Beach Cruiser Love

Hello everyone, so I was busy all last week putting together this beach cruiser for my sister's b-day/going away gift. Now I can't take all the credit , all my girlies and even some of our husbands had a hand in the putting together of the beach cruiser! Whether it was monetarily or having a hand in crafting something for it we all played a part. I think it turned out just adorable. Pink is my sister's favorite color and I think it is just so happy. Now my sister is getting ready to move to Bluffton South Carolina, if you don't know where that is it is just over the bridge from Hilton Head Island. So I had been wanting to find an old beach cruiser and do it up from scratch but since she is moving soon I had to go to plan B. So if you ask me, you can't move to the ocean and not have a super cute little beach cruiser to go tooling around on.

So we all went in on the purchase of the the bike, basket, bell and stickers for it.My friend Sara sewed a super cute fabric basket liner for the basket and even laminated a little sentimental note about friendship on it and attached it to the inside of the basket. I hot glued on some daisies to the basket and put on some really cute flower stickers. I also bought her a bouquet of pink daisies and a bottle of wine and placed them in the basket.It was as simple as that !!! She was so shocked, All my friends including our husbands had been keeping this surprise under wraps all week and let me tell you I was a little stressed that we would not pull it off in time for the big surprise but we Did !!! Thank you friends and husbands you ROCK!!!!
So that's my sister happy to do a little photo opp on her new Bike. She looks ready to roll. I hope you feel the wind in your hair and smell the salty sea air as you cruise on your new bike. Enjoy !!!

And last but not least my girls and even my dog Molly posed so cute for the picture. I have to say I have an awesome group of girlfriends who I love dearly. We are so crazy when we all get together. We call our selves the real housewives of Michiana, minus the money LOL .... We always have a blast no matter what we do. It's so nice having an awesome group of friends, they are so laid back and easy. That is the way all friendships should be simple and easy!
Love you girlies.
S~

"We will be friends... As long as stars twinkle in the sky... As long as angels are there up high...til' oceans run dry, and til the day I die "

Photo Friday

Happy friday fellow bloggers! well it's raining again in the midwest. Can we just catch a little break and get a little sunshine??? is that too much to ask. So the rain has chased me back in the house darn rain. I was happily sitting out on my deck enjoying a little vino and then here came the rain again. We have had a really cold and rainy spring. So I decided for my photo friday I would post a pic of my favorite place Charleston South Carolina. This pic is what they call rainbow row otherwise known as the painted ladies. I absolutely love this part of town. I am always in sheer bliss when I am walking around this neighborhood, I can wander around for hours and just get lost in all the beauty that surrounds me. Walking through these neighborhoods is like walking through pages of coastal living or southern living. So BEAUTIFUL!Two more weeks and I head on down to Charleston for vaca WOO HOO!!! So I leave you with my fresh friday recipe...
Grilled veggie pizza with goat cheese and pine nuts. Yumo-o !

All I did was buy a pre-made wheat pizza crust,I usually make my own dough but sometimes you just want something quick and easy but still healthy. I just threw the dough on a pre-heated pizza stone on the grill. I topped the pizza with pesto, baby bella mushrooms, asparagus, artichokes,goat cheese and pine nuts, and fresh basil from my garden.Of course I had to have a little white wine with my pizza. Well I think the rain has stopped Yippee. I am off to try and start a little fire. Have a wonderful weekend.
S~

"Be inspired to be creative"

DREAMS

Have you ever wanted something so bad it hurt??? So if you don't know by now my dream is to live near the ocean.I eat sleep and breathe the ocean in my dreams.... I long for that day that I actually move there.I will not, I repeat not EVER give up on this dream. Sometimes in life you feel so beat down and that your dreams will never come true.But I am a firm believer that if you want something bad enough you will make it happen. Where there is a will there is a way right??? My poor friends have heard me talk about moving to the ocean forever and sometimes I think will it ever happen??? I just know in my heart that the ocean is where I have to be and I can't and refuse to ever give up on that DREAM !!!

