A mid west girl who dreams of the ocean often...

HaPpY fRiDay!!! And happy 4TH of july weekend. So summer is in full swing here in the mid west and I find myself dreaming about the ocean. I say I am a mid west girl with a southern heart who was born in the wrong state. I can't explain it but there is something about the ocean that instantly calms my soul. Have you ever visited a place and instantly you knew that is where you had to live??? It happened to me when my husband first took me to South Carolina and we camped on the ocean at Edisto Beach State park. We also visit Charleston while we are there. I simply adore Charleston and all it's southern charm. Horse drawn carriages take people through the old historic town. As you pass by the old historic homes you can feel how old this town really is. This city is oozing with history , culture, good food and drink and lots of Art. There is something in Charleston for everyone. As you walk through all the old neighborhoods you can see the spanish moss blowing in the warm southern breeze, the trees are simply alive!! The trees are amazing you can feel the life in them.So enough talk of that ... enter Seaglass wine!!! My friend happened upon this fabulous wine at a lawn and garden center, which mind you this is no run of the mill garden center. This place is amazing they have a little bit of everything. So while I was vacationing on the ocean this past june I came across this very wine at the tiniest liquor store on the beach!!! I stopped dead in my tracks and said to my husband look they have seaglass wine. Now before this I have never even heard of seaglass wine until my friend found it.let me tell you it ROCKS!!! and isn't the bottle adorable? it's a keeper for sure. If you love white wine and ever come across this it is a must try.
Now check out this beach house. I simply LOVE~ LOVE ~ LOVE this beach house. I would live in this beach house in a heart beat and it is in my favorite color Turquoise!!!. Every time we drive past this house it puts a big smile on my face. How could you not be happy living there ???

So now we come to a healthy eats part of this post, all this blogging has made me hungry.

Let me introduce you to the mung bean noodle... My same friend who found the fabulous wine also found these awesome noodles. You can find these at your local health food store... usually. They are so healthy and a great alternative to traditional pasta noodles . The only ingredients in them are mung beans and water. kind of crazy. We have been eating them like mad. You can really add about anything to them and they are great. Oh and check out the place mats aren't they cute. All I did was buy the turquoise place mats and I just hot glued the star fish on them. I think they are super cute and they took all of about 10 min to make. So for this recipe ~


I just made the noodles and infused some olive oil with about 5 garlic gloves, snipped some basil,parsley, and mint from my garden and sauteed some shrimp with a little white wine, olive oil and crushed red pepper. I also added artichokes, sun dried tomatoes and topped it all off with some fresh grated parmesan YUMO-O !!!!


Every once in awhile, a casual stroll on the beach yields an unexpected treasure–an unbroken shell, an unusually shaped stone, a piece of sea glass. Occasionally, the same thing happens with wine

What's going on in your back yard ?

So have you ever taken a stroll around your own back yard? My friend and I like to do that and see what is happening in our own backyards. My pond is in full swing and it is starting to shape up rather well I must say. So I love to tinker around my yard and pond. I recently got back from vacationing on the ocean and I picked up some nice big shells and thought they might be cute nestled around my pond. I LOVE the ocean and summertime, it makes me crazy with all kinds of craft project ideas.
So recently I have had quite a busy little wren in my yard and I think he has been busy looking for some real estate to settle down and have another summer brood. Now I have not had wrens in my yard as regular visitors until this summer. So I thought I better get a wren box... Now I couldn't just put up a plain old wren box. I had to bedazzle it. I purchased the wren box and bought some sea glass and glued the pieces to the roof . I think it turned out adorable. I hope Mrs. Wren likes it! I even made a little sign to advertise "for Wrent" I hope I get a taker!!!
My friend gave me some frogs and I think they have decided to take up permanent residency. I just love my pond . It is so relaxing to sit out and listen to the waterfall and watch all the animals that visit your pond, so HAPPY ! So you need to get out into your yard and do some investigating you may be pleasantly surprised by what you find.

I hope you have a great week and get to get out and enjoy summer.

A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken. ~James Dent

Photo Friday & Dinner Oceanside

Happy Friday everyone wooo hoooo, it's gonna be a hot one today in the midwest. Right now it looks we are going to get a little summer thunderstorm. Any who my fresh friday recipe is Shrimp tacos with corn and black bean slaw.


Shrimp Tacos With Corn & Black Bean Slaw


So my husband and I decided to go down to the local shrimper and purchase some fresh shrimp of the day. I have to say there is nothing better than fresh seafood !!!! So we got out our little grill and grilled the shrimp with a little olive oil, white wine and the secret ingredient Old Bay Seasoning. You can't live in the south without this little ingredient. So we grilled our shrimp and I made a corn and black bean slaw. I just bought a bag of pre cut cabbage with shredded carrots added a little vinegar, a little greek yogurt, a titch of olive oil, fresh cilantro, garlic, fresh lime juice and a little crushed red pepper. Yum-o . I then toasted the tortillas and that was it so completely simple and so DELICIOUS!!!!
And for a little side dish I went down to the local farmers market and bought some vine ripe tomatoes and drizzled a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar , fresh basil. I sliced up some watermelon and there you have it one fabulous dinner ocean side. It was a beautiful evening on the ocean, oh and of course it would not be dinner without a little white wine. Just perfect. After we finished dinner we took a few beach pics and just sat and listened to the ocean. I was in pure bliss. I am a very simple girl at heart. Just give me the ocean, a little vino, warm ocean breezes and of course my husband AKA best friend !!! What more could a girl ask for ????


Me and my flops enjoying the view..............

I hope you have a super weekend.My friend and I are off to one of our favorite beachy towns, hope the rain holds off !


"A meal without wine is called breakfast"

Feeling crafty and inspired

Hello everyone, so I just got back from a fabulous vaca in Edisto Beach South Carolina and I am feeling ocean and beach inspired. So I decided to do a little craft project. I just bought a bag of seaglass and just simply hot glued them onto a picture frame I already had, so simple and I think it turned out really cute. I have to say it was like putting together a puzzle trying to get the seaglass to fit the frame. I had fun doing it. I poured myself a little white wine and starting crafting away. It took me right back to the ocean. AHHHH I could smell the salty sea air and I could see the pelican parade fly over, I just LOVE summer and the ocean !!! I know I have said it a million times but my heart is truly at the ocean. Hope you get inspired to do a little crafting, I know I am. There is something about summer that makes my mind go in a million directions with craft ideas. Hope you have a fun filled week. See you on Photo Friday! I got a lot of great pics from my vaca , can't wait to share them.
S~

"Be Inspired and let your imagination run wild"

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