back in the high life again

I've been meaning to blog, really I have, but my plate has been way too full. So this morning I am sitting down with my coffee to blog. Morning jobs are done and emailed to clients, baby is napping, laundry is a twirling, and here goes. For the past week we've been in Nashville staying on the farm. It's almost heaven. Miriam heads out first thing with momma and the dogs. Easing into the day with a morning stroll down the drive, while I stay behind and sip coffee and turn on the Today Show. And until today when we ran out, we've been eating the most delicious Tennessee strawberries ever. So sweet and juicy they stain everything they touch. It's so nice to have extra hands now that baby nugs is crawling. Little tater is quite the menace grabbing dirty shoes, phone cords, and dog food.



We had another playdate with cousin Charlie. They even shared a meal or rather, Miriam helped herself to the turkey & cheese from his tray. Those two are so funny I can barely stand it. That mane of his… well it's simply unbelievable. He's already had two haircuts. Cracks me up! Lauren says ladies stop her all the time just for a longer look. I wish I had half his locks on my head. Lucky soul.

Just like last year, St. Augustine's held their annual river baptism out on our farm. To think this time last year I had my belly blessed and now here I was toting around baby girl on my hip. Time sure flies. The rain held out and we watched 10 tiny babies dip in and out of the river in their white gowns while the music played. We listened to the sermon and visited with just the nicest group of people. There was a huge spread of food and children running around everywhere I looked. What a cool day. Everything Becca Stevens does is nothing short of amazing.






Whew, that was one long blog, but it's nice to share what's been going on around here. Now it's time to pack it up and head back to Greenville. Hubs had some great meetings, I got to see all my friends and Miriam got to hang with the grandparents. Time to get back to our bungalow and see what the future holds.

swinging along

So, I feel like I've been completely underwhelming on the blog lately. I love blogging, because it's such a fun way to express thoughts and share small aspects of my life. Plus I adore the blog community and the sense of people sharing their lives through their journals. Lately though I've been totally uninspired. And I feel like other peoples blogs look so much cooler and are so much more interesting to read. That sounds ridiculous, but it's true. Plus, I'm not really sure where this blog is going. Maybe it's not going anywhere and maybe it doesn't really have to, but I've been thinking about what it is and, more importantly, what I want it to be.

Possibly, a change of scenery will help get me back in the saddle. Miriam and I are taking a little trip home today and I can't wait to roll onto the farm. I've packed way too much and crossing my fingers my bag doesn't weigh too much. Sippy cups, and toys, and baby clothes. You get the idea, but it's a lot. Anyway, wish us luck on our flight and I'll sign off with some swingin' Moosh pics. We just discovered this neighborhood park with baby swings and she loves it. Watching the bigger children run around, she could swing for hours. Back and fourth just happy as a little lark.

clemson tiger

Two years ago he applied to grad school. We packed our bags, sold our house, moved to a new city, settled in, and started a family. We picked up our life and changed everything. He studied, took tests, did two internships, met new people, went to meetings, and studied a lot more. And after all of that… on Friday…drum roll please… Trevor received a Master of Real Estate Development degree from Clemson. He did it. He really did it and it was worth it all. So, we celebrated the big grad on his day. We filed into the auditorium and found some seats to watch him walk across the stage. Miriam was snazzed up in her orange & purple and did her best to entertain our section. Little nugget curled up for a few minutes in Carlisle's arms, but mostly she squeeked and sqwaked and passed between arms. The best was when we clapped & cheered for hubs she let it rip and goodness can this baby scream?! Just couldn't contain herself any longer. Knowing how much work went into this day I think we were all busting with love and pride.

kissing the mountain air

Oh my gosh, where do I begin? Greenville folks kept telling us how great Highlands, NC was so we'd been talking about doing a day trip. Well a day trip turned into an overnight stay. Trevor's group at school won their final presentation, hooray-hooray, and they received a nice little cash prize. Time to live it up and so we did. We left baby girl with Carlisle and drove up some winding roads on a sunny morning. I love a good road trip. Driving along somewhere you've never been, not in a hurry just taking in the scene. We had some recommendations so we stopped in Cashiers for some pretty killer bbq. Adorable spot called the Farmers Market with all sorts of delicious groceries but we continued on our way knowing there would be no cooking on this trip.


We arrived at the Old Edwards Inn around lunch and were offered champagne at check in. Yep, we'd made the right decision. Then we toured around the property (gorgeous) and landed in their wine garden for lunch. A small waterfall flowing, gardens blooming, and homemade buttermilk crackers & pimento cheese and I was already having the best day ever. So we lunched, we lounged, and we played until it was time for supper. It was just what we needed and I can't wait to go back one day.

first mothers day

My first mother's day. Kind of surreal and kind of feels totally natural. I don't know a whole lot about being a mom yet, but I know how strong a bond I feel to my sweet girl. It's a crazy strong instinct this motherly love, and it is there beating in front of you all of the time. I know how simultaneously hard and wonderful being a new mom can be. Luckily I have an amazing mom to look to for advice as Moosh and I grow together. I am so thankful for her and all of the other moms and moms-to-be I have in my life. We are some pretty strong ladies! I'm also thankful for an amazing husband who took over baby duties while I slept in, cooked french toast, and made me a fancy card. I enjoyed every minute of it. Maybe this is my new favorite day.

derby day

The Derby is like Christmas in Lexington. Everyone partaking in pre-race celebrations and bourbon flowing. A sea of fancy and silly hats in the crowd. Hats not quite as fabulous as those from the royal wedding, but folks are definitely trying to do as the Brits do. Anyway, I've never been {it's on my list}, but seeing as we're horse people, it's kind of a big day around here too. We were just sitting at home today, but I figured Miriam should do it up right and get dressed up for her first race day. So I pulled out the equestrian print Lily dress hanging in the closet. Fashionable little nugget that she is. I about died when I opened up the gift from a friend and couldn't wait til she was big enough to wear it.