We are on this earth for a very short blip on the radar so why not be the happiest you can be. I believe we create our own happiness, well at least some of it anyway. So until I can move to the ocean I will continue to hold that dream close to my heart and hopefully some day soon I can share with you my new cottage near the ocean.That is one thing I can promise, I don't know when but when I do make that move to the ocean you can bet your bottom dollar I will be here blogging at the top of my lungs about it . So just remember we are partly responsible for making our dreams come true!

Have a great week...
S~

“Never, never, never, never give up.” Winston Churchill

Photo Friday

Happy Friday everyone!!! Looks like it is going to be a rainy weekend. I had high hopes of working in the pond and yard, darn rain. Maybe we will catch a break and be able to get outside. So as you know I love photography and I am just a regular girl who loves to be outdoors, especially at the beach. So I am constantly trying to see the world from different angles. I love photography that is slightly off center not perfect. I think you have to think outside the box when taking pictures. I think there is always a photo opp where ever you may be. Sometimes you have to get down to ground level or look up. I think we get so focused on taking photos head on that we miss out on some really interesting things.It really is amazing what is going on all around us, you just have to be willing to see things from a different perspective or angle. So I leave you with my friday photo. This pic was taken on the beach at the Isle of Palms in South Carolina.
Enjoy ~

"Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, Drink wild air"

Friday Photo of the Day

So I am saving for a new camera but in the meantime I am taking my camera with me where ever I go (when I can remember) LOL...I recently met two amazing photographers who have so inspired me to just start taking photos and not to be afraid. They take some rockin photos. They have a very similar styling to their photogtaphy that I love and try to achieve. I sometimes get really frustrated while taking photos because I have a vision in my head of how I want the photo to turn out but sometimes I just can't capture my idea. My husband is constantly telling me to just take photos and that even the best photographers don't always get the best shot every time. I guess I never thought of that before.He is so supportive and encouraging. It is so nice to have friends and family who support your creativity. So until I get my new camera which I have been talking about for about the last I don't know how many years I will continue to just get out there and take pictures.I am going to try and post a photo every friday and see what I can capture. So stay tuned, let's just see what my camera see's!

Hope you have a creative weekend!
S~

"A mad, keen photographer needs to get out into the world and work and make mistakes." - Sam Abell

Spring Break April 2010

Ok so I am so excited about this post. My sister and I and my niece and nephew went to North and South Carolina for spring and I have to say it was FABULOUS! my soul needed it so bad especially after our brutal midwest winter. I was in in sheer bliss the entire week we had amazing weather, we had 8 days straight of sunny beautiful weather. So the little wine shop we stumbled across in Charleston did the cutest dog wine labels and some of the sales went towards dog charity. I am a huge dog lover and guess what they even had a airedale one so naturally that was my wine of choice the one with the Airedale label. So cute .
So this is one of many reasons why I love Charleston , check out this inn how cute is that! One of the reasons I love Charleston all the history and architecture.
So meet my niece and nephew: ~Haley and Noah~ wow they are growing up right before my eyes. The cool thing is that I have been able to introduce them to South Carolina, they have spent most of their lives vacationing there! Now this fountain is one of our annual traditions,we always take our picture there every year then we go to the Godiva Chocolate shop and get some super yummy chocolate. Don't you just love traditions. Anyone who knows me knows this about me I love traditions !!!
Haley and I sharing a grown up moment...
So now meet my sister aka best friend Carrie . We are in sheer bliss relaxing poolside while reading our favorite magazines while sipping vino. I couldn't have been happier that day... well unless our husbands were there! sorry husbands we missed you badly , really we did !
So here we are at our hotel sitting outside enjoying a little vino oh and a dirty martini for my sister.
Now we decided to head over to the Isle of Palms which is a little island just a hop skip and a jump from Charleston. I had to go to the ocean and put my toes in the sand my heart and soul was aching for the ocean.
So I did a little internet research and found a restaurant on the Isle of Palms that was on the water and had outdoor seating. It was super cute and right on the marina.
What a cute little outside bar they had...
So we had a great day on the ocean , and I got a little inspired to be a little creative and drew this little saying in the sand I know it's kind of hard to read but is says " best friends" and yes those are our toes ! We had a picture perfect relaxing day at the ocean. I was so blissfully happy !
Now how cute is this little beach house it is even blue my favorite color!!! I could so live there it is just across from the beach access . Lucky themSpeaking of cute check out my niece and nephew they look like locals! Haley plays volleyball so naturally she wanted to bring her volleyball and get a little beach practice in !
So this was a pleasant new find of a restaurant back in Charleston. Coast how cute is that. I had local fresh caught grouper and it was amazing, I can't wait to go back this June. Yum-0
Ah beautiful sea grass just blowing in the wind.... I just love the ocean.
Check out this pic do you notice something??? yup that is my reflection in the window kind of cool that doesn't happen very often. Love all the window boxes in charleston. So happy .
Check out this place wowzers this is true Charleston charm big historic houses with a lot of southern charm.
I can so see me drinking a glass of vino on this porch. Love it . How cozy .
This is something you see a lot of in Charleston , wrought iron and actually it is a lost art such a shame. This kind of craftsmenship is past down from generation to generation.
What an adorable little yard , more southern charm.
This is a bed and breakfast I would so stay there.... how inviting.
Another inviting porch ....
This set of homes is called Rainbow row because of all the bright colors and these are considered row houses, you see a lot of that in England. I just love rainbow row, I never get tired of photographing it.
While walking around the streets of charleston we were greeted with these little cuties. They were so well behaved we were taking pictures of their house and they quietly walked right up to the fence to greet us without even barking, too cute!
More of that wrought iron that I just love.
Let me introduce you to wisteria if you have never seen it in bloom. This is a first for me it is a spring bloomer and I have never been to Charleston in the spring. Wow was it beautiful, it was hanging from everything .
Me and my sister at one of our favorite pubs Tommy Condons it is a definite must while in Charleston sorry guys wish you were there....
Now for our hotel in Charleston ... what a beautiful historic boutique hotel. I read that Edgar Allen Poe once stayed there how cool is that ???
This was our pool ... super cute and guess what they played jazz all day . I was one happy girl! And check it out the outdoor patio ceiling was aqua my favorite color!

