Versatile Blogger Award!

Sarah at Honey, Sugah, Dahlin' was kind enough to give me the Versatile Blogger Award. (Thanks, Sarah!) We've never met, but I feel like we'd be friends since she is also a Georgia Southern Alum. GO EAGLES!

The rules are:

1) Thank the blogger who presented me with this award…done!

2) Share 7 things about myself.

3) Pass on the award to 10 bloggers I have recently discovered and love!

So here we go! Seven random things you might (or might not) want to know…

Here are my seven things:

1. I (like Sarah) have a ridiculous amount of cookbooks. I do cook a lot, but I should probably make myself some kind of deal that I won't buy another cookbook until I've tried 50 new recipes or something like that. Maybe that should be my challenge for the summer.
2. I collect carnival glass. My friend Andy probably thinks it's a little bit old lady-ish of me, but that's fine. I like it because each piece is a little bit unique and it reminds me of my Granny Grits (my great grandmother).
3. One of my favorite places in the world is St. Augustine. My husband took me there to celebrate our first year of dating and we've been back many times since. It's so laidback, you can walk practically everywhere, there are great outlets and the drinks are cheap!
4. I love photography and hope that one day I'll have the opportunity to turn it into an occupation instead of just a semi-part time occupation.
5. I'd love to live at or near the beach at some point in my life. Maybe even just for a summer...seems like you'd almost have to be in a good mood if you lived close enough to the ocean, right?
6. I am a proud Southerner, but if I had to choose any other culture to be a part of, it would be Italian. I love Italian food and could eat it 24/7 and the people seem like they really enjoy life. Plus, how pretty is Italy in the movies? I hope I get to visit one day!
7. I am obsessed with being frugal. I subscribe to 'frugal' blogs, print coupons, clip coupons and I'm always on the lookout for a deal. I rarely pay full price for groceries, clothes and a lot of other things. I love to save $$$!

And here's who my recent favorite bloggers are:

Katie at Tale of a G.R.I.T.S.

Amanda at I Love You Days

Leslie at lmstoehr

Mrs. M at My Life as Mrs. M.

Stacey at The Bowman Family

Katie at Don't Warn the Tadpoles

Brandie at Brandi Nell the Southern Bell

Tammy at Sprout! Coming Soon

Lori at Baby Hennesy

Carolina Girl at Ramblings of a 30 Something Year Old Carolina Girl

Finally Friday!

Thank goodness it's Friday! It felt like it would never get here this week. This weekend I'm looking forward to:

• gorgeous weather
• buying a few summer treats for myself at CVS (nail polish, etc.)
• grilling out hamburgers
• heading downtown to see what the Saturday Market on the River is all about
• starting a new book
• relaxing

It should be a fun weekend in Augusta! Have y'all got any weekend plans?

Wordless Wednesday

Mother's Day 2010

Summer Lovin'

One of my favorite things about summer (which is really right around the corner here in Georgia!) is home grown tomatoes. I love tomatoes all year round and will practically eat anything with marinara, salsa, or any other kind of red sauce. I also like to just slice up tomatoes to enjoy as a snack. Salt or no salt, I love them either way. I might be a little obsessed with them, especially my own plants. There's just something about tomatoes that come straight out of the garden and into my kitchen during the summer!

Here's a few of my little cherries from last year:

I posted earlier this spring about my tomato seedlings. This is the second year I have tried to grow my 'maters from seeds to plants. I have to tell y'all, it is much harder than it looks. Too much water, not enough water, or too much sun and half the seedling tray is gone and unable to be resuscitated. Matt was really helpful this year with keeping them watered and sunned while they were babies, but inevitably we were left with about 6 seedlings that were healthy enough to be planted. After a few weeks in the ground we were left with about 2 plants that would be able to make it, thanks to another cold snap, too much wind and a few neighborhood birds that love to nibble on tomato leaves. I still wanted a whole garden full of tomatoes so we filled in with a few tomato plants we found at the flea. (They are surprisingly sturdy so far!) Last night I bought the last tomato to fill the garden and it is a 'Talledega' tomato. I've never heard of this kind of tomato before, but we're going to give it a shot and his nickname will be 'Ricky Bobby'.

Here's Ricky Bobby being planted in my garden:

The first tomatoes of the season growing on my 'early girl' tomato. She will probably be named 'Scarlet O'Hara' because she has lovely green leaves like Scarlet's famous green dress.

Another view of the garden. Last year we tried two topsy turvies as well, and they barely produced anything. I decided to concentrate on plants in the ground this year and I hope it pays off!

I'm working on growing a few herbs too (parsley, basil, oregano, etc.) but those are moving slow too. Hopefully I'll have something to share soon, since they would be a perfect addition to the homemade spaghetti sauce I'm going to try to make after my tomato harvest this summer.

Another busy week!

Last weekend we celebrated our 1 year anniversary (full post coming soon!). On Sunday I spent the better part of the day taking photos for a baby shower and then maternity pics afterwards. I haven't really done maternity photos before, but I think they turned out pretty cute. We had a great location and the afternoon light was really, really pretty.

Monday, my parents called and we went to meet them for dinner at the Village Deli. If you're ever in Augusta, you have to try this place. They have the best burgers and sandwiches and everyone is always so nice. I tried the french dip for the first time and it was so good. Although, how can you go wrong with a sandwich that is dipped in au jus?

This week I hosted (along with one of my coworkers) a shower for a friend at work who is getting married in less than a month. The first half of the week was spent in preparation getting the house ready and wrapping her gift. Oh, and making sure all the food was taken care of! She is a sweetheart and it is sure to be a fabulous wedding. Our theme was a tea party bridal shower so we had tiny pimento cheese sandwiches, fruit and cheese, petit fours and sweet tea vodka!

Our Tea Party spread:

Me and the lovely bride, Stacey

I had a great time inviting everyone over and it was a really good excuse to get the house super spiffy. Hubs said I should start entertaining more so we'd be motivated to stay clean. Works for me!

This weekend should be relaxing, although I'm determined to clean up around the house more and organize. I realized this week that we have too many books. I'm a reader and I'd love to keep copies of everything I've read, but it just isn't practical. For starters, we don't really have the space for a full library. As it is, I keep my cookbooks in their own separate cabinet because I refuse to part with any of them. The rest of my fiction and non fiction really should be passed along to family or friends who'd like to read. Maybe I could do a giveaway or book swap soon. Hmmm...

Spring Fever

I was so glad when April finally rolled around this year. Once March is over, I'm usually ready to start enjoying warmer weather and sitting out on a patio somewhere enjoying a cold beer. April has been busy, but the weather has been gorgeous so I can't really complain.

We took a boat tour on the Augusta Canal and enjoyed the sites one day last week, it was gorgeous outside!

Our old gas grilled died at the end of last summer and we put off getting a new one for a while. Thankfully, Matt found a great deal on a new one and we've been grilling up a storm! it's been really nice being able to cook and eat outside since the weather is so great these days.

The easter beagle brought me lots of sweet treats and we enjoyed Easter supper with Matt's dad, stepbrother and my dad.

Masters week was fabulous in Augusta this year! Matt's dad came to visit and go to the practice rounds with him on Monday. They had a great time since the weather was so nice. Last year when he came it was super cold and rainy, unfortunately.

Wednesday I got to enjoy the course and the Par 3 tournament with my friends Carrie and Stacey.

I hope the rest of April and May is just as fun! I've got a bridal shower that I'm hosting next week and our 1 year anniversary is right around the corner...

Masters Triplets

These guys were my favorites for 'Most Creative Outfit' at the Masters last year!