Friday Five: Random happenings

On the phone last night, my dear friend Sarah asked when I was going to blog again.  Although it was a reminder that I'm way behind on blogging, it was encouraging to know that someone noticed my lack of blogging during the past month. :)  Thanks, Sarah!

1.  Tonight I'm trying a new recipe that I found via Pinterest - Turkey Taco Lettuce Wraps  They are healthy and easy (two things I look for in new recipes), so I hope they taste as good as they look!

2.  Kevin and I really enjoy the TV show Shark Tank.  Have you ever seen it?  If not, you should watch it.  Friday nights at 8/7c on ABC.  It's fascinating, thought-provoking and entertaining, and it has nothing to do with actual sharks.  The show celebrates innovation and capitalism, and it inspires great conversation between us.

3.  We have a new dining room chandelier, and I absolutely love it!  Kevin and my Dad installed it last week, and I feel like it has transformed the room.  My Dad also painted while my parents were here visiting, and you can see a glimpse of the new wall color in the background of this pic.  Not a dramatic change, I know, but a BIG change for the better in my opinion.

4.  A couple of months ago, Kevin and I went to a nearby auction with a bunch of our friends.  We didn't plan to buy anything, but we thought it would be fun to experience.  Of course, we each found something that we have been wanting for a very long time so we splurged and bought both things.  Kevin's find - a gun of some kind, I'm sure he'd be happy to tell you all about it.  (It's his very first gun.)   My find - a Louis XV style chair!  I've always adored this type of chair, but I've never purchased one because they are pretty expensive.  However, I bought this one at the auction for just $70!  It definitely needs a facelift, so I can't wait to find fabric with a modern design that will give this stylish chair new life.

For comparison, here's a similar chair available at Ballard Designs for $549!!!!

5.  Have you heard of Flat Stanley?  I was vaguely familiar with the name before last week, but now I have had my own personal experience with him.  My cousin's precious daughter, Bekah, sent him to me as part of a class project, and I was delighted to show him around South Carolina!

Getaway to Charleston

As you may or may not have noticed, I've been slacking in the blogging department lately.  We have had a crazy couple of months...Kevin changed squadrons (he was a Hawk, now he's a Bengal), we enjoyed visits from our parents, we drove to Kentucky for my Dad's retirement party and we went to Nashville for a dear friend's wedding.  We've also been spending some time working on our lawn and flowerbeds.  Before I share photos from all of the things I just mentioned, I need to show you our photos from Charleston.  In March, Kevin was able to take a few days of leave and we enjoyed our first real vacation since our honeymoon in 2009.  We spent a few days in Charleston, SC and a few days in Asheville, NC.  Here are some of my photos from Charleston...what a beautiful and charming city.  I'm glad that it's only a couple of hours away from us, because I can't wait to go back!

Our first day in Charleston was St. Patrick's Day,
so I wore this shirt that Kevin bought me in Key West.  He's pretty proud of it. :)

Friday Five: Reasons You Must Visit Biltmore

The History

The Views 

The Scenery

The Gardens

 

The Romance

The R-word

Spread the word to end the word...

Pledge your support at http://www.r-word.org/.

The Hyacinth

We received some unexpected news last week, and let's just say tending to the hyacinth (that I posted about recently) was not at the forefront of my mind.  I had high hopes of transplanting it into one of our flowerbeds, but I don't think that's going to happen now that it seems to be dying. 

If you're reading this and you have a green thumb, is there a way to revive this poor thing??

Friday Five - 3.2.12

1. Guess what Kevin saw while golfing at Parris Island recently?  Not one, but two alligators!  Doesn't this first one look like it's ready to attack?! 

2. A few weeks ago, we tackled a long overdue project of hanging a collection of picture frames on one of our living room walls.  As you can see in the photos below, we used the butcher paper method to position the frames, and it was very, very helpful.  I'm not sure where I originally found this idea, but I've seen it as a suggestion on more than one blog.  First, you cut butcher paper the exact size of each of your frames.  Then you tape the pieces of paper to the wall and move them around until you figure out how you want your display to look.  (I didn't bother using measuring tape or a level for this step.)  Once you decide on your layout then use a measuring tape and a level to determine exactly where each frame should be.  After each piece of paper is exactly where you want it, measure the distances on the back of each frame from the hooks to the outer edges of the frame.  Apply those measurements to the corresponding papers taped to the wall and then you will know exactly where to hammer the nails.  After the nails are in place, just remove the papers and replace them with the actual frames!

Now I just need to figure out which photos to put in the frames.

3.  So I'm not gifted in the art of flower arranging.  I have only tried a couple of times, but each time I try I feel like my creation looks nowhere near as beautiful as a professional arrangement.  Despite this, I believe my ability to arrange flowers can only get better with practice...so I'm gonna keep trying.  Before our friends came to visit a couple of weeks ago, I decided to buy some inexpensive flowers at the grocery store and arrange them myself.  I asked the man working in the floral department to give me some advice, and he gave me two helpful tips: 1. Use plenty of ferns and baby's breath to fill the arrangement. and 2. Create the arrangement in your hand first (rather than the vase) then cut the stems to the appropriate lengths before putting them in the vase.  I followed his advice to the best of my ability, and I think the arrangement turned out a lot better than my previous attempts.  Here's a pic of it a week after I created it and after I removed some dead stems.  It's not great, but it's not terrible either! 

4.  The Game of Things - We had a bunch of friends over last weekend, and we played this game for hours.  It's a great source of laughter and entertainment when you have a big group of people!

5.  I tried a new recipe this week - Slow Cooker Cheesy Potato Soup.  Kevin really liked it, and I liked it too...so I think it's one that I'll make again.  Here's the link to the recipe if you want to try it.  The bacon and green onion toppings add a lot of flavor, but next time I think I'll add some seasoning to the soup while it's cooking.