This here is where we had breakfast and after dinner cocktails at out hotel patio, we really enjoyed that.

I highly recommend this hotel to anyone who visits Charleston South Carolina . It is the best western king charles hotel. This hotel is located in the heart of downtown charleston, no need to ever drive anywhere it is so close to everything. We really love this place and highly recommend it. I hope you enjoyed out pics as much as we enjoyed the trip. I can't wait until we go back this June! I raise up my glass to Charleston I LOVE that city .
Cheers!
S~

Long Day at Work

Ok so when I got home from work today I decided I wanted to do a little yard work and look what I found!!!! The Airedale decided to dig a huge hole in my garden!!! UGG darn dog she is quite the hole digger as you can see, oh well what can you do

How can you be mad at a face like that. The funny thing is when I went over to fill the hole in she went right over by the hole and sat up against the fence and just looked at me. She knew what she did she is so smart !!!
So after I did all the damage control I decided to break open a bottle of vino and start on some yard and pond work.
So as you can see it's early spring and the pond doesn't look that great so I am taking before and after pictures this year... stayed tuned I will be posting pics of the pond when it is in full swing. I just love my pond, it has brought me a lot of joy. I just love the sound of the waterfall while I am out sitting on my deck. The sound of water trickling is so calming to your soul.
So you know how earlier I was saying that I came home to a huge hole in my garden well I also came home to my tulips blooming yippee! that put a instant smile on my face.
Happy little tulips, I planted 50 bulbs last fall and I was kind of bummed when I saw them come up it didn't look like the were going to have buds on them. I guess they just needed a little more coaxing for some reason. None the less they all opened and that made my day.

I also came home and saw the lilacs, now I was so excited to cut some and bring them in that I didn't even notice they were not completely opened. Oh well there will be more to cut in the next few days when they open. So after a long day at work and all the negatives I focused on the positive things that my own backyard had to offer me. I guess the lesson here is that even when you have a stressful day and you feel all the negatives, there truly is always something positive to appreciate. I guess You just have to be open to discovering it. So thank you happy little tulips and lilacs you made my day brighter. Have a super day tomorrow and remember to look for something positive in your day!
S~