How We Celebrated

Last Wednesday was our 25th anniversary. I would have loved to go away to some spectacular destination, but logistically it just didn't work out. Maybe on our 30th!

Husband made reservations at Husk , which has been on my list of restaurants to try since it opened. Have you ever had such high expectations for something and then been totally let down? Well that was me with Husk! 

I love the old house that it is in located on Queen St. in downtown Charleston.

But, it was so noisy I could barely hear husband speak! Now I know that's not the fault of the restaurant, but that is just something that turned me off.

The, the service was so slooooooow! We waited forever just to place an order for drinks. Then once we got them we should have just grabbed our server and quickly placed our order because he disappeared for awhile!

I will say that the food was very good. But, while the concept of using all ingredients from the south is good and makes for interesting dishes, I am not all that into "southern" food and had a hard time choosing something off the menu that I liked. Most of the dishes had some type of field pea or what I think of as southern veggies in it and I can't stomach even a tiny bit of that.

But as I told my MIL, any time I don't have to cook is a win in my book! I just won't be going back to Husk anytime soon!

 My cocktail, a Milan Muleberry. It was delicious and I want to try to recreate this at home!

 Fried green tomatoes with pimento cheese and shaved country ham. Very tasty!

 Husband had wood fired clams as an appetizer and they were also good.

I had the grouper, which was excellently prepared. And the one thing that didn't have field peas or boiled peanut juice on it! ;)

We skipped dessert because husband had ordered a cake from the bakery for me and we were able to share it with the teens when we got home.

He didn't have a clue as to what to get me for a gift, but he did a great job getting me a handbag that I have been lusting after for many years! He didn't understand why it cost so much, I just told him it was an investment!

Tomorrow daughter and I are going to spend the day doing somethings downtown. There is a newish doughnut shop that opened that I have been wanting to try, so we are going to head out early so we can make a stop before they sell out! Hope I haven't set my expectations too high!

Only three weeks left of summer break! I think we are going to head to the mountain house this weekend. And then daughter and I are heading to Pittsburgh next week for a cousins wedding shower.  

Any last minute trips before summer is over?

A Quarter of a Century!

25 years ago today we started down this path together!

Caring for The Poor

Yesterday, as I was leaving a well know shopping establishment with a car full of groceries, (that will be put away on pantry shelves only to be met with complaints that "there's nothing to eat"), I saw a young man standing under a tree. 

He was holding a sign that said, "Everything helps, even smiles".

There was something about him.

I knew I had no cash with me so I went to the nearest ATM and withdrew some.

I made the quick trip back and he was still there.

I pulled up beside him and lowered my window, leaned over and extended the money to him.

The look on his face when he saw the denomination brought tears to my eyes. 

I told him to spend it wisely and he looked up at me and said, "I have a kid".

I said, "Good Luck" and pulled away.

Was he running a scam?

Maybe.

He'll have to answer for that.

I don't want to have to answer for why I didn't help my fellow man.

Lunch This Week

A whole wheat tortilla with some roasted red pepper hummus, avocado, and sprouts.

Yummy!

What I've Been Up To...

(House museum at MIddleton Place)

I can't believe it's almost Friday!

I didn't do much that was on my To Do List this week..

But, I did have to "work" at Middleton Place on Wednesday morning. It is so darn hot and humid but the people were there by the car full! I had someone from Sweden and Spain on one of my tours and they were just dripping sweat, I felt so bad for them. And they didn't believe me when I told them that it actually isn't as hot and humid as it can get!

Today was my long overdue appointment for a cut and color. Teen daughter went with me to have her brows waxed. It was her first time and they look really good. She just needed a little cleaning up. After we finished we stopped by the Tastee Freeze for onion rings and a cheeseburger. No cheeseburger for me, just those greasy onion rings, but I figure I only get them once or twice a year, so it can't be too bad!

As of the other day our house has been on the market for a whole year! I am thinking that we are only going to keep it on until school starts. I have really not cared lately if it sold or not and actually turned down some showings because it just wasn't good for me. Now I have been planning and have come up with a few things I would like to just do to this house and stay here for another 3 or 4 years. I don't want to put too much into it because it is NOT our forever house, but there are a few things that would be nice. Oh well, we'll see what happens in the next month.

Nothing planned for the weekend, I'm thinking maybe a trip to the mountain house next week sometime if I can swing it!
Have a great weekend! Any plans?

4th of July recap

Had a good time at the lake for the 4th.

Daughter brought along two friends, so they kept busy!

We ate lots of good food!

The girls had fun playing with sparklers!

There was a band playing at the restaurant that is within walking distance of our house, so husband and I walked over to listen to the music for awhile and to people watch!

The same restaurant puts on a fireworks display and we are fortunate to be able to sit on our porch and watch!

We got home late yesterday and plan to just lay low for the rest of the weekend. I think a trip to the farmer's market is in order for tomorrow and of course church on Sunday!

Hope your 4th was fantastic!

Staycation

 Husband and son are on vacation from work this week, and since our plans to go out west were changed due to the wild fires, we decided to just do a staycation and stick close to home.

Our first adventure on Saturday was driving out to the country where we used to live to go eat BBQ. This is one of the best BBQ places around and worth the hour drive to get there! We then drove by our old house to look at the changes that had been made and we ran into our teen son's godfather. This was kind of strange because there was a falling out between he and husband and the godfather hadn't seen our son since he was a little over 2 years old! We all actually talked and met the godfather's foster child. It was kind of weird, but nice too.

 Sunday we attended Mass and then husband surprised me with reservations for brunch downtown at the Palmetto Cafe at the Charleston Place Hotel. It was scrumptious as always!

It was already sweltering by the time we were finished so we just made a quick stop in the Louis Vuitton store so I could point out a few handbags that I wouldn't mind owning and then we made a stop at the Apple store for a cover for daughter's newish macbook.

Sunday evening a little thunderstorm popped up, so we were in for the night!

This morning we headed out for breakfast and then daughter and I made a quick trip to TJ Maxx and  couldn't resist stopping in our newly remodeled Target. We had to check out the new Starbucks that is inside Target and took advantage of the BOGO Frappucino offer they had going on!

I'm thinking getting pizza delivered is on order for tonight! 

Husband is taking daughter and some of her friends to the waterpark tomorrow and while they are gone I will be packing up so we can spend the 4th at the lake house.

Stay cool!