A time to Sow

I was inspired by a Southern Living article about planting strawberries. They made it look sooooooo easy. Their version was simply planting 3 strawberry plants in a metal colander and hang it up, letting the strawberry vines grow down the side of the container.

I already knew I wanted to plant some herbs in a window box container (had to get them off the ground so the dogs won't bother destroy them.) So on a trip to Lowe's, I picked up these hanging baskets ($5 each) and a package of 10 strawberry plants ($4.) We'll see how it goes! Hopefully in a few months, we'll have fresh strawberry shortcake galore!

On to the Herbs...

It's been 2 years since I had my first little garden. I missed it last year. So I'm getting an early start and planted Basil, Rosemary, Cilantro, and Oregano seeds ($5 for all the seeds) in these window-box type planters. It might be a tiny bit early to plant the herbs...but I can easily bring them inside if the weather gets too cold.

And that's the beginning of the summer garden!

For more herb garden inspiration- how fun is this one....

Image (and building instructions) from Hubpages.com

or this one perfect for a small space...

Image from Apartment Therapy

Spring-Like Weekend!

The weather last weekend was such a treat and relief from the dreary wintry weather we've had lately! I wanted to be outside and enjoy it...so much so that I agreed to help the BF with his yard work. We raked 15 bags of pine straw among a few other outside projects. I was sore the next day and don't want to see a pine needle for a very, very long time. But can't complain too much to be able to enjoy a day like this! (Plus, I was rewarded with dinner at Moe's Italian Grapevine....another yummy Columbia restaurant!)

A few flowers and buds are peeking through! The promise of spring...

29

I recently celebrated a birthday (last one in my 20's!!) It was a week of celebrating with a trip home and a yummy shrimp and grits birthday dinner at my mom's. Then I had my actual birthday dinner at Pawley's Front Porch where I opted for the Beaufort burger. (Tuesday's are half-price burger night, for anyone that still needs to try them!) My co-workers took me out for lunch one day at Miyo's (another favorite!)



Then we had a party with friends and family here in Columbia. Two of my sisters made the trip to Columbia for the party!

I spent the afternoon in the kitchen chopping veggies, making an easy veggie pasta, cupcakes, and Paula's spinach artichoke dip. My dip, along with my sister's buffalo chicken dip, were definite crowd pleasers!

Some friends came over (one of which was also celebrating her birthday) and made a big, delicious, (and Texas style SPICY) seafood boil. I was too busy licking my fingers to snap any pictures of it! But you can imagine a giant pot of shrimp, scallops, crab legs, corn on the cob, and potatoes. YUM!

The dogs even decided to join in the fun and sneak a few chocolate cupcakes for themselves....

But who can stay mad at a cute face like that for very long?

The week of birthday celebrating started 29 off in the happiest of ways!

You know you have a dog when....

Over the last month, I've been adjusting to life with Ellie! Here are a few things that have changed....

-I now have a jumbo lint roller at home, one at work, one in my car, and one in my purse. And can still usually find Ellie hair on my clothes at any given time.

-I have found more than one dog treat at the bottom of my purse.

-As if it's not bad enough that I have to look at it, but I've caught myself talking to people about Ellie's poop.

-If you look close enough, you can see doggy claw prints have picked up most of my tights.

-I got a virus on my computer as I was trying to print out a coupon for dog food.

-I should have bought stock in Febreeze and carpet cleaner...the two back to back deworming treatments were not kind to my carpet!

-You can now always spot some sort of doggy toy or treat in my grocery bags.

-The installation of a doggy door was honestly a life-changer.

I definitely had a few doubts. Especially the two weeks when I had to get up every 2 hours during the night to take her outside in the freezing cold. Let's just say she did her share of fertilizing. But she's worth every brush of the lint roller and spray of Febreeze when she greets after work or curls up to go to sleep at my feet. From the amount of tail wagging she does, I think she's as happy in her new home as I am having her here!

32°

And I'm not refering to today's temperature! This is where I hope to be tomorrow night!

32°, A Yogurt Bar, Opens at Trenholm Plaza MidlandsBiz

Jan 20, 2011

COLUMBIA, SC - January 20, 2011 - The coolest frozen yogurt brand to hit the Columbia market, 32°, A Yogurt Bar – has opened at Trenholm Plaza.
32° offers 14 individual flavors of yogurt including fat free, kosher, no sugar added and low sugar selections on a rotating basis. They also specialize in serving the freshest toppings including daily fresh cut fruits, seasonal favorites, and over 40 candy, nut and sauce options.

In addition to their first week in business, a grand opening celebration and ribbon cutting ceremony is scheduled for January 27. From 5-8 p.m. that same day, guests can enjoy an all you can eat cup of self-serve frozen yogurt and toppings with a $5 donation. All proceeds from the grand opening afternoon event will benefit the Nickelodeon Theater.

"We couldn't be happier about the opportunity to give back to the Columbia community and work with the Nickelodeon Theater," says Jeff Pizitz, President of Pizitz Management Group. "Self serve frozen yogurt is a new concept rapidly growing in the United States and we offer a healthy, tasty product in an updated and contemporary environment."