And since it was Derby day after all, we felt compelled to make Pims and bake up some Mamie's Cheese Wafers. Totally taste homemade and delicious. They're my secret go to in a pinch and you can find them at Fresh Market. We finished it off with cupcakes from the Chocolate Moose. Umm, good thing I worked out today I guess. They were so good and so worth it. I mean, do cupcakes ever get old?!

spring soundtrack

I've been out of pocket lately, but I'm back to the blog this morning. There's a breeze outside, one last cool dip before the real heat of summer approaches, and I have the new Steve Nicks album playing in the background. I love her and her romantic, gypsy vibe. We had our friends the Hayes in town this past weekend. A walk to the Community Tap was our first stop and a perfect weekend continued with lots of good food, a baseball game, walking downtown, and relaxing in the backyard. We sat outside on a blanket, throwing the ball & feeding the baby bird mini pieces of bread. Every time the wind blew the smell of honeysuckle filled the air which was like heaven. We talked and talked and talked until the minute they left. Tricia and I even curled up in bed at the end of one night with magazines and wine while the guys watched the draft. It was so fun to show off our town.

{falls park, fluor field, and carlisle's sweet dog}

So, some big news on the bay front…drumroll please…Miss Miriam is officially crawling. It took her 10 months and she's a tad wobbly, but look out everybody. She'd been rocking for a while now so we did some coaxing with an apple. Kinda like you would a pony and it totally worked. Then it was like a lightbulb went off and the girl was mobile. I watched as she went straight for that air vent and dusty, hairball in the corner of the room. You notice a whole lot more dirt when you're on your belly. Darn, gotta get that swiffer out asap. She also reached for the small bookshelf in her nursery with a heavy vase on top. Hmmm, apparently I can't procrastinate any longer on baby proofing. Looks like life is changing right before my eyes.

town greenville

I love flipping through the local paper & magazines, but most of the ones here disappoint. Sorry, Greenville News. However, I've kind of fallen for a new one called TOWN. Features on local artists, restaurants, and general cool things going on. One showed a place called Grits & Groceries and now I'm definitely planning a drive to the country. Anyway, I know most people skip right over the ads, but not moi and one of 'em (by Lindsay Carmody) caught my eye. So I went to her site and saw more of this friendly kitchen. Sure wish that window shade could make its way to my house.

baby tech

Let me start by saying I'm kinda torn on this subject. Recently, I was getting a pedicure and a mother & young daughter to my right staring at their phones. Actually, the daughter had an ipad and a phone in her lap. Their eyes were glazed over and they barely spoke a word to each other the whole time. Now, I'm a tad obsessed with my iphone too, but it really annoyed me. What a tiny opportunity to just relax and talk to one another. I need to remind myself that I don't know these people and it's not any of my business, but what it did was make me do a mental check not to be that way. I love what the internet has given us… the freedom to work from home, or stay in touch with old friends on facebook, or skype with my family, or blog… but sometimes we need to turn it all off and just be present. That's really what I took away from a situation that was super minor, but a good personal reminder.

But…with all that said, I'm still fascinated with the possibilities of technology. And shhhhh, I downloaded my first app for Miriam. Yes, yes, I know I'm a walking contradiction, but everything in moderation right? Besides, knowing your farm animals is serious business for babies. This one is called Peekaboo Barn and I'm just as obsessed as the baby.

And I'd definitely buy 3 Little Pigs too if she was old enough!

easter weekend

Waking up to the pitter-patter of rain on a Saturday is a good excuse to stay in my pajamas a little longer. Lately I've been skipping the whole high-chair thing and baby girl eats in her bumbo on the counter. This way she can see the world. Today she was extra interested in my making the coffee and we both nibbled on some fruit. That banana can be extra slippery for little nubby fingers so I fed her with my own. Then she'd get distracted and try and pull her bib off or reach her hand into the yogurt nearby while I wasn't watching. Tricky little nugget.

I've snapped out of my hum-bug mood and had a wonderful Easter weekend. I picked up my lovely succulent arrangement at Roots. You bring them your own containers (I got mine at t.j.max for cheap) and they'll plant everything for just the cost of the plants. I said I wanted moss and no rocks, but I got rocks & no moss. No worries, I still dig it.

And I finally got to hang out with my husband. He's been working non-stop on his final project and though it's not over, I see an end in sight. It's crazy to think he's almost done with school. Yep, I'm going to be one proud wife. And since it was Easter Sunday we decided it was time for Miriam to test out the nursery. We all put on our nice clothes and arrived ready for the drop off. Then I realized I forgot to put shoes on her. Oh well, she's still mini. I put her in a bouncer and she looked at me like, ahh where am I? She's been in our nest with just me and Carlisle so being surrounded by strangers, babies everywhere, and in a new environment… umm, it was a lot. Someone was holding her when we got back and apparently she'd been a wee difficult. Didn't like their toys, just wanted to be held or walked in a stroller. I swooped her up and wiped the tears and she was back with momma. Poor baby, but I know they took care of her and she was just fine by the time we got home. Right in time for a nap so we could enjoy a little brunch outside. Have I told you how much I love quiche? Well, I do. You can pretty much put anything in there and it's going to taste good. And I always have eggs, cheese, and some sort of leftovers I can throw together when the fridge is looking a little empty. So we grazed on quiche & scones, while toasting to a relaxing weekend, a sleeping baby, and all new things to come this springtime.