lightning struck

Been a big week at our Texas cottage. New roof, stone re-pointed on chimney, new gutters, and new patio happening next week. Can't you just see the dollar bills just floating out the windows? I swear, we're practically building a new house. Not really, but this place had been sorely neglected before us so we're bringin' the love back. That crazy hail storm a couple months ago did some damage to the roof so it was toast. Gutters installed cheaply and at a slope in = not good for foundation. Then we realized the stone around chimney had cracks and was letting water into our living room. Actually it started pouring in through the ceiling & ceiling light last weekend during a major storm. Yikes! I felt like The Clampetts with towels all over and bowls piled up under the dripping ceiling. It rained like crazy and then when we didn't think it could get worse… lightning struck our neighbors house. Right next door y'all! Trevor was holding Miriam actually, and we all felt a huge BOOM and lights went out. Next thing I knew, fire trucks were coming down our street. Our neighbor was terrified the attic or something was on fire, because there were black streaks coming our from her ceiling lights and her land line phone had busted off the wall and across the room. Can you imagine? Anyway, thank goodness nothing was on fire. Never a dull moment around here. Somebody up above, just keeping us on our toes I suppose.

 

Anyway, needless to say, we're knocking out some big"to-do's" lately. Miriam loves all this hustle and bustle. Big trucks and tools and new people everywhere. Very exciting for a two year old. Our nanny, Blanca, brought her daughter one day too and that was big stuff. At first the girls were totally shy, but they quickly warmed up and having a new playmate made for a special day. The ladies have been at our house more lately, because… drumroll… Miss Whitney is having her baby… today! I can't wait to hold her and it's brought back all these memories for me. I woke up early today and laid in bed thinking about the day Miriam arrived. How ready I was, how my body felt, and how full of anticipation the air was around us. So I'm saying some big prayers for the Schicklings today. Life is about to get a whole lot fuller for them very soon.

lowcountry : part two

While describing my trip last night with a friend I found myself mostly talking about how great it was just "being" with my family for a whole week. Waking up together, cooking meals, grocery shopping, driving, conversation - just normal stuff. But it's that down time I love. Yes, we totally drive each other crazy, but not for too long. Just the everyday activities…that's what I miss about being away.


So, we did spend a lot of time together, but we young folks got one night out on the town. I got to wear my new "zebra" and high heels which felt very fancy. Rooftop cocktails, followed by more cocktails at Squeeze, followed by dinner with one of my best Auburn friends Andrea & her husband at Cru Cafe. Done and done. I don't get out much, so yeah, I was a wee tipsy & loving every minute of the evening.

You know those friends who you don't see & you don't talk to very often, but you can just pick right on back up like it was just yesterday? Andrea is one of those friends. Never met a stranger, will crack you up, and just sincere and sweet as they come.

Now, I know I'm in Dallas and all, but I had some of the best BBQ ever in Sullivan's Island. Oh my goodness gracious… Hometown BBQ knows how to do it up. We literally ate and ate until we couldn't eat no more! Momma had a "painkiller" cocktail so of course she loved it. Daddy loved the ribs, Will killed some chicken wings, Trevor had the platter which kinda blew his mind, I ate some of everything, and Moosh - well, she cleaned up every last morsel of her bbq quesadilla. A sign of a good meal for sure. And she got to twirl around in her new dress (via Hannah Kate via Miss Winsy). Something about her twirling around in a dress… she's getting so big and sassy!
Faster than I'd like, my affair with Charleston came to an end and I was boarding the plane home. Some day I'll be back though and until then I'm keeping all these memories close by for day dreamin'.

lowcountry : part 1

After visiting the Charleston area last week, I'm surprised we all don't pack up all our things, hitch on a trailer, and drive South. I'm still dreaming of that sticky air. It makes my hair a complete hot mess, but I'd be willing to wear a lot of headbands to live the life.

