A Lovely Life

Last night I had a massive craving for ice cream which meant that J and I went just up the road to our local Baskin Robbins.  Yum!  He was going to run in and get it for us and this is how the conversation went: J:  "What flavor do you want? Me:  "Vanilla." J:  "Really?" Me:  "OK, chocolate." J:  "How about rocky road?" Me:  "Sure, why not!" Y'all, that was the best ice cream cone EVER!  If up to my own devices, I clearly go the boring route when it comes to choosing an ice cream flavor.  However, my hubs knew exactly what to choose and here's why: When I was a little girl and would visit my grandparents in California, my grandfather would sneak me around the corner to the local Baskin Robbins.  While I'm not sure who chose the flavors of our treats, I'd always have rocky road and he'd attempt to get something sugar free.  He'd always ask for a bite or two of mine and simply say, "don

And it's ugly.  Tastes good, but REALLY ugly.  Oh well.  I am famous for repeatedly stating that, "I am NOT a baker."  While I've gotten better at it thanks to a chef-by-trade best friend, I somehow missed that trait in the family genes.  Especially the part where the baked good is a picture perfect creation.  Yeah...not my gift y'all. Anyway, I had a million peaches from my peach pickin' adventure with E, so I decided that I HAD to make some baked goods.  You cannot beat homemade pies and cobblers with fresh, locally grown peaches!  My first baked good was a peach pie which I have zero pictures of.  It tastes great but isn't so pretty to look look at anyway so you aren't missing out. My second baked good was actually inspired by an Instagram post by one of my favorite bloggers,  What I Wore .  You can see her pic here:  http://instagram.com/p/bwEp0Iqq7_/   I thought, I've got peaches to spare and haven't tried that, so I'll make it!

One of my favorite things to do here in Georgia is pick fresh peaches from a local orchard.  My bestie and I started this tradition years ago and have been doing it every year for a few years now.  While it only takes about half an hour to pick said peaches, we make a day of it and have so much fun!   We've had a T-O-N of rain this Summer, like, EVERYDAY rain which is far from our usual hotter-than-hell, muggy Summer days.  E and I were lucky enough to decided on a peach pickin' day that was sunny-ish.  We even got blue skies which has become a rarity around here!  Anyway, we go down to a local orchard in Concord, Georgia where we grab a bucket and start pickin'.  It's a fun activity to do knowing that you're going to enjoy locally grown fruit that you picked by hand.  We had a great time (as always) and snapped a couple pictures along the way. That's one BIG bucket of peaches! I went home with a huge bag of peaches!  I've alre

Adorable card from www.cardlarkie.com! I've said before how much I LOVE letter writing & receiving.  I really think it's a lost art...  It's not that anything I write in a letter is particularly poignant or important or poetic.  It's just that, taking the time to sit down and actually WRITE to someone isn't so common anymore.  We live in an age where the post office is barely used, stamp prices are going up and we have that little thing called an email that makes life SOOOO much easier.  Well, screw easy.  I'm increasingly loving what I call "just because" notes.  They take little time and little effort and (at least I hope) they bring a smile to the face of someone I love. I just sent a little "just because" to my bestie, E.  We've been able to spend more time together over the last couple of months and it's made my <3 happy!  We also have gotten some adorable pictures that I just had to share! So, I ask:

I stood in the living room of our first home tonight and realized that the space between it an my kitchen was the same size (if not bigger) than any apartment I lived in as a child.  It was a profound realization... Why haven't I appreciated what I have more?  Why have I taken advantage?  I never, EVER imagined myself in a home this big, let alone the FIRST home we would purchase.   This all started because I spent my evening watching THREE hours of clips of the Ellen Show.  I thought I had a bad day.  So I watched some awesome clips of celebs being adorable, the cuties Sophia Grace & Rosie (why haven't I seen these dolls before?!) and then  this clip ... I found myself humbled.  How is it that I live the life I do with the complaints I have when not-so-long-ago I was living with my mama and brother in a 1 bedroom apartment while she did all she could to support us?  How is that I had forgotten what THAT was like?!  I thought I hadn't until I watched this show and

"Courage is being afraid, but going on anyhow." -- Dan Rather This quote popped up on Facebook the other day and it was exactly what I needed.  I've been seeing a ton of "life is too short", "go out and DO it", "don't be afraid to take chances" kind of quotes lately and I've needed every single one of them. Why? You may ask...well I'm pretty excited about an opportunity to work with a women's cycling clothing line, Moxie Cycling, promoting them at events throughout the Southeast.  This is going to be an addition to my job at the shop and should only take up a few weekends throughout the year.   I'm really excited because it's the first time I've looked at a brand of clothing and absolutely fallen in love.  As of right now, they only make cycling tops and the founders of the company finally got it right!  They don't do shorts because, as they've told me, "so many people already do a black c