cape Cod National Seashore for a spectacular sunset. Again here the sun on the horizon dips into the ocean at sunset.
Thursday
Nantucket. Took the traditional ferry because when you travel as much as we do you pinch pennies.
Grabbed lunch at Stubbys. The chowder and cuban was good. The shrimp had too much breading. One thing I have learned in my old age, if it is not good do not eat it. It seems wasteful but thanks to the lovely Danika Brysha I know waste in the trashcan or waste in my body. The trashcan is better. Steamboat Pizza right next door was good. (Yes, we ate alot. Don’t judge.)
Historical walking tour. Very interesting to learn why Nantucket was settled, how they came into the whaling industry and the progressive thinking of the islanders.
Ice cream from The Juice Bar. The chocolate peanut butter cookie dough was amazing.
Beautycounter has a store in Nantucket, so of coursed we stopped in. Along with many other cute shops.
Brant Point Lighthouse. You can easily stroll from the harbor to the lighthouse. We of course admired the beautiful grey homes along the way.
Palio Pizza was delicious! We had a second supper snack late at night once we were back to Cape Cod.
Friday
Cranberry Bog. We toured a local organic cranberry bog. I know I am weird but this was riveting. Also there were twin baby goats about 15 hours old. I have NEVER understood goat obsession until I held this little one. Maybe its just the baby part that was cute.
Arnold’s. Yes, again. My favorite lobster of the trip.
Shopping. Grabbed a few gifts and walked around downtown Hyannis.
Dorian was heading for us again. We got worried about getting across the bridge with high winds and possibly downed trees so we left our hotel on the Cape a night early and headed for the mainland.
Plymouth. A beautiful town. Rock looks as if it is the jailhouse rock the way it is set up and guarded. Mama said don’t go to Plymouth Rock it is disappointing but I thought the town was worth seeing.
Returned the car. Through security. Only to learn flight was delayed then cancelled. I completely understand things happen. BUT by 12 we knew the flight was cancelled, we didn’t leave the airport until 4. We were waiting on Frontier to get the hotel and food vouchers ready. Many people left and found their own accommodations or different flights. That wasted precious time we would have spent money seeing things in Boston such as JFK library, Copley Square, etc. You get what you pay for literally and despite the cheap amazing prices, I am just not sure I can fly Frontier again. Such a headache. Luckily we had a buffer travel day so Ryan did not miss work.
Visit Downeast Cider House. I do not drink often but when I do I prefer hard cider and this one is delicious.
Used all our food vouchers at the hotel for to go food so we could watch football in our room.
Sunday, we finally made it home! Whoo! I was very excited to finally make it home.
The beginning of this week mostly revolved around hurricane prep. We were luckily already scheduled to be out of town. I pulled the outside objects inside, prepped what I could not move inside and prayed for the best. Luckily it looks like most of Beaufort came out ok.
What a wonderful young man! I hope he gets to Disney.
Riley Kate’s due date is 9/7/17. I got some #rikeykateslovies ready in preparation. Im sure some people think, you are still doing that? Yep, til the day I die. It helps me to feel her light continuing to spread throughout the world as well as honors my own light and feelings. As well as spread some love, because the world always needs more of that.
Friday on the way home from Charlotte I stopped at TJs to grab some more dark chocolate almonds. We are making DIY protein snack packs for Ryan’s work snacks and we add a few of those. I also hit the jackpot because they gad pumpkin Kringle. It freezes well so I grabbed two. I actually got to go twice this week! We stopped by in Cape Cod too.
Chocolate Tree’s All You Can Eat Night. enough said. Next year I will be more prepared with a plate. Some people legit had a glass of milk with a straw and a plate on top. Like the straw went through the plate.
We left Monday for Cape Cod. Most exciting, seeing my sissy. We haven’t seen each other since Memorial Day! It was a fun trip and the weather was perfect. More on our trip soon. Give us all the lobster rolls.
The Barefoot Mermaid 