Located next to The Pilates Studio at Trenholm Plaza, the 1,500 square foot store will provide both interior and exterior seating. 32° is privately owned by Pizitz Management Group, LLC, of Birmingham, AL with three South Carolina locations.

To learn more about 32 Degrees and upcoming promotions and events, visit www.facebook.com/32degreesyogurt or Trenholm Plaza's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/trenholmplaza.

Polar Bear Plunge for Cancer!

So who's tired of the cold weather?? It's definitely been a colder than usual winter for us in the South. Every time I want to complain about the dry skin, chills, and heavy jackets, I stop myself and think about my friend, Sarah Jen, who lives in Alaska! Last week, she posted a picture on Facebook of the thermometer reading a temperature of -50 degrees!!!!!

Let me say that again- NEGATIVE 50 DEGREES. I'm colder now by just typing that sentence.

Sarah Jen is participating in a Polar Bear Plunge in a few days to raise money for cancer. She will be jumping in something that looks like this...



Here's her story:

"In just a few days I'm going to be in Seward, Alaska (about 400 miles south of where I live in Denali) and I'm going to be dressed like a beauty queen (our team name is the Denali Divas) and I'm going to jump into Resurrection Bay (a bay off of the Pacific Ocean).

All of this may seem insane, so, why do I want to do something crazy like this??? I like to do some kind of big fundraiser every year and find a way to contribute to a cause and make a difference.

I've lost a grandmother and a step-grandmother to cancer. At the beginning of last year, my 14 year old cousin was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. Soon after, I learned a little boy in my community had cancer and then two coworkers were diagnosed with breast cancer. Next thing I knew 2 more coworkers from last summer were diagnosed. It seemed like cancer was on the rampage!

I felt bad because I don't like to just sit and watch someone fight this disease, but at the same time I can't take their place getting chemo and radiation and all of the other mess that goes with being treated for cancer. I feel like by participating in this jump and raising money for the American Cancer Society, I am doing something helpful and maybe one day no one else will have to get these treatments because cancer will have a cure.

And then of course there probably is a small part of me doing this because I am just crazy!

I've currently raised about $3300 dollars and I'd like to get to my goal of $3500 by Saturday. If you would consider making a donation to help me get there I would appreciate it."

Click HERE to go to Sarah Jen's donation page! To add some shameless cute baby persuasion- here's Sarah Jen with her adorable nephew!

You have 4 days to contribute before she takes the plunge! And remember- "A Lot of Little, Makes a Lot of Lots!" Stay tuned for follow-up pictures of the event!

New Books!

I'm ashamed to say that I only finished reading 3 books all last year! There were just a few distractions that kept me from focusing on reading. I kept buying books...even started reading them....but never finished them for no particular reason. The good news is I already have a collection to read in the coming year! At least the ones I read in 2010 were good ones.

The Help- I blogged about it here. It's still one of the best books I've ever read. The movie version should be interesting!

It Ain't All About the Cooking- Paula Deen's autobiography made me like the Queen of Southern Cuisine even more.

The Fixer Upper by Mary Kay Andrews- as a light southern chick-lit kind of read. It's about a girl in her twenties that moves from DC to a small town in Georgia. I know, sounds way too familiar of a story. But I still liked it.

I asked for a few books for Christmas to get me started this year.

Mountains Beyond Mountains, by Pulitzer Prize winner, Tracy Kidder

Something Borrowed is part of a 2-book series by Emily Griffin and a definitely classified as chick-lit. I read and liked the other book in the series, Something Blue a few years ago, but never got around to reading Something Borrowed. It's a story told by two different friend's perspective. The movie has already been filmed and stars Kate Hudson, Ginnifer Goodwin and John Krasinki. The release date is scheduled for May and I hope to read the book by then!

The Lee Bros Simple Fresh Southern cookbook. Yes, it's a cookbook but the Lee Bros. take time to explain each dish and southern tradition in detail, so I read it like a book first!

I always love any other reading suggestions that you may have!

From the Kitchen: Pork Loin and BBQ

I thought I would share how I made the Pork Loin for New Year's- which the bf then turned the leftovers into delicious barbecue! Both are super easy. Like most everything else in my cooking rotation, it's how my mom does it.

I ended up buying waaaaay too much meat for only 2 people that ended up eating it! Come to think of it, that's EXACTLY the way my mom and grandmother cook....for an army!

I bought 2 small pork loins, (because one didn't look like enough.) But they seemed to get bigger when I took them out of their package. I washed and patted the meat dry. Then seasoned with just about any and everything I had on hand...but mainly Lawry's seasoning, lemon pepper, and freshly ground pepper. I put the meat in a browning bag. (They make all different sizes, and have directions for how long to cook the meat.) Then I cut a few lemons and squeezed the juice all over the meat. I followed the cooking instructions from the browning bag, and a few hours later had deliciously tender pork loin!

To transform it into barbecue- you simply shred the meat into little pieces (it falls apart easily), and then cook with your favorite sauce. Both were delicious! (I don't have pictures of the BBQ. The bf did it when I wasn't around, and he's still getting used to the whole taking-pictures-of-food-for-the-blog thing.)