Every morning I would roll out of bed, grab the baby, grab some coffee, grab a nibble, and head to the porch straight in my pajamas. There was always a light breeze and we would entertain ourselves with beach toys, shells, rocks, and whatever we could find outside, until the rest of the crew woke up.

The stove got cranking a little while later and breakfast got underway as we discussed the plan of the day. Our biggest decisions were… When are we beaching it? And where are we going to eat. Ahh, vacation life sure is something.

After a heavy dose of sunscreen and packing the wheelbarrow full of gear we would roll out the caravan and make it to the sand. Miriam's face would light up at the sight of blue umbrellas and as soon as she was out of that stroller it was go time. Back and fourth to the ocean we went. Construction of castles and moats began and the guys loved digging her a little baby-pool she could plop down in. All I can say is she was obsessed with the ocean like I've never seen and was not a bit scared, which of course scared me to death. Couldn't take my eyes off that little fish for a second! I wouldn't say it was the most relaxing, in fact I rarely sat down, but I loved seeing her so excited. The days of sitting with a magazine and getting a tan are over for a while. I shall return to you some day US weekly.

After a few hours we'd head in for a bite of lunch and nap time. Now that was my time. I'd graze on leftovers and dive into my book on the hammock with a cold beer. Oh yes, the beach life was good.

We ended up having our share of rainy days, but I didn't mind. It brings out the moodiness of the tide. One day the clouds really set in so we took that as our chance to take a drive. Momma stayed behind with Miriam (thank you momma) and the rest of us headed for Charleston for some history. First stop was Drayton Hall which kinda blew my mind. There sits this empty southern plantation house amongst these ancient old oak trees. All this beautiful detail, and symmetry, and history just waiting to tell it's story. We took the tour and took it all in. They sure don't make houses like this anymore.


By the time we left, stomachs were growling so after a quick debate we ended up at Butcher & Bee in the city. You kinda can't go wrong in Charleston with all the great food and this place hit the spot. Heirloom tomato & cucumber sandwich with a side of roasted okra… don't mind if I do.

Daddy decided we also needed to see the Aiken-Rhett home nearby which was very special. Not gonna lie, the audio tour was a little long and I was yawning after my large lunch, but it was still a must see.

As we were headed back the island we did a quick detour to a  gallery on Church. Saw some gorgeous art that was, way, out of my price range, but what was in my price range lay right across the street at Goat. Sheep. Cow. My wallet opened right up for some french bread, salami, some sort of amazing cheese, and some red wine. That pretty much covers all the food groups right? Oh my lordy, my mouth is watering just describing it. Lunch bells ringing… guess I'll just have to do a part 2… be back later.

cooking it up

I was in a serious cooking rut not too long ago. Mac and cheese was making a heavy rotation around here. But, I all of a sudden got a spark (started reading French Kids Eat Everything) and I have been making some serious good eats lately. All easy stuff, with not a lot of prep and so worth the effort. I say all this while eating a Whole Foods pot pie tonight, but hey, I've been trying! Here's what I've loved…

zucchini boats {note: this "skinnytaste" lady should really be paying me with all my recommendations to friends, but I can't help it - she's so darn good}


grilled chicken and peaches w/orzo   { this was a big hit, but not great leftover }


pasta with checca sauce  { blogger is in nashville & I've marked quite a few of her recipes }


strawberry angel food cake { note: mix 1 individual container of strawberry greek yogurt w/ 1 tub of tru whip/cool whip - cut cake into 3rds - ice each layer - layer sliced strawberries inside too - and volia } via my friend miss whitney


baked zucchini chips w/ basil dipping sauce { note: you can sub greek yogurt for sour cream - and M loved these - and it makes a really yummy base for chicken salad if you have sauce leftover!}

Otherwise, it's been hot. So hot you can only go out for a minute before you have to run inside to breath. So hot my car takes 30 minutes to cool down. So hot my flowers have died out front and I've been too lazy to throw them away. So hot our energy bill is a small fortune. So hot you can only visit the park at dawn. Luckily… we have crayons.

week in review

Is anybody else out there listening to Dolly Parton on Pandora? If you're not, ya need to be. I just heard the Judds, Kenny Rogers, Loretta, Tammy Wynette, … it's amazing. Trevor says I say "ah-mazing" all of the time and he's right, I do. Stick with what works. I rarely listen to the current country music playing out there, but there's just something about those old timers that I adore. Nashville in my blood. How can you not love you some lyrics like… "I like my lovin' done country style".

I've taken a bit of a blog reading hiatus lately. My biz partner, Currier, and I were just chatting about how blogs can kinda feel overwhelming sometime. Do you ever look at blogs and think oh my gosh, these folks are way cooler, more organized, craftier, prettier, and just generally more on top of it than me? I do and that's when I know it's time to step away, close the computer, and focus on whats happening right here in my life.

But, because I can't stay away for long, I have some finds to share…

Just when I thought Pinterest was the bees knees of it all, I discovered Instagram. Do y'all use it? You basically can follow your friends and see their camera pics they choose to share. I get to see regular pics of cousin Charlie and see what some of my blog buddies are up to. And this way I can share a ridiculous amount of silly pics with people who want to see the Moosh in action.

Food… I have been cooking it up lately. Lucky husband. I made BBQ Chicken + Tri-Color Slaw + Harriet's Cornbread + Banoffee Pie and wowed a small crowd with this menu. People say you shouldn't try a new recipe when you're having company, but when else are you going to go so much trouble? The only thing that didn't turn out was the pie, but I'm pretty sure it was my fault. The boys went back for seconds on the chicken, so I can really recommend it.

One more thing and then I'll get back to work. We got a babysitter last Saturday and spent the entire afternoon antiquing, lunching and just exploring the city. We hit the design district in Dallas which was very cool. Lot's of antique stores on Riverfront Blvd. White Elephant Antiques was great. What we were really looking for though was something with a bit more funk & country chic and less vintage. I suppose we have to get out of the metro area to find the cheap stuff. Anyone out there know of a spot? Anyway, we had the best time with our daytime date and ate lunch at Meddlesome Moth which was the best part of the day. Craft beers, cobb salad, and a BLT that about blew Trev's mind. We sat at the bar with some beer nerds which was hilarious and perfect.

fresh ideas hatching

Something special happened last week with Tenn Hens.

About seven years ago, Currier and I were working together at a Nashville agency, but we were ready for a change. A big one. We were the only two ladies in our department and we were growing tired of working for the boys! It was  an amazing experience and one we do not take for granted. But… we were dyin' to do our own thing. It just took us a while to jump ship. After much discussion and after getting blessings from all our family, we quit our jobs and started Tenn Hens. We had no idea what we were doing (for a while actually), but we had the best time doing it out together. There were a whole 'lotta mistakes! There were lots of ups & downs, and late nights, long Friday lunches, but by golly we were doing it and we hung in there together.And now we've been in business since '05.
Along the way we kept discussing the idea of creating a line of Tenn Hens products. It got pushed aside when times were busy, but it kept tugging at our souls. "Some day" we'll design our own stationary. I remember some folks from our past life in the advertising world kind of looking  down on that. I guess it wasn't as "serious" as designing campaigns for national brands and I think we kind of believed them for a while. But what we discovered over the years, besides doing what makes YOU happy, is that there's more than one way to run a design business.

Years went by and we worked, we changed, we survived, we grew and we decided we loved designing marketing pieces for businesses, but we also LOVED designing invitations + stationary. Currier is an artist to the core. She sketches, she watercolors, she even paints river rocks. The girl just brings a magical daydream quality to her art. Me, I'm the designer and font picker, the organizer and arranger. I put all the pretty pieces together. Friends and partners and confidants, we're better together and we make one heck of a team.

So, what I'm saying with all this rambling is… we finally went back to that little dream of ours from the very beginning. We hatched the Tenn Hens Etsy site.

It will be evolving & growing just like us. And who knows what will happen, but it is one dream come true. I sure hope you'll check it out and spread the word my friends!